Orb/Square and Shooting Weapons

[Doomsmile]

How are shooting attacks resolved from TUGs in Orb formation (such as Immortals from the Achaemenid Persian lists)?

Do they continue to shoot along their original "forward" line, or does the Orb's clause "4. An orb fights 1-deep in all directions" apply to shooting attacks as well?
(If so, would shooting from orb essentially work out to "reduced effect, but in any direction" or to the spectacular last-stand option of "reduced effect, but in all directions"?)

As a supplemental question, can a TUG moving whist in orb rotate as part of its 1BW movement (so long as no base moves more than 1BW)? (In case it needed to fit through a gap or align with a barricade or something)


Thank you for your clarifications!

[lionheartrjc]

Good questions, I don't believe this has ever been defined.

If umpiring, I would allow rotation.  The characteristic says a UG in Orb can move 1BW "in any direction", I would allow "any direction" to include rotation.

The rules are silent about Orbs shooting (unless you treat shooting as a form of "fighting").  As an umpire, I would probably allow 1/4 of the UG to shoot in each direction as if in 1 rank, but this is nothing more than making something up on the spot.  So I would allow a UG of 5 elements in Orb to shoot with 2 dice at reduced effect in one direction, and 1 dice at reduced effect in the other three directions. 

Richard

[Simon Meg-Meister]

Indeed both good questions.

"any direction" was intended to mean they can do whatever they like subject the 1BW maximum. The half-BW universal shift still applies as well so they could "snap to grid" with another TuG.

I didn't want to add any further complication for shooting.  You turn a rear rank so effectively they shoot single rank to rear and remaining ranks to rear.  My thinking was that these are no the hollow squares of the napoleonic era designed to shoot all round.  They are a conscious turning of ranks to rear and flanks.  Our bases are massive too deep.  So even 4 bases deep there are actually many more troops facing rear ad front in practice than sides.

So they are more

XXXX
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shape than

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Y  Y
YYY

Si

PS RJC if we feel a need I can still add a sentence to the Orb characteristic