Re: SG II Snipers and the spirit of the game [CLEAN STAMP]

On Mon, 13 Dec 1999 16:51:02 -0500 (EST), Roger Books
<books@mail.state.fl.us>
wrote:

>So are all snipers elite?  Maybe we should add Veteran and Average
>snipers (average unit, veteran sniper, green unit, average sniper)?
>
>Just look at Saving Pvt. Ryan, that squad had a sniper. :)

The squad was a special detachment. The sniper was actually attached to
the
company, not a platoon or squad. 

I looked at the sniper rule from a straight rules interpretation point
of
view. It doesn't actually state SPECIFICALLY, of course, what happens
beyond
range band 5 (or less, due to cover shifting the die). There is a point
in the
sniper section that says, "When a sniper fires, the shot is resolved in
a
similar way to the normal firing process for a support or heavy weapon,
but
with a few variations...". Under small arms fire, the rules state,
"Small arms
fire is effective up to the point where the RANGE DIE would be GREATER
than
D12 - when this limit is reached then effective small arms fire is
impossible." 

I interpret the sniper rule as thus: 1) it follows the standard combat
rules
with some exceptions; 2) range bands are defined in the standard small
arms
combat rules section; 3) small arms fire beyond a D12 range band is
impossible, thus it can not be done; 4) by extrapolation from point 1,
therefore, sniper fire beyond a D12 range band is impossible and thus
can not
be done.

So, whether or not it would cause automatic suppression is irrelevant,
as
sniper fire beyond a D12 range band is impossible and thus can not be
attempted. This makes sense, as sniper range bands are double the size
of
small arms fire range bands. 

That's my interpretation, anyway. 

Allan Goodall		       agoodall@interlog.com
Goodall's Grotto: http://www.interlog.com/~agoodall/

"Surprisingly, when you throw two naked women with sex
toys into a living room full of drunken men, things 
always go bad." - Kyle Baker, "You Are Here"