Fortresses and staying in cohesion.

[Blood Angel]

Maybe I missed that part of the rules, but what exactly are the rules for squads in fortresses and staying within 2 inches of each other. Is it the same as always or are they considered to be in cohesion as long as they are in the same fortress or the same part of the fortress. I've seen some funky set-ups. One has the fortress of redemption with all the spess Mahreens all along the firing wall at the foot of the tower and then the guy has 4 heavies (especially missile launchers) at the top of the tower which is, what, eight or ten inches tall? Most of these I have seen have been pictures on the net, so, unfortunately, I can't just ask about the setup.

Thanks for any clarifications. Also, The area, if any, in any of the rule books where this might be addressed would be much appreciated.

[Nabterayl]

That's probably okay. Page 95 speaks of units occupying battlements as occupying a building, so they're treated as if embarked on a vehicle (albeit with a lot of exceptions). Consider the following quotes from page 95:

A building with battlements is a multiple part building ...

Units on battlements are not Fearless like other embarked units.

Unlike the interior of buildings, to which we grant a Transport Capacity, the battlements of a building can hold as many models of a single unit as will fit ...

If there are external ladders, or similar Access Points that only provide access to the battlements, a unit can embark directly to the battlements ...

If the interior and battlements are both unoccupied, a unit can embark to either the interior or the battlements.

If the interior is occupied by a friendly unit and the battlements are empty, the embarking unit ...

If the battlements are occupied by friendly unit and its interior is empty, the embarking unit ...

If an enemy unit is occupying the interior, you cannot move through them to get to the battlements. Unless there are external Access Points that provide direct access to the battlements, the unit cannot embark to the battlements.

One is always "embarking" onto battlements, and the battlements are a (very weird) species of building, not a species of ruin. So we start from the normal rules for buildings, which don't require cohesion, and then we carve those back according to the various exceptions page 95 gives us (things like we don't take the embarked models off the board, the embarked models can be fired upon, the embarked models fire using regular line of sight, etc.). None of those exceptions says that the models embarked on the battlements have to stay in cohesion, so I conclude that they don't.

[John Bower]

If you mean 'in' the building yes they are still a block unit, on the battlements however afaik they still have to follow the 2" rule, except if you look at ruins that is 6" to remain in coherency.

[Nabterayl]

He means on the battlements (I assume), but I don't believe the battlements do follow the coherency rules for ruins. As explained above, I don't believe that the rules treat battlements as a species of ruin.

[This Dave]

He means on the battlements (I assume), but I don't believe the battlements do follow the coherency rules for ruins. As explained above, I don't believe that the rules treat battlements as a species of ruin.

If you're using Stronghold Assault they do. It changed the Battlements to the same as the top floor of ruins. I can't say a page number right now as I'm at work and they frown on me bringing books here.

[Nabterayl]

Ah, that's good to know. I haven't picked up my copy of SA yet; thanks for the correction. That is really far more sensible than the BRB treatment.

[Jelebar]

I don't know what changes have been made in SA, but according to the latest FAQ (Sep 2013), battlements are treated the same as barricades around clear terrain (with special rules for access, etc). But in regards to the fortress, it is treated as several attached buildings (p. 117): bunkers, walkway and tower, all with battlements. Thus, the unit on the top of the tower is a separate unit than the one on the walkway.

[Blood Angel]

Ok, Awesome. Thanks for the info. I was confused about this, I will have to check Stronghold, as I just got it. I was thinking of battlements when I wrote the question and was thinking of the Fortress of Redemption in particular. There are "sections" to the battlements and I didn't know if you had to section it off, if they all counted as one area, or keep to the 2" or 6" cohesion rules as per the buildings or ruins. I am looking at a pic of the fortress with a squad on the lower battlements and some heavy weapons at the battlements at the top of the tower. Looking at it again, it may be that it is a separate Dev squad up top and what I can see of a Tac squad down below. I just thought it was weird because at first glance it looked like they split a squad between the lower battlements and the top of the tower battlements. Now I know where to look.

[John Bower]

Ah, that's good to know. I haven't picked up my copy of SA yet; thanks for the correction. That is really far more sensible than the BRB treatment.

Most of the way buildings and fortifications are handled in SA is better than BRB. It's the biggest draw for me.