Drop pod doors?

[Bob821]

Hi Ladies and gents,

When placing a drop pod on the table does there have to be space for the doors to open?

What if I had glued the door shut like I do on all my other transports?

Can the doors of one drop pod over lap with doors from another?

Can the doors hang over the edge of the table?

Damn doors!

Many thanks

[ElectricPaladin]

We already had a conversation about this. I can't remember exactly why, but basically we all agreed that the doors are scenery. They don't count as part of the model. They don't provide cover, or alter the terrain, or anything. They are just for flavor.

Of course, I don't understand why you'd want to glue the doors shut... The effect is totally awesome.

[Wolfshade]

There have been several, long winded discussions about this, it is a bit of a can of worms:

[url]http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?32755-Drop-Pods-amp-Disembarking[/url]
[url]http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?20247-Drop-pod-model-issue[/url]
[url]http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?19055-Drop-pod-deployment[/url]
[url]http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?14235-drop-pod-doors-hull-or-decoration[/url]
[url]http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?11868-Drop-Pods-Vs-TLOS[/url]
etc.

My personal take:
When placing a drop pod on the table does there have to be space for the doors to open?
No. The pod lands doors closed, working out scatter and impassable/difficult terrain with them closed. Then once landed, they open, if they hit terrain that would cause issues, well they haven't *moved* into the terrain so cannot force a dangerous terrain test.

What if I had glued the door shut like I do on all my other transports?
That's fine, though I would ask to play with the "house rule" that units can fire through the pod but models on the other side would count as being obscured.

Can the doors of one drop pod over lap with doors from another?
I would prefer not to see this happen, fluff wise, the drop pods would land and orientate themselves so as to not obstruct each other, so just give it a little spin so they don't touch. But if we ignore the doors then sure why not.

Can the doors hang over the edge of the table?
Again I would prefer not to see this happening, more from a "careful it doesn't get knocked off the table" stand point, but if we discount the doors as part of teh hull then why not.

The important part I think is to have this conversation with whomever you are playing so that you both know what to expect before hand, talking through the consequences of what your decision is

[Bob821]

Of course, I don't understand why you'd want to glue the doors shut... The effect is totally awesome.

Could not agree more EP and thanks for the comments and the links Wolfshade.

[Cleon]

In my group we use a house rule that only the doors that can be opened and lean against terrain/off the table edge, but we allow a free rotate once the scatter has been resolved. We don't have any sealed shut drop pods so not sure how we'd handle them.

[Anggul]

I think it basically comes down to the fact that vehicle doors don't count for anything, and drop pods have no rule that states otherwise, so they're treated like any vehicle.

[Wolfshade]

There is no rule that supports that, and the consequence of that logic can lead to some strange decisions. Take the Gorgon:

The majority of the "front face" is door, as a consequence there will be times when the only part of the transport you can see is that door, so if the door doesn't count as part of the model would you not be able to shoot it?

[Houghten]

If the ramp's closed, and you're firing through a keyhole gap in terrain and can only see the ramp? Then of course you can shoot at it.

But if the ramp's down, and the Gorgon's side-on behind terrain with just the ramp sticking out? Then you don't have line of sight. You measure to and from the hull.

[Wolfshade]

How about you are in a doorway the only thing you can see is the ramp part of the door? But the interpretation that it isn't part of the model means you can't shoot at it as the door isn't part of the model for shooting purposes.

[ElectricPaladin]

If the ramp's closed, and you're firing through a keyhole gap in terrain and can only see the ramp? Then of course you can shoot at it.

But if the ramp's down, and the Gorgon's side-on behind terrain with just the ramp sticking out? Then you don't have line of sight. You measure to and from the hull.

I'm inclined to agree. Doors are kind of like wings and banners and such. Only they require a slightly different logic.