(Answered) Damage & displacement after accidental falls from above and DFA

[Alfaryn]

I’ve got some questions regarding accidental falls from above (p. 152 TW and p. 55 Introductory Rulebook) and unsuccessful DFA attacks (p. 150 TW and p. 54 Intro rulebook).

QUESTION 1

How do you determine the final position of unit involved in a fall from above if there are no targets to hit, or a falling unit misses all targets and after fall does not break stacking rules (for example if a ‘Mech falls into an empty hex or one with a single enemy tank)?

As I understand it, it may happen if a non-infantry unit is displaced by a push, charge, DFA or domino effect into a hex that is two or more levels lower then the hex it was displaced from. I assume that the falling unit takes damage as if it did not hit any target (standard falling damage). The rules state that “the falling unit lands in an adjacent hex as close as possible to the hex from witch it fell” which makes sense if the stacking rules are broken, but if they are not shouldn't the falling unit just stay in the hex it fell to?

QUESTION 2

What exactly happens when a falling unit hits target? In this case it takes damage to the back, and while the Falling Unit Hits Target section does not say what happens if after the fall stacking rules are broken, I assume a normal domino effect happens. My problem is – what is the facing of the falling unit after a fall in this situation? Same as before the fall? Opposite as if the unit rolled a 4 in Facing After Fall Table – which results in damage to the rear? Random?

QUESTION 3

What is a facing of a unit that failed a DFA attack and lands on its back (similarly to “successful” accidental fall from above)? The rules about the damage and location after attack are clear, but what is the orientation of involved units after attack? I assume that orientation of the target does not change even if it moves “sideways”, but what about the attacker? Is his orientation same as before the fall? Opposite as if the unit rolled a 4 in Facing After Fall Table – which results in damage to the rear? Random?

(SORT OF) QUESTION 4

Not quite a question, but a request for rules conformation – does really a unit which accidentally fell from above and hit a target always lands on it’s back, while the one that did not hit any targets lands on a random side as normal? I’m not saying that it is wrong, but it seems to be opposite to DFA attack where a ‘Mech that missed it’s target falls on the back, while the one that hit it takes damage to the legs and then possibly falls on a random side. It is a minor thing, but I'm not certain if this inconsistency is intended.

Edit - minor formatting changes.

[Alfaryn]

Bump.

[Alfaryn]

Bump.

[Xotl]

I’ve got some questions regarding accidental falls from above (p. 152 TW and p. 55 Introductory Rulebook) and unsuccessful DFA attacks (p. 150 TW and p. 54 Intro rulebook).

Hi.  I'm working on clarifying all this stuff for the BattleMech Manual, so this is good timing.  However, as a result, some of my answers may change.  Final wording will be in the final Manual and in the TW errata.

QUESTION 1

How do you determine the final position of unit involved in a fall from above if there are no targets to hit, or a falling unit misses all targets and after fall does not break stacking rules (for example if a ‘Mech falls into an empty hex or one with a single enemy tank)?

As I understand it, it may happen if a non-infantry unit is displaced by a push, charge, DFA or domino effect into a hex that is two or more levels lower then the hex it was displaced from. I assume that the falling unit takes damage as if it did not hit any target (standard falling damage). The rules state that “the falling unit lands in an adjacent hex as close as possible to the hex from witch it fell” which makes sense if the stacking rules are broken, but if they are not shouldn't the falling unit just stay in the hex it fell to?

A fall from above with no targets is just a fall.  Resolve it in all ways as though it were a normal fall.  And yes, the falling mech shouldn't move hexes if there's no target to fall onto.

QUESTION 2

What exactly happens when a falling unit hits target? In this case it takes damage to the back, and while the Falling Unit Hits Target section does not say what happens if after the fall stacking rules are broken, I assume a normal domino effect happens. My problem is – what is the facing of the falling unit after a fall in this situation? Same as before the fall? Opposite as if the unit rolled a 4 in Facing After Fall Table – which results in damage to the rear? Random?

Roll for facing as normal using the Facing After Fall Table.  Damage to the falling mech, however, remains the same in all cases (the rear).

QUESTION 3

What is a facing of a unit that failed a DFA attack and lands on its back (similarly to “successful” accidental fall from above)? The rules about the damage and location after attack are clear, but what is the orientation of involved units after attack? I assume that orientation of the target does not change even if it moves “sideways”, but what about the attacker? Is his orientation same as before the fall? Opposite as if the unit rolled a 4 in Facing After Fall Table – which results in damage to the rear? Random?

Same as per question 2.

(SORT OF) QUESTION 4

Not quite a question, but a request for rules conformation – does really a unit which accidentally fell from above and hit a target always lands on it’s back, while the one that did not hit any targets lands on a random side as normal? I’m not saying that it is wrong, but it seems to be opposite to DFA attack where a ‘Mech that missed it’s target falls on the back, while the one that hit it takes damage to the legs and then possibly falls on a random side. It is a minor thing, but I'm not certain if this inconsistency is intended.

If an accidental faller misses the target, it's a standard fall, and a standard roll on the facing table as a result.  If it hits, it's always rear, yes -- weird I know, but that's the rules.

Thank you for the questions: very helpful.