As the question appeared on FB and I couldn't found an answer in the old forums, only very vague "pre-measuring" is not allowed statements without links to/quotes of rules. The only thing I found about measuring was the distance and measuring part in the wiki as well as the order sequence. My oponnents and me always use common sense so far for impetuous orders, try to eyeball first and if we are not sure about it, we decide to measure. But this case is very rare. So can somebody help me and justify why measuring the distance to the next model isn't allowed for impetuous orders? :)
That is the box I was referring to. So measuring is only allowed at conclusion of orders etc. just as described in the order sequence or in specific rules. Impetuous doesn't feature that term.
Defining which ennemy trooper is the closest is sometimes obvious but many time it's not (like 58cm for ennemy A and 62 for ennemy B) making it impossible to know which one is the closest to the impetuous trooper without mesuring I think @HarlequinOfDeath question is : when are we allowed to mesure the distance between the impetuous trooper and ennemy trooper to determine which one is the closest (and so which one is the "target" of the impetuous move) ? Knowing which trooper is the closest will have a huge importance on deciding if you use your impetuous order or cancel/not use it. @HarlequinOfDeath : In my meta, we allow mesuring before the impetuous order is declared (but only if there is a doubt of which trooper is the closest) but I have no RAW to support it.
Or use a piece of string or the back of a tape measure. You don't need to find the actual distance to find out which is closer.
You guestimate. If there's a disagreement use the back of a tape measure or a piece of string. The longest string is the furthest distance. You don't need to quantifiably measure distance to accurately compare which is greater. Edit: dammit, beaten. [emoji14]
Also, I think it was mentioned somewhere that the "closest model" is the one that can be reached with the least amount of orders, not the phisically closest of all (so a Zerat on top of a 50cm high building with no stairs nor elevators, for example, is "farther" away than the Krakot, on the ground, 20cm to the centerline of the table).
Exactly. According to the wiki : Impetuous Order: Direction of Movement When executing a Move as part of an Impetuous Order, the trooper must move towards the nearest enemy figure by the most direct route possible. The nearest enemy figure is the one that can be reached in the least number of Orders, even if that figure is not in LoF. Jump or Climb skills must be used if that would shorten the route.