You know that there is a thing called movement in this game? The trick is basically a smoke grenade that can’t be ignored by MSV. And yes, I think it’s a stupid trick that shouldn’t exist.
that condescension... you win, I leave, don't worry. Is easier to move, throw smoke and discover with your own troops your own antipoda (which can fail both in the smoke or the discover and is some orders) to block sight against your own troopers that were outside LoS of the troopers you want to protect, than to just do a dodge (which will be a FtF roll if the enemy see them, but only against one of them) with those antipodas (which can fail too, but is FtF against AROs, and would be normal if the enemy decides to discover just trying to get aro in following orders)
Is this generally considered a loophole, or a tactical subtlety? Personally, I find this interaction deeply counter-intuitive. Yes you can, and it makes no sense. Not just from a realism point of view. The text of the skill starts with: "This Skill allows the user to locate enemies hidden in the form of a Marker [...]". But that's just in the intro, there's nothing about "enemies" in the requirement section, which only states: "The user must be able to draw LoF to the target". It's very obvious there's something missing, and using Discover on your own units is not using the skill as intended. Still, it seems the general consensus that's it ok to Discover your own units. I don't get why this has not been corrected in a FAQ at some point.
It's usually considered to be a loophole, although not a big one. Because if you can't declare Discover against friendly troopers, you can't Discover Impersonators!
*Waves magic wand* I made a new skill called "credentials check" (also known as "Hey Dave, your faces is looking particularly xenos-like today...") But on a serious note, seems like an easy fix.
Agreed. The easiest way would be to put the exception in the impersonator's text, making it specifically susceptible to discover. I find it much better practice to put the burden of extra rules on the individual profile than modifying the main rules, there's less chance of weirdness rippling out and it makes the core rules easier to learn.
Impersonators use a combination of holographic projectors, disguise and even surgery/DNA modification. Plus, sometimes, they avoid replacing an existing member of a stable group, joining instead ad-hoc teams of special operatives assembled in a hurry from the pool of available bodies, in which said impersonator might have just introduced a new identity for himself. Also, as far as we know, the Fiday assassins used by Haqquislam are not of alien nature... XD
I read that and I thought : oh goodies, one member of the defiance team is a speculo (with a traitor mechanism)
Now, let's at least blame the right department. That IMP marker isn't Bob from Accounting, he's Bob from Legal. A much more 'desirable' target! (Besides, if you shoot the accountants, then WE have to do all the accounting crap, and my accounting classes taught me to pay someone who enjoys doing that stuff!)