... a targetable enemy activates in a ZoC of a repeater friendly to the hacker. The hacker has no LoF the enemy. So I tried to find evidence in the rules that this is possible, as I think this might be the intention. But I could not. Ephesis mine So first, ARO declaration that might be relevant is described on P21: An enemy Trooper activates within its Zone of Control (ZoC). -> Hacking Area is not equal to ZoC It has a Special Skill, weapon, or piece of Equipment allowing it to react to enemy actions without LoF. -> There is no rule in Hacking, Hacking Devices or Hacking programs that state that it allows the user to react in the situation described here It is affected by a Template Weapon, or is the target of a Hacking Program or other Comms Attack. -> Both not the case in this example Any ideas how to rule this? In N3 this was not a question, as repeaters extended the ZoC of hackers.
Please check the main Hacking section: Hacking Devices and Hacking Programs have the following characteristics: They act in the user's Hacking Area. They do not require LoF to act, unless the Hacking Program's own description states otherwise.
Thats true for the active turn. But RAW they do not gain an ARO to act. Edit: Ok, so reading it twice again, I get where you're coming from. Still, I think it could be made a little more clear.
Thanks for sorting that out for me. Further question that goes in the same direction. Is it intended that Stealth is not working in the situation described in the initial post? From Stealth (P113): If the user declares a Short Movement Skill or Cautious Movement within the Zone of Control of one or more enemies and stays outside their LoF, he does not grant AROs to those enemies. No word on the hacking area here
Just to try to fill in the blanks, I think the hacker gets an ARO because of the third bullet in the left column of page 20. It says that an ARO declaration is considered valid if an enemy trooper actives within LoF or ZoC, or (third bullet): - It has a Special Skill, weapon, or piece of Equipment allowing it to react to enemy actions without LoF. The Hacking Device doesn't explicitly say that it allows the user to _react_ without LoF, but it does say that it allows them to use hacking without LoF. Given @ijw 's comments and the way we know hacking works, obviously this is intended to mean that the hacking device also confers an ARO by allowing the hacker to react with a hacking program within hacking area. This does raise a few questions for me: 1. (As above) does stealth prevent a hacking attack when the active trooper is in hacking area but outside ZoC? RAW it would appear not. 2. Can a hacker still ARO with a hacking program that doesn't target the active trooper? i.e. can you still put down White Noise anywhere in your hacking area? Can an EVO put up Controlled Jump for free the first time someone acts in their hacking area? 3. In the example on p.61, a Shrouded hacker declares Idle. A KoJ (hackable, not a hacker) is outside LoF and ZoC, but inside the Shrouded's hacking area. The KoJ declares a Reset ARO. Why does the KoJ have an ARO at this stage? I would think it would only get an ARO after the Shrouded declares its second skill and tries to hack the KoJ.
1. As currently written, Stealth only stops AROs within ZoC. This is flagged for a rewrite to correct this, but I have no idea when. Not in the immediate future, though. 2. White Noise is no longer an ARO Program, partly for this reason. Controlled Jump would be fine, though, and a good idea. 3. @HellLois?
@QueensGambit, that P61 example should not be valid in RAW. This would have been my next question in this context. Thanks for asking.
