Burst splitting possibilities

All at one time doesn't relieve the requirement that declarations need to be valid at declaration nor does it mean that all positions occupied by a trooper share their unique properties.

2nd case is pretty much explicitly the rules.

From. DTW

"These weapons require no BS Roll to hit. Place the Template down when you declare the Attack to determine what the Attack affects, as that might influence the possible second Short Skill and AROs."

"Q: What happens when a Direct Template Weapon in ARO misses the target because it’s out of range? Does it affect the other troops inside the Template or does it get cancelled?A: The Attack is cancelled."

This FAQ effectively adds a Requirement to DTWs. We know that you check requirements at Declaration, and if an attack fails its requirements at Declaration it becomes an Idle.

So, taken together we know that Bob's attack is cancelled during Step 4, and his ARO is resolved as an Idle. Consequently there's no template for Alice to avoid.

Re: case 3.

Impact Templates also states:
"Place the Template down when you declare the Attack to determine who is affected by that Attack, as that might influence the possible second Short Skill and AROs."

At step 4, when the BS Attack with LSG is declared, the only position that Alice has occupied has cover. So the only valid position for the Impact Template is one that provides Alice cover. The fact that Alice then leaves cover does not change the fact that Bob's player chose to fire Bob's LSG at a position that granted Alice cover.

Uniquely template weapons have that decision fixed at the moment of Declaration rather than being freely decided at Resolution. This play exploits that difference.

 

I think you’re getting confused by the fact that there are two points involved for Line of Fire:
1. Where is the attacker standing?
2. Where is the target standing?

Where the attacker is standing, and who is being shot is specified and becomes fixed upon declaration.
Where the target is standing is what gets determined late (unless you’re firing a template weapon, where placing the template fixes that choice in most ways). You have to be able to see the target when you shoot at it, but after you’ve declared the shot, you get to choose anywhere you could see the target along its movement path.

Note that it is allowed (and even expected) for two troopers exchanging shots as one of them moves to end up firing and getting at different locations if different weapons (different range band modifiers) are being used.

Mostly it’s going to come up for the reactive players.

It “all happens at once” hasn’t been very true at all since 2nd edition. -some- things are treated as simultaneous, and for many things the order of events doesn’t matter.

Try declaring ARO Shoot at a camo marker, claiming the trooper might reveal.
Try declaring a short jump skill at a position you haven’t walked to yet.
Try waiting until the end of the order to place your template weapon templates.

“All at once” is what the rules use as a rationalization for all of the cases where the rules make the order of events equivalent. It’s not a wedge that can be used to declare an attack you know you don’t meet the requirements for.

 

Keep in mind that there is no point in the Order Sequence where you specifically evaluate whether an attack is in range or not. There is a point where you make measurements, but this is not the same as evaluating whether an attack is in range of its target, only the first opportunity to evaluate for most attacks.

Template weapons have a specific and explicit exception to the order sequence that they are placed directly on declaration, so for e.g. a Flamethrower, whether it is in range of its target is immediately apparent on declaration and can be assessed before making measurements. So checking that is an on-going process that is checked as soon as you gain relevant information.

 

Thanks guys!