# guess range



## Dafistofmork (Jan 9, 2009)

i have seen that most people have had a little bit of difficulty guessing range, so i have devloped 2 equations to help splatter your foe:
the first is for anything that fires like a cannon:

L-(D1+D2+M1+M2)-6=Guess Range
so what does this algebra mean?

L is the length of the gaming board. if you set up on a standard board long edge to long edge (like in the front of the rulebook) then this will be 48.

D1 is how far your warmachine deployed onto the board. so if it deployed 8" on, D1 is 8.

D2 is how far the opposing unit deployed onto the board. normaly this will be 12. look closley at how your opponent deploys!

M1 is how far your warmachine has moved so far. if it is turn 2, and you moved 0" each turn, then this is 0

M2 is how far your opponent has moved. if it is turn 2 and he has moved 8" a turn, then it is 16.

-6 is to balance out the "extra gunpowder" or the first artillery roll (not the bounce roll!).

so using this forumula and the examples we can see that:
48-(8+12+0+16)-6=18, so you guess 18"
with luck your shot should land on the first or second rank, or just in front. carefull aiming can lead to you killing your opponents character as well!

for stone thowers it is similar, but you miss off the -6, the scatter adds too much unpredictability, and you want it dead on.

so that equation again:
*L-(D1+D2+M1+M2)-6=GR*
hope you like it.


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## teh1337llama (May 16, 2009)

just a quick thing- , as 46-8+12+0+16-6=60, the equation should look more like this- L-(D1+D2+M1+M2-6)=GR. I don't play fantasy, but i understand guess range and stuff, and this is an awesome equation. nice job!


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## Dafistofmork (Jan 9, 2009)

ah, i failed A-level maths anyway.
thanks!


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## squeek (Jun 8, 2008)

Nice thought Dafist, definitely rep worthy as I meet plenty of players that can't get their heads round the guessing thing, so I'd guess lots of people will find it useful! 

Just one very minor thing, a normal 4'x6' table is 48"x72". Not sure where you got 46" from?

I'd say it is very important to keep track of how far your opponent moves and where they deploy, it gives you a much better idea with charges and so on as well as shooting.


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## Dafistofmork (Jan 9, 2009)

well, that explains a lot!
thanks for the rep!


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## Lord Sinkoran (Dec 23, 2006)

nice equation dude. i'll try it in my next game with my empire


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## Dafistofmork (Jan 9, 2009)

thats the plan!


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## newsun (Oct 6, 2008)

of course this only works when firing at things directly ahead, good for that though. most of the time I park my canons in a corner often opposite each other so that they don't both get gacked by a single war machine hunter. This also will often give one a flank while the other is shooting a front, great for single rank knights.

The technique I use is based on my knowledge of what 12" is visually. You can practice getting this down by taking a ruler and flipping it end over end to start getting an idea.

Other things you want to consider:

Are you just trying to hit a single model like a dragon or a chariot, in this case you can guess about 8-10" back as you just need the final bounce to smack them.

Are you trying for a whole rank/file, then maybe better go 6-8" or so short.


Sometimes you are actually trying to hit a model behind the unit you are targeting. In this case you still need to guess close so you are not being douchey, but guessing about spot on is generally ok with most opponnents.

Hope this helps.


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## neilbatte (Jan 2, 2008)

When I was in the army we were taught to guess ranges by setting a size we know and overlaying into the space however many times it would fit obviously we used football fields but by scaling it down it still works on the toy soldiers battlefield.
The only part that makes guessing ranges difficult is relying on the scatter dice the one dice that hates me more than anything which is why I prefer normal cannons rather than stonethrowers or mortars.


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## NagashKhemmler (Apr 28, 2009)

Here is a handy formula: Range = 48 - YC -TETU + Q

YC - Your catapault
TETU - Their unit from table edge
Q = Quater

If straight ahead Q = 0
If in the inner quarters Q = 2
If in the outer Quarters Q = 4

These are rough guides but I am rarely off with a guess and I use catapaults almost exclusively...

Also, before the game check the ranges to pieces of terrain, this will help with your guessing, medievil armies did this to help them with their own accuracy and ranging archers and such.


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## Dafistofmork (Jan 9, 2009)

thats an intersting one. i guess its all about finding the calculation that suites you in the end.


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## squeek (Jun 8, 2008)

neilbatte said:


> When I was in the army we were taught to guess ranges by setting a size we know and overlaying into the space however many times it would fit obviously we used football fields but by scaling it down it still works on the toy soldiers battlefield.
> The only part that makes guessing ranges difficult is relying on the scatter dice the one dice that hates me more than anything which is why I prefer normal cannons rather than stonethrowers or mortars.


I also learnt this approach way back when. I tend to either visualise a series of 12" like newsun mentioned, or more often than not how many blocks of Orcs it is.

When charging with my Orcs I know they are 25mm bases, I know they have 4 ranks (for example) so the unit is 100mm or 4" deep. Therefore if something is more than 2 blocks of Orcs away from them they wont be able to charge it.


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## Dafistofmork (Jan 9, 2009)

thats how i learnt how far my dwarfs could charge, because 4 ranks of dwarfs is 3", double it and you have 6", then times that by 3 to get 18", the old organ gun range. i never over shot my organ gun with the old range.


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## HorusReborn (Nov 19, 2008)

wow.. I just like to guess, but nice equation, a little too mathamatical for me man!!! Well done!


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## Dafistofmork (Jan 9, 2009)

:rage: WD has stolen my equation! its right there in an empire tactica! :rage:


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## Tha Tall One (Aug 16, 2008)

It's a nice formula but i don't need it. Once shot a Oldblood with a hellcanon at 46,5" range, spot on. THAT's what I call canon-sniping! And really, there was no measurements or maths involved.


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## Dafistofmork (Jan 9, 2009)

well, if you can guess then thats great for you, us lesser mortals on the other hand...:wink:


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