Elaro wrote:@JubA)The novels are inconsistent and mostly depict heroes, not grunts
All of 40k is inconsistent, that includes the tabletop game. Do power swords cut through terminator armor as they did before the melee weapon AP change or do they do just as well as a chainsword as it is with the current rules? Can marines fire overwatch as they do in the current rules or can't they based on older editions? Can bolters do real damage (immobilize or destroy a weapon) to an AV10 target, or do they merely glance and remove a hullpoint?
The rules are no more consistent over a span of years than the novels. So I question your desire to use the table top as your baseline.
B)Real world engagements favor certain tactics which aren't used on the tabletop, and so far, Eternal Crusade [REDACTED] which is why I want to know what TableTop In Real Time looks like.
Leapfrogging happens on the tabletop, taking cover happens, taking elevated positions happens, flanking happens (even though it gives no advantage rules wise), suppressive fire happens. In the broad strokes allowed by a finite set of rules, 40k does a reasonable job allowing real world tactics to be used. Some things work better and others worse due to the various weapons and armors involved, but it's all there.
What do you feel isn't represented on the table top?
Better question: if a SM/CSM survives 2 seconds* under constant fire from 1 boltgun, how long would an ork last?
*game still in alpha, values subject to change.
How are you deriving your 2-second number, or is it just a value that works for the game you're playing?
In any case, if we must go by the tabletop, a space marine shooting at another space marine will require ~9 shots (assumed to be 9 four round bursts of bolter fire) to kill another space marine. This would take roughly 5 combat rounds if the enemy was within rapid fire range the entire time. If we assume that each shot hits the space marine and his armor can absorb 6 bolter hits (24 rounds) before taking a wound. The tabletop rules are vague as to what wounded means, aside from the model no longer being able to fight.
As for your ork, are we talking a standard ork boy, a boy wearing heavy armor, a nob, a meganob, a loota, a tank busta?
If it's a standard boy it takes roughly 3 rounds if we're taking rolling hits into account, and 2 rounds if we assume that each round hits. This makes the standard boy 3 times less resistant to bolter fire than a marine. If we give that same ork a cybork body those numbers go to just over 3 and 2 respectively. Wearing some 'eavy armor they take twice as many hits to go down as a standard ork so 6 and 4 rounds respectively. Nobz take twice the firepower a boy does to bring down. So 6 and 4 in a t-shirt, and 12 and 8 in 'eavy armor.
If you want to go by table top you need to decide if bolters fire 720 rpm (24 rounds in 2 seconds) and assuming all rounds hit, or 1,080 (36 rounds in 2 seconds) assuming some rounds may miss. Or if they ought to fire faster or slower than either of those numbers. My two bits says that a 720 rpm cyclic rate of fire would be just fine for a bolter and that 1,080 seems a little fast. I'd also hazard a guess that some random bit of fluff sets the value at something entirely different to either of those numbers...
That said, go with what feels good and seems to fit your game over trying to strictly match the tabletop or the fluff. You're bound to have hardcore fans nitpicking you on the minutia either way.
