Discussion on another forum about whether or not my cruiser may mount a single 1/2 unit cannon and a 1/2 unit pump. (along with two normal cannon for toal = 3 units) I've been reading and rereading the rules for 3-4 months now and I thought part 5 allowed any ship to mount a single 1/2 unit gun. Under IRCWCC rules, part 5, cannons "5. Except as provided in section 11.e, below, a ship may mount only a single one-half (½) unit cannon in its offensive armament, and a whole cannon unit shall not be divided into smaller (½ or ¼) unit cannons. and 11 e. Ships in Class 2 or smaller may use their battle units in one-half unit increments for either cannons or pumps." So, ships class 2 and smaller may freely mix as many 1/2 units as they wish. I agree on that one. A class 3 ship (under rule 5) should be able to mount a single only half-unit cannon, leaving it with a 1/2 unit left over for a pump, no? Or have I been reading that stupid thing wrong for the last 4 months? If part 5 says a ship can mount only a single 1/2 unit cannon, then can't I mount one 1/2 unit gun? or does that only apply to a class having an extra .5 units (like a 2.5 unit CL)? See, told you I'd have some newbie questions for you. Mack
Mack; Thanks for asking! A three unit cruiser can only mount full units, a 3.5 cruiser can mount a half unit pump and three full unit guns. Only units with a half unit as part of their units can have half unit pumps in Class 3 and above. Class 2 and below can subdivide their units. Part II.E.5 should probably be clarified more and I will try to remember to do that next rules meeting.
Thanks for the fast response! The "old-timers" (LOL) were saying I couldn't do it but be darned if I could read where it wasn't allowed. I'm ex-military (retired) and had a posting in charge of reviewing and editting military publications for mistakes and ambiguity. Guess it got drummed into me that no rules should be written in a manner that leaves anything to interpretation, no matter how obvious it may be to the person writing them.
sometimes it seems obvious to everybody at the time because they know what they are after but then later when someone new reads it, it sounds like double talk, etc.
Martin, can you, or the IRCWCC website, publish updated rules? ive looked at them, and they seem to be lacking in certain areas. Especially the 1/4 unit deal, what's up with that? Thanks
A number of rule interpretations have been discussed every year or two. Guns in quadrents is another area where the rules are complex and very much specific to the ship in question's layout. I tried to propose a major rule revision several years back but it's hard to make the case that the rewritten language doesn't actually change anything, just makes it clearer. On top of that it is really hard to sort out what happens when several rule change proposals are on the table and what will happen with different variations of each. I think it would be helpful if the interpretations could be written up and posted for reference.
