These Things Are Important

Corwin said - "Are you serious? It's obvious the new rules are supposed to replace the second and third paragraphs, not sentences. You seem to spend an unhealthy amount of time rules-lawyering and RAW-exploiting lately. Nothing good will come out of it."


I, honestly, was at a bit of a loss when I read this.





Firstly, I suppose, I should be grateful for the concern over my health.  It's not what it would be nice to have, but I'm still in good enough shape.  I probably drink too much and definitely don't do enough exercise, but given my hobbies that's no real shock.  My mental health is fine too, I'm on a pretty even keel.


Clearly, I'm not meant to take it literally then.


Well, let me just quote myself...
"Anyone fields Harlequins (from either Codex, I'm not a dickhead) against me until this is fixed (assuming, in fairness it is a mistake, not a buff.  Not, for instance, Phil Kelly's parting act of Eldar-boosting) against me, they get both the Spotting Distance mechanic, and the +3 to their Cover saves.  They're still T3 and I gots me some Flamers, what's the big deal?"


Note that I say nothing about fielding Harlies myself.  Indeed, I'm not sure I want to.  Maybe I'll write a list, see what I could squeeze in with 4 units of them, but I specifically discuss playing AGAINST them, and GRANTING them the benefit of the RaW - which is about as far from exploitation as possible.


More interesting though, is this concept of it being MY fault the rules are badly written.


People talk as though the game was perfectly fine except that I'm picking holes where none exist (they do) and ruining it somehow.


I can has analogy?


Let's say you were in a marriage, and your wife cheated on you.  I, as your friend, tell you about it.


Am I the one ruining your relationship? Really?? Fuck no.  Your relationship has gone.  Sure, maybe you can fix it still - but it'll require a hell of a lot of work, and AT NO POINT did the blame fall on my shoulders.


Well, 40k is cheating on you my friends, and I'm blowing the whistle on her scurrilous behaviour.  Disgustingly, she's cheating on you with her cousin, WFB, but the who couldn't make it better.


If I don't tell you about flaws in the game or it's wording, they don't 'not exist'.


I'm a smart guy, sure.  I'm good at spotting these flaws, fine.  I discuss the majority of these with a cadre of other players IRL before they get close to being posted, so there's the extra scrutiny of that dynamic, yes.


But the flaws exist either way - and even if I didn't spot them, someone would, and would use them somewhere, sometime, possibly against you, and you'd think they were a complete dickhead when perhaps they were only doing what the rules actually said, and they genuinely read them that way.


Far better you think I'm over-zealous and resolve these things for your own local playerbases before they come up in the heat of a game and damage actual friendships...if you think you like me less for posting about them, well, that's a shame but I'll get over it.


For what it's worth, I'm not intent on 'exploiting' anything.  I always give opponents the benefit of any doubt unless they're a dickhead, or the game is to prove to them that 6th isn't the Best Thing Ever (TM).  If it's the former or they think the latter, it's their own fault, and they can deal with it.  Don't shoot the messenger because you are afraid of agreeing with the message.