SKIRMISH - Is it optional?

[Verchild]

Please Note - I ment to post this as " SKIRMISH - Is it optional "

A friend and I were having a game yesterday where he had some Ungor Raiders with bows, 2 units of 5. And asked the question "Can I not have them use the skirmish rule? "

While it seemed like a random question it created an interesting pause to our normal thought process.

With the rule, they get the benefit of -1 to hit via range, and get a "free reform" as they move.
With out it, they lose those benefits, but would then in theory benifit like any other normally "ranked" unit.
House rules can trump the rulebook, and we play friendly games 100% of the time so in the end it wouldn't bother me.

I want to say right off the bat, I believe the answer is no they can't choose if they want to use it or not "Its part of the way they were trained to fight, blah blah blah ". But I figured for the sake of argument has this question ever been asked before? What are your thoughts?

[Artiee]

"Its part of the way they were trained to fight, blah blah blah ".
Thats a good answer.

If they don't use the skirmisher rule then they are just a unit of Ungor Herds. The Raiders would just a Ranked unit with bows. They would lose all there "special" abilitys. Like march 10 inches and fire, or reform to the rear, march 7 inches and reform to the front and fire. The Ranked unit with bows would only be able to shoot when they reformed if they pass a leadership test for a swift reform, which requires a musician.

BRB answer? No, they have to use thier rule.
Houserule? Go for it.

[Moss]

In many cases, you can pay less points for a non-skirmishing form of a given unit (skinks, for example). Just take said option.

That sounds like a good house rule as long as you don't abuse it. I imagine that ranked up dryads can be pretty devastating in the right WE army.

[Ultimate Life Form]

"Its part of the way they were trained to fight, blah blah blah ".
Thats a good answer.

No, actually the answer would be "it's listed under their special rules in bold letters".

No, skirmish is not optional. Just like any other rule. Or maybe I should decide that Vampire Counts crumbling is optional, too.

If you want to play it this way with your friends... no one's gonna stop you. However don't be surprised when people enforce the actual rules in normal games.

[Jezbot]

It isn't optional, because as much as skirmishing is typically seen as an enhancement to a unit in Warhammer, in reality fighting in close formation required a fair amount of specialist training and unit discipline.

This isn't just an idle bit of theory, either, Dryads are kept from being a really good main combat unit by their skirmishing status, because skirmishing units miss out on some important benefits.

That said, as you've pointed out houserules trump written rules every time, and if you and your mates find it works better for your games to have units elect not to skirmish then all is good.

[Bitten Black Sheep]

In the previous edition the beastmen skirmished - had a 360 degree charge and then formed up into ranks with rank bonuses in combat (max 2).
Obviously you started playing Warhammer too late and missed all the fun.

[T10]

It isn't optional, ...

Certainly the best answer: Well thought out and quite respectful of the OP. One point to Gryffindor!

-T10