Hello again, fellas~

So, me and my roleplaying group are having a bit of a disagreement about how dodging flamers work. One of our party believes that you can dodge the flamer attack, and then if you fail to dodge it, make an agility test to dodge it, and then if you fail both of those you make the aglity test to avoid being caught on fire. So all in all he thinks its 2 chances to avoid the flamer damage (dodge reaction+ag test), and 1 chance to avoid being caught on fire (ag test). 

I don't think that's correct. It seems to me that what the rules are saying is that you don't get to make a dodge test at all, seemingly because it isn't a standard shooting attack that you roll BS for, etc. You roll just the ag test to avoid getting hit, and if you fail that, you roll a second ag test to avoid getting set on fire.

So, which one of us is correct?

Thanks in advance guys!

He is.

You can Dodge the flame attack IF your AB allows you to move out of the Area of Effect, just as when dodging grenades. See rules for dodging AoE weapons on p193.

Then, if you cannot attempt, or fail your Dodge, you are in the Area of Effect and follow the rules as normal. The Agility test to avoid being hit replaces the attackers BS-test, and the second test to avoid catching fire is treated the same for all fire-weapons (ie shotguns with Inferno shells, or psychic fireballs).

This became slightly clearer with Black Crusade, where they split the existing Flame Quality into 2 seperate effects: Spray (which deals with the to-hit / aility to avoid being hit), and Flame (which deals with putting people on fire, Agility to put out the flames).

How do you determine the AOE size of the flamer cone, though? Blast weapons have a number in meters that clearly defines whether or not you can get a dodge test against it. Flamers do not.

A friend of mine math'd out how big the cone would be based off of the 20 meter length, 30 degree width, and came up with ~11 meters at the cone's widest point. Surely the writer of the flame rule didn't intend for you to have to try to math it out, though?

It's probably lifted from the tabletop battle-game where you use plastic templates. 

But yeah, you have to calculate the width of the cone as a function of the distance from the shooter. Its a linear function, and ends at the weapons given Range. The width at any point is ~0,54 * the distance from the shooter, which is 5,4m at 10m range, 10,8 at 20.

You could make a little table, like the one below, or you could just wing it :)

yeah those rules are wacky. If you are engulfed by 11 meters of prometheon fire, how do you escape that by simply rolling an agi test? This becomes even more strange after actually failing a dodge test.

Well, if you were at the very end of the flamers range, where the widht of the cone is about 11m, you simply have to take a step back…

There are very few (if any) places inside this template where you can't dodge to an edge with an AB of 4.

However, if used indoors, on bridges or with other clever usees of scenery, you may not be able to dodge outside the effects.

Darth Smeg said:

Having played the Table-top game for years this is a pretty accurate portrayal for the weapon.  It's ideally used to soften or break the morale of a lightly armored unit that's entrenched in bunkers, and isn't used so much in a firefight.

The real advantage of the flamer is using it in tandem with another acolyte with a blast weapon.  An NPC, or player, only receives one reaction per round.  The frag grenade from an ally (a very cheap and effective tool) combined with a flamer is a very potent way to clear a room.  (of course, not dice proof)

That chart emphasizes the advantage a standard sized flamer has over a hand-flamer.  Range on a flamer matters.

EDIT:  It appears that 20m is the ideal range to engulf all but the speediest of foes, no?

IdOfEntity said:

Just because my table goes to 25m doesn't mean that your flamer does.

Engaging enemies at almost maximum range makes it possible for them do doge backwards. A regular flamer has a range of 20, which means that at 16+m people with AB of 4 can leap back instead of to the sides (or more likely, diagonally forwards and to the side, straight towards the closest edge of the template.)

Thanks for all the replies, guys! 

I sent FFG a an email asking the same question before making this thread. They finally replied after a week.

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Hi Isaiah! 

That makes sense. So basically the target(s) get one chance to dodge, and if  they lack the dodge talent, they get  a freebie chance to dodge anyway.

You make an Ag test to advoid the flame attack. You would only use a Dodge skill if your GM allows it and if you have Dodge +10 or Dodge +20, because there is no point in using your dodge skill if you don't have the skill beyond basic because otherwise you would be halfing your chances to advoid the flame attack.

Now if you have failed your Ag test and take damage you will proceed in having to take another Ag test to advoid being set on fire.

So in final you take the first Ag test to advoid the flame attack, you take the second Ag to advoid being set on fire.

wow shit just got real with cleanse & purify

vogue69 said:

Very much so.  An acolyte with a flamer and associated talents can make a low Ag NPC's life very short.  Even high Ag NPC's have to be wary in confined quarters since they'll be deprived of that dodge attempt.  And any NPC using a weapon that needs to be braced (sans Bulging Biceps) makes a great target as well.

And we all know what energy weapons can do to a sufficiently cooked NPC's ammunition, right?  Gibbets ensue.

I am not convinced. Many of the questions I have seen answered officially by FFG have clearly shown they haven't read the rules in detail, that they have gone with their gut on it rather than thinking through the rules thoroughly, or that they have been thinking about one of the rulings in one of the other games in the line rather than the one mentioned.

Flamers have always simply replaced the "to hit" roll with the agility test to avoid being hit. Cleanse and Purify is essentially a way to compensate for the fact that you cannot actually increase your ability with it otherwise. The ability to dodge is an entirely seperate ability. The rules for dodging the flamer are covered by dodging area affect weapons already mentioned, ie that you can only dodge them if you can reach the edge of the area with your agility bonus. Change this and suddenly they often become noticable better than other weapons (as they only get 1 opportunity to avoid being hurt by it, rather than the two that every other weapon allows).

I personally feel this ruling was simply a result of the person making it going "It doesn't sound right that they should get to avoid it twice" and making the ruling on that basis.

Flamers are best used in confined spaces, where the target does not have the opportunity to reach the edge of the area of effect, such as enclosed rooms, tight alleys, etc. This reflects their best realistic use, where they are used for clearing out bunkers, buildings and the like, rather than as a general field weapon.