VMD and charges that contact new units

[Seldon]

On page 163 (bottom diagram) the charging Romans get the benefit of the +1 VMD since their target evaded away.

However in previous answers I've seen that in a case where the evader can no longer be contacted and new troops are in te way the VMD should not apply to the charger ( in fact in the example in page 163 the roman would not reach if not for the VMD )

Is this a mistake in the example ? Should the VMD ALWAYS be used when the charger escapes ( thus allowing a variable charge distance ) or should a regular charge move be made when the evaders manage to get behind friendly troops ?

thanks,

seldon

[WhiteKnight]

I think the VMD applies in all cases when you choose to charge with a BG. It may not carry you full distance though if you are light troops...see top para on p 60.

Martin

[rbodleyscott]

Neither is exactly right. See the FAQ on http://www.fieldofglory.com/onthefieldofglory/faq.html

If the Gauls were in charge reach (3 MUs) the Romans would not need to take a VMD because the warbands would become a target of the charge once exposed by the Numidians evading, so not all the legions' charge targets would have evaded. (Thus in such circumstance there is no chance of chargers failing to contact non-evading troops who were in normal charge reach).

In the example, the Gauls are more than 3 MUs away, so are not in normal charge reach, so don't become a target of the charge when the Numidians evade. Thus all the charge targets have evaded, so the Romans take a VMD. In this case their VMD was +1 which enables them to contact the Gauls.

[Seldon]

ok, so it looks like

1) unit evades far away
2) if a unit in the charge path is within normal charge range they can become target (no need for VMD for the chargers)
3) if no unit appears within charge range after the target evaded then VMD for chargers, and if they get lucky and capture a unit they would not normally capture then so be it.

In fact the answer in the FAQ is very very clear, I am surprised I didn't see it, maybe it is recent mybe I just overlooked it but I think it is a great clarification

Thanks for the answer glad to get the final understanding in this one.

BTW, not only the authors never sleep or sleep in shifts, but they also cover weekends !

cheers,
seldon