Timing of Panic

[GrahamCrackerGaming]

Howdy! When does a unit check for panic? I'm finding a dissonance in the templating in the CRB and I'm asking for clarification. I apologize if it seems pedantic or overly rules-y, but I'm hoping that this clarification helps the players understand how Panic works.

Regarding using a Commander's Courage for Panic:

"When a unit checks to see if it is panicked, instead of using its own courage value, it may use the courage value of a friendly Commander unit at Range 3." - CRB 2.6 p 24 (emphasis mine)

I know the timing of panic has been a question since CRB 2.5, and its transition from a Rally Step effect to a Status effect:

"If a unit has a number of suppression tokens equal to or greater than double its courage value, it is panicked." - CRB 2.6 p15

My clarification question is this: the phrase "when a unit checks to see if it is panicked" is written as though it is a triggered effect bc of the "when/then" language. However, there is no event that triggers panic - a unit either meets the conditions or doesn't. Am I correct in assuming that the Aura of Courage is constant, as is the panic status?

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Some examples:

A courage 1 unit with 3 suppression is at range half of a POI. They are at Range 3 of a friendly commander (courage 2). They still contest that objective. (True/False?)

Comment: If the Commander's Courage clause above only refers to checking for panic after their rally step to determine if they have actions, it would not apply during scoring.

A courage 1 unit with 2 suppression holds an Asset. They are at Range 3 of a friendly commander (courage 2). During its activation, the commander moves and is no longer at range 3 of the courage 1 unit, so the unit immediately becomes panicked and drops its asset after the commander completes its move action. (True/False?)

Comment: This mostly demonstrates that there is not a specific point in time to "check for panic" - Panic is a constant status and things that affect panic are immediate.

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--Graham

[Seth]

Hi Graham!

48 minutes ago, GrahamCrackerGaming said:

Am I correct in assuming that the Aura of Courage is constant, as is the panic status?

That is correct; a unit is panicked if at any time it has suppression tokens equal to or greater than its courage value (or a nearby Commander unit's Courage Value)!

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48 minutes ago, GrahamCrackerGaming said:

A courage 1 unit with 3 suppression is at range half of a POI. They are at Range 3 of a friendly commander (courage 2). They still contest that objective. (True/False?)

True; they are not panicked and will contest the POI.

48 minutes ago, GrahamCrackerGaming said:

A courage 1 unit with 2 suppression holds an Asset. They are at Range 3 of a friendly commander (courage 2). During its activation, the commander moves and is no longer at range 3 of the courage 1 unit, so the unit immediately becomes panicked and drops its asset after the commander completes its move action. (True/False?)

True; the unit will become panicked if a Commander unit is no longer at range 3 of it.

Hope this helps,
Seth