Say you are playing 'Doomed Station', and the following situation came up:

The station must move at least 1, and no more than 2, distance straight towards the rift. Obviously it cannot do either of those things, as the Gozer is in the way.

Theoretically, the rules cover that...

Bullet 3 in the 'Toward' section on page 4 of RitR:

Quote

If that object cannot be moved its specified minimum distance, it must be moved from its current position as close as possible to the line that marks the end of the specified minimum distance band.

Emphasis added, because if we check the rules on 'move obstacles', bullet 1 on page 3 of RitR:

Quote

The obstacle, at its final position, cannot overlap ships, squadrons, other obstacles, or tokens in the play area.

If there was enough room for the station between the Gozer and the Interdictor, this would not be an issue - obviously we'd just move the station up till it hits the Gozer, problem solved. But it won't fit between the two ships (even rotated). There is, indeed, no position you could place this obstacle according to these two rules where it doesn't break one or more of them.

Soooo...do you just skip movement of this obstacle? It's stuck where it is? Or do you move it up against the Gozer anyway, ignoring the 'cannot overlap a ship' restriction as it will still be under the Interdictor? (And by what basis are you ignoring 'cannot overlap a ship' restriction such that you don't just move it all the way forward under the Gozer, too? I mean, if you are ignoring the rule, you are ignoring the rule, no?)

It's stuck in place.

1 hour ago, Formynder4 said:

It's stuck in place.

A reasonable interpretation, sure. But based on what rule/FAQ/etc?

(I mean, heck, following the sequence outlined in the 'move obstacles' and 'towards' rules literally you pick up the obstacle to move it, then have no legal place to put it back down, so...it'd just disappear off the table, apparently?)

It remains in place, because it cannot move. Since it did not move, it doesn't need to fulfill the other requirements needed of "if move, do not be overlapped".

But here are the rules references you are looking for from the RitR booklet.

"When an obstacle moves, the player moving that obstacle can choose for it to remain in its current position, unless a minimum movement distance is specified.'

So in the case of "TOWARDS" which is what it is referring too.

"If that object cannot be moved its specified minimum distance, it must be moved from its current position as close as possible to the line that marks the end of the specified minimum distances band."

@xanderf Rift Assault? Are you talking about Doomed Station?

6 hours ago, Bertie Wooster said:

@xanderf Rift Assault? Are you talking about Doomed Station?

Edited, sorry.

Seems everyone got the right idea, though.

On 2/24/2020 at 8:13 PM, xanderf said:

But based on what rule/FAQ/etc?

Based on logic. There are rules laid out for movement. If you can't fill the rules, then you can't perform a movement.

Given the choices, if there’s no direct statement, I would PERSONALLY choose the least disruptive incidence.

Not moving is much kinder to the game state then trying to remove, move and replace what could easily amount to multiple squadrons and ships.

Not to say its not a possibility, but I’m personally reluctant to recommend it without something more explicit.

Officially resolved in the new FAQ. The obstacle does not move.

...although, can be rotated, apparently?

23 minutes ago, xanderf said:

...although, can be rotated, apparently?

As long as it follows rules for moving, which include not overlapping ships. So if it is already overlapping a ship, you can't rotate it.