Just looking at some of the example Squad mode abilities in Rites of Battle I am a bit puzzled. Some of them seem to do... well, very little at all or are totally pointless unless you have several of the same chapter or the right tactical marine.

Namely Tactical Finesse and Swift Advance:

Tactical Finesse says that the Battle-Brother and those within support range can make a half action attack and then make a half move. It also allows them to disengage from melee for no penalty. It costs a full action to use.

- Now if you have the right Tactical Marine and make the Command check (or have several of the same Chapter) then this presumably means that one Space Marine uses their full action and then all relevant Marines can take the half action attack and move. This is all fine. Basically you give other Space Marines another free turn, just with limits on what they do. Quite powerful. The problem is when you are not the right Tactical Marine and there are no other Space Marines of the same Chapter (quite common I would think... certainly no doubling up in the games I am in). In this case this ability seems next to pointless. Basically you use a full action to gain... two half actions. Ok, you get to disengage from melee for no penalty, which could be useful at some points but it seems a bit... unimpressive (ok, still does something, unlike the fan created Raven Guard Attack Patter which does nothing in this case). Now, I understand the squad modes all become better when you can have several Marines benefitting from them, but all the ones from the core rulebook all provide some benefits to the single marine even when they are a unique chapter non-Tactical marine.

Swift Advance says that a Space Marine benefiting from the ability who has sucessfully dodged a ranged attack can then spend their reaction to make a full move.

- Erm... but they will have spent their reaction to dodge the ranged attack. Now I am presuming this should just remove the spending a reaction statement and just be "after successfully dodgeing a ranged attack the Battle Brother can make a full move", but the fact they have bothered to have the "spend their reaction" statement makes me wonder. As written it is only of use to those who have multiple reactions to spend (those with step aside and wall of steel).

Basically I am wondering if I have misunderstood these, whether they have been written incorrecty, or whether they are genuinely a bit... rubbish.

The first one might seem poor, but remember now that there are four (yes: four!) new ways for other Marines to use another Chapter's assault patterns.

Second one does look typo-tastic, though.

Oh, I haven't finished rading the book yet, so I am guessing I am missing extra ways of sharing abilities that come later then.

They're spread around:

Strike team leader and defensive genius Deeds.

Brothers in Blood Distinction

'cross training' to learn a Chapter's tactics - mentioned right near the back under squad mode stuff.

Another way of more generally cross training - same place as above.

Yeah, I really don't like the wording on Swift Advance. Unless you get a "Free" Reaction from it, I'd say roll again. But I'm a player so ask your GM.

Rites of Battle is in general full of soon to be errata'd mess. I was really hoping for more then just Imperial Fists, not just a (how to make your own chapter)anyone with half a brain could figure this out by comparing the ones already given. And the chaplain was a huge let down, just an alternate advancement at rank 4? Really should have been fleshed out into a unique specialty. This is pretty much just a rant I guess, but I do agree that some of the squad modes look hastily written. Last time I 50 bucks on a FFG book.

I agree the chapter creation part was a bit... dissapointing. The only bit that is really hard to work out when creating a chapter are its solo and squad mode abilities, psychic powers and things like chapter trappings. In the end they gave us 4 each of solo and squad abilities (two of the solo modes are generic enough that they can usefully be applied to whatever chapter you want), and said "this is not the place for the rest" and gave us 20 odd pages of fluff creation (surely the easiest part? Anyone who is creating a chapter will have already decided). Now, if the stuff like "Chapter Doctrine" affected the skills on the advance list then I think that would have been fine, but it doesn't. It provides no mechanical guidance what so ever. Rather than "wait till future publications if you want to be an Iron Hands, Salamander, Raven Guard and Scars or their progenitor" they should have cut the "Chapter Creation" part down to 4 pages (that was all you needed. All the important game mechanics parts were done in 2 pages, and 2 pages could have been used to give guidance on fluff stuff) and give use more of the other chapters. They could have saved another 2 pages by cutting down on the Imperial Fists who got 4 pages on background stuff, unlike the 2 that all the Chapters got in the main rulebook... and I don't really think Imperial Fists strike me as the Chapter that needs the most explaining.

Most of the other stuff in the book has struck me as quite good though. The Deeds were a good addition (essentially background packages), new equipment is good (though needs some clarification... like does Deathwatch Scout Armour get the penalty to move silently etc? Going strictly by the rules it does but it makes little sense when you think of its purpose... but then I have not been keen on their approach to armour and sneaking anyway), Vehicles are good, extra rules for game stuff is good and the background stuff at the end looks ok.

On the squad mode abilities I have actually taken both the ones I mentioned while playing as a Raven Guard. They seemed the most appropriate, as they seemed to be about keeping mobile during combat, which suits the hit-and-fade style of the Raven Guard. Swift Advance the GM has decided is a typo and so you can use if you successfully dodge, without spending the non-existant extra Reaction.

Not that they will usually play any role in the game as I am unlikely to use my squad abilities anyway (they would be a bit of a waste of cohesion as an Apothecary and the only Raven Guard, and none of the players having any mode sharing abilities aside from the Tactical Marine).