Inat FAQ Question: Necron Command Barge

[Mannahnin]

It's just one of the game's many abstractions, and in this case it's a bit of a limitation on transports.  IMO the rules here are pretty clear.  I'll break it down.

A) To check LOS, the rules have us physically look from the model’s perspective.
B) Models in a transport are not on the table, so you cannot do this.
C) For the purpose of firing a shooting attack (including a psychic shooting attack) only, the transport rules grant permission to draw LOS from a fire point instead of from the physical model.
D) No permission exists for using any other rule (except IG officers giving Orders from inside a Chimera using its command vehicle rule), or for drawing LOS out of (or into) a transport in general.
E) Thus, Anrakyr can’t use MitM from inside a barge, Coteaz can’t use IBEY from inside a Chimera, etc.

For those observing that it would make logical sense for a model inside a CCB to be able to draw LOS, that’s true, but it’s equally true that it would make sense for enemies to be able to draw LOS to him.  The abstraction of the transport rules is also the abstraction protecting your guy/s in that open-topped transport from being shot, which is (on the whole) generally a benefit to them which outweighs the occasional time they’d like to be able to draw LOS out of it.

[andalucien]

Hmm Mannahnin, I didn't think about it from the angle of "you should be able to get shot at as well".  I guess that explains a possible motivation for GW making this rule...

Moving  the discussion more to a pie-in-the-sky game design talk, I still think it's a bad rule.  The rules would be not only more cinematic but SIMPLER if there was only one sort of LOS, and that LOS let you do anything you need LOS for (rather than "shooting los" and "other stuff los").   And, your argument about compensating for the protection afforded by being inside a transport applies equally well to shooting attacks.   A psyker battle squad is allowed to use its arguably more devastating blast attack out of a chimera, but it's a game balance issue for them to be a able to use their other power (weaken resolve)?   Anrakyr can shoot his str 10 AP1 exploding arrow out of the barge, but he can't use Mind in the Machine?   

I guess it keeps coming up with Anrakyr in particular because the visual of him not being able to see out of the barge is a little absurd. He freakin' standing up on top of it, not even really inside anything.