Shooting into combat

Simple question, caused a fair ammount of argument last night.

Can you shoot into a combat, if the model on your side, is knocked down/stunned?

eg

player 1's Youngblood is knocked down, in combat with player 2's Vampire, can player 1, shoot at the Vampire with a marksman, thats on an elevated position?

I can't find specific mention, but in numerous places it states or implies that you are not engaged in combat if your opponents are knocked down or stunned.

From that I would personally take it that they can be shot.

i'd have agreed, but is there anywhere that states,

"you are not considered in combat against opponents that are knocked down / stunned"

No, the opposite. You are still in combat, but you may leave it, if all enemies are stunned or knocked down.

Quote :

Once models are engaged in hand-to-hand combat
they cannot move away during their movement
phase. They must fight until they are either taken out
of action, until they take out their enemies, or until
one or the other breaks and runs.
The exception to this rule is that if all a model’s close
combat opponents are knocked down or stunned, he
may move away from the combat if you wish, and
even charge other enemies within range.

I have certainly never seen anything that said or implied that you are not in combat if your opponent is knocked down or stunned!

You could always house rule that if an enemy will have an opportunity to strike a knocked down* model, you may shoot into that melee. The reason you can't normally is because you could hit your own guy - and while that is still true, his chances of surviving are arguably better with the shot, if he is about to be smacked while KDed.

*If it is your turn to shoot, I can't figure a way one of your guys would be stunned, since you will have just gone through a recovery phase.

I personally don't think that I see anything wrong with it.

Fluff wise you cannot shot into close combat because the warriors are moving too much and there is too great a risk of hitting your own warrior. If your warrior is knocked down (or stunned if possible) then there will not be much moving around and the warrior is already at a great risk of being taken out of action by the enemy. It may need to be a house rule I guess.

In my circle we made the house-rule that if you were in combat and all your opponents were knocked down or stunned then *everything* was allowed. If it can only be done when you are in combat then it is allowed. If you are only allowed to do it if you are not in combat then it is allowed. It is a quantum state where you are both in combat and not in combat depending on the observer.

I like that house rule a lot Lord 0