# Space Marine Codex FAQ



## Syph (Aug 3, 2008)

Games Workshop have released the Space Marine Codex FAQ on their website:

[if]http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m2250129_CodexSpaceMarinesFAQ_Jan2009[/if]

Enjoy.


----------



## Trevor Drake (Oct 25, 2008)

nice, so relicblade and stormshield have been solved, along with the razorbacks config of lascannon and two TL plasmaguns are two seperate weapons. Very nice work Syph, keep it up bubba.


----------



## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

So you can take a storm shield and relic blade... great, but wouldn't that require 3 hands? Does that mean that only terminators can take the combo?


----------



## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

Tim/Steve said:


> So you can take a storm shield and relic blade... great, but wouldn't that require 3 hands? Does that mean that only terminators can take the combo?


As someone who's dabbled in reenactment, I can tell you that you don't need three hands to wield a greatsword and a shield. That's pretty meaningless in game terms, but the point is, if you've got a strap shield, your hand is free. Even if the storm shield is slung over the back while you're using the greatsword, presumably the force field is in effect from the shield, if you need some kind of in-game justification. Anywhoo, there aren't restrictions on using one and two handed weapons anymore. You could have a Space Marine Captain with a pair of storm bolters, for example, if you felt like it. He could only fire one per turn, but that's not a restriction of the function of one vs. two-handed weapons, it's a rule regarding shooting with models that have multiple ranged attacks. Anyone with the option to take both a relic blade and storm shield can have the combination, terminator-armoured or not-- although now that you mention it, a terminator with a huge storm shield and wielding a relic blade one-handed sounds pretty cool...



I'm surprised the relic blade & storm shield was ever an issue. I suppose old habits do die hard though, with the restrictions on one and two-handed weapons being gone now. The rules always seemed pretty clear to me that since that restriction has been lifted in codecies printed with 5th Edition (i.e., no armoury) in mind, whatever you could take, you could use in conjunction with one another unless it specifically said otherwise.

The razorback issue is more interesting. I'd have thought the plasma and the lascannon were destroyed together, the same way a dreadnought close combat arm and storm bolter are destroyed together, for example. The wording for it implies they're two components of a single system in the Codex. The FAQ ruling, however, makes the points cost of that upgrade much more reasonable, though, I think.


----------



## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

Added to the FAQ forum

Seems like no brainer stuff.

People who complained about relic blade/storm shield always baffled me.

The rules never conflicted with one another, it's just when people try using their version of logic that it hangs up, and that's only because people assume a shield is somehow held in your hand instead of strapped to your arm. Hell, it's a fancy looking force field generator, you don't even need to move the thing around to work it. One person's idea of 'common sense' isn't always common and doesn't always make sense.

Reminds me of when people complained about Chaos Marines needing three hands to carry their bolters, pistols and chainswords...because nobody;s heard of holsters, scabbards and shoulder straps ;-)


----------



## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

frequently asked questions?, no there not, thats just a page of dumb answers to dumb questions, FDQ would be more accurate, frequently dumb questions


----------



## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

Nicely said, Stella.

Interesting that Hellfire Rounds can no longer glance vehicles. Wonder what the reasoning for that was. Means that if you take a Hellfire Round Captain, he can no longer shoot at a Vehicle. A little thing. But it makes a difference - the amount of times I've fired a Bolt Pistol (from whatever) at a vehicle that I couldn't charge and done some damage that's affected it in game I can't count.


----------



## Lord Reevan (May 1, 2008)

good find. Kinda small though. I'd expect there to be a few more questions but they're more rulebook related...


----------



## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

Thanks for the update.


----------



## Marshal Balian (Apr 25, 2008)

Nice to get the update from here than searching through the jungle they call the GW website(a most user unfriendly site now).


----------



## Wusword77 (Aug 11, 2008)

you think they'd put in the FAQ a question like this:

"You've made a kit for every unit in the space marine army, will we be seeing an Iron Clad Dread any time soon?"

though Strorm sheilds and relic blades could make for an insane looking model if done right.


----------



## tu_shan82 (Mar 7, 2008)

Syupid GW. They do a FAQ and answer a silly question like the relic blade/stormshield combo, and totally ignore a lot of serious questions that need answering. Does Vulkan He'stans chapter tactics work with SOB allies? Who knows they forgot to answer the fuckin question!


----------



## Someguy (Nov 19, 2007)

I agree that there are questions that they've missed and that all the stuff they have said is pretty obvious. However, I wouldn't say that there is all that much stuff to clear up with the SM codex, and the rules in it are actually pretty solid.

There are a couple of things people argue about that this doesn't address. Hestan and sisters are one and the chainfist on the ironclad is another. Oh well.


----------



## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Sweet, I really need to find a Salamanders player for an Ally... looks to me like Vulkan gives all friendly units rerolls on thos flamer/metla weaponry; rule is certainly written differently then the others... your right, I would love to see clarification of that one in the FAQ.


----------



## Wusword77 (Aug 11, 2008)

well the vulkan rule replaces the chapter tactics so I dont think it applies


----------



## Lash Machine (Nov 28, 2008)

It does state it replaces chapter tactics but what it does not state is whether he can take a command squad or honour guard squad. The fluff says he is the salamanders chapter master but the rules do not define whether he is a chapter master or captain.


----------



## Tim/Steve (Jan 25, 2009)

Not in Vulkans case- all the other say X replaces chapter tactics... read Vulkans more carefully: His rule says that all units lose Chapter Tactics and that Flamers etc get twin-linked... doesn't say that only units with chapter tactics get the upgrade


----------



## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Lash Machine said:


> The fluff says he is the salamanders chapter master but the rules do not define whether he is a chapter master or captain.


because he is neither a captain or chapter master, and the fluff says he isn't, he is master of the forge if I remember correctly


----------



## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

Stella Cadente said:


> because he is neither a captain or chapter master, and the fluff says he isn't, he is master of the forge if I remember correctly


Vulkan is the Forgefather. It's a bit different than the Master of the Forge. Vulkan's duty is to track down the Primarch's artifacts while a Master of the Forge is the lead Techmarine of the Chapter.

Just thought I'd clear that up. :good:


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

He USED to be a Captain (of the 4th Company to be exact- what is it with GW and their love the of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th companies? When is the 5th company going to get some love?). Just thought I'd throw that out there to potentially muddy the waters


----------



## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Katie Drake said:


> Vulkan is the Forgefather. It's a bit different than the Master of the Forge. Vulkan's duty is to track down the Primarch's artifacts while a Master of the Forge is the lead Techmarine of the Chapter.
> 
> Just thought I'd clear that up. :good:


meh close enough :biggrin:, there both equal in mediocrity


----------



## Mivarlocht (Jan 26, 2009)

The Son of Horus said:


> there aren't restrictions on using one and two handed weapons anymore.


Is that in the 5ed rulebook? If so, do you know which page? I honestly cannot find it, provided it is in there.


----------



## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

Mivarlocht said:


> Is that in the 5ed rulebook? If so, do you know which page? I honestly cannot find it, provided it is in there.


It's extremely doubtful that the rulebook says, "Oh, and for players of the older editions, there's no more rule on how many weapons you can carry."

Of course you can't find it in the rulebook. The lack of a rule is proof enough.


----------



## Mivarlocht (Jan 26, 2009)

Katie Drake said:


> It's extremely doubtful that the rulebook says, "Oh, and for players of the older editions, there's no more rule on how many weapons you can carry."
> 
> Of course you can't find it in the rulebook. The lack of a rule is proof enough.


As someone who plays a SoB army, I felt the need to ask, as the codex states (page 20): 'Characters can have up to two weapons, one of which may be a two-handed weapon.'


----------



## Galahad (Dec 21, 2006)

Unfortunately, the main book FAQ says your codex is treated as correct unless the codex itself has been FAQed, so even if there were explicit wording in the rulebook, it won;t change your codex rules.


----------



## Mivarlocht (Jan 26, 2009)

Galahad said:


> Unfortunately, the main book FAQ says your codex is treated as correct unless the codex itself has been FAQed, so even if there were explicit wording in the rulebook, it won;t change your codex rules.


Alright, that honestly makes me feel a lot better about the rule in question. Thanks!


----------



## Wusword77 (Aug 11, 2008)

Tim/Steve said:


> Not in Vulkans case- all the other say X replaces chapter tactics... read Vulkans more carefully: His rule says that all units lose Chapter Tactics and that Flamers etc get twin-linked... doesn't say that only units with chapter tactics get the upgrade


"Chapter Tactics: If you include He'stan then all units in your army lose the *Combat Tactics* special rule. *INSTEAD*, all thunder hammers in your army....."

What that is basicly saying is anyone with combat tactics loses that ability and gains the bonus listed. SoBs dont have combat tactics and so do not gain his ability. Would be great but they don't.


----------



## Fangio (Nov 23, 2008)

It would be frankly ridiculous if they did.


----------



## tu_shan82 (Mar 7, 2008)

Wusword77 said:


> "Chapter Tactics: If you include He'stan then all units in your army lose the *Combat Tactics* special rule. *INSTEAD*, all thunder hammers in your army....."
> 
> What that is basicly saying is anyone with combat tactics loses that ability and gains the bonus listed. SoBs dont have combat tactics and so do not gain his ability. Would be great but they don't.


Go back and read Vulkan's chapter tactis again. It states "*ALL* thunder hammers in your army are master crafted" and "*ALL* flamers, heavy flamers, meltaguns ansn multimeltas count as twin-linked" If only units with combat tactics got the bonus then that would mean that all your vehicles that can take these weapons, ie dreadnoughts, landspeeders and the rest, would not get the bonus, as these units do not have combat tactics to start with. So beause of the way the rule is written SOB do get the bonus from a RAW perspective. Having said that that though, I don't think that this is the way Mr Ward intended it be when he wrote the codex. And that is why the issue should have been addressed in the FAQ. Though after the DA FAQ that came out a few months back it doesn't supprise me that it wasn't.


----------



## Lash Machine (Nov 28, 2008)

I would have thought on a common sense perspective that it would only apply to space marine units and not allied ones.


----------



## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

Lash Machine said:


> I would have thought on a common sense perspective that it would only apply to space marine units and not allied ones.


----------



## tu_shan82 (Mar 7, 2008)

Lash Machine said:


> I would have thought on a common sense perspective that it would only apply to space marine units and not allied ones.


I agree with you, common sense says that the bonus should only apply to SM units. However, should your opponent not have any common sense, he is well within the rules if he insists that his SOB allies be able to use the chapter tactics bonus. That's the problem, and that's why it should have been addressed in the FAQ.


----------



## Usaal (Apr 9, 2008)

Yea for Deadpool! thats my Fave 

Anywho, so if Vulcan is the forgefather, and that is the lead Techmarine of the chapter, does that mean he gets the benifits of a Techmarine? EI: fortifying a location?


----------



## The Son of Horus (Dec 30, 2006)

RaW says Sisters benefit from He'stan poking around. Extremely lame, yes. But presumably, doable. The intent with the current codecies is that they're stand-alone and self contained, so I'm not even sure the rules for allying units is still current-- it refers to a previous edition of Codex: Space Marines. Again, RaW says you can do it, but I wonder what the actual intent was.


----------



## Dafistofmork (Jan 9, 2009)

Usaal said:


> Yea for Deadpool! thats my Fave
> 
> Anywho, so if Vulcan is the forgefather, and that is the lead Techmarine of the chapter, does that mean he gets the benifits of a Techmarine? EI: fortifying a location?


Forgefather is a salamader specific title, and is different from a _master of the forge_ so i would say no.


----------



## runewizarddd (Dec 3, 2008)

Lash Machine said:


> I would have thought on a common sense perspective that it would only apply to space marine units and not allied ones.


If they were allied, wouldn't he take the time to upgrade their flamers and whatnot as well?


----------



## Son of mortarion (Apr 24, 2008)

runewizarddd said:


> If they were allied, wouldn't he take the time to upgrade their flamers and whatnot as well?


simply put, no. the re roll can be seen as as much training, which there would be no time for, as equipment upgrades, which there would also be no time for.
The son of horus did make a good point about allied lists, and whether it is still legal. 

my though is that to ally with sob, you would need to use a sm list drawn from the previous codex, which negates any RAW arguments regarding Vulkan He'Stan since the previous codex has no rules for him.. This is just my view.


----------



## Marshal Balian (Apr 25, 2008)

I would have to say no to the chapter tactics flowing over to allied units. They are not of the same codex or army to start off with. The other thing to look at is SoB special abilities do not carry over to SM's. So why would SM abilities carry over to Allies. ATSKNF does not carry over to allies so why would any other rule carry over to them?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lash Machine 
I would have thought on a common sense perspective that it would only apply to space marine units and not allied ones. 

I agree with this statement 100%.


----------



## runewizarddd (Dec 3, 2008)

Son of mortarion said:


> my though is that to ally with sob, you would need to use a sm list drawn from the previous codex, which negates any RAW arguments regarding Vulkan He'Stan since the previous codex has no rules for him.. This is just my view.


Actually, the WH codex (box on pg. 25) has rules for SM or IG allying with WH, but it's only with a limited number of units.


----------



## BrotherR (Oct 10, 2008)

doesn't the chapter tactics replace the combat tactics of a unit and since only space marines have combat tactics they only apply to them


----------



## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

BrotherR said:


> doesn't the chapter tactics replace the combat tactics of a unit and since only space marines have combat tactics they only apply to them


as has been said and quoted several times, as his rules are written it implies allies can use it


----------



## aznul (Jan 26, 2009)

to quote the codex pg 93 "*chapter tactics:* if you include He'stan then all units in your army lose the *Combat Tactics* special rule. Instead all Thunder hammers in your army count as master-crafted, and all flamers, heavy flamers, meltaguns and multimeltas count as twin-linked. If more than one character in your army has the chapter tactics special rule, you must choose which version will apply."
ok 1st b/c it saids all in your army any one in ur army including a sister of battle with a flamer would become twin-linked. 2nd if u were playing a game of 2 vs. 1 your team mate would not get this rule, just throwing that out there (because they are not in YOUR army). 3rd as a side note if u were going to field another character, such as Kan'tor it would be unrealistic to think he would not come with some of his chapter with him, so if ur using He'stan's tactics i would say that the crimsons fists are following the salamanders orders and that is why they get twin-linked/master crafted what ever. and again it saids no where in there that only units with combat tactics gte the bounes only that if they had combat tectics they losse it while He'stans is in charge


----------



## Katie Drake (Nov 28, 2007)

Guys, rule debates are to be done in the 40k Rules Discussion section. This is to talk about what's in the FAQ, not argue about rules. Thanks.

Katie D


----------

