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This came up in a game versus an Eldar player. I flew my doom scythe on 36" and then fired the Death Ray, dropping the first dot on the hull of a fire prism and then put the second point 13" away across the hull of a wave serpent, well out of the initial 12" range of the weapon. We weren't sure if the second point could be dropped outside of the weapons range. Neither the codex, nor the most recent FAQ clarify the matter to my knowledge. Perhaps I've missed something?

12" is range of the initial, the line template is 3d6" long. Would be silly to make it 3d6" then have it limited to 12"

The 12" range is only for the initial firing point the end point can be up to 18" out of the 12" range.

It states pick a point within 3D6" of the initial firing point. Pretty clear to me.

Yup, the second 'dot' does not have a given range other than 3d6 inches from the first and therefore can be up to 18 inches away from the initial targetted area if you roll well enough.

Sorry to Hijack the thread, buts its relevant.

Does the weapon have a limited 45 deg arc.?

Does “the line of death” need to be in that arc if so?

Can you nominate the first point "on" a vehicle or does it need to be on the table? Ie. battlefield

I think the precise phrase here is:

"anywhere within the weapon's range."

And since the codex (more specific) trumps the BRB (more general), that means:

It is not limited to the 45 deg arc because "anywhere" supercedes the more limited "45 deg arc".

The "line" does not need to be in that arc.

The point can be on a vehicle because "anywhere" does not restrict it to only being placed on open space on the table (battlefield).


Hope that helps.

The 1st point would have to be in the weapon's arc. The 2nd point has its own rules.
And yes you can choose the points to be over the vehicle.

I happen to agree with jy2's interpretation and I'm glad this has come up. I need to bring this to a T.O's attention for our next GT so will be following this thread closely.

The phrase, for precisions sake, is:

"To fire the death ray, nominate a point on the battlefield anywhere within the weapon's range, then nominate a second point within3D6" of the first. Then draw a straight line between the 2 points."

The inclusion of "anywhere" really does mean you don't need to have LoS.

My 2 cents anyway.

Just remember you can't kill what you can't see.

I assume that when a vehicle is struck by the line it assumed to be coming from the model. Even though the line my be striking it in the side? Same goes for cover saves?

does it have to be a straight line?

Or can it be a curvy wonderful line of death ?

It's generally assumed to be a straight line but I guess it could be a curved line or anything that is considered to be a line. Though trying to do what you suggested could have people come over the table at you.

Bloodhorror wrote:does it have to be a straight line?

Or can it be a curvy wonderful line of death ?

It has to be a straight line.

any rules to prove it?

I don't have the codex, and i'm planning ahead for when someone tries it on me...

Bloodhorror wrote:any rules to prove it?

I don't have the codex, and i'm planning ahead for when someone tries it on me...

Yes, in the codex under death ray on page 50.

Bloodhorror wrote:any rules to prove it?

I don't have the codex, and i'm planning ahead for when someone tries it on me...

By the strictest of geometry definitions, a line connects two points on a plane by the shortest distance possible (ergo straight). Anything curved is not a line, but is considered a curve or an arc.

Green is Best! wrote:

Bloodhorror wrote:any rules to prove it?

I don't have the codex, and i'm planning ahead for when someone tries it on me...

By the strictest of geometry definitions, a line connects two points on a plane by the shortest distance possible (ergo straight). Anything curved is not a line, but is considered a curve or an arc.

So if someone draws a sideways S do I say - "Hey looked at that curved...."

Kevin949 wrote:So if someone draws a sideways S do I say - "Hey looked at that curved...."

Call it whatever you want.

If you call it a "line" in geometry class, you will get an F. Lines are straight, infinitely long, and infinitely thin. (Wow, would Mr. Donnelly be proud I am recalling this crap). GW has defined the death ray as a line between two points which is 1mm thick. (and to be technical, I believe in this case it would be a line segment. someone else is going to have to help me out here).

Green is Best! wrote:

Kevin949 wrote:So if someone draws a sideways S do I say - "Hey looked at that curved...."

Call it whatever you want.

If you call it a "line" in geometry class, you will get an F. Lines are straight, infinitely long, and infinitely thin. (Wow, would Mr. Donnelly be proud I am recalling this crap). GW has defined the death ray as a line between two points which is 1mm thick. (and to be technical, I believe in this case it would be a line segment. someone else is going to have to help me out here).

I wasn't saying you were wrong, I was asking. *Shrug*

Either way, it's defined in the codex as well.

Sorry. Re-read my post and it did come across as a bit mean. I assure you I didn't mean it that way.

Green is Best! wrote:Sorry. Re-read my post and it did come across as a bit mean. I assure you I didn't mean it that way.

No worries. Funny thing is, it would simply be a "curved line". Though yes, the default of "line" is "straight".

Camarodragon wrote:I assume that when a vehicle is struck by the line it assumed to be coming from the model. Even though the line my be striking it in the side? Same goes for cover saves?

I love to know the answer to these questions as well

To continue on with this thread then.......

I had a bad game last time where I unfortunatly had 3 bal preds lines up side to side when this thing raped all 3 of them. 2 of them from the Death ray and the Telsa finishing off the 3rd.

I know that the tesla can target any of the 3 but i think we went about the wrong order of doing things though. We determined the results of the death ray first (2 explosions) and then shot the tesla at the remaining tank and Hull pointed it out. I think we should have determened the line hits first and before rolling damage my opponent should have picked a target for the tesla as all shooting is at the same time. Correct? Possibly the one may have survived if he had choosen one that was about to blow up.

Correct, all shooting happens at the same time (per unit) so he had to have declared a target for all weapons before rolling hits and pens. Or possibly just before armour pen rolls (I'm not talking about the RESULT rolls).

Kevin949 wrote:

Green is Best! wrote:Sorry. Re-read my post and it did come across as a bit mean. I assure you I didn't mean it that way.

No worries. Funny thing is, it would simply be a "curved line". Though yes, the default of "line" is "straight".

A line is straight. An arc is curved. Simple geometry.

Dozer Blades wrote:

Kevin949 wrote:

Green is Best! wrote:Sorry. Re-read my post and it did come across as a bit mean. I assure you I didn't mean it that way.

No worries. Funny thing is, it would simply be a "curved line". Though yes, the default of "line" is "straight".

A line is straight. An arc is curved. Simple geometry.

That wasn't the point though.

Camarodragon wrote:To continue on with this thread then.......

I had a bad game last time where I unfortunatly had 3 bal preds lines up side to side when this thing raped all 3 of them. 2 of them from the Death ray and the Telsa finishing off the 3rd.

I know that the tesla can target any of the 3 but i think we went about the wrong order of doing things though. We determined the results of the death ray first (2 explosions) and then shot the tesla at the remaining tank and Hull pointed it out. I think we should have determened the line hits first and before rolling damage my opponent should have picked a target for the tesla as all shooting is at the same time. Correct? Possibly the one may have survived if he had choosen one that was about to blow up.

I felt really bad about that one to be honest. You're very much in the right. One might have survived. No hard feelings

Now I am assuming yes, but does it hit fliers?

Dragoon65 wrote:Now I am assuming yes, but does it hit fliers?

It's a 1mm template, I believe?

Now that they've added actual beam weapons, and said they use 1mm templates...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Camarodragon wrote:To continue on with this thread then.......

I had a bad game last time where I unfortunatly had 3 bal preds lines up side to side when this thing raped all 3 of them. 2 of them from the Death ray and the Telsa finishing off the 3rd.

I know that the tesla can target any of the 3 but i think we went about the wrong order of doing things though. We determined the results of the death ray first (2 explosions) and then shot the tesla at the remaining tank and Hull pointed it out. I think we should have determened the line hits first and before rolling damage my opponent should have picked a target for the tesla as all shooting is at the same time. Correct? Possibly the one may have survived if he had choosen one that was about to blow up.

I'm pretty sure he's supposed to declare first, but you should probably have had whichever tank was hit by the beam first be the primary target.

My 2c, at least.