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Can the Apothecary in the command squad also get special equipment like power sword, powerfist, or any of the rest as the veterans do? He has the same stat lines as the rest of the command squad veterans indicating that he is a veteran as well. I know he can take a bike. What about the rest however? Do you know?

Most people (me included) say that RAW clearly indicates he is not a veteran marine, because they gave him a seperate stat line with it's own unique title, and he therefore is ineligible for the upgrades that are for veteran marines.

They could have easily made him a veteran just by saying "one veteran has a narthecium" instead of "The apothecary has a narthecium" and listing him seperately at unit composition and in the stat lines which leads me to believe that he was never meant to get the upgrades either.

Raw says no, thought that also means every Sternguard squad, even if they're all 10 armed with just bolters will always be a complex unit (until the Sgt dies anyway) if the only difference needed is a different name on the stat line.

RAW says no, logic says he probably would be one of the first to get preferential access to the armory. Work it out with your friends for casual games, wait for a FAQ for tournaments.

If it helps any, when they've made this same mistake (over and over and over and over- like most problems like this they love making the same mistake repeatedly) they've allowed the different named model acess to the squad wide wargear choices... scout sergeants in the DA scout squad for example.

RAW doesn't support it, and frankly I don't believe the fluff does either.

If you look at the new codex you'll find that the specialty models (Librarian, Chaplain, Apothecary, etc) have their choices of weapons limited from what the Commander, for example, can take.

In the WD designer notes the author said this was a deliberate choice to make those models function more in the 'role' that they are supposed to assist the Chapter rather than just making them all buff Space Marines with additional special rules.

So yeah, the Apothecary, similar to real life, doesn't carry a bunch of specialized weaponry because his focus is on providing assistance to his brethren.

Just to throw this out there...
Since Veteran is capitalized, it is a specific name of something. If it were represented in lower case, veteran, then it would be non-specific class of something. Since the fluff states that all members of Command Squad are veterans, and if Veteran was not capitalized in the upgrade list, I would let the Apothecary upgrade. However, since it is specified as a name, I would not.
I would guess the writers of the codex are following grammar rules.

pavonis wrote:I would guess the writers of the codex are following grammar rules.

Heresy! The received wisdom of the Wise Men of Dakka is that the codices are written by banging rocks on keyboards! May St. Elek have mercy on your sauce!

Doh! I knew I should have read that Before-You-Post-Post.

according to the DA FAQ you can give them extra stuff. now does that roll over the the new SM codex? I dont know. so I guess if you really want your apothacary to have more stuff, play a DA army.

Nurglitch wrote:Heresy! The received wisdom of the Wise Men of Dakka is that the codices are written by banging rocks on keyboards! May St. Elek have mercy on your sauce!

Nice Nurglitch!

I would also have to agree, the codex does seem to be quite clear on the differentiation between the apothecary and the vets, even going so far as to define them as separate entities in the unit description.

dashrendar wrote:according to the DA FAQ you can give them extra stuff. now does that roll over the the new SM codex?

Yeah, but in the DA book they are a unit upgrade, we have already seen the backwards way GW handles unit upgrades that change the name of a model in the unit (RE Ork Shootas). Since the DA FAQ only applies to the DA codex and its a very different situation I think that has no relevance to the case.

yea im with the no an apothecary cant (and shouldnt) get specialized weapons and the like. their job isnt to be on the front lines shooting and killing and doing the rambo thing. their job is being on the front lines getting marines back up and fighting, or somecases plucking the geneseed out. Personally seeing an apothecary going rambo is just plain silly.

Hmm, so a question then.
The argument here (that I support) is that if the Apothecary was an "apothecary veteran" he would be allowed to take upgrades no?

Does that then mean that the "Space Marine Sergeant" is allowed to take heavy/special weapons, as it does clearly say that "one Space Marine may..." Sergeant is a "Space Marine Sergeant", emphasis on the "Space Marine," so would that mean he could take them?

Sorry for the derail.

I wont argue if you want to do that because frankly it's a terrible idea.

Actual Raw gives the apothecary only a bike.

I think he should get the stormshield to support his role on the battlefield to protect and serve.
Otherwise his comrades have to gather in a shieldwall to let him work undisturbed.