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I want to hear your opinion. We had a tournament and night fight was in effect, a player with a storm raven used its search light and claimed that he could search light two units because the storm raven could use potms to target two units. i was under the impression that you had to choose a target with the search light and just the single search lighted target is lit up.

Discussed here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/433342.page

I only have the SW codex at the moment, so if it's different elsewhere, I apologize. That said:

Power of the Machine Spirit: "A Land Raider can fire one more weapon than would normally be permitted. In addition, this weapon can be fired at a different target unit to any other weapons, subject to the normal rules for shooting."(C:SW pg44)

Searchlight: "If a vehicle has a searchlight it must still use the Night Fighting rules to pick a target but, having acquired a target, will illuminate it with the searchlight."(C:SW pg63)

The searchlight rules specify that it's used when a target is chosen while Night Fighting is in effect. If a unit with a searchlight chooses two targets, it has satisfied the requirements stated in the searchlight rule. I would say yes. In fact, I would argue that, given the wording of the rule, he may never NOT illuminate a target he is firing at.

Searchlights light up on a successful target. PotMS allows you to aquire a second target.

that would tell me that you can light up 2 targets.

rigeld2 wrote:Searchlights light up on a successful target. PotMS allows you to aquire a second target.

that would tell me that you can light up 2 targets.

Just came to that conclusion myself, and got ninja'd!

Agreed. You're forced to use your searchlight whenever you spot a target during Nightfighting.

The searchlight rules refer to one target. You have one searchlight.

Fluff wise, 1 target only makes sense.

RAW, it only mentions one target so 1 target only makes sense.

Not sure where you guys are getting the idea that a single searchlight can be spotting in two places at once.

It was hashed out fairly thoroughly in the thread Happyjew linked to. And which you participated in...

insaniak wrote:It was hashed out fairly thoroughly in the thread Happyjew linked to. And which you participated in...

Yes and someone claimed that the SM codex said 'targets' and referred to the plural but they never gave an actual quote. The above quote proves that the SM codex is the same as the BA codex and a searchlight may be used to illuminate "a target" not multiple targets.

"A searchlight" illuminates "it's target". Not its targets.

You may have multiple targets, but you can not illuminate more than one.

ND the searchlight wording is for normal situations - normally you can only target one unit. PotMS gives an exception to that.
Searchlights light up what you target.

Where's the confusion?

Nemesor Dave wrote:Yes and someone claimed that the SM codex said 'targets' and referred to the plural but they never gave an actual quote. The above quote proves that the SM codex is the same as the BA codex and a searchlight may be used to illuminate "a target" not multiple targets.

It's nothing to do with whether or not the word 'target; is singular.

If a target is acquired, the searchlight illuminates it.

So I'll ask the same question I asked in the other thread: When you acquire your second target, has the target been acquired?

If the answer is yes (which it clearly is) then that target has been illuminated.


That process will work whether the vehicle fires at a single target, 2 targets, or everything on the board.