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Question about the Pink Fire of Tzeentch

For those without the book handy, the text reads:

Pink Fire of Tzeentch is a direct damange spell. Place the teardrop-shaped template with its narrow end touching the front of the Wizard's base and the large end aimed at the target. Roll the artillery dice and move the template directly forewards the number of inches indicated. All models underneath the template suffer a Strength D7 hit with the Warpflame special rule (roll once for the strength and us that value for all hits).. If a misfire result is rolled, the template does not move forwards and remains where it is.

When the template moves, does it hit everything it moves over (a la magical vortex) or everything it lands on (a la stone thrower)? In the diagram below, if the caster rolled 10", would it hit just the 14 models in the far unit and 10 in the near unit or would it hit the 14 in the far and 34 in the near unit?

It's like a stone thrower as far as I can see. It's like a warp/fire thrower.

DukeRustfield wrote:
It's like a stone thrower as far as I can see. It's like a warp/fire thrower.

Warpfire / Salamander style attack, not a vortex.

Seems to be using the basic FIRE THROWER rules from the rulebook (pg.114).

Alright, thanks guys.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
New question:

BRB says you can't place the template over top of friendly units or enemy units engaged in close combat, but that it can land on them.

BRB also says targets have to lie in range for direct damage spells.

WoC book doesn't specify a range for the spell.

So... could I ride up 8" away from a unit that's engaged in combat, place the template and target something that's, say, 20" away but on the other side of said engaged unit?

My gut feeling is RAW yes until an FAQ comes out since it doesn't say the spell has a range, but as a new player to WHFB I feel I might be missing something.

I don't think your premises are correct. A template can land inadvertently, ie. through a scatter, in combat. Cannon templates and the Pink Fire do not scatter, they are placed and purposefully given a direction. A template can never be placed in such a fashion as to hit a combat on purpose. You cannot target the ground in front of a combat with a cannon either and claim that the resultant hits on the melee were accidental.

Since the Pink Fire can only travel a max of 18", 20" would be out of reach regardless.

Lastly, I recommend you do not take LoT. It's just a bunch of say what. You apparently cannot wound anything with stolen Metal direct damage spells, there's the whole warpflame/flaming debate, and to top it off, there's Treason with the lowest Ld value which I treat exactly how on a split profile or Ld 0 or Ld '-'...?

Tzeentch lore seems like it is badly in need of an eratta or FAQ update, I never even though about the whole split profile issue...

I don't know that your premises are correct, either.

Cannons don't use a direction. The book specifically says you cannot place the cannon in such a way that it has a chance to hit something in combat.

Nothing about the spell, either in the WoC book or in the BRB section on spells, says that this kind of spell behaves like a cannon or is subject to the same rules that you can't get it to be able to hit something in combat.

It may not be true scatter, but it is a random movement.

18" may be the furthest it is capable of hitting, but it doesn't say anywhere that it has a range of 18".

Thank you for your recommendation, but I wasn't asking for anything about that. I have the opinion that LoT has its uses and that those uses fit into my army. Please stay on topic about the spell and not go into why you do or don't like the Lore.

 PinkSpaceHippy wrote:
Nothing about the spell, either in the WoC book or in the BRB section on spells, says that this kind of spell behaves like a cannon or is subject to the same rules that you can't get it to be able to hit something in combat.

You can play it that way, just don't be surprised if salamanders in your area start behaving in a similar fashion.

Yah, you'd have huge limitations if that was the case. Basically nothing in front or past the target within dice range.

You mean no combat in front or behind within range. A second unit is unproblematic. Moreso, WoC sorcerors have ready access to improve their mobility considerably, and I'm not telling you anything new when I say that the utility of spells can differ wildly.
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But of course cannon use a direction, namely towards your specified point or model. You are even allowed to turn them to point into that direction.

You cannot throw direct damage into a combat and you cannot target combats with templates on purpose, so what's the problem? The rules do not say nowhere I cannot? Please.

Its max range is also quite clearly defined in the description as up to 18". Arguing that "the furthest it is capable of hitting" is not a range is just sophistry.

I don't know about anyone else but I'm not sure what you're arguing.

Duke, I'm trying to figure out...

A: Can I pick a target for the spell further than 18"? The book doesn't say it has a set range like other spells (it just says place against you and point at the target), but with a 10 on the artillery dice, the furthest you can hit a target is 18" (flame template is approximately 8" long).

B: Can I pick a target on the other side of a unit in combat such that an enemy unit engaged in combat lies between the target and the template (i.e., further than 8" away). The book says you can't place templates over top of engaged units but that you can scatter into engaged units.

The spell is ambiguously written since it doesn't use the same kind of template (i.e., round) as other direct damage spells and is a directed travel like a vortex instead of a scatter like a normal direct damage spell.

According to the BRB you can't PLACE a template so that it dmgs friendly units or enemies in close combat. The only time you place the template is at the very start. The scatter is the artillery dice you roll.

I would say yeah, if the edge of the template can touch an enemy that meets the criteria at max range, it can be the target.

Burning head hits everything under a line, but it isn't direct damage.
IMO, I don't know why pink fire is direct damage, the rules for direct damage don't really cover how the spells is described as working.

-Matt