Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I'm not sure on this one.

Broodlord is BS 0 and is therefore unable to make any shooting attacks(very limiting on random psychic powers they can use)

General witchfire power rules state they are also called psychic shooting attacks but also state that they do not apply to witchfire subtypes and that you should use the specific rules for the subtype instead.

Beam powers(Witchfire sub-type) do not state they are a shooting attack nor is there any roll hot hit.

Hence the question in the subject.

General witchfire rules do not apply, beam rules do not say it's a shooting attack. Strictly by RAW it seem like they can use these powers. Thoughts anyone?

Answered in the FAQ:

Q: Can a Tyranid Broodlord (which has BS 0) use a witchfire psychic
power that doesn’t require a roll To Hit? If not, is he able to re-roll the
psychic power because he cannot use it? (p40)
A: No to both questions.

 Happyjew wrote:
Answered in the FAQ:

Q: Can a Tyranid Broodlord (which has BS 0) use a witchfire psychic
power that doesn’t require a roll To Hit? If not, is he able to re-roll the
psychic power because he cannot use it? (p40)
A: No to both questions.

Witchfire and witchfire-beam attacks do not follow the same rules as stated in the last part of the general witchfire section in the BRB. Wouldn't that make Beam and witchfire attacks separate scenarios?

Beam is a sub-type of Witchfire.

 Happyjew wrote:
Beam is a sub-type of Witchfire.

For which standard witchfire rules do not apply.

Note also that in the psychic powers section beam and witchfire are listed separate types. There's no way to know if the question referred to the powers specifically listed as witchfire or if it intended every type of witchfire.

Is a beam a witchfire psychic power?

Powers listed as witchfire are not used the same as powers listed as beam.

So when you think of how the rules apply to them, no. The RaW do not treat a beam as it treats a witchfire.

Is it listed as a subtype of withfire?

Yes.

No BS no shooting, Genestealers suck now play something else.

I'm just saying there's room to argue that the FAQ only applies to powers listed as Witchfire and does not apply to those listed as Beam.

I guess it boils down to if they meant the witchfire general type or the specific type?

It's not specifically about them but if you look at the Ork FAQ it states that Old Zog can't use either of the special Ork powers that are shooting attacks because of his BS 0. Sad but true all witchfire powers are shooting attacks per the section about witchfire powers no matter what way they fire. There is nothing in the beam section which states that a beam is treated as anything but a psychic shooting attack.

 Gravmyr wrote:
It's not specifically about them but if you look at the Ork FAQ it states that Old Zog can't use either of the special Ork powers that are shooting attacks because of his BS 0. Sad but true all witchfire powers are shooting attacks per the section about witchfire powers no matter what way they fire. There is nothing in the beam section which states that a beam is treated as anything but a psychic shooting attack.

Nothing in it says it is either. Permissive rules set says we can't treat it as a shooting attack unless it says it's a shooting attack. General witchfire rules say they do not apply to beams.

You are making an assumption that they are their own thing, they are a subset. Just like Jump infantry is a subset of infantry. Therefor you follow all rules set for witchfire except where beam tells you otherwise not only the rules set fourth by the beam section. If you follow only the rules for beam when do you fire it? Never as you are never given permission to fire it in any phase.

 Abandon wrote:

 Gravmyr wrote:
It's not specifically about them but if you look at the Ork FAQ it states that Old Zog can't use either of the special Ork powers that are shooting attacks because of his BS 0. Sad but true all witchfire powers are shooting attacks per the section about witchfire powers no matter what way they fire. There is nothing in the beam section which states that a beam is treated as anything but a psychic shooting attack.

Nothing in it says it is either. Permissive rules set says we can't treat it as a shooting attack unless it says it's a shooting attack. General witchfire rules say they do not apply to beams.

Then you have no permission to cast the power at all. It's clearly not a Blessing, Malediction or Summoning so you cannot use it at the start of the turn. None of the beam powers explicitly tells you when to use them. So where do you have permission to cast the power in a given phase?

Q: Can a Tyranid Broodlord (which has BS 0) use a witchfire psychic
power that doesn’t require a roll To Hit? If not, is he able to re-roll the
psychic power because he cannot use it? (p40)
A: No to both questions.

All Witchfires are shooting attacks, by definition. A Beam is a witchfire psychic power which doesn't require a roll to hit, as are Maelstroms and Novas. All three of those are exactly what this FAQ is referring to.

In addition we have this FAQ:

Q: What happens if a model with BS0 takes a SnapShot? Do they count as having a BS of 1?(13)
A: Models with BS 0 cannot make any form of Shooting attack – see the rules for zero-level characteristics on page 3.

"...cannot make any form of Shooting attack..."
A beam is definitely a form of shooting attack.

Ok. Thanks for the input everyone, it is appreciated.