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Hi All,

I'm just getting into Warhammer 40k and I bought a box of Thousand Sons Rubric Marines (along with the Dark Imperium box) because I like the colours and the fluff (the important stuff!). I've been working my way through the Black Library novels, but this is my first foray into table-top gaming.

I really like the pose of the Aspiring Sorceror with his palm out, rather than holding the inferno bolt pistol, and I want to model/paint him that way. However, I don't want to lose his ability to have a firing weapon.

The new 8th Edition datasheet states that the Aspiring Sorceror comes with the Inferno Blot pistol, so (this might be a very stupid question...) I'm wondering whether the model actually has to hold/display the weapon to be able to use it. If i declare at the start of a game that the model has the Inferno bolt pistol, and take the points/cost into account, even though the pistol is not displayed on the model, is this acceptable?

I tried googling answers to this question, but it's hard to know where to start.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

Hi,
Well it depends on your gaming circle. In my club and gaming environment this would not be a problem as long as everything can be recognized without any doubt.. Some other clubs, gaming circles are hardcore WYSIWYG.

So really it all depends on who you (plan to) play with.

Try modeling the pistol on a belt or in a holster. Wysiwig is the goal. It is nice for your opponent to be able to see what weapons your dudes are carrying immediately but you can point out that the pistol is standard, you liked the hand palm out pose better and so modeled the pistol on his belt.

Thanks very much for your help.

I don't think I'm going to be a serious tournament player (at least not for a few years), so friendly local games are what I'm looking to get into.

Another potentially silly question: if I glued the pistol to the base instead of to a belt/holster, would that satisfy the WYSIWYG?

byrd9999 wrote:
Thanks very much for your help.

I don't think I'm going to be a serious tournament player (at least not for a few years), so friendly local games are what I'm looking to get into.

Another potentially silly question: if I glued the pistol to the base instead of to a belt/holster, would that satisfy the WYSIWYG?

Quite literally so. But don't you think it would look weird? Maybe model a familiar holding the butt out to him. Get creative!

I was picturing the Sorceror using Force-like powers (like Luke Skywalker in the ice cave in Empire Strikes Back) to draw the gun up into his hand to fire it...

but I like the idea of a familiar holding it, that's much better, thanks

You could always say it's hidden under his robe. "Are you happy to see me, or is that an Inferno Pistol under your robe?"

Now, it would be a stretch if he had a Power Weapon, Bolter, Pistol, melta bomb, and a bunch of other stuff, but all the model has is a staff and an outstretched hand and a robe over his power armor.

Honestly I would not fret at all about putting a model's standard equipment on them, as anyone who will likely care about this kind of thing would know that the Aspiring Sorceror comes equipped with that pistol.

Now, if you wanted to take the optional upgrade (the warpflame pistol), then you would really need to have it somewhere on the model so your opponent could easily remember that you had taken the upgrade.

And just FYI, all this WYSIWYG stuff is just you being gentlemanly to your opponent. In this current edition of the game, I have yet to spot any actual rules saying that you have to model your stuff appropriately. Its a rule that GW has been slowly phasing out for several editions now.

But with that said, it is always a nice thing to strive for, because it helps both you and your opponent remember what is going on with a quick glance at the table.

I've literally never met a single person who cared at all about default weapons being modeled in all the years of my playing this game.. If it were an upgrade weapon? Maybe.

Also, "Rule of Cool" always wins.