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.

Just some silly ideas for Tau....

Markerlight Attachment: Any Tau infantry pulse rifle or pulse carbine can accept a magnetically attached Marker Light accessory. The weapon becomes Heavy 1. On a hit, roll to Wound normally and add a markerlight token to the enemy unit.

Underslung Photon Launcher: Any Tau infantry pulse carbine can be equipped with this upgrade. When firing overwatch, any charging enemy unit that is hit by one or more pulse carbine shots suffers -1D3" to its charge range (only apply penalty once) and suffers -1 penalty To Hit in melee combat for that turn.

Point costs/tweaks?

I'd probably be okay with both of these. The markerlight attachment basically results in a combi-markerlight. So I'd probably look at the cost of a combi-flamer or comb-whatever and compare that cost to its non-combi version to get a rough idea of the price difference guidelines.

One thing to note here is that a heavy weapon won't be able to fire after advancing at all, so you potentially diminish the role of carbine squads with this arrangement. How would you feel about simply ripping off the combi-weapon rules wholesale and making it a -1 to hit with both profiles thing? It's hard to keep your laser pointer steady when your gun is bucking with recoil, after all.

Oh! I just spotted that you could potentially put this on ALL models in a unit. I'd probably make this a squad leader only thing. Otherwise, you end up stepping all over pathfinders' toes... hooves... whatever. One extra markerlight shot on top of normal dakka is handy. Letting your troops all spam markerlights is probably a bit much and makes most other markerlight platforms redundant.

The underslung photon launcher doesn't seem unreasonable, but I suspect it could lead to some feel bad moments. Tau definitely aren't the tournament sweepers they once were (and hopefully won't be after they get a codex in the near future), but they're still a shooty army in an edition that isn't overly kind to assault armies.

I'm picturing an enemy melee unit slogging across the table while under fire from your weaponry. It finally reaches charge range, eats supporting fire from all of their target's nearby pals, and then fails a charge because you reduced their charge distance by a couple of inches. Mix in the potential frustration of having that unit simply fall back the next turn to subject you to even more dakka, and you can see how it doesn't necessarily lead to a pleasant experience.

Maybe drop the charge penalty and just make it -1 to hit? You'll still lose combat, but you might spare yourself a few casualties. Your opponent will feel better about only murdering 8 models instead of 10 than he will about not reaching combat at all.

Once again, I would probably make this a squad leader only thing. One model (or several thanks to supporting fire) having a roughly 1/3rd chance of getting this to work makes this a reasonable upgrade that sometimes kicks in and sometimes doesn't. Letting every model in a squad use it basically guarantees it will go off.

 Stormonu wrote:
Just some silly ideas for Tau....

Markerlight Attachment: Any Tau infantry pulse rifle or pulse carbine can accept a magnetically attached Marker Light accessory. The weapon becomes Heavy 1. On a hit, roll to Wound normally and add a markerlight token to the enemy unit.

No. Not just no, heck no. This means that Pathfinders would lose their already delicate niche that Markerlight Drones have been encroaching into.

Underslung Photon Launcher: Any Tau infantry pulse carbine can be equipped with this upgrade. When firing overwatch, any charging enemy unit that is hit by one or more pulse carbine shots suffers -1D3" to its charge range (only apply penalty once) and suffers -1 penalty To Hit in melee combat for that turn.

Point costs/tweaks?

Why does this do a different thing from the normal Photon Grenade?

Literally all that the Underslung Auxiliary Grenade Launchers do for the Primaris is make it so that their thrown grenades get a range of 30". If you want something like that, the Photon Grenade is already pretty good(-1 from any Hit rolls for Infantry units that have suffered hits from them until the end of the turn).
I'd argue that it should be Infantry or Monster units personally.

The -1D3" to charge range is another thing that already exists. It's the "Gravity Wave Projector" from the Grav-Inhibitor Drones that Pathfinders can buy.

 Kanluwen wrote:

Why does this do a different thing from the normal Photon Grenade?

If you want something like that, the Photon Grenade is already pretty good(-1 from any Hit rolls for Infantry units that have suffered hits from them until the end of the turn).

Emphasis mine.

It would be pretty good if we had something better than "sorta-kinda competent" in melee to take advantage of it, such that we could shoot something, give it -1 to hit, and charge it with less chance of horrible death. As is, it's almost entirely dedicated to overwatch during the opponent's turn to sorta blunt an enemy's charge (as it has been traditionally).

Another thought - should Carbines be given the Pistol nomeclature (instead of Assault)? This would give Tau an option to perform CQC, and at least to me makes more sense than Assault. Perhaps it could be an optional upgrade to Carbines?

 Stormonu wrote:
Another thought - should Carbines be given the Pistol nomeclature (instead of Assault)? This would give Tau an option to perform CQC, and at least to me makes more sense than Assault. Perhaps it could be an optional upgrade to Carbines?

No, because you have Pulse Pistols.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Unusual Suspect wrote:

 Kanluwen wrote:

Why does this do a different thing from the normal Photon Grenade?

If you want something like that, the Photon Grenade is already pretty good(-1 from any Hit rolls for Infantry units that have suffered hits from them until the end of the turn).

Emphasis mine.

It would be pretty good if we had something better than "sorta-kinda competent" in melee to take advantage of it, such that we could shoot something, give it -1 to hit, and charge it with less chance of horrible death. As is, it's almost entirely dedicated to overwatch during the opponent's turn to sorta blunt an enemy's charge (as it has been traditionally).

That's kind of how it works?

Remember that it works "until the end of the turn", right?
Check page 176 of the main rulebook.
The "Battle Round"/"Turn" consists of 6 phases. You can throw Grenades during your Shooting Phase and then take advantage of them during your Fight Phase.

If you hit them with a Photon Grenade during your Overwatch(which takes place during the Charge Phase), then you'd still get that benefit until the end of the enemy's turn.

I think only the Shas'ui gets a pistol

 fraser1191 wrote:
I think only the Shas'ui gets a pistol

And...?
The abilities that affect Pulse Rifles, Carbines, and Blasters still affect the Pistols--unlike the Guard equivalent.

I could see Farsight Enclaves being able to treat Pulse weapons as Pistols or something as their 'racial trait'.