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 personally think bone swords need a small tweak to be useful. If one of the these changes were implemented, I'd consider taking them.

points dropped by five,
AP changed to 2,
Instant death on 5 or 6,
treated as having an extra CCW gaining the +1 attack, but not stacking with another weapon.

Thoughts?

Edit: For clarity, I do mean the Straight Bone Swords option. Not the Lashwhip and Bonesword, that is perfectly fine where it sits.

Can anything that isn't an MC take them? Because all MCs are AP2 when attacking, right?

Warriors can.

Ond Angel wrote:Can anything that isn't an MC take them? Because all MCs are AP2 when attacking, right?

BrotherHaraldus wrote:Warriors can.

This is precisely why I'd want it to be AP2. For a MC that +3 init is great, so there's no reason not to upgrade. If I could get some warriors capable of taking down terminators I'd feel they're worth their weight. Heck having a Prime not relying on rend would be nice.

Tyrant Guard also use them.

welcome to another edition of why the fans don't write the rules...

viewfinder wrote:
welcome to another edition of why the fans don't write the rules...

Remember when everyone thought that 5e boneswords were super-OP and gamebreaking?

No?

You're saying that Bonesword Guards, Warriors, and Tyrants in no way dominated the game or were even considered especially stellar assault units for their price?

Kain wrote:Tyrant Guard also use them.

Looking at my digital codex, Tyrant can only use Bonesword and Lashwhip. Not the straight bonesword.

viewfinder wrote:welcome to another edition of why the fans don't write the rules...

Why wouldn't using ONE of those changes be optimal? All of them are small, and would be much more alluring.

A large number of attacks with instant death on 5 and 6 sounds a bit OP.

I don't have the Tyranid codex, but I get the feeling that there already is a lot of AP2 weapons in the game.

Also, you don't really need AP2 to take out terminators, just drown them in large amount of shooting/cc attacks.

flodihn wrote:
A large number of attacks with instant death on 5 and 6 sounds a bit OP.

I don't have the Tyranid codex, but I get the feeling that there already is a lot of AP2 weapons in the game.

Also, you don't really need AP2 to take out terminators, just drown them in large amount of shooting/cc attacks.

Tyranids used to have straight ignores armor force weapons that weren't force weapons that caused instant death on a ld check of a 2d6 or 3d6.

Dual sword warriors still weren't that great despite having much better chances of getting instant death.

I just saw a single bloodletter kill an Avatar of Khaine by rolling a 6 to wound.

I think you're underestimating its awesomeness.

(And I know that example is very unlikely)

Avatar has EW

Dual-boneswords should be Rending. That's makes your 6 to wound cause ID and ignore armour, plus the extra armour pen is useful to MC's.

The main issue with them is that Warriors/Shrikes suck as a delivery platform for them. The upgrade is too expensive to be put on such a fragile model. It's like how Marines pay the same points as Guardsmen do for power fists... mad.

If Warriors were a bit more durable, Boneswords would be costed fairly.

 Ashiraya wrote:
Avatar has EW

It doesn't, only Phoenix Lords do.

Bharring wrote:
I just saw a single bloodletter kill an Avatar of Khaine by rolling a 6 to wound.

I think you're underestimating its awesomeness.

(And I know that example is very unlikely)

I'm sorry but given that my warriors didn't ID all too much back when they could do it on a 3d6 leadership roll I fail to see how a much worse roll would be OP.

 xttz wrote:
Dual-boneswords should be Rending. That's makes your 6 to wound cause ID and ignore armour, plus the extra armour pen is useful to MC's.

The main issue with them is that Warriors/Shrikes suck as a delivery platform for them. The upgrade is too expensive to be put on such a fragile model. It's like how Marines pay the same points as Guardsmen do for power fists... mad.

If Warriors were a bit more durable, Boneswords would be costed fairly.

 Ashiraya wrote:
Avatar has EW

It doesn't, only Phoenix Lords do.

Whaaaaaat? D:

*Goes check codex*

Damn! I never thought they'd make the Avatar vulnerable to ID.

I think the points drop would be ideal. The 5pts upgrade to lashwhip is auto take for me. I'd never run dual bonesword now as previously i did because it increased IDing allot.

Though the scything talon mega nurf is my most irritable part with the new codex.

 viewfinder wrote:
welcome to another edition of why the fans don't write the rules...

Just out of curiosity you know you're on Proposed Rules, right? This is the place for constructive criticism, not the place for telling people writing rules is dumb.

As to the tweaks I'm hesitant to permit AP2 weapons that strike at Initiative on Troops units under the current rules, consider either limiting Boneswords to MCs and the Prime or dropping it back to AP3?

 xttz wrote:
Dual-boneswords should be Rending. That's makes your 6 to wound cause ID and ignore armour, plus the extra armour pen is useful to MC's.

The main issue with them is that Warriors/Shrikes suck as a delivery platform for them. The upgrade is too expensive to be put on such a fragile model. It's like how Marines pay the same points as Guardsmen do for power fists... mad.

If Warriors were a bit more durable, Boneswords would be costed fairly.

I could see this. It expands the utility to multiple units. +3 int or Rending would be a tough call for the MC's