Trygon rules query

[Seahawk]

Inspired by this thread and the necessity to move it to the OR, here's the situation:

 

A Trygon has a ranged weapon which is thus (word for word):

 

Bio-electric Pulse: As a Trygon moves, it generates a potent electric field that discharges with lethal effects.

 

Range 12", Str 5, AP5, Assault 6

 

 

The Trygon Prime has the following (word for word):

 

Containment Spines: These curved spines contain and focus the build-up of electrical energy.

 

A Trygon Prime uses the following profile when firing its bio-electric pulse:

 

Range 18", Str 5, AP5, Assault 12

 

 

The army list entry for the Trygon Prime lists it as having both of these things (as it should, since the second means nothing without the first). The argument is: is containment spines a weapon or biomorph? Is it entirely seperate from bio-electric pulse? I don't think so. I think the containment spines are an upgrade/amendment to the standard bio-electric pulse profile, considering that's what it says in the description.

 

Now, grammatically, there are no italicized sections in rules descriptions for weapons and biomorphs to distinguish fluff and rules, but there is seperation into two seperate paragraphs in the exact same manner as containment spines. This layout is exactly the same as the rest of the book, with the first paragraph being fluff and the second being rules. This is why the second paragraph in containment spines is rules and not fluff, saying the profile of bio-electric pulse is replaced with the following.

 

Thoughts?

[Joasht]

I don't know, to me its very clear that its really just one weapon. The Prime just gets a better version.

[Sabadin]

The Trygon Prime has the following (word for word):

 

Containment Spines: These curved spines contain and focus the build-up of electrical energy.

 

A Trygon Prime uses the following profile when firing its bio-electric pulse:

 

Range 18", Str 5, AP5, Assault 12

 

Prime still uses bio-electric pulse, containment spines just modifies the profile, think of it like special issue ammo.

[Grey Mage]

It gets one weapon with an upgrade profile. *shrugs* Thats how Ive always played it anyways because your firing the bio-electric pulse.

[Seahawk]

It seems painfully obvious and you and me, but as there were dissenting voices I felt it needed discussion.

[Grey Mage]

It seems painfully obvious and you and me, but as there were dissenting voices I felt it needed discussion.

Well, Ill say this- if it is its own weapon, why is listed in the biomorphs section?

 

Pg. 84- biomorph upgrades. As opposed to the bio-electric pulse, pg. 81 under "Ranged Weapons".

 

That seems very conclusive to me.

[Legatus]

A few analogue examples:

 

Codex Space Marines, page 100

Hellfire Rounds

These are specially modified bolter rounds, originally designed for slaying Tyranid bio-monstrosities. Each hellfire round replaces the bolt's standard explosive charge with chamber of bio-acid that eats through flesh with a voraciousness impossible to survive. If a model carries hellfire rounds, replace their boltguns's profile (including a boltgun on a Space Marine bike) with the following:

 

Range: 24" _ Strength: X _ AP: 5 _ Type: Rapid Fire, Poisoned (2+)

 

Note that Hellfire rounds can only be used in a boltgun.

Obviously these rounds are useless without a boltgun, and are not a weapon by themselves. Also specifically note how there is no visual distinction between the flavour text of the item and it's rule text at all. The only way to tell that the last sentence prior to the stat line is rules text, and not flavour text, is that this sentence adresses game mechanics, and is not a background description, and that it introduces the stat line due to the colon. The only way to tell that all the text before that sentence is flavour text is that the text does not adress any game mechanics and is only containing background descriptions.

 

 

Codex Space Marines, page 66:

Hellfire Shells: A heavy bolter in a Scout Squad can fire a single hellfire shell instead of firing normally:

 

Range: 36" _ Strength: X _ AP: - _ Type: Heavy 1, Poisoned (2+)

Whether the single sentence is flavour text or part of the weapon's rules is slightly ambiguous, even though it seems to adress a game mechanic, and does not seem to be a background description. What makes it obvious that this is rules text and no flavour text is that the sentence is part of the profile presentation due to the colon.

 

 

Codex Space Marines, page 66:

Shotgun: Shotguns are sturdy and versatile weapons often carried by Space Marine Scouts.

 

Range: 12" _ Strength: 4 _ AP: - _ Type: Assault 2

Also only a single sentence. But this sentence is not linked to the weapon's profile via a colon. It also does not adress any game mechanic, and is purely describing background.

 

 

Compare this to the description of the Containment Spines (Codex Tyranids, page 50):

Containment Spines (Trygon Prime only): These curved spines contain and focus the build-up of electrical energy.

 

A Trygon Prime uses the following profile when firing its bio-electric pulse:

 

Range: 18" _ Strength: 5 _ AP: 5 _ Type: Assault 12

Even without the visual clue of separating the two sentences it is clear that the first sentence is only adressing background, while the second sentence is adressing a game mechanic. The second sentence also is part of the presentation of the profile due to the colon. There is really no ambiguity about that the first sentence is flavour text while the second sentence is rule text.

 

 

But all my talk was a bit redundant, since, as Grey Mage has pointed out, the Containment Spines are listed among the biomorph upgrades on page 84 of the Codex Tyranids, while the Bio-electric Pulse is listed among the ranged weapons on page 81.