Question about the Suppression Laser and Focusing Crystal

[Dosjetka]

Hello folks,

 

To cut a long-ish story short, I was going through the weapon options for Van Saar and came across the Suppression Laser and its Focusing Crystal upgrade.

 

The Suppression Laser's short burst profile is S4 AP0 D2 Am4+ Knockback, Plentiful; with the Focusing Crystal added, the way I understand it, it becomes S4 AP-2 D2 Am4+ Knockback, Plentiful, Unstable, right?

The reason I ask is because YakTribe's Gang Manager tool modifies this profile to Am5+ and removes the Plentiful trait and I can't figure out why.

 

Anyway, thoughts on and potential solutions for this matter are much appreciated and sought after. :)

Edited February 8, 2022 by Dosjetka

[Widowmaker82]

The rules you are getting on Yaktribe are as shown in the Book of Judgement (which I think was the debut of the focussing crystal). In that book it gives a profile for all the weapons that can have one, rather than just the weapon upgrade description in House of Artifice.

 

As far as I can tell, all of the weapon profiles in Book of Judgement have AP improved by two and Unstable, but also have Ammo roll reduced by 1 and lost Plentiful.

 

Honestly, I think gaining the Unstable trait is enough to balance the AP. The worsened ammo roll and loss of plentiful just seems too much downside for something that costs credits to take.

 

And with House of Artifice being the newer book, I'd say the rules in there supplant the rules in the Book of Judgement, just as the rules for Criminal Alliances in Book of Judgement have been replaced (assuming they have actually changed; I've not checked personally) by the various rules for the same in each House of... book. At the very least the rules for focussing crystals in House of Artifice should apply to Van Saar gangs.

 

It's just another example of poor rule writing and inconsistencies in these Necromunda books. Given how expensive they are, it's quite shameful really. And GW can't even be bothered to put out an updated FAQ; the last update was September 2020, just after House of Blades. Though it might be a mercy they don't do more FAQs; their erratum to the very obvious error in House of Blades (mixing up the Power Knife and Power Axe) was to amend the rules to match the Power Knife, even though they sell a kit containing a Power Axe and not a Knife.

[Dosjetka]

Fantastic; thank you for your in-depth reply, Widowmaker82! :D

 

And I agree, it's frustrating not to have had an FAQ/Errata in almost two years... but it is perhaps better that way. As long as one's local group has an open mind and communicates sufficiently, it's pretty easy to come up with community fixes and house rules. :tu:

Having said that, I hope the Specialist Games team release one last FAQ/Errata before moving on to the Ash Waste releases. Am I hoping/expecting too much? Only time will tell. :P