[fiercegoldfish]

my question is if you can or can not take a tau model (such as a firewarrior) and replace his pulse rifle/ carbine with a weapon from a differnt army, such as a bolter or shuriken catapult, and claim that he lost his weapon or ran out of ammo and picked up an enemy weapon. I figure that, since the game of 40k tends to try and be realistic, why not? if you were a soldier and lost your rifle, wouldnt you pick up one of the enimie's guns? I know that the obvius answer would be no, they cant use weapons from other armies but, as long as there is a reasonable explanation, why not switch their weapon?

[enderwiggin]

Well...I'd probably steal a Gauss cannon from a destroyer and an Assault cannon (from the imperials), if we did that sort of thing, for my XV8's to use.

Or maybe just steal the Rail Guns off of XV88's to use on XV8's...Heh, JSJ with a heavy str 10 ap 1 weapon...Maye combined with a Lascannon or something.

[Boneguard]

Well you can and can't.

You can make it and it would make for a cool or cheesy conversion. But, on the other hand, I (or your opponent) can disallow you to use it since it's not cannon.

So your cool conversion would only be usable at the whim of your ooppnent...and it,s really not Tourny legal.

[enderwiggin]

Originally Posted by Boneguard

Well you can and can't.

You can make it and it would make for a cool or cheesy conversion. But, on the other hand, I (or your opponent) can disallow you to use it since it's not cannon.

So yourcool conversion would only be usable at the whim of your ooppnent...and it,s really not Tourny legal.

Catapults are the basic weapon right? If so, I'd let him use a weaker weapon for sure.

[Hairy Grim]

You can put those weapons on the model, but sadly they'd have to Count-As their normal weapons, as you wouldn't be allowed to give them weapons they couldn't normally have.

You could make up a house-rule though for picking up enemy weapons, if you wanted to.

[Shasel_Aunat]

Indeed, a house-rule can be created saying that a model finds another model's weapon on the ground, but be realistic about it. A Firewarrior would never pick up a Tyranid Barbed Strangler; for instance.

But as for regular games, conversions are allowed, but it's for "count-as" rules only (as previously mentioned) and be sure to make it clear for your opponent what your conversions stand for.

[khanaris]

In terms of "realism", it might help to keep in mind that the difference involved are a lot more complex than the differences between, say, an AK47 and an M16. Tau weapons are not comfortable for a human to hold, and they may have automatic IFF systems. Space Marine weapons frequently have a gene-lock preventing anyone but the owner to fire it. I imagine the Eldar use something similar, perhaps a psychic signal. Necron Weapons would be too complicated for the other races to use, and Ork weapons often only function because of the subconscious psychic abilities all Orks share regarding technology. And many weapons in 40k require a power source or other systems that are built into the armor of the firing unit.

So to sum up, there are some pretty good reasons why a soldier on the battlefield of 40k wouldn't just be able to pick up the ranged weapons of a fallen enemy. Except for Lasguns. But I can't think of any reason why any of the other armies would use Lasguns if they didn't have to.

These reasons also partly explain why none of the races in 40k have ever had much luck at reverse-engineering systems of the enemy that prove superior. There is just too much difference between the technology bases, and many of the races with more complex technology don't have much skill at conducting research.

[Boneguard]

Also, since all the other races...aside from tyranid have 5 relatively slender fingers (except ork which would be stubbier), Tau might have difficulty getting his finger on the trigger...Dang not enough space for my finger <Start clubbing people with recovered gun.>

[steck_638]

Originally Posted by Khanaris

Except for Lasguns. But I can't think of any reason why any of the other armies would use Lasguns if they didn't have to.

maby they need a flashlight to find there guns :P

[xShaperx]

Kroot Merx armory includes some Human, Eldar (and Dark Eldar), Ork, and I think Tau weaponry in it, if I remember right...it's been years since I've taken a look at that White Dwarf. I think they may have a PDF of it somewhere though. Most likely.