I have a question regarding multi blocking with librarians.

As I understand the system, you cannot perform the same action twice in a single round of combat.

Here is my dilemma;

There is a psychic power that ‘adds a force field around the librarians arm, granting him an EXTRA defensive reaction that can only be used for parry’.

In the two weapons fighting section it says that a player cannot parry twice. Does this include the above ability?

The players argument is that it’s a psychic power and/or it’s not a weapon that he is using but his natural arm (like a shield). It doesn’t say anywhere in the combat section (which lists about not performing two attacks together) that a player can’t do two of the same reflex actions.

Does this mean that the player will need to dodge with his first reflex and parry with his additional reflex. Or in fact can he parry with his normal reflect action, and do secondary parries with his additional reflect action.

Would be very grateful for either a personnel expression of your opinion or if someone could like hard evidence that would be wonderful.

You cannot parry twice as a general rule. If you have a specific rule that applies an exception to the general rule, e.g. Iron Arm or Wall of Steel, or a Squad Mode that lets you share reactions like Tactical Spacing…then that's OK.

Kshatriya is correct. Abilities that allow you additional reactions allow you to take more than one of the appropriate reactions in a turn.

A note on Iron Arm: If the player activates it as a half? action in his turn he gains the second reaction to parry with and thus gains a second reaction that turn. If he used his reaction to activate Iron Arm his first reaction is used to activate the power (and cannot be used to stop the attack) and then he must use his second reaction that turn to parry the attack.

(The power could conceivably allow the player to manifest AND parry with his first reaction, but we would need official clarification concerning this as it is not directly supported by basic rules and the description of the power.)

Just to be clear (though it seems everyone already knows this), even an extra reaction, like that from Iron Arm or Wall of Steel or Step Aside, cannot be applied against a single incoming attack. Only a single reaction is allowed for any given attack, no matter how many extra reactions you have or how they are obtained.

Correct again.

Which is an issue with iron arm I stated (with minimal emphasis) above.

If you use your reaction to activate Iron Arm do you:

A. Activate the power, get hit with the attack which allowed you to activate the power, then gain another reaction to use that turn and +1 reaction in later turns if sustained.

B. Activate the power and parry the attack which allowed you to activate as part of activating it, then gain another reaction to use that turn and +1 reaction in later turns if sustained.

Rules concerning reactions indicate A, and the power itself doesn't state either way. So…?

I believe B. I can't see a reading of Iron Arm that would require you to get hit, very confusing action economy cost aside.

I think the Half Action activation is putting it up in advance, whereas invoking as a Reaction would be…weird.

I'd say it'd be like…you get swung at, invoke Iron Arm to block that attack, and that's it for the turn? Not sure if that makes sense or is the RAI. I do think the RAI is that if you've already used your normal one Reaction for the turn and get swung at again, you have no actions left to bring Iron Arm up with, unless you still had a half somehow…

I'm pretty sure the use it as a reaction would use up your standard reaction, then you get to use the extra one to actualy attempt to block the incoming attack. if you sustain it then you have the extra ones on later rounds.

I'm also pretty sure the no two parries thing is specificaly talking about only one parry against a single attack even if you have multiple weapons.

Okay, this might just be a point of clarification. So we all acknowledge that you can only use one dodge or parry against any given attack. However, as I'm reading it, Iron Arm isn't a dodge or parry, so it doesn't count against that limit. As such, I would allow the extra reaction to be used against the attack that triggered the original reaction casting.

I'm glad im not the only person who had problems with this rule lol

Thanks all for the input.

Gaire said:

This.

Gaire said:

I can agree with this, as it does make sense as long as the rules do not specifically contradict it (will take a good look later). Wouldn't hurt to be clarified though, but since rules guys aren't answering again don't think theres a point to asking at them moment.

Just another inconsistancy with the psyker rules to normal rules we have to hammer out ourselves.

In a round you get 1 reaction and 2 half actions (which canot be of the same subtype) or 1 full action.

Using iron arm as a reaction uses up your reactio for that turn, but grants you an extra reaction (which you can then use for parrying). For subsequent rounds IF sustained, you have a reaction (pick dodge or parry or other) and a parry (much like wall of steel would give) obviously at the increased parry chance based on PR.