Well, my group just recently picked up the Only War beta, and we've discovered several small issues, none of which is really big enough to warrant its own thread. I thought, then, that I'd lump them all into the one thread here. Without further ado, then, here are our small problems:

1: How many clips does a weapon that has been gained through Special Equippment or by a successful Logistics Test normally come with?

2: Do the soldiers of a regiment that uses Lasguns or Lascarbines as their standard weapon still get the Laspistol listed under "Universal Standard Kit" on page 33?

3: Should Ogryns and Commissars perahps treat their Ripper Guns and Bolt Pistols (respectively) as their "Main Weapon" instead of the standard Lasgun/carbine/pistol (which is an inappropriate weapon for either one of these characters to be carrying, thus it stands to reason they'd never be issued one in the first place), thus getting four clips and the +2 clips if the regiment is "Well-Provisioned" (as the homebrew one we are playing is)?

4: A lot of the equippment from the Universal Standard Kit doesn't have listed weights. It's easy enough to important most of the weights from the "Gear" sub-section of the "War Zone" section of the Inquisitior's Handbook, but how much do two weeks (or four weeks, in the case of our regiment) of rations weigh? Surely it can't be a kilogram for a day's worth as the Inquisitor's Handbook suggests…

5: Our homebrewed regiment (which is Imperial World-Circumspect-Iron Disipline-Well Provisioned-Mechanised Infantry) spent 20 of its additional equippment points on micro-beads, gas masks, chronos and recaf (yes, recaf), and the last 10 to upgrade the entire regiment's Flak Armour to Best Quality. Are we being too cheesy?

6: It'll be a while before this issue will really come up for my character, but is generally permissable for a Commissar to dual-wield Bolt Pistols? I'm a bit less knowledgeable about the intricacies of 40K than I probably should be…

1: Four clips seems to be the standard for clips of ammo so I was just going to run with that.

2. I think it says that their main weapon is replaced so they only get the lasgun or lascarbine rather than the laspistol aswell.

3.Again not sure of the actual rules on this one but it would make sense to have them treat those as their main weapons, same as the Stormtrooper getting his hot shot lasgun as his main weapon etc.

4. Weights in general seem to be a bit up the left throughout the beta at the minute so hopefully this will be fixed in an update?

5. If everyones enjoying it then it doesn't matter, plus a Well Provisoned regiment would likley have decent armour anyway so I can't see any problems.

6. The real question here is who is actually going to argue with a Commisar with two bolt pistols?

6. The real question here is who is actually going to argue with a Commisar with two bolt pistols?

Eh… I was thinking maybe there was some kind of esoteric rule within the Commissariat against a Commissar busting out like some amped up Metallican… XD

CaptainTrek said:

For an Orgyn though…

CaptainTrek said:

ParadigmShift's answer had me giggle, though. +10 points for that!

As to point 6, Gaunt has been known to dual-wield bolt pistols, and likewise I think there have been occasions where Cain has also dual-wielded (although laspistols in his case rather than bolt pistols). With that said, both are known to be abnormal within the Commissariat, but I get the feeling there's no reason they couldn't dual-wield, with the only obstacle being acquiring both pistols.

It's kind of a good point though. Who could actually call a Commisar on it if they did something technically iffy but not blatently heretical/treasonous/illeagal? A Commisar Lord, if there is one in the Regiment, the Commander. That's about it. And they probably have bigger fish to fry than Commisar Eastwoods tendancy to fight with two pistols rather than the regulation pistol/hedge-trimmer style.

For that matter they could fight with two chainswords. "Draw Stihl and have done with it." Although you have to wonder how you would work the pullcords.

Obviously, you'd pull them with your enraged, gritted teeth, fueled by your hatred of the enemies of Man.

Night10194 said:

You win this thread.

In general I think the Pistol/Chainsword combo is part of the Commissariat standard uniform and in any kind of official function they would be expected to dress as such - how they choose to adorn themselves in the heat of battle is probably too minor a detail to worry their superiors, however. This assumes, of course, that they are competent at their job … incompetence will breed greater scrutiny and as such any deviation from the norm will be seen as another nail in the coffin - quite literally. But, as Cain and Gaunt demonstrate, a particularly successful Commissar can be easily forgiven some minor eccentricities.

Jack of Tears said:

Commissars are trained to an exacting and brutal standard to enable them to act as disciplinarians to the troops and combination body guards/executioners to officers and it is during this training that the leather coats, peaked caps, aquilla iconography and pistol/melee weapon training is received. The reason for the weapon choice is very simple - versatility. You never know what situation a front line unit might end up in during a conflict so by catering to both ranged and melee combat it allows the Commissar to function in the widest range of situations they may find themselves in. Of course they will also be expected to then meld with the formations they are attached to. A Commissar attached to a drop infantry unit isn't going to last long in his standard gear, so he'll keep the peaked cap secure in a belt or somewhere else and upgrade to some sort of carapace armour. He'll likely also upgrade the las pistol and chain sword (basic issue) to something with some more punch, like a bolt pistol or power sword. Conversely a commissar stationed with light infantry that act as scouts is more likely to swap the noisy chain sword for something silent like a mono-edge saber or well crafted power weapon.

It's all about good training and adaptability. Commissars may be about enforcing seemingly mindless rules on the rank and file and making sure officers don't screw up, but they are also soldiers and will not cripple their chances of survival by not packing the right tool for the job. After all, the Commissariat is smaller in number than the officers that actually run the imperial guard, so their logistical clout at acquiring good equipment counts for more on a commissar by commissar basis.