Title pretty much says it all. My gut says "yes," because Snap Fire occurs as a result of the target engaging in melee.

That said, the order would certainly matter. I.e. does Snap Fire occur as a reaction when the enemy is about to engage in melee.

I guess the question here is can Snap Fire be safely performed with weapons that do not possess the close quarters quality.

'does Snap Fire occur as a reaction when the enemy is about to engage in melee.'

I'd say no, because;

'Only one snap reaction may be made in response to an enemy becoming engaged in melee with the character . - p99'

So despite the fluff description, it looks like the snap fire occurs as a reaction to the action of becoming engaged in melee. ???

As to the main question, it looks like the Snap Fire doesn't trigger disruptive blow.

I think the pertinent text is this:

Reactions can only be used in response to trigger events specific to each action . p197 (my emphasis)

A character can only make one disruptive blow reaction in response to a single action . p199

Since Snapfire is a reaction and not an action , and it looks like reactions don't trigger further reactions.

Its up for grabs though as the text is ambiguous.

I'd disagree though, as a reaction is a subtype of an action. p. 199 States that a Reaction is one of the 5 Action types.

I'd disagree though, as a reaction is a subtype of an action. p. 199 States that a Reaction is one of the 5 Action types.

Good point.

Yes then?

I think Snap Fire is intended to allow a shot at an enemy BEFORE he engages the character in melee. Thus, Snap Fire would not trigger a Disruptive Blow. The rules don't do a good job of specifying this -- perhaps they could be rewritten more clearly?

I think Snap Fire is intended to allow a shot at an enemy BEFORE he engages the character in melee. Thus, Snap Fire would not trigger a Disruptive Blow. The rules don't do a good job of specifying this -- perhaps they could be rewritten more clearly?

I'd say you're right CoW. Very ambiguous wording indeed (my emphasis).

I'd say you're right CoW. Very ambiguous wording indeed (my emphasis).

Theres a reason I started this thread. Its an oddly ambiguous situation, with some pretty deep ramifications depending on which way you roll.

Personally I still swing towards saying it can cause a Disruptive Strike if the weapon doesn't have the Close Quarters property, otherwise the Snap Fire talent makes people with Heavy Stubbers and Heavy Bolters a little bit too frightening. But certainly, its exact wording is fairly ambiguous.

Still, hands down, Snap Fire is an amazing talent.

I'd say you're right CoW. Very ambiguous wording indeed (my emphasis).

Theres a reason I started this thread. Its an oddly ambiguous situation, with some pretty deep ramifications depending on which way you roll.

Personally I still swing towards saying it can cause a Disruptive Strike if the weapon doesn't have the Close Quarters property, otherwise the Snap Fire talent makes people with Heavy Stubbers and Heavy Bolters a little bit too frightening. But certainly, its exact wording is fairly ambiguous.

Still, hands down, Snap Fire is an amazing talent.

The talent could be limited to affect only Pistol and Basic weapons. While Space Marines could feasibly shoot targets at point-blank range with a heavy bolter, they seem way too unwieldy for a human to do the same.

Remember, it is currently possible to shoot any weapon while in melee now. Just that any weapon that does not have the Close Quarters quality now provokes a Disrupting Blow.

I'm not sure what I think of this change yet, as it seems like its going to take one of the larger benefits for melee (its ability to "lock out" heavy weapons), and replace it with a slightly lesser one, the ability to get a free strike. I say lesser because I feel that the base accuracy for such attacks is not enough to justify losing the ability to prevent the attack.

In other words, as a ranged attacker, I'm far more confident in my ability to aim twice and attack, than my enemies ability to get a disrupting blow against me (as its testing on just their base WS).

Remember, it is currently possible to shoot any weapon while in melee now.

Oh, I didn't notice this when I first read the rules. That is a very big change indeed.

I don't like this change just because it adds more rolls to a game that already involves lots of die-rolling and bookkeeping. Not being able to shoot any non-Close Quarters weapons in melee is a much more elegant solution.