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[40K] Fiction vs tabletop

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 5:37 pm
by sunnyside
I'm wondering how much they really match up.

From the sounds of things the standard imperial flashlights (lasguns) are actually quite potent in the fiction. And it sounds like the smurfs are extra potent.

What I'm wondering is if everything is sort of scaled up together, in a Dragon Ball Z sort of way. Sure the mountains are getting blown up left and right or whatever, but a volly of fire from a squad of 10 lasgun equipped IG at closer range is still expected to take out a single marine and mostly just singe the others that came under fire, a bolter or lasgun can't really threaten a tank from the front, and so on.

In an absolute as opposed to relative sense, the gear of 40K is massively toned down on the tabletop as GW mostly just copy pasted stuff from the Warhammer Fantasy, so using lasguns "feels" a whole lot like shooting bows. But if things scale up together it could just be that you have to be at pretty close range for the weapon to be effective against 40K era threats or somesuch.

Re: [40K] Fiction vs tabletop

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 6:02 pm
by Aaron
Well it's game balance. Playing SM's would turn you into a man-god on the tabletop if the fluff was followed for the stats.

That said, there is a quote out there (that I can't find after 5 years) mentioning that the novels is how it really is.

There's some pretty interesting stuff in the fluff, like lasguns having half the effective range in arctic conditions. SM bolt pistols having a range of almost a km. Etc.

Re: [40K] Fiction vs tabletop

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:49 pm
by Sionnach Glic
sunnyside wrote:I'm wondering how much they really match up.
Book forces >>> table-top forces.

As Kendall correctly points out, the table-top troops are seriously neutered for game ballance. IIRC, White Dwarf once published an article with the stats for Space Marines as they appeared in the book. A squad or so of them would be able to tear through pretty much any force arrayed against them.
Cpl Kendall wrote:There's some pretty interesting stuff in the fluff, like lasguns having half the effective range in arctic conditions. SM bolt pistols having a range of almost a km. Etc.
Conor MacLeod has done some excellent analyses of a heap of 40K novels. You can find them here. Certainly worth a look for fans. :)

Re: [40K] Fiction vs tabletop

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:51 pm
by Aaron
Yeah I know, I trade emails with him on 40K.

Re: [40K] Fiction vs tabletop

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:56 pm
by Sionnach Glic
Well, that was aimed more at Sunny and any others reading (I figured you'd know since you have an acount over there). I just lack the ability to make write clear statements. :)

Re: [40K] Fiction vs tabletop

Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 11:04 pm
by Aaron
:lol:

Re: [40K] Fiction vs tabletop

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 2:59 pm
by Tyyr
Tabletop vs. Fiction, never the two shall meet.

Seriously, if you kept IG balance the same and adjusted a SM force to fiction strength a 1,500 point IG vs. SM fight would involve the usual IG horde and like 3 to 5 space marines.

Re: [40K] Fiction vs tabletop

Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 3:46 pm
by Mikey
Obviously, in fiction a weapon is as powerful or weak as it needs to be for dramatic effect. I've seen lasguns treated pretty well, if slightly more potent than in TT. I've seen SM bolters either little more than assault rifles (or worse - cf. Grey Knights,) or (in McNeill) able to rip open a Tau battlesuit with one 3-round burst. :roll: The same author - Dan Abnett - has a SM plasma gun overheat to where it must be discarded, but then has Viktor Hark use his plasma pistol as his only weapon in battle with no ill effect. I've also noticed a naming problem: .30 or .50 cal repeating slugthrowers called autocannons in one instance, and (correctly) called heavy stubbers in another.