Vindicare Shield Breaker and the Nova Reactor

[IronZOGZ]

Hello BoLS -

Writing to you from (finally) sunny Richmond, VA.

My buddy and I are cordially trying to agree on how the Vindicare Assassin interacts with the Nova Reactor found on our loving new Riptide (who shredded most of my Space Wolves in three turns...).

If I fire a shield breaker round at the Riptide with no Nova reactor turned on, it disables the invulnerable save granted by his suit as per Vindicare rules - "any invulnerable save granted by item or wargear." Great. Now, if I do the same thing while his Nova shield is turned on... head explodes.

This is problematic largely because the source of the Nova Reactor is difficult to determine. Now we're crossing into a discussion about RAI and RAW - it's listed as a Special Rule, but it obviously comes with his suit, right? Does the round only disable it for the turn? Does it prevent him from ever using the shield function of his Reactor again? Does the round do anything at all?

We agreed for the game we played that the Breaker round disables/ignores the shield for that turn, on the grounds that it is a single, temporary effect granted by the item/wargear but is not it's sole function (and in doing so we ruled that the Reactor is, in fact, an item/wargear).

What do you guys think? Sorry I don't have page numbers for reference - I'm at work! The relevant sections of the various books are:

Grey Knight Codex - Vindicare Assassin special rules - Shield Breaker Round - last pages(?) of the unit descriptions in the Grey Knights codex.

Tau Codex - Nova Reactor Section of the Riptide's unit description

Tau Codex - Riptide Battlesuit - Battlesuits description page (just for reference - this section doesn't mention the Reactor at all, hence our confusion.

[bfmusashi]

This depends on how literal you are. If you go strict RAW the nova reactor a special rule not wargear and can not be canceled with the shield breaker. If you are of the mind fluff dictates interpretation then the invulnerable save is lost when the shield breaker wounds. The Riptide Shield Generator entry on page 69 states Nova Shield is just an overboost of the wargear's effect and as the wargear's invulnerable save is lost so is the Nova Shield.

[Subexarch]

The Shield Breaker would indeed destroy the shield generator but wouldn't do anything to the Nova reactor (It is neither wargear nor the source of the invul save). Without the generator's base save the reactor can't be used to improve it obviously. So the Riptide would get no invul at all but would otherwise be completely free to terrorize the enemy.

[Sly]

The Shield Breaker would indeed destroy the shield generator but wouldn't do anything to the Nova reactor (It is neither wargear nor the source of the invul save). Without the generator's base save the reactor can't be used to improve it obviously. So the Riptide would get no invul at all but would otherwise be completely free to terrorize the enemy.

I agree. The generator is the wargear that gives an invulnerable save, thus it can be destroyed. The reactor boosts the save, but doesn't provide it... without a generator, there is no save for the reactor to boost.

[Nabterayl]

The Riptide Shield Generator entry on page 69 states Nova Shield is just an overboost of the wargear's effect

I may just be blind, but where do you see this? All I see on page 69 is, "A Riptide shield generator confers a 5+ invulnerable save." Similarly, on page 44 all I see is "Nova Shield This grants the Riptide Shas'vre a 3+ invulnerable save." I don't see anything in the codex that links the two.

Unless I'm missing something, I think the best literal reading is that the nova reactor is immune to the shield breaker, but the Riptide shield generator is not. As others have said, the nova reactor is consistently called a "special rule," which is neither an item nor wargear. That said, I would play it (with my buddies' friendly consent) as an item, since it is modeled as a physical object on the suit.

[bfmusashi]

Strict RAW says you keep the Nova Shield. When I said how loose (i.e. use the italics) you get with it I mean it specifically refers to charging the Riptide Shield Generator to get the 3+. It's right there.

[Magpie]

"Within a Riptide battlesuit's ablative shield is housed a small energy
field generator whose potency can be further boosted by diverting
power from the XVI 04 's nova reactor."

I think makes it pretty clear the Nova Shield is a boost to the Shield Generator. The Shield Breaker round should take it down.

[bfmusashi]

"Within a Riptide battlesuit's ablative shield is housed a small energy
field generator whose potency can be further boosted by diverting
power from the XVI 04 's nova reactor."

I think makes it pretty clear the Nova Shield is a boost to the Shield Generator. The Shield Breaker round should take it down.

Only if you take the italics to be part of the rule instead of just fluff. Often, the italics are ignored and only the standard text used in rulings.

[Magpie]

Only if you take the italics to be part of the rule instead of just fluff. Often, the italics are ignored and only the standard text used in rulings.

That's not a good route to follow if you are looking to determine which interpretation to take when there are several ways it could go.

[Learn2Eel]

That's not a good route to follow if you are looking to determine which interpretation to take when there are several ways it could go.

It is pretty clear that the Riptide would get a +3 invulnerable save regardless of the Shield Breaker round.

(page 45) "Nova Shield This grants the Riptide Shas'vre a +3 invulnerable save."

No ifs. No buts. There is nothing in the Nova Reactor special rule about "boosting" anything. It just says that you gain one of the effects. It wouldn't matter if the fluff section of the shield generator was part of the rules. The Nova Generator's Nova Shield effect grants the Riptide a +3 invulnerable save. There's really no way around that. And actually, the parts in italics aren't considered part of the rules.