Rules Query - Pistol vs Brace of Pistols

Cheers (as always). Good to get clarification
Edit: this was mainly driven due to two pages of discussions on the subject on the CDO forum. It seemed obvious but it seemed almost everyone there was of the opinion it couldn’t be used in combat

For the naysayers on the CDO forum:

BRB p. 91: "Unlike other weapons, a pistol can be used as both a missile weapon and a close combat weapon, following the same rules as an additional hand weapon." This sentence is without any possible doubt referring to a single pistol.

1. The BRB clearly states pistol, not brace of pistols. In CC, the pistol is an additional hand weapon, it does not replace the hand weapon.

2. The brace of pistols does not follow the rules for an additional hand weapon. Ruleswise, a brace of pistols is a single weapon with the Requires Two Hands special rule.  Thus, it replaces the hand weapon in CC. But since a brace of pistols also has the Extra Attack special rule, the Attacks value is increased by 1 in CC.

3. The difference is also specified on BRB p. 89: "If an infantry model is armed with an additional hand weapon or a brace of pistols, these grant an extra attack. A model can't, however, wield a brace of pistols or additional hand weapon alongside another type of special weapon such as, say, a halberd."

Well, you would be pistol-whipping them with both. No need to draw your hand weapon, just bust your butts.

As it happens, warrior heroes will get 4 Attacks (3 A on the standard profile +1 EA) every round of CC, plus 2 S4 attacks, just before the first round of CC, if they can S&S.

Pistols, brace of pistols, great weapon, fireglaive etc. are all special CC weapons. Basically, anything that is not a HW or magical weapon is a special CC weapon.

1. If he has a special CC weapon, he can never use HW & shield.

• BRB p. 89: If a model carries a special close combat weapon, he must fight with it in the Close Combat phase - he cannot elect to wield his hand weapon instead.

2. If he has several special CC weapons, you must choose at the very start of a CC which weapon will be used for the duration of that CC. If that weapon would be destroyed during that CC, you can choose another one.

• Ibidem: If the models in a unit carry two special close combat weapons, they must choose which of the weapons to use at the start of the first round of a close combat (the entire unit must use the same weapon, but characters can always choose separately). Whichever weapon they select must then be used for the entire combat, unless the weapon they are using is somehow destroyed — it's no easy thing to change to a different weapon partway through a fight.

3. If he has a magical weapon, he must use this instead of HW or a special CC weapon.

• BRB p. 501: A character that has a magic close combat weapon cannot use any other close combat weapons.

4. Of course, you can always S&S, if you also have a ranged weapon like a pistol, and if you use a pistol to S&S, you can still choose another weapon for CC.   

I am not sure what you mean by "Can they still force (the rest of the unit) close range with the pistols? "

Yes - but...(there is usually a but - see below).  As it says on BRB p. 88,  "If for some reason a model has more than one missile weapon, he is allowed to choose which one to fire during the Shooting phase."  Which obviously applies to S&S too, because "If a Stand and Shoot charge reaction is declared, the unit makes a normal, although out of sequence, shooting attack against the charging unit" (BRB p. 17).

Since we are on the subject, I want to point out that the Stand and Shoot rules are often misunderstood. As quoted, "If a Stand and Shoot charge reaction is declared, the unit makes a normal, although out of sequence, shooting attack against the charging unit" – a charging unit that has not moved yet from its starting position. You apply the normal rules for shooting from the starting position of the charging unit:

- LoS and frontal arc for each model are determined from that position.
- If the target panics, then it will move from that position.
- Cover is determined from that position. For instance, other units in between the shooters and the chargers at that position will provide hard cover, even though they may be gone, when the chargers actually move.

The only difference with normal shooting attacks is that models can even shoot when the target is not in range – "here we assume that the charging enemy has entered the weapons' range before the unit shoots" (BRB p. 39). If the charger at its starting position is further away than half the weapon's maximum range, that weapon will suffer a -1 shooting modifier for long range. 

And now comes the part that is generally misread: "A Stand and Shoot reaction can be declared against an enemy unit that starts its charge outside the firing unit's maximum range — the shooting is resolved normally assuming the enemy is just within maximum range of the shooting unit's shortest-ranged weapon. If the charge fails, for whatever reason, we assume that the chargers closed to within the weapons' maximum range before being driven off" (BRB p. 17).  

I put the relevant part in Italics. If the unit does not start its charge outside the firing unit's maximum range, then this does not apply. Given the maximum charge range, you will note that this gives a boon to shorter range weapons. Anything that shoots 24" like the Dwarven and Empire Handguns will normally not be able to benefit. So. to fill in the but from above: you only get the benefit of the shorter range of the nafta bomb, if the enemy starts its charge outside the 18" maximum range of the fireglaive.

As I said, this is generally misread, and people can become quite upset, when I point this out, to the extent that they even claim the firing unit's maximum range is not somehow its maximum range. But as usual: if you and your opponent agree, feel free to deviate from the official rules.