Runesmiths give armour piercing to missile weapons?

What crownprinceimrik says. Not sure why there would be much discussion.

The rule differentiates between the model and the weapon:  
1. The model has AP: all CC attacks are affected
2. A CC weapon has AP: only CC attacks made by the weapon are affected 
3. A missile weapon has AP: only missile attacks made by the weapon are affected. 

• BRB p. 67: Wounds caused in close combat by a model with this special rule (or who is attacking with a weapon that has this special rule) inflict a further -1 armour save modifier, in addition to those for Strength.
  
  For example, a Strength 4 model with the Armour Piercing special rule would inflict a -2 armour save modifier when striking in close combat, rather than the usual -1.
  
  If a model has a weapon with the Armour Piercing rule, only attacks made or shots fired with the weapon are Armour Piercing.
  
  

This is confirmed by the FAQ regarding the Razor Standard:

BRB p. 503: Models in a unit with the Razor Standard have the Armour Piercing special rule.

BRB Official Update Version 1.9, p. 14:
Q: If a unit with missile weapons has the Razor Standard, do their shooting attacks have the Armour Piercing special rule? (Reference)
A: No. 


Since the Forgefire special rule gives AP to models, all CC attacks are affected - but only CC attacks.

• Dwarfs AB p. 36:
  Forgefire: All friendly infantry models in a unit joined by a Runesmith or Runelord gain the Armour Piercing special rule. Should the Runesmith or Runelord leave the unit or be slain, the unit loses the special rule immediately.
  
  

Of course, FAQ are official - but they are not rules as such: they are the official interpretation of the rules. And while it is not unknown for this interpretation to change, to be contradictory, or even to be flat out wrong, in this particular case, the FAQ simply follows and thus confirms the general rule as written in the BRB.

Can I take this question and alter it???

This (copies from BS, sorry for format):

Leadbelcher Gun 24" 4 Armour Piercing (BRB-67), Multiple Shots (D6) (BRB-73), Slow to Fire (BRB-75), Ignore To Hit modifiers for Moving and Shooting and Multiple Shots.


How does AP not apply to the gun in this instance? And if it doesn’t, why would they give it to the gun and not the Leadbelcher models as a special rule?


Edit; looked at the brace of ogre-pistols and it’s the same. So I guess they are assuming that the ogres bludgeon them with the handheld cannon?? Lol.... freakin ogres man

As knoffles indicates: in principle, all gunpowder weapons have the AP special rule. An exception is e.g. the cannon, where the normal shot does not have AP (but with S 10, that does not really matter), while the grapeshot has.  
If a missile weapon has the AP special rule, then it only applies to shooting. Most missile weapons cannot be used in CC, in any case. An exception here are pistols, which can be used as both missile and CC weapons. However, as CC weapons, they follow the rules of additional hand weapons, which do not have the AP special rule.
While the Leadbelcher fluff says that they use the guns as clubs, ruleswise it is a missile weapon only.

On a historic side note: in the 6th edition, pistols could still be fired in the first round of CC (thus with AP), and afterwards reverted to being hand weapons (without AP).

TheGreatHornedRat : I just read the dakkadakkathread. It is funny how Baldric keeps claiming that the "paragraph on page 67 you keep pointing out is an example of how Armour Piercing effects the armour save." If one follows his reasoning, the section that explains the Armour Piercing special rule does not actually explain at all what the Armour Piercing special rule is!!!

• Wounds caused in close combat by a model with this special rule (or who is attacking with a weapon that has this special rule) inflict a further -1 armour save modifier, in addition to those for Strength.
  
  For example, a Strength 4 model with the Armour Piercing special rule would inflict a -2 armour save modifier when striking in close combat, rather than the usual -1.
  
  If a model has a weapon with the Armour Piercing rule, only attacks made or shots fired with the weapon are Armour Piercing.
  

To everyone else, the normal text is the rule, and the text in italics - as is explicitly stated - is an example of the part of the rule that precedes it. It is not an example of an example.

That said, I doubt that there is any argument that will convince Baldric. I am very much reminded of this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSlfttDnurw