Special Rules

After determining Warlord Traits, but before deployment, roll a D6 and look up the result on the Combat Drugs table. All friendly models that have the Combat Drugs special rule receive the characteristic bonus listed on the table for the duration of the battle.

Combat Drugs Table

D6	Bonus
1	Adrenalight: +1 Attack
2	Grave Lotus: +1 Strength
3	Hypex: +1 Initiative
4	Painbringer: +1 Toughness
5	Serpentin: +1 Weapon Skill
6	Splintermind: +1 Leadership

Power from Pain

As Dark Eldar feed on the souls of their foes, they become imbued with supernatural might, eventually turning into killing machines.

At the start of each game turn, look up the game turn number on the Power from Pain table. All models with the Power from Pain special rule gain the special rules listed on the table, in addition to any other special rules they have.

Power from Pain Table

Turn	Special Rules
1	None.
2	Feel No Pain (6+).
3	Feel No Pain.
4	Feel No Pain, Furious Charge.
5	Feel No Pain, Furious Charge, Fearless.
6+	Feel No Pain, Furious Charge, Fearless, Rage.

Special Rules

A League Apart

Lelith Hesperax re-rolls all failed To Hit and To Wound rolls whilst fighting a challenge.

Agonising

If an unsaved Wound is inflicted with the Animus Vitae, all models with the Power from Pain special rule (friend or foe) treat the current turn as being one higher than it actually is when determining what special rules they benefit from. This benefit applies for the remainder of the battle and is cumulative with the Architect of Agony and/or Master of Pain special rules.

Arcane Payload

Any Precision Shot made with this weapon has the Instant Death special rule.

Blade Whip

Models fighting with a razorflail re-roll all failed To Hit rolls in close combat.

Calcific Spears

If a non-vehicle model is removed as a casualty due to an unsaved Wound caused by this weapon, that model’s unit immediately suffers D6 additional hits. These hits are Randomly Allocated and have the Ignores Cover special rule. The Strength of these hits is equal to the Toughness characteristic of the model removed as a casualty, and they are resolved at AP`-`.

Dodge

A model with this special rule has a 4+ invulnerable save against all Wounds inflicted in the Fight sub-phase.

Dual Wield

A model fighting with demiklaives (Dual blades) receives +1 bonus Attack.

Father of Pain

Urien Rakarth’s Master of Pain special rule affects all friendly units within 12" of him, not just his own unit.

Impale

A model fighting with an impaler re-rolls all To Wound rolls of a 1 when fighting in close combat.

Lethal Dose

Any To Wound roll of a 6 inflicted by this weapon has the Instant Death special rule.

Master of Blades

Drazhar can only join friendly units of Incubi. Whilst Drazhar is part of an Incubi unit, all Incubus and Klaivex models in the unit add 1 to their Weapon Skill.

Master of Pain

The model and his unit treat the current turn as being one higher than it actually is when determining what special rules they benefit from as the result of the Power from Pain special rule. This is cumulative with the Agonising and/or Architect of Agony special rules.

Murderous Assault

Drazhar gains a bonus Attack, made at the same Initiative step, each time he rolls a 6 To Wound in close combat. These bonus Attacks do not themselves generate any further bonus Attacks.

Quicksilver Dodge

Lelith Hesperax has a 4+ invulnerable save. This is increased to a 3+ invulnerable save against all Wounds inflicted in the Fight sub-phase.

Ritual Pair

A model fighting with a shardnet and impaler always gains the +1 bonus Attack for fighting with more than one Melee weapon. A model fighting with a shardnet and impaler re-rolls all To Hit and To Wound rolls of 1 in close combat.

Sentient Blade

When fighting with the Djin Blade, the wielder gains +2 bonus Attacks. Immediately after resolving all of the attacks made with this weapon, roll a single D6 – on a result of 1, the model using this weapon immediately suffers a single Wound, with no saves of any kind allowed.

Snatched

When fighting in a challenge, this weapon has the Instant Death special rule.

Soul-leech

Each time the bearer inflicts an unsaved Wound with the Parasite’s Kiss it immediately gains one Wound lost previously in the battle.

Soulfright

At the end of the Shooting phase, a unit that has suffered one or more hits from a weapon with this special rule in that phase must make a Leadership test. The unit suffers a single additional Wound, with no armour or cover saves allowed, for each point this test is failed by. Wounds cannot be allocated to models with the Fearless or And They Shall Know No Fear special rules (any excess Wounds are lost).

The Penetrating Blade

Armour saves cannot be taken against Wounds inflicted by Lelith Hesperax’s Melee weapons.

Tactical Objectives

D6	Result
11	Take Them Alive!
12	Fear and Terror
13	Death by the Thousand Cuts
14	No Escape
15	Pain, in All its Forms
16	Trophy Hunter

Codex: Dark Eldar describes six Tactical Objectives to use in your games of Warhammer 40,000 that are exclusive to Dark Eldar players and help to reflect their cruel and sinister method of war.

If your Warlord has the Dark Eldar Faction, these Tactical Objectives replace the Capture & Control Tactical Objectives (numbers 11-16).

If a Warhammer 40,000 mission has the Tactical Objectives special rule, players use the normal rules for using Tactical Objectives with the following exception: when a Dark Eldar player generates a Capture & Control objective (numbers 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16), generate the corresponding Dark Eldar Tactical Objective instead, as shown in the table below. Other Tactical Objectives (numbers 21-66) are generated normally.

TAKE THEM ALIVE!

Commorragh is always in need of fresh slaves. Close with the prey and capture them alive.

Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one non-vehicle enemy unit was completely destroyed during your Assault phase. If an enemy with the Independent Character special rule was removed as a casualty during your Assault phase, score D3 Victory Points instead.

Type: DARK ELDAR

FEAR AND TERROR

Sow terror and panic in the ranks of your foes. Drink in their fear like a fine wine.

Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one enemy unit failed a single Morale, Pinning or Fear test during your turn.

Type: DARK ELDAR

DEATH BY THE THOUSAND CUTS

Strike and fade! Watch the enemy’s army weaken and die as you bleed it one warrior at a time.

Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one model was removed as a casualty from at least 3 different enemy units during your turn. If at least one model was removed as a casualty from 6 or more different enemy units during your turn, score D3 Victory Points instead.

Type: DARK ELDAR

NO ESCAPE

No enemy can outrun us; no foe can hide from our sight. Murder any who would seek to escape the kiss of our blades.

Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one enemy unit that was falling back, or one enemy unit with either the Stealth or Shrouded special rule, was completely destroyed during your turn.

Type: DARK ELDAR

PAIN, IN ALL ITS FORMS

Revel in the suffering of others, unleash pain upon your foes in all its delicious forms.

Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if at least one enemy unit was completely destroyed during either your Shooting phase or your Assault phase. If at least one enemy unit was completely destroyed during both your Shooting phase and your Assault phase, score D3 Victory Points instead. If at least 3 enemy units were completely destroyed in both your Shooting phase and your Assault phase, score D3+3 Victory Points instead.

Type: DARK ELDAR

TROPHY HUNTER

The lords of Commorragh demand a trophy, either a bauble from the field of battle or the head of an enemy champion.

When this objective is generated, your opponent must nominate one Objective Marker and one of his characters. Score 1 Victory Point at the end of your turn if you control the nominated Objective Marker or the nominated enemy character has been removed as a casualty. If you control the nominated Objective Marker at the end of your turn and the enemy character was removed as a casualty during the same turn, score 2 Victory Points instead.

Type: DARK ELDAR

Designer’s Note

If you own a deck of Dark Eldar Tactical Objective Cards, you can generate your Tactical Objectives by shuffling the deck and drawing the top card instead of rolling a D66. These should be kept face up, so your opponent can see which Tactical Objectives you have generated, unless the mission you are playing instructs you otherwise.

Warlord Traits

When generating his Warlord Trait, a Dark Eldar Warlord can either roll on one of the Warlord Traits tables in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules, or roll on the table below.

Warlord Traits

Ancient Evil

So long has this Warlord lived, steeped in horror and cruelty, that he is now shrouded in a malefic aura capable of paralyzing his foes with fear.

The Warlord, and all friendly units with the Dark Eldar Faction within 12" of the Warlord, have the Fear special rule.

Labyrinthine Cunning

The Warlord has a mind like a steel trap, assimilating every detail of a situation. There is no circumstance he cannot turn to his benefit, nor any vagary of fate that can take him by surprise.

The Dark Eldar player can re-roll the dice when they attempt to Seize the Initiative, determine if the Night Fighting rules are in effect, and when they make Reserve Rolls.

Soulthirst

In place of a soul, this withered and ancient Warlord plays host to a howling chasm of horror and madness. He must swallow thousands of souls each day simply to stave off complete degeneration, his thirst lending him a lethal ferocity.

The Warlord has the Rage special rule.

Hatred Eternal

The Warlord is disgusted by the younger races that infest the galaxy, sickened by the unwashed and unrefined multitudes wallowing in their own filth. He will take any opportunity to exterminate such vermin, revelling in every unworthy life he and his followers extinguish.

The Warlord has the Hatred special rule.

Blood Dancer

A star of the Commorrite arenas, the Warlord excels at close quarters combat. The skills they display before the baying crowds on the blood-soaked sands of the arena floor come in equally useful on the battlefield.

The Warlord receives +1 to the Weapon Skill characteristic on his profile.

Towering Arrogance

The Warlord is possessed of the absolute belief that he is universally preeminent. He has nothing but scorn for the foe, no matter how horrifying their aspect. Such is the power of this conviction that the Warlord and his followers will stand their ground with a derisive sneer, regardless of the odds stacked against them.

The Warlord, and all friendly units with the Dark Eldar Faction within 12" of the Warlord, have the Fearless special rule.

Wing Leaders

Dark Eldar Wing Leaders

Gifted with incredible reactions and absolute mental focus, Eldar pilots are – one-on-one – more than a match for any other aerial combatant in the galaxy. Their flight leaders are those who excel not only in the arts of battle, but also in maximising the cohesive impact of their squadrons. Whether this be through example or selfish manipulation is just a question of light and dark.

Faction: Dark Eldar.

D6	Special Rule
1-2	Bloodthirsty Hunter: Add 1 to the Wing Leader’s Pursuit value. Add an additional 1 when making Engagement rolls for the Wing Leader in a Dogfight.
3-4	Arrogant Perfectionist: You can re-roll one dice roll for the Wing Leader each turn.
5-6	Selsh Leader: You can add 1 to this Wing Leader’s Ballistic Skill if they attack before the other Flyers in their Wing (there must still be at least one other Flyer from the Flyer Wing on the battlefield).

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Dark Eldar: Profiles

Dark Eldar: Wargear