This section details army special rules including
Legion of the Damned Detachments and
Warlord Traits.
Legion of the Damned Detachments
You can use the rules for Legion of the Damned detachments presented here in order to include the Legion of the Damned when using the rules for
Choosing Your Army in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. Doing so allows you to recreate battles where the Legion of the Damned have appeared in such numbers that they may even outnumber their allies on the battlefield as they strive to defend vital targets – or worlds – against aggressors.
Including the Legion of the Damned in Your Army
When you
choose an army, the Legion of the Damned may be taken as a
primary detachment or as a special form of
allied detachment known as a Legion of the Damned detachment.
If you take the Legion of the Damned as a primary detachment, use the Legion of the Damned
Force Organisation chart instead of the primary detachment Force Organisation chart. Alternatively, an army may include a Legion of the Damned detachment in addition to any other detachments. Other detachments, such as allied detachments, additional primary detachments and
fortifications can be taken normally. So, for example, you could field an army with a Blood Angels primary detachment, an allied detachment of Imperial Guard, and a Legion of the Damned detachment. You can include two Legion of the Damned detachments in your army if you wish, but one of these must be the army’s primary detachment.
Each black box in the Legion of the Damned Force Organisation chart is a choice that you must take in order to include this detachment as part of your army, whilst a grey box is a choice you can include as part of your army. Each of these boxes represents a single
Legion of the Damned squad, which means that you must include at least one, but can include up to four, Legion of the Damned squads for each Legion of the Damned detachment in your army. All Legion of the Damned squads have the
Elites battlefield role.
If you take a Legion of the Damned detachment as your primary detachment, then all Legion of the Damned squads in your primary detachment are
scoring units.
Special Rules
Aid Unlooked For
The
Legion of the Damned Squad do not benefit from
Chapter Tactics and their units cannot be joined by
Independent Characters. They always start the game in
Reserve and always arrive by
Deep Strike. When they arrive by Deep Strike, you may re-roll the
Scatter dice if you wish.
Flaming Projectiles
Ranged attacks made by Damned Legionnaires have the
Ignores Cover special rule.
Unyielding Spectres
Damned Legionnaires have a 3+
invulnerable save.
Aid Unlooked For
Damned Legionnaires cannot be joined by
Independent Characters. They always start the game in
Deep Strike Reserve. When they arrive by Deep Strike, you can choose to re-roll both the 2D6 and the
scatter dice.
Warlord Traits
If you are fielding an army where the
primary detachment is a Legion of the Damned detachment, one Legionnaire Sergeant must be nominated as your army’s
Warlord. When generating his Warlord Traits, a Legion of the Damned Warlord may either roll on one of the
Warlord Traits tables in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook or roll on the table below.
| D6 | Warlord Traits |
| 1 | Inferno of Vengeance| So palpable is the vengeful fury that drives these Damned Legionnaires that the air about them ignites at their touch. |
The Warlord, and his unit, have the Soul Blaze special rule. |
| 2 | Aura of Fear| Facing a host of the Adeptus Astartes is intimidating enough, but when such a force personifies the very image of fire and death, terror becomes absolute. |
When taking Fear tests, enemy units in base contact with the Warlord’s unit suffer a cumulative -1 penalty to their Leadership value for each friendly Legion of the Damned squad on the battlefield beyond the first. |
| 3 | Ethereal Bolts| The ammunition fired by these Damned Legionnaires can pass through even the densest armour plating to wreak havoc on the vehicle’s fragile mechanisms within. |
The Warlord, and his unit, have the Armourbane special rule when firing any of the following weapons: bolt pistol, boltgun, storm bolter, heavy bolter, or any combi-weapon firing as a boltgun. |
| 4 | Spectral Bulwark| These Legionnaires are utterly implacable, their phantasmal forms lending them a resilience beyond the ken of mortal men. |
The Warlord, and his unit, have the Feel No Pain (5+) special rule. |
| 5 | Never Too Late, Never Too Early| The Legion of the Damned are famed above all else for their uncanny ability to appear at the right place and at the right time to change the course of a battle. |
Instead of making a Reserve Roll for the Warlord and his unit at the start of Turn Two, the controlling player can choose whether or not he wishes them to arrive that turn. If he decides to keep them in Reserve, he can also choose whether or not he wishes them to arrive at the start of Turn Three. However, if they have not done so already, the Warlord and his unit automatically arrives at the start of Turn Four. |
| 6 | Retribution Made Manifest| None can stand against these Damned Legionnaires, for they are the embodiment of the Emperor’s vengeance. |
The Warlord, and his unit, have the Preferred Enemy special rule. |
