p12-14 — The Ætheric Dominion (X) Special Rule

Though mortal man might see the forces of the Warp as a unified host of monsters, this was far from the truth. Within the depths of the Warp there stirred a number of powers, each with its own agenda and desires, and each with its own hosts. While those daemonic incursions spawned from the nightmare of the Ruinstorm might align to one particular immaterial host, for even the most practised summoner, the intricacies of the Warp's byzantine power structures were utterly unknowable. As a result, summoned Daemons were often unwittingly drawn from across the vast multitudes of daemonkind, inscrutable allegiances subsumed by the binding rituals that drew them together.

Each Ætheric Dominion represents one of the innumerable hosts of daemonkind, and any unit with the Ætheric Dominion (X) special rule will have a number of additional special rules and abilities specific to their Ætheric Dominion. A unit which includes models with this special rule may only have one variation of the Ætheric Dominion special rule, e.g., Ætheric Dominion (Encroaching Ruin), and no model with this special rule may join a unit which includes any models with a different variation of the Ætheric Dominion (X) special rule. A unit which includes models with this special rule without a specific Ætheric Dominion listed in brackets must select one Ætheric Dominion from the list below during the army selection process (before the start of a battle) for no additional cost and is thereafter treated as having that variation of this special rule - unless specified otherwise, a Detachment may contain units with different variations of the Ætheric Dominion (X) special rule.

Ætheric Dominion (Encroaching Ruin)

Chaos in its purest form is a terror that few can stand before and remain sane. It hungers only for destruction, that all things mortal meet their predestined end and crumble into dust to be forgotten. To this singular end it moves inexorably, driven by a nightmarish purpose which subsumes the petty divisions of daemonkind.

When a unit entirely composed of models with this special rule and the Daemon Unit Type fails a Morale check, it only suffers a single automatic Wound with no Saves of any kind allowed instead of D3 Wounds as specified in the Daemon Unit Type. In addition, models with this special rule gain the Move Through Cover special rule.

Ætheric Dominion (Heedless Slaughter)

The dark fury of battle and the red joy of life's final end. For some among the hordes of the Warp, the only goal was to fight and to die - it mattered not where or why as long as blood flowed. Such vile entities would appear garbed in the trappings of conquerors and executioners, caring only for the tally of skulls and death they might reap from the mortal world, irrespective of such concerns as 'friend' or 'foe'.

A unit entirely composed of models with this special rule must declare a Charge if able when they begin the Assault phase within 8" of an enemy unit. If there is more than one eligible target, the controlling player chooses the target of any Charges made so long as that target is within 8". Note that this does not allow models with this special rule to Charge a different unit to one that they made a Shooting Attack against in the previous Shooting phase, even if they have made Shooting Attacks against a unit which is further than 8" away and there are eligible targets for a Charge within 8".

Additionally, a unit entirely composed of models with this special rule adds +1 to the score used to determine if they win a Combat in the Assault phase (this modifier is cumulative with other modifiers to Combat Resolution) and adds +1 to the value of any rolls made to determine the result of a Sweeping Advance.

Ætheric Dominion (Formless Distortion)

Even as Daemons manifest as obscene parodies of mortal forms, the true essence of Chaos is endlessly shifting and unknowable, twisting, changing and perverting everything it touches. Some Daemons who crossed the veil into realspace embodied this ceaseless distortion to its fullest extent, shaping themselves into roiling agglomerations of immaterial flesh and bone, for whom death was simply one component of the eternal metamorphosis they would inflict upon the material world.

When selecting a combat at the beginning of the Fight sub-phase, roll a D3 for each unit entirely composed of models with this special rule that is locked in combat. All close combat attacks made by models in the combat with this special rule gain additional special rules corresponding to the D3 roll until the end of that combat phase:

D3	Result
1	Coruscating Ectoplasma: Concussive (1), Lance
2	Lashing Pseudopods: Reach (1)
3	Vorpal Talons: Shred, Sunder

Ætheric Dominion (Putrid Corruption)

A slow corruption, rotting away body and soul, with no final release in death. Among the hosts of Chaos there were those who cared nothing for victory or defeat, only that suffering was spread to as many as possible. Such creatures were ushered forth into the material world in a miasma of disease and filth, content to spread their vile gifts to the world of mortals.

Models with this special rule gain the Heavy Unit Sub-type and may make a special Corrupted Resilience roll to avoid being Wounded (this is a Damage Mitigation roll which is made after unsaved Wounds are suffered). Corrupted Resilience rolls may not be taken against unsaved Wounds that have at least one of the following special rules: Instant Death, Psychic Focus or Force. To make a Corrupted Resilience roll, roll a D6 each time an unsaved Wound is suffered. On a result of 6+, the unsaved Wound is discounted - treat it as having been saved. On any other result the Wound is taken as normal.

Ætheric Dominion (Ravenous Dissolution)

Such is the hatred that swirls within the Warp that it encompasses all things, and like the dragon of eternity that feasts upon its own tail, this hatred extends even to itself. To expect rational and sane logic from creatures such as these would be foolish, for Chaos was both its name and nature. Yet, in its self-destructive hatred there was no ally to be found, only a new and more unpredictable foe.

Any model with this special rule adds +1 to all To Hit rolls during the first round of any close combat where they are locked in combat with a unit containing at least one model with either the Daemon Unit Type, Corrupted or Psyker Unit Sub-type, or the Independent Character special rule.

The effects of this special rule only apply when a unit which has it begins an Assault phase not locked in combat and then either Charges or is Charged by an enemy unit. If an enemy unit Charges this unit when it is already locked in combat then that does count as a new 'first' turn of combat for the effects of this special rule.

Ætheric Dominion (Rapturous Sensation)

A maddening screech of sensation and wild impulses. For some among the numberless tide of Chaos the ends of violence truly mattered not, merely that they were there to take part and to experience its vicissitudes, inflicting overwhelming pain and gorging on mortals' fear. These daemonkind revelled in the sensory overload of war, bounding over shell-sundered battlefields to deliver blissful death as they exulted in each blinding flash and deafening blast.

On a turn in which they make a successful Charge, unless that Charge is Disordered, models with this special rule make their attacks in an assault at one Initiative step higher than normal - after any Initiative modifiers from other special rules have been taken into account. Units entirely composed of models with this special rule also gain a bonus of +1" to the distance they can move as part of all Run moves, Charge moves and any move they make as part of a Reaction.

Additionally, units entirely composed of models with this special rule must re-roll all failed Initiative tests to determine if they suffer the effects of the Blind special rule as well as all failed Leadership tests to determine if they suffer the effects of the Concussive (X) special rule.

Ætheric Dominion (Malevolent Artifice)

Just as Chaos reflects back a twisted mockery of humanity's every facet, so too is the very drive to create perverted into a malevolent and destructive force within the Immaterium. Conjured forth into realspace, such daemonkind harnessed the works of mortals as a vector for their own annihilation, their monstrous machine-entity forms at once a mimicry of flesh and artifice, every action made to demonstrate their supremacy over both mortal beings and everything they deigned to create.

Models with this special rule may re-roll all failed Armour Saves taken against any Wounds resolved at a Strength value lower than their Toughness Characteristic. This special rule has no effect on Cover Saves or Invulnerable Saves.

Ætheric Dominion (Infernal Tempest)

Some hosts of daemonkind brought forth a maelstrom of raw warpstuff with them, manifesting the energy of the Immaterium as sheer elemental power. Around these entities roiled tempests of prismatic balefire, the air riven with crackling arcs of unreal lightning as the earth twisted into fragments of shimmering crystal. To these Daemons there was no higher purpose than the promulgation of that power and of its profligate use on the battlefields of the material realm.

Models with this special rule gain the Hammer of Wrath (1) special rule or, if they already have a version of the Hammer of Wrath (X) special rule, they increase the value in brackets by +1. All wounds inflicted by any variant of the Hammer of Wrath (X) special rule possessed by a unit with this special rule also gain the Deflagrate special rule.

Additionally, models with this special rule gain a Shooting Attack with the following profile:

Weapon	Range	Str	AP	Type
Elemental Eruption	8"	User	5	Assault 2, Deflagrate, Retaliation

Retaliation: Attacks may only be made using weapons with this special rule as part of a Reaction and automatically hit the target unit without needing to roll To Hit.