T'au Commander Battlesuit

Saves: Agility +8, Willpower +8

Proficiencies: Command +9, Awareness +8, Tech +8

Senses: Command suit sensors see normally in darkness and smoke within 120 feet

Master of War. Once per round, the commander grants one allied unit an immediate move or attack out of sequence.

Kauyon or Mont'ka. The commander fights one of two ways, chosen before the encounter. Kauyon: the fight starts on its terms, and it and its allies gain Advantage on their first attack from ambush or concealment. Mont'ka: it names one enemy at the start of the encounter; its attacks against that target deal one extra die of damage until the target falls.

Bodyguard Protocol. While an escort suit or drone lives, the first hit against the commander each round strikes an escort instead.

Multiattack. The commander makes two attacks in any combination of Fusion Blaster and Cyclic Ion Blaster.

Fusion Blaster. Ranged Attack: +10 to hit, range 30/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4d10 + 5 energy damage. Within 15 feet, this attack ignores armor-based Defense and cover bonuses. Very little survives it twice.

Cyclic Ion Blaster. Ranged Attack: +10 to hit, range 80/240 ft., one target. Hit: 2d10 + 4 energy damage. Alternatively it storms a 10-foot zone in range; creatures there make an Agility Save DC 17, taking 3d8 energy damage on a failure (half on success), and survivors are Suppressed until the start of the commander's next turn.

Command Jump. The commander and one escort within 10 feet jump up to their full Movement without provoking Reactive Fire.

Strategic Withdrawal. The commander orders the entire cadre into a fighting retreat: every allied T'au unit may immediately move up to half its Movement toward the fallback line, screened by drones and Suppression, without provoking Reactive Fire.

Answering Judgment. Once per round, when an enemy within 60 feet attacks one of the commander's allies, the commander makes one Cyclic Ion Blaster attack against it.

Morale: Never breaks; withdraws deliberately when the mathematics turn, and the party will meet this suit again with better weapons fitted.

Tactics: Run the commander in phases: it directs from range while escorts screen, commits for one decisive strike at the party's weakest joint, then leaves if the exchange sours. Killing it may require trapping it, stripping its escorts, and denying the jump lanes it planned to leave by — it has planned its own retreat before the first shot.

Loot / Evidence / Hooks: A command-grade battlesuit with top-line hardpoints, and the cadre's entire campaign plan in its cogitator.

A T'au commander in a personal battlesuit is a general who also happens to be the best weapons platform on the field. Everything the cadre does is a frame around this suit's judgment, and its judgment is very good.

Use this threat as the climax of a T'au arc — a boss who fights like a duelist, commands like a strategist, and retreats like a professional.

Threat Profile: High durability, high modular burst damage, superior jump mobility, cadre-wide command effects, drone and bodyguard escort, disengages rather than dies.

Master of War. Once per round, grants one allied unit an immediate move or attack out of sequence.

Command Suit. Carries top-grade hardpoints; treat each weapon as a crisis suit system with veteran accuracy.

Kauyon or Mont'ka. The commander fights one of two ways: patient ambush (the encounter starts on its terms) or killing blow (it focuses the party's linchpin until one of them is gone).

Bodyguard Protocol. While escort suits or drones live, the first hit against the commander each round strikes an escort instead.

Fusion Execution. Point-blank fusion attack against armor, cover, or a chosen victim; very little survives it twice.

Cyclic Ion Storm. Area attack that Suppresses survivors in the zone.

Command Jump. Repositions itself and one escort by jump jets without provoking Reactive Fire.

Strategic Withdrawal. Orders the entire cadre into a fighting retreat, screened by drones and Suppression.

Morale: Never breaks; withdraws deliberately when the mathematics turn, and the party will meet this suit again with better weapons fitted.

Tactics: Run the commander in phases: it directs from range while escorts screen, then commits for one decisive strike at the party's weakest joint, then leaves if the exchange sours. Give objective and encounter notes weight — killing it may require trapping it, stripping its escorts, and denying the jump lanes it planned to leave by. It has planned its own retreat before the first shot.

Full Stat Block Priority: Boss