T'au Ethereal-Type Leader

Saves: Willpower +7, Presence +8

Proficiencies: Command +8, Guile +6, Lore +6

Presence of the Greater Good. Allied T'au within 60 feet automatically pass Morale checks and ignore fear while the ethereal lives.

The Unthinkable. If the ethereal dies, every T'au unit in the encounter immediately makes a Morale check. Those that pass fight on with grief-stricken fury, gaining +1 to hit; those that fail withdraw entirely.

Invocation of Unity. All allied T'au that can see or hear the ethereal gain +1 to hit until the start of the ethereal's next turn.

Command: Hold. One allied unit within 60 feet stands its ground: it cannot be moved, broken, or made to withdraw until the start of the ethereal's next turn.

Honor Blade. Melee Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 1d8 + 1 slashing damage. Elegant and mostly symbolic; its guards are the real answer.

Serene Authority. Once per round, when an allied T'au unit within 60 feet becomes Pinned or Suppressed, the ethereal removes the condition with a word.

Morale: Does not flee; it is escorted off the field by bodyguards if endangered, and the escort dies to a soul making that happen.

Tactics: Keep the ethereal behind the whole force, ringed by drones and guards, and let its auras make every other unit stubborn. The assassination attempt should be a mission in itself, and its success genuinely decisive.

Loot / Evidence / Hooks: An honor blade and rank regalia — proof of a kill that changes the political weather of the entire sept.

An ethereal-type leader is the T'au Empire's ideology given a walking, serene body. It carries little worth calling a weapon, and while it lives, the xenos around it do not know how to stop fighting.

Use this enemy as the moral engine of a T'au force — a priority target whose death changes the encounter more than any battlesuit kill.

Threat Profile: Low personal threat, extreme morale support, aura-based command influence, heavily escorted, its fall breaks T'au resolve like nothing else.

Presence of the Greater Good. Allied T'au within 60 feet automatically pass Morale checks and ignore fear.

Serene Authority. Once per round, removes Pinned or Suppression from one allied unit with a word.

The Unthinkable. If the ethereal dies, every T'au unit in the encounter immediately makes a Morale check; most will fight with grief-stricken fury or withdraw entirely.

Invocation of Unity. All allied T'au gain +1 to hit until the ethereal's next turn.

Command: Hold. One allied unit stands its ground and cannot be broken this round.

Honor Blade. A ceremonial melee attack, elegant and mostly symbolic; its guards are the real answer.

Morale: Does not flee; it is escorted off the field by bodyguards if endangered, and the escort dies to a soul making that happen.

Tactics: Keep the ethereal behind the whole force, ringed by drones and guards, and let its auras make every other unit stubborn. The party will eventually realize the serene figure is the linchpin — make the assassination attempt a mission in itself, and its success genuinely decisive.

Full Stat Block Priority: High