T'au Fireblade-Type Commander

Saves: Willpower +6

Proficiencies: Command +6, Awareness +6, Fieldcraft +5

Volley Discipline. Allied T'au fire warriors within 30 feet gain +1 to hit with ranged attacks on any turn they did not move.

Field Craft of a Lifetime. The fireblade cannot be Suppressed while in cover with an allied fire team adjacent.

Coordinated Volley. Every allied T'au trooper in line of sight of the fireblade may use its reaction to make one ranged attack against a single target the fireblade marks. Use once per round.

Pulse Rifle, Perfected. Ranged Attack: +7 to hit, range 100/300 ft., one target. Hit: 2d6 + 3 energy damage. It kills whoever the volley missed.

Fall Back by Fire Teams. Allied T'au units within 30 feet immediately move up to half their Movement toward cover or the cadre's fallback line without provoking Reactive Fire.

Cadre'sight. Once per round, when an allied unit declares an attack, the fireblade may redirect that attack to any target the fireblade can see.

Morale: Withdraws with the last fire team, never before; if cornered alone, fights with the calm of someone who has already radioed the suits.

Tactics: Keep the fireblade embedded in the largest fire team, in cover, directing volleys at whichever enemy is Exposed. Its death visibly breaks the cadre's coordination — reward the party for reaching it, and make reaching it cost.

Loot / Evidence / Hooks: A veteran's honor-marked pulse rifle and a command slate detailing the whole cadre's fire plan.

A fireblade-type commander is a veteran infantry officer who fights on foot among the rifles and makes every one of them count. Where a battlesuit commander is a weapon, the fireblade is a doctrine lecture with a pulse rifle.

Use this enemy to upgrade a fire warrior encounter from dangerous to surgical, and to give the party a command target worth a risky push.

Threat Profile: Medium durability, moderate personal firepower, major fire-coordination aura, markerlight authority, encounter degrades sharply when it dies.

Volley Discipline. Allied fire warriors within 30 feet gain +1 to hit while they did not move this turn.

Cadre'sight. Once per round, redirects one allied unit's attack to a target the commander can see.

Field Craft of a Lifetime. Cannot be Suppressed while in cover with an allied team adjacent.

Coordinated Volley. Orders every allied trooper in line of sight to fire at one marked target as a single storm.

Pulse Rifle, Perfected. Personal attack with veteran accuracy; kills whoever the volley missed.

Fall Back by Fire Teams. Orders a bounding withdrawal; allied units retreat without provoking Reactive Fire.

Morale: Withdraws with the last fire team, never before; if cornered alone, fights with the calm of someone who has already radioed the suits.

Tactics: Keep the fireblade embedded in the largest fire team, in cover, directing volleys at whichever party member is Exposed. Its death should visibly break the cadre's coordination — reward the party for reaching it, and make reaching it cost. Every turn it lives, the gun line gets another perfect volley.

Full Stat Block Priority: High