On this page:
Specialists and special abilities
There doesn't seem to be any useful distinction between 'Specialists' and 'Special abilities', either in the Rule Book or in the magazines. So, for the sake of simplicity and usability I have merged the abilities into a single alphabetical list in this section. The original definitions that introduced the separate sections are as follows.
Specialists
| [Content from Rule Book page 35.] |
Certain units, generally only infantry, can effectively change their characteristics by specialising in one particular aspect of war. By varying what equipment they carry these units become better than normal in assaults, able to move more quickly and so on. For example, Space Marine Devastators carry more heavy weapons than normal Space Marine squads, giving them a longer range and better firepower. The army lists will tell you what specialists you can buy for your forces; the powers of the various specialists are listed below [in this section].
Special abilities
| [Content from Rule Book page 36.] |
Special abilities are ones [abilities] which allow units to 'buck the rules' in some way. This is usually because the units themselves are unusual due to their training, equipment or temperament. Some special abilities are integral to particular units and as such will be included in their description; others can be purchased as upgrades for units through the army lists in the same way as specialists. For example, an Imperial Guard command squad can include a psyker, and if you pay the points for it that command squad will count as having the Psyker special ability. On the other hand, a Space Marine Librarian is always a psyker — it's part of his unit description.
Related information