HQ
0-5 Commissars
| Pts/Model | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissar | 40 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 5+ |
Number/squad: You may include up to five Commissars in your army. These do not count as one of your HQ choices and may be taken in addition to your usual allocation of HQ units in a mission. Each Commissar must join a separate unit in the army as described in the Advisors rule.
Weapons: Laspistol and close combat weapon.
Options: Commissars have access to the Imperial Guard Armoury and may select 'Officer only' items.
Transport: If the Officer they are attached to has a transport Chimera then the Commissar may also travel in it.
Special Rules
Advisors: See the Sanctioned Psykers entry.
It's For Your Own Good!: If a Sanctioned Psyker is attached to a unit which contains a Commissar and suffers a Perils of the Warp attack while using a psychic power, the Commissar will immediately execute him to prevent him being possessed. Remove the Psyker model as a casualty. The power he was attempting to use does not work.
Summary Execution: Commissars are tasked with ensuring unwavering dedication to the Imperial Creed and are utterly intolerant of backsliders. If a unit with a Commissar fails a Morale check for any reason, the Commissar will summarily execute the Officer or Sergeant leading the squad. This happens automatically – remove the executed model as a casualty. The unit in question is then assumed to have passed the Morale test after all and continues to fight under the leadership of the Commissar.
The knowledge that a Commissar is looking over his shoulder for the slightest lapse focuses the mind of the Officer or Sergeant they are attached to considerably. The presence of a Commissar in a unit will therefore add +1 to the Leadership characteristic of the Officer or Sergeant commanding the unit for tests affecting the unit.
Errata — Chapter Approved: Codex: Imperial Guard Q&A (v1.0): If a unit's own Officer or Sergeant is still alive, its tests use his Leadership plus the Commissar's +1 bonus — the unit does not get to use the Commissar's own Leadership of 10 while its own leader lives, even if the Commissar has joined a Command squad (in which case the bonus applies to the squad's own "leadership" special rule too). Only once the Officer/Sergeant is dead does the Commissar take over the unit, at which point it uses his Ld10 directly.