Every creature in Warhammer 40,000 has a characteristic profile that lists the value of its characteristics. In the Armies Book you will find profiles for many of the races and creatures of Warhammer 40,000. The examples below show the profiles for a Dark Eldar warrior and a Space Marine.
| WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Eldar | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 5+ |
| Space Marine | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 3+ |
As you can see, a Dark Eldar warrior and Space Marine are similar in many respects. They both have the same Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill which means that they are very evenly matched in combat. When it comes to Strength and Toughness however, the Space Marine wins over the Dark Eldar as his Strength and Toughness are 4 compared to 3. Although not a big difference, the greater Strength value gives the Space Marine a better chance of injuring or killing the Dark Eldar in hand-to-hand combat. The Space Marine's higher Toughness means he is more able to survive any damage inflicted by the Dark Eldar. The Space Marine's thicker armour gives him a marked advantage over the Dark Eldar and any shot or blow that hits the Space Marine is deflected on a D6 roll of 3 or more. The Dark Eldar however, needs a 5 or more to be saved by its mesh armour.
Both creatures have 1 Wound which is the normal value for man-sized creatures but the Space Marine loses out when it comes to Initiative. This is not a terrible disadvantage, but it does mean that the Dark Eldar warrior will have an edge on the Space Marine once they get into hand-to-hand combat, though the Space Marine's Toughness will make him hard to hurt. Both races have the same Leadership of – 8 – better than the average Leadership for Orks and human warriors, which is only 7.