As the number of Warhammer 40,000 armies has increased through the years, it has become apparent that there are a large number of special rules that are not specific to just a single army, and that these universal special rules really belong here in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook. The following unit special rules are the definitive versions, and replace special rules of the same name printed in full in Codexes.

The Special Rules marked with an asterisk (*) are automatically lost by an independent character joining a unit that does not have the same special rule. These rules are also lost by a unit that is joined by an independent character that does not have the same special rule.

Space Marines automatically pass Morale tests to regroup, and can take such tests even if the squad has been reduced to less than 50% by casualties, though all other criteria apply. If Space Marines are caught by a sweeping advance, they are not destroyed and will instead continue to fight normally. It this happens, then the unit is subject to the No Retreat! rule in this round of close combat and may therefore lose additional casualties if outnumbered. Usually troops that regroup may not move normally and always count as moving whether they do or not, but these restrictions do not apply to models with this special rule.

Troops with this skill believe that attack is always the best form of defence. If charged, they will spring forward themselves and counter-attack the enemy. To represent this, unengaged models from a unit that has been charged by the enemy must move up to 6" to get into base-to-base contact with the enemy. Treat the counter-attack as you would an Assault move, so take terrain into account as normal, Models that counter-attack do not receive the +1 attack bonus for charging but will be able to fight with their full complement of attacks. You may not counter-attack if the unit was charged as part of a Consolidation move.

Fearless troops never have to fall back and are assumed to automatically pass any Morale test they are required to take. They can never be pinned. This special rule is gained by any independent character joining a Fearless unit. Also, as long as a Fearless character stays inside a non-Fearless unit, he loses this special rule.

Some warriors are so blood-frenzied that they can ignore injuries that would incapacitate even a battle-hardened Space Marine. If a model with this ability loses a wound, roll a dice. On a 1. 2 or 3, take the wound as normal, removing the model if it loses its final wound, On a 4, 5 or 6, the injury is ignored and the model continues fighting. This ability cannot be used against weapons that inflict Instant Death (those with a Strength double or more the model's Toughness) or against close combat weapons that allow no Armour Save (such as power fists, power swords, Dreadnought close combat weapons, rending attacks that roll a 6 to hit, etc).

There are many variants of this rule: Fleet of Foot, Fleet of Claw, even Fleet of Hoof. Title aside, all models with these abilities are treated similarly, In a turn in which models with this rule do not shoot or use a psychic power that replaces shooting, they can move an additional D6" in the Shooting phase, ignoring penalties for difficult terrain.

Models with this skill are known for the wild ferocity of their charges. In a player turn in which they charged into close combat they add +1 to both their Initiative and Strength characteristics. This ability does not affect sweeping advances.

In the right circumstances, stealthy troops have the ability to work their way into a forward position on the battlefield. To represent this, units with the Infiltrate ability may set up in accordance with the Infiltrate special rule in any mission that uses this special rule (see Organising a Battle}. If the mission does not allow troops to use the Infiltrate rule then the troops in question must set up normally with the rest of the army. The Infiltrate ability does not allow units that would normally be in reserve to deploy on the table. If a unit with this ability is equipped with a transport vehicle, it loses the Infiltrate ability.

Some units of infantry are especially adept at moving through difficult terrain. Accordingly, roll an extra D6 when rolling to move through difficult terrain. In most circumstances this will mean that they roll three D6 and pick the dice with the highest score.

Warriors in certain parts of the galaxy have developed nocturnal tendencies by fighting in perpetual night, or perhaps carry equipment that gives them such abilities. When the Night Fighting mission special rules are in use, such models may choose to re-roll the test to determine how far they can see, but must abide by the new result. Such troops mate excellent sentries and. when used in this role, they have a spotting distance equal to double their Initiative rating. Characters with this rule confer it onto any unit they join, as long as they are part of the unit. Units with this rule confer it onto any characters joining them, as long as they are part of the unit.

Some warriors are able to predict the moves of the enemies they are used to fighting, in close combat, they have developed special techniques that enable them to counter such enemies more effectively. Such troops will always hit Their designated preferred enemy on 3+ in close combat, regardless of the comparative Weapon Skills. This ability will not help when attempting to hit independent characters, monstrous creatures or vehicles without a Weapon Skill characteristic.

Scouts are used 10 reconnoitre ahead and are always in the vanguard ot the army. To represent this, any Scouts in the army may be deployed at the start of a battle, even in scenarios where they could not normally be deployed. For example, if you are using a mission variant with the Escalation special rule, then your Scouts would set up at the start of the battle instead of being placed in reserve. In addition to this rule, after both sides have deployed (including Infiltrators), any Scouts may make a 'free move'. The move happens before rolling to see who goes first. AH of the normal Movement rules apply.

The model may re-roll the dice for Dangerous Terrain tests.

with this ability always move as if they were moving through difficult terrain (typically rolling two dice and choosing the best as their movement rate). In addition lo this, they are always treated as stationary when shooting, and never receive a bonus attack when charging into close combat.

Being extremely hard to hit in cover, the unit's Cover Save is improved by +1 if they are in cover.

The ability to make maximum use of available cover has saved many a warrior from discovery and death. The unit's Cover Save is improved by +1 if they are in cover.

Stubborn resistance against impossible odds is a feature of some races. Stubborn models function as Fearless, except that they still have to test for pinning as normal.

This special rule is gained by any independent character joining a Stubborn unit. Characters that are Stubborn confer the ability onto any unlit that they lead, as long as the character is part of the unit.

Swarms represent creatures that are too puny to be an individual threat on the battlefield, but when operating as a sea of dozens of creatures they can destroy much larger enemies. All Swarms have the Small Targets and Vulnerable to Blasts/Templates special rules.

Tank Hunters are especially skilled at finding and exploiting weaknesses in the armour of enemy vehicles. They add +1 to their Armour Penetration rolls whenever they hit a vehicle (with any weapon), and automatically pass Morale checks caused by Tank Shock.

Bolters have a 'pistol grip', allowing them to be fired with a single hand. This takes considerable practice and skill and is not normally encouraged. Units noted as having the True Grit skill in their army list, however, have trained how to use their bolters in this manner, in game terms. this means that they may count their bolter as a bolt pistol in close combat, and will therefore be allowed to roll an extra Attack dice as if they have been equipped with an additional pistol or close combat weapon. However, a model using their bolter in this manner does not receive the +1 attack bonus for charging, as a bolter is too unwieldy to be fired with one hand while simultaneously hurling yourself at the enemy. This ability is not usable with combi-weapons of any sort. It is usable with storm bolters, but only by Space Marines of the Grey Knights Chapter for whom this is a longstanding specialisation.

Units mounted on bikes and jetbikes may utilise turbo-boosters to move at extreme speed. When using their turbo-boosters they may move up to 24" in the Movement phase. Controlling their bike at such speeds takes alt their concentration and skill, however, so they may not move through difficult terrain, shoot, launch assaults or move in the Assault phase in the same turn. In the following enemy Shooting phase, treat the bike's Armour Save as being an Invulnerable Save, to represent the difficulty of hitting such fast-moving targets. A unit using turbo-boosters must end its move at least 18" away from its starting position to claim this Invulnerable Save, as it relies on flat-out speed.

Some units are especially vulnerable to blast weapons and template weapons. If the unit is a vehicle, then each hit counts as two hits. If the unit is a non-vehicle, each unsaved wound counts as two wounds rather than one.