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What is the justification for the Chaos Daemon's rule Daemonic Instability? Why would this happen? Also if you have to take it for a squad of Bloodletters and then you get, lets just say, a 4, do you get back 3 models?

 Hadarac wrote:
What is the justification for the Chaos Daemon's rule Daemonic Instability? Why would this happen? Also if you have to take it for a squad of Bloodletters and then you get, lets just say, a 4, do you get back 3 models?

Are you complaining about a fluff justification or about the rules as written?

I am not really complaining, just curious, as to why its even there. The fluff and stuff.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And the rules

Daemons generally are unstable in the materium no?

usually needing some kinda portal/artifact daemonic ritual to be able to come in.

Ya. I geuss. But if you get lower than your Ld in taking the test do you gain back models?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Because if you get more than your ld you lose more.

 Hadarac wrote:
Ya. I geuss. But if you get lower than your Ld in taking the test do you gain back models?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Because if you get more than your ld you lose more.

No, you only gain back models if you roll 'Insane Courage', at which point you only get back models lost during that specific combat phase. If you simply pass your test, then you simply suffer no ill effects.

Daemon Ld is low because overall, Instability is a really powerful advantage - it's basically 'fearless' without really being true fearless in the shooting phase, meaning you never panic but can still make use of go-to-ground. (which is heinously effective for objective holders like Plaguebearers & Horrors who become unkillable without cover-removing effects)
In combat, you only really fear rolling boxcars, (whole unit insta-pops), and even if you lose a couple additional models, you're still instantly locking the enemy in combat every single time, which is something a mainly assault-based army really loves!

Experiment 626 wrote:
Daemon Ld is low because overall, Instability is a really powerful advantage - it's basically 'fearless' without really being true fearless in the shooting phase, meaning you never panic but can still make use of go-to-ground. (which is heinously effective for objective holders like Plaguebearers & Horrors who become unkillable without cover-removing effects)
In combat, you only really fear rolling boxcars, (whole unit insta-pops), and even if you lose a couple additional models, you're still instantly locking the enemy in combat every single time, which is something a mainly assault-based army really loves!

This. I've found that the way my army is setup (mostly FMC based) I rarely lose combats, so in effect I get all the good parts of Fearless with the ability to go to ground, or bail from combat if I can't hurt the enemy. My units are also immune to Terrify from the Telepathy psychic discipline.

Fluff-wise it's because they are psychic constructs and nothing more than thoughts, emotions etc. condensed into a physical form. This is not a stable building material and so the Daemon is constantly fighting the laws of physics to maintain a presence in the material universe.

Gamewise, it's very similar to Fearless with a couple of extra rules added. Firstly it's not true Fearless and so you don't suffer the penalties regarding 'Go to Ground', you are not locked into battles where you cannot win and you are not vulnerable to the psychic power Terrify.
To offset these advantages, the Daemons tend to 'melt' if a combat goes against them. While losing combat is generally the least of your worries, it is intended to balance out the significant advantages you have picked up with pseudo-Fearless across the board.

Finally, the insta-kill / regenerate losses is purely there as a reminder that Daemons are chaos and extremely random. It's a fluffy rule that will normally end up being irrelevant or slightly detrimental to the Daemons, but it's unlikely enough that it can be ignored in most cases.

Mozzamanx wrote:

Finally, the insta-kill / regenerate losses is purely there as a reminder that Daemons are chaos and extremely random. It's a fluffy rule that will normally end up being irrelevant or slightly detrimental to the Daemons, but it's unlikely enough that it can be ignored in most cases.

Except that most people fail to read the fine print...

Law of Tzeentch #81 reads:
"You will always roll boxcars for Daemonic Instability at the worst possible moment when playing a close game, while Insane Courage rolls will be dealt out randomly when you really don't need them but will still cause your opponent to whine like a Big Girl and declare you a filthy cheater!"

It takes energy to maintain their physical forms, being a creature that is normally pure energy it is difficult.

Anything that puts stress on the form can cause them to become unstable, and potentially lose control and phase back into the warp.

Experiment 626 wrote:

Mozzamanx wrote:

Finally, the insta-kill / regenerate losses is purely there as a reminder that Daemons are chaos and extremely random. It's a fluffy rule that will normally end up being irrelevant or slightly detrimental to the Daemons, but it's unlikely enough that it can be ignored in most cases.

Except that most people fail to read the fine print...

Law of Tzeentch #81 reads:
"You will always roll boxcars for Daemonic Instability at the worst possible moment when playing a close game, while Insane Courage rolls will be dealt out randomly when you really don't need them but will still cause your opponent to whine like a Big Girl and declare you a filthy cheater!"

Don't for get Law of Tzeentch #82:
You'll only roll boxcars for the Warp Storm when playing Purge the Alien or when you already have enough troops.