Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

If a units Str or toughness Characteristic has been reduced down to 1 through Maledictions (such as Enfeeble + Curse of the Leper + Gift of Contagion[X]), will Enervating Pestilential Aura then destroy said unit during the fight subphase by being within 7" and reducing it's Toughness to zero? Or is 1 as low as it goes?

A few things to consider:
Multiple Modifiers are applied in order of multipliers then additions & subtractions and finally Set Values.
Zero-Level Characteristics - "If at any point a model's Str, Tough or Wounds are reduced to zero, it is removed from play as a casualty.
Maledictions are always cumulative (from different Maledictions with the exception of Gift of Contagion which specifically states otherwise) but cannot take characteristics above 10 or below 1.

So I guess the main question is whether or not the cap Maledictions is considered a "Set Value"? And if so, would Enervating Pestilential Aura ignore that as it is not a Malediction?

Isn't Enervating Pestilential Aura just another thing that places a negative modifer? You don't get to apply a set of negative modifiers, then apply a negative modifier again later, all the negative modifiers have to be firured in at the same time. When the aura would come into play, then you would have to apply all of the positive and negative modifiers at the same time, and the cap on maledicitions at negative one would come into play because you couldn't take it down at that stage below one (unless you had ways of taking it to zero that didn't involve maledictions at all).

It is a negative modifier but it's not a Malediction.

When it goes on though, you recalculate everything, and do all the negative modifiers at the same time, as per the multiple modifier section. At that point you're figuring in all the modifiers including the maledictions, and you have the limit on some that you can't take the characteristic below one. That means you end up with a minimum of one unless you have enough modifiers without that limitation to take it to zero. Since all the maledictions have that limit, you would not be able to kill the unit with the Enervating Pestilential Aura.

There are ways,

For example, A unit of Tau that is fighting in CC with a Tallyband unit and fails it's save loses 1 S and 1 T. Enfeeble that unit first in the psychic phase (-1 S, minimum 1), then charge it, and they lose another point of strength, which kills the poor squishy tau.

Or say the same event happens. Enfeebled unit, charged with a Tallyband unit and fails the save, unit is also within 6'' of Grotti the Nurgling.

It's situational, but the rulebook states that if S or T is reduced to zero the model dies, Most maledictions have a (minimum 1) restriction, but there are a number of other effects that don't

Generally not much good for killing anything tougher than grots, but still kind of fun.

The rulebook also says you apply all positive and negative modifiers at the same time. So, if you're applying the negative modifier from something else you have to recalculate using all the modifiers, which mixes in that subsequent negative modifier in with the modifiers that have the minimum 1 cap, so you'd still have a 1. You'd have to have enough negative modifiers without using any with a minimum cap of 1, or an effect that says it works separately from the other negative modifiers so that it wouldn't be mixed in with them.