New campaign, new playtesters!

Discuss and participate in the development of the Mordheim Druchii warband here.

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Beardance
Slave on the Altar
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:27 pm

New campaign, new playtesters!

Post by Beardance »

My friend and I decided to play a Mordheim campaign over this Summer. After deciding to play Dark Elves, my friend stumbled upon this site. We've decided to make a few changes to the starting rules, etc. I've decided to re-post the warband rules, detailing any changes we've made, along with any opinions I wanted to throw in. I'll post starting warband rosters to help you get a feel for what will be played. As of right now, we have a tentative list of races.

Me - Skaven
My dad - Dwarves
My friend - Druchii
My friend's friend - Undead

We'll keep you posted.
Last edited by Beardance on Mon Jun 09, 2008 11:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Beardance
Slave on the Altar
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 4:27 pm

New campaign, new playtesters!

Post by Beardance »

Choice of Warriors

A Druchii warband must include a minimum of three models. You have
500 gold crowns to recruit your initial warband. The maximum number of
warriors in a warband may never exceed 12.

  • Heroes
    Noble Each Druchii warband must have one Noble to lead it - no more, no less.
    Lordlings Your warband may include up to two Lordlings.
    Sorceress Your warband may include one Sorceress.
    Beastmaster Your warband may include one Beastmaster.
  • Henchmen
    Corsairs Your warband may include any number of corsairs.
    Shades Your warband may include up to five shades.
    Witch Elves Your warband may include up to three Witch Elves.
    Slavehounds Your warband may include up to three Slavehounds if it also includes a Beastmaster.

Starting Experience

  • A Noble starts with 20 experience.
  • Lordlings start with 8 experience.
  • A Sorceress starts with 12 experience.
  • A Beastmaster starts with 4 experience.
  • Henchmen start with 0 experience.


Maximum Characteristics

Characteristics for Druchii warriors may not be increased beyond the maximum limits shown here:

Elven racial maximum:

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 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Ld  
 5   7   7  4   3  3  9  4  10 


May Hire

A Dark Elf warband may employ the following Hired Swords:

  • Official - Pit Fighter, Ogre Bodyguard, Warlock, Imperial Assassin, Tilean Marksman, Highwayman

Special Rules

Kindred Hatred
The Dark Elves have been fighting the High Elves for many
centuries. The wars between these two races have been very long and
bloody affairs. Dark Elves Hate any High Elf warriors including High Elf Hired Swords.

Excellent Sight *
There are numerous legends detailing the excellent eyesight of the Elves,
both Druchii and Asur kin. Elves can spot Hidden enemies from twice as far
away than normal warriors (i.e. twice their Initiative value in inches).

Disdain
Dark Elves may never use black powder weapons, as they find them too crude,
noisy and unreliable.

Frail but Fey
Elves have a sort of delicate, but magical constitution. Elves may never
permanently increase their Toughness attribute beyond a value of 3
(treat their Toughness as having reached its maximum value).
However, their Toughness can never be permanently lowered
(treat any injuries that would result in such a decrease as a
Full Recovery instead). Thus, their Toughness must always be equal to 3.

Traditional Weapons **
All Druchii warriors have been trained from childhood in the use of the Repeater Crossbow. Those who become especially skilled with the weapon sometimes make their own modifications to it. A Druchii hero has the option of forfeiting his or her Exploration roll (provided that they would normally be allowed to make one) to instead spend time customizing their Repeater Crossbow. If they choose to use this option, the weapon is bound to them and cannot be equipped by another warrior, representing the value and time invested into the modifications made as well as the use of their individual intricacies. A Repeater Crossbow so modified has a strength of 4, and the increased power enables its bolts to fire farther. The weapon's maximum range is increased to 30".

* This special rule is pending playtesting. I understand that the High Elf Hired Sword has this skill, but I don't think an entire army should have the skill. I feel that the Elves' high initiative reflects their excellent hearing and eyesight. The High Elf Hired Sword is also a scout, reflecting the fact that, as a scout and an elf, his ability to detect hidden enemies is greater than that of even other elves.

** I think that this rule is an excellent way to offset the fact that Druchii cannot use blackpowder weapons. At the beginning of the game, Druchii Repeater Crossbows won't be any stronger than anyone else's, allowing them to have their discounted prices. Later in campaigns, however, it allows them to have ranged weapons on par with warbands that can use blackpowder weapons. Plus, customized weapons are just freaking cool.


Druchii equipment lists

The following lists are used by Druchii warbands to pick their weapons and armour:

Druchii Heroes Equipment List

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

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Dagger...............1st free/2 gc  
Axe...........................5 gc 
Sword........................10 gc 
Halberd......................10 gc 
Spear........................10 gc 
Double-handed weapon.........15 gc 
Beastlash (Beastmaster only)..10 gc 
Blademaster's Armaments**....35 gc
Darksteel blade..........3 x price 


Missile Weapons

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Repeater Crossbow *..........25 gc  
Crossbow Pistol..............35 gc 
Throwing Knives..............15 gc 


Armour

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Helmet.......................10 gc  
Light Armour.................20 gc 
Shield........................5 gc 
Buckler.......................5 gc 
Sea Dragon Cloak.............30 gc 


Miscelaneous Equipment

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Dark Venom...................15 gc 


Corsairs Equipment List

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

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Dagger...............1st free/2 gc  
Axe...........................5 gc 
Sword........................10 gc 
Halberd......................10 gc 
Spear........................10 gc 


Missile Weapons

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Repeater Crossbow *..........25 gc  


Armour

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Helmet.......................10 gc  
Light Armour.................20 gc 
Shield........................5 gc 
Buckler.......................5 gc 
Sea Dragon Cloak.............30 gc 


Shades Equipment List

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

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Dagger...............1st free/2 gc  
Axe...........................5 gc 
Sword........................10 gc 


Missile Weapons

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Repeater Crossbow *..........25 gc  
Bow..........................10 gc 
Throwing Knives..............15 gc 


Armour

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Helmet.......................10 gc  
Light Armour.................20 gc 


Witch Elves Equipment List

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

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Dagger...............1st free/2 gc  
Axe...........................5 gc 
Sword........................10 gc 
Halberd......................10 gc 
Spear........................10 gc 


Armour

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Helmet.......................10 gc  
Light Armour.................20 gc 


* These special prices represent the lower rarity of these items in Naggaroth. When attempting to purchase these items in Mordheim, Dark Elf warbands pay the same prices as other warbands and must roll to find them as normal. No roll is necessary to find these items when first starting a Dark Elf warband. (We increased the price of this item because I don't think that a repeater crossbow should be the same price as two bows, even at creation.)

** This weapon is detailed later, and I will discuss the statistics and the ideas behind it then.



Druchii skill table

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          Combat  Shooting  Academic  Strength  Speed  Special  
Noble       x          x        x                  x      x 
Lordling    x          x                           x      x 
Sorceress                       x                  x      x 
Beastmaster x                                      x      x


Heroes

1 Noble
75 Gold Crowns to hire

Dark Elf leaders are typically drawn from the Dark Elf nobility and
lead the warband in search of gold, slaves and arcane artifacts to
bring home to Naggaroth. They are cold and ruthless killers and they
command the respect of their troops through assassination and terror.
They have attained their position of leadership by eliminating those
rivals who stood in their way and through their remarkable cunning,
they are dangerous foes who embody the merciless traits of the Druchii
race.

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 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Ld  
 5   5   4  3  3  1  6  1   9 


Weapons and Armour
A Noble may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the Druchii Heroes Equipment list.

Special Rules

Leader
Any models in the warband within 6" of the Noble may use his Leadership instead of their own.
Feared and Respected
Dark Elf Nobles are known to their troops for their cruelty and
ruthlessness. As long as the Noble is not Out Of Action, the Druchii
warband will only have to test for routing if it suffered more than a
third of casualties instead of the normal quarter.
Combat Movement *
The speed and brutality of Druchii warriors forces their foes into a defensive position and allows them to control the battle. If, in any close-combat phase, a Druchii Noble or Lordling fights in close combat one-on-one, the Druchii player may move the fighting pair 2" in any chosen direction (following normal movement rules) at the end of the phase.

* We gave this skill to Nobles and Lordlings as base skills because they seemed too situational to be acquired skills, but too cool to be ignored. =P It can still be effective, especially when used in conjunction with skills like Celerity (Explained later).


0-2 Lordlings
55 Gold Crowns to hire *

Lordlings are would-be commanders of the Druchii forces, and often
serve under a Noble as page or lieutenant. Lordlings accompany raiding
parties to the Old World to further their career, seeking to acquire
fame, riches and status in the Witch King's court.

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  M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Ld  
  5   4   4  3  3  1  6  1   8 


Weapons and Armour
Lordlings may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the Druchii Heroes Equipment list.

Special Rules

Combat Movement
The speed and brutality of Druchii warriors forces their foes into a defensive position and allows them to control the battle. If, in any close-combat phase, a Druchii Noble or Lordling fights in close combat one-on-one, the Druchii player may move the fighting pair 2" in any chosen direction (following normal movement rules) at the end of the phase.

* The price of Lordlings was increased for balance reasons. Look at the statistics of Witch Hunter and Mercenary Captains. They are both more expensive and have comparable statistics. We left it at 55, pending playtesting, because they only have access to relatively expensive equipment.

0-1 Dark Elf Sorceress
45 Gold Crowns to hire

Dark Elves are strange in that apart from the fell Witch King there
are no other male sorcerers - all the other practitioners of magic in
the Dark Elf race are female. It is rumoured that any males who do
develop an affinity for magic amongst the Dark Elves are immediately
put to death to prevent the fulfilling of some dark prophecy.

Dark Elf Sorceresses are mysterious, raven-haired beauties who are
grudgingly respected even by the powerful Nobles, and their services
are high in demand.

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 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Ld  
 5   3   3  3  3  1  5  1   8 


Weapons and Armour
A Sorceress may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from
the Druchii Heroes Equipment list, but may not cast spells if wearing
armour.

Special Rules

Wizard
The Dark Elf Sorceress is a wizard and uses Dark Magic, detailed below.
Sect Enmity
A Sorceress and a Witch Elf do not count as friendly models for one another for the purposes of an All Alone test.

0-1 Beastmaster
40 Gold Crowns to hire

Whereas the High Elves have a great affinity with Dragons and
Griffons and other noble creatures their malevolent kin have infamous
Beastmasters, Dark Elves of particularly cruel renown who breed many
vicious beasts and lead them into combat. Unlike the High Elves who
treat their beasts as companions, the Dark Elf Beastmasters are very
spiteful masters.

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 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Ld  
 5   4   3  3  3  1  5  1   8 


Weapons and Armour
A Beastmaster may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the Druchii Heroes Equipment list.

Special Rules

Slavehounds
The Beastmaster may be accompanied by up to three Slavehounds.
These are bought as henchmen and follow all rules listed for them.

Henchmen

Bought in groups of 1-5.

Corsairs
35 Gold Crowns to hire

The Dark Elves are cruel and fierce fighters. This is especially
true of the Corsairs - the Black Ark Raiders. They are skilled with
sword and axe, as well as the repeater crossbow, the distinct missile
weapon of the Dark Elves. Whenever Druchii ships reach foreign shores,
the Corsairs are the first to launch raiding parties.

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 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Ld  
 5   4   3  3  3  1  5  1   8 


Weapons and Armour
Corsairs may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the
Corsairs Equipment list. In addition, they may wear Sea Dragon Cloaks
even though they are not Heroes.

Special Rules

Underdeck Fighter
Corsairs are accustomed to figting in close quarters on ships or in raided villages. As a result of this, corsairs, fighting inside buildings or ruins add +1 to their WS and +1 to their A (i.e. they have Pit Fighter skill).

0-5 Shades
40 Gold Crowns to hire *

The stealthy Dark Elf Shades rely on their repeater crossbows to
harass and snipe at the enemy, rather than engaging them head on, as
ambush is their preferred style of fighting. These Shades are young and
inexperienced scouts that see the expeditions to the Old World as a
valuable training opportunity.

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 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Ld  
 5   3   4  3  3  1  5  1   8 


Weapons and Armour
Shades may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the Shades Equipment list.

Special Rules

Natural Stealth
The first thing that Dark Elf scouts master is the art of moving
without being seen or heard. If a Shade is Hidden, enemy models halve
their Initiative value for determining if they can detect it or not.

* We increased the price of Shades due to a few balancing issues. For one, the price of a Shade with a Repeater Crossbow at creation was 55 gc before the price changes.. The price of two Mercenary Marksmen equipped with bows was equal to 70 gc. These two models would be able to make two shots at the same to hit roll as a Shade equipped with a Repeater Crossbow and firing twice. Now the price is 65. I understand that a Shade is nearly the equivalent of a Reikland Marksman, but I think that the racial bonuses for Druchii definitely warrant a 15 gc difference.

0-3 Witch Elves
45 Gold Crowns to hire

Witch Elves are the lethally beautiful followers of Khaine, the
Bloody-Handed god of murder, vengeance and war. Those amongst the
devoted who seek to become full-fledged priestesses of Khaine and learn
His holy canons are sent on missions for the Temple, to prove their
worth in the eyes of their god, and also serve to spy upon those Nobles
who are temporarily out of the King's grasp.

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 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Ld  
 5   4   3  3  3  1  5  1   8 


Weapons and Armour
Witch Elves may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the Witch Elves equipment list.

Special Rules

Frenzy
Witch Elves, being intent on proving their battle prowess
in Khaela Mensha Khaine's all-seeing gaze,
follow the Frenzy special rule.
Sect Enmity
A Sorceress and a Witch Elf do not count as friendly models for one another for the purposes of an All Alone test. Note that for a Witch Elf this will only apply should she lose her Frenzy.
Maibd poison *
Witch elves, in battle, carry sacred weapons anointed in holy
poisons traditionally used to paralyse slaves before their sacrifice.
As such, any model Stunned or Knocked Down will only recover on a roll of 4+.
This effect lasts until the Dark Elf player's next turn.
Offering
A warband, which conains Witch Elf may sacrifice its captives to Khaine.
Each sacrificed victim will give the leader +1XP.

* Personally, I think this special rule may be a little overpowered, but I'll leave it, pending playtesting.

0-3 Slavehounds
25 Gold Crowns to hire

The Dark Elves capture and breed many exotic creatures to fight for
them, and fights between pets are often staged as a form of
entertainment amongst the Dark Elves. Myriads of such animals can be
discovered in the Chaos Wastes. Among them is the Slavehound, a fierce
breed of wild hounds that resemble wolves more than dogs. The Dark
Elves capture and train these creatures to help them in their slave hunting
missions all over the Warhammer World.

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 M  WS  BS  S  T  W  I  A  Ld  
 7   4   0  4  3  1  4  1   5 


Weapons and Armour
Slavehounds are animals and do not need any weapons, save their claws and massive jaws.

Special Rules

Animals
Slavehounds are animals, and all animal rules apply to them. They never gain experience.
Beastmaster
Slavehounds are vicious creatures that are barely kept under
control. If the Beastmaster is unable to participate in a battle, then neither will the
beasts, since Beastmaster is the only warband member they respect. If the warband
does not contain a beastmaster, there is no one able to control
slavehounds, so they have to stay in warband's camp (and when feeding time comes,
it has to be done from a safe distance).
Take down
Slavehounds are trained to catch fleeing slaves and drag them to a halt as fast as possible. On the turn a Slavehound charges, any result of 6 on the To Hit roll will result in one model in base-to-base contact being immediately Knocked Down. Since the Slavehound forgoes a more damaging attack to bring its prey down, it does not roll to wound this close combat phase.
Guard the Quarry
Slavehounds are trained to catch fleeing slaves and drag them
to a halt as fast as possible. If a Slavehound fights a single enemy and manages
to knock him down or stun him, the enemy will then only recover after a successful Ld test.
As long as enemy is not recovering, the slavehound will not attack him again.
(He is just standing on his chest, growling menacingly.) Slavehound may leave this enemy per normal rules.
Once the slavehound left, the enemy may also recover normally.
Trained
Slavehounds may use the basic Leadership of the Beastmaster if they are within 6" of him. They may never use the Leadership of the warband leader, but they may benefit from the Beastmaster's increased Leadership if he is within 6" of the leader. Since Slavehounds are still wild creatures and their fighting spirit is what makes them so precious, Slavehounds too far away from their masters will often refuse to obey orders. As such, Slavehounds out of the Beastmaster's control radius suffer from the Stupidity special rule.


Special Equipment

Darksteel Weapon
(3 x Price/Rare 9)

Darksteel weapons are forged in the city of Hag Graef, the Dark Crag. They are fashioned from black steel, a rare form of steel found deep within the mountains around the city and are forged using an ancient technique known only to the Dark Elves. Weapons with Darksteel blades have wicked protrusions and serrated edges, which inflict serious damage on an opponent. Any Druchii hero can use a close-combat weapon with a Darksteel blade. Getting it, however, is not that easy, and it costs three times more that usual steel weapon of the same type. Darksteel weapons have all abilities of their usual counterparts (i.e. swords can parry, double-handed weapons strike last).

  • Range - Close Combat
  • Strength - The same as its standard version
  • Special Rules - Critical Damage, Wicked Edge

Special Rules

Critical Damage
Darksteel weapons inflict serious damage on their opponents.
When rolling on the critical hit chart, a Darksteel weapon will add +1
to the result.
Wicked Edge
Darksteel weapons are set with sharp protrusions and serrated
edges which inflict serious damage on an opponent. A roll of 2-4 on the
injury table is a stunned result.

Beastlash (Beastmaster only)
(10+D6 Gold Crowns/Rare 8)

The Beastmaster make good use of their whips to goad their hounds and creatures into combat.

  • Range - Close combat
  • Strength - As user
  • Special Rules - Beastbane; Whipcrack; Cannot be parried; +1 Enemy armour save.


Special Rules

Beastbane
The Beastmaster wielding a Beastlash causes Fear in animals.
Any animal charged by or wishing to charge a Beastmaster with one of
these weapons must first take a fear test as mentioned in the
psychology section of the Mordheim rules.
Whipcrack
When the wielder charges they gain +1A for that turn. This
bonus attack is added after any other modifications. When the wielder
is charged they gain +1A that they may only use against the charger.
This additional attack will "strike first". If the wielder is
simultaneously charged by two or more opponents he will still only
receive a total of +1A. If the wielder is using two whips at the same
time then he gets +1A for the additional hand weapon, but only the
first whip gets the whipcrack +1A.
Cannot be parried
A Beastlash, being a very flexible weapon and used with great expertise
by the Beastmaster wielding it, cannot be parried.
+1 Enemy armour save
Whips are not made for penetrating an enemy model’s armour. An enemy
wounded by a beastlash gains a +1 bonus to his armour save,
and a 6+ armour save if he has none normally.

Blademaster's Armaments

(35 Gold Crowns/Rare 7, Druchii Only)
*

Dark Elf warriors almost unanimously employ two-weapon fighting styles, which suit their natural speed and aggression. The finest Druchii weapons are balanced perfectly to suit this style. Blademaster's Armaments are an extraordinarily light sword and dagger pairing, each set matched precisely to its companion. Used together, they allow their wielder to reroll a failed parry attempt once, in the same way as a model armed with sword and buckler.

[list]
[*]Range - Close combat
[*]Strength - As user
[*]Special Rules - Parry

* This item was balanced using the Eshin Fighting Claws as a reference. The cost is the same, and, in my opinion, the fact that Fighting Claws are Cumbersome offsets the fact that all but one of the model that uses this weapon's attacks are at +1 armor save. According to the melee combat rules, one attack is made using the model's main hand weapon, and all others are made using the off hand weapon. This weapon set also uses the same Parry special rule as the Fighting Claws.


Sea Dragon Cloak
(30+2D6 Gold Crowns/Rare 10)

Dark Elf Corsairs use special cloaks fashioned from the skin and
scales of the sea monsters that dwell deep in the oceans depths. These
cloaks are tough and resilient, and offer Dark Elves a very good amount
of protection.

Special Rules

Scales
The wearer of the Sea Dragon Cloak receives a +2 bonus to his save
against shooting (or in the event where he has none, a 5+ save)
and a +1 bonus to his save in close combat (or, if he has none, a
6+ save). A Sea Dragon Cloak may be combined with other pieces of
armour (shield, light armour) with no penalty.


Druchii Special Skill Table

Dark Elf Heroes may use the following Skill table instead of any of the standard skill tables available to them:

Fury of Khaine *
The Dark Elf is infused with an intense raging thirst for blood and is a whirlwind in hand-to-hand combat, moving from opponent to opponent. The Druchii may make a 4" follow up move if he takes all of his opponents out of action. If he comes into contact with another enemy, this starts a new combat. This new combat takes place in the following turn and the model counts as charging.

* I feel like this should be something more along the lines of "Whenever this model takes all melee opponents out of action, determine the distance to the next closest enemy. If it is within 4", this model must make a follow up move into base contact with this enemy. During the opponent's next combat phase, this model is treated as charging." I think that this would reflect the fact that it's the Fury of Khaine. Instead of being allowed to make the move, they are forced to. Just an idea.

Fey Quickness *
Few can ever hope to match an Elf's inhuman quickness and agility. An Elf with Fey Quickness can avoid melee or missile attacks on a roll of 6. If the Elf also has Step Aside or Dodge, this will increase to a 4+ in the relevant area. For example, an Elf with Fey Quickness and Step Aside avoids melee attacks on a 4+ and missile attacks on a 6.

* Not so sure about this skill... Step Aside and Dodge are actually two entirely different skills. If you read them closely, Step Aside is rolled after resolving to wound rolls, whereas Dodge is resolved before to wound rolls. In addition, it seems like a pretty powerful skill. Pending playtesting.

Art of Death *
The greatest Druchii swordsmen raise murder to an art form, managing to strike at the smallest of vulnerabilities and deflect the blows of even the most skilled foes at no loss to their vicious assaults. When using Blademaster's Armaments, a Hero with this skill parries successfully if he matches or beats his opponent's highest roll to hit. Also, a Blademaster's dagger in the hands of this hero ignores all armor saves on a roll to hit of 6, though it must roll to wound normally. If the opponent would not normally be given an armor save (After any armor save modifiers, including strength modifiers), it instead receives an additional wound, regardless of whether the roll to wound is successful or not.

* This skill was balanced using the "Art of Silent Death" skill for the Skaven. We're still not entirely sure about it, we still need to playtest it, but I think it's pretty good. I'm still a little iffy on the secondary part of this skill. I'm not sure if we should include the +1 armor save given by the dagger, in reference to the additional wound. Because of the maximum strength value of 4 for Druchii, the hero with this skill would need 4 strength to get the extra wound, and the opposing model would need to have no armor save at all to begin with. Just a thought.

Revenge *
The bladework of expert Druchii swordsmen reflects both their Elven agility and sadistic nature, and they delight in punishing the crude mistakes of the lesser races. If a Hero with this skill successfully parries an attack, he may immediately make an extra attack at +1 Strength against the attacker.

* I really like this skill. We replaced Counterattack with this because I thought it was silly to have a counterattack just because the opponent missed. Also, if it's a counterattack, you are using the opponent's movements to your advantage. To me it just makes sense.

Celerity *

Dark Elves are exceptionally fleet of foot and move through combat as a fine ship maneuvers through a storm. If a hero with this skill is in base contact with any enemy models at the end of the hand-to-hand combat phase, they may roll d6 + Weapon Skill. Their opponent then makes this same roll using their skill. If the Druchii player's total is higher, they may make a normal movement (not running or charging) away from the enemy. If the opponent wins the opposed roll, the hero remains in combat and must fight as normal the following turn.

* My friend found this skill in the "New Ideas" section, but we changed the name and the rolls up a bit. Originally it was a leadership roll (What?) but we both think that this makes much more sense. Also, it can really come in handy if you decide to play around it. It can really mix things up.

Infiltration
The Dark Elf can Infiltrate. This skill is exactly the same as the Skaven skill.

Master of Poisons
The Dark Elf is proficient in concocting different poisons. If the Hero doesn't search for rare items, he may make D2 doses of Dark Venom instead. The poison must be used in the next battle and cannot be sold or traded to other warbands as the Dark Elves guard their secrets very carefully.

Uraithen Master *
Eyes of this hero are so keen and hands so steady that he can completely omit the penalty for long range if using a crossbow type weapon. Further, if he did not move this turn, he can shoot from repeater crossbow twice per turn without penalty or three times per turn with -1 penalty to hit.

* Not sure we're going to be playing with this, what with the "Traditional Weapons" special rule. These two combined could be EXTREMELY powerful.


Dark Magic

Like their hated Asur kin, the Dark Elves are accomplished
practitioners of magic. However, whereas the High Elves essentially use
magic defensively and for the power of good, the Dark Elves utilise the
evil powers of Dark Magic - a very destructive force indeed.




D6 Result
1Doombolt
Difficulty 8
Whispering an ancient incantation, the Sorceress conjures a bolt of pure dark energy and unleashes it from her outstretched hand. The Doombolt may be targeted at any enemy model in line of sight. The bolt has an 12" range and causes a Strength 5 hit. If the target model is wounded, then the next closest model within 6" is also hit on a 4+, at -1 Strength from the previous hit. The bolt will leap a maximum of four times or until there are no more targets within range. A model may only be hit once by a single casting of the spell. Take armour saves as normal.

* The original range for this spell was 18". We figured that this was a bit ridiculous, considering the fact that the greatest range of any official spell is 12". It has been reduced accordingly.

2Word of Pain
Difficulty 8
The Sorceress calls down the wrath of Khaine upon her enemy, causing his resolve to disappear.
The spell may be cast at an enemy model within 12". The victim must
re-roll all successful hand to hand or missile attacks and all to wound
rolls. If the victim wishes to charge, he must pass a successful
Leadership test first. Lasts until the beginning of the next Dark Elf
turn.

3Soul Stealer
Difficulty 9
At the Sorceress's touch, the essence of life is drained from her
enemy and absorbed into her body, giving her renewed strength and
vigour.
Once successfully cast, the Sorceress has to make a to hit roll
against a model in base contact. If the attack is successful and her
opponent is struck, he suffers a wound with no armour save possible.
The Sorceress feeds on this life-force and adds one wound to her
current total.
Note: the Sorceress can never have more then one extra wound on
her profile from the use of this spell (she may cast it as many times
as she wishes to regain lost wounds) and the extra wound is lost once
the battle is over.

4Black Blade of Khaine
Difficulty 8
Summoning Dark Magic, the Sorceress engulfs a weapon in twisted black flames.
The Sorceress may choose the hand-to-hand combat weapon of a member
of her warband within 6" to be engulfed in flames. A weapon with these
flames acts as a normal weapon of its type, but adds a +2 bonus to the
user's Strength. Hits inflicted from the weapon ignore armour saves.
Lasts until the Sorceress' shooting phase.

5Deathspasm
Difficulty 9
The Sorceress channels Dark Magic into her enemy, causing him to writhe in excruciating pain.
The Deathspasm has a range of 6" and must be cast on the closest
enemy model. The affected model must roll on the injury chart. If
successfully cast, the casting Sorceress is immediately knocked down.
This cannot be prevented by using the Jump Up skill.

6Witch Flight
Difficulty 7
The Sorceress bends the winds of magic to her will and flies through the air.
The Sorceress may immediately move anywhere within 12", and may
count as charging. If she engages a fleeing enemy in the close combat
phase, she will score 1 automatic hit and then the opponent will flee
again.

Post-Battle

Some post-battle rolls clarifications.

Serious Injuries' Chart

Roll 61 - Captured
Enemy, captured by Druchii warband, will be treated according to standard rules. If the warband contains a Witch Elf, the player may opt to follow rules for Posessed instead.

Rolling multiples on Exploration Chart

44 - Straggler
Druchii follow the standard rules. If the warband contains
a Witch Elf, the player may opt to follow rules for Posessed instead.
333 - Prisoners
Druchii follow the rules for Skaven. If the warband contains
a Witch Elf, the player may opt to follow rules for Posessed instead.
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Loflar
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Location: Praag

Re: New campaign, new playtesters!

Post by Loflar »

Well, I wish good luck to Druchii, they are going against quite strong opposition.

I find most of your ideas interesting, and I am curious at the results. So just some comments.


BearDance wrote:Excellent Sight *
* This special rule is pending playtesting. I understand that the High Elf Hired Sword has this skill, but I don't think an entire army should have the skill. I feel that the Elves' high initiative reflects their excellent hearing and eyesight. The High Elf Hired Sword is also a scout, reflecting the fact that, as a scout and an elf, his ability to detect hidden enemies is greater than that of even other elves.

I generally agree here. Excelent sight is quite unpopular because it deprives enemies of a chance to hide and there is really no reason to assume, that is is inborn elven trait. However, since Druchii can not hire Elf Ranger, they should have some other way to access this functionality.

Traditional Weapons **
A Druchii hero has the option of forfeiting his or her Exploration roll (provided that they would normally be allowed to make one) to instead spend time customizing their Repeater Crossbow. If they choose to use this option, the weapon is bound to them and cannot be equipped by another warrior, representing the value and time invested into the modifications made as well as the use of their individual intricacies. A Repeater Crossbow so modified has a strength of 4, and the increased power enables its bolts to fire farther. The weapon's maximum range is increased to 30".

Which means that for one search, the model effectively gets poison and Eagle Eye. On the other hand, the RXB is expensive and needs something... Well, I am interested in your results. And I guess you are right - this should not be combined with Uraithen Master.


* The price of Lordlings was increased for balance reasons. Look at the statistics of Witch Hunter and Mercenary Captains. They are both more expensive and have comparable statistics.

You might be right, but on the other hand, you only buy captains once. Champion-level heroes can be bought several times during campaign and price of 55 may mean, that after losing lordling, you will spend all your income just to get an unarmed replacement.


* We increased the price of Shades due to a few balancing issues. For one, the price of a Shade with a Repeater Crossbow at creation was 55 gc before the price changes.. The price of two Mercenary Marksmen equipped with bows was equal to 70 gc. These two models would be able to make two shots at the same to hit roll as a Shade equipped with a Repeater Crossbow and firing twice. Now the price is 65. I understand that a Shade is nearly the equivalent of a Reikland Marksman, but I think that the racial bonuses for Druchii definitely warrant a 15 gc difference.

On the other hand, if both those Marksmen go out of action, probability of death of both (and subsequent loss of 70 gc) is 1/9. The loss of the 65 gc of Shade may happen after one model goes out and its probability is 1/3.

Maibd poison *
* Personally, I think this special rule may be a little overpowered, but I'll leave it, pending playtesting.

Could be, but even more important, you have to think about it during the game...

Trained
Slavehounds may use the basic Leadership of the Beastmaster if they are within 6" of him. They may never use the Leadership of the warband leader, but they may benefit from the Beastmaster's increased Leadership if he is within 6" of the leader. Since Slavehounds are still wild creatures and their fighting spirit is what makes them so precious, Slavehounds too far away from their masters will often refuse to obey orders. As such, Slavehounds out of the Beastmaster's control radius suffer from the Stupidity special rule.

That Stupidity really hurts. Because thanks to it, you can not use the dogs for the usual tasks - long range marchblocking, unhiding and shielding.

Blademaster's Armaments

This is interesting idea. I am curious how it will work.

Fury of Khaine *
* I feel like this should be something more along the lines of "Whenever this model takes all melee opponents out of action, determine the distance to the next closest enemy. If it is within 4", this model must make a follow up move into base contact with this enemy. During the opponent's next combat phase, this model is treated as charging." I think that this would reflect the fact that it's the Fury of Khaine. Instead of being allowed to make the move, they are forced to. Just an idea.

Well, test it. Myself, I never got to choosing this skill. There are usually several better choices.

Fey Quickness *
* Not so sure about this skill... Step Aside and Dodge are actually two entirely different skills. If you read them closely, Step Aside is rolled after resolving to wound rolls, whereas Dodge is resolved before to wound rolls. In addition, it seems like a pretty powerful skill. Pending playtesting.

Well, the arbitrary combination is a bit awkward (though I don't understand why Step Aside and Dodge work differently at the first place), but to get this 4+ ward against both, you have to get 3 skills, and by the time you do it, your model is still not any better in killing enemies.

Art of Death *
The greatest Druchii swordsmen raise murder to an art form, managing to strike at the smallest of vulnerabilities and deflect the blows of even the most skilled foes at no loss to their vicious assaults. When using Blademaster's Armaments, a Hero with this skill parries successfully if he matches or beats his opponent's highest roll to hit. Also, a Blademaster's dagger in the hands of this hero ignores all armor saves on a roll to hit of 6, though it must roll to wound normally. If the opponent would not normally be given an armor save (After any armor save modifiers, including strength modifiers), it instead receives an additional wound, regardless of whether the roll to wound is successful or not.

* This skill was balanced using the "Art of Silent Death" skill for the Skaven. We're still not entirely sure about it, we still need to playtest it, but I think it's pretty good. I'm still a little iffy on the secondary part of this skill. I'm not sure if we should include the +1 armor save given by the dagger, in reference to the additional wound. Because of the maximum strength value of 4 for Druchii, the hero with this skill would need 4 strength to get the extra wound, and the opposing model would need to have no armor save at all to begin with. Just a thought.

The +1 wound could be quite strong. And it will not be that rare. Note that you can get Dark Venom cheap. Well, try it and we will see.

Revenge *
The bladework of expert Druchii swordsmen reflects both their Elven agility and sadistic nature, and they delight in punishing the crude mistakes of the lesser races. If a Hero with this skill successfully parries an attack, he may immediately make an extra attack at +1 Strength against the attacker.

* I really like this skill. We replaced Counterattack with this because I thought it was silly to have a counterattack just because the opponent missed. Also, if it's a counterattack, you are using the opponent's movements to your advantage. To me it just makes sense.

Counterattack is actually based on reality. Imagine your enemy swinging a sword at you. You duck under the blade, while thrusting forward with your weapon. That's how it works.

Celerity *
* My friend found this skill in the "New Ideas" section, but we changed the name and the rolls up a bit. Originally it was a leadership roll (What?) but we both think that this makes much more sense. Also, it can really come in handy if you decide to play around it. It can really mix things up.

I got this skill from SG forum. My guess is, that Ld roll there comes from Mordheim rules for escaping from combat. Why Ld is used there is mystery for me. May be to penalize Skaven a bit...

1Doombolt
Difficulty 8
* The original range for this spell was 18". We figured that this was a bit ridiculous, considering the fact that the greatest range of any official spell is 12". It has been reduced accordingly.

Fires of U'Zhul.

Anyway, enjoy (being murdered by) the Druchii, and please, report the results.
Teysa
Slave on the Altar
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:32 pm

Post by Teysa »

Hiyo... said friend here. Figured i'd stop in.

Looking over things in general and the above points, i've got a couple tweaks in mind. I'd been arguing the prices of Shades and Lordlings for a bit, and you made the point rather better than I had (thanks >.>) - they both seem pretty valid. Same goes for the point on Counterattack - It makes more sense if you don't just think of it as "whoops, missed me, free hit tiem lawl!" I'm still not sure about Doombolt, but I do think it's worth starting out our testing with its current form - my position's generally been that we shouldn't start off by changing too too much over seeing what works and what doesn't and going from there.

That in mind, my proposed tweaks to this - Normal prices on Shades and Lordlings.

Counter and Doombolt in their original forms, pending actually starting the campaign and seeing how things go.

The Slavehound stupidity idea was looked at more in terms of making sense. Balance-wise they aren't much different from Witch Hunter dogs for their price, and in retrospect with what they're actually used for it does seem pretty debilitating. I think it'd be okay if, for example, it came into effect if the Beastmaster went OOA.

Excellent Sight on everybody does seem rather much. My first impulse was to make it a skill, but we've already got a lot of them - thoughts?

I like the idea of Fury of Khaine being mandatory, it just seems to fit more. As you were saying, though, it kind of comes out with the same end result either way - the skill just isn't that great.


With those in mind, here's the list I plan on starting with. The basic strategy, obviously, varies between what i'm fighting, but I wanted to load up on Repeaters both to take advantage of the starting discount and because I'm predicting that 3/4ths of my plan in any given game against the Dwarves will be 'run, gun, and hope for 6s'. Well, that in combination with a particularly nice bit of nastiness I noticed - thank you, World of Warcraft, for making me see this. Specifically... the range to deny march moves? 8 inches. The charge range of Dwarves? 6 inches. Less if they're the scary heavily-armored kind. The conclusion: Delicious dead zone abuse, unless I missed something in this train of thought... Anyway.

Noble @ Blademaster's Armaments, Repeater Crossbow, Sea Dragon Cloak

Lordling @ Sword, Dagger, Repeater Crossbow

Lordling @ Sword, Dagger, Repeater Crossbow

Sorceress @ 2 Daggers

Beastmaster @ Beastlash, Dagger

Shade @ 2 Daggers, Repeater Crossbow

Slavehound


We'll make sure to keep everyone posted when the games start. I'm interested to see how these go - tough competition between rat-men and their ZOMGSLINGS and invincible dwarves.
Beardance
Slave on the Altar
Posts: 4
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Post by Beardance »

Loflar:

In regards to your feelings on Lordlings - While your point is entirely valid, you need to keep in mind that, just because you can buy them more than once, that doesn't make them any less powerful. If anything, it makes them more powerful. You also need to keep in mind that Lordlings are meant to be elite units, and thus should be well protected. If you're that worried about your Lordlings being killed, keep them close to your poochies. As for the Shades, the same goes for them. They also have access to better defensive equipment than Marksmen. If you want to keep your models alive, keep them well equipped.

As for the Trained rule, I think you and Teysa both have good points in that 6" is a very short range. However, they might be too powerful if they are allowed to roam completely free of their master. I was thinking that maybe doubling, or even tripling, the range of the rule would be more legitimate. Or maybe the range could be directly correlated to the number of slavehounds? More slavehounds means paying more attention to their actions, and thus less ability to command them.

Fury of Khaine - I think that this skill should be mandatory, but it seems too weak of a skill as-is. I think that maybe there should be something to offset this fact. For instance, maybe the model could be treated as being Frenzied in the first round of the combat initiated by the skill?

Art of Death - If you look at the Skaven skill Art of Silent Death, you'll notice that it doubles the critical hit chance of all the Skaven's attacks. This isn't that much more powerful, in my opinion, especially considering the fact that there's going to be Dwarves in the campaign. =P

Revenge - I understand what you're getting at with this, but I think that there should be an advantage other than +1 attack. Also, a parry would mean that you're not only anticipating the movement of the opponent, but you're forcing them in a direction that assists in your attack.

Doombolt - Hmm... I'll take that into consideration. Fires of U'Zhul is also one hit and can only target the first enemy in its path.
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Loflar
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Post by Loflar »

Teysa wrote:Excellent Sight on everybody does seem rather much. My first impulse was to make it a skill, but we've already got a lot of them - thoughts?

You can see my opinion in this thread.

predicting that 3/4ths of my plan in any given game against the Dwarves will be 'run, gun, and hope for 6s'. Well, that in combination with a particularly nice bit of nastiness I noticed - thank you, World of Warcraft, for making me see this. Specifically... the range to deny march moves? 8 inches. The charge range of Dwarves? 6 inches. Less if they're the scary heavily-armored kind. The conclusion: Delicious dead zone abuse, unless I missed something in this train of thought... Anyway.

Keep in mind that range of dwarven crossbows is 36" and that they can hire someone to marchblock and unhide you. Like, say, roadwarden.

On your list: I don't know your environment, but where I play, numbers count. You could get another model or maybe two (dogs) by dropping Noble's special equipment.

BearDance wrote:You also need to keep in mind that Lordlings are meant to be elite units, and thus should be well protected. If you're that worried about your Lordlings being killed, keep them close to your poochies. As for the Shades, the same goes for them. They also have access to better defensive equipment than Marksmen. If you want to keep your models alive, keep them well equipped.

Elves will often be outnumbered, which means that once the bloodshed starts, everyone may have to go in. Of course, if the lordlings develop into fire support specialists, they stay behind, but once all others are fighting, they can be shot at anyway. If shades stay back as well, who will do the fighting? The 3 or 4 remaining models? Against 10 enemy models?

As for the Trained rule, I think you and Teysa both have good points in that 6" is a very short range. However, they might be too powerful if they are allowed to roam completely free of their master.

My experience is that they are not. Look at my campaign report.

But as I wrote, test your ideas, so we could see the results.
Beardance
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Post by Beardance »

When we play, we're going to be using LOTS of terrain. Houses, ruins, debris, fountains, ladders, everything. The whole nine yards. With their high initiative, elves are going to be crawling all over the place. This is exactly why a few elite pieces are still okay, in my opinion. Again, we'll just have to wait and see.
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