Банды
Mordheim#
The Empire was a place torn: it had been in civil war for years – there was no Emperor sitting on the throne, and various powers were vying for control. In the Imperial year 1999, a great comet was sighted in the sky – a twin tailed comet, the sign of Sigmar.
Astronomers predicted that it would fall in the city of Mordheim, where his convent of Sisters stood. It was believed that it would herald the return of Sigmar, which he would restore the land to its former glory and usher in a new golden age.
Everybody traveled to Mordheim, filling the city well beyond its capacity. Such were the times that lawlessness soon grew out of hand.
The citizens of Mordheim quickly degenerated to moral debauchery, giving themselves over to their own worldly temptations, living in an increasing state of anarchy.
As time drew closer to the comet's arrival, more and more people made the journey to Mordheim, and the situation became unbearably worse.
As people gave in to acts of depravity, demons walked the streets like men, the seeds of Chaos and corruption long since having claimed the souls of the pitiful thousands who now called Mordheim their own.
The comet fell on the first day of the new era, but it was not to be the coming of Sigmar as predicted. It smashed into the city, instantly killing those who had gathered around it. Word got out that Sigmar had passed his judgment, that he had smote those who he deemed unworthy.
The place of Mordheim became a place of fear and paranoia. Soon after, word spread of a mysterious stone that lay scattered about the city, known as Wyrdstone, which had all manner of reputed qualities.
It was discovered that factions would pay incredible amounts for this precious stone, whatever their motivation. So Warbands began traveling to Mordheim, now dubbed The City of the Damned, hoping to find this precious stone and make their quick fortunes...
Dark Elves#
"There are not enough words in your simple tongue to express our hatred for them, Human. Killers, despoilers, slavers and thieves we name them, but not one of these oft-earned titles begins to describe the depths of their depravity. They have neither mercy nor honour. They roam and kill in darkness called up by their foul sorceries. They are so base as to specifically target children for their depredations. The capricious folk of Ulthuan claim that they are their despised kin, exiled long ago, but truly, can one ever trust the words of an Elf?"
— Hargrim Furgilsson, Dwarf Trader
Dark Ones of Naggaroth#
Many dare not speak of the High elves' evil kin, the Druchii, or the Dark elves, as they are better known. They are a race for whom pain and pleasure have been pushed to the ultimate extreme. They leave destruction and despair in their wake and are more greatly feared than the barbaric orcs and no less so than the tainted forces of the Chaos and Undeath. To the victims of the Dark Elves it is the fortunate to whom a quick is gifted, for this twisted folk roam the Known World in search of slaves. The slaves of the Dark Elves are either worked to death in their mines, ripped apart on the altars to Khaine, their dark God, or tortured mercilessly by the brides of Khaine, the Witch elves, Dark Elves take a perverse delight in inflicting pain upon others just to see their victims suffer.
Despite their dire reputation for cruelty, they only rivaled as explorers and adventurers by their High Elven cousins. It is the lure of the precious, arcane artifacts of the Slann that bring these foul creatures to Lustria, travelling stealthily in their Black Arks and penetrating deep into the jungle. Dark Elves are adept at stealth and ambush and are well suited to the overgrown realm of the Lizardmen — most warbands don't even know they're being attacked until it is too late.
Special Rules#
All Dark Elves are subject to the following 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 Ulthuan kin. Elves can spot Hidden enemies from twice as far away than normal warriors. (i.e. twice their Initiative value in inches)
- Black Powder Weapons: Dark Elves may never use black powder weapons as they find them too crude, noisy and unreliable.
Home Rules#
- Sea Dragon Cloak (4+ save, 3+ save vs ranged) 40+2D6 gc, rare 10 dark elves only [40 gc when band created]
Dwarf Treasure Hunters#
"We sons of Grungni may have drunk deep from the bitter waters of misfortune, but we yet survive. Whilst a single Dwarf draws breath, we will fight the evils that assail us, and we will never, ever give up."
— Hengist Stonebelly, Dwarf Longbeard
Occasionally, a Dwarf noble will find himself in desperate times. His family hold may have been overrun by Goblins or Skaven, or he may have somehow disgraced himself and been banished. Other Dwarfs know these warriors as the Dispossessed. Dwarfs are a proud race and it is against a Dwarf’s nature to lose himself in despair. Instead, a noble who finds himself in such dire straits will gather together a group of his closest friends and kin and go treasure hunting, hoping to accumulate a large enough hoard to establish his own holding. At this time, the largest source of wealth in the Known World is rumoured to be a city in the Empire. The city is known as Mordheim...
Special Rules#
All Dwarfs are subject to the following special rules:
- Hard to Kill: Dwarfs are tough, resilient individuals who can only be taken out of action on a roll of 6 instead of 5–6 when rolling on the Injury chart. Treat a roll of 1–2 as knocked down, 3–5 as stunned, and 6 as out of action.
- Hard Head: Dwarfs ignore the special rules for maces, clubs, etc. They are not easy to knock out!
- Armour: Dwarfs never suffer movement penalties for wearing armour.
- Hate Orcs and Goblins: All Dwarfs hate Orcs and Goblins. See the psychology section of the Mordheim rules for details on the effects of hatred.
- Grudgebearers: Dwarfs hold an ancient grudge against Elves from the days when the two races fought for supremacy in the Old World. A Dwarf warband may never include any kind of Elven Hired Sword or Dramatis Personae.
- Incomparable Miners: Dwarfs spend much of their lives underground searching for precious minerals, and they are the best in the world at this kind of work. In the city of Mordheim they apply similar skills to the search for wyrdstone. When checking for wyrdstone at the end of a game, add +1 to the number of pieces found for a Dwarf warband.
Home Rules#
- Expert Blackpowder Advice: A Dwarf Engineer is a master of blackpowder guns. Any friendly model in 6" of Dwarf Engineer can reroll blackpowder weapon misfire roll of 1 but you must accept the result of the second roll.
Orc Mob#
"Let 'em tell da King. Da east belongs to da Orcs. Da east belongs to Morglum. Da east is green."
— Morglum Necksnapper
Among the races of the Warhammer world, none enjoy the prospect of a good looting more than Orcs and Goblins. For this reason many Orc warbands have been drawn to the city of Mordheim and the wyrdstone that lies hidden there. Of course, Orcs would much rather ambush other warbands and take their wyrdstone than collect it themselves, but their goals are the same as any other warband – collect as much treasure as possible!
Special Rules#
All Orcs are subject to the following special rules:
- Animosity: Orcs and Goblins enjoy nothing more than a good scrap, unfortunately they’re not always very discerning about who they scrap with! To represent this, at the start of the Orc player’s turn, roll a D6 for each Henchman who is either an Orc or a Goblin. A roll of 1 means that the warrior has taken offense to something one of his mates has done or said. Do not roll for models that are engaged in hand-to-hand combat (they’re already scrappin’!). To find out just how offended the model is, roll another D6 and consult the following chart to see what happens:
D6 Result- **1** “I ’Erd Dat!” The warrior decides that the nearest friendly Orc or Goblin Henchman has insulted his lineage or personal hygiene and must pay the price! If there is a friendly Orc or Goblin Henchman or Hired Sword within charge reach (if there are multiple targets within reach, choose the one nearest to the mad model), the offended warrior will immediately charge and fight a round of hand-to-hand combat against the source of his ire. At the end of this round of combat, the models will immediately move 1" apart and no longer count as being in close combat (unless one of them fails another Animosity test and rolls this result again). If there are no friendly Orc or Goblin Henchmen or Hired Swords within charge reach, and the warrior is armed with a missile weapon, he immediately takes a shot at the nearest friendly Orc or Goblin Henchman or Hired Sword. If none of the above applies, or if the nearest friendly model is an Orc Hero, the warrior behaves as if a 2-5 had been rolled on this chart. In any case, the warrior in question may take no other action this turn, though he may defend himself if attacked in hand-to-hand combat.- **2–5** “Wud Yoo Say?” The warrior is fairly certain he heard an offensive sound from the nearest friendly Orc or Goblin, but he’s not quite sure. He spends the turn hurling insults at his mate. He may do nothing else this turn, though he may defend himself if attacked in hand-to-hand combat.- **6** “I’ll Show Yer!” The warrior imagines that his mates are laughing about him behind his back and calling him silly names. To show them up he decides that he’ll be the first one to the scrap! This model must move as quickly as possible towards the nearest enemy model, charging into combat if possible. If there are no enemy models within sight, the Orc or Goblin warrior may make a normal move immediately. This move is in addition to his regular move in the Movement phase, so he may therefore move twice in a single turn if you wish. If the extra move takes the Orc or Goblin warrior within charge reach of an enemy model, the warrior must charge into close combat during his regular movement. - Distasteful Company: Many Hired Swords refuse to work for Orcs, as they know that Orcs are just as likely to eat them as fight alongside them. Orcs may only hire the following Hired Swords: Pit Fighters, Ogre Bodyguards or Warlocks.
The Restless Dead#
"The armies of the undead are unlike others. I have faced them many times and they exact a fear-grip on men's hearts in a way that no other enemy can. Men are more prone to fear when facing a host of the walking dead, and fear is a soldier's worst enemy."
— Grandmarshall Blucher von Vincke
A Liche is a necromancer who was wise enough never to expend his own life energy to fuel his spells during his lifetime. As time eats away at his body, he retains his soul which allows him to manipulate magic, which is what separates them from pitiful wraiths. Unfortunately, the undead bodies of the Liche are not capable of retaining magic forever. They must absorb massive amounts of magic through the use of dark rituals and forbidden spells. The most common ritual involves the devouring of the soul of a human. The soulless human becomes a zombie under the Liche’s control. This continues until he is discovered.
When a Liche is found, great armies are sent against it. The Liche retaliates by creating armies of undead warriors to defend itself, expending vast amounts of stored magical energy to do so. Win or lose, the Liche is greatly weakened in this process. More often than not, the Liche is crippled such that he is incapable of bringing himself to his former strength. In this event, the Liche has two options. Most of them wander south to the forest of Loren where they seek the wild and infinite magic of the wood. Some wander north towards the Chaos Wastes where they are almost always discovered and destroyed en-route. An even smaller percentage go west in ramshackle boats towards the lands of the High Elves... so far, only a small handful of Liches have ever lived in their undead state for very long; even fewer return to fighting strength after crippling defeat.
For those who travel north, the journey is long and arduous; dodging road wardens, rogues and thieves all for their goal to reach the Chaos Wastes, where the Liche's power will slowly regenerate from the billowing magical winds spewing from the Realm of Chaos.
Special Rules#
Shadow Warriors#
"Do not long for peace, for there can be none while any druchii still draw breath. Embrace war as the crucible of your valediction, the means to purge this stain upon our people. Swear oaths of vengeance, not to me or your companions or to the uncaring gods, but to fallen mothers and fathers, dead sisters and brothers, slain sons and daughters. Take the darkness that the druchii have created and rob them of its power. You are the blade that will strike down the wicked. You are the shadow warrior, the faceless bringer of justice."
— Alith Anar, Shadow King
Nagarythe was once one of the most prosperous and beautiful of the kingdoms of the High Elven land of Ulthuan. When the Witch King Malekith and his mother Morathi led the kingdom of Nagarythe astray into worship of the Chaos Gods, not all of their people followed. When Malekith led his people in a rebellion against the rightful Phoenix King, those who had not been converted to depravity remained loyal to the throne of Ulthuan and waged a secret war, a war of shadows, against the Witch King and his armies. When the Witch King was defeated and forced to flee with his followers, most of these ‘shadow warriors’ were killed, drowned by the sea as their land was torn asunder by the Witch King’s foul magics.
The people of Nagarythe that survived became a nation of wanderers, moving from place to place and never really welcomed by other High Elves, for these Shadow Elves as they became known had gained a reputation for being a fierce and warlike people, full of cruelty. This reputation, while probably only partially true, sets the Shadow Elves apart from other members of their race. This, along with their grim attitude and generally dark presence, makes other High Elves feel ill at ease around them. In Ulthuan they are misfits and outcasts, and many of these proud people seek their fortunes outside Ulthuan entirely. They truly are a race ‘in the shadows’ between the cruel darkness of the Dark Elves, and the beautiful light of the other High Elves.
Some of the Elves of Nagarythe have been driven mad by this condition, but most have accepted their existence, and are driven on by a desire for revenge against the arch nemesis the Witch King and his perverse mother. The Shadow Elves form themselves into warbands and travel the lands of Ulthuan and the Known World, sometimes fighting Dark Elves (and other forces of Chaos) when they find them, and fighting just to survive the remainder of the time. Some still work in the service of the Phoenix king, acting as scouts and trackers for his armies. Sometimes small units of these warriors will be sent by their king to distant lands on a special mission for Ulthuan – recovery of ancient artifacts left behind when the High Elves abandoned the Old World, or sabotage of a rumoured plot of the Dark Elves. When sent on such a mission, these bands bring their military trappings with them – standards and war horns, unit insignia fiercely emblazoned on their shields – for the Shadow Elves take pride in their loyalty to the Phoenix King. Other warbands represent small groups of warriors seeking their fortune... though still loyal to Ulthuan, they may no longer feel welcome in their island home, or perhaps they represent a family pursuing a personal vendetta against a particular Dark Elf leader. Whatever the case, bands of Shadow Warriors may occasionally be seen roving the lands of the Old World to exploring the steamy jungles of Lustria.
Due to their wandering nature, it’s not uncommon to see Shadow Warriors travelling the lands of the Empire, so they should fit right in in your normal games of Mordheim. However, the Empire is not the only land these tireless warriors travel to in their quest to rid the world of Dark Elves. As more settings are introduced for the game, you will be able to take your Shadow Warriors to other lands, such as the jungles of Lustria as introduced in Lustria Cities of Gold. You should not feel constrained to keep the Shadow Warriors in one city, it is their nature to wander.
Special Rules#
Hate Dark Elves: All warriors in a Shadow Warrior Warband (excluding any Hired Swords) have an unyielding Hatred for Dark Elves.
Excellent Sight: Elves have eyesight unmatched by mere humans. All the Elves in a Shadow Warrior Warband can spot Hidden enemies from twice as far away as other warriors (i.e. twice their Initiative in inches).
Distaste for Poison: The use of poisons and various drugs is a Dark Elf specialty. As such, it is frowned upon by Shadow Warriors, even more so than by other High Elves. Warriors in a Shadow Warrior Warband may not use poisons of any type.
Unforgiving: In addition to their hatred of their corrupt kin, the folk of Nagarythe have a long history of struggle against the forces of Chaos. In multiplayer games, a Shadow Warrior warband may never forge an alliance with any Warband of a Chaotic nature (Possessed, Skaven, Beastmen, Dark Elves, etc.).
Tolerant: Due to their outsider status with their own people, the Elves of Nagarythe have learned to stifle their distaste for ‘lesser races’, and have even been known to work alongside them from time to time. A Shadow Warrior Warband may hire any Hired Sword that is not of a Chaotic or evil bent (so no Skaven, Possessed, Beastmen, Dark Elves, Undead, etc.). They also shun the company of anyone specialising in the use of poison (so no Assassins).
Skaven#
"...And there they saw by the dying light of their torches the myriad eyes about them, glittering like liquid midnight as the rats closed in for the kill. The manlings stood back to back and fought for their lives, but against such implacable ferocity and countless numbers of the verminous horde, their weapons were useless. The tide of monstrous rats flowed over them one by one, dragging them down to be torn apart, the yellow chisel-teeth sinking into their soft-flesh, the dark-furred mass drowning their pitiful screams with their hideous chittering..."
— Translated from the Tilean tale "The Doom of Kavzar" also called "The Curse of Thirteen."
Unbeknownst to man, for thousands of years he has shared his world with another and altogether different race. There have always been signs for those who cared to see them: a scurrying black shadow, an inhuman scream from the sewer, scuttling shapes at the back of the cellar. All these years these creatures have worked away in secret, burrowing beneath the world of man, undermining his great cities, infiltrating his sewers and cellars, and joining all up into a vast worldspanning labyrinth of tunnels and nests. These creatures call themselves Skaven and they are ratmen, the mutant spawn of an older age of chaos and mutation.
Doubtless one day the Skaven will be ready to emerge from their tunnels and wage open war upon mankind. For centuries they have been content to feed upon his ruins, to seed plague in his cities, and spread contagion amongst his lands. At least they were content to wait and watch, for now everything has suddenly changed. Now the destruction of Mordheim has created new opportunities in the secret war against mankind.
Since ancient times the Skaven have searched the world for the stones of power that men in their ignorance call wyrdstone but which Skaven have long since known as warpstone, blackstone, or seerstone. It was as a result of gnawing upon this magic stone in ages past that commonplace rats began the slow process of mutation that spawned the Skaven race. Wyrdstone is quite literally in their blood, for they feed upon it and make use of it in their foul sorceries. Until now the ratmen’s search for wyrdstone has been difficult and time-consuming as the stone has grown increasingly rare, but now a new and abundant source has appeared – a dark blessing from the skies!
For the Skaven of Clan Eshin, this is an especially opportune time for such a thing to happen, for, just as the Empire is divided, so the Skaven race is divided amongst itself. Clan fights clan the world over, each struggling for domination of the Council of Thirteen whose masters rule the Skaven race. Mordheim’s secret is not yet revealed to all the clans, or else the City of the Damned would already be overrun with ratmen. The Nightmaster of Clan Eshin is keen to guard this secret, and for this reason has not sent his multitudinous armies into Mordheim. Instead, he has sent small warbands of Skaven skittering through secret tunnels into the city to gather up the shining stones and bring them back to the clan nests.
The Skaven of Clan Eshin are supremely adapted to their task. Masters of the art of bringing silent death to their foes, they are skilled in the use of poison and trained in the thousand secrets of the assassin. Since birth Skaven warriors practise martial crafts in the ruinous temples of the Horned Rat, their everhungering and hideous god. There are none better amongst their verminous kind to gather up the treasure of Mordheim, but they must be silent, swift and efficient. Were rival Skaven clans to discover the secret of Mordheim there would come not hundreds, not thousands, but millions upon millions to contend for the wyrdstone in the City of the Damned.
Special Rules#
