Dramatis Personae
This section details some of the strangest and most famous (or infamous) characters to be found in Mordheim and the outlying settlements. Occasionally, these warriors join forces with a warband (usually demanding wyrdstone or a bag of gold in payment).
The following characters (known as ‘special characters’) are hard to find and expensive to hire – you must be lucky and wealthy to attract their attention.
This list does not, by any means, include all the famous warriors and cold-hearted killers you could encounter in Mordheim. There are famous Dwarf gold hunters, Burgomeisters of the Merchants’ Guild, Theodor, the marksman of Hochland, and many others. In fact we hope that the characters detailed here will inspire players to invent special characters of their own.
You can only ever have one of a particular special character in your warband. A warband may employ as many special characters as it likes – if it can afford them!
looking for special characters
After a battle, you can send any number of your Heroes to look for a special character. Only Heroes can look (Henchmen are rarely trustworthy enough). Heroes who went out of action in the last battle are unable to join the search because they are recovering from their wounds.
Heroes who are looking for a special character cannot look for rare items. Decide which special character you are seeking, and how many Heroes have been sent to look for him. Roll a D6 for each searcher. If any of the searchers rolls under his Initiative he has located the special character. You can, of course, only find one of a particular special character, no matter how many searchers roll under their Initiative.
hire fee
The warband must pay the hire fee for the special character when he is recruited, and after each battle he fights, including the first, you must pay an upkeep fee. These fees are indicated in the entries. This money comes from the warband’s treasury in the same way as buying new weapons or recruiting new warriors. If you don’t have enough gold to pay for the special character he leaves the warband.
experience, injuries and equipment
Special characters have their own equipment. Only they may use this equipment; it can’t be given to other warriors. Furthermore, you cannot buy extra weapons or equipment for a special character.
Special characters do not earn Experience points, although they suffer serious injuries, just like Heroes, if they are taken out of action.
Each special character’s description tells you how much to add to your warband’s rating for including them (taking into account their experience and abilities).
List of dramatis personae
Name | Cost | Upkeep | Grade | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aenur, Sword of Twilight | 150 gc | n/a | core | Mordheim Rulebook |
Bertha Bestraufrung | n/a | n/a | core | Mordheim Rulebook |
Johann The Knife | 70 gc | 30 gc | core | Mordheim Rulebook |
Veskit, High Executioner of Clan Eshin | 80 gc | 35 gc | core | Mordheim Rulebook |
Countess Marianna Chevaux | 150 gc | 75 gc* | 1a | Town Cryer 22 |
Nicodemus, The Cursed Pilgrim | 1 wyrdstone | 1 wyrdstone | 1a | Mordheim Annual 2002 |
Ulli & Marquand | 30 gc | n/a | 1a | Town Cryer 13 |
Abdul Alhazred, the Mad Sorcerer | 70 gc | 30 gc | 1b | Town Cryer 21 (Khemri) |
The Crow Master | 65 gc | 15 gc | 1b | Town Cryer 25 |
Dark Emissary | n/a | n/a | 1b | Town Cryer 15 (Albion) |
Dijin Katal, The Renegade Assassin | 85 gc | 40 gc | 1b | Town Cryer 15 (Lustria) |
Drenok Johansen, Wielder Of The Great Axe | 70 gc | 30 gc | 1b | Town Cryer 15 (Lustria) |
Heinrich ’Altdorf’ Schmidt | 75 gc | 1 treasure | 1b | Town Cryer 21 (Khemri) |
Khar-mel The Djinn | 80 gc | 30 gc | 1b | Town Cryer 21 (Khemri) |
Maximilian The Mad | 80 gc | 30 gc | 1b | Nemesis Crown Supplement |
Penthesilea, Mark Of The Serpent | n/a | n/a | 1b | Town Cryer 15 (Lustria) |
Truthsayer | n/a | n/a | 1b | Town Cryer 15 (Albion) |
Belandysh, Condemned Champion Of Chen | 90 gc, 5cp | 30 gc, 1cp | 1c | Border Town Burning Supplement |
Grand Master Ippan Shu | 75 gc, 3cp | 2cp | 1c | Border Town Burning Supplement |
Innominatus, the Tilean Gladiator | 120 gc | 40 gc / 20 gc* | 1c | Mordheim Facebook Group |
Luthor, the Crimson Blade of Reikland | 60 gc | 25 gc* | 1c | Mordheim Facebook Group |
Luthor, the Dark Wizard Extraordinaire | 60 gc | 25 gc* | 1c | Mordheim Facebook Group |
Luthor, the Master Archer of Drakwald | 60 gc | 25 gc* | 1c | Mordheim Facebook Group |
Luthor, Treasure Hunter Par Excellence | 60 gc | 25 gc* | 1c | Mordheim Facebook Group |
Maglah Khan's Horde | 80 gc | 25 gc | 1c | Border Town Burning Supplement |
Aksho'akhash, the Vile Dreadwing | 30 gc | 30 gc | 2a | Mordheim Facebook Group |
Busty Gwen | Special | Special | 2a | Fanatic Online 89 |
Dark Jester | 75 gc | 30 gc | 2a | Fanatic Online 17 |
Headless Horseman, The | 100 gc | n/a | 2a | Sylvania Supplement |
Maurice Schleige | 40 gc | n/a | 2a | Fanatic Online 89 |
Sigmund Spindle, The Harvester Of Flesh | 70 gc | 35 gc | 2a | Sylvania Supplement |
William Schäkestange, Master Bard | 70 gc | 30 gc | 2a | Letters of the Damned 4 |
Clarification of grades
Core: Published in the original Mordheim Rulebook.
Grade 1a: GW/Fanatic Rules deemed "official"in the 2005 Rules Review.
Grade 1b: Unofficial, but released through GW/Fanatic. Professional quality.
Grade 1c: Experimental, not released through GW/Fanatic. Approved by people who previously submitted grade 1a/1b material and vouch for it's quality.
Grade 2a: Reliable, created and tested by fans and gaming groups. Will likely blend well with grade 1 warbands.
Further grades can be found at broheim.net.
We have tried to incorporate all the restrictions and permissions from both the warbands and the hired swords. If you feel a hired sword should or should not be available to a certain warband, please post a screenshot from the rules in our Discord.