Blazing Saddles
The Blazing Saddles rules are from the Mordheim Annual 2002.
Rules for Mounted Beasts in Mordheim by Robert J. Walker and Roger Latham.
As well as being populated by the various humanoid races, the Warhammer world also contains many species of animals - some of which have been tamed and trained to perform a useful function. These can be divided broadly into two groups - animals that can be ridden (eg, horses, giant wolves, Cold Ones, etc) and those that can't (eg, warhounds, giant rats, etc). These rules are intended to flesh-out the rules for mounted warriors from page 163 of the Mordheim rulebook.
Model Representation
If you wish to include riding beasts or tamed animals, you will need to have models to represent them. For mounted warriors you will need both a mounted minitaure and a model on foot. It is advised not to glue the rider on but co use bluetack or something similar so that he may be removed when on foot and his mount is unridden.
Animal Handling Skills
Many warbands employ unridden, fighting animals. Often one or more members of the warband is nominated to care for the animals, feeding and training them.
Beast Handler ( eg, Dog Handler)
This skill is highly beneficial if non-ridden animals are to be included in a warband. This skill must be taken for specific animals and may be taken multiple times for different animals. lt represents knowledge of the general care and well being of the animal as well as training techniques.
A warrior with this skill has a beneficial effect on the animals under his care. If a warrior has the Animal Handling skill for a particular animal, any such animals may use his Leadership provided he is within 6". If the warband's leader is also nearby, a player may choose which of the warriors' Leadership to use unless the animal is stupid, in which case only the handler's Leadership may be used. In addition, stubborn animals with a handler in base contact, ignore the effects of stubbornness. This counts as an academic skill.
Riding Animals
Most warriors in Mordheim can only dream of owning a riding animal. Expensive to buy, expensive to keep and requiring skill to ride, they are a mark of status beyond the reach of lowly henchmen. To those with the necessary wealth and skill, however, they are a priceless possession, enabling their rider to move rapidly across the battlefield, aiding him in combat with an advantage of height and weight, and in some cases, fighting in their own right.
Mounting Animals. It requires half a warrior's move to mount or dismount a riding creature. A mount or its rider may not run or charge in the same turn that the warrior mounts or dismounts unless the rider has a Special Riding skill that allows this.
Not Indoors. Mounts cannot normally be ridden indoors or underground, unless playing a specially devised scenario that allows this.
Dense Terrain. Riding mounts are rare both amongst the ruins of Mordheim and in the claustrophobic jungles of Lustria. The dense terrain makes riding difficult and large numbers of riders are highly ineffective. Thus in those settings, a warband may only have a maximum of two mounts (not including those belonging to Hired Swords). In more open settings, such as the open fields of the countryside around Mordheim or the deserts of Khemri, a warband may have as many mounts as they can afford.
Controlling a Mount. The Special Riding Skills may be used by warriors who have a riding animal, but only after the skill Ride has been gained; warriors which come provided with a riding animal are assumed to possess the Ride skill already.
Warriors without this skill may still ride animals, but must test against their Leadership if hit by any missile, and at the beginning of any Combat phase when a standing enemy is in base contact. If the test is failed they lose control of their mount and must roll on the Whoa, Boy! Table. Note that if an enemy is not standing, the mounted warrior is not considered to be in combat and thus does not need to test for loss of control.
Armour Bonus. All riding animals give their riders a +1 armour save bonus.
Bolting Mounts. In certain circumstances, a mount may bolt. A bolting mount must make a Leadership test at the beginning of the owning player's turn; if successful it stops running, otherwise it continues fleeing. The easiest way to determine the direction a mount bolts is to use an Artillery Scatter dice. If you do not have one, then roll 2D6 and use the clock-face method. Taking the direction the horse is facing as 12 and directly behind as 6, the horse will bolt in the appropriate direction on the clock-face.
Leading Animals. On occasion, a warrior may want to lead a riding animal rather than riding it. A warrior may only lead one riding animal unless he has the Animal Handling skill for that particular animal, in which case he can lead as many as he wishes. Groups of led animals are tethered together and must maintain base contact with each other; at least one must be in base contact with the warrior leading them. Riding animals that are being led do not roll for loss of control. If required to make a Leadership test (eg, when charged by a Fear-causing enemy) they use the Ld of the warrior leading them. A warrior leading riding animals may move and fight as normal, but must maintain base contact at all times.
Unled Animals. Riding animals which are not being either led or ridden will remain stationary but must make a Leadership test at the beginning of their turn. If this is failed, they will bolt, using the rules above.
Cavalry Rules/Skills
Skills may only be used one at a time. If two are applicable to a given situation, the controlling player must decide which to use. All bonuses are cumulative with those gained from a mount, unless otherwise stated.
Ride (eg, Ride Horse)
This skill is vital if a rider wishes to ride an animal into combat. The skill is specific to a particular type of animal and must be gained again if the warrior wishes to be able to ride a different kind of animal. For instance, a warrior with Ride Horse would need to gain the skill Ride Warhorse if he wanted to be able to ride such a spirited mount.
Special Riding Skills
Cavalry Commander.
Mounted heroes are an impressive sight. With a good vantage point, they can see (and be seen) far more readily than if they were on foot. If the warband's leader has this skill and is mounted, he may add an extra 6" to the distance within which other warriors in the warband may use his Leadership. This is in addition to any other bonuses that increase the range of the leader's influence.
Trick Riding.
By athletically hanging off the side of his mount, a rider makes himself harder to hit. While a rider is trick riding all missile attacks against him suffer -1 to hit in addition to other modifiers. The rider must declare that he is trick riding before moving. He must then make an Initiative test and, if successful, may move full distance. If he fails he loses control of his mount and must roll immediately on the Whoa Boy! table. This skill may not be used with heavy armour because of the agility required. In addition, trick riding requires both hands, so the model may not use a shield or missile weapons whilst using the skill.
Warriors without Ride may not use this skill.
Combat Riding.
The rider has trained his mount to use its bulk to trample any unmounted enemy before him. A warrior with this skill may make a single additional S4 attack when charging an unmounted opponent. In subsequent rounds of combat, or if charged by enemy warriors, the mounted warrior fights as normal.
Evade.
The rider has trained his mount to swerve from side to side in combat, wrong-footing his opponent. A rider with this skill always strikes first in close combat against dismounted opponents. When charged by an opponent, or otherwise fighting an enemy also entitled to strike first, attacks are carried out in order of Initiative. If Initiative is equal, the model with greater experience strikes first.
Warriors without Ride may not use this skill.
Running Dismount.
The rider is able to dismount from his mount at speed. The rider may ride up to the mount's normal move distance and then dismount immediately. No further movement or shooting is possible. This skill may be used to move into contact with the enemy, counting as a Diving Charge from a height of 2" - all the usual rules for diving charges apply. Note that the rider then counts as dismounted, gaining no further assistance from his mount.
Warriors without Ride may not use this skill.
Athletic Mount.
Without breaking stride, the warrior is able to leap onto the back of his mount and immediately spur it into a full gallop. Once the warrior is on board, the mount may make a run or charge move as normal. The warrior must be within half his full move distance of his steed to use this skill.
Horse Archer.
The rider has learned the skills of the steppe nomads and can shoot from a running mount. The rider may shoot in a 360 degree arc whilst mounted, and may shoot while his mount is running; however the shot suffers a -1 to hit penalty in addition to all other normal modifiers.
Warriors without Ride may not use this skill.
Mounted Combat Master.
The rider is especially skilled at combat against a mounted opponent. If the model is fighting mounted against a mounted opponent and successfully wounds the enemy, the wounded model must add +1 to his roll on the Whoa Boy! table.
Warriors without Ride may not use this skill.
Losing Control
If a mounted warrior has lost his last wound, then the player must roll on the Whoa Boy! table. This replaces the normal Injuries chart. If critical hits are suffered, then roll as many times as is required, raking the most serious result.
Whoa Boy! Table
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | The rider is temporarily disorientated and his mount rears up. The rider keeps his seat but must spend his next turn stationary regaining control, unable to move or shoot. If attacked, treat the rider as fallen down. |
| 3-4 | The rider falls off his mount and is stunned, taking an additional S2 hit in the process with no armour save. In addition, roll a D6: on a roll of 1-3, the mount immediately bolts 3D6" in a random direction and continues until it has left the table - the mount may be recovered after the battle; on a roll of 4-6, the mount remains stationary and the warrior may remount once recovered. Note: the mount does not count as unridden or unled in this instance. |
| 5-6 | The rider and his mount crash to the ground together. The rider and mount are automatically out of action. In addition, roll a D6: on a roll of 1-2 the mount lands on top of its rider, crushing him. If this happens, the warrior must roll twice on the Serious Lnjuries chart after the battle. In addition, after the battle roll a D6: on a roll of 1-2 the mount was crippled or killed by the fall and is removed from the warband roster. |
Attack Animals
The most common attack animal in the Old World is the faithful wardog, especially favoured by Witch Hunters. Other warbands have their favoured attack animals - Giant Rats for Skaven, Dire Wolves for Vampires, Cold One Beasthounds for the Druchii, Scorpions for Khemrian Tomb Guardians. Whatever the differences between the species, a warrior with several sets of claws and jaws behind him is a more dangerous opponent than a warrior on his own.
For details of the various attack animals available to different races, see the Mordheim rulebook or the relevant warband lists.
Ridden Animals
Humans like their horses, Ores their boars, Goblins their wolves. All agree that two legs are good, but four legs are better. For details on ridden animals, see the Animals section in the Armoury.