Dwarf Rangers
Grade: 1b
Source: Nemesis Crown Supplement (PDF)
Setting: Nemesis Crown
Author: Mordheim Nemesis Crown Development Team
Lore
There is a traditional school of thought amongst many Dwarfs that ‘the old ways are best’, that new-fangled contraptions dreamt up by younger dwarves, especially those in the Engineering Guild, are weakening them by straying from time-honoured tactics and the ways of the Ancestors.
These Dwarfs tend to be older and as such travel together to prove this simple fact, appeasing the Ancestors by only using traditional weapons and tactics, retrieving lost treasures and artefacts and making every effort to cleanse fallen and lost Holds of the scum that have ‘temporarily’ taken them.
The newest Runesmiths, seen as the keepers of tradition, tend to be the leaders of these groups, gathering together a large number of like-minded members to undertake these expeditions. Their remit is simple – show the young whippersnappers that the Old Ways are the best way forward for the survival of the Dwarf race.
Special Rules
A Dwarf Rangers Warband is subject to the following special rules in addition to the ones for Dwarf Warbands.
Don’t Trust ‘Em: While Ranger Warbands are free to ally with other Dwarf warbands in multi-player games, their point of view is so different that they do not trust them fully. Members of a Dwarf Rangers warband are never considered ‘friendly models’ to other dwarfs and vice versa.
This means that members of one warband WILL stop members of the other from Marching, they won’t keep each other from taking all alone tests, etc. They don’t count as enemy models and may split any treasure found at the end of the game as normal, but the two bands are not friends, make no mistake!
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.
Choice of warriors
A Dwarf Rangers warband must include a minimum of 3 models. You have 500 Gold Crowns with which you can use to recruit and equip your warband. The maximum number of warriors in the warband is 12.
Runesmith: Each Dwarf Rangers warband must have one Runesmith: no more, no less!
Apprentice Runesmith: Your warband may include up to 1 Apprentice Runesmith.
Troll Slayers: Your warband may include up to 2 Troll Slayers.
Dwarf Longbeards: Your warband may include up to 5 Dwarf Longbeards.
Dwarf Clansmen: Your warband may include any number of Dwarf Warriors.
Dwarf Crossbowmen: Your warband may include up to 5 Dwarf Crossbowmen.
Beardlings: Your warband may include any number of Beardlings.
Starting Experience
Runesmith starts with 20 experience.
Apprentice Runesmith starts with 0 experience.
Troll Slayers start with 8 experience.
All Henchmen start with 0 experience.
Dwarf Skill Table
| Combat | Shooting | Academic* | Strength | Speed | Special | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runesmith | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Apprentice | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Troll Slayer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
*Note that Dwarfs may never take the Arcane Lore skill. It is not possible for a dwarf to learn to cast spells.
Dwarf Special Skills
Dwarf Heroes may use the following Skill table instead of any of the standard Skill tables available to them.
Combat Master
This Dwarf’s martial skills surpass those of a normal warrior; he is used to fighting by himself against hordes of opponents and coming through unscathed. When using a weapon that has a Parry special rule, this hero parries successfully if he beats OR MATCHES his opponent’s highest ‘to hit’ roll, not just if he beats the roll. In addition, if this warrior is using two weapons that have the Parry special rule, he is allowed to parry two attacks (if his two dice match or beat the highest two attack dice against him) instead of the normal maximum of one.
Extra Tough
This Dwarf is notorious for walking away from wounds that would kill a lesser being. When rolling on the Heroes Serious Injury chart for this Hero after a game in which he has been taken out of action, the dice may be re-rolled once. The result of this second dice roll must be accepted, even if it is a worse result.
Resource Hunter
This Dwarf is especially good at locating valuable resources. When rolling on the Exploration chart at the end of a game, the Hero may modify one dice roll by +1/-1.
True Grit
Dwarfs are hardy individuals and this Hero is hardy even for a Dwarf! When rolling on the Injury table for this Hero, a roll of 1-3 is treated as knocked down, 4-5 as stunned, and 6 as out of action.
Thick Skull
The Hero has a thick skull, even for a Dwarf. He has a 3+ save on a D6 to avoid being stunned. If the save is made, treat a stunned result as knocked down instead. If the Dwarf also wears a helmet, this save is 2+ instead of 3+ (this takes the place of the normal Helmet special rule).
Ferocious Charge
The Slayer may double his attacks on the turn in which he charges. He will suffer a –1 to hit penalty on that turn. Slayers only.
Monster Slayer
The Slayer always wounds any opponent on a roll of 4+, regardless of Toughness, unless his own strength (with weapon modifiers) would mean that a lower roll than this is needed. Slayers only.
Berserker
The Slayer may add +1 to his to hit rolls during the turn in which he charges. Slayers only.
Dwarf equipment lists
The following lists are used by Dwarf warbands to pick their equipment.
Dwarf Warrior Equipment List
Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dagger | 1st free/2 gc |
| Mace | 3 gc |
| Hammer | 3 gc |
| Axe | 5 gc |
| Sword | 10 gc |
| Dwarf axe | 15 gc |
| Double-handed weapon | 15 gc |
| Spear | 10 gc |
| Halberd | 10 gc |
| Gromril weapon* | 3 times the cost |
Crossbowmen Equipment List
Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dagger | 1st free/2 gc |
| Mace | 3 gc |
| Hammer | 3 gc |
| Axe | 5 gc |
| Sword | 10 gc |
*Any weapon a Dwarf may normally purchase may be bought as a Gromril weapon instead. This multiplies the cost of the weapon by 3. For rules on Gromril weapons see the Mordheim rulebook. Note that this price is only for a starting warband, as it represents the Dwarfs outfitting themselves at their own stronghold. Later purchases of Gromril weapons are done using the price chart in the Mordheim rules.
**The price of a suit of Gromril armour is cheaper for a starting warband to represent the relative ease with which Dwarfs can find such items in their own stronghold. Later purchases of Gromril armour must be done using the normal price chart in the Mordheim rules.
heroes
1 Runesmith
85 gold crowns to hire
Dwarf Runesmiths are champions of the old ways. ‘If it was good enough for my ancestors, it’s good enough for me!’ is a popular saying. Fresh out of their decades-long apprenticeships, these Runesmith’s are normally on a quest to prove this saying and so will gather together a party of like-minded individuals to seek out lost treasures of their ancestors to confirm this adherence to the traditional ways.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
Weapons/Armour: A Dwarf Runesmith may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list.
Special Rules
Leader: Any models in the warband within 6" of the Dwarf Runesmith may use his Leadership instead of their own.
Inscribe Runes: A Runesmith knows one minor rune (see list at the end of this warband list), determined randomly when the warband is first created. He may inscribe the rune on an item carried by one of the warriors of his warband, and (if successful, see below) the item will gain a bonus from the rune for that game. When a Runesmith advances and rolls a skill on the Hero Advance table, he may choose to learn a new rune instead of learning a skill (exactly like a spellcaster advancing and learning a new spell).
0 – 1 Apprentice Runesmith
40 gold crowns to hire
An Apprentice Runesmith follows his master wherever he goes and is normally just as anxious to prove that the old ways are best. For if they aren’t, he is wasting a good portion of his life…
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
Weapons/Armour: An Apprentice Runesmith may be armed with weapons chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list.
Special Rules
Extra Set of Hands: An Apprentice Runesmith helps his master fashion runic items, doing all the boring grunge-work that makes his master more efficient in his efforts. An Apprentice Runesmith in the warband allows a Master Runesmith to inscribe on two items before each game, instead of only one.
0 – 2 Dwarf Troll Slayers
50 gold crowns to hire
While it may seem that Troll Slayers shouldn’t fit in with the rest of a Runic Ranger warband, make no mistake – they are strict adherents to tradition and the old ways! Indeed they usually find it easier to get along with the more traditional minded Dwarfs than other dwarfs, who Slayers feel lack determination and the insight to see what the true problems are with their race.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Weapons/Armour: Troll Slayers may be equipped with weapons chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list. Slayers may never carry or use missile weapons or any form of armour.
SPECIAL RULES
Deathwish: Troll Slayers seek an honourable death in combat. They are completely immune to all psychology and never need to test if fighting alone.
Unlike the Dwarf Treasure Hunters, this version of the Troll Slayer does not have any Troll Slayer skills.
henchmen
(Bought in groups of 1-5)
0 – 5 Dwarf Longbeards
50 gold crowns to hire
Tested Dwarf veterans who’ve fought in hundreds of battle over their long lives, Longbeards are typically more than willing to support an expedition to prove what they’ve said all along – the old ways are best!
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
Weapons/Armour: Dwarf Longbeards may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list.
Special Rules
Stubborn: Dwarf Longbeards have seen just about everything in their long careers and they know it. They are used to fighting by themselves against impossible odds and it hasn’t killed them yet. On top of all this they are just generally more set in their ways than other Dwarfs and they’re not about to let a bunch of weedy goblins drive them off!
A Dwarf Longbeard may reroll any failed Leadership test he is required to take. Remember that you can never reroll a reroll, so the result of this second roll must always be accepted.
Dwarf Clansmen
40 gold crowns to hire
There are many Dwarfs who see the ‘wisdom’ in reliance on the old ways. Most of these Dwarf warriors venerate Runesmiths and are honoured to be chosen as part of an expedition including one.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Weapons/Armour: Dwarf Clansmen may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list.
0 – 5 Dwarf Crossbowmen
40 gold crowns to hire
More Dwarfs who see the old ways as best use the older crossbow instead of the newer (and very unreliable to their eyes) handguns. If their ancestors had wanted them to use black powder weapons, they would have developed them generations ago.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Weapons/Armour: Crossbowmen may be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the Dwarf Crossbowmen equipment list.
Beardlings
25 gold crowns to hire
Many of the proponents of the old ways are older members of Dwarf community. However there are still youngsters who believe and they often accompany a Runic warband to lend a hand as needed to the respected oldsters. More spry than their fellows, they are often used as scouts, roaming ahead of the rest to spy the land and observe enemy activity.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
Weapons/Armour: Beardlings may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dwarf Warrior equipment list.
Dwarf Runes
Runesmiths harness the magic of the Warhammer world by inscribing magical runes on items, imbuing them with a variety of wondrous abilities. When a Runesmith graduates from his long apprenticeship he has knowledge of one or two minor runes taught to him by his master. These runes are less powerful than normal Dwarf runes, in that they can only utilise magic for a short time. As the Runesmith practices and studies on his own, he gains the knowledge required to inscribe the more powerful permanent runes on to items.
Before each game, the Runesmith may attempt to inscribe the rune on an item one of the warriors in his warband is carrying. To do so he must roll 2D6. If he rolls a number equal to or greater than the Difficulty Level of the rune, the item gains the appropriate bonus FOR THAT GAME. If he rolls a ‘2’ on the 2D6, he has fumbled the inscription, fractured the blade of the weapon or shattered the breastplate of the armour, etc. The item is destroyed and must be removed from the warrior’s list of items, though it may be replaced before the game if the warband has sufficient gold crowns. Any other failure simply means the Runesmith failed to inscribe the rune correctly and the warrior gains no bonus.
The leader of a Dwarf Rangers warband represents a younger Runesmith that has recently left the tutelage of his master. He knows one of the following minor runes:
- Rune of Stone: +1 to Armour Save. Difficulty 8.
- Rune of Sharpness: -1 Armour Save modifier to weapon. Difficulty 6.
- Rune of Speed: Initiative doubled on weapon. Difficulty 7.
- Rune of Warding: Special 4+ save Vs. Spells affecting target (placed on belt, armband, etc. Cost to replace: 1 GC). Difficulty 8.
- Rune of Accuracy: +1 to hit on weapon. Difficulty 9.
- Rune of Striding: +1 Movement (placed on boots, belt, etc. Cost to replace: 1 GC). Difficulty 8.
The Jealousy of Runes: Bonuses from Runes are not cumulative with magical bonuses from The Jealousy of Runes other items. In other words, a warrior may not combine a Rune of Stone on his shield and a Rune of Shield on his armour for a total bonus to his Armour Save of +2. Similarly the warrior could not combine the Rune of Stone on his shield with some suit of magic elven armour (for example) that added +1 to the warrior’s Armour Save.