Outlaws of Stirwood Forest
Grade: 2a
Source: Redux version by Jon Davis (PDF)
Setting: The Empire — Stirland
To the north of the River Stir lies the Great Forest, a vast expanse of woodland that fills the very heart of the Empire. Bounded along its southern edge by the river, this, the largest forest of the known world, extends league upon league as far as any man can see. Just at its southernmost, the River Stir separates a small part of the forest from the main bulk of the woodland and this smaller area of forest is known locally as Stirwood. Small though Stirwood may be – indeed, this part of the forest is not even on the same scale as the sacred Forest of Loren, but, as many say, size isn’t everything – Stirwood Forest is nevertheless still large enough to get lost in, and many have done so, some by accident and some by design.
Stirwood lies just north of the noble city of Nuln and to the west of Wurtbad, where law and order are strictly enforced, at least they are strictly enforced once the City Guards have finally managed to catch up with those who break the Count’s law. The Elector Count of Stirland was well known as a man that one should not cross. Those that did so were inevitably declared as ‘outlaws’ and were pursued from the cities. Even the most petty of criminals, some still quite young, could be declared ‘outlaw’ and had little option but to flee to the countryside.
Many perished, both young and old, but some made it to Stirwood where they could lay low.
During their time in Stirwood, some would band together and become groups of outlaws, rather than just attempting to survive on their own. The forest was a perfect training ground to develop their skills, particularly in archery, where even the hunting of the wild deer, the Count’s deer, was a crime in itself. Illicit deerhunting was not their only past-time as many an unwary traveller, passing unsuspectingly through the forest, would find themselves ambushed and relieved of their goods.
Clerics also lived in these parts, holy men who spent their time in devotion to the blessed Sigmar. Usually they dwelt alone in contemplation, but were often trusted by the local groups of outlaws that they came into contact with and attended to their spiritual needs, and, when the occasion arose, also attended to their wounds.
In the years that followed the sighting of the twin-tailed star in the sky, it was inevitable that tales of Mordheim would have travelled down the waters of the River Stir. Tales of strange sights and great riches would easily have reached the inhabitants of Stirwood Forest. Temptations of this enormous wealth that was rumoured to be in the shattered city would have been hard for any group of outlaws to resist.
Special Rules
All warriors in an Outlaws warband may be equipped with only one missile weapon at any time. All warriors must carry a type of bow, but not crossbows, as part of their equipment. So, even if an Outlaw acquires skills that allow him to use additional ballistic weaponry, he cannot do so. The only exception to this is the Cleric who may choose to carry a bow, but is not compelled to do so.
Choice of warriors
A Outlaws of Stirwood Forest Warband must include a minimum of 3 models. You have 500 Gold Crowns which you can use to recruit and equip your warband. The maximum number of warriors in the warband may never exceed 15.
Heroes
Bandit Leader: Each Outlaws Warband must have one Bandit Leader: no more, no less!
Champions: Your Warband may include up to 2 Champions.
Petty Thieves: Your Warband may include up to 2 Petty Thieves.
Cleric: Your Warband may include one Cleric, but he can only be taken instead of either a Champion or Petty Thief.
Henchmen (bought in groups of 1–5)
Marksmen: Your warband may include up to 7 Marksmen.
Outlaws: Your warband may include any number of Outlaws.
Starting Experience
The Bandit Leader starts with 20 experience.
Champions start with 8 experience.
Cleric starts with 8 experience.
Petty Thieves start with 0 experience.
Henchmen start with 0 experience.
Outlaws Skill Table
Outlaws Equipment Lists
Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dagger | 1st free/2 gc |
| Mace | 3 gc |
| Hammer | 3 gc |
| Axe | 5 gc |
| Sword | 10 gc |
| Spear | 10 gc |
| Double-handed weapon | 15 gc |
Missile Weapons
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Bow | 10 gc |
| Short Bow | 5 gc |
| Long Bow Heroes only | 15 gc |
Armour
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Light armour | 20 gc |
| Helmet | 10 gc |
| Shield | 5 gc |
Miscellaneous Equipment (Heroes Only)
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Forest Cloak | 45 gc |
| Hunting Arrows | 30 gc |
Special Equipment
Forest Cloak
50 gold crowns Availability: Rare 10 (Outlaws only).
Some Outlaws use Forest Cloaks to camouflage themselves against being seen by their enemies. Any wearer of such a cloak would appear to blend into the surrounding forest making it almost impossible to be seen. So long as the wearer is beside a tree, bush or hedge, any enemy using any kind of missile weapon at a warrior wearing a Forest Cloak is at an additional - lBS to hit (in addition to all other modifiers). Similarly, if any spellcaster wishes to target a magical attack against an Outlaw camouflaged in this way, he can only do so by successfully rolling a 4+ on a D6. The only exception to this is if the shooting warrior or the spellcaster is already within their Initiative range in inches.
Heroes
1 Bandit Leader
60 gold crowns to hire
A Bandit Leader is a professional cutthroat, a hardened criminal. His presence along the shadowy forest tracks of Stirwood has often meant the untimely demise of many a passing traveller. Other Outlaws will follow him, inspired as much by his ruthlessness as by his prowess.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 |
Weapons/Armour: A Bandit Leader may be equipped with weapons chosen from the Outlaws equipment list.
SPECIAL RULES
Leader: Any models in the warband within 6" of the Bandit Leader may use her Leadership instead of their own.
0 – 2 Champions
35 gold crowns to hire
Most groups of Outlaws will often have a few who are more experienced than others. Loyal to their Leader they are usually rewarded with the choicest pickings of any loot.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Weapons/Armour: Champions may be equipped with weapons chosen from the Outlaws equipment list.
0 – 1 Cleric
35 gold crowns to hire
A Cleric would usually spend most of his time alone in the forest in contemplation of his devotion to Sigmar. However, some will see that Sigmar's work can also be achieved by the purging of all that is corrupt from the Empire. Many will, therefore, willingly join in the activities of groups of outlaws. Their knowledge of healing is often valued by other members.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Weapons/Armour: A Warrior Priest may be equipped with weapons chosen from the Outlaws equipment list. As Prayers are not considered to be Spells, a Cleric may wear armour, if he wishes.
SPECIAL RULES
Disciple of Sigmar: The Cleric has devoted his life in the constant service to Sigmar and as such he would start a campaign knowing one of the Prayers of Sigmar (see Mordheim rulebook page 57). As with a Witch-Hunter's Warrior Priest, he is also subject to some of the restrictions of being a follower of the Lord Sigmar and may learn neither Sorcery nor Arcane Lore.
0 – 2 Petty Thieves
20 gold crowns to hire
Many youths who are caught by the City Guards in the act of thieving are compelled to flee the city and take up a place among the trees of Stirwood Forest. Although young, they are still keen enough to prove their worth to their fellow outlaws.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Weapons/Armour: Petty Thieves may be equipped with weapons chosen from the Outlaws equipment list.
Henchmen
Outlaws
25 gold crowns to hire
These warriors form the basis of any group of bandits. Ruthless to the core, any of these would be more than happy to slip a sharp knife between somebody's ribs for the promise of just a few groats.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Weapons/Armour: Outlaws can be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the Outlaws Equipment list.
0 – 7 Marksmen
25 gold crowns to hire
These are the best archers in the group and their skill with the bow is legendary. They are more than capable of picking off any enemy before they get too close.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Weapons/Armour: Marksmen can be armed with weapons and armour chosen from the Outlaws Equipment list.
A little background
I believe it was back in 2003 that my dad was looking at one of the maps of the Empire and noticed the river Stir had a little bit of woodland besides it that was separated from the rest. That random thought became the start of his Robin Hood style warband the Outlaws of Stirwood Forest, which he then wrote up and submitted to GW, only for it to end up printed in Town Cryer.
Now in 2023, he hasn't played since selling most of his collection a numbers of years back, so as it was his birthday recently I decided to build him a warband based on his original list and dragged him down to a local gaming store for a game.
Three games later the Outlaws had solidified a trilogy of defeats but yet suffered no permanent losses and even grew to 9 models by the end (which we had to proxy as I had not foreseen a campaign leading to the warband growing beyond my modelling ambitions).
Needless to say much fun was had and we were both left agreeing we should probably try not to leave it another decade before playing again.
I also revamped these rules (just the pictures, layout, and correcting typos) to try to match the style of the original rulebook a little more closely, whilst leaving the rules and content largely the same – hopefully you like it.
As I was doing this as a surprise, I didn't check if he still had any of his old models (I thought he'd sold the lot), but it turns out he kept a few including that old warband, so here’s pictures of his new warband and his original one from twenty years ago.
There is a little extra info on the Outlaws warband written by Jon Davis and featured in Town Cryer issue 29.
Hopefully you will all have as much fun with them as he does, and may all your arrows find their targets.