Balrog's Circle of Mages Warband

I found my Circle of Mages warband recently, and then after finding Battle Wizards I decided to post my warband in hopes that it gives some ideas for people working on magic heavy warbands. I am NOT trying to steal anyone's thunder, just posting my thoughts from a while back in hopes that it helps others.

Warning: This has NO playtesting behind it.

EDIT: Sorry about the terrible formating. I did it in excel instead of Word as I usually do. I'll convert it eventually...
Skills
Archmage Shooting, Academic, Speed, Special

War Mage Combat, Shooting, Academic, Speed, Special
Wizard Shooting, Academic, Special
Scholar Academic, Special
Archmage 20 exp
War Mage 11 exp
Wizard 11 exp
Scholar 11 exp
Maximum of 12 members in the warband

Heroes
Archmage - 90 Gold 1
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
4 3 3 3 3 1 4 1 8 -

Archmages can use weapons or incantations from the Mage list
Leader
Wizard: The Archmage may choose two spells chosen randomly from Lesser Magic
Master
Sorcery
Illumination Cantrip

War Mage - 60 Gold 0-1
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 8 -

War Mages can use weapons or armor from the Warrior list

Wizard: The War Mage knows one lesser magic spell
Warrior Wizard: The War Mage can wear armor and cast spells
Master: The War Mage's Apprentice uses the Warrior List instead, and gains +1 WS and BS
Illumination Cantrip

Wizard - 50 Gold 0-1
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
4 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 8 -

Wizards can use weapons or incantations from the Mage list


Wizard: The Wizard may choose one spells chosen randomly from Lesser Magic
Master
Illumination Cantrip

Scholar - 40 Gold 0-1
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
4 2 2 3 3 1 2 1 7 -

Scholars can use weapons or incantations from the Mage list

Arcane Lore
Choose one skill from: Wyrdstone Hunter, Haggle, or Streetwise
Too much excitement: the Scholar leaves the warband if he ever gets Multiple injuries or Old Battle Wounds
Illumination Cantrip

Henchmen
Apprentice - 30 Gold 0-X
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
4 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 6 -

Apprentices can use weapons or incantations from the Mage List

Arcane Lore
Illumination Cantrip
Apprentice

Mercenary - 25 Gold 0+
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 -

Mercenaries can use Weapons or Armor from the Warrior List

Hired Help: Must reroll any lads got talent

Magical Construct - 160 Gold 0-1
M WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
3 2 0 3 3 2 1 1 10 -

Magical Constructs never use equipment

Expensive: If the Construct is ever OOA it costs 10 gold to get it ready for battle again, it misses games until this is paid
Scary: Causes Fear
No brain: Magical Constructs never gain experience
No Pain: Treat Stunned as Knocked Down
Immune to Poison
Large Target
Customization: At time of Purchase you may choose 5 of the following upgrades
M: 1 time
WS: 1 time
S: 2 times
T: 2 times
W: 1 times
A: 1 time
Armored: for 50 gold at time of Purchase only the Magical Construct may be given a 5+ save

Mage Gear List
HtH Weapons
Dagger Free/2
Mace/Hammer 3
Sword 10
Staff 15

Ranged Weapons
Short Bow 5
Bow 10
Crossbow 25


Incantations
(once learned may not be traded)
(May learn any 2 plus Illumination Cantrip)
Magic Dart 10
True Shot 15
Fire Bolt 20
Magic Shield 25 (Heroes only)
Slur 25 (Heroes only)
Slowfall 25


Warrior Gear List
HtH Weapons
Dagger Free/2
Mace/Hammer 3
Axe 5
Spear 10
Sword 10
Morning Star 15
2HW 15
Flail 15

Ranged Weapons
Short Bow 5
Bow 10
Longbow 15
Throwing Knives 15
Pistol 15/30
Crossbow 25
Blunderbuss 30
Handgun 35

Armor
Shield 5
Buckler 5
Toughened Leathers 5
Helmet 10
Light Armor 20
Heavy Armor 50




Incantations
Illumination Cantrip: Difficulty 5 Sustained, caster counts as wielding a lantern
Magic Dart: Difficulty 8 18" range target is hit by a strength 3 hit
True Shot: Difficulty 10 Caster hits with chosen ranged weapon, if casting failed roll to hit as usual, may not be used in melee, may only fire one shot if this is used, may not run and cast
Fire Bolt: Difficulty 9 Target is hit by a strength 4 fire hit
Magic Shield: Difficulty 7 Sustained Caster receives a 5+ save against ranged attacks, must roll Ld every time it is used or spell ends
Slur: Difficulty 9 8" range target must pass a Ld test or have -1 to M, WS, BS, I and A until casters next turn
Slowfall: Difficulty 7 Caster or Target within 6" gains the Acrobat skill until spell ends


Master and Apprentice
Each Master allows the player to take one apprentice. Each apprentice must be a separate henchman group and is permantly linked to his master
If the Master Dies the Apprentice inherits his position and becomes a hero automatically just as if he got a Lads Got Talent advance
Instead of rolling an advance though it is always a + 1 ld any time an apprentice becomes a Hero
The Apprentice may use his Master's Leadership as long as he is within 6" and may reroll advances from experience
An apprentice may only learn an Incantation if his master knows it as well


Magic is Dangerous
Non-spellcasting Hired Swords cost 5 gold more upkeep due to the illegal status of magic
Spellcasting Hired Swords cost 5 less to hire, upkeep remains the same
But any Hired Sword a mercenary group can hire may be hired by the Mages Circle

Special Skills
Iron Will: If the caster passes a Ld test his spells do not end if he is knocked down or stunned
Instructor (Masters only): The master's apprentice may add +/- 1 to their advancement rolls, if this is used Hero may not search for rare goods this time
Magical Burst: May add +1 to casting roll, but no spell may be cast in the following turn
Careful Study: May add +/- 1 to advancement rolls, if this is used Hero may not search for rare goods this time
Construct Craftsman: Only one per warband, the construct only is destroyed permanently on a 1 as long as hero did not go OOA in the battle, it also only costs 5 to ready it for battle.

The feel of the warband was to be a group of scholarly mages who travel to Mordheim or other locales for wyrdstone or magical artifacts in order to further the safe study and usage of magic for humanity. The part I was most proud of was the apprentice and master relationships. I also liked the incantations as minor magic options to give more magic to the warband, while still being not too powerful. I tried to make many of them magical methods of mimicing gear options or skills. I am unsure of the Constructs worth. I really like the concept I had for it, but I would never use one unless I was rolling in wyrdstone and already had a full set of masters and apprentices.

Clarification: An apprentice who is promoted after his master's death is no longer considered an apprentice, but a Master. And therefore make take a new apprentice. The apprentice and master rules need some revisions and rewording, but I hope this is sufficient for inspiration!

Not a bad idea... if I may make a suggestion,

You currently have three casters - each are slightly different, but not really different enough to give much flavor. Also, any of the three could, stylistically, run the warband, except only one of them does. Not only that, but I really don't encourage warbands with 4-5 different types of heroes... it's designed to make each hero feel more special, but it makes the warband feel more limited (each time you play them, you have the exact same line-up: one of these, one of that, one of him.)


Rather than having THREE wizards with only a slight difference (Archmage, Warrior, Wizard) why not have two? (An Archmage and a mage) The advantage, however, is that you can personalize the leader as you see fit.

1 Archmage
Casts 1 Spell

When the Archmage is hired, he starts with 1 Speciality.
Warlock: Starts with an extra spell.
Warrior Wizard: Starts with Warrior Wizard skill, and Apprentices have +1WS, +1BS
Magister: May have 0-4 Apprentices instead of 0-4 (bringing you to 6 heroes instead of 5).

To fill out the group, have apprentices be heroes... although the "step up" as soon as the master is killed is a clever idea. Not quite sure why you had the +1 ld rule... also, can an upgraded apprentice learn spells?

Incantations: A clever mix of weapon and spell. Probably limit it to 2-3 each person. Not sure about Slur, however: it's the only one without an existing equipment analogue. Seems to me like a spell without a spell list.

Spells: Lesser Magic is fine (albeit, a bit strong.) For both balance and flavor, consider opening them up to spells from other lists: the Sorcerous society has a neat list. Or maybe the scholar (or the Archmage's specialty") could be "Diviner"- he grants 2 exploration dice. Or the Witch's Charms and hexes, maybe. Or, make the Incantations a Lesser Lesser Magic table... thus, you can have an apprentice start with an item for cheap (maybe, 10-15), but have no clue which one he'll have. May purcahse up to two Incantations at the start.

I must say that I think this sounds cool and fun!

I really like those ideas. I never intended to develop this, but it would fit in fairly well converted to the Southlands for my setting...

Should the Apprentice who becomes the new leader gain the specialization of his master, or should he be allowed the choose his own, or is he just left out? I think the Apprentices would gain their Master's leadership within a 12" radius instead of 6" but non-apprentices would still be 6". Also the Apprentice stepping up would no longer count as an Apprentice so another would be able to be hired.

I would think the currently existing Apprentices lose the apprentice rule, but retain whatever stats they had.

So new list could be:
1 Archmage (with the specialties from Stryo's post)
0-3 Apprentices
0-1 Scholar

Henchmen
Mercenaries
Magical Constructs
0-X Animates? (One per Apprentice to maintain them)

Note: I totally ripped Animates off from Wee Wars:Sorceror's Host

Also I just realized how similar my list ended up being to the Host...

I'm not sold on the Animates, but usually like to see 3 options for henchmen.

Animates: Go ahead! Turns out, I made the warband less sorcerory, and more undead (while I don't feel everything in Warhammer has to be grimdark, the Moot is next to Sylvania, so it made sense.) Pretty much the same rules, except I'm calling them Constructs.

The animates I had, for those who can't be bothered to look, at pretty much zombies that don't cause fear. They move slow, feel no pain, and can be pushed via magic (actually, that could be an Incantation for the apprentices: a version of Vanheil's pusher spell.)

Another option is to give them Lesser Demons / Familiars, based on the Nurglings. Same low stat. psych free screens with a magic save. Useful, and flavorful.

Apprentices: Um, unless I'm mistaken, an apprentice that becomes your leader is still an apprentice. You could make it a special rule, of course.

Scholar: as I mentioned, you could make him have second sight (like the augur), or maybe have a different spell table (like the witch's). OR, You can ditch the scholar (make him an Archmage speciality), and make the last hero a merc bodyguard. Well, maybe merc is a bad word... it's Ubu, Ra's al Ghul's servant.