Alternative Possessed List

This is an alternative Possessed list for other tastes than the steamrolling pure-CC one found in the rulebook. Now I'm not trying to infringe on that list, but rather to offer some variety for players that would like that. This list is intended for use in an upcomming campaign and comments regarding the percieved power-level of the list would be very welcome. There are some very unorthodox things in here, such as two mages and shooting skills but there are also plenty of weaknesses (shooters cannot take dodge), and sacrifices (no mutations).

Comments appreciated!

THE UPDATED LIST

HEROES

1 Possessed
95gc
20 starting XP
Combat, Strength, Speed

M6 WS4 BS- S5 T4 W2 I4 A2 Ld8

SPECIAL RULES
Leader (Friendly warriors within 6”may use his Leadership instead of their own.)
Cause Fear
No Penalties for Fighting Unarmed
No Weapons or Armour (Possessed may use equipment as normal.)
Large Target
Weapons: Possessed that learn to use weapons through the ‘Weapons Training’ skill suffer -1 Attack on profile while doing so. (Shields are Armour and can never be used by Possessed.)
Buyback: If the Possessed is killed or retired, you may buy a new one which will automatically become the leader.

0-2 Magus
35gc
8 Staring XP
Academic, Speed

M4 WS3 BS3 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld7

SPECIAL RULES
Wizard: Uses Chaos Rituals. Starts with one spell.

0-2 Initiates
15gc
0 Starting XP
Combat, Shooting, Strength

M4 WS2 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld6

[No Special Rules]

HENCHMEN

Cultists
20gc

M4 WS2 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld7

[No Special Rules]

0-5 Darksouls
25gc

M4 WS2 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld6

SPECIAL RULES
Immune to Psychology

0-3 Chaos Hounds
30gc

M6 WS4 BS- S4 T3 W1 I4 A1 Ld5

SPECIAL RULES
Cause Fear
Animals: Cannot Climb, No Weapons or Armour, No Penalties for Fighting Unarmed, and No Experience.

Two cheap wizards starting at 8xp would be very interesting...

i would increase either the magus point cost or their starting exp. Otherwise i like the idea of the possessed being the leader!

Hounds, to me, sounds more like a 'hunter' ally, than the secretive/hunted cult ally. Others idea could be:

~Lesser Demons. Use the CoC demon rules as a basis. Make a skill for your mages that offers 'stability', just like the Demon Cart. Instead of 'flies', they have another mutation, like spines.

~Furies/Harpies. Give them Skink stats, not learn exp, and have a flying move of 12" each turn (not doubled when charging/marching). When it comes to picking up items, searching for treasure, or similar 'objective tasks', they are extremely primitive, and have to take a Stupidity test before they can. Possibly subject to Daemon rules, like above.

~A Chaos Spawn monster. (200gc).

~A Chimera. A large monster (about troll/minotaur stats), but can purchase mutations at creation, just like a Possessed. Doesn't learn EXP. Maybe put in a rule making him hard to kill if he's rolled as 'dead'.

The Wizard is just a standard Wizard a la the Necromancer. I don't think that those are near to being unbalanced.

The hounds were mainly a way of avoiding tons of special rules which Daemons tend to have. I liked the Lesser Daemon idea at first but it is very high fantasy with that many Daemons. Hounds are simple, mirrored in existing rules (wardogs) and now have their own plastic set.

One thing I thought of though was giving the Possessed S5 and the Large Target special rule. They are bigger than an Ogre but don't have the rule. Very strange. - If the Possessed was a large target the band would really have to watch out for missile fire.

Asp wrote:

The Wizard is just a standard Wizard a la the Necromancer. I don't think that those are near to being unbalanced.

I think I have to disagree on this one, because in Mordheim, wizards are meant to be special/unique, so if you have 2 wizards (at the start of your campaign!!!) you kinda ignore some fluff, and I to think become a bit overpowered. Wizards aren't meant to be used in couples I think.

But except for that, I really like the warband, nice you didn't have the leader to cheap, and the chaos hounds are a must, or thats at least what I think

From the point of game balance, it isn't an issue as wizards are not that terrible or powerful (especially at the beginning of their career).

And looking at the rest of the warband (with all the other experience gaining members (except for the possessed) sucking at close combat), this list is in no way overpowered, in my opinion, but rather offers a challenging alternative to the original list (as intended).

The final option is to make some sort of 'Hellhound', using the same rules & stats for Dire Wolves. Can't run, cause fear, count as 'demonic' for the sake of holy attacks.

I'd like to avoid the special rules (too much bookeeping) but the background idea is nice.

Chaos Hounds are swift, ferocious wolves which have been tainted by their Chaos, causing them to grow vicious horns, spines and other mutations which have make them even more dangerous.
Appearing only after the fall of the comet, these Hellhounds naturally seem to flock to the vile Possessed and some even whisper that the hounds emerged not from the forests of the Empire but from the pit of the comet itself.