Lustria- New Hired Swords

Von Kurst mentioned that he was running a City of Gold Campaign, but
the Amazons were in real need of Hired Swords. So, here are three more. They were originally in the Battle/Fluff section, but I thought I'd repost them here for others to comment upon, should they wish.

Note:
They have not been playtested, nor are they approved by the iCircle/Lustria group. Also, the
Cunning Woman rules may change a little in the potion-making
department (at the moment, she has access to a bunch of drugs/poisons developed in the old Devil's Den hallenge... also un-playtested.) We'll see if they're fair to use. I'll also be making a dark flip-side to the
Cunning Woman- a skaven Hs called 'The Master Poisoner." Not sure his
exact rules just yet, will post soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~
PYGMY HUNTER
Based on the work of Tommy Punk & Rick Martin
15gc to hire, +5 crowns Upkeep.
A
diminutive human, that bears not the strength of the Old Worlder
humans, nor the bravery of the Halflings of the Moot. However, they
have shown an indomitable spirit none-the-less, surviving for millennia
against the savage fury of the Lizardmen, and the calculating cunning
of the Dark Elves. On the outside, they appear primitive and simple,
but who knows what intricate cultures they have woven in their secret
camps, hidden amongst the fronds and forests of the New World?

May
be hired: by Amazons & Pygmies at base price. Any group of humans
or Forest Goblins may hire them as well, but pay 10gc upkeep instead of
5gc.

Rating: A Pygmy Hunter increases the rating by +5 points plus 1 point for each Experience point he has.

M WS BS S T W I A LD
4 3 4 2 2 1 4 1 7
Weapons: 1 spear, a shield, a daggers, a blowpipe, a rabbits foot.
Special Rules:
Forester: The Pygmy moves through jungle and wood terrain without penalty.
Poisoned Spear: The Spear has a Poisoned tip, which counts as +1 Strength to all models that are not Immune to Poison.

Blowpipe Poisons
Range: 8" Strength: 1 Save: +1
Stealthy:
May fire while hidden. The target model may take an Initiative test to
spot the firing model, in which case, the model is no longer hidden.
Poison:
Each dart the Pygmy fires is coated with a poison on your choice. Any
model that is immune to Poison is immune the Blowpipe poisons. If
immune, the Blowpipe attack counts as a normal S1 attack, with the
above rules. Choose one of the following poisons before each shot:
-Black Lotus: See the default 'Poison' rules for the Blowpipe, as listed in the Skaven Warband.
-Purple
Fog: Each time the target is hit by a dart, the model is at -1
Initiative, to a minimum of 1. This affect still happens even if the
model is not wounded, or if the blow is saved. The effect is
cumulative, and only avoided if the blow is avoided (Lucky Charm,
Dodge, Fey Quickness.)
-Sleeping Potion: The dart counts as having
Strength 3, and has +1 added to all Injury rolls. However, any model
taken out of action with the sleeping potion does not roll for Injury
in the Post-game phase, as they were merely knocked unconcious.

Skills: The Pygmy may learn Shooting, Speed, and Pygmy Special Skills.
Max Stats: A Pygmy has the same max stats as a Halfling.

PYGMY SPECIAL SKILLS
Stealthy- The Pygmy hunter may start the game Hiding.

Infiltrate- See Skaven Skill

Poison
Dart Maker: Whenever a Pygmy takes 'Poison Dart Maker' as a skill (and
he's allowed to take it more than once), he chooses one of the
following Poison types as a new type of possible ammunition. If the
Pygmy takes the skill again, he may choose an additional type of poison
dart, increasing his variety of ammunition even further. As a reminder,
any model that is immune to Poison is immune the Blowpipe effects.
Note that a dart may never have more than one type of poison on it.

~Poison
Arrow Frog Dart- Each time the target is hit by a dart, the model is at
-1 Movement, to a minimum of 2. This affect still happens even if the
model is not wounded, or if the blow is saved. The effect is
cumulative, and only avoided if the blow is avoided (Lucky Charm,
Dodge, Fey Quickness.)

~Starpod Poison: Each time the target
is hit by a dart on a natural roll of 6, the model is at -1 Strength,
to a minimum of 1, for the rest of the game. This affect still happens
even if the model is not wounded, or if the blow is saved. The effect
is cumulative, and only avoided if the blow is avoided (Lucky Charm,
Dodge, Fey Quickness.)

~Sea Urchin Poison: Each time the target
is hit by a dart on a natural roll of 6, the model is at -1 Attack, to
a minimum of 1, for the remainder of the game. This affect still
happens even if the model is not wounded, or if the blow is saved. The
effect is cumulative, and only avoided if the blow is avoided (Lucky
Charm, Dodge, Fey Quickness.)

~Idiotoad Poison [by
MyLittlePwny]: Enemies hit by the blowpipe on a natural 6 to hit will
be affected by the Idiotoad Poison and must take an unmodified
toughness save (no drug bonuses). If the model fails this save, he/she
suffers from stupidity for the duration of the battle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ZOAT WARRIOR
100 gold crowns to hire, +35 gold crowns to upkeep.
Zoats
are reptilian creatures found in the Southlands and in Lustria, but
were never completely enveloped into the plans of the Old Ones. Before
the appearance of chaos, these solitary beings were generally ignored
by the Lizardmen societies, and left to wander about as they willed.
But since the collapse of the Northern Gate, the Slann have taken a
more zealous approach towards anything 'outside' the Old Ones'
machinations. The Zoats have been hunted down, till they are nearly
extinct. However, the Zoats can live for hundreds of years, and have
gained more experience on avoiding capture than an entire city of
skinks and sauruses. Perhaps what disturbs the Slann the most is that
the Zoats are one of the few other creatures in the world that
communicate solely with their minds... do they fear that their
'godlike' position will being undermined?

May be Hired: By Amazons & Pygmies.
Rating: A Zoat increases the warband's rating by +30 points, +1 point for each additional experience he has.

M WS BS S T W I A LD
7 5 3 4 4 3 5 1(+1) 7

Weapons/Armor: Either a doubled handed weapon, or a combination of Mace and Shield (you may choose which upon hiring.)
Special Rules:
Cold Blooded: For any Leadership test, the Zoat rolls 3D6 and discards the highest result.
Scaly
Skin: Has a natural save of 5+. This cannot be reduced below 6+ by
Strength modifiers, but any result of "no save" on the injury chart
will negate this 6+ save. A shields adds +1 to the save.

Stomp:
The Zoat has a stomp attack, in addition to its normal weapon attack.
The Stomp attack suffers no penalty for being unarmed. Unlike a Saurus
bite attack, it attacks at the same time as the normal Zoat attacks,
following the normal rules for attack order. (If this causes the Zoat
to deliver two attacks that different times, he cannot knock-down &
stun a model with one attack, and 'automatically' hit it/injure it with
the second... it must treat the model as though it was uninjured,
assuming it was uninjured before the Zoat's initial attack.)

'Mounted':
While not a Mounted creature per se, the Zoat is an impressive large
Quadroped creature. It suffers +1 to hit against missiles, cannot go in
doors, and counts as a 'Large' Model (this does not increase his rating
any further.) Also, he cannot traverse terrain that a mounted animal
would be unable to traverse. He rolls on the injury table as normal,
not on the 'Whoa Boy!' Table.

Jungle born: All Zoats can move through jungle terrain without penalty.

Skills:
The Zoat may learn skills from the Combat and the Strength skill lists.
They may also learn the Zoat Special Skill, Mental Shield.

ZOAT SPECIAL SKILL:
Mental
Shield: Any time the Zoat is targeted by a spell, you may roll a D6: on
a 4+, the spell fails. Likewise, if a spell is cast that affects the
Zoat and several other models, you may roll 1D6: on a 4+, the Zoat
himself is unaffected (though other models may be affected as normal.)

Maximum Stats:
M WS BS S T W I A LD
7 8 6 5 6 5 8 3(+1) 10

Cunning Woman
30 gold crowns to hire + 10 gold crowns upkeep
Throughout the villages of the world, there are numerous doctors and physicians of learned schools. However, there books are often based on theory and ancient texts, with no basis in practice or scientific method. Leave it to the herbalists, the wise woman, and country medicine folk to have detailed experience on what prevents infection, or what to do when an animal won't eat. They are often persecuted as 'witches' and heretics by individuals who mistake practical science for witchcraft... and when they are executed or driven out of a village by zealots, it generally spells the slow decay of the penitent village for all time.

May be Hired: Amazons, Outlaws of Stirland, Horned Hunters, & Wood Elves.
Rating: A Cunning Woman increases the warband's rating by +10 points, plus 1 point for each experience point she has.
Profile M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Cunning Woman 4 2 2 2 3 1 4 1 7
Weapons/Armour: Staff, Lucky Charm, Rabbit’s Foot.
SPECIAL RULES
Healer: At the end of any game in which the Cunning Woman has not been taken out of action, you may reroll a single Serious Injury result in Post-Game Phase. The second result must be taken, and cannot be rerolled.

Potions: The Cunning Woman is an expert as brewing all manner of curious concoctions. A single hero in the warband who have hired the Cunning Woman may partake of such a potion before the battle. Roll a D6 to discover the draught's effect.
1 Debilitating: The potion is simply too potent for the hero and weakens them. Roll on the Hero Advancement Table, rerolling any result of ‘Skill’- the stat rolled is at -1 for the next battle. If the stat rolled is already at 1, it will not be reduced to 0, and a new random stat must be rolled.
2-3 Small Burst. The hero is infused with a mild vigor as he quaffs the potion. Choose ONE of the following stats, which is boosted by +1 for the remainder of the game: Movement, Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Initiative, or Leadership.
4-5 Massive Burst. The hero is infused with a moderate vigor as he quaffs the potion. Choose ONE of the following stats, which is boosted by +1 for the remainder of the game: Strength, Toughness, or Attacks.
6 Inner Strength. The hero's constitution is increased and he feels ready to take anyone on. Choose one of the following combinations: He gains +1 to a single any stat of your choose for the upcoming game, OR you may roll twice on the Hero Advancement Table (rerolling any rolls of Skill or duplicates), and gain +1 to both random stats for the rest of the game. You must choose which option you are taking BEFORE rolling to see which random stats are increased. If any of the increases chosen/rolled are wounds, they may raise the hero above starting wounds; however, once lost, the wound cannot be restored.

Reluctant: Whilst she is happy to use her magic to aid the warband, the Cunning Woman is reluctant to enter the fray herself. As such the Cunning Woman will never charge (although if charged she will defend herself) and will always try to stay at least 8" away from enemy models and must move away if she finds herself within this distance.

"She's a Witch! Burn 'Er!" - The Cunning Woman are NOT witches, nor do they practice chaos magic or principals. Closed minded individuals do not see the difference. For all intents and purposes, opposing warbands will treat the Cunning Woman as a 'witch' and a spellcaster (ex. The Witch Hunter warband).

Skills: The Cunning Woman is able to learn Academic Skills. She is also able to learn ‘Cunning Woman Special Skills’, listed below.

CUNNING WOMAN SPECIAL SKILLS:
Potions Master: In the Post-Game phase, if the Cunning Woman was not taken out of action this game, the Cunning Woman is able to make one ‘batch’ each of the following drugs/poisons. Roll to see how many she is able to make:
Item Dosage in 1 Batch
Black Lotus – 1D3-1
Healing Herbs- 1D3-1

As the amount made is 1D3-1, this may mean that she makes 0 of a certain batch. Any items made by the Cunning Woman must be used next match- if not, they are discarded. They cannot be sold, trade, or stockpiled.

Potions Genius: The Cunning Woman may only take this skill if she has learned the above skill, ‘Potions Master’. When she learns the skill ‘Potions Genius’, choose two of the following drugs/poisons below. From now on, the Cunning Woman may make a batch of either chosen drug/poison INSTEAD of making a batch of ‘Black Lotus’ or ‘Healing Herbs’.
Ex. If you learn Potions Master and Potions Genius, choose ‘Crimson Shade’ & ‘Dark Venom’ as your new types, then in any post game phase, you may pick TWO of the following: Black Lotus, Healing Herbs, Crimson Shade, or Dark Venom. The Cunning Woman will attempt to make a batch of the two drugs/poisons you have chosen.

A Cunning Woman may learn the ‘Potions Genius’ skill more than once- for every time she learns it, she may pick two more drugs or poisons to learn how to make. Note: This merely increases the range of drugs and poisons she can make, NOT the number of batches she can make in any post game phase. The number of batches she attempts to make will never increase past two.

Item Dosage in 1 Batch
Crimson Shade - 1D3-1
Madcap Mushrooms 1D3-1
Bugman's Ale - 1
Khufu Beans (Relics) 1
Vodka 1
Reptile Poison* - 1D3
Vision Fruit* - 1D3-1
Green Greed* 1D3-1
Madness Elixer* 1D3-1
Vale Folium* 1D3-1
Manticore’s Sting* 1D3-1
Ulric's Crown* 1D3-1
Frostbile* 1D3-1

*For rules on the following drugs / poisons, see the bottom of the document.

Prudent Goodwife – The Cunning Woman may only take this skill if she has learned the above skill, ‘Potions Master’. Every time she makes a Batch of Poisons or Drugs, the amount of Drug/poison produced is increased by +1 (ex. the amount of Black Lotus made in the Postgame is increased from 1D3-1 to 1D3.)

Guardian: The Cunning Woman has ‘acquired’ an animal bodyguard to protect her from harm in the coming battles. The bodyguard will only protect the Cunning Woman and cannot fulfill warband objectives or search, loot or any function other than protecting the Cunning Woman and as such will remain within 1" of the Cunning Woman at all times. The animal bodyguard doesn’t gain experience and isn’t paid (it is assumed that the creature is fed for by the Cunning Woman… and possibly bits of people found on the ground.)

M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 4 0 4 3 1 4 1 5

Equipment: None! Tooth and Claw!
SPECIAL RULE

Intercept: The bodyguard will intercept any model shooting at or charging the Cunning Woman. Any attacks will be directed at him, and if charged, place the bodyguard in front of the Cunning Woman to protect her. In the case of charging models that cause ‘fear’ or similar psychological effects, the animal will always pass any psychological effects that would prevent him from intercepting. The bodyguard will never charge models while the Cunning Woman is still in play, and cannot intercept an attack if already engaged in combat. It will also only intercept charges aimed towards the Cunning Woman while the Cunning Woman is still on the board.
Representing the Bodyguard: Depending on what setting you are playing, adjust your Animal accordingly! In the Old World, a hound or a pig makes sense. In the New World, anything can work: a cold one hound, a baby salamander, a spider token, a monkey- what you want!


NEW POISONS AND DRUGS
(Costs and Rarities are included for reference, and in case you wish to include the item in your normal campaign. Author of the various items are cited. New Drugs & Poisons, except for ‘Reptile Poison’, have not been playtested.)

*Reptile Poison- From the iCircle Lizardmen Warband - May be given to Henchmen only. The Poison can be applied to missile weapons only, granting the weapon +1 Strength until the end of the game (but does not have any further effect on saving throws.) Reminder: All henchmen in the same group must be armed in the same manner. May not be applied to Pygmy weapons, which are already poisoned.

VISION FRUIT
35+2D6gc – Rarity 9
A small, bitter fruit from the harsh deserts of the Dark Lands. When boiled, the ‘buttons’ of this plant allow the taker to see into the Spirit Realm, and taste the Winds of Magic.

Upon taking a dose of Vision Fruit, the hero temporarily learns a random spell from one of the spell lists below. Roll 1D6:

Roll 1D6
1 Dark Visions – On his vision quest, your hero has strayed off the path and into the darkness beyond! Gains 1 spell from the Chaos Ritual list.
2 – Primal Visions – Your hero witnesses a primeval time of raw magic and survival of the fittest. Gain 1 spell from the Orc Waaagh Magic.
3 – Bitter Visions – Your hero sees how all life is a snake eating its own tail, in a cycle of endless hate. Learn 1 spell from the Hexes and Charms List (from the Witch Hired Sword)
4 – Falconer’s Vision – Your hero sees magic itself as a beast under his control, to cast away and call back! Learn 1 spell from the Lesser Magic List
5 - Weaver’s Vision – You see the thread that ties the Earth and Skies together, and how it can be stretched without breaking. Learn 1 Spell from one of the four Elemental Lores of the Sorcerous Society. Randomly determine which Element.
6 – Divine Vision - The drug did more than make your hero hallucinate; his soul is further along the path of righteousness. Learn 1 spell from the Prayers of Sigmar list.

If, when casting, you roll a natural 2 on the Difficulty Roll, the model is no longer able to cast for the rest of the game. He treats all opposing models as causing ‘fear’, even if the Vision Questing model is normally immune to psychology or fear.

After the game, roll 2D6: on a 2-3, he permanently treats all enemy models as causing fear as described above; he is temporarily immune to this penalty in any game that he has taken dose of vision fruit (he needs his fix, ‘e does!). On a roll of 12, the spell has become permanently logged into the hero’s brain. He may not cast it without the Vision Fruit, but when taking Vision Fruit, he may cast that spell or the new random Spell each turn.

Vision Fruit may not be taken by Demons, Unliving Models, Sisters of Sigmar, or Witch Hunters. Any model that hates spellcasters will hate any model that has taken a dose of Vision Fruit this game, even if he rolls a 2 and is no longer able to cast. They will even hate fruit-taking models that cast Prayers, as they are outraged by the blasphemy of it all!

Green Greed: - By Master
Since the first wyrdstones where found they have been used for weird potentials, some wizards, grind them and eat them, just like the skaven. The recipe for the green greed is unknown to many, however the darker alchemists delve in it's uses, it has the power to give a man the strength of seven men, and it has the power to kill that same man the next day, some suggestions tell that this is the same as the dreaded skaven brew.

Cost: 35+2d6gc
Rarity: 11, 8 for skaven and possessed.
Effect:
Whenever a warrior takes green greed roll 2d6 and consult the table below:

2: A heart Strike! The warrior has suffered from one of the most terrible side effects of the Green greed, he must roll d6 times on the serious injury chart, if the warrior survives roll again on this chart.
3: Severe degeneration. Roll an advancement, but instead of adding the stat to this warriors stats, deduct one, if you should gain a skill, roll again.
4: Mutation: This warrior attains one random mutation from the power in the stones chart.
5: Aeeer'd this stuff makes my head hurt. The warrior suffers from -1 ws, bs, s and t in his next battle.
6: I feel Dizzy. The warriors suffers -1 weaponskill and initative, in his next battle.
7: Normal Effect: The warrior is immune to psychology for the next battle.
8: Uncontrollable rage: The warrior is frenzied, for the next battle only.
9: You make me SOOO mad!: The warrior is frenzied, AND hates all enemies warriors, even though being immune to psychology, for the next battle only,
10: Mutation: The warrior attains one random mutation from the possessed chart.
11: Powerful Wyrd effect: The warrior permanently gains the power of one of the empowered wyrdstones in the power in the stones (chose at random).
12: This makes me strong! Immediately roll an advancement for the drug user, re-roll any skills. Then roll again on this chart.

In addition Green Greed is highly addictive, whenever a warrior takes green greed he must pass a toughness test or become addicted, an addicted warrior that goes without green greed for a game deducts one from his toughness (permanently), if all his toughness is lost, he dies.

Skaven may chose to re-roll one of the 2d6 when determining the effect, however the second result stand!

Madness elixir – Chad

Commonly known as “Friend Killer” Madness Elixir is one of the harshest most addicting drugs on the market; Madness Elixir can cause anyone even vaguely frightening to be perceived as a deadly threat. More than one unfortunate “User” has murdered their best friends while out drinking and perusing other less wholesome activities…

Cost GCs 30+2D6. Availability 10+.

Effect: for one game Madness Elixir modifies the taker’s stats by the following:M+1, WS+1, S+2, I+1 LD+2
Madness: The model is immune to all psychology (including all alone, fear, and stupidity.) They still suffer frenzy (see below).
Battle Frenzy: The model is affected by frenzy, to the extreme point that the model must charge ANY models (friend or foe) within range. Also, the model may not use missile weapons and the drug user’s leadership may never be used by other models, or for rout tests.
Friendly Fire: If the drug using model comes into combat with a friendly model, treat as if it was a normal combat. However if the drug using model is taken Out-of-Action then do not roll for serious injuries- they will always be back, since their friends try not to hurt them too badly.

Side effects: Madness Elixir will always cause one side effect. After the game, roll on the below table.
2D6
2-5: Permanently dazed, May never use missile weapons or any miscellaneous equipment and counts as suffering stupidity.
6-9: Addict, the model is addicted, you must buy them one dose before every battle or they leave the warband (taking all equipment with them). Note: addicts are immune to any further side effects tests, you don’t need to roll for them.
10: Old user, after causing or losing a wound in Hand-to-Hand combat the model has +1 strength for the remainder of that game.
11-12: Nothing’s as good, may never use any drug other than Madness Elixir.

Vale Folium - Saltbrush

A strange pale soft plant that grows along the river stir, the size of the plant is quite small and to make a usable dose requires serval plants however given the distance from the river to the ruined city and the wonderful effects of the plant it is no surprise that it can be bought for the right amount of coin.

Cost 5+3D6 Rare 6 (note: it would be rare 8 in area's not near the stir river)

Effect: For one battle the warrior gains a 6+ regeneration save this works the same as a trolls regeneration (except that a warrior only gains a 6+ save vrs serious injury after a battle, rather than automatically healing.)

Side Effects: Although no long-term effects have been documented with use of Vale Folium there is a very real drawback- the plant is highly flamable and hence a warrior coated in it suffers 2 wounds from any fire attack that wounds. Likewise, they may not cast fire spells or use any fire base weapon/item (such as a torch).

Manticores sting: Master
Rare 12, Cost 30+d6x10gc.
Among the poison users of the old world, the dark elves are the masters, every poison they make is made with such an expertise that no man can redo. The dark elves have developed several poisons, for different purposes, among the most potent are the Manticores sting, a poison known for it's ability to knock out enemy warriors, so the dark elves can capture them afterwards.

A weapon coated in manticores sting receives +1 on critical rolls, in addition, a warrior taken out of action by the manticores sting much make a toughness test, if he suceeds he is taken out as normal, if he fails he is automatically captured, and suffers a nervous condition.

Ulric’s Crown - Eikaeros
Cost: 15+D6 gold crowns
Availability: Rare 8 (Rare 7 for Middenheim bands)
Ulric’s Crown is an unremarkable shrub that can be found on the fringes of the Drakwald Forest. It’s so-named for the distinctive tri-fold pattern of its yellow flowers, which loosely resemble (to Middenlanders, at least) the tines of the crown of the Teutogen kings. The leaves of Ulric’s Crown have a mild numbing and tranquilizing effect, and have been in use for centuries by healers and midwives. Some alchemists have been known to distill the leaves of the shrub with certain chemicals, producing a stronger pain-killer without the sedative qualities. This concoction is derisively called "wolfnip" by Reiklanders.
A model may ingest Ulric’s Crown during his movement phase. For the next D3 turns, the model may negate the effects of a Knock Down result or change the effects of a Stunned result to a Knock Down on a roll of 3+ on D6. When the effects of Ulric’s Crown wear off, the model suffers a -1 penalty to his initiative score for the rest of the battle as the tranquilizing effects of the drug kick in.
Once used, Ulric's Crown is completely consumed.

Frostbile - Poison
10+2D6gc
Anytime you successful injure a model with this poison, the victim loses -1 Initiative for the rest of the battle. This bonus stacks multiple times, but cannot reduce a warrior less than 1. This effect still applies is the armor save is successful, but not if the blow is successfully dodged or prevented (Dodge, Fey Quickness, Lucky Charm.)

Really nice work StyrofoamKing, i like the imaginative ideas behind your new hired swords.
The Cunning Woman looks like she would be right at home in any small village in the old world, so more warbands should be able to hire her. (maybe there is even room for an orc, goblin or beastman version ).

Some observations / remarks:
- I think the Cunning Woman is too cheap. Her ability to let me reroll a serious injury result alone would make me hire her each and every campaign, maybe a 5 Gc higher upkeep and hire fee would be better. The other two seem fine, the pygmy is maybe a little cheap in Lustria but not seriously so as he is comparable to the halfling.

- The mentioned reroll should not work for captured results (or similar), it is hard to see how she could prevent that through good medicine .

- Both the pygmy hunter and the cunning woman have a lot of special rules and skills - more than any other hired sword i can remember (except for the banned and unofficial witch). I am not sure if this is good or bad, more rules mean more to remember and more loopholes, but on the other hand your ideas are cool.

Thanks much for the advice. I'll take another look at the prices for sure.

The Witch is Banned? First I've heard of it (though I know it's unofficial, it's also a TC entree, which makes it relatively official to our group). Anyone else heard this one?

They look great, and like a lot of fun.

I'll second one of Horatius's points though, I think the Cunning Woman needs to have a higher upkeep (I would almost be tempted to say 20gc) because that healing skill is really good, well worth the current upkeep on its own.

There is a ton of content to keep track of there, but I think it's OK because some of it extends beyond just these hired swords. If you wanted to condense them, then I suppose you could converge the poison/potion skills of the Pygmy and Cunning Woman into one skill list that is mutually available.

Horatius wrote:

The mentioned reroll should not work for captured results (or similar), it is hard to see how she could prevent that through good medicine .

Logically that's true, but then one could also cite the Dwarf warband, with the skill allowing a warrior to re-roll injury results, and they don't have any such limitation (as far as I'm aware).

Cunning Woman: I think 30gc with 15gc sounds right. She basically is a warlock with two spells: a post-game healing spell, and a weakened 'eye of god'.

Cunning Woman / Pygmy: Well, I think the Pygmy has his own rules, most of which should be kept separate... not only that, but the Pygmy makes poisons for himself alone, while the Cunning Woman makes poisons & drugs for everyone BUT herself. I've found that when it comes to hired swords, they sometimes can be given items that are far stronger than normal warriors, because they are always kept in moderation (ex. +1 Throwing Axes, Elf Cloaks, Sea Dragon Cloaks).

Besides, the fact that the Blowpipe naturally has its own poison makes things complicated- I don't like the idea of adding poison on TOP of it, as that might make it TOO powerful. Also, if one of the HSs is broken, I'd rather have 1 broken HS and 1 solid Hs than a domino effect of game-breaking hired swords.

Cunning Woman simplification: Another way of writing the Cunning Woman (although this might change with a Master Poisoner), is that she can any two poisons/drugs approved by the gaming group. (For dosage, if it can used by a single hero, the dosage is 1D3-1. If it can be used by a whole group, it's 1.) The add on poisons/drugs I listed above are just a sample of new poisons & drugs for your group to consider.

Orcs: Looks like I'll have to make a 3rd one: Witch doctor. His 'Spesha Stew' could affect psychology, while his skills would let him learn random skills from random spell lists. (ex. Lesser, Waagh, Necro). He'll work into Athel Loren campaign very well too.

I don't personally feel that they're overcomplicated, I just thought that in the event that you wanted to trim them down that was one option. However, I see where you're coming from in terms of the essential differences in their skill sets.

Banned was a poor choice of words, my local group banned the witch after a campaign in which the witch boosted an undead warband into insanely powerful monsters .
Officially she is merely "unofficial" - as there are only these two categories anyway .

Horatius wrote:

- Both the pygmy hunter and the cunning woman have a lot of special rules and skills - more than any other hired sword i can remember (except for the banned and unofficial witch). I am not sure if this is good or bad, more rules mean more to remember and more loopholes, but on the other hand your ideas are cool.

A common problem with home cocked stuff right?

On the contrary: each Hired sword has few than 4 default rules, and 6 skills... ignoring the new poison/drug list, they have no more than, say, the Witch or a Spellcaster.

I'd like to think that I also weeded out most loopholes, but if you guys spot one, please let me know. Of course, playtesting is always a beast, but that's to be expected.

Also, I'm reluctant to let the Cunning Woman be hired by too many other warbands (in my mind, she's the naturalist who's there to pump up other nature-themed warbands, most of who are armed with bows). Maybe I'll allow mercs and other humans to take her, but at higher upkeep?