Ronin Hired Sword

Ronin hired sword

35gc hire cost 15gc upkeep


Ronin are masterless Samurai. Many seek employment as bodyguards and soldiers. Others may pursue the paths of the Bounty Hunter or Assassin. They would not commonly be
encountered outside of Nippon, but the wanderings of the wave-man may occasionally lead him to Mordheim.

May be Hired: Any human warband may hire a Ronin. This does not include Possessed or other warbands with monsters available.

Rating: A Ronin increases the warband's rating by 18 points plus one
for each experience point he has.

Profile: M4 WS3 BS4 S3 T3 W1 I4 A1 Ld7

Equipment: Lamellar Armour, Helmet, Daishō, Longbow.

Skills: A Ronin may choose from Combat, Strength and Speed skills when he gains a new skill. In addition, there are several skills unique to Ronin as detailed below, which he can choose instead of normal skills. Note that these are not possessed at the start!

Special Rules:

The Daishō: The paired Katana and Wakizashi is the symbol of the Nipponese warrior class. Because of his expert training the Ronin can wield a Katana with a Wakizashi in the Duo-wielding Daishō style.

Katana
Range: Close Combat Strength: As user 1 Special rules: Two-handed, Parry
SPECIAL RULES
Two-handed: A model armed with a katana may not use a shield, buckler or additional weapon in close combat. However it gets an additional 1 armour save bonus against ranged attacks if it carries a shield.
Parry: Katanas, despite their great size, can be used for parrying like a sword. When his opponent rolls to hit, the model armed with a katana may roll a D6. If the score is greater than the highest to hit score of his opponent, the model has parried the blow, and that attack is discarded. A model may not parry attacks made with double or more its own Strength – they are simply too powerful to be stopped.

Wakizashi: Designed for one-hand use, the Wakizashi is treated as a normal sword. It has the Parry ability.

Bushido:
The Samurai will never charge a knocked down or stunned enemy if there is another model that is closer that is on their feet.

Special Skills:

Kenshi:

Trained in one of the prestigious fencing schools of Nippon,
the warrior is a master of the sword. When using a Katana or Wakizashi he may parry blows if he rolls equal to or higher than his opponent's roll. Additionally, if he is using both swords in the daishō at once he is allowed to parry two attacks instead of the normal maximum of one. (Note this is a basically the Dwarf skill "Master of Blades" restricted to these weapons)

Iaijutsu:

The warrior has mastered the skill of drawing and striking with the sword in one fluid motion. He strikes first in the first round of a combat, regardless of initiative, when using a Katana or Wakizashi. Spears will still strike first as normal. If two warriors with Iaijutsu fight each other, use the normal rules to determine who strikes first.

Kiai:

The warrior has learned to focus his inner Ki to let out a terrifying shout that can demoralize opponents and fortify his own courage. When he charges an enemy, he causes fear for that round. In addition, he causes a critical hit if he rolls a 5 or 6 to hit instead of just a 6 during the turn in which he charged.

Kyujutsu:

The warrior has mastered the technique of firing a bow without aiming. The warrior senses his target, mentally becoming the arrow before
letting it fly. He may use his Initiative in place of his BS when
firing a longbow."

Jujutsu:

The warrior has studied the art of Nipponese wrestling. If he chooses to attack bare-handed he can attempt to grapple and throw his opponent. If he hits, he and his opponent roll 1D6 and add their Strength. If his roll is better than his opponent's, that opponent is automatically knocked down, as well as any other result from the bare handed attack. The Mighty Blow skill can be used in conjunction with this skill to add a 1 bonus to the warrior's strength.




This is based on Ronin Hired Sword i found over at
http://hem1.passagen.se/pestilen/index.htm
made by

by Mark "rinku" Dewis

As this was made Pre BtB is there something i missed?
i raised the cost & upkeep & gave it gear.
Was wondering how balanced you all think it is?

I am looking at having a Daishō wielding Ronin Samurai
here the model that im using

You might consider updating the rules to fit what is in BtB - namely use the Katana rules found within (and possibly give him lamelar armour).

Overall, I quite like it - my only complaint would be that the mechanical effect of Kyujutsu seems to go against its description. If one doesn't need to aim, it makes firing on the move that much easier (I know that real kyudo isn't done on the move, though kyujutsu probably was used in such a way during and before the sengoku jidaii).

Very nicely done!

CygnusMaximus wrote:

You might consider updating the rules to fit what is in BtB - namely use the Katana rules found within (and possibly give him lamelar armour).

Ops i meant to do that. Though I was thinking of having it so that he could duo-wield a Katana with a sword(Wakizashi)

The Lamelar Armour is a good idea

I have edited to do both

CygnusMaximus wrote:

Overall, I quite like it - my only complaint would be that the mechanical effect of Kyujutsu seems to go against its description. If one doesn't need to aim, it makes firing on the move that much easier (I know that real kyudo isn't done on the move, though kyujutsu probably was used in such a way during and before the sengoku jidaii).

Very nicely done!

Do you think I should drop the +1 to hit on not moving & make it to not suffer penalties for moving & shooting: or should i jest change the description to say
"Kyujutsu: The warrior has mastered the technique of firing a bow with unerring accuracy . If he does not move, he adds +1 to his roll to hit with a longbow."

My own thinking for Kyujutsu would be somewhat different than either of those.

Either:

"The warrior senses his target, mentally becoming the arrow before letting it fly. He may use his Initiative in place of his BS when firing a longbow."

OR

"Even without aiming, the Ronin shoots with uncanny accuracy. He may reroll missed shots at target within half range when using his longbow."

The first would probably require an increase in I and a decrease in BS to the basic ronin, but would fit pretty well, I think (and would allow the controlling player to focus on WS rather than choosing to upgrade BS as well).

CygnusMaximus wrote:

My own thinking for Kyujutsu would be somewhat different than either of those.

Either:

"The warrior senses his target, mentally becoming the arrow before letting it fly. He may use his Initiative in place of his BS when firing a longbow."

OR

"Even without aiming, the Ronin shoots with uncanny accuracy. He may reroll missed shots at target within half range when using his longbow."

The first would probably require an increase in I and a decrease in BS to the basic ronin, but would fit pretty well, I think (and would allow the controlling player to focus on WS rather than choosing to upgrade BS as well).

I agree that the 1st one sounds best so ive changed the rules & dropped the BS by 1 & bumped up the I by 1

What do you think about the cost, upkeep, & rating are the balanced or do you think i need to tweak them?

any other ideas as i love the ones you've had...

P.S. TY for all your help

The use of the Border Town Burning rules have invalidated a lot of the Daisho abilities. I think you should either include the ability to use the Katana one-handed as a special rule he comes with (which is my preference) or as a "Nito" skill that he can learn.

With the ability to one-hand wield a katana and lamelar armour, I'd say he should cost at least 40 gc to hire. The 15 gc upkeep is okay but you may find 20 more fair. It really depends on what other warbands and hired swords your group uses.

You could drop his cost significantly by adding an "Honourable Warrior" rule that prevents him from striking an enemy who is knocked down or stunned.

EDIT: I see that you already included that rule - sorry I missed it.

CygnusMaximus wrote:

The use of the Border Town Burning rules have invalidated a lot of the Daisho abilities. I think you should either include the ability to use the Katana one-handed as a special rule he comes with (which is my preference) or as a "Nito" skill that he can learn.

With the ability to one-hand wield a katana and lamelar armour, I'd say he should cost at least 40 gc to hire. The 15 gc upkeep is okay but you may find 20 more fair. It really depends on what other warbands and hired swords your group uses.

You could drop his cost significantly by adding an "Honourable Warrior" rule that prevents him from striking an enemy who is knocked down or stunned.

EDIT: I see that you already included that rule - sorry I missed it.

Im fine with either 40gp & 20gp upkeep or adding the rule

Should i add the rules out of The Warriors of Nippon list


"Special Rules

Bushido: Bushido, meaning way of the warrior is the code
by which all noble samurai govern their lives with. The code stresses
honour in combat, and loyalty unto death. Bushido gives the samurai them
their drive and pushes them to excell.

The Samurai may never use poison.
The Samurai may never use blackpowder weapons
The Samurai will never charge a knocked down or stunned enemy if there is another model that is closer that is on their feet. The samurai will never panic and break from combat, nor will he take all alone tests.

Only
promoted ronin are effected by the bushido rule."


Soul of the Samurai: The samurai caste (daimyo, ronin and
samurai) view the katana as part of their soul and will never take part
in a battle unless they have one. Because of their dedication to the
katana, Thei constant and rigorous training has led the warriors of
Nippon to be masters of the blade. The Daimyo, Samurai and Ronin may
re-roll any failed hits when charging if wielding a katana.[u]

Most of those rules won't really apply to him since he's a hired sword and can't be given additional equipment.

Though I think 35 gc with 15 upkeep would be completely fair if you adopted the rule that he can't charge a knocked-down or stunned warrior when there are standing models in range.

Again, very nicely done and a very characterful Hired Sword!

CygnusMaximus wrote:

Again, very nicely done and a very characterful Hired Sword!

K i edited it to add the rule.
TY for you time & help