NC: Dwarf Ranger Variant

I have never played any nemesis crown warbands, but I have played against the Outriders and the Nuln Gunnery school, and in both cases, our group found them borderline broken. Of course, they were both played by the same aggressive player, and the fact that the Nuln school was played in Sartosa (which has extra goodies for Blackpowder weapons), so this may have a huge factor. That being said, I have looked over all of the warbands in the Nemesis crown and, at least on paper, I believe there are several that are most likely NOT broken.

One of these warbands, which I hope to play in my next campaign, is the Dwarf Ranger warband... however, I have a slight beef with it, not because of balance, but because I'm a dwarf player. That's right: while I have tons of oddjob bits floating around my basement from every race, the dwarves were the only race I actually PLAYED. I love the slow-moving bastiches as if they were my own clan.

Which is why the Ranger list dissappointed me slightly.... I've read through the enitre warband, and had one question: where the hell were the rangers?!? I mean, sure, there were 0-5 long range guys with access to crossbows, but the rest of it seemed way out of sorts. A runesmith? trollslayers? Not a single hero with access to a crossbow?

To me, you say Dwarf Ranger, and I think of Bugman's men. As far as I know, here is the history of the dwarf rangers:

5th Edition
Rangers - Quarrellers with double handed weapons

6th Edition
Rangers - Quarrellers, option of great weapons, scout
Can upgraded to Longbeards, who trade crossbows for throwing axes

So, when I field the Rangers next campaign, I am going to propose the following changes to my group:

"Don't Trust 'Em" - Dear god, why is this rule in here? As if a 6" run wasn't painful enough, someone thought it'd be a good idea that they can't run within 3" of an allied DWARF? I mean, in a real game, Sisters of Sigmar can ally with Witch Hunters when they're fighting the Possessed... heck, rules wise, Sisters can ally with SKAVEN against possessed, and I wouldn't blame them. Throwing in a rule like this would make more sense if there was really a greater animosity between dwarves and rangers... okay, MAYBE against slayers (heck, they're psychotic, oath-breaking cultists... the dwarf equal to a flaggellant). Or Elves. If this applied to Elves, it would make sense. Dwarves? No. I suggest it goes.

Slayers: They make some sense in the warband (slayers are outdoors kinda guys...) but the warband lacks any single "rangery" hero. Thus, they're out. Replaced with:

0-2 Longbeards - 50gc
M WS S T W I A Ld
3 5 3 3 4 1 2 9
Weapons: Can choose any weapon from the Dwarf OR Quarreller equipment lists.
Rules: Stubborn
Skills: Comb, Shoot, Stren, Spec

(Note: this also eliminates the Longbeard unit... which, I confess, leaves you with the exact same henchmen types available to the treasure hunters.)

Equipment lists:
Dwarf - add on Throwing Axes
Quarreller - add on Throwing Axes and Double handed weapons (for old times sake)

Skills:
Add Infiltration to the Special skills, available to longbeards and quarrellers only. Gives them a chance to access points of the battlefield that dwarves normally couldn't, givng them both a sporting chance at scenario objectives and a strategy currently not open to dwarves.


The Runesmith - now, the Runesmith doesn't quite fit the ranger theme... that being said, he definitely LOOKS balanced, and I can't wait to play him. He looks like a truck load of fun!

That being said, I suggest one small add-on restriction:
Gromril - Gromril armor already counts as having the "rune of stone" enscribed on it... that's where it gets its strength! Thus, you cannot use gromril and an item with the Rune of Stone at the same time.


Once I've had a chance to use the Runesmith, I'd love to pull him out of the Rangers (replace him with a Captain and a Brewer, I think.) Stick the Runesmith in with Ironbreakers instead:

0-2 Ironbreakers - 50-55? + cost of armor
M WS S T W I A Ldvv
3 4 3 3 4 1 2 9
Weapons: Can choose any weapon from the Dwarf equipment list.
Rules: Runic armor
When you first hire an ironbreaker, you must purchase one of the following armor items: helmet, light armor, heavy armor, or shield. That item is inscribed with the Rune of stone, granting +1 armor save to the wearer. This may not be traded to any other member of the warband, and will never be willingly sold. If combined with gromril, the +1 bonus is lost. If stolen, the item may not be worn, but may be sold at 1.5 times the items base price.

Skills: Comb, Stren, Spec

And, considering Ironbreakers are charged with sweeping the tunnels, they'd be paired with Miners. Miners mine the ore, ironbreakers protect the tunnels, runesmiths use the ore and break the ironbreaker's armor. Thematically MUCH more sound than a Runesmith tramping through the woods with a bunch of quarrellers.

The best thing to come out of the Nemesis Crown is Last Orders. The rest is mostly miss. Bringing some Ranger into the Rangers sounds like a good idea, even though I hate dwarfs.

Yeah you are right.

if you read dwarf rangers and you only find rubesmiths and slayers as heroes, this is really confusing.

I also like the idea of a rework. I would also like a more bugmanish leader and 2 rangers and maybe one slayer.

The skill infiltration would also make sense for me.

I like the runesmith warband. Just give it another name and give us a real ranger warband.

SerialMoM

As I said, I'm curious to see how the Runesmith works... and the idea of FOUR sniper heroes does sound a little dangerous... hence, two & two might seem to make sense. Or, in that case, the Longbeards may choose - to have access to the Warrior list OR the Ranger list, but not both... so is he going to be long range, or short?

Adding ONE Slayer: Hmm... an interesting. Would be a good way of complementing the shooters without overpowering them. Which leaves the question: should the "special" unit for the pure rangers be a "fletcher" (similar to the Engineer, add +6 range), or a Brewer (some sort of healing bonus.)

As for the Brewer, the old tankard let the bearer regain 1 wound per turn... which is a bit much. While a healing "spell" would be nice, it doesn't make sense to have a brew that could instantly heal any model within 6"... unless he put it in a mister, there's no way he could pass it around like that! So, maybe it's more of a Potion effect. Pick a friendly DWARF (no non-dwarves) and roll 1D6:

1 -Stumbling Drunk- The dwarf may added +1D6" to any move that the Dwarf makes this game. Sadly, unless he is in combat, knocked down, or stunned, he will ALWAYS move- which means that if you do not wish to move him, roll an artillery dice- the dwarf will move 1D6" in the direction of the dice (in the case of a Hit roll, the dwarf will remain where he is.)

2 - Angry Drunk - The Dwarf is at -1 Ws & -1Bs... however, in the first round of any combat, the Dwarf gains double his Base number of Attacks for that round. May not be stacked with the Slayer Berserker skill or frenzy, and will not double additional hand attacks.

3 - Fearless Drunk - the Dwarf is immune to Psychology this game, except for Hatred. If taken by the leader, he takes rout tests as normal.

4 - Numb Drunk - The Dwarf counts as having the rule "No Pain", meaning he treats "Stunned" as "Knocked Down".

5- Giddy Drunk - No matter what you do, the dwarf just won't feel down... or STAY down, either. The Dwarf counts as having the skill "Jump Up" (as in, any injury roll of "Knocked Down" is ignored... no effect on "stunned" results that are downgraded to "Knocked Down" by helmets or skills.)

6 - Mean Drunk - When in hand to hand combat, the Dwarf gains +1 to wound when attacking a Knocked down model... this will have no effect on armor saves or rolls to crit.

Optional switch - adds +1 Wound to a model (will not take a model over 3). It may seem great, but it's not too much in the long run.

Actually, with the "Drunk" results, it kinda saves the trouble of adding a slayer... you almost "build your own", as the drunk turns any longbeard into a stronger, more fearless fighter.

Also, the Brewer would have a skill: Master Brewer- Each game, he may brew enough for 1D3 warriors, rather than 1. Each dwarf may only drink once per game. In that case, it'd look like:

1 Captain - warrior & ranger equipment, com, shooting, acad, strn, spcial
0-1 Brewer - warrior equipment, com, acad, strn, spcial
0-2 Long beards - warrior OR ranger equipment, com, shooting, strn, spcial

1 shooter, 1 non-shooter, and two that can go either way (but not both).

Hmm... deja-vu?

Why deja vu? Did I accidentally post a similar thread before? *scratches head* If so, it must have been a while ago.

Thread on here and duplicated posts on Yahoo. I would choose either or man, depending on who your target audience is. A lot of folk use both which means being hit twice with the same info if you catch my draft.

Regards,

Stuart.

*Shrug* Well, for the Wee War stuff, I specifically had some people request I post Yahoo stuff on here, and vice verse. Made sense to do it with both...

Personally, my account on Yahoo does NOT have emails spamming my box... so if I see a ditto'ed thread, I just skip over it.

I actually peeked in the 7th Edition Dwarf book, and found out some more info on the Rangers... they are the term for any group of Dwarves that live as a gorup OUTSIDE the holds, out in the open. Thus, they're the indepedent group of family and coworkers conjoined in one business.

With that in mind, it kinda makes more sense if the Master Brewer or whatever is the LEADER of the warband. He's the one who runs the company, who cares and trains everyone, and whom they would follow into hell.

Although, I like the idea of different businesses...

Brewing: Same as above, plus Bugmans for 25gc and common
Smith shop : Not sure... maybe they can ALWAYS get gromril at 2x cost, and armor at 75?

I'd love to have a THIRD profession, but can't think of one... maybe an engineer shop?

No reason why you can't have a master brewer (miniature) in your Rangers warband. That's a great way of representing Bugman's Ale on the tabletop. Can't see a Runesmith taking orders from a brewery merchant though! LoL.

If you get the chance to look beyond the scope of Armies books for research then you should take it! There is some thoroughly rewarding material out there to riff ideas off of.

Agreed... this would be the Runesmith-less version. (Next campaign, I'm going to play them with Longbeard heroes, but keep the runesmithy & apprentice... I'll cement the rune-less warband another time.)

Good thinking... any good books jump at you? I've read the Original William King Gotrek books (which helps you with Slayers and Engineers, but not much else, if I recall.)

In terms of novels with Dwarf characters, I've read the 3rd Omnibus of Gotrek & Felix and am just starting on the 1st Omnibus. Yes, that is back to front but having only ever read the short stories (remember these from the days when they would publish shorts in WD mag?) I picked up Elfslayer and the Slayer of the Storm God audio-book because of their Marienburg research tie-ins.

This means the only Bill King (whose work I really rate!) adventure I've read is the Albion romp Giantslayer.

If you care for Dwarfs (which I don't much!) then I hear Nick Kyme and Gav Thorpe novels are the way to go.

Where as a Runesmith-led warband is certainly an attractive prospect, there was already a Dwarf Hired Sword being included (the Journeyman) that allowed for runic coverage. In hindsight, I suppose an Engineer led party was another possibility which wasn't explored due to the strict deadlines on Nemesis Crown, nor were brewer aspects akin to that of Bugman & friends.

The source books I rate the most highly would be the Green Ronin produced releases for WFRP 2nd Edition. Their attention to detail is incredible. You can really get immersed in a particular culture from Warhammer with these. I haven't read the one dedicated to Dwarfs, but if it's anywhere near as magnificent as something like Realm of the Ice Queen (WFRP Kislev background book) then it's a must have for Dwarf fans.

Going back to the above, there has been published a nice set of Dwarf hirelings. A favourite of mine is the Slayer Pirate! Plus, the original treasure-seeking Dwarf warband for Mordheim is very much the standard, well-liked, considered by all to be fair. The Rangers warband offers some interesting alternatives to the Treasure Hunters. Between the two there is scope to develop pretty much any kind of team during the course of the campaign...

...And like I say, only the Engineering theme for Dwarfs is lacking.

Regards,

Stuart.

Thanks much for the wealth of info!

Engineers, as you say, are a bit lacking... I could make the three themes of the Rangers be "Brewers, Smiths, or Engineers", but the would equal a VERY different feel for the third one.

How I'd do the Enigeneer's warband:
All "crossbows" are replaced by handguns, all lists have Dueling Pistols added on (or I can add the "Dwarf Pistols" that someone else created, and we used in Sartosa... normal pistol, auto-reload, can't fire more than once a turn.) Gain access to Fire Bombs and Flash Powder.

Chief Engineer Bonus: Each game, you gain access to 1D3-1 batches of Superior Gunpowder. Cannot be stocked or resold, discarded if not used. In One Shot games, will not result in less than 1.

As I said, it'd result in a VERY different warband than the other rangers, but maybe that's for the best.

Werekin: I definitely agree, the default Treasure Hunter warband is definitely a fun and fair band, and I definitely use it as a model for any "new rangers" band I come up with... considering the wealth of power behind a default dwarf warrior, 4 starting heroes is more than fair.

Journeyman: I haven't had the pleasure of playing him, but when I ran a Sylvannia campaign, I certainly encouraged any Dwarf player to look him up.