Ubuntu Tribe Warband (Updated 22-Feb-2011)

Dark Ones: Ubuntu Tribes

v 0.2a 22-Feb-2011 by Balrog the Buff, reviewed by Redhammer and Tom Boring’s Mordheim Forum people!
v 0.2 19-Feb-2011 by Balrog the Buff, reviewed by Redhammer from Chaos Dwarf Online
v 0.1 15-Feb-2011 by Balrog the Buff

Designers Note: Ubuntu are based on the Zulu peoples. The word Ubuntu was made up by me and not intended to be at all related to the African philosophy, or the Linux OS. Fun coincidence though. The organization of the Ubuntu was directly inspired by the Zulu ‘Buffalo’ tactics. But in this case ‘Tusker’.

SPECIAL RULES
Tall and Strong: Ubuntu use 25mm bases and use the normal Human stat maximums.

Swift Runners: When Running on open ground, Ubuntu add D3” to their maximum distance.

Choice of warriors
An Ubuntu Tribe warband must include a minimum of three models. You have 500 gold crowns which you can use to recruit and equip your warband. The maximum number of warriors in the warband is 12.

Induna: Each Ubuntu Tribe warband must have one Induna: no more, no less!
Sangoma: Your warband may include up to one Sangoma.
Herdsboys: Your warband may include up to two Herdsboys
Champion: Your warband may include up to one Champion.
Chest Warriors: Your warband may include any number of Chest Warriors.
Tusk Warriors: Your warband may include any number of Tusk Warriors.
Lion Warriors: Your warband may include up to five Lion Warriors, but may never recruit more Lion Warriors if there are already equal number of non-Lion Warriors.

Starting experience
An Induna starts with 20 Experience.
A Sangoma starts with 8 Experience.
A Champion starts with 12 Experience.
Lion Warriors starts with 2 Experience.
All Herdsboys and non-Lion Warrior Henchmen start with 0 Experience.

Skills:
Induna: Combat, Shooting, Strength, Speed, Special
Sangoma:, Academic, Shaman*, Speed, Special
Champion: Strength, Shooting, Combat, Speed, Special
Herdsboys: Beastmastery*, Speed, Special
* Indicated a new Skill List for Southlands

Ubuntu equipment list
Hand-to-hand combat weapons
Dagger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st free/2 gc
Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 gc
Ikwla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 gc*
Spear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 gc
Knobkerrie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 gc*
Double-Handed Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 gc*


Missile weapons
Assegai (Javelin) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 gc
Poison Dart (Heroes only) . . . . . . . . . . . 15 gc*
Armour
Shield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 gc
Heavy Shield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 gc*

Miscellaneous Equipment
Ubuntu Warrior Regalia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 gc*
Poison Spit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 gc*
Items marked with an * may not be used by Herdsboys or Sangoma

HEROES
1 Induna - 80gc
Induna is the title given to a battle-leader of a Ubuntu Warband. They are the fiercest combatants and have proven themselves fearless.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 4 4 4 4 1 4 1 8
Weapons/Armour: Weapons and armor chosen from the Ubuntu equipment list.
Special Rules: Leader, Fearless

0-1 Sangoma - 30gc
Sangoma are the Spiritual leaders of the Ubuntu people and provide guidance to the Induna by talking to the spirits, consulting cast bones or soothsaying.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 7
Weapons/Armour: Weapons and armor chosen from the Ubuntu equipment list.
Special Rules:
Magic: Sangoma are Shaman and can learn spells from the Shaman magic list. They start with the spell Spiritual Divination (D: Auto, may only be used after a battle that the shaman survived, works the same as the Tarot Cards, but does not require a test)

0-2 Herdsboys - 20gc
When Ubuntu go to war they bring young men to care for the livestock and food supplied. These Herdsboys have not quite yet reached the age of becoming a warrior, but still are willing to go to battle alongside the older men. They are the youth who show the most potential and thus are granted the privilege of going to combat with the tribes warbands.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 2 2 3 3 1 3 1 6
Weapons/Armour: Weapons and armor chosen from the Ubuntu equipment list.
Special Rules:
Herder (Due to the food supplies managed by this character the maximum warband size is increased by 1 for each model with this skill)

0-1 Champion – 45 gc
Each Induna has a champion who often has been with him since they were children. These do not have any special rank but often unofficially serve as the second in command of a unit.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 4 3 4 3 1 4 1 7
Weapons/Armour: Weapons and armor chosen from the Ubuntu equipment list.
Special Rules:
Loyalty: If the Induna is ever taken OOA the Champion becomes Frenzied. Also if the Induna ever dies the Champion is automatically the new warband leader. He immediately loses the Loyalty rule and no longer counts as the Champion ‘slot’, and another Champion may be recruited normally.

HENCHMEN
0+ Chest Warriors -30gc
Chest Warriors are the frontline of Ubuntu combat. They are warriors in their prime, proven and bold.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 3 3 3 3 1 4 1 7
Weapons/Armour: Weapons and armor chosen from the Ubuntu equipment list.

0+ Tusk Warriors - 25gc
Tusk Warriors are the younger warriors who are still new to combat. They usually fight on the flanks of the Chest Warriors harrying and wearing down the foe before coordinating a combined charge.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 6
Weapons/Armour: Weapons and armor chosen from the Ubuntu equipment list.
SPECIAL RULES
Young: A Tusk warriors first characteristic increase is always WS regardless of what stat is rolled. They may however increase WS a second time if rolled.
Skirmisher: Tusk Warriors may prevent charges just like Pit Fighter Pursuers. (Will add wording later)

0-5 Lion Warriors - 45 gold crowns to hire
These are the veteran warriors, they are deadly fighters and over the years have become very bloodthirsty to the point of being reckless. They are often held back in order to prevent them from charging blindly into the enemy and disrupting the battle plan.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 4 4 3 3 1 4 1 7
Weapons/Armour: Weapons and armor chosen from the Ubuntu equipment list.
SPECIAL RULES
Bloodthirsty: Lion Warriors are immune to Fear when they charge. Also, they may reroll a failed ‘to-hit’ roll once when they charge. They must charge if able.
Poison Spit: Lion Warriors always have Poison Spit.

Ubuntu Special Skills
~Swift as a Tusker: The hero’s M is increased by 1, this also increase the heroes maximum M to 5.

~Expert Poison Crafter: The hero may use Poison Spit at the beginning of each combat rather than only once per battle, provided he has at least one recovery phase outside of combat.

~Bloodthirsty: The model is immune to Fear when charging. Also, they may reroll a failed ‘to-hit’ roll once when charging. They must charge if able.

~Quick Healer: if the hero is only ever forced to miss one battle at a time. Old Battle Wounds does not need to be rolled for if the hero missed the previous battle due to OBW.

~Tusker Killer: The hero has killed a Tusker in ritual combat and is now immune to fear caused by Animals. The hero may also gains +1 when looking for rare items due to the prestige he has earned.

~Battle Proven: The hero may now select Combat skills when learning a new skill. In addition if a Herdsboy or Sangoma takes this skill they may use the equipment listed as normally restricted to them. (Marked by an *)

~Expert Herder: Only Herdsboys make take this skill. The maximum warband size is increased by an additional 1.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
Ikwla – 5 gc – Rare 6 (Common for Ubuntu)
Strength: As User
Special Rules: Piercing Weapon, Cutting Edge
Piercing Weapon: Ikwla are Piercing weapons for any purposes
Cutting Edge: Ikwla penetrate armor better than most weapons, they add an extra -1 to Armor saves made against them, just like an Axe.
Ikwla are short heavy stabbing spears used by the Ubuntu as their primary weapon in mass combat. Warbands still use them heavily but Induna rely upon individual skill and encourage their warriors to use the weapons they are best with.

Knobkerrie – 10 gc – Common Ubuntu Only
Strength: As User Range: 6”
Special Rules: Balanced for Throwing, Easy to carry, Club, Concussion
Balanced for Throwing: Knobkerrie may be thrown using the standard rules or the rules of a crossbow pistol firing before combat. A Knobkerrie may only be thrown once per battle.
Easy to Carry: Knobkerrie may count as either a melee or ranged weapon for purposes of determining what equipment a model may bring into combat.
Club: Knobkerrie may be used as a club until thrown.
Knobkerrie are balanced clubs used for throwing and melee combat by the Ubuntu.

Poison Dart – 15 gc – Common (Ubuntu heroes only)
Strength: 2 Range: 12”
Special Rules: Poisoned
Poisoned: Poison Darts always wound on at least a 4+ unless the target is immune to poison, may not be combined with another poison.

Poison Spit – 10 gc – Rare 10 (Rare 5 for Ubuntu)
Before the first round of combat the model is in each battle the model may spit his poison into the face of a single enemy. The target must pass an Initiative Test or suffer -1 to hit and -1 I and A (min 1) for that round of combat only. If the target is wearing a helmet of some kind then they add +1 to their initiative for this test. If the target is immune to poison then this has no effect and is wasted.

Ubuntu Warrior Regalia – 15 gc – Rare 8 (Ubuntu heroes only)
Ubuntu Warriors are sometimes granted special clothing to wear into battle as a reward for courage and fierceness. When combined with the Ubuntu fighting style this clothing is distracting and makes it harder for the enemy to follow the Ubuntu’s movements. This grants a special 6+ dodge save that cannot be modified, in close combat only. This is rolled separately from Step Aside.

Heavy Shield – 10 gc – Common (Ubuntu only)
The Ubuntu make heavy hide shields that cover most of their body. These have slits for vision and grabbing of enemy spears. They use these for blocking or parrying. All shields belong to the Induna or Chief. Going to war is referred to as picking up one’s shield.

This counts as both a shield and a buckler at the same time.

ok, so i just skimmed through what you have here and i have a few comments to make, i didn't read it thoroughly so there may be thinks i have missed.

1) the name. Dark Ones. based on Zulu's. IMO could be misconstrued as a racial slur? might be an idea to clarify this?

2) Ubuntu. did you know that this is a Debian derived Linux OS?

3) Lion Warriors. they are the bloodthirsty, reckless ones? surely the veterans would be the ones that keep cool in combat? the reckless ones would be whittled away by attrition? the ones that stay calm and stoic will be the ones to survive as they will be the ones that can temper ferocious attacks with careful defence

4) you have bloodthirsty as a special skill and as a special rule for the lion warriors.

5)what is poison spit? (edit: just found this. like i said, skimming. might need an aesthetic edit!)

6) what is a Knobkerrie? a description of what it is would not only help people to have an idea of what you are intending it to be but also help people who like the warband to convert/model the weapon for WYSIWYG

7) you have animal handling skills set, yet i see no options to take 'pets'. there are no models with ride special rules, so this discounts mounts, there are no options to take beasts in the warband list, so i assume they are equipment much like the wardog? if so, can the warband start with them and what are the rules? you state that the list is 'posted with the Zamula tribe' but i have no idea where this is or where to find it.

other than these points, good job. will be interesting to see what you come up with to represent the models, as i usually find this the hardest part of some new warbands!

On the note of "Dark Ones", I read that the people from the Southlands are called "Southrons" in the fluff.

My responses

1) the name. Dark Ones. based on Zulu's. IMO could be misconstrued as a racial slur? might be an idea to clarify this?
Dark Ones was a name I read was used by the people of the Empire to describe the people of the southlands. Eliazar mentioned they are called Southrons that may be a better thing to change it to.

2) Ubuntu. did you know that this is a Debian derived Linux OS?
At first I had no idea Ubuntu was a real word! But there is a African philosophy called Ubuntu. And that is where the Linux OS got the name from.

3) Lion Warriors. they are the bloodthirsty, reckless ones? surely the veterans would be the ones that keep cool in combat? the reckless ones would be whittled away by attrition? the ones that stay calm and stoic will be the ones to survive as they will be the ones that can temper ferocious attacks with careful defence
At first that was what i would have thought too. But the Zulu warriors were so infamous for their ferocity which got stronger as they got older that Shaka Zulu recognized this and began making them his reserves because they frequently would break ranks and charge in before the army was ready. The Lion, Chest and Tusk warriors are directly based off of Shaka Zulu's 'Buffalo' tactics. Although tusk warriors were called Horn warriors in Zulu armies.


4) you have bloodthirsty as a special skill and as a special rule for the lion warriors.
This was intentional. I gave a henchmen group the skill Bloodthirsty.

5)what is poison spit? (edit: just found this. like i said, skimming. might need an aesthetic edit!)
I will edit the post above so the Poison Spit and Knobkerrie are easier to find, the formatting squished them together here. The Word document did not look that way. Sorry!

6) what is a Knobkerrie? a description of what it is would not only help people to have an idea of what you are intending it to be but also help people who like the warband to convert/model the weapon for WYSIWYG
It is a balanced knobby throwing stick. See answer #5 as well.

7) you have animal handling skills set, yet i see no options to take 'pets'. there are no models with ride special rules, so this discounts mounts, there are no options to take beasts in the warband list, so i assume they are equipment much like the wardog? if so, can the warband start with them and what are the rules? you state that the list is 'posted with the Zamula tribe' but i have no idea where this is or where to find it.
The Zamula Tribe Hunting Pack is another warband I made and posted last night. I will copy the Animals list here as well.

Thank you for your comments!

Animals
Trained Animals do not gain experience and do not count towards the warband maximum size. However they do count for selling treasure and other exploration purposes. Each Pet belongs to a specific group or hero and should be identified as such. If taken OOA an Animal is treated in the same fashion as a henchman.

Jungle Cat - 40 gold crowns to train
(Jungle Cat Fluff)
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
6 4 0 4 3 1 4 1+1 5
Weapons/Armour: Fangs and Claws
SPECIAL RULES
Silent Predator: When charging from Hiding a Jungle Cat may reroll one failed to-hit roll.
Extra Attack: The Jungle Cat has an additional attack that counts the same as a warrior fighting with two weapons.

Trained Monkey - 20 gold crowns to train
(Trained Monkey Fluff)
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 2 2 2 2 1 4 1 4
Weapons/Armour: Hands, Feet and Rocks
SPECIAL RULES
Rocks: Trained Monkeys may throw rocks. Rocks are Range 6” S3 and are Thrown weapons.
Monkeying Around: Monkeys have the skills: Dodge, Scale Sheer Surface and Acrobat.
Can Climb: Unlike most animals, Trained Monkeys can climb.

Tree Snake - 30 gold crowns to train
(Tree Snake Fluff)
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
4 3 0 3 2 1 3 1 4
Weapons/Armour: Fangs and Venom
SPECIAL RULES
Tree Dweller: Tree Snakes do not suffer movement penalties for moving through terrain and have the Scale Sheer Surfaces skill.
Can Climb: Unlike most animals, Tree Snakes can climb.
Serpent Strike: Tree Snakes have the ‘whip crack’ ability, like a steel whip.
Venomous: Tree Snakes attacks automatically Wound on a to-hit roll of 6.

War-Beast (Wardog etc.) - 35 gold crowns to train
(war-beast Fluff)
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
6 4 0 4 3 1 4 1 5
Weapons/Armour: Fangs and Attitude
SPECIAL RULES
Keen Senses: War-beasts may reroll initiative tests to detect hidden models or to charge an out of sight enemy.

Wild Pig - 20 gold crowns to train
These are not the massive boars Orcs breed and ride to combat. These are noticably more intelligent and can be trained by people to work and fight alongside them reliably.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
6 4 0 3 3 1 3 1 5
Weapons/Armour: Tusks
SPECIAL RULES
Forceful Charge: Wild Pig add +1 to the S of attacks made on the charge. They also add D3” to their range when charging.
Thick Skinned: Wild Pigs have a 6+ armor save.

Combat Bird - 35 gold crowns to train
These are trained Hawks, Falcons or other birds. They are swift and dangerous, but difficult to train.
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
3 3 0 3 2 1 4 1 5
Weapons/Armour: Talons and/or Beak
SPECIAL RULES
Avian: Combat Birds may fly 12” instead of normal movement. This may be used to charge or move up or down in elevation. Combat Birds also never take damage from falling unless Stunned.
Small and Swift: Combat Birds have the skills Step Aside and Dodge.
Fragile Boned: Due to their hollow bones and fragile wings Combat Birds subtract 1 from their serious injury rolls if taken OOA.
Go for the Eyes: Combat Birds attacks have a -1 armor save modifier and always get a critical hit on a 6 to wound. Their attacks use the Piercing Critical chart if using Advanced Criticals.
Diving Charge: If the Combat Bird charges it is counted as a Diving Charge and is resolved at +1 Initiative.
Difficult to Train: Only a hero may train a Combat Bird.

You have created a very interesting warband! I like the theme, and models should be readily available from the colonial ranges of various manufacturers.

But now some comments on the warband:

- A maximum size of 12 models seems to be too low. The warband is basically a human warband with slightly better stats and some extra rules, but with limited equipment. I would suggest the standard size of 15.
- The point costs seem to be slightly too high for the henchmen, especially for the lion warriors.
- The point costs for the heroes seem to be fine. Your leader is roughly comparable to that of a Marauder warband, so the price is fine for his stats.
- The young rule for the tusker warriors is a nice idea. I have always thought it odd that youngbloods need some advances to reach normal human stats, this rule prevents some of this. The drawback is that you do not get the chance for an early lad´s got talent, though.
- I like the quick healer skill, a very nice idea.
- Did i miss the magic list or do you plan to show it later?

12 is low, but they have skills on the Herdsboys that boost them to 14 right away and up to 16 if the herdsboys take the skill. If the consensus is that 15 and up to 19 is better I can do that easily. My goal was to have support heroes but powerful henchmen.

I was trying to err on the side of caution with them. The henchmen have relatively inexpensive gear options but rather high statlines. I agree it feels high, but I am hoping some playtesting will help with that.

The magic list is what I am working on currently. Trying to make it unique and Shaman-feeling, but not overpowered.

Again, thank you for all of your feedback! I am looking to use either modified Marauder models, the Mahud from LOTR, or just find some 28mm Zulu models for now.

Horatius wrote:

- The young rule for the tusker warriors is a nice idea. I have always thought it odd that youngbloods need some advances to reach normal human stats, this rule prevents some of this. The drawback is that you do not get the chance for an early lad´s got talent, though.

the way i always understood it is that a 'normal' human's stats represent a normal human but with some battle experience, such as militia men or the like, but not hardened warriors, whereas the stats of a 'youngblood' would be representing a human who has no experience whatsoever

I'd say that Herdsboys are 5gc overpriced, -1 to four of their stats (compared to average humans) more than makes up for the fact that they start with twoo good special rules.

The leader seems slightly priced. Middenheim leader +1 Toughness +1 Skill, is pretty much around 85gc, but this guy loses a lot of equipment and have fewer skill lists, which probably puts him down to around 75gc.

Poison darts are pretty good for their price, I suggest raising it slightly.

Lion Warriors are pretty expensive, try comparing them to swordsmen, and you'll quickly see how they fall behind.

I love the versatility of the Knobkerrie, that thing is just awesome!

The sangooma is probably a little too expensive. A usual wizard is around 35 with normal human stats, this guy could be the same with lower than normal human stats, again, he is around 5-10 gc overpriced IMO.

Apart from that, everything looks crisp.

Ok I'll be adjusting some prices tonight or tomorrow. Did you guys check the Zamula and Mu'ar'ri tribes too? I want the 3 tribes to be balanced to each other especially.

Lessons learned after game vs Snotlings:
Ubuntu seem to be a solid early game team from this and the other partial games I have seen them in. Nothing over powered but lots of javelins (Assegai) really helps and they are mobile and aggressive. Need to try them against dwarfs or Orcs. I worry they will lack serious end-game options though without learning combat expert and learning to use new weapons. I may give them another skill that lets them use and buy weapons from the Mercenary Warrior list. Call it Culturally Adaptable or something.

Recommendation: Try not to test two "work in progress" warbands against each other... it doesn't give you an accurate estimation of their relative strength.

Using Merc Weapons: Well, they can always pick up Weapons Training (Combat) and Weapons Expert (Shooting), right? That will let a hero use weapon he finds. No sense reinventing the wheel.

Ok, I'll stick to testing the WIP armies against official, unofficial, or BTB warbands. The 25mm base is a bit harsher than I had realized before, I may drop that requirement (and give it to the Mu'au'ri who are semi-marauders anyways).