Potential New Skills/Spells for a Southlands Setting

New Skill Sets

General Skills (May be taken by any hero that meets the requirements, if any)
~Animal Training: The hero may now take Beastmastery skills.

~True Grit: (Leader Only) The leader is either so tough or has so much sheer willpower that from now on they roll twice for serious injuries and choose which they want to take.

~Miraculous Healing: The hero has found a powerful magical healer, drank a potent potion, received excellent medical treatment, or another similar occurrence. The hero may remove one permanent injury they have suffered. This may only be taken once ever per warband.
~Live off the Land: The hero no longer counts towards warband size for selling of treasure. (Yes I know this is not very powerful, but it is still there if a player wants it)

~Rigorous Training: The hero trains rigorously and may roll on the Hero Advancement chart again rerolling any further New Skill results. (This allows a hero who does not want to take another skill to gain a stat instead, but only once)

~Greasing some Palms: The hero may throw a little money around in order to help them find rare items. If they fail a rarity roll they may immediately pay 2D6 gc to reroll their rarity test, this may only be done once per after-battle sequence.


Beastmastery
~Carefully Trained: The hero’s pet may immediately roll on the henchmen advance chart, rerolling any lads got talent results. This may only be taken once and the advance must be rerolled if the hero ever obtains a different pet (Replacing a fallen pet etc.)

~Mark of the Beast: The hero has earned the Mark of a specific animal: Jungle Cat, Trained Monkey, Tree Snake, War-Beast (Wardog etc.), Wild Pig or Combat Bird. Any animal of the chosen type within 6” may use the hero’s leadership. The hero may now purchase a single animal of the chosen type from the animal list.

~Animal Healer: The hero’s animal is only killed on a 1 instead of a 1-2.

~Animal Slayer: The hero causes Fear to animals and has a 6+ dodge save against animals’ attacks. The hero may never take or use any other Beastmastery Skills ever again.

~Strike as One: If the hero and his pet are in base contact with the same foe in melee, one of them may choose to forego his attacks to allow the other to reroll any failed to-hit rolls. The attacks are made at the initiative of the slower of the two. This may not be used if either the hero or his pet are knocked down or stunned.

~Close Bond: If either the hero or his pet are taken OOA the other one becomes Frenzied and Hates the model that took the other OOA until the end of the battle.



Shaman

~Shamanistic Healing: Once per after-battle sequence, as long as the Shaman was not taken OOA, they may administer Shamanistic Healing to an injured hero. Roll a D6. 1 – The hero must roll another time on the Serious Injury Chart. 2-3 No Effect 4-6 The result is changed to Full Recovery. The Shaman may not search for rare items or DP.

~Tribal Connections: The Shaman may automatically pass rarity rolls of 6 or less.

~Herbal Concoctions: The Shaman is now immune to poison.

~Shaman Magic: The Shaman may roll on the Shaman Magic List as per other magic. This may be taken multiple times.



Shaman Spell List:

1 - Spiritual Divination D:Auto After the battle this spell counts like a Tarot Card deck, but no Ld roll is needed.

2 – Mending the Soul D:5 (Same as Healing Hand from Prayers of Sigmar)

3 – Spirit Sight D:6 Reveals all Hidden enemies within 8” Unlike most spells this is used in the recovery phase. If used the Shaman may not cast another spell or use a ranged weapon this turn.

4 – Upsetting the Balance D:8 Target within 12” that is next to an edge must immediately test to see if they fall off the edge. Target may not run next turn, but may still move or charge normally.

5 – Earth Spirits’ Anger D:7 D3 rocks form and are thrown at an enemy within 12”. The rocks hit for a S3 attack that have the concussion special rule.

6 – Soothing the Beast D:8 Target single wound animal within 8” is knocked down and will not attack or recover from Knocked Down next turn. If the animal is stunned it will still recover to knocked down status as normal.

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 3 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 3 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.) - 25 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 - 15 gold crowns to train
These are not the massive boars Orcs breed and ride to combat. These are noticeably 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.

For more animals, may I recommend the "Lions, Tigers, and Bears" thread at the old SG website:

http://www.tacticalwargames.net/sg/forum/index.php?topic=89.0

None of it legal, but lots of fun ideas.

oooh~ I may use a few of those. Maybe not as combat trained animals but as random encounters!

Few other thoughts:

Beastmaster Skills: I like that you have to take a "preliminary" skill, but I think certain models should start with it. Makes them the key "besatmasters", although others should be able to take it too. It should also have a secondary effect, like "may now take a pet".

Beast skills: I think there should be a "trapper" skill, that lets you catch wild animals, and potentially use them. Maybe the one from the Beast Hunter?
The Hunter may place up to six trap counters on the board immediately after the
Hunter model is placed. They must be placed at ground level with at least 6" between
them. Any model (except the Hunter) that moves within 3" of a trap counter must roll
a D6. On a roll of 1-3, nothing happens. On a 4-6, the model takes a single hit
automatically at the strength shown on the dice. The trap counter is then removed. A
single model can only set off one trap at a time. If an animal of any sort is put OOA by
a trap, it is automatically captured after the game to be sent to the Old World.

Maybe the trapped animal joins on 4+, on a 1-3 it dies or runs off.

Animals: Not sure if they shouldn't count towards warband limit. Maybe that's the special things about "pets", they don't increase size. That's what sets them apart:
Pet: Require a skill to take, die if the hero dies (equipment), don't count towards limit
Animals: don't require skill, count as henchmen, do count towards limit.

Trained Monkey: Have rules for those in the new Sartosa Add-On supplement, if you're interested. (major differences are S3, can throw a S2 object, and has the ability to fetch small objects.)

Warbeast: lousy name. Wild Dog perhaps? (Africa's infamous for them.)

Wild Pig: Boar is also fine, unless you're saving that for later. Also, most pigs/boars in WFB have T4 (off of the orc list.)

Ok I guess I should redefine these animals as 'pets'. And War-beast is supposed to be a catch-all for dogs, combat monkeys like yours etc.

As for models starting with the skill check out the Zamula, that list is based around these Pets.

The Wardog misc equipment will be restricted to Old Worlders only, but still while in the Southlands setting I am working on it will count towards total models for purposes of selling stuff.

I think I may drop the individual 'Marks' and allow any hero with the Mark of the Beast to take any of the pet options, but still only one at a time.

And the Pig/Boar is not supposed to be a huge beast that the Orcs breed. They are supposed to be wild pigs/boars that live in the Jungles and Plains of the Southlands. In general creatures (of a similar kind) will be smaller as their climate is hotter. Which is why we have large wolves in Canada and Russia and tiny wolves from Egypt and the middle east.