Townies Warband

I thought that BalrogTheBluff's idea of a peasant warband was really good so here is my take on the theme.

Townsfolk
When this small town near Mordheim was obliterated in the chaos of the comet the residents decided that the potential riches that Mordheim presented would be perfect for restoring their town to its former glory.
Choice of warriors:

A Townsfolk warband must include a minimum of three models. You have 500gc available to spend.
The maximum number of warriors in the warband may never exceed 20

Bürgermeister: your warband must include 1 Bürgmeister, no more no less!
Captain of the Guard: Your warband may include a single Captain of the Guard
Traders: Your warband may include up to three Traders
Towns Folk: Your warband may include any number of Towns Folk
Urchins: Your warband may include up to five Urchins
City Guards: Your warband may include up to five City Guards


Starting Experience:
A Bürgermeister starts with 20 experience
A Captain of the Guard starts with 8 experience
A Trader starts with 0 experience
Henchmen start with 0 experience

Townsfolk skill tables:
Bürgermeister may choose from the Combat, Shooting, Academic or Speed skill lists.
Captain of the Guard may choose from the Combat, Shooting or Strength skill lists.
Traders may choose from the Combat Skill list.





Maximum characteristics
M...WS..BS...S...T...W...I...A..LD
4.....6.....6.....4...4....3...6...4...9

Guards
HtH WEAPONS
Dagger 1st free/2gc
Mace/Hammer 3gc
Axe 5gc
Sword 10gc
Spear 10gc
Halberd 10gc
Double Handed Weapon* 15gc

MISSILE WEAPONS
Long Bow 15gc
Crossbow 25gc

ARMOUR
Shield 5gc
Helmet 10gc
Light Armour 20gc
Heavy Armour 50gc

MISCELLANEOUS
Hunting Arrows* 35gc

*not Bürgermeister


Traders
HtH WEAPONS
Dagger 1st free/2gc
Club/Hammer 3gc
Axe 5gc
Sword 10gc
Double Handed Weapon** 15gc

MISSILE WEAPONS
Bow 10gc
Long Bow* 15gc
Crossbow* 25gc

ARMOUR
Toughened Leathers 5gc
Shield 5gc
Light Armour 20gc
Heavy Armour** 50gc

MISCELLANEOUS

*Fletcher only
**Blacksmith only


Townsfolk
HtH WEAPONS
Dagger 1st free/2gc
Club 3gc
Axe 5gc
Spear* 10gc

MISSILE WEAPONS
Bow 10gc

ARMOUR
Toughened Leathers 5gc
Shield 5gc

MISCELLANEOUS




Heroes

Bürgermeister
1
60gc
M...WS..BS...S...T...W...I...A..LD
4.....3.....3.....3...3....1...3...1...8
Weapons/Armour: Weapons and armour chosen from the Guards equipment list

Special rules

Leader: Any models in the warband within 6” of the Bürgermeister may use his Leadership instead of their own.

Former Glory: The Bürgermeister is the last semblance of the relative peace and order that the people of the Town once knew and so acts as a beacon of hope for the people of the town. The Bürgermeister has the Battle Tongue skill from the Academic skill list.

Natural Orator: Once per battle at the beginning of a turn the Bürgermeister may make one of his famous speeches which earned him his place at the head of the town. All members of the warband within earshot (8”) are spurred on by the stirring words of their leader and instantly pass any LD test they take. The Bürgermeister may not use this ability while in combat nor may he move or shoot in any turn that he uses the ability.


Captain of the Guard
0-1
45gc
M...WS..BS...S...T...W...I...A..LD
4.....4.....4.....3...3....1...3...1...8
Weapons/Armour: Weapons and armour chosen from the Guards equipment list


Traders
0-3
30gc
M...WS..BS...S...T...W...I...A..LD
4.....2.....2.....3...3....1...3...1...6
Weapons/Armour: weapons and armour chosen from the Traders equipment list

Special rules

Professions: Upon hire each must choose one Profession to acquire from the list below:

• Stone Mason: The Trader gains +1I, the Scale Sheer Surfaces skill from the Speed skill list and may choose skills from the Speed skill list.

• Town Crier: The Trader gains +1LD, the Rousing Cry skill from the Special skill list and may choose skills from the Academic Skill list.

• Barber-Surgeon: The Trader gains +1WS, the Let Me Take a Look at That skill from the Special skill list and may choose from the Academic skill list.

• Fletcher: The Trader gains +1BS, the Fletchings skill from the Special skill list and may choose skills from the Shooting skill list.

• Blacksmith: The Trader must always be armed with a one or two handed Hammer but gains +1WS the Strongman skill from the Special skill list and may choose skills from the Strength skill list.

Competition: A Townsfolk warband cannot support more than two of each type of trader (including promoted Villeins with a Special skill).


Henchmen

Villeins
0+
20gc
M...WS..BS...S...T...W...I...A..LD
4.....2.....2.....3...3....1...3...1...6
Weapons/Armour: weapons and armour chosen from the Townsfolk equipment list

Special Rules

Trainees: If a Villeins is promoted to a hero then when they first gain a skill they may choose one from the special skill list but they may only ever choose one skill from that list.

Tools of the Trade: A Villeins that chooses a skill from the Special skill list may use any equipment that is available to the Trader of the type they have become.


Urchins
0-5
10gc
M...WS..BS...S...T...W...I...A..LD
4.....2.....2.....2...2....1...3...1...5
Weapons/Armour: weapons and armour chosen from the Townsfolk equipment list

Special Rules

Sticky Fingers: If they could attack a model that is knocked down or stunned the Urchin may instead attempt to pick the pockets of their opponent. Each player rolls a D6 and adds their initiative with stunned models being at -1I if the Urchin scores higher then one randomly selected piece of equipment that is not clothing or armour is taken by the Urchin and added to their equipment list. Note that Urchins instantly deposit any stolen equipment to the warbands stored equipment after the battle and may not use equipment unless they could normally.


City Guards
0-5
30gc
M...WS..BS...S...T...W...I...A..LD
4.....3.....3.....3...3....1...3...1...7
Weapons/Armour: weapons and armour chosen from the Guards equipment list

Special Rules

Discipline: If there are two or more City Guards or the Captain or the Guards within 3” of a City Guard then he is at +1LD.



Special Skills List

Scale Sheer Surfaces: As detailed in the Speed skill list.

Let Me Take A Look at That: If the Barber surgeon did not go OoA in the last battle then you may re-roll the serious injury of one hero or henchman that went OoA in the last battle.

Rousing Cry: At the beginning of one movement phase per battle the Town Crier may use this ability. All Friendly warriors (not hired swords) who are within 6” of the Town Crier instantly hate everyone until the start of the opponents turn.

Fletchings: D3 Bows or Crossbows in the warband gain +6” to their range for that battle (roll at the beginning of each battle).

Strongman: As detailed in the Strength skills list.

(Note that only one skill from this list may be learned by each hero)

EDIT: Mayor Changed to Bürgermeister, Chimney Sweep swapped for Stone Mason, Traders skills changed and price increased and Towns Folk changed to Villeins.

Neat. A few small nit-picky things:

Mayor: you say "mayor", I immediately think of the one and only head of a town. (This is not technically accurate, as a town like this could have several mayors.) I'd go with Burgomaster or Bürgermeister, as it hints that he is one of SEVERAL old leaders, most of which are dead (also, it's more Empire/German.)

Also, ditch the +1 LD on the Mayor/Burgo. Testing on his LD is a big enough boost. If a Captain, for example, gets an Ld upgrade, that means that the leader has Ld8 and the subordinate has Ld9- it doesn't add up. Also, change it from immune to psych to "pass all Ld tests." otherwise, the speech cancels out the Crier's ability.

The Captain's good at 40gc, although I'd raise the Traders up to 30gc. Think of it this way: they're 20gc townsfolk with a stat and a skill.

Traders- to make things easier, have the Traders all have combat, and let them access other lists through the trade.
Barber-Surgeon: The Trader gains +1WS and the Let Me Take a Look at That skill from the Special skill list. He also gains access to the Academic skill list.

The city guards are good and balanced, but it kind of opens the door to the question, "why is the crier and the chimney sweep a hero, but the experienced guards aren't?" Maybe if a watchman was also a type of trader too?

I really like this! I think it is much more practical than my concept was!

My two cents:
- What about allowing Towns Folk who get Lads got Talent to use the Trader's equipment list if they pick a trade? Or at least adding two handed weapons to their list? Right now they can't make use of strongman unless they get Weapon Master as well.
- Just to clarify the Rousing Cry only works on Townfolk, not any warband member?
- Sticky Fingers could be a huge game-changing ability. I like the idea, and I hope that testing will show it is balanced!
- Not sure if the Guard need to cost 30 currently. Although with the way the team is set up it may be appropriate.

Again i like this. Could be a great use for the Angry Mob models!

@Styro just to confirm are you saying that the "Mayor" should be LD 7 or are you talking about the former glory rule? because Former glory is only meant to count for the Towns Folk warrior type (@balrog thanks for pointing out the use of townsfolk in the Town Crier skill it was meant to say warrior in the warband because original the warband was called the townsfolk but I changed it because of the warrior type).

Oh, I didn't realize that it meant the henchman group only.

Personally, I think Townsfolk is a better sounding name than Townies... the latter sounds more modern to my ear. No sense changing the name of a whole warband to accommadate one henchmen group.

Former Glory- personally, I see nothing wrong with having it be a simple, "The Mayor/Burger starts with the skill Battle Tongue". So everyone within 12" can use him. It would affect everyone, but townsfolk would get the best of it, as their Ld is pitiful.

Hmm. I had to cause division, but this kind of inspires me to write my own angry mob list. It would probably be closer to the Goblin warband- all chaos and cheapness.

@styro I originally had the watchmen as a trader type but seeing as the City Guards are the same cost as the Traders it just wasn't possible to make a Watchmen trader type that was in the points cost and powerful enough so I made the Captain of the Guards instead to fill that roll.

@Styro it would be great to see your take on the theme as I have loved some of your other warbands.

Watchman- Not really, you just say- "this type adds an additional +5-10gc" Maybe make it a limit to 1 per warband too.

As for my take, it will involve more of the angry mob / villagers feel, much more suited for Empire in Flames than the big city.

I like this warband very much!

Two modifications out of my sight.

This warband profile fits to a 15 person warband. I think the several choices are to good for a 20 person warband.

The second modification is to start the traders with 4 xp.( two level ups)

The urchins skill sticky fingers i do not like so much. It is frustrating for opponents because you will concentrate to loot them blank.( I would do ) You would simply play another game than your opponent, because the chance to loot a handgun or other expensive equipment is too high and too profitable.

If you can fix these points, this would be a warband i would play.

Good job!

Another super simple version of the sticky fingers is the one from the Halfling thief/warband:

Wily Thief:
If the Thief takes an enemy OOA and is not taken OOA himself, add an additional
Treasure to your warbands holdings. This is in addition to the Treasure you'd gain
from the "Cutpurse" Special Rule. This does not affect the enemy warbands Treasure
holdings; assume it is a piece of Treasure they would have found, and leave it at that.

Except for henchman, you make it a smaller amount, like 1D6 or 2D6 gold. They steal nothing, but gain something.

Or, you can base it on the "loot the dead" from the Hochland bandits. If they steal from the dead (who can't use it away), it's less offensive to opponents.

I like the idea best of looting the dead. Each Urchin that was not OOA may roll once to loot a dead model of gear. (One attempt per dead model?)

Sticky Fingers Chart
+1 if Urchin's warband won the game
- 1 if Urchin's warband routed (voluntarily or otherwise)

1 - Caught Red Handed! Urchin is never seen again (or becomes a swabbie/sacrifice?)
2-3 - Close One! Nothing happens
4-5 - Barely got away! Urchin makes off with a random piece of equipment
6 - Look what I found! Urchin makes off with an equipment item of his choice