Cathayan Warband
by Mark “rinku” Dewis. Feedback to m_rinku@hotmail.com
Advised by his astrologers that a great event would occur in the west,
the Dragon Emperor of the Middle Kingdom (Cathay) has dispatched
scouting warbands to investigate.
Max warband size 20, 600gc.
Heroes:
1 Cathayan Noble
Cathayan Nobles are proud, arrogant and often cruel. They despise the hairy barbarians they are forced to deal with outside of the Middle Kingdom. Most merchants put up with their attitude, as the
riches of Cathay are legendary.
60gc, M4 WS4 BS4 S3 T3 W1 I4 A1 Ld8, Leader, 20 experience
Skills: Combat, Shooting, Academic, Strength, Speed, Cathayan Equipment
0-1 Astrologer
Cathayan Astrologers are reputedly the best in the world (this is disputed by the Elves). It was court astrologers that foretold the cataclysm that befell Mordheim, and caused the Dragon Emperor to send forth scouting warbands. More than simple fortune tellers, Astrologers are interested in all kinds of knowledge, and pride themselves in the superiority of Cathayan science and philosophy.
25gc, M4 WS2 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld6, 0 Experience
Skills: Academic, Astrologer Equipment.
Special Ability
Horoscopes. Astrologers are able cast horoscopes to foretell the fate of any person if they have accurate details of the subject’s date and place of birth. This allows the player to reroll the result of the serious injury table for one hero or henchman between each game if the Astrologer did not go out of action.
0-3 Bannermen
Bannermen are the officers of the Cathayan army, drawn from the nobility and the best of the common soldiery. It is expected that a Bannerman study the finer arts as well as the arts of war (although this is often not the case).
25gc, M4 WS3 BS3 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld7, 8 Experience
Skills: Combat, Academic, Strength, Cathayan Equipment.
Henchmen:
0-3 Nomad Mercenaries
Recruited from the northern steppes, these are among the toughest fighters and finest horse archers in the world. A nomad is said to be born in the saddle and will often remain there until death. Due to the never ending war between the human nomads and the horde of Hoblai Khan, all nomads hate Hobgoblins.
45gc, M4 WS3 BS4 S3 T4 W1 I3 A1 Ld7, Born in the Saddle, Nomad Equipment. Hate Hobgoblins.
0-5 Gunners
Cathayan technology leads even the dwarves in some respects. A bizarre array of gunpowder weapons have been developed to frighten and even occasionally kill the many enemies of the Middle Kingdom. Cathayan gunners can be identified by their scorched hair, sooty clothes and loud shouts of “WHAT DID YOU SAY?!” Gunpowder weapons are considered too dangerous in the hands of normal peasant soldiers, so only the best are assigned to this duty.
25gc, M4 WS3 BS3 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld7, Gunner Equipment
Any Soldiers
While Cathayan soldiers are far from the finest in the world, they make up for a lack of talent with sheer numbers.
15gc, M4 WS2 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I3 A1 Ld6, Soldier Equipment
Cathayan Equipment:
Close Combat
Dagger (1st free) 2gc
Mace 3gc
Axe 5gc
Sword 10gc
Halberd 10gc
Spear 10gc
2 Handed Weapon 15gc
Missile
Shortbow 5gc
Bow 10gc
Repeating Crossbow 40gc
Armour
Light Armour 20gc
Heavy Armour 50gc
Helmet 10gc
Shield 5gc
Miscellaneous
Horse 40gc, rare 8.
Astrologer Equipment:
Close Combat
Dagger (1st free) 2gc
Sword 10gc
Staff 3gc
Missile
Shortbow 5gc
Armour
None
Miscellaneous (Astrologers only)
Book of Changes, rare 9, 20gc
The Wisdom of Confuseus, rare 9, 20gc
Astrolabe, rare 10, 50gc
Nomad Equipment
Close Combat
Dagger (1st Free) 2gc
Mace 3gc
Sword 10gc
Spear 10gc
Missile
Composite Bow 25gc
Armour
Light Armour 20gc
Helmet 10gc
Shield 5gc
Miscellaneous
Horse 30gc (yes, it’s cheaper – they’re horse nomads!)
Gunner Equipment
Close Combat
Dagger (1st Free) 2gc
Mace 3gc
Axe 5gc
Sword 10gc
Missile
Bow 10gc
Repeating Crossbow 40gc
Handgun 35gc
Rockets 20gc
Bombs 15gc
Armour
Light Armour
Helmet
Soldier Equipment
Close Combat
Dagger (1st free) 2gc
Mace 3gc
Axe 5gc
Sword 10gc
Halberd 10gc
Spear 10gc
Missile
Shortbow 5gc
Bow 10gc
Armour
Light Armour 20gc
Helmet 10gc
Shield 5gc
Special rules:
Well Dressed.
Cathayan warbands cannot benefit from the “Cathayan Silk” equipment item. This is normal clothing to a Cathayan Noble!
Won’t Hire Barbarians
Cathayans look down their noses at hairy, big nosed barbarians from the west. While subject peoples such as Nomads are tolerated (especially when useful), a Cathayan warband may not hire a Hired Sword or Dramatis Personae of western origin. The only Hired Sword allowed from the standard list is a Warlock, if he is stated to be Oriental. Any home-made DP or HS of Oriental origin is allowed, if allowed by the player’s gaming group at all.
Born in the Saddle.
Mounted Nomads may fire in the missile combat phase even when galloping (ie while mounted and running). In addition, a nomad may never give up his horse to a non-nomad (although a non-nomad could give their horse to a nomad in need).
New Equipment:
Book of Changes.
This book of augury may be consulted by the Astrologer in the exploration phase to guide the Warband in its searching, if he did not go out of action. One exploration die may be modified by +1/-1. This cannot be used at the same time as Tarot Cards by the Astrologer.
The Wisdom of Confuseus.
By consulting on the thoughts of the sage, the Astrologer may find hidden wisdom. If this item is possessed by an Astrologer, he may reroll one advance earned after a game, if desired.
Astrolabe.
This complicated, precision instrument helps the Astrologer greatly in charting the heavens and thus improves the speed of his predictions. While he owns an Astrolabe, the Astrologer may cast two Horoscopes instead of the usual one (these must be for different warriors).
Composite Bow. S3, Range 36″.
The Oriental composite recurve bow is a marvel of horn, sinew and wood. Compact enough to be easily fired from horseback, it is nonetheless able to outrange self bows twice its height.
Rockets. Strength = Special, Range 24″. Inaccurate. Move or Shoot. Fire once. Cumbersome.
Rockets, or fire arrows, have been a preferred weapon ever since Cathayan sages invented gunpowder (you didn’t really think it was the stunties, did you?). The poor gunner is forced to carry a cumbersome framework with the rockets attached into battle, hoping against all odds that when he fires them that some will find targets among the enemy.
Inaccurate. The rockets pretty much zoom off where they want to. The gunner nominates a target point within range and rolls a D6. If a 1 is rolled, one or more rockets have exploded on the frame, causing a S5 hit to the gunner. Any other result gives the number of rockets that explode near enough to the round to have effect. Roll WH artillery dice to determine the distance and direction of
each rocket, seperately. Rocket impacts can be futher than 24″ from the gunner. Any target within a 1″ radius of a rocket impact takes a S4 hit.
Move or Fire. Rockets may not be fired if the gunner has moved that turn.
Cumbersome. No other weapons except a dagger may be carried while the gunner is equipped with rockets.
Fire once. Only enough rockets can be carried to fire one salvo per game.
Bombs. Strength= Special, Range = Special. Fire once.
A more accurate method of blowing things up than rockets is a pot filled with gunpowder, lit by a fuse. This can be used in two ways:
Light and run. The gunner sets the fuse at the beginning of his movement phase, then may move as normal, running if he wishes. Roll 1D6. If a 1 is rolled the fuse has been set too short, and explodes before the gunner has a chance to move – put his model back where he started and detonate the bomb as if a roll of 2-5 had been made. If a 6 is rolled, the bomb was made too powerful; after the gunner
has moved, all models within 4″ of the bomb take a S5 hit unless there is a solid wall between the bomb and the model. On a roll of 2-5 the bomb explodes after the gunner has moved and all models within 2″ of the bomb take a S4 hit unless there is a solid wall between the bomb and the model.
Light and throw. The gunner nominates a spot within his Strength x 2″ and rolls to hit using BS, during the missile combat phase. If his roll to hit is a 1, the bomb explodes exactly as if a 1 had been rolled using the Light and Run method. If his roll to hit is a 6, the bomb explodes on target exactly as if a 6 had been rolled using the Light and Run method. Otherwise, if the roll is a success, the bomb explodes on target. If the roll is not a success, the bomb falls short by half the distance to the target. In either case, the bomb detonates as if a 2-5 had been rolled using the Light and Run method.
Each bomb is a heavy pot, and only one can be carried for each missile weapon selection (i.e, a gunner could carry two bombs and a sword, or one bomb, a handgun, and a mace). If desired, both close combat selections may be traded to allow a third bomb to be carried (a dagger is still allowed). This must be the third bomb – two bombs and a handgun is not allowed.
—-
Design Notes:
“Cathay is the land where the streets are paved with gold
and the peasants wear silk and feast on milk and honey.”
– from a brochure provided by the Marigliano Trade Council
Well, the reality is a bit different, but the Dragon Emperor is quite rich. I have given them 600gc to start with and a maximum warband size of 20 to allow a proper Chinese horde. Note that the best troops (nomads and gunners) are few in number so a Cathayan warband will only be able to field large numbers if they use the rabble.
The new gunpowder weapons are not meant to be that effective, just scary to freind and foe alike. But imagine your satisfaction if you manage to get lucky, and land two or three rockets on a vampire or possessed (and imagine the horror when they miss!)
There was some discussion about the effectiveness of the Mongol silk jacket – I dug up some information on this and it was only used as primary armour by _rear echelon_ horse archers to give
cheap protection against spent arrows. The front rank Mongols were issued normal armour as close range arrows would have punched through the silk easily. In this revised version of the warband I have decided to omit the silk jacket altogether – it is now assumed to form part of the Nomad’s Toughness of 4.
I have increased the rarity and cost of the Astrologer’s special equipment. Soldiers now no longer have the Repeating crossbow or two handed weapon on their equipment list. Bannermen now have WS3 and cost 25gc to hire. The “cannot hire barbarians” rule is now added.