The forsaken 2. Reikland mercenary warband reboot.

The forlorn faces at the inn table spoke volumes about how successful the first foray into Mordheim had been.

The foul beer and worm ridden bread did not help lift their spirits but it was all they could afford after the disaster of their first raid and the Chirurgeon bills that followed.

One poxy shard of Wyrd stone.... ONE!

The eyes of the men glowered at Crashhart. "Red” was already busy hauling their heavy armour and beautifully forged weapons into the merchants cart outside.

"Come on lads" Crashhart boomed "the armour made us too conspicuous any way! Think of all the new gear we can get with the funds".

Crashhart raised his rough, wooden, goblet. "A toast....... New beginnings".

The men murmured their response and downed their beers, wincing in disgust at the putrid taste of the liquor.

"Right boys, I'm popping outside to finish up with the merchant, finish your 'feast' and I'll see you outside".

Red was already sitting in the back of the cart as Crashhart exited the inn and jumped up to sit next to the merchant.

This would be a new beginning alright! By now the poison would be taking its toll on the others, the piss flavoured beer disguising its taste perfectly!

The sold off wargear and the bounties for his dead outlaw band would be just enough to fund his new warband.

Too many mistakes had been made the first time out and mistakes will get you killed in Mordheim!
The letter from his old "friends" from Lustria had cemented his decision. It was time to start again....... New beginnings indeed!

The Forsaken 2

After the disaster that was my first game of Mordheim and actually having read the rules I have decided to completely redesign my Reikland warband. The simple flaw was I had too few warriors to carry the battle field and all the gold coins spent on heavy armour amounted to nothing!

I have decided to stick with the Reikland Mercenaries (NO NEW MINIATURES!). But my equipment choices and lack of personnel really needed to be addressed.

First up is my Captain, Lord Crashhart

"WOOF, WOOF"

“Nobleman” Lord Crashhart appeared in Lustria as part of a Tilean expedition and soon become a regular face in the seedier bars of the Imperial port of New Haven. He was also a major informant leading to the disappearance of several of the leaders of “The Men of the Union Revolt” and was given a commission as leader of the “Bastions of Custoras” for his honourable and noble actions in service of the Empire.

Since his promotion he weedled his way to the ear of Custoras, causing a power struggle with Dogstein which resulted in the destruction of New Haven.

He is a Captain (60 GC's), armed with a Dagger (0 GC's), Sword (10 GC's), Brace of pistols (30 GC's) and Mace (3 GC's). Total 103 gold coins.

The sword, mace and brace combination should make him an absolute beast in combat. The brace of pistols will give him two, strength 4 hits to resolve BEORE the charge attack even against "always strike first". With the sword for the additional parry and the mace to stun an opponent he should be able to handle himself against most opponents.

"Oh if only I had a brace of pistols to take care of this lot... Oh.... Hang on!"

Next are my champions Crazy Bob and Wild eyed Joe.

Crazy Bob (left) and Wild eyed Joe (right)

Both these cut throats were originally recruited by Dogstein as part of his commission to “form a body of 'Salty Dogs' for the role of harrying, scouting and various covert endeavours for the 1^st company Lustrian expeditionary forces"

Joe in his Lustrian days

Bob during his time in the 1st Lustrian Outriders

Both of these characters were expelled from the Pistolkorps for banditry but their willingness to address dirty jobs with a knife made them perfect for the new commission and they were granted pardons on the condition they joined the 1st Lustrian Expeditionary forces.

Unfortunately the lack of restraights in New Haven saw them reach new lows and the final straw was their involvement in the killing of a Tilean Merchant (rumoured to have been organised by Crashhart). This proved to be their undoing and they were once again expelled from the outriders. It was only their links with Crashhart which saved them from hanging. This led to them fleeing to the harbour area and becoming notorious gang bosses, dealing in black market, Imperial, weapons to the pirates and blaggards flocking to reap the riches of New Haven!

Both are Champions (35 GC's), armed with dagger (free), sword (10GC's), mace (3GC'S) and Brace of pistols (30 GC's).

Total cost 156 gold coins (78 gold coins each). 

Once again the sword, mace and brace combination should make them absolute beasts in combat. The pistol attacks to counter charges are resolved using their higher WS of 4 rather than their BS of 3, so I do not envision them using their pistols for much else. That being said there were several examples in the first game where it would have been useful to have a pistol to hand to have a pop at someone who I could not charge due to them starting my turn out of LOS.

Next are my Youngblood’s "Bob" and Eric.

"Bob"

"Bob" is currently proxied by the future "Wenchman" above for Crashhart's Warband. I have yet to convert the figure I want to use but "BOB" is a strangly feminine looking "Boy" who makes Crashhart feel strangly aroused and is causing him sleepless nights. Basically she will be a rip off of "Bob" from the original Blackadder series.

Eric

They are an auto include due to being cheap and raising the ranking and treasure finding ability of my Warband (learnt that mistake from READING THE RULES!!!).

Both are Youngblood’s (15Gc's) armed with Dagger (free) and mace (3GC's).

Total cost 36 gold coins (18 gold coins each). 

Due to their low, starting, stats I have only armed them with the most basic of equipment as I mostly envision them charging in to finish off stunned opponents or blocking charge lanes to Crashhart until their profile rises.

Next up are my 3 Marksmen, Spook, Jeffrey Archer and Archie.

Spook, Jeffrey Archer and Archie

Archie

"Archie" and was one of the original hand gunners of the 1st Lustrian. He was honourably discharged and used his pension to buy a homestead near New Haven. Archie was left penniless after escaping the destruction of New Haven and now hopes to revive his fortunes in Mordheim.

Spook

"Spook" was nearly shot as a Zombie when he first appeared in Crashharts’ camp due to his sickly pallor and disfigured appearance. "You’re searching the Bromwick district and so am I. There is safety in numbers and I know the area well. You have two choices, hire me ....... or risk an arrow in the back!” Favourable terms were negotiated and Spook was issued the white shirt and red leggings of the warband to stop him being shot as an undead by mistake. Spook is obviously searching for something and insists on inspecting any killed undead before moving on or allowing the bodies to be burnt. 

Jeffrey Archer

 Jeffrey Archer was originally a high ranking member of the Merchants guild sent to Lustria, but resigned over a financial scandal which left him almost bankrupt. Later, after a reversal in his fortunes from the royalties of his best-selling novels about his adventures in the Lustrian Expeditionary forces, he became deputy chairman of the "Men of the Union" party before resigning after another scandal, which would lead to the end of his career in elected office. His political career ended with his conviction and subsequent imprisonment for sedition which followed his second resignation. His books have sold at least 250 million copies throughout the Empire and he hopes his new series of books based on his new adventures into Mordheim will revive his fortunes.

All three are Reikland Marksmen (25 GC's), armed with dagger (free), mace (3GC's), and Longbow (15 GC's). 

Total cost 129 gold coins (43 gold coins each).

The plan for this lot is to get them into positions with good fields of fire and then have them lay waste to anything which tries to cross the killing field. I figure Crashhart and the rest of the band should be able to take care of anything which survives the withering volley of fire. I have armed them with longbows to give them the option to fire every turn even if they move. They are armed with maces to stun anything they end up in combat with, allowing them to disengage and take up new firing positions.

Finally is my Swordsman "Red" Ron Sturrage

He is the last of the "Red caps" men of the line.

Red worked as a double agent during the lead up to the Men of the union revolt and regularly fed information back to Crashhart.

Red in has glory days

After the destruction of New Haven he was abandoned to his fate by Crashhart. Thankfully he was one of the few Red caps who had sufficient funds to travel back to the Empire where he was declared Outlaw.

He then searched out Crashhart, originally to kill him for his betrayal but once again become seduced by the words of Crashhart and the promises of riches to come. Crashhart saved him from the "Cull" of the original Frosaken and Red remains a wary companion of Lord Crashhart (and now always prepares his own food and drink!).

Red is a swordsman (35 GC's), armed with a dagger (0GC's), Sword (10 GC's), and brace of pistols (30 GC's).

Total cost 75 gold coins

Red proved to be a beast in my first game, with 3 kills to his name. I figured it is only fair to save him from the cull and give him a new look (is it me or does he look a bit like Errol Flynn?). He is armed with sword, mace and brace to make him another beast in combat. The pistol attacks to counter charges are resolved using his higher WS of 4 rather than his BS of 3, so I do not envision him using his pistols for much else. That being said there were several examples in the first game where it would have been useful to have him have a pop at someone who I could not charge due to them starting my turn out of LOS.

So that’s the new look Forsaken.

I have increased the number of figures from 5 to 9 which should give me more staying power before I need to take a moral check. The weapons seem more appropriate and the gangs rating increases to 73 and should have more treasure finding capabilities in the end game.

 Let’s hope they make more of an impact then their first incarnation!

New beginnings

So thats another 6 miniatures finished. Only 387 to go!!!!!!