BRETONNIAN KNIGHTS WARBAND

By Tommy Punk, with the help from Bill Strip and Gary Mort

According to the ancient custom which is still followed in Bretonnia, anyone who desired the honour and privilege of knighthood must first prove himself worthy of the position by accomplishing a perilous task. Traditionally the errand of knighthood is choosen by the fairest maiden in the village and is often to slay a monster and bring back its head or return with a treasure. The maiden is required to marry the knight if he succeeds in his errand, so sometimes the quest is a dangerous one indeed but often the maiden is very pleased with the treasure that the knight brings back. The City of Mordheim is rumoured to contain cursed rocks and the king has ordered that any knight that can return with rocks so that they can be destroyed will be awarded with land. Many knights have chosen to travel together and some have found a leader in the form of a Questing knight that seek the grail and believes that clues might be located in Mordhiem.

CHOICE OF WARRIORS
An Knights Retinue must consist of at least 3 models and the maximum size is 12. You have 500 Gold Crowns to recruit and equip your Warband.

HEROES
Knight Leader. Your Knight Retinue must include a Knight Leader to lead it.
Knights Errant. Your Knights Retinue may include up to four Knights Errant.
HENCHMEN
Squires. Your Knights Retinue may include any number of Squires.

BRETONNIAN SPECIAL EQUIPMENT

Warhorse and Horse
A Knight Leader or Knight Errant may buy a warhorse at a cost of 60 GC when you create the warband, he may then also buy a lance at 40 GC. A Squire may buy a horse at a cost of 30 GC when you create the warband. Later in a campaign the horses and warhorses are bought as normal and are rare items.

Javelin/Boar Spear
Availability: Rare 7 Cost: 20gc
Bretonnian knights enjoy hunting wild animals in the woods. Due to their disdain of bows, however, they instead utilize short heavy spears in order to take down game, such as wild boars, from close range.
Range: 8"
Strength: As User
Special Rule: Thrown Weapon

MOUNTED OPTIONAL RULE AMMENDMENT

Movement
A mounted model may only run or charge in a straight line, this is because of the difficulty to make a sharp turn around a corner at that speed. The model may turn before the run or charge but if you ran or charged in the turn before, you may only turn up to 45 degrees.

Jumping Down
A mount may jump from a level down to a lower level but if it fails the Initaive roll then it have broken its legs. The rider will take damage as normal but the mount is immediatly removed. In a campaign the mount is removed permanently as it is put out of its misery.

KNIGHTHOOD SPECIAL RULES

Although any commoner may claim the right to take a Knight Errand, Squires are often the first to be choosen or encouraged to claim a Knight Errant. In the City of Mordheim many Squires who have shown exceptional courage are encouraged to take a Knight Errand. When a Squire adcanves and roll a "The lad's got talent" he have two choices: He can becoma a Knight Errant or he can remain a Squire, although he would be a hero Squire.

Becoming a Knight Errant: The newborn Knight Errant must pick knight skills but may pick one of the following freely: combat, academic and strength. The first skill that he is allowed to take must be the knights virtue, and he gain acess to Knight Virtues through this skill as well.

Becoming a hero Squire: The hero may choose two of the following skills: Combat, shooting, academic, strength and speed. He is not a knight and do not have access to the knights virtues.

In addition the Bretonnian warband may not recruit more Knight Errants during a campaing, they must come from your Squires. This makes the Bretonnian warband a very hard warband to play in a campaign, but on the other hand mounted knights are more than a match for a Possessed.

KNIGHTLY CODES AND RULES

The Knights adher to a stric Chivalric code and follow rules of warfare. All Knights Errants and the Knight Leader must obey these rules:

Chivalric Code
1)A questing knight will not strike a fellow Bretonnian Knight, as such he will never charge a Bretonnian Knight and if charged by a Bretonnian Knight, will always strike last in the first round of combat (he may parry though). In addition, the Questing Knight will hate the Bretonnian Knight for the remainder of the combat, including the first round of combat, and for that battle will now be willing to charge the knight.
2) A questing knight will never strike a downed foe (knocked down or stunned)
3) A questing knight will never use missile weapons, not even thrown missile weapons! The only exception is the javelin/boar spear.

Honorable Warfare Rules
1) A Questing Knight will never use poison
2) A Questing Knight will never use drugs

STARTING EXPERIENCE
Knight Leader start with 20 experience
Knights Errant start with 8 experience

BRETONNIAN SKILL TABLE
Knight Leader: Strength, Combat, Academic and Special.
Knight Errant: Strength, Combat and Special.

KNIGHTS SPECIAL SKILL LIST

Knights Virtue: The Knight may ignore his first failed Leadership test, this includes a Rout test for the Knight Leader. All Knight Leaders and Knight Errants starts with this skill and this is the first skill that a Squire must choose when he advances to become a Knight Errant.

Determination: Knights are determined fighters, ignoring wounds that would fell a lesser man. As such, the first time the knight would normally be required to roll on the Injury table, he may ignore the roll and continue on. Such valiant action has its cost, however, for if he does so he MUST roll on the serious injury table after battle, regardless of whether he was taken out of action or not during the battle (only 1 such roll is neccessary if he was taken out of action)

Fight alone: The knights are expected to face half a dozen Orc raiders at the same time. The knight never needs to take a stand alone test.

Battlecry: If a rout test is failed the Knight Leader may let out a rallying battle cry allowing you to reroll the test.

KNIGHTS SPECIAL SKILL LIST

The Knightly Virtues are a special category of "skills" that show the courage and devotion of the Bretonnian knight. No hero may possess more than two skills from the Knight skill list. The same skill may not be possessed by more than one hero at a time in the warband. When a Squire advances to become a Knight Errant he must choose the Knights Virtue as his first skill.

Virtue of the Joust: When mounted the knight will not miss with any of his lance attacks on a charge.

Virtue of Knightly Temper: The knightly character gains an additional attack if at least one attack of the knights hits in a turn. Only one additional attack can be gained this way.

Virtue of Purity: The knight gains a 4+ special save against any hostile magic directed at him. Any figure within 2" also gains this special save as well.

Virtue of the Impetuous Knight: The knight gains an additional +1" to their charge range when they are mounted.

Virtue of Valor: Knight may re-roll any missed to hit rolls against an enemy with a higher strength.

Virtue of Noble Disdain: The knight hates any enemy figures with missile weapons.

HEROES

KNIGHT LEADER..........................85 GC

Every Bretonnian village is defended by the best warrior that can be found, a Knight of the Realm. The Knight is expected to be able to defend his domain against a monster or a warband of a dozen or so raiders single handed! However many knights leave their realm to search for the Holy Grail, some have been lead in dreams to the City of Mordheim and have joined up with Knights Errants on the way.

Weapons and Armour: The Knight wear light armour and may have additional equipment from the Knight Equipment list, a Knight must buy a weapon from the hand-to-hand combat list he wont do with a simple dagger.

SPECIAL RULES
Leader: Any warrior within 6" of the Knight may use his Leadership characteristic when taking any Leadership tests.

0-4 KNIGHT ERRANTS..................60 GC

Anyone who desires the honour and privilege of knighthood must first prove himself worthy of the position by accomplishing a perilous task, an errand of knighthood. The nature of the errand is choosen by the villages fairest maiden, the duke of the province or the king himself.

Weapons and Armour: The Knight Errants wear light armour and may have additional equipment from the Knight Equipment list, a Knight Errant must buy a weapon from the hand-to-hand combat list he wont do with a simple dagger.

HENCHMEN

SQUIRES.................25 GC to recruit

A Knight has several Squires in his retinue, he needs companions and servants when he goes on campaigns. The squires follow the Knight on campaigns where they will learn the art of war and the code of chivalry in preporation of their own errand of knighthood.

Weapons and Armour: A Squire may be equipped from the Squire Equipment List.

SPECIAL RULES
Knighthood: The Squires can become Knight Errants as described above.

Tommy Punk - Kalmar, Sweden
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