NECROMANCER - THE RESTLESS DEAD

By Tommy "Punk" Fransson

When the comet struck the city of Mordheim the power of the Authorities soon crumbled and in its wake the Necromancers have rissen, no longer do they fear the authorities and they can fight off the few Witch hunters that still dare enter their realm. They have taken up residence in the graveyards and crypts, as befits a manipulator of the dead. But while the mercenaries fight over a handful of Wyrdstone the Necromancers continue to study death and the magic with which to control death. They are no more interested in the affairs of the living than the dead are, with the exception being who dares to disturb them. The meteor was a gift from the dark gods and as many of the victims were wizards the Necromancers take to the streets to search the houses for the Grimoires and artefacts these wizards left behind them. They are aided by their minions of the dead and their ranks are swelling as the days go by.

"The hordes of the dead are horrible to look upon - the dead walking resolutely forward, bones rattling, dry flesh creaking and clutching rusty weapons or weapons torn from the grips of defeated enemies. How can you kill what is already dead?"

The Warriors of the Dead must include at least 3 models. You have 500 Summoning points which to form your warband with. The maximum number of models in the warband is 15.

Death of the Necromancer: If the Necromancer is taken "Out of Action" then all Undead models more then 6" from the Necromancer are automatically Smashed to Pieces. This do not apply to the Hunchback Assistant or Ghouls, but the Ghouls will automatically flee. All remaining models may fight normally. If a Bottle Test or similar is failed then its assumed that the remaining Undead models pick up the Necromancers body and carry it back to the graveyard.

Living: Both the Necromancer, the Hunchback Assistant and the Ghouls are living beings and may run and are affected by Psychology. The Necromantic spells "Vanhels Dance Macabre" and "Reanimate" do not affect them.

Mindless: Skeletons, Skeleton Champions and Zombies are controlled by the Necromancer and don't think for themselves, they are dead after all. They are immune to Psychology and can't run. In combat they always strikes last, regardless of other modifications, and they may not parry at all. Skeleton Champions however do not strike last and can parry as they retain a sparkle of their free will. Skeleton Champions were seasoned warriors in their living life, many of them were knights.

Animated: Skeletons, Zombies and Skeleton Champions are dead and ignore many wounds that would have rendered a living warrior unable to fight. They use the special Undead Injury Table instead of the normal Injury Table.

NECROMANCER........................65 Summoning points

A Necromancer is a Wizard that pursues the power over death, Necromancers are not invariably evil to begin with. Many take up Necromancy because their own life is drawing to an end or the life of a loved one. When the comet struck Mordheim and the power of the Authorities crumbled the wizards who before hid in cellars now took up residence in the graveyards. No longer did they need to employ cutthroats to steal bodies in the middle of the night or be forced to experiment on rat cadavres. Now is the time to live among the Undead and to lead the Undead to victory!

Weapons and armour: The Necromancer may have equipment from the Undead Warriors Equipment list but may not wear armour as it interferes with his spell casting.

Leader: The Necromancer is a leader although the Undead and Ghouls never use his Leadership characteristic, however the Hunchback Assistant may use it.

Wizard: The Necromancer is a level 2 wizard and he must take at least 1/3 of his spells from the Necromancy Sphere.

Living: The Necromancer is a living being, see the special rules section above.

0-1 HUNCHBACK ASSISTANT..........................15 Summoning points to hire

Although a Necromancer can create an untiring servant Skeleton there are many uses for a human servant. First of all they can be sent out to steal freshly buried bodies from the graveyard and as time goes by, and the Necromancers is scarred by his work, the servant can keep up the contacts with the world of the living. Of course the servant pursues the normal services of a servant as well, making food, cleaning and fetching things. The loyalty of the Hunchback Servant is great indeed, although it knows what its dark master can due with his spells that is not the primary reason. "When you have noone else to turn to and someone do provide a roof over head and food, you will be loyal to the death" of course in the service of a Necromancer they may be loyal a long time after death as well.

Weapons and armour: The Hunchback Assistant may have equipment from the Undead Warriors Equipment list, but not armour except a shield.

Living: The Hunchback Assistant is a living being, see the special rules section above.

0-3 SKELETON CHAMPIONS..................30 Summoning points to create

The stronger a corpse was in life the stronger it will be in undeath. The bodies of dead knights are much sought after by the Necromancer but the knight's family often pays for protective runes or hire guards for their tombs. With three-quarters of the population gone the guards are either dead or have joined a warband. "Why guard the dead when the streets are full of them?" As the knights are often buried in full armour the do not need to be equipped, and their weapons are often better than any the Necromancer can afford to buy or manage to steal.

Weapons and armour: The Skeleton Champions may have equipment from the Skeleton Champions Equipment list.

The following rules apply to the Skeleton Champions: Animated and Mindless. See special rules section above.

Fear: The Undead causes Fear.

HENCHMEN (Bought in groups of 1-5 models)

SKELETONS................25 Summoning points to create

The dead in the graveyards are not allowed to rest in peace and many have been summoned back to the world of the living to serve a Necromancer. They carry miscellanous weapons and shamble forward with no motivation of their own. Although they are poor fighters and incredibly slow they are hard to beat back, they are already dead after all.

Weapons and armour: Skeletons may have equipment from the Undead Warriors Equipment list.

The following rules apply to the Skeletons: Animated and Mindless. See special rules section above.

Fear: The Undead causes Fear.

ZOMBIES.........................20 Summoning points to create

In the City of the Damned a Necromancer do not need to walk all the way to a graveyard to find the dead, fresh corpses line each and every street. For unknown reasons the longer a corpse have been dead the stronger the link that reanimates it will be. Zombies are able to withstand a blow that crushes their ribcage but may just as well fall apart to a glancing blow. To fight the zombies may be a terrifying situation as you may find yourself fighting a family member or comrade, still dressed in the clothes you remember he wore.

Weapons and armour: The Zombies may have equipment from the Undead Warriors Equipment list.

The following rules apply to the Zombies: Animated and Mindless. See special rules section above.

Unstable: The link between the Necromancer and the Zombie is not as strong as the link that animates the Skeletons, perhaps because the Zombies have not been dead for as long as the Skeletons. Before you roll on the Injury Table roll a D6 and on the roll of 5+ the Zombie is automatically "Smashed to Pieces", otherwise continue to roll damage as normal. Note that the Zombie is still allowed to make an armour may still save it. The Zombie may still be reanimated by the Necromancy spell "Reanimate Undead".

Fear: The Undead causes Fear.

GHOULS......................25 Summoning points to control

There are inhuman inhabitants of the graveyards as well. Feeding off the buried bodies, homeless seeking refuge from the rain and the lone and careless wanderer in the night. They are Ghouls descendants from degenerated cannibals. Their skin is dark and filthy, their eyes bestial and insane and their snarling lips reveal sharp-pointed teeth and slavering mouths. Many carry bones that they use as clubs but with their long claws and sharp teeth they don't really need any weapons. When the meteor struck and the citizen began to die they found that they no longer needed to hide among the tombstones and crypts, but that they could walk the streets and prey on the living. A Necromancer is likely to be attacked if he enters a crypt inhabited by Ghouls but his power over the Undead somehow extends to the Ghouls as well and they quickly bend to his will. The Ghouls limited intellect and never ending hunger means they almost never manage to follow orders so they do not make great servants.

Weapons and armour: The Ghouls may have equipment from the Ghouls Equipment list.

Living: The Ghouls are living beings, see the special rules section above.

Cowards: The Ghouls will flee if they run into a lengthy fight or faced with something unfamiliar. They will always fail any Leadership test that they are required to make and they may not use the Necromancers Leadership characteristic even if he is within 6".

Fear: The Undead causes Fear.

UNDEAD INJURY TABLE

Skeletons, Zombies and Skeleton Champions are dead and ignore many wounds that would have rendered a living warrior unable to fight. They use this special Undead Injury Table.

You may need to place a marker next to a fallen model to distinquish between being "Head knocked off" and "Smashed to Pieces".

The results "Knocked down", "Head knocked off", "Legs Severed" and "Smashed to Pieces" counts toward a Bottle Test if such a rule is used.

If an Undeads WS or BS reaches 0 it is "Smashed to Pieces" but may still be reanimated by the Necromancer's spells so place it face down.

If you are using the alternative Combat System use this Injury Table:

Back to Tommy Punk's Mordheim Articles.

E-mail The Old Sage!

This page hosted by Geocities.