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Forces of HORDES: Trollbloods Command
First printing: July 2016. Printed in China.
Hardcover: 978-1-943693-43-6 Softcover: 978-1-943693-42-9
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CONTENTS Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Armed Might of the Trollbloods. . . . 6 Theme Forces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Warlocks of the Trollbloods. . . . . . . . . . 18 Warlock Model Entries Grim Angus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Hunters Grim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Grissel Bloodsong, Fell Caller. . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Grissel Bloodsong, Marshal of the Kriels. . . . . 30 Hoarluk Doomshaper, Shaman of the Gnarls . . 32 Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia. . . . . . 34 Hoarluk Doomshaper, Dire Prophet & Scroll Bearers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Captain Gunnbjorn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Horgle, the Anvil. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain . . . . . 42 Madrak Ironhide, World Ender. . . . . . . . . . . 44 Madrak, Great Chieftain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Borka Kegslayer & Keg Carrier. . . . . . . . . . . 48 Borka, Vengeance of the Rimeshaws . . . . . . . . 52 Jarl Skuld, Devil of the Thornwood . . . . . . . . 54 Ragnor Skysplitter, the Runemaster . . . . . . . . 56 Calandra Truthsayer, Oracle of the Glimmerwood. 58
Warbeasts of the Trollbloods. . Warbeast Model Entries
. . . . . . . .
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Dire Troll Blitzer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dire Troll Bomber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dire Troll Mauler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Earthborn Dire Troll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Night Troll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pyre Troll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Slag Troll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Storm Troll . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Swamp Troll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Troll Axer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Troll Bouncer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74
Troll Impaler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Winter Troll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dozer & Smigg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mulg the Ancient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rök . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glacier King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mountain King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sea King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Warriors of the Trollbloods. . Unit & Solo Model Entries
. . . . . . . . .
75 77 78 80 82 84 86 88
90
Dhunian Knot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribes . . . . . . . . . 94 Stone Scribe Elder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Kriel Warriors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Kriel Warrior Caber Thrower . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Kriel Warrior Standard & Piper . . . . . . . . . . 98 Trollkin Champions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Trollkin Fennblades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer . . . . 101 Trollkin Long Riders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Trollkin Runeshapers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Trollkin Sorcerer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Trollkin Warders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Sons of Bragg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 Fell Caller Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Fennblade Kithkar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Stone Scribe Chronicler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Troll Whelps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Trollkin Champion Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Trollkin Runebearer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Horthol, Long Rider Hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Horgle Ironstrike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Janissa Stonetide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Model Gallery . . . . . . Painting Your Army . . Templates. . . . . . . . . .
120 . 127 . 136
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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FOREWORD Blessed with the blood of Dhunia, the Trollbloods represent a loose alliance of scattered and disparate tribes who have come together under the banner of great trollkin heroes to fight back against the enemies who beset them on all sides. While trollkin warriors and their half-sized cousins, the pygmy trolls, have joined forces in an ever more organized fashion in order to face the myriad threats against them, it is their warlocks’ connection with the full-blood trolls—from the dexterous impaler to the rage-fueled dire troll mauler— that grants them the edge they need to clench victory in a bloodied fist. The warlocks of the trollkin stand as shining beacons of hope (or avatars of furious vengeance) to their beleaguered people. Among these leaders are legendary shamans like Hoarluk Doomshaper, who first achieved mastery over the dire trolls, the oracle Calandra Truthsayer, and the ornery Ragnor Skysplitter, as well as such battle-tested warriors as the grim chieftain Madrak Ironhide, the virile Borka Kegslayer, and the disciplined Captain Gunnbjorn. Of course a warlock is only as powerful as the warbeasts he commands! Creatures of incredible strength and resiliency, full-blood trolls are more than a match for any opponent, be it savage beast or towering warjack. Led by their warlocks and supported by the various shamans, warriors, and scribes of the trollkin people, the forces of the trollkin kriels are more than a match for any professional army.
Within its pages, Forces of HORDES: Trollbloods Command gives you an extensive look at the background and culture of the trollkin and access to all of the warlocks and warbeasts of the Trollbloods, as well as a range of units and solos to support them in battle. In addition, this volume introduces two new warlocks—Madrak, Great Chieftain and Horgle, the Anvil—and a new gargantuan warbeast, the terrifying Sea King. Along with a wealth of information about specific models that can form the cornerstone of any Trollblood army, this book also includes the first new theme forces for the Trollbloods. The Power of Dhunia theme force marshals the arcane might of the trollkin shamans and the natural power and fury of the full-blood trolls, while Band of Heroes brings together the most battle-hardened champions and warriors into a single fighting force whose deeds are sure to be immortalized in the ballads of the trollkin fell callers. United under one banner, the trollkin kriels are ready to stand at your command. Assemble your warriors and prepare to harness the unbridled fury of the trolls!
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THE ARMED MIGHT OF THE TROLLBLOODS EAT OR BE EATEN, EVOLVE OR DIE
KITH, KRIEL & KIN Three concepts run through all trollkin culture: kith, kriel, and kin. Though these terms can be confusing to outsiders, the core principles behind them are simple. “Kith” refers to those trollkin related to a single ancestor by blood ties or marriage. In practice, it usually means an extended family much like those of other races. The concept of kith is complicated by the fact that many trollkin include in their kith those with whom they have shared the rite of kulgat. This solemn and mystical ceremony involves the sharing of blood during an oath ritual that causes a change in the blood of the participant, who is thereafter recognizable by other trollkin as a member of their adoptive bloodline. “Kriel” is akin to tribe and refers to all kith who dwell within a narrow geographical region, often a single trollkin village and its outlying communities. Larger kriels may encompass several villages, and dozens or even hundreds of kiths can claim membership in a single kriel. As with kiths, the blood ties of kulgat can cross kriels, creating entangled webs of family and loyalty. The term “kin” applies to the entirety of the trollkin as a people. As kiths and kriels have been fractured by the strife of war and displacement, many trollkin have begun to think of themselves as belonging to a broader connected community within which all are their kin.
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The Trollbloods are a powerful but far-flung and disordered alliance of several troll species united by a common cause. The majority of its warriors and leaders arise from the trollkin, inheritors of a rich and complex culture and society, but they have been joined by the smaller pygmy trolls who have integrated into kriel society and taken up specialized roles. These two races are joined by the less-intelligent but powerful full-blood trolls, the enormous dire trolls, and the gargantuan troll kings. Bolstered by these formidable creatures, trollkin warriors represent and defend a people of ancient customs who have been persecuted beyond the limits of tolerance. They fight for their lands, both ancestral and newly acquired, for the lives of their families, and ultimately for their very survival. The needs of survival have forced these peoples to adapt and change, not only in their approach to war, but in how their society itself is ordered. Alliances have formed between once-disparate groups of trollkin, and some of the armed forces they boast have taken up modern weapons and tactics and found ways to integrate them with their older traditions. Ties of blood and brotherhood bind them, but the Trollbloods are not a single nation; they are instead composed of hundreds of disparate tribal kriels, each fighting their own battles and only recently becoming more unified to safeguard their kind. Councils of elders lead sizable trollkin communities, which have been brought closer together as they face an increasing number of threats. It is traditional for a trollkin to look first to his immediate family (kith), then to his tribe (kriel), and rarely to consider his wider kin. War has begun to change in this worldview.
Two larger alliances have come together in recent years, creating bonds of mutual protection and support between the elder councils of different regions. The first and greatest of these is the United Kriels, emerging from the displacement of the Thornwood Forest’s sizable trollkin community together with support drawn from the Gnarls and other regions. In the far north a similar confederation of regional groups has taken place to form the Northkin. While some traditionalists are reluctant to embrace these alliances, the movement toward unification represents a shift that will have a lasting impact on trollkin culture. These alliances can organize and support sizable armies that have proven able to contend with kingdom armies and other enemies of the kriels.
TROLLKIN QUITARI Quitari are the traditional tartan patterns worn by trollkin that represent the wearers’ home kriels. Each kriel has a specific quitari pattern and colors, easily recognizable to those who belong to or have had significant contact with someone of that kriel. As trollkin refugees from across western Immoren join the United Kriels, the patterns they wear enable them to stand out among the crowds to former neighbors and friends.
Importance of Kith & Kriel
By all accounts of myth and lore, trollkin are the oldest intelligent race on Caen. They have weathered adversity and warfare for millennia beyond counting. Within recorded history, they were part of the barbaric horde known as the Molgur, and many traditions stem from that era. Though the Molgur included other races, even in that era the trollkin held the bonds of kith and kriel above all others. Extended families arose from simple tribal origins and formed bands of warriors to protect villages or join together to war against their enemies. When the Menite priest-kings of old broke the power of the Molgur, the trollkin were dispersed and kriels scattered across the dark wilds of western Immoren. Ancient ways were lost, and the kin were persecuted. Full-blood trolls fared worse than their smaller, more civilized brethren. The humans that were already expanding into the wild reaches of western Immoren often hunted down any trolls they could find. When the trollkin returned to the worship of Dhunia and rejected the Devourer Wurm, they also reconnected with their primal cousins and began to take trolls into their communities. Shamans rediscovered the bonds between them and found that some among their number could mentally control trolls and draw strength from them in combat, becoming the first warlocks. Kriels settled in the most habitable places they could find, often deep within great forests. The Thornwood, the Gnarls, and the Scarsfell Forest became home to the largest populations of trollkin, and it is these regions that many modern trollkin still think of as their ancestral homelands. Concentrations of trollkin settled in wild places such as the Wyrmwall Mountains, the Fenn Marsh, and other forests, but in smaller numbers. As connections with full-blood trolls were developed, some of the larger blood-kin were integrated into villages to assist with burdensome tasks and aid in defense. The trollkin have sustained these basic routines of life in the kriels even as they move into new lands.
Madrak Ironhide
Grissel Bloodsong
Hoarluk Doomshaper
Since the rise of Madrak Ironhide, it is becoming increasingly common for a trollkin warrior to adopt the quitari pattern of the leader he follows. This practice is widespread among trollkin of Alchiere and any whose kriels have been wiped out by the wars. Those who frequently fight together might put aside old traditional patterns to identify more strongly with their new brothers in arms. Quitari are still popular and common in the more disciplined fighting groups that have adopted military ranks, though sometimes worn in combination with less traditional attire.
Traditional Kriel Leadership
Kriels are typically led by a chieftain and a small council of elders who deliberate among themselves on all matters of importance to the kiths of their kriel. They determine how to pool resources, construct housing, and keep villages secure as well as making trade decisions with other communities. The most powerful shamans of a kriel usually occupy significant positions on the council of elders, as do senior chroniclers, sorcerers, fell callers, stoneworkers, farmers, brewers, and hunters. The chief and elders serve as the final arbiters for decisions affecting their kriel. Most kriels allow for contentious disputes to be decided in trials by combat, which take place atop a large elevated stone platform called a kuar in the center of a village. These fights can be brutal but rarely result in fatalities. The chief of the kriel arbitrates these trials and may decide to stand in for one side or the other if there is a disparity in martial skill. In kriels with particularly imposing chiefs, it is rare for disputes to enter the arena for this reason, which has led to the general belief that having a strong chief promotes peaceful kriel life.
THE ARMED MIGHT OF THE TROLLBLOODS
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Chiefs are usually powerful warriors entrusted with overseeing a kriel’s defenses and making wartime decisions. In some rare cases an exceptionally formidable shaman, sorcerer, or fell caller might rise to this position, though the greatest chiefs in recent centuries have been warlocks. Chiefs are most often male, but not always. It is not uncommon for the position to be passed to an eldest son, if he is battle-ready. The chief’s children often spend their lives preparing for this possibility, endeavoring to prove themselves worthy of the honor and responsibility. If the kriel has a better candidate, such as a veteran hero, the chief might choose not to pass the responsibility to his offspring. When a chief dies without leaving instructions, as can happen in battle, the elders are entrusted to select a new chief from among the kriel’s greatest champions. When the need arises, each chief has the right to call on the warriors of his kriel and can expect them to obey. The most common term for a collection of warriors is “warband,” a flexible term that can apply to fighting forces of various sizes. At its simplest, a warband is a group of warriors who agree to follow a single leader. When a chieftain has need of a greater force, he can gather all the battle-ready adults of his kriel into a single warband, with his champions serving as his retinue. A kriel making a raid against its neighbors might send a smaller warband of less than a dozen warriors led by one of the chief’s champions. In the past it was unusual for large warbands to remain together for long; they were assembled for a specific task and would disband afterward. On rare occasions when kriels band together and multiple chiefs combine their warriors, a greater war chief will come to the fore, one who is recognized to have broader authority. The greatest ancient war chief was Horfar Grimmr of the Molgur, who gathered thousands of warriors from different races to fight Priest King Golivant and the Menites of Calacia. The need for greater chiefs has arisen again in recent years, with individuals like Hoarluk Doomshaper and Madrak Ironhide answering the call and accumulating even larger armed forces.
Warband Organization
Compared to the disciplined armies of the Iron Kingdoms, traditional warbands can seem chaotic and haphazard, yet there is a loose chain of command with authority flowing from the highest leaders down through subordinates to the lowest warrior. The structure of each warband is different, organized to suit the needs of its leader as well as accommodating the nature of the fighting forces at his disposal. Generally, older and more experienced warriors lead the younger, but fighting prowess, courage, and cunning can trump experience. Individual warriors may challenge the pecking order or volunteer to take on greater risks to prove their right to lead. Otherwise most warriors have a clear sense of whom they must defer to and whom they can order around with impunity. Each warband has a single primary leader—often a chieftain or one of his champions—whom every warrior must obey.
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THE ARMED MIGHT OF THE TROLLBLOODS
To free the chief from needing to relate orders to everyone, a large warband is divided into smaller groups, each led by a kithkar. This position is equivalent to a sergeant in civilized armies. Kithkar is a familial term that loosely translates as “eldest sibling,” as warriors in a tight-knit group see themselves as brothers and sisters in arms. Warriors will listen to their kithkar, who in turn reports to the chief or his champions. When there are sufficient champions to form a warband, they will look to a kithkar selected from their number by the chief, often the chief’s second-in-command. The status of one kithkar compared to another can vary considerably—the term does not carry any inherent authority. A kithkar who is a famous hero will clearly be treated with greater respect than a kithkar supervising a small group of unknown young warriors. Each kithkar looks after the warriors reporting to him, knowing their lives are in his hands. As a warrior earns status and acclaim, he will rise within the hierarchy. A veteran warrior can become a kithkar, and a kithkar might eventually become a champion, singled out by the chieftain and invited to join the inner circle. Minor changes in status might happen with little fanfare, but the rise of a new champion usually prompts a feast and public acknowledgement by the chief in front of the kriel. During such times a trollkin might earn a new name or epithet serving as his surname that captures the champion’s personality, deeds, or fighting style. Names like “Kegslayer,” “Bloodsong,” or “Bonehammer” are not given at birth; they must be earned. The greatest form of acknowledgement for any trollkin is seeing his deeds immortalized by stone scribes on the krielstones erected within the village or carried into battle. A large and well-prepared warband is supported by sorcerers, krielstone bearers, stone scribes, chroniclers, scouts, and skinners, each lending their skills. Scouts are expected to know the lay of the land and are often sent ahead to conduct reconnaissance and gather information on the enemy before striking. Skinners are hunters who have joined a warband and assist not only by fighting but also by bringing in food for the trolls, an especially important consideration if the warband includes dire trolls or troll kings. Such individuals rarely rise to positions of authority, but there are many veterans and heroes among their number. The most wise and learned kin among the sorcerers, shamans, and stone scribes might eventually settle in a village and become respected elders, attaining an authority above even their chief. Traditional warbands excel in guerrilla warfare and small raids but lack the discipline required to maintain order in large numbers or protracted engagements. In greater collections of warbands, there is often friction between the various chiefs, each of whom thinks it is his right to choose when and where to strike rather than following the plans of another. These limitations are one reason the armed forces of the United Kriels have begun to adopt a more formal military hierarchy.
Councils & Alliances
While ad-hoc alliances between kriels have occurred from time to time, until recently such arrangements have typically been temporary. The first step in a greater unification came from regional councils of elders established in regions like the Thornwood, the Gnarls, and the Scarsfell Forest intended to facilitate cooperation between kriels in the region as well as to help arbitrate feuds and disputes. These councils have limited direct authority but serve as a forum for greater contact between the kin and as a way to create regional identities. The most ordered and cohesive of these regional groups is the Council of Stone in the Gnarls, which meets twice a year, during spring and autumn, and is hosted by one of the forest’s most influential kriels. Matters at the Council of Stone are not settled by vote but by boisterous debate as elders seeking support attempt to achieve consensus. Each kriel in this region is allowed to send several representatives, but most often only a single elder will go. Noteworthy fell callers are often invited to speak for their kriels, as their vocal power and oratory skills are an asset in this contentious environment. In times of crisis, the gathering is a place to
trade information, assess fighting strength, and discuss the availability of resources. A kriel that is starving might be offered help from one that had an unexpected bounty. One of the largest matters put before the Council of Stone in recent years was the travails faced by the Thornwood kriels, a group that eventually evolved into the United Kriels. While the coalition was primarily made up of displaced Thornwood kriels, a sizable number of Gnarls trollkin ended up joining this alliance and many others were sympathetic to it. The degree to which Gnarls kriels should lend their support to the United Kriels has been a topic of recurring and spirited debate. In the early days after the Thornwood kriels were forced to leave their ancestral lands, there were attempts by blackclads of the Circle Orboros to recruit the Gnarls kriels to fight their battles and to set them against Madrak Ironhide, who was seen as a threat to the druids. The influential shaman and elder Hoarluk Doomshaper put a stop to this practice, arguing persuasively against kin fighting kin for the blackclads. Doomshaper intervened personally to prevent this infighting and became an important advocate of the United Kriels, representing the Gnarls in this new alliance. Doomshaper is still one of the greatest leaders of the Gnarls and a powerful
THE ARMED MIGHT OF THE TROLLBLOODS
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MAJOR KRIEL ALLIANCES
WARLOCK WARBANDS
TRADITIONAL WARBAND HIERARCHY
NORTHKIN KRIELS
THE DEVIL OF THE THORNWOOD'S GANG
KRIEL ELDERS
Jarl Skuld
NYSCHATHA KRIELS Elders
RIMESHAW KRIELS
MALGUR KRIELS
Elders
Elders
Kriel elders are in charge except in times of war
HORGLE’S BATTLEGROUP
RAGNOR’S BATTLEGROUP
WAR CHIEF (Warlock)
Horgle, the Anvil
Ragnor Skysplitter
HEROES Champion Kithkar
ARMY OF THE
SHAMAN OF THE GNARLS
SCARSFELL KRIEL COUNCILS
Doomshaper
Gathering of Elders
CHAMPION WARBAND Veteran Kithkar
Bitte rroo t
Irkes
es
Scarshea
Nev
VETERAN WARRIOR WARBAND
KIN OF KEGSLAYER
Novice Kithkar
Borka Kegslayer
rt Comprised primarily of traditional units: Kriel Warriors, Champions, Warders, Long Riders, etc.
Borka is friendly with both the Northkin and the United Kriels
UNITED KRIELS
CALANDRA’S ROVING BAND
ALCHIERE KRIELS
Calandra
(Formerly of the Thornwood)
TOLOK FORTRESS GARRISON Chief Madrak Ironhide
KRIELS OF THE WYRMWALL
NOVICE WARRIORS
UNITED KRIELS DETACHMENT CHAIN OF COMMAND
MARSHAL OF THE KRIELS Grissel Bloodsong
KRIELS OF THE GNARLS Council of Stone
ARMY OF THE
COMPANY
UNITED KRIELS
Captain
Grissel Bloodsong
PLATOON Lieutenant
VARIOUS
ISOLATED KRIELS
GRIM’S RECON FORCE
GUNNBJORN’S DETACHMENT
Grim Angus
Captain Gunnbjorn
SQUAD Sergeant
Olg
Corporals
unh olt
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arsh
od
Scarlefort
erwo
Fenn M
Glim m
FIRE TEAM Influence Chain of Command
Comprised primarily of modern units: Scattergunners, Sluggers, Pyg Bushwhackers, etc.
voice in the Council of Stone, supported by a number of warlike kriels, including most significantly Kortorl, Lonfol, and Uthur. Major kriels in the Gnarls speaking in opposition to Doomshaper include Beltagus, Dromor, Norin, Oakfist, Brondar, and Ironblod. The example of the Council of Stone gave rise to other similar councils wherever the kin exist in large numbers. Each regional council has served as the nucleus of greater cohesiveness and organization. They also form the backbone of civilian leadership for the two largest alliances of kriels— the United Kriels and the Northkin.
Rise of the United Kriels
Of the factors that led to recent efforts to unite the kriels, none has been more vital than the rise of Madrak Ironhide, who became the leading war chief of the Thornwood kriels. It was under Ironhide’s leadership that thousands of trollkin from different regions began to consider themselves a united people. This evolved as a direct consequence of the Thornwood kriels being threatened by the spread of human warfare before being driven from their traditional lands. These events brought the Thornwood kriels together as never before, but the act that established a larger alliance beyond their own number was an oath of fellowship sworn between Madrak Ironhide and Hoarluk Doomshaper of the Gnarls. The bond between Doomshaper and Ironhide was forged after Madrak was betrayed by the druids of the Circle Orboros, who sought to assassinate and replace him. Doomshaper thwarted that plot, and the kriels of the Thornwood and the Gnarls have since grown increasingly interconnected. Doomshaper not only helped to unite the trollkin of the Thornwood and the Gnarls, but also brought the greatest of wild trolls to the aid of the fighting kriels, including dire trolls and the troll kings. Soon after these two war chiefs became allies, the elders of each of these regions began to meet and discuss sharing resources and decisions. Madrak’s efforts to gain additional support from other kriels resulted in an influx from other regions such as the Scarsfell Forest, the Wyrmwall Mountains, the Fenn Marsh, and Scarleforth Lake. The allied kriels relocated several times during their search for a new home, attempting to settle in the Glimmerwood, Crael Valley inside Cygnar, Scarleforth Lake, and deeper in the Bloodstone Marches. In each location they endured bloodshed and loss. Yet these struggles did yield some positive gains. Before Ironhide had a falling out with King Leto of Cygnar, the Cygnaran Army provided the United Kriels with a sizable stash of modern weapons, including firearms, cannons, and ammunition. The kriels received these supplies when they moved to the Glimmerwood, where the trollkin served as a buffer between Cygnar and several of its enemies. The accord between Cygnaran and trollkin leaders collapsed after Leto
failed to uphold his promises, and Ironhide subsequently seized lands inside the Cygnaran interior. By the end of this clash, the kriels were well armed but still surrounded by foes. The United Kriels has been confronted by a variety of enemies, including the Skorne Empire, the Cygnaran Army, the Circle Orboros, and most recently a simultaneous attack by farrow and gatormen from the Thornfall Alliance and the Blindwater Congregation. This last clash in 609 AR, called the Battle of Bloodstone, resulted in Madrak Ironhide deciding to set out for new lands to establish a better home for his people. This exodus involved thousands of trollkin undertaking a grueling crossing of the western Bloodstone Desert. They skirted the eastern borders of the Protectorate of Menoth, crossed through the foothills of the Lion’s Teeth Mountains, and eventually reached a region known as Alchiere, a vast and largely unexplored subcontinent. There the trollkin found fertile land in which to put down roots, with rivers and forests to support ample game as well as sufficient resources. They built Tolok Fortress, named after Madrak’s original kriel. This new bastion now serves as the mustering point for the armed forces of the United Kriels, and several sizable walled villages have been established nearby. While Doomshaper remained behind in the west, loathe to leave the Gnarls, a bond remains between the trollkin of these two regions as well as between Doomshaper and Ironhide. News, supplies, and fighting forces are periodically exchanged between the Gnarls and the Alchiere kriels. The kin of the Gnarls are committed to helping Ironhide’s people survive against the many challenges expected to come.
Hierarchy of the United Kriels
The leadership of the United Kriels is a blend of modern military hierarchy and the traditional forms of organization among kriels. The Council of the United Kriels is a coalition of chieftains, military leaders, and kriel elders that manages trollkin communities. This council meets once a month at Tolok Fortress and can be called together in times of need. It is responsible for overseeing the construction of housing and defenses, as well as ensuring sufficient food production and collection for the Alchiere kriels. Meeting these basic needs has been difficult; the relocation to Alchiere created new challenges that these elders have had to address. The majority of those sitting on the council were once elders of the Thornwood kriels. Though these elders are influential, chiefs are much more important and their words carry greater weight among the leadership of the United Kriels than elsewhere, due to the constant warfare those kriels have endured. The vast armed might of the United Kriels is organized into both traditional warbands and more modern military detachments, the latter representing efforts by several
THE ARMED MIGHT OF THE TROLLBLOODS
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prominent leaders to modernize its fighting forces. Warbands and detachments each have their own internal hierarchy, though both might fight together under a single war chief. Chief Madrak Ironhide is the single most influential leader of the United Kriels, though he has preferred his role to be more advisory than dictatorial. He provides insight and advice to the council of elders and also to the chiefs, captains, and warlocks of the alliance. He fully supports Grissel Bloodsong as Marshal of the Kriels, allowing her general oversight of the military. When Chief Ironhide enters battle personally, he prefers to do so at the fore of a smaller warband or detachment of hand-picked veterans rather than with the entire might of the United Kriels behind him, and he is comfortable leading both modern and traditional warriors. As Marshal of the Kriels, Grissel Bloodsong is responsible for modernizing and organizing the armed forces of the United Kriels and strengthening discipline. Marshal Bloodsong works closely with Captain Gunnbjorn in providing ongoing training for the fighting kin as they are integrated into a more formal military hierarchy and armed with modern weapons like firearms and cannons. Grissel personally leads the largest armies of the kriels.
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THE ARMED MIGHT OF THE TROLLBLOODS
The modernized forces of the United Kriels are organized into detachments instead of warbands and follow a more stringent chain of command, adopting ranks from the professional armies of the Iron Kingdoms. In descending order, these ranks are captain, lieutenant, sergeant, corporal, and private. Captains lead companies of several hundred warriors, often drawn from different fighting disciplines. Lieutenants lead more cohesive platoons of forty to sixty warriors. Sergeants lead squads of up to ten warriors of the same discipline, and corporals lead small fire teams of three or four. When thousands of trollkin are gathered under a single war chief, the army may include multiple companies alongside one or more traditional warbands. In these situations, captains have a similar status and standing as a chief leading a warband of a similar size, and both are expected to heed the ranking war chief or warlock. Discipline and order is better among trollkin in the modern military detachments. Not every warband is willing to undergo the training necessary to make this transition, however, and so warbands will continue to make up a substantial portion of the United Kriels. The United Kriels supports several specialized detachments, such as the veteran scouts led by Grim Angus. Detachments
also include trolls and support personnel, including kin whose job is to ensure supply lines remain open. Support may include mystical elements in the form of shamans, sorcerers, krielstone bearers, and stone scribes, though such individuals are more commonly found in traditional warbands. Mystical trollkin are often “loaned” to detachments and do not use military ranks. The United Kriels can field an army of thousands at a moment’s notice, with additional reserves drawn from all able-bodied villagers. They have access to accurate firearms, including rapid-fire weapons like sluggers and mobile cannons, as well as a host of trolls including the enormous dire trolls and troll kings. While the United Kriels does not boast the raw numbers to match some of the vast human armies, they make up for it with courage, solidarity, and resilience. The military strength at their disposal is the greatest assembled in one place by the trollkin people.
The Northkin
For a time, Madrak Ironhide and a number of his elders endeavored to recruit their northern counterparts into their alliance. This effort was partially successful, and some kin from these regions have joined them. However, most of the kin of northern Immoren prefer to remain a people apart, protective of their independence. The example of the United Kriels was not lost on these kin, but instead of joining they formed their own alliance, one led by northern kin and focused on their own interests. These are the Northkin. While they have not suffered to the same degree as the Thornwood kriels, the Northkin have also faced escalating hostilities with their neighbors. The Scarsfell Forest has long been one of the greatest homes of the trollkin, but they share the region and its scarce resources. Perils include both tribal and civilized humans of Khador, Nyss tribesmen, blighted Nyss with dragonspawn, Rhulic border patrols, and bogrin tribes. The struggle to endure and prosper has been even more difficult for the less numerous kin of the Nyschatha Mountains, the Rimeshaws, the Malgur Forest, and other northern regions. Regional councils of elders were established in several of these places to provide forums for their kriels, but in 608 AR elders of these councils came together to formalize a greater alliance. Though separated in some cases by considerable distances, the various Northkin have much in common. Over the centuries certain traditions, stories, food, and drink have been shared between northern humans and trollkin. Northern kriels enjoy both uiske and dangerously pure vyatka as well as northern ales and mead, and both drinking and feasting are important aspects of culture as well as politics. Major decisions affecting all the Northkin might happen amid shouting matches between drunken elders and dueling chieftains after a gathering and feast. Warriors of the north identify strongly with great bears, and some drink themselves into oblivion
during the harshest winter months as a means of achieving the equivalent of hibernation. Major feuds have been fought over access to supplies of alcohol or lands capable of supporting crops necessary for brewing and distilling. In spring and summer, conflict frequently breaks out between neighboring northern kriels based on old rivalries or new transgressions. These feuds keep the trollkin from becoming soft and give them the opportunity to hone their battle prowess. The councils of elders intervene only when these conflicts threaten to escalate and imperil general defense. Northkin elders arbitrate disputes fairly, though they prefer harsh penalties. If a kriel refuses to follow a council’s decision, they might find themselves being raided by warbands from more cooperative kriels.
Hierarchy of the Northkin
The collection of councils leading the Northkin is an extension of an older system originating in the Scarsfell Forest, where four separate councils ruled different parts of this vast region—Neves Council, Irkes Council, Scarsheart Council, and Bitterroot Council. The Rimeshaws and Nyschatha Councils eventually joined with them, together with dozens of representatives from other kriels across the northern region, making the leadership of this alliance one of the most democratic systems of governance on Immoren. Great gatherings happen twice a year, and at other times fell callers travel between councils to spread news. The strongest kriels include the Boneblod, Braggmaw, Blomus, Cragfist, Galtor, Jawnel, Lagmoor, Margov, Pelnas, Rumtar, and Trustone kriels, and their elders dominate the Northkin. Because of the size of these councils and the lack of centralized leadership, the Northkin do not make decisions quickly and are sometimes slow to act. Yet once committed they will see a matter to its brutal and bitter end. Northkin elders have a strong grip on their people, and individual chieftains have less clout compared to the United Kriels. Elders of the Northkin believe strongly in the autonomy of individual kriels. In the largest northern kriels there is often a single eldest matriarch, known as a ketmoder, who tends to be more influential than any other elder. Northkin kriels focus on smaller local affairs over larger regional ones but have made promises of mutual support in the event of significant threats. The armed might of the Northkin is composed of traditional warbands. Each chief sees to his people, which makes coordinated planning difficult. A Northkin army often looks and operates as a trollkin horde. Though Northkin prefer to see to their own concerns first, some have a broader perspective. The legendary warrior Borka Kegslayer is a warlock whose warband has traveled far to seek battles against enemies of the kin. He and his kin retain ties to the United Kriels, even as they obey their kriel’s ketmoder, Jennan, one of the Northkin’s most imposing elders.
THE ARMED MIGHT OF THE TROLLBLOODS
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Trollblood Fighting Forces
There are numerous fighting traditions among the warriors of the kriels, some of them ancient and others of more recent origin. Some of these traditions arose among the kin of a specific region, though in most cases they have spread and been adopted elsewhere. The fighting forces of the kriels also draw strength and versatility from mystical traditions and support elements— individuals who do not see themselves as “warriors” but who wage war in their own way as well as helping to ensure other fighting forces are effective and ready for battle.
Traditional Fighting Forces
The largest number of ready warriors among the kriels are those who adhere to older traditions, passed down from parent to offspring and utilizing tried and tested weapons.
Kriel Warriors
The most typical and numerous of trollkin combatants are the kriel warriors. Trollkin are taught from a young age to fight with the weapons available to their kriels and are expected to share in the responsibility of fighting in the defense of their village. An entire kriel population can be armed and battleready on short notice. Such fighters are outfitted by their kith in the heaviest armor they can forge or acquire through barter, trade, or raids. While there is limited formal training among kriel warriors, most learn the fundamentals of fighting in their daily lives. They spar recreationally or during holiday celebrations— where good-natured brawls are a form of entertainment, with veterans thrashing the less experienced and teaching them lessons. Out in the hostile wilds, most warriors face regular threats that provide them with chances to test their mettle and put their lives on the line. It does not take long for a kriel warrior to become a veteran, comfortable with his brothers and sisters in arms and sharing lifelong bonds of fidelity. The strongest of these warriors prove their might by lifting and hurling great stone cabers. This astounding feat of strength is not only impressive to witness but can also serve as a powerful weapon in battle. When mustered in numbers, kriel warriors are sometimes joined by traditional standard bearers and musicians who play tunes to inspire the warriors in battle and to lift their spirits on long marches.
Champions & Warders
Champions and warders represent not so much specific fighting traditions as echelons of experience that all kriel warriors aspire to. Boasting considerable status among their villages, these seasoned fighters might serve as bodyguards or lieutenants to chiefs. When a kriel is caught up in an extended period of carnage, veterans emerge to inspire their peers. At such times it
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THE ARMED MIGHT OF THE TROLLBLOODS
is common for them to band together to fight alongside a chief as a retinue. More recent fighting has seen multiple groups of champions or warders joining together to make up the vanguard of large armies. Warders and champions are alike in some respects and all are battle-tested veterans, but they serve different roles on the battlefield. Champions are noted for their aggression and willingness to engage first, expertly wielding a weapon in each hand. Warders, on the other hand, prefer to fight with a great shield in one hand and a heavy weapon in the other, adopting a defensive style and serving as a bulwark for their chief or kin. Both, however, form tightknit groups of exemplary warriors who support one another in battle.
Fell Callers
With powerful booming voices that can shatter stones and bones, fell callers are descended from the legendary hero Bragg. While few in number, these warriors and storytellers occupy a special niche both in trollkin society and among the fighting kriels. Fell callers take pride in their martial prowess as well as their ability to inspire and invigorate their peers. Fell callers often travel between the various settled kriels, bringing news and requests for aid. They rarely stay with a single warband for long, preferring to wander as they please. These heroes are admired and respected but seldom lead their own bands, though there are exceptions—such as the warlock Grissel Bloodsong.
Fennblades
The Fennblades represent a distinctive fighting tradition from the Fenn Marsh in southeastern Cygnar. Trollkin warriors there adopted hooked swords and specialized combat tactics to contend with human cavalry soldiers invading their lands. The inheritors of this tradition are accustomed to drilling alongside one another and practicing with their difficult weapons. While Fennblades originated in the Fenn Marsh, their fighting style has been adopted elsewhere and a sizable contingent have joined the United Kriels.
Long Riders
The formidable cavalry of the fighting kriels descend from the long rider tradition, with bison-riding trollkin who enter battle to annihilate any foes that do not make way. In ancient days, trollkin discovered the horses preferred by humans were scared of trollkin and their smell, which they associated with the trolls who preyed on them. The bison roaming southern Khador were less wary, and a number of kriels domesticated these creatures and turned them into fighting steeds. Long riders bring much-needed mobility, serving to counter enemy riders or to flank and crush enemies. Long riders have moved beyond their ancestral dominions and traveled to other regions, including some who have
journeyed to Alchiere. Along with their role as mounted warriors, long riders see themselves as stewards of the bison herds, saving them from extinction.
Highwaymen
Some warriors of the kriels have traditionally earned less respect than others. For trollkin highwaymen, raiding and stealing goods and food from neighboring communities has been a longstanding practice. Even as kriels banded together such raids persisted, more often directed at human merchant traffic as a source of vital resources. Over time these trollkin developed a preference for fighting with pistols, originally taken as spoils but becoming essential tools of the trade. Highwaymen take pride in their hard-won skill with these weapons, earned in battle rather than through drills.
Modern Fighting Forces
In the modernized fighting forces of the United Kriels, several fighting traditions have been created that embrace new techniques and weapons without abandoning trollkin culture.
Pygmy Troll Warriors
Pygmy trolls, or pygs, have long existed on the periphery of trollkin society. These smaller trollkin cousins were once thought too capricious to be useful warriors, but recent pressures have prompted the trollkin to reevaluate that opinion. It has become clear that pygs are just as resolute as their larger kin and can be deadly fighters if given suitable weaponry and training. Adaptable and eager, pygs have responded well to efforts to create discipline through drilling, learning very quickly how to work together as coordinated fire teams. They have taken readily to firearms of all sorts and are fearless and willing to undertake risky missions. Some pygmy trolls serve in specialized roles, such as excavating tunnels to bypass obstacles or to create ambush points where they can emerge unexpectedly behind the enemy. Additionally, since dire trolls are naturally inclined to tolerate pygs, a number of the bravest of these warriors have been paired up with the massive brutes to create powerfully effective weapons platforms. Pygmy trolls ride atop dire trolls that have been equipped with military-grade ordnance, acting as gunners and maintaining weaponry as needed.
Scattergunners
The scattergunners were among the first of the trollkin warrior disciplines to wield the firearms donated to the Thornwood kriels by Cygnar, before relations with that nation soured. Of the more modern warriors, the scattergunners have achieved a distinguished and respected record of service, given that some of their veterans have been fighting together for over six years and have faced some of the worst hardships seen by their people.
The firearms these kin wield are powerful short-ranged weapons that use blasting powder to create a deadly spray of scrap metal capable of tearing through entire enemy formations. Though these weapons were initially provided by Cygnar, smiths in Ironhide’s kriels have mastered their fabrication.
Sluggers
Wielding impressive repeating chain guns that can produce a steady hail of firepower, sluggers bring heavy fire support to their warbands and are capable of chewing through a large number of enemy soldiers before they reach trollkin lines. Being a slugger requires unusual discipline as well as exceptional strength and endurance. Many sluggers are former members of the Cygnaran Army who have since committed themselves to the United Kriels or were trained by sergeants with that experience.
Heavy Weapons
As much of a boon as firearms have been to the United Kriels, the inclusion of heavier ordnance has had an even greater impact. Battles against organized human armies proved to the fighting kriels the deadly effectiveness of artillery fire when leveraged against infantry forces. As with other modern weapons, Cygnar provided some of the initial stock of thumper cannons, once short-range deck guns on naval ships. With access to iron and a forge, trollkin smiths are now quite capable of making such weapons, including mortars manned by pygmy troll crews and the devastating pummeler cannon. Thumpers deliver punishing direct fire, while mortars lob shells over intervening obstacles and the pummeler fires shredding chain shot. The United Kriels has also produced bison-pulled war wagons, each outfitted with a cannon on a rotating turret.
Support Elements
Not all those who fight for the kriels are warriors. Shamans are increasingly taking up arms in defense of their people. They command tremendous Dhunian spiritual powers, capable of invigorating a hard-pressed warband. Sorcerers are mystics long respected by the trollkin for their devastating potential on the battlefield, drawing on earth or ice magic to lay waste to their enemies or to protect the kin. The history and triumphs of the trollkin are inscribed in stone. The krielstones that are brought to war, as well as the scribes who add to their legacy of valor by recording recent heroic actions, are a vital part of trollkin pride. These monuments combine Dhunian beliefs and the strength of prayer to offer potent and tangible blessings to embattled warriors. The great stories of the kriels are maintained by respected chroniclers, and smaller stones are sometimes preserved by revered runebearers who have made their study a life’s work. Hearing chants from these tales intoned aloud in combat can stir the kin to acts of valor.
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TROLLBLOOD THEME FORCE
THE POWER OF DHUNIA The trollkin are never closer to their goddess Dhunia than when walking beside the shamans and runeshapers who work their magic through the will of the Great Mother. Drawing upon their deep connection to earth and stone, trollkin mystics shape the battlefield to their will and manipulate the arcane might flowing through their very veins to mobilize a great number of true trolls lured by the power of the goddess. This close connection passes to the mighty trolls who accompany the trollkin. The touch of Dhunia soothes the trolls’ minds and keeps their hunger for flesh in check as it suffuses their bodies with her bountiful powers of regeneration.
ARMY COMPOSITION
An army made using this theme force can include only the following Trollblood models: • Trollblood warlocks
• Stone Scribe models/units
• Non-character warbeasts
• Solos with the Lesser Warlock special rule
• Trollkin models/units with the Magic Ability special rule
• Troll Whelp solos
SPECIAL RULES • Trollkin Runeshaper units in this army become FA U. • For every full 25 points of warbeasts in this army, you can add one medium-based solo or five Troll Whelp solos free of cost. • Warbeasts in this army gain +2 THR. • Friendly models/units can begin the game affected by the upkeep spells of models in this army. These spells and their targets must be declared before either player deploys any models. Warlocks in this army do not have to spend fury to upkeep their spells during your first turn of the game.
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TROLLBLOOD THEME FORCE
BAND OF HEROES Kriels maintain martial traditions that go back to the beginning of the trollkin as a people. Armed with axe and shield, kriel warriors have long waged bloody wars to keep ownership of their lands, and their tales of valor are carved into the faces of krielstones to inspire those generations that follow in their footsteps. These bands of warriors give rise to new champions, who earn their acclaim in battle against the enemies of the trollkin. They emerge from the wilderness in a tide of steel and stone to strike down all who stand before them.
ARMY COMPOSITION
An army made using this theme force can include only the following Trollblood models: • Trollblood warlocks
• Long Rider models/units
• Non-character warbeasts
• Warder models/units
• Champion models/units
• Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribe units
• Fell Caller models/units
• Stone Scribe Chronicler solos
• Fennblade models/units
• Troll Whelp solos
• Kriel Warrior models/units
SPECIAL RULES • For every full 20 points of Trollkin Champion, Trollkin Warder, or Long Rider models/units in this army, you can add one command attachment or one medium-based Trollkin solo free of cost. Free models do not count toward the total number of Trollkin Champion, Trollkin Warder, or Long Rider models/units in the army when calculating this bonus. • Warrior models/units in this army gain Take Down. (Models disabled by a melee attack made by a model with Take Down cannot make a Tough roll. Models boxed by a melee attack made by a model with Take Down are removed from play.) • Your deployment zone is extended 2˝ forward.
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WARLOCKS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
While kriel villages are governed by councils of esteemed elders, it is to the warlocks that all trollkin look to command them in times of crisis, such as when enemies threaten to overwhelm the kriels. Their warlocks’ power over monstrous trolls and their powerful spells and abilities are what allow the trollbloods to emerge victorious even when outnumbered by formidable foes. Trollkin warlocks share a deep connection with the trolls that follow them into battle, and it is commonly held that all trollkind are related, descended and evolved from the first mythical hyper-generative troll kings. Because most trollkin believe this unity originates from Dhunia herself, the mother of all, warlocks are leaders with a status that is equal parts war chieftain and embodiment of the goddess’ wrath.
Warlocks & Magic
Trollkin believe the various types of magic they practice are all blessings of Dhunia, a sign that the goddess favors them. This spiritual approach to magic does not diminish its potency compared to the methodical approach of the civilized nations. The majority of trollkin warlocks are shamans of Dhunia or sorcerers from birth, and they utilize their warlock abilities as natural extensions of their devotion to their goddess or their innate sorcery. Dhunian shamans can be found in nearly every kriel, serving the needs of their communities. Shamans are not born with their power but feel drawn to serve the goddess as a calling,
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and through their connection with her they can manifest powerful spells, some of them akin to minor miracles. Trollkin are a deeply spiritual people and hold their shamans in high regard. They particularly honor those who become warlocks, believing these individuals to be special emissaries of Dhunia. The shamans who control trolls tend to be the most warlike and can tap into the destructive nature of the goddess in addition to her traditional aspects of fertility, the seasonal cycle, and growth. While being a shaman is a calling, sorcerers are born with their talents, which naturally awaken in adolescence or later. Most trollkin sorcerers are easy to recognize, as they are usually born albino. Trollkin albinos are sometimes smaller in stature but are often especially intelligent and gifted with unusual powers. Trollkin communities greatly value such individuals for the benefits their abilities bring to their kriels. Not every sorcerer is an albino, but being albino is thought to bring with it greater capacity to wield magic. Regardless of magical tradition, trollkin have an affinity for elemental magic, which they associate with the seasonal aspects of the Great Mother. Earth magic is pervasive among the kriels, especially those in the mountains and forests. Stone sorcerers called runeshapers can use their magic to wrench rocks from the soil and hurl them at their enemies or summon rapidly forming stone barriers to intercept bullets. It is common for trollkin with arcane gifts to wield magic shaped by their environment, such as the ice magic known among the Northkin, who can summon freezing wind or blizzards of
impenetrable snow. Warlocks also bring these powers to bear, broadening the scope of the spells at their disposal by tapping into the latent animi within the bestial trolls. As warlocks summon their magic they give it form and shape through runes, which briefly appear in the air as glowing sigils when a spell is cast. The shape of these sigils resembles runes carved on krielstones in villages across western Immoren. It is through these abstract symbols that will and power take tangible form and the energies of a spell are invoked. The trollkin runic alphabet is ancient, dating back to the Molgur alliance, though the kin have adapted the runes over the centuries to make them their own. Trollkin have placed these runes on countless stone chits and talismans, on scrolls containing rubbings from noteworthy krielstones, and on slabs borne into battle to augment the warriors around them.
Connection to True Trolls
The fact that trollkin have close blood ties to all other trolls is taken for granted, but it was not always this way. Only within the last decade have dire trolls been welcomed to fight alongside kriel warriors; these powerful brutes were previously thought too savage to coexist with their smaller brethren. The awakening of the troll kings—thought for some time to be no more than fanciful legends—is more recent still.
The friendlier full-blood trolls have been living with trollkin and fighting alongside the kin for centuries, but even they were once shunned. There was an era in the ancient past when trollkin denied kinship with these simpler-minded brutes. In that time the kin took pride in their greater intelligence and culture, including their ability to work stone and metal, which set them apart from trolls. The Dhunian Awakening that followed the shattering of the Molgur tribes saw shamans return to commune with their distant kin. Some felt a stirring in their minds and discovered they could mentally connect with trolls and create a lasting bond that allowed them to draw strength and vitality from them. Early warlocks proved their prowess by marching into battle alongside their mightier full-blood warbeasts. Warlocks now regularly bond with trolls both great and small. A warlock connecting mind-to-mind with a troll is a profound experience for both, a relationship that awakens the mind of the troll and opens the way to new capabilities. It is only amid this relationship and subsequent training and fighting that a formerly wild troll transforms into a warbeast—as much an ally as a weapon. Along with being able to communicate mentally with their nearby trolls, a warlock can also feel their emotions, see through their eyes, and hear through their ears, broadening battlefield awareness.
RUNESTONES & SCROLLS Many trollkin warlocks carry ornate stone talismans or wear necklaces, bracelets, or charms adorned with Molgur runes. More than mere affectations, these devices often are inscribed with ancient prayers and words of power. While some bear only cultural significance, others are imbued with true power that aids their owners on the battlefield. In addition to runestones, some trollkin warlocks—particularly Dhunian shamans—carry massive scrolls sealed in heavy stone or metal scroll tubes. Typically consisting of rubbings ceremonially taken from sacred krielstones and echoing some of their great power, these scrolls contain ancient lore or describe the epic deeds of ancestors. Certain mystical rituals and especially potent spells require these scrolls, which are kept close by against such occasions when they might be needed.
WARLOCKS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
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Trolls develop powerful emotional bonds to those they live and fight beside, even beyond the warlock with whom they share a mental connection. Such trolls willingly enter battle to defend allies and need little mental prodding. For this reason trollkin warlocks may speak to their trolls, giving verbal instructions; sometimes this gets better results than compelling a beast to do their bidding. Mental control is used to guide a troll’s attacks, to augment their effectiveness by tapping their inner essence through spells called animi, or to direct them to attack specific enemies. Warlocks often need to seize control to restrain a troll from eating things or people it shouldn’t—always a risk, especially with the larger ones. The prodding of a warlock can also help a troll regenerate more quickly than it would naturally. Among the most powerful benefits a warlock receives from his connection to his warbeasts is the ability to escape potentially fatal wounds by mystically transferring injuries to these powerful creatures. As resilient as trollkin are, true trolls are much more hardy, capable of recovering from even traumatic injury in mere minutes. This ability lets a warlock endure damage that would kill a dozen trollkin warriors. Damage transference does have a cost—such damage can overwhelm and kill a troll, especially if massive trauma is transferred to one that is already wounded and hasn’t had the opportunity to regenerate.
The trolls are capable of relatively complex thinking and can use rudimentary speech, two traits that help them stand apart from most warbeasts used by other warlocks— though their minds are still simple compared to the warlock controlling them. While there are exceptions, the larger trolls are more savage and less intelligent, while the smallest trolls are cleverer and milder in temperament. Elemental trolls like pyre and slag trolls are more dim-witted than others of their size, though most are easier to manage than the ravenous and temperamental dire trolls and troll kings. All trolls have personalities, and their quirks and traits evolve as a bond with a warlock deepens over time. The different breeds of trolls have distinct temperaments, varied intelligence, and differing degrees of fondness for their smaller cousins. Yet once a warlock bonds with a troll he can mentally control it, shaping its behavior either through subtle pressure or overt domination. It is not uncommon for a warlock to have different relationships with each of his trolls, sharing close bonds of loyalty with some, while in other cases feeling only wary respect or barely restrained animosity. Still, compared to other groups, it is more common for trollkin warlocks and troll warbeasts to forge powerful friendships that can last until death.
20
WARLOCKS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
A cunning warlock can survive a harrowing clash and keep all his beasts alive by being careful not to overtax any one of them, spreading the burden and afterward allowing his trolls to glut themselves on fallen enemies to regenerate their wounds. Because of this rapid healing, a trollkin warlock and his battlegroup are capable of going from one fight to another with little concern for fatigue or lasting injury. This trait alone multiplies the martial might of the trollbloods far beyond their numbers and has allowed them to fight on equal terms with considerably more numerous adversaries. A battle that might take humans weeks to recover from, requiring retreating to repair wrecked warjacks at specialized shops, might set back a trollkin warlock and his trolls only a single day. Some warlocks go to great lengths to preserve the lives of their trolls, yet sometimes sacrifices must be made. As a battlefield leader a warlock must weigh the consequences of casualties to his warriors and his warbeasts. Given the rarity and power of warlocks, their preservation is paramount for the good of all trollkind. After battle a warlock might mourn the death of a fallen warbeast, a sentimentality unheard of among more callous wilderness peoples. While there often exist strong bonds between warlocks and trolls, in larger warbands or groups of allied kriels it is common to consider trolls a communal resource. In situations where multiple warlocks are working together to fight off their enemies, trolls are regularly exchanged between them.
Some warlocks are skilled at training trolls and can ready them for others to employ in battle. In some large villages there may be any number of trolls occupied with general duties, like heavy labor, but standing ready for a warlock to take charge of them when required to defend the community.
Status in Trollkin Society
Successful warlocks almost always rise to positions of leadership both in settled villages and among embattled trollkin forces. Their arcane might, battle prowess, and other capabilities combined with the might of their trolls makes them the greatest war chiefs, a role for which they are especially well suited. Those who demonstrate their wisdom and skill in battle attract many followers among the trollkin. The diversity of trollkin traditions and of warlocks drawn from across trollkin society has created a tenuous power structure within the United Kriels as warlocks with vastly different ideals variously argue and collaborate to safeguard their people.
Almost without exception the foremost leaders of each region’s armed trollkin are warlocks. Hoarluk Doomshaper, Madrak Ironhide, Grissel Bloodsong, Borka Kegslayer, and others stand at the forefront of sizable confederations of allied kriels, together making up the United Kriels. These warlocks rely on the support of kriel elders, other war chiefs, and shamans within their communities, but each possesses a clout and stature greater than any others of their kin. Even warlocks who have deliberately eschewed or refused such responsibilities are often sought out by embattled kriels in the hopes of persuading them to intervene. Their abilities are too great for them to sit idle.
WARLOCKS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
21
GRIM ANGUS TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK Grim Angus is as grizzled and worldly a trollkin as they come. He has traveled widely, captured or killed wanted men, and earned a reputation as a relentless tracker. The mere rumor of Grim Angus on a man’s trail has prompted outlaws to surrender themselves and seek protection from the trollkin whose aim never falters. With the kriels in turmoil, Grim has turned his skills and massive rifle against the enemies of his people.
FURY: 6 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 7 6 7 16 15 8
GRIM 1
HEADHUNTER RNG ROF AOE POW 13 1 — 13
Grim learned to hunt in the dank, wooded swamp of Ord’s Wythmoor. Though an albino—the mark of a natural-born trollkin sorcerer—he eschewed his inborn power to pursue his extraordinary talent for tracking and indulge his love of the hunt. As a youth, Grim Angus felt compelled to leave his isolated kriel and see the world, and he honed his abilities in his extensive travels.
SNARE GUN RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 — —
GUN BLADE RNG POW P+S 1 5 12
After exploring much of Ord and Khador, Grim began tracking down criminals for a living. The dangerous work provided him with the thrill of hunting mankind, which he found particularly satisfying. Grim took to the work as if every day were a paid vacation, and his obvious enthusiasm inspired terror in his quarry.
DAMAGE:17 WB +29
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
GRIM 1 PATHFINDER TOUGH TAKE DOWN – Models disabled by a melee attack made by this model cannot make a Tough roll. Models boxed by a melee attack made by this model are removed from play. TRUE SIGHT – This model ignores cloud effects when determining LOS. This model also ignores Stealth .
HEADHUNTER DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL BAIT THE LINE – Warbeasts in this model’s battlegroup
gain +2˝ of movement when charging a model damaged by this weapon this turn.
SNARE GUN CUMBERSOME – This model cannot attack with this weapon and with another weapon on the same activation. KNOCKDOWN – When a model is hit by an attack with this weapon, it becomes knocked down.
FEAT: SPREAD THE NET Grim Angus is a tenacious huntsman, a tireless stalker, and a master of traps and ambush. He provokes his adversaries into the killing lane and then unleashes his sorcerous power in a net of unseen bonds to hold them fast. While in Grim’s control range, enemy models suffer –3 DEF. Enemy models beginning their activations in Grim’s control range suffer –3 SPD and cannot make power attacks or special attacks. Spread the Net lasts for one round.
SPELLS MANTRAP
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 3 10 4 12 – YES
Warrior models hit become knocked down. MARKED FOR DEATH
2
8
–
–
UP YES
Target model/unit suffers –2 DEF, loses Incorporeal and Stealth , and cannot gain Incorporeal or Stealth while affected by Marked for Death. RETURN FIRE
1
6
–
–
RND NO
When target friendly Faction model is targeted by an enemy ranged attack, after the attack is resolved the affected model can make one basic melee or ranged attack, then Return Fire expires. Return Fire lasts for one round. WEALD SECRETS
2
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains Pathfinder and Hunter. (A model with Hunter ignores concealment and cover when making a ranged attack.)
22
Crisscrossing western Immoren hunting the largest bounties, Grim found more satisfaction from testing his limits than accumulating financial rewards. Eventually the life began to wear on him, and he grew tired of taking out humanity’s trash. Indeed, his prowess had surpassed the challenge. The murderers he chased were pathetic cowards, and he started to put himself in risky situations just to make things more interesting. The hunt having lost its pleasure, Grim journeyed back to the bogs and swamps of his youth, only to discover the region overrun by battles of the nearby Thornwood. Warring humans had forced his kin to relocate, putting them in even greater peril: Tharn had beset his kriel in their attempt to expand to new territory deeper in the forest, and many trollkin had lost their lives in the battles. The stories the survivors recounted stirred a sense of purpose in Grim that he had not felt for years. Grim brings to the kriels a wilderness cunning almost unmatched in western Immoren, and the skills he developed in his previous life give him a powerful edge. He moves through the forest with silent and patient skill, attacking the enemy with overwhelming force and ruthless efficiency when he finally strikes. To preserve the element of surprise, he prefers firing his rifle Headhunter from unseen vantage points or through dense cover. Grim does not always work alone; sometimes he agrees to lead other kin in the wilds, tracking more difficult prey together. When the enemy is at last surrounded, Grim captures those who may be of use and executes the rest. Some trollkin find his methodical manner on the battlefield overly cold and calculating, but Grim Angus has spent his life mastering a heartless profession, and old habits die hard: he has no time for indecision. He intends to deliver a reckoning to the enemies of his people, one bullet at a time.
TACTICAL TIPS Take Down – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
23
HUNTERS GRIM TROLLBLOOD WARLOCK UNIT Among the finest trackers to stalk the wilds of western Immoren, Grim Angus and his band of scouts comprise the first line of defense for the United Kriels. Ranging ahead of the fighting forces, Grim’s band identifies foes—and sometimes eliminates them—long before other warriors even know they are there. While once more of a loner working for the kriels, he has grown into an invaluable leader of the irregular skirmishers fighting alongside the front-line warriors of the new United Kriels.
FURY: 6 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 7 6 8 16 15 8
GRIM 2
HEADHUNTER RNG ROF AOE POW 13 1 — 13
GUN BLADE RNG POW P+S 1 5 12
When leaders like Madrak Ironhide and Grissel Bloodsong require the completion of missions in the most remote and inhospitable reaches, it is to Grim Angus they turn. His mastery of the wilds and his skill at coordinating armed forces in stealthy ambushes have made his hand-picked team one of the greatest covert assets of the gathered kriels.
DAMAGE:17 WB +25
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
GRIM 2 OFFICER PATHFINDER TOUGH TAKE DOWN – Models disabled by a melee attack made by this model cannot make a Tough roll. Models boxed by a melee attack made by this model are removed from play. TROLLKIN – This model is a Trollkin model. WARLOCK UNIT – This unit is made up of Grim, Muggs, and Krump.
HEADHUNTER DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL BLOOD LURE – Warbeasts in this model’s battlegroup
can charge enemy models hit by this weapon this turn without being forced.
FEAT: ON MY MARK With a hunter’s patience, Grim holds back the fire of his kin even as he stores up arcane power to release at the moment of his choosing. On his mark, the arms of his allies erupt in a deafening roar of unnaturally honed firepower. While in Grim’s control range, friendly Faction models gain Mark Target and their ranged weapons gain Snipe. On My Mark lasts for one turn. (Other friendly Faction models gain +2 to ranged attack rolls against enemy models within 5˝ of a model with Mark Target that are in its LOS.) (Ranged weapons with Snipe gain +4 RNG.)
SPELLS MAGE SIGHT
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
CTRL
5
–
UP
NO
Place a 5˝ AOE completely within the spellcaster’s control range. While a model is within the AOE, models in the spellcaster’s battlegroup ignore forests and cloud effects when drawing LOS to it and ignore Stealth when attacking it. MIRAGE
2
6 –
– UP NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains Apparition. (During your Control Phase, place models with Apparition anywhere completely within 2˝ of their current locations.) MORTALITY
3
10
–
– RND YES
Target model/unit suffers –2 DEF and ARM, loses Tough , and cannot have damage removed from it. Mortality lasts for one round. PURSUIT
2
8
–
– UP YES
If target enemy model/unit advances during its activation, one model in the spellcaster’s battlegroup that is in its control range can immediately make a full advance.
Even as his role with the kriels has evolved, Grim remains essentially an outsider, a fact he embraces unapologetically. In part, it is his outside perspective that makes him so valuable to the leaders who rely upon his opinions. He has no interest in spending his days surrounded by kin other than those few who know how to survive in the wilds—skinners and hunters who know when to keep their steps light and their mouths shut and who will obey his signaled orders without hesitation. He has found the company of pygs to be particularly amenable, as they are less inclined to idle chatter and understand that survival in battle requires paying attention and looking out for one another. Grim is ultimately a pragmatist who prefers to view the world in tangible terms. He has worked particularly closely with Grissel Bloodsong in her efforts to protect the kriels while trying to carve out a new home for them. He understands what it takes to get through a difficult winter on what scraps one can find in a barren landscape and has applied those skills to good ends. He returns to camp only long enough to allow his warriors and full-blood trolls to feed and get some minimal rest before setting back out to fight again. His skills are in particular demand among the new territories and lands seized by the kriels to create lasting homes and strongholds. In all his tasks Grim is assisted by a pair of pygs that have become the core of his team: Muggs and Krump. These two came to prominence by proving themselves to be intelligent and crafty, as well as superlative hunters. In short order the pair learned to grasp Grim’s complex system of gestured signals and to fight smoothly alongside him even in silence, all three of them coordinating precise ambushes while tracking their enemies. Muggs and Krump have passed along their expertise to other pygs in the hunting band and often help keep them in line, freeing Grim to focus on the primary task at hand. Grim has taken the time to teach Muggs how to use his snare gun and has come to entrust the pyg with it, while Krump has proven quite capable of devising and implementing cunning snares even in the midst of battle. Together the team of the Hunters Grim have proven to be more than the sum of their individual skills, working seamlessly together on the battlefield to bring down the most difficult targets. Grim and those he leads have steadily become the eyes and ears of the United Kriels, and its leaders know well just how blind and unready they would be without his tireless efforts on the fringes of their lands.
TACTICAL TIPS Take Down – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token. Mirage – Remember, troopers must be placed in formation. Pursuit – Remember, if an affected model made a full advance, ran, or charged during its activation, a model in this model’s battlegroup gets to make a full advance.
24
25
TACTICAL TIPS
MUGGS 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 5 5 6 14 12 7
SNARE GUN RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 — —
HAND AXE RNG POW P+S 0.5 3 8
KRUMP 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 5 5 6 14 12 7
BLUNDERBUSS RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 — 12
HAND AXE RNG POW P+S 0.5 3 8 DAMAGE:
5 EACH
BASE:SMALL
MUGGS 1 PATHFINDER TOUGH GRANTED: REPOSITION [3˝] – While this model is in formation, models in its unit gain Reposition [3˝]. (At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a charge, a model with Reposition [3˝] can advance up to 3˝, then its activation ends.) PYG – This model is a Pyg model. TAKE DOWN – Models disabled by a melee attack made by this model cannot make a Tough roll. Models boxed by a melee attack made by this model are removed from play.
KRUMP 1 PATHFINDER TOUGH GRANTED: CIRCULAR VISION – While this model is in formation, models in its unit that are in formation gain Circular Vision. (Models never gain a back strike bonus against a model with Circular Vision.) PYG – See above. TAKE DOWN – See above. TRAPPER [5˝] (HACTION) – Place a 5˝ AOE in base contact with this model. The AOE remains in place for one round. Living and undead models entering or ending their activations in the AOE suffer a POW 10 damage roll. Models damaged by Trapper become knocked down. Models with Flight are not affected.
SNARE GUN KNOCKDOWN – When a model is hit by an attack
with this weapon, it becomes knocked down.
26
Granted: Reposition – If a model is part of a unit, its activation does not end until all models in its unit have completed their activations. Take Down – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
27
GRISSEL BLOODSONG, FELL CALLER TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK Fell callers are powerful trollkin warriors boasting voices capable of shattering stone and shaking the sky. Female fell callers are rare, but Grissel Bloodsong has gained singular power through her mastery of this ability. Her mate’s death left a hole in her heart that she filled with a new cause—fighting to save her people.
FURY: 6 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 7 6 6 15 16 9
GRISSEL 1
SONIC BLAST RNG ROF AOE POW SP 8 1 — 12
Bloodsong was born in the far north near Ohk, but her wanderlust compelled her to travel. She sailed the length of the western coast and spent several years in human port cities defending merchant ships against pirates and Cryxian invaders. She enjoyed her mercenary life at sea but found the return to city living after every voyage stifling. Eventually she lost her patience for humanity entirely and left the coast for the banks of the Black River, along whose length she battled river bandits for a time.
RESOUNDER RNG POW P+S 1 7 14 DAMAGE:17 WB +29
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
GRISSEL 1 TOUGH FELL CALLS – This model can make one of the
following calls at any time during its activation. A friendly Faction model/unit can be affected by only one call each turn. • CACOPHONY – While in this model’s command range, enemy models/units cannot cast spells or be used to channel spells. Cacophony lasts for one round. • HEROIC BALLAD – RNG CMD. Target friendly nonwarlock Faction model/unit. If the model/unit is in range, affected models can make one additional melee attack during their Combat Actions. Heroic Ballad lasts for one round. • HOOF IT – RNG CMD. Target friendly non-warlock Faction model/unit. If the model/unit is in range, affected models can make a full advance at the end of this turn after all friendly models have ended their activations. During this movement, affected models cannot be targeted by free strikes.
SONIC BLAST DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL DEAFEN – A model hit by this weapon suffers –2 DEF
and cannot give or receive orders for one round.
RESOUNDER DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL DEAFEN – See above.
FEAT: FELL CHORUS Boasting an utter mastery of fell calling, Grissel is able to layer her calls one atop another, bellowing a sustained chant resounding like three voices engaged in song. The powerful sonic onslaught leaves foes faltering, almost deafened and unable to heed their leaders, while even the weariest allies surge forward with renewed hope and energy. Grissel can use all three of her fell calls this activation. Friendly Faction models/units can be affected by more than one fell call this turn.
SPELLS BOUNDLESS CHARGE
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6
–
–
3
10 –
– UP YES
Target model/unit suffers –2 DEF and ARM. GUARDIAN PROTECTOR
2
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly warbeast gains Righteous Vengeance. (If one or more friendly Faction warrior models were destroyed or removed from play by enemy attacks while within 5˝ of a model with Righteous Vengeance during the last round, during your Maintenance Phase the model with Righteous Vengeance can advance up to 3˝ and make one basic melee attack.) RIFT
3
8
4
13 RND YES
The AOE is rough terrain and remains in play for one round.
28
One day a contingent of skorne raiders attacked from the east. Turgol left Grissel’s side to thrust himself heroically between three cyclopes and a trollkin mother with two small infants. Turgol fought bravely and brought down one of the attackers, but his hide was not as impenetrable as his resolve. Before Grissel could come to his aid, one of the remaining cyclopes struck him down. Flying into a blood rage, Grissel unleashed her calls in pulverizing blasts of sonic vengeance. Turgol’s death changed Grissel Bloodsong. She began a personal war against the skorne and became an icon among the war-ravaged trollkin of the Scarleforth region. She has remained on the battlefront, where her presence emboldens the trollkin who follow her into battle. Contact with Chief Madrak Ironhide renewed Grissel’s hopes for a trollkin victory. She persuaded her people to join Ironhide’s displaced Thornwood kriels, knowing their only chance to survive would come from cooperating against the various threats they face. She feels a part of a larger community as she walks among the rugged and courageous volunteers serving in Madrak’s ragtag army. She fights not for empty coin, as when she was a mercenary, but to preserve her trollkin brethren. This purpose has given her the strength to endure the lasting grief of losing her mate, which she feels keenly in the calm aftermath of every battle.
TURN NO
During its activation, target friendly Faction model can charge without spending focus or being forced and gains +2˝ movement and Pathfinder when it charges. Boundless Charge lasts for one turn. CALAMITY
After visiting Ternon Crag, Grissel found an unexpected challenge: the relentless advances of a fierce and proud trollkin named Turgol Redeye. She initially turned aside his interest, but he continued to pursue her in hopes of taming her fiery heart. They eventually got into a drunken brawl that tore a tavern down to its foundations. Not dissuaded, he approached her the next day bearing a smile and a quip. He slowly earned her affection through quiet humor, irrepressible optimism, and his skill with a blade. For the first time Grissel considered settling down, and the two of them journeyed to Scarleforth Lake, where several trollkin kriels had villages near the Claysoil Wash River.
TACTICAL TIPS Guardian Protector – An affected model moves after continuous effects have been resolved during your Maintenance Phase.
29
GRISSEL BLOODSONG, MARSHAL OF THE KRIELS TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK FURY: 6 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 7 7 6 15 17 9
GRISSEL 2
FELL BLAST RNG ROF AOE POW 8 3 3 14
RESOUNDER RNG POW P+S 1 7 14 DAMAGE:17 WB +27
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
GRISSEL 2 TOUGH
FELL BLAST DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL ATTACK TYPE – Each time this weapon is used to make
an attack, choose one of the following special rules: • CRESCENDO – This attack’s AOE is a hazard that remains in play for one round. Models entering or ending their activations in the AOE suffer a POW 7 blast damage roll. • QUAKE – On a direct hit against an enemy model, all models hit become knocked down. • SONIC ERUPTION – This weapon’s base stats become RNG SP 10, AOE –, and POW 12 for this attack.
RESOUNDER DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL CRITICAL SMITE – On a critical hit, the model hit can be slammed d6˝ directly away from this model. If the model hit has a larger base than the attacking model, it is moved only half the distance rolled. The POW of collateral damage is equal to the STR of this model.
FEAT: CALL OF VALOR As Grissel Bloodsong’s call echoes across the battlefield, trolls and trollkin of the United Kriels are filled with an unyielding resolve that fires their blood and makes defeat unthinkable. Friendly Faction models currently in Grissel’s control range gain Reposition [3˝] and Unyielding. Call of Valor lasts for one round. (At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a charge, a model with Reposition [3˝] can advance up to 3˝, then its activation ends.) (While engaging an enemy model, a model with Unyielding gains +2 ARM.)
SPELLS DASH
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2 SELF CTRL – TURN NO
The spellcaster and friendly Faction warrior models activating in its control range gain +1 SPD. While in the spellcaster’s control range, friendly Faction warrior models gain Parry . Dash lasts for one turn. DEFLECTION
3 SELF CTRL – RND NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, friendly Faction models gain +2 DEF against ranged and magic attacks. Deflection lasts for one round. DISCORD
2
6 –
– UP NO
Target model in the spellcaster’s battlegroup gains Wailing. (While within 5˝ of a model with Wailing, enemy models cannot give or receive orders and cannot cast spells.)
30
Grissel Bloodsong stands as a bastion amid the storm devastating the lives of her people. Both warriors and elders of the kriels look to Grissel to be the voice of reason when all else fails. They trust her to save their people whether by shrewd words or the booming of her explosive voice and hammer on the battlefield. Grissel assumed the mantle of Marshal of the Kriels in that difficult and dark time when Madrak Ironhide felt compelled to isolate himself from his people as he sought a solution to the curse of Rathrok. She had long been looked to as a leading figure among the warriors of the United Kriels, but this time period cemented her stature. Though this role was somewhat thrust upon her, she shouldered its responsibilities with courage, conviction, and inventive creativity, preserving the displaced kin even when beset on all sides by hostile enemies. When Madrak returned to lead his people to new lands, Grissel went with him and has retained her position. Leadership of the eastern kriels is shared between them, and she has worked tirelessly to build a lasting home for their people and to organize them into an army that will endure any hardship. Grissel knows survival is tenuous and that ultimately no soil is more important than the lives of her kin. The wars they have endured were not of their choosing and required difficult choices. She has learned from these lessons and gladly fights alongside her warriors, asking nothing of them she would not risk herself. With her willingness to embrace all weapons they can seize, the trollkin see Grissel as a welcome bridge between older traditions and new ways that might be required to preserve their future. Proving her pragmatism, Grissel has made short-term arrangements with outsiders, including mercenaries and other warlike tribes of the remote wilderness. She uses all her wits to keep the argumentative leaders of the kriels united. With every passing day she proves the wisdom of Madrak’s faith in her: she will not rest so long as her people are endangered, using every ounce of her cunning and courage to preserve them from extinction.
31
HOARLUK DOOMSHAPER, SHAMAN OF THE GNARLS TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK The legendary Dhunian shaman Hoarluk Doomshaper has explored the face of Caen for more than one hundred years. Few elders are as vigorous and irrepressible. Hoarluk is obsessively fascinated with the mystical power of the blood that connects all troll breeds, and he believes troll blood to be superior to the diluted substance flowing through the veins of other races. This scorn and the increasing reality of his species’ decline fuel his resentment of humanity. Even in the otherwise secure Gnarls, outsiders have encroached on trollkin lands. Hoarluk has spent his life emboldening the trollkin of the Gnarls against these interlopers, and he intends to strike back with a vengeance. The time for war is overdue.
FURY: 7 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 5 4 13 15 7
DOOMSHAPER 1
GNARLROOT RNG POW P+S 2 6 12 DAMAGE:16 WB +29
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
DOOMSHAPER 1 TOUGH GOAD – When a warbeast in this model’s battlegroup destroys
one or more enemy models with a melee attack during its Combat Action, immediately after the attack is resolved this model can force the warbeast to advance up to 2˝. GREAT POWER – During your Control Phase, this model can upkeep one spell without spending focus or fury. SCROLL OF THE WILL OF BALASAR – This model can use Scroll of the Will of Balasar once per game when a warbeast frenzies in its control range. This model’s controller chooses the warbeast’s frenzy target.
GNARLROOT DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL ACCURSE – Remove all focus and fury points from
enemy models hit by this weapon.
FEAT: DHUNIA’S WRATH One of Dhunia’s eldest war shamans, Doomshaper can invoke the raw rage of the Ravaged Mother to bring a dread reckoning on the enemies of the trollbloods. At his call, enemy beasts and warlocks are stricken with excruciating pain fueled by lingering primal energies that tear them apart from within. Enemy models suffer d6 damage points for each focus or fury point they spend while in Doomshaper’s control range. Enemy warbeasts suffer d6 damage points for each fury point they receive as a result of being forced while in Doomshaper’s control range. If a model is destroyed as a result of this damage while casting a spell, the spell does not take effect. If a model is destroyed as a result of this damage while making an attack, the target model suffers no further damage or effects from the attack. Dhunia’s Wrath lasts for one round.
SPELLS DISSOLUTION
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 4 SELF CTRL – – NO
Enemy upkeep spells in the spellcaster’s control range immediately expire. When an upkeep spell expires as a result of Dissolution, the model maintaining the spell suffers d3 damage points. FORTUNE
2
6 –
– UP NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit can reroll its missed attack rolls. Each attack roll can be rerolled only once as a result of Fortune. GUARDIAN BEAST
3
SELF
–
–
UP
NO
Once per turn when an enemy model advances and ends its movement within 6˝ of the spellcaster, choose a warbeast in the spellcaster’s battlegroup that is in its control range. That warbeast can immediately make a full advance toward the enemy model and then can make one basic melee or ranged attack targeting the enemy model. The attack and damage rolls against that model are boosted. RAMPAGER
4 10 –
– – YES
Take control of target enemy warbeast. You can make one full advance with the warbeast and can then make one basic attack with it, then Rampager expires. The enemy warbeast cannot be targeted by free strikes during this movement. While the warbeast is affected by Rampager, it cannot be forced and you cannot use its animus. Rampager can be cast only once per activation. A warbeast can be affected by Rampager only once per turn. STRANGLEHOLD
2 10 – 11 * YES
A model damaged by Stranglehold forfeits either its Normal Movement or its Combat Action during its next activation, as its controller chooses.
32
Few are willing to speak against Doomshaper. The mighty shaman is prone to temperamental outbursts and scathing indictments of those he considers foolish. Hoarluk has challenged countless elders to duels and has yet to be defeated, cruelly humiliating those who fall to his staff. Many consider him insane, yet even his detractors agree Dhunia chose him and so they seek to avoid drawing his wrath. By effort and force of will, Doomshaper has gained unequalled power over fullblood trolls. He has strong ties with all troll breeds, and they listen to him as if he were kin. Bearing bloodstones the trolls consider sacred, he has reinforced ancient pacts between species. Hoarluk earned immortality in his people’s legends when he strode unarmed into the forest and returned with several dire trolls at his side. Those beasts had not heeded the commands of their cousins since the time of the Molgur, and word of Hoarluk’s deed spread to every tribe. The dire trolls are now among the greatest weapons of the desperate trollkin. Doomshaper has long traveled from kriel to kriel gathering recruits and leading strikes against any humans or other species foolish enough to plunder the Gnarls. He has obliterated at least two logging camps that began to poach beyond the marked trees and slaughtered no fewer than three bogrin tribes that attempted to settle near his home—acts that put him at odds with more temperate trollkin like Chief Ironhide of the Thornwood. Though Hoarluk is not a chief, he wields tremendous influence over the tribes of the Gnarls, the mightiest surviving bastion of trollkin tradition. No Gnarls chief dares to ignore his words. Doomshaper has spent decades recovering lost krielstones and deciphering ancient runes. He bears the weight of his ancestors on his shoulders, where he keeps numerous scrolls of the transcribed lore of his people. The knowledge the shaman has gained has allowed him to access previously untapped abilities within himself. Trolls are the wrathful instrument chosen by Dhunia. Every battle is Doomshaper’s apocalypse, as if the salvation of all trollkind hinges on its outcome. Whatever drives him, Doomshaper’s emergence from the forests of the Gnarls is a dire omen for all who have earned the wrath of the trollkin.
TACTICAL TIPS Goad – Because the warbeast is forced, it gains 1 fury point.
33
HOARLUK DOOMSHAPER, RAGE OF DHUNIA TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK Hoarluk Doomshaper spent a century gathering strength and delving into the deepest mysteries of the trollbloods’ essence. His great power has shaken the communities of the Gnarls and Thornwood to their roots and earned the fear and reluctant respect of countless elders. Trollkin in many circles talk about Hoarluk as a force of nature: implacable, incomprehensible, and impossible to ignore. He is a creature to be appeased and placated rather than persuaded. Those who fear him believe he has reached the peak of his power—that a shaman of his age can learn no more. They will soon discover the scope of their error.
FURY: 7 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 5 4 13 15 7
DOOMSHAPER 2
WILLBREAKER RNG POW P+S 2 6 13 DAMAGE:16 WB +27
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
DOOMSHAPER 2 TOUGH ATTUNED SPIRIT [DIRE TROLL] – Once per activation,
this model can cast the animus of a Dire Troll warbeast in its battlegroup without spending fury. FIELD MARSHAL [OVERTAKE] – Warbeasts in this model’s battlegroup gain Overtake. (When a model with Overtake destroys one or more enemy models with a basic melee attack during its Combat Action, after the attack is resolved it can immediately advance up to 1˝.) HYPER-REGENERATION – Remove d3 damage points from this model at the start of each of its activations.
WILLBREAKER DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL POWERFUL ATTACK – When attacking with this weapon,
this model can spend 1 fury point to boost all attack and damage rolls for the attack.
FEAT: SCROLL OF GRIMMR Hoarluk Doomshaper’s obsessive investigations into the roots of his people have led him to unearth forgotten works of great spiritual power. Doomshaper wields the Scroll of Grimmr, a transcription of the epithets of that venerated trollkin hero from the time of the Molgur. When invoked aloud, this defiant challenge imbues trolls with a surge of vitality. Eager to kill and glut their appetites, they rush forward in frenzied haste. Doomshaper and friendly Faction warbeasts in his battlegroup beginning their activations in his control range gain +3 SPD and can charge or make slam or trample power attacks without being forced. Scroll of Grimmr lasts for one turn.
SPELLS AGITATION
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 3 SELF CTRL – – NO
Place 1 fury point on each enemy warbeast currently in the spellcaster’s control range. This spell can only be cast once per activation. HEX BLAST
3 10 3 13 – YES
Enemy upkeep spells and animi on the model/unit directly hit by Hex Blast immediately expire. PRIMAL SHOCK
2
CTRL
–
*
– YES
Choose a friendly Faction warbeast in the spellcaster’s control range. Target a model within 8˝ of the chosen warbeast and make a magic attack against it. The chosen warbeast is the attack’s point of origin. If the enemy model is hit, it suffers a damage roll with a POW equal to the warbeast’s base STR. PSYCHO SURGERY
2 SELF CTRL – – NO
Each model in the spellcaster’s battlegroup currently in its control range can immediately remove d3 + 1 damage points. This spell can be cast only once per activation. WILD AGGRESSION
3
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly living warbeast in the spellcaster’s battlegroup can run, charge, or make slam or trample power attacks without being forced and gains boosted melee attack rolls.
34
Even as many hot-blooded trollkin continue to flock to Doomshaper to hear his violent rhetoric and fight at his side, he remains focused on a more profound goal. It has never been enough for him to be a simple war shaman. He seeks to plumb the fundamental connection between all trollkind—the power invested by Dhunia in their blood. After learning all he could from scrolls taken from ancient krielstones and venturing into every significant Molgur ruin, Hoarluk decided to take a more direct approach. He would plunge into the very depths of dire troll consciousness. Unshackling his mind and freeing himself of all restraint, Doomshaper merged with the most violent and powerful of these creatures, running with them, living as one of them, and rising to near-godlike status among them. He has tapped into reserves no shaman has ever known, his escalating power proved in a ritual witnessed by the most ancient of dire trolls. At the height of the ceremony Hoarluk cut off his own hand and then regenerated it—accomplishing in seconds what would have taken months for another trollkin. Doomshaper has not only unlocked unprecedented regenerative powers but has also gained insight into the primal nature that binds warbeast to warlock. This knowledge has given him unprecedented influence over his enemies, as he can now go beyond the blood of trolls to steal the essence of other beasts and use their powers for his own purposes. His newfound mastery of natural lore rivals that of even the druids of the Circle Orboros. So focused was Hoarluk on attaining these powers that he did not anticipate the treachery that nearly unraveled his efforts. Several years ago a conspiracy of Gnarls and Thornwood elders betrayed him to Cygnaran authorities. Doomshaper’s subsequent capture and imprisonment confirmed in his mind the need to retaliate with unmitigated fury and violence against those who would oppress the kriels, and also led to reprisals against those elders who betrayed him. The powerful shaman’s influence over the warlike bands of the Gnarls was only reinforced, and those who feared him before soon realized they had not yet seen the terror of his full wrath invoked.
TACTICAL TIPS Agitation – This spell cannot cause a warbeast to exceed its FURY in fury points. Hex Blast – Because they expire immediately, upkeep spells and animi that had an effect when the model/unit was hit or damaged will have no effect.
35
HOARLUK DOOMSHAPER, DIRE PROPHET & SCROLL BEARERS TROLLBLOOD WARLOCK UNIT FURY: 7 DOOMSHAPER 3 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 5 4 13 15 8
KRIEL STAFF RNG POW P+S 2 6 13 DAMAGE:16 WB +26
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
DOOMSHAPER 3 OFFICER TOUGH FIELD MARSHAL [HYPER-REGENERATION] – Warbeasts
in this model’s battlegroup gain Hyper-Regeneration. HYPER-REGENERATION – Remove d3 damage points
from this model at the start of each of its activations. TROLLKIN – This model is a Trollkin model. WARLOCK UNIT – This unit is made up of Doomshaper and the Scroll Bearers.
KRIEL STAFF DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL CRITICAL SMITE – On a critical hit, the model hit can
be slammed d6˝ directly away from this model. If the model hit has a larger base than the attacking model, it is moved only half the distance rolled. The POW of collateral damage is equal to the STR of this model.
FEAT: BLOOD OF DHUNIA Through decades of study and deep introspection, Hoarluk Doomshaper has mastered the secrets of his trollish blood. By calling upon the blood, Doomshaper unleashes the true might of Dhunia’s children, turning muscle to stone and mending even severe wounds as fast as the enemy can inflict them.
While within Doomshaper’s control range, models in his battlegroup gain an additional die on melee attack rolls. When a model in Doomshaper’s battlegroup that is in his control range is hit by an enemy attack, after the attack is resolved remove d3 + 3 damage points from the model. Blood of Dhunia lasts for one round.
DAMAGE:5 BASE:MEDIUM
SPELLS ADMONITION
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6
–
–
UP NO
When an enemy model advances and ends its movement within 6˝ of target model in the spellcaster’s battlegroup, the affected model can immediately advance up to 3˝, then Admonition expires. The affected model cannot be targeted by free strikes during this movement. IMPLACABILITY 2
SELF CTRL –
RND NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, models in its battlegroup cannot become knocked down, cannot be placed or pushed, and cannot be moved by a slam. Implacability lasts for one round. REPUDIATE
2 10 –
–
– YES
Enemy upkeep spells and animi on the model/ unit directly hit by Repudiate immediately expire. When an upkeep spell expires as a result of Repudiate, the model maintaining the spell suffers d3 damage points. STRANGLEHOLD 2
10
–
11
* YES
A model damaged by Stranglehold forfeits either its Normal Movement or its Combat Action during its next activation, as its controller chooses. UNMINDING
3
10
–
–
Doomshaper has become a living repository of lore rivaling even the omnipotents of the Circle Orboros. During a long lifetime of searching, he has scoured every sacred site and spent endless hours collecting rubbings from krielstones across western Immoren, accumulating a wealth of ancient teachings. Over time, keeping even a limited selection of the most spiritually potent writings has become an unwieldy burden. A number of stout pygmy trolls volunteered to help shoulder the legendary shaman’s burden. Those taking on this task are loaded down with enough scrolls and cases to rival the weight of equipment borne by the most heavily armored kriel warriors. The deep communion between Doomshaper and the greatest trolls is more than a matter of lore—it has changed the shaman’s very being. When he entered into a pact with Mulg the Ancient, offering his own hand for consumption,
SCROLL BEARERS TOUGH PYG – This model is a Pyg model. SCROLL BEARER – Once at any time during each of Doomshaper’s activations while he is B2B with this model, he can use one of the following scrolls. Each scroll can be used only once per game. • SCROLL OF THE CALL OF TROQAL – While in Doomshaper’s control range, each warbeast in his battlegroup can gain 0 fury when forced to use its animus instead of gaining fury points equal to the COST of the animus. Scroll of the Call of Troqal lasts for one turn. • SCROLL OF THE HAND OF YOLANDI – While in Doomshaper’s control range, enemy models pay double the focus or fury point cost to cast or upkeep spells. Scroll of the Hand of Yolandi lasts for one round. • SCROLL OF THE STRENGTH OF THE MOLGUR –
While in Doomshaper’s control range, friendly Faction warrior models gain an additional die on attack rolls. Discard the lowest die in each roll. Scroll of the Strength of the Molgur lasts for one turn.
UP YES
Target enemy warbeast suffers –2 FURY and THR and loses its animus. The spellcaster can cast an affected warbeast’s animus as if the animus belonged to a warbeast in the spellcaster’s battlegroup and control range.
Hoarluk Doomshaper has cemented himself by word and deed as an essential pillar of the United Kriels. Through his exploration into the history and the blood of trolls, he unearthed long-forgotten secrets; his indomitable will tore legends from the krielstones of the past and brought them roaring into the present, hungry and filled with rage. His most dire predictions have come true. Many who once shunned him for his radical ideals now beseech him for aid. And while his words are an incitement to war, the shaman would sacrifice everything to ensure his people endure.
36
SCROLL BEARERS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 5 5 4 13 13 8
TACTICAL TIPS Repudiate – Because they expire immediately, upkeep spells and animi that had an effect when the model/unit was hit or damaged will have no effect.
Doomshaper learned to regenerate as trolls do. He has learned to extend this tremendous regenerative power to the trolls under his command, making them tenacious beyond belief. The Shaman of the Gnarls has never ceased searching for newer and greater weapons to add to his arsenal, to prove the existence of creatures even greater than the dire trolls. Through his scrolls he looked back to legends from the dawn of the world, when mountains walked and when the earth of Dhunia’s body mixed with the Wurm’s predatory blood to birth the progenitors of all trollkind. He found ancient markers specifying where the troll kings had been imprisoned. Against the grave warnings passed down by his ancestors, he awakened and freed them. Soon thereafter he journeyed to the frozen north and secured their wintry cousins, the glacier kings. In doing so Doomshaper unleashed beings as dangerous as they are fearsome, but he knows that only such extreme measures can reverse the horrors inflicted on his people. While other leaders among the kriels seek to make the best of the hand dealt to them, Doomshaper does not accept retreats or self-defeating compromises. His success in locating the troll kings sparked his desire to retrieve more of their kind from slumber, to find other ways to bring pain and destruction to his enemies. A thousand terrified screams are not enough to begin to balance the scales, and Doomshaper is ready to release an avalanche of carnage.
37
CAPTAIN GUNNBJORN TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK Born among the trollkin of Ceryl, Gunnbjorn spent his youth in city streets and dockside warehouses, far from the ancient villages traditionally inhabited by his people. His father, once a powerful warlock, had allowed his own mystic potency to atrophy—likely from drunkenness and isolation from the wild. As a youth, Gunnbjorn was never exposed to full-blood trolls. While he heard stories of the exploits of wilderness warlocks, he was convinced such tales were just myths of his people. The poverty of his tribe disgusted him, and he turned his back on the trollkin community.
FURY: 6 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 7 6 6 15 16 9
GUNNBJORN 1
BAZOOKA RNG ROF AOE POW 12 1 3 14
AXE RNG POW P+S 0.5 4 11
Gunnbjorn embraced the human nation he saw as his true homeland and enlisted as a trencher when he came of age. Although trollkin are uncommon in the Cygnaran Army, they are almost never turned away due to their great strength, endurance, and loyalty. In the following years, Gunnbjorn quickly rose through the enlisted ranks and eventually earned an officer commission.
DAMAGE:17 WB +28
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
GUNNBJORN 1 TOUGH FIELD MARSHAL [KILL SHOT] – Warbeasts in this
model’s battlegroup gain Kill Shot. (Once per activation, when an enemy model is destroyed or removed from play as a result of a melee attack made by a model with Kill Shot during its activation, immediately after that attack is resolved the model with Kill Shot can make one basic ranged attack.)
BAZOOKA CRITICAL DEVASTATION – On a critical hit, models hit
are thrown d6˝ directly away from the attacker. Roll distance once for all models affected. Models thrown do not deviate. Move models farthest from the attacker first. Instead of suffering blast damage, models hit but not directly hit suffer a damage roll with POW equal to half the POW of this weapon. The POW of collateral damage is equal to half the POW of this weapon.
FEAT: FORTIFICATION Few can endure the terrible onslaught of war better than those who carry the blood of trolls, and Gunnbjorn has fought across countless crater-pocked battlefields. With a single surge of his defiant magic, each of his men becomes an unassailable fortress able to stand resolute amid a hail of bullets and earth-shaking explosions. While in Gunnbjorn’s control range, friendly Faction models gain cover, do not suffer damage from ranged attacks, and cannot become knocked down. Fortification lasts for one round.
SPELLS EXPLOSIVO
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
6 –
– UP NO
Target friendly Faction model’s ranged weapons gain Damage Type: Magical . If the affected model directly hits and boxes an enemy model with an attack from a ranged weapon, center a 3˝ AOE on the boxed model, then remove that model from play. Models in the AOE are hit and suffer an unboostable POW 8 magical blast damage roll . GUIDED FIRE
3 SELF CTRL – TURN NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, models in its battlegroup gain boosted ranged attack rolls for one turn. ROCK WALL
2
CTRL WALL
–
UP
NO
Place a wall template anywhere completely within the spellcaster’s control range where it does not touch a model’s base, an obstruction, or an obstacle. The wall is an obstacle that provides cover. SNIPE
2
6 –
– UP NO
Target friendly Faction model’s/unit’s ranged weapons gain +4 RNG.
Gunnbjorn’s no-nonsense attitude earned him the respect of his men, and his grasp of strategy and careful tactical planning earned his company many dangerous and high-profile missions. During the Cygnaran retreat from Northguard, Gunnbjorn’s composure served as a rallying point for the trenchers under his command. The survivors still speak of their captain standing like a rock in the chaos of the retreat, fighting a one-man rearguard action. Throughout his Cygnaran military career, Gunnbjorn took notice of the displaced trollkin refugees pouring from the Thornwood and other contested regions. When his superiors ordered him to oversee the displacement of a small kriel near Point Bourne, he grimly resolved to do his duty. During the action, an elder trollkin refused to vacate his ancient stone hut, and Gunnbjorn found himself screaming at the aging trollkin before striking him to the ground. The elder’s staring reproach shook the warrior to the core. Other soldiers set fire to the village before he could respond, and Gunnbjorn could only watch as the trollkin were dragged from their homes and pushed toward the road. Reeling from his epiphany, he left his company to make his way back to Ceryl and seek guidance. He went to beg the forgiveness of his father, but the elders sadly told him of his sire’s ignominious death, months earlier. Sensing Gunnbjorn was on the cusp of a spiritual transformation, they advised him to seek out the great chieftain Madrak Ironhide, whose deeds had already been made famous throughout the scattered kriels. The chance to put his military training to a noble purpose appealed to Gunnbjorn. After his arrival in Crael Valley, where Ironhide’s Thornwood refugees were gathered, not only did he find welcome among the community’s trollkin, but he also experienced an immediate connection with the full-blood trolls gathered there. He knelt before Ironhide. Without a word, Madrak placed his hand on the young warlock’s head and welcomed him back to his people. Since then Gunnbjorn has used every waking moment to help the trollkin better themselves. He rapidly learned to harness the power over full-blood trolls passed down from his father. He is a stern but proficient taskmaster determined to make warriors of the trolls, trollkin, and pygs he leads into battle, and daily his troops grow more practiced and deadly. His time with Cygnar has convinced him the trollbloods must become a real nation with a real army, and he intends to see that come to pass.
TACTICAL TIPS Fortification – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown. Guided Fire – The spellcaster gains the boosts as well.
38
39
HORGLE, THE ANVIL TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK The destruction of his kriel at the talons of Everblight’s legion set Horgle Ironstrike on a solitary path filled with fiery conflict across the wilds of western Immoren. Along the way he had many opportunities to perfect both his craftsmanship as a smith and his powers as a warlock. Though he remains a loner, uncomfortable among even his own kind, he has found a new sense of purpose in forging weapons and armor for the kriels. Even as he provides his assistance, he strives to preserve his autonomy, refusing to put down roots and always requiring compensation for his labor. Most who know him would describe Horgle as grim and mercenary, but the warlock’s actions are rooted in what he believes is best for the kriels. While there is no denying he has a bleak and pessimistic outlook, that has never prevented him from pitching in to fight for the kin or lending his trolls to face down their foes.
FURY: 6 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 7 4 14 17 8
HORGLE 2
IMPLEMENTS OF HEARTH & FORGE RNG POW P+S 1 5 12 DAMAGE:17 PC +29
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
HORGLE 2 IMMUNITY: FIRE TOUGH BURNT MEAT – Warbeasts in this model’s battlegroup can charge enemy models suffering the Fire continuous effect without being forced. FIELD MARSHAL [IMMUNITY: FIRE] – Warbeasts in this model’s battlegroup gain Immunity: Fire .
IMPLEMENTS OF HEARTH & FORGE CONTINUOUS EFFECT: FIRE DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL CHAIN ATTACK: IGNITION – If this model hits the same model with both its initial attacks with this weapon, after resolving the attacks the model hit and other models within 2˝ of it suffer a POW 12 fire damage roll and the Fire continuous effect . These damage rolls are not considered to have been caused by an attack. Chain Attack: Ignition damage is simultaneous.
FEAT: STOKING THE FLAMES Horgle, the Anvil understands the blistering heat of the forge. Channeling his wrath to stoke the fires of battle, he awakens a rage found within all who have the blood of trolls. Drawn to the beacons of scorching flames, those under his command lash out with blazing ferocity. Friendly Faction models gain boosted attack and damage rolls against enemy models in Horgle’s control range suffering the Fire continuous effect . Stoking the Flames lasts for one turn.
SPELLS
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF
CONSUMING FLAMES 3 10 4 12 – YES
Consuming Flames causes fire damage . Models hit suffer the Fire continuous effect . FIRESTARTER
2
6 –
– UP NO
Target a model in the spellcaster’s battlegroup. That model’s melee and ranged weapons gain Continuous Effect: Fire . INVIOLABLE RESOLVE
2
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains +2 ARM and cannot be moved by a push or a slam. Models are not affected while out of formation. SOLID GROUND
2 SELF CTRL – UP NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, friendly Faction models cannot become knocked down and do not suffer blast damage.
40
Horgle’s journeys have tended to draw him toward sites of bloodshed and mayhem, more in answer to the fires within himself than through any deliberate intent. He reached the Bloodstone Marches to visit the newly established settlement founded in the shadow of Mount Shyleth Breen by the old Thornwood kriels just as they were assailed on all sides by ravaging gatormen and farrow. Amid this crucible of carnage, Horgle truly came into his own as he put aside all hesitations to stand among the kin in defense of their home. This battle also forced him to reexamine his basic values. It became apparent to the young warlock that a real and tangible apocalypse was taking place all around him, and that only unflinching resolve and the ability to make hard choices would see the kriels endure. In the aftermath, when most of the United Kriels departed for new lands—giving up the wilds that were theirs by right—Horgle remained behind to beat back those forces that had assailed his people. While he still relishes the opportunity to exact revenge on the minions of Everblight, he is more than willing to unleash his simmering rage against any enemies of the kriels. He has made tentative contact and friendship with several of the greatest lore-masters of the United Kriels, individuals like Hoarluk Doomshaper and Ragnor Skysplitter, who have tasked him with restoring the great weapons of the kriels. When not laboring at the forge, Horgle fights with sword and hammer to protect the flickering, guttering flame that is the trollkin race.
TACTICAL TIPS Solid Ground – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown.
41
MADRAK IRONHIDE, THORNWOOD CHIEFTAIN TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK Madrak Ironhide has proven himself a truly great leader of his people. Leadership in times of peace is easy, but Madrak has overcome many recent trials and tribulations. His life has been darkened by ill omens and setbacks that would crush the spirit of a lesser chief. Madrak fights on and retains the hope of leading his people to a better life.
FURY: 5 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 8 7 6 14 17 9
MADRAK 1
THROWN RATHROK RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 — 15
RATHROK RNG POW P+S 2 7 15 DAMAGE:18 WB +29
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
MADRAK 1 TOUGH SCROLL OF GRINDAR’S PERSEVERANCE – This model
can use Scroll of Grindar’s Perseverance once per game when directly hit by an attack. This model suffers no damage roll from the attack. Declare use of the scroll after this model is hit but before the damage roll is made.
THROWN RATHROK DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL BLOOD BOON – Once per activation, immediately after
resolving an attack in which it destroyed an enemy model with this weapon, this model can cast a spell with COST 3 or less without spending fury points. RICOCHET – When this model directly hits an enemy model with an attack with this weapon, immediately after the attack is resolved this model can make another ranged attack with this weapon targeting another model within 4˝ of the model originally hit, ignoring LOS and this weapon’s RNG. Attacks gained from Ricochet cannot generate additional attacks from Ricochet. THROWN – Apply any modifiers to this model’s STR to the POW of this weapon.
RATHROK DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL BLOOD BOON – See above.
FEAT: CRUSHER The greatest chieftain ever to rise to dominance from the Thornwood Forest, Madrak Ironhide eagerly fights alongside his kin in battle. His mere presence inspires allies to tremendous feats of ferocity as they crush one enemy after another in a frenzied succession of blows. Friendly Faction models currently in Madrak’s control range can immediately make one basic melee or ranged attack.
SPELLS GUIDED HAND
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6
–
–
TURN NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains an additional die on each model’s first melee attack roll this turn. STONE FALL
3
8
4
13
–
2
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains +2 DEF and cannot become knocked down. Models are not affected while out of formation.
42
Eventually human warfare spread across the Thornwood and other remote places inhabited by the kriels. Madrak could not turn away the refugees who came to him for aid and soon found himself responsible for a staggering number of kriels. When an army of the Cryxian dead brazenly swept through the region, killing everything in their path, he was forced to embrace a desperate solution. Madrak undertook a pilgrimage to a special kuor serving as the resting place for an ancient weapon: the axe Rathrok, or “World Ender,” once wielded by Horfar Grimmr of the Molgur. Legends proclaimed that this weapon was so mighty that wielding it would bring a dire curse upon the world to herald the end of days and unleash the Devourer Wurm. Knowing his people faced annihilation by the unrelenting horrors of the Nightmare Empire, Ironhide brought the weapon forth to wield against the invading darkness. Even with Rathrok’s power, Madrak slowly lost ground to the inexhaustible enemy. Desperate, the chief sought audience with his Cygnaran blood brother and negotiated what he thought would be the salvation of his people. Although the kriels gained a temporary home in unused lands, their migration eventually put them in the path of the invading skorne. When Madrak returned to King Leto to demand the safer lands promised, Leto claimed to be beholden to his own nobles and offered only excuses. Returning emptyhanded to his people, Madrak barely survived a vicious assassination attempt by his longtime allies, the blackclad druids, aided by a traitor among his own trusted kin. Only the intervention of Hoarluk Doomshaper saved his life. After the attack Madrak swore to join Doomshaper in carving out a safe place for the kriels even if it unleashed a river of blood and invited the doom of World Ender.
YES
On a critical hit, models hit lose their initial attacks and cannot make power attacks or special attacks for one round. SURE FOOT
Despite being born an albino sorcerer, as a youth Madrak earned renown by outfighting his peers atop the kuor dueling platform. The adventurous young trollkin also pushed his limits exploring the ominous Thornwood Forest, until one day a band of Tharn ambushed him. Hopelessly outnumbered, he drew his weapon and screamed the battle cry of his kriel. In this moment of doom, the air was split by a flash of lightning and the crackle of thunder. Madrak’s unlikely saviors were humans led by a young man wearing the Cygnus. Back at his kriel, Madrak feasted the youth and evoked the tradition of the kulgat ceremony, which made them blood brothers for life. Decades later this youth became King Leto, the ruler of Cygnar, even as Madrak himself became chief of his tribe.
TACTICAL TIPS Crusher – Additional Crusher attacks are made without spending fury or being forced. Sure Foot – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown.
43
MADRAK IRONHIDE, WORLD ENDER TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK FURY: 5 MADRAK 2 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 8 8 6 14 17 9
THROWN RATHROK RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 — 15
RATHROK RNG POW P+S 2 7 15 DAMAGE:18 WB +28
FA C
THROWN RATHROK DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL GRIEVOUS WOUNDS – A model hit by this weapon loses Tough and cannot have damage removed from it for one round. RATHROK’S AWAKENING – This model gains 1 fury point each time it destroys a living enemy model with this weapon. THROWN – Apply any modifiers to this model’s STR to the POW of this weapon.
RATHROK
MADRAK 2 TOUGH FIELD MARSHAL [RELENTLESS CHARGE] – Warbeasts in this model’s battlegroup gain Relentless Charge. GRIM SALVATION – If this model is directly hit by a basic attack made by an enemy model, choose a friendly nonincorporeal warrior model within 3˝ of it to be directly hit instead. That model is automatically hit and suffers all damage and effects. RELENTLESS CHARGE – While advancing as part of a charge, this model gains Pathfinder .
DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL GRIEVOUS WOUNDS – See above.
Madrak Ironhide has led his people through innumerable seemingly hopeless battles and persisted even in the face of impossible odds. As Madrak rallies his warriors, Rathrok’s power lets them tap into reserves they did not even know they had. When all hope seems lost, Madrak and his followers use this strength to expend themselves in one last desperate attack, giving their all to decimate the enemy. While in Madrak’s control range, friendly Faction models gain Berserk and Overtake. Desperate Hour lasts for one turn. (When
When he was wielding Rathrok and its power began to awaken, foul weather seemed to follow Madrak, rainstorms becoming torrents and winds becoming gales. The great chief suffered visions he knew were not real. Walking past a summer meadow, he saw instead an ancient battlefield strewn with corpses and the tattered banners of forgotten nations and tribes. Everywhere the marks of war appeared to him, and in response his blood surged with a peculiar longing for strife. Madrak’s growing power brought him victory after victory in combat, yet he found no peace or calm. While accursed he was able to take delight neither in the arms of his mate nor in the sight of young trollkin. Everywhere he saw the signs of future and past conflict and felt the tug of some ancient, bloodthirsty call. The warriors gathered around him were different than they were before he shouldered this burden: darker of mien, fiercer in temperament, and more eager to kill and throw away their lives for his cause. Friends who once trusted him with their lives began to look at him with fear and uncertainty.
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6
–
–
UP NO
Target friendly Faction warrior model/unit gains an additional die on melee damage rolls but suffers –2 DEF. ERUPTION
FEAT: DESPERATE HOUR
For a time, concerns over the fate of his dislocated people occupied all Madrak’s attention, and their eventual disposition continues to burden him. Soon enough, however, this preoccupation was eclipsed by difficulties of a more ominous nature. As Madrak fought with Rathrok, something deep within the weapon awoke. Mastering his own fate proved to be more difficult than Ironhide ever imagined.
44
SPELLS BLOOD FURY
RATHROK’S AWAKENING – See above.
BASE:MEDIUM
a model with Berserk destroys one or more models with a melee attack during its Combat Action, immediately after the attack is resolved it must make one additional melee attack against another model in its melee range.) (When a model with Overtake destroys one or more enemy models with a basic melee attack during its Combat Action, after the attack is resolved it can immediately advance up to 1˝.)
3 8 3 14 RND YES
Models hit suffer a POW 14 fire damage roll . This spell’s AOE is a cloud effect and hazard that remains in play for one round. Models entering or ending their activations in the AOE suffer an unboostable POW 14 fire damage roll . WARPATH
3
SELF CTRL –
UP NO
When a friendly Faction model in the spellcaster’s control range destroys one or more enemy models with a melee or ranged attack during its activation, immediately after the attack is resolved one warbeast in the spellcaster’s battlegroup that is in its control range can advance up to 3˝. A warbeast can advance as a result of Warpath only once per turn.
Madrak tried to rid himself of Rathrok many times but eventually resigned himself to the fact that he could not simply put it aside. Countless times he has left it locked away, only for it to appear in his hand when battle came. He asked the best smiths of his people to destroy it, but they could not even mar its leather bindings. It refused to release him. Madrak began to believe the visions and the impulses he felt were a sign of Horfar Grimmr reaching through the axe from beyond the grave to influence his decisions. During this period, Ironhide’s followers still shouted his name and praised his strength and wisdom, but others spread warnings. Many kriels are still afraid of the storms that linger where he passes. For some it is Madrak—not his axe—they now call the “World Ender.”
TACTICAL TIPS Grim Salvation – This special rule is not optional. Rathrok’s Awakening – This model can exceed its FURY in fury points as a result of Rathrok’s Awakening.
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MADRAK, GREAT CHIEFTAIN TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK FURY: 6 MADRAK 3 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 8 7 7 14 16 10
THROWN SPEAR RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 — 14
SHIELD GUARD – Once per round, when a friendly model is directly hit by a non-spray ranged attack during your opponent’s turn while within 3˝ of this model, you can choose to have this model directly hit instead. This model is automatically hit and suffers all damage and effects. This model cannot use Shield Guard while it is incorporeal, knocked down, or stationary.
SPEAR
THROWN SPEAR
RNG POW P+S 2 6 14
RELOAD [1] – This model can spend up to 1 fury
SHIELD OF VOLARR RNG POW P+S 0.5 4 12
DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL
point to make one additional ranged attack with this weapon during its Combat Action. THROWN – Apply any modifiers to this model’s STR to the POW of this weapon.
SPEAR DAMAGE:18 WB +29
FA C
MADRAK 3 TOUGH PROTECTIVE AURA – This model can spend 1 fury point
to use Protective Aura at any time during its activation. When it does, friendly Faction models gain +2 ARM while within 4˝ of this model +1˝ for each fury point on this model. Protective Aura lasts for one round. RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE – If one or more friendly Faction warrior models were destroyed or removed from play by enemy attacks while within 5˝ of this model during the last round, during your Maintenance Phase this model can advance up to 3˝ and make one basic melee attack.
DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL SHIELD BEAT BACK – Immediately after a basic attack
with this weapon is resolved during this model’s Combat Action, the enemy model hit can be pushed 1˝ directly away from the attacking model. After the enemy model is pushed, the attacking model can advance up to 1˝ directly toward it.
Madrak Ironhide has dedicated his life to guiding the United Kriels through a history fraught with suffering and betrayals. Madrak once wielded the cursed axe Rathrok, the World Ender, taken up out of desperation in the hope of using its power to save his people from impending destruction. Freed from the burden of that ancient weapon, Madrak returned to those loyal to him and has resumed the mantle of leadership, lending his strength to his people and drawing on theirs in return. The Battle of Bloodstone in 609 AR nearly saw Madrak’s people destroyed despite the defenses they had built to protect their village in the desert south of the Iosan Peaks. Yet Madrak prevailed by drawing on Rathrok’s power, surrendering himself at last to the weapon. This harrowing choice nearly brought the Devourer Wurm into the world, yet also freed Madrak of his burden. In the aftermath of this battle and seeing nothing for them in the west, Madrak took his people on a great pilgrimage to the southeast to find them a new home. In the lands of Alchiere, Madrak seeks to reconcile old trollkin traditions with a modern and disciplined armed force.
46
The great chieftain has seen his fill of death. Calling upon the power of Dhunia he gives tremendous vitality to his warriors. Trollkin flesh becomes as steel, and the strikes of the enemy serve only to impel the warriors of the United Kriels to drive deeper into their midst. While in Madrak’s control range, friendly Faction warrior models cannot become knocked down. When a friendly Faction warrior model makes a Tough roll of 4, 5, or 6 while in Madrak’s control range, that model can remove 1 damage point and can immediately advance up to 3˝. Rallying Cry lasts for one round.
SPELLS FORTUNE
SHIELD OF VOLARR BASE:MEDIUM
FEAT: RALLYING CRY
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6
–
–
UP NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit can reroll its missed attack rolls. Each attack roll can be rerolled only once as a result of Fortune. REBUKE
2
10
–
–
UP YES
Target model/unit cannot give orders, receive orders, or make power attacks or special attacks. SOOTHING SONG 1
SELF CTRL
–
–
NO
Remove up to 1 fury point from each friendly living Faction warbeast currently in the spellcaster’s control range. Soothing Song can be cast only once per activation. SPELLPIERCER 2
SELF CTRL –
TURN NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, the weapons of friendly Faction models/units gain Blessed and Damage Type: Magical . Spellpiercer lasts for one turn.
To this new land, the once displaced kriels brought many relics of their past. Among them is the Shield of Volarr that once protected the legendary Tolok warrior Grindar. Thought to have been lost in battles against the Orgoth, this artifact is now wielded by Madrak Ironhide and symbolizes his path as a leader who has stepped from the past to seize the future. Shield in hand, he stands as a bulwark against any who would threaten the kriels in their new home. Alchiere has presented its own host of problems for the trollkin as the threats of the old world have been replaced by those of the new. Cunning beasts and indigenous jungle tribes have contested with Madrak and his people as they fight to build a new home for themselves. Now settled with his mate Kargess and his young son Dag, Madrak hopes he will have the chance to preserve a lasting legacy for his kith and kriels.
TACTICAL TIPS Beat Back – You cannot move toward a model you destroyed. Protective Aura – This model is affected by Protective Aura. Righteous Vengeance – This model moves after continuous effects have been resolved during your Maintenance Phase.
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BORKA KEGSLAYER & KEG CARRIER TROLLBLOOD NORTHKIN TROLLKIN WARLOCK & TROLLBLOOD NORTHKIN PYG SOLO A towering wall of solid muscle, bloodstained armor, and vital strength, Borka Kegslayer has become a legendary trollkin folk hero across the frozen north. His wanderlust drives him from kriel to kriel with a rowdy and loyal war band of trolls and trollkin warriors. He enters the company of his peers like a giant and commands the absolute attention of everyone around him. Some elders find him uncouth and even savage, like a bloody-minded chief of ancient times.
FURY: 5 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 9 7 5 14 17 8
BORKA 1
BOMB RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 3 12
Those who join Borka discover his notorious disregard for peril. Before every battle he leads his warriors in a ritualized round of boastful drinking before roaring a battle cry and charging into the fray. Even against seemingly impossible odds he always emerges intact, laughing triumphantly, having crushed to a bloody pulp any who dared stand against him.
TRAUMA RNG POW P+S 2 6 15 DAMAGE:18 WB +28
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
BORKA 1 IMMUNITY: COLD TOUGH UNYIELDING – While engaging an enemy model, this model gains +2 ARM.
TRAUMA DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL CRITICAL PITCH – On a critical hit against a model with
an equal or smaller base, the model hit can be thrown d6˝ directly away from this model. The model thrown does not deviate. The POW of collateral damage is equal to the STR of this model
FEAT: BARROOM BLITZ With a bellowed shout to his goddess, Borka fuels his war party with a wave of irrepressible fury, turning man and warbeast alike into living engines of destructive force. Friendly Faction models beginning a charge, slam power attack, or trample power attack in Borka’s control range gain +2˝ movement. Warbeasts in Borka’s battlegroup beginning their activations in his control range can make power attacks without being forced and gain an additional die on collateral damage and power attack damage rolls. Barroom Blitz lasts for one turn.
SPELLS ARCANE WARD
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains +2 DEF and cannot be targeted by enemy spells. Models are not affected while out of formation. MOSH PIT
3 SELF CTRL – TURN NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, friendly Faction models gain Knockdown on their melee weapons. Mosh Pit lasts for one turn. (When a model is hit with an attack by a weapon with Knockdown, it becomes knocked down.) WIND WALL
3
SELF
–
–
RND NO
The spellcaster cannot make ranged attacks after casting this spell, and non-magical ranged attacks targeting it automatically miss. While completely within 3˝ of the spellcaster, models cannot make ranged attacks and non-magical ranged attacks targeting them automatically miss. Wind Wall lasts for one round.
Though Borka is a Dhunian shaman, he bears no resemblance to the conservative elders normally associated with the title. The calling of the goddess came clearly to him, and he chose to join a line of shamans who embrace strife as the means to ensure the strongest blood survives. The great must crush the weak, and those who confront destiny can carve their immortality upon the surfaces of a dozen krielstones—or so Borka believes. Borka follows the Dhunian principles of fertility, believing firmly in the responsibility of every shaman to ensure the survival and prosperity of the species. He seeks to spread his seed as far as possible and boasts notable offspring among dozens of northern kriels. As with other shamans, male and female, rearing the young is not his responsibility; that duty falls to their kith. A number of these progeny have reached maturity and proven themselves in combat. Some have tracked down their sire and earned the right to fight at his side. The trollkin warrior is an absentminded but enthusiastic mentor to those who come to follow his example. Countless battles have taught him not to form attachments to the kin who join him in battle. Death is a constant in Borka’s life, and he faces it directly and without regret. He mourns for the dead briefly—often with a single great bout of drinking and reminiscence—before moving on to the next engagement as eager for bloodshed as ever. Borka gained early infamy after the savage human tribe called the Ruscar slaughtered a number of kriels along the eastern Falconbridge River in northern Khador. Borka and a small band of warriors went into the Rimeshaws to claim revenge, calling out winter trolls from their secluded lairs to join the hunt. Hundreds of Ruscar gathered in ambush at Velter Pass brandishing cleft spears and bows. Borka and his champions swore oaths of relentless vengeance as they drank until their vision blurred. Borka then drove his forces straight into the throat of the ambush and marched unharmed through a hail of arrow fire to unleash the full fury of his trolls. Kegslayer fought his way to the center of the barbarians and shattered the helmet and skull of the enemy chief with one tremendous blow from his mace. At the end of the battle, just over two dozen stalwart trollkin had bled out their lives amid snow-covered trees, yet Borka’s band had piled up the enemy dead. The Ruscar that survived, humbled and afraid, fled back to the shelter of their wooden halls. Their terror did not end, however. Borka and his followers set upon village after village, routing the barbarians from their homes and leaving the once-proud halls to burn. The survivors of several kriels keep Borka’s deeds alive in memory and story. Borka’s reputation grew as he faced similar odds again and again. He has a nose for war, and his path inevitably takes him to the bloodiest fighting. Over the next several years, he pitted his strength against the human Vorgoi and Vindol tribes and at least
TACTICAL TIPS
48
Arcane Ward – Animi are spells.
49
KEG CARRIER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 5 5 4 13 12 6
KEG BASH RNG POW P+S 0.5 3 8 DAMAGE:5 FA C
BASE:SMALL
ATTACHED [BORKA KEGSLAYER] – This model is
attached to Borka Kegslayer. Each warlock can have only one model/unit attached to it.
KEG CARRIER IMMUNITY: COLD TOUGH COMPANION [BORKA KEGSLAYER] – This model is included in any army that includes Borka Kegslayer. If Borka Kegslayer is destroyed or removed from play, remove this model from play. This model is part of Borka Kegslayer’s battlegroup. PARTY FOUL – If this model is destroyed by an enemy attack, during your next Maintenance Phase one friendly Faction model/unit can advance 3˝ and make one basic melee attack. TOP OFF (HACTION) – RNG B2B. Target Borka Kegslayer. If Borka Kegslayer is in range, he gains 2 fury points and Stumbling Drunk. Stumbling Drunk lasts for one round. (A model with Stumbling Drunk cannot become knocked down. If it is hit by an enemy attack at any time except while it is advancing, after the attack is resolved it is pushed d3˝ in a direction determined by the deviation template, then you can choose its facing.)
50
once against the Nyss of the Shard Spires. After he freed an entire tribe of enslaved pygs following a clash with the fierce trollkin Galtor kriel, they pledged themselves to his service in gratitude and now follow him enthusiastically. The stoutest of their number serve him directly by carrying his kegs into battle—a duty of great honor and importance. Hailing as he does from a region of conflict and competing kriels, Borka was initially displeased at recent attempts by elders to unite their people. This made Borka’s decision to throw in with Chief Madrak Ironhide and his United Kriels an unexpected turn of events. Ironhide puts his life on the line for his people, and Borka has learned to respect this quality. From Ironhide he learned a renewed appreciation for the southern kin and their warrior spirit. Borka’s nature irresistibly drives him to seek the heart of the most terrible battles—to fight on the losing side and emerge victorious. While Borka would return for a time to his people in the north, to reunite with his kriel and confront old enemies that had arisen, his perspective on the unity of the kin was forever changed. He stands willing to travel wherever the fights of the kriels take him, bringing his Northkin with him. Borka believes the south can benefit from his unmatched virility, and he will do his part to repopulate the Thornwood and other lost territories. Wherever he travels, his war band follows, bringing with them a raucous blend of drunken revelry, bloodlust, and an appreciation of mayhem.
TACTICAL TIPS Party Foul – Models move after continuous effects have been resolved during the step of the Maintenance Phase that says “Resolve all other effects that occur during the Maintenance Phase.” Top Off – Kegslayer can have more fury points than his FURY as a result of Top Off. Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn in which it was thrown.
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BORKA, VENGEANCE OF THE RIMESHAWS TROLLBLOOD NORTHKIN TROLLKIN WARLOCK As war continues to consume the lands of the trollkin, Borka, Vengeance of the Rimeshaws rides atop his powerful northern bear Arktos like a savage chieftain of old, bringing hope to his beleaguered kin and swift death to his enemies. The years of conflict beside Madrak Ironhide forged Borka’s lust for combat into something greater. Where once Borka strode into battle seeking only personal glory and the thrill of crushing his enemies, he now sees the blows he lands as a vital part of the fight his people are waging for their very survival. Affirmed by the leaders of the kin, Borka revels in combat more than ever, each blow fueled by the certainty that in following his own call to battle he serves his people in their greatest time of need.
FURY: 5 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 7 9 8 5 14 18 9
BORKA 2
BOMB RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 3 12
TRAUMA RNG POW P+S 2 6 15
MOUNT RNG POW 0.5 14
Following his near-death in the Wyrmwall Mountains in a punishing duel against Kromac the Ravenous, Borka returned to his home kriel. There he restored ties to the matriarch of his kriel and was unexpectedly reunited with Arktos, a bear he had saved and befriended as a cub. Recognizing that his old friend still shared his enthusiasm for fighting, Borka took the beast as his own battle mount. The two have become inseparable, and the sight of the pair charging headlong into the enemy in a roaring storm of teeth, claws, and mace chills the marrow of any who face them.
DAMAGE:18 WB +29
FA C
BASE:LARGE
BORKA 2 ASSAULT CAVALRY IMMUNITY: COLD PATHFINDER TOUGH FIELD MARSHAL [IMMUNITY: COLD] – Warbeasts in this
model’s battlegroup gain Immunity: Cold . REPOSITION [3˝] – At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a charge, this model can advance up to 3˝, then its activation ends.
TRAUMA DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL CRITICAL SMITE – On a critical hit, the model hit can be slammed d6˝ directly away from this model. If the model hit has a larger base than the attacking model, it is moved only half the distance rolled. The POW of collateral damage is equal to the STR of this model.
MOUNT CRITICAL KNOCKDOWN – On a critical hit, the model hit becomes knocked down. TRASH – Gain an additional die on damage rolls with this weapon against knocked down targets.
FEAT: ICE STORM Summoning the freezing wind of his northern homelands, Borka shrouds his forces in an obscuring gale. With his allies protected by the wintry cold of Dhunia’s blessings, any who strike against them become frozen to the earth, vulnerable to his retaliation. While in Borka’s control range, models gain Stealth . When an enemy model without Immunity: Cold hits one or more friendly models in Borka’s control range with Immunity: Cold with a melee attack, the enemy model becomes stationary for one round after the attack is resolved. Ice Storm lasts for one round.
SPELLS BATTLE-CHARGED
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2 SELF CTRL – UP NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, models in its battlegroup gain Countercharge. (When an enemy model advances and ends its movement within 6˝ of a model with Countercharge and in its LOS, the model with Countercharge can immediately charge it. A model can use Countercharge only once per round and while not engaged.) FROST HAMMER
2
SP 8
–
12
* YES
Frost Hammer causes cold damage . On a critical hit, the model hit becomes stationary for one round unless it has Immunity: Cold . SNOW SHROUD
2
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains concealment and Immunity: Cold . Models are not affected while out of formation.
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Borka’s time among his kriel along with his recent brush with death has brought a certain clarity to the shaman regarding his love of fighting. His connection to the powers over northern cold bestowed on him by Dhunia has grown deeper, and in battle he can summon and wield the inexorable power of winter itself. Atop his bellowing mount, Borka has become as unstoppable as a winter avalanche, and this newfound mobility has only increased his audacity in battle. Borka is ever at the front of the charge, he and his battlegroup avatars of winter’s fury, but he is not heedless of the cost. Champions of his kith and kriel risk their lives alongside him. This knowledge leads Borka to be fiercer and more determined, since he understands the toll in blood should he fail. For their part, the Northkin are simply glad to have their champion back among them, even if they know he will only remain as long as there are foes to crush.
53
JARL SKULD, DEVIL OF THE THORNWOOD TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK The trollkin now known as the Devil of the Thornwood was never part of the kriels: his kith had been outcast as long as he could remember and had no use for kriel customs. Jarl has always been as willing to raid from trollkin villages as from human caravans. While he freely stole from those who had it easier, he considered violence a last resort and focused instead on lightning-fast raids. His band of trollkin and full-blood trolls would strike from concealment to seize their plunder and embattle those who refused to surrender before vanishing back into the dense fog that continually followed him.
FURY: 6 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 6 5 7 15 15 8
SKULD 1
RUNE PISTOL RNG ROF AOE POW 12 1 — 12
AXE RNG POW P+S 0.5 4 10
Hostile confrontations were inevitable, and after a raid went wrong and resulted in unfortunate deaths on both sides, the Thornwood kriels declared Jarl a full outlaw. Hunted by both humanity and his own kind, Jarl became ever wilier, and both his skill with pistols and his mastery over the full-blood trolls increased. The elders cursed his name, but his repeated close calls and escapes soon made him a folk hero in the eyes of many younger trollkin. Some even left their kriels to join his outlaw band.
DAMAGE:16 WB +30
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
SKULD 1 GUNFIGHTER PATHFINDER TOUGH DODGE – This model can advance up to 2˝ immediately after an enemy attack that missed it is resolved unless it was missed while advancing. It cannot be targeted by free strikes during this movement. FIELD MARSHAL [SWIFT HUNTER] – Warbeasts in this model’s battlegroup gain Swift Hunter. SWIFT HUNTER – When this model destroys one or more enemy models with a basic ranged attack, immediately after the attack is resolved it can advance up to 2˝.
RUNE PISTOL DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL BLACK PENNY – This attack ignores the target in melee
DEF bonus.
FEAT: ROLLING FOG The Devil of the Thornwood can summon a sudden dense fog to roll across the battlefield and plunge the enemy into chaos. Place d3 + 3 4˝ AOE cloud effects anywhere completely within Skuld’s control range. Rolling Fog AOEs do not block friendly Faction models’ LOS. Friendly Faction models can advance through other friendly Faction models that are in a Rolling Fog AOE if they have enough movement to move completely past them. While in one or more Rolling Fog AOEs, living enemy models suffer –2 to attack rolls. Rolling Fog lasts for one round.
SPELLS MAGIC BULLET
2
6
–
–
TURN NO
3
6 –
– UP NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains +2 SPD and DEF against ranged and magic attack rolls. TACTICAL SUPREMACY
2
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains Reposition [3˝]. (At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a charge, a model with Reposition [3˝] can advance up to 3˝, then its activation ends.) WEALD SECRETS
2
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly Faction model/unit gains Pathfinder and Hunter. (A model with Hunter ignores concealment and cover when making a ranged attack.)
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After his kin banded together under his name, the reluctant leader began to realize his fate is not so separate from the United Kriels as he had thought, and he initiated trades with them for mutual favors and protection. Wherever forest invaders leave themselves vulnerable, Skuld is there to ensure they pay a price in coin and blood. Life has grown more difficult for Jarl’s band since the departure of Madrak Ironhide and the displaced kriels, as friends seem harder to come by. He has been forced to make additional contacts among the kin remaining in the west, especially those of the Gnarls and the Wyrmwall. He still prefers to keep to his forest, but when the need of the kriels is dire Jarl will answer the call to bring his guns to battles farther abroad.
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF
If target friendly Faction model’s next basic ranged attack directly hits, after resolving the attack choose another model within 4˝ of the model hit. The chosen model suffers an unboostable POW 12 magical damage roll . The point of origin for this damage is the model hit. This damage is not considered to have been caused by an attack. After resolving this damage roll, Magic Bullet expires. Magic Bullet lasts for one turn. QUICKEN
The Thornwood kriels were thrown into turmoil when Cryxian invaders and war between the human nations destroyed much of their homeland. After Ironhide led the kriels out of the forest, those that remained suffered. Something in Jarl would not let him abandon his home, and he realized he felt a connection to the holdouts as well. Time and again he has reluctantly risked his neck against his own instincts to help those who could not defend themselves. He still weighs every decision, all too aware of the price he paid fighting a Cryxian force attacking one of the last villages near Thornfall, when a blighted weapon took his eye and left an irreparable wound.
TACTICAL TIPS Tactical Supremacy – If a model is part of a unit, its activation does not end until all models in its unit have completed their activations.
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RAGNOR SKYSPLITTER, THE RUNEMASTER TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN RUNESHAPER WARLOCK FURY: 6 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 6 4 14 16 9
RAGNOR 1
RUMBLER RNG POW P+S 1 7 14 DAMAGE:16 WB +30
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
RAGNOR 1 TOUGH STEADY – This model cannot become knocked down.
RUMBLER DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL WARHEAD – When this model directly hits a model
with this weapon, you can center a 4˝ AOE on the model directly hit. Models in the AOE are hit and suffer a POW 10 blast damage roll. This damage is not considered to have been caused by an attack. On a critical hit, models in the AOE become knocked down. This model is not affected by Warhead.
FEAT: STONE’S FORTITUDE Caen is the body of Dhunia, and earth sorcery comes easy to trollkin like Ragnor Skysplitter, who feels its essence in his bones. By his power he imparts the toughness of stone to the flesh of his people, letting them shrug off blows that moments before would have proven lethal. When an enemy model makes a damage roll against a friendly Faction model in Ragnor’s control range, the enemy model rolls one less die. Stone’s Fortitude lasts for one round.
SPELLS EARTH’S SANCTUARY
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
6
–
–
* NO
Target friendly Faction model becomes dug in. (While dug in, a model gains cover, does not suffer blast damage, and does not block LOS. The model remains dug in until it moves, is placed, or is engaged.) HEX BLAST
3 10 3 13 – YES
Enemy upkeep spells and animi on the model/unit directly hit by Hex Blast immediately expire. PULVERIZER
3
6 –
– UP NO
Target friendly model gains +2 STR and its melee weapons gain Beat Back. (Immediately after a basic attack with a weapon with Beat Back is resolved during this model’s Combat Action, the enemy model hit can be pushed 1˝ directly away from the attacking model. After the enemy model is pushed, the attacking model can advance up to 1˝ directly toward it.) SHOCKWAVE
3 10 * 14 – YES
Center a 4˝ AOE on the model directly hit. Models in the AOE become knocked down.
A reclusive scholar of the mystical lore of his people, Ragnor Skysplitter has long secluded himself amid the peaks and valleys of the Wyrmwall Mountains. It is only there, surrounded by the stillness of these towering geological wonders, that the warlock finds peace of mind. Since the early days of youth, Ragnor has delved into the ancient truths that bind the trollkin to the soil and stone of their ancestral lands. His communion with the earth remains as strong as ever. Ragnor has traveled far and wide, seeking the primal histories of trollkin origins in the darkest and most remote corners of the continent. Searching caverns and crevasses alike, he has left no stone unturned, and over the course of his life has uncovered and archived much of what was once lost to the ages. In the past Ragnor considered himself a rival of Hoarluk Doomshaper, as the two of them seek similar lost lore but have vehemently disagreed about certain fundamental truths as well as how best to harness the power they bring. Doomshaper searches for knowledge to unearth weapons for the kin to wield against their enemies, such as humanity. Ragnor has always seen the preservation of such lore as vital for its own sake, seeking to safeguard the writing of ancient krielstones that might otherwise be lost amid upheaval and conflict. Recent years have brought with them change, however, as Ragnor and Doomshaper have reluctantly allied and now share the knowledge they have so painstakingly gathered to help shield the United Kriels against their enemies. Whenever they meet, there is a begrudging respect between them, even as their exchanges are colored by insults and complaints. Preoccupied with his pursuit of artifacts and the study of legendary events, Ragnor still prefers to live in isolation, shunning the complications of trollkin society. Even to his own people it appears that he values the lore and cultural heritage of the trollkin more than he values his people themselves—an impression rooted in truth. His close kinship with the slag trolls and earthborn dire trolls that inhabit the lofty reaches of the mountains also makes his people uneasy. Despite all of this, many of the kriels inhabiting the Wyrmwall have taken to asking for the hermit’s advice or might in times of need—though only as a last resort. In combat Ragnor’s calm and measured demeanor often gives way to fierce determination, particularly when sacred sites or lands long held by the kriels are threatened with destruction. Wide sweeps of his massive rune-covered hammer unleash tremors of explosive force on contact with foes, harnessing the power of the earth itself to hurl their broken bodies to the ground. Clashes with invaders have made Ragnor a legend in his own right among the trollkin of the Wyrmwall, a wrathful lore keeper who stalks the shadowy mists of those mountains. Time and again he has proven as uncompromising as stone when challenged by those who would trespass within those regions he considers under his protection. None who do so are permitted to live. This same stern tenacity has been set loose upon any enemies of the trollkin as they fight to retain their place in western Immoren despite the odds against them.
TACTICAL TIPS Beat Back – You cannot move toward a model you destroyed. Hex Blast – Because they expire immediately, upkeep spells and animi that had an effect when the model/ unit was hit or damaged will have no effect. Steady – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown.
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57
CALANDRA TRUTHSAYER, ORACLE OF THE GLIMMERWOOD TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WARLOCK Calandra Truthsayer is a revered Dhunian shaman whose protective impulses have endeared her to many disparate tribes. Chiefs and elders alike have learned to trust her guidance and draw strength from her portentous messages. In this time of war she remains a beacon of hope and optimism who can always find an encouraging word to bolster the spirits of her followers. These soothing qualities starkly contrast her raw ferocity in battle, which often shocks the battered refugees to whom she ministers. The trollkin’s maternal drive compels her to strike with merciless resolve against any who would harm those she has vowed to protect.
FURY: 8 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 5 4 14 14 8
CALANDRA 1
SALT RNG POW P+S 0.5 4 10 DAMAGE:16 WB +27
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
CALANDRA 1 TOUGH FATE-BLESSED – When a friendly Faction model makes
an attack or damage roll during its activation while in this model’s control range, this model can spend 1 fury point to allow the model to reroll that roll. Each roll can be rerolled only once as a result of Fate-Blessed.
SALT DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL
FEAT: GOOD OMENS Calandra Truthsayer’s unique affinity with Dhunia lets her perceive the vagaries of fate and twist their strands to aid the goddess’ favored sons and daughters. Her blessing to beleaguered kith and kriel serves as a tangible manifestation of her irrepressible faith and optimism. When a friendly Faction model rolls a 1 or 2 on a die in an attack or damage roll while in Truthsayer’s control range, it can reroll the die. Each die can be rerolled only once as a result of Good Omens. Good Omens lasts for one turn.
SPELLS BEFUDDLE
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2 10 –
– – YES
On a hit, you can immediately advance target enemy non-warcaster, non-warlock model up to 3˝. Affected models cannot be targeted by free strikes during this movement. A model can move only once per turn as a result of Befuddle. BULLET DODGER
2
6
–
–
UP
NO
Target friendly Faction model gains +2 DEF and Dodge. (A model with Dodge can advance up to 2˝ immediately after an enemy attack that missed it is resolved unless it was missed while advancing. It cannot be targeted by free strikes during this movement.) MISFORTUNE
3 10 – 12 – YES
A model damaged by Misfortune becomes knocked down. SOOTHING SONG
1 SELF CTRL – – NO
Remove up to 1 fury point from each friendly living Faction warbeast currently in the spellcaster’s control range. Soothing Song can be cast only once per activation. STAR-CROSSED
3 SELF CTRL – RND NO
While in the spellcaster’s control range, enemy models gain an additional die on attack rolls. Discard the highest die of each roll. Star-Crossed lasts for one round.
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As oracle of the Glimmerwood, Calandra is more than a simple shaman. She possesses the rare gift of true sight and is able to discern glimmers of possible futures through divination and augury. She is familiar with many ancient forms of prognostication, feeling each has its merit. Depending on the situation, she might cast bones or runes, shuffle cards, check the alignment of celestial bodies, watch the flight of scattered sparrows, or gaze at the patterns in a flickering campfire or the spilled entrails of her foes. All contain glimpses of the essential truth. Calandra is determined to guide the trollkin through this time of tragedy and help them find the best of all possible futures. She flatly rejects the grim future Hoarluk Doomshaper speaks of to rile his people to war. She joined the embattled kriels to loan her unique vision and her leadership in battle. Calandra has pulled her allies from the brink of certain defeat often enough that her followers no longer see her as naively optimistic. They have begun to believe, and she draws strength from their faith in her. Although she made her name in the Glimmerwood, this great trollkin is a wanderer at heart and rarely stays in any one place for long. She considers this trait her one essential failing as a Dhunian shaman, even though the communities she visits across western Immoren greatly appreciate her presence. Calandra receives a warm welcome everywhere she journeys, whether it be the frostbitten kriels of the Scarsfell, the deeply insular communities of the Gnarls, or the scattered trollkin who have adapted to life alongside mankind. She is one of the few to travel periodically between the new lands founded by Madrak Ironhide in the southeast and back to more traditional trollkin lands in the west. The oracle never travels alone; the bright spark of her destiny has attracted an odd but dedicated band of followers and bodyguards. Each is drawn to her for different reasons, but their motley backgrounds and personalities do not detract from their fighting prowess, particularly when Calandra manipulates the strands of fate around them. Accidental windfalls and miraculous evasions are a matter of course when fighting at her side. Her apparent reliance on luck has rubbed some trollkin the wrong way—the more pragmatic Grissel Bloodsong views it as pure folly—but others see her existence as proof that hope has a power of its own.
59
WARBEASTS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
The warbeasts accompanying trollkin warlocks into battle are far more than simple beasts to be broken beneath the yoke of a warlock’s will. In fact, calling the trolls that serve the united kriels “beasts” hardly seems appropriate given their kinship to the trollkin: full-blood trolls and trollkin are distant blood relations. Because trolls are willing battle participants and allies, their warlocks sacrifice them only when there is no other choice. Trolls are some of the most resilient creatures in Immoren, and their incredible regenerative abilities allow them to recover from wounds that would be crippling or fatal to most creatures. Their blood vessels seal almost instantly even from major injuries, entire limbs are quickly regrown, and even pierced organs often repair themselves. This regeneration grants them immense staying power. The health of full-blood trolls also extends their lifespans—they can live a very long time if they do not instead meet a violent end. So powerful are the regenerative powers of trolls that any significant severed piece of a troll will survive to grow into a diminutive and short-lived creature called a whelp. These creatures are treated akin to pets and provide entertainment to troll and trollkin alike, though they are readily eaten if a troll gets hungry. Trollkin are the only troll species that can’t produce whelps, though whelps frequently attach themselves to trollkin and enjoy emulating their behaviors and clothing. Though all troll breeds are related by blood, their incredible adaptability allows for a vast array of subspecies. All are brutish and temperamental, but a number are intelligent
60
enough to use weapons, and most can speak using a small but functional Molgur-Trul vocabulary. The most common full-blood trolls can grasp relatively complex concepts, though they live simple lives. The gap between the smartest full-blood troll and the most dim-witted trollkin is narrower than some might expect. Still, there are significant differences between troll and trollkin minds. While some trolls appreciate runic carvings, they are illiterate and unable to master the abstract thought required for reading or writing. Most trolls don’t think far into the future and rapidly forget the past. They also don’t demonstrate much imagination or creativity—such mental gifts were reserved by Dhunia for the trollkin themselves. One trait shared between all trolls is having hunger as a constant companion. Their regenerative metabolisms require substantial quantities of food, preferably fresh meat. Trolls have an amazing ability to digest nearly anything, and will sometimes eat rocks or wood or even substances that are toxic to other creatures. Such strange fare can take the edge off hunger, but to gain lasting sustenance a troll needs flesh. The fact that trolls rarely feel pain results in a lack of empathy, which combined with their insatiable hunger encourages them toward violently aggressive behavior and a disregard for life. These characteristics have made trolls the bane of civilized society; humans in particular are terrified of trolls, with good reason. Ferocity and size seem to go hand-in-hand with these creatures: the most ferocious trolls are also the largest. Regardless of the size, it is a truism that a well-fed troll is
a happier and more manageable troll. There is no place on Caen worse than standing in the path of a starving dire troll.
Troll Types
Across the bewildering array of troll subspecies, there are a few distinct categories into which they fall, and each of these groups shares traits and behaviors. The most pervasive and numerous trolls are what trollkin refer to as full-blood trolls. Larger and fiercer than these are the dire trolls, monstrous beasts that were once shunned and avoided but which have become increasingly important to the armed kriels. Greater still are the troll kings, mountains of flesh and stony growths that tower over dire trolls in the same way those brutes loom over regular trolls. Other than these size distinctions, there are subspecies that demonstrate extreme adaptation to their environment. These elemental trolls have supernatural abilities and affinities drawn from their surroundings that give them a special niche as warbeasts, though they are less inclined to use weapons and are often dim-witted. Pygmy trolls are also considered “true” trolls and are the smallest and most intelligent type. Pygs have similar regenerative powers and the ability to create whelps, but
are too small, intelligent, and even-tempered to become warbeasts. They are close enough to trollkin to be considered peers instead, though they are not always treated as full equals in trollkin society.
Full-Blood Trolls
Though the term full-blood troll is sometimes used to refer to any troll larger than a trollkin, usually it signifies the most numerous and “friendly” of the brutes. These trolls can also be found in the wild, but a good number have been living with trollkin kriels for centuries. Full-blood trolls include a number of breeds and bloodlines, all around nine to twelve feet tall and weighing twice as much or more than the average trollkin. Of the trolls used as warbeasts, full-blood trolls are closest in size and intellect to trollkin themselves. There is a strong natural affinity between full-blood trolls and both trollkin and pygmy trolls, such that even those in the wild rarely attack smaller trollish species unless provoked. Most trolls are disinclined to eat trollkin as long as any other food is available. Once they feel at home within a village, a full-blood troll can be given tasks without requiring the supervision of a warlock, since they understand a limited vocabulary of Molgur-Trul and don’t mind doing their share of work.
WARBEASTS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
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In the last decade the legendary shaman Hoarluk Doomshaper made it an extension of his life’s work to bring greater trolls to the kriels and train them as warbeasts. This has allowed trollkin warbands to match the might of the Iron Kingdom militaries. While Doomshaper opened the way, many other warlocks have bonded with dire trolls and added them to their warbands. Word has spread among the dire trolls that their smaller kin are friendly and willing to provide them with ample food. Some dire trolls have come of their own volition down from the mountains and out of the heart of the deepest forests to seek kriel leaders, demanding food.
When a warlock is unavailable, a village shaman or a senior hunter or skinner might be tasked with wrangling trolls. Full-blood trolls need only be “paid” in food as they have no concept of ownership or property, though some become fond of polished stones or favored weapons, and others like to keep trophies from notable kills. Compared to larger breeds, these trolls can exercise some self-restraint, such as keeping extra food for later. If wounded they feel a powerful urge to glut themselves to prime their regeneration. Warlocks have an easy time establishing bonds with fullblood trolls, facilitating the communication and training required to transform them into warbeasts. Taking place over several months, this process fosters cooperation and discourages bad behavior—such as eating things they shouldn’t—as well as becoming acclimated to armor and weapons. Even in the wild it’s not uncommon for trolls to garb themselves in simple hides and to make use of crude weapons like bone clubs, or to employ salvaged weapons. They are not inclined to craft more elaborate gear on their own; trolls equipped with heavy armor and steel weapons have been outfitted by trollkin smiths.
Dire Trolls
Dire trolls are massive beasts standing up to eighteen feet tall and boasting huge, grasping clawed hands and jutting tusks nearly two feet long. All dire trolls possess tremendous strength and tenacity—as well as an ever-present and overwhelming need to eat anything that ventures within reach. They lack the intellect of the smaller species and were until recently considered far too savage to approach, let alone command.
62
WARBEASTS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
This has been both a blessing and a curse, as trollkin communities without warlocks may not know how to manage such beasts. Not only are dire trolls temperamental and dangerous, they require a huge volume of food and can devour or scare off all nearby prey. Shamans try to encourage dire trolls to go where the fighting is fiercest, in the hopes they will glut themselves on the enemies of the kriels. Even in the current climate, handling dire trolls requires considerable caution. No kin in a trollkin village will trust a dire troll that isn’t watched by a warlock, and the massive trolls are kept outside the walls unless needed for battle. The possibility of a dire troll scooping up nearby trollkin offspring or a slowmoving elder as a snack when famished is too great to risk. One boon to the fighting kriels is the fact that dire trolls have a soft spot for pygmy trolls. Pygs have a calming effect on them, almost as if they were the dire trolls’ own offspring. While an especially hungry dire troll might still slip and eat the occasional pyg, they are safer around the brutes than anyone else. This temperament has enabled creative use of dire trolls as weapons platforms, outfitting them with modern firepower. In such cases a pyg rides on the back of a dire troll to man the weapons or facilitate their use. Such coordination requires mutual training, and “pyg aces” earn special esteem among their kind. For their part, individual dire trolls can develop strong emotional attachments to warlocks they fight alongside, and these bonds can override aggressive behavior. Still, a dire troll can only be fully trusted if it has access to sufficient food.
Elemental Trolls
Elemental trolls comprise a variety of subspecies found among both full-bloods and dire trolls, and they have a deep connection to an environment or a natural element, such as cold, earth, or fire. The unusual diets of these trolls may play a role in changing their physiology and augmenting their abilities. The pyre troll’s ability to spew flame might have developed from its consumption of the black, combustible oil that wells from the ground in the Bloodstone Marches. A slag troll’s penchant for eating stone and metal has forced it to evolve powerful stomach acids it can disgorge as a weapon. These trolls dwell in secluded, desolate regions, and their natures have much to do with their surroundings. There are
storm trolls from the Stormlands near the Abyss that can generate deadly voltaic energies, and winter trolls of the cold northern mountains can immobilize prey with their icy breath. All of these trolls are thought to embody the hardiness of trollkind and to reflect the ways Dhunia blesses her favored creatures. There are dire trolls with similar adaptations, such as earthborn dire trolls. Their bodies draw on natural features in their surroundings to empower them, taking adaptability to another level. Roaming the northern mountains are dire trolls who resemble their smaller winter troll cousins.
Troll Kings
The greatest and most powerful of trolls are the troll kings, primordial creatures that are inextricably connected to their environments. These titanic creatures, some over thirty feet tall, are veritable forces of nature. Most trollkin rightfully view them as legends come to life. Indeed, these beings are bound up in Dhunian mythology, thought to be the first children of Dhunia and the Devourer Wurm and the origin of all lesser trolls. Though they hunger and feel driven to feast, they seem to be immortal and ageless.
Little of any certainty is known about these creatures, and they have been fighting alongside warlocks for only a few short years. For thousands of years they were forgotten, most of them sealed away ages ago by the trollkin who feared their unending hunger. A great Dhunian ceremony performed by Hoarluk Doomshaper in the Wyrmwall Mountains had farreaching ramifications, rousing these creatures to break their chains and make their way to the surface. It isn’t clear how many types of troll kings there are. Those imprisoned below the mountains resemble the craggy peaks they inhabited, while others from the frozen north have a glacier-like aspect. Another brine-soaked breed has arisen from the depths of the Meredius and its myriad seas. All of the qualities of dire trolls are magnified in the troll kings, making them truly perilous allies. They cannot be trained or tamed, only restrained by the iron will of veteran warlocks. Attaining their cooperation requires ritualistic summons and offerings of ample food. It remains to be seen if kriels can coexist with these gargantuan beasts without war to distract them. Perhaps it is fortunate the United Kriels have no shortage of enemies.
WARBEASTS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
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DIRE TROLL BLITZER TROLLBLOOD HEAVY WARBEAST BLITZER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 12 6 5 12 18 4
SLUGGER RNG ROF AOE POW 10 d3 — 13
CLAW RNG POW P+S 1 3 15 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3
I
T
SP
IR
5 FURY: 4 PC 16
TACTICAL TIPS Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
THRESHOLD: 9 FA U
BASE:LARGE
BLITZER DUAL ATTACK – This model can make melee and ranged
attacks in the same activation. When this model makes its initial melee attacks or a power attack, it can also make its initial ranged attacks. This model can make ranged attacks even while in melee. REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation in which it runs. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
CLAW OPEN FIST
ANIMUS IRRESISTIBLE FORCE
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
SELF
–
–
TURN NO
The spellcaster gains Bulldoze. Irresistible Force lasts for one turn. (When a model with Bulldoze is B2B with an enemy model during its Normal Movement, it can push that model up to 2˝ directly away from it. A model can be pushed by Bulldoze only once per activation. Bulldoze has no effect when a model makes a trample power attack.)
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In what was undoubtedly an episode of drunken bravado among trollkin warriors, a rapid-fire slugger cannon was strapped to the back of a slumbering dire troll. The combination of firearms and dire trolls held obvious merit as a siege engine able to bound across the field toward its enemy. The final obstacle was overcome by chaining the troll’s arms to keep it from reaching over its head to grab the pygmy troll ace operating the cannon and gobble it up. Pygs have embraced this configuration with surprising enthusiasm and consider their aces enviable heroes. Pygs have always enjoyed an unusual affinity with dire trolls—insofar as any creature can endure the towering beasts—and the trolls appear to return the regard. That is, dire trolls genuinely seem to enjoy the company of their diminutive cousins and generally will not eat them unless there is no other food available.
4
6
Dire troll blitzers—impossible creations plucked from desperate trollkin imagination—strain credulity. When King Leto granted surplus Cygnaran weapons to Chief Ironhide, the king could have never anticipated their ultimate application atop live siege engines.
DIRE TROLL BOMBER TROLLBLOOD HEAVY WARBEAST Beleaguered trollkin kiths have had to draw upon their inherent cleverness and versatility in the face of enemies pressing in on all sides. One of their most effective adaptations was bolstering their armies with heavily armed dire trolls, resilient and fearless cousins able to carry an absurd amount of lethal ordnance. Among the more extreme of these additions is the dire troll bomber, which is armed with kegs of volatile explosives.
BOMBER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 12 6 5 12 18 4
POWDER BOMB RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 4 16
The powder used in firearms is a combination of two separate alchemical reagents that must be carefully weighed and mixed for useful detonation. Other explosives do exist, however, such as the blends favored by miners and loggers who work in the most remote areas. These powders are unsuitable for firearms, as their volatility would destroy gun and cannon barrels, but they make for ordnance lethal to those caught in their blasts. The trollkin stuff barrels with these dangerous substances to create crude but powerful bombs.
CLAW RNG POW P+S 1 3 15
MIND
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
Some kriels have successfully taught dire trolls to hurl these explosive kegs. Though dire trolls cannot be reasonably trained to do any one thing with regularity, they seem to enjoy the fiery eruptions and throw these powder bombs at the enemy with almost cheerful enthusiasm. Foolishly brave pygmy trolls accompany the enormous bombardiers to light the fuses of their dangerous payloads.
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 4 PC 19
TACTICAL TIPS Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
2
1
THRESHOLD: 8 FA U
BASE:LARGE
BOMBER REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
POWDER BOMB RELOAD [1] – This model can be forced once during its
activation to make one additional ranged attack with this weapon during its Combat Action.
CLAW OPEN FIST
ANIMUS FAR STRIKE
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
SELF
–
–
TURN NO
The spellcaster’s ranged weapons gain Snipe. Far Strike lasts for one turn. (An attack with a weapon with Snipe gains +4 RNG.)
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DIRE TROLL MAULER TROLLBLOOD HEAVY WARBEAST MAULER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 12 6 3 12 18 3
BIG MEATY FIST RNG POW P+S 1 4 16 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 5 PC 15
THRESHOLD: 8 FA U
BASE:LARGE
MAULER REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
BIG MEATY FIST OPEN FIST CHAIN ATTACK: GRAB & SMASH – If this model hits
the same model with both its initial attacks with this weapon, after resolving the attacks it can immediately make a head-butt or throw power attack against that target.
ANIMUS RAGE
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6
–
– TURN NO
Target friendly Faction warbeast gains +3 STR. Rage lasts for one turn.
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Almost eighteen feet tall with a body of impenetrable muscle and clawed hands the size of a man, the awesome dire troll has few equals. In ancient days these monsters emerged from the forests to fill their maws with screaming victims— proof to primitive man that primordial dread possessed flesh and an appetite. The modern day has brought no respite; indeed, the only real defense is to flee and hope the trolls glut themselves on slower victims. Magnifying tenfold every unpleasant attribute of regular trolls, dire trolls are nothing less than a menace to all life. Epic stories refer to them as deathless and tireless, able to rend metal or effortlessly splinter bone. Whether dire trolls speak a language is debatable, but they do possess a small range of verbal utterances and can learn to obey Molgur-Trul. It was Hoarluk Doomshaper who had the power, will, and courage to add these terrifying trolls to trollkin battle lines. Dire troll maulers are among the largest and most brutal of the species—too fierce and savage to be trusted with weapons other than their own teeth and claws. They speak a word reserved only for Doomshaper: krol, which might represent worship or deification. Many chiefs believe Hoarluk’s decision to summon the creatures to battle was reckless, but they cannot deny the maulers bring tremendous raw power to the allied kriels. As long as the dire trolls can be managed, they offer the trollkin a great edge in battle.
TACTICAL TIPS Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
EARTHBORN DIRE TROLL TROLLBLOOD HEAVY WARBEAST The sign of Dhunia’s blessing shines clear with the rare and powerful earthborn. Some shamans believe they were shaped from the very substance of Caen itself. They certainly possess a link to the wilderness and to the mother of all kin, for their bodies reshape themselves to their advantage as they advance against their prey. Crossing ground littered with boulders, rocks, and rubble, an earthborn’s skin hardens like angled stone. As its feet sink into water, its legs achieve bursts of terrifying speed. Even more frightening, it boasts immunities against all manner of elemental weaponry.
EARTHBORN SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 12 6 3 12 18 5
CLAW RNG POW P+S 1 3 15 2
1
MIND
Some think the awesome power demonstrated by the earthborn springs directly from the regenerative vitality of trolls. In the earthborn that power has expanded so that their bodies react instantly to their needs in combat. Whatever the root of this ability, the earthborn allows kriel warlocks to face and surpass the petty innovations fielded by the cunning machinations of man, skorne, and dragon.
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
6
SP
IR
5
TACTICAL TIPS
FURY: 4
Earth’s Blessing – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown.
PC 15
Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
THRESHOLD: 9 FA U
BASE:LARGE
EARTHBORN IMMUNITY: COLD IMMUNITY: CORROSION IMMUNITY: ELECTRICITY IMMUNITY: FIRE PATHFINDER ELEMENTAL COMMUNION – While within 2˝ of shallow water, this model gains +2 DEF. While within 2˝ of an obstacle or obstruction, this model gains +2 ARM. If this model begins its activation within 2˝ of rough terrain, it gains +2 SPD this activation. REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
CLAW OPEN FIST
ANIMUS EARTH’S BLESSING
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
SELF
–
–
RND NO
The spellcaster cannot be pushed, knocked down, made stationary, or moved by a slam. Earth’s Blessing lasts for one round.
67
NIGHT TROLL TROLLBLOOD LIGHT WARBEAST NIGHT TROLL SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 8 5 3 12 15 3
WICKED CLAW RNG POW P+S 1 4 12
BITE RNG POW P+S 0.5 3 11 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 3 PC 7
THRESHOLD: 9 FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
NIGHT TROLL EYELESS SIGHT STEALTH MAN-EATER – This model can charge living warrior models without being forced. REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs.
WICKED CLAW CRITICAL PARALYSIS – On a critical hit, a living model
hit has its base DEF reduced to 5 and cannot run, charge, or make slam or trample power attacks for one round.
ANIMUS ATTRACTOR
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1 SELF –
– – NO
Enemy models currently within 2˝ of the spellcaster are immediately pushed 2˝ directly toward it in the order you choose.
68
For those communities of the Iron Kingdoms situated near dark and cave-riddled mountains, the night troll is a rarely seen but profound source of terror. The presence of these creatures is marked by an eerie glow at the mouth of caves, luring animals and the unwary to a gruesome end. This species has adapted superbly to life in the dark caverns of Immoren’s mountains and the subterranean labyrinths below ancient ruins. As its eyes have atrophied, its other senses have sharpened. By day, the trolls sleep in the recesses of their lairs, awakening with the setting of the sun. With the fall of night, they lurk in the mouths of their caverns, and their quills begin to pulse with an otherworldly glow, catching the eye of animals or careless travelers. The mesmerizing patterns of luminescence eventually overcome the fears of the entranced victim, which approaches heedless of instinct or judgment, only to be caught and consumed alive. This horrific fate is almost certainly one of the truths behind cautionary folk tales that stress the dangers of following strange lights in the woods. Trollkin consider night trolls valuable beasts of war despite the fact that their habits and hunting preferences can be problematic. Being nocturnal, these trolls must be compelled to fight during the day and are temperamental when roused. Still, their savage tempers and effective hunting methods make them lethal and terrifying allies for those warlocks willing to work with them. A foe hypnotized on the battlefield is easily torn to shreds by the troll’s venomous, paralyzing claws, and the sight of a ravening night troll feasting on a screaming comrade is a terrible one for any soldier to behold.
PYRE TROLL
TROLLBLOOD LIGHT WARBEAST Pyre trolls are able to belch gouts of combustible liquid that ignites in the air, sticks to flesh, and burns at hellish temperatures. Even their skin exudes heat, smoldering ripples that warn of the inferno to come. After softening a foe with blazing spittle, a pyre troll uses its thick claws to tear apart its sizzling victim.
PYRE TROLL SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 9 5 5 12 16 3
SPEW FIRE RNG ROF AOE POW 10 1 3 12
Trolls are a highly adaptable species able to find a niche in nearly any environment. Pyre trolls are a bizarre and dangerous evolution of the “pitch trolls” more common along the fringes of the Marches, particularly east of Ternon Crag and near Scarleforth Lake. Their skin is tinted dark burgundy to ochre to blend in with red desert sands and better stalk their prey. Preferring extremely hot climates, pyre trolls can often be found sunning on scalding rocks. Perhaps their unnatural temperatures and strange eating habits have addled their brains, for they are noticeably less intelligent than most trolls.
CLAW RNG POW P+S 0.5 3 12 2
1
MIND
No one has been able to determine how pyre trolls developed their searing expectoration. Some speculate it is a byproduct of digestive distress caused by the toxic substances the trolls consume, including rocks, metal, oil, and plants considered deadly to most species. They particularly seem to enjoy drinking the viscous fluid that bubbles up from the soil in the northern Marches—the same substance refined into Menoth’s Fury in the Protectorate of Menoth. Whatever the source of this blazing regurgitation, its effects are memorable: desperate foes thrashing madly about the battlefield in an effort to extinguish the clinging flame.
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 3 PC 9
THRESHOLD: 9 FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
PYRE TROLL IMMUNITY: FIRE IT BURNS! – If this model is hit by a melee attack,
immediately after the attack is resolved the attacking model suffers the Fire continuous effect unless this model was destroyed or removed from play by the attack. REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs.
SPEW FIRE CONTINUOUS EFFECT: FIRE DAMAGE TYPE: FIRE
CLAW OPEN FIST
ANIMUS FLAMING FISTS
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
SELF
–
–
RND NO
The spellcaster gains +2 to melee damage rolls and Immunity: Fire , and its melee weapons gain Continuous Effect: Fire . Flaming Fists lasts for one round.
69
SLAG TROLL TROLLBLOOD LIGHT WARBEAST SLAG TROLL SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 10 6 5 12 17 3
SPEW ACID RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 — 12
Their taste for metal has led slag trolls to metabolize powerful acids able to rapidly dissolve even tempered steel. The species is notoriously ornery, constantly tormented by the metal shards perpetually growing through their flesh. Their habit of spitting corrosive bile has not endeared them to the enemies of the trollbloods.
CLAW RNG POW P+S 0.5 3 13 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
Slag trolls arose near hostile mountainous and volcanic environments and seem to prefer living near semi-active fumaroles and old lava flows. Their peculiar diet has given them a reputation for stupidity, but other trolls admire their intestinal fortitude. The potent acids that accumulate in their guts make them formidable adversaries, particularly against warjacks, wolds, and clockwork vessels.
3 4
I
T
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 3 PC 10
THRESHOLD: 8 FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
SLAG TROLL ASSAULT IMMUNITY: CORROSION REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs.
SPEW ACID CONTINUOUS EFFECT: CORROSION DAMAGE TYPE: CORROSION EROSION – This model gains an additional die on this weapon’s damage rolls against construct models.
CLAW OPEN FIST EROSION – See above.
ANIMUS ACIDIC TOUCH
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
SELF
–
–
RND NO
The spellcaster gains Immunity: Corrosion and its melee weapons gain the Continuous Effect: Corrosion . Acidic Touch lasts for one round.
70
The relationship trolls have with their natural environment is different from that of other creatures. In hostile regions where there is little food and life is difficult to sustain, other species will follow an instinct to search for more hospitable homes. But trolls are not so easily driven off and will find a way to sustain themselves on their environment, even if this means eating stone or iron. Slag trolls are living proof that this adaptable species can and will eat anything.
STORM TROLL
TROLLBLOOD LIGHT WARBEAST Unlike the many varieties of trolls that prefer to blend in with their environments, a storm troll primed with galvanic energy and ready to attack is a blazing beacon of power, intimidating well beyond its size. Deadly lightning erupts from the array of natural conductors that runs the length of its spine, playing along its sides before bolting from its mouth at anything that arouses the troll’s ire. Beneath its pounding fists, mighty warjacks shudder and stall with disrupted cortexes.
STORM TROLL SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 9 5 5 12 16 3
LIGHTNING RNG ROF AOE POW 10 1 — 12
Storm trolls are thought to have originated in the punishing Stormlands of the Bloodstone Desert, a freakish region filled with constant electrical storms. The only beasts capable of enduring this environment are those specifically adapted to it. Despite their ability to endure here, storm trolls have long felt compelled to roam west into other regions, especially in pursuit of food. They have settled in number amid the peaks of the Wyrmwall Mountains, making use of their special abilities to drive away competing predators. They emerge amid raging lightning storms to howl at the sky and call down the thunder. Some brave trollkin warlocks have dared these peaks to secure these creatures and enlist them in the defense of the kriels.
CLAW RNG POW P+S 0.5 3 12 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
4 I
T
SP
6
IR
5
TACTICAL TIPS Lightning Fists – During simultaneous attacks (such as Thresher), remember to determine all Electro Leaps before removing models from the table. Lightning Generator – Remember, lightning will not arc to a model with Immunity: Electricity
3
FURY: 3
.
PC 9
THRESHOLD: 9 FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
STORM TROLL IMMUNITY: ELECTRICITY REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to
remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. REPULSOR FIELD – When this model is hit with a melee attack, after the attack is resolved the attacking model is pushed 1˝ directly away from this model.
LIGHTNING DAMAGE TYPE: ELECTRICITY LIGHTNING GENERATOR – When a model is directly hit
with a basic attack made with this weapon, lightning arcs from the model hit to d3 consecutive additional models. The lightning arcs to the nearest model it has not already arced to within 4˝ of the last model it arced to, ignoring this model. Each model the lightning arcs to suffers an unboostable POW 10 electrical damage roll . Lightning arc damage rolls are not considered to have been caused by an attack. Resolve lightning arc damage rolls simultaneously with the damage resulting from the attack that caused the lightning arc.
CLAW CRITICAL DISRUPTION OPEN FIST
ANIMUS LIGHTNING FISTS
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
SELF
–
–
RND NO
The spellcaster gains Immunity: Electricity and its melee weapons gain Electro Leap. Lightning Fists lasts for one round. (When a model is hit by a basic attack made with a weapon with Electro Leap, you can have lightning arc to the nearest model within 4˝ of the model hit, ignoring the attacking model. The model the lightning arcs to suffers an unboostable POW 10 electrical damage roll . Lightning arc damage rolls are not considered to have been caused by an attack. Resolve lightning arc damage rolls simultaneously with the damage resulting from the attack that caused the lightning arc.)
71
SWAMP TROLL TROLLBLOOD LIGHT WARBEAST SWAMP TROLL SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 9 5 6 12 16 3
TONGUE LASH RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 — 10
CLAW RNG POW P+S 0.5 3 12 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3
5 THRESHOLD: 9
TACTICAL TIPS
I
T
FURY: 3 PC 8
FA U
SP
IR
BASE:MEDIUM
SWAMP TROLL AMPHIBIOUS PATHFINDER DUAL ATTACK – This model can make melee and ranged attacks in the same activation. When this model makes its initial melee attacks or a power attack, it can also make its initial ranged attacks. This model can make ranged attacks even while in melee. REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
TONGUE LASH CRITICAL CONSUME – On a critical hit, if the attack hit
a small-based non-warcaster, non-warlock model the model hit is removed from play. PULL – If this model hits an enemy model with an equal or smaller base with a basic attack with this weapon, immediately after the attack is resolved the hit model can be pushed directly toward this model until it contacts a model, an obstacle, or an obstruction.
CLAW OPEN FIST
ANIMUS SWARM
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2 SELF –
– RND NO
The spellcaster gains concealment. Living enemy models suffer –2 to attack rolls while within 2˝ of the spellcaster. Swarm lasts for one round.
72
Unlike most other trolls, swamp trolls are amphibious and can remain beneath the water seemingly indefinitely, lying in wait. They will often adopt this posture near river banks or the shores of lakes, where hapless victims are abundant. Their huge, sticky tongues can strike from a shocking distance with surprising accuracy, dragging prey to an awful doom within their fetid bellies. Like their brethren, swamp trolls are accommodating eaters, as happy to consume unwary humans as they are to gorge themselves on fish or insects. Swamp trolls often accompany those kriels that live near the Bloodsmeath Marsh, the Fenn Marsh, or other wetlands. Until recently they were rarely seen far from their dank homes, but now they regularly venture far afield in the service of trollblood warlocks, who value the creatures for their startling and unnerving capabilities.
4
6
Trolls are among the most adaptable creatures on the face of Caen. From the harshest desert to the most frigid mountain, no environment is too inhospitable, not even the most forbidding marsh. Lurking beneath the surface of murky waters, swamp trolls are dangerous creatures able to swallow a man whole to fill their ravenous gullets.
Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
TROLL AXER
TROLLBLOOD LIGHT WARBEAST A troll axer is a monster of corded muscle capable of cleaving through a wall of men with a single blow of its massive axe. It is not unknown for one of these trolls to savor the taste of an enemy’s arm or leg in the midst of battle, even as the horrified victim bleeds out on the ground.
TROLL AXER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 9 6 4 12 17 5
GREAT AXE RNG POW P+S 2 5 14
Trolls are carnivorous humanoids that tower over the mightiest trollkin. They are smarter than most people realize and have a simple language that allows them to work effectively in groups. The cooperative arrangement between full-blood trolls and trollkin dates back to just after the time of the Molgur, when the trollkin made pacts with the trolls in an effort to harness their barely controlled destructive urges. In today’s difficult times, chiefs and shamans throughout the Scarsfell, the Gnarls, and the Thornwood rely heavily upon those old agreements to buttress their war effort.
TACTICAL TIPS Thresher – These attacks are not optional.
MIND
Though wild trolls can fashion crude improvised weapons from a variety of materials, those trained to serve the trollkin as axers are armed with hefty oversized iron axes of tremendous destructive potential. The many trollkin leaders who call upon troll axers to bolster their battle lines have found that the presence of just a few axers can make all the difference to a trollkin army, as these hulking brutes are surprisingly efficient in sowing panic and scattering enemy formations.
2
1
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 3 PC 10
THRESHOLD: 8 FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
TROLL AXER REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs.
GREAT AXE THRESHER (HATTACK) – This model makes one melee
attack with this weapon against each model in its LOS that is in this weapon’s melee range. Thresher attacks are simultaneous.
ANIMUS RUSH
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6
–
– TURN NO
Target friendly Faction warbeast gains +2˝ movement when advancing as part of its Normal Movement and gains Pathfinder . Rush lasts for one turn.
73
TROLL BOUNCER TROLLBLOOD LIGHT WARBEAST TROLL BOUNCER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 9 6 4 12 17 4
SHIELD RNG POW P+S 0.5 2 11
Strapped into thick, heavy armor and holding a stout shield in front, a bouncer whirls a deadly spiked ball overhead, the whistling oversized chain heralding bone-shattering brutality. Heedless of their own survival, troll bouncers eagerly wade into battle among armored enemies, sending their signature weapons careening over the tops of their foes’ shields to slam down with a sickening crunch.
BALL & CHAIN RNG POW P+S 2 3 12 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
These solid warrior trolls are part of a long and valued tradition. For generations, full-blood trolls have formed strong attachments to the trollkin who feed and fight alongside them. Some have demonstrated a particular loyalty and protectiveness otherwise unusual in their species, prompting a number of kriels to select them for training in the use of weapon and shield. Trained troll bouncers gladly charge into harm’s way, sometimes shouldering allies aside to take attacks upon themselves.
3 4
I
T
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 3 PC 9
Trollkin kriels have long singled out such trolls to guard chieftains, shamans, and other important elders. With enemies of the kriels now closing in from every direction, the bouncers find their services in ever-higher demand.
THRESHOLD: 9 FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
TACTICAL TIPS
TROLL BOUNCER REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to
remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. SHIELD GUARD – Once per round, when a friendly model is directly hit by a non-spray ranged attack during your opponent’s turn while within 3˝ of this model, you can choose to have this model directly hit instead. This model is automatically hit and suffers all damage and effects. This model cannot use Shield Guard while it is incorporeal, knocked down, or stationary.
SHIELD SHIELD
BALL & CHAIN CHAIN WEAPON
ANIMUS EARTH’S BLESSING
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
SELF
–
–
RND NO
The spellcaster cannot be pushed, knocked down, made stationary, or moved by a slam. Earth’s Blessing lasts for one round.
74
Many warlocks favor the powerful and reliable troll bouncers for their fierce instinct to intercept enemies threatening any they consider kin. It is this trait above all others that has allowed the bouncers to fight their way to well-deserved prominence among the forces of the United Kriels.
Earth’s Blessing – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown.
TROLL IMPALER TROLLBLOOD LIGHT WARBEAST Pitching enormous spears with bone-crushing force, impalers are the living ballistae of the trolls. Each carries a quiver of massive wood-and-iron projectiles bearing only functional similarity to the puny twigs smaller races call spears. These savage missiles impact their targets with the force of a battering ram, obliterating men and knocking even the greatest beasts off their feet.
TROLL IMPALER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 9 5 5 12 17 4
THROWN SPEAR RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 — 13
Of the same troll species as their axe-wielding kin, impalers are distinguished primarily by their training and armament. Since ancient times some trolls had a predilection for ripping small trees from the ground to hurl at their enemies. Trollkin have learned to capitalize on this tendency, selecting trolls with keen eyes and above-average coordination for training as impalers. As they fight alongside their trollkin cousins, the powerful impalers are equally deadly in close melee as they are at range.
RNG POW P+S 2 4 13 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
Impalers enjoy the same powers of regeneration and ravenous appetites as other fullblood trolls. The trollkin who tend these beasts have learned to keep them well fed, both to discourage them from turning on their allies in the chaos of battle and to maintain the integrity of their exacting funeral rites for slain kin. These efforts do not always succeed, however, particularly with regard to trolls battered within an inch of death at a warlock’s command. Some kriels have reluctantly decided that a few missing bodies at the end of battle are an unfortunate but acceptable price to pay for calling upon the power of trolls to safeguard their species.
BATTLE SPEAR
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 3 PC 11
THRESHOLD: 9 FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
TROLL IMPALER REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. SET DEFENSE – A model in this model’s front arc suffers –2 on charge, slam power attack, and impact attack rolls against this model.
THROWN SPEAR CRITICAL SMITE – On a critical hit, the model hit can
be slammed d6˝ directly away from this model. If the model hit has a larger base than the attacking model, it is moved only half the distance rolled. The POW of collateral damage is equal to the STR of this model. THROWN – Apply any modifiers to this model’s STR to the POW of this weapon.
ANIMUS FAR STRIKE
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
SELF
–
–
TURN NO
The spellcaster’s ranged weapons gain Snipe. Far Strike lasts for one turn. (An attack with a weapon with Snipe gains +4 RNG.)
75
76
WINTER TROLL
TROLLBLOOD LIGHT WARBEAST The angry battle cry of the winter troll has frozen the veins of northern Khadorans, the Nyss, and even the hardy dwarves of Rhul. Emerging from the blinding white sheets of a raging blizzard, their bloodshot eyes fierce and merciless, winter trolls descend upon villages, tear apart houses, and expose the inhabitants. One great exhalation of their freezing breath covers their victims in crippling rime before the trolls descend to feast on their prey. The hardy trollkin of the northern Scarsfell Forest occasionally befriend these savages and turn them into powerful allies to defend their territories. Trollkin warlocks have goaded the winter trolls from remote lairs, encouraging them to follow into warmer climes and join in battle.
WINTER TROLL SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 9 5 4 12 16 3
ICE BREATH RNG ROF AOE POW SP 8 1 — 12
CLAW RNG POW P+S 0.5 3 12
These fierce creatures demonstrate the characteristic adaptability of trolls. Instead of the quills common to trolls of warmer latitudes, winter trolls have thick fur that insulates them against even the most bitter wind and allows them to happily endure cold that would slay most living things. Each harnesses the raw power of ice and snow, able to breathe out tremendous gouts of frozen air that rips through foes and chokes breath from lungs. If empowered by a warlock, even the mere proximity of their frosty forms exposes the unwary to cold so extreme it can paralyze muscles and leave the attacker easy prey for the troll’s claws.
2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
SP
6
IR
5 FURY: 3 PC 8
THRESHOLD: 9 FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
WINTER TROLL IMMUNITY: COLD REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to
remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs.
ICE BREATH DAMAGE TYPE: COLD CRITICAL FREEZE – On a critical hit, the model
hit becomes stationary for one round unless it has Immunity: Cold .
CLAW OPEN FIST
ANIMUS WINTER COAT
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
SELF
–
–
RND NO
The spellcaster gains Immunity: Cold and Freezer. Winter Coat lasts for one round. (When an enemy model without Immunity: Cold ends its activation within 2˝ of a model with Freezer, the enemy model becomes stationary for one round.)
77
DOZER & SMIGG TROLLBLOOD DIRE TROLL HEAVY WARBEAST DOZER & SMIGG 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 12 6 6 12 19 6
BOMBARD RNG ROF AOE POW 14 1 4 14
CLAW RNG POW P+S 1 3 15 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3
The cannon he bears was salvaged in the aftermath of an assault on a Khadoran supply train. After seizing much-needed supplies, Gunnbjorn’s forces also carted off a massive bombard taken from a wrecked Destroyer warjack. Having witnessed firsthand the power and utility of the Khadoran bombard, the warlock took the opportunity to refit the weapon for the largest dire troll in his retinue. Dozer easily bore the crushing weight of the weapon, its mount, and its magazine, but adjusting to the noise and concussive force of the bombard took some time.
4 I
T
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 4 PC 18
THRESHOLD: 10 FA C
BASE:LARGE
DOZER & SMIGG 1 BOND [GUNNBJORN] – If this model begins the game
in Gunnbjorn’s battlegroup, it is bonded to him. This model is not considered to be bonded while under your opponent’s control. While bonded to Gunnbjorn and in his control range, this model gains boosted blast damage rolls. BULLDOZE – When this model is B2B with an enemy model during its Normal Movement, it can push that model up to 2˝ directly away from it. A model can be pushed by Bulldoze only once per activation. Bulldoze has no effect when this model makes a trample power attack. DUAL ATTACK – This model can make melee and ranged attacks in the same activation. When this model makes its initial melee attacks or a power attack, it can also make its initial ranged attacks. This model can make ranged attacks even while in melee. REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
BOMBARD ARCING FIRE – When attacking with this weapon, this
model can ignore intervening models except those within 1˝ of the target. INACCURATE – This model suffers –4 to attack rolls with this weapon.
CLAW OPEN FIST
ANIMUS LUCKY SHOT
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 1
6
–
–
TURN NO
Target friendly Faction model gains +2 to AOE ranged attack rolls. When the affected model’s AOE ranged attacks deviate, you can reroll the direction and/or distance of deviation. Each roll can be rerolled only once as a result of Lucky Shot. Lucky Shot lasts for one turn.
78
Adapting quickly to the unconventional tactics of the United Kriels, Captain Gunnbjorn has come to rely heavily on the antics of the duo of dire troll and pyg known affectionately as Dozer and Smigg. Plowing across the battlefield, Dozer generates an avalanche of destruction while Smigg, precariously clinging to the dire troll’s back, unleashes explosive salvos of bombard fire. Each resounding blast of the tremendous cannon elicits a chorus of ecstatic roars from the dire trolls that fight alongside them. Dozer pays them no mind, as the constant fire renders him stone deaf within the first few moments of battle. He relies on mental direction from Gunnbjorn or kicks and nudges from Smigg to turn to face the next most pressing foe, eager to see them blasted apart. In the time it takes Smigg to ready the next shot, Dozer will sometimes take the opportunity to charge and tear apart the nearest enemy with his huge claws.
Early attempts to operate the weapon in the field met with mixed results. At first, each thunderous blast sent Dozer into a dangerous frenzy, swatting at his own back as he plowed headlong into the enemy. Over time he became more accustomed to the gun’s earsplitting report, but not before he had maimed and consumed half a dozen hapless pyg gunners. Only the enthusiastic Smigg managed to hold on and keep from being devoured during Dozer’s tirades. Since that time, a friendship has grown between them, and Dozer is now quite protective of the pyg that joins him in battle. In time the dire troll even learned to savor the weapon’s booming report and the acrid clouds of smoke it spewed forth. Dozer and Smigg have been inseparable ever since.
TACTICAL TIPS Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
79
MULG THE ANCIENT TROLLBLOOD DIRE TROLL HEAVY WARBEAST MULG 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 4 12 7 3 10 19 5
RUNE CLUB RNG POW P+S 2 6 18
BIG MEATY FIST RNG POW P+S 1 4 16
Mulg had experienced only limited interactions with trollkin before he first descended from his mountain centuries ago to exact tribute. Envious of their sigils of power, he demanded runes be carved into the stony flesh of his back depicting his many great deeds and ancient history. Mulg can focus his primordial rage into these runes to stifle the power of enemy beasts set against him.
2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
6
SP
IR
5 FURY: 4 PC 19
THRESHOLD: 7 FA C
BASE:LARGE
MULG 1 BOND [DOOMSHAPER] – If this model begins the game
in Doomshaper’s battlegroup, it is bonded to him. This model is not considered to be bonded while under your opponent’s control. While this model is bonded to Doomshaper and in his control range, it gains Retaliatory Strike. (If a model with Retaliatory Strike is hit by a melee attack made by an enemy model during your opponent’s turn, after that attack is resolved the model with Retaliatory Strike can immediately make one basic melee attack against that model. The model with Retaliatory Strike can make only one Retaliatory Strike per turn.) REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. RELENTLESS CHARGE – While advancing as part of a charge, this model gains Pathfinder . SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
RUNE CLUB DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL CRITICAL SMITE – On a critical hit, the model hit can
be slammed d6˝ directly away from this model. If the model hit has a larger base than the attacking model, it is moved only half the distance rolled. The POW of collateral damage is equal to the STR of this model.
BIG MEATY FIST OPEN FIST
ANIMUS ARCANE SUPPRESSION
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
SELF
–
–
RND NO
While within 10˝ of the spellcaster, when an enemy model casts a spell, increase the COST of the spell by 1. Additionally, while within 10˝ of the spellcaster, enemy models must pay double to upkeep spells. Arcane Suppression lasts for one round.
80
Dire trolls draw upon their regenerative capabilities to achieve extraordinary longevity. Many live for centuries, and they become increasingly dangerous and tenacious with age. Reputedly the most ancient and ferocious dire troll ever to walk Caen, Mulg is the paragon of that reputation; indeed, he is old enough to have seen the Orgoth with his own eyes. He has wandered the wilds of the southern mountains like a craggy troll king, demanding homage from all other trolls who cross his path. Even highly aggressive young dire trolls meekly retreat when Mulg’s heavy tread approaches their domain, abandoning kills in his path to assuage his endless hunger.
Hoarluk Doomshaper first recognized the common thread of the ancient creature in the folk tales of scattered Cygnaran kriels. The disparate legends described a tremendous troll, a “walking piece of the mountain.” Obsessed, Doomshaper made finding Mulg a personal quest, which he pursued without result for years. Then in 603 AR, as he made his way to one of the deepest and most remote areas of the Wyrmwall, the shaman unknowingly stirred other full-blood trolls who followed to observe how Mulg would receive him. They gathered near Mulg when Doomshaper finally presented himself. The small and stooped trollkin startled those present by invoking the traditional dire troll greeting ceremony. He put on a display of aggression and invited Mulg to punch him in the chest. Consenting, Mulg smashed his fist straight into Doomshaper’s torso, shattering his upper body and sending him flying across the clearing. Hoarluk lay still as death until he could muster enough power to mend his battered flesh and stand. Though he coughed blood with every breath, he still spoke words of respect to the great troll. No creature had ever survived such a blow, and the ancient was so impressed he named the shaman “Krol.” The two shared their blood in a primal ceremony, and since that time Mulg has considered Krol a tiny brother. The precise meaning of the name is disputed, but the most likely translation is “not food.” This represents a profound abstract concept to dire trolls, who are inclined to eat almost anything. Mulg imparted so much respect to Hoarluk Doomshaper through this blessing that the shaman gained the unprecedented obedience of other dire trolls. For most of his long life, Mulg stayed out of the trollkin wars, content to prowl his mountains for food. Hunger gnaws at him constantly, even when he has eaten his fill. But when Doomshaper was captured and imprisoned by Cygnarans, the troll felt the call of his blood bond to Krol and heard the shaman’s voice in his mind. A surge of rage overwhelmed Mulg’s ancient brain and he marched to liberate Krol in a blood-fueled crusade, bringing with him an assortment of eager young dire trolls and leaving the fortress in ruins. Mulg has rarely left Doomshaper’s side since.
TACTICAL TIPS Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
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RÖK TROLLBLOOD DIRE TROLL HEAVY WARBEAST RÖK 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 12 7 5 12 18 5
FROST BREATH RNG ROF AOE POW SP 6 1 — 14
BIG MEATY FIST RNG POW P+S 1 4 16
BATTLE AXE RNG POW P+S 1 6 18 2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3 4
I
T
SP
6
IR
5 FURY: 5 PC 21
THRESHOLD: 7 FA C
BASE:LARGE
RÖK 1 ASSAULT IMMUNITY: COLD BERSERK – When this model destroys one or more models with a melee attack during its Combat Action, immediately after the attack is resolved it must make one additional melee attack against another model in its melee range. BOND [BORKA] – If this model begins the game in Borka’s battlegroup, it is bonded to him. This model is not considered to be bonded while under your opponent’s control. While bonded to Borka and in his control range, this model gains Stumbling Drunk. (A model with Stumbling Drunk cannot become knocked down. If it is hit by an enemy attack at any time except while it is advancing, after the attack is resolved it is pushed d3˝ in a direction determined by the deviation template, then you can choose its facing.) REGENERATION [d3] – This model can be forced to remove d3 damage points once per activation. This model cannot use Regeneration during an activation it runs. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
FROST BREATH DAMAGE TYPE: COLD CRITICAL FREEZE – On a critical hit, the model
hit becomes stationary for one round unless it has Immunity: Cold .
BIG MEATY FIST OPEN FIST
ANIMUS PRIMAL
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2 6 – – * NO
Target friendly living Faction warbeast gains +2 STR and MAT for one round and automatically frenzies during your next Control Phase.
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For more than a century the inhabitants of the frozen northern mountains have whispered of a beast of singular ferocity. When a remote village is found in ruins, its inhabitants missing and their taverns plundered, northerners speak fearfully of the dire troll called Rök. Like all dire trolls, Rök was motivated by his nearly insatiable hunger, and with each creature consumed his size and rancor alike increased. He hunted increasingly more dangerous prey, moving from giant ulk to satyrs and even to other dire trolls. He typically spurned humans as a paltry repast, although he would consume them to take the edge off his hunger if feeling particularly ravenous. He was in such a state the day he came upon a caravan transporting kegs of the dark beer preferred in northern Khador. In his great hunger Rök did not stop after consuming the guards, the merchants, and their carthorses but went on to empty the large kegs containing their wares. He felt sated in a way he never had from a simple meal, stronger and ready to fight. He rampaged over the mountain and sought villages where he might find the kegs containing the intoxicating liquid he now craved. He terrorized villages across the north for days before finally falling into slumber deep within a cave. This might have been the best time to strike, but none of the Northkin could bring themselves to risk following the beast into his lair. Over the following years Rök’s thirst grew as great as his hunger, and his raids of villages for their beer and spirits became legendary among both the Khadoran communities and the trollkin kriels of the north. When Borka Kegslayer learned the secret of commanding the great dire trolls from the Shaman of the Gnarls, Rök was the beast he sought out. The two fought for hours, trading blow for blow. When both slumped to the ground at last, Borka drank deeply from his supply of potent brew and tossed Rök his own keg, and then another. Apparently pleased at this show of both combat prowess and generosity, Rök decided Borka was a worthy companion. The huge troll followed Borka down the mountain, knowing that greater fights and rivers of beer waited wherever the Kegslayer led. So long as their partnership continues to provide ample drink and bloodshed, Rök is content with his lot in life.
TACTICAL TIPS Bond [Borka] – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn in which it was thrown. Primal – The warbeast frenzies even if Primal was removed by a spell, special rule, or casting of a new animus on it prior to the Control Phase. Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token. For the same reason, if Rök benefits from Snacking he will not be able to make a Berserk attack.
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GLACIER KING TROLLBLOOD GARGANTUAN WARBEAST GLACIER KING SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 15 6 5 9 19 4
WIND THROWER RNG ROF AOE POW 12 1 — 14
—
BIG MEATY FIST RNG POW P+S 2 4 19
L
Even after the imprisonment of the glacier kings by the northern kriels, tales of the greatest among these trolls circulated far and wide. Trollkin children heard stories of Winter’s Maw battling giant mountain bears across the Shard Spires. Around low-burning fires, accounts were whispered of Icebringer devouring entire kriels. Some shamans attributed the penetrating cold of the north entirely to these primal trolls, saying that avalanches were caused by the beasts rolling over in their sleep and that the harshest storms followed their foul moods. Such stories persisted for generations. Now the glacier kings walk the world again, unearthed by Hoarluk Doomshaper after years of research and many lengthy expeditions, and the harsh realities of the creatures’ wild tempers outstrip any tale.
BIG MEATY FIST RNG POW P+S 2 4 19
R
2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3 IT
6 SP
IR
4
5
FURY: 5 PC 35
THRESHOLD: 6 FA 2
BASE:HUGE
GLACIER KING IMMUNITY: COLD PATHFINDER BULLDOZE – When this model is B2B with an enemy model during its Normal Movement, it can push that model up to 2˝ directly away from it. A model can be pushed by Bulldoze only once per activation. Bulldoze has no effect when this model makes a trample power attack. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points. SNOWFALL – While within 3˝ of this model, friendly Faction models gain concealment.
WIND THROWER DAMAGE TYPE: COLD RELOAD [2] – This model can be forced to make up to
two additional ranged attacks with this weapon during its Combat Action. It can make one additional attack each time it is forced. THUNDERBOLT – Enemy models hit are pushed d3˝ directly away from the attacking model. On a critical hit, the enemy model becomes knocked down after being pushed.
BIG MEATY FIST OPEN FIST FREEZE – A model hit by this weapon becomes
stationary for one round unless it has Immunity: Cold .
ANIMUS FROZEN GROUND
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
SELF
–
–
RND NO
When an enemy model without Immunity: Cold ends its activation within 3˝ of the spellcaster, the enemy model becomes knocked down. Frozen Ground lasts for one round.
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The awakening of the mountain kings chained beneath the Wyrmwall reminded the world of the eternal hunger that once roved the land. The north, too, has its kings of the peaks, and they are no less insatiable in their appetites for destruction than their southern cousins. Gifted by the hand of Dhunia with an affinity for the elements that envelop them, the glacier kings are the embodiment of winter and the frozen north. Localized storms laden with ice and snow swirl about their towering forms, streams and lakes ice over at their passing, and tree trunks explode in a hail of splinters under the pressure of sap rapidly expanding in the sudden cold.
While their insatiable appetites had gnawed at these gargantuan trolls in their cold, dark prisons, the lust for battle also filled their restless dreams. Thousands of years of anger carries them forward now in an avalanche of ice and fang. Massive fists sunder mountainsides and flatten villages while the perpetual snowfall surrounding them obscures any forms alongside them. Howling gales whirl about their shoulders and chill with the might of the northern winds. The moisture in the air crackles as it freezes, and the exposed hands and faces of enemies are quickly enveloped by frostbite. Snow and ice blanket the ground at the glacier kings’ feet, and enemies who lose their footing nearby are promptly crushed to death or frozen solid before being lofted into a mouth of jagged, yellowed teeth. At Doomshaper’s bidding, these incarnations of winter descended from the most remote mountain peaks to hurl themselves against the enemies of the kriels. One question remains in the minds of many trollkin: who will attract the attention of the glacier kings once these battles are won?
TACTICAL TIPS Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
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MOUNTAIN KING TROLLBLOOD GARGANTUAN WARBEAST MOUNTAIN KING SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 15 6 5 9 19 4
DEATHLY ROAR RNG ROF AOE POW SP 10 1 — 16
—
BIG MEATY FIST L
RNG POW P+S 2 4 19
R
RNG POW P+S 2 4 19
BIG MEATY FIST
2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3 IT
6 SP
IR
4
5
FURY: 5 PC 36
THRESHOLD: 6 FA 2
BASE:HUGE
MOUNTAIN KING ASSAULT PATHFINDER BULLDOZE – When this model is B2B with an enemy model during its Normal Movement, it can push that model up to 2˝ directly away from it. A model can be pushed by Bulldoze only once per activation. Bulldoze has no effect when this model makes a trample power attack. KILL SHOT – Once per activation, when an enemy model is destroyed or removed from play as a result of a melee attack made by this model during its activation, immediately after that attack is resolved this model can make one basic ranged attack. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points. WHELP SHEDDING – When this model suffers damage from an enemy attack at any time except during its activation, immediately after the attack is resolved you can place a Troll Whelp model into play B2B with this model.
DEATHLY ROAR DEAFEN – A model hit by this weapon suffers –2 DEF
and cannot give or receive orders for one round.
BIG MEATY FIST OPEN FIST
ANIMUS RAGE
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6
–
– TURN NO
Target friendly Faction warbeast gains +3 STR. Rage lasts for one turn.
To look upon a mountain king is to see the primal essence of the troll: hunger, rage, and the strength of nature. Seeking to satisfy an incomprehensible appetite, mountain kings walk Caen again after millennia of quiescence, shaking the ground with their tread and sundering granite with their roars. Trollkin legend describes mountain kings with fearful reverence. The tales speak of a time of plenty for the trollkin throughout Caen. Those trollkin respected and feared their full-blood troll cousins and kept their distance from the greatest among them, the mountain kings, which were already ancient in those nearly forgotten days. The stories say the mountain kings were the first trolls to emerge from the stony ground, given life by the harsh joining of Dhunia and the Devourer Wurm. They kept largely to the remote mountains, far from where the first trollkin appeared. In time, however, trollkin populations began to spread and intrude upon the mountain kings’ territory. The encroaching trollkin enraged the mountain kings beyond all measure. The primal brutes incited one another with howls that echoed across the mountain chains, and even those in remote regions came forth to slaughter. Like emissaries of the Wurm, the mountain kings smashed and devoured all in their path, their blinding hunger overcoming any sense of kinship with other troll species. The trollkin saw that in time the great trolls would devour not only their people but the entirety of the world. An ancient epic describes a gathering of trollkin chieftains, warriors, and shamans who sought to subdue the mountain kings. They ultimately succeeded, though the means they employed are poorly recorded and even less understood. Somehow the shamans discovered a way to forge chains infused with spiritual energies that could restrain the great beasts, and the trollkin entombed their enormous cousins within the mountain peaks. Many trollkin died to bring the mountain kings to those rage-filled barrows, which were marked with great rune-inscribed stones warning against future disturbance. At first, the mountain kings stormed beneath the earth, consuming stones in their hunger and causing the earth to quake. Eventually they fell into a restless torpor, their turbulent dreams filled with images of hunting and feeding. When they stirred in their sleep, avalanches and mudslides plagued the slopes above them. As ages passed, the mountain kings slowly faded into myth; few trollkin even dreamed they still lay chained underground. Their existence was unproven until Madrak Ironhide and Hoarluk Doomshaper, pressed to desperation, set out to harness their tremendous might. At no small cost, the two succeeded in their nearly unthinkable quest, bringing the first reawakened mountain kings down from the Wyrmwall Mountains. The trollkin strive to control these immense and ravenous beasts, which make little distinction between friend and foe. Even the greatest shamans must take care in their presence, using the enchanted chains that still dangle from the creatures’ hulking bodies to forestall their hunger between battles. The mountain kings are truly primeval beings, so closely connected to the essence of creation that their tissue continually spawns small whelps, which they ignore until hunger calls. A mountain king evokes terror in all who behold it. It lopes forward to fill its fathomless belly—an urge that grows even stronger when the creature is injured. Uneasy trollkin watching such staggering rampages must wonder at the price paid to ensure the survival of their people.
TACTICAL TIPS Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
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SEA KING TROLLBLOOD GARGANTUAN WARBEAST TACTICAL TIPS
SEA KING SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 15 6 5 9 19 4
VOMIT SWARM RNG ROF AOE POW 8 1 3 13
—
BIG MEATY FIST L
RNG POW P+S 2 4 19
R
RNG POW P+S 2 5 20
ANCHOR
SEA KING AMPHIBIOUS PATHFINDER BULLDOZE – When this model is B2B with an enemy model during its Normal Movement, it can push that model up to 2˝ directly away from it. A model can be pushed by Bulldoze only once per activation. Bulldoze has no effect when this model makes a trample power attack. SNACKING – When this model boxes a living model with a melee attack, it can choose to remove the boxed model from play. When it does, this model can remove d3 damage points.
Snacking – Because the boxed model is removed from play before being destroyed, it does not generate a soul or corpse token.
VOMIT SWARM CONTINUOUS EFFECT: CORROSION POISON – Gain an additional die on this weapon’s
damage rolls against living models. SCUTTERING SWARM – After determining the
2
1
MIND
BOD Y
3 IT
6
I SP
R
4
5
point of impact, roll deviation for one additional 3˝ AOE from that point. On a roll of 1 or 2, the additional AOE deviates in direction 1. On a roll of 3 or 4, it deviates in direction 2. On a roll of 5 or 6, it deviates in direction 6. A model hit by the additional AOE suffers a POW 7 blast damage roll and the Corrosion continuous effect .
BIG MEATY FIST OPEN FIST
ANCHOR CHAIN WEAPON CHAIN STRIKE – This weapon becomes RNG 4
during this model’s activation. CRITICAL KNOCKDOWN – On a critical hit, the
FURY: 5
THRESHOLD: 6
model hit becomes knocked down.
ANIMUS PC 42
FA 2
BASE:HUGE
VORTEX OF THE DEEP
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
8
*
–
RND YES
If this attack misses, nothing happens. If it hits, center a 4˝ AOE on the model directly hit. Enemy models in the AOE are pushed directly toward the model hit in the order you choose. This spell’s AOE is shallow water that remains in play for one round.
Ancient coastal trollkin kriels performed primeval ceremonies to summon troll kings from the sea to destroy their enemies. The drums and chants of entire villages rolled across the waters and into the depths to reach the ears of the slumbering sea kings and rouse them to wrath. These enormous marine beasts were called from the tides only when there was no alternative, as the kin could well be devoured alongside their enemies. Kriels forgot these rites over time, and the sea kings vanished into legend. Each established a lair many leagues from Immoren’s coastlines, hunting the nearby waters and occasionally waging titanic battles in the deeps with other great leviathans. At times they approached the surface to attack passing ships, smashing hulls with their great fists and devouring crews that fell screaming into the waters. Ship graveyards served as their lairs, and the ocean floor is littered with hulls cracked open in search of anything worth eating. Tales tell of stretches of ocean that swallow ships whole. Experienced sailors avoid these perilous expanses even at the cost of speed and supplies, though there is no shortage of fools seeking faster
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routes. These poor souls meet unsavory ends as the briny waters erupt and their ships are torn asunder. Sea kings have evolved in different ways from their surface kin, able to endure longer between feasting. One notable adaptation is that they possess not one stomach but two. The first digests whale flesh and doomed sailors, while the second serves akin to a spare holding tank to carry them through the lean times. A sea king will glut itself amid swarms of prey, and the small creatures swallowed whole remain alive and undigested in the self-contained habitat of its innards. The sea king has learned to make aggressive use of its food reserves, vomiting up the chitinous swarms in a stream of salt water and partially digested meat. These crabs grab and slice anything in reach amid panicked efforts to escape consumption. After annihilating its foes, the sea king eats anything left behind. When Hoarluk Doomshaper awakened the troll kings, the sea kings also heard his ritual call and felt compelled to wander closer to shore. Kriels who live near the sea have resumed the old ways. Fell callers have raised their voices alongside the pounding of great drums to enlist the sea kings again, bringing these horrors from the deep against their enemies.
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WARRIORS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
The trollkin who take up arms against their numerous enemies come from many different kriels and localities. It is their traditions that bind them as warriors of their race. In recent years the rise of the United Kriels has seen new traditions arise with efforts to modernize trollkin fighting techniques to resemble a more organized military.
motivated to fight by a desire to earn glory. But more often those who fight for the kin do so from a desire to protect their people and to preserve their culture from extinction, a threat that has loomed in recent years. Today almost every adult trollkin has been involved in at least a few skirmishes as enemies encroach from all sides.
Stoic determination and fierce courage are hallmarks of all trollkin warriors. Those who endure might earn the right to become champions and heroes to their people. Heroes are peerless fighters whose names are passed down from one generation to the next or immortalized in runes carved on krielstones. Champions are the hardened veterans every young warrior aspires to become. However, not every youth is prepared for the hardships champions endure. While less committed warriors return to the peace of their kriels to sire offspring, heroic champions refuse to put down their weapons until death takes them, moving from battle to battle accumulating scars and legends.
One of the greatest military advantages of trollblood warriors is their resilience and the speed with which they recover from injuries. While trollkin possess the slowest regenerative capabilities among troll species, their capacity is still far beyond that of humans. Trollkin can regenerate entire limbs and missing organs, though the process can take months. Smaller injuries can be shrugged off in a matter of hours if food is readily available. Both trolls and pygs regenerate even more rapidly, able to regrow arms or legs in mere minutes or hours. Their regenerative capability is so great that severed limbs become whelps—stunted and short-lived yet sentient creatures. It is not uncommon for bands of trollkin or pygs to be accompanied by one or more small whelps, which are treated like pets or mascots for the unit.
The diversity of kriels across western Immoren has seen the rise of a range of fighting styles, from the Fennblades with their signature weapon to the bison-riding long riders and riflewielding pyg scouts. Regardless of chosen weapon, each of these groups has learned how to harness their skills for the good of the kriels. Among veteran bands these warriors work seamlessly together, balancing their various strengths and weaknesses. Warriors generally follow a charismatic and successful chief to whom they pledge loyalty. Those warriors from the most aggressive kriels, especially among the Northkin, may be
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Trollblood supply lines are often tenuous, and hunger is a constant companion for most warriors. When food is available, the lion’s share goes to the trolls that accompany the warbands. Few trollkin leaders take liberties with rations, and it is some consolation to the warriors that their chiefs eat no better than they do. Even the most honored elders and mystics join their kin on the battlefield, giving up privileged lives to help ensure the survival of their people. Food must often be scavenged or plundered by bands on the march, raided and taken from settled communities or military supply convoys of their enemies.
Alongside the armed warriors, the most formidable warbands include the support of mystics, sorcerers, shamans, stone scribes, fell callers, and chroniclers. Sorcerers command the raw power of the elements, fell callers belt out shouts that can shatter stone, and shamans can invoke the rage of their goddess against the enemies of the kriels. Chroniclers and stone scribes bring the legends of their people into battle to inspire greater heroics as well as to inscribe new accomplishments. Smaller krielstones are brought physically onto the field, serving as reservoirs of mystical potency to shield those fighting nearby. The largest divide among trollkin warriors exists between those who adhere to old traditions and those that have embraced the weapons and tactics of modern warfare. For generations, most trollkin warriors learned their discipline at the feet of their elders and wielded weapons handed down to them by their kith. Each warrior was taught to fight as a peerless individual, competing with his brothers-in-arms, and group cohesion and coordination were tenuous at best. This tradition has become increasingly difficult to maintain in the face of the escalating war for survival that has swept up the trollkin as a people. The leaders of the United Kriels have begun to embrace modern regimens, adopting tactics and training techniques from Iron Kingdom armies. Such warriors are learning to take orders from superiors just as professional soldiers do, and their officers do not tolerate the brawling and insolence
so common among regular kriel warriors. These trollkin soldiers are more disciplined than most of their kind and are trained to respect the trollkin semblance of a chain of command—traits almost unheard of among fighters of previous generations. Warlocks like Captain Gunnbjorn and Grissel Bloodsong have been advocates for this new discipline, and Madrak Ironhide has endorsed their efforts even as he also believes in older traditions. The fighting forces of the United Kriels have adopted their own rank structure, though the ranks are meaningless to the war bands these soldiers sometimes fight beside. Traditional and modern elements of the fighting kriels tend to naturally segregate, looking to their respective superiors. There is not always a clear or obvious chain of command when these groups are mixed, though all are expected to obey the ranking war chief. Even the most modernized trollkin warriors remain connected with the traditions and ceremonies of their people. Ritual tattoos are common among trollkin warriors; these symbolic designs utilize special toxic pigments the trollkin do not metabolize and that resist their skin’s ability to restore itself. Some groups also wear a shared kriel or warband quitari that shows their unity. Still, every trollkin places a high value on individual freedom, and every trollkin warrior sees himself as potentially a great champion, hoping to play a key role in preserving a future for the kriels.
WARRIORS OF THE TROLLBLOODS
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DHUNIAN KNOT TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN UNIT LEADER & GRUNTS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 6 5 4 13 13 6
RITUAL BLADE RNG POW P+S 0.5 2 8 PC Leader & 2 Grunts
6
FA 2
BASE:MEDIUM
LEADER & GRUNTS TOUGH MAGIC ABILITY [6] • HEAL [d3] (HACTION) – RNG B2B. Target friendly
living Faction model. If the model is in range, remove d3 damage points from it. • PUPPET MASTER (HACTION OR ATTACK) – Puppet Master is a RNG 10 spell. When it targets an enemy model/unit, it is a magic attack. You can have one affected model reroll one attack or damage roll, then Puppet Master expires. Puppet Master lasts for one round. WILD COMMUNION – When a warbeast within 3˝ of this model makes a Threshold check, you can have the warbeast reroll one or more dice of your choice. Dice can be rerolled only once as a result of Wild Communion.
RITUAL BLADE
The Dhunian knot is an old tradition of trollkin shamans banding together to combine their mystical power and thereby better serve a region’s kriels as healers and advisors. Those who join a knot commit to a life of wandering together between scattered trollkin villages. The current hardships have prompted trollkin to value the concept of kin over all else, and more shamans have chosen this path as a result. When a knot enters battle directly, they call upon Dhunia to heal the wounds of those on the front lines and also manipulate the threads of fate. The guiding hands of these shamans lend the strikes of kriel warriors a preternatural precision, and enemies find their blades turned aside and their footwork muddled at inopportune times. Even the outcome of battles considered hopeless may prove more favorable under the guidance of a knot. The presence of the shamans is comforting to many, as the deep thrum of their chants instills confidence and resolve. These chants can also bring a dire troll back from the edge of a rampage or even compel enemy beasts to rise up against their masters. Later in life, Dhunian knots settle in a single village to serve as healers and trusted elders, though recent events have compelled even these older knots to join their kith in battle when communities are threatened. Perhaps more than any other trollkin, the Dhunian knot represents the undying connection between all kin and the Great Mother.
DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL
TACTICAL TIPS Magic Ability – Performing a Magic Ability special action or special attack counts as casting a spell.
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KRIELSTONE BEARER & STONE SCRIBES TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN UNIT LEADER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 5 4 12 13 6
GRUNTS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 5 4 12 13 6
HAND WEAPON RNG POW P+S 1 4 10 PC
Leader & 3 Grunts Leader & 5 Grunts
6 9
FA 1
BASE:MEDIUM
LEADER TOUGH FURY VAULT – While this model is in a friendly Faction
warlock’s control range during the warlock’s activation, the warlock can move fury points from himself to it at any time. If this model is in a friendly Faction warlock’s control range, the warlock can leech fury points from it during your Control Phase. This model can have up to 1 fury point on it for each model currently in this unit. When a model in this unit is destroyed or removed from play, remove fury points from this model in excess of the number of models remaining in the unit. If this model is destroyed and replaced by a Grunt in its unit, place its fury points on the new Leader. PROTECTIVE AURA – This model can spend 1 fury point to use Protective Aura at any time during its unit’s activation. When it does, friendly Faction models gain +2 ARM while within 4˝ of this model +1˝ for each fury point on this model. Protective Aura lasts for one round. SELF-SACRIFICE – If this model is disabled by an enemy attack, you can choose a non-disabled model in this unit within 3˝ of this model to be destroyed and this model removes 1 damage point.
GRUNTS TOUGH
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Krielstones are sacred monuments of the trollkin, great carved rocks etched with runes immortalizing the race’s most heroic acts. Creating these reliquaries is the responsibility of the most-respected trollkin artisans: stone scribes. These craftsmen approach their work with a religious dedication, carefully selecting and inscribing each stone with great ceremony. Often the largest krielstones are placed at important Dhunian sites or noted ancient battlegrounds near shrines to the Ravaged Mother. Generations of prayers have infused many stones with spiritual power, and miracles are often attributed to them. Most are great monoliths too heavy to move, but some trollkin now carry smaller versions into battle. These portable reservoirs of spiritual energy are capable of radiating an aura that protects the brave warriors who fight within it. Customarily, the strongest trollkin of a kith pit themselves against the larger stones, working throughout adolescence to acquire the raw strength necessary to lift one and carry it into battle. Although these trollkin possess unmatched strength, they insist carrying a krielstone is as much a feat of will as of muscle. Some gain reputations across the kriels as they strive to carry successively heavier and more powerful stones. Stone scribes accompany these bearers to witness the brave deeds of the kin in battle, which they carve into krielstones for future generations. Scribes also train in the art of capturing the sacred power of krielstones onto ceremonially prepared scrolls created from rubbings of their surfaces. Scribes cherish the stones and their bearers and will gladly sacrifice their lives to defend them.
TACTICAL TIPS Protective Aura – This model is affected by Protective Aura. If the Leader is destroyed Protective Aura expires. Self-Sacrifice – Remember, if a damage point is removed from a disabled model, the model is no longer disabled.
STONE SCRIBE ELDER
TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN COMMAND ATTACHMENT Long years of experience with krielstones have imparted deep secrets to the eldest stone scribes. Such elders have spent decades making pilgrimages to the most important stones of all the trollkin kiths. At each site they study the inscribed tales and seek out the kith’s shaman for further illumination about the local heroes. These years of study give stone scribe elders rare insight into the heroism that powers the krielstones. What separates elders from novices is more than just this deeper lore; it is true respect for the art of rune carving and the place in history a krielstone represents. Young scribes must focus solely on their craft, learning how to expediently carve marks for famous heroes and mastering shortcuts in expression representing key moments. A single rune can convey the sequence of an entire battle. Elders know that members of their calling are not simply historians: the power they bring to bear in the krielstones is a sacred art. The shape of each hero’s runes must convey the spirit of that great individual if his power is to become manifest. Laden with scrolls and rubbings taken from the numerous krielstones they have tended, stone scribe elders are adept at attuning the protective aura of a krielstone to a number of purposes. Tapping directly into the heroism of their people, an elder scribe draws forth an echo of ancient prodigies and valorous heroes, blessing the gathered warriors with incredible strength or resilience.
TACTICAL TIPS Officer – Because this model is an Officer, when it is destroyed it does not replace a Grunt in its unit. Instead the Leader becomes the unit commander. Stone Warp – These effects are in addition to the effects of Protective Aura.
ELDER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 5 4 12 13 8
HAND WEAPON RNG POW P+S 1 4 10 DAMAGE:5 PC 3
FA 1
BASE:MEDIUM
ATTACHMENT [KRIELSTONE BEARER & STONE SCRIBES] –
This attachment can be added to a Krielstone Bearer & Stone Scribe unit.
ELDER OFFICER TOUGH STONE WARP – This model can use one of the following effects each turn at any time during its unit’s activation: • COMBAT WARDING – Continuous effects on friendly Faction models affected by this unit’s Protective Aura expire. While affected by this unit’s Protective Aura, a model is immune to continuous effects. Combat Warding lasts for one round. • SPIRIT CHASER – While within the area affected by this unit’s Protective Aura, enemy models lose Incorporeal and Stealth . Spirit Chaser lasts for one round. • STONE STRENGTH – While within the area affected by this unit’s Protective Aura, friendly Faction models gain +1 STR. Stone Strength lasts for one round.
95
KRIEL WARRIORS TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN UNIT LEADER & GRUNTS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 5 4 12 15 8
HAND WEAPON RNG POW P+S 1 4 10 PC
Leader & 5 Grunts Leader & 9 Grunts
7 11
FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
LEADER & GRUNTS COMBINED MELEE ATTACK TOUGH UNYIELDING – While engaging an enemy model, this model gains +2 ARM.
96
Kriel warriors are bands of irregulars drawn from among the trollkin kriels. Though few of them would claim to be professional soldiers, the hardships endured by these brave trollkin have accustomed them to the reality of the constant warfare facing their scattered people. Because life in a wilderness kriel is inherently difficult, most trollkin learn basic fighting skills at an early age; all able-bodied trollkin must know how to fight, hunt, and protect their people. Bands of kriel warriors receive only minimal additional training before being sent out into the field, where they gain their true education in the art of war. A chief component of this limited training is learning to fight alongside full-blood trolls. A trollkin quickly learns to be vigilant around his thick-skulled “allies,” particularly when the trolls are wounded and hungry. Most of these warriors have already seen time in battle, serving on the front lines against the myriad enemies faced by trollkin kriels. They are led by the trusted Dhunian shamans who serve their communities. These feral priests lead by example, charging into the fray to show their enemies the power of Dhunia’s wrath.
KRIEL WARRIOR CABER THROWER TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN WEAPON ATTACHMENT What passes for trollkin entertainment would amaze and horrify most humans. Many of these customs evolved from ritualized games intended to ready able-bodied warriors of a kriel for battle. Feats of strength, stamina, and endurance are all commonplace among the wild kriels, and many draw from practices that also have applications in battle. Hurling cabers has proven a surprisingly devastating, if crude, form of attack throughout the centuries. Such demonstrated effectiveness prompted some kriels to add this sport to their winter entertainment, both to keep the warriors in fighting form and to determine which trollkin would wield the cabers in actual combat. Cabers were originally made from great wooden poles, but kriels in the Gnarls took this weapon to the extreme by using stone columns of a size that would seem impossible to lift, let alone throw. These stone cabers continue to prove well worth the backbreaking effort of carrying them to the battlefield as the trollkin send them tumbling forward with bone-pulping power. Anything caught in the caber’s path is usually reduced to paste, and even those few beasts hardy enough to endure such a blow will generally be knocked off their feet by the pitching column. Only particularly strong and stout trollkin, who boast endurance considered extraordinary even among their kith, can regularly carry these massive weapons across long distances.
THROWER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 5 4 12 15 8
CABER RNG POW P+S 2 7 13 PC 2
FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
ATTACHMENT [KRIEL WARRIORS] – This attachment can
be added to a Kriel Warrior unit.
THROWER TOUGH TAKE UP – If this model is destroyed, you can choose
a Grunt in this unit within 1˝ of it to be destroyed instead. Effects on this model expire, and it gains the effects on the chosen Grunt. Remove the Grunt from the table instead of this model. This model has the same number of unmarked damage boxes as the chosen Grunt. UNYIELDING – While engaging an enemy model, this model gains +2 ARM.
CABER MOMENTUM – A small- or medium-based model directly hit by this attack is slammed d3˝ directly away from this model. The POW of collateral damage is equal to the POW of this weapon. In addition to suffering a normal damage roll, large-based models hit by this attack become knocked down. SINGLE SHOT – After an attack with this weapon is resolved, this model cannot make another attack with it for one round.
97
KRIEL WARRIOR STANDARD & PIPER TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN COMMAND ATTACHMENT STANDARD BEARER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 5 4 12 15 8
PIPER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 5 4 12 15 8
HAND WEAPON RNG POW P+S 1 4 10 PC Standard & Piper
3
FA U
BASE:MEDIUM ATTACHMENT [KRIEL WARRIORS] – This attachment can
be added to a Kriel Warrior unit.
STANDARD BEARER TOUGH GRANTED: RISE – While this model is in formation,
models in its unit that are in formation and knocked down at the beginning of your Maintenance Phase stand up. STANDARD BEARER – While this model is within 5˝ of its unit commander, the unit commander gains +2 CMD. TAKE UP – If this model is destroyed, you can choose a Grunt in this unit within 1˝ of it to be destroyed instead. Effects on this model expire, and it gains the effects on the chosen Grunt. Remove the Grunt from the table instead of this model. This model has the same number of unmarked damage boxes as the chosen Grunt.
PIPER COMBINED MELEE ATTACK TOUGH GRANTED: REPOSITION [3˝] – While this model is in formation, models in its unit gain Reposition [3˝]. (At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a charge, a model with Reposition [3˝] can advance up to 3˝, then its activation ends.) TAKE UP – See above. UNYIELDING – While engaging an enemy model, this model gains +2 ARM.
98
The kriel is the heart of trollkin life and culture. Each kriel has its own customs and traditions, most often expressed in the unique quitari patterns on their clothing and in the music of their fell callers and pipers. When a kriel’s warriors go into battle, they march in time to the music of their people and beneath a great banner that speaks to them of their entire extended family. Each kriel inscribes its history into stone, but it also records it upon cloth. When a kriel is forced to move, not all of its stones can be transported, so their banners become potent symbols that remind them of their shared past and the kin for whom they fight. A standard whose brazier is fully fueled and burning brightly is visible from impressive distances, its colors readily recognizable to all. The sight of their lit banner against the night sky has inspired many warriors to battle on despite gaping wounds and tremendous loss of blood or to march beyond the limits of even trollkin endurance. Pipes have long been the favored instruments of the trollkin, who possess the hardy, huge lungs of natural pipers. Lively songs coordinate steps on long journeys and reinvigorate kriel warriors on forced marches in order to arrive where needed with good speed. The mournful songs of the pipers also echo over the fields after battle. These plaintive and haunting dirges for the dead remind all who survived the fight of the cost of victory.
TACTICAL TIPS Granted: Reposition – If a model is part of a unit, its activation does not end until all models in its unit have completed their activations.
TROLLKIN CHAMPIONS TROLLBLOOD UNIT Trollkin champions are hardened and experienced veterans who have risen to become the celebrated heroes of their kriels. They are bound by a shared awareness of a greater destiny and formalize their fraternity using the kulgat blood oath. Drawing strength from one another, they fight for the survival of their people with seamless, coordinated precision. Many of their stories will end in death, but before falling they claim glory by cutting down their enemies with a weapon in each hand. Only the strongest and most skilled trollkin warriors rise to become champions. These masters of all weapons are equally at ease with axes, blades, clubs, and other implements of war. Their bonds go beyond a normal kulgat, allowing them to anticipate the moves of their brothers perfectly and exploit miniscule opportunities presented by their enemies’ defenses. Champion leaders take the title kithkar, which means “first born” among trollkin siblings. These are the eldest and most skilled of their groups, and many of them were once chieftains of lesser kriels who gave up their status to heed this unique call to arms. Most champions, particularly those from the Thornwood, share similar tales of woe—lost mates, children, and parents—and they find life between battles a solemn reminder that they are the last of proud bloodlines. As champions ready for their next conflict, they draw upon the strength of their brothers in arms, inspire hope in all their kin, and stride fearlessly to embrace their fates. Each champion knows he will die amid bloodshed, but until then, he will send as many enemies ahead of him as his weapons can reach.
LEADER & GRUNTS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 7 4 12 16 7
HAND WEAPON RNG POW P+S 1 4 11 DAMAGE: PC
Leader & 2 Grunts Leader & 4 Grunts
5 EACH 10 17
FA 2
BASE:MEDIUM
LEADER & GRUNTS TOUGH DEFENSIVE LINE – While this model is B2B with one or
more models in its unit, it gains +2 DEF against melee attacks and cannot become knocked down.
HAND WEAPON WEAPON MASTER
TACTICAL TIPS Defensive Line – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown.
99
TROLLKIN FENNBLADES TROLLBLOOD UNIT LEADER & GRUNTS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 7 6 4 12 14 8
HOOKED GREAT SWORD RNG POW P+S 2 5 12 PC
Leader & 5 Grunts Leader & 9 Grunts
9 15
FA 2
BASE:MEDIUM
LEADER & GRUNTS TOUGH HARD – This model does not suffer damage or effects
from impact attacks or collateral damage. VENGEANCE – During your Maintenance Phase, if one or more models in this unit were damaged by enemy attacks during the last round, each model in the unit can advance 3˝ and make one basic melee attack.
The trollkin warriors called Fennblades await the charge of their foes, positioned shoulder-to-shoulder with wicked, hooked greatswords raised at the ready. Even as the earth trembles with the rush of oncoming cavalry or massive beasts of war, these stoic fighters stand resolute and move only at the last moment. Some duck lances to sweep their blades low, and others bring their blades straight down on their foes while sidestepping enemy weapons. Around the time of the first Trollkin Wars, a large number of kriels within the Fenn Marsh northeast of Mercir banded together for mutual protection and safety. These southern battles never quite gained the fame or notoriety of the larger wars in the Thornwood, but the warriors who participated in them made a lasting impression on those who bore witness. In time, other kriels adopted similar methods and the name Fennblade to honor those who stood against Caspia’s finest. The hooked sword they carry is the preferred weapon of these southern Cygnaran kriels. Their techniques require long hours of drilling and greater discipline and coordination than trollkin normally exhibit. This makes Fennblades ideally suited for the more cohesive army trollkin leaders are attempting to forge.
TACTICAL TIPS Vengeance – Models move after continuous effects have been resolved during your Maintenance Phase.
100
TROLLKIN FENNBLADE OFFICER & DRUMMER TROLLBLOOD COMMAND ATTACHMENT To be honored as kithkar among the Fennblades, a trollkin must first prove himself courageous in the face of overwhelming odds and certain death. Those he leads know they will be expected to fight in the bloodiest parts of the battlefield without regard for their own life or limb. Fennblades under the command of a kithkar are like a force of nature—unmovable in defense and unstoppable when on the attack. Accompanying the kithkar is a drummer who keeps the warriors marching in step. Fennblade drummers take their position of honor alongside the kithkar most seriously, and they consider it a point of pride to develop a signature cadence. Those with a keen ear can recognize a specific Fennblade leader at a distance from drumming alone, long before they move near enough to identify quitari. The Fennblades a kithkar commands are hand-picked for their worth and can steel themselves against any assault. Even the staggering impact of a cavalry charge breaks upon them like so much surf against rock. Their bellowing countercharge is enough to terrify the staunchest veterans as the Fennblades hurtle forward to cut down any who dare stand their ground.
TACTICAL TIPS Granted: Reposition – If a model is part of a unit, its activation does not end until all models in its unit have completed their activations. Officer – Because this model is an Officer, when it is destroyed it does not replace a Grunt in its unit. Instead the Leader becomes the unit commander. Vengeance – Models move after continuous effects have been resolved during your Maintenance Phase.
OFFICER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 7 7 4 12 14 9
HOOKED GREAT SWORD RNG POW P+S 2 5 12
DRUMMER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 7 6 4 12 14 8 OFFICER’S DAMAGE: PC Officer & Drummer
5 5
FA 2
BASE:MEDIUM ATTACHMENT [TROLLKIN FENNBLADES] – This
attachment can be added to a Trollkin Fennblade unit.
OFFICER OFFICER TOUGH GRANTED: CLEAVE – While this model is in formation,
models in its unit gain Cleave. (When a model with Cleave destroys one or more enemy models with a basic melee attack during its Combat Action, immediately after the attack is resolved the model can make one additional melee attack. A model can gain only one additional attack from Cleave per activation.) HARD – This model does not suffer damage or effects from impact attacks or collateral damage. NO QUARTER – This model can use No Quarter once per game at any time during its unit’s activation. This activation, models in this unit gain Pathfinder . A model in this unit that charges as part of its Normal Movement gains +2˝ movement. No Quarter lasts for one round. VENGEANCE – During your Maintenance Phase, if one or more models in this unit were damaged by enemy attacks during the last round, each model in the unit can advance 3˝ and make one basic melee attack.
DRUMMER TOUGH GRANTED: REPOSITION [3˝] – While this model is in
formation, models in its unit gain Reposition [3˝]. (At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a charge, a model with Reposition [3˝] can advance up to 3˝, then its activation ends.) HARD – See above. TAKE UP – If this model is destroyed, you can choose a Grunt in this unit within 1˝ of it to be destroyed instead. Effects on this model expire, and it gains the effects on the chosen Grunt. Remove the Grunt from the table instead of this model. This model has the same number of unmarked damage boxes as the chosen Grunt. VENGEANCE – See above.
101
TROLLKIN LONG RIDERS TROLLBLOOD UNIT LEADER & GRUNTS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 7 7 7 4 12 17 9
CAVALRY AXE RNG POW P+S 1 5 12
MOUNT RNG POW 0.5 14 DAMAGE: PC
Leader & 2 Grunts Leader & 4 Grunts
8 EACH 12 20
FA 2
BASE:LARGE
LEADER & GRUNTS CAVALRY TOUGH BULL RUSH (ORDER) – Affected models must run, charge, or make a slam power attack this activation. If an affected model makes a slam power attack, instead of resolving damage rolls using the model’s STR, use the current POW of its Mount . After resolving a slam power attack, this model can make one basic melee attack. FOLLOW UP – When this model slams an enemy model, immediately after the slam is resolved this model can advance directly toward the slammed model, up to the distance the slammed model was moved. REPOSITION [3˝] – At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a charge, this model can advance up to 3˝, then its activation ends.
CAVALRY AXE BRUTAL CHARGE – This model gains +2 to charge attack
damage rolls with this weapon.
MOUNT CRITICAL KNOCKDOWN – On a critical hit, the model hit
becomes knocked down.
102
The resolute long riders gallop into battle as inexorably as the tide, riding thickframed and powerfully muscled bison. Few forces of nature are able to match the raw power and unparalleled impact of their momentum as they pound the earth into submission beneath the hooves of these great mounts. Mounted long riders easily shatter enemy lines, sending even titans tumbling into the mud, while their long-handled axes lay down deadly blows. Southern trollkin kriels do not have a long cavalry tradition, having lived generations among the wooded confines of the Thornwood or the Gnarls. The trollkin of regions such as the large, open areas of Khador, however, have lived quite different lives. Though these regions boast horses strong enough to bear armored trollkin warriors, such steeds are unsettled by the smell of full-blood trolls, and the kriels found a better match in the temperament of bison. Innumerable herds of bison once roamed many of Khador’s open expanses, including the stretch of territory south of Bitterock River. The best warriors of those kriels soon mastered riding the mighty creatures, delighting in the undeniable appeal of their raw mass and speed. The most famed of trollkin battle riders, long riders are noted for their endurance. On long journeys they sleep and eat in the saddle, dismounting only when absolutely necessary. Those who spend time with them insist that the moods and attitudes of the mount and rider eventually become linked, such that when one is angry or agitated, so is the other.
TACTICAL TIPS Follow Up – This model stops moving if it contacts another model. This model does not advance if the model slammed is destroyed by the attack. Reposition – If a model is part of a unit, its activation does not end until all models in its unit have completed their activations.
TROLLKIN RUNESHAPERS TROLLBLOOD UNIT Runeshapers are among the most formidable trollkin sorcerers, having learned to manipulate stone itself with their minds. At a runeshaper’s call, rocks rise in response to their will. Sorcerers born among the trollkin kriels have one significant advantage over their human counterparts: whereas humans usually discover their gifts later in life, sorcerous trollkin are immediately recognizable as albinos. They soon separate from their peers and begin to learn how to master their inborn potential. Among larger collections of kriels, elders sort such youth by aptitude and direct each to a path suiting his inclinations. The more aggressive sorcerers become tremendous assets on the battlefield, using their arcane strength to batter the enemy. Though their evocations sometimes resemble druidic power, runeshapers feel no affinity for human blackclads. The religious among them believe trollkin sorcery is a gift from Dhunia, not the Devourer Wurm, linked to the seasons that represent the goddess’ manifestations on Caen: earth power belongs to spring, fire to summer, ice and water to winter, and storms to autumn. Runeshapers are not priests, but many believe their power is a sign they are destined to deliver Dhunia’s wrath. Others ignore such spiritualism to focus on the raw arcane power of the runes themselves.
TACTICAL TIPS Magic Ability – Performing a Magic Ability special action or special attack counts as casting a spell. Steady – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown.
LEADER & GRUNTS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 6 4 12 15 6
HAND WEAPON RNG POW P+S 1 4 10 DAMAGE:
5 EACH
PC Leader & 2 Grunts
9
FA 3
BASE:MEDIUM
LEADER & GRUNTS PATHFINDER TOUGH MAGIC ABILITY [7] • DIG IN (HACTION) – This model gains cover, does
not suffer blast damage, and does not block LOS. The model remains dug in until it moves, is placed, or is engaged. It can begin the game dug in. • ROCK HAMMER (HATTACK) – Rock Hammer is a RNG 8, AOE 3, POW 14 magic attack. On a critical hit, models hit become knocked down. • TREMBLER (HACTION) – Center a 4˝ AOE on this model. Other models in the AOE become knocked down. STEADY – This model cannot become knocked down.
HAND WEAPON DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL
103
TROLLKIN SORCERER TROLLBLOOD WEAPON ATTACHMENT SORCERER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 6 5 4 12 14 8
RUNE AXE RNG POW P+S 1 4 10 DAMAGE:5 PC 3
FA U
BASE:MEDIUM
ATTACHMENT [TROLLKIN] – This attachment can be added to a medium-based Trollkin unit.
SORCERER TOUGH ATTACHMENT DEPLOYMENT – If this model is attached
to a unit with Advance Deployment , it gains Advance Deployment . If it is attached to a unit with Ambush, it gains Ambush. COMBAT CASTER – When this model’s unit receives the Press Forward order, before its Normal Movement, this model can make one Magic Ability special action or special attack. This model can then run or charge normally. MAGIC ABILITY [6] • DISBINDING (HACTION) – Enemy upkeep spells and
animi on this model and its unit immediately expire. • RAZOR WIND (HATTACK) – Razor Wind is a
RNG 10, POW 12 magic attack. • RITUALS OF POWER (HACTION) – While this model
is in formation, the weapons of models in its unit gain Damage Type: Magical . Rituals of Power lasts for one round.
RUNE AXE DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL
104
The sorcerers of the trollkin are not timid lore-masters but determined and lethal combatants as fearless as any warriors among the kin. Roused to battle, they assist their brothers by wielding their prodigious arcane abilities with deadly skill. They march forth alongside many military bands, protecting them from the curses of enemy arcanists and prepared to fight other occultists spell-for-spell with their own elemental powers. Most trollkin sorcerers are recognized as such at birth, born as they typically are with the white skin and red eyes of albinos. Shamans of the kin believe Dhunia herself marks sorcerers with these traits that their people might raise them with the strength of character necessary to wield such fearsome power responsibly. Though most trollkin sorcerers enjoy some instruction from their elders, the powers at their command are ultimately derived from within and are typically associated with elements prevalent in the region of their birth. Many find themselves commanding the cold winds of winter, a powerful weapon that can be used to attack or defend, just as the storms of winter may kill or confound.
TACTICAL TIPS Magic Ability – Performing a Magic Ability special action or special attack counts as casting a spell.
TROLLKIN WARDERS TROLLBLOOD UNIT Those who would kill or enslave the trollkin would do well to fear those called warders. Champions of the kriels, these staunch warriors are honored and dedicated in somber ritual to the defense of not just their chieftains and shamans, but also the old and infirm, the young and weak, the kith and kin least able to defend themselves. Warders share a bond of purpose and will leave no comrade behind: to injure one of their number is to invoke the rage of the entire band. Craving valor as they do, not all champions possess the restraint necessary to become warders. Those who see a greater honor in holding fast against a charging enemy embrace the role with enthusiasm and vehemence. Likeminded warriors band together in a great ceremony, swearing oaths both to those they would defend and to one another as they share their minds and souls in the ancient bond of kulgat. When warders take up defensive arms, they do so with zealous fervor. Shouting the words of their oath and the battle cries of their kriels, they challenge any who would dare harm the more vulnerable kin, their honored patron, or their brothers in arms.
LEADER & GRUNTS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 7 4 12 17 7
BATTLE WEAPON RNG POW P+S 2 4 11 DAMAGE: PC
Leader & 2 Grunts Leader & 4 Grunts
5 EACH 10 17
FA 2
BASE:MEDIUM
LEADER & GRUNTS TOUGH SHIELD GUARD – Once per round, when a friendly
model is directly hit by a non-spray ranged attack during your opponent’s turn while within 3˝ of this model, you can choose to have this model directly hit instead. This model is automatically hit and suffers all damage and effects. This model cannot use Shield Guard while it is incorporeal, knocked down, or stationary. WALL OF STEEL – While this model is B2B with one or more models in its unit, it gains +2 ARM.
BATTLE WEAPON BRUTAL CHARGE – This model gains +2 to charge attack
damage rolls with this weapon.
105
SONS OF BRAGG TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN FELL CALLER UNIT WRATHAR 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 7 6 13 15 7
GREAT SWORD RNG POW P+S 2 5 12
TOR 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 7 6 13 15 7
SONIC BLAST RNG ROF AOE POW SP 8 1 — 12
SWORD RNG POW P+S 1 3 10
RHUDD 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 7 6 13 15 7
SWORD RNG POW P+S 1 3 10 DAMAGE: PC Wrathar, Tor & Rhudd
8 EACH 11
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
WRATHAR 1 OFFICER TOUGH FELL CONCERT – At the start of this unit’s activation, choose one of the following Fell Calls for this unit to make. • CALL TO ACTION – Knocked down models in this unit immediately stand up. Models that became knocked down this turn are not affected by Call to Action. • CALL OF DEFIANCE – While in formation, models in this unit do not lose Tough while knocked down. Call of Defiance lasts for one round. • CALL OF FERVOR – Models in this unit gain +2 to damage rolls this activation. THEME SONGS – Models in this unit are never affected by fell calls made by other friendly models.
GREAT SWORD WEAPON MASTER
TOR 1 ASSAULT TOUGH FELL CONCERT – See above. THEME SONGS – See above.
SWORD WEAPON MASTER
RHUDD 1 TOUGH FELL CONCERT – See above. THEME SONGS – See above.
SWORD WEAPON MASTER
106
The Sons of Bragg swagger across western Immoren like living legends, each as powerful with sword as he is in voice. The Sons are heard long before their arrival, booming mighty chants that resound off trees and mountains. They are welcome at every victory feast as the kin gather to hear tales of triumph and woe. Though all fell callers claim kinship to one another from the legendary Bragg, these three are true kith. Wrathor, Tor, and Rhudd were born in different kriels to different mothers, but their father was the same—a fell caller and champion whose deeds grow with every telling but whose greatest legacy was siring these three sons. Destiny brought them together in the Thornwood to fight side by side as Cryxian horrors overwhelmed the kriels. When Madrak Ironhide and his followers left the Thornwood, the Sons of Bragg did not quit the fight but joined Jarl Skuld to create a motley gang of highwaymen carving out safeholds for the kin who refused to abandon the forest. Wrathor is the eldest, a brash and powerful warrior who wields a massive iron greatsword as easily as a light piece of wood. Its notched edge has ended warpwolves, Tharn, bane knights, and Man-O-War soldiers beyond counting. As he fights, Wrathor’s deep voice calls out to rally his brothers, and by his lead Tor and Rhudd join him in perfect harmony, belting out chants to sustain them despite impossibly grievous wounds. Tor boasts the sharpest-pitched and most explosive voice, able to shatter stone and split wood with a shout as he closes to finish foes with a few expert blows of his sword. After battle it is Tor who has proven to be the best storyteller, with a memory as sharp as his blade. Rhudd may be youngest, but he is a swordsman without peer, and he claims to have bested kayazy duelists while drunk and blindfolded. Rhudd uses his baritone calls to taunt enemies into recklessness before contemptuously finishing them with a blade in each hand. Each brother is formidable on his own, but together they stand as an army of three. Witnessing them in battle, it soon becomes clear even to skeptics that these brothers have truly inherited the legacy of Bragg. Some even go so far as to say it was Bragg himself who sired them, briefly reincarnated for just that purpose by Dhunia.
TACTICAL TIPS Call to Action – Remember, a model cannot stand up during a turn it was knocked down. Officer – Because Wrathar is an Officer, when he is destroyed he does not replace Tor or Rhudd. Instead Tor or Rhudd becomes the unit commander.
107
FELL CALLER HERO TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN SOLO FELL CALLER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 6 6 12 15 9
SONIC BLAST RNG ROF AOE POW SP 8 1 — 12
SWORD RNG POW P+S 1 3 10 DAMAGE:8 PC 5
FA 2
BASE:MEDIUM
FELL CALLER TOUGH FELL CALLS – This model can make one of the
following calls at any time during its activation. A friendly Faction model/unit can be affected by only one call each turn. • MARCH – RNG 5. Target friendly Faction warrior model/unit. If the model/unit is in range, it gains Pathfinder for one turn. • REVEILLE – Knocked down friendly Faction models in this model’s command range immediately stand up. Models that became knocked down this turn are not affected by Reveille. • WAR CRY – RNG 5. Target friendly Faction warrior model/unit. If the model/unit is in range, it gains +2 MAT. War Cry lasts for one turn.
SWORD WEAPON MASTER
108
The sons and daughters of Bragg—the legendary father of the fell caller bloodline— are paragons of trollkin culture and pride. Their powerful, booming voices raised in song can rally nearby trollkin to heroic efforts or shatter bone and flesh through a singular sonic attack. Between battles this hardy bunch finds joy in living the good life, even in difficult and troublesome times. These wild and inspirational crooners are not without their unique challenges, however. Fell callers are an arrogant, self-assured type who sometimes have difficulty following orders. They are prone to excessive drinking—even by trollkin standards—and inciting wild revelries at inappropriate times. Traveling fell callers can be a source of friction to the kriels they visit, particularly when they begin seducing a chief’s mate or daughter. Most sons of Bragg feel an almost irresistible urge to spread their seed far and wide in order to pass their legacy to the next generation. This compulsion is also found among the rare female fell callers, who are just as ardent as their male counterparts. Despite these disruptive qualities, fell callers are a welcome presence among trollkin forces. As powerful as their fell calls are, each is also a tremendous warrior of proven ability. They lead by both bellow and deed, and few trollkin can resist the urge to follow when a fell caller hero drives deep into enemy lines, heedless of the odds.
TACTICAL TIPS Reveille – Remember, a model cannot stand up during a turn it was knocked down. Models affected by Reveille and units including models affected by Reveille have been affected by a Fell Call and cannot receive the benefits of another Fell Call this turn.
FENNBLADE KITHKAR TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN SOLO Veterans of countless battles, Fennblade kithkar are warriors of renown. Each has led his brothers in arms time and again against any who would infringe upon trollkin lands or harass their people. More than heroes or champions, these vaunted leaders are brilliant battlefield commanders capable of coordinating the maneuvers of their fellow Fennblades with great precision. A band of Fennblades commanded by such a kithkar fights with the discipline and coordination of thoroughly trained soldiers and with the heart and spirit of legendary warriors. Even with his remarkable leadership abilities, it is the kithkar’s bond with those he leads that is his most powerful weapon. Most veteran kithkar have fought with the same warriors for many years. He knows each warrior of his band as well as he does his own family members—sometimes even better. After facing the elements and enemies together in skirmishes, battles, and raids, the kithkar can anticipate the actions of his warriors and understands he can trust them with both his life and his reputation at arms. In turn, the Fennblades follow their kithkar’s commands without question, trusting him to lead them to victory without needlessly endangering their lives. Moreover, they know that should one of their number fall, nothing will stand between their kithkar and bloody vengeance.
TACTICAL TIPS Righteous Vengeance – This model moves after continuous effects have been resolved during your Maintenance Phase.
KITHKAR SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 8 7 4 12 15 7
BATTLE WEAPONS RNG POW P+S 2 5 13 DAMAGE:5 PC 4
FA 2
BASE:MEDIUM
KITHKAR TOUGH HARD – This model does not suffer damage or effects
from impact attacks or collateral damage. RIGHTEOUS VENGEANCE – If one or more friendly Faction warrior models were destroyed or removed from play by enemy attacks while within 5˝ of this model during the last round, during your Maintenance Phase this model can advance up to 3˝ and make one basic melee attack. VETERAN LEADER [FENNBLADE] – While in this model’s command range, other friendly Fennblade models gain +1 to attack rolls.
BATTLE WEAPONS POWERFUL CHARGE – This model gains +2 to charge
attack rolls with this weapon.
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STONE SCRIBE CHRONICLER TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN SOLO CHRONICLER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 7 6 4 12 13 5
BATTLE AXE RNG POW P+S 1 4 11 DAMAGE:5 PC 4
FA 2
BASE:MEDIUM
CHRONICLER TOUGH STORYTELLING – At any time during this model’s
activation, it can tell one of the following stories. A friendly Faction model/unit can be affected by only one story each turn. • CHARGE OF THE TROLLS – RNG CMD. Target friendly Faction unit. If the unit is in range, models in the unit gain +2 to melee attack and melee damage rolls against enemy models in the melee range of a friendly Faction warbeast. Charge of the Trolls lasts for one turn. • HERO’S TRAGEDY – RNG CMD. Target friendly Faction unit. If the unit is in range, when an enemy warrior model destroys one or more affected models with a melee attack during its activation, the enemy model becomes knocked down at the end of its activation. Hero’s Tragedy lasts for one round. • TALE OF MIST – RNG CMD. Target friendly Faction unit. If the unit is in range, models in the unit cannot be targeted by ranged or magic attacks while knocked down and gain concealment. Models are not affected while out of formation. Tale of Mist lasts for one round.
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Among stone scribes accompanying trollkin champions into battle, some few rise to prominence. Over the decades these elder scribes have witnessed horror and heroism on a scale younger trollkin can barely comprehend. They have carved indelible runes on dozens of krielstones and copied hundreds of scrolls to immortalize the deeds of the greatest trollkin warriors. Such chroniclers reinforce the ties that connect all trollkin by reminding them of the heroic legacy of their ancestors. Stories have power, particularly the great epics, whose themes of sacrifice, heroism, and redemption resound in the minds of the listener. Any chronicler worth his chisel knows these tales by heart and will relate them to warriors around him to restore their spirits when food is scarce, when losses are great, or when facing more numerous foes on hostile ground. One tale favored among the kriels and enjoyed despite endless repetition involves Grindar and Gelfas, two famous trollkin heroes who participated in the Orgoth Rebellion. The saga begins with “The Tale of Mist,” which tells of a small group of trollkin who advanced through a fog to ambush a band of the oppressors. Just as things begin to look grim for the great Chief Grindar, “The Charge of the Trolls” recounts how his son Gelfas arrived with full-blood trolls and battled to save his father. “The Hero’s Tragedy” tells of the next few days, when this brave eldest son gave his life to buy time for reinforcements to arrive. By this sacrifice, and despite his heavy heart, Grindar went on to lead one of the greatest victories that helped drive the Orgoth from the land.
TROLLTROLLBLOOD WHELPS SOLO Whelps, short-lived and degenerate creatures arising from severed limbs or other substantial pieces of disconnected tissue, are one of the inevitable consequences of the tremendous regenerative powers of trolls. Their existence is difficult for humans to even comprehend, for when a person loses a foot, hand, or leg, that flesh becomes dead meat—no more than a rotting reminder of what is missing. The tenacious resilience of full-blood trolls, however, is so strong that severed limbs can take on a life of their own. A hand cut from a troll will soon regenerate its own head, torso, and limbs, matching the troll from which it arose and following its progenitor by blood instinct. Though the rapid growth of a whelp is amazing, the process does not produce a fullfledged troll. The creatures are much smaller, without the mental faculties of a true troll and with disproportionate limbs matching the appendage from which they are spawned. Troll whelps are generally more dangerous to themselves than to others, and they rarely live longer than a few years. Particularly dim-witted dire trolls occasionally mistake a whelp for real offspring, but such misconceptions are rare and last only until it becomes obvious the whelp will never grow past a certain size. Though their “creators” are tolerant of them and often allow whelps to do as they please, these hapless creatures rarely live out their generally abbreviated lifespan. If no other food source is handy, trolls will eat their whelps with no more regard for them than they would have for any other chunk of meat. Indeed, whelps make a ready source of emergency nourishment to fuel the trolls’ regenerative powers. It is not at all uncommon to see a troll chuckling at the comical antics of a whelp one moment and then devouring it as a tasty snack the next.
WHELPS SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 2 2 2 12 11 1 PC 5 Whelps
4
FA 3
BASE:SMALL
WHELPS ALTERNATE FOOD SOURCE – If this model is within 1˝
of a friendly Faction warbeast during the warbeast’s activation, the warbeast can remove d3 damage points. If the warbeast removes damage as a result of Alternate Food Source, remove this model from play. ANNOYANCE – Living enemy models within 1˝ of this model suffer –1 to attack rolls. COMFORT FOOD – If this model is within 1˝ of a friendly Faction warbeast at the beginning of your Control Phase, before leeching you can remove this model from play to remove any number of fury points from the warbeast. SPAWN WHELPS – This model does not have to be put into play at the start of the game. When a friendly Faction warbeast is damaged by an enemy attack, immediately after the attack is resolved you can put one Troll Whelp that did not begin the game in play into play. You can place this model anywhere completely within 2˝ of the warbeast.
TACTICAL TIPS Spawn Whelps – If the warbeast is destroyed or removed from play by the attack, you cannot put Whelps in play.
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TROLLKIN CHAMPION HERO TROLLBLOOD SOLO HERO SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 8 4 12 16 10
GREAT AXE RNG POW P+S 1 5 12 DAMAGE:8 PC 5
FA 2
BASE:MEDIUM
HERO TOUGH LEADERSHIP [TROLLKIN CHAMPIONS] – While in this
model’s command range, friendly Trollkin Champion models gain Retaliatory Strike. RELENTLESS CHARGE – While advancing as part of a charge, this model gains Pathfinder . RETALIATORY STRIKE – If this model is hit by a melee attack made by an enemy model during your opponent’s turn, after that attack is resolved this model can immediately make one basic melee attack against that model. This model can make only one Retaliatory Strike per turn. STEADY – This model cannot become knocked down.
GREAT AXE WEAPON MASTER
Trollkin heroes are great champions whose deeds have been told and retold throughout the kriels. They are living legends among their people; just as the regular warriors of kith and kriel stand aside in awe as champions walk into their midst, there are those few whose glory makes even proud champions bow their heads in respect. Hardened by countless battles, these heroes’ shoulders have borne the weight of entire kriels, and they have offered themselves as sacrifices to protect those who rely upon their strength. They tempt death every time they step into the fray, contenting themselves with knowing that should they fall, they will live on in the memories of those for whom they fight and bleed. They take some comfort in knowing song and stone will immortalize their deeds long after the crows have finished picking at their bones. This is not to say all trollkin heroes are the same; indeed, they are as different from one another as all great leaders must be. Some are bloodthirsty berserkers with sour tempers whose presence in times of peace is a strain on their kith. Others are brooding and introspective, speaking little and avoiding all company. Still others are vain chieftains filled with pride and arrogance, suspicious of the young who emulate them. Yet each of these heroes is alike when life is on the line, for they put aside all thoughts except waging war to protect kith and kriel. They find it impossible to turn away from battle, for only there can they stand side by side with their brothers in arms and prove one axe in a strong hand can make a difference even when opposed by a hundred swords.
THRESHER (HATTACK) – This model makes one melee
attack with this weapon against each model in its LOS that is in this weapon’s melee range. Thresher attacks are simultaneous.
TACTICAL TIPS Steady – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown. Thresher – These attacks are not optional.
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TROLLKIN RUNEBEARER TROLLBLOOD SOLO The story of the trollkin is inscribed on countless stones, each telling a small part of the collective history of their people. Each kriel maintains its own collection of stones that records their triumphs and tragedies over thousands of years. Carefully wrought by stone scribes, their work is no dusty history but a living connection to all trollkin past, present, and future. Some elders spend their days studying and contemplating these rock-hewn libraries, drawing forth the deepest secrets of the trollblood people and their place in Dhunia’s living design. The most adept of these wise elders can tease out hidden meanings from the pictograms as they travel from kriel to kriel studying the obscurities of history and learning to identify the subtle connections between places, names, and events. When an elder begins to comprehend in depth what he has studied, he unlocks the raw power of his people. Warlocks and great chiefs seek out the most learned of these elders to better understand their own destinies. Peering into the depths of mystery inscribed in stone, a runebearer might choose to accompany a leader to help him divine and accept the fate Dhunia has chosen for him. Accompanying such a warlock into battle, the runebearer unlocks the power of the stones he carries by speaking aloud select evocative passages. The once heavy tablets begin to glow with spiritual potency, becoming nearly weightless and aligning themselves with the warlock’s will. Channeling the power of the awakened stones, elder and warlock find they are able to weave great magic in perfect conjunction. Few greater honors are available to trollkin war leaders than being accompanied by a runebearer. It is a sign of great respect to be shown their place in the history of their people, and they know that their own deeds will one day strengthen their descendants.
RUNEBEARER SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 6 6 5 3 12 14 5 DAMAGE:5 PC 4
FA 1
BASE:MEDIUM
ATTACHED – Before the start of the game, attach this
model to a friendly Faction warlock for the rest of the game. Each Faction warlock can have only one model/ unit attached to it.
RUNEBEARER TOUGH MAGIC ABILITY [6] • HARMONIOUS EXALTATION (HACTION) – RNG CMD.
Target this model’s warlock. If it is in range, once this turn when the warlock casts a spell, reduce the COST of the spell by 1. • SPELL SLAVE (HACTION OR ATTACK) – This model must be in its warlock’s control range to make the Spell Slave special action. When it does, it casts one of the spells on its warlock’s card with a COST of 3 or less. This model cannot cast upkeep spells or spells with a RNG of SELF or CTRL. When casting an offensive spell, Spell Slave is a magic attack. Use this model’s Magic Ability score when making magic attack rolls.
TACTICAL TIPS Attached – This model cannot be reassigned if its warlock is destroyed or removed from play. Magic Ability – Performing a Magic Ability special action or special attack counts as casting a spell. Spell Slave – This model cannot cast spells if its warlock is destroyed or removed from play. Spell Slave does not confer the ability to channel spells as a warlock. Spell Slave cannot be used to cast animi because they do not appear on the warlock’s card.
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HORTHOL, LONG RIDER HERO TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN SOLO HORTHOL 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 7/5 9 8 4 12 18/16 9
LONG HAMMER RNG POW P+S 1 6 15
MOUNT RNG POW 0.5 14 MOUNTED DAMAGE: DISMOUNTED DAMAGE: PC 8
10 8
FA C
BASE (MOUNTED): BASE (DISMOUNTED):
LARGE MEDIUM
HORTHOL 1 CAVALRY TOUGH BULL RUSH – This model can make slam power attacks. Instead of resolving damage rolls using this model’s STR, use the current POW of this model’s Mount . After resolving a slam power attack, this model can make one basic melee attack. DRAGOON – While mounted, this model has base SPD 7 and base ARM 18. While dismounted, it has base SPD 5 and base ARM 16 and loses Bull Rush, Line Breaker, and Reposition [3˝]. ELITE CADRE [LONG RIDERS] – Friendly Long Rider models gain Line Breaker. FOLLOW UP – When this model slams an enemy model, immediately after the slam is resolved this model can advance directly toward the slammed model, up to the distance the slammed model was moved. LINE BREAKER – This model gains an additional die on impact attack rolls. REPOSITION [3˝] – At the end of an activation in which it did not run or fail a charge, this model can advance up to 3˝, then its activation ends.
LONG HAMMER CRITICAL SMITE – On a critical hit, the model hit can
be slammed d6˝ directly away from this model. If the model hit has a larger base than the attacking model, it is moved only half the distance rolled. The POW of collateral damage is equal to the STR of this model.
MOUNT CRITICAL KNOCKDOWN – On a critical hit, the model hit
becomes knocked down.
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Once a chieftain in his own right, Horthol has given up leadership of his own kriel to serve Madrak Ironhide, the trollkin he believes is destined to reshape the world. He has proven loyal above all else, standing at Madrak’s side even when others betrayed him and elders called him “World Ender.” Horthol’s bond with Ironhide was forged in the northern Thornwood, where he was raised to hunt amid the dense trees. His kriel was one of the first to fall to the Cryxian horrors in the wake of human wars, and the few of his kin who survived owe their lives to Ironhide. When Horthol saw Madrak fighting so fiercely for strangers, he knew a true chief stood before him. When Madrak endured his exile, fearing his presence would endanger his own people, it was Horthol that the great chieftain asked to watch over both his people and Kargess, his mate. The long rider champion never gave up hope on Ironhide’s ability to rise above these travails. He was glad to welcome Madrak back when he returned to the United Kriels, and together with the others they readied for battle as their enemies gathered against them. Horthol played a key role in the Battle of Bloodstone, defending the fortified village of the former Thornwood kriels against both farrow and gatorman armies. He was witness to Rathrok’s awakening, which freed their chieftain of his curse, and he endured the aftermath when the Wurm raged. He marched alongside the others who joined Madrak to seek a new home in Alchiere. Those who ride with Horthol find it hard to believe he has not always lived in the saddle. He proved his skill quickly, and soon the long riders welcomed him as a brother and leader. He commands the long riders in Ironhide’s service, and his presence draws others to the cause.
TACTICAL TIPS Follow Up – This model stops moving if it contacts another model. This model does not advance if the model slammed is destroyed by the attack.
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HORGLE IRONSTRIKE TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN SOLO Horgle Ironstrike is an anomaly among the close-knit clans of the United Kriels, much preferring the fiery solitude of his forge over the company of his fellow trollkin. A loner in his kriel southeast of the Shard Spires, Horgle was uninterested in the traditional activities of his kriel. Instead he excelled in the ancestral smithing rites passed down to him by his mother Lagertha, a skilled blacksmith and gifted warlock. He took to this instruction with a will, finding solace in the rhythms of hammer, anvil, and flame.
FURY: 4 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 7 6 4 12 15 6
HORGLE 1
FLAMING SWORD RNG POW P+S 1 4 11
SMITH’S HAMMER RNG POW P+S 1 5 12
Horgle learned more than the rudimentary methods necessary to shape weapons and tools, for Lagertha made use of trolls brought from her hereditary lands in the Wyrmwall Mountains. In addition to commanding these fearsome creatures in defense of the kriel, she used them in her work, tempering steel with the scorching heat of pyre trolls and etching runes with the searing acid of the slags. Horgle learned these techniques, eventually employing them to craft superior weapons and armor.
DAMAGE:8 PC 4
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
HORGLE 1 IMMUNITY: FIRE TOUGH AFFINITY [PYRE TROLLS AND SLAG TROLLS] – The only warbeasts that can be included in this model’s battlegroup are Pyre Trolls and Slag Trolls. BURNT MEAT – Warbeasts in this model’s battlegroup can charge enemy models suffering the Fire continuous effect without being forced. LESSER WARLOCK – This model is not a warlock but has the following warlock special rules: Battlegroup Commander, Control Range, Forcing, Fury Manipulation, Healing, Spellcaster, and Transferring Damage. This model must have at least one warbeast in its battlegroup at the start of the game.
FLAMING SWORD CONTINUOUS EFFECT: FIRE DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL
SMITH’S HAMMER DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL CRITICAL RAM – On a critical hit against an enemy
model during this model’s Combat Action, the enemy model becomes knocked down and can be pushed 1˝ directly away from this model. If it is pushed, this model can immediately advance 1˝ directly toward it.
SPELLS HOT-SHOT
COST RNG AOE POW DUR OFF 2
6 –
– UP NO
Target model in the spellcaster’s battlegroup gains boosted ranged attack damage rolls. MOLTEN METAL
2
10
–
–
Target warjack suffers 1 point of fire damage column on its damage grid.
–
YES
to each
He toiled contentedly at the forge until the ill-fated day a large force of dragonspawn and blighted Nyss stormed his kriel’s home. He fought alongside Lagertha, who rallied the kriel’s defenses and inflicted a heavy toll on the enemy before she was finally struck down. Her tragic death induced Horgle’s own sorcerous awakening as he took control of the remaining trolls and launched them at the enemy. Despite his efforts the kriel was lost, and Horgle was forced to retreat with a few other survivors. Feeling no real kinship with these trollkin and seeing them only as a reminder of his loss, he soon left them behind as well. Horgle drifted south, his heart full of bitterness and hatred. The only possessions he salvaged from his old life were his mother’s smithing hammer and a fiery sword shaped by his own hand. He wandered for some time, surviving by his craft and his weapons, before finding his way to those allied with the United Kriels. There his smithing prowess and promise as a warlock caught the attention of certain kriel leaders. Grissel Bloodsong is one who sees great potential in the young trollkin. Beyond his innate ability to lead trolls in warfare, she believes Horgle may have an even greater destiny forging weapons of power for the kriels. While he still prefers solitude, his desire to exact vengeance on those who destroyed his former life drives him to fight alongside his kin in battle. His affinity with pyre and slag trolls continues to serve him well both on and off the battlefield. In combat he brings the power of fire, hammering foes with the same strength and precision he devotes to shaping metal. There is always a simmering rage within Horgle, and in the heat of battle his sword and hammer are infused with this inner fury.
TACTICAL TIPS Lesser Warlock – This model is a non-warlock model and is not affected by special rules that specifically affect warlocks. Models with the Attached rule cannot be attached to this model. Molten Metal – If a damage column is full, apply the damage to the next column to the right. If column 6 is full, continue recording damage in column 1.
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JANISSA STONETIDE TROLLBLOOD TROLLKIN RUNESHAPER SOLO JANISSA 1 SPD STR MAT RAT DEF ARM CMD 5 6 6 4 12 15 8
EARTHSPLITTER RNG POW P+S 1 3 9 DAMAGE:5 PC 4
FA C
BASE:MEDIUM
JANISSA 1 PATHFINDER TOUGH BATTLE WIZARD – Once per turn, when this model
destroys one or more enemy models with a melee attack during its activation, immediately after the attack is resolved it can make one Magic Ability special attack or special action. LEADERSHIP [RUNESHAPERS] – While in this model’s command range, friendly Runeshaper models gain Battle Wizard. MAGIC ABILITY [8] • RAISE EARTH (HACTION) – Place a 4˝ AOE template
anywhere completely within this model’s command range where it does not touch a model’s base, an obstruction, or an obstacle. The AOE is 1˝ high hill terrain and remains in play for one round. • ROCK HAMMER (HATTACK) – Rock Hammer is a RNG 8, AOE 3, POW 14 magic attack. On a critical hit, models hit become knocked down. • TECTONIC SHIFT (HACTION) – Choose a table edge. Enemy models currently within 3˝ of this model are pushed 3˝ directly toward the chosen edge in the order you choose. STEADY – This model cannot become knocked down.
EARTHSPLITTER DAMAGE TYPE: MAGICAL ARMOR-PIERCING (HATTACK) – When calculating
damage from this weapon, halve the base ARM stats of models hit.
Janissa Stonetide heard the call of stone before she could even speak. Her earliest memory is of the lullaby she heard sung in the wordless, rolling cadences of the living rock beneath her home. By the time she had come of age, she had already been initiated into the deepest secrets of the runeshapers of the Gnarls. By her twentieth year, it was she whom the elders petitioned for aid in manipulating the most complex runes. There were some traditionalists who believe what she has experienced is dangerously close to the wilding of the human druids, perhaps a legacy of the primal link between the Devourer and Dhunia in the birth of the trollkin species. In some respects, her sorcerous power does resemble that of the earthshapers of the Circle Orboros. Janissa ignores such aspersions, convinced her power is a gift from Dhunia. When she knew she had learned all she could from her elders, Stonetide set off into the wilds. For years she traveled the length and breadth of western Immoren, seeking out the greatest natural stone formations in the land. Ignoring the petty borders of the Iron Kingdoms, Stonetide moved from place to place guided by the whispered grinding of the stones, which only she could hear. The highest peaks of the Wyrmwall Mountains spoke to her of a time before her people and taught her to strike down the enemies of Dhunia with the strength of the avalanche. The cracked and scoured earth of the Bloodstone Marches informed her of the great rock masses that moved beneath the world, shifting positions on a scale of time impossible to imagine. She learned to compress the rhythms that moved these plates into a thought she could comprehend, and in so doing she awakened the ability to cause the earth itself to shake or to thrust stone above its crust. When Stonetide returned to the Gnarls, she found her home in shambles. Refugees from Crael Valley had poured into the kriels, causing overcrowding and a shortage of food. Everywhere she looked, doom encroached upon her people, and she began to understand why Dhunia had granted her such favor. For the first time Stonetide found a motivation beyond the purely spiritual and took up her great stone pickaxe, Earthsplitter, in defense of her kin. She had initially crafted the weapon as a tool to help her explore the stone, but with the proper runes applied to it, Earthsplitter became a deadly weapon capable of sundering the heaviest armor like so much brittle shale. She loaned her expertise to building defenses for Madrak’s displaced kriels, and many kin owe her their lives. Far more would have perished in the Battle of Bloodstone if not for her efforts. Stonetide now knows why the stones speak so clearly to her: it is her destiny to deliver their message of hope to kith and kriel and to bring down their vengeance upon all who oppress and torment the trollkin.
TACTICAL TIPS Magic Ability – Performing a Magic Ability special action or special attack counts as casting a spell. Steady – Remember, even if a thrown model cannot be knocked down, it must still forfeit its Normal Movement or Combat Action if it activates later in a turn it was thrown.
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GRISSEL BLOODSONG, FELL CALLER Trollkin Warlock
MADRAK IRONHIDE, THORNWOOD CHIEFTAIN Trollkin Warlock HOARLUK DOOMSHAPER, SHAMAN OF THE GNARLS Trollkin Warlock
DIRE TROLL BLITZER Heavy Warbeast RAGNOR SKYSPLITTER, THE RUNEMASTER Trollkin Runeshaper Warlock
DIRE TROLL BOMBER Heavy Warbeast
DIRE TROLL MAULER Heavy Warbeast
TROLL BOUNCER Light Warbeast TROLL AXER Light Warbeast
120
MODEL GALLERY
TROLL IMPALER Light Warbeast
MOUNTAIN KING Gargantuan Warbeast
MODEL GALLERY
121
WAR WAGON Battle Engine
122
MODEL GALLERY
KRIEL WARRIORS Trollkin Unit
KRIELSTONE BEARER & STONE SCRIBES Trollkin Unit
KRIEL WARRIOR CABER THROWER Trollkin Weapon Attachment
PYG BUSHWHACKERS Unit
MODEL GALLERY
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SCATTERGUNNERS Trollkin Unit
SCATTERGUNNER OFFICER & STANDARD Trollkin Command Attachment
TROLLKIN RUNESHAPERS Unit
TROLLKIN CHAMPIONS Unit
TROLLKIN LONG RIDERS Unit
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MODEL GALLERY
TROLL WHELPS Solos FELL CALLER HERO Trollkin Solo
MODEL GALLERY
125
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PAINTING YOUR ARMY As a hobby miniatures game deeply rooted in lore and character, HORDES offers hundreds of distinctive and highly detailed models designed for maximum modeling and painting enjoyment. Each model is a canvas on which to unleash your own creativity and imagination. You can choose to try your hand at the tried-and-true P3 Studio paint scheme, dive deeper into the Iron Kingdoms setting with an alternate paint scheme drawn from the lore and background of your Faction, or throw convention to the wind and create a completely original look for your models. Whatever your choice, few things are as rewarding as bringing your army to life with your brush and some paints. When painting an army, as in life, the fun truly lies in the journey more than in the destination. And like every journey, the road to a fully painted force begins with a crucial first step—in this case, deciding how you want your army to look! The following pages contain color guides and quick tips designed to provide inspiration for your Trollbloods painting adventure. We begin with a look at models painted in the traditional studio scheme for Trollbloods, that of the Alchiere kriels (formerly of the Thornwood). This scheme is shown throughout the model gallery on pages 120–125. Whether or not you decide to emulate the studio scheme, it is a great foundation to draw from with its natural trollkin flesh tones, rich leathers, and well-worn metals.
A wide range of skin tones, clothing styles, and unique quitari patterns can be found among groups as varied as the pale trollkin of the Northkin Kriels who call the frozen tundra of northern Khador home, the sun-baked trollkin of the kriels of the Bloodstone Marches, and the diverse swamp-dwelling kriels of the Marchfells in eastern Cygnar. By combining ideas from the setting, the studio scheme, and the real world, you can easily create a unique look for your army that still feels right at home in the Iron Kingdoms. Finally, for those who really want to flex their creative muscles, we present a radically different paint scheme drawn straight from the imagination of the painter who created it, as well as some great examples of Trollblood models painted by the WARMACHINE and HORDES community to inspire your own unique creations. Choosing a more original or whimsical approach can result in a truly eye-catching army, but such schemes also rely on careful planning and a willingness to experiment with multiple combinations of colors until everything has been dialed in just right to create a balanced yet visually striking effect. When it comes to your army’s special look, inspiration can spring from anywhere. Regardless of which direction you decide to take in painting your own Trollbloods, we hope this guide provides you with the spark needed to set your imagination on fire as you sit down with brush in hand to create an army as individual as you!
Next we present some alternative approaches to painting your Trollblood models. Trollkin are a hardy and numerous race, and kriels can be found throughout western Immoren.
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STUDIO PAINT SCHEME DIRE TROLL MAULER
Quills Rock Nubs
base: Skorne Red shade: Exile Blue highlight: Khador Red Base
base: Bootstrap Leather shade: Umbral Umber highlight: Beast Hide
Eyes base: Bastion Grey highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Metal base: Pig Iron shade: Armor Wash highlight: Cold Steel
Mouth base: Beaten Purple highlight: Beaten Purple, Carnal Pink 1:1
Nails Flesh base: Trollblood Base shade: Trollblood Base, Sanguine Base 1:1 highlight: Trollblood Highlight
Loincloth base: Bootstrap Leather shade: Brown Ink highlight: Beast Hide
base: ’Jack Bone shade: Bloodtracker Brown highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Painter's Inspiration
Painting a Trollblood army is a great option for those who want some variety in their color palette. The overall Faction paint scheme is unified by their grey-blue flesh tone and balanced with a wide range of contrasting warm brown tones, while the various breeds of fullblood trolls offer painters the chance to depart from the standard color scheme. The units and characters include splashes of color, often on tartans and other prominent features. In the studio scheme, the tartans are often painted in warm reds and browns to help contrast with the cool, bluish flesh tone of the trollkin. For more examples of Trollblood models with studio paint schemes, see the model gallery on pages 120–125 or go to privateerpress.com.
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PAINTING YOUR ARMY
STUDIO PAINT SCHEME KRIEL WARRIOR
Steel base: Pig Iron shade: Armor Wash highlight: Cold Steel
Quills base: Skorne Red shade: Exile Blue highlight: Khador Red Base
Nails base: ’Jack Bone shade: Bloodtracker Brown highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Eyes base: Bastion Grey highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Flesh base: Trollblood Base shade: Trollblood Base, Sanguine Base 1:1 highlight: Trollblood Highlight
Leather base: Bootstrap Leather shade: Brown Ink highlight: Beast Hide
Pants base: Traitor Green shade: Battlefield Brown highlight: Ordic Olive
Brass base: Cold Steel shade: Brass Balls secondary shading: Brown Ink
Tartan tan base: Rucksack Tan tan shade: Battlefield Brown tan highlight: Menoth White Highlight stripes: Skorne Red, Iosan Green
PAINTING TIPS When painting the tartan, study the curves of the sculpt and follow them with your lines. Remember to keep the lines fairly large with plenty of space between them.
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KITH OF THE BLOODSTONE PAINT SCHEME DIRE TROLL MAULER
Quills Rock Nubs
base: Skorne Red shade: Exile Blue highlight: Khador Red Base
base: Coal Black shade: Thamar Black
Eyes base: Bastion Grey highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Brass base: Cold Steel shade: Brass Balls secondary shading: Brown Ink
Mouth base: Beaten Purple highlight: Beaten Purple, Carnal Pink 1:1
Nails Flesh base: Bastion Grey shade: Coal Black, Battlefield Brown 1:1 highlight: Trollblood Highlight
Loincloth Tartan white base: Bastion Grey blue base: Cygnar Blue Base white highlight: Menoth White Highlight blue highlight: Cygnar Blue Highlight
Painter's Inspiration
base: ’Jack Bone shade: Bloodtracker Brown highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Trolls living in more extreme environments, such as the frozen northern mountains or the desolate deserts of the Bloodstone Marches, sometimes show physiological changes including atypical skin and quill colorations. Dwelling in arid conditions amid sweltering heat and dust, the trollbloods of the Bloodstone Marches are exposed to high temperatures and parching winds. They have adapted over the years to weather such unrelenting conditions, while exposure to the minerals and toxins of the region has led to their distinctive brown skin hues and black stony growths.
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PAINTING YOUR ARMY
KITH OF THE BLOODSTONE PAINT SCHEME KRIEL WARRIOR
Brass base: Cold Steel shade: Brass Balls secondary shading: Brown Ink
Quills base: Skorne Red shade: Exile Blue highlight: Khador Red Base
Nails base: ’Jack Bone shade: Bloodtracker Brown highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Eyes base: Bastion Grey highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Flesh base: Bastion Grey shade: Coal Black, Battlefield Brown 1:1 highlight: Trollblood Highlight
Leather base: Bootstrap Leather shade: Brown Ink highlight: Beast Hide
Pants base: Hammerfall Khaki shade: Gun Corps Brown highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Steel base: Pig Iron shade: Armor Wash highlight: Cold Steel
Tartan white base: Bastion Grey blue base: Cygnar Blue Base white highlight: Menoth White Highlight blue highlight: Cygnar Blue Highlight
PAINTING TIPS Stone is a common element on Troll models. You can drybrush these areas with Bastion Grey, Trollblood Highlight, and Menoth White Highlight followed by a shade of Greatcoat Grey and Cryx Bane Base.
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“BIG, MEAN & GREEN” PAINT SCHEME DIRE TROLL MAULER
Quills Rock Nubs
base: Khador Red Base shade: Sanguine Base highlight: Khador Red Highlight
base: Bastion Grey shade: Armor Wash highlight: Cryx Bane Highlight
Eyes base: Bastion Grey highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Metal base: Pig Armor shade: Armor Wash highlight: Cold Steel
Mouth base: Beaten Purple highlight: Beaten Purple, Carnal Pink 1:1
Leather base: Idrian Flesh shade: Umbral Umber highlight: Bootstrap Leather
Flesh base: Iosan Green shade: Gnarls Green highlight: Necrotite Green
Nails Loincloth base: Beaten Purple shade: Red and Blue Ink 1:1 highlight: Murderous Magenta
base: ’Jack Bone shade: Gun Corps Brown highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Painter's Inspiration By William Shick
I grew up on a steady diet of comics and history books, so a lot of my painting inspiration is one part fantasy to two parts reality. When I first saw the Dire Troll Mauler in No Quarter #2, I knew my Trollblood army scheme would be comic-influenced. Looking at the huge mass of muscle-bound fury so well portrayed by the models, I had no doubt I would be painting my trolls with a well-known, purple-panted, hulking-green rage monster in mind. From the Trollkin Warrior to the Mountain King, the Trollbloods have organic, smooth shapes that allow you to go crazy with your contrast and layering, rewarding bold color choices with muscles that seem to pop off the model. While it’s often best to brighten greens
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PAINTING YOUR ARMY
“BIG, MEAN & GREEN” PAINT SCHEME KRIEL WARRIOR
Black base: Bastion Grey shade: Armor Wash highlight: Cryx Bane Highlight
Quills base: Khador Red Base shade: Sanguine Base highlight: Khador Red Highlight
Nails base: ’Jack Bone shade: Gun Corps Brown highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Eyes base: Bastion Grey highlight: Menoth White Highlight
Flesh base: Iosan Green shade: Gnarls Green highlight: Necrotite Green
Leather base: Idrian Flesh shade: Umbral Umber highlight: Bootstrap Leather
Pants base: Gun Corps Brown shade: Bootstrap Leather highlight: Beast Hide
Metal base: Pig Iron shade: Armor Wash highlight: Cold Steel
Tartan base: Sanguine Base shade: Red Ink highlight: Sanguine Highlight stripes: Coal Black, Heartfire
with yellow to make them stand out, I used Menoth White Highlight instead for a more subdued, natural tone. To help contrast with the bright greens, I used darker metallics and rich, deep browns. For my tartans I used Sanguine Base, which has a strong purple bias that contrasts well with the green skin tone.
PAINTING TIPS To add variety to your force or to make certain characters stand out, you can create variations in the skin color by adjusting the ratio of the red, blue, and green tones.
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STONE SCRIBE ELDER & KRIELSTONE BEARER by Andy Morison
GRIM ANGUS by Alan O’Bryan EXTREME DIRE TROLL MAULER by Nick Van Slagmant
HOARLUK DOOMSHAPER & BATTLEGROUP by Marshal Reeves
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PAINTING YOUR ARMY
RAGNOR SKYSPLITTER, THE RUNEMASTER & TROLL IMPALER by Michael Archer
TROLL AXER by David Diamondstone
WAR WAGON by Michael Archer
HORGLE IRONSTRIKE by Andreas Graae
GLACIER KING by Alex Newman
CAPTAIN GUNNBJORN by Tom Wänerstrand
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TEMPLATES
WALL TEMPLATE
ROLLING FOG (Jarl Skuld)
MAGE SIGHT (Hunters Grim)
You may photocopy these templates for your personal use.
