Mordheim Musings: Flawed Warband Design Part 3

Mordheim Musings: Flawed Warband Design Part 3

Over my holiday, I'm writing a series of articles on the design of Mordheim warbands from the Nemesis Crown supplement, with a focus on the deep flaws I see in some of them. If you haven't read part 1 you can check it out here, or read part 2 here (and while you're at it, why not check out some of my other articles on Mordheim here, here, and here).

With that out of the way, let's get into the meat of the article:

Hochland Bandits

Realistically, this should have been the first warband on the chopping block. It's easily the worst design offender of the bunch, with several elements that I consider utterly unsalvageable. The Hochland Bandits are, simply put, a mess, with a bloated roster of warriors and special rules that try to do too much, and as a result create a warband with an identity crisis and little unity.

The bandits are another interesting warband concept: a small band of ruthless outlaws, preying on other treasure hunters in the Great Forest (or wherever your campaign happens to be set). Though small in number (with a maximum of 12 warriors), they're overflowing with diversity, counting no fewer than nine unique warrior types, and ten warrior special rules, eight of which are also unique to the warband! Not to mention that no more than two of these rules are on any one warrior. Still following me?

Herein lies the biggest single offense committed by the Hochland Bandits: too much! How is a player supposed to be satisfied with their warband's state if there are always one or two warriors left out? How are they or their opponent to remember which warriors have which special rules, and what they even do? And while some of these rules focus on the postgame sequence, many directly affect the game, in some cases pretty unfairly. Let's take a look.

Starting from the top, the warband's special rules are probably the least flawed piece of the puzzle. The first simply states that they have the same Hired Sword selection as Mercenaries, nothing to see here. The second, however, “Powder's Expensive", imposes a small markup on black powder weapons (which are only available to one hero anyway), and offers a justification for why henchmen can't purchase them. While not awful, this is pretty superfluous: a 5 gc markup on pistols and duelling pistols is pretty insignificant, especially if you'll be buying a maximum of two in the entire warband. Furthermore, as much as it might be flavourful to explain why henchmen can't use them, it's hardly necessary. Most other warbands omit equipment from their lists with no explanation offered, and I don't think anyone would have felt cheated if the same were true here.

The third and fourth special rules help build up the identity of the warband in earnest. “Foragers" allows the Hochland Bandits to count as being one size category smaller for income purposes, and “Know Who To Sell To" grants them a small income bonus when they sell items. So while this is a small warband, they know how to manage and conserve their money. Keep this characteristic in mind as we move forward.

If I were to make a change to this section, it would be to remove the “Powder's Expensive" rule altogether. At warband creation, it's at most a 10 gc sink if you choose to kit your Duelist out with a brace of pistols. Down the line, it only comes into play if you take Weapons Expert with one of your other heroes, and by the time you're doing that the 5 gc markup per pistol doesn't mean much anymore. If powder is too expensive for the bandits, just take it off the equipment list entirely. What about the Duelist, you ask? Trust me, I'll deal with them later.

Equipment

The Hochland Bandits' equipment list is split into four: the baseline Bandit equipment, and the Duelist, Coward, and Poacher equipment lists. Duelists have some unique equipment options, Cowards' options are very limited, and Poachers are skewed more towards missile weapons. Reading the lists, I have to wonder if four were really necessary. This adds yet another level of arguably needless complexity to the bandits: nine warrior types, ten warrior special rules, and four equipment list. Who uses what again? Can that Gutterscum take a spear? Do Hucksters use the same list as Looters? What about Thugs? Forget head-scratchers, this is a head-spinner. 

It's once again too much, especially since the complexity isn't really necessary to the warband's identity. My solution? Cut the number of lists in half. I like the distinction between bandits and cowards, since it leaves a divide between the warband's combatant members and its sneakier ones. I would cut the Duelist list entirely, because I think that the Duelist should be cut entirely, and I promise I'll explain that below. The Poacher list can be incorporated into the Bandit list: it doesn't undermine the Poacher by giving them the option for a bit of extra wargear, just add in some asterisks to denote that long-range missile weapons are “Poacher only". If a player wants a warband of bow-toting thieves, they can play the Outlaws of Stirwood Forest; these bandits are thuggish brawlers. I think that the short bow can be left as a general option, however, since it's overall a bad weapon (more on that here), and won't likely tempt anyone to turn their high-Strength Thugs into Merry Men. So that cuts us down to two equipment lists for two archetypes: the Bandit and the Coward. Much easier to swallow.

Special Skills

In the interest of full disclosure, I wrote this section last, because I forgot about it until the end! The Hochland Bandits are the first of the warbands I've looked at to have a Special Skills section. I actually like these a lot, but I'll admit my own bias towards special skills. I think every warband could do with a set, or some equivalent like Mutations, since these really help illustrate themes that a designer wants their warband to have. Other aspects of warband design have clear do's and don't's, but as far as I'm concerned, so long as it doesn't take several paragraphs of text to explain, a warband special skill is in the clear. I'll still go through each one though, and how they contribute to the overall feel of the warband.

First comes “Banditry", which allows a hero to go out and shake down the locals between games. It's similar to the Huckster's “Slick Operator" rule, but overall a slight downgrade: both grant a gold reward on a D6 roll of 2-6 (1D6+1 for Banditry, 2D6 for Slick Operator), and a consequence on a 1 (a Serious Injury roll for Banditry, missing the next game for Slick Operator). The skill makes a lot of sense for a bandit, and plays into their major theme of making profits.

Next is “Hide in Shadows", which makes the hero more difficult to spot when hidden. Not much to say here, it's a solid skill that makes sense for a group of sneaky ruffians. “Jump Back" comes next, which allows the hero to disengage and move away from combat with a successful Initiative test. While not directly tied into mechanical themes of the warband, it's a flavourful skill, evoking an opportunistic warrior who would rather live to fight another day. 

“Sniper" relates to stealth again, letting a hidden bandit make shooting attacks without being seen (except with black powder weapons, which they don't generally use anyway). This reinforces the warband's stealth focus with a clear, clean-cut skill. Last of all is “Throw Voice", which effectively gives the hero a 4+ “save" against being spotted while hidden, once again supporting stealthy play and creating a funny narrative. 

Like I said, I'm happy with the special skills overall. Unlike the rest of the Hochland Bandits (as you'll see below), they're concise, digestible, and contribute to the identity of a warband that lacks focus elsewhere.

Warriors

Now I want to take a look at the roster I've lamented so much (seriously, nine different options!?). Starting from the heroes section, I actually like the Bandit Prince, a pretty typical melee-focused leader, and the Footpad, who has a basic human profile and a special rule that introduces a second key concept to the warband: “Concealment" makes it more difficult for enemies to detect and charge a hidden Footpad, showing an emphasis on stealth. So the Hochland Bandits are about money and stealth, which makes sense. I'm pretty happy with these two heroes, except for two issues: Footpads cost 45 gc, and the Bandit Prince costs 60 gc. For the Footpads, that's 20 gc more than Witch Hunters, who have the same price, and while Concealment is good, it's not 20 gc good. I would drop them down to 35 gc tops, valuing their special rule at 10 gc. The Bandit Prince is simply 5 gc too expensive, since their profile is identical to a Mercenary Captain's but with 1 less BS. I'd prefer the discount, but you might also want to change the Prince's profile to match the Captain's.

Next up is the Huckster, a scam artist who accompanies the warband. He's not a very good fighter, but has a silver tongue to make up for it. Or so the idea goes. The Huckster comes with two special rules, one of which I like, and one I don't. The good one is “Slick Operator", which allows the Huckster to run cons between games to bring in a bit of extra gold, but risk being run out of town and missing a battle. This fits well both with the character and the warband's economic focus. The other special rule is “Convincing Manner", which essentially makes every friendly warrior within 12" cause fear. Yes, 12". Yes, fear. What. Were. They. Thinking. The reasoning behind this is that the Huckster talks the enemy out of charging, convincing them that the bandits have good intentions, which is absolutely ridiculous! For one thing, the two warbands are already in conflict, and the bandits might even have fired the first shot. You're telling me the greasy little man with them can convince their foes not to attack? No way. On top of that, there's no mention of line of sight, so even if the other bandit is behind a stone wall, the Huckster's seventh sense makes him start running his mouth to convince an unseen enemy not to attack. Again, ridiculous. I would eliminate this rule entirely, in part because it's extremely powerful, and in part because it's nonsensical. At the same time, I would increase the Huckster's Strength from its current 2 to a healthy 3. Yes, he's a non-combatant, but Strength 2 represents a serious deficiency, exponentially below the average. If the weediest youngblood mercenary can have Strength 3, so can the Huckster. To reflect these changes, I would drop the Huckster's price to 30 gc: he has poor characteristics but a decent special rule, and while this might even be overpriced, the Huckster can make back that gold pretty quickly with Slick Operator.

Last is the Duelist, a weapon master who has taken up residence with the bandits to hide out from their enemies. This is an interesting idea, but throws a bit of a wrench in the warband for a few reasons: first, a duelist is not a bandit, and their connection to the warband seems shaky at best. A Duelist sounds more like a Hired Sword than a bandit hero. Now that I mention it, isn't he? (He is.) The Duelist has two special rules, “Swordmaster", which gives him an easier time parrying, and “Weapon Knowledge", which is essentially both Weapons Training and Weapons Expert rolled into one. Incidentally, the Duelist is a direct clone of the Hired Sword of the same name, which leads me to believe that the Hochland Bandits' designers might have come up with their first three hero types and grasped at straws for the fourth. The Duelist has a separate equipment list (which adds two unconventional weapon descriptions to the warband's rules), two special rules that don't really play into the warband's overall focuses of profit and stealth, and has an entire warband special rule devoted to justifying a 5 gc markup on their pistols. Why? To fill a slot? There are nine (nine!) different warriors in this warband, why not move one of the henchmen into a hero role? That's exactly what I would do: cut the Duelist entirely, and turn the Poacher into a hero instead. No more Duelist equipment list, no more “need" for the “Powder's Expensive" rule. But why the Poacher, you might ask? I'll get to it, after going through the other henchmen...

...Starting with the Thug, the warband's mainstay henchman choice. With no limits imposed, this is the bandit parallel to the Mercenary Warrior, Possessed Cultist, Witch Hunter Zealot, and so on. What sets the Thug apart is their lack of ranged options (besides throwing axes) and Strength of 4, emphasizing a melee role. This high strength comes at the cost one might expect, bumping the hiring fee for a Thug to 30 gc. I like Thugs, since they really paint a picture of a bandit gang more focused on shaking down travelers up close than harassing them with bows from a distance. 

The second henchman choice is the Looter, a Coward (equipment-wise) with low WS and Ld, and BS 4. They're more or less the henchman equivalent of the Huckster, and come with a broken, feel-bad special rule just like their heroic counterpart: “Looting the Dead". This rule allows each Looter, on a D6 roll of a 4+, to steal all of the equipment off of one dead enemy after the battle. The only other case I'm aware of where this is possible is by capturing an enemy alive, then selling or killing them. A few warbands have rules that make it easier to do this, but there's a reason that it's so rare to be able to steal equipment from enemies: it feels awful. Imagine your high-level hero gets killed, and the enemy, through a single 50/50 die roll, gets to take every scrap of equipment you worked so hard to get! On top of that, is pulling the equipment off of dead bodies a specialized skill that only a few people possess? Few might have the stomach for it, but I imagine the type of people rooting around Mordheim wouldn't turn up their nose at Gromril armour from a corpse. And yet, no other warband gets to steal equipment off fallen enemies, a precedent set by the original core rules, which explicitly state that all of a dead warrior's equipment is lost. I do think that stealing equipment is an interesting idea, but I don't believe that having up to four warriors who can randomly steal it is the right way to go about implementing this idea. This sort of bonus ability feels much more like something a hero would be able to do, if it's doable at all. All that said, the Looters do fit well with the warbands focus on profit, so maybe there's hope for them yet. I'd argue for keeping them, but reworking their special rule entirely so that it's closer to the Halfling Thief's “Cutpurse", which grants the warband an extra Treasure if the Thief takes at least one enemy out of action. Of course, with a limit of four Looters in the warband, getting four extra Treasures per battle is possibly more powerful than the original rule. I would suggest that “Looting the Dead" grants a maximum of one Treasure per battle, and only if at least one Looter both takes an enemy out of action and survives the battle. Since Looters are relatively weak fighters with few melee options and no armour, this turns them into a high-risk, high-reward henchman choice. Getting more of them also no longer multiplies this reward, but simply makes it more likely to get it. 25 gc is likely still a fair price for a Looter, as they've got a sub-par statline (worth 20 gc by itself) but a powerful special rule. 

After Looters come Blackhearts, a 0-2 henchman choice with a default human profile. They're the nasties of the Hochland Bandits, cruel men who take pleasure in killing and torture. This is reflected in their special rule “Hardened", which makes them immune to fear and all-alone tests. I use the word “reflected" lightly here, because for such a “badass" description, these guys are essentially fearless Mercenary Warriors who cost 10 gc extra. Thugs are also better-suited to killing, and while the immunity to some negative psychology is alright, I don't know that it tempts me enough to actually want two fighters who are otherwise mediocre and overpriced. Besides which, nothing in their identity really aligns with the focuses on stealth or profit. If I were to change the Blackhearts, I'd remove them entirely. It's safe to assume that some of the Thugs like killing a little too much. This does leave the warband without an effective means of addressing fear-causing enemies, since they lack a lot of shooting, but I think I have a potential fix for that later on.

The second-last henchman type (like I said, there are a lot!) is the Poacher, another 0-2 limited warrior. The Poacher's profile is average, but with a BS of 4 that sets them apart. They also have the only access to real ranged weapons in the warband, slotting them into a role as snipers. Their special rule, “Trailblazers", allows the warband to re-roll one Exploration die per Poacher. It's no “Looting the Dead", but I do think it's a touch powerful for a henchman, especially in a warband that doesn't really have any Exploration deficiencies. By contrast, Elf and Dwarf warbands usually have some form of Exploration bonus, but they also normally come with four hero choices instead of five. Hochland Bandits, with their full complement of heroes, don't need a powerful Exploration boost like this to be viable. It is an interesting bonus, however, and one that fits fairly well with the warband's identity: these are wood-dwelling bandits, and should have a guide who knows the lay of the land. On top of that, it helps with their profits. This sort of character strikes me as more of a hero, though, especially since henchmen don't generally have an effect on Exploration. Since I already want to cut the Duelist, a single Poacher would fit well in his place. That way the warband keeps a specialist hero, and one who's more in line with their general feel. They can still hire a Duelist if they want one. The only other change I'd make is upping the Poacher's price by 10 gc, to 45, to reflect the new hero status.

The last entry in the henchmen list is the Gutterscum, a cannon fodder warrior with WS and BS 2 and Ld 6. A profile like this should set the warband back 15 gc, but the Gutterscum's cost is cut to 10 gc thanks to their “Utterly Inept" rule, which prevents them from gaining experience. They also use the Coward equipment list, making them overall weak combatants. Gutterscum fill a niche comparable to warhounds as expendable troops, but lacking in the raw combat power and speed of the latter. They remind me a lot of the Raging Peasants from Border Town Burning's Cathayan Battle Monks, but one key feature sets them apart: the peasants are truly expendable, as their casualties don't count towards the warband's Rout threshold. Gutterscum are therefore a liability: when Witch Hunters throw away a couple of warhounds to get their voluntary Rout, the hounds' WS of 3 and Strength of 4 means they might take a couple of enemies down with them. And peasants, while miserable in a fight, at least won't drag their whole warband closer to fleeing when they're downed. Gutterscum have the worst of both worlds, making for an unappealing package. So unappealing, in fact, that between the Looters and the Thugs I don't know that they're necessary as a filler. If I were to rewrite the warband, Gutterscum would be left behind. They could stay, I guess, but I have something bigger I'd rather see in their place. 

Ogre-sized, in fact.

That's right, I would add an ogre to the warband. And while I haven't recommended such radical changes in my previous two Nemesis Crown posts, I think that it both fits well with the warband and fills a currently empty niche. A twelve-model warband needs some way of punching up, getting an advantage over larger warbands that have access to a broader range of warriors by default. Witch Hunters have strong, tough Flagellants and vicious warhounds. Border Town Burning's Undead have magic, fear, and immunity to stunning. Hochland Bandits didn't have much to begin with, and have even less now that I've pared them down. Thugs are good but not great, and Looters bring a bit of extra cash to a warband with otherwise cheap warriors and equipment. The ogre provides a much-needed sink for the warband's extra gold. With the removal of the Blackhearts, and the lack of any significant shooting, the bandits can't easily deal with fear-causing foes either, but an ogre can charge them with impunity. Besides the mechanics rationale, an ogre would likely feel right at home with the Hochland Bandits, much more so than a Duelist. I'd lift the profile and price straight from the Ostlanders warband. The only thing I would add is a rule about their big appetite, disallowing a bandit warband from using their Foragers rule with an ogre present; it's hard enough to keep the bandits satisfied off game and berries, let alone one of these gluttons. 

That's a bit of a digression, but there's a good reason for it: I've been writing up new rules for each of these warbands that take into account my criticisms. I want to put my money where my mouth is and try my hand at redesigning these warbands in earnest, rather than just writing about doing it. I plan to release all of these rules once I finish this series, which will likely only be one more part; once that's done, the link will be here.

If the ogre seems like too extreme an addition, let me propose a different change: add a rule to Gutterscum so that they don't count towards the number of out of action models for Rout purposes. That way, players don't need to feel pressured to protect them, and they can realize their full potential as expendable troops. It makes sense flavour-wise too, as the more hardened members of the warband won't likely bat an eye when the weak fall.

In Summary

Time to put it all in brief here, for those who want to skip to the end or who want a recap. Here's how I would rework the Hochland Bandits:

Special Rules:

- Remove “Powder's Expensive".

Equipment:

- Remove the “Duelist" and “Poacher" lists.

- Add the short bow, bow, longbow, and crossbow to the general Bandit list.

- Add notes that the bow, longbow, and crossbow are restricted to the Poacher.

Special Skills:

- No change!

Warriors:

- Change the Bandit Prince's cost from 60 gc to 55 gc.

- Change the cost of Footpads from 45 gc to 35 gc.

- Change the Huckster's cost from 40 gc to 30 gc, increase their Strength from 2 to 3, and remove the “Convincing Manner" rule.

- Remove the Duelist

- Change the Poacher from a henchman to a hero with a 0-1 limit, and increase their cost from 35 gc to 45 gc.

- Remove the Blackheart and Gutterscum.

- Change the Looter's “Looting the Dead" rule to grant a bonus Treasure if at least one Looter takes an enemy out of action and survives the battle. 

- Add an Ogre Thug henchman with a 0-1 limit, costing 160 gc and with the same profile as the Ogre Mercenary. Give the Ogre Thug the special rule “Big Appetite", which removes the benefit of “Foragers" while the Ogre Thug is in the warband.
(- If not an Ogre, keep the Gutterscum and add the “Expendable" rule to them, which states that they do not count toward the number of out of action models for the purposes of Rout tests.)

Once again, comments are welcome. This is the hardest I've ripped on a warband yet, and the most dramatic changes I've proposed, but I still believe the Hochland Bandits need those to be viable. You may disagree with that, and I'd be interested to hear why! 

As a final note, I originally said this would be a three-part series, but it's looking like at least four now. I've definitely tackled the worst design offenders now, though, and the other Nemesis Crown warbands are pretty solid in comparison, but I'll make at least one more post to share my thoughts on them and wrap things up.