Tribal Subfaction

Tribal Nations

At the head of each tribal village is a warrior-chieftain called a Pendragon who is supported by the village’s bard and clan champion. Though each Pendragon is accompanied by a band of professional warriors, the bulk of the village’s forces are made up of Bladeslingers – over-eager herders and farmers, armed with the Wyldfolk’s iconic spear-sling.

They are easily recognizable in their bright tartans, leather kilts, marching to war painted in blue woad and limed hair. At their fore are their spell-casting Druids and bagpiping Bards.

The Tribal Nations represent the most common form of Wyldfolk society, but even they have a strong diversity of their civilization. Fenfolk build towns within the misty swamps, bogs and wetlands, while the clans of Lowlanders make their hillside burrows within the rugged heath-lands. For the Highlanders who dwell on bleak mountains and plateaus, their forts of fieldstone brochs provide shelter from the relentless drizzle.

Pendragon

Background

The Pendragon is a true son of the wilderness, being leader of a Wyldfolk village, Like the very breeze he is a master of stealth, shooting foes with bulls-eye accuracy as he glides unseen through the undergrowth. When the time is ripe he leaps forth, leading his warriors in a frontal assault with wild abandon.

These warrior-lords wear ring-mail and brigandine armor, and have access to items enchanted by the druids. The Pendragon is a cultural heir of the Red Griffon Empire of Uthyr Songsword, and he wields the same traditional weapons of bows and swords as Uthyr’s Wyvern Knights (from whom his title Pen-Draig is also derived).

Game Role

Although an accomplished warrior, the Pendragon’s principle role during the chaos of battle is to lead his troops. The Pendragon is more of a buffing warlord more than any other starterbox warlord. To start with, he can allow a unit to deploy with secret deployment. Additionally, when he charges a target, any friendlu model/unit wthin his LEAD range can also charge the same target and pay less Action Tokens to do so. The Pendragon also has two useful tactics he can order to models. The first is Sneak which gives them better DEF against missile attacks, and the second is Wylde Charge which gives them an additional +1 to attack rolls when charging.

On the personal side, the Pendragon can use fighting styles even when making counter-attacks, and he also has a tactic allowing him to roll 3 dice for attack rolls and chose the 2 highest. With these skills he is likely to hit most targets with every melee attack, even with his MEL of 7 which is lower than usual melee warlords. His weapon options are sword-pairs, which means he can make ambidextrous attacks, giving him 4 attacks per round. That means 6 attacks with slay-movement.

The reason for his lower MEL is his higher MIS, because the Pendragon has access to bows! So as well as being okay in melee, the Pendragon can make accurate missile attacks (MIS7) with a POW of 2 or 3, and a long range of up to 24 inches.

So you can see the Pendragon is not a specialist in anything, but pretty good at everything. His versatility is his greatest advantage.

Bladeslingers

Background

When village lands are overrun, all able-bodied farmers and craftsmen of the Annyr tribes form up into bands known as Bladeslingers – usually all members of the same extended family. Even womenfolk join their ranks, for in Annyrion women enjoy equality. These militias do not represent the Annyr’s finest, but what they lack in experience they make up for with typical Wyldfolk agility, wilderness-lore and enthusiasm.

From the fens of Penndrynis to the coast of Larryn, the spear-sling is the most common instrument of war in every Tribal Wyldfolk village. The long reach of their weapons make Bladeslingers effective even against better fighters who are armed with shorter weapons,

However, their true forte is speed, for Bladeslingers are light Infantry, darting across the landscape and whirlwind charges which rob enemies of the initiative. Pelting foes with stones, they surge back and forth before melting away into these woods and swamps where enemies become bogged down. Other Bladeslingers may be positioned by the Pendragon in camouflaged dugouts, ready to launch a lightning assault on an unsuspecting foe. Highlanders, Lowlanders and Fennfolk alike revel in the dance of battle and delight in its discordant melody.

Game Role

Bladeslingers are an essential and useful part of any Wayldfolk warband. They have multiple uses. Firstly they can be used as missile troops, especially when buffed by spells from the druid and tactics from the Farfarer or the Pendragon.

Secondly they make excellent light infantry with a potential movement of 15 inches and the ability to ignore difficult terrain. This means they can also make a long-charge of 11 inches, plus they have a 2 inch MEL range due to their spears. This means they can usually charge the enemy and place themselves outside the melee range of the enemy, making themselves immune to counter-attacks. Thereafter they can disengage from the enemy and suffer no free attacks.

On their own, Bladeslingers are fairly weak, with MEL5 and MIS6, so it is important to buff them for the role they will perform. However bladeslingers cost only 10 points each and can be formed into units of 8 models.

Taking up 32 Bladeslingers in a regular warband, you can build a large horde of models who can both shoot and engage in melee. Alternatively, take a couple of small units to provide harassing units to slow the enemy or charge the enemy flanks.

Cromlech Guard

Background

Protecting the somber cromlech-temples, mysterious henges and magical megaliths of the Druids are the Cromlech Guard – elite warrior brotherhoods sworn to the service of the fierce and untamed Neamh gods. Like brooding wolfhounds they keep their watch year-round through caressing mists, golden fields, rusted forest, and silver frosts.

Cromlech Guards also accompany Druids on their expeditions through the wilderness and act as their heralds. When religious campaigns are proclaimed by the Druidic councils, the Cromlech Guard forms the core of the Wyldfolk’s army.

Aspiring protégés of the Guard learn the art of war with the two-handed great-axe, both to sew carnage among massed troops and to deliver mighty blows to individual foes. In battle the Cromlech Guard forego the usual Wyldfolk advantage of speed for enhanced staying-power, being heavily armored in hauberks of brigandine and outfitted in kilts and cloaks of studded leather and ring-mail.

Game Role

Cromlech Guard are the elite heavy infantry of the Wyldfolk. Not only are they well equipped with heavy armor and 2-handed axes, they also have great stats including MEL7 and POW5 so they can score lots of hits and pile on serious damage. Their tactics also allow them to make extra-heavy attacks, adding D3 direct damage, or to make multi-attacks on every model within melee range!

With DEF13 and ARM 8, they are quite durable, especially when crowded around a Megalith to benefit from its protection roll. Not only that, their Defiant in Death ability allows them to be removed at the end of the round when they are destroyed, instead of immediately, so they have no need to make counter-attacks, allowing them to make regular attacks instead

Your Cromlech Guard are your hardest line-troops, capable of receiving a charge and still giving back massive damage.

Bard

Background

The bard is no mere entertainer, for his mind is the repository of the collected myths, legends and histories of the Wyldfolk people for several hundred generations. He is the guardian of the Wyldfolk’s cultural heritage, and by performing the lyrical sagas, he not only educates but also inspires the youth towards lives of heroic valor.

Some believe this ability to manipulate consciousness is sorcery or Dreamspinner magic, while others claim it is merely trickery. Whatever the truth, the effects of the Bard’s songs are profound.

A clan counts itself lucky to attract a resident bard to its Roundhouse; there he lives as a permanent guest of the Pendragon. Where there is a mighty hero there is often a bard accompanying him on his quest in order to immortalize his deeds in song. In times of conflict Bards accompany war parties, and their presence inspires warriors to perform extraordinary deeds and persevere against overwhelming odds. At times a bard may even inspire himself to wade into the thick of battle, armed with a bastard sword which he can wield one-handed or two-handed. However the greatest weapons in his arsenal are his lute, harp and bagpipes.

Game Role

The Bard is a musician, so he can channel orders from your warlord across the board, and guarantee they are received by the target.

The Bard has 3 musical talents to use. Because these are not tactics, they can be ordered to models and units which already have tactics active.

The first one gives friendly models +1 to hit or damage. The second is a debuff removing Fearless and Hardened Will of enemies. Finally the third one is the most devastating, allowing medium and heavy infantry to make long charges. This can for example turn your Cromlech Guard into fast devastating warriors with a charge range of 11 inches.

He also has a tactic to make fleeing models rally and immediately perform a normal activation.

Besides that, he is a good scenarios character for accomplishing scenario goals. With MEL6 and DEF14 he can also help in the fighting, but should only be matched against poor enemy troops.

Ovate Grove Druid

Background

As a class above the clan chiefs, the Druids stand between the Wyldfolk and their gods (called the Neamh). They preside over religious ceremonies, interpret the will of the gods and are able to call on divine magic. However their powers reach deeper and their interests go much further for they are also philosophers of esoteric wisdom with some command of sorcery and a close connection to the force of nature.

The cromlech temples where they labor and reside are dank chambers dug into hills or artificial mounds, but the Druids have also become caretakers of numerous, ancient stone-henges and the mysteries they contain. Upon the battlefield they employ sorcery and divine magic which they amplify with raw power drawn from the network of leyline megaliths, to lay waste to the enemies of the Wyldfolk.

Game Role

The Druid is a spell-caster with a huge selection of spells. The Druid gains a bonus for casting spells on friendly models, so he is ideally suited for buffing models and units.

For missile-focussed warbands he is an absolute necessity because his spells can really make missile attacks effective.

For melee-based warbands he is not essential, but is certainly beneficial. At a cost of only 18 points, he is a very economical spell-caster, so he is universally useful.

In addition, he has a massively useful healing ability, healing D6 life points.

Ogham Megalith

Background

Jutting from the earth at regular intervals across Ghorn are thousands of giant stones, some of them so old they predate the current cycle of the cosmos. The Wyldfolk Druids discovered that these monuments delineate leylines – concentrated bands of magical force running across the land. They also learned that the stones were not mere markers; they were in fact mystic lenses capable of focusing, boosting and storing the magical energy. Common people call these esoteric devices Megaliths.

The reconstruction, expansion and preservation of the spider’s web of Ogham Megaliths became a vital aspect of the Druids’ endeavors, for it allows them to concentrate vast quantities of energy at strategic points for use in battle.

Some megaliths are placed at the intersection of two or more leylines to combine magical energies, while others may be placed along leylines in order to boost their power. When faced with impending invasion, the Druids add Ogham Megaliths to reinforce the lines leading to the region where battles are likely to occur.

Game Role

The Ogham Megalith does not make passive activations, but it has various attributes which can be activated, and several abilities which are constantly active.

Druids can channel their spells through the megaliths from a distance, thereby increasing their range by 10 inches.

The Ogham Aura tactic allows the stone to be activated to spread a field of protective energy around it providing a 5+ protection roll.

Time Vault allows the stone to store action tokens, which can be accessed later in the game.

In general the Ogham Megalith is best placed about halfway between the wyldfolk deployment zone and the middle of the board (around 16-20 inches). Spellcasters can then sit back and cast spells through it at the approaching enemy, and your melee troops can gather around it for its protection aura if you favor a defensive line to meet the approaching enemy. Meanwhile your warlord or one druid spellcaster can pour action tokens into it for the first 2-3 rounds, then your warlord draws on them when the battle commences.