Golems in Warhammer
Golems have a rather patchy history in Warhammer and WFRP. The conventional four types – clay, flesh, iron, and stone – were established in fantasy games by the AD&D Monster Manual back in 1977, and Citadel made a few Golem figures in the late 70s and early 80s.
No rules were published for Golems in Warhammer, although it might be argued that the Ushabti from the Tomb Kings army lists are a form of Golem.
A couple of Flesh Golems appeared in WFRP 1st edition adventures. Death on the Reik featured the Wittgenstein Monster, and a similar creature appeared in the adventure “The Curse of the Reichenbachs” in Death’s Dark Shadow. Golems were mentioned in the WFRP 2nd edition supplements Liber Necris and Renegade Crowns, but without game stats. A kind of Flesh Golem appeared in Forges of Nuln, but it was far from standard – if a Flesh Golem can ever be described as standard.
My earlier post on Gargoyles covered the living-statue type of that creature, and can be used for Stone Golems. Another take on Stone Golems is given below, along with the other three “classic” Golem types. As always, everything that follows is completely unofficial and should be regarded as a fan work. No challenge is intended to trademarks or copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Golems
Imbued with a semblance of life through magical and alchemical processes, Golems are Constructs of flesh or other materials. Most take humanoid form, but theoretically that can be any shape.
A distinction must be made between true Golems and the humanoid mechanical constructs made by some Dwarven and other engineers. Golems are animated by magic rather than engineering, while the others rely on steam and other power sources and move by the action of gears, wires, and levers.
Stone Golems include the massive Ushabti of ancient Khemri, animated Gargoyles, and other living statues. They are often created as guards, and given orders to attack anyone except their controllers.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 45 | 25 | 75 | 75 | 10 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | 28 |
Traits: Armour 3, Construct, Dark Vision, Fear 1, Hardy, Immunity (poison, fire, electricity), Immunity to Psychology, Magical, Painless, Stupid, Territorial (one building or small area), Weapon +10
Optional: 2 Fists +10, Die Hard, Size (Small to Enormous), Magic Resistance 1-2, Ranged (Throw) +10
Iron Golems (and more rarely, Golems of brass or other metals) are also used as guards and troops, although they can only guard a location for a few centuries before becoming corroded and useless. Their great strength makes them useful as menials and labourers.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 45 | 25 | 70 | 70 | 10 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | 28 |
Traits: Armour 2, Construct, Dark Vision, Fear 1, Hardy, Immunity (poison, fire), Immunity to Psychology, Magical, Painless, Stupid, Territorial (one building or small area), Weapon +9
Optional: 2 Fists +9, Die Hard, Size (Small to Enormous), Magic Resistance 1-2, Ranged (Throw) +9
Clay Golems are less durable than most other types but easier to make, and the secrets of their construction are more widely available. There are many tales of a Clay Golem being constructed by a learned priest or other scholarly individual as a bodyguard or servant.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 25 | 25 | 65 | 65 | 10 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | 18 |
Traits: Armour 1, Construct, Dark Vision, Fear 1, Immunity (poison), Immunity to Psychology, Magical, Painless, Stupid, Territorial (one building or small area), Weapon +8
Optional: 2 Fists +8, Die Hard, Size (Small to Large), Magic Resistance 1
Flesh Golems are often made by necromancers, although they are not undead. Instead, they use alchemical processes to imbue a dead body – or a construct assembled from parts of several bodies – with a semblance of life and intelligence.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 20 | 0 | 60 | 60 | 10 | 10 | 10 | – | – | – | 18 |
Traits: Afraid (Fire), Construct, Fear 2, 2 Fists +7, Stupid, Territorial (one building or small area), Weapon +7
Optional: Die Hard, Size (Large)
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Warhammer History: The Gods and Daemons of Law
In Warhammer’s earliest days, it was intended that the forces of Law and Chaos should co-exist, opposing each other in a never-ending war.
As Michael Moorcock had already discovered, though, the gods of Chaos are a lot more interesting than their lawful counterparts. The only trace of the gods of Law are a couple of miniatures and a few mentions in early Citadel publications and the first edition WFRP rulebook. For the last 30 years or more, the gods of the Old World have been the main opposition to the Ruinous Powers of Chaos.
To my knowledge, only three gods of Law were ever created for Warhammer, and all are described in the first edition WFRP rulebook.
Allimunas was the first, created by Rick Priestley in his draft of the WFRP rules that was waiting for me at the Games Workshop Design Studio in 1986. It (for gender pronouns seem unfitting) took the form of a cold and unchanging light, exemplifying a very static kind of order that is demonstrated by the fact that anyone struck by the light is paralyzed.
Arianka first appeared in the Third Citadel Compendium in 1985. Popular writers John Wagner and Alan Grant were hired to create a Warhammer-themed comic, and the result was the short-lived The Quest of Kaleb Daark. It was not clear what Arianka stood for, but she took the form of a beautiful young woman lying in a glass coffin in the city of Praag, awaiting the lost crystal keys that can free her. Like Kaleb Daark and his Chaotic patron Malal, Wagner and Grant retained rights to the character of Aranka, and all three were quietly dropped from Warhammer canon as Games Workshop set about establishing total ownership of their intellectual properties. Her brief mention in the first edition WFRP rulebook was her only appearance in the lore.
Solkan was my creation. As I worked on the “Religion and Belief” chapter of WFRP 1, I decided that the existing gods of law were too abstract – too “waffy,” to use the Studio slang term – to be of very much use in the game. Shamelessly stealing the name and image of Robert E. Howard’s Puritan adventurer Solomon Kane, I created a patron for witch hunters and all others who sought to take the fight to Chaos. As Warhammer lore developed over the next few years, though, Sigmar took over the role of witch-hunter god, and Solkan was effectively made redundant. I had some plans to introduce a secretive cult of Solkan in the White Dwarf Marienburg series, whose members were even more fanatical and frightening than the witch hunters of Sigmar, but that never came to pass.
By the time I left Games Workshop in October 1990, all three of these deities were effectively stricken from canon. I have never heard of any other gods of Law being mentioned in Games Workshop publications since then, but there are several fan-written interpretations online.
So why am I posting about the gods of Law after all this time? Am I going to create a whole lot of new, unofficial deities for a game that already has plenty? No. I was prompted to write this post by a couple of requests to cover these two miniatures – “Demons of Law” (the “Daemon” spelling had not yet been adopted) released in the C34 Demons and Elementals range in 1985.
To be honest, I’ve never been fond of these miniatures. They are nothing more or less than Christian angels from Medieval European religious art, and come from a time before even the three failed gods of Law had been thought of. They certainly have nothing to do with the Warhammer mythos as it developed.
With that said, here are some stats for WFRP 4. It’s hard to come up with a patron deity for these two from the Old World pantheon, though they might be least out of place in the service of the Lady of the Lake, the goddess of Bretonnia. But that’s just a thought.
As always, what follows is completely unofficial and should be regarded as a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 5 | 95 | 90 | 120 | 100 | 100 | 110 | 50 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 42 |
Traits: Blessed (God of Law), Distracting (Beauty), Divine 7+ (see below), Flight 100, Hatred (Chaos), Immunity to Psychology, Invoke (Gods of Law), Magic Resistance 4, Miracles (Gods of Law), Night Vision, Terror 2, Weapon +12, Zone of Law (see below)
New Traits
Divine (Target)
The creature’s essence is divine power, which sustains it completely. It does not require food, water, air, rest, or anything else that a living creature might need.
All its attacks are Magical. Roll 1d10 after any blow is received: if the creature rolls the Target number or higher, the blow is ignored even if it is a critical. Should the creature be reduced to 0 Wounds, its essence returns to the realm of Law immediately, removing it from play.
Aura of Law
The creature is wreathed in an aura of life and fertility which extends in a radius of 12 yards. No creature with the Corrupted Trait may enter this zone, and any creature with the Mutation Trait must make a Hard (-20) Willpower Test each round while within the zone, gaining one Fatigued Condition for each failure.
In addition, all spells and magical effects powered by Dhar or Shyish suffer a -30 penalty within the zone.
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Menfish – Another Lost Warhammer Race
Menfish? Yes, that’s right. These creatures were briefly a part of Warhammer lore. As well as the ad above from the first Citadel Compendium (1984), they were written up in the first edition Warhammer rules:
A few other humanoid fish types were released, such as the Fishman in the C38 Chaos Beastmen release and the early WH40K minitaure “Zhar d’uin, Piscean Prince,” but there was no further attempt to develop the Menfish concept or to create another aquatic or amphibious race.
Blazindragon left a comment in my post on Chaos Snakemen asking if I could cover the Fishmen for WFRP 4th edition, so here goes. As always, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Menfish
Menfish live in the underwater caves beneath the sea, and a few communities have been found in larger lakes. They live by fishing, mounting night-time raids on coastal villages, and sinking ships. Loyal only to their own kind, they attack the communities of Humans, Elves, Greenskins, and others without making any distinction between them.
The Sea Elves and other peoples have sent embassies to the Manfish communities of the northern seas proposing alliances against the forces of Chaos, but without success. It seems that the Menfish treat all outsiders as enemies, and only a handful of ambassadors escaped with their lives.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 30 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 30 | 15 | 9 |
Traits: Afraid (Fire, Sunlight), Amphibious, Animosity (other species), Bite +4, Cold-blooded, Night Vision, Swamp-strider, Territorial, Weapon +6
Optional: Armour 1, Hatred (other species), Ranged +6 (6 yards), Stealthy
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Chaos Snakemen – A Forgotten Warhammer Race
Golems in Warhammer
Chaos Snakemen – A Forgotten Warhammer Race
Recently, Gideon over at the excellent Awesome Lies blog posted a very interesting and thoughtful piece on some of the more unique creatures in the Warhammer world. As well as the oft-discussed Zoats and Fimir, Gideon takes a look at a more obscure race, Chaz Elliott’s Chaos Snakemen.
Chaz tells their story himself, and gives some details about the background he had devised for them, in this interview on Captain Crook’s Funky Wenis Rodeo. Only five miniatures were ever made, and they were never formally written up for the Warhammer rules.
In 2015, Tim Prow sculpted a small range of Snakemen for the Antiquis Malleum project by Diehard Miniatures, and a few more have appeared on the Diehard Miniatures web page.
As far as I have been able to discover, though, no rules have ever been published for them – so here is my interpretation of them for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
S’Nethen (Chaos Snakemen)
A failed experiment by the Old Slann, the S’Nethen escaped from Lustria and fled north. Initially they planned to gather their strength and return to defeat the Old Slann and free Lustria, but the catastrophe of the warpgates and the creation of the northern Chaos Wastes made mere survival a struggle, and as centuries and millennia passed the proud S’Nethen degenerated into a barbaric and mutation-prone remnant of what they once were.
They should not be underestimated, though, for they have guarded their territory for millennia against the forces of Chaos, where other peoples have been assimilated or destroyed.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 40 | 30 | 35 | 45 | 30 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 45 | 25 | 15 |
Traits: Armour 1, Cold-blooded, Fast, Night Vision, Weapon +7
Optional: Armour 3 – 4), Bite +5, Constrictor, Corruption Minor), Dark Vision, Mutation, Ranged +7 (100), Size (Large), Spellcaster (Any), Tail +5, Venom (Easy – Very Hard)
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Golems in Warhammer
Independent Daemons in WFRP 4th Edition
Before the two Realm of Chaos volumes presented the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos, Demons (as they were spelled then) in Warhammer and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay were not too dissimilar from the demons that could be found in any other fantasy setting of the time – although some, usually described as “Chaos Demons,” were stranger.
I touched on the question of independent Daemons in my previous post on Gargoyles, so here is a rough treatment of them for WFRP 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Independent Daemons
Instead of pledging themselves to one of the Ruinous Powers, some follow Chaos Undivided: the force of which, in their view, each of the Chaos Gods is merely one part. This is as true of Daemons as it is of mortals.
Although each Daemon is rendered unique by its combination of mutations and optional Traits, scholars divide them into four main classes:
Imps, also known as Least Daemons, are the smallest and least dangerous of their kind. They may serve Daemonologists as familiars and assistants, or devote themselves to causing trouble whenever the opportunity arises.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 35 | 45 | 25 | 45 | 60 | 45 | 45 | 25 | 45 | 25 | 12 |
Traits: Claws, Corruption (Moderate), Daemonic 9+, Fear 1, Night Vision, Size (Small), Unstable, Weapon +5
Optional: Clever, Cunning, Fast, Hardy, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Stealthy, Tail +5, Tough
Lesser Daemons are the mainstay of Daemonic armies, and are also summoned by Daemonologists and others to perform specific tasks. Occasionally, they may be brought forth from the Realm of Chaos by a magical accident, or overpower and kill their summoner. In this case they will rampage uncontrollably until banished or destroyed.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 50 | 35 | 40 | 30 | 60 | 40 | 30 | 25 | 50 | 15 | 15 |
Traits: Claws, Corruption (Moderate), Daemonic 8+, Fear 2, Night Vision, Unstable, Weapon +9
Optional: Belligerent, Brute, Champion, Distracting, Elite, Flight 60, Frenzy, Horns +5, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +7
Greater Daemons are powerful beings, and can only be controlled by the most powerful Daemonologists. They are constantly looking for ways into the material world, and are capable of summoning other Daemons to do their bidding. Their plans have been long in the making, and involve far more than simple destruction. Often they hope to enslave mortals and create a daemonic nation of their own, with themselves as absolute rulers.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 70 | 35 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 50 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 80 |
Traits: Corruption (Major), Daemonic 7+, Night Vision, Size (Large), Terror 2, Unstable, Weapon +15
Optional: Armour 1-4, Belligerent, Bite, Champion, Dark Vision, Distracting, Flight 60, Frenzy, Horns +10, Leader, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +10
Greatest Daemons, sometimes called Daemon Princes, are the most powerful of the daemonic beings. No mortal can control them, though some may be able to make deals with them. On the whole,though, they have mortal servants rather than mortal masters. They appear only rarely, either at the head of a vast daemonic army or as the power behind a conspiracy to destroy a nation or an entire continent.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 90 | 95 | 110 | 120 | 100 | 95 | 90 | 110 | 120 | 90 | 114 |
Traits: Corruption (Major), Daemonic 6+, Dark Vision, Size (Large), Terror 4, Unstable, Weapon +20
Optional: Armour 5-7, Breath +10 (Fire), Dark Vision, Die Hard, Distracting, Flight 50, Frenzy, Hardy, Horns +10, Immunity to Psychology, Leader, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Painless, Rear, Size (Enormous), Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +10, Venom (Very Hard)
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Zygor Snake-Arms: Another Old Citadel Miniature
Zygor is the last of the worked examples from the “The Mark of Chaos” article in The First Citadel Compendium, published in 1983. The article didn’t give Zygor much of a backstory, except that he started out as a Night Goblin.
Night Goblins
This Goblin subspecies lives underground. While slightly smaller than the average Goblin, their stealth skills combine with Goblinoid viciousness to make them a menace. Night Goblin fanatics are especially dangerous because of their psychotic ferocity and utter lack of fear.
Night Goblins have the same profiles as normal Goblins (WFRP, page 326), with the following additional Traits:
Traits: Enclosed Fighter (Talent), Stealthy, Tunnel Rat (Talent)
Optional: Berserk Charge (Talent), Dark Vision, Frenzy
Below is my re-imagining for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Zygor Snake-Arms, Night Goblin Mutant
Zygor’s Night Goblin tribe was wiped out by a Chaos band some time ago, but his ferocity led them to recruit him rather than killing him. Since then, he has pleased their dark patron well, and been rewarded with several mutations.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 25 | 35 | 30 | 30 | 20 | 35 | 30 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 11 |
Traits: Animosity, Armour 1, Enclosed Fighter (Talent), Fear 2, Hatred (Dwarves), Infected, Mutation (see below), Night Vision, Stealthy, 3 x Tentacles +7, Tunnel Rat (Talent), 3 x Weapon +7
Mutations: An asterisk (*) indicates that Zygor’s stats and Traits have been amended to reflect the mutation’s effects.
- Fleshy Tentacles*
- Headless* – Head hits count as misses
- Tail*
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Leaping Slomm Two-Face: Another Old Citadel Miniature
Here is another creature from the “The Mark of Chaos” article in The First Citadel Compendium.
Slomm was one of three creatures presented as worked examples of the article’s Chaos attributes system.
Miniatures were made for all three, but Slomm was the only one to appear in two versions. According to the excellent Stuff of Legends web site, the original design, based on Tony Ackland’s illustration, did not cast well. By the time the second Citadel Compendium was published the following year, it had been replaced by a more upright version, and the original is now a collector’s item.
Slomm has sunk into undeserved obscurity, although there was a flurry of excitement in 2014 when some images of Tim Prow’s “Son of Slomm” project appeared on the Realm of Chaos 80s blog.
Tim’s Diehard Miniatures still produces the “Son of Slomm,” though I didn’t know until Garrett Sheehan pointed me to it. Thanks, Garret!
Below is my re-imagining for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th edition, using the expanded Physical Mutations table in the Enemy in Shadows Companion and the free 4th Edition Conversion Rules from Cubicle 7. Needless to say, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Leaping Slomm Two-Face, Chaos Troll
Trolls are often found among the forces of Chaos, and many show signs of corruption and mutation. Some acquire too many mutations and become Chaos Spawn. This fate almost certainly awaits Slomm, at some point in the future.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 8 | 30 | 15 | 55 | 45 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 20 | 5 | 38 |
Traits: Ambidextrous, Armour 2, Bounce, Die Hard, Fear 2, Frenzy, Infected, Mutation (see below), Regenerate, Size (Large), Stupid, Tough, 2 Tusks +9, 2 x Vomit, 2 Weapons +9
Mutations: An asterisk (*) indicates that Slomm’s stats and Traits have been amended to reflect the mutation’s effects.
- Multiple Heads (new)*
- Beast Head (Walrus – new)*
- Long Legs*
Walrus?
There are no rules for a Walrus head in the Enemy in Shadows Companion, so I decided that Slomm’s tusks replace his normal bite attack, adding +1 to Damage because of their size.
The second miniature has much smaller tusks, and it would be appropriate to give it the Bite +8 attack common to all Trolls. The same is true of Tim Prow’s “Son of Slomm,” which has one dog head and one Rat-Ogre head.
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Ngaaranh Spawn of Chaos: A Very Old Citadel Miniature for WFRP4
Five years before Realm of Chaos, an article titled “The Mark of Chaos” appeared in The First Citadel Compendium. Written by Bryan Ansell and illustrated by Tony Ackland, it was the first in-depth examination of Chaotic attributes in the Warhammer world, with tables for random generation and three worked examples of Chaos-warped creatures. In this post I’ll be looking at one of them: the C27 Chaos Harpy, also known as Ngaaranh Spawn of Chaos.
This is how she looked in the First Citadel Compendium, with a short background and stats for Warhammer 1st edition. No game statistics were included with the description, although Harpies were covered in the Tabletop Battles book in the Warhammer 1st edition boxed set.
The miniature is very rare today, but here’s a photo of a painted example that I swiped from the Rogue Heresy Oldhammer blog:
Below is my re-imagining for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th edition, using the expanded Physical Mutations table in the Enemy in Shadows Companion and the free 4th Edition Conversion Rules from Cubicle 7. Needless to say, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Ngaaranh, Spawn of Chaos
Ngaaranh was once a Harpy, but was lured away from the warhost of Naggaroth to serve an entity she knew as Kka – which was one of the thousand names of Tzeentch, the Great Mutator. She pleased her master well, and has been rewarded with many of his gifts. Feared and respected by the others of her kind, she haunts the wild and barren mountains of the Old World, sometimes alone and sometimes in the company of other twisted creatures of Chaos.
Aside: The last two adventures in The Enemy Within Director’s Cut are in the process of writing and development at the time of this posting. Both involve some mountain travel, which would offer a great opportunity to use her.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 41 | 25 | 42 | 59 | 20 | 27 | 33 | 14 | 40 | 10 | 18 |
Traits: Acute Sense (Sight) Perception 30, Armour 2, Breath 5 (Fire), 2 Claws +8, Distracting (Foul Odour), Fear 1, Flight 90, Mutation (see below) Night Vision, 3 Weapons +9
Mutations: An asterisk (*) indicates that Ngaaranh’s stats and Traits have been amended to reflect the mutation’s effects.
- Breathe Fire*
- Crest: Ngaaranh has birdlike combs instead of hair (cosmetic only).
- Eyestalks: Ngaaranh can see over and around objects.
- Evil Eye (new): As an Action, Ngaaranh can cast lock eyes with a single victim within 30 yards. Her gaze has the same effect as the Witchcraft spell The Evil Eye, but there is not need for a casting roll.
- Foul Odour*
- Iron Skin*
- Multiple Arms*
- Multiple Heads (new)*
More Like This
Zoats: From Warhammer to 40K (and back again)
The Ambull: From 40K to WFRP (again)
Viydagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Mardagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Mabrothrax: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Jabberwock: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Devil Eel: A New Monster for WFRP4
Gargoyle: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
The Toad Dragon: An Old Citadel Miniature Described for WFRP4
The Spectral Claw: An Old Citadel Miniature Described for WFRP4
The Mud Elemental: Two Old Monsters Combined for WFRP4
Leaping Slomm Two-Face, Another Old Citadel Miniature
Zygor Snake-Arms, Another Old Citadel Miniature
Independent Daemons for WFRP 4th Edition
Chaos Snakemen – A Forgotten Warhammer Race
Menfish – Another Lost Warhammer Race
Golems in Warhammer
Let Us Bling: A Ring for Clerics
I haven’t put up a bling post for a while, so here’s something that Pinterest randomly threw my way: a ring that unfolds into a tiny portable shrine.
Clearly, any cleric in a fantasy rpg would want one of these (with the iconography of their own religion, of course), but what might it do? Here are some thoughts:
When the ring is opened and the wearer is praying – including casting divine magic and using other clerical abilities – they gain any benefits from being at a shrine or temple. These vary from one game to another, but when a game allows them they often take the form of a bonus to prayer rolls and/or a boost to the effectiveness of spells and miracles.
Extending this thinking, the wearer might also gain the benefits of being on consecrated ground while the ring is open. This is equivalent to a protection spell against evil creatures, demons and devils, undead, and servants of the deity’s rival gods.
Opening the ring takes a full action, and is a delicate process. If the character is wearing gloves, or is being attacked or is otherwise under stress, a Dexterity check might be required to open the ring. The test can be repeated each round until successful, but a critical or other serious failure might damage the ring, rendering it useless until it is repaired and re-consecrated. The ring might offer some lesser protections when it is closed, and when it is worn by a character who is not a cleric.
In Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th edition, this kind of ring might have the following effects:
Open or Closed: Armour 1 (Divine) against attacks by any creature with the Daemonic or Undead Traits.
Open Only:
+1 bonus to Bless and Invoke (lore of the ring’s deity). If the wearer lacks either or both of these Talents, it is gained with a score of 1.
+10 bonus to Pray Tests addressed to the ring’s patron deity.
Fear 2 to followers of Chaos and other enemies of the ring’s patron deity.
It’s possible to design variants for a specific deity, which offer specific abilities and protections according to the deity’s particular interests.
It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Bling
If you like this kind of post, you’ll also want to see these:
Armillary Rings: Handy for astronomers, astrologers, and navigators.
Compartment Rings: Hide your true allegiance, or carry a secret message.
Poison Rings: An old classic.
Gun Rings: Add more punch to your punch.
Eye Rings: Protection, divination, gaze weapons, and more.
Miscellany: No theme, but lots of possibilities.
The Mud Elemental: Two Old Monsters Combined for WFRP4
The Viydagg and Mardagg were not the only unusual “elementals” in Citadel’s miniatures range in the ’80s. The C22 “Creatures” range included a Mud Elemental, for which game rules and stats were never published.
Five years later, in the Doomstones adventure Blood in Darkness, a creature named Xhardja appeared. Also made of living mud, Xhardja took the form of lashing tentacles that rose up to attack trespassers in its mud-choked lair.
I wondered whether these two creatures might be one and the same. While Xhardja didn’t rear up in humanoid form to talk to the PCs, it is entirely possible that it could have done so. So I decided to combine the two. Here are stats for WFRP4. As always, everything that follows is to be considered a fan work and no challenge is intended to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Mud Elemental
There is some debate among Wizards and other academics over whether or not these entities are true Elementals, or constructs magically animated from mud, or something else entirely. Those who reject the term “Elemental,” and those who do not concern themselves with such distinctions, simply call them Mudmen.
Mudmen are found in swamps and other muddy areas, both above and below ground. They can draw themselves up into a humanoid shape or sink down and become indistinguishable from the mud around them, attacking with a number of tentacles of animated mud.
Two profiles are provided below, one for the creature’s humanoid form and one for a single tentacle. The creature has a number of tentacles equal to its Wounds score, and each tentacle that is destroyed reduces the creature’s overall Wounds total by 1.
Humanoid Form
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 3 | 45 | – | 45 | 50 | 45 | 20 | 35 | 40 | 55 | 25 | 19 |
Traits: Amphibious, Bash (2) +8, Construct or Daemonic, Dependent (Mud), Dark Vision, Painless, Shapeshift (Mud), Swamp-Strider, Unstable
Optional: Die Hard, Size (Large), Territorial
| New Traits Dependent (Various) The creature requires something to sustain it. At the end of every round in which it has not been in contact with the required substance, the creature loses 1 Wound regardless of Toughness and armour. Shapeshift (Mud) The creature can shift between humanoid form and an amorphous form in which it becomes one with the surrounding mud. The transition takes a full Action. While shapeshifted into amorphous form, the creature is vulnerable only to attacks that have an area of effect or to attacks directed against its tentacles. |
Tentacle
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 2 | 33 | – | 45 | 50 | 65 | 10 | 15 | – | – | – | 1 |
Traits: Amphibious, Painless, 1 Tentacle +6, Swamp-Strider, Unstable
Optional: Die Hard, Size (Large), Territorial
More Like This
Zoats: From Warhammer to 40K (and back again)
The Ambull: From 40K to WFRP (again)
Viydagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Mardagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Mabrothrax: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Jabberwock: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
The Devil Eel, a New Monster for WFRP4
Gargoyle: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
The Toad Dragon: An Old Citadel Miniature Described for WFRP4
The Spectral Claw: An Old Citadel Miniature Described for WFRP4
Ngaaranh Spawn of Chaos: A Very Old Citadel Miniature for WFRP4
Leaping Slomm Two-Face, Another Old Citadel Miniature
Zygor Snake-Arms, Another Old Citadel Miniature
Independent Daemons for WFRP 4th Edition
Chaos Snakemen – A Forgotten Warhammer Race
Menfish – Another Lost Warhammer Race
Golems in Warhammer
