The Phoenix Guards are the hieratic guardians of the Shrine of Asuryan, the great pyramid temple on an isle in the Sea of Dreams. Inside the shrine it is said there lays the Chamber of Days, and that the histories of Phoenix Kings past, present, and future are written there in words of fire upon stone.
The price of this knowledge is high. To secure the secrets of time, all Phoenix Guards are sworn to silence. Unlike mere oaths, these are bound by natural law to uphold them. After a long life of serving Asuryan, one of his followers may decide to retire or be selected to aid a wandering group of adventurers. Either way, a Phoenix Guard is an invaluable asset.
Even though he is no longer in the direct service of Asuryan, a Phoenix Guard shall never break his vow of silence. All secrets of the past, present, and future are locked away in his mind and are hidden to even himself, until Asuryan deems it time to unveil them. As a mighty warrior, the Phoenix Guard has an extreme tolerance for pain. Most Phoenix Guards will speak only with hand signals but a whistle may escape their tight lips from time to time.
| Wounds | 1d6+7 |
| Move | 4 |
| Weapon Skill | 4 |
| Ballistic Skill | 4+ |
| Strength | 3(4) |
| Toughness | 3 |
| Initiative | 6(4) |
| Attacks | 1 |
| Pinning | Roll 3+ |
Healing Potion (same as Elf)
Halberd (+1 strength, -2 initiative; weaponsmith)
None
After viewing the Chamber of Days, the Phoenix Guard knows when his time will come and will stand defiantly to the last drop of blood. Monsters that cause fear or terror will have no effect on the Phoenix Guard since he knows if this will be his last fight or if he will continue.
The Phoenix Guard can use all treasure that is not Dwarf-only or Wizard-only treasure. Pieces of treasure that require reading (scrolls or books) can still be used since the mental capabilities of a Phoenix Guard are capable of activating their power.
Phoenix Guards can visit all the High Elf Estates and the Elven Quarter. Without a dedicated specialty, he can visit all the stores and purchase anything with the exception of the firearms, plate armor, and battle-axes. This includes things that a normal elf cannot use such as crossbows, great shields, broadswords, et cetera.
One can imagine the difficulty of communicating to strangers without the ability to speak. An adventuring party will eventually work out hand signals and a coalition of thought processes. In a settlement, all situations that involve an explanation are at a minus 1 modifier (unless a natural 6 is rolled) and all purchases for an item with a stock greater than seven will be at a minus 1. If the store is run by elves, then he doesn't suffer this penalty.
A Phoenix Guard cannot interrogate anyone but will still listen to non-playable characters. He is capable of understanding most dialects of the world and can write Eltharin. This only allows him to communicate freely in private with other elves or perhaps a wise wizard. This will also mean that the Phoenix Guard can ready ancient writing, but can't tell anyone its meaning.
A Phoenix Guard will train by entering a deep trance in the Shrine of Asuryan in the Phoenix King Estate. When he awakens, he has been bestowed power from the creator god himself. His powers come from his mind as the god allows this knowledge to be understood. The trance only lasts one day. At every other battle level, he will gain a skill from below.
As the battle rages on, both sides begin to tire with the exception of the Phoenix Guard. He fights with the same strength as he did at the beginning of the bloody fray.
Any negative status attacks such as poison or paralysis are ignored. Posthumous penalties such as plague are also ignored.
The ferocious beast lashes out against the Phoenix Guard but fails to do any damage. The nearer death he becomes, the tougher he is to defeat.
When the Phoenix Guard is reduced to half wounds, he receives an ignore pain rating of his current battle level. When reduced to a quarter of his starting wounds, he receives an ignore blow rating of 5+.
As the Malediction of Nagash begins to bleed the Phoenix Guard and his allies, their cuts heal and the spell is wasted
This dispel affects all friendly models on the same base section of the Phoenix Guard. A spell will be dispelled on a roll of:
|
Novice |
- |
|
Champion |
6+ |
|
Hero |
5+ |
|
Lord |
4+ |
As a black cloud of malignant magical power almost cripples the entire party, the Phoenix Guard emerges unscratched and slays the sorcerer.
This resistance only affects the Phoenix Guard. This can be combined with Magical Dispel to create two lines of defense.
|
Novice |
6+ |
|
Champion |
5+ |
|
Hero |
4+ |
|
Lord |
3+ |
Just as the Fiends of Slaanesh think that they have surprised the warriors, their prey attacks them from behind.
When the Phoenix Guard is with the warriors and a monster attempts to ambush them, an ambush will only succeed on a natural six (regardless of the ambush rating).
Either the reputation of the Phoenix Guard has preceded the arrival of the adventurers or there is a supernatural fear that radiates from him. All that is known is that the Phoenix Guard inspires fear in his opponents.
When fighting a monster that doesn't cause fear or terror, the Phoenix Guard has a fear rating of 150% of his battle level (round up).
| BL | Gold | Title | M | WS | BS | S | T | DD | A | Wounds | I | L | Pin | Will |
| 1 | 0 | Novice | 4 | 4 | 4+ | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1d6 + 7 | 6 | 0 | 3+ | 4 |
| 2 | 2000 | Champion | 4 | 5 | 4+ | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2d6 + 8 | 6 | 1 | 3+ | 4 |
| 3 | 4000 | Champion | 5 | 5 | 4+ | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2d6 + 8 | 7 | 1 | 3+ | 5 |
| 4 | 8000 | Champion | 5 | 5 | 3+ | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3d6 + 9 | 7 | 2 | 3+ | 5 |
| 5 | 12000 | Hero | 5 | 5 | 3+ | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3d6 + 9 | 8 | 2 | 3+ | 5 |
| 6 | 18000 | Hero | 5 | 6 | 3+ | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4d6 + 10 | 8 | 3 | 2+ | 5 |
| 7 | 24000 | Hero | 5 | 6 | 2+ | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4d6 + 10 | 9 | 3 | 2+ | 5 |
| 8 | 32000 | Hero | 5 | 6 | 2+ | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5d6 + 11 | 9 | 4 | 2+ | 5 |
| 9 | 45000 | Lord | 5 | 7 | 2+ | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5d6 + 11 | 9 | 4 | 2+ | 6 |
| 10 | 50000 | Lord | 5 | 7 | 1+ | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6d6 + 12 | 9 | 5 | 2+ | 6 |
The best miniature available that I have seen is the sixth edition Citadel model from the High Elf Army list. We use the Captain model from the command blister since there isn't any assembly required (but if you own a High Elf army, the Standard Bearer will be a bitch to try to glue together - at least it was for us anyway).