The following is a not-all-that-serious home-made profession for Warhammer Quest by me in an ongoing effort to provide "translations" for various Talisman characters. At this writing, this profession has not been playtested, and given the silliness of its premise, I sincerely doubt that I'll be doing any such playtesting myself, other than solo "dummy" dungeon runs just to check raw combat ability. Therefore, caution should be employed when introducing this character to an existing campaign -- especially if you're trying to emphasize the "roleplay" aspect of your campaign more, and if the introduction of such an unheroic character would present moral problems.
Bizarre magical powers blow on occasion from the northern wastes of the Realms of Chaos, twisting and warping all that they pass over -- including the forms of man and beast. When magic runs strong in the land, there are occasionally ill-omened births of children with horrid deformities that might suggest bestial features ... or animals with features that might somehow suggest those of men. In light of this, the race of creatures known as the Beastmen is certain to have originated by the powers of Chaos -- Indeed, they call themselves the "Children of Chaos" -- but there is some debate over whether they have developed from men or beast ... or, as some dare say (and shudder), perhaps both. Beastmen are not pleasant creatures by any means, as they are more barbaric than even those that mankind would label as "Barbarians". They have the cunning of men yet they are driven more by wild emotion than reason, and they tend toward cannibalistic practices. A Beastman found in the wild is not to be given any quarter, as it surely will show no mercy upon any humankind it happens upon either. For a Beastman to join the ranks of a band of Warriors, therefore, is a rare event. Most likely, such a creature is only an "ally" to the Warriors in that he has been enslaved by powerful magicks wielded by a potent Wizard who serves as his master.
|
Wounds |
1D6+7 |
|
Move |
4 |
|
Weapon Skill |
4 |
|
Ballistic Skill |
4+ |
|
Strength |
3 |
|
Toughness |
4 |
|
Initiative |
3 |
|
Attacks |
1 |
Throwing Spear.
Axe, causing 1D6+3 Wounds.
None.
Breaks from pinning on a roll of 6+.
At the start of combat, before any Warriors take any actions (aside from spell- casting), the Beastman may hurl his throwing spear, inflicting 1D6 + 3 Wounds upon a successful hit.
Beastmen have a disturbing habit of devouring their enemies. After each combat, the Beastman may try devouring the opponents he has defeated (excluding poisonous creatures, Undead or Daemons). This takes one full turn during which he may do nothing else. He is healed one Wound (up to maximum) for each Monster he devours worth 25 gold or more.
|
ENEMY'S WS |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
|
TO HIT FOE |
2 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
This Throwing Spear is thrown at the start of any combat, causing Normal Damage with Strength 3 on a successful hit. It may only be retrieved once all monsters in combat have been defeated. This javelin is designed just for throwing, so it is not useful in hand-to-hand combat.
|
Battle Level |
Gold |
Wounds 2D6+7 |
Wpn Skill |
Bal Skill |
Strength |
Dice |
Tough |
Init |
Attacks |
Luck |
Will |
Spear Damage |
Pin |
| 2 | 2,000 | 2D6+7 | 5 | 3+ | 4 | 1* | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | Str 8 | 6+ |
| 3 | 4,000 | 2D6+7 | 5 | 3+ | 4 | 1* | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Str 8 | 6+ |
| 4 | 8,000 | 3D6+7 | 5 | 3+ | 4 | 1* | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | Str 8 | 6+ |
| 5 | 12,000 | 3D6+7 | 6 | 2+ | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | Str 9 | 5+ |
| 6 | 18,000 | 4D6+7 | 6 | 2+ | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | Str 9 | 5+ |
| 7 | 24,000 | 4D6+7 | 6 | 2+ | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | Str 9 | 5+ |
| 8 | 32,000 | 5D6+7 | 6 | 2+ | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | Str 9 | 5+ |
| 9 | 45,000 | 5D6+7 | 7 | 1+ | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 4 | Str 10 | 5+ |
| 10 | 50,000 | 6D6+7 | 7 | 1+ | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | Str 10 | 5+ |
* At Battle-Levels 2 through 4, on a natural roll of 5 or 6 to hit, the Beastman may roll 2D6 when determining damage. For other Battle-Levels, though, the number of dice is listed normally.
The Beastman does not gain any special skills with higher Battle-Levels. Note, though, that the damage that he does with a thrown spear at the start of each battle increases with Battle-Level.
The Beastman will not be allowed to enter Settlements, period. Therefore, he cannot buy equipment, except what he can buy off of the other Warriors. He may still sell treasure and train normally, however. Since he can't visit the armor shop himself, and since the Beastman has an unusual build (given that he's not human), he can't purchase armor through his companions. However, if he should defeat a Beastman (namely, a Beastman Hero or Lord) wearing armor, he can of course take that armor for himself. Also, he may use any shield.
The Beastman can only devour monsters that he has personally defeated. (This is because of some obscure code of "honor" that Beastman have, as he wouldn't dare deprive his comrades of "their" potential meals...) For role-play sessions, keep in mind that the sight of a Beastman scarfing down parts of bodies is not a pleasant sight. It is bound to have unpleasant effects on any NPCs present, and any Warriors are bound to at least be compelled to leave the room if not to demand that the Beastman refrain from his "lunch".
The Beastman may use any shield or Furs, though amor (especially helmets) crafted for humans, Dwarves and the other goodly races will not fit him. He may use any hand-to-hand weapon, but he will not use gunpowder weapons (being somewhat afraid of fire), and will not utilize any sort of throwing stars or bows. (His ranged weapon of choice, of course, is the throwing spear, though he may utilize other thrown weapons as well.) He may not use anything from the Animal Trader, as he would be too tempted to eat a horse rather than to ride one. The Beastman may only use magical items that are usable by any Warrior type.
There are numerous Citadel miniatures, new and old, representing Beastmen in a variety of forms. Most have a rather bullish-ramish look to them, though some (mostly those aligned with Khorne) have a canine or feline look to them, and there are more bizarre offshoots as well. For off-brand alternatives, there are a variety of "beastman" type miniatures manufactured by other companies for other game systems. Various "Gnolls" are common, as well as assorted "wolfmen", "catmen", smaller "minotaurs", etc.
Beastmen are brutish creatures, wavering between human intellect and animal barbarosity. They make rather unbalanced "heroes", and for the sake of role- playing, the Beastman would probably be subserviant to one or more of the Warriors. This article was mostly written up just for a bit of not-so-serious fun, and for the sake of serious role-play in Warhammer Quest, this Warrior type might not be the best-suited candidate for encouraging your Warriors along heroic lines.
Games Workshop, Knights Panther, the Old World, Skaven, Warhammer Quest, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Battle Magic, Talisman, Realms of Chaos, and Advanced HeroQuest are trademarks of Games Workshop, Ltd. Their use here does not constitute a legal challenge to trademark status. This article is copyright 1995 by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock, though it may be freely distributed in unaltered form, so long as proper credit is given and no fees are charged for its use.
If you'd like to contact me for whatever reason, you can write to me at:
Jordan Peacock
1610 Parker
Cedar Falls,
IA 50613