Warhammer Quest: The Ogre Mercenary
by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock
12 AUG 95
-*-
The following is a home-made profession for _Warhammer Quest_ created by
myself, to provide a Warrior perfect for those who want to play the "strong and
stupid" type. This profession/race has been based off of the Roleplay Book
Bestiary, and has seen enough use in play to convince me that it is indeed
playable, though a few changes had to be made in some of the special rules and
Advanced Profiles (though not in the basic card statistics) to give the Ogre a
decent chance of surviving. (My previous version had the Ogre occupying four
spaces, which made positioning rather clumsy at best, and suicidal at worst --
what with so many Monsters able to crowd around him at once!)
To summarize the Ogre Mercenary, he's big, he's strong, he can cover ground
more quickly than the average Warrior, but he gets no special skills at higher
levels, and is somewhat more difficult to equip than the standard human-sized
Warrior.
-*- OGRE MERCENARY -*-
Ogres are huge, brutish creatures, standing twice as tall as a man, with
features that exaggerate and expound upon the most grotesque that any of
mankind's number might have. In the wars between the civilizations of the Old
World and the forces of Chaos, most Ogres act as mercenaries, following gold
and ale rather than principle. Those that happen to side with the Empire may
be able to deal with human Settlements, but they are still always regarded with
some degree of suspicion and even contempt, for even while their loyalties may
be strong for their current employer, might they become foes some time in the
future if the enemy offers better pay?
The Ogre Mercenary has taken leave of the battlefields to explore the
depths of the dungeons in search of gold and glory. He provides sheer brute
strength, always a useful commodity in any party of adventurers.
-*- OGRE MERCENARY STATISTICS -*-
Wounds: 1D6+9
Move: 6
Weapon Skill: 3
Ballistic Skill: 5+
Strength: 4
Toughness: 5
Initiative: 3
Attacks: 2
Equipment: None.
Weapon: Club, causing 1D6+4 Wounds. On a to hit roll of 5 or 6, the Ogre
inflicts an extra 1D6 of damage.
Armour: None.
Pinning: Breaks from pinning on a roll of 6+.
Special Rules
The Ogre has a Fear rating of 4 + his Battle-Level. He need not take Fear
tests for creatures with Fear ratings lower than or equal to his, though he is
still subject to Terror. Any Monster groups encountered must make Fear tests
or be at -1 to hit the Ogre for the battle. When he must make a Fear or Terror
test, he may add +4 to his roll.
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TO HIT FOE 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6
-*- OGRE MERCENARY ADVANCED PROFILES -*-
Battle Level 2 Wounds: 2D6+9 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 3/5+
Strength/Dice: 4/1 Toughness: 5
Initiative: 3 Attacks: 2
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 1
TO HIT 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 Will: 1
SKILLS: 0 Pinning: 6+
Battle Level 3 Wounds: 3D6+9 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 4/4+
Strength/Dice: 4/1 Toughness: 5
Initiative: 3 Attacks: 2
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 1
TO HIT 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 Will: 2
SKILLS: 0 Pinning: 6+
Battle Level 4 Wounds: 4D6+9 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 4/4+
Strength/Dice: 5/1 Toughness: 6
Initiative: 4 Attacks: 2
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 1
TO HIT 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 Will: 2
SKILLS: 0 Pinning: 6+
Battle Level 5 Wounds: 5D6+9 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 5/4+
Strength/Dice: 5/2 Toughness: 6
Initiative: 4 Attacks: 3
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 1
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 0 Pinning: 5+
Battle Level 6 Wounds: 6D6+9 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 5/3+
Strength/Dice: 5/2 Toughness: 6
Initiative: 5 Attacks: 3
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 2
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 0 Pinning: 5+
Battle Level 7 Wounds: 7D6+9 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 5/3+
Strength/Dice: 5/2 Toughness: 6
Initiative: 5 Attacks: 4
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 2
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 0 Pinning: 5+
Battle Level 8 Wounds: 8D6+9 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 6/3+
Strength/Dice: 5/2 Toughness: 6
Initiative: 5 Attacks: 4
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 2
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 0 Pinning: 5+
Battle Level 9 Wounds: 9D6+9 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 6/2+
Strength/Dice: 5/3 Toughness: 6
Initiative: 6 Attacks: 5
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 2
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 0 Pinning: 5+
Battle Level 10 Wounds: 10D6+9 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 6/2+
Strength/Dice: 5/3 Toughness: 6
Initiative: 6 Attacks: 5
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 3
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 0 Pinning: 5+
-*- OGRE MERCENARY'S SKILLS -*-
The Ogre Mercenary gains no special skills with subsequent Battle-Levels,
though he may still obtain Specialist Actions just like any other Warrior.
-*- ADDITIONAL RULES -*-
* When or if your Warrior should visit the Alehouse, roll 2D6 to determine
the results of that visit.
* Ogres are significantly larger then men, let alone Dwarves, and therefore
can't wear the same articles of clothing or armor. If any armor or
clothing items (such as Boots of Swiftness) are encountered as treasure, it
is a given that the Ogre cannot use them. (Of course, the GM is able to
make exceptions in a moderated game.) If he buys armor or clothing, it
costs twice the normal sale value, and he must add +2 to the "Stock" value
to determine the chance of finding such an item. If Ogre armor is sold, it
still only gets the normal resale value (as, while it's bigger with more
material, there are very few Ogre customers).
* An Ogre cannot ride a mount -- He'd squash the poor thing! He may still
purchase a mule, horse or warhorse to carry his gear (with the normal
savings on travel time), but he gains no bonus to fight rolls for having a
warhorse. He's too big to ride along in a cart, so if the other Warriors
have one, he'll have to catch up at his own pace.
* The Ogre may be a strong and fearsome warrior, but these very qualities
(combined with his gruff nature) also make him a prime candidate for
expulsion from any Settlement. If any Event should come up in a Settlement
that involves a fight the Warrior cannot avoid (such as 11 Thrown Out (and
getting "fleeced), 14 Good Deed, 21 Fight, 25 Reward (where the merchant is
a charlatan), etc.) where the result indicates that the Ogre is going to
have to forfeit a portion of his Gold and/or treasure as a result, he may
bully his way out of the situation, not having to part with the normal
expenses, but is forced to leave the Settlement immediately, as the town
guard is not pleased with the ensuing violence.
* If you are using the house rules for Intelligence, the Ogre is particularly
slow of mind, and has a -2 to starting Intelligence, but no lower than 0.
Otherwise, if you're sticking to the regular rules, the Ogre simply has a
penalty of -1 to all "Intellectual" Initiative tests, on top of any other
penalties or bonuses.
* While an Ogre is usually mounted on a 40mm x 40mm Monster base, he can
still fit on a single 30mm floor tile square. (You may have to overlap
bases to make him fit.) However, if he chooses, he may intentionally
occupy four spaces for purposes of blocking (as long as the other spaces
weren't previously occupied).
* If a pit should be encountered that occupies a single space, the Ogre is
too large to fall in. Rather, he is only tripped by the trap, losing his
next turn while he gets back up. He does not take any damage from the
fall, nor does he need a rope to get out.
* The Ogre is also handy for moving other Warriors around, due to his size.
Instead of moving or taking any other action for the turn, he may pull or
lift a Warrior out of a pit, without having to use a rope.
* The Ogre's strength doesn't translate directly into weapon damage all the
time, but any time the Ogre is required to take a Strength test, add +2 to
his Strength for purposes of determining the result, in addition to any
other modifiers.
* Ogres are fear-causing creatures, and it is rare for the Monsters to be on
the receiving end of this. If Monsters are encountered that do not cause
Fear or Terror, they must make a Fear check as a group against the Ogre's
Fear rating (equal to his Battle-Level plus 4). Treat the Monsters'
"Battle Level" for the purposes of testing to be equal to the table number
they were rolled from (if random) or use a default value of 1.
If Monsters are encountered which cause Fear, but have a lower rating than
the Ogre, they must make a Fear test, but may add their own Fear rating to
their Battle-Level for purposes of the test. The Ogre is in a similar
situation if he encounters Fear-causing monsters with a higher rating than
himself. In such a case, he must make a Fear test, but gets to add +4 to
his Battle-Level for purposes of determining the results. (He also gets
this bonus when testing against Terror.)
Terror-causing creatures are unaffected by Fear.
Monsters are at -1 to hit the Ogre if they fail their Fear tests. For
enemy spellcasters, they may cast spells normally, but when randomly
determining the target, they will always choose somebody other than the
Ogre, if there is any chance to do so. If the Ogre is the only viable
target, they attack normally.
-*- REPRESENTING YOUR WARRIOR -*-
Citadel Miniatures has plenty of Ogres to pick to represent your Ogre
character. One of the older Marauder "Ogre Mercenary" miniatures would be
particularly apt. Other companies, such as Heartbreaker Hobbies and Games,
offer Ogres as well in a similar scale. If you don't get a Citadel model,
you'll need to acquire a proper base for the figure, 40mm x 40mm square.
(Cutting it out of cardboard would do just fine for WQ.)
-*- ROLE-PLAYING TIPS -*-
I have rarely been in a group where there hasn't been a player who would be
perfect for the role of an Ogre. Basically, all he needs to do is to be
brutish and impulsive. The only problem is that if he should suddenly spurt
out words of wisdom any time an intellectual problem comes around, this Ogre is
bound to get some strange stares, but perhaps that can just be chalked up to
deviation from a stereotype. He's ultimately not THAT phenomenal of a
character compared to most Warriors -- He just has a random chance of
inflicting more damage, he causes Fear, and he starts off with two attacks.
However, I expect the main appeal for this character to be the simple ability
to place a large, imposing model on the board to represent one's Warrior.
-*- DISCLAIMERS AND SUCH -*-
_Warhammer Quest_ is a trademark of Games Workshop, and its use here does
not constitute a legal challenge to that status. This article may be
considered copyrighted by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock (me =) ), though it may
be freely distributed so long as no alterations are made 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
-*- HAPPY QUESTING! -*-