Warhammer Quest: The Troubadour
by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock
6 July 95
-*-
The following is a home-made profession for _Warhammer Quest_ created by
myself to provide a role for a local player who had a preference for "bard"-
types: jacks-of-all-trades, musicians and tricksters. The Troubadour is
closely related to the Thief in this regard -- and even has almost the same
extended statistics -- but is more designed for the wandering minstrel-
adventurer who picks up a few skills and tricks here and there along the way,
rather than a thief per se.
Insofar as the differences between extended statistics, everything is the
same, except that the Troubadour has a bit more Luck than a Thief of comparable
level, and he doesn't automatically break pinning (though he still has a pretty
good roll).
The Troubadour as follows has been play-tested to some degree (though not
very much, as *I'm* the one who seems the most taken with it), though the
section concerning alternate races of Troubadours is a recent addition when I
realized that I'd forgotten to post this article earlier. The statistic
modifiers in that section have not been tried out, but I hope that they are
sufficiently minor as to pose no great potential for game imbalance.
-*- THE TROUBADOUR -*-
In the Old World, a pleasant melody is a welcome distraction from the hardships
of everyday life. There are some who have been blessed with an ability to play
such music, and who have an interest in "seeing the world" that they so often
tell tall tales about in their ballads. Some of these wandering minstrels will
even seek out a group of hardy adventurers, so that they might sing their
praises . . . and perhaps gain a bit of fame for themselves as well.
The Troubadour is one such musical adventurer, trained enough in the ways
of war to be able to hold his own in the dangers of the dungeons, but also
skilled enough to compose epic poems commemorating the Warriors'
accomplishments afterward. He is able to do his share of fighting (and to earn
his share of the treasure) but his primary role is a supportive one, to
encourage the other Warriors to greater acts of heroism.
-*- TROUBADOUR STATISTICS -*-
Wounds: 1D6+6
Move: 4
Weapon Skill: 3
Ballistic Skill: 5+
Strength: 3
Toughness: 3
Initiative: 6
Attacks: 1
Equipment: Enchanted Flute.
Weapon: Sword, causing 1D6+3 Wounds.
Armour: None.
Pinning: Breaks from pinning on a roll of 3+.
Special Rules
Once per turn the Troubadour may attempt to drown out the voice of an enemy
spellcaster. When an enemy casts a spell, roll 1D6. On a roll of 6, the spell
fails.
Also, instead of making any attacks for the turn, a Troubadour may play a
rousing melody to encourage his comrades. Any allies in the same room may each
re-roll any result of 1 on a roll to hit, though the second roll must be kept.
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
-*- TROUBADOUR ADVANCED PROFILES -*-
Battle Level 2 Wounds: 2D6+6 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 3/5+
Strength/Dice: 3/1 Toughness: 3
Initiative: 6 Attacks: 1
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 2
TO HIT 2 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 Will: 2
SKILLS: 1 Pinning: 3+
Battle Level 3 Wounds: 2D6+6 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 4/4+
Strength/Dice: 4/1 Toughness: 3
Initiative: 7 Attacks: 1
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 3
TO HIT 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 Will: 3
SKILLS: 1 Pinning: 3+
Battle Level 4 Wounds: 3D6+6 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 4/4+
Strength/Dice: 4/1 Toughness: 4
Initiative: 7 Attacks: 1
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 3
TO HIT 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 Will: 3
SKILLS: 2 Pinning: 3+
Battle Level 5 Wounds: 3D6+6 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 5/4+
Strength/Dice: 4/2 Toughness: 4
Initiative: 8 Attacks: 2
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 4
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 2 Pinning: 2+
Battle Level 6 Wounds: 4D6+6 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 5/3+
Strength/Dice: 4/2 Toughness: 4
Initiative: 8 Attacks: 2
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 5
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 3 Pinning: 2+
Battle Level 7 Wounds: 4D6+6 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 5/3+
Strength/Dice: 4/2 Toughness: 4
Initiative: 9 Attacks: 2
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 5
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 3 Pinning: 2+
Battle Level 8 Wounds: 5D6+6 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 6/3+
Strength/Dice: 4/2 Toughness: 4
Initiative: 9 Attacks: 3
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 5
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 3
SKILLS: 4 Pinning: A
Battle Level 9 Wounds: 5D6+6 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 6/2+
Strength/Dice: 4/3 Toughness: 4
Initiative: 9 Attacks: 3
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 6
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 4
SKILLS: 5 Pinning: A
Battle Level 10 Wounds: 6D6+6 Wpn./Bal. Skill: 6/2+
Strength/Dice: 4/3 Toughness: 4
Initiative: 9 Attacks: 3
ENEMY'S WS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luck: 7
TO HIT 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 Will: 4
SKILLS: 6 Pinning: A
-*- ENCHANTED FLUTE -*-
The enchanted flute may be played to lull one monster into a charmed stupor, so
that it will cease attacking the Warriors, though if any Warrior should attack
it, it will immediately snap out of the enchantment and fight back. There is
no bonus to attack the monster while it is charmed. The monster will remain
charmed until the Warriors leave, and then wander off (remove from play).
One use, then discard.
-*- THE TROUBADOUR'S SKILLS -*-
The Troubadour has the following skills available to him as he goes up his
Battle-levels. To determine which specific skill he learns when given the
opportunity roll 2D6.
2 SING FOR SUPPER
What you lack in gold, you make up for in talent, and the citizens of this fair
Settlement reward you with a meal and a room for the night.
While in a Settlement (or even waiting outside one), the Troubadour need
not pay daily Living expenses. Furthermore, on a roll of 6 on 1D6 for each
Warrior in the party, he may be able to cover their expenses for the day as
well.
3 LEGENDS AND LORE
You have heard of this before, in one of those many ballads. Drawing upon your
memory, you recall the legend in song for your fellow Warriors.
Once per adventure, your Warrior may identify a single item, unless the
rules for that item state otherwise. You also get a +2 (in addition to any
other bonuses) to general Intellectual Initiative tests to identify artifacts.
4 EVADE
Nimbly stepping aside, you dodge the incoming axe.
This skill allows your Warrior to dodge incoming blows by stepping to one
side. If a Monster successfully hits your Warrior, roll 1D6. On a roll of 4
or less, he hits your Warrior as normal. On a 5 or more, your Warrior can
evade the blow by stepping into any empty adjacent square. If there are no
squares free he must take the blow as normal.
5 BARD'S FORTUNE
Just as it appeared that the angry mob was about to lynch you, suddenly you are
yanked by unseen hands through a door. It seems that your talent has earned
you friends.
Once per journey, and once per visit to a Settlement, your Warrior may
escape any one Event or Hazard without suffering the consequences that would
normally accompany that Event.
6 TAUNT
You hurl insults at the horrible monster standing over the fallen form of your
comrade. It pauses, and instead of finishing off your friend, comes running
for you. (Gulp!) At least you've saved your friend. . . .
Your Warrior may attempt to taunt a Monster once per turn. If the Monster
fails an Initiative test, it must try to attack your Warrior in preference of
all other targets, and may avoid Pinning rules while attempting to engage your
Warrior in hand-to-hand combat. Furthermore, it is so enraged that it is at -1
on all rolls to hit your Warrior, having lost its concentration.
7 TRAVELLER
You know this part of the country well -- So well, in fact, that you know a
short-cut to the next Settlement.
This skill allows your Warrior to find little-known short cuts in the trek
between dungeons. When travelling to a Settlement, this skill allows your
Warrior to reduce the journey time by up to two weeks.
8-9 DABBLE
Although you have no formal training, you've managed to pick up a little about
magic along the way.
Your Warrior learns a single Wizard spell, which he may cast in much the
same way as a Wizard, except that he cannot make any attacks and cast a spell
in the same turn, he may cast no more than one spell per turn, and that the
spell will automatically fail on a roll of 1 on 1D6. When determining power to
see if he can cast the spell, he does not get to add his Battle-Level. To
determine which spell the Troubadour picks up, see p. 51 on learning New Spells
-- The Troubadour rolls a single die to determine what level of spell he may
learn.
When gaining new skills, if this result comes up again, it may be re-rolled
for another skill instead, or else this means that the Troubadour has learned
an additional spell.
10 ENCOURAGE
Sensing your comrades' fear, you sing a stirring ballad of bravery and heroism.
Giving up any other actions for that turn, your Warrior may play a melody
which allows one Warrior present to re-roll any failed Fear or Terror tests
once. This ability may only be used once per turn.
11 LULLABY
Your comrade needs rest, so you sing him a soothing melody as he drops into
slumber.
With this skill, a single Warrior may be allowed to enter a restful sleep,
regaining 1D6 Wounds at the end of the turn, during which neither he nor the
Troubadour may do anything else. This skill may not be used if there are any
other Monste rs on the same board, and may not be used on the Troubadour
himself. Furthermore, each Warrior may benefit from this ability only once per
adventure.
12 CHARM ANIMALS
You sway back and forth, mesmerizing the vipers.
With this skill, your Warrior may attempt to charm animals (Giant Rats,
Bats, and other vermin). This ability may only be used once per turn, and in
lieu of any other attacks the Warrior might have otherwise made. Roll 1D6. If
the result is a 1, your Warrior is having no effect on these creatures, and may
not use this ability again for the remainder of the adventure. Otherwise, this
many animals flee. Your Warrior gains normal treasure for "defeating" these
creatures.
-*- SPECIAL RULES -*-
* If the Troubadour visits the Alehouse, he rolls 2D6 for events. Although he
is not a tough, burly fellow, he is still wise in the ways of the world, and
has various skills to make up for what he lacks in brawn, so he can still
make a favorable impression on a rough crowd.
* The Troubadour requires a free hand to hold his instrument. He therefore
cannot use any special abilities involving playing his music if he is using a
two-handed weapon or a shield in combat. (Even though he can't play with a
sword in one hand, he still has to have the instrument handy to be able to
pick it up in the middle of a fight. If he enters a fight with a shield or
two-handed weapon, he cannot at some point decide to drop the item and switch
to his instrument, until he can spend a complete turn in a dungeon room
unoccupied by enemies.)
* The Troubadour's instrument is an actual item, but is not listed as a piece
of Equipment for unmoderated games, as it has no special powers. If you are
playing Warhammer Quest as a board game without a GM, there is no chance for
the Troubadour to lose his instrument, or for it to be damaged. However, if
you are playing this as a role-playing game with a GM as moderator, it might
be a good idea to list the instrument and to decide just what the Troubadour
is playing. If it should for whatever reason need to be replaced, the
Troubadour is quite resourceful, and in any Settlement he may buy a new one
(or obtain materials to build one himself) without having to roll for
availability, for 50 gold.
* For determining what weapons or armor the Troubadour may use, he may use
items which the Elf would normally be able to use (with the exception of
special items from the Elven Quarter that would be restricted to Elves). For
magical items, the rule of thumb is that he can use items that wouldn't
require him to be a spellcaster (even if he picks up Dabble), a particular
race or a muscle-bound type.
More specifically (some common sense may be required here) he can use any
items usable by all four basic Warrior types, and any item that is usable by
any combination of Warriors that includes the Elf ... so long as it is not
EXCLUSIVE to the Elf (such as the Bow of Loren, etc.). He would also be able
to use items that are exclusive to the Barbarian and Wizard (such as the
Sword of Vengeance).
* If you are using the house rules for Intelligence, the Troubadour gets +1 to
his Intelligence roll.
* The Troubadour starts with 1 point of Luck, even at Battle-Level 1. This
means that once per adventure he may re-roll the result of any die, though he
must keep the second result whether better or worse. (If you're using my
house rules, it just means he gets to substitute whatever result he wants for
a single die roll during the adventure.)
-*- TROUBADOURS OF OTHER RACES -*-
A special acknowledgement goes to J. Summers for encouraging me to explore
Warrior types that would have some degree of flexibility in regards to
race/profession combinations.
In an attempt to try to break free from the "One Profession, One Race"
mentality of existing character types, I'm endeavoring to introduce modifiers
that can be applied to the basic statistics to play different races for the
same profession. This profession has no "race-specific" or "culture-specific"
abilities per se, so it's a prime candidate. Playing a different race of the
same profession would no doubt alter modifiers for special actions (deviating
from the bonuses/penalties I wrote up for my Action Modifiers article), but
those are only used in the role-playing game, anyway, so common sense will have
to prevail.
When the following directions say to subtract one from Strength, add one to
Initiative, or whatever, this means that the basic statistics will be altered,
but that this modifier will also apply to subsequent Battle-Levels.
* If you want to play an Wood Elf Troubadour, then his equipment and magic item
selection is exactly the same as for the Elf, and he may visit the Elven
Quarter. Subtract one from his Strength, and one from his BS. (He's
physically weaker, but a better shot with the bow.)
* If you want to play a Dwarven Troubadour (rather rare), then his equipment
and magic item selection is exactly the same as for the Dwarf, and he may
visit the Dwarven Guildmasters. If he gets the Dabble skill, re-roll until
you get another result. Subtract 3 from his Initiative, and 1 from his Luck.
If you are using the Intelligence house rules, he does not gain a +1 to his
Intelligence roll (but neither does he gain the -1 penalty normally ascribed
to the Barbarian and Dwarf).
* If you want to play a Halfling Troubadour, his BS is lowered by one.
(Remember, unlike other statistics, a lower BS is a /better/ BS. Halflings
are excellent archers.) He may use the same equipment and magic item
selection as a regular Troubadour with a few exceptions. He is not human, so
he cannot use items restricted to humans (namely, those items only usable by
the Barbarian or Wizard, such as the Sword of Vengeance). He is of a shorter
stature, so he cannot wear any human-sized armor or clothing found.
Halflings do not wear footwear, so magical boots and such are useless to him.
-*- REPRESENTING YOUR WARRIOR -*-
Finding a suitable miniature might be a bit tough, but if you're bent upon
using official Citadel miniatures, then a musician miniature of the appropriate
race might possibly do the trick. Otherwise, look for various "bard"
miniatures put out by such miniatures companies as Ral Partha, Grenadier,
Heartbreaker Hobbies and Games, and countless others. It's a fairly well-
established profession from a well-known game put out by They Sue Regularly, so
it shouldn't be that hard to find one -- and even though he (or she!) may only
be able to look at other model's belly-buttons due to being at 25mm scale, the
Troubadour isn't probably going to be a terribly impressive and imposing type
of character anyway.
-*- ROLE-PLAYING TIPS -*-
The Troubadour presents some great opportunities to break away from the
standard hack-and-slash, and ham it up with a bit of creativity, so take
advantage of it! Try making up some poems (perhaps silly, perhaps serious) to
commemorate the deeds (and bungles) of your fellow Warriors! Think of heroic-
sounding titles to refer to your comrades by, in honor of their
accomplishments. Basically, you're the Warriors' cheerleader, sans mini-skirt,
college letter and pom-poms. =) This provides an excellent avenue for the
die-hard "role-player" stuck in a hack-and-slash board game, in my humble
opinion.
-*- 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! -*-