A Trip Down Memory Lane - My Old 'New Asrai Unit' Entries

Post ideas and develop rules or stats for whatever you want in here. Asrai units as well as other races

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Kojibear
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Posts: 239
Joined: 01 Dec 2010, 11:49
Armies I play: Wood Elves, Space Marines - Orginal Chapter, Cryx, The Viktorias (Malifaux), Elves (Cutlass)

A Trip Down Memory Lane - My Old 'New Asrai Unit' Entries

Post by Kojibear »

Hi Everyone,

I was cleaning up the old computer - incidentally it really is old ;) - and found these entires for new Asrai units I wrote for the site when we had monthly challenges a few years back.

Just a bit of fun and inspiration. I know I had a blast writing them!

Here they are!

GLADE STALKERS...60 points

Image

We are the kindred of the night, dark, silent...dangerous. The hairs that stand on the back of your neck; it is us. The feeling of dread that writhes in your stomach; it is us. The hand that drives the steel into your heart; it is us. Know this, trespassers, should you ever see us, it will be our choosing and it will be too late.

The Asrai, like their Ulthuan brethren, are children of the sun. They wake to the excited calls of sparrows and long fingers of sunlight pushing past a leafy canopy to gently pluck at weary eyelids. As night falls, all within Athel Loren sleep to the lullabys of lonely owls. Well, not all. Skaven, Orcs, the foul Undead, such creatures pollute the night with a cacophony of evil that can only be silenced by vigilence and sacrifice.

The Glade Stalkers are committed to this cause. While their brothers and sisters sleep, these elves protect Athel Loren from threats unbidden and unseen. They are the Arahain Cynaith, kindred of the silent night. The elves of the Arahain Cynaith are rarely seen and never heard, each having made the ultimate sacrifice and made an oath of silence. They share their vigil with the giant panthers, the dark hunters of the night. More than a millenia of communion with the beasts has formed such a close bond that the panthers now allow the elves to ride on their backs.

Glade Stalker...65 points



Glade Stalker M 5 WS 4 BS 4 S 3 T 3 W 1 I 5 A 1 LD 8

Glade Prowler M 5 WS 5 BS 4 S 3 T 3 W 1 I 5 A 2 LD 8

Panther M 9 WS 4 - S 5 T 4 – I 4 A 3 LD 5

Unit Size: 3+

Weapons and Armour: Spear or Saearath (spear-stave), Shield, Glade Guard Long Bow, Light Armour.

Options:

-May exchange spears and for Saearaths for +2 points per model to gain an extra attack. Note that the +1 to strength is still applied to a sareth on the round the unit charges.
- One Glade Stalker may be upgraded to a Glade Prowler for 16 points.
- One Glade Stalker may be the unit's standard bearer for an additional 12 points.
- One unit of Glade Stalkers may carry a magic banner up to the value of 50 points.

Special Rules: Fast Cavalry, Devastating Charge, Cause Fear, Stealthy, Talismanic Tattoos (5+ ward save).

Stealthy: Glade Stalkers and their feline mounts perform their arts of war in a silence that rivals even the Phoenix Guard's renowned prowess and unnerving quiet. When added to their ghost like stealth, the Glade Stalkers are truly a force to be feared – they are a living nightmare for enemies of Athel Loren. Glade Stalkers will choose their paths carefully, ensuring that the shadows conceal their movements and hide their numbers. They come upon their opponents with such suddenness and savagery that those made examples of and thus allowed to leave the great forest alive, speak of ghosts and dark shades.

Any unit of Glade Stalkers may be held in reserve. They may be brought on to the table at the start of any of the controllers movement phases on a roll of 3+. They may appear on any table edge and may make one immediate move or march. They may not charge on the turn they arrive on the battle field, unless effected by a spell or other such magical means.
A unit charged by Glade Stalkers must test for fear using the leadership of the most numerous model type and may not use inspiring presence. In addition, in the first round of combat all enemy models suffer -1 to hit.


Lothlein the Brave...225points

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Do you hear child?
Do you hear their cruel claws digging?
Do you smell child?
Do you smell their foul fur rotting?
Do you see child?
Do you see their evil eyes flashing?

Do not cry child.
For you know your kindband adores you.
Do not hide child.
For you know the forest shelters you.
Do not fear child.
For you know Lothlann protects you.




The Asrai fight, we do not run.
We need no mercy, and we show none.
Our cause is right, theirs is wrong.
Intruders shall die...every single one.


Night after night did Lothlann bid his daughter to repeat the words. Night after night her innocence was taken from her, just as her mother had been taken by the foul hordes of Skaven. Slowly, a child's naïveté was replaced by a dark fury and an uncompromising purpose – the protection of the Asrai and the defense of Athel Loren, their home.

Lothlein is every bit the hero her father is, and through her acts of singular bravery and skill, she has earned her right to take on her father's mantle a hundred times over. She is beautiful – exceptionally so – but her stern, unsmiling visage has turned away friend and suitor alike. She is as strong in form, as she is in mind - an iron will that has proven to be every bit as hard as her well-honed musculature. Lothlein makes it no secret that she finds solace and easier company in the stoic presence of the kindreds of nymraif, the waywatachers. There are even some whispers that float timidly between the shadows of twisted boughs, telling grim stories of a dire oath given long ago and sworn in blood. If the whispers be true, Lothlann and his daughter walk the dangerous path of the Kindreds of Talu – the vengeance kindred – always walking upon the threshold of reason and madness. Perhaps it is this very unbalance that drives Lothlann and his daughter to such reckless acts of courage.

While Lothlein may be brusque and plain-spoken off the field of battle, in war her passion and zeal is without equal. Athel Loren and Ariel have chosen their champion well – Lothlein's fury and the banner she bears galvanizes the elves around her like a bolt of lightening, igniting a wildfire of Asrai rage that spurs the elves into acts of impossible heroism and ferocious retribution.

Like her father before her, Lothlein often chooses to ride into battle upon her mount Athryn – a great white stallion descended from the mighty steed that bore her father in the battle of Creaking Yew.

Lothlein the Brave...225 points
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
5 6 6 4 3 2 7 3 10
Lothlein must be the Battle Standard Bearer of your army and may not be the general.
Lothlein may ride the great white steed Athryn for an additional 30 points.

Athyrn...30 points
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
9 4 - 4 3 2 5 2 8

Weapons and Armour - The Banner of Athel Loren, Mournsinger, light armour and Talu Tattoos.

The Banner of Athel Loren

It is fitting that the battle banner of Athel Loren is carried by a woman – the banner itself being woven from the silky strands of hair of countless elf maidens. Just as the exquisite locks of gossamer hair are given up freely by the selfless maidens, the banner depicts scenes of the beauty and sacrifice made by their queen Ariel and her consort King, along with breathless images displaying the beauty and sacrifice of Athel Loren itself. Such is the majesty and power of the banner of Athel Loren, that it is not unheard of for enemies with even the most evil of hearts to weep at the very sight of it, a pure tear that falls even as death greets them.

The Banner of Athel Loren instills the hearts of all Asrai with an almost terrifying rage and resolve. The unit carrying the Banner of Athel Loren, as well as all other friendly units within 6 inches may re-roll all unsuccessful rolls to hit in combat. Enemy units within 6 inches of the banner of Athel Loren must re-roll all their successful rolls to hit.

In addition, an enemy unit in combat with a unit bearing the Banner of Athel Loren may not use the steadfast rule.

Mournsinger

The sword wielded by Lothlein the Brave contains the essence of the many elven souls that were slain during the battle of Creaking Yew, but who chose not to accept Isha's embrace, instead willing their tortured spirit to remain in the realm of the living in the hopes of one day finding vengeance. These restless souls sing a sorrowful and terrifying lament, heard only to those who seek to harm the wielder of the sword. In addition, these raging souls whisper to the wielder, urging him or her to sate their insatiable hunger for revenge.

Enemies wishing to strike Lothlein suffer a -1 on their to hit rolls. Lothlein herself is immune to psychology and gains the devastating charge special rule.


Talu Kindred

Until the day when Lothlein finds and slays the rat who murdered her mother, Lothlein will walk the path of the Talu Kindred. Those who choose to undertake this dark and lonely journey must tattoo their oath on to their body so that they may never forget their promise and never stray from their path to vengeance.

In addition to keeping their wearer mindful of their duty, the tattoos of the Talu Kindred also serve to aid their brethren in their hunt. Regardless of where the tattoo was originally drawn, the markings are able to move along the skin of the individual. When injured, the tattoo will immediately move to cover the wound and begin to heal the damaged flesh.

Lothlein has the regeneration special rule.


Bramble Wolf

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Drycha, Queen of the Wraiths, Witch of the Woods, she is soon known to all who dare enter her domain – the sentient forest known as Athel Loren. Long before the Asrai, the Wood Elves, usurped her reign of the great forest, Drycha's spirit thrived amid all the darkest and most sinister places of the forest. And where she walked, the forest grew even more wild and evil as if the very ground were leeching the the corruption from Dycha's own being.
Things were given life, dreadful things, and they were every bit as hateful as Drycha herself. The first of Drycha's offspring were the Sylph-like Dryads whose naked bodies of feminine perfection lured the innocent into the woods, only to die mercilessly as a kiss became a bite and a gentle caress became a savage tearing of flesh and bone. The blood and terror that poured from these poor souls fed Drycha well and she was pleased...for a time.
But Drycha is greedy.
Her second child, she named Roke, and his birth was heralded by the howls of a thousand wolves and the jealous screams of all the Dryads. To Drycha's perverted delight, Roke, ripped himself free of her womb, spilling her black blood across the forest floor. When he fell, the beast proceeded to lap up the blood before presenting itself proudly to its mother. Roke was all that her twisted mind could have envisaged, for Roke's wolf-like form was covered by a tangle of wicked thorns and vines that writhed and thrashed his body. From out his eyes shone a malevolent green light and the breath he exhaled from his tooth-filled maw was thick with poison. More impressed was she, however, with Roke's nature. Where the Dryads were impulsive, Roke was calculating. Where the Dryads were fanatical, Roke was egotistical.
So enamoured was she with Roke that Drycha herself fell in love with him. The spawn of their foul, incestuous coupling were the Bramble Wolves horrific beasts that shared all of their parents' terrible traits and powers.


Bramble Wolf...35points

M WS BS S T A I W LD
10 5 – 5 5 2 5 2 8

Unit Size 5-10

Equipment: Razor sharp teeth and claws, Thorny Hide.

Bramble Wolf Special Rules: Scaly Skin 4+, Cause Fear, Frenzy, Regeneration, Forest Spirit, Brambles and Thorns, Noxious.

Brambles and Thorns - A Bramble Wolf is covered in writhing vines that are covered in sharp, deadly thorns. To get past the tangled mass with arrow or blade to the soft flesh beneath is exceptionally difficult and painful.
At the end of each round of combat, roll a D6. The result is how many enemy models are injured by the Bramble Wolves deadly hide. Each model suffers a strength 3 hit.

Noxious – The breath of Bramble Wolves is foul and extremely harmful. Dire as it is however, it may be the only thing that saves you, for the stench of a bramble wolf will be the only warning you will have before its jaws tear into your flesh.
Those in combat with Bramble Wolves suffer a -1 to their strength, as the poisonous fumes leech the vigor from their flesh.


Roke...175points

M WS BS S T A I W LD
10 7 – 6 5 4 7 4 9

Roke may be used as a mount for a Branch Wraith, Glamour Weave or Wild Rider Kindred.

Roke Special Rules: Scaly Skin 4+, Cause Terror, Regeneration, Forest Spirit, Brambles and Thorns (See Above), Poison Breath, Cunning.

Poison Breath – Roke's breath is far more toxic than his offspring. He can even exhale from his giant lungs great wafts of corruption and release it with deadly effect upon his foes.
Those in combat with Roke suffer a -1 to their strength. In addition, all enemies in base to base contact with Roke at the end of combat suffer a strength 4 hit. Only ward saves are allowed.

Cunning – Roke is an exceptionally intelligent creature, far more balanced than either his mother or sisters. In combat, he is both shrewd and cautious, attacking when the advantage is his and falling back when he knows he needs more time to adjust his strategy.
All opponents in combat with Roke must re-roll their successful rolls to hit.

Wood Elf Saboteurs

Image

Wood Elves forgo the traditional arts of warfare in favour of a style and strategy that more befits the woodland realm within which they now dwell.
Once long ago, there were engineers among them capable of constructing terrible machines of war that flung giant bolts of dagger tipped steel into their enemies. But that was before, before the betrayal, before the Asrai.
Wood Elves are not without ingenuity, however. Nor has their isolation forced their development into stagnation. Whatever technology was lost, has more than been made up for with an equally terrifying mastery of guile and stealth.
Making use of all that their forest provides, small groups of dedicated elves spend their long lives devising methods of war that are as cunning as they are cruel. Living nature has replaced lifeless steel, and instead of powder there is plant life. You may think this exchange of technology for nature weak and ineffective. You are wrong, dead wrong...


Wood Elf Saboteurs.....................................................................125 points.

Includes a unit of 5 elves armed with longbows and hand weapons.

M WS BS S T W I LD
5 4 4 3 3 5 5 8

Wood Elf Saboteurs have the following special rules: skirmish (see the warhammer fantasy rule book), forest stalkers (refer to Wood Elf special rules), Disperse, Sabotage, A Fickle Fate

Wood Elves do not suffer from the arrogant and wasteful pride of younger nations. Wood Elves know their role in battle and will not jeopordise their Lord's strategm with foolish acts of grandeur or selfish jaunts of hubris.

Disperse

When charged by an enemy unit, saboteurs will always flee. However, before rolling for distance, both the wood elf player and the opposing player roll a D6 and add their unit's unmodified leadership. If the saboteurs' total is higher than the charging unit's total, the charge is considered to have failed as the saboteurs split up and run in random directions to confuse the enemy. If the enemy unit's total is equal to or higher, the charge continues as normal.



Sabotage

It is considered that in each shooting phase, one of the saboteurs makes his or her run at the enemy to disrupt or destroy the intended target. The range of a saboteur is long as nothing is done without a plethora of pre-planning and an intricate preparation. A saboteur will be exactly where he needs to be, at the exact time he should be there. All Saboteur strikes have a range of 36' inches.


A Fickle Fate!

Even the most deliberate and meticulous plan can be foiled by fate and random chance. A Wood Elf saboteur may have patiently laid in wait for hours in anticipation of his or her planned strike, only to find that an enemy soldier's sudden need to relieve himself brings his boot to within an inch of where the saboteur hides. The plan foiled by fate, the saboteur must begin his infiltration all over again.

At the start of the shooting phase roll a D6 for each unit of saboteurs. On a roll of a 1, the saboteurs may not make any attack this turn.

Once per shooting phase, any group of wood elf saboteurs may choose one of the following actions:

A Sack of Spites

The saboteurs release a sack of hungry and angry spites into an enemy unit. Use the small template and treat the attack as you would a stone thrower, with the exception that hits are worked out at Strength 3 and are considered poisoned.

In addition, an enemy calvary unit hit by this strike must take an immediate panic test using the mounts leadership, not the riders.

A Present of Poison

The night before the battle, the saboteurs slipped a vile poison into the enemy's ale and wine. Tasteless and slow acting, the poison runs a sinister course through the veins of its victims, seemingly harmless until at long last it reaches the brain. Death is instant.

Choose an enemy unit and roll a D6. The resulting number is how many enemy models must make a strength test. If failed, the victim has succommed to the poison and drops dead regardless of how many wounds it has. Only ward saves are allowed.

This attack may not be used to attack single character models, as leaders and generals do not share the cheap and watered-down drink served to their rank and file. Warmachine crews may be targeted by a present of poison but roll a D3 to determine the number of models that must test their strength.

A Trail of Traps

It may be you fall prey to a poisoned tipped dart driven into the dirt and cunningly concealed with rock or foliage that is driven deep into your flesh by your own heavy step. Mayhap you walk surely onto hard packed soil only to find yourself falling and screaming six feet down into a perilous pit. Perhaps it will be a vine so delicately and precisely tied to a bent tree that pulls your feet from under you and leaves you hanging uselessly upside down. At least you are alive. Hanging, you look on in horror as others around you suddenly fall to the ground screaming in terror as the hundreds of biting ants begin crawling into their mouths and noses to feast upon the unprotected flesh within.

The targeted unit suffers D6 strength 5 hits. Any unit wounded by a trail of traps may not move next turn.

If the target unit is wholly or partially in a forest, roll 2D6 for hits. This represents the ease with which traps can be concealed and the abundant sources of additional resources that the saboteur has at his or her disposal.

A Curse of Corrosion

The saboteurs have spent more than a millenia studying the properties of the thousands upon thousands of plants and wildlife that share Athel Loren with the Asrai. Of all of their discoveries, the sap of the rare waikawa tree is perhaps the most coveted. Just how the tree survives its own corrosive lifeblood is a marvel in itself, but how the Asrai saboturs manage to collect the acidic sap is nothing short of a miracle.

The saboteurs apply the corrosive sap of the waikawa tree to the enemy's steel and iron. The effect is immediate as the metal's strength disintegrates, becoming nothing more than useless adornment.

The targeted unit suffers a -1 to their armour save and a -1 to their strength until the start of the Wood Elf player's next shooting phase.
I have become wed to my solitude. She has wrapped her arms around me like a jealous lover, hugging ever tighter with the passing of each season. I am Daith when we are forced to part, but when we are together I become so much more. In her caressing silence I become things, wondrous things, things of majesty, of beauty and of death. But know this, foolish is the one who mistakes our silence for passivity. Take from us without recompense and there will be a thunderous reckoning.

Daith the Forger

Dragon's Shame

Image

This weapon embodies all of Daith's accomplishments, just like the forest dragon that commissioned its fashioning. The jeweled pommel shines with such a luster that even a dragon's scales pale in its presence. A gleaming wire wrought into the shape of a dragon, writhes its way around the grip, its likeness such that even the bravest of wielders will drop the sword in fear when their eyes first gaze upon it. Yet both of these marvels do not prepare one for the blade itself. Majestic it is and of its beauty there can be no doubt, but it is death that has best manifested itself within the perfectly folded steel. Just how Daith coloured the steel such a brilliant green, will never be known. The very fact that the ancient forest dragon that received the sword, subsequently threw it into the deepest, darkest shadows of the forest, gives some testament to the blades majesty. For how could any true dragon accept anything that was more magnificent, beautiful and fearsome than itself.

Dragon's Shame...65 points

The wielder of this majestic and deadly sword fights with a prowess that is truly beautiful to behold. He or she parries and reposts with a speed and acumen that reaches close to the impossible. The dazzling emerald set within the hilt seems to glare at its victim, driving thoughts of inadequacy and shame deep into the soul. The coiled metal dragon clinging fiercely to the grip of the sword will come to life at a mere thought from the wielder, striking out with poisoned claw and tooth to distract and debilitate the foe. This sword will shame all who dare test themselves against the grandeur of its singular magnificence.

Dragon's Shame is an exceptionally well crafted sword, perhaps the lasting legacy of its maker. The wielder of the Dragon's Shame is almost impossible to strike. In addition, the sword sows powerful feelings of doubt and self-loathing within the hearts and minds of its victims. The wielder is granted with a +2 to strength. Enemy models attempting to strike the wielder suffer a -1 to hit.

The sword has a partiularly powerful effect upon those who hold a high opinion of themselves. Such individuals cannot abide the beauty and majesty of the blade when it is in their presence. Any enemy model that has a leadership equal to or higher than the model wielding the sword will feel the effects of the sword's goading more so than others. A model effected will fight with an almost primal fury that overwhelms good sense and training.

Any enemy with a leadership value equal to or higher than the Dragon's Shame wielder gains +1 strength when directing attacks against the wielder of the sword, but must re-roll all successful hits. In addition, challenges made by the wielder must be accepted.
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frogboy
Elder of the Council
Posts: 2023
Joined: 08 Aug 2010, 21:52
Armies I play: WoC (Nurgle), Just starting a Slannesh WoC for 8th, CSM(Khorne/Nurgle), Starting to build a Waaagh

Re: A Trip Down Memory Lane - My Old 'New Asrai Unit' Entrie

Post by frogboy »

These we're great Kojibear, I used to love the Artisan contests, I entered a few myself, maybe we should start them again (I will ask Beithir Seun)

You wrote the Welcome message on the home page didn't you ?
Its been too long since we burned a heretic, witch hunt anyone !??
sentinalofthewoods wrote:yes, unicorn riders that shoot rainbows..hell yeah
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Kojibear
Master Greeter
Posts: 239
Joined: 01 Dec 2010, 11:49
Armies I play: Wood Elves, Space Marines - Orginal Chapter, Cryx, The Viktorias (Malifaux), Elves (Cutlass)

Re: A Trip Down Memory Lane - My Old 'New Asrai Unit' Entrie

Post by Kojibear »

The contests were a lot of fun! :) Great to get the creative juices flowing!

Yes, I have the humble of honour of having my greeting on the home page :nod:
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frogboy
Elder of the Council
Posts: 2023
Joined: 08 Aug 2010, 21:52
Armies I play: WoC (Nurgle), Just starting a Slannesh WoC for 8th, CSM(Khorne/Nurgle), Starting to build a Waaagh

Re: A Trip Down Memory Lane - My Old 'New Asrai Unit' Entrie

Post by frogboy »

These may well start again soon, just need to think of something to start with.
Its been too long since we burned a heretic, witch hunt anyone !??
sentinalofthewoods wrote:yes, unicorn riders that shoot rainbows..hell yeah
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