Aspiring Champion Warbands

There are always those who seek power no matter what the cost. The Chaos Gods offer such power but
often at a terrible price. Despite the risks many fell warriors still seek to gain the attention of the dread
Daemon Lords of the Warp. Though their approaches, outlooks, and motivations are different and thier
evils diverse the overall goal of such aspiring Chaos Champions is to attain Daemonhood. Often, other
evil souls of less talent or determination join with these twisted warriors in hopes of recieving thier favor
should they ever rise to greatness. Most of these would-be daemons travel the Chaos Wastes but some
have found thier way to the dark streets of Mordheim. The following list details characteristics and
compositions of warbands usable in the Mordheim setting. These rules are arbitrary but reflect an attempt
to make an enjoyable and playable force while maintaining game balance with the existing system.

Starting Funds

The warband starts with 500 gc to spend as it wishes following unit numbers and weapons restrictions.

Choice of Warriors

An Aspiring Champion band must include a minimum of 1 model (the Aspiring Champion), and can
have a maximum of 10 models including 5 Heros and 1 leader. A starting warband must be lead by an
Aspiring Champion, but should he be killed they may not acquire another; one of the warriors of the band
will step forth from amongst the members of the band and become an Aspiring Champion. If the warband
consists of nothing but the Aspiring Champion and he is killed then the warband is obviously destroyed.

Becoming an Aspiring Champion

Should the Aspiring Champion die the surviving Hero with the highest Leadership will assume the
mantle of his predecessor and continue the quest for daemonhood. The new Leader gains the 'Leader'
special abilty but gains no other additions.

Hirelings and Dramatis Personnae

The following Hired Swords will work for an Aspiring Champtions warband dedicated to Nurgle,
Slaneesh, or Tzeentch:

Warlock

Aeromancer

Geomancer

Pyromancer

 
 Hydromancer

Witch

The following Hired Swords will work for an Aspiring Champions warband dedicated to Khorne:

Pit Fighter

Blade Master

The following Hired Swords will work for any Aspiring Champions warband:

Demonologist

Chaos Troll

Of the Dramatis Personnae listed in the Mordheim rulebook, none of them will work with an Aspiring
Champion warband. Of the Dramatis Personnae provided on this site, Esmerelda will work with an
Aspiring Champion warband other than one dedicated to Khorne, but charges double her upkeep to
retain. Other added hirelings and Dramatis Personnae will have to be adjudicated on a case by case basis
but as a general rule, Dwarves, Elves, and any religion-oriented characters will not have anything to do
with Chaos-aligned warbands.

Heroes

Aspiring Champion The Warband must be lead by an Aspiring Champion when starting
Journeyman Sorceror The Warband may have up to 1 Sorceror
Marauder Lord The Warband may include up to 2 Marauder Lords
Henchmen

Maruaders The Warband may have up to 3 Chaos Marauders per Marauder Lord in the warband.
Hounds The Warband may include up to 5  Chaos Hounds.
Scum The Warband may include any number of Chaos Scum up to the warbands max size.
Ogre The Warband may include up to 1 Ogre
Special Abilities

Pure Evil: Those who follow an Aspiring Champion have excised all goodness that may have once
resided in thier mortal souls. They are all Immune to, but dont neccesarily cause, Fear.

Mutations: Aspiring Champion Heroes can have Mutations, chosen from both the standard list on page
76 of the main rule book.or from the list of new mutations provided on this site.

Chaos Gifts: Aspiring Champion Heroes can have Gifts chosen from the new Chaos Skill lists provided
elsewhere on this site. The Chaos Undivided list is available to Aspiring Champion bands dedicated to
any of the Chaos Gods. There are also four seperate Chaos Skill lists particular to each of the four Chaos
Gods that are only available to Aspiring Champion warbands dedicated to that particular Chaos God (as
determined by the Aspiring Champions Chaos Mark (see below)).

Exploration

As normal.

Equipment

Aspiring Champion Warband Equipment List

Item Cost
Hand to Hand weapons
Dagger (first free) 2
Hammers, Maces, etc. 3
Battleaxe 5
Sword 10
Spear 10
Halberd 10
Flail 15
Morning Star 15
Double Handed Weapon 15
Armor
Shield 5
Helmet 10
Light Armor 20
Heavy Armor 50

Starting Experience

Experience and Skills

Hero Skill Categories Starting XP
Aspiring Champion Combat, Strength, Speed, Chaos Gifts of appropriate Daemon Lord 20
Sorcerer Academic, Chaos Gifts of appropriate Daemon Lord 8
Marauder Lord Strength, Combat, Chaos Gifts of appropriate Daemon Lord 8

Heroes

Type Number Cost

Aspiring Champion 1 70
The Aspiring Champion is the strongest of all the warriors in the band, striving to commit ever greater
evils with which to attract his gods attention. The Aspiring Champion is evil thru and thru and possesses
not one shred of morality or mercy.
M WS BS S T W I A LD SAVE
4 4 3 3 4 1 4 1 8 As Armor
Weapons and Armor: the Aspiring Champion may be equipped as desired from the Aspiring Champion
Warband Equipment List
Special Ability: Leader. All warriors in the band within 6" of the Aspiring Champion may use his
Leadership value for Leadership tests.
Special Ability: Chaos Mark. The warrior bears the mark of one of the following Chaos dieties:
Khorne, Nurgle, Slaneesh, or Tzeentch. The player must choose which Daemon Lord the warrior
worships at warband creation, and this decision can never be changed later. Later when gaining skills,
the Champion may instead pick from the appropriate list of Gifts given by thier chosen Daemon Lord or
the Undivided Gifts list. Furthermore all other members of the warband are assumed to worship the same
Daemon Lord as this warrior.
Special Ability: Immune to Fear: The Warrior is immune to Fear.
Special Ability: Mutations: The warrior may choose from the Mutations List on page 76 of the Main
Rule Book and the new mutations listed elsewhere on this site.
 

Type Number Cost

Journeyman Sorceror 0-1 40
Some Aspiring Champtions warbands are accompanied by young sorcerors struggling to achieve thier
own recognition.
M WS BS S T W I A LD SAVE
4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7 -
Weapons and Armor: May only be equipped from the Hand to Hand section of the Aspiring Champion
Warband Equipment List.
Special Ability: Magic Use: The Sorceror generates a single Spell from the Chaos Rituals list randomly.
If he gains a skill then he may randomly choose a new Ritual rather than a skill.
Special Ability: Immune to Fear: The Warrior is immune to Fear.
Limitation: Chaos Mark: The Sorceror must have the same mark as the Aspiring Champion. Since
Khorne does not tolerate the use of magic this means that a warband dedicated to Khorne may not have a
Sorceror.
Special Ability: Mutations: The warrior may choose from the Mutations List on page 76 of the Main
Rule Book and the new mutations listed elsewhere on this site.
 

Type Number Cost

Marauder Lords 0-2 65
Marauder Lords lead small bands of hardened warriors from the North. Often a strong Aspiring
Champion will influence one or two with his drive and they will pledge to follow him.
M WS BS S T W I A LD SAVE
4 4 3 3 4 1 4 1 7 As Armor
Weapons and Armor: May be equipped as desired from the Aspiring Champion Warband Equipment
List
Special Ability: Immune to Fear: The Warrior is immune to Fear.
Special Ability: Retinue: The band may have a retinue of 0-3 Marauders per Marauder Lord; thus with
2 Marauder Lords the warband may have up to 6 Marauders and with 0 Marauder Lords the band may
not have any Marauders.
Special Ability: Mutations: The warrior may choose from the Mutations List on page 76 of the Main
Rule Book and the new mutations listed elsewhere on this site.

Henchmen
 Type Number Cost
Marauders 0-3 x 2 50
Marauders are hardened warriors of the North and form the battle ready core of most Aspiring
Champions warbands.
M WS BS S T W I A LD SAVE
4 4 3 3 4 1 3 1 7 As Armor
Weapons and Armor: May be equipped as desired from the Aspiring Champion Warband Equipment
List
Special Ability: Immune to Fear: The Warrior is immune to Fear.
Special Ability: Retinue: The band may have a retinue of 0-3 Marauders per Marauder Lord; thus with
2 Marauder Lords the warband may have up to 6 Marauders.
Limitation: Promotion Options: Chaos Gifts: The Warrior may choose to get access to Chaos Gifts
instead of a Skill Group. He must bear the same Chaos Mark as his Leader.
Limitation: Promotion Options: Mutations: The Warrior may choose to gain access to the Mutations
list on page 76 of the main rulebook and the new mutations listed elsewhere on this site instead of a Skill
Group. If this option is taken, then the warrior has 3d6 x 10 gc with which to buy Mutations immediately
upon being promoted, but must miss the next game as thier body alters into it's new form. They may
never gain more mutations.
 

Type Number Cost

Scum 0-9 25
Scum are filth that follow the Aspiring Champion in hopes of benefiting from his favor if he rises to
greatness. They are a mixed lot at best and tend to have a high turnover rate.
M WS BS S T W I A LD SAVE
4 3 2 3 3 1 3 1 7 As Armor
Weapons and Armor: May be equipped as desired from the Aspiring Champion Warband Equipment
List
Special Ability: Immune to Fear: The Warrior is immune to Fear.
Limitation: Promotion Options: Chaos Gifts: The Warrior may choose to get access to Chaos Gifts
instead of a Skill Group. He must bear the same Chaos Mark as his Leader.
Limitation: Promotion Options: Mutations: The Warrior may choose to gain access to the Mutations
list on page 76 of the main rulebook and the new mutations listed elsewhere on this site instead of a Skill
Group. If this option is taken, then the warrior has 3d6 x 10 gc with which to buy Mutations immediately
upon being promoted, but must miss the next game as thier body alters into it's new form. They may
never gain more mutations.
 

Type Number Cost

Chaos Hounds 0-5 45
Some warbands are accompanied by a pack of Chaos Hounds.
M WS BS S T W I A LD SAVE
6 4 0 4 4 1 4 2 6 -
Weapons and Armor: May not have any equipment.
Limitations: Animal: The Hounds are Animals, they do not gain Experience and never get any better.
Special Ability: Causes Fear: The Hounds causes Fear.
 

Type Number Cost

Ogre 0-1 200
Ogres are considered to be execellent creatures by the followers of Chaos and they are often
accompanied by one in the dark streets of Mordheim.
M WS BS S T W I A LD SAVE
6 3 2 4 5 3 2 2 7 As Armor
Weapons and Armor: May be equipped as desired from the Aspiring Champion Warband Equipment
List.
Special Ability: Causes Fear: The warrior causes Fear.
Limitation: Large. Opponents are +1 BS to hit, and may shoot at even if not closest target.
Limitation: Promotion Options. If promoted the Ogre may only choose from Combat and Strength
Skills.
Max Profile
OGRES M WS BS S T W I A LD
6 6 5 5 6 5 6 5 9

I designed the Aspiring  Chaos Champion warband because one of the players in our
group,Vlad, desperately wanted to make a true Chaos warband and asked me to do
something about it.

I made it broadbased and very flexible to account for many variations in playing
preferences regarding the 4 Chaos gods. Of particular influence was the excellent and
extensive line of Chaos Champions and Warriors on foot that were pulled from the
Citadel active range with the release of the latest version of Realms of Chaos. If you
have a copy of the 1997 Citadel Miniatures Catalog (not the Annual) with the large red
squig leaping out and the night goblin army on the cover you can find them and
presumably get them from the mail order trolls.

The Aspiring Chaos warband offers a chance for experienced modelers to make truly
distinctive Champions, and also makes for a very interesting and variable force. The
individual members are prone to be relatively powerful, but thier numbers will always
be very small. Also, the cost of models with mutations is heavily inflated; in my
experience models with multiple mutations rarely live up to thier point cost.

The real advantage of the Aspiring Champions warband is that it is really 4 warbands in
one. With play the warbands of each Chaos god will develop a truly unique feel from
other Aspiring Champion bands of other dieties. Finally, the Aspiring Champion
warband is unusual in that it can start off as one warrior; the Aspiring Champion
himself allowing a warband to be started with a very small outlay of actual funds and
built up as needed one model at a time.