DARK ELF WARMACHINES
0-1 Cauldron of Blood..... 125 points
The Cauldron of Blood is an ancient gift from the god Khaine himself. It is redolent with magic and the power of blood sacrifice. The Cauldron is attended by a Hag Queen who constantly stirs the bubbling contents, and two Guardians who fanatically defend the relic against at attackers.
Profile M WS BS S T W I A LD
Keeper of the Cauldron 5 5 5 4 3 1 7 2 8
Cauldron Guardians 5 4 4 3 3 1 6 1 8
Equipment: The Keeper of the Cauldron and the Cauldron Guardians are armed with two swords each and all wear light armour.
Save: 6+
Options: None.
The Cauldron in Battle: Any Witch Elf unit within 18" of the Cauldron of the Cauldron will be driven into a frenzy of bloodlust by its presence. The effect of this is to increase the effects of the Witch Elves' frenzy so that their attacks are tripled, rather than only being doubled as would normally be the case. However, this bonus only applies in the first round of combat fought by the Witch Elves, after which they become tired by their exertions, and the normal rules for frenzy apply from then on.
The Cauldron itself cannot be harmed by anything - it is all enduring and any hits against it are ineffective. In addition, the magical properties of the Cauldron will protect the Keeper and the Guardians, and any other Witch Elves that are nearby. Roll a D6 for each Witch Elf within 18" of the Cauldron that is slain. On a roll of a 6 the Witch Elf is saved by the magical properties of the Cauldron and is not removed as a casualty (Witch Elf characters survive with 1 wound remaining). Note that this is a magical, rather than an armour saving roll, and so ignores any saving roll modifiers, and will even apply against attacks that do not normally allow any saving roll at all.
Shooting: The Cauldron, Keeper and two Guardians are considered to be a single entity for the purposes of shooting, in a similar way to a chariot. The Cauldron counts as a large target for shooting purposes and any hits scored against it are randomised between the Cauldron itself, the Keeper, and the Guardians. For each hit roll a D6 and consult the following chart. Note that any hits scored on the Cauldron are immediately discounted - they just bounce off regardless - even cannonballs!
D6 Hits
1 Keeper of the Cauldron
2-3 The Guardians
4-6 The Cauldron (discount hit)
If the Cauldron group is hit by a cannonball, a bolt thrower, or a similar war engine, roll to determine whether the Keeper, the Cauldron or the Guardians are hit, as described above. If hit by a war machine with a template, such as a stone thrower, the usual rules apply (ie. Any part of the Cauldron under the template is hit).
Hand-to-Hand Combat: The Cauldron fights in hand-to-hand combat in a similar way to a chariot. Unlike a chariot, any of the Witch Elves tending to the Cauldron may direct their attacks to the front, sides or rear of the Cauldron. This enables them to direct all of their attacks against a single enemy if they should so wish, or to divide their attacks between several enemy models - this is entirely up to the player.
When the Cauldron charges into combat it does not inflict extra hits in the same way as a chariot, but the individual Witch Elves do receive the usual prerogative of striking first.
Enemy models attacking the Cauldron may choose to direct their attacks against either the Keeper or the Guardians. There is no point in attacking the Cauldron itself as it cannot be damaged. However, if the Keeper and both the Guardians are slain, then the Cauldron is considered to have been desecrated by the opposing side and will not bring favour on the Witch Elves for the remainder of the battle.
Movement and Guardian Casualties: The Cauldron has a normal move of 5". Its move is reduced by 2 1/2" for each Guardian that is slain. If both the Witch Elf Guardians are killed it may no longer move, not even to turn in place.
The Cauldron may not make a march move, but doubles its normal move when charging. The Cauldron is always moved without penalty for turning, and can be pivoted on the spot several times as it moves if you wish. The Cauldron cannot move over obstacles or difficult terrain except to cross a river at a bridge or ford.
Repeater Bolt Thrower..... 50 points
You may take up to two bolt throwers for each regiment of ten or more Dark Elf warriors or Black Ark Corsairs included in the army.
Each bolt thrower has a crew of two Dark Elves to operate and defend it.
Profile M WS BS S T W I A LD
Bolt Thrower - - - - 7 3 - - -
Dark Elf Crew 5 4 4 3 3 1 6 1 8
Equipment: The crew are armed with swords and wear light armour.
Save: 6+
Options: None.
Firing the Repeater Bolt Thrower: When it is your turn to shoot, declare whether you are firing a single shot or a volley.
If you hit with a single shot, resolve damange against the target using the bolt thrower's full Strength of 5. If the model is slain then the bolt hits the troops in the second rank directly behind: resolve damange on the second model with a Strength of 4. If the second rank trooper is slain then a model in the third rank is hit: resolve damage with S3. Continue to work out damage as the bolt pierces and slays a model in each rank, deducting -1 from the Strength for each rank pierced.
A model damaged by a bolt thrower sustains not 1 but D4 wounds, which means that even large monsters can be hurt or slain by a hit from a bolt thrower. Armour saves are not allowed for hits from a bolt thrower, because the missiles are so fast and deadly that any armour is pierced along with its wearer. Because saves are not taken, a target with only 1 wound will be slain if it takes damage; there is therefore no need to roll the D4 to decide the number of wounds.
Volleys: A volley is worked out slightly differently from a normal bolt thrower shot. A volley consists of four separate bolts, but these are always fired towards the same target in the same way as a unit of archers or crossbowmen. Roll to hit for each bolt using the Ballistic Skill of the crewmen and the Missile Fire Chart as normal. As Dark Elves have a BS value of 4 this means a hit is scored on a 3 where no other modifiers apply. Because the bolt thrower's energy is divided between four individual bolts the Strength of any hit is 4 as opposed to 5 for a single shot. Resolve damange as normal.
If successful 1 wound is inflicted. Note that this is less than the D4 wounds inflicted by a single shot because of the reduced effectiveness of a multiple shot. If the target is slain then the bolt penetrates to the second rank and hits again in exactly the same way as a normal bolt thrower. Several ranks can be penetrated in this way, but the Strength of the hit is reduced by -1 for each rank pierced. Thus the first hit is resolved at Strength 4, the second at Strength 3, the third at Strength 2 and the fourht at Strength 1. As with single shots, no armour saving throws are allowed for hits from a bolt thrower.
Artillary Piece Max. Range Strength Save Wounds per hit
SINGLE SHOT 48" 5-1 per rank None D4
MULTIPLE SHOT 48" 4-1 per rank None 1
The repeater bolt thrower can be moved by its crew. It cannot move and shoot in the same turn, except that is can be turned to face its intended target. If one of the crew members is killed, then its movement is reduced by half.
The repeater bolt thrower has a crew of two models and if one crewman is slain then the remaining crewman can continue to operate the machine without any reduction in performance. If both crew are slain the bolt thrower cannot shoot.