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The Crow Master
By Nickodemus Kyme,
as appeared in Town Cryer 25.
The Saga of Simius Gantt
Prominent surgeon and devoted scientist of the
Empire, Simius Gantt thrust mind, body and soul into the furthering of his
knowledge of the universe and the physical betterment of others. When hearing of
the blight that had struck the city of Mordheim his was the first voice that
spoke of a 'duty to tend to the ailing'. He undertook a great journey from the
lofty towers of Altdorf and set up a modest but well-equipped surgery on the
outskirts of the City of the Damned.
All and sundry came to him, desperate for aid and
he would turn none from his door save the daemonic creations that had made their
home in the. bowels of that cursed place. But Mordheim is dangerous, worse many
times over than the most violent battlefield, for it harbors enemies unseen,
those that corrupt from within yet without the host's knowledge. As more and
more died upon his table, Simius questioned his ability and his calling,
developing a morbid fascination with the dead. Unbeknownst to Simius a darker
power was at work within him, the shards of the meteorite that blasted Mordheim,
the wyrdstone he had been inextricably exposed to was at work within him,
changing him...
A day of reckoning came at last, a wandering
warlock, grievously wounded, happened upon the surgery. Despite his best efforts
Simius could not save him such were his injuries. As the warlock grew cold upon
the slab a subconscious urge drove Simius's hand to rummage through the man's
belongings for a fee. He was bereft of possessions save for a leather bound
book, etched in dried blood. The tome contained many scriptures and instruction
pertaining to the dead, even detailing arcane rites of resurrection. The warlock
was in fact a necromancer and Simius continued his work, devoting each night to
the studying of the creature's tome. As time wore on, Simius changed, as did his
practice. The lone and badly wounded were fair game to him now and he used his
scalpel to snip their life's thread. He would then practice his new found `art'
on the corpses, reciting the ancient resurrection passages in earnest. Simius's
skills developed and his transformation from genius to madman was soon complete.
Shedding the clothes from the decaying Necromancer and donning them himself he
wandered from the surgery and his old life and descended into Mordheim and utter
damnation.
All that remains of the surgery now is a scorched
patch of earth, Simius having razed it to ash. Voices whisper his name now, in
the shadows and darkness. They call him Crow Master, such is the palpable aura
of death that exudes from his very skin, a vicious murder of fell birds
accompanying him wherever he goes, harbingers of pain and torture. His services
can still be garnered at a price, yet the price is only known at Simius's whim,
and is oft not gold nor wyrdstone...
- Glory to Damnation, Legacies of Misfortune
- a treatise by famed author of the Empire
Nicodemus Kyme Master Scribe of Altdorf.
Simius Gantt, the Crow Master is a Dramatis Persona and as
such follows all the usual rules for these characters as given in the Mordheim
rulebook.
Hire Fee: 65 gold crowns, 15
gold crowns upkeep.
May be Hired: Any warband except
Dwarfs, Elves, Sisters of Sigmar and Witch Hunters may hire Simius.
Rating: Simius increases the
warband's rating by +85 points.
Profile
M
WS
BS
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I
A
Ld
The Crow Master
4
3
3
3
4
3
5
2
8
Weapons/Armor: Simius wears the
Mantle of Crows, carries a staff and has a Needle and Thread.
Skills: Simius has the following
skills: Sorcery and Dodge.
Spells: Simius knows all of the Necromancy spells and
also knows an additional spell, specific to him, Decay of Ages (see
description below.)
Special Rules:
Mantle of Crows: The mantle in appearance is a
simple shabby cloak but has a hidden malign power. It attracts a murder of
crows that circle around Simius distracting his adversaries. Any enemy model
in base-to-base contact with Simius at the start of the Hand-to-hand Combat
phase suffers a single automatic Strength 2 hit before any blows are struck.
Needle and Thread: A throwback to his surgeon's
days, Simius carries a needle and thread. If Simius stuns an opponent in
hand-to-hand combat and he has no other enemies standing in base-to-base
contact, he sews up the mouth of his enemy. Leaders cannot then use their
`leader' ability and spell casters are unable to cast spells for the
remainder of the battle.
Payment in Blood: Simius is a zealous scientist
and his propensity to experiment is seldom slaked. If the warband who hires
him loses the battle he may decide to `abduct' a hapless warrior to
experiment on. Roll a D6. If you roll a 1, Simius abducts the Hero or
Henchman with the lowest experience (not hired swords) and that warrior must
be struck off the warband roster and for all intents and purposes is slain.
Simius disappears without trace after he has collected his fee of course...
Decay of Ages Difficulty 9
Gesturing to his hapless victim with a bony outstretched finger Simius
invokes the Decay of ages. Skin withers and cracks, muscles atrophy, bones
become brittle as the victim ages horrifically in seconds. This spell
affects a single warrior within 6" of Simius Gantt. The warrior must pass an
immediate Toughness test on a D6 or they will lose -1 from all of their
characteristics with the exception of Attacks and Wounds. In each subsequent
Recovery phase they must pass a Toughness-test or will lose a further -1. As
soon as they pass the test all characteristics are returned to normal. If
any characteristic reaches 0 the model is taken Out Of Action. Simius cannot
cast this spell on more than one model at a time. If he decides to cast it
again the effects on the previous victim are undone.
