The Asrai have always been a secluded race. They usually keep to their deep forest of Athel Loren, rarely venturing forth except in the time of need or defense. However, despite their usual solitude, the Asrai still have means to the knowledge and secrets of the outside world; and it come through the skills and abilities of their elven Wayfarers. This band of specially trained wood elves serves the various requests of their nobles with dedicated efficiency. Whether it is to recover stolen treasures, discern foreign motives, track down mystical creatures, eliminate distant enemies, or discover mysterious occurrences; no task is beyond the reach of the Wayfarers. They are capable of traveling lengthy distances beyond their secure borders, across hostile environments, to fulfill their duties.

Faced with unknown dangers, the Wayfarers utilize the diverse skills of elven magic, special hunters, deadly rangers, agile warriors, and mystical fighters. Among their other resources, they recruit the aid of animal companions and spirits of nature to their cause; all under the command of their veteran leader, the Way-Warden. Each mission takes them far from home, and puts them in harms way, possibly never to see the beloved forest of Athel Loren again; however, this is their duty.

Word of magical stone fragments has reached as far as the Forest of Athel Loren and has created an air of concern for the Wood Elves. Fear that this new magical force will taint the forest has caused some unrest among the nobles of the Asrai. Expeditionary forces have been dispatched to gain knowledge on these “Wyrdstone” fragments, and to keep any invaders from bringing the shards into and contaminating their home. Due to the nature of traveling well beyond the borders of Athel Loren and deep into the Empire only the bravest warriors are chosen to accompany the Wardens. For whatever reasons, the lords of the forest depend on their success and so the Wayfarers make their journey away from the wild they call home into the land of men and beasts.

Choice of Warriors:

• Way-Warden: Each Wayfarer warband must have one Way-Warden: no more, no less!

• Spellwalker: Your warband may include up to one Spellwalker.

• Wild Hunter: Your warband may include up to one Wild Hunter.

• Pathfinders: Your warband may include up to two Pathfinders.

• Wardancers: Your warband may include up to three Wardancers.

• Glade Warriors: Your warband may include any number of Glade Warriors.

• Wolfhounds: Your warband may include up to two Wolfhounds.

• Wood Spirit: Your warband may include up to one Wood Spirit.
  

Special Rules:

• Forest Walk: Wood elves move through forest and woods terrain without penalty.

• Excellent Sight: Wood elves have keen eyesight. They may spot Hidden enemies from two times as far away as other warriors (i.e. twice their initiative value in inches).

• Subtle Nature: Wood elves specialize in being cunning and elusive. They dislike the loud and smelly elements of black powder weapons; therefore, they will never use them. Also, wood elves will never wear heavy armor of any type except Ithilmar.

• Clandestine: Wood elves are unusually secretive about their activities; therefore, they will never hire any Hired Swords, or Dramatis Personae that are not elven.

• Long Lived: Elves, as a race, can live right through dozens of human generations, with a lifespan spanning centuries rather than decades. Due to this, they take longer to advance through the ranks, as they do not have the short human lifespan to push them to great deeds before they die. As such, the first time any Wood Elf henchman rolls "The Lad's Got Talent", you must re-roll the dice. The second roll stands (even if you roll "The Lad's Got Talent" again). This represents the fact that elves must do much more than a member of the "lesser" races to gain the respect of their commander and comrades. Any later results of "The Lad's Got Talent" count as normal; only the first result rolled for each henchmen group must be re-rolled.
  

Starting Experience:

• The Way-Warden starts with 20 experience.

• The  Spellwalker starts with 12 experience.

• The Wild Hunter starts with 12 experience.

• Pathfinders start with 8 experience.

• Henchmen start with 0 experience.
   

Wood Elves Skill Tables

• Way-Warden may choose from the Combat, Shooting, Academic, Speed or Special Skills.
• Spellwalker may choose from the Shooting, Academic, Speed or Special Skills.
• Wild Hunter may choose from the Combat, Speed or Special Skills.
• Pathfinders may choose from the Combat, Shooting, Speed or Special Skills.
  

Wood Elves Maximum Profile

Wood Elves have the same maximum profile as elves in the Mordheim rulebook.

Wood Elves Equipment List

Heroes

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
5	5	4	3	3	1	6	1	9

Weapons/Armor: The Way-Warden may be equipped with weapons and armor from the Asrai Wayfarers Heroes equipment list.

Special Rules:

• Leader: Any warrior within 6" of the Way-Warden may use his Leadership when taking a Leadership test.
  

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
5	3	3	3	3	1	5	1	8

Weapons/Armor: The Spellwalker may be armed with weapons and armor chosen from the Asrai Wayfarers Heroes list. However, they may not cast spells if wearing armor.

Special Rules:

• Wizard: Spellwalkers are wizards and so are able to use the Fey Magic List.
  

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
5	4	4	3	3	1	5	1	8

Weapons/Armor: The Wild Hunter may be equipped with weapons and armor from the Asrai Wayfarers Heroes equipment list.

Special Rules:

• Beast Empathy: If your warband includes a wild hunter, you may purchase up 0-3 of allowed beast companions in the henchmen/Equipment list. Any beast purchased from this list may use the wild hunter’s leadership value for tests if within 6”.
• Spirit Totem: The Wild Hunter has the Stag Aspect special skill.
   

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
5	3	4	3	3	1	5	1	8

Weapons/Armor: Pathfinders may be equipped with weapons and armor from the Asrai Wayfarers Heroes equipment list. However, they must always carry a missile weapon type.

Special Rules:

• Natural Stealth: If a Pathfinder is Hiding, enemy models suffer -1 to their Initiative value for determining if they can detect him.

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
5	4	3	3	3	1	5	1	8

Weapons/Armor: A Wardancer may be equipped with weapons and armor from the Henchmen equipment list, with noted exceptions such as not being able to use missile weapons or armor.

Special Rules:

• Talismanic Tattoos: Wardancers have a 6+ armor save that can never be modified. They also ignore spells that target/affect them on a D6 roll of 6+.
• Nimble Fighters: Wardancers may always attempt to parry regardless of the weapon type they use. If they are using a sword as a weapon, then they may re-roll failed parries as if armed with a buckler and sword. No further benefit when using two swords.
  

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
5	3	3	3	3	1	5	1	7

Weapons/Armor: Glade Warriors may be equipped with weapons and armor from the Asrai Henchmen Equipment List.

0-2 Wolfhounds; 20 gold crowns to hire.
The Asrai have long used a special breed of wolf, known as Wolfhound (half-wolf) to guard the glades of Athel Loren. They have proven to be loyal companions and strong allies when danger threatens. Many times, a promising pup will be given to a Way-warden as a gift of honor and privilege.

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
6	4	0	4	3	1	4	1	5

Weapons/Armor: Powerful jaws and sharp teeth!

Special Rules:

• Animal: Wolfhounds are animals and thus gains no experience.
• Beast Companion: May only be included if your warband has a Wild Hunter.
• Pack Sense: If one or more wolves are in base contact with the same opponent as the Wild Hunter, then the Wolfhound gets a +1 to his “To hit” rolls against that opponent. This bonus is not cumulative if more than one wolf is in base contact.
   

0-2 Hunting Cats; 25 gold crowns to hire.
Strong predators and exceptional hunters, these cats are occasionally acquired when young and reared among the elves of Athel Loren for use during Wild Hunt. Only a Wild Hunter or Noble could ever hope to possess and train one of these powerful and graceful creatures.

Weapons/Armor: Powerful jaws and sharp teeth!

Special Rules:

• Animal: Hunting Cats are animals and thus gains no experience.
• Beast Companion: May only be included if your warband has a Wild Hunter.
• Pounce: If a hunting cat charges an opponent and hits with both attacks, regardless if any wounds were inflicted, the target must pass a strength test or be “Knocked Down”. This ability has no effect on large targets.
   

0-1 Wood Spirit; 190 gold crowns to hire.
With the proper knowledge some Asrai can use a rare incantation to trap a powerful nature spirit within a branch of Wych Elm. In times of need the spirit can be summoned, by placing the branch in the earth and magically calling it forth. The branch will begin to take shape and form as the spirit is released to serve the Asrai and protect them from harm during dangerous encounters or travels.

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
5	4	0	4	4	3	4	2	7

Weapons/Armor: A nasty temper and powerful limbs.

Special Rules:

• Fear: A Wood Spirit causes Fear.
• Barkskin: A Wood Spirit has a 4+ armor save.
• Spirit: Immune to Poisons.
• Vulnerable to Fire: A Wood Spirit receives double wounds from fire attacks.
• Immune to Psychology: A Wood Spirit never needs to take All Alone Tests nor is it affected by Fear.
• Elemental: The Wood Spirit is an elemental force summoned to serve and protect the Asrai. It has a primal mentality and purpose, therefore it gains experience at half rate and is incapable of ever becoming a hero.

Wood Elves' Special Skills

A Wood Elf hero may identify himself with a particular animal, and thus gain some of their characteristics. This is known as gaining an Animal Aspect. There may never be more than two heroes with the same Aspect in a given warband.

• Aspect of the Hawk : Only a model with Quickshot may choose this skill. This model may shoot twice per turn with a bow, long-bow, elven bow, or glade-wood bow and ignore the ‘To-hit’ penalty for moving (normal restrictions for moving more than its base move apply). This skill, however, may not be combined with the Quickshot skill to allow more than two shots per turn to be made by this model.
• Aspect of the Serpent: If this model doesn’t move, it may score a critical hit with missile weapons at targets within short range on a roll of 5 or 6.
• Aspect of the Panther: If hidden, a warrior with this skill may shoot missile weapons and remain hidden. If the target of the attack is not stunned or put out of action as a result of the attack, it can make an initiative test; if the test is successful, the target sees the attacker who is no longer considered hidden.
• Aspect of the Fox: A wood elf with this skill is always placed on the battlefield after the opposing warband and can be placed anywhere on the table as long as it is out of sight of the opposing warband and more than 12” away from any enemy model. If both players have models with this skill or Infiltrate, roll a D6 for each, and the lowest roll sets up first.
• Aspect of the Stag: A model with this skill may now choose skills from the strength list. Spellwalkers may not choose this skill. Only one model in addition to the Wild Hunter may have this skill at anyone time.
• Aspect of the Rabbit: A model with this skill can avoid melee or missile attacks on a roll of 6. If the model also has the Step Aside or Dodge skill, this will increase to a 4+ in the relevant area. For example, a wood elf with Rabbit Aspect and Step Aside avoids melee attacks on a 4+ and missile attacks on a 6.

Wood Elves' Special Equipment

Asrai Blade-Staff; 20+2d6 gc; Availability: Rare 7 (Wood Elves only)
A staff fashioned from hearty oak with a keen blade attached to each end. In the hands of a skilled fighter, the blade-staff allows powerful attacks on the charge and sustained offense and defense afterwards. The blade-staff is a weapon with the following profile:

Range	Strength	Special Rules
Close Combat	As user (+1 if charging)	Parry, Two-Handed, Additional Attack

Special Rules:

• Parry: A Wood Elf armed with the Asrai Blade-Staff may parry blows as any normal sword can. When his opponent rolls to hit, the model armed with a sword may roll a D6. If the score is greater than the highest to hit score of his opponent, the model has parried the blow, and that attack is discarded. A model may not parry attacks made with double or more its own Strength – they are simply too powerful to be stopped.
• Two-Handed: A model armed with an Asrai Blade-Staff may not use a shield, buckler, or additional weapon in close combat. If the model is equipped with a shield he will still get a +1 bonus to his Armor save against shooting.
• Additional Attack: The user gains an additional attack when using this weapon. When used in this fashion, the normal rules for fighting with two weapons apply.

Birch Wine; 55+3D6 gc; Availability: Rare 11 (Wood Elves only)
Birch Wine is made from the sapling birches that grow deep roots along the river bank and can make the elves courageous and resilient to injury. A Wood Elf Warband that drinks Birch Wine before a battle will be immune to Fear and in addition immune to Stunned results for the whole of the battle. (One use only)

Thornblade; 3 gc; Availability: Common (Wood Elves only)
This weapon is carved from the dangerous Mangle Thorn Tree that grows deep inside Athel Loren, it has a short blade, twice the length of a dagger, and is wickedly sharp with spiked barbs naturally along the edges. When this blade is thrust into an opponent, it causes intense pain. Special Rules:

• Concussion: Thornblades are excellent to use for striking your enemy senseless. When using this weapon, a roll of 2-4 is treated as Stunned when rolling to see the extent of a model’s injuries.

Glade-wood Bow; 50+2D6 gc; Availability: Rare 11
This bow is specially fashioned by elven bow masters from some of the strongest trees in Athel Loren, then treated with a magical resin to produce powerful shots. A Glade-wood Bow functions as a longbow with the following exception: if the wielder doesn’t move during their movement phase, then all shots at targets in short range (15”) are counted as strength 4. This bow can be used with the Nimble skill to allow the wielder to move and fire strength 4 shots following the above restrictions.

Enchanted Acorns; 60+3D6 gc; Availability: Rare 12
Magically grown acorns from the Oak of Ages. These wondrous seeds contain powerful magical healing capability and are only known among the wood elves. After locating/purchasing, roll to determine how many acorns are acquired (D3+1 acorns.) When a hero has to roll on the Serious Injury Chart and the roll result is 11-35, the hero may “consume” one, and only one, acorn to re-roll the first die (i.e. If a result of 14 is rolled, and the hero has at least one enchanted acorn, then the player may re-roll the “1”). The second roll result must be accepted, and cannot be re-rolled again. The player should then note that an acorn has been used and remove it from the hero’s equipment.

Arrows of Blood Ivy; 40+2D6 gc; Availability: Rare 10
The oils of the Blood Ivy is a powerful toxin. A small portion can cause serious muscle fatigue and stress. If a model is wounded from an arrow of Blood Ivy, that model must immediately succeed at a toughness test or suffer -1 strength for the remainder of the battle. Multiple effects from these arrows are not cumulative. There are enough arrows to last one campaign.

Deerhide Leather Armor; 5 gc; Availability: Common (Wood Elves only)
Hides made from the deer that populate Athel Loren are unusually tough, and when hardened, they make excellent armor for the Wood Elves. Deerhide Leather Armor works exactly like light armor, giving the wearer a 6+ Armor save, but cannot be combined with the effects of any other armor except a helmet or buckler. Deerhide Leather Armor cannot be sold back at the Trading Posts.  

Healing Herbs; 20+2D6gc; Availability: Rare 7
Certain plants that grow on the banks of the River Stir have curative properties. Herbalists collect their roots and leaves and use them to treat the sick and wounded. A Hero with healing herbs can use them at the beginning of any of his recovery phases as long as he is not engaged in hand-to-hand combat. This restores all wounds he has previously lost during the game. Wood Elves are master herbalists and may buy or find Healing Herbs much easier than most races.

Hunting Arrows; 35 gc; Availability: Common
The best hunting arrows are sharp, barbed arrowheads which cause excruciating pain when they hit their target. A skilled archer can severely injure his target with a single arrow. A model using a short bow, bow, long bow , Elf bow or Glade-wood bow may use these arrows. They add +1 to all Injury rolls.

Falcon; 20 gc; Availability: Rare 9 (Wild Hunter Only)
When entering unknown areas, nothing can scout and watch for danger like a well trained falcon. Often times, a Wild Hunter will be called upon to find and train a falcon to serve the Way-farers. While not useful at combat, the falcon can more than earn his keep with his keen eyesight during the Exploration Phase. Due to their excellent eyesight, falcons allow you to modify one die roll by -1/+1 made during the Exploration Phase, only if the owning hero has not been taken Out of Action during the battle. Only Falcon per warband.

Forest Familiar; 20 gc; Availability: Rare 9 (Wild Hunter Only)
Sometimes a curious forest sprite will inhabit the body of a small creature to accompany the Wood Elves; this is usually a sign of a blessing by the forest. A forest familiar may be disguised as any small woodland creature such as: a fox, a squirrel, a ferret, a raccoon, etc. Due to their alert nature, the forest familiar will grant Wild Hunter an additional 2” to his spotting distance to detect hidden enemies. Also, once per game, the fortunate presence of the forest familiar may allow any model within 6” of the Wild Hunter to re-roll one die/dice roll. This re-roll cannot be re-rolled.

Fey Magic List

1. Angering Spites: The wizard summons an anger spirit that appears as a glowing red orb. This spell has a range of 18” and causes one strength 4 hit. It strikes the first model in its path. Armor saves are allowed as normal. Difficulty: 7
    
2. Oakskin: The wizard’s skin takes on the appearance of rigid oak. This spell gives the wizard a 2+ armor save which replaces any other armor save. Difficulty: 7
    
3. Terrifying Spites: The wizard summons up several wailing and horrifying spirits. Choose a friendly model with 8” (including the wizard himself). That model causes Fear for the rest of the battle. This spell may only be successfully cast once per battle. Difficulty: 8
    
4. Fury of the Wild: The wizard calls the primal fury of the forest into his body. The wizard gets +1 movement, +1 attack, +2 strength, and +1 weapon skill. The wizard must take a leadership test at the beginning of each of the wizard’s own turns to maintain; if the test fails, the spell ends. Difficulty: 8
    
5. Ever-Living Resplendence: The wizard summons a powerful force of healing spirits. Any one model within 4” of the wizard (including himself) may be healed. The warrior is restored to his full quota of wounds. This spell may also be used if any friendly model within 4” is stunned or knocked down, they immediately come to their senses, stand up, and continue fighting as normal. Difficulty: 6
    
6. Call of the Hunt: The Spellwalker calls forth a ghostly requiem of sounds and voices of a magnificent hunt that fills his allies with dangerous fervor. One friendly model within 8” of the caster gains +1 to hit and +1 to injury rolls in its next turn of shooting or close combat. Difficulty: 9

Warband Development Progression

Designers Notes

Resources: Mordheimer website, Shadow Elves warband list, Dark Elves warband list, Outlaws of Stirwood warband list, Kislev Ranger rules, Games Workshop website, Mordheim Rule Book, Specialist Games' Forum members (specialist games website): Donnie Darko, The Mordheimer, & Gobbo Freak.