Arabian Tomb Raiders

Grade: 1b
Source: Town Cryer #20 (PDF)
Setting: Khemri

Lore

The nomads of Araby live on the fringes of the great desert Araby, to the west of the Land of the Dead. There are a few scattered towns and settlements, but the nomad tribesmen shun these places in favor of a wandering lifestyle. The nomad tribes of Araby have been living in the deep deserts for centuries, their realms dictated by the life-giving oases. There are hundreds of different tribes of nomads — the Tuareg, the Dervishes, the northern Fuzzywuzzies, the Al’Rahem, and the near-legendary Muktarhin, to mention but a few.

Although they have a very fastidious code of honor between them, which to many Old Worlders would appear almost ritualistic, many bitter rivalries and blood feuds often flare up between tribes over the slightest of things. These blood feuds are so brutal they can last for generations and make a Tilean vendetta seem like a child’s argument over a broken toy! A strange people by all accounts and with many bizarre customs and superstitions, they are difficult people to deal with, especially for Old Worlders whom they view with suspicion and dislike.

They are, however, masters of desert survival, and any Old Worlder explorer hoping to survive in the unforgiving deserts of their land will need a nomad guide just to stay alive. These hardy people can live in the deep desert for months, traveling from oasis to oasis, navigating using the stars and knowing how to avoid the worst dangers of the desert. Nomads are also justly feared as raiders and bandits because in their culture, stealing is a just and righteous thing to do so long as it is from a rival tribe. Theft within the tribe is most harshly dealt with.

Some nomadic tribes occasionally wander into the Lands of the Dead, but this is rare and mainly because they have become lost in a freak sandstorm. Generally speaking, even Nomads will not travel for long within these dread lands, for theirs is an ancient people whose ancestors once traded with the Nehekharans before the catastrophe. Tales and songs are passed down through generations, warning the tribe of the fall of the kingdoms of the west and of the curse of the one they call Nagash the Black. For this reason, they seldom venture too close to the legendary cities of the Tomb Kings. Sometimes, though, a young sheikh eager to prove his worth in the tales of his people will seek out knowledge of the Land of the Dead so that he may claim a name for himself and discover untold riches. Needless to say, many of these reckless individuals and their bands of loyal followers are never seen or heard of again...

Special rules

Hate Undead: The men of Araby have suffered heavily at the hands (or should that be claws!) of the Tomb King’s armies in the Land of the Dead. Therefore, Araby Nomad Heroes hate all Undead.

Choice of warriors

A Arabian Tomb Raiders warband must include a minimum of three models. You have 500 gold crowns available to spend. The maximum number of warriors in the warband may never exceed 15.

• Sheikhs: Each warband must have 1 Sheikh: no more, no less!
• Champions: Your warband may include up to 2 Champions.
• Mystics: Your warband may include up to 1 Mystic.
• Bedouins: Your warband may include up to 2 Bedouins.
• Nomad Warriors: Your warband may include any number of Nomad Warriors.
• Slaves: Your warband may include up to 5 Slaves.

Starting experience

• The Sheikh starts with 20 experience.
• Champions start with 8 experience.
• The Mystic starts with 8 experience.
• Henchmen start with 0 experience.

Arabian Tomb Raiders Skill Table

	Combat	Shooting	Academic	Strength	Speed	Special
Sheikh	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Champion	✓			✓	✓	✓
Mystic			✓		✓	✓

Arabian Tomb Raiders Special Skills

Arabian Tomb Raiders Heroes may use the following Skill table instead of any of the standard Skill tables available to them.

Sand Worm

The warrior can bury himself in sand and become almost undetectable. The model can hide in open ground. Cannot be used inside buildings.

Hit and Run

The warrior can run and shoot but suffer -2 to hit instead of the -1 to hit for moving.

Weather Tolerant

The warrior has grown so used to the weather it doesn't even affect him anymore. Weather conditions such as heat and such no longer affect this model.

Arabian Tomb Raiders equipment lists

Pricing:

Warrior equipment list

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

Item	Cost
Jambiya (Dagger)	1st free/2 gc
Club, Mace or Hammer	3 gc
Scimitar (Sword)	10 gc
Spear	10 gc
Flail	15 gc
Double-handed weapon	15 gc

Missile Weapons

Item	Cost
Shortbow (Short Bow)	5 gc
Bow	10 gc
Tufenk	15 gc
Handgun	35 gc

Armour

Item	Cost
Shield	5 gc
Buckler	5 gc
Helmet	10 gc
Light Armour	50 gc

Slave equipment list

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

Item	Cost
Jambiya (Dagger)	1st free/2 gc
Club, Mace or Hammer	3 gc
Katar	5 gc
Scimitar (Sword)	10 gc
Spear	10 gc

Missile Weapons

None.

Armour

Item	Cost
Shield	5 gc

Heroes

1 Sheikh

60 gold crowns to hire

The Sheikh is the undisputed leader of the warband. The Sheikh is a hardened warrior living in the burning hell of the desert and having to constantly fight off bandits, members of other rival tribes, and of course, the evil Undead. He is often also the head of the tribe, respected and trusted by his fellow tribesmen. To all the Nomads, the Sheikh’s word is law, and they obey without question, such is their custom. Only very rarely will another member of the tribe, who is of noble birth, challenge the Sheikh’s leadership and then single combat is fought to determine who has the divine right to lead the tribe.

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

Weapons/Armour: Sheikh may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Warrior equipment list.

Special Rules

Leader: The Sheikh is the leader of the Warband and any Tomb Raiders within 6" may use his Leadership characteristic for any Leadership tests.

0 – 2 Champions

40 gold crowns to hire

Noble relatives of the Sheikh’s family are fanatically loyal to him and give him the necessary support and muscle when needed. The Champion keeps the rest of the Warband in line, disciplines those who have offended the Sheikh, divides up the booty (after the Sheikh has taken his chosen share, of course), and tells tall tales by the fireside to ensure the warband’s morale and respect for him. Needless to say, the Champion needs to be a tough fighter if he is to lead by example.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	4	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

Weapons/Armour: Champion may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Warrior equipment list.

0 – 1 Mystic

40 gold crowns to hire

In the distant past, the Arabians were renowned for their studies in the magical arts, whether they were originally taught by the Elves, as were the men of the Old World, is not known. The wisemen of Araby have mastered a strange aspect of color magic, known as Elementalism, which is based on the four primary elements: earth, wind, fire, and water. Unlike the flamboyant and fabulously wealthy sorcerers of the cities, the mystics of the nomadic tribes are more shamanic and are revered by their fellow tribesmen. These scholars are an integral part of the tribe and take a great part in guiding and motivating the tribe as a whole.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	2	2	3	3	1	3	1	7

Weapons/Armour: Mystic may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Warrior equipment list.

Special Rules

Wizard: A Mystic is a Wizard. He uses spells from the Elemental Magic list. He starts with a single spell chosen at random from the list.

Henchmen

(Bought in groups of 1-5)

0 – 2 Bedouins

35 gold crowns to hire

Bedouins are nomadic tribesmen who live on the outskirts of tribal life as the tribesmen themselves do with the rest of civilization. Loners by nature, they are experts in desert craft and make excellent scouts and guides for their tribe or outsiders who are willing to pay enough for their services.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

Weapons/Armour: Bedouin may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Warrior equipment list.

Special Rules

Desert Trader: Add +1 to your search for Equipping/Trading result. Note that you only get +1 even if you have two Bedouins.

Nomad Warriors

25 gold crowns to hire

All the males of the tribe are warriors first and foremost; some may be talented in the crafts of weaving or weapon smithing, but all are brought up from an early age in the use of weapons, primarily the bow and the scimitar. These people are hardy, being used to living in the harsh conditions of the desert. They are also a very superstitious people, and their trust is very hard to gain, especially for outsiders. Many are members of the Sheikh’s extended family, and their loyalty is unquestioned.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

Weapons/Armour: Nomad Warrior may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Warrior equipment list.

0 – 5 Slaves

15 gold crowns to hire

Slavery is rife in Araby, and indeed the slave markets of Al-Haikk or Lashiek are a testament to this. Many Old Worlders look upon the Arabians with a great deal of contempt and see them as nothing more than barbarians. Nomads look upon slaves as nothing more than a commodity. Most slaves are those taken captive from other tribes, and theirs is a short and often brutal existence. When it comes to battle, they are unmotivated and make poor fighters.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	2	2	3	3	1	3	1	6

Weapons/Armour: Slave may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Slave equipment list.

Special Rules

Life of Slavery: A Slave may gain experience, but if he rolls Lad’s got Talent, the leader executes the Slave, and he is removed from the roster. The rest of the group may then re-roll their advance.

Arabian Elemental Magic

The magic of the Djinn is a rare, almost lost, art among men. It is the preserve of the Djinn of the deep desert and of those Djinn unfortunate enough to be captured.

Arabian Elemental Magic are used by Arabian Tomb Raiders Mystic, Khar-mel The Djinn

D6	Result
1	Riding the Wind
2	Skin of Stone
3	Burning Hand
4	Quicksand
5	Storm of Magic
6	Blessing of the Elements

Riding the Wind

Difficulty: 6

.

This spell is cast at the beginning of the caster’s Movement phase. The caster may move up to 12+D6" anywhere on the battlefield, ignoring any intervening terrain; this counts as the caster’s movement for that turn. This spell may not be used to move the caster into base contact with an enemy warrior, but the caster may shoot as normal (with a -1 penalty for having moved).

Skin of Stone

Difficulty: 7

Calling upon the Element of the Earth, the caster is able to make a warrior’s skin become as hard as stone.

This spell may be cast on any friendly warrior within 6". The target gains +2 to his armour save but suffers a -1 penalty to Initiative. The spell may be maintained each turn, providing the affected warrior remains within 6" of the caster and the caster can pass a Difficulty test. If the caster is more than 6" away from the affected warrior in the Recovery phase, the spell cannot be maintained and wears off. Only one warrior may be affected by a Stone Skin spell at any one time, although the caster is free to cast other spells while maintaining the Stone Skin.

Burning Hand

Difficulty: 8

By invoking the Element of Fire, one of the caster’s hands becomes a burning bolt which he can use to smite his enemies.

This spell is cast at the beginning of the Combat phase. The caster may sacrifice all of his normal attacks to make one hand-to-hand attack at Strength 5, causing 2 wounds. If the enemy warrior is successfully hit, he is set on fire on a roll of 4+. This spell lasts for one round only.

Quicksand

Difficulty: 6

By invoking the Element of Water, water rises from the very rocks and sand and turns the ground to quicksand.

This spell is cast at any warrior within 6". The water floods the area for 3" around the targeted warrior. The effect lasts until the beginning of the caster’s next Recovery phase. All warriors within the quicksand must pass a Strength test or be unable to move. Warriors in combat cannot attack but may defend themselves.

Storm of Magic

Difficulty: 9

By breaching the very fabric of reality, the caster is able to summon a bolt of pure magical energy.

The caster may target any warrior within 12". If the spell is successfully cast, the target is struck by a bolt of energy and takes one S5 hit. Armour saves may be taken as normal.

Blessing of the Elements

Difficulty: 6

The caster calls on the elements of the desert and draws upon the fortune they can bestow.

In the post-battle sequence, the player may re-roll any one dice or modify one dice by +1/-1. If the caster was taken out of action, this spell may not be cast.