Dark Elves

Grade: 1b
Source: Town Cryer #12 (PDF)
Setting: Lustria

Lore

Many dare not speak of the High Elves’ evil kin, the Druchii, or the Dark Elves as they are better known. They are a race for whom pain and pleasure have been pushed to the ultimate extreme. They leave destruction and despair in their wake and are more greatly feared than the barbaric Orcs and no less so than the tainted forces of Chaos and Undeath. To the victims of the Dark Elves it is the fortunate to whom a quick death is gifted for this twisted folk roam the Known World in search of slaves. The slaves of the Dark Elves are either worked to death in their mines, ripped apart on the altars to Khaine, their dark God, or tortured mercilessly by the Brides of Khaine, the Witch Elves. Dark Elves take a perverse delight in inflicting pain upon others just to see their victims suffer.

Despite their dire reputation for cruelty they are only rivalled as explorers and adventurers by their High Elven cousins. It is the lure of the precious, arcane artefacts of the Slann that bring these foul creatures to Lustria, travelling stealthily in their Black Arks and penetrating deep into the jungle. Dark Elves are adept at stealth and ambush and are well suited to the overgrown realm of the Lizardmen – most warbands don’t even know they’re being attacked until it is too late.

Special rules

Kindred Hatred: The Dark Elves have been fighting the High Elves for many centuries. The wars between these two races have been very long and bloody affairs. Dark Elves Hate any High Elf warriors including High Elf Hired Swords.

Excellent Sight: Elves have eyesight unmatched by mere humans. All the Elves in a Dark Elves Warband can spot Hidden enemies from twice as far away as other warriors (i.e. twice their Initiative in inches).

Black Powder Weapons: Dark Elves may never use black powder weapons as they find them too crude, noisy and unreliable.

Choice of warriors

A Dark Elves 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 12.

• High Born: Each warband must have 1 High Born: no more, no less!
• Beastmasters: Your warband may include up to 1 Beastmaster.
• Fellblades: Your warband may include up to 2 Fellblades.
• Dark Elf Sorceresses: Your warband may include up to 1 Dark Elf Sorceress.
• Corsairs: Your warband may include any number of Corsairs.
• Shades: Your warband may include up to 5 Shades.
• Cold One Beasthounds: Your warband may include up to 2 Cold One Beasthounds.

Starting experience

• The High Born starts with 20 experience.
• The Beastmaster starts with 8 experience.
• Fellblades start with 12 experience.
• The Dark Elf Sorceress starts with 12 experience.
• Henchmen start with 0 experience.

Dark Elves Skill Table

	Combat	Shooting	Academic	Strength	Speed	Special
High Born	✓	✓	✓		✓	✓
Beastmaster	✓				✓	✓
Fellblade	✓				✓	✓
Dark Elf Sorceress			✓		✓	✓

Dark Elves Special Skills

Dark Elves Heroes may use the following Skill table instead of any of the standard Skill tables available to them.

Infiltration

A warrior 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 which infiltrate, roll a D6 for each, and the lowest roll sets up first.

Fury of Khaine

The Dark Elf is infused with an intense raging thirst for blood and is a whirlwind in hand-to-hand combat, moving from opponent to opponent. The Dark Elf may make a 4" follow up move if he takes all of his opponents Out Of Action. If he comes into contact with another enemy this starts a new combat. This new combat takes place in the following turn and the model counts as charging. May not follow up in the opponent’s turn.

Fey Quickness

Few can ever hope to match an Elf’s inhuman quickness and agility. An Elf with Fey Quickness can avoid melee or missile attacks on a roll of 6. If the Elf also has Step Aside or Dodge this will increase to a 4+ in the relevant area. For example, an Elf with Fey Quickness and Step Aside avoids melee attacks on a 4+ and missile attacks on a 6.

Master of Poisons

The Dark Elf is proficient in concocting different poisons. If the Hero doesn’t search for rare items, he may make D3–1 doses of Dark Venom instead. There is a chance of getting none, as the hero doesn’t have access to a stable workplace. The poison must be used in the next battle and cannot be sold or traded to other warbands as the Dark Elves guard their secrets very carefully.

Powerful Build

The warrior is strongly built for an Elf, and is capable of feats of strength not often seen among the people of Ulthuan. A warrior with this skill may choose skills from the Strength skills table from now on. This skill may not be taken by Shadow Weavers. There may never be more than two Elves with this skill in the warband at any one time.

Dark Elves equipment lists

Pricing:

Dark Elf Equipment List

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

Item	Cost
Dagger	1st free/2 gc
Axe	5 gc
Sword	10 gc
Spear	10 gc
Halberd	10 gc
Beastlash	10 gc Beastmaster only
Double-handed weapon	15 gc
Dark Elf Blade	+15gc

Missile Weapons

Item	Cost
Repeater Crossbow	35 gc
Crossbow pistol	35 gc

Armour

Item	Cost
Buckler	5 gc
Shield	5 gc
Helmet	10 gc
Light Armour	20 gc

Miscellaneous

Item	Cost
Dark Venom	15 gc Heroes only
Sea Dragon Cloak	50 gc Heroes and Corsairs only

Shades Equipment List

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

Item	Cost
Dagger	1st free/2 gc
Axe	5 gc
Sword	10 gc

Missile Weapons

Item	Cost
Repeater Crossbow	35 gc

Armour

Item	Cost
Helmet	10 gc
Light Armour	20 gc

Special Equipment

Dark Elves have access to the following special equipment when purchasing items from the Trading Post, outside their starting list:

Beastlash

Cost: 10 + 1D6 gc
Availability: Rare 8

The Beastmaster make good use of their whips to goad their hounds and creatures into combat.

Range: Close Combat
Strength: As user -1

Special Rules

Beastbane: The Beastmaster wielding a Beastlash causes Fear in animals, any animal charged or wishing to charge a Beastmaster with one of these weapons must first take a Fear test as mentioned in the psychology section of the Mordheim rules.

Cannot Be Parried: The Beastlash is a flexible weapon and the Beastmaster use it with great expertise. Attempts to parry its strikes are futile. A model attacked by a Beastlash may not make parries with swords or bucklers.

Whipcrack: When the wielder charges they gain +1A for that turn. This bonus attack is added after any other modifications. When the wielder is charged they gain +1A that they may only use against the charger. This additional attack will ‘strike first'. If the wielder is simultaneously charged by two or more opponents they will still only receive a total of +1A. If the wielder is using two whips at the same time then they get +1A for the additional hand weapon, but only the first whip gets the whipcrack +1A.

Dark Elf Blade

Cost: + 20 gc
Availability: Rare 9

Dark Elf Blades are forged in the city of Hag Graef, the Dark Crag. They are fashioned from Blacksteel, a rare form of steel found deep within the mountains around the city. Dark Elf Blades have wicked protrusions and serrated edges, which inflict serious damage on an opponent. Any Dark Elf can upgrade a sword or dagger to a Dark Elf Blade by paying an additional 20 gc at the time of purchase. Weapons upgraded to a Dark Elf Blade retain all of their abilities (i.e. swords can parry, daggers grant an armour save of 6).

Range: Close Combat
Strength: As user

Special Rules

Critical Damage: Dark Elf Blades inflict serious damage on their opponents. When rolling on the critical hit chart a Dark Elf Blade will add +1 to the result.

Wicked Edge: Dark Elf Blades are set with sharp protrusions and serrated edges which inflict serious damage on an opponent. A roll of 2-4 on the injury table is a Stunned result.

Sea Dragon Cloak

Cost: 50 + 2D6 gc
Availability: Rare 10

Dark Elf Corsairs use special cloaks fashioned from Sea Monsters that dwell deep in the oceans depths. These cloaks are tough and resilient and offer Dark Elves with a very good amount of protection.

Special Rules

Scales: 5+ armour save in close combat, 4+ armour save against missiles.

Armour

It was never fully clarified whether the Sea Dragon Cloak may be combined with armour and shields. Some argue it may not, as the cloak specifies a base armour save, others state that as it is a Miscellaneous Equipment item, it should be possible to combine with a suit of armour, in which case it improves the save by 2 in melee, and 3 versus ranged attacks.

Heroes

1 High Born

70 gold crowns to hire

Dark Elf Leaders are typically drawn from the Dark Elf nobility and lead the warband in search of gold, slaves and arcane artefacts to bring home to Naggaroth. They are cold and ruthless killers and they command the respect of their troops through assassination and terror. They have attained their position of leadership by eliminating rival nobles who stand in their way and through their remarkable cunning, they are dangerous foes who embody the merciless traits of the Druchii race.

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

Weapons/Armour: High Born may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dark Elf Equipment List.

Special Rules

Leader: Any models in the warband within 6" of the High Born may use his Leadership instead of their own.

0 – 1 Beastmaster

45 gold crowns to hire

Whereas the High Elves have a great affinity with Dragons and Griffons and other noble creatures their malevolent kin have infamous Beastmasters, Dark Elves of particularly cruel renown who breed many vicious beasts and lead them into contact. Unlike the High Elves who treat their beasts as companions, the Dark Elf Beastmasters are very spiteful masters.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	5	4	4	3	3	1	6	1	8

Weapons/Armour: Beastmaster may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dark Elf Equipment List.

Special Rules

Cold One Beasthound: The Beastmaster may be accompanied by up to two Cold One Beasthounds, these are bought as henchmen and follow all rules for listed for them.

0 – 2 Fellblades

40 gold crowns to hire

The Fellblades are elite warriors of the Dark Elf armies and are often linked to the household of a particular Noble family. Fellblades live a life of strict martial training, each specialises in a particular weapon and fighting style. Killing is a way of life for these warriors. Enemies can expect no mercy from them. Fellblades accompany raiding parties to Lustria as paid guards or to further hone their killing skills.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	5	5	4	3	3	1	6	1	8

Weapons/Armour: Fellblade may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dark Elf Equipment List.

Special Rules

Melee Specialists: Fellblades live by a strict code of close quarter fighting. Fellblades may not use missile weapons of any sort.

0 – 1 Dark Elf Sorceress

55 gold crowns to hire

Dark Elves are strange in that apart from the fell Witch King there are no other male sorcerers, all the other practitioners of magic in the Dark Elf race are female. It is rumoured that any males who do develop an affinity for magic amongst the Dark Elves are immediately put to death to fulfil some dark prophecy. Dark Elf Sorceresses are mysterious, raven haired beauties who are grudgingly respected even from the powerful High Born and their services are high in demand.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	5	4	4	3	3	1	6	1	8

Weapons/Armour: Dark Elf Sorceress may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dark Elf Equipment List.

Special Rules

Wizard: The Dark Elf Sorceress is a wizard and uses Dark Elf Magic.

Henchmen

(Bought in groups of 1-5)

Corsairs

35 gold crowns to hire

The Dark Elves are cruel and fierce fighters. This is especially true of the Corsairs – the Black Ark Raiders. They are skilled with sword and axe, as well as the repeater crossbow, the distinct missile weapon of the Dark Elves. Whenever a Black Ark explores the coast of Lustria the Corsairs are the first to launch raiding parties.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	5	4	4	3	3	1	6	1	8

Weapons/Armour: Corsair may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Dark Elf Equipment List.

0 – 5 Shades

30 gold crowns to hire

The stealthy Dark Elf Scouts rely on their repeater crossbows to harass and snipe at the enemy, rather than engaging them head on as ambush is the preferred style of fighting. Shades are young and inexperienced scouts that see the expeditions to Lustria as a valuable training opportunity.

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

Weapons/Armour: Shade may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Shades Equipment List.

Special Rules

Natural Stealth: The first thing that Dark Elf Scouts master is the art of moving without being seen or heard. If a Dark Elf is Hiding, enemy models suffer -1 to their Initiative value for determining if they can detect him.

0 – 2 Cold One Beasthounds

30 gold crowns to hire

The Dark Elves capture and breed many exotic creatures to fight for them and fights between pets are often staged as a form of entertainment amongst the Dark Elves. One such animal was discovered in Lustria. Distantly related to Cold Ones, the Cold One Beasthound lives in swamps and bogs. Cold One Beasthounds are larger than war dogs and of similar build but are in all other respects reptilian. Rows of sharp teeth fill its maw, and when provoked, the Cold One Beasthound is a very aggressive beast. The Dark Elves capture and train these creatures to fight in battles all over the Warhammer world.

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

Weapons/Armour: Cold One Beasthounds are animals and do not need any weapons save their claws and massive jaws.

Special Rules

Animals: Cold One Beasthounds are animals and all animal rules apply to them, they never gain experience.

Beastmaster: Cold One Beasthounds are nasty viscous brutes that are barely kept under control. If the Beastmaster dies the beasts will immediately escape from the warband and they are removed from the warband roster. If the Beastmaster is unable to participate in a battle, then neither will the beasts.

Stupidity: Cold One Beasthounds may use the basic Leadership of the Beastmaster if they are within 6" of him. They may never use the Leadership of the warband leader, nor may they benefit from the Beastmaster’s increased Leadership if he is within 6" of the leader.

Scaly Skin: Cold One Beasthounds have tough scaly skin, and are considered to have a 6+ armour save. This save cannot be modified beyond 6 due to strength modifiers but any result of ‘no save’ on the Critical Hit chart will negate the unmodified 6+ save.

Fear: Cold One Beasthounds cause Fear.

Dark Elf Magic

The Dark Elves are as accomplished practitioners of magic as their arch enemies the High Elves but whereas the High Elves essentially use magic defensively and for the power of good, the Dark Elves utilise the evil powers of Dark Magic a very destructive force indeed.

Dark Elf Magic is used by Dark Elves Dark Elf Sorceress

D6	Result
1	Doombolt
2	Word of Pain
3	Soul Stealer
4	Flamesword
5	Deathspasm
6	Witch Flight

Doombolt

Difficulty: 9

Whispering an ancient incantation the Sorceress conjures a bolt of pure dark energy and unleashes it from her outstretched hand.

The bolt of doom may be targeted at any enemy model in line of sight. The Doombolt has an 18" range and causes a Strength 5 hit. If the target model is wounded, then the next closest model within 6" is also hit on a 4+, at -1 Strength than the previous hit. The bolt will keep leaping until there are no more targets within range or until its Strength drops to a one. Each model can only be hit by a bolt once per turn. Take armour saves as normal.

Word of Pain

Difficulty: 8

The Sorceress calls the curse of the Witch King down on his enemy reducing their willingness to fight.

The spell may be cast at an enemy model within 12". The victim must re-roll all successful hand to hand or missile attacks and all to wound rolls. If the victim wishes to charge, he must pass a successful Leadership test first. Lasts until the beginning of the next Dark Elf turn.

Soul Stealer

Difficulty: 9

At the Sorceress’s touch, the essence of life is drained from her enemy and absorbed into her body giving him renewed strength and vigour.

Once successfully cast, the Sorceress must make a to hit roll against a model in base contact. If the attack hits, the opponent suffers a wound with no armour save possible. The Sorceress feeds on this life-force and adds one wound to her profile. The Sorceress can never have more than one extra wound from this spell and the extra wound is lost at the end of the battle.

Flamesword

Difficulty: 8

Summoning Dark Magic the Sorceress engulfs a weapon in twisted black flames.

The Sorceress may choose the hand-to-hand combat weapon of a member of her warband within 6" to be engulfed in flames. The weapon acts as normal but grants +2 Strength and ignores armour saves. The spell lasts until the Sorceress’ next shooting phase.

Deathspasm

Difficulty: 10

The Sorceress channels Dark Magic into her enemy, causing him to writhe in excruciating pain.

The Deathspasm has a range of 6" and must be cast on the closest enemy model. The affected model must roll on the injury chart. If successfully cast, the casting Sorceress is immediately knocked down.

Witch Flight

Difficulty: 7

The Sorceress bends the winds of magic to her will and flies through the air.

The Sorceress may immediately move anywhere within 12" and may count as charging. If she engages a fleeing enemy in the close combat phase she will score 1 automatic hit and the opponent will flee again.