to the fifth

e lcome
W
hsworn Journal
Oat

Hello and welcome to the fifth Oathsworn Journal, an irregular PDF publication containing
random stuff for fans of Oathsworn’s miniatures and games. It’s a non-stop Burrows & Badgers
festival this issue, with some rules for games in marshy terrain, rules for adding flavour to your
heroes, rules for new magic items, rules for adding non-player characters to your battles, a short
story, and not one, not two, but three new warband Allegiances, including three new Spell lists!
Don’t say we’re not good to you...

As ever with Journal stuff, this is all very new, and as I do more testing, any rules may well
change. But if you fancy trying out something new, give them a go, and then let us know how you
get on! All feedback is gratefully received.

Page 3. Special Magic Items. Rules for some more unusual magical equipment.

Page 5. Getting Bogged Down. Swamps and marshes in Burrows & Badgers.

Page 6. Way out in front. A chart for nerfing those runaway Campaign leaders...

Page 7. Flawed Heroes. Giving your starting Leaders a boost, but with downsides...

Page 9. Rules for the new Street Gang Warband Allegiance. For Burrows & Badgers.

Page 11. Rules for the new City Watch Warband Allegiance. For Burrows & Badgers.

Page 12. The Satisfaction of a Job Well Done. A bit of short fiction set in New Castle.

Page 16. The not-Empty Battlefield. NPCs for Burrows & Badgers.

Page 18. Rules for the new Arcane Conclave Warband Allegiance. For Burrows & Badgers.

Page 18. New Cunning Skills. For Burrows & Badgers.

Page 19. Fate Weaver Spells. For Burrows & Badgers.

Page 20. Illusionist Spells. For Burrows & Badgers.

Page 21. Elementalist Spells. For Burrows & Badgers.

 al
Speci
c Items
Magi
The ‘standard’ Magic Items chart in the rulebook is a fun way of generating some very random special
gear for your characters, from Rings of Protection, to flaming longswords. But if fantasy literature has
taught me anything, it’s that magical items are often to good to be true; they’re powerful, but often as dan-
gerous to the wielder as they are to the foe…

So, here’s an alternative Magic Items chart! You can either use it to replace the normal one, or on a d6 roll
of 1-3 use this, and a roll of 4-6 use the normal one, or you can ignore it altogether, as though it were no
more than the inane ramblings of an overly tired games designer.

Special Magic Items chart

Magic items take various forms, from ensorcelled Staffs that give great power to the Wizards who wield
them, through rings and necklaces imbued with bound spells, to weapons and armour that carry en-
chantments and the spirits of the fae folk within them. But the enchantments come with a cost, that may
be more than you want to pay…

Such unusual and rare items are difficult to price; as a result their costs vary widely. In addition, sellers
may often be unaware of the power of the item, and try to sell it for less (or more!) than its true worth.
Regardless of the item type or power, it costs 3d20 pennies.

Roll a d12

1 The Armour of Ultimate Protection – this Light Armour gives Tough (6) instead of the usual
bonus. However, the user’s Move is reduced to d3 while they are wearing it. So they may only move 3” for
every Move, and roll a d3 (roll a d6 and halve it, rounding up) when in Difficult Terrain.

2 The Thirsting Blade - A one-handed sword, which endlessly thirsts for blood. Any time this
weapon causes one or more Wounds to an enemy, heal Wounds equal to those caused to the user (pro-
vided they have Wounds which need healing). But, at the start of each and every Turn, the user suffers 2
Wounds, unmodified by Armour or Tough Skills!

3 The Axe of Slaughter – a double handed axe, containing a bound spirit of violence and bloodshed,
and it doesn’t care who’s hurt, so long as somebeast is! The Axe gives a +3 bonus to Strike Roll-offs, but
also a -3 penalty to Block Roll-offs.

4 The Belt of Balmorr - This Item adds +4 to any Nimbleness Roll-offs the user makes, and adds
three inches to any Move actions. However, the user MUST move at least 3” per Turn, and cannot remain
stationary.
5 The Master’s Bow – adds +2 to any Shoot Roll-offs. However, the Bow doesn’t like poor archers –
if you roll a 1 when Shooting, the Bow causes you d12 Wounds, unmodified by Armour or Tough Skills.

6 Haldyn’s Staff – the staff used by the great mage Haldyn the Dominant, adds +4 to any Cast Spell
Roll-off, and any Roll-offs to resist enemy magic. However, if any of those rolls are a 1, then the remnants
of Haldyn spirit take control of the user; your opponent may immediately use your character to perform
one Action!

7 The Tome of All-knowing – a Magic-user carrying this tome may make Cast Spell Actions using
Spells they do not know, from schools of magic they do not normally have access to. Any spell, basically!
However, when casting a spell you don’t know, a roll of 1 on the Cast Spell Roll-off results in the character
going immediately Out of Action.

8 The Father of Swords – a mighty two handed blade forged of meteoric iron, this weapon adds +2
to any Strike Roll-offs, and ignores any Tough gain by Armour or enchantments. However, the user can-
not wear any Armour at all.

9 The Serpent’s Ring – this Item contains the bound spirits of several rare and exotic serpents. Every
time the wearer causes one or more Wounds upon an enemy, roll a d4. On a roll of 4, add the effects of
Mortal Poison to the Wounds caused. On a roll of 3, add the effects of Paralysing Poison to the Wounds
caused. On a roll of 2, add the effects of Pain Poison to the Wounds caused. On a roll of 1, the user suffers
d6 Wounds, unmodified by Armour or Tough Skills, and counts as Paralysed for the rest of the Turn (ie
cannot roll Block or Nimbleness dice).

10 Selnab’s Necklace of Might and Frailty. Item. When the user declares an Action, they may roll a d6
and increase their Strong Skill by that amount. However, they also receive the same amount of the Deli-
cate Skill. Lasts until the end of the Turn.

11 The Shield of Attraction. This Shield functions as a normal Light Shield, and gives a +2 bonus to
Nimbleness Roll-offs against Shooting. However, any Shoot Action made at a character (by either War-
band) within 6” of the user is automatically re-routed to target the user instead!

12 The Ring of Resistance. Item. This ring makes the user totally invulnerable to any Spell effects
during the game. However, they are immune to ALL Spell effects, even those cast by their own Warband.
They are also not able to benefit from Talismans, Lucky Charms, or Healing Potions.
 Getting
bogged down…
While Northymbra has cities, towns and villages, as well as moorland, heaths and forests, it also has lots of
fens, marshes and bogs. Wildling clans live among them, bands of rogues hide out in them, and from time
to time, a couple of Warbands might just have a fight in them!
There are two ways to use marshes in your games. You can have specific pieces of Terrain modelled to
represent them, with a bit of water effects and a few reeds, for example. Then you would apply the core
‘Swampy Ground’ rules to those bits of Terrain. Or you could decide that the whole table is marshland,
and apply all the rules below. You could even have a game with no Terrain on the table at all, because these
rules will affect things like Line of Sight and Ranges anyway. You might have to ignore a few of the Second-
ary Objectives though, as some require bits of terrain. But for a straight battle, it’ll work!
For small sections of boggy terrain, just use the Swampy Ground rule. For whole tables, use them all!

Swampy Ground The ground is slippery and treacherous; all Movement is counted as Difficult, even for
Wildbeasts. All Nimbleness Rolls are subject to a -2 modifier.
Drifting Mists Visibility is very limited. Each time a model needs to use Line of Sight, or charges an
enemy, roll their Awareness and add 6; this is the distance in inches they can see at that time. If the target is
further away, they cannot be seen, and the Action fails. All Concealment Rolls gain a +3 modifier.

Sinking Any time a character rolls a 1 on any dice roll, they have started to sink in a particularly deep
part of the marsh. Before they make another Action, they must try to clamber free from the deep bog first,
by making a Nimbleness Roll-off against a Target of 3 (but remember the -2 modifier to Nimbleness Rolls
because of the Swampy Ground rule!) If the character has a Rope & Hook, or if a friendly model within 6”
has a Rope and Hook, they may re-roll their Nimbleness dice.
If they pass, they escape the bog, and may carry out their Action. If they fail, they remain in the boggy
hole, and may not Act this Turn. They may try again next Turn. If they roll a 1 on the Nimbleness Roll-off,
they sink even further and go Out-of-Action.

Drowning (optional) Depending on how ruthless you are feeling, you can use this rule for characters
that roll a 1 on the Nimbleness Roll-off to climb out of the boggy hole…
Instead of going Out-of-Action, the character sinks beneath the surface and begins to drown. They take
d4 Wounds per Turn, plus one for each point of Tough they have from Armour. If they run out of Wounds
before the game ends, they are dead!
Other characters can try to pull them out; any friendly model can spend their Action attempting a Rescue.
They may make one Move, which must end within 3” of the Drowning model. Then roll a d6, and add
any Strong Skill the model has (not any added by weapons, of course!). A model with a Rope and Hook
may re-roll the d6 for any Rescue attempts, if they wish. If the result is 5+, they have pulled the Drowning
model out, and they may Act normally next Turn.
 Way out
in front…
Sometimes when you’re playing a campaign, one Warband does really well, and ends up much more pow-
erful than the rest. Runaway leaders in campaigns can be difficult to beat, and this can inevitably lead to
some players wondering way they turned up to the battle…
In the Burrows & Badgers rulebook, we have rules for extra Fate Points and extra Experience for the
weaker Warband when there’s a significant difference in the Warband Ratings. And in The Warren Percy
Affair, we added the option to take special characters to help out. Here, we’ve got another possible option,
inspired by the ‘Acts of the Gods’ chart in The Dillendorf Agreement (which is very, very nearly finished,
honestly!)

There’s no hard-and-fast rule for when this kind of intervention is necessary; things like one Warband
having a Rating 100 points higher than the rest, or having characters with d20 Stats, or having ten tooled-
up characters, or a having a multi-game winning streak are all possible reasons to use this chart. But really,
the players need to decide amongst themselves – the game needs to be fun for all players, so be as accom-
modating as you can!

So, if one player is running away with a campaign, they should roll a d6 on this chart before the game.
And if they’re really dominating, make it three rolls! ;)
1 Assault – Drinking with off-duty soldiers is rarely a good idea… Each character in the Warband rolls a
d6, and starts the next Battle with that many wounds already marked off on their Rosters.

2 Delays – Bad weather, oversleeping, lost equipment, or just plain bad luck… Roll a d4 for each charac-
ter in the Warband. During their next Battle, each character deploys on the table at the start of the Turn
indicated by the d4 roll. (ie, a roll of 3 means that character deploys on the table at the start of Turn 3).
Use normal deployment rules for any characters arriving on Turn One; any who arrive later must deploy
touching the table edge, within 6” of their Warband’s table corner.

3 Training Injuries – you need to keep on top form to survive, but even training carries risks… The
character in the Warband with the highest Strike Stat rolls d4+3 (i.e. possible results of 4 to 7) on the Per-
manent Injuries chart and suffers that Injury for the next Battle (and only the next battle; it’s a temporary
injury.)

4 Breakages – Sometimes, your gear just wears out at the worst possible moment… In the next Battle, at
the start of Turn One, randomly select one piece of Equipment carried by each of the Warband’s charac-
ters. Roll a d6 and apply it to the character’s Equipment list; a roll of 1 is ‘Weapon 1’, a roll of 2 is ‘Weapon
2’, a roll of 3 is ‘Armour 1’, 4 is ‘Armour 2’, 5 is ‘Item’, and a roll of 6 is ‘Special’.
That piece of Equipment has been damaged, and cannot be used in this battle. If there is no piece of
Equipment in the slot indicated by the d6 roll, then that character is unaffected.

5 Slipped a Mickey Finn… If the Attacking Warband has a Mage, they have been drugged; both their
Fortitude and Presence are reduced to d6 for this Battle. If they have more than one Mage, the Defender
picks which one is drugged. If they have no Mage, their Leader is drugged instead!

6 A hail of lead shot… Roll a d20; the Warband’s Leader starts this Battle with that many Wounds already
marked off on their Roster. If the roll is 17 to 20, they are counted as Out of Action!
 FlaweHd
eroes
At the beginning of any campaign, the Leader of your Warband is always a slightly better hero than the
rest of your band, due to the starting bonuses they get. But people often like to have them be more experi-
enced, powerful characters with loads of Skills and cool equipment. Which does sound fun, but might be
a little bit unbalanced… so here’s an idea! Introducing the Flawed Hero; load them up with as many Skills
and Stat increases as you like. But they come with a downside...

In addition to your Leader’s normal bonuses, you may also take any or all of the following bonuses:

You may increase one Stat by one dice level (ie. a d6 Stat becomes a d8), up to a maximum of d12.

You may pick one Skill.

You may make one roll on the Magic Items Chart.

For every one of these that you pick, you must also roll a d20 on the following chart, and suffer
the consequences:
1 Roll twice!

2 To the Death. This Leader refuses to be beaten, and will never run from battle. The Warband cannot make Voluntary Routs,
and if the Warband fails a Rout Roll-off, then the Leader remains on the table, alone, and must continue the game.

3 Loses Control. This Leader is subject to uncontrollable rages. They have the Berserk Skill, but once Berserk, if there are no
enemy models within 12” when the make an Action, they will treat the nearest friendly model as an enemy instead!

4 Haunted. This Leader has had a traumatic past; perhaps the horrors of war weigh heavily on them, or they have lost too many
good friends. Or maybe they’re actually haunted, by some vile spirit! Anytime this character rolls a 1, they are Paralysed for the
rest of the Turn, and may not Move or roll Nimbleness or Block dice.

5 Untrusting. This Leader has been betrayed so often, they won’t let anyone get close. No friendly models can Move closer than
2” away from this character, nor can this character ever Move closer than 2” to any friendly models.

6 Mage-cursed. This Leader has suffered the curses of a powerful lich, and is vulnerable to the uncanny powers. Any Roll-offs
against enemy Spells have a -3 modifier, and anytime this character takes Wounds from a Spell, they suffer two extra Wounds.

7 Poor Healer. This Leader has an unusual resistance to healing magic. They may never benefit from the Heal, Cure or Chan-
neling Spells, or Healing Potions.

8 Honourbound. This Leader is a stickler for honourable combat. They may never make Hide Actions, will never Ambush, and
if in Base Contact with an enemy, may not Move out of Base Contact.

9 Intoxicated. This Leader has an addiction, whether to strong drink, or some kind of narcotic substance, and they are con-
stantly intoxicated. All Movement by this character is treated as if in Difficult Terrain, even if the Warband has the Wildbeast
Allegiance. However, they also receive the Enduring Skill.

10 Overconfident. This Leader has a very high opinion of their combat abilities, and often leave themselves vulnerable to
counter-attack. The character adds +1 to all Strike Rolls, but suffers a -2 penalty to all Block Rolls.

11 Simple Tastes. This Leader despises ostentation and believes only in using plain, common gear. The character may never be
given Rare Items (so no Poisons, Relics, Master-smithed gear, Arcane Tomes or Magic Items!)

12 Weak Constitution. This Leader has a sickly constitution, and is vulnerable to severe injuries. Any rolls they make on the
Permanent Injuries chart have a -3 modifier.

13 Fear of Heights. This Leader was born underground, and thinks coming up to the surface is about as high as any beast
should go. If the character has to climb, they must make a Fortitude Roll-off against the height they will Move (ie. the character
wishes to climb 4”, then they make a Fortitude Roll-off against a Target of 4.) If the Roll-off is failed, the character panics, and is
Paralysed for the rest of the Turn, and may not Move or roll Nimbleness or Block dice.

14 Mage Hater. This Leader despises those who dabble in the Arcane, and will have nothing to do with them. The Warband
cannot ever have any Magic-users!

15 Always Second-best. This Leader never quite reaches the heights of brilliance that other beasts do. The character does not
benefit from the Perfect Roll rule.

16 Ignored by the Fates. This Leader seems to be unaffected by the vagaries of luck and chance that often benefit others. This
character may never use Fate points for any of their rolls.

17 Hatred. This Leader has suffered greatly at the paws of a particular species, and it has given them a deep and abiding hatred.
Roll a d6 on the chart below; that Species can never be hired in this character’s Warband, and if an enemy of that Species is
within one Move when this character declares an Action, they MUST declare an Attack Action on that enemy model.
1. Badger 2. Hound 3. Fox 4. Rat (Black and Brown) 5. Raptor 6. Mouse Note – if it’s the same Species as the Leader, re-roll!

18 Prone to Injury. This Leader suffers a lot of recurring problems. Before each game you must roll a d4+3 (i.e. possible results
of 4 to 7) on the Permanent Injuries chart and this character suffers that Injury for the game (and only for that game; it’s a tem-
porary injury!)

19 Old War-Wound. This Leader took a bad wound a year or two ago. Make a roll of d10+3 (i.e. possible results of 4 to 13) on
the Permanent Injuries chart. This characters recieves that Injury.

20 Pick one.
 A Street Gang is effectively a bunch of rogues,
t Gangs
Stree
and you can easily use the Rogues Allegiance
to represent them. But if you want something
Allegiance a little out of the ordinary, here’s some bespoke
rules… full disclosure; I’ve not tried them yet!
They may be completely unworkable. But I hope
they’ll be fun!
The Kingdoms of Albion are variously ruled by kings, barons, clan chiefs, councils and many other forms
of government. But beneath the bureaucracy, criminal gangs have their own fiefdoms and territories, with
their paws in trade, smuggling, money laundering, and protection rackets, in many cases effectively being
the rulers of the local patch. A Street Gang Warband is a little different to most Allegiances, and so is not
recommended for inexperienced players.

Innocent until proven guilty. All models in Street Gang Warband start every game as Hidden. They
may make Sprint, Search and Cast Spell Actions (BUT only spells that effect their own Warband, not spells
that effect the enemy) and remain Hidden. This happens wherever they are on the board, even if they are
standing in full view.

The idea is not that they are actually hidden; just that they are regarded as innocent bystanders. So the
Hidden status reflects that, and keeps them protected – and yes, they may Ambush!

Whenever a Street Gang model who is Hidden makes an Attack, Shoot, Ambush or Cast Spell Action
(against an enemy model), that Street Gang model immediately loses their Hidden condition, and are
from then on treated normally for the rest of the game.

Lightly equipped. Street Gang members need to look like innocent bystanders; so they may only use
Light Armour and Bucklers from the Armour choices. They may use any weapons though; after all, they
could just be a gunsmith’s assistant, taking that blunderbus back to be cleaned...

All Street Gang members start with the Skill - Light Fingers.

Skill (Cunning) – Light fingers

When in Base Contact with an enemy and Hidden, you can make a Nimbleness vs Awareness Roll-off, to
try and pick their pocket. If you fail, you lose your Hidden condition, and you can do nothing else that
Turn, apart from rolling Block and Nimbleness dice against enemy attacks.

If you succeed, roll a d6.

A roll of 1 to 4 gains you d12 pennies. A roll of 5 lets you take whatever they have in their ‘Item’ Equip-
ment slot, and a roll of 6 lets you take whatever they have in their ‘Special’ Equipment slot.
Magic – Street Gang Magic Users may choose from the Natural, Dark, Noble, and Unbound Spell lists.

Den - Tavern. Your band of miscreants have holed up in the cellars of a local tavern. There is a steady
supply of ale and mead, plus various foodstuffs; your warband does not have to pay Upkeep costs.
Your Den does not start with any Upgrades.

Scenario Idea – You’ve got to pick a pocket or two…

If you have a Street Gang warband, and your opponent is willing, you could do a straightforward theiving
game. Have your opponent’s Leader carry some special trinket in their ‘Special’ Equipment slot, and the
Street Gang have to pickpocket it. Maybe use the NPC rules (later in this issue) and have the game end if 6
or more City Watch arrive.
The Street Gang win if they steal the trinket, or at least 30 pennies, before 6 or more City Watch arrive. The
opposing player wins if they keep the trinket, or if they take 3 or more Street Gang models Out of Action.

I’m going to give it a try, and if it’s any good, I’ll write it up properly as a Scenario!
 atch
Cit y W
Allegiance
The easiest way to represent a City or Town Watch is just to use the Royalist Allegiance. But for a more fla-
vourful approach, try the rules below. They’re a bit more complicated, so are aimed at experienced players
– if you’re new to Burrows & Badgers, stick with the Allegiances in the main rulebook to begin with.

Most cities and towns in Northymbra employ Watch-beasts to defend the populace and uphold the law.
Watch-beasts are often recruited from among retired military personnel, and many a City Watch is made
up entirely of veterans; with all the skills, and the old injuries, to show for it! But young beasts looking for
work will often sign up too. While life in the Watch doesn’t have the cachet of the Royal Army, there’s a
much lower chance of winding up dead on a battlefield. Winding up dead in a back alley is still very much
a possibility, however...

Old Campaigners. Up to six members of your starting Warband may be Old Campaigners. They may
improve any Stat by one or more dice levels, up to a maximum of d12. They may also take any number
of Skills. However, for each Stat upgrade dice level, and for each Skill selected, they must make a roll of
d10+3 (i.e. possible results of 4 to 13) on the Permanent Injuries chart. They suffer that Permanent Injury.

Raw Recruits. Up to six members of you starting Warband may be Raw Recruits. They must reduce
their Fortitude and Presence Stats by one dice level, but you gain an extra 15 pennies to spend on Equip-
ment for each Raw Recruit in your Warband.

When hiring new Warband members, you must decide if they will be Old Campaigners or Raw Recruits.

On Leave. Only three Warband members may Wander between games; everyone else is on duty! They
may still Labour if they Survived the previous game, however.

Martial Pride. A City Watch Warband may only have a maximum of one Magic-user.

Safety in Numbers. City Watch models gain +1 Block for every friendly model in Base Contact.

Magic - Magic Users may choose from the Natural, Light, Noble, and Unbound Spell lists.

Den - Barracks. The Watch have access to a local barracks building. You receive a food allowance; your
warband does not have to pay Upkeep costs. You also receive occasional deliveries of materials to repair
and upgrade the barracks. After every game, you receive d4 Materials.

Your Den does not start with any Upgrades.

 Here’s a Street Gang based short story,
atisfaction
The S for anyone who fancies a bit of anthro
job well done
fiction...
of a

Borbo Stacksley sat in the snug of The Royal Oak, and looked around at the gathered members
of the Grainger Market Mob. They were all there, crammed into the dim, smoky room, watching
expectantly, waiting for him to speak. The stoat wet his throat with a quick swig from his bottle of
ale, and broke the silence.
‘Things haven’t been great lately, as nobeast can deny. We’ve been losing ground to the Westgate
Runners. They’ve been on top of us, every step of the way, always ready. It’s like they know what
we’re planning.’ He shook his head. ‘Maybe they’ve got some kind of enchantment or magery to let
them eavesdrop, I don’t know. But we need to deal with this, before our rep goes right down the
pipes.’
He leaned forward, and lowered his voice.
‘I’ve got a job planned that’ll put us well out in front. It’s a big score, one that’ll leave Bad Jack and
his Westgate Runners for dead. My contacts down the docks have got wind of a special shipment
that’s coming in. It’s just a single crate, but I know what’s in it, and once we get our paws on it, we’ll
be golden.’

One of the mice, Gawpal Mudge, glanced around, then whispered. ‘Alright then boss, what’s the
plan?’

Borbo grinned. ‘Nothing too complicated, this time. Tomorrow morning, the crate’ll be in a ware-
house, well guarded. We just need to deal with the guards, and we can walk away with the crate.
Here’s what you all need to do...’

Gawpal stepped out into the evening air and watched as the rest of the Mob started off towards
Grey street. One of them turned back to him and called out. ‘We’re heading off to the grub fights;
you coming?’
Gawpal shook his head. ‘Nah. I’ve got an errand to run. Be along later.’
He stood and watched them walk off until they rounded the corner, then Gawpal turned right, and
scurried off the other way. Down towards the Westgate.

Bad Jack Gilmorr wasn’t what you’d call a cheerful, happy-go-lucky type. But then, not many wild-
cats were. He was grinning like a madbeast now though, as he listened to Gawpal Mudge giving
him the low-down on the Grainger Market Mob’s ‘secret’ meeting. He spilled it all, about the plan,
about the crate, everything.

‘Enchantments and magery! Hah – we don’t need anything magical to listen in on them, do we, not
when we’ve got you sitting right there with them, eh, Gawpal!’

The mouse nodded vigorously; instant agreement with the Westgate Runner’s boss was always a
smart move. Disagreeing could be bad for your chances of surviving the day. And Gawpal was tak-
ing enough chances with his survival as it was, playing both sides of the street like this.

‘Lads!’ roared Bad Jack. ‘Gather round. Got some good news for yer… we’re gonna make a big
score, and put the final nail in the Grainger lot’s coffin while we’re at it. And the best part is, we
don’t have to do any of the hard work!’
Dawn’s early light found Borbo Stacksley down by the dockside. Time was, the docks were pretty
much completely Gang territory. But the War of Storms had put paid to that, when the Sea-rat
Graunch Blade-tail’s fleet launched their surprise water-borne assault on the city. Captured the
docks, and invaded the upper town through the tunnels. He’d done his bit, had Borbo. Joined the
Tunneljacks, fought in those desperate tooth-and-claw battles in the pitch black, jam-packed cor-
ridors. Still gave him nightmares. And for what? After the War, the Earl posted a permanent gar-
rison of Watchbeasts down at the docks. Oh, it made sense; no point risking another sneak attack
like that. But it made the docks a much less healthy place for the Gangs.

Borbo shook his head suddenly; enough reminiscing. Focus on the job in paw. As he wandered
casually along the river, he glanced briefly over at the warehouse. Two Watchbeasts on guard.
Borbo kept walking, nonchalant, just another honest citizen out for a stroll. Those two weren’t the
real problem though. The Watch barracks behind Neptune house, that was the real problem. A
dozen well-armed Watchbeasts, on duty, armed up and ready to respond to trouble. And busting
into that warehouse would definitely count as trouble.
Borbo grinned to himself. There were a lot of things that count as trouble, as far as the City Watch
were concerned. Time they got some, then.

Uptown in Bigg Market, the carts were bringing in their loads of produce, as usual. And as usual,
carts on the Great North Road had right of way. Just how it’d always been. That’s why, when a
couple of the lads suddenly dragged a cart out of High Bridge, there was a bit of a ruckus. Which
might have gotten sorted, if only another cart hadn’t been forced out of Market Street, leaving eve-
ryone jammed up, nose to tail, with nowhere to go. It was already shaping up to be a hot day, and
those loads were likely to start spoiling, fast. Tempers flared even faster. The lads grinned at each
other and slipped away, as the shouting got louder, carters coming to blows, and the Chief Mercer
calling for someone to send for the Watch…

Drobor, the gang’s ‘alchemist’, was over by Gallowgate. The rat was just slipping into Holbor Scor-
ry’s House of Sport, with his coat firmly buttoned. Wouldn’t want anyone seeing the bottles and vi-
als he was carrying under there. And there were plenty of eyes to do the seeing, because the place
was already heaving with beasts. But they weren’t watching him; they were all clustered around the
ring, watching Stag beetle grubs tearing each other apart, as usual. And as usual, bets were being
placed, money changing paws, and ale and liquor were flowing, despite the early hour. Or maybe
it still counted as last night, for most of them. Business as usual. But when Gripper-ripper, the
House’s champion grub, suddenly convulsed and slumped to the floor, it all went quiet. And when
the other grub, after tearing a great mouthful from the corpse, also twitched violently and died,
somebeast in the crowd yelled ‘Poison!’ and it all kicked off. With bets off, money lost, good grubs
wasted, the crowd went a little bit wild. The kind of wild you get when you’ve been drinking for
twelve hours straight, watching critters killing each other, watching your rent money go down the
drain on a bad bet, and you decide somebody needs a kicking.
Holbor Scorry watched open-mouthed as his House of Sport turned into a battlefield. Holbor was
no friend of the law, but even he knew when it was time to send for the Watch.

Over at Haymarket, Galdo ‘The Fist’ Morrsley decided that subtlety wasn’t really his thing. He kept
it simple, marching right up to the nearest market stall, and shouting loudly about bad quality,
and wanting his money back. He was attracting attention alright, but probably not enough. So he
launched a beautiful right hook, and put the stall-holder flat on his tail. And when the next stall-
holder tried to protest, Galdo grinned, and threw another devastating punch.
He was worried for a moment that the rest of the market folk would run away, but thankfully, they
outnumbered him a lot, and that made them overconfident. And pretty soon, he was at the cen-
tre of a growing brawl. From the edges, he could hear somebeast shouting for the Watch, and he
grinned. Job done. Still, he probably had time for a bit more before they got here… no point miss-
ing out on a good fight!

The whole Grainger Market Mob all had their parts to play, jobs to do. And every job ended with
somebeasts calling for the Watch.

High overhead, ‘Honest’ Jimmy the magpie circled the city. He’d been keeping his beady eye on the
Watch barracks far below in the docks. And he’d seen the Watchbeasts running out, in twos and
threes, heading out across the city to deal with unexpected emergencies, again and again, until
they’d all left. He gave a harsh, cawing laugh, and flew down to tell Borbo that the barracks was
now empty.

Watchbeast Grawsley Lobbitt was not enjoying his shift. It wasn’t raining. But that was the entirety
of the positive aspects. Guard duty wasn’t fun. It was dull, tiring and utterly without any compen-
sations.
And standing outside some warehouse for eight hours was not what he’d signed up for. The hound
glanced down at the shrew, Dellit, the new recruit he was stuck with. Not much in the way of in-
teresting conversation to be had there.
He glanced up as movement caught his eye. A young dormouse was wandering down the road,
more or less straight towards them.
As the mouse got closer, Grawsley stepped forwards. ‘Nothing for you down here, young lad. Be
off with you!’
The little dormouse kept coming, and looked up at the looming Watchbeast. ‘Oh, good sir, I’m
just taking a shortcut down to my old mum’s place, I don’t want no trouble!’ But as he spoke, the
dormouse stumbled, tripping on a loose paving stone, barging right into Grawsley.

Grawsley gave the little dormouse an angry shove, pushing him over, down onto the floor, hard.
‘Watch where you’re going, you little guttersnipe!’ he growled. Watching the tiny beast cringe on
the flagstones raised Grawsley’s spirits. Gave him a nice little feeling of power. Now that’s what he’d
joined the Watch for!
The dormouse stood slowly up, and burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. He pulled a handker-
chief out of his pocket and dabbed at his eyes, before blowing his nose loudly on the linen square.
Then he folded it neatly, and slipped it back into his pocket, staring at the Watchbeasts the whole
time. And he ran off.

Grawsley watched him go, feeling quite pleased with himself. Dellit had a look of intense thought
on his face though; he’d been looking at the little square of linen the dormouse had been using.
Specifically the initials ‘G.L’ in the corner. He glanced up at Grawsley.
‘Ere, guv, wasn’t that your handkerchief?’
Grawsley patted his now-empty pocket, and his face darkened. He pointed at the running mouse.
‘Get him!’

Borbo looked on as the two Watchbeasts ran away from the warehouse, chasing the rapidly disap-
pearing dormouse. The lads had done well, and the docks were pretty much a law-free zone now.
There was nothing in his way.
He strolled right up to the front door, and set to work with his lock-picks.
But behind the warehouse, Bad Jack Gilmorr was watching as half a dozen of his Westgate Run-
ners broke down the back door with sledgehammers. It didn’t take them long, and they just
walked right on in, with nothing left to stop them. And right there, in the middle of the warehouse
floor, sitting in a beam of sunlight from the skylight overhead, was a plain wooden crate. Bad Jack
grinned. Always one step ahead. They took the crate, and left a note in its place.

Borbo got the door unlocked, and headed inside cautiously; you couldn’t be too careful, you never
knew who might be waiting. The space was mostly empty though. Perhaps a little too empty. There
was no sign of the crate, but there was a piece of paper lying on the floor. He picked it up. A note,
from Bad Jack Gilmorr of the Westgate Runners. He didn’t bother reading it; from past experience
he knew it’d just be full of poorly spelled insults and gloating.
He straightened up, and pocketed the note. Oh well, he thought. No point staying here any longer.

Back up in the Westgate Runner’s den, Bad Jack Gilmorr’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the wood-
en crate. His lads were all gathered round, and Gawpal Mudge was right there with them, still
wearing his Mob scarf, the traitorous little rodent. Bad Jack held out a paw, and one of his beasts
put a great iron crowbar into it.
Bad Jack looked around at the gathered beasts and grinned. ‘Alright lads, it’s pay day! Let’s get this
thing open...’

At the Royal Oak, Borbo Stacksley was drinking from a bottle of ale, and contemplating the sat-
isfaction you can get from hard work. When it goes to plan, anyway. After all, there’d been some
seriously hard work lately; all that labouring for Tarrin Crum’s Noble Fellowship of Scientifical
Artisans, for a start. But then, Crum had been more than happy to pay in Black Powder, and there
was no way they’d have managed to get that much of it anywhere else.
Getting hold of a dozen high-quality caliver strikers hadn’t been easy either. And not the cheap
flint jobs either, proper steel strikers, reliable pieces of kit. Fitting them together, to strike at the
same time, that’d been a tough technical job, too. But smuggling the crate into the warehouse, just
him and a couple of trusted lads, that was a really tough bit of work, took all their skills, getting in
and out with no-one the wiser.
It’d been a lot of hard work, all things considered. But once Borbo had figured out that they had a
traitor in the gang, it had to be done.

Any moment now, he thought, and stepped out into the street, turning to look over towards the
Westgate. He didn’t have to wait long. Even from this distance, the bang was loud, and you could
see roof beams and bits of tiles flung high into the air.
Borbo top another swig of ale, and watched the huge plume of dirty black smoke rising from what
used to be the Runner’s den.
Aye, he thought, it’s been a lot of hard work. But there’s real satisfaction in a job well done.
 ot-Empt y
The n
Battlefield
In our latest Kickstarter, we’ve got a few Townsfolk miniatures. And there are already a few in the range
as well. So, while you can fit them into a Warband easily enough, it’s also possible you’ve got a bunch of
miniatures in your collection standing around not doing very much…
Here we present some trial rules for a non-player characters (NPCs) to your games of Burrows & Badgers.
First of all, it’s important to say that you don’t have to use specific ‘Townsfolk’ miniatures; if you have
armed and armoured beasts spare, they can be used as NPCs too. After all, there are always off-duty
guards and the like, plus a Warband’s beasts often go Wandering between games… maybe they’ve wan-
dered into your battle!
I’d suggest deploying NPC models on the tabletop in two ways:
Place a few close to the centre of the table. Then, at the start of each Turn, roll a d8 and move them a
number of inches equal to the dice roll, in the direction indicated by the tip of the d8. Basically, they roam
randomly.
Deploy some others in base contact with one of the table edges. At the start of each Turn, move them 6”
towards the opposite table edge. This doesn’t have to be in a straight line; so long as they are closer to the
opposite edge at the end of the move than they were at the start, that’s fine. Players should take it in turns
to move the NPCs.
Feel free to let NPCs wander off the table, if that’s what the dice have them do. But also feel free to bring
them back on again, if you like!
If a model makes an Attack Action, Shoot Action, or a Cast Spell Action at an enemy model, and there is
an NPC within 6” of the Acting model, make a roll on the NPC Reaction Table below.

Note: NPCs cannot be attacked by the players. Mostly, this is to keep things simple; nobody wants to have
to track another set of Wounds! But as we develop the NPC rules, we may well add the option for proper
fights.

NPC Reaction Table - roll a d6:

1 Ignore – the NPC doesn’t pay any attention, and remains in place. They move normally next
Turn.

2-3 Back off – the NPC moves 4” directly away from the Acting model.

4 Run away – the NPC moves 8” towards the nearest table edge.

5 Sound alarm - the NPC moves 8” towards the nearest table edge, and will do so again at the start
of every Turn. Once they leave the table, the Mayhem Level goes up d6 points.

6 Intervene – The NPC moves into Base Contact with the Acting model, and makes an Attack
Action! They have d8 Strike, and are assumed to be armed, but have no Skills. After the Attack has
been rolled, they roam randomly; roll a d8 and move them a number of inches equal to the dice
roll, in the direction indicated by the tip of the d8.
Mayhem Level
Roll d20 and add the current Mayhem Level at the start of each Turn.
The Mayhem Level starts at 0, and goes up by 1 for each Attack Action, each Shoot Action, each Ambush,
and each Cast Spell Action that is targeted at an enemy model (ie casting Heal on a friendly character
doesn’t add to the Mayhem Level. Casting Lightning at an enemy does!)

Mayhem Chart
Roll d20 + Mayhem level

1-19 Nothing happens.

20-21 One City Watch member arrives.
22-23 Two City Watch members arrive.
24+ Three City Watch members arrive.

Pick a table edge; this is edge 1. Going clockwise, the rest are edges 2, 3, and 4. When a member of the City
Watch, or a group of Watch models arrive, roll a d4. They arrive anywhere in Base Contact with table edge
indicated by the d4 roll. The player with the lower Warband rating decides exactly where.

City Watch models will move 8” directly towards the nearest un-Hidden model (from either Warband)
and make an Attack Action if they reach Base Contact. They have the following Stats:

City Watchbeast
M S B R N C A F P
d8 d8 d6 - d6 - d8 d6 d6
Equipment: Hand weapon.

Do not keep track of their Wounds from Turn to Turn; any time a City Watch model suffers Wounds in a
single Turn, they make a Fortitude Roll-off at the end of the Turn, against a Target equal to the number of
Wounds suffered. If the Roll-off is failed, they are taken Out of Action. Remove the model from the table.

I’m tempted to add in rules about the Watch needing to mass a certain number of models before they’ll get
involved, and have a variety of sizes, equipment etc. but that might be a bit much... Let’s see how this ver-
sion works out first! As ever, if you try the NPC rules out, let us know how you get on!
 rcane Conclave
A
Allegiance

Ever wanted a Warband made entirely out of mages? Who wouldn’t want access to loads of deadly spells?
Who wouldn’t want a warband where everybody is incredibly easy to wound... oh, yeah. That.

Arcane Conclaves are groups of magic-users who band together to pursue their Art, learning from one
another and developing their powers faster and further than most mages can achieve. Working closely
together has allowed them to develop new types of magic, directing fate, casting illusions, and controlling
the elements. Although not illegal, such Conclaves are often viewed askance by commonbeasts, and are
also likely to attract the vigilant eye of the Witch hunters.

Mental Prowess - two of your characters may increase their Fortitude OR Presence Stat by one dice
level, up to a maximum of d12.

Magic – Arcane Conclave Magic Users may choose from the Natural, Wild, Light, Dark, Noble, Un-
bound, Fate Weaver, Illusionist and Elementalist Spell lists.

Den – you may choose from the Abandoned Burrow or the Ruined Farmhouse. Either way, it starts with
the Library Upgrade.

All models in an Arcane Conclave Warband MUST be Magic-users, and start with at least one Spell.

There’s also a few new Skills to choose from as well, which can help boost your Mage’s abilities.

ing
Cu n n
Skills

Battlemage
This character has a natural affinity for destructive magic; any damage they cause with a spell is increased
by d6 extra Wounds.

Healing Aura
This character has a natural affinity for healing magic; any Wounds they heal with a spell are increased by
d6.

Far Reacher
This character can control the aethereal forces at greater distances than most; they may add 8” to the
Range of any spells they cast.

Aether Sight
This character can ‘see’ in the aethereal, and does not need to rely on physical vision. No enemies count as
Hidden to them, and they can ignore ‘Line of Sight’ when casting spells.
 Fate Weaver Fate Weaver Magic is used to control and alter

Spells
the natural flow of events. Fate Weaver Magic
is Presence based, and Cast Spell Roll-Offs are
taking using the Caster’s Presence Statistic.

1. Fate’s Twist Target: 6

You twist and distort the strands of Fate; you may make your opponent re-roll up to three dice this Turn.

2. Fate’s Path Target: 4

You can see the path Fate has laid out. Roll a d4, a d6, a d8, a d10 and a d12. Next time you have to roll
any dice, you may instead use the ones you rolled for this spell. (For example, if you have to roll your d6
Nimbleness to dodge an arrow, you could use the result on the d6 you rolled in this spell instead.)
The dice stay until you have used them all, or you Cast this spell again.

Ingredients: Bear Bone Fragments. You may force your opponent to use the dice instead. (For
example, if they have to roll their d6 Nimbleness to dodge an arrow, you
could make them use the result on the d6 you rolled in this spell instead.)

3. Delay Target: 5 / Needs Line of Sight / Range 18”

You force your enemies to misjudge the passage of events; they fail to move aside quickly enough. Select
one enemy; the next time they suffer Wounds, increase them by d8.

Ingredients: Haematite. They suffer d10 Wounds.

Amber Bead. They suffer d12 Wounds.

4. Evade Target: 5 / Needs Line of Sight / Range 18”

Your insight into Fate allows you to avoid the worst dangers; the next time you suffer Wounds, reduce
them by d8.

Ingredients: Haematite. Reduce by d10 Wounds.

Amber Bead. Reduce by d12 Wounds.
Amanitas. You may cast this spell onto another member of your Warband.

5. Fate’s Ebb Target: 3

The winds of Fate die to a breeze; no Fate Points may be used this Turn.

Ingredients: Copper Strip. Only the enemy is unable to use Fate Points; your Warband may use
them normally.

6. Bright Path Target: 4

One particular event is highlighted for you, allowing you to influence it. When you make a dice roll for
any reason, you may also roll your Presence dice and add it to the roll.
This spell ends when the bonus is used, or you cast another spell.

Ingredients: Mandrake. You may use the Presence roll to modify a roll by any friendly model.
Galingale. You may use the Presence roll as a negative modifier to a roll by any
enemy model.
 illusionist
Illusionist Magic is used to alter a beast’s per-
ception of the world, giving them a false sense
Spells of reality. Illusionist Magic is Presence based,
and Cast Spell Roll-Offs are taking using the
Caster’s Presence Statistic.

1. Lure of Gold Target: 5 / Needs Line of Sight / Range 18”

Visions of golden hoards fill your foes’ heads, and they are drawn towards the treasure! The enemy model
targeted by this spell moves d6+2” in the direction you choose.

Ingredients: Dragonfly wings. The enemy moves 2d6+2”.

2. Swarms Target: 5 / Needs Line of Sight / Range 12”

Your enemies see themselves buried in a tide of creeping beasts, and desperately try to fend them off. The
target of this misses their next Action.

3. Terrify Your Presence vs the Fortitude of each enemy within 6”.

You appear to be a horrifying mythical beast, and your foes flee in terror. Any enemy that fails the Roll-
off must move 2d6” directly away from the caster. This does not count as their Action, but may trigger
Free Strikes if they move out of Base Contact with opponents. If they leave the table, they count as Out of
Action for Routing purposes. If any of the targets are unable to move, due to being surrounded for exam-
ple, then they count as Paralysed until the end of the Turn, and cannot take any Actions, or roll Block or
Nimbleness dice.

4. Mortal Wound Your Presence vs the Fortitude of your enemy target / Needs Line
of Sight / Range 12”
Your foe sees themselves suffering grisly wounds, and is overcome by pain and horror. If you succeed in
the Roll-off, your opponent rolls a d12 on the Permanent Injuries chart. They suffer that result immedi-
ately; the effects will last until the end of the game. (Results of ‘Dead’ aren’t really death; they just go Out
of Action. It’s all an illusion!)

5. Duplicate Target: 2
You produce a doppelganger of yourself; enemies do not know who to attack… Any Attacks or Shooting
directed at you this Turn must roll a d6; on a 1,2 or 3 they attack your mirror image by mistake, and no
damage is caused.

Ingredients: Saltpetre. You may cast this spell onto any friendly model.
Amber Bead. This spell affects your whole Warband.

6. Friend or Foe Target: 7

You confuse your enemies, making them wonder who is on their side…
Every enemy that declares an Attack or Shoot Action this Turn must first Roll-off their Fortitude versus
your Presence. If they fail, they may not perform the declared Action, and their Activation ends.
 Elementalist
Spells
Elementalist Magic is used to influence and control the elemental spirits that exist unseen throughout the
natural world. It is unusual in that there are eight Spells, rather than the usual six. They are broken up into
pairs based on the element they effect; Fire, Earth, Air, or Water. The Magic User must choose one of these
Elements as their Specialism. They then suffer a -2 penalty when casting any Elementalist Spell that is not
from their chosen Element Specialism.
So, for example, a Fire Elementalist would suffer a -2 penalty to Cast Spell Roll-Offs when casting Water,
Earth, or Air Spells.

Elemetalist Magic is Fortitude based, and Cast Spell Roll-Offs are taking using the Caster’s Fortitude Sta-
tistic.

Fire Specialism Spells

1. Firebolt Target: 4 / Needs Line of Sight / Range 24”

A dart of superheated flame is launched at your enemy...
The target takes d10 Wounds. These are reduced by Armour and Skills in the normal way.

Ingredients: Saltpetre. The target takes d12 Wounds.

Brimstone. The target takes d12+2 Wounds.

2. The Burning Target: 4 / Needs Line of Sight / Range 18”

Your magic heats up the metallic elements within your enemy’s equipment, burning them…
Your target suffers d6 Wounds, not reduced by Armour or Tough Skills. In fact, add any Tough from Ar-
mour or Shields to the Wounds caused!

Ingredients: Saltpetre. the Spell is automatically Cast.

Brimstone. The spell causes d6 +2 Wounds.

Water Specialism Spells

3. Downpour Target: 5 / Needs Line of Sight / Range 24”

You summon a violent rainstorm, with water cascading from the sky… over a very small area!
One enemy is utterly soaked, and any Bow, Crossbow, or Black Powder weapons they have are useless for
the rest of the game.

4. Dessicate Target: 4 / Needs Line of Sight

You draw the moisture from your enemy, leaving them a dry and lifeless husk…
This Spell causes d6 Wounds, unmodified by Armour or Skills, upon a single enemy. This enemy will suf-
fer a further d6 Wounds at the start of every Turn. This Spells ends if the Line of Sight between the two
characters is broken by Terrain.
Earth Specialism Spells

5. Wall of Stone Target: 4

The earth bursts forth, forming a barrier between you and your enemies…
Any Block or Nimbleness dice this character, or any friendly model within 4”, rolls to defend themselves
this Turn may be re-rolled, and have a +2 modifier.

Ingredients: Ground Obsidian. The spell may be cast on any friendly model, and will affect
them, and any friendly model within 4” of them.

6. Earth’s Maw Target: 4 / Needs Line of Sight / Range 18”

The ground opens and swallows your foes, crushing them…
The target takes d8 Wounds. These are not reduced by Armour, but are reduced by Skills in the normal
way.
Ingredients: Amber Bead – the spell effects the target and any enemy within 4” of them.
Haematite – the target(s) suffer d8+3 Wounds.


Air Specialism Spells

7. Storm Call Target: 5

A raging electrical storm is summoned, and lightning blasts forth!
Every model on the table (friend and foe) rolls a d6, minus any Tough gained from Armour or Shields.
If the result is 1 or less, they have been struck by lightning! The target takes d8 Wounds. These are not
reduced by any Armour Tough, but are reduced by regular Tough Skills in the normal way.

8. Twister Target: 5
The winds howl, and twisting currents of air swirl around the battlefield…
All Shooting suffers a -2 penalty, and all Flight Moves are treated as in Difficult Terrain (ie roll a d12,
rather than just moving 12”.) Lasts until the Caster takes a Wound.