Adventures: Leadership must be savagely taken. To gain power, a Skaven Warlord must seize control proving himself a top fighter and devious adversary. By adventuring, a Skaven Warlord has plenty of oportunities to prove his might, collect trophies, and perhaps even strike temporary alliances with others to take down a rival.
Characteristics: Altough not as mighty as a orc chieftain or as devious as a drow captain, Skaven Warlords are an unique combination of martial prowess to crush their oponent during combat, leadership trough fear to keep his minions in line during combat, and political scheming to set rivals against each other.
Religion: Skaven Warlords don't have much time for religion, but they usally offer prayers for the Horned Rat.
Background: Skaven Warlords usually have risen quickly trough the ranks, or not risen at all. Those skaven that not only grow big and strong but also bully their lither brothers, are quickly assigned to important military positions, and from there is a matter of staying alive while making sure others around you die first.
Other Classes: Skaven Warlords are more than happy to work with other classes and the variety of support they can offer, as long as the Skaven Warlord himself can be in a leadership position. If anything, they distrust sneaky allies, which they always suspect will try to cut their throats as soon as they turn their backs, but the Skaven Warlord has no problem with them cutting other's throats.
Role: Skaven Warlords provide a frontline force that triples as group support and clever manipulator.
HD:d10Level | Bab | Fort | Ref | Will | Feature |
1 | +1 | +2 | +0 | +0 | Pawleader, Scavenge Pile |
2 | +2 | +3 | +0 | +0 | Clawleader, Verminous Honor |
3 | +3 | +3 | +1 | +1 | Stormvermin, Verminous Standard, +1 Str |
4 | +4 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Fangleader, Cornered Rats, +1 Con |
5 | +5 | +4 | +1 | +1 | Rat Chieftain, Allmighty Fighting Prowess, +1 Str |
6 | +6 | +5 | +2 | +2 | Rat General, Tools of Supremacy, +1 Con |
Skills:6+int modifier per level, quadruple at 1st level, class skills are Balance(Dex), Bluff(Cha), Climb(Str), Intimidate(Cha), Jump(Str), Hide(Dex), Knowledge (any) (int), Listen (wis), Search(int), Sense Motive(wis), Spot (wis), Swim (Str)
Proficiencies: Simple and Martial Weapons, Light and Medium armor, Light and Heavy Shields
Features:Pawleader:At first level the Skaven Warlord only has the authority to order around a number of slaves equal to twice his Str mod or Skaven Warlord level, whicever's lower (minimum 2, maximum 12), the lowiest members of skaven society. Treat those as skaven commoner 1 with non-elite array of stats (before racial modifiers), no feats or skills, and just 1 HP, such is the poor conditions they're treated. They come with the simple weapon they're proficient with, but it's in such a poor state that it has no market value whatsoever. They're fanatic towards the Skaven Warlord, and if they die, new ones will appear as replacement from the surrounding lands in 24 hours. That's because the only alternative a skaven slave has to working to death in some underground city is to serve as soldier to a Skaven Warlord, in the faint (but possible) hope of surviving and being promoted.
Scavenge Pile:Skaven society produces a series of unique equipment that are standard among their elite and leaders members. At 1st level the Skaven Warlord gains one of the following options (he's automatically proficient with any weapons gained from this).
Warpmusket- Skaven often use the highly unstable magical energies of warpstone to create devilishly deadly weapons. The warpmusket is a two-handed masterwork ranged weapon with a range increment of 100 feet and x4 crit multiplier that fires bolts of chaotic energy dealing 2d6 damage per shot and counts as magic for bypassing DR and hiting incorporeal oponents. Firing a warpmusket provokes attacks of oportunity just like a bow. It recquires no ammo, but on an attack roll of natural 1 the weapon releases a burst of energy that damages the user as if he had hit himself!
Any non-skaven that uses a Warpmusket takes 1 point of Con and Wis drain for each shot fired, even if they're immune to ability drain.
Warplock Pistols-As the Warplock Musket, but is a one-handed weapon, deals 1d8 damage per shot and has a range increment of 30 feet, and doesn't provoke an attack of oportunity for firing in melee. Also the skaven gets two of these.
Poison Contract- The fine powders and unctuous lotions purchased from Clan Eshin can turn a scratch into a deathblow. At every nightfall the Skaven is contacted by a Clan Eshin member that offers it a choice of venoms and toxins. The Skaven Warlord can get up to 1000 GP per HD worth of poisons from this contact whitout paying anything, but they're cheap versions and will become useless if not used whitin 24 hours (and thus have no market value). This contact can also be used to purchase regular poisons with gold or other goods. In addition the Skaven no longer risks poisoning himself when applying poisons to his weapons.
Tail Weapon- Altough a Skaven's tail is not strong enough to inflict any damage by itself, some Skaven learn how to wield a weapon with it. This could also be a mechanical clan Skyre attachment or an evolved mutation, the results are the same-another appendage wielding a weapon. This grants the Skaven one extra attack on a fullattack, but only adds half his Str mod to it. The extra appendage cannot perform fine manipulation.
Clawleader:At 2nd level the Skaven Warlord has enough authority to,
instead of slaves, command clanrats, the basic soldiers of the skaven, at the rate of 1 clanrat per 2 slaves (he may mix and match both, like 1 clanrat and 2 slaves instead of 2 clanrats). Treat them as Warriors with a Warrior level equal to the Skaven Warlord's HD -2(minimum 1), nonelite array of stats (before racial modifiers), that come with studded leather armor, light shield and two melee weapons they're proficient with. Again their equipment is of such lowly quality that it has no market value. They gain skills and feats as normal, but all feats must be spent in [Fighter] feats. They obey the Skaven Warlord's orders, and if killed are replaced whitin 48 hours. In alternative, the Skaven Warlord may promote any slaves that survived at least one ecounter that granted the Skaven Warlord exp. This doesn't allow the Skaven Warlord to control more clanrats than normal, any excess surviving slaves are quickly backstabbed by their own brethern to make promotion room.
Verminous Honor: All skaven leaders agressively take credit for positive outcomes and swiftly allocate blame for all that goes poorly. This ranges from tweaking the truth to outrageous lies. For instance, if an avalanche destroys large portions of the foe, the more convincingly a Chieftain can take credit for the event, the more his esteem rises with subordinates ("yes-yes, it is deadly to attack Chieftain Snarlock") and overlords ("The Great Horned One watches over Snarlock"). The fact that few believe such lies or blatant self-aggrandisement is neither here nor there-what is important is the small strand of possiblity and the sheer audacity required to make such claims. It takes a great leader to speak great lies.
At 2nd level the Skaven Warlord adds his Skaven Warlord level plus half other levels as a racial bonus in all Bluff, Intimidate and Sense Motive Checks.
Stormvermin:At 3rd level the skaven rises to the rank of Stormvermin, the finest(relatively speaking) skaven warriors! Those ratmen are righteously feared for moving and attacking at lighting speed despite the great bulk of their gear. The Skaven Warlord becomes proficient with heavy armor, isn't encumbered by armor of any kind anymore (so he moves at his normal speed regardless of the armor type), and ignores the Max Dex bonus on any armor he wears.
Verminous Standard:With the natural cowardice of their brethern, Skaven Warlords carry large banners to boost their forces morale, and to strike fear into the minds of the enemy in order to even the odds. At 3rd level the Skaven Warlord can craft a personal banner with 8 hours of work and 100 GP worth of materials. All allies whitin 40 feet of the banner gain a morale bonus to Will saves and attack rolls equal to 1/3 HD, including the Skaven Warlord himself. When the banner carrier charges, oponents whitin 30 feet of his end point must make a Will save with DC 10+1/2 HD+Str mod(of the Skaven Warlord) or be Shaken for 1 round. The Banner must be wielded in at least one hand, and if the wielder becomes stunned, paralyzed, prone, panicked or otherwise helpless or unable to hold the banner anymore, all the banner bonus are lost for 24 hours. The exception is that if another skaven is adjacent to the banner carrier when they would drop it, the skaven may pick up the falling banner as an immediate action and keep the bonus going.
The Skaven Warlord may delegate a minion to carry the banner on his stead to have both hands free, as long as he trust him to keep the banner high.
As the Skaven Warlord grows in power and legend, his personal banner acquires new qualities. The following abilities are only gained if all Skaven Warlord levels were taken.
At 6 HD as a swift action the wielder may 1/hour double the movement speed of all allies whitin 40 feet. If he charges during that turn, enemies are shaken on a sucesful save or frightened on a failed save.
At 9 HD he can decorate the banner with trophies and hides of an oponent as a fullround action. Allies whitin 40 feet of the banner gain a morale bonus on damage rolls equal to 1/2 the HD of the slain oponent against creatures of the same type (in the case of humanoids, must be of the same race). Only the remains of one oponent may be in the banner at any time for the purpose of this ability, removing old ones is a fullround action.
At 12 HD, enemies whitin 40 feet of the banner find themselves suddenly covered by squealing and biting rats out of nowhere that automatically inflict 1d6 damage per 6 HD at the start of the wielder's turn, plus inflicts a penalty on all skill checks equal to 1/3 HD on said enemies while they're whitin 40 feet of the banner.
At 15 HD as a fullround action 1/day the banner carrier can start a ruinous storm that makes flying of any kind impossible in a radius of 1 mile per HD. Ranged attacks inside the area take a penalty equal to 1/3 HD on attack rolls, and even ranged attacks that would hit automatically like spells suffer a 50% failure chaince. At the end of every round after this ability is activated, there's a 20% chance the storm ends. In addition now every time the carrier charges enemies whitin 40 feet of the end point are shaken on a sucesful save or frightened on a failed save instead of just shaken in a failed save. If he uses the double movement speed ability, they're panicked on a failed save or shaken in a sucessful save instead.
At 18 HD the banner has become a tapestry of dread and evil. Its patterns twist and move forming runes that can be read in any language- "Gaze into the eyes of the Great Horned Rat and despair". Oponents whitin 40 feet take a penalty on Will saves equal to 1/6 HD, lose any immunity to Fear they may have (but still gain a +5 bonus against fear effects if they had it) and as an immediate action the banner carrier may force an oponent whitin 40 feet to re-roll a sucessfull Will save.
Ability Increase: The Skaven Warlord gains +1 to Str at levels 3 and 5 and +1 to Con at levels 4 and 6, for a total of +2 Str and +2 com at level 6.
Fangleader:At 4th level the Skaven Warlord has become important enough to,
instead of clanrats or slaves, command a number of elite stormvermin, at the rate of 1 stormvermin for each 2 clanrats (he may mix and match all types, like 1 stormvermin, 1 clanrat and 2 slaves instead of 2 stormvermin). Treat them as Skaven Warlords with a level equal to your own HD-2 (once they take all Skaven Warlord levels, they can take fighter and/or barbarian levels), elite array of stats (before racial modifiers), that come with fullplate armor and a +1 weapon they're proficient with, but have no minions or banners of their own. They gain skills and feats as normal, but all feats must be spent in [Fighter] feats. They obey the Skaven Warlord's orders, but if killed are not replaced. The Skaven Warlord may replace stormvermin by promoting clanrats that survived at least one ecounter that granted the Skaven Warlord exp (must still get their equipment from somewhere else). This doesn't allow the Skaven Warlord to control more stormvermin than normal, any excess surviving stormvermin are quickly backstabbed by their own brethern to make promotion room.
If the Skaven Warlord is himself slain, the player may pick up one of Stormvermin (if any's still alive) to keep playing. If he consumes a piece of his "previous" character, no matter how small, he absorbs the older essence and gains all the stats of the previous warlord, just with one lost level (overwriting the stormvermin own stats).
Cornered Rats: Desesperate Skaven can become suprisingly vicious. Whenever one of the Skaven Warlord's minions under his view fails a save, he can glare at it as an immediate action with terrible promises of death. The minion sucidically automatically throws himself at the nearest enemy whitin 10 feet, dealing 1d4 damage per HD (of the minion). The minion then dies from or takes the chance to chance to escape the battlefield never to be seen again, depending on the situation (either way, the minion's removed from the battle).
Rat Chieftain:At 5th level the Warlord becomes a true skaven hero (by ratmen standards of course), and nobody would question that the Horned Rat clearly watches over him. He treats natural 13s on attack rolls and saves as natural 20s (including always threatening a critical on a natural roll of 13).
Allmighty Fighting Prowess:A viscious streak, a vitriolic temper, an immense ego, those are all traits greatly regarded by the skaven. At 5th level pick one of the following options.
Trophy Hunter-The Warlord fights with the fury of the deepy conceited. As long as he carries remains of important enemies impaled on spikes at his back, as a swift action he can choose to focus on a single opponent. For 1 round he gain a bonus equal to 1/5 his HD on all attack rolls, damage rolls and ability checks against that opponent. If one of the trophies is of someone the target of the focus personally knew or considered important, double this bonus.
Opportunistic Raider-The Warlord is an expert at attacking disadvantaged foes, a master of hacking down enemies that aren't looking. As a swift action for 1 round the Skaven warlord can re-rolls all attacks, trips, disarms, sunders, grapples and bullrushes against flanked and/or flatfooted enemies.
Stay here, I'll Get Help-The warlord has an uncanny ability to leave his companions at the most opportune time to a "better" positon. As a swift action, if the Warlord is adjacent to an ally, he can instantly move up to any space adjacent to another ally whitout provoking attacks of opportunity, as long as he doesn't move more than his base speed.
Rat General:At 6th level the Skaven Warlord is a true leader of rats. Skavens from every place flock to him, granting him a virtualy endless supply of
cannon fodder troops. Slaves can now replaced every hour, and clanrats every 8 hours.
If the Skaven Warlord has 10 Bab or more he instead replenishes slaves every 10 minute and clanrats every hour.
If the Skaven Warlord has 13 Bab or more he instead replenishes slaves every minute and clanrats every 10 minutes.
If the Skaven Warlord has 17 Bab or more he instead replenishes slaves every 2 rounds and clanrats every minute.
If the Skaven Warlord has 20 Bab or more he instead replenishes slaves at the start of his turn and clanrats every 2 rounds.
If the replenishment happens in battle, the slaves/clanrats appear whitin 30 feet of the Skaven Warlord on any position of his choice.
Tools of Supremacy:At 6th level the Warlord gains acess to the best goods of Skaven society, in order to show the world his unquestionable might! Any selecteable weapons count as masterwork and magic for bypassing DR and hiting incorporeal oponents, and can be be further enchanted by normal means. Since they're custom-crafted for the Skaven Warlord, they're just mundane weapons on the hands of anyone else.
Fellblade- Raw warpstone smelted into stolen adamantine. Incantations of doom were heaped upon this cursed blade. Death itself was bound to its cutting edge and any with eldritch sight can see the aura of power and ruin that surrounds this wicked creation.
The Fellblade can be fashioned in the form of any weapon, doubles the wielder's Strength bonus for all purposes, ignores half the DR of the target and has a 50% chance of automatically dispelling any spell/power/similar on the target that would prevent the Fellblade from hiting it. Any natural attack roll of 3 or lower with this weapon automatically strikes the wielder instead. It cannot be further enanched.
Warpforged Blade-Warpstone powder mixed with steel during the forging process creates a weapon of wicked cutting prowess. The Warpforged Blade can be fashioned in the form of any weapon and all attacks with it ignore half the armor/shield/natural armor bonus of the target. Natural 1s with the Warpforged blade automatically hit the wielder instead.
Warp Generator Weapon-This blade is attached to a warp generator that channels crackling energy along the weapon. The Warp Generator Weapon can be fashioned in the form of any weapon and it grants an Insight bonus to the Str of the wielder equal to 1/3 his HD, plus allowing an extra attack per round on a full attack. Natural 1s with the Warpforged blade automatically hit the wielder instead.
Bonebreaker-This is one of Clan Moulder's specially engineered variant mount breeds, created by taking an augmented Rat Ogre and submerging the stitched monstrosity in a vat of growth agents for months. It takes thousands of slaves dying horrible deaths to produce enough growing juices to fill the vat. When it emerges from its enforced chemical immerson, the bonebreaker is so bulked out that its upper body is hunched over, straining to contain such massed brawn. A braced platform strapped or bolted onto the creature's back, allows a Warlord to ride atop the Bonebreaker. When mounted atop such a besast, a Warlord becomes pride-swollen and behaves more arrogantly than ever!
The bonebreaker is a large monstruous humanoid with base speed 60 feet and 10 base on Str, Dex and Con, 2 Int, 6 Wis and 10 Cha. It has an amount of d8 HD equal to the Skaven Warlord, average Bab, gains +1 to Str and Con for every HD, two natural claw attacks dealing 1d8+Str mod each and a bite attack dealing 1d6+1/2 Str damage, all good saves, plus a bonus to Natural armor equal to its HD. It gains 2 skill points per HD and has just Spot and Listen as class skills. It also gains feats as normal but can only pick [Fighter] and/or [Monster] feats. Finally it delivers blows with such raw brutality that whenever it hits an oponent in melee, all whitin 30 must suceed on a Will save with DC 10+1/2 Str mod or become Shaken for 1 round (this doesn't stack with itself).
The Skaven Warlord can ride it using Intimidate instead of the Ride skill, and the Bonebreaker comes with a special plataform that grants the Skaven Warlord Cover (20% miss chance) while riding on it. If he's carrying his banner, all Verminous Standard abilities have their range increased to 60 feet as he stands out even more. If the bonebreaker gets killed, a new one can be supplied in a day's time for a 500's GP if the body is returned to a representative of Clan Moulder (found in any cave if the Skaven Warlord screams its name and waits for 24 hours) or 5000 GP and a week otherwise
Great Pox Rat-Another special breed of Clan Moulder, the Great Pox Rat is the size of a large pony, only much wider and abhorrent. A great Pox Rat's filth-encrusted claws and mouth are filled with needle-sharp edges and infectious diseases. Once astride the heavily bloated Great Pox Rat a Warlord can rightfully twitch his tail in pride, for surely none would be so foolish as to challenge such a mighty personage?
The great pox rat is a large animal with base speed 60 feet, 60 swim speed 30 feet climb speed, and 10 base on Str, Dex and Con, 2 Int, 6 Wis and 10 Cha. It has an amount of d8 HD equal to the Skaven Warlord, average Bab, gains +1 to Str and Dex for every HD, two natural claw attacks dealing 1d6+1/2 Str mod each and a bite attack dealing 1d8+1,5 Str mod damage, all good saves, plus a bonus to Natural armor equal to its HD. It gains 4 skill points per HD and has just Spot, Hide, Move Silently and Listen as class skills. It also gains feats as normal but can only pick [Fighter] and/or [Monster] feats. Finally both its mouths and claws inflict Filth Fever, except the DC is 10+1/2HD+Str mod and the disease doesn't have incubation time, forcing a sucessful save or inflicting 1d3 Dex and 1d3 Con damage right away. Multiple hits on a single target stack. At 10 HD the Pox Rat's diseases can damage even creatures normally immune to it, but they gain a +5 bonus on their saves.
The Skaven Warlord can ride it using Intimidate instead of the Ride skill. If he's carrying his banner, all Verminous Standard abilities have their range increased to 60 feet as he stands out even more. If the great pox rat gets killed, he can leave its body on a cave. For the next 24 hours, the carcass will atract all sorts of rats and vermin that will feast into the corpse, and then upon each other. When the 24 hours end, a new great pox rat will have emerged, loyal to the Skaven Warlord only. If no body can be recovered, a new request to Clan Moulder plus 5000 GP and a week of time can get a new one too.