Post by Saynt on May 18, 2015 4:30:15 GMT
I do not claim credit for any of the AotW thread, that honor goes to the original authors from the en-forums on Rackham's old website.
This one is from forum member DJ Gasmask:
THE LIVING DEAD OF ACHERON - ARMY OF THE WEEK
I was honored when Captain Krill asked me to write the Army of the Week for undead. Although I play three other armies, I have the most experience with Acheron, and it is definitely my favorite, partly because I really like the morbid character of the army and partly because of the many options it offers. These options not only give you, the player, the tools you need to build an effective force, but also make the army fresh and interesting to collect and play. Acheron is certainly an army that thrives on its special abilities and magic, but you shouldn't be limited by just that. There are many ways to play the army; I’ve never played exactly the same Acheron army twice, yet I’ve won many of the games I’ve played with the undead.
Acheron can also be challenging to play since you must understand the many options available to you in order to get the most out of them. Furthermore, the army suffers from very significant weaknesses that you have to work around, and I hope this guide will help you do just that.
CONTENTS
Part I: General Points
Part II: Characters
Part III: Troops
Part IV: Spells and Miracles
Part V: Artefacts
Part VI: Obscure Houses
Part VII: Sample Army Lists
PART I: GENERAL POINTS
Before getting into all the specifics of characters, troops, magic, and the Obscure Houses, I’ll cover some general points to keep in mind when playing the undead.
LIVING DEAD: A majority of the troops available to Acheron have the Living Dead ability, making them true undead. It is important to remember that troops with this ability always cause fear, even in enemies with a higher Courage/Fear rating. While this might not make much of a difference in a battle against high Courage opponents, it is still a marginal advantage that should not be ignored since even the bravest fighter can potentially fail on a "1." Living Dead also gives Immunity/Toxic and Immunity/Fear, so your undead won’t have to worry about poison or fear-causing creatures (except for Hyperians). This immunity to fear is a nice advantage since it means the enemy will usually fear your troops but you won’t fear them no matter how scary they are. Unfortunately, Living Dead comes with what may be Acheron’s biggest disadvantage: a troop with Living Dead has no DIS score and makes all DIS tests as though its DIS were 0.
LORDS OF THE DEAD (C3 Rulebook p. 68): Normally, Leadership does not transmit Fear in C3. However, Acheron benefits from an important rule: the Aura of Darkness. This rule allows any Acheron leader with Leadership/X to transmit a Fear bonus equal to its rank category to any Living Dead models within its leadership range. This bonus cannot make the affected model’s Fear greater than that of the leader, though. This ability can make even Morbid Puppets and Zombies (both Fear 5) a bit more intimidating.
DISCIPLINE AND LEADERSHIP: The biggest disadvantage faced by Acheron armies is their lack of Discipline. Many Acheron characters, being undead, do not have a Discipline stat. This leads to some very low Tactical rolls. Acheron’s living characters, such as Ejhin and Azael, have decent DIS ratings, but even they will often be at a tactical disadvantage to other armies since Acheron has no war-staff. There are a few ways to deal with this, either through spells or House abilities, but you may as well face it now: as an Acheron player, you’ll be losing most of your Tactical rolls. You just have to plan for that.
LOW DEFENSE: Most of Acheron’s Living Dead troops have very low Defense values. In fact, aside from characters, very few Acheron troops have a Defense higher than 3. This means that you will be taking quite a few hits because your troops will often have a rather poor chance of defending enemy attack. How do you deal with this? You don’t. Most Acheron troops with low defense are either cheap and expendable (Morbid Puppets, Morbid Angels, Skeletons), possess Regeneration (Zombies), or have high Resilience (Heavy Centaurs). Thus, your troops can probably take a few hits, and you really just have to rely on their ability to soak up damage and get some hits in. I almost never place dice in defense when using Acheron troops with Defense 2 or less.
ACHERON MOVEMENT: Acheron has to be one of the most varied forces in the game when it comes to the Movement rates available to its troops, and this can be tricky to manage. Many Living Dead troops such as Zombies and Skeletons have a low Movement of only 7.5, but living troops tend to have Movement 10, and Acheron has a number of flying troops and cavalry units with Movement values ranging from 15 to 20. Thus, it can be easy to overextend part of your army while the rest struggles to catch up. Instead of using high movement troops to rush in and hit the enemy first thing, it’s best to use your faster models for one of two things:
1) Hold them back and wait to engage them once the slower troops have become involved in combat. Then you can use their movement to get them where they need to go to help their allies, either adding some support against a tough opponent or moving them in to split a combat in your favor.
2) Send them off to deal with isolated and vulnerable enemy troops like flankers, mages, shooters, and scouts. I’m particularly fond of Acheron’s flying troops and like to use them to take out enemy shooters and mages.
FREQUENTlY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Is Acheron a swarm army?
Yes and No. Many people believe that Acheron is a swarm army, but this is not generally true. With enough Morbid Puppets and Skeletons, it can be a swarm army, but most Acheron troops are too expensive AP-wise to allow for a lot of swarming. The best Acheron armies I’ve played are not swarm armies, and in fact I often find myself outnumbered at the beginning of the game when playing Acheron. However, Acheron does excel at summoning, with several different options that allow it to bring new troops to the battlefield. Thus, if such an Acheron force is doing well, it can quickly outnumber and swarm its opponent.
How much should I rely on Fear?
Don’t rely on it, but definitely use it when you can. Acheron fear can make a big difference in a game; there’s no doubt about that. But unless you’re dealing with incredibly high Fear stats (like that of Sophet Drahas), its going to be more of a bonus than something to rely on. Most people will bring a war-staff if they think they might be facing Acheron, so chances are the majority of your opponent’s troops will only fail their fear tests on a 1. However, when you see a situation where your Fear might turn the tide, then take advantage of it if you have a good tactical reason to do so. Low Courage troops who have fallen outside of their war-staff’s leadership radius are ripe for the picking.
What do “Black" weapons and armor do? Are they like dark versions of “Sacred" equipment?
A number of Acheron troops are armed with Black Weapons or Black Armor, and Acheron characters may be given Black Weapons or Armor for an additional cost of 5 AP (2 AP if bound to House Sarlath). Black Weapons and Armor are not dark versions of Sacred Weapons and Armor, though that would really be nice. Black equipment actually has no inherent special abilities. So what good is it? Well, the Dead Forge spell allows a caster to increase the Strength of Black Weapons or the Resilience of Black Armor. Furthermore, there is at least one defensive spell, Sonnet of Eternity, that has no effect against Black Weapons. In the future, Rackham might offer more spells that can affect Black equipment, but for now that’s all they do.
PRESENTATION NOTES:
In the sections on characters and troops, I have indicated which troops are undead (i.e have the Living Dead ability) by listing their names in Dark Red.
Also, for the following lists of troops, spells, and artefacts, I’ve tried to note those that come from atypical sources such as the Obscure Houses card pack or Cry Havoc. Such items will be indicated with one of the following notations in parnethesis: CH# - Cry Havoc; OH – the Obscure Houses card pack; WoR – Warriors of Rag’Narok; Rag – Rag’Narok Boxed Set.
PART II: CHARACTERS
Acheron has access to a nice range of characters, including some good hand-to-hand combat characters and faithful. But where Acheron excels is in its selection of character magicians.
I have noted characters who received revisions to their special rules in C3 by adding a C3 page reference after their AP costs.
Alderan, Crane Warrior (89 AP, Elite): Alderan is one of the three Crane Warriors available to the forces of Acheron, and is arguably the most cost effective. He is arguably Acheron's best choice for a combat character in a 400 AP game. His Leadership/10 ability allows him to bolster his troops' Fear, and he has good combat stats coupled with a very good RES of 10, Hard-boiled, and Regeneration/5, a combination that makes him tough to take down. Moreover, with his artefact sword, Bitterness, he can become a warrior-monk faithful who can enhance himself and his troops with miracles.
The Almighty Crane (362 AP, Living Legend): The Almighty Crane (a.k.a. The Grand Crane or the Great Crane) is Acheron’s Living Legend. He is not suitable for most games of Confrontation and is more at home in Rag'Narok.. He is a beast, with incredible stats, not the least of which is his Fear 12 and Dreadful ability, which together make it nearly impossible for enemy troops to succeed at Courage tests against him. His Resilience of 13, Hard-Boiled, and Regneration/4 make him exceptionally difficult to take down, and his Leadership/30 ability allows him to give a massive +3 boost to the Fear of Living Dead troops within 30 cm. Moreover, with his artefact sword, Twilight, he become a powerful Initiate-level magician. In short, while the Almighty Crane is a beast in combat, he is also a tactically useful character.
Asura de Sarlath (The Lord of Insanity)(173 or 200 AP, Master): Asura is the lord of House Sarlath. He is currently the most powerful mage available to Acheron and is one of the three most powerful magicians in the game at the time of this writing (the others being Baron Mirviliis of the Lions and Master Sulfur of the Goblins). He is a master-level magician with Power 8, mastery of Darkness, Air, and an element of the player’s choice, and access to Necromancy, Typhonism, Shamanism, and Sorcery, which gives him access to a staggering selection of spells. Asura comes with two profiles, his standard, unmounted profile and a mounted profile called “The Lord of Insanity,” which benefits from a 15 cm MOVE, the War-horse ability, and +2 points of RES over the standard profile. Asura is an excellent magician with decent hand-to-hand combat stats, but at 173 AP (200 AP mounted) without spells, he doesn’t come cheap and is not well-suited to standard 400 AP games of Confrontation. Though Asura is not actually Living Dead, his special abilities give him many of the same qualities of Living Dead troops.
Azael the Unfaithful (38 AP, Initiate): Many people think that Azael is all but useless in C3, but I disagree. She is long overdue for a 2nd Incarnation, but even so she is one of my favorite characters, as much for her background as for her usefulness in the game. As an initiate who masters Darkness and has access to Necromancy and Typhonism, Azael is a good, low cost way to add some magical support to an army. She isn’t well-suited for direct offensive magic, but she can be good for summoning Morbid Puppets or for penalizing the enemy or boosting friendly troops with spells like Curse, Diversion of the Shadows, or Hecate’s Fury. Azael is an especially good choice when fielded with Melmoth due to their Blood Brother ability; when fielded together, Azael only costs 35 AP, and the total savings in AP between both her and Melmoth will usually be enough to pay for a spell or for Melmoth's sword artefact sword. Furthermore, her support magic can really help Melmoth out in combat, and as long as they are within 10 cm of each other, they both get Survival Instinct.
The Bogeyman (1st - 39 AP, 2nd - 52 AP, Devout): I’ll be honest, I don’t use the Bogeyman very often. I love the model, but if I’m going to field a faithful with Acheron, it’s probably going to be Ejhin. However, Ejhin is best as the centerpiece of an army, while the Bogeyman works well as a support character. His first incarnation is very cost-efficient yet fragile despite his Regeneration/5 ability. The second incarnation gains +1 INI, +1 ATT, +1 RES, Leadership/10, +2.5 Aura of Faith, and +1 point in the Destruction aspect, all for only 13 AP – quite a bargain, if you ask me. Which incarnation you use really depends on how many points you’re willing to put into him. The biggest problem facing the Bogeyman is that, being Iconoclast, he must be close to the enemy to generate T.F., yet he is relatively vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. It’s best to keep some Black Paladins with the Loyal ability nearby to help defend him and to generate T.F.
Chagall (1st - 60 AP, 2nd - 76 AP, Special): Chagall is a nice, mid-range combat character for Acheron. He’s cheap enough to easily fit into a typical game of Confrontation and has stats that make him effective in hand-to-hand. His Ambidextrous ability would be more useful if he had a higher Defense, but is effective enough as it is, and Chagall has Hard-boiled to help take a bit of the sting off hits that manage to get through his Ambidextrous defense. His first incarnation is called Chagall the Ever Hungry. The second incarnation is called Chagall the Dog Darkness and has +1 ATT, +1 FEAR, and the Impacable/2 ability over the first incarnation, all for an extra 16 AP (though I’ve never known him to get much use out of Implacable).
The Coryphaeus (108 AP, Adept Warrior-Mage, C3 p.167): The Coryphaeus is a Quaestor character and a very good warrior-mage. Though he only has Power 5, he is effective in hand-to-hand combat, especially when armed with his artefact sword, the Orpheon. He masters Darkness and Air and has access to Necromancy, Circaeus, and Cabala. It is particularly important to note his ability to cast Cabala spells, as there are some good ones hidden away among the Technomancy and Black Magic spells in the C3 rulebook (Degeneration and Screaming Death can be particularly nasty). Like all Quaestors, the Coryphaeus can share or receive up to 2 gems of Darkness with other Quaestors for the purposes of spell mastery, and he has a special ability that allows all Quaestors within his Leadership range to use this ability as though they were within walking distance (even if they are not). The Coryphaeus is an excellent Acheron character because he is an effective and versatile mage who can also hold his own in combat.
Ejhin de Vanth (75 AP, Zealot): Not only is Ejhin one of my favorite Confrontation miniatures, she’s also one of my favorite characters to use in games. Ejhin is currently Acheron’s strongest faithful, and IMO, she’s an all-around good character with good divination abilities and combat stats that let her hold her own against many opponents (her Survival Instinct ability helps too). She also makes a good leader since, being a living character, she has a decent Discipline stat of 5. Like all Acheron faithful, Ejhin is Iconloclast, so must get close to the enemy to have enough T.F. However, I usually field her with a Liturgical Instrument (C3 p.110) and two or three Black Paladins with the Loyal ability. This not only gives her some protection from the enemy, but also guarantees that she’ll have plenty of T.F. even if the enemy never makes it into her aura of faith. As for miracles, I usually like giving Ejhin miracles that allow her to boost the stats of her troops. Another good miracle for Ejhin, especially against low DIS armies, is Inferno of Damnation (C3 p.108). When I take this miracle, I usually also take Consecrated Emblem (C3 p.150) so that she can re-roll 5’s and 6’s. This can allow Ejhin to inflict some devastating damage upon even tough opponents. Many people also like giving Ejhin Ira Tenebrae Summoning, which makes her a ridiculously effective summoner.
The Gorgon (97 AP, Adept): The Gorgon is arguably Acheron’s best magician for her cost. She’s an adept-level magician with Power 6 who masters Darkness and Fire and has access to Necromancy, Circaeus, and Typhonism. Her ability to cast both Darkness and Fire spells gives her a lot of options for direct damage magic. She’s also a Spirit of Darkness, so a “1” does not count as a failure on her incantation rolls when casting Darkness spells, even after rolling up a "6.". Essentially, this means she’ll automatically cast Darkness spells with a difficulty of 7 or less without needing to roll. On top of all that, she has a high Fear of 9 and Dreadful, which can make it difficult for unprepared enemies to charge her, and her Leadership/10 lets her give a +2 boost to the Fear of nearby Living Dead fighters. Altogether, she’s one of the more effective Acheron characters if used properly.
Kain the Scourge (147 AP, Zealot Warrior-Monk): Kain is a powerful warrior-monk. He’s a dangerous hand-to-hand combatant and his divination abilities make him an effective faithful as well, so he’s a very well-rounded character with the potential to seriously boost his own power using miracles like Prayer of the Warrior. His Righteous ability makes him immune to Fear, and his Sequence, Fencer, and Counter-attack abilities give you a lot of tactical options in combat (remember that because Kain is a warrior-monk who already has the ability to counter-attack, the difficulty of his counter-attacks is only increased by 1, not by 2 as normal). Among Kain’s other advantages are his relatively high DIS of 6, which makes him a great leader for Acheron armies. You can also pay extra for several additional advantages for Kain: Loyal/1 for 10 AP, Hard-boiled for 12 AP, and Leadership/15 for 17 AP. However, all these advantages come with a hefty price. For 147 AP before any of his miracle,s artefacts, or special abilities are added in, Kain is not cheap, and is difficult to fit into a standard 400 point game of Confrontation.
Melmoth (1st - 75 AP, 2nd - 106 AP, Elite): Let’s face it, Melmoth has one of the worst miniatures in the Confrontation range, but aside from that, he’s a pretty good character for his cost. He is Azael’s Blood Brother, so when the two are fielded together, he only costs 68 AP (96 AP for his 2nd Incarnation) and gains Survival Instinct if Azael is within 10 cm. Melmoth’s 1st Incarnation is a good hand-to-hand fighter, though his mediocre defense means that he must usually rely on his Resilience 9 and Regeneration/5 to see him through. Melmoth also has Leadership/10, though this is ulikely to make a huge difference. Melmoth’s 2nd Incarnation is, IMO, a huge improvement over the first. Although his costs increases by 31 AP, he gains +1 ATT, +2 DEF, +1 FEAR, and Authority. The Defense increase improves his survivability, but the Authority is the real advantage of this Incarnation, as it can help make up for some of Acheron’s lack of Discipline during the Activation Phase.
Quaestor Essais (Rag)(62 AP, Initiate Warrior-Mage): Quaestor Essais is a Quaestor character meant for Rag’Narok, but he’s quite usable in Confrontation. However, I feel he is a bit overpriced. His combat stats are decent, but not exceptional, and his Power is only 3. He masters Darkness and has access to Circaeus. Though it is possible to use him well in an army, I feel there are usually more effective uses for the points you’d spend on him. You could buy two Quaestors and their spells for about the same cost as Essais with a single spell, and I feel they would probably be more effective, though Essais’s fairly good ATT value does give him an advantage against many troops.
Sephiroth the Reaper (130 AP, Elite): Sephiroth is the undead king of the centaurs, and is a tough yet expensive Acheron character. He is designed purely for combat and works best when fielded with a few other undead centaurs. His stats and abilities are fairly straightforward, oriented toward hitting and doing damage in combat, especially if equipped with his artefact sword, Mizar, which boosts his strength based on the number of other centaurs near him. His high Resilience of 11 allows him to take hits fairly well too. He has Brutish Charge, Implacable/3, and MOVE of 17.5, so you’ll want to make sure he charges into combat and gets in as many hits as possible. He’s very mobile, and you need to use this to your advantage, picking your fights carefully so that he doesn’t get too bogged down. His Leadership/15 also makes him a good leader, especially coupled with his Fear 9 and his rank of Elite.
Sophet Drahas, King of Ashes (155 AP, Adept, C3 p.166): Sophet Drahas, a.k.a the King of Ashes, is a powerful lich who rules Cadwallon’s underworld from the catacombs beneath the city. He is bound to his throne, unable to leave it since he was cursed for failing to capture Cadwallon. Sophet one of the most powerful adept-level mages in the game with Power 7, mastery of Darkness and Earth and access to Necromancy, Cartomancy, and Typhonism. His combat stats are pretty good too, especially in conjunction with his Born Killer, Hard-boiled, and Regeneration/5 abilities, and his impressive FEAR 12 makes him difficult to assault by most enemies. However, Sophet has his drawbacks. For one thing, his high base cost means that he is difficult to fit in standard 400 AP games of Confrontation, though he fits well in games of 500 AP or higher. In addition to his cost, Sophet is a large target and his MOVE is only 5 cm since he’s bound to his bulky throne (which moves about through the power of the tormented souls trapped in it). This makes Sophet a magnet for ranged attacks, so you have to be extremely careful with him (his Hard-boiled and Regeneration help, though). In order to limit the effectiveness of enemy shooters against Sophet, I sometimes equip him with a Pendant of Mirages (C3 p.150). I also usually field a few Morbid Angels (and sometimes a Gargoyle) with Sophet so that I can send some flyers after those pesky shooters.
OTHER CHARACTERS:
In addition to the “official” Acheron characters, there are two others that were released in Cry Havoc #7. These characters were designed for the “Pandemonium of Janos” army from the Zhoukoi Island campaign. Technically, they aren’t supposed to be used in regular games of Confrontation, though many players will allow their use in friendly games as long as the army creation restrictions set out in CH7 for the Pandemonium of Janos are observed. Before using these characters, however, you should get the permission of your gaming group. Neither of these characters has its own miniature, so you’ll have to either proxy or convert models for them.
Janos the Banished (70 AP, Adept): Janos is a lich necromancer banished to Zhoukoi Island, where he has set about creating a small undead army and training a living apprentice, a native witch doctor named Lo’Nua. Janos is fairly cheap for an adept-level Acheron magician, but his combat stats are mediocre at best and he only has Power 5. He masters Darkness and Fire and has access to Necormancy and Shamanism. He also has Leadership/10, though this won’t usually make a difference in battles. Janos does have some sizeable advantages, however. His mastery of both Fire and Shamanism give him some nice options for spells. He also has both Recovery/1 and Summoner/1, so he is guaranteed at least one mana gem each turn even if he fails mana recovery, and he can summon 6 Force points worth of creatures (not 5 as normal for an adept character). Basically, this makes him ideal for summoning large numbers of Morbid Puppets or Morbid Angels, though with his Recovery/1 ability, he’s good for summoning elementals because it's easier for him to get the mana gems needed to control them.
Lo’Nua (40 AP, Initiate): Lo’Nua is a nice alternative to Azael. He combat stats are similar, and like Azael, she masters Darkness and has a Power of 4. However, Lo’Nua does not have access to Necromancy. Instead, she uses Black Magic, which gives her some very nice spell options that aren’t normally available to Acheron. Lo’Nua also has Survival Instinct (always a bonus) and, most importantly, Luck, which lets her re-roll one roll each turn. IMO, Lo’Nua is a great, inexpensive magician.
PART III: TROOPS
There is a large variety of troops available to Acheron. It is notable, however, that the army contains no Irregular or Veteran troops. The army has a large selection of Regulars, most of which are either skeletons or zombies of various descriptions, and a large number of Special and Elite options.
REGULAR TROOPS
Morbid Angel (12 AP): Morbid Angels may not look like much at first, but they can be remarkably effective if used well. Their stats aren’t all that different from a Morbid Puppet, yet they cost twice as much. What makes the difference is their Flight ability and 17.5 flight movement. This allows them to get almost anywhere on the battlefield very quickly in order diving charge the enemy. The bonuses for diving improve a Morbid Angel’s effectiveness considerably and makes then very good at taking out “soft” targets like shooters and less powerful mages. They can also swoop in to help out allied troops, lending their assistance against a tough enemy or charging in to break up combats in a way that is favorable to you. It is always important to put your Morbid Angels where you’ll need them most, so I usually wait to play them until late in the Activation Phase unless I want to use them to prevent certain enemies from assaulting or shooting.
It is possible to summon Morbid Angels during a battle in one of two ways with the Morbid Angel Invocation spell. They may be summoned directly or may be created by fusing two Morbid Puppets together (see the Part IV: Spells and Miracles).
Morbid Puppet (versions 1, 2, and 3)(5 or 6AP): Morbid Puppets are little more than cannon fodder. Their stats are miserable, and they have to get lucky to hurt many enemies. However, they are cheap and can be summoned, which makes them useful as expendable troops to throw in the enemy's way just to slow him down. I typically go all-out attack with Puppets since they won’t be defending anything with a Defense of 0 anyway. With luck, they’ll survive long enough to get n a few decent hits, and I've seen Puppets pull of some miraculous things in the past.
Two spells are particularly notable in conjunction with Morbid Puppets. One is Dance of Death, which allows a caster to destroy a Puppet, causing it to explode and hurt any other fighters in base contact with it. This spell is useful with summoning, as it allows a caster to produce an endless stream of walking suicide bombs. However, the Strength of the explosion usually won't be very high, so it’s much more useful against low-Resilience armies.
The second spell is Manipulation. This spell allows a caster to give a Puppet extra attack dice following one of its normal attacks. The spell may be cast multiple times upon the same Puppet, allowing it to (hopefully) land a flurry of blows on an enemy in the hopes of getting some lucky damage rolls. This spell is very good for making Puppets a real threat, but can drain mana gems quickly.
Skeletons: There are three types of Skeletons available to Acheron. These units fill an otherwise empty space between Morbid Puppets and Zombies in the Acheron army. They are not as tough as Zombies, but are much better than Puppets, and aren't too expensive. As such, they are a good way to fill out an army's numbers. Like Morbid Puppets, though, all Skeletons have Defense values of 0, which means that they should generally be treated as expendable and used just to soften up opponents for your tougher troops.
Note that if an army is bound to House Hestia, all Skeletons cost 2 AP less – a nice little discount that easily makes a swarmy Acheron army possible.
Skeleton in Armour (12 AP): This is the most expensive type of Skeleton, but it also the best at taking damage, with Strength 5 and Resilience 7. Its decent Resilience gives it the potential to take more punishment than the other Skeletons, which is valuable since Skeletons tend to strike last given their low Initaitve. This also makes this type of Skeleton good for slowing down the enemy.
Skeleton Warrior (11 AP): This type of Skeleton is similar to the armoured variety, but has Strength 6 and Resilience 5. This type’s higher Strength makes it appealing, especially against armies with low Strength.
Skeleton Spearmen (9 AP): This is the cheapest and weakest of the Skeletons, with Strength 4 and Resilience 5. Still, at only 9 points, they are a good way to add some numbers to an army.
Zombies (Acheron, Armoured, Dwarf, and Warrior): Acheron can field several different types of Zombies, four of which are Regulars. These troops are tougher and more effective than Puppets and Skeletons and form the "meat" of many Acheron forces. Though they suffer from low Defense and Inititiative, they benefit from Renegeration/5, which is invaluable as it allows them to recover from the hits that they will inevitably take. With the exception of the Dwarf Zombies, I rarely place dice in defense with my zombies; with Regeneration, it's just more practical to go all-out attack.
Zombie of Acheron (19 AP): Since the release of the Zombie Warriors boxed set, these Zombies don’t see much use anymore. However, they have both an Attack of 4 and Strength of 7 while the zombie Warriors can only get one or the other, so these Zombies still have their uses against opponents with good Defense and Resilience, such as Griffins)
Zombie in Armour (21 AP): If it weren’t for the Cerberide Zombies (see below), I would field these guys in almost every army I play. They have an very high Resilience of 9, which combined with their Regeneration means that it is hard to kill them. Their only weakness is their mediocre Strength of 5, but even so, you can generally rely on these guys to tie up enemy troops for a few turns at least.
Dwarf Zombie (18 AP): Okay, first off, there have actually been two versions of the Dwarf Zombies produced, but one type (which had Regeneration/4 and was called the Degenerated Dwarf) has been out of production for a long time, and I’ve never owned them, so I’m just going to write about the current version. At 18 AP, the Dwarf Zombies are marginally the cheapest Zombies available to Acheron. But their stats are pretty miserable. However, aside from Regeneration/5 they do have a couple of things going for them. First, they have Defense 3, which means they can actually defend against attacks from regular enemy troops. They also have Fierce. Combined, these two things make these Zombies into excellent speedbumps with the potential to tie down enemy troops for at least a couple of turns. However, I never expect them to kill much unless I’m facing a low-Resilience army like Kelts.
Zombie Warrior (19 AP, Regular): These are modular troops from the Zombie Warriors boxed set. They can get an Attack of 4 if equipped with swords or a Strength of 7 if equipped with lances. I always use lances since their normal Attack of 3 isn't too bad and the higher Strength is nice. The main advantage of these troops over the Zombies of Acheron is that they also have Resilience of 7, which improves their survivability.
SPECIAL TROOPS:
Banshee of Acheron (27 AP): Though I really like the Banshee models and have used them to great effect in the past, Banshees really aren’t the best buy for Acheron. A Banshee’s primary role in an Acheron force is to sow fear among the enemy with its FEAR 7 and Dreadful ability. However, unless you’re fighting an army with low Courage, no war-staff, or can send your Banshees after models outside of the leadership range of enemy characters, the Fear they can cause won’t make much of an impact. Having said that, though, I have had Banshees hold up entire flanks just because the enemy couldn’t drum up the courage to charge them! Except for their Fear-related stats, Banshees have the stats of a model less than half their cost and perform poorly in combat. They do have Immunity/Head, which lets them ignore hits to the head, but the ability really doesn’t come into play very often. In short, Banshees are risky to field, and should only be fielded with characters such as the Gorgon or Asura who have both a FEAR of 9 or more and the Leadership ability. These characters can help boost a Banshee’s Fear, making them more effective (though still not something to rely on).
Fiancee of the Tomb (OH)(3 AP): For 3 AP, a Banshee can become a Fiancee of the Tomb. This gives the Banshee Leadership/10 in Confrontation (though she cannot become a part of a War-staff). Essentially, this allows her to boost her allies' Fear by +2, up to Fear 7, which is perfect for Morbid Puppets and Zombies who normally have FEAR 5. In Rag’Narok, this ability instead simply allows her to become the leader of any unit of Living Dead fighters at no cost.
Black Paladin (41 AP): Black Paladins are one of the best troops available to Acheron, though they are expensive at 41 AP before their optional special abilities are added in. However, Black Paladins bring a number of things to an Acheron force. They are all-around good fighters without any notable weaknesses. They also possess Counter-attack, Sequence, and Righteous. The former two abilities are particularly notable, as they allow Black Paladins to adjust their tactics easily depending on whom they are fighting. Black Paladins also have a Discipline of 4, which might easily be the highest Discipline in an army composed mostly of Living Dead fighters, and this can help make up a bit for Acheron’s typical disadvantage in that department. Black Paladins may also be given one of two optional special abilities:
Scourge of the Souls (5 AP): This ability gives the Black Paladin Loyal/1. This ability is indescribably useful if you plan on fielding Faithful such as the Bogeyman, Kain, or Ejhin. Accompanied by two or three Black Paladins, the faithful not only gets an honor guard, but will usually have enough T.F. each round to call at least one miracle, even if no enemies are within the faithful’s aura of faith.
Scourge of Battles (6 AP): This ability gives the Black Paladin Hard-boiled. Combined with their Resilience of 9, this makes Black Paladins very resilient.
Ghoul of Acheron (17 AP): Ghouls are living troops, and in my opinion they are at best risky to use. To be honest, the only thing that makes the "special" troops instead of "Regular" or "Veteran" is their Ambidextrous ability. They aren't bad in combat against other troops with similar stats, but they aren’t good either. The main problem is that with their mediocre Resilience 6 and Defense 3, their Ambidextrous ability isn't very effective. On the rare occasions when I use them, I try to put them up against enemy regulars, models with roughly similar stats against which the Ghouls have a decent chance of performing well. Against tougher opponents, they won’t stand up at all.
Spectre of Acheron (59 AP): The Spectre is a tremendous threat to the enemy, but can also be rather fragile, so he must always be used with utmost care. With a very good Attack value and a high Strength of 9, Spectres are very dangerous in hand-to-hand combat, especially thanks to their special Heartrender ability. Any time a Spectre inflicts a wound to an enemy’s chest (the “4” column of the Wound Table), it rips its target’s heart out. This kills the target outright and heals the Spectre by one wound level. Spectres also have the Ethereal ability (C3 p. 134) and Fear 8, which helps improve their survivability and greatly increases their tactical flexibility. The problem with Spectres is that even with their Ethereal ability, they are vulnerable to enemy attacks due to their low Defense and mediocre Resilience. This means that you really need to win Initiatve with a Spectre and must also keep them out of the way of ranged attacks, both of which are hardly sure things. In order to improve a Spectre’s chances of winning the Initiative roll, I usually try to get it into combat with one or two allies so that it can benefit from the Initiative bonus for multiple combatants.
One good tactic that is often used with Spectres takes advantage of their high Fear and Ethereal abilities. Using Ethereal, a Spectre may run through enemy troops, causing a Fear check on each as it does so. This can cause several enemy troops to flee under the influence of Fear, especially if used on troops outside of a leader or war-staff's Leadership range!
ELITE TROOPS
Centaurs (Heavy, Light, and Dracynran): Acheron has several cavalry options available, among which are three different varieties of skeletal centaur.
Heavy Centaur (35 AP): Heavy Centaurs bring some hard-hitting mobility to an Acheron force. They have MOVE 15, a good Attack value, Strength 10 when charging, and Brutish Charge, all of which combine to make them very dangerous when they charge. They can usually risk going all-out attack when they charge thanks to their Resilience of 9. On turns in which they don’t charge, however, a Heavy Centaur’s Strength goes down to 6, which means they can easily become bogged down if they don’t eliminate their opponent on the charge. To lessen the possibility that my Heavy Centaurs will get bogged down, I usually either send them after isolated opponents or wait until the rest of my army is engaged and then charge them in to help out my other troops. I've also found that charging tough enemies creatures with two or three centaurs can be very effective, as the centaurs can often inflict serious damage on the creature if not kill it outright. If they don't though, they could be in trouble. In general, Heavy Centuars can be very effective, but in they must be used with care lest their potential be wasted.
Light Centaur (27 AP): These guys are actually discontinued, but since a lot of people have them, they deserve mention. The Light Centaurs are fast archers, and are some of the only ranged troops available to Acheron. At 27 points, they aren’t cheap, so fielding them can be risky since their low defensive stats make them very fragile. It is important to keep them out of hand-to-hand combat if at all possible. The advantage of these Centaurs lies in their ranged attack (STR 3, 20-40-60) and their Scout ability, both of which are virtually non-existent in the Acheron army. Placed and played well, these troops can be used to harass lightly armored enemies and characters like mages, though of course the threat of enemy magic or shooting can be a problem for them. Even though these centaurs have the advantage of the Scout ability, I personally prefer to use the variant profile for the Light Centaurs, the Centaur of Dracynran (see below).
Centaur of Dracynran (WoR)(31 AP): This is a variant profile for the Light Centaurs, so it doesn’t have its own miniature (just use the Light Centaur miniatures instead). Although these guys are 4 AP more expensive than the Light Centaurs, they are definitely worth it. First, the Strength of their bows is 5, not 3, and their bows are automatically Black Weapons, so the Strength can be increased up to 10 with the Dead Forge spell. Secondly, they have Harassment. This ability greatly improves their survivability, as it allows them to use their excellent MOVE of 17.5 to play keep-away, ducking in and out of cover while shooting at the enemy. I almost never use the regular Light Centaurs, preferring these guys instead. They are excellent tactical troops, though their cost means they must be used with care.
Scavenger of Acheron (33 AP): Yet another of my favorite troops, Scavengers are Acheron zombie horsemen. They help round out Acheron’s selection of high-Movement cavalry units. They have worthwhile combat stats and can hold their own in a fight, especially in groups. As Zombies, they have Regeneration/5 and also benefit from Fierce, and War-horse, which makes them a real threat since they will often have more dice than their opponents and can keep swinging even after they’ve been killed. I have rarely been disappointed with my Scavengers’ performance; they almost always do well and can operate in a variety of roles from chasing down enemies to acting as speed-bumps to slow down and soften up tough opponents. Note that War-horse has no effect on the turn that a fighter charges, and since the Scavengers do not get a Strength bonus for charging, I usually engage with them even when I could charge, just so they’ll get the extra attack. As with most zombies (especially those with Fierce), I almost always go all-out attack with these guys, though with a Defense of 3, they have to ability to defend against attacks from weaker enemies.
Cerberide Zombie (WoR)(25 AP): These two-headed zombies are hands-down my favorite, and I take two or three in probably 75% of the games I play. There are no miniatures for them since they are an alternate profile from Warriors of Rag’Narok, but you can easily proxy in Armoured Zombies or convert your own. They are worth every bit of their 25 AP. Their good combat stats combine a lot of the advantages of the other types of regular Zombies: ATT 4, STR 7, RES 8. What’s more, they are armed with Black Weapons and, most importantly, they have Fierce. As with the other types of Zombies, I almost never defend with these guys, instead going all-out attack. I have rarely been disappointed with them; it’s worth picking up Warriors of Rag’Narok just to get them.
CREATURES
Cerberus of Acheron (88 AP): Aside from characters, the Cerberus is Acheron’s toughest model, with stats and abilities that make it a terror on the battlefield. It's stats are in line with most other creatures of similar AP cost, so it can tear through enemies and its Movement of 15 cm lets it maneuver to where it is needed. Furthermore, it has Regeneratio/5, which, coupled with its high Resilience of 10, allows it to take hits pretty well. And it rarely lacks for combat dice since it has both Born Killer and Sequence. The Cerberus can effectively tie down three or four enemy troops at once, and as long as those troops aren’t too tough, it is likely to come out on top. I’ve found the Cerberus to be worth its points; it is very reliable. In addition to is standard abilities, the Cerberus may be given one of two special capacities if it is bound to certain houses (noted in parenthesis):
Solo/Wild Beast of Typhon (6 AP)(House Lazarian): This ability allows magicians of Acheron in the Cerberus’s army and who are within 15 cm of the beast to absorb and counter enemy spells as though they were standing at the Cerberus’s position. Furthermore, magicians of Acheron bound to House Lazarian and standing within 15 cm of the Cerberus gain 2 extra mana gems every time they make a mana recovery roll, even if the roll was failed. This is very handy!
Solo/Guardian of Hades (5 AP)(House Hestia): Within 15 cm of the Cerberus, no enemy fighter can be summoned, and any troops killed with the radius are removed from the game and cannot be returned to it, even with Reinforcement. This ability is generally of limited use against most armies, but against Goblins it becomes extremely useful.
Gargoyle of Acheron (39 AP): The Gargoyles are one of my favorite Acheron troops, though I would argue that they are a bit overpriced (others would no doubt disagree). They are flying troops, and as such, to get the best of them, they must attack with a diving charge. Doing so is rarely difficult, since their MOVE is 10/20, giving them a 30 cm diving charge range! Without the bonuses from a diving charge, however, their stats only mediocre. Gargoyles only have a Resilience of 6, so fi they get bogged down they can be in trouble, but their Hard-boiled ability helps. Gargoyles are perfect for taking out enemy mages and shooters, or can drop in to assist their allies in other combats. My recommendation when fielding Gargoyles is to always field at least a couple of Morbid Angels with each Gargoyle. The Morbid Angels can not only bring more attacks to bear against a target the Gargoyle assaults, but they can also be used to charge enemy troops near the Gargoyle’s target so that those enemies cannot counter-charge the Gargoyle. Gargoyles can be given one of two special capacities if they are bound to certain Obscure Houses (noted in parenthesis):
Solo/Swarm of Phobos (5 AP)(House Sarlath): This ability gives the Gargoyle Reinforcement as long as a friendly character of House Sarlath or an Idol of Nightmares is present on the field. It you’re playing House Sarlath and decide to field a Gargoyle, I’d recommend this ability. It’s only 5 AP, and if it happens to come into play, it can let you bring a 39 AP fighter back to the field, which isn’t bad.
Solo/Corrosive Stain (8 AP)(House Vanth): Aside from the Light Centaurs and Centaurs of Dracynran, this ability is the only way an Acheron force can get ranged attacks. Corrosive stain gives a Gargoyle AIM 4, Harassment, and the ability to spit acid (STR 6, 15-25-35). A Gargoyle with this becomes flying fire support, and can usually pick its targets easily with its high movement. The only problem is that the Gargoyle will suffer a -2 penalty for shooting from altitude level 1 if it attacks ground targets, but with AIM 4 and Harassment this usually isn't too crippling. Though this ability is expensive, it can definitely be worthwhile if used well.
Gargoyles comes with a special nexus, called the Idol of Nightmares, which can be used to increase the Fear of nearby troops. This nexus is also useful in conjunction with the Swarm of Phobos ability described below (nexuses are detail in Dogs of War).
Wolfen Zombies (versions 1, 2, and 3)(34, 40, or 51 AP): There are three Wolfen Zombie profiles, each with different stats. All Wolfen Zombies Regeneration/5, which really improves their survivability. Though the stats of the Wolfen Zombies differ somewhat, they all have good Attack values and Strengths, but the Defense stats are all 3 or less and their Resilience stats (which range from 6 to 8) leave them a bit vulnerable. Even so, if they get stuck into combat, the tougher Wolfen Zombies (40 and 51 AP versions) can hold their own and survive fairly well. They make excellent hard-hitting shock troops and will tend to draw a lot of attention from the enemy, which you can use to your advantage. Wolfen Zombies can also generally keep up with Acheron’s cavalry units, allowing them to contribute to fast-moving Acheron forces. I’ve found Wolfen Zombies to be very reliable troops. However, though they seem like big tough creatures, they cannot hold their own against most other big creatures unless they get really lucky. A Troll, Dasyatis Clone, Tyrant, or similar enemy will generally tear a Wolfen Zombie apart, and while Regeneration helps, Wolfen Zombies just don’t have the Resilience to take high-Strength hits.
When using wolfen Zombies against Wolfen armies, beware of Wolfen Grave Guardians! They are tough troops and have Bane/Wolfen Zombies, so they are real threat.
WARRIOR-MAGES AND WARRIOR-MONKS
Gravediggers of Salauel (Living and Undead versions)(31 AP, Warrior-monk): The Gravedigger is another of my favorite troops, and I field one frequently. There are two versions available, a living version and an undead, zombie version that comes only as a profile card in the Obscure Houses card pack. The biggest advantage to fielding either, IMO, is that they are warrior-monks and can use the Chain of the Grave miracle to create more zombies during the battle. Others like to use them for IT summoning. Gravediggers also have a special Zombie Masters ability that allows them to channel the strength of a zombie within their aura of faith to gain an extra die when calling miracles. However, if call fails, the zombie suffers Damage roll with a Strength equal to the attempted miracle’s Fervour. I almost always do this unless I really don’t need to or I really need my zombies to remain unwounded. Note also that for the purposes of this ability, any Living Dead model with Regeneration is considered to be a zombie (including Crane Warriors, the Cerberus, etc.)
Living Gravedigger: The living Gravedigger profile has okay stats, but he's not exceptional. However, he also has two other abilities that are quite nice: Master Strike/0 and Fierce. Together, those abilites constitute a notable threat to the Gravedigger's opponents. All in all, I find this guy to be effective, but I generally prefer the undead version.
Undead Gravedigger: The undead Gravedigger profile has +1 ATT and +1 DEF over the living version, but this comes at the cost of -2.5 cm of Movement, -1 INI, and no Discipline stat. It also loses Master Strike and Fierce, but gains Regeneration/5. One nice thing about this version is that if no zombies are nearby, he can use himself as a focus for the Zombie Master ability.
Quaestor of Acheron (25 AP, Warrior-mage): Quasetors are Acheron’s warrior-mages. They have Power 3, mastery of Darkness, and access to Circaeus. Furthermore, they have a special ability that lets them share up to 2 mana gems as long as they are within 10 cm of each other, but only for the purposes of spell mastery. This gives them the potential of casting spells that would normally be too difficult to try. However, I rarely take more than one Quaestor, so this ability almost never comes up. In combat, Quaestors are decent but not exceptional, though their stats are reasonable for their 25 AP cost. Many Circaeus spells allow them to boost their own stats or hamper their enemy in some way, which lets a Quaestor improve his combat potential. Other good spells choices for Quaestors include Primal Attack of Darkness (for a little extra offensive punch against tough opponents) or Tenebrous Scarification (if the Quaestor is to be used to support a summoner who is summoning Puppets or Ira Tenebrae).
PART IV: SPELLS AND MIRACLES
Before I get into the individual spells, I feel the need to devote some attention Acheron's options for summoning.
ACHERON SUMMONING
Acheron has many options open to them for summoning. Summoning spells are common choices for Acheron spellcasters, so instead of noting such under the individual spell descriptions, I’ll cover the options here.
Morbid Puppet Invocation: The quick and dirty of Acheron spellcasting, Morbid Puppet Invocation allows a caster to summon a Morbid Puppet. This spell is useful for throwing speedbumps in an opponent’s way and is good for Initiate-level spellcasters or as an extra spell for higher-level spellcasters. There are also a number of spells, such as Dance of Death and Manipulation, that are specifically designed to affect Morbid Puppets and that work very well in conjunction with Puppet Summoning.
Morbid Angel Invocation: Slightly better than Morbid Puppet Invocation is Morbid Angel Invocation, which allows a caster to summon a Morbid Angel. This spell can be cast in one of two ways. First, it can be cast upon two Morbid Puppets, turning them into a single Morbid Angel. This is cost effective in terms of mana (costing only one gem) but I generally find that if I already have two Puppets on the field, then they’ll serve better than a single Angel. The other way to cast the spell costs 4 mana gems, but summons a brand new Angel to the field. This is the version I usually use. There are two problems with this spell, though. First, the second version is a tad expensive in terms of mana, which limits the number of Angels that can be summoned in a turn. Second, for a Morbid Angel to really be effective, it has to get airborne and perform a diving charge. Thus, it will be at least two turns before an Angel summoned with this spell can really be employed effectively, and that delay can make this spell difficult to manage.
Elemental Summoning: Acheron has access to all elementals except for Light and Water. Any elemental will provide a bit of extra punch to an Acheron force, though there often better uses for a necromancer’s mana. Elemental summoning becomes slightly more tempting, however, when used in conjunction with House Vanth.
Chain of the Grave: This spell, which is reserved to Gravediggers, allows a Gravedigger to turn a slain living being into a zombie. I like this spell A LOT, and almost always take it when I field a Gravedigger. It’s simply too useful to leave behind, since the Gravedigger need only cast it on himself, them wait for something to die within his aura of faith. Usually, this means that your opponent must not only face the loss of one of his own troops, but also a new zombie under your control! The Acheron player can choose what type of zombie rises as a result of this spell. I usually choose Armored Zombies since they have the most staying power, but if I’m fighting a tough (high Resilience) opponent, Zombie Warriors with lances may be a better choice.
Ira Tenebrae Summoning: This controversial miracle (often referred to as “IT Summoning”) is a favorite for Acheron players, and is frequently given to Acheron faithful. I don’t often use it partially because it is so controversial, so I’m not going to say a lot about it aside from the fact that it is an effective and powerful way to bring expendable troops to the field, especially if you’re playing a House Vanth army. One trick that I have found to be effective with this spell is to field Azael with Tenebrous Scarification and keep her near the faithful who summons the Ira Tenebrae. Each turn, when the faithful summons another IT, I have Azael cast Tenebrous Scarification on it. This turns the IT into a true suicide troop; when it is killed, it will “explode,” causing damage to all in base contact with it.
SPELLS
The following is a quick description the spells that come in various Acheron blisters and boxed sets. I’ve included a reference the source of each spell after its name. Each spell also includes the most important statistical info: AP cost, gems required to cast it, Difficulty, Intensity, and Path.
I also noted spells that were revised in C3 by adding the C3 page number of the revision after the spell's other stats.
Acheron's mages generally have access to either Necromancy, Circaeus, or both. In addition, many have access to the path of Typhonism. Both Light and Water are forbidden to Acheronian mages.
Note that several Necromancy spells are “Macellarii” spells. These spells are notable for two reasons. First, the magic intensity of such spells is reduced by 1 point for each additional Macellarii spell a mage takes, so if he takes three, the magic intensities of all three are reduced by two points. Second, magicians of House Lazarian add +1 to the final result of incantation rolls to cast Macellarii spells.
Arcanum IV: The Emperor (Sophet Drahas)(14 AP, 2 Earth, 1 Neutral, Diff. 10, Int. 3, Cartomancy):
This spell allows the caster to turn any or all of his Power into an equal number of points of DEF or RES, which maybe distrubted among his allies within 20 cm. He must then use his new, lower Power until the end of the round when the spell’s effects expire.
Arcanum XV: The Devil (Sophet Drahas)(13 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. 3 + target’s COU, Int. 4, Cartomancy):This spell may be cast at any time during the round but cannot affect Damage rolls or rolls of multiple dice and may only affect figures that have a COU rating printed on their cards. The next D6 rolled by the target is automatically considered to be a 1.
Arrows of Hecate (Gorgon)(26 AP, 3 Fire, Diff. 9, Int. 4, Elemental, C3 p.165):This spell fires a flaming projectile at a target, doing STR 5 damage. The caster can spend up to 3 additional gems to increase the spell’s range by 10 cm per gem.
The Blood of Discord (Sophet Drahas)(11 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 10, Int. 2, Elemental, C3 p.167):
Each time the spell’s target inflicts a wound to the “Chest” column of the wound table (the “4” column), his own wound level improves by one degree. Wounds to Living Dead, constructs, or elemental beings do not count for this spell. At the end of each round, roll 1D6 for each fighter benefiting from this spell. On a roll of 1, the spell ends and the fighter receives a STR 0 Damage roll.
Carnal Mystique (Asura de Sarlath)(20 AP, 4 Darkness, Diff. 11, Int. 3, Necromancy):This spell is a Macellarii spell. This spell turns a magician’s wound penalties into bonuses (so a Critical Wound would give a +3 bonus instead of a -3 penalty). This lasts until the end of the game. If the incantation for this spell fails, the magician suffers a Critical Wound.
Curse (Azael)(11 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 4, Elemental):
This spell allows the caster to inflict a -1 penalty to the INI, ATT, and DEF of a target in base contact.
Dance of Death (Morbid Puppets 2)(12 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. Free, Int. 3, Necromancy):
This spell allows a magician to “explode” a Morbid Puppet. This destroys the Puppet but does damage equal to half the Difficulty chosen for the spell to all models in base contact with the Puppet when it is blown up. This spell is a good choice for a mage who is also equipped with Morbid Puppet Invocation.
Dead Forge (Coryphaeus)(13 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 9, Int. 2, Necromancy, Cabala):
This spell is the main reason Black Weapons exist, and it can only be cast on fighters with such weapons. This spell increases the STR a fighter with Black Weapons by 1 point, or the RES of a fighter with Black Armour by 1 point. After the spell is cast, the magician may spend up to two additional gems of Darkness, and each gem so spent add another +2 to the STR or RES of the target (so the maximum bonus that may be imparted is +5). The bonus only lasts until the end of the round, but the spell can be pretty useful for making certain models much more dangerous. This spell can be especially nice if cast on Centaurs of Dracynran; their Harassment ability allows them to maneuver to and from the mage while shooting at the enemy, and the spell can give their shots a STR of 10! This is a rather expensive tactic, though, and may not always pay off.
Distortion (Quaestor 2)(8 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Circaeus):This spell allows the magician to move up to 10 cm, automatically disengaging from combat if disengagement is a possibility.
Eternal Torpor (Gorgon)(13 AP, 4 Darkness, Diff. Special, Int. 0, Reserved to the Gorgon, C3 p.165):
With this spell, the Gorgon can potentially turn a victim to stone. In order to cast this spell, both the Gorgon and her target must have line of sight to one another or must be in base contact. The Gorgon makes her incantation roll and the target makes an INI roll, which is then subtracted from the Gorgon’s total. The result determines the spell’s effects:
- 0 or -: No effect
- 1-5: Target suffers a STR 0 hit.
- 6-10: Target suffers a hit with a STR equal to the difference between the Gorgon’s roll and the target’s INI roll (i.e. between 6 and 10)..
- 11+: The target is turned to stone and can no longer participate in the battle. He can be freed by magic that dispels effects or by eliminating the Gorgon.
This spell has no effect on the Living Dead, constructs, or Immortals.
I personally find this spell to be incredibly useful if I also equip the Gorgon with a Symbol of Power (C3 p.150), giving the Gorgon a better chance to roll higher (especially since, being a Spirit of Darkness, she doesn’t risk failing her incantation when she rolls up a natural 5 or 6).
Funeral March (Gorgon)(16 AP, 5 Darkness, Diff. 9, Int. 4, Necromancy, Typhonism, C3 p.165):This spell is especially good for warrior-mages like the Coryphaeus. The spells grants the magician +2 to ATT, DEF, and Damage rolls, but only against the Funeral March’s target. Also, if the target hits inflicts the magician with a Damage roll, the roll suffers a -2 penalty. This spell lasts until the magician or his target is eliminated, and cannot be cast again while it is active.
Hecate’s Fury (OH)(12 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 3, Necromancy):This spell can only target fighters of Acheron. If successful, the target’s DEF is added to his ATT, but he must place all dice into attack. If the magician is bound to House Hestia, he may spend additional gems to give the target Implacable/X, with X being equal to the number of gems spent. This spell is very useful against opponents with high DEF, and particularly when cast on hard-hitting troops like Wolfen Zombies, since it usually allows them to overcome an enemy’s defenses.
The Hydra’s Flesh (Asura de Sarlath)(17 AP, 4 Darkness, Diff. 12, Int. 3, Necromancy):This is a Macellarii spell. This spell lasts until the end of the game. After it is cast, the magician may spend 1 gem of darkness before each damage roll he suffers. 2D6 is then rolled, and if the total of the two dice is greater than or equal to the STR of the damage roll, then it is cancelled. If the incantation to cast this spell fails, the mage suffers a Critical Wound.
Hymn of Despair (Quaestor 1)(7 AP, 1 Darkness, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Circaeus, C3 p.163):
This spell is meant for Quaestors. It adds +1 to the magician’s STR until the end of the round, The magician can spend extra gems to increase this bonus further on a one for one basis, but cannot more than double his STR in this way. This bonus STR doesn’t effect elemental beings of Water or magicians who master Water.
Impulse of Death (Obscure Houses)(12 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. Free, Int. 2, Necromancy):This is a Macellarii spell. It is cast before the Tactical roll, and if successful the magician gains bonus points equal to half the chosen difficulty (rounded down). These points may be distributed among the magician’s land MOVE, ATT, and DEF, with a maximum bonus of +5 to any one characteristic. If the incantation fails, the caster takes a Serious Wound.
Majesty (Sophet Drahas)(21 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. 10, Int. 0, Reserved to Sophet Drahas):
This spell may be cast at any time during the round except during an enemy activation. The targeted figurine must make a COU test and Sophet’s FEAR or suffer the effects of a failed Couragetest. This spell has no affect on fighters who are immune to fear or have resisted a fear equal to or greater than that of Sophet.
Manipulation (Morbid Puppets 3)(7 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Necromancy):
This spell may only be cast on Morbid Puppets, and gives the Puppet an additional attack die until the end of the round. It may be cast on the same Puppet multiple times, which is why it is so useful.
Mask of the Condemned (Sophet Drahas)(12 AP, 4 Darkness, Diff. Free, Int. 3, Necromancy):If the target fails a COU/FEAR test with a difficulty equal to that chosen for the spell, , he loses all advantages bound to being a character until the end of the round, but may continue to use magic objects.
Morbid Angel Invocation (Morbid Angels 1)(11 AP, 1 or 4 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 4, Necromancy, C3 p.162):This spell allows a caster to either create a Morbid Angel by fusing together two existing Morbid Puppets (costing 1 gem) or summon a brand new Morbid Angel (costing 4 gems).
Morbid Division (Morbid Angels 2)(10 AP, 1 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 3, Necromancy, C3 p.162)):This spell is essentially the opposite of Morbid Angel Invocation. It allows a mage to transform a single Morbid Angel into two Morbid Puppets.
Morbid Puppet Invocation (Morbid Puppets 1)(7 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 4, Necromancy, C3 p.162):
This is a classic Acheron spell. It allows a mage to summon a single Morbid Puppet, but since it may be cast an unlimited number of times each round, it is possible to summon multiple Puppets during the same activation.
Mortal Litany (Quaestor 1)(11 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 3, Circaeus, C3 p.163):This spell grants the caster bonuses depending on the number of gems invested in it after it is cast. The spell lasts until the end of the round, but may be prolonged from round to round as long as the caster spends 4 gems of Darkness. Though this spell is meant for Quaestors, it is very difficult for them to gain or keep the more worthwhile higher-level bonuses it can offer:
- No extra gems: FEAR +1
- 4 Darkness gems: STR, RES, & FEAR +1
- 8 Darkness gems: ATT, STR, DEF, RES, & FEAR +1
- 10 Darkness gems: ATT, STR, DEF, RES, & FEAR +2
- 14 Darkness gems: ATT, STR, DEF, RES, & FEAR +2, gains Dreadful.
Pallid Aura (Azael)(13 AP, 1 Darkness, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Necromancy, C3 p.165):
The Pallid Aura covers a 10 cm radius around the caster. Until the end of the round, the magician gains 1 gem of Darkness for each fighter (except for Constructs, Living Dead, and Possessed) killed outright in the aura’s area.
Privilege (Sophet Drahas)(19 AP, 3 Neutral, Diff. 10, Int. 4, Cartomancy):
Until the end of the round, this spell makes the target immune to spells cast using an element determined by the caster when it is cast. The gems used to cast the spell must be the same as or opposed to the chosen element. A magician can only cast Privilege protecting from the same element once at a time.
Psalms of Insanity (Quaestor 2)(11 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 3, Circaeus, Cs p.164):
When Psalms of Insanity is cast, roll 2d6. Each extra gem spent before this roll is made adds 1 to the sum of the dice. The target must test against a Fear rating equal to the sum of the two dice, and this Fear is treated as though it came from a Living Dead fighter.
Putrefaction (Azael)(18 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. 6 + target’s RES, Int. 4, Necromancy, C3 p.166):
This spells inflicts a -1 penalty to the target’s RES. Each new round, the magician can spend a gem of Darkness to increase this penalty increases by 1. If the penalty ever equal the RES printed on the target’s reference card, he is killed outright. This spell cannot affect Living Dead or Immortals and is Permanent.
Reign of Chaos (Asura de Sarlath)(25 AP, X Neutral, Diff. 12, Int. 0, Reserved to Asura):
The player rolls 2D6 before each Tactical roll. The lower result is the spell’s cost in gems, and the higher result is its frequency. The spell may then be cast right after an Inititative, Attack, Defense, Aim, Courage/Fear, Discipline, Power, divination, or Damage roll made by the target. If successful, the roll is cancelled and must be made again as if it never happened.
The Shadow of Death (Asura de Sarlath)(35 AP, 5 Darkness, Diff. 11, Int. 5, Necromancy):
This is one of the few direct damage Necromancy spells, and as its stats imply, it can be quite powerful but is really only suited for top notch magicians like Sophet and Asura. It affects an area equal to the zome artillery dispersion template and may be cast on a fighter or an area of the battlefield. The template is placed on the target area, and a D6 is rolled for each model it touches. On a 4+, the model suffers a STR 7 Damage roll. Then another D6 is rolled, and on a 4+, the magician can spend 2 more gems of Darkness to cause the template to deviate like zone artillery, doing damage again at its new location. This can be repeated until the repetition test fails, the magician can no longer spend gems on it, or the template leave the battlefield. The spell can affect the same victim several times if it happens to deviate onto that target more than once.
Shredding of the Souls (Coryphaeus)(15 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 0, Reserved to Coryphaeus):
This spell is cast just before the Coryphaeus makes a Damage roll in hand-to hand combat. It allows the Coryphaeus to roll an additional die on the Damage roll and keep the two that he wishes (like Assassin). The spell may be cast several times in a round on the same target in the Coryphaeus inflicts further Damage rolls on the target.
Sonnet of Eternity (Coryphaeus)(10 AP, 1 Neutral, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Circaeus, Necromancy)
This spell is cast before the Tactical roll. If successful, the magician can spend mana gems right before suffering a Damage roll, and each gem so spent reduces the STR of the Damage roll by 2 points. If this reduces it to 0 or less, then the hit is ignored. Sacred and Black Weapons are unaffected by this spell.
MIRACLES
The following is a quick description the miracles that come in various Acheron blisters and boxed sets. I’ve included a reference to the source of each miracle after its name. Each miracle includes the most important statistical info: AP cost, Fervour, Difficulty, and Required Aspects (Creation = C, Alteration = A, and Destruction = D). If a miracle belongs to a cult other than that of Salauel, I also note it after the Aspects.
I also noted miracles that were revised in C3 by adding the C3 page number of the revision after the miracle's other stats.
Abjuration (Bogeyman)(8 AP, 2 Fervour, Diff. 8, C0 A1 D1, Meander of Darkness):
The miracle’s target is not counted in the calculation of T.F. for faithful on its own side, but it still counts for enemy iconoclasts. This miracle cannot affect fighters with Fanaticism.
Awakening of the Demon (Ejhin de Vanth)(14 AP, Free Fervour, Diff. Special, C0 A0, D1):
This miracles Fervour must be chosen before the call, and the difficulty is 4 + the chosen Fervour. If successful, the Faithful acquires a number of bonus points equal to the chosen Fervour, which may be distributed like points gained from Mutagenic. If the faithful is House Vanth, these points may instead be given to a fighter within the faithful aura of faith.
Blade of Erebus (Ejhin de Vanth)(17 AP, 2 Fervour, Diff. target’s STR, C1 A0 D1):
This miracle is cast upon a target’s hand-to-hand weapon. Each time the weapon kills an opponent, the bearer gains a counter. After a successful attack, the bearer may discard these counters. If he does so, then the STR of the Damage roll caused by the attack becomes equal to the number of counters, but the target’s RES is ignored, as is Hard-boiled, Survival Instinct, any Immunity abilities, and Sacred Armour.
Brutality of the Shadows (Gravediggers)(15 AP, Fervour 2, Diff. 6, C1 A0 D0, Universal, C3 p.164):
This miracle gives replaces the faithful’s STR with that of an enemy of his choice who is in base contact with him. If the faithful increases the miracle’s difficulty by 2, the transferred STR is increased by +1.
Chain of the Grave (Gravedigger)(16 AP, 2 Fervour, Diff. 6, C0 A0 D1, Reserved to Gravediggers, C3 p.164):
This miracle allows a Gravedigger to change a fallen living fighter into a zombie under his command. The Gravedigger casts the miracle on himself and it remains in place until a fighter dies within the Gravedigger’s aura of faith, at which point the Gravedigger can immediately summon a new Zombie in Armour, Zombie of Acheron, or Zombie Warrior (his choice).
Devil’s Whispers (Ejhin de Vanth)(23 AP, Fervour 2, Diff. target’s DIS + 4, C0 A1 D1, Meanders of Darkness):
This miracle can be cast on an enemy in hand-tohand combat. If successful, the faithful decides how that figure places all of its dice in hand-tohand combat until the end of the round. The target can still use abilities like War Fury that would otherwise determine its dice placement. The miracle cannot affect Hyperians, Beings of Light, Beings of Darkness, or fighters with Righteous.
Evil Eye (Bogeyman)(18 AP, Fervour 1, Diff. 6, C0 A2 D0, Meanders of Darkness, C3 p.164):
This miracle grants the faithful the Thaumaturgist ability and eliminates the normal penalty for calling miracles and regain T.F. in hand-to-hand combat. The miracle’s effects can be maintained from one round to the next by spending 1 T.F.
Grasp of the Demon (Ejhin de Vanth)(18 AP, Fervour 1, Diff. 8, C0 A0 D0, Reserved to Ejhin, C3 p.167):
To use this miracle, a faithful or someone else in the army must have the Seal of Corruption artifact and must have used it to create a Corrupt Servant. This miracle may be cast when Ejhin is killed as long as there is a Corrupt Servant within her aura of faith. If successful, Ejhin’s spirit is transferred into the Corrupt Servant. That fighter then gains her divination abilities, but is automatically killed at the end of the round, at which point Ejhin can try to “jump” to another Corrupt Servant within her aura of faith.
Honour of the Black Paladins (Kain the Scourge)(12 AP, Fervour 1, Diff. 7, C0 A0 D1):
This miracles gives Fierce and Possessed to all friendly Black Paladins within the faithful’s aura of faith, but also makes all their Initiative rolls in combat count as failures.
Salauel’s Absolution (Kain the Scourge)(14 AP, Ferbour 2, Diff. Special, C0 A0 D1):
The difficulty for this miracle is equal to the target’s COU/FEAR. If called successfully, all miracles and spells on the target are dispelled.
Salauel’s Enchantment (The Bogeyman)(15 AP, Fervour 3, Diff. Free, C0 A2 D1, C3 p.164):
This miracle can only be called on the Living Dead. The STR of the target’s next Damage roll is increased by half the difficulty chosen for the miracle (rounded up). However, if the Damage roll is an Exceptional Wound, the miracle’s target is killed outright (though the target of the Damage roll still suffers damage normally).
PART V: ARTEFACTS
The following is a list of artefacts that come with the blisters and boxed sets of Acheron troops. I've noted the source of each, as well as whether or not it is reserved to the character with whom it came. Except where so noted, the artefacts are available to any character of Acheron.
I also noted artefacts that were revised in C3 by putting the C3 page number for the revision after their AP cost.
Agony (Melmoth; Reserved)(10 AP): Agony is Melmoth’s Carnage Blade. All wounds inflicted with Agony are read one line lower on the wound table. Wounds inflicted by Agony cannot be healed in any way.
Arcanum IV: The Emperor (Sophet Drahas)(17 AP): Sophet possesses two of the Cadwallon Arcana, each of which is a separate artefact and spell. The Arcana are not reserved to any character, so they may be used by any character. Each Arcana has an ascendant (or beneficial) effect and a descendent (or harmful) effect. The Emperor is actually the card that represents Sophet. Its ascendant effect prevents any enemy figurine within 20 cm of Sophet from benefiting from or transmitting bonuses in Courage, Fear, and Discipline. Coupled with Sophet’s high Fear, this can be crippling. The descendent effect lowers the bearers MOVE to 5 if it is higher. Though this doesn’t affect Sophet since his MOVE is already 5, it could be a problem for other fighters.
Arcanum XV: The Devil (Sophet Drahas)(16 AP): The Devil’s ascendant effect removes the limits on the number of artefacts Sophet can carry, allowing him to take as many artefacts as he wishes within the game’s AP limits. The descendent effect, however, prevents any other fighter in the army from carrying any artefacts.
Bitterness (Alderan; Reserved)(20 AP, C3 p.161): Bitterness is Alderan’s Carnage blade. Like all such blades, all wounds inflicted by Bitterness are read one line lower on the wound table. However, Bitterness is also infused with the soul of Alderan’s dead lover, and when armed with it, Alderan becomes a warrior-monk faithful. In my opinion, this artefact is a bit hit-or-miss. Taking it turns Alderan into a very expensive faithful with very limited divination abilities, and I usually don’t feel it’s worth it unless I have a very clear plan for him. However, many people like giving Alderan Bitterness and Ira Tenebrae Summoning, which can be very effective.
Black Diamond (Ejhin de Vanth)(6 AP): This artefact is not reserved to Ejhin and may be taken by any leader of Acheron. However, it is only useful in Rag’Narok. It generates extra Dark Stranglehold points for the bearer.
The Black Spellbook (Coryphaeus)(18 AP): This artefact is not reserved to the Corypaheus and may be taken by any Acheron magician. It is one of my favorite artefacts, especially for a warrior-mage like the Coryphaeus whose spell intensity potential is limited to his Power rating of 5. The Black Spellbook has two effects. First, it reduces the spell intensities of all spells of a chosen path (which must be either Necromancy, Circaeus, Typhonism, or Cabala) by 2 points to a minimum of 1 point, allowing the magician to take more spells. Secondly, whenever the magician casts spells from the chosen path, he does so with one additional die. Personally, I think the additional spellcasting die is almost worth the 18 points for this artefact by itself.
The Codex of the Scourge (Kain the Scourge; Reserved)(19 AP): This artefact is actually a relic as described in the divination rules. It add +1 to Kain’s Creation aspect. Its Emanation gives Kain the Exalted ability (“1” doesn’t count as a failure on divination rolls). Its Wonder costs 3 T.F. and allows Kain to give Bane/X to himself and any Black Paladins fighting in his aura of faith; the Bane must be directed toward an opponent currently fighting in hand-to-hand against them.
Cruel (Sophet Drahas; Reserved)(32 AP, C3 p.166): This expensive sword is Sophet’s personal weapon, and it’s worth its points. First, the sword gives Sophet an additional combat die in hand-to-hand combat (so, with his Born Killer ability, Sophet has a minimum of four dice when equipped with Cruel). Moreover, during his activation, if Sophet is free of opponents, he can send Cruel out to attack enemy enemy fighters within 10 cm. The sword is then treated just like a combatant using Sophet’s stats (including his Fear). However, neither the sword nor Sophet can be harmed by attacks against the sword, so it’s essentially a risk-free way of fighting in combat. If Sophet is engaged in combat or moves more than 10 cm from the sword, or if the sword eliminates all its opponents, it immediately returns to its master’s hand.
The Doll of the Hungry (Chagall; Reserved)(13 AP): Chagall is on very good terms with the forces of Mid-Nor, and the Doll of the Hungry is a token of their alliance. He can use the doll once per game to summon 1d6 x 5 AP of Mid-Nor reinforcements.
The Fang of Wisshard (Almighty Crane; Reserved)(25 AP): This magic weapon allows allows the Almighty Crane to add one point to any of his characteristics when he kills his first opponent, and then again when he kills another 2, then again when he kills another 3, and so on. While potentially useful, the eventual payoff is probably not worth the 25 points in Confrontation. Rag’Narok’s another matter, however…
The Fist of Kain (Kain the Scourge; Reserved)(23 AP, C3 p.162): The Fist of Kain is Kain’s flail. It gives Kain War Fury, and any defense rolls made against attacks from the Fist suffer a -2 penalty. This is very nasty, especially against enemy characters with a propensity for counter-attacking.
The Gravedigger’s Ossuary (Bogeyman; Reserved)(12 AP): This artefact makes enemy fighters who are under the effects of fear count double for the purposes of generating T.F. I’ve never found this artefact to be very useful, and recommend saving the 12 AP for other things.
Horns of Damnation (Almighty Crane)(17 AP, C3 p.161): This artefact is not reserved to the almighty Crane and can be used by an Crane Warrior (so Alderan and Melmoth are also fair game). It increases Leadership range by 10 cm. Friendly magicians can store mana gems in the horns for use later; the max that may be stored is equal to the Crane Warrior’s Fear.
The Howling Cloak (Almighty Crane; Reserved)(63 AP, C3 p.161): Once per game the Almighty Crane can use this cloak to force a difficulty 12 Courage check on all enemies within 25 cm. Any models who thereafter try to enter this area must also test Courage, and the effect lasts until the Almighty Crane moves or is eliminated. It is a powerful ability, but its cost makes it a bit risky, more suited to Rag’Narok than Confrontation.
Mizar (Sephiroth; Reserved)(15 AP, C3 p.162): Mizar is Sephiroth’s sword, a symbol of his dominion over all centaurs. Sehpiroth gains +1 STR for each centaur (including himself and living Kelt Centaurs) with 15 cm of him, up to a maximum STR of 15. This artefact is a nice choice if your’ planning on fielding a few heavy centaurs with Sephiroth, but I wouldn’t bother trying to get more than +4 STR from it; trying for more not only becomes expensive, but also limits the tactical flexibility that all those centaurs bring to field since staying close to Sephiroth usually means they aren’t getting the most out of their mobility.
The Nightjar (Gorgon)(11 AP): This artefact is actually a carrion bird that seeks the souls of the fallen and returns them to its master. It is not reserved to the Gorgon, and may be taken by any Acheron character. Once per round, when a fighter dies on the battlefield, the Nightjar can capture its soul, which gives the artefact’s bearer an immediate Regeneration/5 roll.
The Orpheon (Coryphaeus; Reserved)(16 AP, C3 p.167): The Orpheon gives the Coryphaeus the Sequence/1 ability. Furthermore, the sword begins the game with two counters and gains two more whenever the Corypaheus inflicts an opponent with a wound or Killed Outright in hand-to-hand combat. It can hold a maximum of 6 counters, and these counters can be discarded before making an INI, ATT, DEF, or Power tests to increase the roll’s final result by +1 per counter.
Phylactery of Power (OH)(13 AP, C3 p.200): An army can only include one Phylactery of Power per even incomplete 300 AP of the army. The bearer of the Phylactery can choose one of two effects each turn, and each power affects magicians within 15 cm of the bearer (20 cm if the bearer is bound to House Brisis).
- Flow: The carrier and friendly magicians do not consider a 1 to be a failure on Mana Recovery rolls. I personally tend to fail a lot of Mana Recovery rolls, so I find this power to be extremely useful.
- Perturbation: Enemy magicians within the area of effect consider 1’s and 2’s to be automatic failures on Mana Recovery rolls.
The Sceptre of Atrocities (Gorgon; Reserved)(20 AP): This artefact allows the Gorgon to take as many Darkness spells as she wishes, even if their total Intensities exceed twice her Power rating. Essentially, it lets a player give the Gorgon more spells that she’d normally be able to carry. I’ve never found this artefact to be very useful, since I’ve rarely felt the need to give the Gorgon more spells than she can carry. Even if I did, I’d give her the Black Spellbook (see the Coryphaeus) instead, which could potentially accomplish the same thing AND could give her an extra die to cast some of those spells, all for 2 AP less than the Sceptre of Atrocities.
Sceptre of Dark Absolution (Asura)(22 AP, C3 p.165): This scepter counts as a Black Weapon. This artefact essentially gives penalties to the Rallying tests of enemies in rout who are near the bearer of the scepter. The penalty is equal to the number of enemies the bearer killed during the previous turn. I don’t consider this artefact to be at all worth its 22 AP in Confrontation. Maybe in Rag’Narok.
Seal of the Corrupt (Ejhin de Vanth)(18 AP, C3 p.167): This artefact is not reserved to Ejhin and may be taken by any faithful character of Acheron.It allows the bearer to make a friendly fighter into a “corrupt servant.” The corrupt servant gains Martyr/1, and the value of the Martyr ability increases by one each time the corrupt servant kills an opponent. The faithful can also cast miracles through the corrupt servant, but doing so immediately kills the servant. This artefact is also required in order to use Ejhin’s Grasp of the Demon miracle.
Seal of Phobos (Asura; Reserved)(51 AP): This is probably Asura’s best artefact, and I never field him without it even though it is expensive. It starts the game holding 8 gems of Air, and can hold up to 16 of them. Asura can use these gems to feed his own magic. Furthermore, each turn, the Seal can either let Asura fly (MOVE 20) or can generate Air gems by making a mana recovery roll as though it were a Power 8 master-level magician. As long as Asura stays on the ground and has brought some Air spells, this effectively doubles the amount of mana he can throw around, and the flgith ability isn’t bad either, since it can essentially allow Asura to cruise around dropping spells on the enemy with little chance of being engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
Sepulchre Companion (Azael; Reserved)(12 AP): This artefact gives Azael access to a second element in addition to Darkness. I almost never bother with this unless I have a good plan for an elemental spell that Azael to which Azael wouldn’t normally have access, but usually the same results can be accomplished with some form of Darkness magic anyway.
The Spectre’s Rags (Asura; Reserved)(46 AP): This artefact essentially gives Asura the Ethereal ability. There are somedifference – it doesn’t make him immune to stuns and he still suffers charge penalties – but otherwise they allow him to operate as though he has that ability. I don’t recommend it for Confrontation as it is very expensive; it’s better left for Rag’Narok.
Talisman of the Shadows (Sophet Drahas; Reserved)(26 AP, C3 p.166): The Talisman of Shadows is an artefact that Sophet can hand off to another model in his army. Later, during his activation, Sophet can trade places with the Talisman’s bearer, but doing so kills the bearer. The Talisman is recovered when this happens and may then be used again. This is essentially a quick (if expensive) way to move Sophet around the table more quickly. I don’t use this artefact very often, but when I do, I use it with a Morbid Angel, which I’ll fly to where I want Sophet to be.
Twilight (Almighty Crane; Reserved)(58 AP): Twilight is the Almighty Cranes Carnage Blade. Like all such weapons, wounds it inflicts are read one line lower on the wound table. In addition, the sword makes the Almighty Crane into a Darkness Initiate with a Power of 5…very worthwhile indeed. This artefact, though expensive, is a good call for the Almighty Crane, increasing his power and versatility immensely. Should another Living Legend be on the field, I’d recommend the Funeral March spell for the Grand Crane. The spell will give him +2 points to all his stats against an opponent of his choice, which could give him the advantage he needs against another Living Legend.
PART VI: THE OBSCURE HOUSES
The factions of Acheron are known as the Obscure Houses. These Houses follow all the normal rules for faction-themed armies, as presented on p.197-198. Some of these were revised in the C3 rulebook; I have noted such where it applies.
In addition to the abilities for each house, I have listed any existing characters or troops who belong to that house (as printed on their reference cards) as well as any troops that gain special options if bound to the house.
HOUSE BRISIS:
As ar as I can tell, this house has no House ability, only Solo abilities, so being bound to this House is free.
Characters: None
Troops w/ Special Options: None
Solo/Charisma (8 AP): Any character can be given this ability. It allows an extra die to be rolled for the armies Tactical rolls (max +2 dice). The better result is kept.
Solo/Diversity (1 AP): this ability allows a character to lose either 1 point of Power, 2.5 cm of aura of faith, or 10 cm of Leadership range in exchange for one of the following: +1 Power, +2.5 cm of aura of faith, or Leadership/10 (or +10 cm to an existing Leadership ability). Most players, myself included, use this to improve the power of mages like Asura or the Gorgon by sacrificing 10 cm of their Leadership range.
Solo/Diversity (4 AP): A magician character with this ability can exchange one Element that he masters (except for Darkness) for Air, Fire, or Earth.
HOUSE HESTIA (C3 p.198):
House Hestia is a good choice for fielding swarmy undead armies since you can cheaply deploy a great number of Skeletons with this army.
Characters: None
Troops w/ Special Options: Cerberus
House/Army of the Dead (0 AP): This reduces the cost of all Skeletons in Armour, Skeleton Warriors, and Skeleton Spearmen that are bound to House Hestia as long as at least one other fighter of Hestia is deployed with them. Because of this ability, it is nearly pointless to field Morbid Puppets with House Hestia, since for just one point more, you can field Skeleton Spearmen.
Solo/Blazing Lord (3 AP): Before each Tactical roll, the ATT rate of a fighter with this capacity can be reduced by 1 to 3 points to a minimum of 0. In return, the fighter may gain one of the following advantages:
- Destructor: The points taken from ATT may be added to INI or into the Implacable/X ability, with X being equal to the points taken from ATT.
- Strategist: The points taken from ATT may be added to the final result of the fighter’s DIS rolls. This can be a really nice way to make up a bit for Acheron’s weakness in DIS.
As far as I can tell, this ability may be given to any Acheronian fighter, not just characters.
Solo/Fire (3 AP): A magician with this ability may exchange one of the elements he masters (except for Darkness) for Fire.
HOUSE LAZARIAN (C3 p.199):
House Lazarian can be a very powerful house, and there are many who consider it to be broken. Some players do not enjoy facing armies bound to this House. I do enjoy playing this House because I really like its theme of zombies and necrosurgery, but I don’t play it often because it can be a bit unbalanced.
Characters: Azael the Unfaithful
Troops w/ Special Options: Cerberus
House/Charnel (3 AP): This House ability gives the army’s units Mutagenic/-1 and is the main reason people feel that this House is unbalanced.
House/Mystic (4 AP): This ability gives a fighter Consciousness. The cost is 8 AP for magicians and faithful.
House/Resurrection (10 AP): This ability may be given to characters, warrior-mages, and warrior-monks, and its cost is equal to the bearer’s FEAR. All fighters located even partially within 10 cm of a fighter with this ability gets +1 to all Regeneration rolls (making it easier to regenerate).
HOUSE MANTIS (C3 p.199):
This House is unique in that its House ability need not be given to all members of the army, only to characters. Only characters may benefit from the abilities of this house.
Characters: Sophet Drahas
Troops w/ Special Options: None
House/Supremacy (2 AP): If a character with this ability is tied with an opponent on a test, there’s no need to roll again; the Mantis character automatically wins. This doesn’t apply to Attack, Defense, Courage, or Fear tests, but can be really hand for winning Inititative or Tactical rolls.
Solo/Prince of Darkness (Special): The cost for this ability is equal to twice the FEAR printed on the character’s card. He gets Leadership/10 or improves his Leadership range by 10 cm if he already has it.
Solo/Gospel of Evil (3 AP): The final result of divination rolls made by faithful of Salaeul is increased by +1 for each Mantis with this ability that is within the faithful’s aura of Faith (max bonus of +6).
HOUSE SARLATH (C3 p.199):This is one of my favorite houses. It is the house of insanity and is led by Asura de Sarlath, Acheron’s master-level mage character.
Characters: Asura de Sarlath
Troops w/ Special Options: Gargoyle
House/Paradox (1 AP): Before the Approach phase, one “paradox” die is rolled for every even incomplete 250 AP of troops in in the Sarlath army. They cannot be rolled again. The results should be noted. Later, at any point during the game, the Sarlath player may choose one of these paradox dice before a fighter from either side makes an INI, ATT, DEF, AIM, DIS, Power or divination test. The paradox die result then automatically becomes the result of the test; no further dice are rolled. This ability can be really handy if your paradox dice rolled either really high or really low, and I’ve had this make a huge difference in battles before. If your paradox dice roll 3 or 4, though, it’s harder (though still possible) to find a good use for them. Please note that paradox dice are not re-rolled each turn. They are rolled only once, at the beginning of the game, and must last you the entire battle.
Solo/Prophetic Insanity (8 AP): This ability may be given only to characters. For each character with this ability, the Sarlath player may set aside one reference card when making his card pile before the Activation Phase. These cards count as reserve cards. They are added to the normal reserve and may be played in the same way. Though expensive, this is a very useful ability that really helps make up for a bit for the tactical disadvantage Acheron suffers from low DIS.
Solo/Air (3 AP): A magician with this ability may exchange one element he masters (except Darkness) for Air.
Black Weapons (Special): The weapons and armor of an Acheron character may be made into Black Weapons for 5 AP, or for 2 AP if the character is bound to House Sarlath. Obviously, this ability isn’t actually reserved just to Sarlath, but may be applied to any character of Acheron (Sarlath just gets a discount since their the one who supply everyone else with Black Weapons.
HOUSE TANIT:Characters: None
Troops w/ Special Options: None
House/Guardian (1 AP): 1d6 counters are placed aside each time a friendly Tanit eliminates an Elemental, Immortal, or Character fighter whose value is greater than 15 AP. At the beginning of each game phase, accumulated counters may be discard to allow one or more Tanit fighters to benefits from one of the following:
1 counter: The fighter gets 1 gem of Darkness or 1 T.F. point
2 counter: The fighter improves his Wound level by one degree
3 counters: The fighter gets 1d6 gems of Darkness or T.F. points.
Solo/Roaming (4 AP): This nice ability can only be given the Tanit troops whose FEAR is 7 or less (8 or less if they are characters). Troops with this ability gain Scout. Only up to 30% of the army may have this ability.
Solo/Earth (3 AP): A magician of Tanit may exchange one of the elements he masters (except Darkness) for Earth.
HOUSE VANTH:
Vanth is an all-round good house, but it especially shines when it is equipped with spells/miracles to summon Elementals and Immortals such as Ira Tenebrae.
Characters: Ejhin de Vanth
Troops w/ Special Options: Gargoyle
House/Pact (2 AP): The final result of rolls to summon Elementals or Immortals within 10 cm of a Vanth fighter are increased by +1.
Solo/Diabolical (5 AP): This ability may only be given to characters, warrior-mages, and warrior-monks. The bearer gains Concentration/1. When the fighter with this ability is activated, any friendly magician or faithful may spend gems of Darkness or T.F. points to increase the Concentration value by 1, to a maximum of Concentration/3. These points may be assigned to INI, ATT, and DEF.
Solo/Eminence Grise (3 AP): this ability may be given to characters, warrior-mages, and warrior-monks. For each fighter with this ability in the army, the final results of the army’s Tactical rolls is increased by 1 (maximum bonus +6).
PART VII: SAMPLE ARMY LISTS
Following are three sample Living Dead army lists. For these lists, I avoided the House themes and included only things covered in this AotW or from the C3 rulebook. The first list is an all-around balanced list, the second a magic-dependent list, an the last focuses on divination.
ARMY I: BLOOD BROTHERS
This is a balanced army list with a little magic, a little divination, and a low-cost hand-to-hand character. The list is very well-balanced, with a good assortment of troops that make it very versatile. It should serve well against most armies, though armies with across-the-board high-Resilience might give it some trouble.
Melmoth [75 AP - 10% = 68 AP]
+ Agony [10]
+ Abyssal Stigmata [15]
Azael [38 AP - 10% = 35 AP]
+ Spell: Diversion of the Shadows [14] (C3 p.83)
+ Spell: Clutch of the Necromant [14] (C3 p.83)
+ Supreme Rune of Healing [16] (C3 p.149)
Gravedigger (undead version)[31]
+ Chain of the Grave [16]
2 x Scavengers [66]
3 x Zombies in Armour [63]
3 x Morbid Angels [36]
1 x Wolfen Zombie [40]
= 399 AP, 12 models, 7 cards
The key feature of this list is the Melmoth-Azael combination. As Blood Brothers, you get a discount on their cost. During the battle, Azael and Melmoth need to stick together for two reasons. First, they gain Survival Instinct while within 10 cm of each other. Second, Azael's spells are chosen to assist Melmoth in combat. Clutch of the Necromant allows her to give Meloth (or any other ally) bonuses in combat, while Diversion of the Shadows lets her remove a combat die from an enemy, which is especially ueful for helping Melmoth fight enemy characters or tough enemy troops. Note that Azael may not be able to get enough Mana to cast both spells on the same turn, so you'll have to choose carefully which will benefit you more.
Melmoth's sword makes him very dangerous, and the Abyssal Stigmata has a good chance of either enhancing his Regeneration or improving his ability to dish out damage.
The rest of the army can repsond to an asortment of circumstances. Morbid Angels should take to flight as during the first turn, and should hover at level one until they find a good target for their diving charge. If the enemy has shooters, then they can go after them, though the other option is to keep them in reserve until the rest of your troops engage, and then have then drop in to assist to stop other enemies from charging in.
The Scavengers should be used to fill a similar role to the Angels; however, they can also be sent after tough enemies to soften them up or take them out.
The rest of the army - Wolfen Zombie, Gravedigger, and Armored Zombis, should stick close together with Melmoth and Azael to support each other. With any luck, the Gravdigger's Chain of the Grave miracle will begin supplying you with fresh troops as you kill the enemy. To make the most of this, don't be afraid to pick on weaker enemies just to fill your ranks, though remember that as a Devout, he can only create a maximum of 2 zombies at a time.
It is important to keep someone around to protect Azael, because once it becomes obvious that she can make Melmoth more effective or heal his wounds, a canny player will try to take her out since she's pretty vulnerable.
ARMY II: FAITHFUL OF SALAUEL
This army showcases Acheron's Faithful. It is designed primarily to suppot Ejhin, and in fact will rely on her to deal with any really tough opponents.
Ejhin de Vanth [75]
+ Miracle: Inferno of Darkness [15] (C3 p.108)
+ Miracle: Prayer of the Warrior [14] (C3 p.102)
+ Liturgical Instrument [8] (C3 p.110)
+ Consecrated Emblem [14] (C3 p. 150)
3 x Black Paladins w/ Scourge of the Souls [138]
3 x Zombie Warriors w/ Lances [57]
1 x Gargoyle [39]
3 x Morbid Angels [36]
= 396 AP, 11 models, 5 cards
The low number of cards in this army means that you are likely to get a at least one refusal at the start of the game, which you should use to your advantage.
The core of the army is Ejhin an the Black Paladins. Together, they form a tough fighting group. As long as the Paladins stay with Ejhin's aura of faith, they will give her 3 T.F., and with the amount she will generate on her own and her Liturgical Instrument, she is guaranteed at least 6 T.F. each turn, which is enough to call both of her miracles and still hav some left over to strengthen the bond when she casts Inferno of Darkness.
Protected by the Paladins, Ejhin should target the biggest threat within 20 cm with Inferno of Darknes, and should put as many T.F. into strengthening the bond as possible while keeping at least 3 to call her other miracle. With her Consecrated Emblem, she can re-roll 5's and 6's on her divination rolls, so she has the potential to roll very hig, which is exactly what you want as that will determine how much amage the miracle does. After calling Inferno of Darkness, she should call Prayer of the Warrior to boost one of hr allies (usually a Paladin) each turn.
The Zombie Warriors are there to support the Paladins and to help occupy enemy troops so Ejhin's group doesn't get swamped.
The Gargoyle and Morbid Angels form a nice little "air force" unit, and this four-man element features prominently in many of my armies. Together, they are a big threat to enemy shooters and mages, but can also be very effective at helping out your other troops. You should have the Gargoyle and Angels take flight during the first turn. You'll find that they can have a profound psychological effect on your opponent, as he must constantly worry about where they will go and how you will use them to get in his way since they can go almost anywhere very quickly. These guys also tend to attract ranged shots, so they can help distract enemy shooters from Ejhin and the Paladins.
ARMY III: THE SUMMONER OF DARKNESS
This army features the Gorgon and is based around summoning. The army reles fairly heavily on summoning, but the rest of the army can hold its own as well.
The Gorgon [97]
+ Spell: Morbid Puppet Invocation [7]
+ Spell: Manipulation [7]
+ Spell: Dance of Death [12]
+ Phylactery of Power [13]
+ Major Pendant of Mirages [11] (C3 p.150)
+ Familiar of Darkness [15]
1 x Cerberus [88]
2 x Banshees [54]
3 x Zombies in Armour [63]
3 x Skeletons in Armour [33]
= 398 AP, 10 models, 5 cards
The core of this army is the Gorgon, who should summon as many Morbid Puppets as posible until the army engages the opponent. Although the army starts with only 9 models, it can quickly get up to 5 more Puppets thanks to the Gorgon. Once the Puppets are in combat, the Gorgon should use Manipulation and Dance of Death to make the Puppets as big a threat as possible, while also summoning moe Puppets to replace those that have fallen. Her Phylactery of Power and Familiar should help make sure that she will have plenty of gems since she can guarantee hrself at least 5 per turn. Since she is a Spirit of Darkness, she cannot fail to cast Morbid Puppet Invocation or Manipulation.
Most of the rest of the army is there to keep the enemy away from the Gorgon so that she can continue summoning. The Cerberus is the exception - it exists to deal with any big, tough, enemy models that the regular troops and summoned Puppets will have a had time defeating.
Finally, the Banshees are thrown in for flavor, but they do have a point. They can help keep enemies away form the Gorgon and the flanks thanks to their Dreadful ability. Under the influence of the Gorgon's Leadership, they will have a Fear 9, which means many enemies will have a hard time assaulting them, and they have a good chance of making enemies run away of they perform assaults.
The biggest threat to the Gorgon will be shooters, which is why she has a Pendant of Miages +2.
This army will be much more effective against low-Courage armies than high-Courage armies, and may have significant trouble against armies with a lot of high-Resilince, high-Strength troops.
This one is from forum member DJ Gasmask:
THE LIVING DEAD OF ACHERON - ARMY OF THE WEEK
I was honored when Captain Krill asked me to write the Army of the Week for undead. Although I play three other armies, I have the most experience with Acheron, and it is definitely my favorite, partly because I really like the morbid character of the army and partly because of the many options it offers. These options not only give you, the player, the tools you need to build an effective force, but also make the army fresh and interesting to collect and play. Acheron is certainly an army that thrives on its special abilities and magic, but you shouldn't be limited by just that. There are many ways to play the army; I’ve never played exactly the same Acheron army twice, yet I’ve won many of the games I’ve played with the undead.
Acheron can also be challenging to play since you must understand the many options available to you in order to get the most out of them. Furthermore, the army suffers from very significant weaknesses that you have to work around, and I hope this guide will help you do just that.
CONTENTS
Part I: General Points
Part II: Characters
Part III: Troops
Part IV: Spells and Miracles
Part V: Artefacts
Part VI: Obscure Houses
Part VII: Sample Army Lists
PART I: GENERAL POINTS
Before getting into all the specifics of characters, troops, magic, and the Obscure Houses, I’ll cover some general points to keep in mind when playing the undead.
LIVING DEAD: A majority of the troops available to Acheron have the Living Dead ability, making them true undead. It is important to remember that troops with this ability always cause fear, even in enemies with a higher Courage/Fear rating. While this might not make much of a difference in a battle against high Courage opponents, it is still a marginal advantage that should not be ignored since even the bravest fighter can potentially fail on a "1." Living Dead also gives Immunity/Toxic and Immunity/Fear, so your undead won’t have to worry about poison or fear-causing creatures (except for Hyperians). This immunity to fear is a nice advantage since it means the enemy will usually fear your troops but you won’t fear them no matter how scary they are. Unfortunately, Living Dead comes with what may be Acheron’s biggest disadvantage: a troop with Living Dead has no DIS score and makes all DIS tests as though its DIS were 0.
LORDS OF THE DEAD (C3 Rulebook p. 68): Normally, Leadership does not transmit Fear in C3. However, Acheron benefits from an important rule: the Aura of Darkness. This rule allows any Acheron leader with Leadership/X to transmit a Fear bonus equal to its rank category to any Living Dead models within its leadership range. This bonus cannot make the affected model’s Fear greater than that of the leader, though. This ability can make even Morbid Puppets and Zombies (both Fear 5) a bit more intimidating.
DISCIPLINE AND LEADERSHIP: The biggest disadvantage faced by Acheron armies is their lack of Discipline. Many Acheron characters, being undead, do not have a Discipline stat. This leads to some very low Tactical rolls. Acheron’s living characters, such as Ejhin and Azael, have decent DIS ratings, but even they will often be at a tactical disadvantage to other armies since Acheron has no war-staff. There are a few ways to deal with this, either through spells or House abilities, but you may as well face it now: as an Acheron player, you’ll be losing most of your Tactical rolls. You just have to plan for that.
LOW DEFENSE: Most of Acheron’s Living Dead troops have very low Defense values. In fact, aside from characters, very few Acheron troops have a Defense higher than 3. This means that you will be taking quite a few hits because your troops will often have a rather poor chance of defending enemy attack. How do you deal with this? You don’t. Most Acheron troops with low defense are either cheap and expendable (Morbid Puppets, Morbid Angels, Skeletons), possess Regeneration (Zombies), or have high Resilience (Heavy Centaurs). Thus, your troops can probably take a few hits, and you really just have to rely on their ability to soak up damage and get some hits in. I almost never place dice in defense when using Acheron troops with Defense 2 or less.
ACHERON MOVEMENT: Acheron has to be one of the most varied forces in the game when it comes to the Movement rates available to its troops, and this can be tricky to manage. Many Living Dead troops such as Zombies and Skeletons have a low Movement of only 7.5, but living troops tend to have Movement 10, and Acheron has a number of flying troops and cavalry units with Movement values ranging from 15 to 20. Thus, it can be easy to overextend part of your army while the rest struggles to catch up. Instead of using high movement troops to rush in and hit the enemy first thing, it’s best to use your faster models for one of two things:
1) Hold them back and wait to engage them once the slower troops have become involved in combat. Then you can use their movement to get them where they need to go to help their allies, either adding some support against a tough opponent or moving them in to split a combat in your favor.
2) Send them off to deal with isolated and vulnerable enemy troops like flankers, mages, shooters, and scouts. I’m particularly fond of Acheron’s flying troops and like to use them to take out enemy shooters and mages.
FREQUENTlY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Is Acheron a swarm army?
Yes and No. Many people believe that Acheron is a swarm army, but this is not generally true. With enough Morbid Puppets and Skeletons, it can be a swarm army, but most Acheron troops are too expensive AP-wise to allow for a lot of swarming. The best Acheron armies I’ve played are not swarm armies, and in fact I often find myself outnumbered at the beginning of the game when playing Acheron. However, Acheron does excel at summoning, with several different options that allow it to bring new troops to the battlefield. Thus, if such an Acheron force is doing well, it can quickly outnumber and swarm its opponent.
How much should I rely on Fear?
Don’t rely on it, but definitely use it when you can. Acheron fear can make a big difference in a game; there’s no doubt about that. But unless you’re dealing with incredibly high Fear stats (like that of Sophet Drahas), its going to be more of a bonus than something to rely on. Most people will bring a war-staff if they think they might be facing Acheron, so chances are the majority of your opponent’s troops will only fail their fear tests on a 1. However, when you see a situation where your Fear might turn the tide, then take advantage of it if you have a good tactical reason to do so. Low Courage troops who have fallen outside of their war-staff’s leadership radius are ripe for the picking.
What do “Black" weapons and armor do? Are they like dark versions of “Sacred" equipment?
A number of Acheron troops are armed with Black Weapons or Black Armor, and Acheron characters may be given Black Weapons or Armor for an additional cost of 5 AP (2 AP if bound to House Sarlath). Black Weapons and Armor are not dark versions of Sacred Weapons and Armor, though that would really be nice. Black equipment actually has no inherent special abilities. So what good is it? Well, the Dead Forge spell allows a caster to increase the Strength of Black Weapons or the Resilience of Black Armor. Furthermore, there is at least one defensive spell, Sonnet of Eternity, that has no effect against Black Weapons. In the future, Rackham might offer more spells that can affect Black equipment, but for now that’s all they do.
PRESENTATION NOTES:
In the sections on characters and troops, I have indicated which troops are undead (i.e have the Living Dead ability) by listing their names in Dark Red.
Also, for the following lists of troops, spells, and artefacts, I’ve tried to note those that come from atypical sources such as the Obscure Houses card pack or Cry Havoc. Such items will be indicated with one of the following notations in parnethesis: CH# - Cry Havoc; OH – the Obscure Houses card pack; WoR – Warriors of Rag’Narok; Rag – Rag’Narok Boxed Set.
PART II: CHARACTERS
Acheron has access to a nice range of characters, including some good hand-to-hand combat characters and faithful. But where Acheron excels is in its selection of character magicians.
I have noted characters who received revisions to their special rules in C3 by adding a C3 page reference after their AP costs.
Alderan, Crane Warrior (89 AP, Elite): Alderan is one of the three Crane Warriors available to the forces of Acheron, and is arguably the most cost effective. He is arguably Acheron's best choice for a combat character in a 400 AP game. His Leadership/10 ability allows him to bolster his troops' Fear, and he has good combat stats coupled with a very good RES of 10, Hard-boiled, and Regeneration/5, a combination that makes him tough to take down. Moreover, with his artefact sword, Bitterness, he can become a warrior-monk faithful who can enhance himself and his troops with miracles.
The Almighty Crane (362 AP, Living Legend): The Almighty Crane (a.k.a. The Grand Crane or the Great Crane) is Acheron’s Living Legend. He is not suitable for most games of Confrontation and is more at home in Rag'Narok.. He is a beast, with incredible stats, not the least of which is his Fear 12 and Dreadful ability, which together make it nearly impossible for enemy troops to succeed at Courage tests against him. His Resilience of 13, Hard-Boiled, and Regneration/4 make him exceptionally difficult to take down, and his Leadership/30 ability allows him to give a massive +3 boost to the Fear of Living Dead troops within 30 cm. Moreover, with his artefact sword, Twilight, he become a powerful Initiate-level magician. In short, while the Almighty Crane is a beast in combat, he is also a tactically useful character.
Asura de Sarlath (The Lord of Insanity)(173 or 200 AP, Master): Asura is the lord of House Sarlath. He is currently the most powerful mage available to Acheron and is one of the three most powerful magicians in the game at the time of this writing (the others being Baron Mirviliis of the Lions and Master Sulfur of the Goblins). He is a master-level magician with Power 8, mastery of Darkness, Air, and an element of the player’s choice, and access to Necromancy, Typhonism, Shamanism, and Sorcery, which gives him access to a staggering selection of spells. Asura comes with two profiles, his standard, unmounted profile and a mounted profile called “The Lord of Insanity,” which benefits from a 15 cm MOVE, the War-horse ability, and +2 points of RES over the standard profile. Asura is an excellent magician with decent hand-to-hand combat stats, but at 173 AP (200 AP mounted) without spells, he doesn’t come cheap and is not well-suited to standard 400 AP games of Confrontation. Though Asura is not actually Living Dead, his special abilities give him many of the same qualities of Living Dead troops.
Azael the Unfaithful (38 AP, Initiate): Many people think that Azael is all but useless in C3, but I disagree. She is long overdue for a 2nd Incarnation, but even so she is one of my favorite characters, as much for her background as for her usefulness in the game. As an initiate who masters Darkness and has access to Necromancy and Typhonism, Azael is a good, low cost way to add some magical support to an army. She isn’t well-suited for direct offensive magic, but she can be good for summoning Morbid Puppets or for penalizing the enemy or boosting friendly troops with spells like Curse, Diversion of the Shadows, or Hecate’s Fury. Azael is an especially good choice when fielded with Melmoth due to their Blood Brother ability; when fielded together, Azael only costs 35 AP, and the total savings in AP between both her and Melmoth will usually be enough to pay for a spell or for Melmoth's sword artefact sword. Furthermore, her support magic can really help Melmoth out in combat, and as long as they are within 10 cm of each other, they both get Survival Instinct.
The Bogeyman (1st - 39 AP, 2nd - 52 AP, Devout): I’ll be honest, I don’t use the Bogeyman very often. I love the model, but if I’m going to field a faithful with Acheron, it’s probably going to be Ejhin. However, Ejhin is best as the centerpiece of an army, while the Bogeyman works well as a support character. His first incarnation is very cost-efficient yet fragile despite his Regeneration/5 ability. The second incarnation gains +1 INI, +1 ATT, +1 RES, Leadership/10, +2.5 Aura of Faith, and +1 point in the Destruction aspect, all for only 13 AP – quite a bargain, if you ask me. Which incarnation you use really depends on how many points you’re willing to put into him. The biggest problem facing the Bogeyman is that, being Iconoclast, he must be close to the enemy to generate T.F., yet he is relatively vulnerable in hand-to-hand combat. It’s best to keep some Black Paladins with the Loyal ability nearby to help defend him and to generate T.F.
Chagall (1st - 60 AP, 2nd - 76 AP, Special): Chagall is a nice, mid-range combat character for Acheron. He’s cheap enough to easily fit into a typical game of Confrontation and has stats that make him effective in hand-to-hand. His Ambidextrous ability would be more useful if he had a higher Defense, but is effective enough as it is, and Chagall has Hard-boiled to help take a bit of the sting off hits that manage to get through his Ambidextrous defense. His first incarnation is called Chagall the Ever Hungry. The second incarnation is called Chagall the Dog Darkness and has +1 ATT, +1 FEAR, and the Impacable/2 ability over the first incarnation, all for an extra 16 AP (though I’ve never known him to get much use out of Implacable).
The Coryphaeus (108 AP, Adept Warrior-Mage, C3 p.167): The Coryphaeus is a Quaestor character and a very good warrior-mage. Though he only has Power 5, he is effective in hand-to-hand combat, especially when armed with his artefact sword, the Orpheon. He masters Darkness and Air and has access to Necromancy, Circaeus, and Cabala. It is particularly important to note his ability to cast Cabala spells, as there are some good ones hidden away among the Technomancy and Black Magic spells in the C3 rulebook (Degeneration and Screaming Death can be particularly nasty). Like all Quaestors, the Coryphaeus can share or receive up to 2 gems of Darkness with other Quaestors for the purposes of spell mastery, and he has a special ability that allows all Quaestors within his Leadership range to use this ability as though they were within walking distance (even if they are not). The Coryphaeus is an excellent Acheron character because he is an effective and versatile mage who can also hold his own in combat.
Ejhin de Vanth (75 AP, Zealot): Not only is Ejhin one of my favorite Confrontation miniatures, she’s also one of my favorite characters to use in games. Ejhin is currently Acheron’s strongest faithful, and IMO, she’s an all-around good character with good divination abilities and combat stats that let her hold her own against many opponents (her Survival Instinct ability helps too). She also makes a good leader since, being a living character, she has a decent Discipline stat of 5. Like all Acheron faithful, Ejhin is Iconloclast, so must get close to the enemy to have enough T.F. However, I usually field her with a Liturgical Instrument (C3 p.110) and two or three Black Paladins with the Loyal ability. This not only gives her some protection from the enemy, but also guarantees that she’ll have plenty of T.F. even if the enemy never makes it into her aura of faith. As for miracles, I usually like giving Ejhin miracles that allow her to boost the stats of her troops. Another good miracle for Ejhin, especially against low DIS armies, is Inferno of Damnation (C3 p.108). When I take this miracle, I usually also take Consecrated Emblem (C3 p.150) so that she can re-roll 5’s and 6’s. This can allow Ejhin to inflict some devastating damage upon even tough opponents. Many people also like giving Ejhin Ira Tenebrae Summoning, which makes her a ridiculously effective summoner.
The Gorgon (97 AP, Adept): The Gorgon is arguably Acheron’s best magician for her cost. She’s an adept-level magician with Power 6 who masters Darkness and Fire and has access to Necromancy, Circaeus, and Typhonism. Her ability to cast both Darkness and Fire spells gives her a lot of options for direct damage magic. She’s also a Spirit of Darkness, so a “1” does not count as a failure on her incantation rolls when casting Darkness spells, even after rolling up a "6.". Essentially, this means she’ll automatically cast Darkness spells with a difficulty of 7 or less without needing to roll. On top of all that, she has a high Fear of 9 and Dreadful, which can make it difficult for unprepared enemies to charge her, and her Leadership/10 lets her give a +2 boost to the Fear of nearby Living Dead fighters. Altogether, she’s one of the more effective Acheron characters if used properly.
Kain the Scourge (147 AP, Zealot Warrior-Monk): Kain is a powerful warrior-monk. He’s a dangerous hand-to-hand combatant and his divination abilities make him an effective faithful as well, so he’s a very well-rounded character with the potential to seriously boost his own power using miracles like Prayer of the Warrior. His Righteous ability makes him immune to Fear, and his Sequence, Fencer, and Counter-attack abilities give you a lot of tactical options in combat (remember that because Kain is a warrior-monk who already has the ability to counter-attack, the difficulty of his counter-attacks is only increased by 1, not by 2 as normal). Among Kain’s other advantages are his relatively high DIS of 6, which makes him a great leader for Acheron armies. You can also pay extra for several additional advantages for Kain: Loyal/1 for 10 AP, Hard-boiled for 12 AP, and Leadership/15 for 17 AP. However, all these advantages come with a hefty price. For 147 AP before any of his miracle,s artefacts, or special abilities are added in, Kain is not cheap, and is difficult to fit into a standard 400 point game of Confrontation.
Melmoth (1st - 75 AP, 2nd - 106 AP, Elite): Let’s face it, Melmoth has one of the worst miniatures in the Confrontation range, but aside from that, he’s a pretty good character for his cost. He is Azael’s Blood Brother, so when the two are fielded together, he only costs 68 AP (96 AP for his 2nd Incarnation) and gains Survival Instinct if Azael is within 10 cm. Melmoth’s 1st Incarnation is a good hand-to-hand fighter, though his mediocre defense means that he must usually rely on his Resilience 9 and Regeneration/5 to see him through. Melmoth also has Leadership/10, though this is ulikely to make a huge difference. Melmoth’s 2nd Incarnation is, IMO, a huge improvement over the first. Although his costs increases by 31 AP, he gains +1 ATT, +2 DEF, +1 FEAR, and Authority. The Defense increase improves his survivability, but the Authority is the real advantage of this Incarnation, as it can help make up for some of Acheron’s lack of Discipline during the Activation Phase.
Quaestor Essais (Rag)(62 AP, Initiate Warrior-Mage): Quaestor Essais is a Quaestor character meant for Rag’Narok, but he’s quite usable in Confrontation. However, I feel he is a bit overpriced. His combat stats are decent, but not exceptional, and his Power is only 3. He masters Darkness and has access to Circaeus. Though it is possible to use him well in an army, I feel there are usually more effective uses for the points you’d spend on him. You could buy two Quaestors and their spells for about the same cost as Essais with a single spell, and I feel they would probably be more effective, though Essais’s fairly good ATT value does give him an advantage against many troops.
Sephiroth the Reaper (130 AP, Elite): Sephiroth is the undead king of the centaurs, and is a tough yet expensive Acheron character. He is designed purely for combat and works best when fielded with a few other undead centaurs. His stats and abilities are fairly straightforward, oriented toward hitting and doing damage in combat, especially if equipped with his artefact sword, Mizar, which boosts his strength based on the number of other centaurs near him. His high Resilience of 11 allows him to take hits fairly well too. He has Brutish Charge, Implacable/3, and MOVE of 17.5, so you’ll want to make sure he charges into combat and gets in as many hits as possible. He’s very mobile, and you need to use this to your advantage, picking your fights carefully so that he doesn’t get too bogged down. His Leadership/15 also makes him a good leader, especially coupled with his Fear 9 and his rank of Elite.
Sophet Drahas, King of Ashes (155 AP, Adept, C3 p.166): Sophet Drahas, a.k.a the King of Ashes, is a powerful lich who rules Cadwallon’s underworld from the catacombs beneath the city. He is bound to his throne, unable to leave it since he was cursed for failing to capture Cadwallon. Sophet one of the most powerful adept-level mages in the game with Power 7, mastery of Darkness and Earth and access to Necromancy, Cartomancy, and Typhonism. His combat stats are pretty good too, especially in conjunction with his Born Killer, Hard-boiled, and Regeneration/5 abilities, and his impressive FEAR 12 makes him difficult to assault by most enemies. However, Sophet has his drawbacks. For one thing, his high base cost means that he is difficult to fit in standard 400 AP games of Confrontation, though he fits well in games of 500 AP or higher. In addition to his cost, Sophet is a large target and his MOVE is only 5 cm since he’s bound to his bulky throne (which moves about through the power of the tormented souls trapped in it). This makes Sophet a magnet for ranged attacks, so you have to be extremely careful with him (his Hard-boiled and Regeneration help, though). In order to limit the effectiveness of enemy shooters against Sophet, I sometimes equip him with a Pendant of Mirages (C3 p.150). I also usually field a few Morbid Angels (and sometimes a Gargoyle) with Sophet so that I can send some flyers after those pesky shooters.
OTHER CHARACTERS:
In addition to the “official” Acheron characters, there are two others that were released in Cry Havoc #7. These characters were designed for the “Pandemonium of Janos” army from the Zhoukoi Island campaign. Technically, they aren’t supposed to be used in regular games of Confrontation, though many players will allow their use in friendly games as long as the army creation restrictions set out in CH7 for the Pandemonium of Janos are observed. Before using these characters, however, you should get the permission of your gaming group. Neither of these characters has its own miniature, so you’ll have to either proxy or convert models for them.
Janos the Banished (70 AP, Adept): Janos is a lich necromancer banished to Zhoukoi Island, where he has set about creating a small undead army and training a living apprentice, a native witch doctor named Lo’Nua. Janos is fairly cheap for an adept-level Acheron magician, but his combat stats are mediocre at best and he only has Power 5. He masters Darkness and Fire and has access to Necormancy and Shamanism. He also has Leadership/10, though this won’t usually make a difference in battles. Janos does have some sizeable advantages, however. His mastery of both Fire and Shamanism give him some nice options for spells. He also has both Recovery/1 and Summoner/1, so he is guaranteed at least one mana gem each turn even if he fails mana recovery, and he can summon 6 Force points worth of creatures (not 5 as normal for an adept character). Basically, this makes him ideal for summoning large numbers of Morbid Puppets or Morbid Angels, though with his Recovery/1 ability, he’s good for summoning elementals because it's easier for him to get the mana gems needed to control them.
Lo’Nua (40 AP, Initiate): Lo’Nua is a nice alternative to Azael. He combat stats are similar, and like Azael, she masters Darkness and has a Power of 4. However, Lo’Nua does not have access to Necromancy. Instead, she uses Black Magic, which gives her some very nice spell options that aren’t normally available to Acheron. Lo’Nua also has Survival Instinct (always a bonus) and, most importantly, Luck, which lets her re-roll one roll each turn. IMO, Lo’Nua is a great, inexpensive magician.
PART III: TROOPS
There is a large variety of troops available to Acheron. It is notable, however, that the army contains no Irregular or Veteran troops. The army has a large selection of Regulars, most of which are either skeletons or zombies of various descriptions, and a large number of Special and Elite options.
REGULAR TROOPS
Morbid Angel (12 AP): Morbid Angels may not look like much at first, but they can be remarkably effective if used well. Their stats aren’t all that different from a Morbid Puppet, yet they cost twice as much. What makes the difference is their Flight ability and 17.5 flight movement. This allows them to get almost anywhere on the battlefield very quickly in order diving charge the enemy. The bonuses for diving improve a Morbid Angel’s effectiveness considerably and makes then very good at taking out “soft” targets like shooters and less powerful mages. They can also swoop in to help out allied troops, lending their assistance against a tough enemy or charging in to break up combats in a way that is favorable to you. It is always important to put your Morbid Angels where you’ll need them most, so I usually wait to play them until late in the Activation Phase unless I want to use them to prevent certain enemies from assaulting or shooting.
It is possible to summon Morbid Angels during a battle in one of two ways with the Morbid Angel Invocation spell. They may be summoned directly or may be created by fusing two Morbid Puppets together (see the Part IV: Spells and Miracles).
Morbid Puppet (versions 1, 2, and 3)(5 or 6AP): Morbid Puppets are little more than cannon fodder. Their stats are miserable, and they have to get lucky to hurt many enemies. However, they are cheap and can be summoned, which makes them useful as expendable troops to throw in the enemy's way just to slow him down. I typically go all-out attack with Puppets since they won’t be defending anything with a Defense of 0 anyway. With luck, they’ll survive long enough to get n a few decent hits, and I've seen Puppets pull of some miraculous things in the past.
Two spells are particularly notable in conjunction with Morbid Puppets. One is Dance of Death, which allows a caster to destroy a Puppet, causing it to explode and hurt any other fighters in base contact with it. This spell is useful with summoning, as it allows a caster to produce an endless stream of walking suicide bombs. However, the Strength of the explosion usually won't be very high, so it’s much more useful against low-Resilience armies.
The second spell is Manipulation. This spell allows a caster to give a Puppet extra attack dice following one of its normal attacks. The spell may be cast multiple times upon the same Puppet, allowing it to (hopefully) land a flurry of blows on an enemy in the hopes of getting some lucky damage rolls. This spell is very good for making Puppets a real threat, but can drain mana gems quickly.
Skeletons: There are three types of Skeletons available to Acheron. These units fill an otherwise empty space between Morbid Puppets and Zombies in the Acheron army. They are not as tough as Zombies, but are much better than Puppets, and aren't too expensive. As such, they are a good way to fill out an army's numbers. Like Morbid Puppets, though, all Skeletons have Defense values of 0, which means that they should generally be treated as expendable and used just to soften up opponents for your tougher troops.
Note that if an army is bound to House Hestia, all Skeletons cost 2 AP less – a nice little discount that easily makes a swarmy Acheron army possible.
Skeleton in Armour (12 AP): This is the most expensive type of Skeleton, but it also the best at taking damage, with Strength 5 and Resilience 7. Its decent Resilience gives it the potential to take more punishment than the other Skeletons, which is valuable since Skeletons tend to strike last given their low Initaitve. This also makes this type of Skeleton good for slowing down the enemy.
Skeleton Warrior (11 AP): This type of Skeleton is similar to the armoured variety, but has Strength 6 and Resilience 5. This type’s higher Strength makes it appealing, especially against armies with low Strength.
Skeleton Spearmen (9 AP): This is the cheapest and weakest of the Skeletons, with Strength 4 and Resilience 5. Still, at only 9 points, they are a good way to add some numbers to an army.
Zombies (Acheron, Armoured, Dwarf, and Warrior): Acheron can field several different types of Zombies, four of which are Regulars. These troops are tougher and more effective than Puppets and Skeletons and form the "meat" of many Acheron forces. Though they suffer from low Defense and Inititiative, they benefit from Renegeration/5, which is invaluable as it allows them to recover from the hits that they will inevitably take. With the exception of the Dwarf Zombies, I rarely place dice in defense with my zombies; with Regeneration, it's just more practical to go all-out attack.
Zombie of Acheron (19 AP): Since the release of the Zombie Warriors boxed set, these Zombies don’t see much use anymore. However, they have both an Attack of 4 and Strength of 7 while the zombie Warriors can only get one or the other, so these Zombies still have their uses against opponents with good Defense and Resilience, such as Griffins)
Zombie in Armour (21 AP): If it weren’t for the Cerberide Zombies (see below), I would field these guys in almost every army I play. They have an very high Resilience of 9, which combined with their Regeneration means that it is hard to kill them. Their only weakness is their mediocre Strength of 5, but even so, you can generally rely on these guys to tie up enemy troops for a few turns at least.
Dwarf Zombie (18 AP): Okay, first off, there have actually been two versions of the Dwarf Zombies produced, but one type (which had Regeneration/4 and was called the Degenerated Dwarf) has been out of production for a long time, and I’ve never owned them, so I’m just going to write about the current version. At 18 AP, the Dwarf Zombies are marginally the cheapest Zombies available to Acheron. But their stats are pretty miserable. However, aside from Regeneration/5 they do have a couple of things going for them. First, they have Defense 3, which means they can actually defend against attacks from regular enemy troops. They also have Fierce. Combined, these two things make these Zombies into excellent speedbumps with the potential to tie down enemy troops for at least a couple of turns. However, I never expect them to kill much unless I’m facing a low-Resilience army like Kelts.
Zombie Warrior (19 AP, Regular): These are modular troops from the Zombie Warriors boxed set. They can get an Attack of 4 if equipped with swords or a Strength of 7 if equipped with lances. I always use lances since their normal Attack of 3 isn't too bad and the higher Strength is nice. The main advantage of these troops over the Zombies of Acheron is that they also have Resilience of 7, which improves their survivability.
SPECIAL TROOPS:
Banshee of Acheron (27 AP): Though I really like the Banshee models and have used them to great effect in the past, Banshees really aren’t the best buy for Acheron. A Banshee’s primary role in an Acheron force is to sow fear among the enemy with its FEAR 7 and Dreadful ability. However, unless you’re fighting an army with low Courage, no war-staff, or can send your Banshees after models outside of the leadership range of enemy characters, the Fear they can cause won’t make much of an impact. Having said that, though, I have had Banshees hold up entire flanks just because the enemy couldn’t drum up the courage to charge them! Except for their Fear-related stats, Banshees have the stats of a model less than half their cost and perform poorly in combat. They do have Immunity/Head, which lets them ignore hits to the head, but the ability really doesn’t come into play very often. In short, Banshees are risky to field, and should only be fielded with characters such as the Gorgon or Asura who have both a FEAR of 9 or more and the Leadership ability. These characters can help boost a Banshee’s Fear, making them more effective (though still not something to rely on).
Fiancee of the Tomb (OH)(3 AP): For 3 AP, a Banshee can become a Fiancee of the Tomb. This gives the Banshee Leadership/10 in Confrontation (though she cannot become a part of a War-staff). Essentially, this allows her to boost her allies' Fear by +2, up to Fear 7, which is perfect for Morbid Puppets and Zombies who normally have FEAR 5. In Rag’Narok, this ability instead simply allows her to become the leader of any unit of Living Dead fighters at no cost.
Black Paladin (41 AP): Black Paladins are one of the best troops available to Acheron, though they are expensive at 41 AP before their optional special abilities are added in. However, Black Paladins bring a number of things to an Acheron force. They are all-around good fighters without any notable weaknesses. They also possess Counter-attack, Sequence, and Righteous. The former two abilities are particularly notable, as they allow Black Paladins to adjust their tactics easily depending on whom they are fighting. Black Paladins also have a Discipline of 4, which might easily be the highest Discipline in an army composed mostly of Living Dead fighters, and this can help make up a bit for Acheron’s typical disadvantage in that department. Black Paladins may also be given one of two optional special abilities:
Scourge of the Souls (5 AP): This ability gives the Black Paladin Loyal/1. This ability is indescribably useful if you plan on fielding Faithful such as the Bogeyman, Kain, or Ejhin. Accompanied by two or three Black Paladins, the faithful not only gets an honor guard, but will usually have enough T.F. each round to call at least one miracle, even if no enemies are within the faithful’s aura of faith.
Scourge of Battles (6 AP): This ability gives the Black Paladin Hard-boiled. Combined with their Resilience of 9, this makes Black Paladins very resilient.
Ghoul of Acheron (17 AP): Ghouls are living troops, and in my opinion they are at best risky to use. To be honest, the only thing that makes the "special" troops instead of "Regular" or "Veteran" is their Ambidextrous ability. They aren't bad in combat against other troops with similar stats, but they aren’t good either. The main problem is that with their mediocre Resilience 6 and Defense 3, their Ambidextrous ability isn't very effective. On the rare occasions when I use them, I try to put them up against enemy regulars, models with roughly similar stats against which the Ghouls have a decent chance of performing well. Against tougher opponents, they won’t stand up at all.
Spectre of Acheron (59 AP): The Spectre is a tremendous threat to the enemy, but can also be rather fragile, so he must always be used with utmost care. With a very good Attack value and a high Strength of 9, Spectres are very dangerous in hand-to-hand combat, especially thanks to their special Heartrender ability. Any time a Spectre inflicts a wound to an enemy’s chest (the “4” column of the Wound Table), it rips its target’s heart out. This kills the target outright and heals the Spectre by one wound level. Spectres also have the Ethereal ability (C3 p. 134) and Fear 8, which helps improve their survivability and greatly increases their tactical flexibility. The problem with Spectres is that even with their Ethereal ability, they are vulnerable to enemy attacks due to their low Defense and mediocre Resilience. This means that you really need to win Initiatve with a Spectre and must also keep them out of the way of ranged attacks, both of which are hardly sure things. In order to improve a Spectre’s chances of winning the Initiative roll, I usually try to get it into combat with one or two allies so that it can benefit from the Initiative bonus for multiple combatants.
One good tactic that is often used with Spectres takes advantage of their high Fear and Ethereal abilities. Using Ethereal, a Spectre may run through enemy troops, causing a Fear check on each as it does so. This can cause several enemy troops to flee under the influence of Fear, especially if used on troops outside of a leader or war-staff's Leadership range!
ELITE TROOPS
Centaurs (Heavy, Light, and Dracynran): Acheron has several cavalry options available, among which are three different varieties of skeletal centaur.
Heavy Centaur (35 AP): Heavy Centaurs bring some hard-hitting mobility to an Acheron force. They have MOVE 15, a good Attack value, Strength 10 when charging, and Brutish Charge, all of which combine to make them very dangerous when they charge. They can usually risk going all-out attack when they charge thanks to their Resilience of 9. On turns in which they don’t charge, however, a Heavy Centaur’s Strength goes down to 6, which means they can easily become bogged down if they don’t eliminate their opponent on the charge. To lessen the possibility that my Heavy Centaurs will get bogged down, I usually either send them after isolated opponents or wait until the rest of my army is engaged and then charge them in to help out my other troops. I've also found that charging tough enemies creatures with two or three centaurs can be very effective, as the centaurs can often inflict serious damage on the creature if not kill it outright. If they don't though, they could be in trouble. In general, Heavy Centuars can be very effective, but in they must be used with care lest their potential be wasted.
Light Centaur (27 AP): These guys are actually discontinued, but since a lot of people have them, they deserve mention. The Light Centaurs are fast archers, and are some of the only ranged troops available to Acheron. At 27 points, they aren’t cheap, so fielding them can be risky since their low defensive stats make them very fragile. It is important to keep them out of hand-to-hand combat if at all possible. The advantage of these Centaurs lies in their ranged attack (STR 3, 20-40-60) and their Scout ability, both of which are virtually non-existent in the Acheron army. Placed and played well, these troops can be used to harass lightly armored enemies and characters like mages, though of course the threat of enemy magic or shooting can be a problem for them. Even though these centaurs have the advantage of the Scout ability, I personally prefer to use the variant profile for the Light Centaurs, the Centaur of Dracynran (see below).
Centaur of Dracynran (WoR)(31 AP): This is a variant profile for the Light Centaurs, so it doesn’t have its own miniature (just use the Light Centaur miniatures instead). Although these guys are 4 AP more expensive than the Light Centaurs, they are definitely worth it. First, the Strength of their bows is 5, not 3, and their bows are automatically Black Weapons, so the Strength can be increased up to 10 with the Dead Forge spell. Secondly, they have Harassment. This ability greatly improves their survivability, as it allows them to use their excellent MOVE of 17.5 to play keep-away, ducking in and out of cover while shooting at the enemy. I almost never use the regular Light Centaurs, preferring these guys instead. They are excellent tactical troops, though their cost means they must be used with care.
Scavenger of Acheron (33 AP): Yet another of my favorite troops, Scavengers are Acheron zombie horsemen. They help round out Acheron’s selection of high-Movement cavalry units. They have worthwhile combat stats and can hold their own in a fight, especially in groups. As Zombies, they have Regeneration/5 and also benefit from Fierce, and War-horse, which makes them a real threat since they will often have more dice than their opponents and can keep swinging even after they’ve been killed. I have rarely been disappointed with my Scavengers’ performance; they almost always do well and can operate in a variety of roles from chasing down enemies to acting as speed-bumps to slow down and soften up tough opponents. Note that War-horse has no effect on the turn that a fighter charges, and since the Scavengers do not get a Strength bonus for charging, I usually engage with them even when I could charge, just so they’ll get the extra attack. As with most zombies (especially those with Fierce), I almost always go all-out attack with these guys, though with a Defense of 3, they have to ability to defend against attacks from weaker enemies.
Cerberide Zombie (WoR)(25 AP): These two-headed zombies are hands-down my favorite, and I take two or three in probably 75% of the games I play. There are no miniatures for them since they are an alternate profile from Warriors of Rag’Narok, but you can easily proxy in Armoured Zombies or convert your own. They are worth every bit of their 25 AP. Their good combat stats combine a lot of the advantages of the other types of regular Zombies: ATT 4, STR 7, RES 8. What’s more, they are armed with Black Weapons and, most importantly, they have Fierce. As with the other types of Zombies, I almost never defend with these guys, instead going all-out attack. I have rarely been disappointed with them; it’s worth picking up Warriors of Rag’Narok just to get them.
CREATURES
Cerberus of Acheron (88 AP): Aside from characters, the Cerberus is Acheron’s toughest model, with stats and abilities that make it a terror on the battlefield. It's stats are in line with most other creatures of similar AP cost, so it can tear through enemies and its Movement of 15 cm lets it maneuver to where it is needed. Furthermore, it has Regeneratio/5, which, coupled with its high Resilience of 10, allows it to take hits pretty well. And it rarely lacks for combat dice since it has both Born Killer and Sequence. The Cerberus can effectively tie down three or four enemy troops at once, and as long as those troops aren’t too tough, it is likely to come out on top. I’ve found the Cerberus to be worth its points; it is very reliable. In addition to is standard abilities, the Cerberus may be given one of two special capacities if it is bound to certain houses (noted in parenthesis):
Solo/Wild Beast of Typhon (6 AP)(House Lazarian): This ability allows magicians of Acheron in the Cerberus’s army and who are within 15 cm of the beast to absorb and counter enemy spells as though they were standing at the Cerberus’s position. Furthermore, magicians of Acheron bound to House Lazarian and standing within 15 cm of the Cerberus gain 2 extra mana gems every time they make a mana recovery roll, even if the roll was failed. This is very handy!
Solo/Guardian of Hades (5 AP)(House Hestia): Within 15 cm of the Cerberus, no enemy fighter can be summoned, and any troops killed with the radius are removed from the game and cannot be returned to it, even with Reinforcement. This ability is generally of limited use against most armies, but against Goblins it becomes extremely useful.
Gargoyle of Acheron (39 AP): The Gargoyles are one of my favorite Acheron troops, though I would argue that they are a bit overpriced (others would no doubt disagree). They are flying troops, and as such, to get the best of them, they must attack with a diving charge. Doing so is rarely difficult, since their MOVE is 10/20, giving them a 30 cm diving charge range! Without the bonuses from a diving charge, however, their stats only mediocre. Gargoyles only have a Resilience of 6, so fi they get bogged down they can be in trouble, but their Hard-boiled ability helps. Gargoyles are perfect for taking out enemy mages and shooters, or can drop in to assist their allies in other combats. My recommendation when fielding Gargoyles is to always field at least a couple of Morbid Angels with each Gargoyle. The Morbid Angels can not only bring more attacks to bear against a target the Gargoyle assaults, but they can also be used to charge enemy troops near the Gargoyle’s target so that those enemies cannot counter-charge the Gargoyle. Gargoyles can be given one of two special capacities if they are bound to certain Obscure Houses (noted in parenthesis):
Solo/Swarm of Phobos (5 AP)(House Sarlath): This ability gives the Gargoyle Reinforcement as long as a friendly character of House Sarlath or an Idol of Nightmares is present on the field. It you’re playing House Sarlath and decide to field a Gargoyle, I’d recommend this ability. It’s only 5 AP, and if it happens to come into play, it can let you bring a 39 AP fighter back to the field, which isn’t bad.
Solo/Corrosive Stain (8 AP)(House Vanth): Aside from the Light Centaurs and Centaurs of Dracynran, this ability is the only way an Acheron force can get ranged attacks. Corrosive stain gives a Gargoyle AIM 4, Harassment, and the ability to spit acid (STR 6, 15-25-35). A Gargoyle with this becomes flying fire support, and can usually pick its targets easily with its high movement. The only problem is that the Gargoyle will suffer a -2 penalty for shooting from altitude level 1 if it attacks ground targets, but with AIM 4 and Harassment this usually isn't too crippling. Though this ability is expensive, it can definitely be worthwhile if used well.
Gargoyles comes with a special nexus, called the Idol of Nightmares, which can be used to increase the Fear of nearby troops. This nexus is also useful in conjunction with the Swarm of Phobos ability described below (nexuses are detail in Dogs of War).
Wolfen Zombies (versions 1, 2, and 3)(34, 40, or 51 AP): There are three Wolfen Zombie profiles, each with different stats. All Wolfen Zombies Regeneration/5, which really improves their survivability. Though the stats of the Wolfen Zombies differ somewhat, they all have good Attack values and Strengths, but the Defense stats are all 3 or less and their Resilience stats (which range from 6 to 8) leave them a bit vulnerable. Even so, if they get stuck into combat, the tougher Wolfen Zombies (40 and 51 AP versions) can hold their own and survive fairly well. They make excellent hard-hitting shock troops and will tend to draw a lot of attention from the enemy, which you can use to your advantage. Wolfen Zombies can also generally keep up with Acheron’s cavalry units, allowing them to contribute to fast-moving Acheron forces. I’ve found Wolfen Zombies to be very reliable troops. However, though they seem like big tough creatures, they cannot hold their own against most other big creatures unless they get really lucky. A Troll, Dasyatis Clone, Tyrant, or similar enemy will generally tear a Wolfen Zombie apart, and while Regeneration helps, Wolfen Zombies just don’t have the Resilience to take high-Strength hits.
When using wolfen Zombies against Wolfen armies, beware of Wolfen Grave Guardians! They are tough troops and have Bane/Wolfen Zombies, so they are real threat.
WARRIOR-MAGES AND WARRIOR-MONKS
Gravediggers of Salauel (Living and Undead versions)(31 AP, Warrior-monk): The Gravedigger is another of my favorite troops, and I field one frequently. There are two versions available, a living version and an undead, zombie version that comes only as a profile card in the Obscure Houses card pack. The biggest advantage to fielding either, IMO, is that they are warrior-monks and can use the Chain of the Grave miracle to create more zombies during the battle. Others like to use them for IT summoning. Gravediggers also have a special Zombie Masters ability that allows them to channel the strength of a zombie within their aura of faith to gain an extra die when calling miracles. However, if call fails, the zombie suffers Damage roll with a Strength equal to the attempted miracle’s Fervour. I almost always do this unless I really don’t need to or I really need my zombies to remain unwounded. Note also that for the purposes of this ability, any Living Dead model with Regeneration is considered to be a zombie (including Crane Warriors, the Cerberus, etc.)
Living Gravedigger: The living Gravedigger profile has okay stats, but he's not exceptional. However, he also has two other abilities that are quite nice: Master Strike/0 and Fierce. Together, those abilites constitute a notable threat to the Gravedigger's opponents. All in all, I find this guy to be effective, but I generally prefer the undead version.
Undead Gravedigger: The undead Gravedigger profile has +1 ATT and +1 DEF over the living version, but this comes at the cost of -2.5 cm of Movement, -1 INI, and no Discipline stat. It also loses Master Strike and Fierce, but gains Regeneration/5. One nice thing about this version is that if no zombies are nearby, he can use himself as a focus for the Zombie Master ability.
Quaestor of Acheron (25 AP, Warrior-mage): Quasetors are Acheron’s warrior-mages. They have Power 3, mastery of Darkness, and access to Circaeus. Furthermore, they have a special ability that lets them share up to 2 mana gems as long as they are within 10 cm of each other, but only for the purposes of spell mastery. This gives them the potential of casting spells that would normally be too difficult to try. However, I rarely take more than one Quaestor, so this ability almost never comes up. In combat, Quaestors are decent but not exceptional, though their stats are reasonable for their 25 AP cost. Many Circaeus spells allow them to boost their own stats or hamper their enemy in some way, which lets a Quaestor improve his combat potential. Other good spells choices for Quaestors include Primal Attack of Darkness (for a little extra offensive punch against tough opponents) or Tenebrous Scarification (if the Quaestor is to be used to support a summoner who is summoning Puppets or Ira Tenebrae).
PART IV: SPELLS AND MIRACLES
Before I get into the individual spells, I feel the need to devote some attention Acheron's options for summoning.
ACHERON SUMMONING
Acheron has many options open to them for summoning. Summoning spells are common choices for Acheron spellcasters, so instead of noting such under the individual spell descriptions, I’ll cover the options here.
Morbid Puppet Invocation: The quick and dirty of Acheron spellcasting, Morbid Puppet Invocation allows a caster to summon a Morbid Puppet. This spell is useful for throwing speedbumps in an opponent’s way and is good for Initiate-level spellcasters or as an extra spell for higher-level spellcasters. There are also a number of spells, such as Dance of Death and Manipulation, that are specifically designed to affect Morbid Puppets and that work very well in conjunction with Puppet Summoning.
Morbid Angel Invocation: Slightly better than Morbid Puppet Invocation is Morbid Angel Invocation, which allows a caster to summon a Morbid Angel. This spell can be cast in one of two ways. First, it can be cast upon two Morbid Puppets, turning them into a single Morbid Angel. This is cost effective in terms of mana (costing only one gem) but I generally find that if I already have two Puppets on the field, then they’ll serve better than a single Angel. The other way to cast the spell costs 4 mana gems, but summons a brand new Angel to the field. This is the version I usually use. There are two problems with this spell, though. First, the second version is a tad expensive in terms of mana, which limits the number of Angels that can be summoned in a turn. Second, for a Morbid Angel to really be effective, it has to get airborne and perform a diving charge. Thus, it will be at least two turns before an Angel summoned with this spell can really be employed effectively, and that delay can make this spell difficult to manage.
Elemental Summoning: Acheron has access to all elementals except for Light and Water. Any elemental will provide a bit of extra punch to an Acheron force, though there often better uses for a necromancer’s mana. Elemental summoning becomes slightly more tempting, however, when used in conjunction with House Vanth.
Chain of the Grave: This spell, which is reserved to Gravediggers, allows a Gravedigger to turn a slain living being into a zombie. I like this spell A LOT, and almost always take it when I field a Gravedigger. It’s simply too useful to leave behind, since the Gravedigger need only cast it on himself, them wait for something to die within his aura of faith. Usually, this means that your opponent must not only face the loss of one of his own troops, but also a new zombie under your control! The Acheron player can choose what type of zombie rises as a result of this spell. I usually choose Armored Zombies since they have the most staying power, but if I’m fighting a tough (high Resilience) opponent, Zombie Warriors with lances may be a better choice.
Ira Tenebrae Summoning: This controversial miracle (often referred to as “IT Summoning”) is a favorite for Acheron players, and is frequently given to Acheron faithful. I don’t often use it partially because it is so controversial, so I’m not going to say a lot about it aside from the fact that it is an effective and powerful way to bring expendable troops to the field, especially if you’re playing a House Vanth army. One trick that I have found to be effective with this spell is to field Azael with Tenebrous Scarification and keep her near the faithful who summons the Ira Tenebrae. Each turn, when the faithful summons another IT, I have Azael cast Tenebrous Scarification on it. This turns the IT into a true suicide troop; when it is killed, it will “explode,” causing damage to all in base contact with it.
SPELLS
The following is a quick description the spells that come in various Acheron blisters and boxed sets. I’ve included a reference the source of each spell after its name. Each spell also includes the most important statistical info: AP cost, gems required to cast it, Difficulty, Intensity, and Path.
I also noted spells that were revised in C3 by adding the C3 page number of the revision after the spell's other stats.
Acheron's mages generally have access to either Necromancy, Circaeus, or both. In addition, many have access to the path of Typhonism. Both Light and Water are forbidden to Acheronian mages.
Note that several Necromancy spells are “Macellarii” spells. These spells are notable for two reasons. First, the magic intensity of such spells is reduced by 1 point for each additional Macellarii spell a mage takes, so if he takes three, the magic intensities of all three are reduced by two points. Second, magicians of House Lazarian add +1 to the final result of incantation rolls to cast Macellarii spells.
Arcanum IV: The Emperor (Sophet Drahas)(14 AP, 2 Earth, 1 Neutral, Diff. 10, Int. 3, Cartomancy):
This spell allows the caster to turn any or all of his Power into an equal number of points of DEF or RES, which maybe distrubted among his allies within 20 cm. He must then use his new, lower Power until the end of the round when the spell’s effects expire.
Arcanum XV: The Devil (Sophet Drahas)(13 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. 3 + target’s COU, Int. 4, Cartomancy):This spell may be cast at any time during the round but cannot affect Damage rolls or rolls of multiple dice and may only affect figures that have a COU rating printed on their cards. The next D6 rolled by the target is automatically considered to be a 1.
Arrows of Hecate (Gorgon)(26 AP, 3 Fire, Diff. 9, Int. 4, Elemental, C3 p.165):This spell fires a flaming projectile at a target, doing STR 5 damage. The caster can spend up to 3 additional gems to increase the spell’s range by 10 cm per gem.
The Blood of Discord (Sophet Drahas)(11 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 10, Int. 2, Elemental, C3 p.167):
Each time the spell’s target inflicts a wound to the “Chest” column of the wound table (the “4” column), his own wound level improves by one degree. Wounds to Living Dead, constructs, or elemental beings do not count for this spell. At the end of each round, roll 1D6 for each fighter benefiting from this spell. On a roll of 1, the spell ends and the fighter receives a STR 0 Damage roll.
Carnal Mystique (Asura de Sarlath)(20 AP, 4 Darkness, Diff. 11, Int. 3, Necromancy):This spell is a Macellarii spell. This spell turns a magician’s wound penalties into bonuses (so a Critical Wound would give a +3 bonus instead of a -3 penalty). This lasts until the end of the game. If the incantation for this spell fails, the magician suffers a Critical Wound.
Curse (Azael)(11 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 4, Elemental):
This spell allows the caster to inflict a -1 penalty to the INI, ATT, and DEF of a target in base contact.
Dance of Death (Morbid Puppets 2)(12 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. Free, Int. 3, Necromancy):
This spell allows a magician to “explode” a Morbid Puppet. This destroys the Puppet but does damage equal to half the Difficulty chosen for the spell to all models in base contact with the Puppet when it is blown up. This spell is a good choice for a mage who is also equipped with Morbid Puppet Invocation.
Dead Forge (Coryphaeus)(13 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 9, Int. 2, Necromancy, Cabala):
This spell is the main reason Black Weapons exist, and it can only be cast on fighters with such weapons. This spell increases the STR a fighter with Black Weapons by 1 point, or the RES of a fighter with Black Armour by 1 point. After the spell is cast, the magician may spend up to two additional gems of Darkness, and each gem so spent add another +2 to the STR or RES of the target (so the maximum bonus that may be imparted is +5). The bonus only lasts until the end of the round, but the spell can be pretty useful for making certain models much more dangerous. This spell can be especially nice if cast on Centaurs of Dracynran; their Harassment ability allows them to maneuver to and from the mage while shooting at the enemy, and the spell can give their shots a STR of 10! This is a rather expensive tactic, though, and may not always pay off.
Distortion (Quaestor 2)(8 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Circaeus):This spell allows the magician to move up to 10 cm, automatically disengaging from combat if disengagement is a possibility.
Eternal Torpor (Gorgon)(13 AP, 4 Darkness, Diff. Special, Int. 0, Reserved to the Gorgon, C3 p.165):
With this spell, the Gorgon can potentially turn a victim to stone. In order to cast this spell, both the Gorgon and her target must have line of sight to one another or must be in base contact. The Gorgon makes her incantation roll and the target makes an INI roll, which is then subtracted from the Gorgon’s total. The result determines the spell’s effects:
- 0 or -: No effect
- 1-5: Target suffers a STR 0 hit.
- 6-10: Target suffers a hit with a STR equal to the difference between the Gorgon’s roll and the target’s INI roll (i.e. between 6 and 10)..
- 11+: The target is turned to stone and can no longer participate in the battle. He can be freed by magic that dispels effects or by eliminating the Gorgon.
This spell has no effect on the Living Dead, constructs, or Immortals.
I personally find this spell to be incredibly useful if I also equip the Gorgon with a Symbol of Power (C3 p.150), giving the Gorgon a better chance to roll higher (especially since, being a Spirit of Darkness, she doesn’t risk failing her incantation when she rolls up a natural 5 or 6).
Funeral March (Gorgon)(16 AP, 5 Darkness, Diff. 9, Int. 4, Necromancy, Typhonism, C3 p.165):This spell is especially good for warrior-mages like the Coryphaeus. The spells grants the magician +2 to ATT, DEF, and Damage rolls, but only against the Funeral March’s target. Also, if the target hits inflicts the magician with a Damage roll, the roll suffers a -2 penalty. This spell lasts until the magician or his target is eliminated, and cannot be cast again while it is active.
Hecate’s Fury (OH)(12 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 3, Necromancy):This spell can only target fighters of Acheron. If successful, the target’s DEF is added to his ATT, but he must place all dice into attack. If the magician is bound to House Hestia, he may spend additional gems to give the target Implacable/X, with X being equal to the number of gems spent. This spell is very useful against opponents with high DEF, and particularly when cast on hard-hitting troops like Wolfen Zombies, since it usually allows them to overcome an enemy’s defenses.
The Hydra’s Flesh (Asura de Sarlath)(17 AP, 4 Darkness, Diff. 12, Int. 3, Necromancy):This is a Macellarii spell. This spell lasts until the end of the game. After it is cast, the magician may spend 1 gem of darkness before each damage roll he suffers. 2D6 is then rolled, and if the total of the two dice is greater than or equal to the STR of the damage roll, then it is cancelled. If the incantation to cast this spell fails, the mage suffers a Critical Wound.
Hymn of Despair (Quaestor 1)(7 AP, 1 Darkness, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Circaeus, C3 p.163):
This spell is meant for Quaestors. It adds +1 to the magician’s STR until the end of the round, The magician can spend extra gems to increase this bonus further on a one for one basis, but cannot more than double his STR in this way. This bonus STR doesn’t effect elemental beings of Water or magicians who master Water.
Impulse of Death (Obscure Houses)(12 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. Free, Int. 2, Necromancy):This is a Macellarii spell. It is cast before the Tactical roll, and if successful the magician gains bonus points equal to half the chosen difficulty (rounded down). These points may be distributed among the magician’s land MOVE, ATT, and DEF, with a maximum bonus of +5 to any one characteristic. If the incantation fails, the caster takes a Serious Wound.
Majesty (Sophet Drahas)(21 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. 10, Int. 0, Reserved to Sophet Drahas):
This spell may be cast at any time during the round except during an enemy activation. The targeted figurine must make a COU test and Sophet’s FEAR or suffer the effects of a failed Couragetest. This spell has no affect on fighters who are immune to fear or have resisted a fear equal to or greater than that of Sophet.
Manipulation (Morbid Puppets 3)(7 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Necromancy):
This spell may only be cast on Morbid Puppets, and gives the Puppet an additional attack die until the end of the round. It may be cast on the same Puppet multiple times, which is why it is so useful.
Mask of the Condemned (Sophet Drahas)(12 AP, 4 Darkness, Diff. Free, Int. 3, Necromancy):If the target fails a COU/FEAR test with a difficulty equal to that chosen for the spell, , he loses all advantages bound to being a character until the end of the round, but may continue to use magic objects.
Morbid Angel Invocation (Morbid Angels 1)(11 AP, 1 or 4 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 4, Necromancy, C3 p.162):This spell allows a caster to either create a Morbid Angel by fusing together two existing Morbid Puppets (costing 1 gem) or summon a brand new Morbid Angel (costing 4 gems).
Morbid Division (Morbid Angels 2)(10 AP, 1 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 3, Necromancy, C3 p.162)):This spell is essentially the opposite of Morbid Angel Invocation. It allows a mage to transform a single Morbid Angel into two Morbid Puppets.
Morbid Puppet Invocation (Morbid Puppets 1)(7 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 4, Necromancy, C3 p.162):
This is a classic Acheron spell. It allows a mage to summon a single Morbid Puppet, but since it may be cast an unlimited number of times each round, it is possible to summon multiple Puppets during the same activation.
Mortal Litany (Quaestor 1)(11 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 3, Circaeus, C3 p.163):This spell grants the caster bonuses depending on the number of gems invested in it after it is cast. The spell lasts until the end of the round, but may be prolonged from round to round as long as the caster spends 4 gems of Darkness. Though this spell is meant for Quaestors, it is very difficult for them to gain or keep the more worthwhile higher-level bonuses it can offer:
- No extra gems: FEAR +1
- 4 Darkness gems: STR, RES, & FEAR +1
- 8 Darkness gems: ATT, STR, DEF, RES, & FEAR +1
- 10 Darkness gems: ATT, STR, DEF, RES, & FEAR +2
- 14 Darkness gems: ATT, STR, DEF, RES, & FEAR +2, gains Dreadful.
Pallid Aura (Azael)(13 AP, 1 Darkness, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Necromancy, C3 p.165):
The Pallid Aura covers a 10 cm radius around the caster. Until the end of the round, the magician gains 1 gem of Darkness for each fighter (except for Constructs, Living Dead, and Possessed) killed outright in the aura’s area.
Privilege (Sophet Drahas)(19 AP, 3 Neutral, Diff. 10, Int. 4, Cartomancy):
Until the end of the round, this spell makes the target immune to spells cast using an element determined by the caster when it is cast. The gems used to cast the spell must be the same as or opposed to the chosen element. A magician can only cast Privilege protecting from the same element once at a time.
Psalms of Insanity (Quaestor 2)(11 AP, 2 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 3, Circaeus, Cs p.164):
When Psalms of Insanity is cast, roll 2d6. Each extra gem spent before this roll is made adds 1 to the sum of the dice. The target must test against a Fear rating equal to the sum of the two dice, and this Fear is treated as though it came from a Living Dead fighter.
Putrefaction (Azael)(18 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. 6 + target’s RES, Int. 4, Necromancy, C3 p.166):
This spells inflicts a -1 penalty to the target’s RES. Each new round, the magician can spend a gem of Darkness to increase this penalty increases by 1. If the penalty ever equal the RES printed on the target’s reference card, he is killed outright. This spell cannot affect Living Dead or Immortals and is Permanent.
Reign of Chaos (Asura de Sarlath)(25 AP, X Neutral, Diff. 12, Int. 0, Reserved to Asura):
The player rolls 2D6 before each Tactical roll. The lower result is the spell’s cost in gems, and the higher result is its frequency. The spell may then be cast right after an Inititative, Attack, Defense, Aim, Courage/Fear, Discipline, Power, divination, or Damage roll made by the target. If successful, the roll is cancelled and must be made again as if it never happened.
The Shadow of Death (Asura de Sarlath)(35 AP, 5 Darkness, Diff. 11, Int. 5, Necromancy):
This is one of the few direct damage Necromancy spells, and as its stats imply, it can be quite powerful but is really only suited for top notch magicians like Sophet and Asura. It affects an area equal to the zome artillery dispersion template and may be cast on a fighter or an area of the battlefield. The template is placed on the target area, and a D6 is rolled for each model it touches. On a 4+, the model suffers a STR 7 Damage roll. Then another D6 is rolled, and on a 4+, the magician can spend 2 more gems of Darkness to cause the template to deviate like zone artillery, doing damage again at its new location. This can be repeated until the repetition test fails, the magician can no longer spend gems on it, or the template leave the battlefield. The spell can affect the same victim several times if it happens to deviate onto that target more than once.
Shredding of the Souls (Coryphaeus)(15 AP, 3 Darkness, Diff. 8, Int. 0, Reserved to Coryphaeus):
This spell is cast just before the Coryphaeus makes a Damage roll in hand-to hand combat. It allows the Coryphaeus to roll an additional die on the Damage roll and keep the two that he wishes (like Assassin). The spell may be cast several times in a round on the same target in the Coryphaeus inflicts further Damage rolls on the target.
Sonnet of Eternity (Coryphaeus)(10 AP, 1 Neutral, Diff. 7, Int. 3, Circaeus, Necromancy)
This spell is cast before the Tactical roll. If successful, the magician can spend mana gems right before suffering a Damage roll, and each gem so spent reduces the STR of the Damage roll by 2 points. If this reduces it to 0 or less, then the hit is ignored. Sacred and Black Weapons are unaffected by this spell.
MIRACLES
The following is a quick description the miracles that come in various Acheron blisters and boxed sets. I’ve included a reference to the source of each miracle after its name. Each miracle includes the most important statistical info: AP cost, Fervour, Difficulty, and Required Aspects (Creation = C, Alteration = A, and Destruction = D). If a miracle belongs to a cult other than that of Salauel, I also note it after the Aspects.
I also noted miracles that were revised in C3 by adding the C3 page number of the revision after the miracle's other stats.
Abjuration (Bogeyman)(8 AP, 2 Fervour, Diff. 8, C0 A1 D1, Meander of Darkness):
The miracle’s target is not counted in the calculation of T.F. for faithful on its own side, but it still counts for enemy iconoclasts. This miracle cannot affect fighters with Fanaticism.
Awakening of the Demon (Ejhin de Vanth)(14 AP, Free Fervour, Diff. Special, C0 A0, D1):
This miracles Fervour must be chosen before the call, and the difficulty is 4 + the chosen Fervour. If successful, the Faithful acquires a number of bonus points equal to the chosen Fervour, which may be distributed like points gained from Mutagenic. If the faithful is House Vanth, these points may instead be given to a fighter within the faithful aura of faith.
Blade of Erebus (Ejhin de Vanth)(17 AP, 2 Fervour, Diff. target’s STR, C1 A0 D1):
This miracle is cast upon a target’s hand-to-hand weapon. Each time the weapon kills an opponent, the bearer gains a counter. After a successful attack, the bearer may discard these counters. If he does so, then the STR of the Damage roll caused by the attack becomes equal to the number of counters, but the target’s RES is ignored, as is Hard-boiled, Survival Instinct, any Immunity abilities, and Sacred Armour.
Brutality of the Shadows (Gravediggers)(15 AP, Fervour 2, Diff. 6, C1 A0 D0, Universal, C3 p.164):
This miracle gives replaces the faithful’s STR with that of an enemy of his choice who is in base contact with him. If the faithful increases the miracle’s difficulty by 2, the transferred STR is increased by +1.
Chain of the Grave (Gravedigger)(16 AP, 2 Fervour, Diff. 6, C0 A0 D1, Reserved to Gravediggers, C3 p.164):
This miracle allows a Gravedigger to change a fallen living fighter into a zombie under his command. The Gravedigger casts the miracle on himself and it remains in place until a fighter dies within the Gravedigger’s aura of faith, at which point the Gravedigger can immediately summon a new Zombie in Armour, Zombie of Acheron, or Zombie Warrior (his choice).
Devil’s Whispers (Ejhin de Vanth)(23 AP, Fervour 2, Diff. target’s DIS + 4, C0 A1 D1, Meanders of Darkness):
This miracle can be cast on an enemy in hand-tohand combat. If successful, the faithful decides how that figure places all of its dice in hand-tohand combat until the end of the round. The target can still use abilities like War Fury that would otherwise determine its dice placement. The miracle cannot affect Hyperians, Beings of Light, Beings of Darkness, or fighters with Righteous.
Evil Eye (Bogeyman)(18 AP, Fervour 1, Diff. 6, C0 A2 D0, Meanders of Darkness, C3 p.164):
This miracle grants the faithful the Thaumaturgist ability and eliminates the normal penalty for calling miracles and regain T.F. in hand-to-hand combat. The miracle’s effects can be maintained from one round to the next by spending 1 T.F.
Grasp of the Demon (Ejhin de Vanth)(18 AP, Fervour 1, Diff. 8, C0 A0 D0, Reserved to Ejhin, C3 p.167):
To use this miracle, a faithful or someone else in the army must have the Seal of Corruption artifact and must have used it to create a Corrupt Servant. This miracle may be cast when Ejhin is killed as long as there is a Corrupt Servant within her aura of faith. If successful, Ejhin’s spirit is transferred into the Corrupt Servant. That fighter then gains her divination abilities, but is automatically killed at the end of the round, at which point Ejhin can try to “jump” to another Corrupt Servant within her aura of faith.
Honour of the Black Paladins (Kain the Scourge)(12 AP, Fervour 1, Diff. 7, C0 A0 D1):
This miracles gives Fierce and Possessed to all friendly Black Paladins within the faithful’s aura of faith, but also makes all their Initiative rolls in combat count as failures.
Salauel’s Absolution (Kain the Scourge)(14 AP, Ferbour 2, Diff. Special, C0 A0 D1):
The difficulty for this miracle is equal to the target’s COU/FEAR. If called successfully, all miracles and spells on the target are dispelled.
Salauel’s Enchantment (The Bogeyman)(15 AP, Fervour 3, Diff. Free, C0 A2 D1, C3 p.164):
This miracle can only be called on the Living Dead. The STR of the target’s next Damage roll is increased by half the difficulty chosen for the miracle (rounded up). However, if the Damage roll is an Exceptional Wound, the miracle’s target is killed outright (though the target of the Damage roll still suffers damage normally).
PART V: ARTEFACTS
The following is a list of artefacts that come with the blisters and boxed sets of Acheron troops. I've noted the source of each, as well as whether or not it is reserved to the character with whom it came. Except where so noted, the artefacts are available to any character of Acheron.
I also noted artefacts that were revised in C3 by putting the C3 page number for the revision after their AP cost.
Agony (Melmoth; Reserved)(10 AP): Agony is Melmoth’s Carnage Blade. All wounds inflicted with Agony are read one line lower on the wound table. Wounds inflicted by Agony cannot be healed in any way.
Arcanum IV: The Emperor (Sophet Drahas)(17 AP): Sophet possesses two of the Cadwallon Arcana, each of which is a separate artefact and spell. The Arcana are not reserved to any character, so they may be used by any character. Each Arcana has an ascendant (or beneficial) effect and a descendent (or harmful) effect. The Emperor is actually the card that represents Sophet. Its ascendant effect prevents any enemy figurine within 20 cm of Sophet from benefiting from or transmitting bonuses in Courage, Fear, and Discipline. Coupled with Sophet’s high Fear, this can be crippling. The descendent effect lowers the bearers MOVE to 5 if it is higher. Though this doesn’t affect Sophet since his MOVE is already 5, it could be a problem for other fighters.
Arcanum XV: The Devil (Sophet Drahas)(16 AP): The Devil’s ascendant effect removes the limits on the number of artefacts Sophet can carry, allowing him to take as many artefacts as he wishes within the game’s AP limits. The descendent effect, however, prevents any other fighter in the army from carrying any artefacts.
Bitterness (Alderan; Reserved)(20 AP, C3 p.161): Bitterness is Alderan’s Carnage blade. Like all such blades, all wounds inflicted by Bitterness are read one line lower on the wound table. However, Bitterness is also infused with the soul of Alderan’s dead lover, and when armed with it, Alderan becomes a warrior-monk faithful. In my opinion, this artefact is a bit hit-or-miss. Taking it turns Alderan into a very expensive faithful with very limited divination abilities, and I usually don’t feel it’s worth it unless I have a very clear plan for him. However, many people like giving Alderan Bitterness and Ira Tenebrae Summoning, which can be very effective.
Black Diamond (Ejhin de Vanth)(6 AP): This artefact is not reserved to Ejhin and may be taken by any leader of Acheron. However, it is only useful in Rag’Narok. It generates extra Dark Stranglehold points for the bearer.
The Black Spellbook (Coryphaeus)(18 AP): This artefact is not reserved to the Corypaheus and may be taken by any Acheron magician. It is one of my favorite artefacts, especially for a warrior-mage like the Coryphaeus whose spell intensity potential is limited to his Power rating of 5. The Black Spellbook has two effects. First, it reduces the spell intensities of all spells of a chosen path (which must be either Necromancy, Circaeus, Typhonism, or Cabala) by 2 points to a minimum of 1 point, allowing the magician to take more spells. Secondly, whenever the magician casts spells from the chosen path, he does so with one additional die. Personally, I think the additional spellcasting die is almost worth the 18 points for this artefact by itself.
The Codex of the Scourge (Kain the Scourge; Reserved)(19 AP): This artefact is actually a relic as described in the divination rules. It add +1 to Kain’s Creation aspect. Its Emanation gives Kain the Exalted ability (“1” doesn’t count as a failure on divination rolls). Its Wonder costs 3 T.F. and allows Kain to give Bane/X to himself and any Black Paladins fighting in his aura of faith; the Bane must be directed toward an opponent currently fighting in hand-to-hand against them.
Cruel (Sophet Drahas; Reserved)(32 AP, C3 p.166): This expensive sword is Sophet’s personal weapon, and it’s worth its points. First, the sword gives Sophet an additional combat die in hand-to-hand combat (so, with his Born Killer ability, Sophet has a minimum of four dice when equipped with Cruel). Moreover, during his activation, if Sophet is free of opponents, he can send Cruel out to attack enemy enemy fighters within 10 cm. The sword is then treated just like a combatant using Sophet’s stats (including his Fear). However, neither the sword nor Sophet can be harmed by attacks against the sword, so it’s essentially a risk-free way of fighting in combat. If Sophet is engaged in combat or moves more than 10 cm from the sword, or if the sword eliminates all its opponents, it immediately returns to its master’s hand.
The Doll of the Hungry (Chagall; Reserved)(13 AP): Chagall is on very good terms with the forces of Mid-Nor, and the Doll of the Hungry is a token of their alliance. He can use the doll once per game to summon 1d6 x 5 AP of Mid-Nor reinforcements.
The Fang of Wisshard (Almighty Crane; Reserved)(25 AP): This magic weapon allows allows the Almighty Crane to add one point to any of his characteristics when he kills his first opponent, and then again when he kills another 2, then again when he kills another 3, and so on. While potentially useful, the eventual payoff is probably not worth the 25 points in Confrontation. Rag’Narok’s another matter, however…
The Fist of Kain (Kain the Scourge; Reserved)(23 AP, C3 p.162): The Fist of Kain is Kain’s flail. It gives Kain War Fury, and any defense rolls made against attacks from the Fist suffer a -2 penalty. This is very nasty, especially against enemy characters with a propensity for counter-attacking.
The Gravedigger’s Ossuary (Bogeyman; Reserved)(12 AP): This artefact makes enemy fighters who are under the effects of fear count double for the purposes of generating T.F. I’ve never found this artefact to be very useful, and recommend saving the 12 AP for other things.
Horns of Damnation (Almighty Crane)(17 AP, C3 p.161): This artefact is not reserved to the almighty Crane and can be used by an Crane Warrior (so Alderan and Melmoth are also fair game). It increases Leadership range by 10 cm. Friendly magicians can store mana gems in the horns for use later; the max that may be stored is equal to the Crane Warrior’s Fear.
The Howling Cloak (Almighty Crane; Reserved)(63 AP, C3 p.161): Once per game the Almighty Crane can use this cloak to force a difficulty 12 Courage check on all enemies within 25 cm. Any models who thereafter try to enter this area must also test Courage, and the effect lasts until the Almighty Crane moves or is eliminated. It is a powerful ability, but its cost makes it a bit risky, more suited to Rag’Narok than Confrontation.
Mizar (Sephiroth; Reserved)(15 AP, C3 p.162): Mizar is Sephiroth’s sword, a symbol of his dominion over all centaurs. Sehpiroth gains +1 STR for each centaur (including himself and living Kelt Centaurs) with 15 cm of him, up to a maximum STR of 15. This artefact is a nice choice if your’ planning on fielding a few heavy centaurs with Sephiroth, but I wouldn’t bother trying to get more than +4 STR from it; trying for more not only becomes expensive, but also limits the tactical flexibility that all those centaurs bring to field since staying close to Sephiroth usually means they aren’t getting the most out of their mobility.
The Nightjar (Gorgon)(11 AP): This artefact is actually a carrion bird that seeks the souls of the fallen and returns them to its master. It is not reserved to the Gorgon, and may be taken by any Acheron character. Once per round, when a fighter dies on the battlefield, the Nightjar can capture its soul, which gives the artefact’s bearer an immediate Regeneration/5 roll.
The Orpheon (Coryphaeus; Reserved)(16 AP, C3 p.167): The Orpheon gives the Coryphaeus the Sequence/1 ability. Furthermore, the sword begins the game with two counters and gains two more whenever the Corypaheus inflicts an opponent with a wound or Killed Outright in hand-to-hand combat. It can hold a maximum of 6 counters, and these counters can be discarded before making an INI, ATT, DEF, or Power tests to increase the roll’s final result by +1 per counter.
Phylactery of Power (OH)(13 AP, C3 p.200): An army can only include one Phylactery of Power per even incomplete 300 AP of the army. The bearer of the Phylactery can choose one of two effects each turn, and each power affects magicians within 15 cm of the bearer (20 cm if the bearer is bound to House Brisis).
- Flow: The carrier and friendly magicians do not consider a 1 to be a failure on Mana Recovery rolls. I personally tend to fail a lot of Mana Recovery rolls, so I find this power to be extremely useful.
- Perturbation: Enemy magicians within the area of effect consider 1’s and 2’s to be automatic failures on Mana Recovery rolls.
The Sceptre of Atrocities (Gorgon; Reserved)(20 AP): This artefact allows the Gorgon to take as many Darkness spells as she wishes, even if their total Intensities exceed twice her Power rating. Essentially, it lets a player give the Gorgon more spells that she’d normally be able to carry. I’ve never found this artefact to be very useful, since I’ve rarely felt the need to give the Gorgon more spells than she can carry. Even if I did, I’d give her the Black Spellbook (see the Coryphaeus) instead, which could potentially accomplish the same thing AND could give her an extra die to cast some of those spells, all for 2 AP less than the Sceptre of Atrocities.
Sceptre of Dark Absolution (Asura)(22 AP, C3 p.165): This scepter counts as a Black Weapon. This artefact essentially gives penalties to the Rallying tests of enemies in rout who are near the bearer of the scepter. The penalty is equal to the number of enemies the bearer killed during the previous turn. I don’t consider this artefact to be at all worth its 22 AP in Confrontation. Maybe in Rag’Narok.
Seal of the Corrupt (Ejhin de Vanth)(18 AP, C3 p.167): This artefact is not reserved to Ejhin and may be taken by any faithful character of Acheron.It allows the bearer to make a friendly fighter into a “corrupt servant.” The corrupt servant gains Martyr/1, and the value of the Martyr ability increases by one each time the corrupt servant kills an opponent. The faithful can also cast miracles through the corrupt servant, but doing so immediately kills the servant. This artefact is also required in order to use Ejhin’s Grasp of the Demon miracle.
Seal of Phobos (Asura; Reserved)(51 AP): This is probably Asura’s best artefact, and I never field him without it even though it is expensive. It starts the game holding 8 gems of Air, and can hold up to 16 of them. Asura can use these gems to feed his own magic. Furthermore, each turn, the Seal can either let Asura fly (MOVE 20) or can generate Air gems by making a mana recovery roll as though it were a Power 8 master-level magician. As long as Asura stays on the ground and has brought some Air spells, this effectively doubles the amount of mana he can throw around, and the flgith ability isn’t bad either, since it can essentially allow Asura to cruise around dropping spells on the enemy with little chance of being engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
Sepulchre Companion (Azael; Reserved)(12 AP): This artefact gives Azael access to a second element in addition to Darkness. I almost never bother with this unless I have a good plan for an elemental spell that Azael to which Azael wouldn’t normally have access, but usually the same results can be accomplished with some form of Darkness magic anyway.
The Spectre’s Rags (Asura; Reserved)(46 AP): This artefact essentially gives Asura the Ethereal ability. There are somedifference – it doesn’t make him immune to stuns and he still suffers charge penalties – but otherwise they allow him to operate as though he has that ability. I don’t recommend it for Confrontation as it is very expensive; it’s better left for Rag’Narok.
Talisman of the Shadows (Sophet Drahas; Reserved)(26 AP, C3 p.166): The Talisman of Shadows is an artefact that Sophet can hand off to another model in his army. Later, during his activation, Sophet can trade places with the Talisman’s bearer, but doing so kills the bearer. The Talisman is recovered when this happens and may then be used again. This is essentially a quick (if expensive) way to move Sophet around the table more quickly. I don’t use this artefact very often, but when I do, I use it with a Morbid Angel, which I’ll fly to where I want Sophet to be.
Twilight (Almighty Crane; Reserved)(58 AP): Twilight is the Almighty Cranes Carnage Blade. Like all such weapons, wounds it inflicts are read one line lower on the wound table. In addition, the sword makes the Almighty Crane into a Darkness Initiate with a Power of 5…very worthwhile indeed. This artefact, though expensive, is a good call for the Almighty Crane, increasing his power and versatility immensely. Should another Living Legend be on the field, I’d recommend the Funeral March spell for the Grand Crane. The spell will give him +2 points to all his stats against an opponent of his choice, which could give him the advantage he needs against another Living Legend.
PART VI: THE OBSCURE HOUSES
The factions of Acheron are known as the Obscure Houses. These Houses follow all the normal rules for faction-themed armies, as presented on p.197-198. Some of these were revised in the C3 rulebook; I have noted such where it applies.
In addition to the abilities for each house, I have listed any existing characters or troops who belong to that house (as printed on their reference cards) as well as any troops that gain special options if bound to the house.
HOUSE BRISIS:
As ar as I can tell, this house has no House ability, only Solo abilities, so being bound to this House is free.
Characters: None
Troops w/ Special Options: None
Solo/Charisma (8 AP): Any character can be given this ability. It allows an extra die to be rolled for the armies Tactical rolls (max +2 dice). The better result is kept.
Solo/Diversity (1 AP): this ability allows a character to lose either 1 point of Power, 2.5 cm of aura of faith, or 10 cm of Leadership range in exchange for one of the following: +1 Power, +2.5 cm of aura of faith, or Leadership/10 (or +10 cm to an existing Leadership ability). Most players, myself included, use this to improve the power of mages like Asura or the Gorgon by sacrificing 10 cm of their Leadership range.
Solo/Diversity (4 AP): A magician character with this ability can exchange one Element that he masters (except for Darkness) for Air, Fire, or Earth.
HOUSE HESTIA (C3 p.198):
House Hestia is a good choice for fielding swarmy undead armies since you can cheaply deploy a great number of Skeletons with this army.
Characters: None
Troops w/ Special Options: Cerberus
House/Army of the Dead (0 AP): This reduces the cost of all Skeletons in Armour, Skeleton Warriors, and Skeleton Spearmen that are bound to House Hestia as long as at least one other fighter of Hestia is deployed with them. Because of this ability, it is nearly pointless to field Morbid Puppets with House Hestia, since for just one point more, you can field Skeleton Spearmen.
Solo/Blazing Lord (3 AP): Before each Tactical roll, the ATT rate of a fighter with this capacity can be reduced by 1 to 3 points to a minimum of 0. In return, the fighter may gain one of the following advantages:
- Destructor: The points taken from ATT may be added to INI or into the Implacable/X ability, with X being equal to the points taken from ATT.
- Strategist: The points taken from ATT may be added to the final result of the fighter’s DIS rolls. This can be a really nice way to make up a bit for Acheron’s weakness in DIS.
As far as I can tell, this ability may be given to any Acheronian fighter, not just characters.
Solo/Fire (3 AP): A magician with this ability may exchange one of the elements he masters (except for Darkness) for Fire.
HOUSE LAZARIAN (C3 p.199):
House Lazarian can be a very powerful house, and there are many who consider it to be broken. Some players do not enjoy facing armies bound to this House. I do enjoy playing this House because I really like its theme of zombies and necrosurgery, but I don’t play it often because it can be a bit unbalanced.
Characters: Azael the Unfaithful
Troops w/ Special Options: Cerberus
House/Charnel (3 AP): This House ability gives the army’s units Mutagenic/-1 and is the main reason people feel that this House is unbalanced.
House/Mystic (4 AP): This ability gives a fighter Consciousness. The cost is 8 AP for magicians and faithful.
House/Resurrection (10 AP): This ability may be given to characters, warrior-mages, and warrior-monks, and its cost is equal to the bearer’s FEAR. All fighters located even partially within 10 cm of a fighter with this ability gets +1 to all Regeneration rolls (making it easier to regenerate).
HOUSE MANTIS (C3 p.199):
This House is unique in that its House ability need not be given to all members of the army, only to characters. Only characters may benefit from the abilities of this house.
Characters: Sophet Drahas
Troops w/ Special Options: None
House/Supremacy (2 AP): If a character with this ability is tied with an opponent on a test, there’s no need to roll again; the Mantis character automatically wins. This doesn’t apply to Attack, Defense, Courage, or Fear tests, but can be really hand for winning Inititative or Tactical rolls.
Solo/Prince of Darkness (Special): The cost for this ability is equal to twice the FEAR printed on the character’s card. He gets Leadership/10 or improves his Leadership range by 10 cm if he already has it.
Solo/Gospel of Evil (3 AP): The final result of divination rolls made by faithful of Salaeul is increased by +1 for each Mantis with this ability that is within the faithful’s aura of Faith (max bonus of +6).
HOUSE SARLATH (C3 p.199):This is one of my favorite houses. It is the house of insanity and is led by Asura de Sarlath, Acheron’s master-level mage character.
Characters: Asura de Sarlath
Troops w/ Special Options: Gargoyle
House/Paradox (1 AP): Before the Approach phase, one “paradox” die is rolled for every even incomplete 250 AP of troops in in the Sarlath army. They cannot be rolled again. The results should be noted. Later, at any point during the game, the Sarlath player may choose one of these paradox dice before a fighter from either side makes an INI, ATT, DEF, AIM, DIS, Power or divination test. The paradox die result then automatically becomes the result of the test; no further dice are rolled. This ability can be really handy if your paradox dice rolled either really high or really low, and I’ve had this make a huge difference in battles before. If your paradox dice roll 3 or 4, though, it’s harder (though still possible) to find a good use for them. Please note that paradox dice are not re-rolled each turn. They are rolled only once, at the beginning of the game, and must last you the entire battle.
Solo/Prophetic Insanity (8 AP): This ability may be given only to characters. For each character with this ability, the Sarlath player may set aside one reference card when making his card pile before the Activation Phase. These cards count as reserve cards. They are added to the normal reserve and may be played in the same way. Though expensive, this is a very useful ability that really helps make up for a bit for the tactical disadvantage Acheron suffers from low DIS.
Solo/Air (3 AP): A magician with this ability may exchange one element he masters (except Darkness) for Air.
Black Weapons (Special): The weapons and armor of an Acheron character may be made into Black Weapons for 5 AP, or for 2 AP if the character is bound to House Sarlath. Obviously, this ability isn’t actually reserved just to Sarlath, but may be applied to any character of Acheron (Sarlath just gets a discount since their the one who supply everyone else with Black Weapons.
HOUSE TANIT:Characters: None
Troops w/ Special Options: None
House/Guardian (1 AP): 1d6 counters are placed aside each time a friendly Tanit eliminates an Elemental, Immortal, or Character fighter whose value is greater than 15 AP. At the beginning of each game phase, accumulated counters may be discard to allow one or more Tanit fighters to benefits from one of the following:
1 counter: The fighter gets 1 gem of Darkness or 1 T.F. point
2 counter: The fighter improves his Wound level by one degree
3 counters: The fighter gets 1d6 gems of Darkness or T.F. points.
Solo/Roaming (4 AP): This nice ability can only be given the Tanit troops whose FEAR is 7 or less (8 or less if they are characters). Troops with this ability gain Scout. Only up to 30% of the army may have this ability.
Solo/Earth (3 AP): A magician of Tanit may exchange one of the elements he masters (except Darkness) for Earth.
HOUSE VANTH:
Vanth is an all-round good house, but it especially shines when it is equipped with spells/miracles to summon Elementals and Immortals such as Ira Tenebrae.
Characters: Ejhin de Vanth
Troops w/ Special Options: Gargoyle
House/Pact (2 AP): The final result of rolls to summon Elementals or Immortals within 10 cm of a Vanth fighter are increased by +1.
Solo/Diabolical (5 AP): This ability may only be given to characters, warrior-mages, and warrior-monks. The bearer gains Concentration/1. When the fighter with this ability is activated, any friendly magician or faithful may spend gems of Darkness or T.F. points to increase the Concentration value by 1, to a maximum of Concentration/3. These points may be assigned to INI, ATT, and DEF.
Solo/Eminence Grise (3 AP): this ability may be given to characters, warrior-mages, and warrior-monks. For each fighter with this ability in the army, the final results of the army’s Tactical rolls is increased by 1 (maximum bonus +6).
PART VII: SAMPLE ARMY LISTS
Following are three sample Living Dead army lists. For these lists, I avoided the House themes and included only things covered in this AotW or from the C3 rulebook. The first list is an all-around balanced list, the second a magic-dependent list, an the last focuses on divination.
ARMY I: BLOOD BROTHERS
This is a balanced army list with a little magic, a little divination, and a low-cost hand-to-hand character. The list is very well-balanced, with a good assortment of troops that make it very versatile. It should serve well against most armies, though armies with across-the-board high-Resilience might give it some trouble.
Melmoth [75 AP - 10% = 68 AP]
+ Agony [10]
+ Abyssal Stigmata [15]
Azael [38 AP - 10% = 35 AP]
+ Spell: Diversion of the Shadows [14] (C3 p.83)
+ Spell: Clutch of the Necromant [14] (C3 p.83)
+ Supreme Rune of Healing [16] (C3 p.149)
Gravedigger (undead version)[31]
+ Chain of the Grave [16]
2 x Scavengers [66]
3 x Zombies in Armour [63]
3 x Morbid Angels [36]
1 x Wolfen Zombie [40]
= 399 AP, 12 models, 7 cards
The key feature of this list is the Melmoth-Azael combination. As Blood Brothers, you get a discount on their cost. During the battle, Azael and Melmoth need to stick together for two reasons. First, they gain Survival Instinct while within 10 cm of each other. Second, Azael's spells are chosen to assist Melmoth in combat. Clutch of the Necromant allows her to give Meloth (or any other ally) bonuses in combat, while Diversion of the Shadows lets her remove a combat die from an enemy, which is especially ueful for helping Melmoth fight enemy characters or tough enemy troops. Note that Azael may not be able to get enough Mana to cast both spells on the same turn, so you'll have to choose carefully which will benefit you more.
Melmoth's sword makes him very dangerous, and the Abyssal Stigmata has a good chance of either enhancing his Regeneration or improving his ability to dish out damage.
The rest of the army can repsond to an asortment of circumstances. Morbid Angels should take to flight as during the first turn, and should hover at level one until they find a good target for their diving charge. If the enemy has shooters, then they can go after them, though the other option is to keep them in reserve until the rest of your troops engage, and then have then drop in to assist to stop other enemies from charging in.
The Scavengers should be used to fill a similar role to the Angels; however, they can also be sent after tough enemies to soften them up or take them out.
The rest of the army - Wolfen Zombie, Gravedigger, and Armored Zombis, should stick close together with Melmoth and Azael to support each other. With any luck, the Gravdigger's Chain of the Grave miracle will begin supplying you with fresh troops as you kill the enemy. To make the most of this, don't be afraid to pick on weaker enemies just to fill your ranks, though remember that as a Devout, he can only create a maximum of 2 zombies at a time.
It is important to keep someone around to protect Azael, because once it becomes obvious that she can make Melmoth more effective or heal his wounds, a canny player will try to take her out since she's pretty vulnerable.
ARMY II: FAITHFUL OF SALAUEL
This army showcases Acheron's Faithful. It is designed primarily to suppot Ejhin, and in fact will rely on her to deal with any really tough opponents.
Ejhin de Vanth [75]
+ Miracle: Inferno of Darkness [15] (C3 p.108)
+ Miracle: Prayer of the Warrior [14] (C3 p.102)
+ Liturgical Instrument [8] (C3 p.110)
+ Consecrated Emblem [14] (C3 p. 150)
3 x Black Paladins w/ Scourge of the Souls [138]
3 x Zombie Warriors w/ Lances [57]
1 x Gargoyle [39]
3 x Morbid Angels [36]
= 396 AP, 11 models, 5 cards
The low number of cards in this army means that you are likely to get a at least one refusal at the start of the game, which you should use to your advantage.
The core of the army is Ejhin an the Black Paladins. Together, they form a tough fighting group. As long as the Paladins stay with Ejhin's aura of faith, they will give her 3 T.F., and with the amount she will generate on her own and her Liturgical Instrument, she is guaranteed at least 6 T.F. each turn, which is enough to call both of her miracles and still hav some left over to strengthen the bond when she casts Inferno of Darkness.
Protected by the Paladins, Ejhin should target the biggest threat within 20 cm with Inferno of Darknes, and should put as many T.F. into strengthening the bond as possible while keeping at least 3 to call her other miracle. With her Consecrated Emblem, she can re-roll 5's and 6's on her divination rolls, so she has the potential to roll very hig, which is exactly what you want as that will determine how much amage the miracle does. After calling Inferno of Darkness, she should call Prayer of the Warrior to boost one of hr allies (usually a Paladin) each turn.
The Zombie Warriors are there to support the Paladins and to help occupy enemy troops so Ejhin's group doesn't get swamped.
The Gargoyle and Morbid Angels form a nice little "air force" unit, and this four-man element features prominently in many of my armies. Together, they are a big threat to enemy shooters and mages, but can also be very effective at helping out your other troops. You should have the Gargoyle and Angels take flight during the first turn. You'll find that they can have a profound psychological effect on your opponent, as he must constantly worry about where they will go and how you will use them to get in his way since they can go almost anywhere very quickly. These guys also tend to attract ranged shots, so they can help distract enemy shooters from Ejhin and the Paladins.
ARMY III: THE SUMMONER OF DARKNESS
This army features the Gorgon and is based around summoning. The army reles fairly heavily on summoning, but the rest of the army can hold its own as well.
The Gorgon [97]
+ Spell: Morbid Puppet Invocation [7]
+ Spell: Manipulation [7]
+ Spell: Dance of Death [12]
+ Phylactery of Power [13]
+ Major Pendant of Mirages [11] (C3 p.150)
+ Familiar of Darkness [15]
1 x Cerberus [88]
2 x Banshees [54]
3 x Zombies in Armour [63]
3 x Skeletons in Armour [33]
= 398 AP, 10 models, 5 cards
The core of this army is the Gorgon, who should summon as many Morbid Puppets as posible until the army engages the opponent. Although the army starts with only 9 models, it can quickly get up to 5 more Puppets thanks to the Gorgon. Once the Puppets are in combat, the Gorgon should use Manipulation and Dance of Death to make the Puppets as big a threat as possible, while also summoning moe Puppets to replace those that have fallen. Her Phylactery of Power and Familiar should help make sure that she will have plenty of gems since she can guarantee hrself at least 5 per turn. Since she is a Spirit of Darkness, she cannot fail to cast Morbid Puppet Invocation or Manipulation.
Most of the rest of the army is there to keep the enemy away from the Gorgon so that she can continue summoning. The Cerberus is the exception - it exists to deal with any big, tough, enemy models that the regular troops and summoned Puppets will have a had time defeating.
Finally, the Banshees are thrown in for flavor, but they do have a point. They can help keep enemies away form the Gorgon and the flanks thanks to their Dreadful ability. Under the influence of the Gorgon's Leadership, they will have a Fear 9, which means many enemies will have a hard time assaulting them, and they have a good chance of making enemies run away of they perform assaults.
The biggest threat to the Gorgon will be shooters, which is why she has a Pendant of Miages +2.
This army will be much more effective against low-Courage armies than high-Courage armies, and may have significant trouble against armies with a lot of high-Resilince, high-Strength troops.