Author's Note: I play Empire occasionally, and I wanted to have some effective heavy cavalry. ie with pursuit of 3D6, and ability to strike first and strike hard, when the answer hit me like a double-handed maul (ouch!), Flails! Thus were born the Knights of the Black Rose. These knights have turned out to be really characterful and formed the basis of a narrative campaign. See what you think.
Before the time of Sigmar, there were three gods that were worshipped in what became the Empire, the most well known was Ulric, who is still worshipped by lots of people. The other two are less well known and their cults less widespread, yet nevertheless their cults continue still. The first of these is Taal, the second Morr, the god of death.
Taal has his main following in Talabecland, which is named after Taal himself, while Morr's cult is smaller still.
The cult of Morr is centred in the town of Wolfenburg in the province of Ostland. The
Forest of Shadows encompasses most of Ostland, and here many Chaos War bands gather, and
Forest Goblin tribes prepare for war. In the heart of all this is Wolfenburg. The citizens
of Wolfenburg fight constantly against the forces of evil, and many of them die in the
ongoing
battle. The people of Wolfenburg pray to Morr, asking for a nice life after death, and for
the chance to bring death down on their enemies before they themselves die. Death has
almost no fear for the truly devoted.
There are many knightly orders in the Empire, some big and some small, within each order there is something that links them together, for example the Knights of the White Wolf all carry double handed mauls and worship Ulric and The Knights of the Blazing Sun all pray to Myrmidia.
The Knights of the Black Rose were formed to protect Wolfenburg from the attacks of their enemies, their name refers to the symbol of Morr which is the black rose. They were black armour and carry heavy flails to strike down their enemies, and usher them into Morr's embrace, death holds no fear for them as they know they will be welcomed by their god. The order has grown but is still small compared to the might of the Knights of the White Wolf.
0-1 UNIT OF KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK ROSE.........................37 points per model
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD |
| Knights of the Black Rose | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Warhorse | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
Equipment: The Knights of the Black Rose ride barded Warhorses, they wear heavy armour, and carry a sword and a flail.
Save: 3+
Options: The Knights of the Black Rose may have standard bearer and musician at the same cost as an ordinary trooper. The Knights of the Black Rose may carry a magic Banner. This may be chosen from the appropriate magic item cards, and it's cost is indicated on the card itself (see Warhammer Magic for more details). Or this may be the banner of Morr as detailed below.
Special Rules: The Knights of the Black Rose are unafraid of dying, they are therefore immune to fear, and terror. They can also add 1 to their leadership for all break tests.
The Banner of Morr...............................75 points This banner, carried by the Knights of the Black Rose, was enchanted by powerful Amethyst wizards, who are themselves closely associated with death. Those who attack the knights, find their attacks reflected back on them. When anyone attacks the knights in hand to hand combat and rolls a 1 to hit, their blows are turned against them, and they take 1 hit for each 1 rolled to hit as if they themselves had struck the blow, ie at their strength, including any magic items or spells that effect them. No magic items that rebound wounds can be used against wounds caused in this way, because the wounds would merely reflect back on themselves, after all they were the ones that struck the blow. Knights of the Black Rose only. |
Jorval Burgenhof, Grand Master of the Knights of the Black Rose......................235 points.
Your army may include Jorval Burgenhof as a champion for your unit of Knights of the Black Rose, he may also be your general, as long as there are no other special characters who could be your general, in your army, but he would still act as the champion for the Knights of the Black Rose.
Jorval has led the order of Knights of the Black Rose, for several years now, since the previous Grand Master was slain, fighting several hundred Beastmen and Dæmons of Chaos who were assaulting Wolfenburg; as they say, you should have seen the other guys. The previous Grand Master was called Konrad Burgenhof, and he was Jorval's uncle and adopted father, as well as his teacher and mentor. Before Konrad died, he taught Jorval everything he knew about the art of war, and let it be known that Jorval was his chosen successor.
Jorval was away when the Chaos war band struck. He had gone to Altdorf for a meeting with the Emperor himself, together with representatives of all the knightly orders. When he returned, and found that his uncle was dead, he became deeply depressed and refused all food and drink for three days. After the three days he emerged ready to become Grand Master, but his heart was filled with hatred for those who killed Konrad, and all of their kind.
Jorval is a fervent devotee of the cult of Morr and death has no fear for him, he has proven to be a brilliant commander of the Knights of the Black Rose.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD |
| Jorval Burgenhof | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Warhorse | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
Weapons / Armour: Jorval wears a suit of heavy armour and carries the Flail of Morr, he also wears the Amulet of the Black Rose and rides an armoured Warhorse.
Magic Items: Jorval can carry two magic items in total, these must be the Flail of Morr and the Amulet of the Black Rose, they are unique to Jorval and only he may use them.
Special Rules
Psychology Jorval has absolutely no fear of dying, his courage
increases the courage of the knights he leads. Jorval and the unit of knights he leads are
completely immune to fear, terror, panic and stupidity, they can also -2 from any rolls
they make for Break tests.
Hatred Jorval hates all Chaos troops, and anyone allied to Chaos because
of what they did to his Uncle. This hatred applies to Chaos, Chaos Dwarfs, and Skaven, as
well as any allies they use in battle.
The Flail of Morr...............................75 points The Flail of Morr is an ancient heirloom of the Grand Masters of the Knights of the Black Rose. Ensorcelled by amethyst wizards, it hunts for the blood of the enemy. While using the Flail of Morr, the usual rules for flails apply, as well as this the flail gives strength to the user, allowing him to continue getting the +2 strength bonus even after the first round of combat, in addition Jorval has a +1 to hit bonus in hand to hand combat. For every wound scored and not saved, Jorval may immediately make another attack, if these cause wounds he does not get more attacks. |
The Amulet of The Black Rose.............50 points If the wearer of this amulet should be slain in combat, the amulet keeps him alive so he can kill as many of the enemy as possible, but after combat the amulet ceases to keep him alive, so the wearer can join Morr in the afterlife. If Jorval is slain while fighting in hand to hand, count the number of wounds he took after he was reduced to 0 wounds, then roll a dice. If the number rolled is greater than the wounds taken, Jorval is sustained by the power of the amulet and is not taken off as a casualty, he may continue fighting as normal. However wounds caused still count towards combat resolution as normal. After he finishes fighting hand to hand, and after any pursuit or fleeing moves have been made, the amulet will stop keeping him alive so he can go to Morr, and he will die. |
*For example, Jorval is fighting a High Elf Lord, the High Elf causes 4 wounds on Jorval, so ordinarily he would be dead, but on a roll of 3+ (because he took 2 wounds after he was knocked down to zero) the amulet would keep him alive. Next combat phase the High Elf lord causes 3 wounds, Jorval now needs to roll a 4+ to stay alive, assuming he does and the High Elf Lord breaks and flees, Jorval pursues, catches up and kills him, then the amulet stops keeping him alive and Jorval himself dies.
Karl Von Reichschtadt, Amethyst Wizard Lord and Knight of the Black Rose..............................450 points including magic items
Your army may include Karl von Reichschtadt as an independant character.
Amethyst magic runs through the past present and future, and so it is the hardest magic to
see. It is also heavily associated with death, and it blows strongly in graveyards,
battlefields and mortuaries. It is this connection with death, that has led to the
excellent relations between the amethyst wizards, and the Knights of the Black Rose. It is
customary for their to always be a high level wizard within the ranks of the Knights
themselves, and they are given an honorary membership.
However, the current Amethyst Wizard serving with the knights, refused to accept the honorary membership, claiming instead that he should win the right to join properly instead, and prove his worth as a warrior. His name is Karl Von Reichschtadt, and he is a powerful wizard, and a skilful warrior.
Jorval Burgenhof, the Grand Master, was intrigued that a wizard should make such a request, and so he decided to agree to Karl's suggestion. Jorval himself took up the challenge of the Amethyst wizard, expecting perhaps, an easy fight. He was surprised and impressed with what he found. The duel lasted for several hours, and in the end Jorval triumphed. But so impressed was he with Karl's fighting prowess that he made Karl a full member of the Knights of the Black Rose.
Karl cannot wear the black armour of the knights, nor does he use a flail, but he does ride a black armoured warhorse, and wields his scythe with deadly accuracy. Karl is a firm believer in the god Morr, and he is unafraid of death.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | LD |
| Karl von Reichschtadt | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 8 |
| Warhorse | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
Weapons / Armour: Karl wields the Amethyst Scythe, and rides an armoured Warhorse.
Magic Items: Karl von Reichschtadt may carry four magic items in total, these will always be the Amethyst Scythe, the Ring of Darkness, the Chalice of Sorcery, and a power scroll. The first is unique to him and only he may use it, the remainder are available as cards in Warhammer Magic.
Special Rules
Knight of the Black Rose Karl von Reichschtadt is a member of the Knights of the Black Rose, and the usual rules of fear, terror and break tests apply.
The Amethyst Scythe...............................45 points This scythe is made of pure amethyst, and engraved with potent runes. The scythe has a weird connection with the past and the future, and it allows the bearer to warp time around him. The wielder of the scythe always strikes first in hand to hand combat, as he can warp time slightly, allowing him to strike before anyone else. He therefore strikes before anyone else also entitled to strike first, ie before assassins, characters with the helm of many eyes, or sword of swift slaying, or master rune of swiftness. The scythe also counts as a halberd, giving Karl +1 strength, but it requires two hands to use. |
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