- Sep 23, 2009
- 2,714
End Times: Nagash named 9 mortarchs, and though several fell, turned traitor, or were otherwise removed from the game before the end of the campaign, most participated in a few battles for the Undead Legion before they left, and depending on how ypur home campaigns prpgress, your own incarnation of Nagash may find himself with a different line up of champions heading into the final battle. That's fine for Arkhan, Vlad, Mannfred, Neferata, and Krell, but what about Dieter, Luthor, Walach, and the Nameless?
This thread is for coming up with raw compatible incarnations of the four mortarchs who presently lack their own statlines. This is not for homebrew special character versions, though you're free to start a thread on the homebrew forum for that.
EDIT: AGAIN, THIS IS NOT FOR HOMEBREW VERSIONS OF THESE CHARACTERS, THAT WOULD BELONG ON THE NECRARCH WORKSHOP SUBFORUM. THIS THREAD IS FOR REPRESENTING THE REMAINING MORTARCHS WITH RAW-LEGAL GENERIC CHARACTER BUILDS.
There are two competing goals, here. First is fidelity to the character's fluff, and the second is gameplay effectiveness. If the character you build isn't recognizeable as the character in question, then it has failed to represent them well, but if it is so worthless on the table that no one would ever field it, then why did you bother in the first place?
The other big restriction is that these guys should be fieldable in any combination, so only one of each magic item, and only one of one/army upgrades like Master of the Dead.
In addition to gameplay set ups, suggestions for mortarch titles for walach, dieter, and the nameless are also welcome.
The characters in question are:
Walach Harkon: Mortarch of ???
A vampire lord of Abhorash's line, and the sire of the blood dragon order, Walach rides to war on a zombie dragon.
Of all the missing mortarchs, Walach seems easiest to build a satisfying version of using raw tools. He's basically just your standard blender lord on a dragon, though you might limit his magic levels to two or three at most, since he's no great mage, and perhaps might pass on quickblood, since its not the most blood-dragony of powers? Or maybe not, it's kind of hard to pass up. On the other hand Dread Knight seems like a key fluff purchase. I'd give him the armor of destiny instead of the talisman of preservation, so that the latter can be reserved for Dieter.
My version: Walach Harkon, Mortarch of Blades
Dieter Helsnicht: Mortarch of ???
A necromancer of the highest caliber, Dieter rejuvinates his forces with dark magic and harrasses his enemies with his rod of flaming death from the back of an abyssal terror that he constructed primarily from a manticore's carcass.
Like Walach, Dieter is pretty easy to build, though he's far less effective in game. Level 4 Master Necromancer with Master of the Dead, abyssal terror, and rod of flaming death. The rod isn't the best item, but it leaves enough points for a talisman of preservation, so he at least has some protection.
My version: Dieter Helsnicht, Mortarch of Ritual
The Nameless: Mortarch of ???
A sadistic bodiless spirit twisted by malice and insanity, the nameless uses puwerful enchantments to dominate the minds of the living and the dead.
The nameless is much harder to build. We have no ethereal lords anymore, so already you're making sacrifices in his representation. He's not a vampire, so do you build him as a necromancer, or do you run him as a vampire anyway to get access to bloodline powers to help model his abilities? If you do that, do you focus on straight casting buffs like master of the black arts, or do you go for fear and leadership powers to model his mental manipulations? What lore do you give him? Of the four characters in question, this is the one I'm most curious to see different takes on.
My version: The Nameless, Mortarch of Whispers
This version is functional as a character, but lacking when it comes to representing the fluff. Improvements/alternatives appreciated.
Luthor Harkon: Mortarch of the Abyss
Cursed by an old one relic, the vampire pirate Luthor Harkon became a living anti-magic nexus, but in the process had his mind shatterred. Now he leads his zombie pirate armada into battle for Nagash.
Luthor is a vampire lord with the flying horror ability. He can no longer cast spells himself but can still control the undead (level one wizard who only ever takes or casts invocation?), but can drain away nearby magic (one of the magic resist talismans?). His insanity manifests in battle as an uncontrollable blood rage (red fury?), and he fights with a magic cutlass and a pistol (?)
He had official rules in white dwarf (https://www.vampirecounts.net/threads/luther-harkon-of-the-vampire-coast.3801/), but those rules are both bad and very out of date. Still, they may provide a model to consider.
Nagash Worshiper's version: Luthor Harkon, Mortarch of the Abyss
I like the use of the cursed book to represent his multiple personalities, but wish there was a way to fit some magic resist in there...
This thread is for coming up with raw compatible incarnations of the four mortarchs who presently lack their own statlines. This is not for homebrew special character versions, though you're free to start a thread on the homebrew forum for that.
EDIT: AGAIN, THIS IS NOT FOR HOMEBREW VERSIONS OF THESE CHARACTERS, THAT WOULD BELONG ON THE NECRARCH WORKSHOP SUBFORUM. THIS THREAD IS FOR REPRESENTING THE REMAINING MORTARCHS WITH RAW-LEGAL GENERIC CHARACTER BUILDS.
There are two competing goals, here. First is fidelity to the character's fluff, and the second is gameplay effectiveness. If the character you build isn't recognizeable as the character in question, then it has failed to represent them well, but if it is so worthless on the table that no one would ever field it, then why did you bother in the first place?
The other big restriction is that these guys should be fieldable in any combination, so only one of each magic item, and only one of one/army upgrades like Master of the Dead.
In addition to gameplay set ups, suggestions for mortarch titles for walach, dieter, and the nameless are also welcome.
The characters in question are:
Walach Harkon: Mortarch of ???
A vampire lord of Abhorash's line, and the sire of the blood dragon order, Walach rides to war on a zombie dragon.
Of all the missing mortarchs, Walach seems easiest to build a satisfying version of using raw tools. He's basically just your standard blender lord on a dragon, though you might limit his magic levels to two or three at most, since he's no great mage, and perhaps might pass on quickblood, since its not the most blood-dragony of powers? Or maybe not, it's kind of hard to pass up. On the other hand Dread Knight seems like a key fluff purchase. I'd give him the armor of destiny instead of the talisman of preservation, so that the latter can be reserved for Dieter.
My version: Walach Harkon, Mortarch of Blades
Vampire Lord, level 2, lore of vampires, red fury, dread knight, quickblood, zombie dragon, armor of destiny, sword of anti-heroes, other trickster's shard, shield
Dieter Helsnicht: Mortarch of ???
A necromancer of the highest caliber, Dieter rejuvinates his forces with dark magic and harrasses his enemies with his rod of flaming death from the back of an abyssal terror that he constructed primarily from a manticore's carcass.
Like Walach, Dieter is pretty easy to build, though he's far less effective in game. Level 4 Master Necromancer with Master of the Dead, abyssal terror, and rod of flaming death. The rod isn't the best item, but it leaves enough points for a talisman of preservation, so he at least has some protection.
My version: Dieter Helsnicht, Mortarch of Ritual
Master Necromancer, level 4, master of the dead, lore of vampires, abyssal terror, rod of flaming death, talisman of preservation, scroll of shielding
The Nameless: Mortarch of ???
A sadistic bodiless spirit twisted by malice and insanity, the nameless uses puwerful enchantments to dominate the minds of the living and the dead.
The nameless is much harder to build. We have no ethereal lords anymore, so already you're making sacrifices in his representation. He's not a vampire, so do you build him as a necromancer, or do you run him as a vampire anyway to get access to bloodline powers to help model his abilities? If you do that, do you focus on straight casting buffs like master of the black arts, or do you go for fear and leadership powers to model his mental manipulations? What lore do you give him? Of the four characters in question, this is the one I'm most curious to see different takes on.
My version: The Nameless, Mortarch of Whispers
Necromancer Lord, level 4, lore of death, black pariapt, talisman of endurance
Luthor Harkon: Mortarch of the Abyss
Cursed by an old one relic, the vampire pirate Luthor Harkon became a living anti-magic nexus, but in the process had his mind shatterred. Now he leads his zombie pirate armada into battle for Nagash.
Luthor is a vampire lord with the flying horror ability. He can no longer cast spells himself but can still control the undead (level one wizard who only ever takes or casts invocation?), but can drain away nearby magic (one of the magic resist talismans?). His insanity manifests in battle as an uncontrollable blood rage (red fury?), and he fights with a magic cutlass and a pistol (?)
He had official rules in white dwarf (https://www.vampirecounts.net/threads/luther-harkon-of-the-vampire-coast.3801/), but those rules are both bad and very out of date. Still, they may provide a model to consider.
Nagash Worshiper's version: Luthor Harkon, Mortarch of the Abyss
Vampire Lord, level 1, Lore of Vampires, red fury, flying horror, beguile, cursed book, fencer's blades, glittering scales, luckstone
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