In the wake of the destruction of the city of the damned there were few survivors of the city itself. Of these survivors some were guardsmen who decided to stay for many varied reasons. Some saw it as their duty still to stay behind and try to protect the few citizens who remained behind for reasons of their own. Others saw an opportunity to plunder the ruins before others learned of the destruction and came to collect and there by increase their own wealth. Whatever their reasons for staying the guardsmen quickly organized into an effective and lethal band of men with an intimant knowledge of streets and places of importance in Mordhiem, not to mention knowing who to go to to aquire rare hard to find goods. They use this knowledge to gain an advantage over the other bands of scavengers scouring the city of the damned.

Starting Funds

The warband starts with 500 gc to spend as it wishes following unit numbers and weapons restrictions.

Choice of Warriors

A Former Gaurdsmen band must include a minimum of 3 models, and can have a maximum of 15 models including 5 Heros and 1 leader. A starting warband must be lead by a Captain, but should he be killed they may not acquire another; a new leader will step forth from amongst the members of the band.

Hirelings & Dramatis Personae

The following Hired Swords will work for the Former Gaurdsmen:

• Freelancer
• Halfling Scout
• Elf Ranger
• Ogre

Heroes

Henchmen

Special Abilities

Beat Walkers: The Former Gaurdsmen knew the city like the backs of their hands. Even in its ruined state they can use this information to their advantage. After each battle each hero that rolls for exploration may reroll his die.  In essence each hero counts as having a MASTER MAP (pg 55). This benefit is cumulative with any other die rerolls the hero might aquire through gameplay.

Special Limitations

Irreplaceable: The Former Gaurdsmen are a product of a system of recruitment and training that is no longer available. Once you loose a Former Guardsman they cannot be replaced from the list in the normal fashion. Therefore, after warband creation the band may only purchase Raw Recruits to replace dead members (including Heros). This is to represent the lack of trained Guardsman that survived the devastation available for hire; any other survivors have either joined another band or fled the city.

Chain of Command: if the Captain dies, Leadership passes in the following order regardless of relative Ld: Lieutenant, Crusty Sargent, Master at Arms, promoted Veteran, promoted Gaurdsman, promoted Recruit. If there are 2 or more potential candidates, highest Ld takes precedent. This can result in the "Leader" ability being largely useless for the band if a low-Leadership warrior like the Lieutenant becomes the Leader, but thems the breaks.

Equipment

Starting Experience

Heroes

Henchmen

Playing a Former Gaurdsmen Force

The Former Gaurdsmen have the potential to be a very interesting band, with a more structured 'militaristic' feel than the standard and existing alternate bands. They offer a different feel and a modeling opportunity.

Pros of the Former Gaurdsmen force

1. Excellent range of equipment choices.

2. Excellent Leadership due to the Crusty Sargents.  

3. Well maintained Equipment due to the Master of Arms.

4. Several durable Henchmen due to the Veteran Gaurdsmen.

5. Wide range of Hired Swords.

6. Excellent Exploration options.

Cons of the Former Gaurdsmen force

1. Irreplaceable Heros and Henchmen.

2. Weedy Raw Recruits.

3. Lack of accurate shooters.

4. Expensive Heros.

5. Difficulty growing in a  long term campaign.

The Method behind the Madness

My good friend and partner in crime Jason Roche says to me one day..."Mordheim is basically an anarchy right now, right? Well...what happened to the local cops? Surely they didn't all die or split out? What if a few were still around and still working as a unit? They'd know the city like the back of their hand, and have a formal chain of command, and like some crusty sergeants to keep the rank and file in line. But, they'd be irreplaceable -- when dudes die, that's it, can't be replaced. They'd have to take raw recruits with no training. So, playing them you've got this extra drama of worrying about your guys getting banged up, even more than normal, because when they die or get gimped you've got no options. That could be cool, right?"

And from there the Former Guardsmen took shape and were born. We basically ran with the core concept, and got some feedback online (primarily from the sagacious Boss Umguk) and this is the result. As a side note, the Priestess of Shallaya proved to be a popular option for Former Guardsmen bands, for some strange reason.

The Empire Halberdiers and/or Handgunners plastic Regiments are a good starting point for modeling the Former Gaurdsmen.

By Jason Roche (WilyQuixote)
with assistance and verbage from Ed Hastings aka the Killer Shrike
and Special Thanx to Boss Umguk for commentary