We dive back into the weird world of Erehwon with a look at a few of the magic swords knocking around Rick’s multiverse!
From Sting and Glamdring to Excaliber and Mjolnir, fantasy fiction is packed full of magical weapons. Without them, our heroes would be powerless to vanquish their foes. Warlords of Erehwon has been designed to encompass all types of fantasy and gives players a whole range of options to customise their own heroes. We’re taking a look at just a small selection of Erehwon’s magical armoury.
Who can carry magic weapons?
Only a warlord, wizard or hero can carry a magic weapon and no model can carry more than one. Magic weapons cost the points value shown. A model carrying a magic sword can’t have any other hand-to-hand weapon, but can carry a missile weapon if otherwise allowed. Similarly, a model carrying a magical missile weapon can’t carry another missile weapon, but can have an ordinary hand-to-hand weapon in addition.
Foe Striker
A Samurai hero carrying a suitably impressive Foe Striker.
The foe striker boosts the wielder’s strike value by a further +1. As ordinary swords have a strike value of 1 already this means the foe striker has a 2. Like all swords, there is a +1 Strength bonus too.
Foe Striker is your run-of-the-mill magic sword – imbuing the wielder with the power to smite their foes. A higher Strike Value will reduce the effect of the enemy’s armour or natural toughness.
Part of the fun of designing an Erehwon army is theming up your force’s elements to fit with your project. In a Samurai army, Foe Striker could be a legendary katana passed down through generations for its ability to cleave through armour and vanquish foes with a single strike.
War Bringer
Another Samurai hero raises War Bringer to smite his foes!
The war bringer gives the wielder an extra attack in hand-to-hand fighting. Like all swords, there is a +1 Strength bonus too.
War Bringer allows heroes to cut through a swathe of foes in a single round of combat. Gaining an additional attack increases their effectiveness against large hordes of weak enemies – goblins, halflings or swarms of unusually-sized vermin, or against large, multi-wound monstrosities.
You could use War Bringer’s stats to represent the legendary sword Kusanagi, whose power to control elemental winds allowed its first wielder to escape from a raging inferno.
With one of ancient Japan’s greatest treasures in the hands of your Samurai hero, you can’t possibly lose!
Helm Cleaver
A Samurai hero readies Helm Splitter for battle!
The helm cleaver boosts the wielder’s strike value by a further 2. As ordinary swords have a strike value of +1 already this means the foe striker has a 3. Like all swords, there is a +1 Strength bonus too.
A Strike Value of 3 allows the hero wielding Helm Cleaver to bypass even the heaviest armour with a single blow. This ability is invaluable against warbands of Dwarves, Elves or Knights, where serried ranks of steel-shod soldiers can prove problematic for the lighter-armoured Samurai.
Helm Cleaver could represent the legendary Honjo Masamune, that came to notoriety during a duel between two retainers where the first blow struck by the sword split his opponent’s helmet in two.
Get your hands on this fantastic set of Samurai Heroes for Warlords of Erehwon, each one absolutely bursting with energy!
Dan Hewitson
