The Amazons are a faction from the older editions of Warhammer Fantasy that got two Regiments of Renown in 6th edition:
- Amazon Serpent Priestess (WD#307-UK)
- Anakonda's Amazons (WD#308-UK)
These rules were written by Andy Hoare, who designed the Lustria campaign from 2004 and also contributed to the development of material for the 3rd-4th edition of 40,000 (Necrons, Witch Hunters, Chaos Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Dark Angels...). He is also known for his works in Necromunda, Bloodbowl and Adeptus Titanicus.
The Serpent Priestess is a level-3 Wizard that uses her own Lore of the Serpent.
There're two more Amazon units, alledgely also written by him: the Amazon Totem Warriors and the Amazon Cold One Riders. They were published in an article named "Additional (Non-official) Amazon rules".
Writing the rules for the Amazon Serpent Priestess and Ananconda’s Regiment of Reknown for recent White Dwarf articles seems to have caused a bit of a surge of interest in scantiliy-clad jungle-women (can’t think why…).
Peter recently showed me his Cold One Riders and his Totem Warriors, and asked me what rules he could use to represent them on the tabletop. He wanted to field them with the two Amazon entries already written, so they could form a small army in their own right. A cunning plan, and one I was happy to be part of.
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The simplest thing to do in this instance is to find an existing unit that fulfils a similar function and use this as a quick starting point. So, you’ll see from these entries that the rules for Totem Warriors bear a passing resemblance to those for Witch Elves, and the cavalry to Cold One Knights. I did this deliberately, as I wanted to convey the point that it’s easy to come up with a unit or two to fit a cool conversion you’ve made, and as long as you aim for character over blatant game-winning power, it’s all good.
Just to answer the inevitable question – no, these aren’t official rules! They’re just for fun, but, if your opponent is OK with you using them then hang on to that person, treat him well and always offer him the last beer because he’s an opponent worth keeping!
Anyway, enough of my rambling – on with the rules.
We have decided to add these units as Dogs of War for our incoming campaign, but will require the permission of the opponent. While Anakonda's Amazons is a Regiment of Renown (limited to 1 per BattleForce), the rest of the units can be taken several times using their slots.
These are the available units to hire:
- Amazon Serpent Priestess (Hero + Rare, by Andy Hoare, in WD#307-UK)
- Anakonda's Amazons (Rare, by Andy Hoare, in WD#308-UK)
- Amazon (Serpent)* Totem Warriors (Special unit, by Andy Hoare)
- Amazon Cold One Riders (Rare unit, by Andy Hoare)
CHARACTERS
- Amazon Serpent Priestess
- Mercenary Rule: Dogs of War (
& Hero & Rare choiceSEE BELOW**). - Equipment: Claw of the Old Ones and Amulet of the Moons. She wears no armour.
- Role: Magic Support / Contingent Leader.
- Tactics: She is a powerful Level 3 Wizard who uses the unique Lore of the Serpent. Her Claw of the Old Ones grants her +1 Strength and ignores Armour Saves, while her Amulet provides a 4+ Ward Save. Like all true Amazons, she has the Native rule, making her immune to deadly jungle encounters.
- Differences with the original unit: if 3+ other Amazons, it may consume 2 Heroes (<2000 pts) or Lord slot (2000+ pts).
- Source: WD#307-UK
- Amazon Serpent Acolyte
- Mercenary Rule: Dogs of War Hireling wizard (Hero).
- Equipment: Claw of the Old Ones and Amulet of the Moons. She wears no armour.
- Role: Magic Support / Contingent Leader.
- Tactics: She is a less powerfull Level 1-2 Hireling Wizard who uses the unique Lore of the Serpent. Can select Common Magic Items as normal. She has no Native rule, but can ride a horse.
- Differences with the original unit: She can use the Lore of the Serpent.
- 1 The Relic-Keeper (MANDATORY)
- Mercenary Rule: Dogs of War Paymaster (Hero).
- Equipment: Hand weapon, though she has access to a wide variety of armaments and armour. Instead of a mundane "pay chest," she carries the Sisterhood's sacred High Age artefacts into battle.
- Role: Battle Standard Bearer.
- Tactics: She is vital to your army's morale, acting as a Battle Standard by allowing friendly units within 12" to re-roll failed Break tests. However, she must be fiercely protected; if the Relic-Keeper is killed, every unit in your army must immediately take a Panic test, and from that point on, your entire army will be filled with Hatred for the enemy unit that struck her down
- Differences with the original unit: NONE.
CORE UNITS
- Amazon Eagle Warriors
- Mercenary Rule: Dogs of War Duellists (Core Unit).
- Equipment: Two hand weapons.
- Role: Fast Flankers / Melee Screen.
- Tactics: Operating as Skirmishers, they effortlessly glide through the jungle. They are cheap and provide a high volume of close-combat attacks, making them the perfect agile screening force to protect your army's flanks.
- Differences with the original unit: Limited equipment.
- Amazon Piranha Warriors
- Mercenary Rule: Dogs of War Duellists (Core Unit).
- Equipment: Throwing knives and hand weapon.
- Role: Ranged Harassment.
- Tactics: Also operating as Skirmishers, this unit darts out of the dense jungle canopy to unleash a volley of deadly short-range throwing knives before retreating to evade enemy charges. (Pistols are banned due to the Lustrian humidity misfire rules!)
- Differences with the original unit: Limited equipment.
SPECIAL UNITS
- Amazon Serpent Warriors (Totem Warriors)
- Mercenary Rule: Special Unit.
- Equipment: Two hand weapons.
- Role: Ambushers / Fast Assault.
- Tactics: Driven into an uncontrollable animal-state, they possess Frenzy, Poisoned Attacks, Hate Everyone!, and the Skirmishers rule. Combined with the Natives rule, your Serpents are a terrifying, fast-moving assault force that slithers through the dense jungle to unleash a flurry of venomous strikes.
- Differences with the original unit: Renamed for coherence.
- Source: Unofficial rules by Andy Hoare
- Amazon Jaguar Warriors
- Mercenary Rule: Dogs of War Norse Marauders (Special Unit).
- Equipment: Great weapons, light armour, and hand weapon.
- Role: Heavy Shock Troops / Damage.
- Tactics: Representing a savage, bloodthirsty jaguar cult, they are subject to the Frenzy special rule. When their extra attacks are combined with the high Strength of great weapons, they become terrifying shock troops designed to chop through heavily armored enemies.
- Differences with the original unit: NONE.
- 0-1 Relic-Handmaidens:
- Mercenary Rule: 0-1 Paymaster's Bodyguard (Special Unit).
- Equipment: Halberds, light armour, and hand weapons. You can upgrade them to heavy armour for +1 point per model, which you could represent with thick, scavenged Saurus scales or ornate High Age breastplates.
- Role: Elite Guard / Unyielding Anvil.
- Tactics: Representing the most trusted and veteran warrior-mystics of the Sisterhood, this unit's primary strength is the Bodyguard special rule. As long as your Relic-Keeper is alive and placed within this unit, the Handmaidens of the Gods are completely Stubborn. They will hold the line against terrifying odds, refusing to break from close combat to ensure their sacred relics are not defiled.
- Differences with the original unit: NONE.
- 0-1 Pygmies
- Mercenary Rule: Dogs of War Halflings (Special Unit).
- Equipment: Bow and hand weapon.
- Role: Jungle Snipers.
- Tactics: Their unique special rules allow them to suffer no movement penalties when moving through wooded terrain. They can easily secure objectives and rain arrows upon the enemy from the safety of the deep jungle.
- Differences with the original unit: NONE.
- Amazon Cold One Outriders (Cold One Riders)
- Mercenary Rule: Rare Unit.
- Equipment: Spear, hand weapon, animal hide shield, and Cold One mounts.
- Role: Heavy Skirmish Cavalry / Flank Chargers.
- Tactics: Because these Amazon nobility forgo heavy armor for light hide shields, they uniquely treat their mounts as Fast Cavalry. This gives you lightning-fast maneuverability for devastating flank charges, while still retaining the mounts' Thick-skinned (+2) Armour Save, Fear, and the Natives rule.
- Differences with the original unit: Renamed for coherence.
- Source: Unofficial rules by Andy Hoare
- 0-1 Anakonda's Amazons
- Mercenary Rule: Dogs of War Rare Unit (Regiment of Renown).
- Equipment: Blades of the Ancients and Skink hides (counts as light armour).
- Role: Elite Skirmishers / Mixed Combat.
- Tactics: They are an incredibly versatile Skirmishing unit with the Native rule. Their High Age weapons are devastating: the Blades of the Ancients grant them +1 Strength in close combat, a 6+ Ward Save, and allow them to unleash a Strength 3 shooting attack with a 12" range that suffers absolutely no penalties for moving or range.
- Differences with the original unit: NONE.
- Source: WD#308-UK
- In 2000+ games, she consumes a Lord slot instead of Hero + Rare slots.
- In <2000 games, she consumes x2 Hero slots instead.
