Kislev

The land of Kislev lies in the north-eastern portion of the Old World between towering mountains to the east, the barren wastes of the Troll Country to the west and the borders of the Empire to the south. Dense pine forests give way to scattered birch forests and desolate tundra to the north. It is an old saying that in Kislev the winters are long, the snow lies deep, and enemies are never far away.

Kislev shares its southern border with the Empire but in every other direction it is surrounded by deadly foes. The eastern mountains are full of goblins and other greenskins whilst beyond the lands are home to savage marauder tribes. To the north-west is the land of Norsca - barbarians in thrall to the Dark Gods. When the armies of Chaos gather Kislev lies directly in their path between the forces of darkness and the lands to the south. With typically grim humour Kislevites describe their land as lying between the hammer and the anvil (meaning Chaos and the Empire).

Kislev is reckoned a backward and barbarous country by the people of the southlands. Some even go as far as to say that the Kislevites are little better than the savage marauder tribes themselves. There is some truth in this - because the people of Kislev are an admixture of native Old Worlders like the people of the Empire and a marauding Kurgan tribe called the Gospodars. As with the tribes of Chaos there are those amongst the Kislevites who possess the gift of prophecy and other sorcerous abilities. The ruling family of the Tzars is descended directly from the Sorceress Khan-Queens of the Gospodars. Female members of the family often possess great powers. This mixture of southern and northern blood makes the Kislevites seem exotic and dangerous to the people of the Empire.

Many of the Tzar‘s subjects are fierce nomadic horsemen and hunters rather than settled farmers and town-dwelling traders. These nomads are the most savage of the Kislevites retaining both the ancient traditions and pure blood of the Gospodars of old. The townships of Kislev are built mainly of huge timbers. Good building stone is rare whilst tall pine trees are plentiful. Only the largest cities have stone walls and imposing civic buildings constructed from masonry. Gilded domes distinguish the temples of the strange Kislevite gods from those of the Empire.

For many years the Tzars of Kislev have enjoyed the friendship of the Emperor and the goodwill of the Dwarfs. The present ruler is the Tzarina Katarina - a great sorceress known throughout the Old World as the Ice Queen of Kislev. In her the old powers of the Khan-Queens have resurfaced and she is both abhorred and feared by her people, especially by the nomadic tribes who believe her to be favoured by the ancient gods of the Gospodars.

Kislev army selector

Troop	Type	Attacks	Hits	Armour	Command	Unit size	Points per unit	Min/max	Special
Winged Lancers	Cavalry	3	3	5+	-	3	110	-/3	*1
Horse Archers	Cavalry	3/1	3	6+	-	3	75	2/-	*2
Cossacks	Cavalry	3/1	3	5+	-	3	95	-/2	*2
Bowmen	Infantry	3/1	3	-	-	3	55	-/-	-
Red Guard	Infantry	3/1	3	5+	-	3	90	-/1	*3
Axemen	Infantry	3	3	6+	-	3	45	2/-	-
Bears	Infantry	5	4	-	-	3	90	-/1	*4
War Wagon	Artillery	4/4	4	4+/-	-	2	125	-/1	*5

General	General	+2	-	-	9	1	125	1	-
Hero	Hero	+1	-	-	8	1	80	-/2	-
Shaman	Wizard	+0	-	-	7	1	45	-/1	-
Bear	Special Mount	+1	-	-	-	-	+10	-/1	*6
Yozhin	Special Mount	+1	-	-	-	-	+40	0–1	*7
Tzarina	Special	-	-	-	-	-	+25	0–1	*8

Special rules

1. Winged Lancers: Winged Lancers receive +1 Attack in the first round of every combat when fighting to the front and are Immune to Terror.
2. Horse Archers, Cossacks: Kislevite Horsemen have a shooting range of 15 cm and 360° vision - stands in this unit can draw line of sight from all edges for the purpose of evading and shooting, including shooting at charging enemies. Note that this unit still needs Line of Sight from it‘s front edge to charge an enemy.
3. Bowmen: One unit of Bowmen per full 1000 points can replace a unit of Axemen while still counting for Axemen min/ max value.
4. Red Guard: In addition to traditional Kislevite long axes Red Guard is armed with handguns. Count enemy armour values as one worse than normal when shot by a handgun. So an armour value of 3+ counts as 4+, 4+ as 5+, and 5+ as 6+, whilst an armour value of 6+ can’t save against a handgun.
5. Bears: Bears are defined as infantry for rules purposes as this gives them the appropriate mobility for such creatures, but they add +1 Attack when they charge an enemy in the open in the same way as monsters and chariots.

A Bear unit can only give support and be supported by other Bear units and must pursue retreating enemy where possible and must advance if they are able to do so. Also, Bears never count as defended outside a dense terrain.

Note that these rules apply only to Bear units - not to characters riding a Bear or Shaman that have transformed in Monster Bear.
6. War Wagon: The War Wagon consists of a wagon stand and a horse team stand. The wagon cannot charge and moves 20cm at full pace. The unit moving up to 5 cm after a successful order can end its move in a laager formation. A unit moving more than 5 cm must end its move in a column formation. Terrain restrictions are the same as Artillery. Either stand can be removed as causality. The War Wagon can move only when the team stand remains.

The War Wagon has 4+ Armour and total of 4 shooting and 4 close combat Attacks as long as the wagon stand remains. If the wagon stand is removed the team stand has no Armour and no Attacks. The War wagon can shoot all round and can draw a line of sight from any exposed edge. The wagon has a range of 30cm. The target‘s armour value counts one worse than usual. The wagon is permitted to shoot over the heads of friendly troops on lower ground in the same way as other Artillery.

A laagered wagon counts as a defended unit. A wagon column counts as in the open. A laagered wagon has no sides or rear. A laagered wagon cannot be driven back or routed by shooting. But roll for (defended) drive backs to see if it becomes confused. For Gerroff, roll the dice as nor- mal and if it would normally have left the table then roll 1 D6 and it is confused on a 6.

Although it is an artillery unit, a wagon column cannot pursue but it is not destroyed if forced to retreat. Also, a wagon laager will neither pursue nor retreat but is not destroyed if forced to retreat. It also continues to count as defended in subsequent rounds. The enemy can continue to fight by ‘pursuing‘, but there are no pursuit bonuses. A laagered wagon cannot make way.

Any Kislev infantry unit with a side edge of one stand touching wholly the short edge of a laagered wagon stand counts as defended for shooting and combat. This advantage applies only in the first round of combat.
7. Bear Mount: Generals, Heroes and Shamans can ride a Bear mount. The Bear adds +1 Attack to that of its rider.
8. Yozhin: This creature lives in swamps near the Praag since the great incursion of Chaos. Yozhin strongly hates any kind of Chaos, being (possibly) chaos-twisted creature itself. Only powerful Shamans may summon a Yozhin and make it to fight on their side. A single Shaman in the army can be assisted by Yozhin. There is no restriction for going into any water/boggy/ swamp terrain for him. A unit that has been joined by a Yozhin riding Shaman causes terror in its enemies. Yozhin adds +1 Attack to Shaman’s attacks value.
9. Tzarina: The General may be a Tzarina of the royal blood - perhaps Tzarina Katrina herself. The Tzarina rides a horse- drawn sled - note this is not a chariot! The Tzarina can cast spells like a Wizard and can carry a magic item restricted to a Wizard if desired. Once during the battle the Tzarina can add +1 to the dice when attempting to cast a spell. The player must announce that the Tzarina’s special spell casting bonus is being used before rolling for the spell.

Kislev spells

Monster Bear!

5+ to cast Range N/A

The wizard transforms himself into a gigantic ferocious supernatural bear and hurls himself into the enemy’s ranks.

The wizard can cast this spell on himself if he has joined a unit that is engaged in combat. The spell lasts for the duration of the following Combat phase.

The unit causes terror and the wizard gains a further +2 Attack bonus that he adds to the unit in the regular way. Note that if the Tzarina uses this spell she adds +4 Attacks: +2 as General and +2 from Monster Bear.

Icy Blast

5+ to cast Range 30cm

An icy blast shoots from the wizard’s outstretched arm and strikes his foes.

This spell can be cast on an enemy unit. The Wizard must be able to see his target to use this spell. The spell cannot be directed at a unit engaged in combat. The Icy Blast is treated like three ordinary shooting attacks except that armour has no effect (all targets count as having no armour). A unit can be driven back by an Icy Blast as with ordinary shooting.

Chill

4+ to cast Range 30cm

A fierce chill envelops the unit, freezing its warriors and hindering its ability to fight.

This spell can be cast upon an enemy unit that is engaged in combat and which is within range. The Wizard does not have to be able to see the target to cast the spell. The spell lasts for the duration of the following Combat phase. Every stand in the unit, including characters that have joined the unit, deducts -1 from its Attacks value.

Freeze

6+ to cast Range 60cm

An ill wind turns the enemy so brittle that wood, flesh and even iron shatters and falls to the ground in splinters.

This spell can be cast at an enemy unit within range regardless of whether the wizard can see it or not. The spell cannot be directed at a unit engaged in combat.

Roll a D6. If the score exceeds the number of hits that the target troop type has then one stand is destroyed. If not then the target is unscathed. If a stand is destroyed it is removed as a casualty. A unit cannot be driven back by Freeze.