The Illusionist

By Lau "Nightwalker" Søndergaard

An illusionist is a warrior who uses the powers of the warp to overcome the challenges he faces. Twisting these powers to his purpose, the illusionist can cast powerful illusion spells for both offensive and defensive purposes. Besides from being able to cast illusion spells, the illusionist can also cast ordinary spells. Because of his illusionary powers he is also an excellent defensive fighter. This makes him a great opponent in battle, because of his tremendous flexibility.

From the warp he rises

into the warp he retreats

through the warp he walks

fearless and unseen

The illusionist starts with: a sword, a potion of healing (heals warrior back to full wounds) and a empty spellbook, in which he records any spells learned. This spellbook can never be lost due to an event (unexpected event, settlement event etc.).

Cast: The illusionist can cast spells. Determine spells and power as you would for the wizard. Also, the illusionist can learn some special illusion spells. This is worked out just normal spells.

Armour: Although a spellcaster, the illusionist may wear armour, but only so long as it is not made of metal. Armour such as furs, leather armour or scale mail may be used, but armour such as chain mail, ring mail or plate mail may not. This is also true for helmets, bracers, boots and any other kind of armour (not just body armour) that is made of metal.

An exception to the above rule is armour made of the metal mithril. Mithril does not interfere with a spellcasters magic abilities. The illusionist may therefore wear any kind of armour made of mithril.

Missile immunity: The illusionist is totally immune to all forms of non-magical missile attacks. Because of his illusionary abilities, he is simple too hard to hit. Do note that magical missile attacks still are effective against the illusionist.

Walk the void: An illusionist has the ability do suddenly disappear and then reappear at another location. Declare that the illusionist is using this skill, and then move him to any empty square on any board section that the warriors have already explored (remember the rules for being lost in the dark). Note that the illusionist may not use this skill to escape pinning automatically. He still has to make the normal pinning roll if fighting a monster. However, this skill may be used in conjunction with the skill swiftness. This skill can NEVER be used to carry the illusionist into battle. Also, this skill may only be used once per turn, and when using this skill the illusionist may do nothing else that turn, neither before or after using it.

Illusion spells: These are the special spells that the illusionist can learn. The Illusionist learns spells in exactly the same way as the wizard. Remember that an illusionist also can cast normal spells.

Casting number 1: The following spell has a casting number of one, and therefore costs one power to cast.

Ring of fire: The illusionist creates a 3x3 square ring of fire around himself. The illusionist can not enter or be attacked in hand to hand combat as long as the ring is intact. He may still use or be attacked by missile weapons. The illusionist must remain at the some location as long as the ring of fire is active.

However, the ring of fire is an illusion. Every turn (including the turn where the spell is cast) the illusionist must make a willpower test. If the test fails, his enemies will realize that the ring of fire is an illusion and they may now attack him as normal. The ring will vanish as soon as the illusionist is attacked in hand to hand combat, or when the illusionist chooses that it shall cease to exist.

Target: The illusionist.

Duration: Infinite or until illusion is broken.

Casting number 2: The following spell has a casting number of two, and therefore costs two power to cast.

Touch of the warp: The illusionist reaches through the warp to kill his enemy. On a successful to hit roll the illusionist may cause 1D6 wounds on any one monster anywhere on the board.

Target: Any one monster anywhere on the board.

Duration: Immediate.

Casting number 3: The following spell has a casting number of three, and therefore costs three power to cast.

Light of the warp: The illusionist uses the power of the warp to create an illusionary light that illuminates the dungeon. Every turn succeeding the turn where the spell is cast, the illusionist must pay 3 power to keep the illusion from breaking. Otherwise the light will disappear. The spell itself works just as the lantern (i.e. allowing the illusionist to explore and can not get lost in the dark).

Target: The illusionist.

Duration: Infinite or until illusion is broken.

Casting number 4: The following spell has a casting number of four, and therefore costs four power to cast.

Arcane denial: The illusionist uses his special illusionary powers to escape the influence of hostile magic. This spell may be cast against any or all spells cast. Upon casting arcane denial, roll a D6 for every spell that the illusionist wants to dispel. On a roll of 2+ that spell is dispelled and will not work. The illusionist may attempt to dispel spells cast anywhere on the board.

Target: Any or all of the spells cast on the entire board.

Duration: immediate.

Casting number 5: The following spell has a casting number of five, and therefore costs five power to cast.

Control monster: The illusionist reaches his opponents mind through the warp and gains control over him. This spell is cast against any one monster on the same board section as the illusionist. On a D6 roll of 4+ the illusionist gains control of that monster for the remainder of the turn. The monster can be ordered to attack one of its own allies, but it can not cast spells or do something that would be obviously suicidal, such as try to kill itself or jump into a pit trap. The illusionist may only control one monster at a time. Undead creatures may not be controlled.

Target: Any one monster on the same board section as the illusionist.

Duration: One turn.

Casting number 6: The following spell has a casting number of six, and therefore costs six power to cast.

Stasis: The illusionist freezes time in a small area, causing it to appear from the outside as a dull, black, impenetrable shell. Stasis affects a 1x1 square section. That section is considered out of the game so long as the stasis is operating. Any model inside the area affected can perform no actions what so ever, and is also immune to all forms of both physical and magical attacks. Models outside can not enter a section that is affected by stasis.

Stasis may be expanded to affect more than just one square, though. For every additional power point spent on the spell, the area affected is expanded by 1 square both in lenght and withe. Thus, casting a stasis spell that affects 2x2 squares costs 7 power, a 3x3 square costs 8 power, etc. Stasis can NEVER be dispelled, but the illusionist may be prevented from casting it, fx. due to the effects of the monster ability drain magic.

Target: Any square(s) anywhere on the board already discovered by the warriors.

Duration: One whole turn.

Casting number 7: The following spell has a casting number of seven, and therefore costs seven power to cast.

Illusion aura: The illusionist creates an invisible aura around himself and his fellow warriors that protects them from the attacks of their enemies. While a warrior is affected by the illusion aura he is completele immune to all forms of attack. He may not perform any attacks in any way or cast any offensive magic. However, he may move as normal, use any skills he might want to, use items, cast non-offensive magic, etc.

Target: Any or all of the warriors.

Duration: One turn.

Casting number 8: The following spell has a casting number of eight, and therefore costs eight power to cast.

Illusionary healing: The illusionist may heal any one warrior (this may be himself) back to his full wounds.

Target: Any one warrior on the board.

Duration: immediate.

Casting number 9: The following spell has a casting number of nine, and therefore costs nine power to cast.

Duplicate: Using the power of illusion, the illusionist creates a duplicate of a monster. The target monster takes a willpower test. If it fails the test, it is duplicated. The illusionist has complete control over the duplicate. Place the duplicate in any square next to the monster duplicated. The duplicate has exactly the same statistics as the original monster. It may fight and move just as the original, and it also benifits from any armour, skills, spells and any items that the original possesses, and may use these at the illusionists command. The illusionist can NOT duplicate a player. Every turn succeeding the turn where the spell was cast the illusionist must use 9 power to keep the illusion from fading away into nothing. If this power is not spent, the illusion will cease to exist. Also, if the original monster dies, the duplicate is destroyed. As long as one duplicate is active the spell can not be cast again.

Target: Any monster on the same board section as the illusionist.

Duration: Infinite or until illusion is broken.

Casting number 10: The following spell has a casting number of ten, and therefore costs ten power to cast.

Cause brain overload: The illusionist reaches through the warp to his opponents brain and invokes the power of the warp upon it. The illusionist player rolls 2D6. If the roll is equal to or less than the illusionists battle-level, the target is destroyed. Otherwise the target remains unaffected.

Target: Any one monster anywhere on the board.

Duration: Immediate.

Casting number 11: The following spell has a casting number of elleven, and therefore costs elleven power to cast.

Warp teleport: This spell allows the illusionist to transport any one warrior anywhere on the board (this may NOT be the illusionist) safely out of the dungeon to the nearest settlement (and back) at any time.

Target: Any one warrior anywhere on the board (not the illusionist).

Duration: Immediate.

Casting number 12: The following spell has a casting number of twelve, and therefore costs twelve power to cast.

Cracks call: The illusionist player rolls 1D6 for each monster on the same boardsection as himself. On a roll of 3+ the monster falls straight into the warp through the cracks suddenly created beneath it. Monsters that fall into the warp are considered dead. Cracks call can NEVER be dispelled, but the illusionist may be prevented from casting it, fx. due to the effects of the monster ability drain magic. Cracks call does not affect monsters with the ability "flying".

Target: All monsters on the same board section as the illusionist.

Duration: Immediate.

Illusionist skills: These are the skills that the illusionist can learn.

2 - Hypnotize: The illusionist may try to hypnotize a monster adjecant to him. The target monster takes a willpower test. If it fails the test it is hypnotized, and may do nothing for the remainder of the turn. While hypnotized, the monster can be hit automatically. The illusionist may use this skill only once per dungeon.

3 - Winds of magic: You may roll one extra D6 when determining new spells. The illusionist may only use this skill once.

4 - Swiftness: Upon gaining this skill, the illusionist can no longer be pinned. This skill is permanent.

5 - Illusion attack: The illusionist may trade all of his attacks in for one illusion attack. This illusion attack is worked out exactly as a normal attack, except that it is at +2 to hit, and it causes +2D6 damage. The illusionist may use this skill only once per dungeon.

6 - Illusion mist: Nominate any one attack made against you. That attack is performed at -1 to hit. The illusionist may use this skill once per turn.

7 - Guardian: For this turn the illusionist is immune to all forms of attack. The illusionist may use this skill only once per dungeon.

8 - Bravery: The illusionist gains partial immunity to fear and terror. From now on, treat monsters that cause terror, as if they only cause fear. Monsters that only cause fear to begin with, now cause nothing. This skill is permanent.

9 - Sustain life: When reduced to zero wounds the illusionist can survive for 3 turns instead of one without being healed. This skill is permanent.

10 - Storm of blades: This skill gives the illusionist +1 attack per battle-level. The illusionist may use this skill only once per dungeon.

11 - Arcane knowlegde: You may cast any one spell that you have learned for free. The illusionist may use this skill only once per dungeon.

12 - Illusion mastery: The illusionist may trade in any one illusion spell that he has learned for another illusion spell of his own choice. The illusionist may only use this skill once.

Illusionists and the wizards guild: The illusionist may visit the wizards guild just as the normal wizard. Upon entering the wizards guild the illusionist player rolls 1D6 and adds one of the following modifiers:

City: +2

Town: +1

If the roll is 6+ the guild has some illusion spell books. The illusionist may learn the special illusionist spells at such a guild. If the roll is 1-5 the guild has no material on illusionary spells, and therefore the illusionist may only learn ordinary spells at that guild. Villages have no special locations, and therefore they are not mentioned.

Power phase: As you already know, at the start of each power phase you roll 1D6 to determine how much power the illusionist has available for that turn. As your illusionist gets more experienced he is better able to tap into this magical source. To reflect this, each time your illusionist goes up a battle-level, add one point to his dice roll. An illusionist of battle-level 4, for instance, gets 1D6+4 power each turn rather than 1D6. However, if the dice comes up with a natural 1, an unexpected event occurs, just as in the normal game, and the illusionist has just 1 power for the turn. He does not add his battle-level bonus in this instance.

Healing spells and gold: For every wound the illusionist heals on another warrior he gains 5 gold. This is not deducted from the other warriors gold total. It is merely a measure of the success of the illusionists healing attempts.

Sages guild: The illusionist may choose to visit a new special location called the sages guild. The illusionist is the only warrior that may visit the sages guild. Also, the illusionist is the only warrior that can benefit from the things that can be bought at the sages guild.

At the sages guild the following items will be for sale.

Spell ward: A spell ward is a magical amulet that hangs around its wearers neck in a chain of silver. It protects its wearer against any one realm of magic. When buying a spell ward, the illusionist decides what kind of magic the ward will be effective against (skaven magic, orc magic, chaos magic, necromantic magic etc.). The illusionist is now completely immune to that kind of magic. The illusionist may only possess one spell ward at a time.

Cost: 3000 gold.

Stock: 9

Cloak of haste: Doubles the illusionists movement and provides +2 toughness. Furthermore, when wearing a cloak of haste all attacks that are made against the illusionist is at -1 to hit. No other body armour may be worn while wearing a cloak of haste.

Cost: 5000 gold.

Stock: 8

Ring of arcane power: A ring of arcane power provides +1 power per turn to its wearer. Thus, the illusionists power per turn will be 1D6 + battle-level + x, where x is the number of rings of arcane power worn. The illusionist still gets the bonus from any rings he might have if he rolls a natural 1 when determining his power.

Cost: 5000

Stock: 10

Emerald blade: The emerald blade is a magic weapon that allows its wielder to ignore any armour that his opponents wear. Only the natural defences of the opponent still counts (the opponents original toughness value). Any toughness bonuses that the target gets due to armour, are lost. The emerald blade also contains 1D6 power, which the illusionist can use at any time. If a 1 comes up when determining how much power the sword contains, the illusionist may roll again. However, he must keep the second roll, even if it is also a 1. Once the power in the sword has been spent, the illusionist may get the sword recharged at the sages guild at a cost of 100 gold per power point recharged. The sword can never be recharged to contain more power than the amount originally stored in it.

Cost: 10000

Stock: 12

Sunstone: Use the stone to heal 1D6 of the illusionists wounds. Use once, then discard. The illusionist may not possess a sunstone and a moonstone at the same time. You may only use one sunstone per turn.

Cost: 100

Stock: 5

Moonstone: Use the stone to cause 1D6 wounds with no deductions for toughness, armour etc. on any one monster anywhere on the board. Use once, then discard. The illusionist may not possess a moonstone and a sunstone at the same time. You may only use one moonstone per turn.

Cost: 100

Stock: 5

Crimson ring: Provides its wearer with immunity to fire-based attacks.

Cost: 2000

Stock: 6

Azure ring: Provides its wearer with immunity to lightning-based attacks.

Cost: 2000

Stock: 6

Scroll of dispel: When one or more spells are cast, the illusionist may read aloud the scroll of dispel. Any or all of the spells being cast anywhere on the board are automatically dispelled. Use once, then discard.

Cost: 700

Stock: 8

Illusionist characteristics: