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Warhammer Quest: The Ogre Mercenary

by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock

The following is a home-made profession for Warhammer Quest created by myself, to provide a Warrior perfect for those who want to play the "strong and stupid" type. This profession/race has been based off of the Role-play Book Bestiary, and has seen enough use in play to convince me that it is indeed playable, though a few changes had to be made in some of the special rules and Advanced Profiles (though not in the basic card statistics) to give the Ogre a decent chance of surviving. (My previous version had the Ogre occupying four spaces, which made positioning rather clumsy at best, and suicidal at worst -- what with so many Monsters able to crowd around him at once!)

To summarise the Ogre Mercenary, he's big, he's strong, he can cover ground more quickly than the average Warrior, but he gets no special skills at higher levels, and is somewhat more difficult to equip than the standard human-sized Warrior.

Ogres are huge, brutish creatures, standing twice as tall as a man, with features that exaggerate and expound upon the most grotesque that any of mankind's number might have. In the wars between the civilisations of the Old World and the forces of Chaos, most Ogres act as mercenaries, following gold and ale rather than principle. Those that happen to side with the Empire may be able to deal with human Settlements, but they are still always regarded with some degree of suspicion and even contempt, for even while their loyalties may be strong for their current employer, might they become foes some time in the future if the enemy offers better pay?

The Ogre Mercenary has taken leave of the battlefields to explore the depths of the dungeons in search of gold and glory. He provides sheer brute strength, always a useful commodity in any party of adventurers.

Equipment: None.

Weapon: Club, causing 1D6+4 Wounds. On a to hit roll of 5 or 6, the Ogre inflicts an extra 1D6 of damage.

Armour: None.

Pinning: Breaks from pinning on a roll of 6+.

Special Rules The Ogre has a Fear rating of 4 + his Battle-Level. He need not take Fear tests for creatures with Fear ratings lower than or equal to his, though he is still subject to Terror. Any Monster groups encountered must make Fear tests or be at -1 to hit the Ogre for the battle. When he must make a Fear or Terror test, he may add +4 to his roll.

Advanced Rules

Note: At each level, the Ogre Mercenary gets an extra damage dice if he rolls a 5+ to hit.

The Ogre Mercenary gains no special skills with subsequent Battle-Levels, though he may still obtain Specialist Actions just like any other Warrior.

When or if your Warrior should visit the Alehouse, roll 2D6 to determine the results of that visit

Ogres are significantly larger then men, let alone Dwarves, and therefore can't wear the same articles of clothing or armour. If any armour or clothing items (such as Boots of Swiftness) are encountered as treasure, it is a given that the Ogre cannot use them. (Of course, the GM is able to make exceptions in a moderated game.) If he buys armour or clothing, it costs twice the normal sale value, and he must add +2 to the "Stock" value to determine the chance of finding such an item. If Ogre armour is sold, it still only gets the normal resale value (as, while it's bigger with more material, there are very few Ogre customers).

An Ogre cannot ride a mount -- He'd squash the poor thing! He may still purchase a mule, horse or war-horse to carry his gear (with the normal savings on travel time), but he gains no bonus to fight rolls for having a war-horse. He's too big to ride along in a cart, so if the other Warriors have one, he'll have to catch up at his own pace, unless he has one of his own.

The Ogre may be a strong and fearsome warrior, but these very qualities (combined with his gruff nature) also make him a prime candidate for expulsion from any Settlement. If any Event should come up in a Settlement that involves a fight the Warrior cannot avoid (such as 11 Thrown Out (and getting "fleeced), 14 Good Deed, 21 Fight, 25 Reward (where the merchant is a charlatan), etc.) where the result indicates that the Ogre is going to have to forfeit a portion of his Gold and/or treasure as a result, he may bully his way out of the situation, not having to part with the normal expenses, but is forced to leave the Settlement immediately, as the town guard is not pleased with the ensuing violence.

The Ogre has a penalty of -1 to all "Intellectual" Initiative tests, on top of any other penalties or bonuses.

While an Ogre is usually mounted on a 40mm x 40mm Monster base, he can still fit on a single 30mm floor tile square. (You may have to overlap bases to make him fit.) However, if he chooses, he may intentionally occupy four spaces for purposes of blocking (as long as the other spaces weren't previously occupied).

If a pit should be encountered that occupies a single space, the Ogre is too large to fall in. Rather, he is only tripped by the trap, losing his next turn while he gets back up. He does not take any damage from the fall, nor does he need a rope to get out.

The Ogre is also handy for moving other Warriors around, due to his size. Instead of moving or taking any other action for the turn, he may pull or lift a Warrior out of a pit, without having to use a rope.

The Ogre's strength doesn't translate directly into weapon damage all the time, but any time the Ogre is required to take a Strength test, add +2 to his Strength for purposes of determining the result, in addition to any other modifiers

Ogres are fear-causing creatures, and it is rare for the Monsters to be on the receiving end of this. If Monsters are encountered that do not cause Fear or Terror, they must make a Fear check as a group against the Ogre's Fear rating (equal to his Battle-Level plus 4). Treat the Monsters' "Dungeon Level" for the purposes of testing to be equal to the table number they were rolled from (if random) or use a default value of 1.

If Monsters are encountered which cause Fear, but have a lower rating than the Ogre, they must make a Fear test, but may add their own Fear rating to their Battle-Level for purposes of the test. The Ogre is in a similar situation if he encounters Fear-causing monsters with a higher rating than himself. In such a case, he must make a Fear test, but gets to add +4 to his Battle-Level for purposes of determining the results. (He also gets this bonus when testing against Terror). Terror-causing creatures are unaffected by Fear.

Monsters are at -1 to hit the Ogre if they fail their Fear tests. For enemy spellcasters, they may cast spells normally, but when randomly determining the target, they will always choose somebody other than the Ogre, if there is any chance to do so. If the Ogre is the only viable target, they attack normally.

Representing Your Warrior

Citadel Miniatures has plenty of Ogres to pick to represent your Ogre character. One of the older Marauder "Ogre Mercenary" miniatures would be particularly apt. Other companies, such as Heartbreaker Hobbies and Games, offer Ogres as well in a similar scale. If you don't get a Citadel model, you'll need to acquire a proper base for the figure, 40mm x 40mm square. (Cutting it out of cardboard would do just fine for WQ.)

Roleplaying Tips

I have rarely been in a group where there hasn't been a player who would be perfect for the role of an Ogre. Basically, all he needs to do is to be brutish and impulsive. The only problem is that if he should suddenly spurt out words of wisdom any time an intellectual problem comes around, this Ogre is bound to get some strange stares, but perhaps that can just be chalked up to deviation from a stereotype. He's ultimately not THAT phenomenal of a character compared to most Warriors -- He just has a random chance of inflicting more damage, he causes Fear, and he starts off with two attacks. However, I expect the main appeal for this character to be the simple ability to place a large, imposing model on the board to represent one's Warrior.

Disclaimers and such

Warhammer Quest is a trademark of Games Workshop, and its use here does not constitute a legal challenge to that status. This article may be considered copyrighted by T. Jordan "Greywolf" Peacock (me =) ), though it may be freely distributed so long as no alterations are made and no fees are charged for its use.

If you'd like to contact me for whatever reason, you can write to me at:

Jordan Peacock,

1610 Parker,

Cedar Falls,

IA 50613

Happy Questing!

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