BattleLore: Bearded Brave
BattleLore: Bearded Brave Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Welcome to the Dwarven Army Pack
This pack introduces four new types of troops for use in Human or Dwarven armies:
- One unit of Red Banner Iron Dwarf Bear Riders
- Two units of Green Banner Mighty Bolt Throwers
- Three units of Blue Banner Iron Dwarf Arbalestiers (crossbowmen from core set)
- Four Iron Dwarf Spotters
This pack also includes two types of previously released troops in order to bolster the ranks of a Human or Dwarven army:
- Two units of Blue Banner Iron Dwarf Axe Swingers (Dwarven Battalion expansion)
- Two units of Blue Banner Iron Dwarf Swordsmen (core set)
This pack comes with enough banners to field the Dwarven troops for the Standard camp. It also contains Weapon Summary cards, new Unit Summary cards, Specialist cards, the Deployment cards required to deploy Dwarven troops using the BattleLore: Call to Arms expansion custom army deployment system, and four new ready-to-play adventures.
The 15 new Call to Arms Dwarven Deployment cards feature units from this pack and troops from the Dwarven Battalion and Scottish Wars expansion packs. The cards can be used whenever players wish to play an existing adventure using a customized Dwarven army of their own choosing, rather than the unit mix and deployment dictated by the adventure's battle map.
A Word about the Dwarven Army
The Dwarven units introduced in this booklet share the same trait common to all Dwarven units, as detailed on page 37 of the BattleLore Player's Guide. In particular, the Iron Dwarf units are always Bold whether they are supported or not. This allows Iron Dwarf units to ignore one retreat flag rolled against them in battle.
Bear Riders
One unit with four Bear Rider figures.
Bear Riders are armed with a huge axe, and although their numbers are small, they have gathered together to form a large unit (four figures). In addition to scoring hits on their enemy's banner color, Bear Riders score hits on Bonus Strikes rolled against their enemy. Each Bonus Strike that scores a hit is rerolled for additional hits or flags, until the target unit is dead or no more Bonus Strikes are rolled. If the reroll is a different color than the target's banner color or a Lore symbol, nothing happens on the reroll.
After a successful melee, Bear Riders may Gain Ground and then make a Bonus Melee attack. Unlike normal mounted units, Bear Riders may never make a Pursuit action.
Iron Dwarf Bear Riders are Bold, like Dwarven foot units, and may always ignore one flag.
Mighty Bolt Thrower
Two units with two Bolt Thrower figures and two Iron Dwarf crossbowmen each.
A Mighty Bolt Thrower unit is made up of four figures, two Mighty Bolt Thrower figures and two Iron Dwarf crossbowmen figures acting as a crew. The unit's banner is placed in either one of the Bolt Thrower figure's stands. When a hit is scored against a Bolt Thrower unit, one crew figure and one Bolt Thrower figure are removed. When a second hit is scored, the crew figure is removed and the Bolt Thrower figure with the banner is placed on the opponent's Victory Track.
When ordered, a Mighty Bolt Thrower's bolt can target an enemy unit, in line of sight, up to five hexes away. A Bolt Thrower scores a hit on a roll of the target's banner color, and on Bonus Strikes, except at Point Blank range. Like other Dwarven foot units, a Mighty Bolt Thrower unit is Bold and may ignore one flag. It may not battle on the same turn it moves. Finally, if a Bolt Thrower unit is forced to retreat, the entire unit is eliminated and the opponent gains the unit's banner.
Iron Dwarf Spotter
Four individual Iron Dwarf Spotter figures.
Iron Dwarf Spotters are unique in that they do not form a new type of stand-alone unit. Instead, a Spotter can only be deployed as a single figure embedded into a pre-existing ranged weapon foot troop. As a result, a Spotter never carries a banner of its own in battle.
Only one Spotter figure may be embedded into a particular unit. The Spotter figure moves with the unit it starts in and is not transferable to any other unit. A Spotter does not count as a figure that can be removed to satisfy losses. If the unit the Spotter is in is eliminated, the Spotter figure is removed from the map along with the banner bearer of the troop.
When Spotters are present in an adventure, they are labeled on the battlefield. An Iron Dwarf Spotter increases the range of the ranged unit it is in by one hex and increases the number of battle dice that unit rolls in ranged combat by one.
Axe Swingers
Two units with four Axe Swinger figures each.
In addition to scoring hits on an enemy target's banner color, Axe Swingers score hits on Bonus Strikes rolled against their enemy. If at least one such Bonus Strike scores a hit in battle, one die (and only one, even if multiple Bonus Strikes scored a hit in that battle) is rerolled once to try to score an additional flag or hit. If the reroll is a different color than the target's banner color or is a Lore symbol, nothing happens on the reroll.
Arbalestiers
Three units with four Iron Dwarf Crossbowmen figures each.
Often considered an unfair weapon, as it lets a commoner down an armored knight in ranged combat, this heavy crossbow is a poor weapon in melee and when on the move.
Swordsmen
The Iron Dwarf Swordsmen units included in this expansion are described in detail in the BattleLore core game.
Call to Arms Deployment Cards
Six new Standard Call to Arms Deployment cards are included (A8, A9, B8, B9, C8, C9) that feature units from this army pack. These cards have a Dwarven icon at the top of the card and can be added to your fleur-de-lis Standard Call to Arms Deployment card sets.
Six new Standard Call to Arms Deployment cards are included (A10, A11, B10, B11, C10, C11) that feature units from the Dwarven Battalion and Scottish Wars expansion packs. These cards have a Dwarven icon at the top of the card and can be added to the fleur-de-lis Standard Call to Arms Deployment card sets (if players already own these two expansions).
These new cards, when added to the Call to Arms Deployment cards that already deploy Dwarven units, make up sets of Dwarven Army Deployment cards that allow players to field a Dwarven force with some Human mercenary units in either drafting mode.
For your reference, the Deployment cards with Dwarven units already in Call to Arms are: A1, A2, A5, B1, B3, B5, C1, C2, C6.
Three deployment cards are included to replace the Pennant cards that have a creature (so that players can field creatures of any banner type). Replace cards A7, B7, and C7 with the new cards that have the same numbers. The green creature banner on these cards is changed to a grey banner to indicate any creature may be deployed.
Your figures should fit into their included bases. It is recommended that players use a plastic glue when assembling their figures. This is to prevent figures coming apart during gameplay.
Missing Content: Adventures
Editorial note, not part of the printed rules: this pack's four ready-to-play adventures (battle maps, setups and victory conditions) are not included in this transcription. The rules excerpt published for the pack covers the new units, cards and deployment changes only, and FFG's announcement states that the posted rules exclude scenarios. The adventures were not recoverable from any source checked, so they are absent from this file rather than reconstructed.