The Nehekros Imperishables: An Unofficial AoS faction

While I have been making headway in my development of the Gloomforest Spawn, I have also been developing a couple of other factions at times when inspiration has carried me away from the Spawn and towards these. One of said factions is this one, the Nehekros Imperishables. If you haven't guessed from the name by now, this is an Age of Sigmar take on the Tomb Kings, one that progresses their lore from the situation that occurred in the End Times, rather than eradicating them completely from the lore scene as GW have done, or keeping the same lore but tweaking the history for AoS as the unofficial Tomb Kings Battletome written by Tyler Mengel does. As with the Spawn I will periodically upload unofficial Warscrolls I have made for them, but this time, inspired by the orderly structure in which @ravagekitteh has listed all the stats for his Adherents of Starlight, I will be doing the same, with Warscrolls for each character and unit appearing in their entry in the Units post.

Would love to know what everyone thinks

 

Lore: Once the king of the lost land of Nehekhara, Settra has since returned to rebuild his lost empire. Originally imprisoned inside one of Sigmar's Stormvaults for daring to challenge the God-King for his crown, little did Nagash know that when he freed his most loyal servant, Katakros, from one of these Stormvaults, the Great Necromancer had also unwittingly unleashed his most hated enemy. Freed after having to spend centuries imprisoned alongside the upstart Katakros, Settra's immortal soul drifted from one Realm to the next, searching for the perfect place to found his new Khemri. He found it in the sweeping Desert of Bones in Ghur's Heartlands, a place that imbued him with memories of his homeland, yet was also filled with new potential. It was within the small town of Lybalma that Settra first began his new reign - with the assistance of a young sorcerer easily manipulated by his infinite wisdom, the great king's soul was bound to a great golden statue of Sigmar that stood at the centre of the town's plaza, the etched features of the God-King gradually morphing into Settra's own and Ghal-Maraz changing into the Blessed Blade of Ptra. Finally achieving the dreams he sought for centuries, Settra slew all those in the town that opposed him, and adopted those who bowed to him as the beginnings of his new civilisation. Upon the remains of Lybalma, Settra commissioned the construction of his new capital of Khepra, and he taught his new subjects everything he knew about the culture and beliefs of ancient Nehekhara, and they became the Nehekrae, the scions of Nehekros, Settra’s new dominion.

 

Allegiance Abilities:

Battle Traits:
Unmatched Discipline: The legions of former citizens of Settra's new empire, bound to their animated mummified remains, obey their king's every command without question, putting the decades of training they perfected in life to such use that they can outfight any other soldier their size, living or dead.
Enemy units that do not have the Hero or Monster keywords must re-roll all hit rolls of 6 when fighting a unit with the Legionnaire keyword.

Ancient Incantations: The rituals performed by the Mortuary Priests to bind a lost Nehekharan soul to its new stone body are no simple Necromancer's tricks. They have been perfected over millennia, since the time of the World-that-Was, and render these constructs extremely difficult to destroy.
Halve the damage characteristic (rounding up) of weapons that target units with the Construct keyword, and halve the number of mortal wounds these units suffer from spells and abilities (rounding up).

Relentless Terror: For those who have earned the enmity of the King of Kings, his legions represent fear incarnate as they advance slowly but tirelessly towards them, as it is only now that the interlopers truly realise just who they have angered.
Units with the Nehekros Imperishables keyword cannot Run in the movement phase. However, these units do not need to take battleshock tests. In addition, enemy units must subtract 1 from their Bravery score for every Nehekros Imperishables unit within 12” of them.

Command Traits:
Dynastic Traits (Embalmed Kings and Embalmed Kings on Warsphinxes only):
1. Indomitable Will: Even when all seems lost, this king will refuse to surrender, reasoning that it is better to die by a barbarian's hand than live with the shame of letting him pass willingly.
Whenever this model suffers a wound or mortal wound, roll a dice. On a 5 or more the wound is ignored. If this model already has such a save, add 1 to the roll.
2. Ancient Strategist: The king is a tactical genius, continually one step ahead of his foes.
Once per turn, while this model is still alive, if an enemy unit within 18" of him moves, shoots or charges during your opponent's turn, you may perform an identical action with a friendly unit anywhere on the battlefield.
3. Ruthless Conqueror: This king has long believed in the principle of 'Conqueror's Rights', and is rightly confident that nothing will stand in his way for long.
Whenever an enemy unit on the battlefield is destroyed, you gain a command point.
4. Paranoid Usurper: After having his predecessor murdered, this king continually keeps one eye resting upon his most trusted advisors, in case they plan the same fate for him.
No friendly Mortuary Priest or Necrotect in the army may ever move to a location more than 12" away from this model. However, While there are one or more friendly Mortuary Priests or Necrotects alive, this model may re-roll all failed wound rolls in close combat.
5. Gifted with the Khopesh: A skilled swordsman, this king is a duellist without compare - woe betide any enemy commander who even contemplates crossing blades with him.
This model may may perform its close combat attacks at the beginning of the close combat phase, before any other units are picked to fight in that combat phase. This does not apply to any mount this model has.
6. Terrifying Visage: Even for a walking mummified corpse, this king is particularly repulsive to look upon.
All enemy units within 3" of this model suffer an additional -1 penalty to their Bravery characteristics.

Mortuary Traits (Mortuary Priests and Necrotects only):
1. Grand Hierophant: As the wisest and most powerful of his caste, this priest is revered by the soldiers who serve him and trusted by his king absolutely.
If the hero with this trait is a Mortuary Priest, he may cast and unbind two spells instead of one. If the hero is a Necrotect, he may cast and unbind one spell every magic phase, and knows the spells Arcane Bolt and Mystic Shield. In addition, whenever this model suffers a wound or mortal wound, pick a friendly Nehekros Imperishables unit within 12" of this model and roll a dice. On a 4 or more that unit suffers the wound instead.
2. Student of Nehekharan Lore: Especially fascinated by the writings and beliefs of Ancient Nehekhara passed down to the Mortuary Cult by Settra, this priest is continually eager to find out more about his ancestry.
This model may know two Incantations from the Prayers list instead of one. However, he may still only chant one of those prayers every hero phase.
3. Supreme Artisan: Learned in the arts of the Necrotects, this priest has a natural affinity with the stone constructs around him.
If this model moves into base contact with a friendly unit with the Construct keyword, he may perform enchantments to repair it. If he does so, at the end of the combat phase this unit recovers D3 wounds.
4. Court Physician: Gifted with the art of brewing healing drafts, the priest has become synonymous with being able to heal their sovereign's most grievous wounds.
If this model moves into base contact with a friendly Hero, he may prescribe the Hero a healing draft. If he does so, at the end of the combat phase that Hero recovers D3 wounds.
5. Master of Curses: Death and malady seem to follow this priest wherever he goes. Some suspect that he is really a servant of the Arch-Traitor, but many of those have not lived long since voicing their suspicions.
At the end of every combat phase, roll a dice for every enemy model within 2" of this model. On every roll of a 6 that model suffers a mortal wound.
6. Wheedling Sycophant: This priest is a constant thorn in the sides of others, continually following and mimicking his superiors in a futile attempt to become as skilled as they are. Sometimes this level of annoyance is so great that even the enemy are driven to distraction by him.
This model and all friendly heroes within 8" of it may not activate Command Abilities. However, at the start of every hero phase, roll a dice for every enemy unit and hero within 8" of this model. On every roll of a 6, your opponent loses a command point and you gain a command point.

Artefacts of Power:

Artefacts of Royalty (Embalmed Kings and Embalmed Kings on Warsphinxes only):
1. Amulet of the Hidden Dead: This charm has been bound with the souls of a whole regiment of Nehekrae troops. When rubbed with suitable pressure, it will release these souls back to their bodies lying beneath the desert sands.
At the start of the battle, before deployment, you may pick one unit in your army without the Monster keyword to be sleeping beneath the sands. In your hero phase, you may deploy this unit anywhere on the battlefield more than 3” away from any board edge and more than 9” away from enemy models. This unit must deploy in this way before the fourth battle round, or it is destroyed.
2. Khalidan Serpentstave: This staff can, at the bearer's command, transform into a hissing cobra that strikes enemies with fierce vigour. It displays an especial loathing of any creation of the Great Traitor.
At the end of each combat phase, if the bearer is alive and engaged in combat with one or more enemy units, pick an enemy unit the bearer is fighting. This unit suffers D3 mortal wounds (or D6 if it has the Death keyword).
3. Armour of Ages: This golden armour powers its wearer on through horrendous injuries with the force of untold aeons.
The wearer may add 1 wound to his profile, and may add 1 to his save rolls.
4. The Crown of Phakth: This diadem depicts Phakth, the ancient Nehekharan falcon god of the sky and justice, and grants the king a degree of this mighty god's valour and practicality in the heat of battle.
While the wearer is alive, at the beginning of your hero phase, roll a dice. On a 5 or more you receive 1 additional command point.
5. Sceptre of Royal Decree: This staff radiates the king's authority so that even the most stoic foe quails in his presence.
Whenever an enemy unit successfully charges the bearer or any unit within 3" of him, your opponent must re-roll the dice used.
6. Apophan Scarab Cloak: The king is constantly surrounded by a swarm of scarabs that can bewilder and terrify the enemy and carry the bearer aloft upon a tide of clicking wings.
If the bearer is not mounted, their Move characteristic is doubled and they may Fly. In addition, enemy units attacking the bearer in close combat must subtract 1 from their hit rolls.

Artefacts of Priesthood (Mortuary Priests only):
1. Golden Ankhra: Shaped to resemble the Ancient Nehekharan symbol of eternity, this pendant surrounds the wearer with protective energies.
While the bearer of this artefact is alive, discount the first wound this model suffers in each phase of each turn.
2. Khatepian Liche Staff: Made of the wood from one of the few deceased trees that loiter in the desert, this staff is a facsimile of that which belonged to Khatep, the Heirophant to Settra during the days of old Nehekhara, and has inherited a portion of his immeasurable power.
Once per turn, if this hero fails to successfully cast a spell or chant a prayer, you may re-roll all the dice used.
3. Sorcerous Kanopi: When this jar is opened, all magical energy is sucked into it, draining the magicks of the foe.
Once per battle, you may declare that the model this artefact belongs to is going to open the kanopi. If it does so, all Endless Spells currently in play are dispelled.
4. Staff of Mastery: This copper staff draws energy from the Winds of Magic, allowing the Priest to empower his enchantments further.
When this model casts a spell, you may add 2 to the casting result.
5. Hieratic Jar: This container, sealed and bound with glyphs of power, contain the remains of a deceased Mortuary Priest, which have preserved some of the magical energy he once possessed.
Once per battle, in your hero phase, you may declare that the model this artefact belongs to is going to open the jar. If it does so, the model may cast an additional spell this turn.
6. Staff of Ravening: This staff summons a swarm of flesh-eating locusts to tear nearby enemies to shreds.
The bearer knows the spell LOCUST PLAGUE in addition to any other spells they know.
LOCUST PLAGUE
Locust Plague has a casting value of 7. If successfully cast, roll a dice for each enemy unit within 12" of the bearer. Add 1 to each roll for every enemy unit other than the unit rolled for within 12" of the bearer. For every roll of a 6 or more, the unit rolled for suffers D3 mortal wounds. In addition, all enemy units within 12" of the bearer may not perform shooting attacks until your next hero phase.

Artefacts of Craftsmanship (Necrotects only):
1. Icon of Dominion: Through this amulet, the Necrotect has supplemented the anima of nearby constructs with his own soul, allowing him to will these stone behemoths further onwards.
All Nehekros Imperishables units with the Construct keyword within 12" of the bearer may run in the movement phase.
2. Ramhotepian Lash: With every crack of this jaded whip, the souls of the slain are drawn into the bodies of constructs to keep them animated.
Whenever an enemy unit suffers an unsaved wound from attacks made by this model, pick a friendly Nehekros Imperishables Construct unit. That unit may recover a wound lost earlier in the battle.
3. Golden Eye of Ra-Nutt: This sigil, when carved into the body of an animated statue, imbues it with such power that missiles of all descriptions patter harmlessly off its stone hide.
At the start of the battle, pick a friendly Nehekros Imperishables Construct unit that will have the symbol of the Eye carved into it. That unit may worsen the rend of all shooting attacks that target it by 1, so long as the Necrotect this artefact belongs to is alive and on the battlefield.


Prayers:

1. Khsar’s Incantation of the Desert Wind: Beseeching the blessings of the Nehekharan god of the desert, the Priest summons a howling desert storm to shift his allies forward upon a surf of sand.
At the start of your Hero Phase, one model that knows this prayer can chant it. If they do so, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 3+ the prayer is answered. If this prayer is answered, pick 1 friendly unit that cannot fly wholly within 18" of this Priest. This unit may move double its normal Move value in the movement phase.

2. Tahoth's Incantation of Wisdom: Imbuing his allies with the knowledge of the ibis-headed scholar god, the Priest grants his peers superior tactical judgement.
At the start of your Hero Phase, one model that knows this prayer can chant it. If they do so, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 3+ the prayer is answered. If this prayer is answered, pick 1 friendly Hero wholly within 12" of this Priest. Until your next hero phase, the first time this hero uses a Command Ability, do not spend a Command Point.

3. Ptra’s Incantation of Restoration: Invoking the glorious name of the ancient Nehekharan sun god, the Priest summons a healing light that repairs stone and reanimates bones.
At the start of your Hero Phase, one model that knows this prayer can chant it. If they do so, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 4+ the prayer is answered. If this prayer is answered, pick 1 friendly unit wholly within 12" of this Priest. Heal D6 wounds to this unit. This cannot take the unit beyond its starting size.

4. Djaf's Incantation of Cursed Blades: Calling upon the jackal-headed god of the underworld, the Priest imbues his allies' weapons with the very essence of death.
At the start of your Hero Phase, one model that knows this prayer can chant it. If they do so, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 4+ the prayer is answered. If this prayer is answered, pick 1 friendly unit wholly within 18" of this Priest. Whenever this unit rolls a 6 or more when attacking with one of its melee weapons, the target enemy unit suffers 1 mortal wound in addition to the damage normally caused by this attack.

5. Usirian's Incantation of Vengeance: Commanding the ire of the Nehekharan death god, the Priest banishes the soldiers of the foe to the underworld.
At the start of your Hero Phase, one model that knows this prayer can chant it. If they do so, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 5+ the prayer is answered. If this prayer is answered, pick 1 enemy unit wholly within 16" of this Priest. The unit suffers D3 mortal wounds, or D6 if it has the Death keyword. In addition, the enemy unit subtracts D3 from its movement value and must re-roll all successful charges until your next hero phase.

6. Neru’s Incantation of Protection: Appealing to the love of the wife of Ptra and goddess of the moon, the Priest bathes his allies in shimmering moonlight, rendering them near-impossible to hit from afar.
At the start of your Hero Phase, one model that knows this prayer can chant it. If they do so, make a prayer roll by rolling a dice. On a 5+ the prayer is answered. If it is answered, pick a friendly unit within 18” of this Priest. Until your next hero phase, worsen the rend and damage of all missile weapons that target this unit by 1.


Royal Cities:
Khepra: The seat of the King of Kings, Khepra, in the heart of Ghur, is the largest and strongest of the Nehekrae cities, continually patrolled by Legionnaires and Animated Constructs who answer directly to Settra himself.

Abilities:
Unyielding Phalanxes: Trained upon the orders of Settra himself, the Legionnaires of Khepra fight in ultra-disciplined phalanxes that work in concert to repulse the foe.
Each unit of Khepra Settran Legionnaires within 3” of another unit of Khepra Settran Legionnaires may add 1 to their save rolls.

Command Ability:
Serve the King well: The general commands his followers to fight all the harder to earn the commendation of the King of Kings.
A model with this command ability may use it in the combat phase. If it does so, pick 1 friendly Khepra Nehekros Imperishables unit that is in combat and is wholly within 18” of this model. That unit may re-roll all hit and wound rolls of 1.

Command Trait:
Hand of the King: Settra, if it is not he himself who leads this host, has personally blessed the commander of this army, and has absolute trust in him to do his royal bidding.
A Khepra army led by a general with this trait starts the battle with an additional Command Point.

Artefact of Power:
The Destroyer of Eternities: A weapon from Settra's personal armoury, the Destroyer of Eternities need only nick the foe to send them crumbling into dust forever.
The model equipped with this artefact must choose one of its melee weapons to be the Destroyer of Eternities (Mount weapons cannot be chosen). If an enemy model suffers one or more wounds from this weapon, but is not slain by it, the opposing player must roll a dice at the beginning of every hero phase in which the enemy model is still alive. On a 1, the model is instantly removed as a casualty.


Anhak: Built in a clearing in the Realm of Ghyran, the city of Anhak is the newest territory to have shown support for the King of Kings. Due to the life magic prevalent in this realm, the Legionnaires here undergo a constant state of regeneration, their mummified organs healing themselves back to their living state. This, however, does nothing to alter their fearlessness and loyalty to Settra, which is constantly put to the test as Alarielle, the self-proclaimed queen of this realm, regularly leads armies to attack Anhak with the intention of eliminating the foothold in this land accrued by the True King.

Abilities:
Living Legionnaires: Unlike its fellow Royal Cities, the city of Anhak commands rank upon rank of living Nehekrae, whose devotion to their homes, families and their King knows no bounds. Though these men are of flesh and blood, the Realm of Life does much to grant them similar resilience to their undead comrades from other cities.
All units with the Legionnaire keyword in an Anhak army must subtract 2 from their Bravery characteristic and must take Battleshock tests if they suffer one or more casualties. However, these units may run in the movement phase and whenever one of these units suffers a wound or mortal wound, roll a dice. On a 5 or more the wound is ignored.

Command Ability:
Repulse the Barbarians: At the commander’s word, the Legions of Anhak make a concerted effort to push the enemy back.
You can use this command ability in the combat phase before a friendly Anhak unit within 16” of a hero with this command ability makes its attacks. If you do so, any enemy units that failed a Battleshock test while fighting this unit must immediately retreat after models have been removed as a result of Battleshock. This counts as the unit’s move for its next turn turn, and it may not shoot or charge in its next turn.

Command Trait:
Entropic Weaponry: Originally intended to fare better against the tree spirits that blight Ghyran, the general’s weapons are enchanted to cause any armour it touches to degrade and destruct.
Improve the rend of all the melee weapons wielded by an Anhak general by 1 (Mount weapons are unaffected).

Artefact of Power:
The Sacred Blade of Anhak: Imbued with the magic of Ghyran, the Sacred Blade of Anhak allows the wielder to steal the souls of those he slays to repair his own withered body.
Whenever a model wielding the Blade of Anhak inflicts a wound upon an enemy model, they may immediately recover a wound lost during the battle.


Monqatar:

Abilities:
Statues of Shifting Gold: Monqatar in Chamon is devoid of any naturally-occurring stone. However, the ingenuity of its inhabitants has led to the creation of animated statues fashioned entirely from metal.
You may re-roll all failed save rolls for any Construct units in a Monqatar army.

Command Ability:
Topple Their Crude Shrines: The commander orders the metallic statues he leads to tear asunder the buildings in which his enemies cower.
You can use this command ability when a unit with the Monqatar Construct keywords within 18” of a hero with this command ability charges into an enemy unit that is in cover. If you do so, roll a dice. On a 1 or 2 nothing happens. On a 3 or 4 the scenery piece acting as cover is destroyed. On a 5 or 6 the scenery is destroyed and every unit (friendly and enemy) within 1” of the scenery piece suffers D3 mortal wounds.

Command Trait:
Exalted Construct: Encased in golden armour from head to foot, the general of this army has more in common with the animated statues he commands than with the people he rules.
This hero gains +2 Wounds, and is given the Construct keyword if he does not already have it.

Artefact of Power:
The Breastplate of Khutep III: The paranoid king Khutep III constantly feared for his life amidst what he perceived as a sea of potential traitors, so he bade a group of Duardin metalsmiths to fashion an ingenious golden breastplate embedded with runic magic that could keep the wearer's soul alive even if his body was destroyed. It worked, for even as his ruthless Grand Vizier slew the king in his sleep and took the breastplate and other treasures from him, the spirit of Khutep remained to drive the usurper mad.
In every one of your hero phases, you must roll a dice for the Hero wearing the Breastplate. On the roll of a 1 or 2, he is locked in a mental battle with Khutep and may do nothing this turn except fight in close combat. On a 3 or more the hero may act as normal. Regardless of the result of the roll, whenever the hero suffers a wound or mortal wound, roll a dice. On a 4 or more the wound is ignored.


Lybaros: The Nehekrae and Imperishables of Lybaros worship the Nehekharan sun god Ptra above all others, for they live in the Realm of Light, and feel they are continually touched by his presence.

Abilities:
Chosen of Ptra: Denizens of Hysh, the cohorts of Lybaros shimmer with the light of great Ptra himself.
Enemies shooting at units in a Lybaros army must subtract 1 from their hit rolls.

Civilised Allies: The Lumineth Realmlords are one of the few peoples the kings of Lybaros see as equals, for they share their desire to preserve and encourage civilisation.
A Lybaros army may take allies from the Lumineth Realmlords faction.

Command Ability:
Tremble before the Righteous: The Commander threatens the enemy with the promise of eternal damnation in the underworld if they do not rescind their violence against the legions of Ptra.
You can use this command ability in the move phase if an enemy unit moves within 12” of a hero with this command ability. If you do so, that enemy unit must immediately take a Battleshock test.

Command Trait:
Enlightened Champion: Believing he has been blessed by the speed of Ptra’s eternal light, the commander seems to preternaturally sense where enemy attacks are coming from, deflecting them away before they can do him harm.
Whenever an enemy unit makes a shooting or melee attack against the general of this army, they must reroll all successful hit rolls.

Artefact of Power:
Ptra’s Burning Gaze: Imbued with the holy light of the Nehekharan Sun God, the hero’s eyes produce burning rays of energy that turn nearby foes to ashes.
In your shooting phase, pick an enemy unit within 16” of this hero and roll a dice. On a 4 or more, that unit suffers 2D3 mortal wounds.


Memphara: The kings of this city in the heart of Aqshy are violent, treacherous and bad-tempered, even by Nehekrae standards. They possess a desire to exterminate and subjugate that rivals that of Settra himself, and though they remain loyal to the King of Kings for now, it is these monarchs who are the most likely to be planning a scheme to overthrow him.

Abilities:
Burning Blades: The weapons of the Legions of Memphara are eternally aflame, and sear and burn any foe who dares to survive their initial blows.
At the end of every combat phase, roll a dice for every enemy model that has suffered one or more wounds from melee attacks made by a Memphara unit, but has not yet been slain. On a 6, that model suffers an additional mortal wound.

Command Ability:
Wipe them out... all of them: The general of the army gives an executive order for his servants to leave none alive, as befits the rules of war against the inferior races.
You may use this command ability in the movement phase on all units within 12” of a model with this command ability. If you do so, whenever one of these units completely destroys an enemy unit in close combat, you receive a Command Point and the unit gets to make a free move. This does not count as their full move in the next friendly move phase.

Command Trait:
Conqueror’s Avarice: The commander is eternally driven to lead his legions into new lands and subjugate any of their inhabitants who dare challenge the rule of Settra.
Whenever the general of a Memphara army destroys an enemy unit, he gets to make a free move. This does not count as his full move in the next friendly move phase.

Artefact of Power:
Poisons of Sokth: No less experienced in the art of subtle assassination than in outright warfare, the hero has coated his weapons in lethal Mortuary Scorpion venom.
Whenever the model with this artefact rolls a 6 or more when determining if they hit the enemy in the combat phase, add 2 to the Damage characteristic of this attack.


Allies
A Nehekros Imperishables army make take Allies from the following factions: Cities of Sigmar, Fyreslayers, Kharadron Overlords.

 

Units:
Heroes:

Settra, King of Kings: Settra, Great King of the old land of Nehekhara, has achieved what nobody except the Arch-Traitor Nagash has been able to do - transcend death, and achieve true immortality. His new golden body, now morphed into the image of his original body of flesh and blood, evokes the epitome of kingship. Though his armies are but a fraction of those amassed during the Golden Age of his first kingdom, they are every bit as grand and flawless as those from the World-that-Was. With these forces under his command, Settra now plots to depose all who have ever wanted him dead or enslaved to their will, so that he can truly become the King of all Kings.


Nekaph, Emissary of the King: Settra deemed it fitting that the first Nehekharan soul to be bound to an Onyxite body would be Nekaph, his loyal herald and bodyguard and the first of the original Nehekharan souls saved by the Mortuary Priests. Equipped with a new Flail of Skulls and a golden suit of armour said to have formerly been worn by Geheb, unyielding god of the earth, Nekaph continues to serve the King of Kings as he has always done, slaying enemy commanders in fights to the death, and bringing the word of the True King to all.


Embalmed King on Warsphinx:


Embalmed King:


Mortuary Priest:


Necrotect:


Battleline:

Settran Legionnaires: Whenever a living Nehekrae citizen perishes, their soul begins its journey to the afterlife and to Usirian. However, in this state they are vulnerable to the all-seeing eyes of Nagash, the Great Traitor, who would enslave them into his armies of merciless undead. Mindful of the heightened danger that he poses as, Settra commissioned the reborn Mortuary Cult to Construct portals to Shyish, from which they could continually filter these souls to save them from Nagash's clutches. Each of these souls is then bound to their own mummified corpse to serve their king once more, not in labour, but in war. Clad in ornate golden armour, these remorseless legions form the bulk of Settra’s new armies.


Necrolith Onyxites: To assist the living in their toil and protect them from the myriad savage creatures that dwelled across Ghur, Settra comissioned the reborn Mortuary Cult to siphon souls that once belonged to ancient Nehekharans from Shyish and bind them into carved stone statues that obeyed Settra's every command. Each a full head taller than a man, these are the Necrolith Onyxites. In war these silent stone automata fight in serried ranks alongside the Legionnaires, and are every bit as unrelenting and cold in their grim work, but have an increased strength and prolonged durability that can only come from being an animated construct.

 

Others:

Necrolith Ushabti:


Mortuary Scorpions:


Legionnaire Duneriders:


Sepulchral Stalkers:


Behemoths:

Legionnaire Warsphinx:


Necrosphinx:


Necrolith Colossus:


Necrolith Heirotitan:


Scenery:

Settran Pyramid:
Abilities:
Tomb of Ancient Kings: At the start of the battle, after deployment and before rolling to see who chooses to take the first turn, secretly nominate a single Hero in your army that is not a Monster or a unique character. If the hero is slain during the game, in your subsequent Hero Phase you may automatically return this hero to the battlefield anywhere within 6” of this scenery piece, with their full complement of wounds and all their Artefacts and Traits intact. This ability may only be used once per battle.

Nexus of Forgotten Curses: All friendly Wizards within 16" of this model know the Wrath of the Desert spell in addition to any other spells they know.
WRATH OF THE DESERT
Wrath of the Desert has a casting value of 6. If successfully cast, pick an enemy unit within 12" of the caster, roll a dice and consult the following chart:
1-2: Blinding Sandstorm: The unit must subtract 1 from all hit rolls until your next hero phase.
3-5: Tomb Swarm: The unit suffers D6 mortal wounds.
6: Awoken Guardian: Place a Mortuary Scorpion anywhere more than 9" away from this unit. It may move and charge as normal.

Battalions:

Royal Invasion Army
Composition:
1 Royal Court
1+ Royal Conquest Legions
1+ Construct Vengeance Legions
1 Stalker Reconnaissance Legion

Special Rules:
"Serve Your King!": Whenever a unit in this battalion regains one or more models as the result of a spell or prayer, double the number of models restored in this manner.

Regal Discipline: Whenever a unit in this battalion is fighting a unit with a lower Bravery value, it may re-roll all hit and wound rolls of 1 in the combat phase.


Royal Court
Composition:
1 Embalmed King
1-5 Mortuary Priests
1-5 Necrotects
1 Settran Pyramid

Special Rules:
Grand Vizier: One of the Mortuary Priests in this battalion may be upgraded to a Grand Vizier. A Grand Vizier may add 1 to all prayer and casting rolls he makes.

Royal Tomb: The Settran Pyramid in this battalion may resurrect each of the Heroes in this battalion once per battle, rather than just one Hero in the army.


Stalker Reconnaissance Legion
Composition:
1-6 units of Sepulchral Stalkers
1-3 units of Mortuary Scorpions

Special Rules:
Hidden Guardians: Instead of deploying normally, all the Sepulchral Stalker and Mortuary Scorpion units may be set aside and deploy later in your move phases as per the Sepulchral Stalkers' Entombed Beneath the Sands rule. In addition, in any battle round after the first, when an enemy unit makes a move in their move phase, one unit in this battalion that is still set aside may immediately deploy anywhere up to 16" and more than 6" away from this enemy unit. This counts as the unit's movement for the Nehekros Imperishables player's next turn.


Royal Conquest Legion
Composition:
0-1 Embalmed King on Warsphinx
2-10 units of Settran Legionnaires
1-3 units of Legionnaire Duneriders
1 Legionnaire Warsphinx

Special Rules:
Seize their lands: Whenever an enemy unit retreats from one or more of the units in this battalion, roll a dice for each unit involved. On a 4 or more, that unit may immediately move as if it were the movement phase, so long as it ends this move closer to the retreating enemy than when it started.


Construct Vengeance Legion
Composition:
0-1 Embalmed King on Warsphinx
2-6 units of Necrolith Onyxites
1-3 units of Necrolith Ushabti
1-3 Necrosphinxes, Necrolith Colossi and/or Necrolith Hierotitans

Special Rules:
Crush the Defilers: The first time each unit from this battalion charges an enemy, it may re-roll hit rolls in the ensuing combat.


Pitched Battle Points Values:
Units:
Settra, King of Kings: 700, 120 x 92mm oval
Nekaph, Emissary of the King: 250, Base Size: 50mm circle
Embalmed King on Warsphinx: 360, 170 x 105mm oval
Embalmed King: 140, Base Size: 25mm circle
Mortuary Priest: 80, Base Size: 25mm circle
Necrotect: 70, Base Size: 25mm circle
Settran Legionnaires: 140 for 10 (Max 30), Base Size: 25mm circle
Necrolith Onyxites: 160 for 5 (Max 20), Base Size: 32mm circle
Necrolith Ushabti: 170 for 3 (Max 9), Base Size: 50mm circle
Mortuary Scorpions: 75 for 1 (Max 6), Base Size: 60mm circle
Legionnaire Duneriders: 240 for 3 (Max 9), Base Size: 105 x 70mm oval
Sepulchral Stalkers: 240 for 3 (Max 9), Base Size: 105 x 70mm oval
Legionnaire Warsphinx: 300, 170 x 105mm oval
Necrosphinx: 360, Base Size: 170 x 105mm oval
Necrolith Colossus: 220, Base Size: 80mm circle
Necrolith Hierotitan: 200, Base Size: 80mm circle

Battalions:
Royal Court: 100
Stalker Reconnaissance Legion: 100
Royal Conquest Legion: 70
Construct Vengeance Legion: 50
Royal Invasion Army: 150

 

Looks like a facinating endeavour you're on trying to re-create the tombkings in AoS, i am looking forward to what you come up with both unit wise and lore wise.

You got the AoS naming conventions down so far.

 

Looking good so far! My only suggestion is that you place the part about Settra’s return in the lore section, as if you’re going to do what I do and post stats for units it will likely get very crowded in the units section otherwise! Might I ask which Grand Alliance this faction will be a part of?

 

Yeah, when I was writing that passage and saw how large it was getting, I knew that I would have to move most of it into the lore section, I was just trying to get as much of the lore I had currently worked out for the faction down while I had it in my mind.

Both GW in their Tomb King Warscrolls and Mengel’s Battletome put Tomb Kings into the Death Grand Alliance, but that would not work well for my interpretation given that Settra hates Nagash’s guts and fully intends to destroy him once and for all. The Chaos Gods also want to enslave Settra, and Settra wouldn’t associate himself with Greenskins, so the Nehekros Imperishables are going to be an Order faction. True, Settra doesn’t like Sigmar at all, but at least he isn’t fully intent on enslaving him and he is also an enemy of Nagash. The only factions I could see Settra actually allying with are the Dwarf factions because Settra could easily bribe them, Cities if Settra arrives to protect them from Nagash and possibly Lumineth given that both would appreciate the other’s civilised aspects. The others are too secretive, too difficult to converse with (Seraphon), too barbaric (Daughters of Khaine) or too close to Sigmar (Stormcast) to Settra’s liking.

 

That’s a cool ability, but I assume you’re aware that rounding down would mean it’s impossible for damage 1 weapons to damage Constructs?

 

Sorry, that should be changed to rounding up. Thanks for finding that mistake

 

I like what I’m seeing so far! However, Unmatched Discipline, The Curse, the Command Abilities and just about everything about Settra strikes me as extremely powerful - I’m assuming there will eventually be some pretty high points costs to match!

 

I did intend this army to be a quality army rather than a horde army, so units will have quite high points costs. Legionnaires will certainly be around the same cost as Mortek Guard and they're the basic Battleline unit. However, I'm surprised you think Unmatched Discipline and The Curse are especially powerful.

The Curse I literally took from the Tomb Kings Warscroll Compendium, but added D6 mortal wounds to Monsters because they already have loads of wounds in this game so can afford to lose some more (besides it's a once-per-game occurrence).

Rerolling all successful hit rolls isn't too bad for units that score a high rate of hit rolls normally, like Vulkite Berzerkers with paired handaxes, so other elite units won't have so much trouble with this.

Concerning My Will Be Done, I wanted something that was akin to the equivalent rule from Warhammer Fantasy to remain faithful to it (in Fantasy it increases the Weapon Skill of any unit the Tomb King joins to the King's Weapon Skill of 6, a pretty big jump given that ordinary Skeletons only had a Weapon Skill of 2), so I thought of increasing the attacks of a unit near the King to match his own attacks. Given that Legionnaires have 2 attacks each already, it isn't that much of a jump to give them one extra attack to match that of a King's Royal Khopesh or Regal Greataxe, and giving them 4 attacks each if the King has a Dynastic Crook and Flail makes this weapon option more viable, as its D3 damage against the other weapons' constant 2 and 3 damage respectively make it objectively weaker without this bonus.

Settra I fully intended to be another huge god-level character like Nagash, Archaon e.t.c to take account of his new incarnation, so I'm pleased to hear that the King of Kings has a powerful kit! If it's any consolation, he isn't that much of a wizard as he can only cast one spell per turn.

However, I'd certainly be willing to listen to any specific amendments you may have for these, as I don't want my army to be too broken (certainly don't want a Warriors of Chaos effect, as they're the one army in Warhammer Fantasy that is utterly ridiculous gamewise), and because I'm not fully experienced with Age of Sigmar yet, I'm certainly interested in hearing what players more familiar with the meta have to say.

 

That’s fair enough. To be honest, The Curse and My Will Be Done aren’t really so bad, and if Settra is meant to be at the same level as Archaon or Nagash, then I think that level of power is probably justified. To be honest, I’m not very experienced gamer either - I spend a fair amount of time reading about various rules and such, but my actual battlefield experience is extremely limited - you’d probably want someone more like @LizardWizard or @Killer Angel if you want a better perspective on how well these things would actually play, but I’ll do my best to give what I think is good advice all the same!

On that note though, you probably want to think about changing this one slightly though:

As it stands, I think it has the potential to be extremely broken - unlimited Command Abilities for a turn will allow for mass spamming of Inspiring Presense, At the Double, all other core Command Abilities and any other faction ones to the point where it would be absolutely ridiculous. Successfully cast it on Settra, and you have your entire army rerolling all failed hits and wounds which is a bit insane. If I were you, I would change it to allowing the first Command Ability to be free, or having a dice roll to refund command points like Settra’s ability (on that note, I’d either tune that down or add a range limitation to his Command Ability). Besides that though, there aren’t any other issues that are jumping out at me - everything else seems pretty good!

 

Thank you!

Yes I see how that prayer can be abused now. I think I should add an extra clause to it to say that the hero that benefits from it can only use each command ability available to him once per turn, or something like that. I’ll think more about it.

By all means! I’m assuming you’d cut out circles and ovals from paper or card to represent the models in the Imperishables armies you’d playtest, so that you don’t have to spend a fortune on Tomb Kings?

 

@Lizerd I remember from yesteryear you were interested in using Tomb Kings in AoS, fancy trying my unofficial reinterpretation?

 

Your allegiance abilities are really shaping up well now! I particularly like the mechanic of destroying buildings! Just a couple of things though:

If I were you, I’d swap these two around. Rerolling sixes is still a pretty potent effect given the amount of abilities that generate off them, but it’s not so mad as to make them nigh unkillable, whereas rerolling all successful hits is far more reasonable when it’s a single model (you could also push the duellist angle lore wise)

I would also modify the rule on the Tail Sweep ability - as far as I’m aware, there is no ruling on facing being important in AoS so I don’t think there’s anything stopping someone from just rotating it. Perhaps something to do with the size of the unit, or maybe an ability that activated if the unit is attacked and has already attacked that phase?

Finally...

??? I think you might have made a typo!

Overall though, everything here is looking really good!

 

Makes sense - a small buff on a large number of units and a large buff on a single model would be less OP. I’ll amend that

I just wanted to try and bring some flank and rear mechanics to AoS, but if people will just move models round to avoid it I’ll think of something else. Perhaps the Magmadroth’s tail mechanic would be a better reference for this.

Sorry, mixed up the running rules with proper 40K - in proper 40K you make Run moves in the shooting phase instead of shooting. Forgot that you run in the movement phase in AoS

 

I've finished the last of the Warscrolls! Any feedback would be welcome while I work on finishing the artefacts, points and Battalions

 

The Warscrolls themselves seem really good, if very powerful (although you seem to have missed out the Necrotect and Mortuary Priest). You’re definitely going to want to cost them highly though, especially taking into account the additional allegiance abilities and other things; the units are rarely if ever going to be fielded without them, so if you’re going to make the various traits and such very powerful as you seem to be you will likely need to accommodate that in the points values too! In that regard, I think your battleline might be a tad undercosted - if you compare them to say the Mortek Guard at 130pts or the Phoenix Guard at 160, I think a small bump may be in order.

I have to say though, what you’ve produced is very impressive - once you finish all the traits and the lockdown is lifted, I will have to try out the army to see how well my inexperienced self can handle them in battle, and if I ever do get round to it, I’ll try to add them to the Battle Simulator!