Codex Skaven

by Dan Nelson dnelson@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu check out aluminumangel.org for updates and other lists

Strategy Rating
A Skaven army has a strategy rating of 4. While this is higher than their intellect might suggest it accounts for both their !uickness and their innate ability to make large scale use of small passage"ays and deep cover.

Leadership
Skaven are a skittish race and loose their nerve !uickly as their #eadership indicates. $o"ever their confidence gro"s tremendously "hen in a s"arm of like-minded brethren. Whenever rolling any %reak or psychology test subtract one from the roll for each full five Skaven in the unit being tested. &or e'ample a pack of () Skaven "ithin (*+ of their ,ack -aster "ould need only a . or lo"er to pass %reak or physiology tests. /n the case of characters subtract one from the roll for each full five Skaven in the unit they are leading or have 0oined including themselves. 1haracters that are not currently part of a unit gain no bonus. Note that the actual #eadership of the Skaven is not effected. 2hus "hile this bonus has no effect on #eadership tests for psychics or other special po"ers it is possible that in some circumstances rolls of (( or (* may still count as passing %reak or psychology tests.

WARGEAR
Warp Stones
2en thousand years ago during the fall of the 3ldar race and the birth of the fourth chaos god a cataclysm more destructive than any in the history of the gala'y occurred. Across a huge tract of space the "alls dividing reality and the "arp "ere smashed apart. Near the epicenter of this disaster the suns and planets themselves "ere ripped asunder and the entire populations of hundreds of planetary systems died instantly. 2he gaping "hole in reality that this cataclysm left behind is "hat is no" kno"n as 2he 3ye of 2error. 3ver since then the remnants of those planets has rained do"n on the rest of the gala'y. Near the 3ye of 2error "hole planetary populations have died under this stone rain as the remnants shine deadly radiation and still burn "ith an evil chaotic energy that they have stored since their birthing. /t is thought that mutations spa"ned by this radiation are "hat gave birth to the Skaven race. 2hey alone are immune to its radiation. 2his "arp stone as it is kno"n has become a central part of Skaven culture. Not only are they immune to its deadly effect but they have learned to harness the chaos energy that resides "ithin it building all manor of "eapons and tools. Almost all uni!uely Skaven devices make use of "arp stone is some "ay or another. 2he Skaven Warp 3ngineers too have learned to channel the po"er of "arp stones. 2hey actually consume the "arp stone and thus incorporate its po"er into their o"n psychic force. $o"ever although Skaven are immune to the destructive potential of "arp mater its direct ingestion can still cause violent and deadly mutations in a Warp 3ngineer. As such Warp 3ngineers learn to moderate their consumption. 4n the battlefield Warp 3ngineers carry small pebbles of Warp Stone "hich they may eat during the psychic phase. When using a psychic po"er a Skaven psyker may consume any number of Warp Stones to reduce the po"er5s force cost by that number. After eating the "arp stones and resolving the effects of the po"er the Skaven player must check to insure that the po"er of the Warp Stone does not destroy the Warp 3ngineer. 6oll a D4 and add the total number of Warp Stones consumed by that model this round. /f the result is 7 or higher the psyker mutates into mindless chaos spa"n and is considered destroyed. 6eplace the model "ith that of a chaos spa"n as detailed in the 1haos 1ode'. &or e'ample a 8rey Seer could use a force 9 po"er "ith no chance of deadly mutation by consuming one Warp Stone and spending t"o force cards. #ater that psychic phase he could use a force * po"er by spending no force cards but by eating t"o Warp Stones. $e "ould then die on a 9: on D4 ;9 : 9 < 7=. 2he number of Warp Stones that a Warp 3ngineer carries into combat is dependent upon his rank and is detailed in the army list.

Jezelle
The Jezelle is one of the few ranged weapons used by the Skaven that they construct themselves. Skaven to not have the expertise nor the resources to manufacture effective modern weaponry. They do not truly understand weapons technology more advanced than flint and powder. As such the Jezelle is actually nothing more than a glorified musket and is often referred to as a warp musket by non! Skaven. The true power of the Jezelle comes not from the design of the gun itself but rather from the "arp po"der used to fire it and the "arp stones that are fired from it. 2hese "arp stones are the scattered remnants of planets torn apart during the "aking of Slaanesh and the creation of the 3ye of 2error. 2hrough this catastrophic birth they are imbued "ith a dark chaotic energy that only Skaven do not find deadly. Range Short Long "# $%# To hit Short Long &' ( Str. ) Dam. ' Save Mod. !% Armour ene. *)&) Spe!ia" see below

Jezelle

The warp stone ammunition used in the Jezelle wounds deamons and psykers automatically. +n addition daemons automatically fail their daemonic aura armour save.

Warp Gout
Another Skaven creation the Warp 8out spe"s huge 0ets of flames into the ranks of the enemy. 1onsisting of little more than a barrel and a hose it is the li!uid "arp po"der used as fuel that makes the Warp 8out a truly deadly "eapon. Range Short Long To hit Short Long Str. Dam. Save Mod. Armour ene. Spe!ia"

Warp 8out

$eavy flamer template

>

-*

D7:>

see belo"

2he "arp flames generated by the Warp 8out "ound deamons and psykers automatically. /n addition daemons automatically fail their daemonic aura armour save. /f a Skaven e!uipped "ith a Warp 8out is killed by shooting or in hand-to-hand make a Strength?2oughness check using the Strength of the "eapon that killed the Skaven and 2oughness > the 2oughness of the Warp 8out@s barrel. /f the check is successful the barrel e'plodes. ,lace a (A+ template over the Skaven. All models under the template take a S7 hit "ith a -* save modifier. -odels half in and half out of the template are hit on a 4: on D7.

E"mek
A shorter and much more stout version of the Jezelle the ,lmek uses the same warp powder and warp stone combination. They are most often seen in the hands of clan rats from -lan .ephidem. Range Short Long %# '$# To hit Short Long &$ ( Str. / Dam. ' Save Mod. !% Armour ene. *)&/ Spe!ia" see below

,lmek

The warp stone ammunition used in the ,lmek wounds deamons and psykers automatically. +n addition daemons automatically fail their daemonic aura armour save. 0hile much larger than most modern hand weapons the ,lmek is considered a pistol and may be used in close combat. +f a Skaven carrying an ,lmek is charged he may fire his weapon 1ust before the enemy closes. This may be done even if the charged model is not on overwatch or is being charged from outside of his firing arc.

War Censer
1enser %earers carry these immense incense burners into battle "ielding them as flails in combat and addling the enemy "ith there no'ious scents. Range To hit Short Long Short Long 1lose combat only Str. S:* Dam. ( Save Mod. Armour ene. D7:S:9 Spe!ia" incenseB flail

War 1enser

A War 1ensor is a huge t"o-handed flail "ith a spiked incense burner attached to the end of its chain. /t re!uires t"o hands to "ield but "ounds "ith at :* Strength. $o"ever because of its bulk ties in close combat are automatically lost despite initiative unless the opponent is also using a t"o-handed "eapon. A flail cancels one of a close combat opponent5s parries. &or e'ample an opponent "ielding t"o s"ords "ould have only one parry. &lails may not ho"ever be used to parry. Additionally a model struck by a flail in close combat automatically misses any shield-based armour save it may have. Several different types of putrid incense are traditionally used in these censers all developed by the ,lague -onks. 3ven models "ith sealed armour and daemons are effected by these incenses although models "ithin inclosed vehicles are not. #n!ense &ilth Spore Death Spirit Dung 1ake 6ilth"eed 3ach close combat hit scored "ith the censer lets loose a dense cloud of acidic gas. &or each close combat hit an opponent receives from the censor he takes an additional S9 hit. &or those not used to its sent the vapors of this incense causes e'treme diCCiness and headache making thought or skillful fighting impossible. All close combat opponents of the 1ensor %earer lose t"o attack dice ;do"n to a minimum of one die=. 1louds of choking gas surround the 1ensor %earer at all times. At the end of each close combat round all opponents in handto-hand "ith the model take a S9 hit even if the %earer "as killed that round. 2he fumes of this narcotic incense send those "ho breath it into a euphoric frenCy. 2he bearer of the War 1enser gets a :* Strength modifier and is affected by the psychology rules described for frenzy in the Warhammer 4) ))) 6ulebook.

esti"en!e G"o$es
Drename and flavor te'tE

%"a&e G"o$e
Dflavor te'tE %laCe 8lobe DrulesE Range Short Long 8renade To hit Short Long ) ) Str. 4 Dam. ( Save Mod. -9 Armour ene. D7:9 Spe!ia" see belo"

%"ight G"o$e
Dflavor te'tE %light 8lobe DrulesE Range Short Long 8renade To hit Short Long ) ) Str. 9 Dam. ( Save Mod. -( Armour ene. D7:* Spe!ia" 9+ radiusB see belo"

%urn G"o$e
Dflavor te'tE

%urn 8lobe DrulesE

Range Short Long 8renade

To hit Short Long ) )

Str. >

Dam. D4

Save Mod. -7

Armour ene. D7:D4:>

Spe!ia"

"ague G"o$e
Dflavor te'tE ,lague 8lobe DrulesE Range Short Long 8renade To hit Short Long ) ) Str. 4 Dam. ( Save Mod. -9 Armour ene. D7:4 Spe!ia" see belo"

'apor G"o$e
Dflavor te'tE Fapor 8lobe DrulesE Range Short Long 8renade To hit Short Long ) ) Str. 9 Dam. ( Save Mod. -4 Armour ene. D7:9 Spe!ia" *+ radius

C(ARACTERS
)*+ Great (orned ,ne
Dflavor te'tE

8reat $orned 4ne Daemon

M G

WS .

%S G

S H

T G

W 7

# ()

A 7

Ld .

2he 8reat $orned 4ne is a deamonic "arp entity personifying the collective po"er of the Skaven race and thus has all the po"ers and vulnerabilities of a daemon. including a daemonic aura. As "ith any daemon the 8reat $orned 4ne must be summoned and does not begin the battle on the field. 2en summoning points are re!uired to summon the 8reat $orned 4ne and he may not be brought into play through possession.

Terror
#ike all greater daemons the 8reat $orned 4ne causes terror as described in the main 6ulebook.

+ a!k Master
Dflavor te'tE $e may be armed "ith any combination of "eapons and additional e!uipment allo"ed by the Skaven Wargear list and may have up to three Wargear cards.

,ack -aster C"an o- ,rigin

M >

WS 7

%S 7

S 4

T 4

W 9

# H

A 9

Ld H

/n most cases the ,ack -aster of a Skaven s"arm arises from 1lan #ameck the largest and most po"erful of the Skaven clans. $o"ever it is the charismatic leadership of a ,ack -aster that is the source of his po"er not his clan heritage. C"an #ameck 2alchel Naphtali .ephidem -anasseh 3phraim %orn of the 1lan #ameck the ,ack -aster has :( #d giving him a #eadership of G. Spending his formative years within in this ruthless clan the 3ack 2aster has become a vicious warrior. 4e has :( WS giving him a WS of H. A ,ack -aster from 1lan Naphtali may be armed "ith a heavy "eapon from the Wargear list or e!uipped "ith a fourth shinny Wargear card. Note the targeting rules for personalities carrying heavy "eapons. An expert with the ,lmek the 3ack 2aster caries two and may fire both at the same time even when charged with a !' penalty to hit. 5or longer ranges the 3ack 2aster also caries a Jezelle. Dspecial "ar censerE An 3phraim ,ack -aster is often accompanied by a veteran 6at 4gre. 2hese loyal companions are a cut above their kin and as such are not effected by stupidity. 2he 6at 4gre may be armed "ith e!uipment from the 6at 4gre section of the Wargear list and forms a special unit "ith the ,ack -aster. &or victory point purposes treat the 6at 4gre as e!uipment potentially increasing the victory point value of the ,ack -aster.

Commander
2he ,ack -aster is your Army 1ommander and has a strategy rating of 4.

Warp Engineer
Dflavor te'tE $e may be armed "ith any combination of "eapons and additional e!uipment allo"ed by the Skaven Wargear list. A Warp Apprentice may have one Wargear card a Warp 3ngineer may have up to t"o Wargear cards and a Warp Seer or 8rey Seer may have up to three Wargear cards. Warp 3ngineers begin battle "ith a number of Warp Stones e!ual to their rank. 2hus a Warp Apprentice carries one Warp Stone a Warp 3ngineer carries t"o Warp Stones a Warp Seer carries three Warp Stones and a 8rey Seer carries four Warp Stones.

Warp Apprentice Warp 3ngineer Warp Seer 8rey Seer sy!hi!s

M > > > >

WS 9 4 > 7

%S 9 4 > 7

S 9 4 4 4

T 4 4 4 4

W ( * 9 4

# > > 7 H

A ( ( * 9

Ld > > > 7

Warp 3ngineers are psykers of mastery level one t"o three and four respectively. 2heir primary discipline is Skaven.

S./ADS
C"an Lame!k
Dflavor te'tE Skaven from 1lan #ameck may be included in your army in packs of > to 9). Any model may be e!uipped "ith %asic Weapons chosen from the Wargear list. Ip to one model in five may be armed "ith a Special Weapon.

1lan 6at

M >

WS 9

%S 9

S 9

T 9

W (

# 4

A (

Ld >

Clan Malchel
6flavor text7 Skaven from -lan 2alchel may be included in your army in packs of / to 8(. Any model may be e9uipped with :asic 0eapons chosen from the 0argear list. Ip to one model in three may be a Storm Fermin ;:' points per model upgraded=. Storm Fermin may be armed "ith %asic and Assault Weapons.

1lan 6at Storm Fermin

M > >

WS 9 4

%S 9 9

S 9 4

T 9 9

W ( (

# 4 4

A ( (

Ld > >

C"an 0aphta"i
Dflavor te'tE Skaven from 1lan Naphtali may be included in your army in packs of > to 9). Any model may be e!uipped "ith %asic Weapons chosen from the Wargear list. Ip to half of the models may be e!uipped "ith a $eavy Weapon.

1lan 6at

M >

WS 9

%S 9

S 9

T 9

W (

# 4

A (

Ld >

C"an Rephidem
6flavor text7 Skaven from -lan .ephidem may be included in your army in packs of / to 8(. Any model may be e9uipped with :asic 0eapons chosen from the 0argear list and;or an ,lmek <&x points per model=.

1lan 6at

M >

WS 9

%S 9

S 9

T 9

W (

# 4

A (

Ld >

C"an Manasseh
Dflavor te'tE Skaven from 1lan -anasseh may be included in your army in packs of > to 9). Any model may be e!uipped "ith %asic Weapons chosen from the Wargear list. Any number of models may be upgraded to 1enser %earers ;:' points per model upgraded=. 1enser %earers may only be e!uipped "ith a War 1enser ;:' points per model= and incense chosen from the Wargear list.

1lan 6at

M >

WS 9

%S 9

S 9

T 9

W (

# 4

A (

Ld >

1enser %earer

>

>

C"an Ephraim
Dflavor te'tE A 1lan 3phraim unit includes t"o 1lan 6ats and * to H 6at 4gres > to (> 8iant 6ats or > to (> 6at S"arm bases. 2he 1lan 6ats may be e!uipped "ith %asic Weapons chosen from the Wargear list.

1lan 6at Rat (erds

M >

WS 9

%S 9

S 9

T 9

W (

# 4

A (

Ld >

1lan 3phraim train the lesser brethren of the Skaven and herd them into combat. /f the t"o 1lan 6ats of a 1lan 3phraim unit are killed the unit becomes dysfunctional in a manor dependant upon the unit@s remaining members. An unguided unit of 8iant 6ats "ill run to"ards or charge the nearest non-Skaven models fighting until they are destroyed or broken. /f the unit breaks remove it from the board. #eaderless 6at 4gres automatically fail attempts to resist the effects of their stupidity. /f a pack of 6at S"arm bases loses its 6at $erds it disperses and is no longer an effective fighting unit. 6emove it from the board immediately.

Rat ,gre
6at 4gre 1ear
6at 4gres to"er over the battlefield and cause fear as described in the main 6ulebook.

M H

WS >

%S 9

S >

T >

W 9

# >

A *

Ld 7

Stupidity
Not the most intelligent of beasts 6at 4gres are affected by the psychology rules described for stupidity in the Warhammer 4) ))) 6ulebook.

Giant Rat
8iant 6at M 7 M > WS 9 WS * %S ) %S ) S 9 S * T 9 T 9 W ( W 9 # 4 # 4 A ( A 9 Ld 4 Ld 4

Rat S2arm
6at S"arm S2arm
A 6at S"arm base represents innumerable individual rats. 4pponents in close combat gain no bonus for multiple attackers against a 6at S"arm base.

S"ave Rats
A Slave 6at pack is often a patch"ork of any number of clans. 2hey are the con!uered losers of battles fought among the Skaven themselves and are forced onto the battlefield by their masters often poorly e!uipped and half-starved. /n the lean times of "ar the Slave 6ats are only fed "hen all else have had their full. Slave 6ats may be included in your army in packs of > to 4). Slave 6ats may only be e!uipped "ith %asic Weapons chosen from the Wargear list.

Slave 6at

M >

WS *

%S *

S 9

T 9

W (

# 4

A (

Ld 4

S3A'E0 ARM4 WARGEAR L#ST

%asi! Weapons
Any number per model.

Spe!ia" Weapons
One per model.

Spear or %lade S"ord Ancient Shield #aspistol Autopistol Autogun

)J( ( A ( (

Jezelle Warp 8out

#n!ense
One per model.

Assau"t Weapons
Any number per model.

&ilth Spore Death Spirit Dung 1ake 6ilth"eed

,o"er A'e ,o"er S"ord 1hains"ord %olt ,istol $and &lamer ,lasma ,istol

H 7 * * H >

(eavy Weapons
One per model. May not be chosen for Character models.

Autocannon $eavy %olter #ascannon $eavy Stubber

(7 () 9) H

(J 3!uipping a model "ith a second a'e

point.

spear or blade costs A a

WARGEAR CARDS
5Assassin %"ade6
see 3K- notesB bonus "? mutil-combat

5Assassin Warp %om$6

super meltabomb

5Assassin Thro2ing 3nives6

String of Small %ells 6agged %anner ,lague %lade $erding Whip $orn ;as in animal= 1ro"n

S4C(#C ,WERS
Skaven
Skaven Warp 3ngineers of all levels dra" this as their primary deck.

Curse o- the Rat God

&orce 9 6angeL *4+ Summoning the po"er of the 8reat $orned 8od the Warp 3ngineer places a horrific curse on one unit "ithin *4+. 3ach model in the unit must test to resist the curse@s effects. 6oll a D() for each model. /f the result is less than e!ual to the model@s 2oughness he has avoided the effects of the curse. 2he roll of each model after the first is reduced by the number of models that have tested to resist so far. 2hus the third model testing resistance in a unit "ith 24 "ould need a 7 or less to avoid the curse. /f a model is unable to defy the Skaven curse his body is racked "ith painful mutations until in a matter of moments he is nothing more than a 8iant 6at. 3ffected models are considered destroyed and are replaced "ith 8iant 6at models. 2hese form a unit under the control of the Skaven player "hich should be treated as a leaderless 1lan 3phraim unit. No victory points are gained for destroying this unit. 2his po"er may not be used on vehicles or individual characters although they may be effected if part of a cursed unit.

%"a!k "ague
&orce 9 6angeL M+ Dvs. individual modelE

Ma"aise o- 1i"th
&orce * Dvs. unitE 6angeL M+

Rat S2arm
&orce ( 6angeL M+ Dsummon s"arm of ratsE

#n-estation
&orce ( Ddamage vehiclesE 6angeL M+

(astening o- the S2arm

&orce * 2he alacrity of the 6at 8od is imbued upon his minions. Intil the beginning of the ne't psychic phase all Skaven and Skaven brethren ;6at 4gres 8iant 6ats etc.= gain :( -ove and :( /nitiative.

Spirit of Lakbehem
&orce * 6angeL M+ >akbehem is an ancient hero from the Skaven creation myth. The first of the Skaven he is father to them all. Dboost individualE

Ca"" o- the S2arm

&orce * Droll #d on 9 dice and choose lo"estE

1ina" 0ote
$ebre" and $ebre" sounding names are used throughout this army list as the names of 1lans "eapons heroes and any number of other things. /t did not occur to me until deep into the creation of this list that some might take offense to their use in this conte't. As soon as / had that thought the classic 8erman propaganda film that portrays the Ne"ish people as a s"arm of rats immediately came rushing to the forefront of my mind. / assure you that no offense is meant. /t is most definitely not the purpose of this 1ode' to imply any connection bet"een the Ne"ish people and Skaven. $ebre" sounding names "here chosen only due to their ancient feel their tongue t"isting effect on my peers and their similarity to the name of one pre-prescribed element of the army list the Jezelle warp musket.