Warhammer Armies: Nippon (v.1)
This first item will just contain rules – fluff can be written later.
The Nippon Armoury
Katana: this is the hand-and-a-half sword wielded by the elite Samurai. In close
combat it can be used as either a halberd or a hand weapon. It may be used as a different weapon each turn. If used as a hand weapon, the wielder receives +1 armour save to represent the excellent parrying qualities of the weapon. On horseback, it can only be used as a hand weapon.
Naginata: this is a long, bladed spear. When used from horseback, it counts as
a spear. On foot, it counts as a halberd.
Rifled handgun: this is a ranged weapon with the following profile:
Range: 30” Str: 4 Move or Fire, Armour Piercing
Rifled handguns receive +1 to hit at short range.
Samurai armour: this is made of lacquered plates of metal and wood, and is
designed to deflect blows rather than stop them completely.
It counts as heavy armour, and enemy attacks have their armour penalty reduced by one. For example, S4 gives no penalty, S5 –1, and so on.
Sashimonos: a unit may be given a set of banners bearing their lord’s
emblem to be worn on their backs. A unit with back banners
gains +1 Ld, to a maximum of 10.
The Power of Ki
To the inhabitants of Nippon, the existence of Ki or ‘spirit’ is a given thing. Certain great warriors have learnt, over the years of their training, to be able to focus their Ki energy into performing almost superhuman feats of strength, skill, and so on. As such, where indicated in the army list, models may take certain Ki abilities at the point cost indicated:
Spiritual Precision = 30 points
The warrior’s Ki abilities allow him to almost never miss with his chosen weapons. The model may re-roll all failed rolls to hit.
Empowered Strike = 30 points
When in battle, this warrior can force all his Ki energy into the single point of contact his weapon makes, delivering a blow with tremendous force. The model may re-roll failed rolls to wound.
Tiger’s Reflexes = 20 points
This great warrior’s reflexes are such that he can cut the enemy down before they are even aware the fight has begun. The model automatically strikes first, even against chargers. Magic items will strike before a model with Tiger’s Reflexes.
Diamond Soul = 15 points
The warrior’s mind and body have become one, creating a warrior of such unshakeable resolve he will never flee. The model gains +1 Ld and may re-roll failed break tests.
The Vaults of Oshiki – Nippon Magic Items
For now, use the Empire magic items lists, with altered names. However, there is one item that I have thought of.
Magic Weapons
Singing Death – 85 points
As a katana. Ignores armour saves. Against Daemons and the Undead, each unsaved wound caused by Singing Death multiplies into D6 wounds.
The Lore of Okishi
These spells are learnt by the Priests and Battle Priests of the Cult of Okishi.
1. Rage of the Warrior Cast on 5+
Target enemy unit within 24” takes 2D6 S2 hits, with –1 to their armour saves. Magic missile.
2. Oshiki’s Courage Cast on 7+
Target friendly unit within 18” becomes Unbreakable until the start of the caster’s next magic phase.
3. Ki Blast Cast on 7+
Target enemy unit within 18” suffers 2D6 S4 hits with –2 to their armour saves. Magic missile.
4. Strength of the Oni Cast on 8+
Target friendly unit within 12” gains +1 WS, S and T. Remains in play.
5. Hidden Strength Cast on 10+
Target friendly unit within 6” gains the use of one Ki Ability until the start of the caster’s next magic phase.
6. Summon Shura Cast on 14+
If cast, you may place a unit of 3D6 Shura around the Priest or Battle Priest. Shura are special creatures unique to this spell, and have a profile at the end of the army list. You may not deploy more Shura than the number of models the enemy has killed. The Shura last until they have won a round of combat, then eerily dissipate.
The army list
The maximum number of Heroes and Lords you may take depends on the size of the battle you are playing, as shown below.
| Army Points Value | Max. Total Characters | Max. Lords | Max. Heroes |
| Less than 2,000 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2,000 or more | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| 3,000 or more | 6 | 2 | 6 |
| 4,000 or more | 8 | 3 | 8 |
| Each extra 1,000 | +2 | +1 | +2 |
Your army’s size also determines the minimum number of Core units you must take, and the maximum number of Special and Rare units you may take.
| Army Points Value | Core Units | Special Units | Rare Units |
| Less than 2,000 | 2+ | 0-3 | 0-1 |
| 2,000 or more | 3+ | 0-4 | 0-2 |
| 3,000 or more | 4+ | 0-5 | 0-3 |
| 4,000 or more | 5+ | 0-6 | 0-4 |
| Each extra 1,000 | +1 minimum | +0-1 | +0-1 |
LORDS
Shogun = 130 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Shogun 4 7 6 4 4 3 6 4 10
Equipment: Katana, samurai armour.
Options:
- May take either a naginata (+6 pts), or a longbow (+15 pts).
- May ride a barded warhorse (+20 pts), or a Mountain Dragon (regular Dragon stats for now)(+320)(uses up an extra Hero choice).
- May choose up to two Ki Abilities and/or a combination of magic items chosen from the Common or Nippon magic items lists, to a total value of 100 pts.
Special Rules: Oshikido
Battle Priest = 150 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
BattlePriest4 4 4 4 3 3 4 1 9
Equipment: Hand weapon.
Magic: A Battle Priest is a Level 3 Wizard, who always uses the Lore of Oshiki.
Options:
- May be upgraded to a Level 4 Wizard for +35 pts.
- May ride a warhorse (+15 pts) which may have barding (+5 pts).
- May choose up to two Ki Abilities and/or a combination of magic items chosen from the Common or Nippon magic items lists, to a total value of 100 pts.
HEROES
Dai-Samurai = 65 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Dai-Samurai 4 6 5 4 4 2 5 3 9
Equipment: Katana, samurai armour.
Options:
- May take either a naginata (+4 pts), or a longbow (+10).
- May ride a barded warhorse (+15 pts).
- May choose up to one Ki Ability and/or a combination of magic items from the Common or Nippon lists, to a total value of 50 pts.
Special Rules: Oshikido
Niijun = 100 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Niijun 5 6 6 4 4 2 6 3 8
Equipment: Katana, additional hand weapon, throwing stars.
Options:
- May take light armour (+2 pts).
- May upgrade his attacks to Poisoned (+10 pts).
- May choose up to one Ki Ability.
Special Rules: Infiltration, Scout, Hidden
Priest = 80 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Priest 4 4 4 4 3 2 4 1 8
Equipment: Hand weapon.
Magic: A Priest is a Level 1 Wizard, who always uses the Lore of Oshiki.
Options:
- May be upgraded to a Level 2 Wizard for +35 pts.
- May ride a warhorse (+10 pts) which may have barding (+5 pts).
- May choose a combination of Ki Abilities and/or magic items chosen from the Common or Nippon magic items lists, to a total value of 50 pts.
CORE UNITS
0-2 Samurai Infantry = 14 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Samurai 4 4 4 3 3 1 4 1 8
Sensei 4 4 4 3 3 1 4 2 8
Unit Size: 10+
Equipment: Katana, samurai armour.
Options:
- May be equipped with longbows (+3 pts/model)
- May be equipped with naginatas (+3 pts/model) or additional hand weapons (+2 pts/model)
- May wear sashimonos (+3 pts/model)
- Upgrade one Samurai to a Musician for +6 pts
- Upgrade one Samurai to a Standard bearer for +12 pts
- Promote one samurai to a Sensei for +12 pts
Special Rules: Oshikido
0-1 Samurai Cavalry = 24 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Samurai 4 4 4 3 3 1 4 1 8
Sensei 4 4 4 3 3 1 4 2 8
Warhorse 8 3 0 3 3 1 3 1 6
Unit Size: 5+
Equipment: Katana, samurai armour.
Mount: Warhorse.
Options:
- May be equipped with naginatas (+3 pts/model)
- May wear sashimonos (+3 pts/model)
- Upgrade one Samurai to a Musician for +7 pts
- Upgrade one samurai to a Standard Bearer for +14 pts
- Promote one Samurai to a Sensei for +14 pts
Special Rules: Oshikido
Wakato = 6 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Wakato 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7
Ashigaru 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 2 8
Unit Size: 15+
Equipment: Hand weapon.
Options:
- May be equipped with spears (+1 pt/model) or bows (+2 pts/model)
- May wear light armour (+2 pts/model)
- Upgrade one Wakato to a Musician for +5 pts
- Promote one Wakato to an Ashigaru for +12 pts
Light Cavalry = 15 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
L. Cavalry 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7
Champion 8 3 3 3 3 1 3 2 7
Unit Size: 5+
Equipment: Hand weapons, bows.
Mount: Horse (increases Movement to 8” but doesn’t fight).
Options:
- May wear light armour (+2 pts/model).
- Upgrade one Light Cavalry to a Musician for +6 pts
- Promote one Light Cavalry to a Champion for +12 pts
Special Rules: Fast Cavalry
SPECIAL UNITS
0-1 Kendai = 18 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Kendai 4 5 4 4 3 1 5 2 9
Sensei 4 5 4 4 3 1 5 3 9
Unit Size: 10+
Equipment: Great Katana (great weapon), samurai armour.
Options:
- May wear sashimonos for +5 pts/model
- Upgrade one Kendai to a Musician for +7 pts
- Upgrade one Kendai to a Standard Bearer for +14 pts
- Promote one Kendai to a Sensei for +14 pts
Special Rules: Oshikido, Swordsmen Supreme
Niijun-Kyo = 10 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Niijun-Kyo 5 4 4 3 3 1 4 1 7
Sensei 5 4 4 3 3 1 4 2 7
Unit Size: 5+
Equipment: Katana.
Options:
- May be equipped with additional hand weapons for +2 pts/model
- May be equipped with throwing stars for +2 pts/model
- May wear light armour for +2 pts/model
- Promote one Niijun-Kyo to a Sensei for +10 pts
Special Rules: Skirmishers, Scouts
0-1 Celestial Dragon Monks = 25 pts/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Monk 5 5 5 4 3 1 7 2 10
Unit Size: 5-15
Equipment: Two hand weapons.
Options:
- May exchange hand weapons with spears or naginatas for free.
Special Rules: Skirmishers, Dodge
Riflemen = 10 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Rifleman 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7
Champion 4 3 4 3 3 1 3 1 7
Unit Size: 10+
Equipment: Hand weapon, rifled handgun.
Options:
- Upgrade one Rifleman to a Musician for +5 pts
- Upgrade one Rifleman to a Standard Bearer for +10 pts
- Promote one Rifleman to a Champion for +10 pts
RARE UNITS
Cannon = 85 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Cannon – – – – 7 3 – – –
Crewman 4 3 3 3 3 1 3 1 7
Unit Size: 1 cannon and 3 crew.
Equipment: The crew carry hand weapons.
Oni = 42 points/model
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Oni 6 5 5 4 4 3 5 3 10
Dai-Oni 6 6 5 5 5 4 6 4 10
Unit Size: 1-3
Equipment: none.
Options:
- ‘Promote’ one Oni to a Dai-Oni for +20 pts
Special Rules: Spirits, Unbreakable, Immune to Psychology
Dogs of War = various points/model
Any Dogs of War that will fight for an Empire army will fight for a Nippon army.
Shura = special
M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Shura 4 5 3 4 4 1 4 1 10
Unit Size: 3D6
Equipment: Ghostly blades (two hand weapons).
Special Rules: Cause Fear, Immune to Psychology, Ethereal, magical attacks
Nippon Special Rules
Oshikido. Oshiki is the god of the Samurai, and all who worship him must behave in a strictly honourable way. In battle, this means:
- When choosing the General, a model with Oshikido will always take precedence over one without it.
- Characters and unit champions with Oshikido may never ignore a challenge, and must always issue one.
- No unit in the army may declare a charge until a unit with Oshikido has fought a round of combat (as either the charger or the defender).
- If a unit that follows Oshikido fails its break test, it will not flee. Instead, one model per point the break test was failed by will commit hara-kiri and is removed. For example, samurai are Ld 8. They lost combat by 2 so test on Ld 6, and roll a 9. They failed by 3 points, so 3 Samurai commit hara-kiri. In the case of independent characters, they will lose all their wounds if they perform this.
Infiltration. Master Niijuns can attempt to infiltrate the enemy camp before the battle to disrupt the enemy army. If you wish, before the battle you may roll once on this table per Niijun you have:
D6 Result
1 Caught! Your Niijun is spotted by the sentries. Roll a further D6: on a 1 he is killed, otherwise he escapes unhurt.
2 Poisoned wells. The Niijun poisons some of the enemy’s water. D3 random units in the enemy army move at half pace and may not charge or march in their first turn. Against Undead or Daemonic Legions, count this as 3 instead.
Hidden. Sometimes a Niijun will hide within a unit, ready to jump out to launch a surprise attack on an unwary character. See the Skaven army book for more details. May hide in any infantry unit except Celestial Dragon Monks and Oni.
Swordsmen Supreme. Kendai are the masters of the sword. A unit of Kendai will always strike in initiative order, despite being armed with great weapons. Also, enemies firing at the unit’s front suffer –1 to hit because of the lightning reflexes of the Kendai.
Dodge. Due to the superb training the Celestial Dragon Monks give themselves, they receive a 5+ ‘dodge’ save. This is taken before wounds are rolled for and is not affected by any modifiers.
Spirits. Oni are mythical warrior spirits summoned to this plane by the incantations of Oshiki’s Priests. As such, they may only be included in an army that also includes a Priest or Battle Priest. They are ethereal, and cause fear. Their attacks count as magical. Because of their nature as spirits of Okishi, they have access to a measure of his personal ability. They may use the spell Rage of the Warrior as a Bound Spell with Power Level 5.