I am dissapointed that there are no battlehost for Khand. While it is true they have no named heroes listed in WotR (one was named in Legions of Middle Earth though his profile was never published), there are actually four battlehosts without named leaders (Mordor's Black Legion, Fallen Realm's Mahud Wartribe, Mumak War Herd, and Host of Karna). Thus I have decided to try to make one for Khand, largely based on the Black Legion and the Mahud Wartribe.

Variags Raiders of Khand: 75pts + models.
The Khandish steppes east of Rhun and Harad are populated by the Variags, a belligerent and warlike people. Their realm is divided into fractious and warring kingdoms. Only by sheer personal might and charisma does one remain a Khandish King for long. While Khandish Kings normally sell their warriors out as sell swords, they will on occasions take to the field of battle themselves to lead their warriors. Khandish warriors will then fight all the harder when the gaze of their King is upon them, as favour won in battle invariably brings rank and wealth.

BATTLEHOST
1 Khandish King
3-6 Khandish Chariots
2-4 Khandish Mercenary Raiders (3+ companies)
0-4 Khandish Mercenary Warband (3+ companies)

SPECIAL RULES
Khand King: As long as they are within 12" of the Khandish King, all formations in this battlehost count as having a Taskmaster and are steadfast on a 5 or 6 instead of a 6. In addition, the Khandish King counts as an Army banner, but only to formations in this battlehost.

Commanding Presence: As long as they are within 12" of the Khandish King, all formations in this battlehost will automatically pass their At the Double rolls and all Khandish Chariots can re-roll the dice to determine how far they charge.

Chariot Charge: During a turn in which a Khandish King calls a Heroic Charge, all friendly chariots within 6" must declare a Heroic Charge. These extra heroic Charges do not cost any Might.

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warmancer

I like some of the rules, such as the Chariot Charge, but I think you should drop at least one of the others. Currently, you're getting plus one courage, Steadfast on 5 and 6, automatically passing At the Double, and re-rolling to charge; it's too much in my opinion.

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

perhaps
but

1. in SBG variags have a higher courage than mercenaries
2. troll chieftains automatically has troll charge rule, for which chariot charge was based upon

i think both of these are essential

maybe drop the stead fast?

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warmancer

I'd drop the Steadfast or the At the Double rule.

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

Crossposted from Warseer since the conversation here is better:

Very nice work. That looks both fitting and well-balanced (without playtesting on my part).

The only comment I would make is to consider replacing the effect of Commanding Presence to make the Khandish King Very Hard to Kill as long as he is within 12" of another formation of the Battlehost. Let them buff him back.

i want something in character with what GW has put forth with Khand

that the variags are more reliable and fight harder around the king
i don't think very hard to kill fits
but
taskmaster
steadfast
and on the double all fit to some degree

is all three too much?
what about the banner?

i think chariot charge is a must have

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warmancer

I prefer the re-roll when charging over the At the Double because, to me, it represents their King encouraging them to get to grips with their foe.

And yes, the Chariot Charge is a must have; as I said intially, I really like that rule

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

what about:

SPECIAL RULES
Khand King: As long as they are within 12" of the Khandish King, all formations in this battlehost count as having a Taskmaster and are steadfast on a 5 or 6 instead of a 6. In addition, the Khandish King counts as an Army banner, but only to formations in this battlehost.

Skilled Driver: All Khandish Chariots in this battlehost gain the Expert Rider rule and can re-roll the dice to determine how far they charge.

Chariot Charge: During a turn in which a Khandish King calls a Heroic Charge, all friendly chariots within 6" must declare a Heroic Charge. These extra heroic Charges do not cost any Might.

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warmancer

To be honest, for just 75 points, that's still a LOT of bonuses being received.

The first rule is essentially three rules, the second rule is two rules and the last a single rule, making for 6 rules. That's just 12.5 points per special rule!
I like the first rule as he is their king, so they should benefit from kingly effects and the "shieldbearer" effect is fitting with the "fight harder in the sight of your king" style.
The re-roll to charges is thematic, but either remove Expert Rider and the final rule OR change Expert Rider into something that's bad, such as if they roll a 1 to charge, they lose the benefits of the first rule for the next turn combat that they are in (or something).
This can be kept, but (as above) only if a bad effect is added to balance it out, otherwise, it may be best to remove it. Alternatively, remove Expert Rider completely and replace this rule with rolls of 5-6 are uber charges (Damnit, I've forgotten what the buggers are called), instead of just a 6.

That will even it all out somewhat. P.S. I presume that the Khandish King is the chariot one

i understand

but the first special rule is lifted directly from the mahud warhost.
~ the taskmaster represents SBG khand has higher courage than mercenary khand
~ in SBG Khand king is also a banner.
~ the expert rider is from SBG where you can move full distance and shoot and charge.
~ the last regarding chariot charge is built into troll chieftain profile.
these i wish to keep

up for deletion are
steadfast, though i think this is in character
and reroll charge


but even as is i am not sure it is undercosted compared to other battlehost

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warmancer

I agree with all of your SBG references and if it is already in a Battlehost, then that's all cool. In all honesty, I haven't seen the Battlehosts book yet, so I may just not be realising how powerful they actually are.

I know of the "Troll charge", but consider it as taking up an extra one of the special rules slots. How many special rules do the Mahud get and what types of benefits for what cost? Use that Battlehost as a basis for this one since one of their rules has been directly taken for the purposes fo this.

I think steadfast isn't in character, personally. It could be that, instead of the banner effect of the King they have steadfast, which would make sense to me, but the banner is better and more fitting. Steadfast gives you double the chance of not panicking when you lose the fight, whereas the banner gives you a better chance of reaching the enemy as well as doubling your chance of not panicking after losing a fight. One or the other and, personally, the banner effect sounds better AND more thematically fitting.

The re-roll to charge distance is covered with the banner affect of the King.

I think keep it simple, so copy the Mahud special rule (so, models within 12" from this Battlehost count as having a Taskmaster and a banner) and have the chariot charge rule. Then, compare it back tot he Mahud Battlehost for points cost etc

my impression is that Battlehost really amped up the power of included units

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warmancer

I don't like the Skilled Driver rule, the rest of it's good though.

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

fracas: they should and, like I said, I've not seen the book, but ramping up the powers still needs to be limited to what is fair. Like I said before, use the Mahud Battlehost as a guide.

Moving on to what General Ellessar has said: maybe change it from Skilled Driver to "Stable Platform: All chariots in the Battlehost use the Skilled Riders special rule." This makes them able to move full distance and shoot, without making them able to move, shoot and deliver a HUGE impact. For fluff: they need control of the charging horses and so can't spend time shooting instead of steering.

So, an idea of what I think would be acceptable is:

75 points + models (although this MAY be better at 65/50 points.)

For a King of Khand!: When any Khandish Chariot is within 12" of the Khandish King, they count as having both a Taskmaster and a Banner Bearer. In addition, all Khandish Chariots within 6" of the Khandish King may declare a free Heroic Charge whenever the Khandish King does.

Stable Fighting Platforms: All Khandish Chariots within this Battlehost count as having the Skilled Rider special rule.

I'd swap the Stable Fighting Platforms for the Chariot Charge.

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"There are few left in Middle Earth like Aragorn, son of Arathorn." - Gandalf, Many Meetings

Balance-wise, I agree that the swap for Chariot Charge (maybe a cooler name?) would be more fair, but I think that the Skilled Riders is more fitting thematically/in fluff terms.

Damnit, lol