Samurai LotR Rules Adjustments to Main Rules Priority Players roll for priority on the first turn of the game in the same manner as all other turns. Movement All models on foot move 6” in the movement phase. Models mounted on horses move 10” instead. Shooting All models are considered ‘evil’ for the purposes of firing through intervening friendly models and firing into combat (meaning they can do so). However, soldiers are not generally expecting shots from their friends and are not ready to defend from them. If a ranged attack hits a friendly model you must reroll the to wound roll if it fails. Combat Fight rolls no longer have a minimum or maximum: they can be increased above 6 and decreased below 1 by modifiers. Wounding Instead of strength and defense values, all models have a single defense stat in the form of a roll eg 4+, 5+. To wound, the attacking model must roll this value or higher on 1d6 for each attack they make. These D6 are rolled separately instead of totalled. For example, a model with two attacks that wins its fight rolls 2D6, and scores a wound for each D6 that equals or exceeds the defending model’s defense value. Courage Instead of a normal value as their courage score, each model has a roll in their statline in place of their courage value, for example 3+ or 4+. To make a courage test you must roll this value or higher on 1D6. If you roll less than the value, the test has been failed. Wargear These rules for wargear replace all wargame rules in the LotR book. Katana (sword) A katana is a melee weapon which has no special rules. Naginata (glaive) A naginata is a short, sword­like blade mounted on a pole. A naginata is a melee weapon which gives its wielder +1 to all rolls to wound. Nodachi (great sword) A nodachi is an extra long, extremely weighty katana. A nodachi is a melee weapon which gives its wielder ­1 to all fight rolls but adds +2 to all wound rolls. Yari (spear) A yari is a melee weapon which does two different things depending on whether the model wielding it is mounted on a horse or on foot: Mounted All models mounted on a horse with a yari add +1 to their fight rolls and +1 to their wound rolls on any turn in which they charged. On Foot All models on foot wielding a yari add +1 to their fight rolls in all fights in which they are fighting a model mounted on a horse as long as they did not charge this turn. In addition, they cannot be knocked down by the impact of a mounted model charging. Yumi (bow) Japanese bows were extremely length bows made of bamboo which were unusual due to their asymmetric design: the grip is generally located only a third of the way up the bow. A yumi is a ranged weapon with a range of 24”. It follows all normal rules for ranged weapons. A model firing a yumi suffers a ­1 to wound rolls. Models armed with yumis can use volley fire as described in the LotR rule book. Tanegashima (arquebus) Tanegashima is the name of the most common firearm used during the Sengoku Jidai. It was introduced to the Japanese by Portugese in 1543 and quickly became one of the most important weapons in Japanese warfare. Tanegashima are ranged weapons with a range of 24”. Since they are highly unusual compared to the weapons that had previously been used in Japan they have a number of special rules: Slow to Reload Reloading a medieval firearm was a length and complex process. After a model has fired an tanegashima, mark it somehow as needing to reload. During any of your following shooting phases, a model which needs to reload and has not moved may elect to reload. A model cannot reload while engaged in combat. A model cannot shoot in the same turn in which it has reloaded. A model which needs to reload cannot fire its tanegashima until it has done so, but it may still use any other weapons it has. Inaccurate Medieval firearms were also notoriously inaccurate, since they were not yet rifled or particularly precisely made. This meant bullets bounced around the barrel when fired, making the direction they exit unpredictable. All models firing an tanegashima have ­1 on rolls to hit. Powerful The impact of a bullet fired from a firearm easily passed through any armour produced at the time and would gravely wound any soldier hit. When rolling to wound with an tanegashima you only need 2+ regardless of the defense value of the model hit. Direct Fire Models armed with tanegashima cannot volley fire. Ninja Weaponry In addition to conventional weapons, ninjas used a variety of unusual, specialised weapons. Shuriken The word ‘shurikens’ strictly refer to any easily concealed throwing weapon used by ninjas, as well as the traditional image of a bladed throwing star. A shuriken is a throwing weapon with a range of 6”, but they cannot be used in close combat. Tanto (dagger) Tanto were useful to ninjas since they were easy to conceal. On the battlefield ninjas can surprise distracted enemies with a tanto. A tanto is a melee weapon. When using a tanto against a model which also engaged with another friendly model, the wielder gets +1 to fight rolls and +1 to wound. Kusarigama A kusarigama is a sickle­like weapon with a blade on one end and a small weight on a chain on the other. It was used to disable an opponent before striking them with the blade. A kusarigama is a melee weapon. When using a kusarigama in close combat the user suffers ­1 on the fight roll. However, if the user of the kusarigama wins the fight, the defender is knocked down as well as being pushed back 1”, and is then struck as though they are on the ground. Blinding and Smoke Grenades Ninjas often carried with them a variety of hand held bombs intended to conceal themselves with smoke, or blind or otherwise disorientate an opponent. A ninja may declare the use of these bombs at the start of any priority phase, before the role for priority is made. If he does so, he is placed back in stealth (see the ninja’s special rules). He cannot be returned to the board in the same turn in which he uses grenades. A ninja can use bombs even when engaged in combat. Army List Daimyo F D A W C Daimyo 6/3+ 5+ 3 3 2+ Wargear Katana Costs Base 50 Horse 10 Yari 5 Battlefield Commander A Daimyo is a battlefield commander. An army must contain one and no more than one battlefield commander. Leader of Men A leader of men is an inspiring presence on the battlefield. A model with this rule may benefit from the Stand Fast rule in the LotR rule book as though they were a hero. Expert Training Models with this rule receive +1 to fight roles when they are using a katana. Honourable Leader A daimyo who leads his men from the front is clearly an honourable man and inspires great commitment from the men he leads. All models within 6” of the daimyo have +1 to their Fight value. Crucial Figure The loss in battle of a daimyo is a crippling blow to a clan. If the daimyo is killed the force he leads is considered to be broken regardless of the number of remaining models on the board. In addition, if the number of models on the board is below half the number that started on the board (rounding down) and the daimyo is dead, all models have ­1 to their Courage value. General F D A W C General 6/3+ 5+ 2 2 2+ Wargear Katana Costs Base 30 Horse 10 Yari 5 Named Daimyo A daimyo may be upgraded to one of the following historical daimyos for the listed cost. The rules for the listed daimyo are given in the ‘Named Daimyo’ section of these rules below. Takeda Shingen 15 Uesegi Kinshen 20 Battlefield Commander A Daimyo is a battlefield commander. An army must contain one and no more than one battlefield commander. Leader of Men A leader of men is an inspiring presence on the battlefield. A model with this rule may benefit from the Stand Fast rule in the LotR rule book as though they were a hero. Expert Training Models with this rule receive +1 to fight roles when they are using a katana. Samurai F D A W C Samurai 5/4+ 5+ 1 1 3+ Costs Samurai with Yari 8 Samurai with Katana 9 Samurai with Naginata 9 Samurai with Nodachi 10 Samurai with Yumi and Katana 10 Samurai with Tanegashima and Katana 11 Samurai with Banner and Katana (only one 35 banner per force) Expert Training Models with this rule receive +1 to fight roles when they are using a katana. Ashigaru F D A W C Ashigaru 3/5+ 4+ 1 1 5+ Costs Ashigaru with Yari 7 Ashigaru with Katana 6 Ashigaru with Yumi and Katana 7 Ashigaru with Tanegashima and Katana 10 Ashigaru with Banner and Katana (only one 30 banner per force) Ashigaru Captain F D A W C Ashigaru Captain 5/4+ 4+ 1 1 3+ Cost Ashigaru Captain with Katana 14 Ashigaru Captain with Yumi and Katana 16 Ashigaru Captain with Tanegashima and 18 Katana Ashigaru Leadership All Ashigaru within 6” of this model get +1 to all courage rolls made.