Sample Warband Creation

As TNT progresses behind the scenes, I thought it might be a bit of fun to talk about warband creation.  Starting warbands cost 400 points in Barter Scrip or BS for short.  For this exercise I am going to be using the roster for the Peacekeepers.  Peacekeepers are mercenary organizations that enforce wasteland justice, keep the roads clear for trade, or force their own petty agendas.

The warband below is a pretty despicable lot more interested in lining their pockets and keeping the local settlers under their thumbs.  Called the Wasters, they have taken over the small town of Sorrow, which lies just south of the border between the Penns and the Tri-State Wasteland.  Beyond the borders of the major settlements, the Wasters are free to do and take whatever they want.  Generally, tough, they see fit to leave the locals alone along as their high fees are paid.  For the trouble, they do keep the local raiders under control, but they make a point of keeping the local populace just scared enough to pay up and not fight back.  Those that do stick up for themselves most often flee the territory or find an explosive collar clamped around their neck.

Below is the process I went through to build the warband.    Points are listed in parenthesis.

The Wasters (398 BS)

Every warband gets one leader.  Easily the most expensive model in the warband, the leader also has the best stats and options.  The Peacekeepers can choose either the Road Marshall or the Hanging Judge.  I went with the Hanging Judge as he allows certain options not available to the Road Marshall (more on that later).  For skills, he starts with Fearful Reputation, which makes others think twice about charging him.  I also chose, Motivator so the warband can activate more efficiently, and Marksmen, which allows him to ignore some cover when shooting.  Given his high status I also gave him the best armor in the game, next to power armor of course, and a short blade in case things get dicey.  Finally, he wields the relic plasma rifle.  Though risky, the plasma rifle hits hard and really takes advantage of his great Ranged score.   You’ll notice that he makes over ¼ of my warband total cost, but that’s okay.  All warband leaders tend to be costly.

Next it time to choose Elite. You can have up to three, but I recommend starting warbands start with one due to their cost.  I chose the Warden as he starts with the Bold skill, great for those pesky Morale tests, and can choose one other skill.  I like to keep things shooty, so I chose Steady Hands.  This gives him a bonus to shoot if he does not move.  For other Elites I could have also chosen the Outrider or the Quartermaster, but both come with pre-selected skill sets; so they are specialized.  The Outrider is a great ambush model for setting up long distance shots and the Quartermaster increases your warband’s post-game income.   To finish up the Warden, I gave him Combat Armor to increase his survival chances, though at the cost his movement, and an assault rifle.    Movement should not be much of a concern given the decent range of the assault rifle and its high rate of fire.

Rank and files are the bread and butter of the warband.  For a nice hard hitting selection I chose three officers to start with.  Most basic troops do not start with skills, so really it’s simply a matter of choosing their weapons.  For two of the models I chose shotguns, which have decent range and get a bonus to their Strength when used within 9” of their target.  This is useful when shooting at high-Defense models.  I had some left over points so I gave one model a Bayonet, that way he can still fight in melee to effect without drawing a melee weapon.  The remaining officer is equipped with a light weapon and a machine pistol.  I plan to use this model as a support model.  They can fight decently enough in melee and the machine pistol can pour out the bullets, but is short ranged.

For my remaining rank and file troops I decided to take Sacrificial Lambs, which may only be taken in warbands with the Hanging Judge.  Doomed souls with explosive collars fitted to them, the lambs will explode if they fail a Morale test or if the judge simply wants to.  Given this motivation the Sacrificial Lambs have the Confident skill; allowing them to re-roll Morale tests; possibly saving their bacon. With this disposability, Sacrificial Lambs have the Rag-Tag ability meaning they have a maximum point limit for their equipment purchases.  Because of this I kept them cheap and gave them simple melee weapons.  They are great for filling out your roster and keeping your enemy on their toes.

To finish up my warband, I decided to add a little firepower in the form of the Tactical, which is a Specialist option for the warband.  Their biggest use is the Up-Armed ability, letting them purchase options from the support weapon list.  They also have the Steady Hands skill making them more accurate if they stand still.  For my support weapon, I decided on the grenade launcher.  As one of the cheaper support weapons, the grenade launcher lacks the punch of the missile launcher, but is almost 2/3rd’s the cost and still maintains a nice range and a 3-inch template to spread around the love.

So that’s it.   If I had some more points I would probably add another Tactical with a minigun or add another Elite model.  After a few games under the belt with this warband I will earn some much need Barter Scrip and get even more models or upgrade the officers to better weapons.  There are a few options I could have taken for Rank and Files and Specialists that are not discussed, but for now this list gives a great view of how warbands are created.   This Is Not a Test has six total warbands and each has two different ways of being built.  So there is plenty of ways to build a particular warband to fit your play style or to maximize the use of miniatures you already own.