Wardancer

Among the Wood Elves of the Old World, the most feared and respected warriors are the Wardancers. They live for the glory of battle and dedicate themselves to reaching the peak of fighting prowess. They are also masters of courtesy and dance, performing their intricate manoeuvres with consummate ease and grace.

Wardancers are to be found in many of the larger Elven settlements in the forests of the Old World. They prefer the company of their own kind, but often live a little way apart from the main settlement, practising their warchants and feats of arms while waiting for action.

Wardancers may become adventurers for a number of reasons. An adventurer's life offers plenty of action and almost unlimited opportunities to hone their skills against a variety of opponents. They are wilder than the majority of Elves and some find life in the forests tame and dull. Wardancers may even take to adventuring among other races as a result of an unspoken disgrace or indiscretion, much (although it's unwise to make the comparison) as a Dwarf may become a Troll Slayer.

Wardancers are distinguished by their graceful pride, their love of fighting, and their fondness for spectacularly dyed hair, often stiffened with tree-resin.

Advance Scheme
M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Dex	Ld	Int	Cl	WP	Fel
+1	+40	+20	+3	+3	+8	+20	+2	+10			+20		+10

Skills

Trappings

Hand Weapon
Shield
Spear, Two-Handed Sword, or Two-Handed Axe

Career Exits

Psychology

Like all Elves, Wardancers are subject to animosity against Dwarfs and, in addition, they are subject to hatred against all Goblinoids.

Special Rules

Wardancers (or characters who have been Wardancers) may not use any of the special Wardancer skills (Distract, Transfix, Warchant, Whirling Death) while wearing more than 1 armour point of non-magical armour on each location (shields excepted) or while using any weapons other than hand-to-hand weapons or thrown missiles.

Wardancers In Elven Society[]

Being a Wardancer is more than just a matter of acquiring a few new skills. The Wardancer usually adopts the worship of a new god and takes up a life that often involves living communally with the rest of a Wardancer troupe. Being accepted into the caste marks the start of a new life for the Elf - Wardancers see themselves as an elite group of warriors and their dedication often borders on the fanatical. This elitist and often supercilious attitude is the reason for their separation from the mainstream of Wood Elf society and their habit of living in communities at the edge of a normal Elven settlement.

Although most troupes are still closely attached to a nearby Wood Elf settlement and generally accept the instructions (or suggestions, as they see them) of the settlement's leader, the troupe's activities are largely determined by their chief Wardancer, a respected warrior treated as nearly equal by the local Wood Elf leader. Wardancers are greatly admired by other Elves, for no one disputes the Wardancers' contribution to the safety of the Elven settlements. But underlying this admiration is a certain amount of fear and suspicion for those who choose to live apart - the strange behaviour of these warriors is often disconcerting.

You should try to make sure that any characters who become Wardancers take on board all these social changes and don't just treat their new career as a few nifty techniques for becoming two-dimensional killing machines. Use the approbation of the Elven community and an occasional blessing from Adamnan to reinforce the character's behaviour as a Wardancer. If the character continually acts in a graceless or cowardly manner, feel free to show Adamnan's displeasure by suspending one or more of the character's special skills (the character is wracked by strange muscular pains, preventing the use of the skill) until he has proved himself by undertaking a suitable trial.