Friends of the Dark

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“The Great Lord is my Master, and most heartedly do I serve him to the last shred of my very soul.  Lo, my Master is death’s Master.  Asking nothing do I serve against the Day of his coming, yet do I serve in the sure and certain hope of life everlasting.  Surely the faithful shall be exalted in the land, exalted above the unbelievers, exalted above thrones, yet do I serve humbly against the Day of his Return.  Swift come the Day of Return.  Swift come the Great Lord of the Dark to guide us and rule the world forever and ever.”

- Darkfriends’ oath

 

 

FRIENDS OF THE DARK

                                                                                    

There are many levels of commitment among the Friends of the Dark.  Some extremists are deeply dedicated to obtaining freedom for the Dark One and thus immortality and dominion for themselves, while those on the lowest level simply want to belong to something greater than themselves, something dark and naughty.  Many of the latter do not really believe that they might actually be held to their oaths.  Some may not even believe in the existence of the Dark One.    

     While the current Age contains relatively few Friends of the Dark who are truly dedicated, compared with those who are dabblers, altogether they make up a small but significant percentage of the population.  Every major city contains cells of Darkfriends.  A city of one hundred thousand probably contains between five hundred to a thousand Darkfriends.  Every town or village visited by merchant caravans probably hosts a cell.  Other than their sympathy for the Dark, Darkfriends may have very little in common.  They include the very highly placed and powerful, as well as those who are servants or even beggars.  Rank within the Darkfriends has little to do with rank in the world; the most powerful noble would be expected to obey a beggar if that beggar gave the proper signs.  Even the Children of the Light, supposedly dedicated to the eradication of all Darkfriends, and the modern Aes Sedai are no invulnerable to infiltration by those allied with the Dark One.  Those in vulnerable positions attend gatherings carefully cloaked and veiled so that no one may know too much.

     During the War of the Power, far more Friends were seriously dedicated to the Great Lord than in modern times, largely due to the high visibility of the Forsaken’s leadership, and the numbers of high-ranking figures publicly turning to the Shadow.  There was not as great a need for secrecy, the boundaries were clearly drawn, and only spies had to remain completely hidden.  Friends of the Dark served as fighters, spies, and servants for the Dark Lord and his commanders.

     Renunciation of the Dark did not mean automatic forgiveness for the crimes done while in service of the Shadow.  Friends of the Dark could find redemption, but they would also find punishment, often death, for their crimes.  For most Darkfriends the thought of gaining redemption only to go to the grave usually left them deciding to stay sworn to the Dark.  Life under the Shadow was still life.

    

SPECIAL RULES

Darkfriend Infiltrator: Roll a D6 at the start of each game.  If a six is rolled, a Darkfriend has successfully infiltrated the enemy warband through disguise, deception, or other evil method.  Such deceptions might include the Infiltrator taking up a role as a starving, weary traveler, looking for somewhere warm to stay the night; a badly injured woman seeking healing from an Aes Sedai (the fellow Darkfriends more than willing to cause such injuries); a lonesome Peddler looking for company on his travels from village to village; or even masquerading as one of the Traveling people, cut off from his friends and family following a Darkfriend attack (I wonder who that could have been?).  A suitable model may be placed by the Friends of the Dark player anywhere in the opponent’s deployment zone.  The Darkfriend is controlled by the Friends of the Dark player for the duration of the game and moves and attacks in the Friends of the Dark turn, not the enemy turn.  The model may not be attacked in any way by the enemy warband until the Darkfriend reveals his/her true allegiance by attacking the infiltrated warband. The model has the following stats:

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Infiltrator	4	2	2	3	3	1	3	1	7

 

The Darkfriend is equipped with two daggers, throwing knives and wears toughened leathers.  This equipment cannot be sold and new equipment cannot be bought for or given to the Darkfriend Infiltrator.

Note that the Darkfriend is not a permanent member of the Friends of the Dark warband warband, therefore to appear in successive battles further D6 rolls need to be made.  Additionally, a Darkfriend Infiltrator cannot infiltrate a Shadowspawn warband – the Trollocs would simply eat the lone traveler!

Choice of Warriors

 

A Friends of the Dark warband must include a minimum of three models. You have 500 gold marks to recruit your initial warband. The maximum number of warriors in the warband may never exceed 15.

 

High Darkfriends: Each Friends of the Dark warband must have at least one High Darkfriend, up to a maximum of five.

 

Shadow Soldiers: Your warband may include up to five Shadow Soldiers.

 

Lesser Darkfriends: Any number of models may be Lesser Darkfriends.

 

Starting experience

 

All High Darkfriends start with 15 experience.

 

Henchmen start with 0 experience.

 

 

 

 

1-5 High Darkfriends

 

High Darkfriends have got to their positions in Darkfriend society usually through ruthless and cruel acts in their quest for immortality, power, wealth or other deadly desires that have led them to the Dark One. They are largely feared by their fellow Darkfriends, who obey their every word without question in fear of punishment. They could be anyone, anywhere.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Leader: If you choose to have more than one High Darkfriend then it is necessary to decide which of them is the leader of your warband.  To do this, roll a D6 for each High Darkfriend.  The model with the highest result is the leader.  In the case of a tie, re-roll the tied dice until a leader is decided.  If the current leader is out of action then roll to decide the Leader between the remaining high Darkfriends.  If additional High Darkfriends join the warband, roll for the current leader and the new recruits.  Any warrior within 6” of the High Darkfriend leader may use his/her Leadership characteristic when taking Leadership tests.

 

Unbound Hatred: Extremely dedicated High Darkfriends oppose, with great anger and ferocity, anyone who stands in their way of achieving their selfish goals.  To represent this on the battlefield, the High Darkfriend Leader of your warband hates all models in the enemy warband.

 

Choice of Type: To represent the differences of positions held in society by High Darkfriends you must choose the ‘type’ they are when recruited.  There are five types to choose from, each with different abilities and weaknesses.  Once you have selected the type for each individual High Darkfriend, you may not change it in future games.  To display the variety of High Darkfriends that are out there you may not have more than two of the same type in your warband at any one time.  All types (Officer, Beggar, Noble, Merchant and Black Sister) are described on the following pages with profiles, costs, special rules and weapons and armour choices shown separately for each of them..

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Officer

 

60 gold marks to hire

The name ‘Officer High Darkfriend’ can be given to the Lieutenants, Under-Lieutenants, or other such leaders from any country in any part of the world who have turned to the Dark One.  They usually keep their beliefs to themselves but once exposed, they will band together with other Darkfriends.  Officer High Darkfriends are the true military leaders of the Friends of the Dark, although in reality they may be commanded by a rich power hungry young noble who may know nothing of the ways of battle.

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Officer	4	4	3	3	3	1	4	1	8

 

Weapons/Armour: An Officer High Darkfriend can choose equipment from the Soldier Equipment list.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Sword Forms: An Officer High Darkfriend may choose three sword forms when hired and may choose additional sword forms instead of a new skill. See sword forms rules for details.

 

Beggar

 

40 gold marks to hire

Beggar High Darkfriends can be considered the most frightening of all High Darkfriends.  Life has treated them very harshly, feeding their desires for wealth and absolute power to stronger levels than most.  They largely transfer their anger into causing pain and suffering to others in the least humane way possible. 

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Beggar	4	2	2	3	3	1	5	1	7

 

Weapons/Armour: A Beggar High Darkfriend can choose equipment from the Darkfriend Equipment list.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Poisoned Weapon: Most Beggar High Darkfriends will carry some sort of disease ridden or poisoned blade, so that they may watch their opponents suffering and pain in a sadistic fashion.  If your Beggar High Darkfriend is equipped with a weapon with a blade (i.e. a sword, dagger, spear etc) the attacks with this one weapon count as being poisoned.  This means that when you roll a six when rolling to wound, the enemy model is allowed no armour save.  This cancels out the rule for daggers giving the opponent an armour save, provided that a six is rolled.  The smallest scratch can be fatal.

 

Begs for Cash: All beggars beg (hence the name) and Beggar High Darkfriends are no different.  This unique skill comes in very useful for Friends of the Dark Warbands in need of a bit of gold.  After each game the Friends of the Dark warband gains an extra D6 gold marks added to its treasury, which may be spent as the Darkfriends player sees fit. 

 

Noble

 

55 gold marks to hire

The nobly born, contrary to common belief, are just as easily persuaded to follow the path of the Dark One as much as a lowly peasant if not more so.  Most of the time, Nobles who have become leaders in Darkfriend societies are only in this position because of either appointment by the more powerful Darkfriends or due to the respect people tend to show to the rich (probably so they can try to squeeze as much money out of them as possible).

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Noble	4	3	3	3	3	1	4	1	8

 

Weapons/Armour: A Noble High Darkfriend can choose equipment from the Soldier Equipment list.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Sword Forms: Most Nobles consider themselves expert swordsmen, but in truth they only manage to handle a sword slightly better than the average soldier.  Nobles usually pick up a few tricks when practicing their sword techniques.  To represent this, a Noble High Darkfriend may choose a single sword form when hired and may choose additional sword forms instead of a new skill. See sword forms rules for details.

 

Wealthy: In most cases, Noble High Darkfriends are very rich individuals.  When they see fit (more likely when severely pressured by someone higher up the Darkfriend chain of command) Noble High Darkfriends will spend a small amount of their gold on buying equipment and supplies for their fellow Darkfriends.  To the Noble the amount is pittance, but to the Darkfriend warband as a whole the extra gold can be very useful.  After each game the Friends of the Dark warband gains an extra 2D6 gold marks added to its treasury, which may be spent as the Darkfriends player sees fit. 

 

Merchant

 

40 gold marks to hire

Exceptionally gold hungry Merchants will try to make any situation or business deal work greatly in their favour.  They know a good deal when they see one, and if all they need to do for unlimited power and wealth is to swear some little oath, they are usually more than willing going to give it a go.  Greed is therefore the major reason for Merchants turning to the Dark One.

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Merchant	4	2	2	3	3	1	3	1	7

 

Weapons/Armour: A Merchant High Darkfriend can choose equipment from the Soldier Equipment list.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Master in the Tricks of the Trade: Merchant High Darkfriends usually get to their high positions in Darkfriend society because of their great usefulness in finding and supplying weapons and other supplies to fellow Darkfriends.   Many are keen hagglers and usually well acquainted with goods sold illegally on black markets.  If you have a Merchant High Darkfriend in your warband then when rolling to find rare items you gain +1 to this roll.  The Friends of the Dark warband will also be allowed 1D6 gold marks off the normal selling price of any one item per game (down to a minimum price of 1 gold mark).  You may not store these price deductions over several games, but if you have two Merchant High Darkfriends in your warband you may chose to take 2D6 gold marks off one item or D6 gold marks off two separate items.

 

Black Sister

 

60 gold marks to hire

Black Sisters are Aes Sedai who have sworn fealty to the Dark One.  They are no longer bound to the three oaths and are therefore even more dangerous than other Aes Sedai.

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Black Sister	4	2	3	3	3	1	3	1	8

 

Weapons/Armour: An Aes Sedai of the Black Ajah can choose equipment from the Black Sister Equipment list.

 

SPECIAL RULES

Channeler: Any Aes Sedai is an experienced user of the One Power. Black Sisters are treated as a channeler with 2D6 channeling points, determined when she is first recruited. Re-roll the dice until a result of 5 or more is obtained.

 

Weaves: A Black Sister has one Special Weave (randomly determined) and 15 weaves chosen from the Black Ajah weaves table, the extra weaves representing the Black Ajah’s interest in using the One Power for more harmful purposes. When a Black Sister gains an advance, she may choose to take a weave from the Black Ajah weave table instead of a skill or stat increase.

 

Ajah: The Black Ajah was only recently uncovered, with a small amount of people knowing of its existence.  This means that all Black Sisters were previously or still are members of the more legitimate Ajahs.  When recruiting Black Sisters you must select which Ajah she was, or still is, part of from the Ajah section found in the Aes Sedai warband list. She will gain the benefits of being part of this Ajah immediately, and at no point may she change to a different Ajah.  As Black Sisters already have fifteen Standard Weaves at their disposal, if you select Green as the extra Ajah you gain only one more Standard Weave.

 

Henchmen

 

0-5 Shadow Soldiers

 

25 gold marks to hire

The term ‘Shadow Soldiers’ is given to Soldiers from any country in any part of the world who have turned to the Dark One.  They usually keep their beliefs to themselves although once exposed, they will band together with other Darkfriends.  Shadow Soldiers are the true warriors of the Friends of the Dark, although may not be higher in rank than a Darkfriend beggar who may have no battle skills whatsoever.

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Shadow Soldier	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

 

Weapons/Armour: Soldiers allied to the Dark One can choose equipment from the Soldier Equipment list.

 

Lesser Darkfriends

 

15 gold marks to hire

Adherents to the Dark One.  They believe they will gain great power and rewards, even immortality, when he is freed.  Secretive of necessity, they organize into groups called “circles,” with members of one circle rarely if ever known to members of another.  Rank in the outside world has no bearing on rank with the circles; a king or queen who was a Darkfriend would be expected to obey a beggar who gave the proper signs.  Among themselves, they sometimes use the ancient name Friends of the Dark.

 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Lesser Darkfriend	4	2	2	3	3	1	3	1	6

 

Weapons/Armour: Lesser Darkfriends can choose equipment from the Darkfriend Equipment list.

 

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