Witch Hunters

WITCH HUNTERS
Johann van Hal & Wilhelm Hasburg

Annual 2002

  Just as there are regiments of mercenaries to hire, there are just as many lone freelancers wandering the Old World, selling their skills to the highest bidder. Many are thieves and brigands, and some are hard bitten mercenaries who will not (or cannot) join one of the many mercenary regiments. For more details about Dogs of War armies refer to White Dwarf 251 and 252
Witch Hunters are a secret order of scattered men, obsessed with the destruction of Chaos, Undead, mutants, deviants, unbelievers, blasphemers and potentially anyone else except other Witch Hunters. The Witch Hunters are rarely welcome to stay anywhere for long. Who knows who will fall under suspicion next? A single wrong word may condemn you!
Johann van Hal is perhaps the most famous of all the Witch Hunters of the age, the slayer of Vampire Gunther von Blodfel and the man who purged the haunted castle of Reikwald. It is unwise to question this grim and moody man about things he does not want to discuss. But those who are well versed in the lore of the Empire know that he shares the name of the infamous Vanhal, the dreaded Necromancer of ancient times. All the descendants of Vanhal have strived to atone for the evil deeds of their ancestor, but without success. For each evil Sorcerer destroyed ten new ones step onto the path of Damnation. For every Vampire slain an entire noble family will be infected with the curse of Vampirism.
Johann has only one companion, and he is not part of the order of Witch Hunters. He is Wilhelm Hasburg, a priest of Sigmar whose temple was burned by Chaos worshippers. Some say he became insane watching his life's work go up in flames, but none dare to dispute his faith and piety, which he shows with horrific self-mutilation and ceaseless prophesies of the end of the world. It is believed that his faith and continuous prayers protect him from evil magic.
When facing supernatural foes, many desperate generals draw the Mark of the Hammer on road signs and town gates, calling the legendary Witch Hunter to come to their aid. Johann will offer his services to anyone who is willing to pay. All the gold that he does not need himself is donated to the church of Sigmar. So when the forces of Undeath threaten or the darkness of Chaos falls upon the Old World, Johann van Hal and Wilhelm come. They face the most terrible foes without fear, and attack foul Undead orterrifying Daemons with cold fury and hatred burning in their eyes. After the battle they claim their prize and depart without a word - and most men are happy to see them go.

THE REGIMENT Captain: Johann van Hal.
Motto: Burn them all!
Battle-cry: "It's a witch!" is not Johann's official battlecry, but is often the last thing his opponents hear.
For Hire: The following armies may hire Johann and Wilhelm as a Rare choice: Empire, Dwarfs, High Elves, Wood Elves, Lizardmen and Dogs of War. 

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Points
Johann van Hal	4	5	5	4	4	2	5	3	9	200	350
Wilhelm Hasburg	4	4	3	4	4	2	4	2	8	150

Equipment: Johann carries two pistols and the Stake of Sigmar, which he must use if he is in base contact with an Undead or a Daemon. Wilhelm is armed with the Holy Staff.
Armour Save: None.
MAGIC ITEMS Stake of Sigmar: This ancient relic is said to be a fragment of the tree felled by Sigmar with a single stroke when the Unberogen tribe started building the city of Altdorf. It was held in the temple of Sigmar at Obersdorf until the town was sacked by Orcs and Goblins and the relic was lost. Now it is carried by Johann van Hal.
Requires two hands. The Stake of Sigmar fills Johann with the strength and purpose of Sigmar himself. It doubles Johann's Strength when he is fighting against any Undead creatures or any Daemons. This gives him an effective Strength of 8. In addition, a single unsaved wound caused by the Stake automatically slays any Vampire outright. A Vampire slain by the Stake of Sigmar cannot regenerate his lost wounds either.

Holy Staff: Atop this ironwood staff is mounted the jawbone which, it is said, was used by Sigmar when he single-handedly destroyed an army of Skaven. Wilhelm found it buried under the ruins of his temple.
Requires two hands. Wilhelm may add +2 to his Strength when fighting in hand-to-hand combat. In addition the staff will automatically wound any Skaven, Daemon or Undead Creature.
SPECIAL RULES Formation: Johann and Wilhelm always fight together as a unit of skirmishers and cannot join any other unit. Note that they are treated as a single man-sized character for the purposes of not being targeted by enemy missile fire.

Psychology: Johann and Wilhelm are utterly dedicated to their work of hunting down Chaos worshippers and Vampires. During the long, lonely years they have met and defeated the most horrifying creatures and blasphemous monsters. Because of their experiences Johann and Wilhelm are immune to psychology. The only exception is that they hate all models in any Chaos and Skaven army and all Undead creatures.

Wilhelm Hasburg: Wilhelm is a fanatical priest of Sigmar, he follows all the rules for Warrior Priests presented on page 16 of the Empire book.

Witch Hunter Weapons: Johann is armed with pistols loaded with silver bullets that have been blessed by Wilhelm one by one. Thus all his shooting attacks count as magical (making him capable of shooting ethereal creatures).