Klorr’s Clockwork Automatons
Klorr was once sane, long ago. Long before he created his masterpiece pocket-watch. Now… now the old man is driven by a desire to rid himself of the cursed artifact. Yet, the more he tries to rid himself of the tainted technological wonder, the more it winds itself into him.
Klorr’s story begins many years ago, in the port city of Marienburg. The man was already considered odd having been a clockmaker and watchmaker for nearly all his life. His skills with working tin and brass and steel was marveled at by even Dwarven and Elven artisans. The rich from all nations came to his stores to buy his handiwork. Yet… something was always twitchy about the clockmaker. No one was in his shop during the chiming of the hour. Everyone said the sound of the hundreds of clocks going off at the same time could drive a man insane. Some even said that Klorr himself had already been driven mad.
Klorr begin to realize in the twilight of his years that, while he could regulate all manner of clocks, there was one clock that seemed immune to his mechanical genius. His own heart. It beat at its own rhythm, and nothing Klorr could do would regulate it. He tried everything from breathing, to forced exercise, to self-induced torpor, and nothing worked. He could always feel it beat at more than 60 beats per minute. Some speculate that it was this that drove the already eccentric man over the edge.
He began to research technologies and practices that would be considered pagan or heathen in nature. Klorr even met with artisans of Chaos Dwarven nature, to learn how to bend metal and science in such a way as to trap the power of time. There are even stories that Klorr was able to extract information from the Ratmen scientists about how they manipulate time.
Alas, Klorr worked for thirteen months to design his Timepiece of Klorr. And when it was finished, as with all real cursed artifacts, it seemed nothing different than a normal pocket watch. A simple, antiqued brass design, with a pearl watch-face numbered from one to thirteen. The result puzzled Klorr, for he could not figure out where the thirteen came from. And, no matter how many times he would observe the Timepiece, it never seemed to tick from twelve to thirteen. It… just went to one, never even crossing the thirteen. Alas, he shrugged it off as artistic license wound the watch, and the nightmare began.
Klorr could feel his heartbeat at 60 beats per minute, in perfect unison with time. The old man was ecstatic! He had done what had eluded him for nearly 60 years. For three days Klorr celebrated his new success. He showed everyone his wondrous watch. Yet, anyone who witnessed the watch was disturbed by it. There was something… wrong about it. On the third day, Klorr discovered it too.
As his watch began to wind down, Klorr went to wind it, only to realize that the clock would not wind. No matter how many times he spun the winding winch, nothing happened. In fact… he noticed that now the clock-hands were getting closer and closer to that thirteenth hour. Klorr realized that if the watch ever reached thirteen, it would come for him.
He could feel his heartbeat slowing down. Each beat was slower… weaker… it did not take long for the old man to realize that the watch was linked with his heart. In a panic-induced rage he threw the watch across his shop, breaking the glass face-cover. He could feel the damage done to him as well. When he went to pick up the watch, the cracked glass cut him. A single drop of blood sucked into the watch, discoloring the pearl face. However, the winding winch worked! Klorr wound the watch, and felt his heartbeat become strong again, and back to sixty beats per minute. His joy was short lived.
The watch soon began to wind down again. Again the hands began to reach for the thirteen. Klorr had finally been able to regulate his own heart, and yet he could not find a way to separate himself from the watch. It took more and more of his blood to wind the watch for shorter and shorter amounts of time. Klorr began to hunt rats, stray dogs, and then vagabonds, in an effort to feed the watch. He realized that the better the blood, the longer the clock would stay wound… yet even the human vagabonds and prostitutes he sacrificed to the watch barely fed it for a hour. He needed something stronger.
The clockmaker meet in secret with the Ratmen again, and with the Chaos Dwarven artisans. He needed to know how to stop the watch; to undue what he had made. But they would no longer aid the old man. His timepiece terrified them. They refused to deal with the old man. It was then that Klorr discovered the watch had other… powers. The beasts attempted to flee from him, but the watch froze time, allowing only Klorr to move. Klorr discovered that he could use his watch to hunt for the blood he needed! Yet… each time he used the powers of the watch, it took even more blood to feed it. Klorr had become trapped. He needed to use the Timepiece’s mystical abilities to capture prey worthy of feeding it; however, doing so sped up the movement to the hands reaching thirteen.
Klorr decided that there had to be some legendary monster that could feed the watch. With the same reckless abandon that he used to create his watch, Klorr developed his Automatons. Monsters of metal that look humanoid, but move on their own accord. And yet, unlike the rest of the machines that are called Automatons, Klorr’s move with a fluid, natural grace that would put Elves to shame. This alone makes them frightening to bear witness too. The Automatons are not alive, nor are they dead. Something… horrible drives them. Their eyes are filled with a malice that should not be possible in something that has never truly known life. These horrible mockeries of science and industry protect Klorr, and follow him. They travel and hunt with him, as Klorr’s blind drive to find a monster powerful enough to satisfy the thirst of the Timepiece. Though some theorize that the Automatons are more protecting the Timepiece, waiting till Klorr can no longer feed it, so they can offer him to it.
Klorr is a man driven insane by his own foolish ambition. He must find something to feed the watch. Something with blood strong enough to satiate its seemingly unquenchable hunger. His heart is slowing, and the hands steadily inch towards thirteen.
Rules:
Any Warhammer Army, except Bretonnians, Chaos Dwarves, and Skaven can hire Klorr and his Automatons. When hired, Klorr and his Automatons count as a Rare choice.
Klorr and 9 Automatons cost a total of 250 points. The unit may be increased to a maximum size of 24 Automatons at the cost of +15 points per additional Automaton.
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MV
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WS
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BS
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Klorr
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4
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4
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Automaton
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Equipment:
Klorr is equipped with a hand weapon, heavy armor, a shield, and the Timepiece of Klorr.
The Automatons are equipped with a variety of blades, claws, maces, hands and devices that act as hand weapons. The attacks are already determined in the unit profile. The Automatons also have Hardened Outer Casings.
Special Rules:
Insane: Klorr is long since past worrying about the normal nightmares of humans in the Old World, and therefore never needs to roll for Psychology or Break tests. He must feed the watch.
Unnatural: The Automatons should not act or move as they do. They are beings of gears and springs; however, they move with the effortless grace of trained dancers. This is unnerving to behold, and thus the Automatons are considered to have the “Fear” ability.
Protecting: The Automatons are Klorr’s protectors. At least he believes them to be. The Automatons have the "Unbreakable" trait.
Hardened Outer Casings: The skin of the Automatons is an alloy of brass and steel that protects the spring and gear organs of them. They are therefore considered to have an armor save of 4+.
Watch-feast: Klorr and the Automatons may not pursue any unit they break, as Klorr will spend too much time trying to allow the Timepiece to soak up as much blood as it can.
Timepiece of Klorr: (Magical Artifact, cursed)
Klorr’s Timepiece grants him special powers, at a cost. The Timepiece starts with 1 Blood Counter on it. The Timepiece may have any number of Blood Counters on it. At the beginning of each player’s turn, roll a d6. If the result is equal too, or below the number of Blood Counters, Klorr automatically takes that many wounds that he may not save by any means. If this were to slay Klorr, the unit is removed automatically as well. For each wound that Klorr, or his Automatons cause, remove 1 Blood Counter from the Timepiece.
Being that the Timepiece is an artifact, magical items that can normally cancel or destroy other magic items cannot be used against the Timepiece. Klorr will not have his curse removed that easily.
The Timepiece has the following abilities, with the following Blood Counter cost. These abilities are used during any player’s Magic phase. Klorr may only use one ability per turn. Each time an ability is used, add that number of Blood Counters to the watch.
Time of Sanctuary: 1 Blood Counter: Klorr is considered to have a 2+ ward save till the start of the next turn.
Moment of Delay: 1 Blood Counter: Klorr may strike first in hand-to-hand, regardless of relative initiatives, or if the other unit charged. This ability takes precedence over special abilities or magical effects that have this same effect.
Hour of Bloodshed: 2 Blood Counters: Klorr’s Strength is considered doubled till the start of the next turn.
Age of Endurance: 2 Blood Counters: Klorr’s Toughness is considered doubled till the start of the next turn.
Second of Momentum: 3 Blood Counters: Klorr and his unit may move up to 16”. If this movement takes them into hand-to-hand, they are considered to have charged this turn.
Minute of Thought: 3 Blood Counters: Any spell directed at Klorr or his Automatons is automatically dispelled. Any spell effect already in-game that Klorr or his Automatons move through is dispelled. This ability is in effect till the start of the next turn.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Anyway, I wanted to try something different with the Timepiece. So... Thoughts?
+ Lizman
