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Obviously, if you've read Prospero Burns, then you can get a good idea of where this was inspired. Anyway, here's my proposed rules for a Skjald character for my particular Great Company, although they could easily be passed on to the rest of the Space Wolves proper. Comments and suggestions are very welcome.

(REVISED VERSION FURTHER DOWN PAGE)

Skjald Snjallr Skyn
Points: 80
WS: 4
BS: 4
S: 3
T: 3
W: 2
I: 4
A: 1
Ld: 8
Sv: 4+

Type: Infantry

Equipment: Carapace Armour, Bolt Pistol, Combat Blade

Rules: ATSKNF, Acute Senses, Counter-Attack, Inspiring Presence, Skjald

Options: Snjallr Skyn must be assigned to an infantry squad at the start of the game. He may not leave this squad for any reason. He may not join a squad with more than 1 model in Terminator Armour (these units are usually sent on missions too dangerous to be accompanied by Skyn safely).

Special Rules
Inspiring Presence: Snjallr Skyn is charged with the duty of recounting the stories of Andilus Greatsword's Great Company. Space Wolves in his presence redouble their efforts to earn a hallowed place in one of his sagas. Skyn's squad, and any friendly squad within 12" (that he can draw line of sight to) again the Furious Charge and Fearless special rules.

Skjald: Before battle, Skyn will tell tales of great deeds of valour performed in battle by heroes of the chapter. These tales inspire the company's troops to prove themselves as worthy of having their sagas recounted. Before deployment, Skyn's squad gains a special ability on a D6 roll:

1 - Skyn tells the squad the tale of Hardhungaor, who refused to retreat when faced by an entire Ork Waaaaugh! The squad is Stubborn.

2 - The squad listens to the tale of Fljotr and his Grey Hunters, who knew the value of a sudden feint. The squad gains the Hit & Run special rule.

3 - Skyn recounts the saga of Skjotr, who could run faster than a Fenrisian Wolf across the battlefield. The squad gains the Fleet special rule.

4 - The squad listens intently to the Saga of Enda, who once tore the assault cannon off of a destroyed Dreadnought, bringing it to bear against the enemy. The squad gains the Relentless special rule.

5 - Skyn tells tales of Valdyr the Hunter, a Wolf Scout who assassinated a Chaos Sorcerer during a pivotal campaign. The squad may Infiltrate.

6 - On the eve of battle, the squad hears a tale of how a great Space Wolf hero defeated the enemy they are soon to face. They gain the Preferred Enemy special rule.

Drop S and T to 3.
Otherwise it's good.

Ok, I was thinking the same, but I was just keeping it at 4 for simplicity's sake, since he'll be with a bunch of other S/T 4 models. But yeah, I think I will do that.

(Main post edited)

To be fair, a certain Skjald could be S/T of 4 after his 'augmentations'; however I doubt they do this to all the skjalds...
Regarding the rules itself, I think it's a nice concept and you've clearly really fleshed out your background for your company, however I have 2 stand-out problems with the rules as they are:
- 1, a skjald is a non-combatant and therefore less suited for inclusion IMHO.
- 2, his effects are much too powerful IMHO.

Inspiring Presence is superior to both Logan's and Ragnar's AoE abilities which isn't a good sign IMHO. Skjald, whilst I like the more random and very characterful nature of the rule, is also powerful. I'd recommend dropping inspiring presence to a 6-12" fearless or 6" bubble of +1 attack/furious charge personally.
You may consider making Skjald a D3 instead of D6, with infiltrate, relentless & another rule.
It's also worth pointing out that as he makes all units within 12" fearless, the roll of 1 on Skjald is rendered useless...

As I said, the nature and depth of it is really impressive, but I'd say he's much too powerful atm.

Hmm... those are some good points. I like the option of Furious Charge or Fearless within a smaller bubble. When I was coming up with the concept I thought that it was going a little over the top myself, but when you say it, it makes it much clearer. As for making Stubborn useless, I should have noticed that myself, thanks for pointing it out...

I'll post a revised version soon, thanks for the suggestions.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Skjald Snjallr Skyn
Points: 40
WS: 3
BS: 3
S: 3
T: 3
W: 1
I: 3
A: 1
Ld: 8
Sv: 4+

Type: Infantry

Equipment: Carapace Armour, Bolt Pistol, Combat Blade

Rules: ATSKNF, Acute Senses, Counter-Attack, Inspiring Presence, Skjald

Options: Snjallr Skyn must be assigned to an infantry squad at the start of the game. He may not leave this squad for any reason. He may not join a squad with more than 1 model in Terminator Armour (these units are usually sent on missions too dangerous to be accompanied by Skyn safely).

Special Rules
Inspiring Presence: Snjallr Skyn is charged with the duty of recounting the stories of Andilus Greatsword's Great Company. Space Wolves in his presence redouble their efforts to earn a hallowed place in one of his sagas. At the beginning of the movement phase, choose one of the following abilities, which lasts until the Space Wolf player's next turn:
-Skyn, his unit and all friendly squads within 6" gain the Furious Charge special rule.
-Skyn, his unit and all friendly squads within 12" gain the Fearless special rule, as long as they can draw Line of Sight to Skyn.

Skjald: Before battle, Skyn will tell tales of great deeds of valour performed in battle by heroes of the chapter. These tales inspire the company's troops to prove themselves as worthy of having their sagas recounted. Before deployment, Skyn's squad gains a special ability on a D3 roll:

1 - Skyn recounts the saga of Skjotr, who could run faster than a Fenrisian Wolf across the battlefield. The squad gains the Fleet special rule.

2 - Skyn tells tales of Valdyr the Hunter, a Wolf Scout who assassinated a Chaos Sorcerer during a pivotal campaign. The squad may Infiltrate.

3 - The squad listens intently to the Saga of Enda, who once tore the assault cannon off of a destroyed Dreadnought, bringing it to bear against the enemy. The squad gains the Relentless special rule.

Things I've changed up:
-I made him WS/BS/I3, because he isn't really built for combat like a Marine, and so shouldn't be striking any sooner than a Guardsman.
-I dropped him to W1 since he will have other squad members to act as ablative wounds - as it was, I can see people making him take a wound just to keep their other squad members alive, which isn't very fluffy.
-Changed the Inspiring Presence rule as per Just Dave's suggestions.
-Changed the Skjald rule as per Just Dave's suggestions.
-As a result of these changes, I've lowered his cost to 40pts.