Portable warpstone reactor

Ulfaston winced as another blast of flame scorched the air above the rocky outcrop behind which he and his men were sheltering. The skaven advance on this flank had been slowed, but the infernal warpfire throwers had Ulfaston's company pinned in place. To his right, the King's Shield Guard were being sorely pressed by a pack of rat ogres, whose handlers were whipping them into a murderous rage.

A momentary lull in the barrage of fireballs allowed Ulfaston to steal a glance over the rock. Behind the phalanx of fire machines, something caught his eye. Enslaved skaven were scurrying from some sort of huge metal ball mounted on a cart out to the fire throwers. Strange protrusions from the ball glowed a sickly green as skaven wearing the insignia of Clan Skryre busied themselves around it.

Seeing the gunners priming and aiming their weapons, the dwarf ducked for cover. The wave of sulphurous fire that washed around the rocks was the fiercest of the battle, and Ulfaston noticed some of his newer recruits begin to waver.

'Hold fast, there!' he bellowed. Then, in a flash of understanding, he called for his nephew Harzad. 'Run around back to old Gutlob and tell him and his boys to bring their fire round 15 degrees east and in a hundred yards. They're to see if they can't take a lump or two out of that wagon in behind the fire rats. And quick about it, boy. Things are starting to heat up around here.'

As Harzad scurried off to the artillery battery, Ulfaston looked over to the shield guard. They were holding their line, but had lost more than half their number while behind the rat ogres a verminous tide of skaven was rolling towards them.

The low whistle of a cannon ball passing overhead told Ulfaston that young Harzad had delivered his message. Two more shots fizzed through above his position. 'Shoot straight, you bastards', Ulfaston muttered into his beard. And then all hell broke loose. Ulfaston didn't see the cannon ball that struck the strange machine. All he saw was the terrible green-orange glow that filled the sky as the explosion set off a chain reaction that detonated the nearby warp fire throwers, and the flames that engulfed his redoubt. Dozens of warriors, dwarf and skaven alike, were incinerated in the firestorm. As he passed out from the heat, Ulfaston's last thought was, 'Anyone for a BBQ?'

The Mk V portable warpstone reactor is a valuable, if volatile, addition to any skaven army. Providing a ready source of refined warpstone right where it's needed most, the reactor can enhance the effectiveness of skaven wizards and war machines, although it can also blow a large hole in the skaven's own lines. The following rules apply to the reactor.

1. The reactor is mounted on a cart pulled by a team of four skaven slaves. The slaves have a standard profile and are unarmoured and armed with hand weapons.
2. The slaves are able to drag the cart at 4 inches per turn. Each slave that is killed reduces the move by 1 inch. The reactor may not make a reserve move.
3. Missile fire directed at the reactor should be randomised between the crew and the reactor. The reactor has T 7 and W 3. If its wounds are reduced to zero, it will explode as detailed below.
4. The reactor is a flammable target. Fire-based attacks that hit the reactor add 1 to their S.
5. Skaven wizards in base-to-base contact with the reactor may rest and regain 2 magic points per turn. This is an exception to the rule in Warhammer Armies p80, and represents the wizards using the freshly refined warpstone to invigorate themselves.
6. Skaven warpfire throwers and jezzails that are in base-to-base contact with the reactor may add 1 to their S as a result of being able to use highly refined warpstone as ammunition. Instead of firing, they may choose to stock up on warpstone. For each turn that they are in base-to-base contact, each team may stockpile 1 shot's worth of warpstone up to a maximum of 3 shots. These shots may be used at any time to gain the +1 bonus to S.
7. Portable reactor technology is in its infancy, and is still highly unstable. At the start of each turn, roll a d20 and consult the table below*
8. If the reactor explodes, place a 2 inch diameter template over the reactor. All models inside the blast area automatically suffer one S 6 hit with a -3 save modifier.
9. Portable reactors cost 85 points, which includes the points cost of the slaves.

*1-3 The reactor stabilises. Subtract 1 from the next turn's die roll only.
4-15 The reactor hums along smoothly. Nothing happens.
16-18 Pressure builds up dangerously, and critical processes start to race out of control. Add 1 to the die roll in all subsequent turns.
19-20 The reactor goes critical and explodes!