Therefore, a title indicating that they say, stalk/pursue/track their foes or somkething else along those lines might be more fitting.
I think "hunters" is exactly the word you're looking for, actually.
Thommy H
...Re-reading what I wrote, I think I may have messed up what I was trying to say.
What I failed to include, was that the term "Hunter" (or "Hunters") is a good describing word for what they do and what they are, but I don't think it's a very Hobgoblin-ish title. In the same vein that Orcs are warriors, but they get called "Orc Boyz" etc.
Whereas, Hobgoblin Wolf Riders would still be called that because they're Hobgoblins that ride wolves, but aren't as hardcore as Cataphracts.
A human of the empire would probably call a regiment of Orcs a mob or even a horde of Orcs if there was enough of them. I doubt they'd refer to all standard Hobgoblins as Hobgoblin Hunters, especially when they have people in their own society who would be hunters as a profession.
If what I have said makes no sense, please disregard :P
It makes sense-- I just couldn’t think of a better word to use. They aren’t quite “scouts” or “patrolmen”. Although they are meant to be paired up with a hobhound, they aren’t really “beastmasters”. And “boyz” is really an Orc thing.
As for the lack of ranked infantry, I was trying to cut down on the number of units in the list and so cutting out what would normaly be the core of most greenskin armies forces one to rethink how to play them and come up with wildly different strategisms.
Ok, since its supposed to be brainstorming, I am now going to dump the entire contents of my head into the thread. First off, some comments. 1 - with the mongol theme, longbows don’t really suit hobgoblins. I was thinking of giving them an upgrade option for poisoned arrows - but that would likely be costly in points. 2 - poisoned throwing daggers. There is a serious problem with that. Unlike arrows, knives are easy to throw back. So, unless you score an instant kill, you have just given your enemy a poisoned weapon. Sneaky gits would be smarter than this.
Now my own ideas: first, hobgoblin special rules.:idea
Backstabbing bastards - hobgoblins are notorious traitors, distrusted by everyone and unwilling to trust anyone in return. Hobgoblin characters cannot join non-hobgoblin units and non-hobgoblins can’t join units of hobgoblins. However, so used they are to backstabbing, the enemy attacking from behind is considered the norm for them. The enemy can’t claim CR bonuses from attacking the hobgoblins from the flanks and only gets CR+1 for attacking from the rear.
Lariat: A lariat is a piece of rope with a noose at the end, used to capture enemies. If a hobgoblin unit is entitled to pursue a broken enemy, it can declare using lariats before any rolls to run away are made. If so, the unit will roll one less dice to pursue (so 1 for infantry, 2 for cavalry) but can make another full series of attacks at the enemy (including support attacks from one rank, if applicable, and using the hobgoblin’s basic strength) before he can break off and flee. These attacks ignore armor saves - the running enemies are entangled with lariats and overran by the pursuers.
I’m right behind you: Hobgoblin characters feel quite comfortable staying behind the unit they ‘lead’ (not the least for the fact that this keeps all their clanmates where they can see them.) A hobgoblin character can be placed at the rear rank of the unit and still confer his leadership value and other bonuses (such as the battle standard) to the unit, even if he refuses a challenge. If he is himself unengaged, he can even leave a unit tied in close combat, walking out of it during the remaining moves part of the movement phase.
Mancatcher: Mancatcher is a two-pronged pole weapon covered with barbs, perfect for unhorsing riders. While its intended use is to catch and pin the target for capture (as hobgoblins do when capturing slaves) it can just as easily be used to pin the opponent and club him to death when he is defenceless. Mancatchers used by hobgoblin infantry count as spears. Also, the enemy cavalry do not benefit from their armor/scaly skin saves, though any bonuses from shield/steed/barding work as normal (so, a fully armored knight on a barded warhorse and using shield would be reduced to a 4+ armor save) Heavy mancatcher: Unit champions and hobgoblin characters on foot use a heavier and cruder version of the mancatcher. It counds as halberd (+ 1 strength , requires both hands) that benefits from killing blow special rule.
Unit ideas: :idea
Even a fast moving army like hobgoblins needs something that can take an enemy charge (something neither wolf riders nor archers excel at) you can’t always outmaneuver the enemy and some elite enemy units hit hard and fast enough to laugh at fast cavalry flank charges (remember, a hero is now allowed to move inside the unit to reach combat, so the old technique of hitting heavy knights with a flank charge that contacts only one model is no longer effective). But heavy infantry doesn’t really match the hobgoblin theme and neither do “traditional” pikemen. Enter hobgoblin slavers - loaded with enough special rules to have a nasty bite but individually still weak enough to allow fielding them in large, steadfast units.
Hobgoblin slavers unit size 15+ stats - as normal hobgoblins equipment: light armor, mancatchers and lariats. May have shields. The unit may be equipped with nets (same as night goblins) may have a musician, a standard bearer and a champion (a champion may exchange his mancatcher for heavy mancatcher)
yes, no point costs: I’d be happy if you proposed some.
I like the idea of throwing daggers They might appear to be throwable back, but maybe the gits who threw them are that sneaky that part of the handles are in fact also coated in poison…
Not entirely sure about disregarding all enemy armour saves with the lariats. I mean, a guy encased in full plate with a helmet is still going to be encased in full plate at least even when fleeing.
Oh, and while I enjoy the idea of crafty hobgoblin heroes being able to just leave a unit stuck in combat, at the same time being positioned at the back of the unit is sort ofa skaven thing? Maybe if it was more like the heroes can voluntarily flee from combat with the enemy unit being stuck with the hobgoblin unit the hero was part of?
Its exactly a skaven thing. And lariats… full plate armor doesn’t protect from being caught by pursuers either. In the battle of Agincourt hundreds of heavily armored knights died from falling in the mud and getting a dagger through the eyeslit before they managed to get up - you get the mental image? Of course not every battlefield has really sticky mud like Agincourt had - but a pair of goblins dogpiling you as you struggle back to your feet should work just as well.
I just re-read what I typed, and realised I forgot something - A fleeing unit caught by a pursuing unit is destroyed automatically. Therefore, rather than have all the extra attack rolls, it’d be easier to just make your opponent roll an extra D6 when fleeing, then use the lower two dice to determine how far they flee.
Also, in regards to the mancatchers, negating all that armour nerfs the already nerfed heavy cavalry much too heavily. Their armour is one of their greatest assets. Killing blow would be far more suitable a rule for mancatchers (even if it’s actually a capturing attack).
yes it would be simpler. Just add one limit - they need to have more models than the enemy to use it.
This is no problem in unit on unit combat where the hobgoblins would need the advantage of numbers to break the enemy. But in combats involving multiple units, lack of this limitation would sometimes allow remnants of a badly battered hobgoblin unit to capture an enemy far superior in numbers.
They might appear to be throwable back, but maybe the gits who threw them are that sneaky that part of the handles are in fact also coated in poison… 