Editing Ostland

{{Whfb-stub}}{{NeedsImages}}
{{Infobox Empire Province
|Name = Ostland
|Heraldry = [[File:Ostland Heraldry.png|250px]]
|Elector Count as of 2520IC = Valmir von Raukov
|Province capital = WolfenBurg  
|Runefang = Brain Wounder
|Specialties = Generalists but with stubborn tactic tendencies
|Commerce = Pelts and Alcohol
|Primary military colours = White and Black, with occasional accent colours of the regiments choice
}}

'''Ostland''' is perhaps one of the most inhospitable and savage provinces of the Empire. The northernmost province and unfortunate enough to on the wrong ([[Kislev]]-facing) side of both the Forest of Shadows and the Middle Mountains, Ostland has greater ties to Kislev than it does to its southern neighbors, despite officially being considered part of the Empire. Considered the most sparsely inhabited of the Electoral Provinces, barring except maybe [[Sylvania]], the native Ostlanders are scattered in small villages that barely live above subsistence level, leading to a race of poor but hardy folk; men are usually tall and broad-shouldered, with the womenfolk being either tall and whippet thin or short and stout. The typical denizen of Ostland is either a dirt farmer who supplements his labor with foraged roots, tubers and nuts, a hunter, or a trapper. Ostlander villages are often comprised on a single massively extended family, and the topic of inbred Ostlanders is a common joke in the southern provinces.

Despite their hard lifestyles, Ostlanders are neither warlike nor bitter. They love dark ales, and relish a good, honest, drunken brawl, but they are fiercely loyal to their kinsfolk and savage enemies of [[Chaos]]. As the most northerly province, invading Chaos forces have to push through Ostland to reach the Empire's heartlands, and the Ostlanders make them pay with blood for every step they take.

The dominant religion in Ostland is [[Taal]] and [[Ryha]], although the more westerly villages also give homage to [[Ulric]].

==Ostlanders in Mordheim==
Amongst the various Empire-based warbands in [[Mordheim]], Ostlanders were an official addition in the magazine supplements of the day. It was justified that, since Ostland is already a pretty shitty place to live where nobody has much money, a lot of Ostlander families would pack up bags and head south in hopes of making it rich. An Ostlander warband is often a single extended family, or at least its menfolk.

Mechanically, an Ostlander warband is defined by two special rules. '''Self-Sufficient''' dictates that Ostlanders cannot hire any Mercenaries other than [[Ogre]]s; Ostlands don't want to share their resources with outsiders, but clans of ogres who broke away from the [[Ogre Kingdoms]] to inhabit the Middle Mountains often find work in Ostland, and so they're accepted as neighbors. '''Nouveau Riche''' is the special rule that will probably give players the hardest time starting out; Ostlanders are almost universally poor and so have a real hard time controlling themselves when they get ahold of money. As a result, after a battle, an Ostlander warband '''must''' sell the first 8 pieces of wyrdstone they won from taht battle, and then, once they have decided whether or not to hire any new warriors and paid off their campaign debts, 50% of the gold remaining '''must''' be spent on a single item of gear.

Ostlanders have a unique weapon; the Double-Barreled Pistol and the Double-Barreled Rifle. At the cost of requiring a full turn to reload each barrel, firing both barrels at the same target causes 2 hits rather than one.

For Heroes, an Ostlander warband has a mandatory Elder (the former village leader) and can take 0-2 Blood-Brothers (the most important men who aren't the Elder), and 0-1 Priests of Taal (lightly armored variant of the Priest of Sigmar with his own unique prayers list). For henchmen, they can take Kin (basic Ostlanders), 0-5 Ruffians (violent drunkards so sozzled with alcoholism that even Ostlanders look down on them), 0-7 Jaegers (unmarried rangers/hunters) and 0-1 Ogres.

Ostlander heroes have the following unique skills they can develop:
* ''Bull Rush:'' When charging, the Ostlander can knock the foe down without hurting them by making an attack with a +1 "to hit" bonus.
* ''Foul Odor:'' The Ostlander's clothes are so saturated with stale liquor and sweat that living enemies suffer a -1 to-hit penalty in HTH combat, but fire attacks are +1 strength against this Ostlander and the Ostlander cannot carry open flames (torches, lanterns).
* ''Taunt:'' The Ostlander can make a "shooting" attack that, if it hits, forces the enemy to pass an LD test or else spend the next movement phase trying to get to the Ostlander.
* ''Animal Friendship:'' Normal animals won't attack this Ostlander, and the warband can take 2 "free" wardogs.
* ''Blood Oath:'' Leader Only. Can reroll a single Route test once per game.

{{Provences_of_the_Empire}}

[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]]
[[Category:The Empire]]