A new Rare Unit choice for The Nauticans - Fortunis

I have been mulling over a new rare choice ever since my friend suggested a War Shrine type of unit.

A suggestion for a throne (Poseidon's throne to be precise) was also made in the Battle Reporter forum.

Some sort of talismanic unit that could be used to bolster the Nautican's strengths or maybe exploit their enemies weaknesses appealed to me.

I wanted to create something completely different and, I guess, a bit 'fishy' :D

So, I'm opting for a very experimental idea. It's quite a departure from the usual type of Warhammer unit. So far only my regular gaming buddy is aware of the idea which received an interested if somewhat lukewarm response (although I've changed my idea a bit since then).

I'm trying to build on the Nautican's unique theme and to make them a tactician's army that requires more planning and thought than some others.

So without further ado, here goes...


Fortunis - The Infinity Turtle
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A timeless ever presence in the seas of the Warhammer World. This giant ethereal beast endlessly swims the deep oceans occupying a space between reality and the netherworlds.

The great turtle has survived for countless millenia, first in it's living form, now in it's translucent ghost like presence. Many of the greatest Nautican minds have spent a lifetime pondering the creature's existence and it's purpose. The fact remains that no one can answer any of the many questions.

At times, the Turtle has appeared in the Nauticans darkest hours and in their direst of needs. Whether this be a time or war, famine or disease the appearance of the turtle seems to preceed a change for the better in Nautican fortunes.

Points/model: 250 pts

	M	Ws	Bs	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
Fortunis	12	1	0	5	6	6	1	0	10

Special Rules: Creature of the Deep, Righteous Destiny, Unwavering, Invulnerable, Unbreakable


Invulnerable
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It is impossible to kill or otherwise deflect the Turtle from it's course. The best that an enemy can hope for is to banish the Turtle from the surface world back to it's Ocean realm.

The Turtle has the ethereal rule meaning that it can only be harmed by magic attacks, magic missiles and spells. In addition, the Turtle is not affected by any magic effects whatsoever other than those which cause wounds.

As soon as Fortunis is reduced to zero wounds it instantly disappears from the battlefield. At the end of every phase in which Fortunis suffers unsaved wounds it must test against it's leadership, a failed roll results in Fortunis instantly vanishing from the battlefield.


Unwavering
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Fortunis moves across the battlefield at a steady pace in a dead straight line. The ethereal turtle never veers to either the left or the right and never slows, passing through any objects in it's path whether they be animate or inanimate or even if they are attacking it with magical weapons.

As a result, while Fortunis exists on the surface world he cannot be stopped by any means other than being 'slain' and thus dispatched back to his magical underwater world. The Giant Turtle can be engaged in close combat by those in base contact but is not subject to the normal combat resolution and does not provide any benefit for the Nautican army in multiple unit combats . The turtle will continue on it's path irrespective of the attacks against it unless it is "destroyed" (reduced to 0 wounds).

Fortunis begins the battle at the table edge within the Nauticans deployment zone. The Nautican player places a marker anywhere along the table edge within the enemy's deployment area. Fortunis moves 12" at the very beginning of each Nautican movement phase directly towards it's destination marker.


Righteous Destiny
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The Turtle is ever the bearer of good fortune for the Nauticans and it's presence seems to greatly enhance the "luck" of nearby Nautican forces while their enemies see the Turtle as a portent of their coming doom.

Any Nautican unit including associated characters that are partly or wholly within 9" of Fortunis benefit from the following :-

All leadership tests
dice rolls of 6 may be re-rolled

Close combat
Nautican "to hit", "to wound" - dice rolls of 1 can be re-rolled

Missile fire
Nautican "to hit" - dice rolls of 1 can be re-rolled

All Armour Saves (but not regen or ward saves)

dice rolls of 1 can be re-rolled

Magic
Spell casting - dice rolls of 1 can be re-rolled

The presence of Fortunis benefits the army as a whole as it draws in the waves of magic to protect the Nautican forces. The very first unsaved wound caused during the battle against the Nautican army is always ignored as though it had been prevented by a ward save (Ed. work out why that's useful !)

* don't forget, you can never roll a re-roll ! The above re-rolls are only applicable if a re-roll has not already been taken.