​Wood Elves are not done. Gruarth The Beastmaster could be updated as a LL beastmaster shapeshifter, and also horned hunters, heomreths (sentient giant owls) , and beastmasters shapechangers along Incarnate of Life, and Spite Swarms should be packed and themed for the next DLC.This theme would be inspired in the god Taal.​

Taal is the god of nature, governing the natural forces beyond Human control. He is the power behind the wind and rain and the force which drives waterfalls and rapids, avalanches and landslides. He is lord of the beasts and master of the forests and mountains.

BEASTMASTERS:

​Wood Elf Beastmasters or Keepers are Wood Elves who train their packs to hunt for and with the lords of the forest. [1a]

Contents

 [hide] 

• 1 Notable
• 2 Shapeshifters
• 3 Weapons and Equipment
• 4 Miniatures
• 5 Sources

Notable

• Gruarth. [3]

Shapeshifters

Some Beastmasters are able to shift into an animal form - Shapechangers. [3]

Weapons and Equipment

• 2nd Edition: Hand Weapon. Each Beastmaster has 2-6 Bears, Boars, Wild Cat, Mastiffs. [2a]
• 3rd Edition: Hand Weapon, may have Light Armour, Shield. Each Beastmaster has 2-6 Bears, Boars, Wild Cat, War Hounds. [1a]
• 5th Edition: Hand Weapon. Each Beastmaster has 1 Bear, Boar, Wild Cat or War Hound. [3]

"These priests of Taal, these horned hunters, these worshippers of the forest, they may live upon the forest as we do; hunt its creatures as we do; even revere her beauty as we do. But they will never understand as we do."—Asterion, Wood elf scout.

[2a]

Horned Hunters

The rites of Taal demand great physical, emotional, and mental fortitude for its practitioners. Some see the trappings of civilisation—cities, courts, and the like—as a failing in the interpretation of Taal's will. The Horned Hunters are deeply zealous and shun the city. Unlike Taal's Chosen, the Horned Hunters give up much in the way of a material life. They shun normal clothing and armour and wear animal skins, loincloths, or less. Part of their initiation into this group is to undergo extensive tattooing, covering their chest and face. Horned Hunters prowl the woods both within the Taalbaston and throughout Talabecland and claim allegiance only to Taal. While they lack the fiery rhetoric of most zealots, they are still fervent in their beliefs and believe that conversion comes from actions, rather than words.[1a]

Forest Mentors

A devotee of Taal who decides to follow the path of the horned hunter is most often guided by a mentor, an experienced horned hunter who suddenly appears in his life to teach him the ways of the forest, and help ease the transition from the civilised world to an existence completely dependent on nature.[3a]

The new horned hunter is taught how to survive alone in the woods, and even those who pride themselves on their survival skills and wilderness savvy are surprised at how little they actually know.[3a]

When his ward is ready, the forest mentor will leave him to embark on the path of the horned hunter alone, returning to the shrine of Taal and Rhya to report on the progress of his charge, or returning to his duties elsewhere in the forest.[3a]

Those that survive the ordeal and make their back to the shrine are officially accepted into the fraternity of Horned Hunters. Those that do not survive also provide a valuable service – as cautionary tales to fledgling horned hunters, and noble sacrifices to Taal.[3a]

The Ghost

Greatest of all the horned hunters within the Taalbaston is the one known only as The Ghost. Even among other hunters and devotees of Taal, he is more legend than fact, and the only evidence of his passing are the remains of his enemies, peppered with arrows.[3a]

The only thing that can be said with certainty is that the Ghost is a hunter without peer, one truly blessed by Taal to be one with the woods. His deeds include the slaying of Orcs, Goblins and Beastmen as well as other, darker creatures that wander the forests of Talabecland.[3a]

He kills from the shadows of the trees with his bow, as elusive as his namesake; his foes never see their attacker. The Ghost has an uncanny knack of mysteriously appearing in the right place at the right time to challenge those that threaten the Cult of Taal or desecrate the Taalbaston.[3a]

Most people say that this is proof that he is guided by Taal's hand, but there are some who claim that the Ghost does not actually exist, or that if he does, he is not actually a follower of Taal at all, but a rogue Wood Elf. However, most Talabeclanders prefer to believe that their forest is under the protection of this enigmatic champion of Taal.[3a]

 GRUARTH The Beastmaster

​It is said that his name was originally Gruarth, but to most Elves he is known only as 'The Beastmaster'. He has forgotten his name and even the words of Elven tongue if he ever knew it. Now he only speaks to the beasts of the forest with their own calls and gestures. He dwells on the margins of society, but in the depths of the forest. He shares the lairs of wild beasts by night. By day he hunts with his feral brethren and feasts on the same prey.[1a]

The Beastmaster has two companions, Fang and Claw, two ferocious sabre-toothed tigers. Fang and Claw are a pair, male and female, the last of their kind in the forest. When the forest is threatened by enemies, the Beastmaster is summoned and comes forth with his tigers to do battle beside his Elven kindred. He fights alone, controlling his pack as they stalk the battlefield for prey with their long, dagger-like fangs. After the battle, glutted with flesh, Elf and beasts disappear back into the trees.[1a]

It wasn't until VI 245, during the Slaughter at Bleak Meadow, that Gruarth met his end. The Beastmaster fought and died in the dell that was his home, his dead hands locked about the throat of the Wargor who had slain his beloved sabre-toothed tigers.[2a]

​

Magic Items

• The Binding Bolas: The Beastmaster is armed with a bolas – a special hunting weapon. The bolas is made of three leather thongs which are joined together at one end. The free ends of the thongs have heavy stone weights attached to them. The bolas is hurled by being swung around the user's head and released in the direction of the intended target. The thongs entangle themselves around the victim's legs and trip him over. The stone balls can also inflict a stunning wound.[1a]

Source

• 1 Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (4th Edition)
  • 1a: pg. 80
• 2: Warhammer Armies: Wood Elves (8th Edition)
  • 2a: pg. 30
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The greatest allies of Horned Hunters and Beastmasters should be Heomreths.

Sources have been copied pasted to help pleople read everything without havivng to look elsewhere.

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Listing the optimal possible content for next Wood Elves DLC:

*Rework LL Ariel as optional LL to Orion or Twin Sisters in single player campaigns.

LL Gruarth The Beastmaster (shapechanger ability into Giant Owl and Wild Cat, and a bola to make fall enemies from sky or paralyze mounted lords,  the bola only available when in elf form)

flc LL Naieth the Prophetess as unlockable LL like Boris, once unlocked useable anytime to start a campaign as Naieth

+flc unlockable LL Cyanos, LL Cyanos the winged elf for the evil side of Wood Elves (Cyanos would buff flying units without elves, specially focus on Forest Dragons, and Giant Owls)

LH Amphion (SEM gargantuan eagle spirit, only available to Drycha, and Cyanos) 

LH Araloth (avatar elf paladin of Lileath only available to everyone else.

Listen, Drycha was extremely very welcomed and widely played by the community and this justifies adding Cyanos and Amphion to complete the evil wild side of the roster.WE also needs at least 2 good LL pure casters, they would be: Ariel as optional LL, and LL Naieth with interesting mechanics of prophecies wich could be reversal mercenary contracts but not obtaining money, collecting blessings instead.

GENERIC LORD: Keeper Beastmaster

GENERIC HERO: Forest Mentor (Horned Hunters)

1. Heomreths (Sentient Giant Owls)
2. Incarnate Elemental Of Life
3. Naiads or...  Athel Loren Skycutter (updated variant for Wood Elves with Giant Owls or Giant Eagles)
4. Horned Hunters or... unit of Shapeshifters with ability to transform in the middle of the battle into Wild Cats
5. Swarm of Spites

flc variant (Ranged Treeman variant, also malevolent version)

He fits for LL, many characters with rules forbidding them to lead armies in tabletop have been turned into LL in TWW 3.

Gruarth the Beastmaster would be the best LL because too many of non wood elves races have feral animals like if it were nothing, they shouldn't be at same level of keeping feral animals, and Wood Elves must be shown as the top masters. 

Shapeshifting would be a good excluse to show wood elves go further than other races using feral animals. Also if beastmasters could buffs animals with all factions, their buffs should be customizable, like purchasing traits for shapeshifters and feral armies from a list as long as you have Taal blessings to spare.

Conclusion: Wood elves should stand out vs all other races with feral animals by having  mechanics with a larger array of customizable tactical buffs to feral animals, and for shapeshifter heros and units.

Gruarth is not the only living alone in the forest. Animals also live alone in the forest. All of them gather to defend the forest. Horned Hunters also live alone in the forest, their Forest Mentors also live alone in the forest, that's the theme: the missing link that would make wood elves stand out, the wood elves more immersed with the wild and feral animals are actually without representation, and is more important than you think.

Is a big opportunity to offer something different to play. Araloth would be a super boring character to play. Go play Malus if you want a superhero possesed like elf character wich is far more interesting than Araloth. 

Taal should have representation. This could show higher class of using animals of wood elves, it must be visibilized this way: with Gruarth as LL, along Horned Hunters, Beastmasters, Forest mentors, shapeshifters and heomreths. They make together a perfect themed pack.

​

Captain_Rex#1635 wrote:

​

Ekix#9944 wrote:
Gruarth is not the only living alone in the forest.

Lol… the point is that he’s alone. 

I see the opposite point, the stronger elite roster of wood elves should be the most wild and immersed with the forest. 

An example: Oxyotl for lizardmen is also seen in lore as going alone. Your excuse makes no sense. On top of that, Araloth is too generic to pay for him, he is not interesting when we have characters like Gruarth, Naieth or Cyanos with very promising faction mechanics.

Wood Elves never received an update like Dwarfs or Empire got in W3, and this is what I am asking for, a Tal themed DLC: 

 LL Gruarth and shapechangers, giant owls (heomreths), horned hunters (Tal's tattoed monks) with their forest mentors, swarms of spites, and naiads. This is perfect and brings new elements from the old lore of Wood Elves to be playable, exactly what many more races have already received and got much beyond.

Heomreths, swarms of spites, and shapeshifters would be the most amazing stuff along with tattoed horned hunters and beastmasters. Forest Mentors and The Ghost could be a mechanic to have tactical arrows again.