The Arch of Torment
Though he was absorbed in the battle's fury, Kal Shadar couldn't get his mind off the Devourers positioned a bit further to his right. Their two peoples had allied to wipe out a Syhar enclave and the battle was turning into a massacre... Originally the Beast's Disciples were supposed to push the Scorpions back towards the horde of Amok Slayers, but things werent turning out the way they were planned! The Syhars, surprised by the onslaught's extreme violence, threw themselves at the Orcs like terrified horses stampeding in a chasm. Nekhar, the chief of the Devourers, was like the eye of a horrifying cyclone and blood was pouring from his misshapen metal banner.
Suddenly Kal Shadar thought he saw a hallucination: to him it seemed that the corpses impaled on the steel spikes of this Arch of Torment were coming back to life. Their bodies twisted in pain, prey to indescribable agony. The Amok Slayer was then also taken by an intoxicating thirst for blood on seeing Nekhar skewer a Vicar with his macabre instrument.
The Haruspices and the Profaners often join forces to build horrifying banners for the War Chiefs: the Arches of Agony. One of these, the Arch of Torment, is justly feared by the enemies of the Beast: Nekhar's deranged soul makes its powers grow tenfold by gorging on the carnage perpetrated around it.
The Arch of Torment increases its bearer's <Leadership> range by 10 cm.
Place 3 counters on this card at the beginning of the game. Add a counter for every fighter, friend or foe, killed within a radius of 15 cm around this artifact's bearer. The number of counters held in the Arch cannot exceed 20.
At the beginning of every movement, Firing, Divination and Hand-to-Hand combat phase the bearer can discard counters to use the powers described below. The value following each of these effects indicates the number of counters needed for their activation. Unless noted otherwise, a same power can be unleashed several times per round, even at a same target.
Echo of the Beast / 1: give 1 T.F. point to a Faithful of Vile-Tis standing within the Arch's area of effect.
Aura of the Beast / 2: increase the Arch's area of effect by 2.5 cm until the end of the game.
Blood of the Beast / 3: the Arch's bearer or a Devourer situation within its area of effect regenerates by one Wound level.
Spirit of the Beast / 5: the bearer acquires the <Bane> ability against the Rank of his choice (Regular, Veteran, etc.) until the end of the game. Spirit of the Beast can be acquired only once per game.
The Arch of Torment is reserved to Nekhar and is not counted in the maximum number of artifacts he can carry.
Cost: 38 AP