Mantlets are wooden barriers, about the height of a man, which are often used by besiegers to shield them from missile fire.

By and large, mantlets are too cumbersome to be used by marching armies, so they are not available in standard Warhammer games where two armies move rapidly over large distances. They are, however, used extensively in siege warfare and are excellent for giving cover to archers so that they can pin down any missile troops on fortress walls.

Only infantry units that are equipped with missile weapons may use mantlets. You must buy them for all the models in a unit; you cannot choose to give them to part of a unit.

Moving with Mantlets

Troops carrying mantlets may not march, charge or move-and-fire. However, mantlets may be deployed 2D6" closer to the castle than any other troops. This represents the ability of troops to advance closer with mantlets because enemy fire is ineffective against them at long range. This can allow archers to get relatively close to the castle at the start of the battle.

Troops do not abandon mantlets voluntarily (wisely putting their safety above other things), but if they flee for some reason (such as when they have failed a Panic or Break test) the mantlets are thrown aside and abandoned. Remove the mantlets from the table.

Shooting

Troops protected by a mantlet are considered to be in hard cover and are -2 to hit with missile weapons. Note that troops may not claim the defended obstacle bonus when fighting from behind a mantlet.

Points cost: 1 point per model in the regiment.