"I'd also eschew the text given in the Mordheim textbook in favor of a different approach. The witch hunters of that accursed city represent the unending paranoia and dogma of those still alive there, and are more the leaders of pitchfork wielding mobs than the inquisitorial arm of the church of Sigmar."
Nope, they are definatley the inquisitorial arm of the church of Sigmar. quote: "Carrying the edict of the Grand Theogonist himself, they have the divine right to judge and execute warlocks, witches, Chaos worshippers… in fact all who dare to oppose them. " They have all been sent by the Church of Sigmar, they are in no way just insane survivors.
Now, determining their role is then the matter. They should not be assassins, as it really isn't what they do. They don't hide in regiments, then suddenly rip off their helms, put on a floppy hat and scream "boo!". I mean, how would they hide in the unit of frilly armed, cod piece wearing halberdiers? Or great swordsmen? Or hell, even handgunners? It really doesn't make sense and it doesn't do justice to what witch hunters are. If you changed the entry to "Imperial Assassin" then it would fit much better.
So, you say that warrior priests are the leaders of men, who inspire them, etc. Well, they don't do this very well. They have 1 bound spell to make a unit unbreakable, and that is easily stopped. I use them in every game I play and I can never rely on them to do that. But they do give hatred, and that is golden.
Now, what can Witch Hunters do then? I see two options:
1) Huners
2) Oraters
My attempt was to make them a combination of both. They give immunity to fear, a great boon when facing the unholy. They also have a bit of an edge when fighting the unholy, which can easily be seen as them throwing holy water or using other tricks. It uses less special rules/new items then some other attempts.
So, what can we do to improve this?
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Perhaps a witch hunter as a 0-1 rare choice?
(Witch Hunter Warband)
Witch Hunters 60 pts
M-4 WS-5 BS-5 S-4 T-4 W-2 I-5 A-3 Ld-8
Equipment: Pistol, Light Armor, Blessed Weapon (wounds undead and daemons on a 2+, armor modifiers as usual)
Witch Hunter Retinue: 8pts per model (0-9)
M-4 WS-4 BS-4 S-4 T-3 W-1 I-4 A-2 Ld-8
Equipment: Hand Weapon, Light Armor
+1 point for extra hand weapon
+ 2 points for pistol
+ 4 points for a crossbow (in which case the witch hunter's pistol will be replaced with a crossbow as well)
Special Rules: The witch hunter and his retinue are:
* all immune to pyschology
* hate 1) undead 2) daemons 3) wizards (any model which can generate power dice)
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So, there is a different attempt. You get a fighty hero with a very mobile (and potentially dangerous) unit. They can be used to hunt for wizards who are outside of units, or can make the attempt to take down enemy heroes. So, what do you think?