MORDHEIM SCENARIO
THE FORBIDDEN SQUARE
The red sun stood low; half of it was beyond the horizon. In a couple of minutes it
would vanish into unknown parts of the World. Master Rudiger stirred at the sunset.
Mordheim, the cursed city in the northeastern corner of the Empire, rised two miles away
to continue as long as the eyes of a man could reach. The river Stir ran slightly through
the landscape and disappeared under the first walls into the sewer channels. "Who
knows," thought Master Rudiger, "what kinds of plague fleets along these
waters."
Jaakop the Archer, Master Rudiger's companion, sat down on a ston and drew a map
from his traveling bag. The map showed the known parts of Mordheim; the unknown parts were
crossed over with black ink.
"So," said Jaakop in an attemp to gain Master Rudiger's attention.
"It is told that these ruins in the north-eastern quarters," he pointed out the
area on the map and continued. "That they are infested by the followers of
Chaos."
Master Rudiger stepped to the riverbank and watched himself in the dark water.
"So what?" he said. "The powers of Chaos are not to be underestimated. I
have fought dozens of beasts and broods and monsters in my days, and I know them. One
hound can scare ten men, and they will have nightmares the rest of their lifes ... no, my
dear friend. We will go the safe way through the old streets and avoid unneccesary fights.
The worshippers of Chaos are by Sigmar the last ones I will ever meet."
Jaakop the Archer, who led a group of dogs of war, answered in a deep voice:
"Master, we are sent by the Duke himself. In a search for Wyrdstone. We have accepted
our mission ourselves, we are not here for watching the sun going down. We are here for
adventure - for fame, for honor, for treasure. Let me tell you somthing, Master."
He closed the map and returned it to the bag. "The are here is called the
Forbidden Square. It is closed - totally closed. Surrounded by impassable ruins and deadly
walls. It is the most sacred and holy area of the Chaos cults, and rumors from Toville
says they have gathered all their Wyrdstone here in the Forbidden Square. They wanted to
sacrifice it to their dark gods, but now an in-fight has started, and they are no more in
peace with each other."
"Oh, they never are," murmed Master Rudiger. "They bribe, they kill,
they lie, they slaughter, they break treaties and they assassinate each other every day.
Peace is not an option in the Chaos circles."
"Listen up now," said Jaakop. "The Forbidden Square is the holiest
area for the Chaos possessed. Weapons are not allowed there, neither swords nor bows. We
can infiltrate them, steal their Wyrdstone and quickly get out again before anyone found
out that the stones are gone. Very easy."
Master Rudiger considered the plan. "And how do we get there?" he asked.
"I suppose the entrance has been heavily guarded by their toughest warriors."
"Yes it is. But who says we will have to fight them. I know a tailor in
Toville. He can provide us some suitable cloth, and with a bit of cleverness we will all
look like cultists. They will let us in immideately."
"Are you sure?" asked Master Rudiger.
"I am sure." answered Jaakop.
"Then," said Master Rudiger thoughtful. "I will consider it."
The two men stood up. Jaakop lighted his lantern, and together they went towards
Toville along the river.
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The Scenario
This scenario takes place in the north-eastern parts of Mordheim, the city of the
damned. Here the Chaos cultists have gathered their Wyrdstone in a great sacrifice for the
Chaos gods. The gods have promised them horrible mutations and infinite power in reward
for the stones. However, as the greatest priests have begun to argue with eachother about
who are actually the rightfully owners of the magic stones the rumors have passed over the
nearby towns like a lightning bold striking down from heaven.
The scenario should be fought between two or more warbands. An equal number of warbands
must fight on each side, or the weaker warband must be allocated some advantages to
counter their weakness. Thie could be additional soldiers (either Chaos priests who patrol
the Forbidden Square or supporting farmers from the sorrounding towns), special
deployments, weapons or any other similar advantages. One of the sides represents the
Chaos worshippers, and the other side is the good races of humans, Dwarfs and Elves. If
only evil warbands are available then one of them should represent an independent warband
launching an attack against their rivals; in the opposite case one side could be a group
of weak men who have sold their souls to the Chaos gods and their old frieds are trying to
kill them before they become too mighty. Players may attack each other if they want -
nothing can prevent a Chaos warband from attacking another warband on its own side, and
warriors from the infiltrating side may charge each other too. This represents the inside
fights and envy for eachother when they capture the stones.
Set-up
The gaming table must be set up under some certain restrictions, and the players must
deploy under special rules. Before you begin the scenario make sure you have the terrain
and buildings required. It may be neccesary to create special terrain, or you can
alternatively use some other objects to represent the terrain. The size of the table
should be about 4' times 4'. This map shows roughly how to set up, and it defines where to
deploy the warriors.
The Gate: One of the sides must have a gate from which the
infiltrating warbands enter. If you have got a gateway from the Warhammer Fortress this
would be excellent, otherwise you must create your own. It is very easy to make, and it
adds some variation to the work. You can make the gateway very interesting by adding
ladders, balconies, small towers and so forth to the building.
The Totem: In the middle of the Forbidden Square the Chaos cultists
have built a big totem to honor their gods. The totem can be made in a load of different
ways: From a single rod or stone glued on a cardboard base to a finely structured and
detailed totem sculpted from Green Stuff or cut out of tree. Or if you have a Chaos
monument or totem for your Warhammer Fantasy Battle army this might fit too.
Buildings: You will need a couple of buildings to represent the
borders of the Forbidden Square. If you have some card buildings these can do it very
well, otherwise you can easily create your own buildings. Your buildings should roughly
cover the edges of the table - maybe a single house or two in the Square itself. If you do
not have enough buildings the gaps can be closed with walls or a steep hill.
Terrain: To make the scene more interesting you can use additional
terrain pieces such as cargo boxes (between three and seven boxes glued on bases do not
only look great - they also provide excellent covers for the warriors and add a lot of
tactic to the game), dead trees, rocks and meteor craters, pillories, gallows and so
forth.
Wyrdstone Counters: A set of Wyrdstone counters must be made. The
Warpstone counters from Warhammer Magic can be used here, or you can either paint or model
your own counters.
Special Set-up Rules
The Forbidden Square is the most sacred place for the Chaos worshippers, and carrying
weapons is not allowed for neither the Chaos nor the infiltrating warbands - all warriors
have been thoroughly inspected by the guards. However, it has been possible for the
infiltraters to smuggle in daggers. The Chaos are also armed with daggers - the Old World
is a dangerous place, and no-one would ever leave his own home without at least having a
knife or dagger in his belt.
That means that no warbands may use their weapons. Only daggers and armor are allowed.
Some races, however, count more on weapons than others, and that means that all weapons
carried by all warriors in all warbands are counted together and noted down on small
counters representing the weapons. Before the warbands deploy each player in turn rolls a
D6. On a roll of 3+ he randomly draws a weapon counter and puts it anywhere he likes at
least 12 inches from his own deployment zone. On a roll of 1 or 2 the weapon counter is
discarded.
When all weapon counters have been placed the Wyrdstone must be placed. Each player in
turn rolls a D6 again. On a roll of 2+ he may position a Wyrdstone counter. This must be
placed at least 14" from his deplayment zone and at least 4" from the totem
base. When he has positioned the counter he must roll the Scatter dice and move the
counter D6 inches in the direction shown by the dice. If a "HIT" is rolled the
counter ends up where it was placed. Each player continues placing Wyrdstone counters
until one player rolls a 1. When that happens no more counters may be placed. Counters may
be placed in the enemy's deployment zone if players wishes to do so.
Starting the Battle
When all Wyrdstone and weapon counters have been placed the warbands must deploy. The
Chaos side deploys first under the following restrictions: All henchmen groups must be
placed in the buildings at the table edges. Only one group may be deployed in each
building. If your buildings are closed like card-buildings the warriors must be set up
behind the buildings. When the Chaos have deployed the infiltraters must deploy. They
deploy under and behind the gate, but they may not enter the Square itself. The
infiltraters get the first turn.
The Counters
When a warrior enters a weapon counter he may pick it up. This costs nothing, and the
warrior may use that weapon if it is on the warrior's Equipment list. If it is not, then
he may choose to keep it anyway instead of just leaving it. If he keeps it he may hand it
over to another warrior from his own side, or he can just keep it until the battle is
over. Or he may choose to throw it away somewhere so that another warrior may later pick
it up. Warriors can carry any number of weapons, but they cannot use all their weapons.
For example, warriors with two bows can not shoot with both bows in one shooting phase,
and warriors with two swords can only use one of them in close combat.
If a warrior enters a Wyrdstone counter he may pick it up or leave it (I can't see why
not to pick up a piece of Wyrdstone ... but who knows!). As with weapon counters,
Wyrdstone can be thrown away and handed over, and warriors can carry any number of
Wyrdstone counters. When a warrior has got a counter, simply place it at the warrior's
base or beside its base if there are no more empty space left for the counter. If a
warrior at any time is knocked down, stunned or wiped out he will lose all Wyrdstone
counters he is carrying. Warriors will lose any additional weapon counters they cannot use
- i.e. a warrior with two axes will lose one of the two counters that he cannot use, and
warriors with a long bow and throwing stars will lose one of the two missile weapons he is
carrying (the player may choose what weapons to throw away).
Ending the Game
When an infiltrating warrior has got a Wyrdstone counter it is his job to get away as
quickly as possible. The only way out is through the gate... The Chaos players must carry
the counters into the totem. Every counter that is put beside the totem will vanish into
other dimensions where the Deamons and the Dark Gods rule. These are the main objectives
of the two sides. When all Wyrdstone counters have been carried away or switched to the
Gods the game ends, and each player counts together the number of counters they have
brought away. The player with the highest number of stones is the winner of the scenario.
If the result is draw, then the side which scored most casualties win the game.
Back to Mordheim.
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