Beware of chaos-corrupted Santa!

Hi all,

as Christmas is getting close I was thinking about making a scenario about Christmas. I'm not very far yet but basically it goes like this:

rumours has it that a shallya-priest goes around in the ruins of mordheim in order to bring humanity to the orphans by distributing presents and thus giving them a sparkle of hope and compassion to endure the harsh winter that is going to come.

Unfortunately it becomes clear that Priest Nicolas must be corrupted by the ruinous powers as he attacks villages at will and throws around his presents in a manner that rather smites people instead of giving them happiness.

the players' warbands are therefore in charge to stop him before too much harm is done. They may distribute the presents on their own behalf (I guess the one or the other present might land in the warbands' treasure ... )


I wonder how I should make the rules for the "Santa" (profile) and what kind of "gifts" he should distribute (some might even be useful instead of being life-threatening)....

any further ideas are highly appreciated.

also if you could tell me about your own (other) christmas-like-scenarios in case you made any...

Oh, this could be fun! For the gifts, use a lot of tokens on the table, like 10 or 12, or even more. Then have a random list for 2d6 or even 3d6. On the list for roll of 12 (if 2d6) or 18 (if 3d6) have something interesting. For couple others have a few one use items. You could even make up a few one use items just for fun. For the rest of the items, make it weird. Put in items like: A Shrunken head, a Severed hand, Candy Canes, wooden toy train. Just stuff of no game value, but could be entertainment value. Note on the roster for each member who picked up a gift, even more than one, and at the end roll the gifts to see what is in the box. How fun would it be to have a dagger with a Candy Cane colored handle?

Oh, and and he has to be aided by a shop-full of elves... DARK elves.

Great minds think alike, I was also working on a Christmas scenario! In mine Santa couldn't be bothered to go to Mordheim, so he sent his cousin Santa Klaus, who frightened of the horrors of the cursed city would just leave the gifts and run. I had the idea that Santa would use similar rules to the Wyrdstone inventor as far as movement goes, using artillery dice to randomize movement. Every turn at the end of his move he would leave a gift, and then the next turn warbands could go after it.

When a warrior picked up a gift he would have to roll to see if he was naughty or nice - 1-3 = naughty, 4-6 = nice. They would then roll on a chart to see which gift they got, with no gifts being given twice except perhaps coal and wyrdstone. I'm still working on the gifts, I haven't gotten to that part yet.

If they attacked Santa Klaus they would get one round to attack before Klaus would use the powers of the North Pole to blind them with Rudolph's Red Nose and get in an attack, and then wiggle his nose and appear 2d6" away in a random direction, being spirited out of combat. I think he would have to have multiple wounds to withstand the combat as well.

Anyways, once I get it fully written I'll post it for everyone to review, I only started thinking about it this past weekend.

Well, to steal Mordheimer's Trick or Treat results:

2 Trick: Model gets hits by D3 S4 hits from poisoned darts (save allowed).
3 Treat: 2D6 gc found.
4 Trick or Treat: Random Happening (see optional rules Annual 2002)
5 Trick: Model falls in floor trap. Take D3 S4 hits, and must make 2 climb test to get out of the trap.
6 Treat: Yummy "Batwing Crunchies" treats... get +1 W temporarily. Roll a D6; on a 6+ the mutation is permanent.
7 Trick: Mutation! Roll on the Power of the Stones mutation. Roll a D6; on a 6+ the mutation is permanent.
8 Treat: Found a True Sight Prism; 80+6d6gc; Availability: Rare 10 - This piece of Wyrdstone is semi-translucent and acts as a regular light prism, but when used properly it can be used to enhance visibility. This process takes some time, so when used on during the Exploration Phase, it allows the warband to re-roll any one dice. Strangely enough, is two of the True Sight Prisms are used in conjunction, both will be destroyed instantaneously. One item per warband only.
9 Trick or Treat: Random Happening (see optional rules Annual 2002)
10 Trick: An explosive device containing blinding powder hits the model. Take 2D3 S1 hits. If wounded, the model is blinded for D3 turns. Blinded individuals will move randomly D6" always rolling on the movement table above.
11 Treat: Drank a refreshing vial of Maxelder's Potion of Berzerk Valor. Drinker gains +1 Strength, +1 Initiative, +1 Critical hit for the duration of the game.
12 Jack-o-Lantern found! Model gets +2 Experience and warband gets 2 Points to determine overall winner.


Not saying you can't use your own, of course, but Power of the Stones Mutations sound basis to use... some of them are harmful "naughty", others are "nice".

Option 3: Once he opens it, the warrior picks a target: either himself or a model within 6". AFTER choosing, roll for a random spell from a random (core) spell/prayer list. That spell is automatically cast on that person. If it's negative (ex. deal damage), the person suffers the effects. If positive, (Sword of Rezebial, Children of the Horned Rat), then that model gets the bonus. If it's a MOVEMENT spell, that conroller may immediately move them.

Undead Spells: Reanimation and Spell of Awakening grants the target 1D3 zombies. Call of Vanhel lets the target move again, even if he's not Undead.

Last Sunday we played the scenario.

Here is a brief summary how I finally made it. It's not perfectly thought through as time for preparation ran out. But I think it worked still well enough.

Thanks again for all the input of you guys

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Santa stands immobile in the center of the table. His attributes make sure he won't be killed off easily

(M0, WS4, S5, T6, W3, I2, A3, Ld9)

His beard and red cloak grant him a 5+ armour save in battle and 3+ save against ranged attacks.

As soon as a model reaches the small platform on which santa stands, he receives a gift (without opening yet). I insisted at least pretendingly that the player must recite a short santa-claus-poem (as is tradition at least in switzerland). but of course i was not too insisting on this
Further, the model gets 1 xp (only once for each model).

After receiving the present, rudolph the reindeer brings the model at any point within 8" of santa and tosses them off his back (scatter dice + d6 from the selected point).

At the beginning of the player's turn he may open the present , but BEFORE doing so he chooses who will get the present. The model has the following possible recipients:

*himself
*friendly model within 6"
*enemy model within 6"

The recipient must open the present at once and rolls on the table of gifts to see what's inside (see below).

Restricitions:
* the recipient may not be in close combat at that moment.
* the warband of the giver may not declare charges on the recipient in that very turn.
* each model may only once be receiver.
* presents must be opened in game, after the game their value is lost.

........................

SANTA:

see profile above. Santa will not leave his position and fights until he or his chargers are dead. The model who kills Santa gets 3 XP and the knowledge to have ruined XMAS forever (booo!).
If Santa goes ooA, no more presents can gotten from him of course.
The Game then continues until only one warband is left on the table as usual.

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Table of Gifts (1d12)

1. Bat ears: model receives an additional wound until the end of the game. may exceed racial limit.

2. blinding powder: 2d3 S3 hits. If wounded, the model is not actually wounded but blinded for d3 rounds.
moves d6 in randomized direction in movement phase. if this leads him into contact he will fight at -3 on to hit roll. Can parry if accordingly equiped but only if passing an I test first.

3. shard of wyrdstone

4. model transforms into a frog for d3 rounds with the following attributes:

M5, WS3, S2, T2, W1, I6, A1, tongue attack (old-4"-whip-rule, poison). If you don't want to use the old whip rule then the frog should have T3 instead.

5. 3d6 gc

6. Model grows a tail (of he doesn't have one already) and gets the tail fighting skill until end of the game. If he can't equip his tail with an appropriate weapon, shield, he can attack with the empty tail at S-2.

7. trap. model that falls into it suffers d3 S4 hits and can only escape with a successful I test. if attacked while being in the trap, the model gets -2 on to hit roll but also +1 to his AS.

8. random spell of random lore of the living rule book. target of the spell is the receiver of the present. if no duration of the spell is indicated it lasts until end of the game.

9. time bomb. receiver can give it onto a model within 4+, if successful nothing happens and the new receiver can pass it on under same conditions. The bomb thus passes on until the first model fails his 4+ test.
Then the bomb explods and hits the carrying model with 1 S8 hit. Additionally the model is blinded for 1 round (see above).

10. model receives one random mutation until end of game (cf. possessed mutations list).

11. shapeshifter. the reciever becomes an identical copy of the giver including equipment, skills, profile etc. He is still under control of the original player and can act normally. If receiver and giver are the same model, the present has no effect. (or be determined randomly?)

12. (very) strong wind. model is tossed 2d6 into random direction. if he hits a model or other obstacle on hits path, he stops his movement immediately and both models suffer one S4 hit. Further, both models count as being in close combat. But the tossed model does not count as attacker but attack order is resolved according to initiative. If the model is tossed from a building by the strong wind, it counts as falling with usual consequences.

...............

Experience after one game:

It worked well so far. The teleport option made it safe enough to get a present (which i wanted to encourage).
The table should be 50:50 concerning bad and good presents. In the knowledge of this, the players always opened the present for the carrying model and never passed it on.

Therefore it might be a good idea to shift the balance towards bad gifts. thus it should happen more often that gifts are actually given to enemies too.

Further, there were only few presents taken from santa (about 2 presents per warband). I would have chosen to be more but thats a matter of taste.

As you might have noticed, most presents have no more effect once the game is over. maybe one could introduce a few more "lasting" (good) presents.

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Although its over for our group i would still like to hear your critique. For santa survived, so next xmas is almost guaranteed to come again next year