BTB - Horrors of the Underground and Darkness

Hi,

Does anyone use darkness rules when playing the BTB Horrors of the Underground scenario? If so then what rules do you use?

It came up a fortnight ago when we played the scenario and I only just remembered to ask now. In the end we used some cut down version of the Khemri rules (we don't know those rules but simply skimmed over them during the game).

Thanks.

I´ve played it and other underground scenarios without the darkness rules because i think that the restrictions of the very narrow passageways and rooms are enough on their own - that and the fact that everyone has torches .

I don't think it is necessary. I imagine the exploring warbands to light old torches on the walls as they explore the tunnels (both to make them feel better and to have an indication of the back route). So in the beginning with only few tiles explored, there is already lots of unknown dark space, but as they move along and new tiles are placed, they will also light those rooms permanently.

Also, in almost all games we played there were warbands shooting through the many floors, hitting far away powder kegs. Forbidding warbands to use missile fire here changes the balance a lot. Especially the pursuers sometimes need to shoot at the exploring warband to catch up with them (despite the fact that they may double their movement) and being able to shoot at far away powder kegs (which you specifically positioned somewhere) is a very important (and fun!) strategy. So I don't see much need for darkness rules here. I do like the idea of using darkness rules but I find them more neccessary and useful when playing on an "open" board, where models can move in any direction. In these narrow tunnels (and with the "fluff" hinted at above) I don't think this is the right scenario for such rules. But if you enjoy the game more with these rules, then do it! I'd like to hear some analyses of how the games play with such restricted fields of view and if you don't find it too restrictive/boring(?).

We have only played one Horrors of the Underground battle. It was an odd battle because both warbands were fresh and weak. The wyrm came out early and attacked the defending warband and attacked them for nearly the entire game as they were unable to wound it. Therefore neither warband faced each other. We eventually house ruled that the wyrm would go after the warrior/warband with the egg once it had taken everyone OOA around it even though there were more warriors of the other warband only a few inches away.

Torches give a 9" radius of light which allowed for running and limited shooting (my warband is Gunnery School of Nuln so shooting is vital). My pursuing warband shot once or twice at the powder kegs near the attacking warband because my warriors could see those powder kegs using the light emitted from the other warband. However, I think that we will ignore the darkness rules for this scenario in future times that we play it based on what you have said above and also in order to reduce the complexity of the battle since we still have quite a few players who are new to Mordheim.

Thanks!

Oh yes, the scenario is very deadly. Using the scenario table to your advantage is an important strategy of the BTB campaign. E.g. if you play Marauders or Beastmen you can try to force your opponents to play the Avalanche scneanrio. If they are unprepared (didn't buy cloths) then they have a hard time there. Similarily, forcing your opponent to face the wyrm is also very dangerous. We have seen entire warbands eaten by the wyrm. I remember one game where I was playing Marauders and I sacrificed one cheap warhound per turn to the wyrm while the rest of the warband continued exploring. It was crazy. And deadly...

My 2 pence worth ladies.

Unlimited sight for missile fire in an underground scenario is impossible. The exception comes if a Hero was carrying lanterns then he could be shot at from long distance in the dark!

It's been ages since I played this scenario so I didn't remember if anyone in our campaign was shooting the length of the corridor or not... until I read the post Cianty made about powder kegs!! The interaction between the flaming arrows and the powder kegs is a fun part of the scenario.

The idea of this scenario was that it was self-contained so no reference
to previous Mordheim-Quest is necessary.

That being the case it would be safe to assume that all of the parties are carrying torches into the mine tunnels which explains why 'Darkness' rules do not apply in the scenario.

Regards,

Werekin.

B-)