New Mordheim Scenario

Hello everyone.

I was trying to think up new and exciting ideas for scenarios for my gaming group and came up with the following one. I haven't test played this yet, and would really like to get your opinions and thoughts on it. Please feel free to play it on your own and let me know what you think!

Your war band is out exploring the ruins when the weather suddenly begins to change. The skies begin to darken, and the wind begins to pick up. It looks like you are in for a massive storm. Looking to the sky however, it is quickly realized that this is no ordinary weather front, as a strange greenish glow can be seen dancing between the clouds. Something is not right. A few minutes later there is an earth shattering crack, followed by a deafening boom and hail begins to pour from the sky, but this is no ordinary hail, these are rocks! Shortly after a hole opens in the clouds, and a large green fiery object can be seen shooting to the ground. It looks like it might hit a part of the city not too far away. If your war band hurries they might be even be able to find where it will land…

Author’s comments: Although the flavor text is written for the city, it could easily be adapted to accommodate other settings. Fire in the sky was written with two war bands in mind, but should not have a problem accommodating more players / war bands. (RD)

• Starting the Game:
  (If being used as a multiplayer scenario I would recommend using the multiplayer set up rules, or whatever system your gaming club may use for multiplayer scenarios. Table size should be dictated by the number of war bands involved as per standard gaming setups.)
  
  • Terrain placement:
  Each player should take turns placing a piece of terrain. When one player has decided they are satisfied with terrain placement, the opposing player then has the option to place one last piece of terrain.
  
  • Set up:
  Roll a D6, the player who rolls the highest can choose to set up first or second. The player setting up first should then choose a table side, and deploy their war band within 8” of the table edge. The opposing player will set up on the opposite side, also placing their war band within 8” of the table edge.
  
  • First Turn:
  Both players should roll a D6, the player with the highest roll goes first.
  
  • Ending the game:
  The game ends when one war band fails a route test or if the “Large Chunk o’ rock” (see result #6 of the game play table) is successfully removed from the table.
  
  The war band who did not fail the route test or managed to get the “Large Chunk o’ rock” off the table is the winner.

Game Play Table:
To represent the falling debris from the meteor storm: Each player at the beginning of their turn should roll D3 times on the following table:

Author’s comments: I have not test played this yet, but think D3 rolls will add a nice spice to the game. Please feel free to modify this to suit your taste. (RD)

1. A large fragment plummets down hitting a random structure on the table.

Place a 1 x Wyrdstone shard counter inside the building (If the building is more than one level, randomly determine the level the shard comes to rest in as the shard shoots through the roof etc.).
For any models inside the building, the controlling player(s) should immediately make an Initiative test on D6 for all models effected. A failed test indicates that the model in question has been knocked off their feet. Immediately mark the model(s) as knocked down. All falling checks apply as normal. This also applies to models in hand to hand combat fighting inside the building!


2. A random war band member is hit by debris. This could be either from a falling shard, or a roof tile knocked loose , even players inside buildings are not safe, as the falling rocks punch through roofs, walls etc.

Roll a S4 hit for the affected member (Even if they are in hand to hand combat), normal armor saves and knock down rules apply. This also applies to models in Hand to Hand combat! Such is your luck!


3 – 4. One member of the war band spots some tiny shard of glowing green stone.

Roll D6 for how many pieces they are able to grab. The player should keep track of how many shards they gather total during the game on a separate piece of paper (or if you want to use tokens to indicate this etc.) As these shards are small, they are NOT lost / dropped if the player is taken out of action! (Of course if they die, the shards are lost just like normal equipment!)
At the end of the game the war band can pool their shards. Players can redeem shards at a rate of 6 shards = 1 wyrdstone piece.


5. A random building or structure catches on fire. Treat this building as impassible for all future turns!

Any model caught inside the building has till the end of their next movement phase to get out of the building otherwise they will take an automatic S4 hit with no armor saves during the combat phase.
Models will continue to take an automatic S4 hit each combat phase as the smoke and fire overtake the building. Models involved in Hand to Hand combat inside the building will strike at -1 to hit, and any model stunned in a burning building is automatically taken OOA.


6. A “Large chunk o’ rock” slams into the ground. This rock pulsates with a strange greenish glow! If it glows it must be worth something!

You will need a counter to represent the “Large chunk o’ rock”. Place the counter 3D6” in a random direction from the center of the table.

Note: This result can only be rolled once per game. Treat any further rolls of 6 on this table as a roll of # 3-4 above.

Carrying the meteor will slow the carrying warrior to half speed. Two or more models my carry the meteor without any penalty. If the last warrior carrying the meteor is taken out of action, place the marker at the spot where he fell. Any intelligent model may pick up the meteor by moving into base contact with it.

The war band that is able to get the "Large chunk o' rock" OFF the table may roll on the following table in the post game sequence:

Item / D6 Roll required
3D6 gc worth of various precious metals - Automatic
D3 pieces of wyrdstone - 5+
Green Glowing Meteor core* - 5+

*The ore glows a faint green glow, and it hard like metal. On a hunch the player takes the core to a local smithy and is overjoyed to find out that it can be used to forge a weapon!
There is enough ore to have a one of any type of basic hand-to-hand combat weapon (other than lance) created (The Smithy keeps the leftovers for payment). The smithy informs the player that he can have it ready in a month (aka the NEXT exploration phase, i.e. after the next game) The hero elected to do this task may not search the market for items this turn or their next turn as they are making arrangements

A weapon created this way as will be treated as a Ithilmar Weapon (+1 Initiative as it is super light) WITH the added benefit of a lantern (as it glows)
OR the smithy will offer to buy the core for 30gc (he has to make a profit after all!)

Experience:

+1 for surviving the battle Hero or Henchman group
+1 for winning leader
+1 per enemy out of action
+1 for any wyrdstone shard recovered (full shard not bits)
+2 for getting the “Large chunk o’ rock” off the table (split evenly if more than 1 person is carries it off)

Sounds promising. I had a solo campaign where I as running six warbands against each other that has been in stasis since October. I am hoping to return to it soon, and I may give this scenario a spin.

One thing to correct that I noticed:

"The war band that is able to get the chest OFF the table may roll on the following table in the post game sequence..."

Should be large chunk o'rock, right?

mweaver wrote:

Sounds promising. I had a solo campaign where I as running six warbands against each other that has been in stasis since October. I am hoping to return to it soon, and I may give this scenario a spin.

One thing to correct that I noticed:

"The war band that is able to get the chest OFF the table may roll on the following table in the post game sequence..."

Should be large chunk o'rock, right?

Ahh yes, thank you for that. I was using the hidden chest scenario for reference

I corrected the original post.

Looks like a fun scenario, but I would do 1 roll per turn per player. In 4 player games you'll end up doing more random events than actual game!

You could compromise, and do 1-3 = one event, 4-5 = two events, and a 6 = three events.

Some of the thinking of doing D3 per player turn is that hopefullly you would get the result of a '6' some time soon.
Another thought is that with Wyrdstone hunt (I think that is the one) you get D3+1 shards on the table, but in this scenario you would have to roll the shards (Result of 1) or collect a bunch of tiny fragments (Result 3-4).

Also as they are caught in the fallout of the meteor shards raining down, I wanted to convey that feel, and rolling 1x on the table didnt' seem like it would do that job.

Another thought I had is that you could place the "Large Chunk o' Rock' on the table at the begining of the game after both sides have set up. Then you could change the result for 6 on the table to be the same as 1 or something. This way the warbands have a goal from the very begining.

For multi-player games having each warband roll each turn might be a bit much if it was D3, but like I said I had intended this for 2 players. If going the multiplayer route, I tihnk having the Large Chunk o' Rock on the table at the begining of the turn, and maybe only having each warband roll 1 or 2x would be good.

Thoughts?

Or my suggestion, make it 1 roll per turn or 1D3 rolls per ROUND. Or, at the start of each round, each player rolls once at the same time.

EDIT
Also, it might be fun if the "3 – 4" result didn't automatically give your hero shards... instead, they spot one within D6 inches away in a random direction. That gives you a teeny bit more of a "race" for each piece.

Second, it might be smart to do away with the 1D6 shard pieces... first of all, you don't describe what to do if you have any remainder (i.e. you found only 5 shards all game). I guess that can be handled by selling them for 1D3 gc each or something. Also, I suspect at least ONE group will misread it and assume you get 1D6 Wyrdstone pieces... and then the entire scenario becomes skewed.

final treasure: I think the final take has to bigger. Compare it to other "treasure hunt" scenarios. OR, if adding on more items doesn't make sense, make them all automatic: whoever gets the comet gets 3D6 gc, 1D3 wyrdstone, and an ithilmar weapon.

Also, while it's not traditional done, when I write scenarios, I"ll sometimes add, "if playing a multiplayer game, add the following extra treasures onto the final treasure" as there is a chance that they had to fight harder to get it.

I like the idea of the large rock arriving randomly and I don't mind that it might not arrive at all. If it is on the table at the beginning then the scenario isn't all that new. I also think it should do damage if someone happens to be too close when it falls. Rock Lobba anyone?

There's not enough fire. More burning please.

Agree with von Kurst - I prefer the way you originally have the big rock arriving, rather than placing it from the start.

StyrofoamKing wrote:

Or my suggestion, make it 1 roll per turn or 1D3 rolls per ROUND. Or, at the start of each round, each player rolls once at the same time.

For a multi player game, it might be better to have something like a D3+1 roll at the begining of the turn cycle and then further randomize which warband is the results apply to if needed.
But one of the reasons I wanted each player to roll, is for that extra hint of danger and thrill of reward that each warband would have.

StyrofoamKing wrote:

EDIT
Also, it might be fun if the "3 – 4" result didn't automatically give your hero shards... instead, they spot one within D6 inches away in a random direction. That gives you a teeny bit more of a "race" for each piece.

I had thought of this more as a ..oh hey look a penny on the ground and didn't want to clutter the table with counters

StyrofoamKing wrote:

Second, it might be smart to do away with the 1D6 shard pieces... first of all, you don't describe what to do if you have any remainder (i.e. you found only 5 shards all game). I guess that can be handled by selling them for 1D3 gc each or something. Also, I suspect at least ONE group will misread it and assume you get 1D6 Wyrdstone pieces... and then the entire scenario becomes skewed.

True, I didn't mention what happens to the left overs. My thinking at the time was that they could be stored in the horde and kept till they happened upon more fragments i.e. through another scenario ( That I might write) or if they happen to play this one again. I will update the scenario to explain that. I also like the idea of being able to sell the fragments, but I would say something more like 1gc each.

StyrofoamKing wrote:

final treasure: I think the final take has to bigger. Compare it to other "treasure hunt" scenarios. OR, if adding on more items doesn't make sense, make them all automatic: whoever gets the comet gets 3D6 gc, 1D3 wyrdstone, and an ithilmar weapon.

I based the table for the large chunk o' rock on the the current treasure hunt scenario. The first rolls are the same actually. The next few items, sword, light armor, and the D3 gems worth 10gc have been removed. Doing the math if you happened to get them all that would be 60gc new if you had to buy the items or 45gc if you sold the items. The ithilmar weapons, are 3x the base cost, with the most expensive weapon costing 15gc for a total of 45gc (not counting lances). AND you get the cool glow effect!!

I had considered 2x ithilmar weapons, but that seemed inbalanced. Additionally I didn't want to add more items to the table, as there are already more than enough chances for loot in the way of shards, and fragments.

StyrofoamKing wrote:

Also, while it's not traditional done, when I write scenarios, I"ll sometimes add, "if playing a multiplayer game, add the following extra treasures onto the final treasure" as there is a chance that they had to fight harder to get it.

I understand the logic there, but I always consider the risk vs. the rewards. You could always modify to suit your group, we often do that with the generic scenarios we play, often times combining two scenarios for a multi player game.

Von Kurst wrote:

I like the idea of the large rock arriving randomly and I don't mind that it might not arrive at all. If it is on the table at the beginning then the scenario isn't all that new. I also think it should do damage if someone happens to be too close when it falls. Rock Lobba anyone?

There's not enough fire. More burning please.

I agree with you 100% and that is why I wrote it the way I did from the begining. I was just offering a possiblity for multiplayer games.

I like the idea of it doing damage, I had originally started to write it that way, but must have forgotten to go back and add it in. I had orginally thought about it destroying any building it hits completely (Models inside make an I test on D6 or taken OOA, and if in open ground then causing a 3" blast marker from the point of impact, imediately roll on the wound table for anyone caught in the blast. Or something like that

I also like the burning, but I didn't want to go overboard. I had the thinking that some might think it was a bit much. I had originally written result 1 of the table to also have the fire effect, but in my original version for I had the thinking that players could enter the burning building to retrieve the shard that landed.

The reason I used building for the random shards, is that it was much easier to figure out a landing spot than trying to pick a point on the table and rolling. I also liked the idea of result 1 on the table creating a blast marker (maybe only 1 or 2") but couldn't figure out an easy way to make it happen.

Thoughts?

Well, the easy way is the Blast and Ordinance templates from Warhammer fantasy. One has a 3 inch diameter, the other is 5 inch. Any directly hit automatically suffers 1D3 Wounds - no armor or dodge, anyone within the 5 inch template suffers a S4 hit (save and dodge as normal)

I agree with the throng - it's more fun to have it crash down mid game. Sure, it may NEVER hit, but with a 1/6 chance and 1D3+1 rolls each round, law of probability says it'll touch down. It makes the scenario fresh, and likely to be remembered/picked up.

Hey, speaking of "picked up", Brahm is restarting the Letters of the Damned fanzine. Once you've tweaked it to your liking, go ahead and submit it.
https://boringmordheimforum.forumieren.com/mordheim-resources-f20/letters-of-the-damned-ressurection-t4002.htm

I am unfamiliar with most non-GW games but it seems to me that Flames of War and Warmachine both have templates as well so just picking a popular size should work. As a Warhammer Empire player I have a fondness for placing the 5 inch template (and saying "BOOM!")

I would like it if #1 could cause a fire (say on a 4+). We've been messing with "Let the Damned Burn" from TC #8 for awhile. Burn baby burn! (Someone please import a burning heretic smiley from the W-E).'

I'm considering this for a special scenario for the Lost City in our Lustrian campaign. Signs of the Old Ones.