"The Book of the Dead" (Scenarios + Campaign Structure)

Hey ho boys and girls! I recently wrote and executed a two player story driven campaign at our local hobby store and figured that you could all do with something to read today while at work (yes we all do it ).

The campaign was designed to be played by one Witch Hunter warband and one Undead warband in a series of escalating encounters. The leader of the Undead is searching the ruins of Mordheim for the fabled "Book of the Dead" while the Witch Hunters are trying to do what they do best...hunt down the abominations and cleanse them with holy fire!

The campaign has some branching paths and alternate scenarios as shown in the map below.



To keep things manageable I'm going to split up the campaign scenarios etc and the battle reports into separate threads, so if you want to see how we got on, and who triumphed over adversity! Have a look in the other thread for a summary and some pics.

(NOTE: This post is going up first, battle reports will probs go up some time tomorrow)

So without further adeú!...

Round 1: "A chance encounter"

Witch Hunters: "Rumours have been circulating about some sinister beings stalking the nearby graveyards, time to investigate, and pick up some wyrdstone for the coffers while we are at it."

Undead: "Before we begin our hunt for the Book of the Dead, we must gather some extra henchmen from the graveyard...they don't need to be willing...or living of course."


Terrain
Each player takes it in turn to place a piece of terrain, either a ruined building, tower, or other similar item. We suggest that the terrain is set up within an area roughly 4' x 4'.

Setup
Each player rolls a D6. The player with the higher score can choose to deploy first or second.
The first player to deploy sets up his entire warband in deployment zone A as shown below. He may choose which quarter of the table to nominate as deployment zone A.
The second warband can then be set up in deployment zone B, but no model may be set up within 14" of any enemy model.

Special Rules
Carrying Wyrdstone: Each warband is carrying D3 shards of wyrdstone at the beginning of the battle. Mark down the number each warband has.

Starting the Game
Each player rolls a D6 and adds the normal Initiative of their leader. The player with the higher score goes first.

Ending the Game
The battle ends when one warband fails a Rout test. The routing warband loses.

Experience
+1 Survives: If a Hero or a Henchman group survives the battle then they gain +1 Experience.
+1 Winning Leader: The leader of the winning warband gains +1 Experience.
+1 Per Enemy Out Of Action: Any Hero earns +1 Experience for each enemy he puts Out Of Action.

Wyrdstone
Both warbands gain all the wyrdstone they were carrying at the beginning of the battle, minus the number of their own Heroes that were taken Out Of Action during the game, down to a minimum of zero. In addition, they gain one extra shard of wyrdstone for each enemy Hero they take Out Of Action, up to the maximum number of shards the opposing warband was carrying at the beginning of the battle.

Notes:
A simple "Chance Encounter" scenario to give both the warbands a warm up and the opportunity for a small income boost to kick start the progress.

Round 2: "Hidden Warlock"

Witch Hunters : "What are the undead doing here? Time to find the local expert on the occult and "question" him."

Undead : "Our agents tell us that the local warlock knows something of the whereabouts of the book, but with the word out that local witch hunters are looking for him he has gone into hiding, time to see what he knows."


Terrain
Each player takes it in turn to place a piece of terrain, either a ruined building, tower, or other similar item. We suggest that the terrain is set up within an area roughly 4' x 4'.

Setup
Both players roll a D6 and whoever rolls highest chooses which warband sets up first. This warband is deployed within 8" of any table edge the player chooses. His opponent sets up within 8" of the opposite side.

Special Rules

Searching for the Warlock: All the warriors (not animals!) in each warband know roughly what they are looking for and must inspect the buildings to find the warlock. Each time a warrior enters a building which has not been previously searched by either side roll 2D6. On a score of 8-12, he has found the warlock! Buildings in the deployment zones are not searched (since they have already been thoroughly ransacked) and each building may only be searched once. If you have not scored 8-12 with any roll when there is only one building left to search, the warlock will automatically be found there, place the warlock model in the centre of this building on the ground floor.

Catching the Warlock: The warlock has no intention of being carted off by witch hunters OR the undead! As soon as he has been discovered, the warlock will make an immediate “flee” move. Roll a scatter dice to determine the direction he is fleeing in. The warlock will move in this direction double his movement characteristic in inches, but will always stop his movement 1” from base contact with any enemy model or if contacting any solid surface. This movement can be “intercepted” by enemy models similar to a charge action. The warlock will always make this “flee” move at the end of each player’s movement phase regardless of whether he is in close combat or not (he’s a nimble one when scared!). If the warlock is forced to roll on the injury table for any reason he is considered to be “out cold”.

“Escorting” the warlock: Once he is “out cold” the warlock is placed on his side and can be “carried” by enemy models. Carrying the warlock will slow the warrior carrying it to half speed. Two or more models may carry the warlock without any penalty. If the carrier is forced to roll on the injury table, place the warlock at the spot where he fell. Any man-sized model may pick it up by moving into base contact with it.



The Warlock: The Warlock uses the following profile.
Warlock
M4 WS4 BS2 S3 T3 W1 I4 A1 LD8

Equipment: The warlock carries a staff and has two randomly generated spells from the lesser magic list (although note that he cannot use them in this scenario due to his crippling fear)

Personal Possessions: once the game is complete, whoever recovers the warlock may roll on the following chart after the game to see what personal possessions you strip from him. Note that you roll for each item separately, apart from the gold crowns, which are always automatically found.

Item Result on D6
3D6 gold crowns Automatic
D3 Pieces of Wyrdstone 5+
D3 Herbs (worth 10 gc each) 5+
Wyrdstone Pendulum 4+
Sword 3+


Starting the Game
Roll a D6. The player rolling highest has the first turn.

Ending the Game
When one warband escorts the warlock off their table edge, or a warband fails a Rout test, the game ends. The victorious warband then gains the warlock.

Experience
+1 Survives: If a Hero or a Henchman group survives the battle they gain +1 Experience.
+1 Winning Leader: The leader of the winning warband gains +1 Experience.
+1 Per Enemy Out Of Action: Any Hero earns +1 Experience for each enemy he puts Out Of Action.
+2 For Finding the Warlock. If a Hero finds the warlock he earns +2 Experience.

Notes:
A slightly altered "Hidden Treasure" scenario. I made it easier to find the warlock (since the old strategy of "I'm just going to leave this building that is close to my deployment zone till last so that it is automatically there" annoys the hell out of me xD). It's also pretty fun to have to chase down the warlock once he's been found, trying to "pen him in" and stop him running into the enemy hands is great fun!

Witch Hunters: "The heathen has refused to tell us what we want to know, some time under the scrutiny of holy Sigmar's purifying flames will no doubt loosen his tongue."

Undead: "The humans are planning on executing the warlock...we need what he knows."

Terrain
Starting with the defender each player takes turns placing a piece of scenery, making sure that a suitable place for execution is set up directly in the center of the table. This can be an actual stake, a building wall, tree, or anything else you can think up.

Set-Up
Place the captured model at the execution point. He or she is considered chained to whatever piece of scenery was chosen for the execution area. This model's equipment has been stripped from him or her and is considered lost. The attacker is the player who is trying to rescue the captured member of their warband, while the executioner is the player who apprehended the Warlock. The defender sets up first, and within 12" of the execution area. The attacker may then set up, dividing his or her forces among the four table edges however they wish.

Special Rules

Upon An Open Flame: At the beginning of the third turn of play, the kindling under the Warlock will catch fire and will eventually consume him. At the start of each subsequent turn, the warlock takes a hit at a gradually increasing strength starting at one and increasing by +1 each turn as the flames grow in intensity. For instance, a model who has survived the first strength 1 hit will take a strength 2 hit at the start of the next turn, followed by a strength 3 hit, then a 4, and continuing on until he succumbs to the flames. If the Warlock is ever taken Out Of Action by the flames, he caves in and screams his secrets in agony to his captors before perishing, the game is over. Defenders may obviously not at any time attempt to attack the warlock while he is still bound to the stake.

Breaking The Chains: A member of the attacking warband may attempt to break the chains of the captured warlock by charging directly next to the model. Treat this as a charge made against the chains. Hits made in close combat with the chains are made automatically. Treat them as an object with 1 wound and a toughness of 4. Once a wound is scored against them, they are considered shattered and the freed Warlock may be moved as normal. Keep in mind that the warlock has no weapons or equipment at this time. The freed Warlock may charge, be charged, move, and fight as normal.

Starting the Game
The attacker has the first turn.

Ending the Game
If one of the warbands fails their rout check, the game ends immediately.
If the attacker escorts the Warlock off the table via any table edge, they win the game. If the Warlock is successfully burnt at the stake by his or her executioners, the defenders are triumphant. If the Warlock is taken out of action after he is freed, continue the fight as normal until one-side routs.

Experience
+1 Survives: If a Hero or Henchman group survives the battle they gain +1 Experience.
+1 Winning Leader: The leader of the winning warband gains +1 Experience.
+1 Per Enemy Out Of Action: Any Hero earns +1 experience for each enemy he puts Out Of Action.
+1 Saving the Heathen: The leader of the attacking warband that escorts the Warlock off the table gets 1+ Experience.
+1 Roasting the Heathen: The leader of the defending warband gains +1 Experience for burning the Warlock at the stake successfully.

Notes:
A great fun scenario, shamelessly ripped from http://www.mordheimer.com Because let's face it, if you have Witch hunters in your warband...you wanna burn some heathens!

Witch Hunters: "Whatever the warlock knows must be vitally important, luckily a local tip off has given us the location of the Undead's hiding place. By the grace of Sigmar we must hurry before they get what they want from him."

Undead: "Interrogations are such fun. The Warlock may be holding out on us for now, but it is only a matter of time before his will is broken by the power of these cursed chains, and he tells us what we want to know..."

Terrain
Starting with the defender each player takes turns placing a piece of scenery, making sure that a suitable place for torture is set up directly in the center of the table. This can be a stake, a building wall, tree, or anything else you can think up.

Set-Up
Place the captured model at the interrogation point. He or she is considered chained to whatever piece of scenery was chosen for the interrogation area. This model's equipment has been stripped from him or her and is considered lost. The attacker is the player who is trying to rescue the captured member of their warband, while the executioner is the player who apprehended the Warlock. The defender sets up first, and within 12" of the torture area. The attacker may then set up, dividing his or her forces among the four table edges however they wish.

Special Rules

Cursed Chains: At the beginning of the third turn of play, the warlock will begin to feel the effects of the pain spell cast on the cursed chains. At the start of each subsequent turn, the warlock takes a hit at a gradually increasing strength attack, starting at one and increasing by +1 each turn as the pain grows in intensity. For instance, a model who has survived the first strength 1 hit will take a strength 2 hit at the start of the next turn, followed by a strength 3 hit, then a 4, and continuing on until he or she succumbs to the pain. If the Warlock is ever taken Out Of Action by the pain, he caves in and screams his secrets in agony to his captors before perishing, the game is over. Defenders may obviously not at any time attempt to attack the warlock while he is still bound to the stake.

Breaking The Chains: A member of the attacking warband may attempt to break the chains of the captured warlock by charging directly next to the model. Treat this as a charge made against the chains. Hits made in close combat with the chains are made automatically. Treat them as an object with 1 wound and a toughness of 4. Once a wound is scored against them, they are considered shattered and the freed Warlock may be moved as normal. Keep in mind that the warlock has no weapons or equipment at this time. The freed Warlock may charge, be charged, move, and fight as normal. As an alternative method of breaking the chains, a warrior may attempt to fire a shot to crack them from a distance. This is risky however, and any hit that lands successfully in this manner has a good chance of hitting the prisoner instead! Roll a d6. On a result of 5-6 the shot hits the chains, and on a roll of 1-4 the hit will mistakenly hit the member of the warband they were trying to save. Roll for wounds and damage as normal.

Starting the Game
The attacker has the first turn.

Ending the Game
If one of the warbands fails their rout check, the game ends immediately.
If the attacker escorts the Warlock off the table via any table edge, they win the game. If the Warlock is successfully interrogated then he screams his secrets to his captors before perishing, the defenders are triumphant. If the Warlock is taken out of action after he is freed, continue the fight as normal until one-side routs.

Experience
+1 Survives: If a Hero or Henchman group survives the battle they gain +1 Experience.
+1 Winning Leader: The leader of the winning warband gains +1 Experience.
+1 Per Enemy Out Of Action: Any Hero earns +1 experience for each enemy he puts Out Of Action.
+1 Saving the Heathen: The leader of the attacking warband that escorts the Warlock off the table gets 1+ Experience.
+1 Interrogating the Heathen: The leader of the defending warband gains +1 Experience for interrogating the Warlock successfully.

Notes:
Slightly altered "burn the Witch" for fluffy reasons

Winner of Round 3: The interrogation was successful. The Warlock informed the you of the location of the book. unfortunately the book has a will of it's own, and has used its powers to ensure that any attempt to capture it will be hard fought.

Loser of round 3: After losing the Warlock and suffering a painful defeat, your warband had only a short time to pick itself up again and clean up their wounds, before beginning pursuit of the (winner of round 3) through the ruins.

Terrain
One large building must be initially placed in the centre of the table. This building should represent an old ruined library or manor house and as such ideally this building should have multiple rooms and or floors. This is where the Book of the Dead resides. After this, each player takes it in turn to place a piece of terrain, either a ruined building, tower, or other similar item. We suggest that the terrain is set up within an area roughly 4' x 4'. Once this is done, places three book tokens anywhere in the central building.

Setup
The warband that is the winner of round 3 places their entire warband within 8 inches of a randomly determined table edge. Each turn roll a D6 for each hero and henchmen group from the warband that lost round 3. On a roll of a 4+ the hero or henchmen group enters play from the same table edge the other warband started from.

Special Rules

Retrieving the Book: The goal of the scenario is to steal the Book of the Dead and escape from the starting table edge, but the book is known for its deception as well as its necromantic powers, and has filled the ruins with confusing copies of itself in an attempt to thwart would be thieves. Each book token placed inside the central building represents an arcane looking tome that could potentially be the Book of the Dead. Any model that can gain experience can pick up one of these books by moving into base contact with a book token during their movement phase. Each model can only carry one book token, as they are convinced that “this is the one!”. Should the model be forced to roll on the injury table during the battle, they will drop any books they are carrying, roll a scatter die and place a book token D3 inches away from the model in the rolled direction.

Discovering the Book: Any model that is carrying a book token can attempt to investigate whether the book they are carrying is actually the Book of the Dead, or merely a trick. To investigate a book they are carrying, the model must not be within 8” of an enemy model, and must do nothing for a whole turn while they leaf through the pages. Roll one D6 and add +2 to the result for each book token that has already been removed from the table. Once the investigation is complete, if it was unsuccessful, remove the book token from the table.

D6 Score Result

1-2 Shock Trap: A blinding flash and a bolt of lightning strike the reader square in the forehead. The investigating model is instantly Stunned.

3-4 Distracting Images: The book contains lurid images of naked people in all manner of perverse positions. The investigating model must pass a leadership test or spend the next turn looking at more images. The spell will be broken if they are charged or injured. Note that this powerful spell will still affect creatures that are normally immune to psychology.

5-6 The Necronomicon!: With a rumble of thunder and a howl on the wind you discover the true form of the Book of the Dead. Remove all other book tokens on the table and summon the Dread Lord/activate his “ceaseless march” rule.


All book tokens must be investigated before they can be removed from the table, it is simply too risky to flee and hope you have the right one!

Foreboding Presence: The resting place of the Book of the Dead is shrouded in such an evil malice that even the undead know this building is forbidden. There is no doubt in anybody’s mind that disturbing this area will result in dangerous repercussions. This foreboding presence will be awakened by any of the following actions taking place in the central building. Close Combat, Moving faster than a character’s standard Move rating, successfully casting any injuring spells (Warpfire, Fires of U’Zhul, etc), the use of any black powder weapons or if any character picks up the Book of the Dead. If any of these actions happen within the central building, spawn the Dread Lord in the center of the building’s ground floor. He will move towards, charge and attack the nearest enemy model until the Book of the Dead is discovered, at which time he will begin using his “ceasless March” special rule

Starting the Game
The winner of round 3 has the first turn.

Ending the Game
If one of the warbands fails their rout check, the game ends immediately.
If there are no more book tokens on the table, the game ends immediately.
If a warband manages to escape with the Book of the Dead, they are the winner.

Experience
+1 Survives: If a Hero or Henchman group survives the battle they gain +1 Experience.
+1 Winning Leader: The leader of the winning warband gains +1 Experience.
+1 Per Enemy Out Of Action: Any Hero earns +1 experience for each enemy he puts Out Of Action.
+1 Retrieving the book of the dead: Any hero of henchmen group that successfully discovers the book of the dead gains +1 Experience.

Notes:
A rather meaty scenario with quite a bit going for it in terms of different strategies etc. The winner of the last round gets a head start, so they can sneak around looking for the book, or set up an ambush for the loser. If the loser wants, they could set up an ambush while the winner is searching the library or intentionally trigger the foreboding presence...the list goes on ^^

This scenario is best played when both players don't actually know what will happen when/if the foreboding presence is activated. This is obviously difficult to achieve with only two players.

The stats for the Dread Lord are as follows


M4 WS4 BS3 S4 T5 W2 I3 A2 LD8

Equipment: Light Armour, Shield, Sword

Special Rules:

Undead:
Cause Fear: All Undead warriors cause Fear.
Immune to Psychology: All Undead warriors are immune to psychology.
May Not Run: No Undead warrior may run, but may charge as normal.
Immune to Poison: No Undead warrior is affected by poison.

Powered by Evil:

The Dread Lord is powered by and bound to Book of the Dead, and as such gains the following benefits/curses.

Immortal: The Dread Lord uses the following injury chart at all times as opposed to the standard or advanced ones listed in the rulebook.

1-4 = knocked Down
5-6 = Stunned

Note that if the Dread lord is knocked down or stunned, any enemies in close combat can freely break from combat without testing.

The Dread Lord can never be taken Out of Action during a game, he is unstoppable! If any action would cause him to be taken OOA, he will become "Stunned" instead.

Ceaseless March: If the Dread Lord is not within 6” of the Book of the Dead, or it is held by any character, he will always move directly towards the location of the Book, or any character currently holding it. He will always know of it’s exact location and as such a character cannot “Hide” from him while holding the book. If the Dread Lord is in close combat with a character that is not in possession of the Book, he will always make a standard move action towards the book or its carrier after combat has been resolved (unless of course he is knocked down or stunned).

Walk through Shadows: The Dread Lord can move through walls and difficult terrain without penalty (note that combined with “Ceaseless March” if he is in charge range he can, and will, charge the holder of the book through walls/cover, without needing any line of sight. He know’s you are there!

Witch hunters: We have captured the book and managed to prevent it from falling into the hands of creatures most foul! But in the process we have awoken an army of ancient evil that threatens to spill forth from the graveyards of Mordheim into the surrounding areas. It must be stopped! There is only one way to break the book’s hold on the restless dead and seal its power, the cleansing ritual. But the leader of this undead army can sense the books presence...they will be here soon.

Undead: It has taken all your might to resist the controlling power of the Necronomicon and keep your followers from leaving, but you have managed it. With your free will intact you can sense the book’s presence, and you know what the Witch Hunters are planning on doing. You must stop them and claim the power of the book for yourself!

Terrain
In the centre of the board place a single building or ruin, this is the objective building. After this has been set up, take it in turns to place any additional scenery around the table, as long as no other buildings are within 8 inches of the objective building. We recommend a table of roughly 4'x4' size. Once this is done, place 6 spawn points in a circular pattern around the central building, with each one being placed 12” away from the main building.

Set-Up
The witch hunters are the defending warband, and set up first. They set up inside or within 3" of the objective building. The "Priest" (See special rules) is set up on the ground floor in the centre of the objective building (He must be close to the earth in order to purify it). The Undead Horde will be set up on a randomly determined spawn point.

The Undead warband can distribute their warriors up to 8 inches in from any table edge.


Special Rules

The Undead Horde
The Undead Horde can either be controlled by another player or used as an NPC warband, either way use the following rules to determine their deployment and reinforcements.

At the beginning of the game, the horde consists of 6 zombies set-up as per the above rules. At the beginning of every Undead Horde's recovery phase roll to determine how many additional zombies emerge from the grave.

Zombies : (D3+"Round Number" zombies) (Example on turn one D3+1 zombies appear, on turn five D3+5 zombies appear etc etc)

Should the Undead Horde not be controlled by another player, they will always advance in the shortest possible route towards the Priest. The Undead will charge any units that find themselves within their charge range, but they will always attempt to charge the priest first if he is within range. These charges can be intercepted as normal.

All zombie units use the basic stats found in the Mordheim Rulebook.

The Dread Lord Cometh!
From turn two onwards, at the beginning of each "Undead Horde" turn roll one D6, on a roll of a 4+ the Dread Lord appears at a random spawn point. (note that for the purpose of his “ceaseless march” rule, the priest counts as holding the Book of the Dead).

Defend the Priest!
The priest is an additional NPC character that is placed in the centre of the objective building at ground level. He uses the stats of a basic mercenary youngblood but cannot move and will not fight in close combat if charged (attacks against him will still need to roll to hit). His soul task is to channel the cleansing ritual that will banish the undead from the surrounding area.

Defenders are not required to take rout tests or "All Alone" tests during the scenario (Although they take fear tests as usual), the defenders know that their best chance of survival is to ensure the priest completes the ritual.

Starting the Game
The defenders take the first turn after the initial Undead Horde has been placed on the table.

Ending the Game
If the game lasts over 10 rounds then the ritual is complete and all the undead under the power of the book (not including the undead warband ofc) is vaporized in a cleansing white fire and levels all the buildings in the surrounding area. This results in the defending warbands winning. Proceed straight to "The Final Showdown" before calculating XP or rolling for injuries etc.

If the Priest is wounded by any enemy model his concentration is broken and he cannot complete the ritual backfires and levels the surrounding area. This results in a loss for the Defending warband(s). Proceed straight to "The Final Showdown" before calculating XP or rolling for injuries etc.


Experience
+1 Survives: If a hero of Henchmen survives the battle they gain +1 experience
+1 Winning Leader: The leader of the winning warband(s) gain +1 experience
+1 Per Enemy Out of Action: Any Hero gains +1 experience for each enemy he puts out of action

Healing Services
Should the priest survive the scenario, the defending warband is allowed to re-roll any serious injury results they are required to take post battle, the second result always stands, even if it is worse!

Round 5 Option 2: “The Ritual”

Undead: It has taken all your might to resist the controlling power of the Necronomicon and keep your followers from leaving or going mad, but you have managed it. With your own free will intact you can begin to break the book’s power and make it do your bidding...now all you need is a sacrifice...But the book can feel your intentions, and with all its dark power, it cries out into the night, summoning its deathly servants to it’s aid...

Witch hunters: An overwhelming sense of defeat crushes your soul as you realise just how badly you have failed in your quest. Not only have you allowed the book to fall into evil hands, but you have helped unleash an ancient evil upon the world that now seeks the death of all living things. As the streets fill with the dead, both living and still, you notice that they are all heading in the one direction. This must be where the book is, Sigmar has given you a chance for redemption! Take up arms once more and strike out into the heart of hell itself!...There is still a chance...

Terrain
In the centre of the board place a single building or ruin, this is the objective building. After this has been set up, take it in turns to place any additional scenery around the table, as long as no other buildings are within 8 inches of the objective building. We recommend a table of roughly 4'x4' size. Once this is done, place 6 spawn points in a circular pattern around the central building, with each one being placed 12” away from the main building.

Set-Up
The Undead Warband are the defending warband, and set up first. They set up inside or within 3" of the objective building. The "sacrifice" (See special rules) is set up on the ground floor in the centre of the objective building (He must be close to the earth in order to purify it). The Undead Horde will be set up on a randomly determined spawn point.

The Witch hunter warband can distribute their warriors up to 8 inches in from any table edge.


Special Rules

The Undead Horde
The Undead Horde can either be controlled by another player or used as an NPC warband, either way use the following rules to determine their deployment and reinforcements.

At the beginning of the game, the horde consists of 6 zombies set-up as per the above rules. At the beginning of every Undead Horde's recovery phase roll to determine how many additional zombies emerge from the grave.

Zombies : (D3+"Round Number" zombies) (Example on turn one D3+1 zombies appear, on turn five D3+5 zombies appear etc etc)

Should the Undead Horde not be controlled by another player, they will always advance in the shortest possible route towards the sacrifice. The Undead will charge any units that find themselves within their charge range, but they will always attempt to charge the priest first if he is within range. These charges can be intercepted as normal.

All zombie units use the basic stats found in the Mordheim Rulebook.

The Dread Lord Cometh!
From turn two onwards, at the beginning of each "Undead Horde" turn roll one D6, on a roll of a 4+ the Dread Lord appears at a random spawn point. (note that for the purpose of his “ceaseless march” rule, the sacrafice counts as holding the Book of the Dead).

Complete the Ritual!
The sacrifice is an additional NPC character that is placed in the centre of the objective building at ground level. She uses the stats of a basic mercenary youngblood but cannot move and will not fight in close combat if charged (attacks against her will still need to roll to hit). She is enthralled in a powerful ritual that will culminate in her committing suicide to break the book’s will.

Defenders are not required to take rout tests or "All Alone" tests during the scenario (Although they take fear tests as usual), the defenders know that their best chance of survival is to ensure the ritual is completed!

Starting the Game
The defenders take the first turn after the initial Undead Horde has been placed on the table.

Ending the Game
If the game lasts over 10 rounds then the ritual is complete and all the undead under the power of the book (not including the undead warband ofc) are vaporized in a burning green fire. This results in the defending warband winning. Proceed straight to "The Final Showdown" before calculating XP or rolling for injuries etc.

If the sacrifice is wounded by any enemy model her concentration is broken and she cannot complete the ritual, it backfires and levels the surrounding area. This results in a loss for the Defending warband(s). Proceed straight to "The Final Showdown" before calculating XP or rolling for injuries etc.


Experience
+1 Survives: If a hero of Henchmen survives the battle they gain +1 experience
+1 Winning Leader: The leader of the winning warband(s) gain +1 experience
+1 Per Enemy Out of Action: Any Hero gains +1 experience for each enemy he puts out of action

Dark invigoration:
Should the ritual be completed, the Undead warband will be infused with a dark energy, temporarily strengthening and healing their wounds. The defending warband is allowed to re-roll any serious injury results they are required to take post battle, the second result always stands, even if it is worse!

Round 6: “Showdown”

Undead: Pain shoots through your very being as you come round from the explosion. You realise that most of the buildings in the surrounding area have been completely devastated. You hear muffled movement and groaning coming from the rubble. Raising your head, you see an ethereal glow through your blurred vision...the Book! It’s open, its pages wreathed with green fire that casts an eerie glow and long dark shadows across the scorched debris. It calls out to the world, seeking a new master to obey and serve...you must reach it....you must claim it as your own!

Witch Hunters: Pain shoots through your very being as you come round from the explosion. You realise that most of the buildings in the surrounding area have been completely devastated. You hear muffled movement and groaning coming from the rubble. Raising your head, you see an ethereal glow through your blurred vision...the Book! It’s open, its pages wreathed with green fire that casts an eerie glow and long dark shadows across the scorched debris. It calls out to the world, seeking a new master to obey and serve...you must reach it....you must destroy it!

Terrain
The surrounding area is completely devastated! There is little more than small piles of rubble and debris scattered around.

Setup
Place the book of the dead in the centre of the table. Each player then places their warband leader 12” away and on opposite sides of the book. The winner of the previous game then moves their leader D6 inches closer to the book. These are the only warriors allowed during this scenario, everybody else is to scattered, dead, or worse to come to their leader’s aid.

Special Rules
Desperation: Your leaders are suffering any number of internal and external injuries that are preventing them from acting as they normally would. They should really be lying in a surgery somewhere or finding a quiet place to die in, but whether through sheer determination, divine intervention or unstoppable ambition, they struggle on.

The leaders have lost all their weapons, their armour is wrecked and they cannot use any special skills or abilities they would normally have this game, they are too busy trying not to succumb to pain or blackout to think about flashy fighting skills!

Each turn the leaders both roll a D3 to determine how far they can crawl/drag themselves this turn. Both leaders move at the same time and will advance directly towards the book.

The first leader to reach the book claims it for themselves, Once the book has been claimed, place both models in close combat and begin the final struggle.

Final Struggle: The final struggle represents the epic final conflict between two warband leaders at their absolute limits. Equal due to injury or determination, the outcome of the final struggle comes down to luck and divine providence.

For the final struggle, both warband leaders use the following profile, regardless of any discrepancies between it and their normal values.

M4 WS3 BS3 S3 T3 W2(3) I3 A1 LD8

Equipment: Fists, teeth, feet, bricks, anything that comes to hand! (no penalties for being unarmed)

Skills: Step Aside, Feel no pain, Immune to Psychology

Whichever leader claimed the Book of the Dead first, strikes first in close combat and has an additional wound.

Whoever wins the final struggle, wins the campaign!


Starting the Game
Both players roll for their movement at the same time.

Ending the Game
The battle ends when one leader takes the other leader OOA.

Experience
+2 Winning Leader: The leader that wins the battle gains +2 Experience

Rewards

Undead:
If the Undead win the game, they have managed to not only track down and find the Book of the Dead, but also to bend it to their will. The vampire leader gains a copy of the “Enslaved Book of the Dead”. This allows him to learn and use Necromancy spells with a +1 modifier to all casting rolls, and generates one random Necromancy spell when equipped for the first time.

Witch hunters:
If the Witch hunters win the game, they manage to destroy the book and put a stop to the unspeakable evil that lay within. They will be honoured by the high matriarch himself and rewarded with a pair of Sigmarite Warhammers, a Blessed Crossbow (regular crossbow with the “Holy” ability), and a suit of blessed Sigmarite Armour (counts as Gromril armour).

And that's the lot! xD

The campaign was great fun to play through and gave us some proper epic moments and story beats. I'll post up the battle reports and pics etc at a later date for those who are interested.

Thanks for reading! ^^

Thanks for the campaign package. I started reading and like it so far.

I hope for battle reports with pictures.

Quote :

To keep things manageable I'm going to split up the campaign scenarios etc and the battle reports into separate threads, so if you want to see how we got on, and who triumphed over adversity! Have a look in the other thread for a summary and some pics.

I have to admit being baffled as to why this is more manageable? Personally I find it a bother to shift through threads, but I suppose its personal preferance.

Thank you for pointing out the Burn the Witch scenario. It seems like a good objective scenario for Witch Hunters.

The final scenario seems like it makes a better story or role playing adventure than an actual miniatures game, 2 models on a bare table, their fate decided by dice rolls.

"The Ritual"

Quote :

Set-Up
The Undead Warband are the defending warband, and set up first. They set up inside or within 3" of the objective building. The "sacrifice" (See special rules) is set up on the ground floor in the centre of the objective building (He must be close to the earth in order to purify it). The Undead Horde will be set up on a randomly determined spawn point. The Witch Hunter Warband will set up within 8” of a random table edge.

The Undead warband can distribute their warriors up to 8 inches in from any table edge.

The Witch hunter warband can distribute their warriors up to 8 inches in from any table edge.

What? How do either warband set up?

"The Book of the Dead"
I'm kind of confused by this scenario. The central building is filled with copies of the Book. How many? Did I miss this information? How are they placed?

The Dread Lord.
Is the intention that he can not be taken OoA? Since he can be stunned, taking him OoA seems like the next logical step rather than running away from him.

Von Kurst wrote:

Quote :

To keep things manageable I'm going to split up the campaign scenarios etc and the battle reports into separate threads, so if you want to see how we got on, and who triumphed over adversity! Have a look in the other thread for a summary and some pics.

I have to admit being baffled as to why this is more manageable? Personally I find it a bother to shift through threads, but I suppose its personal preferance.

Well the way I see it, if somebody wanted to use the scenarios/campaign, putting the rules and my personal experience in separate threads makes it easier for them to pick it up without having to edit out all the battle reports etc.

Von Kurst wrote:

The final scenario seems like it makes a better story or role playing adventure than an actual miniatures game, 2 models on a bare table, their fate decided by dice rolls.

Yup, you got the nail on the head, the campaign is heavily story driven, so I thought a final struggle between the two warband leaders would be pretty climactic and fun (it totally was btw xD). I balanced the profiles so that it was a fair fight that relied entirely on luck, made it very tense and not just a case of "Lol vampire squishes human" ^^

Von Kurst wrote:

"The Ritual"

Quote :

Set-Up
The Undead Warband are the defending warband, and set up first. They set up inside or within 3" of the objective building. The "sacrifice" (See special rules) is set up on the ground floor in the centre of the objective building (He must be close to the earth in order to purify it). The Undead Horde will be set up on a randomly determined spawn point. The Witch Hunter Warband will set up within 8” of a random table edge.

The Undead warband can distribute their warriors up to 8 inches in from any table edge.

The Witch hunter warband can distribute their warriors up to 8 inches in from any table edge.

What? How do either warband set up?

Woops! Somehow the setup rules got completely broken during multiple copy/pastes and re-writes xD Fixed it now!

Von Kurst wrote:

"The Book of the Dead"
I'm kind of confused by this scenario. The central building is filled with copies of the Book. How many? Did I miss this information? How are they placed?

The Dread Lord.
Is the intention that he can not be taken OoA? Since he can be stunned, taking him OoA seems like the next logical step rather than running away from him.

There are 3 book tokens that are placed at the same time as the terrain (stated during the "Terrain" section) I left where to place these entirely up to the players, since there was no way of attempting to dictate how they should be placed when everybody will have different ways of representing the library/central building.

As for the Dread Lord, he is immortal as long as he is tied to the book, so yes he cannot be taken OOA (forgot to add that he cannot be taken OOA by being stunned while in base contact). He is intended to the a "boogey man" that hunts people down and murders his way through the warband to get to them, you can't kill him, only slow him down ^^