Curse of the Dead campaign!

Week 7

The fog is thick now. It’s been weeks. Every time you go outside it’s dark, dank, and overwhelming. There is fear in the mist. You can smell it. So many have been taken. Go out in it and you may never be seen again. Its intent is clear now. Souls. Souls for who, what? I don’t want to find out.

Still there are rumors of treasure and wyrdstone. They’re out there for the taking. Lying on the ground out in the open. Daring someone to grab them. And what awaits if you do? Riches, fame, women? More likely death, torture, not even God knows what else. There is no God in this place.

Elsewhere….

“Yessss. I can feel the power. I want more, I need more. I will have more. The fog is at its full strength now. You can use it. Do you feel it changing your body? Feel its power, its essence. Yes. Let your body become the fog. Good, very good. Now go. Those fools think they know the monsters and the evil of the mist. Show them, fill their hearts with fear. Then bring them to me.”



Fear is Coming. Week 7

I want that treasure!
The mist has gained its full power and now the necromancer has changed into something horrible. The warbands have started staying away from this part of town and must now be lured in with rumors of treasure.

Terrain
Set up the table as normal.

Set Up
2-4 players. Dice off, the winner picks first and deploys first. Each player picks a corner to set up on in an 8” x 8” zone.

Start of Game
Dice off for players. The winner goes 1st, then clockwise.

End of Game
The game ends when there is only 1 warband left on the table and the others have routed or the treasure is removed from the table. At the end of the game any wyrdstone or the treasure chest not held by a warrior is lost in the mist.

Experience
+1 exp to the winning leader. +1 exp per enemy out of action for heroes. +2 exp for the hero who finds the treasure. +2 exp and +2 cp for each hero who takes the treasure off the table. +1 exp and +1 cp for each hero or henchmen who is carrying a wyrdstone shard at the end of the game. +1 exp for surviving heroes and henchmen.

Special Rules

The Foul Mist.
There is a thick fog over the table. The fog is foul and there are many rumors about what is within it. All your models are at -1LD even if you are immune to fear. Anytime one of your warriors wants to move, shoot, or cast a spell roll 3D6. This is the furthest distance you can see, shoot, cast, or move regardless of other distances. Roll each time you want to do something. If you roll 3 1’s when trying to move your warrior has lost his way and will instead move 1D6” in a random direction! They will stop if they move into a wall but must pass an initiative test to avoid falling.


Searching.
There is treasure hidden amongst the ruins. Any hero or henchmen (no animals) may search a building. Roll 2D6. If you roll a 12 you find the treasure chest! (1 per game) If you roll 7-11 you find a wyrdstone shard! If you roll a 4-6 you find nothing. If you roll a 2-3 you have attracted the attention of the necromancer! Each building may be searched once unless you roll 4-6 in which case it may be searched 1 additional time. Buildings in deployment zones have already been searched. Buildings with 3 or more levels may be searched 1 additional time even if something has already been found.

The Necromancer.
The necromancer has become one with the mist. If one of your warriors attracts his attention his ghostly form materializes and takes your warrior! Your warrior is removed from the table and is captured by the necromancer! If any of your warriors are within 4” and line of site when this happens they must immediately pass a LD test or flee directly away exactly like a failed “all alone” test even if you are immune to fear. Such is the terror of the necromancer! A maximum of 2 warriors from each warband may be taken. If you already have warriors captured from a previous game they count towards this maximum. If you have reached this maximum instead of capturing your warrior the necromancer stuns them and friendly warriors within 4” must still pass a LD test.

The Treasure.
Once picked up no warrior will let go unless taken OOA. You may not shoot or cast spells. If charged your warrior may only attack with 1 hand. The treasure is heavy and can only be carried at half normal movement. 2 warriors may carry the treasure at regular movement but may not run. The treasure can only be taken off the table via your own deployment zone. If 2 warriors are carrying the treasure, roll once for moving through the fog. If you roll 3 ones you have attracted the attention of the necromancer! Randomize which warrior is affected.

Roll a D6 for each item to see what’s in the treasure.
Auto D6x10 gold coins
Auto D6 wyrdstone shards
6+ One of the 12 master maps of Mordheim.
6+ A holy tome or tome of magic, pick 1
6+ A Hochland long rifle. Any hero gains the “weapons expert” skill and may also take shooting skills while using this rifle, even if not normally able to. If the rifle is ever lost the hero also looses the shooting skills gained through using the rifle.

The game for week seven ended up being loads of fun! The idea of the game was to send out rumors of a real juicy treasure which would lure the warbands out into the mist. As by this point most sane warriors were staying clear of it. The players were so enticed by the treasure that they were recklessly going for it! Just how I wanted the scenario to go! I was a little disappointed because out of 6 players only 2 warriors were captured. So I would probably change the roll to 2-4 instead of 2-3.

A high note of the game, UnderBheits vampire already had 1 wyrdstone and was going to keep low the rest of the game. But he just couldn't resist the treasure and went looking again. To everyone's surprise his next roll was a 12! Treasure found! Then when he tried to move it, 3 1's! Lost in the mist and attracting the attention of the necromancer. UnderBheit's vampire was captured!

This ransom note was found attached to a corpse outside the Lions Den Inn.

BRAVO!
Normally rules & such have a certain effect on moi . HOWEVER, I've found your presentation to be HIGHLY entertaining & DECIDEDLY engrossing [no pun intended ]. The ransom note IS the ABSOLUTE best.

A very inspiring campaign Ash!
I´ll nick some of your ideas (especially the fog) for my Mordheim group. It´s a pity our warbands are already too advanced to play all of your scenarios. But then, maybe i´ll just modify them by making the zombies harder or exchanging them for something nastier.....
Many thanks for publishing your rules and scenarios

Thanks guys! Glad to see others are enjoying it as much as we are!

I totally missed the thread the whole time! Very impressive scenarios and looks like a lot of fun. Your comics really set the tone and your artwork really improves in the last couple, wish i could draw like that

Ash wrote:

The game for week seven ended up being loads of fun! The idea of the game was to send out rumors of a real juicy treasure which would lure the warbands out into the mist. As by this point most sane warriors were staying clear of it. The players were so enticed by the treasure that they were recklessly going for it! Just how I wanted the scenario to go! I was a little disappointed because out of 6 players only 2 warriors were captured. So I would probably change the roll to 2-4 instead of 2-3.

A high note of the game, UnderBheits vampire already had 1 wyrdstone and was going to keep low the rest of the game. But he just couldn't resist the treasure and went looking again. To everyone's surprise his next roll was a 12! Treasure found! Then when he tried to move it, 3 1's! Lost in the mist and attracting the attention of the necromancer. UnderBheit's vampire was captured!

Ash is an amazing artist and his campaign writing is out of this world.
If your concerned about using warbands that are too powerful, just start new ones. That's what we did.


P.S. Update:
Underbheit has officially been rescued and he's plotting his revenge.

Thanks again for all your kind words. Thanks Pathfinder! I noticed that as well, definitely shaking the rust off my ol drawing hand!


The Ritual. Week 8

Terrain
Set up the table as normal.

Set Up
2-4 players. Dice off, the winner picks first and deploys first. Each player picks a corner to set up on in an 8” x 8” zone.

Start of Game
Dice off for players. Undead get the 1st turn. The winner goes 2nd, then clockwise.

End of Game
The game ends when there is only 1 warband left on the table and the others have routed or all the captured models have made it to their deployment zones.

Experience
+1 exp to the leader of the warband who takes the necromancer OOA. +1 exp per enemy out of action for heroes. +1 exp for a hero or henchmen who releases a captured friendly warrrior. +2 CP for escorting a friendly captured warrior to your deployment zone. +5 Cp for taking the necromancer OOA. +1 exp for surviving heroes and henchmen.

Special Rules

The Foul Mist.
There is a thick fog over the table. The fog is foul and there are many rumors about what is within it. All your models are at -1LD even if you are immune to fear. Anytime one of your warriors wants to move, shoot, or cast a spell roll 3D6. This is the furthest distance you can see, shoot, cast, or move regardless of other distances. Roll each time you want to do something. If you roll 3 1’s when trying to move your warrior has lost his way and will instead move 1D6” in a random direction! They will stop if they move into a wall but must pass an initiative test to avoid falling. There is a 12” radius circle around the center of the table which is clear of the mist. You can only see clearly once you are inside the circle.


Minions.
There are 3 +1 per player Dire Wolves. They start within 3” of the necromancer. They will not move until an enemy warrior is within the 12” clearing. They will charge the closest warrior in LOS with in the 12” circle. Up to 2 wolves will charge each warrior, then move to the next closest. There are 6 +2 per player zombies. They start 6” away from the necromancer and will move towards the closest enemy warrior within 18” charging when in range. Otherwise they will not move.

The Necromancer.
Profile: M4 WS4 BS3 S3 T4 W2 I3 A2 LD 7. He has the following skills: Cloud of flies -1 to hit, Fear, Sorcery, Warrior Wizard, Dodge, Jump Up, and gets 3D6 for casting. He has the following equipment: ceremonial dagger, shovel, heavy armor, long robes, staff: requires 2 hands, gives +1 strength, and concussion.

The Necromancers Actions.
The necromancer will not charge. He will only move to get into contact with a captured warrior in order to sacrifice them. He will always cast if possible.

Casting order:
1. If he has sacrificed a warrior this turn then he will auto cast Spell of Awakening, and the warrior will immediately stand up as a zombie.
2. If any enemy are in range, not possessed models or undead models, he will cast Lifestealer on the closest enemy warrior.
3. If any enemy are in range he will cast Spell of Doom.
4. If any zombies are OOA then the will cast Reanimate. Place the zombie between him and the closest enemy warrior as close to the enemy as possible.

Once the first enemy warrior enters the 12” clearing start tracking his turns. Once that warband has had 3 more turns, then on the following turn the necromancer will sacrifice his first warrior. The necromancer will sacrifice henchmen first, then heroes, otherwise randomize. After he sacrifices a model he will not sacrifice another for D3 turns.

To The Rescue!
Once one of your warriors comes into contact with a captured warrior he can attempt to free them. Make a S check in your combat phase to release them. Released warriors have lost all their weapons and equipment. They are disoriented and will not attack or move on their own. Once release they will move D6” in a random direction unless in contact with a friendly warrior. They can only make a regular move unless 2 friendly warriors are in contact then they can run. If charged in HTH they will flee from combat. If fleeing in the mist they will move in a random direction.



This game was tons of fun. Those with captured warriors had a serious agenda towards releasing them. I was happy with how the minions worked but the necromancer turned out to be a pushover. In both games he was shot down rather easily. I think I would make a rule that randomizes shooting between him and the captured warriors to stop all the sniping and give him more of a chance. Or his long robes could act like an elven cloak. As it was, as long as your warband didn't rout early there was no chance for any guys to be sacrificed. Also there was tons of player cooperation in this game. I didn't have last warband standing as an endgame result so you can change that depending on how you want your game to go.

where are the comics?!

further more, you're providing us with great stuff man!

I've got a nice big drawing coming for next weeks game. It's about 18"x20". Also I decided that sometimes it's too much work to do a comic each week so I have diversified. A short story, ransom note, anything which makes a good fluff piece!

For those of you who have been good this week:




Revenge. Week 9

Oh yeah, take this!
Furious that his ritual was interrupted the necromancer has released his minions in a fit of revenge.

Terrain
Set up the table as normal.

Set Up
2-4 players. Dice off, the winner picks first and deploys first. Each player picks a corner to set up on in an 8” x 8” zone.

Start of Game
Dice off for players. Undead get the 1st turn. The winner goes 2nd, then clockwise.

End of Game
The game ends when there is only 1 warband left on the table and the others have routed.

Experience
+1 exp to the leader of the winning warband. +1 exp per enemy out of action for heroes. +1 CP for every 2 ghouls you take OOA. Keep track of how many you kill! +1 exp for surviving heroes and henchmen.

Special Rules

Ghouls.
There is a group of 4 deployed in the center of the table. They will always move together towards the closest enemy warrior. They will stay within 2” of each other at all times if possible. They will always charge the closest enemy warrior if possible. Only 2 will ever charge the same model. The others will charge the next closest warrior if possible.

The Horde.
Once the first 4 ghouls are taken OOA another group will arrive in the following undead turn. They will arrive on a random table edge. Place them on the edge at a point closest to the nearest enemy warrior. Each time a new group arrives on the table add 1 more ghoul to the group! Continue this up to a maximum of 8 ghouls. Groups of ghouls will continue to arrive until the game ends. When a group arrives on the table they can move and charge as normal that turn.


An interesting game. It didn't turn out quite how I figured. The ghouls stuck around much longer than I expected. We only had 3 groups show up. Also we rolled the same table edge twice so they ended up attacking the same person the whole game. I would probably recommend having a rule which says the ghouls cannot arrive on the same edge two turns in a row. So that way they are more random. On that thought I just thought up another idea! You could have buildings, wells, or crypts around the table where the ghouls might emerge instead of the table edge!

:Drool:

Damn Ash, That drawing is the shiz-nizel-bam-boom!

Right On!

Thanks! I even brought the easel to the game so it could be displayed at the side of the table while we played. Great atmosphere! Though I have to say nothing beats playing mordheim at the cabin for atmosphere!!

COOL COMIC/ILLUSTRATION, as always!

ANOTHER SPOOKY adventure, AND just in time for Halloween; COOL!
I like the random crypt starting point idea better than the table edge; it seems to add to the scariness of the game to have them popping out of the structures. A GREAT series of adventures; I can hardly wait for the sequal!

Cool drawing Ash! Hats off. The necro looks really cool.

Is the yellow tone on the original or did you alter the colour afterwards?

oh and...

UnderBheit wrote:

That drawing is the shiz-nizel-bam-boom!

Wicked awesome drawing my friend! just what I've been waiting for! (oh, and of course the updates to the campaign )

I will have no more requests as I have full confidence now that you bring gifts all around! (get me a deamonic one! )

Admin Tom wrote:

Cool drawing Ash! Hats off. The necro looks really cool.

Is the yellow tone on the original or did you alter the colour afterwards?

It's done on an old newsprint pad, so it's already a little off white, the pic came out another shade off from the camera/lighting. I messed with the white balance, this was the closest that I got.

Ash wrote:

Great atmosphere! Though I have to say nothing beats playing mordheim at the cabin for atmosphere!!

Oh, I missed this post.
My family regularly vacations in the mountains of Northern California at our Great Great Grandfather's Cabin. About a month ago, when Ash posted this, we invited him to join us for a weekend. The Cabin was built during the Gold Rush, so it's pretty rustic and Mordheimish. There are no lights anywhere, bears, dear and plenty of trout for fishing. At night its pitch black except for the fires, so the ambiance is perfect for playing Mordheim. My only regret is that we only played one game during the visit.
Good times. We'll definitely have to do it again.

The cabin sounds more like Army of Darkness/Evil Dead than Mordheim to moi. Inviting Ash to a secluded mountaintain cabin MAY have been tempting Fate.

That is hilarious! I didn't even think of the Ash reference. The cabin is almost exactly like the one in Evil Dead, except for the thing in the basement...we keep ours in the attic.

Ash, your comic is waaaaaaaay kool !
Your rules rock too, please post some pics of your battles, Im really enjoying the story so far.

Yeah, he's right Ash, we should take pictures of our battles and post reports more often.

For example, last week Ash and I played the Surprise Attack scenario. Ash set up as defender, leaving me as attacker. Then...
I murdered 4 of his guys and he routed THE END.

Seriously though, it was a great game and it could have gone for either of us.

If you are able to, Posting photos of the battles with ALL those LOVELY minis & terrain PLUS your COOL cartoons & narratives WOULD be the ULTIMATE. You MIGHT even give the Flame On Guys a run for the money!

Hey, I'm in that campaign. We're actually in "Season two," and having a great time. I just got a Canon Rebel camera, so I think I'll take it to a gaming night and try to capture the gripping narrative.