River obstacles in the game

Hey gamers,

Firstly, I'm brand new to the forum. I played Mordheim a lot between 2003-2008, and I'm just coming back to the hobby after a nearly 10 year hiatus.

I'm thinking about building a multi-level modular game board with a river section, which I notice some members here have done or are in the process of doing.

I was wondering about how these rivers effect the gameplay. are they fair? Do they factor in to the game much?

Thanks!

Hallo!

I've played a bit with a narrow river, and found it factored into the game quite a bit, not least because it crossed the centre of the board. Bridges become choke-points, & control of them can seem decisive -- but a river can still be swum, & desperate men will jump right in! So yes, I find they factor into the game, & they're a fun, characterful feature that can really add to the story of a game.

Plus, depending on the size of the river you might want to try the extra swimming & boating rules that have been written. It gives the option at least.

I hope we see some progress on this project -- it sounds grand!

Thanks. Do you think if the river ran to one side of the board, rather than through the centre, it would be a disadvantage for the player starting out on that side?

Hmm... Potentially, since they'd probably have to cross it to get anything done. But if we're talking about a river within 12" of one edge of a 4'x4' board, a player who happened to start at that side should be able to cross it before coming under attack, & that sort of obstacle is part of the suffering of the other player choosing board edge anyway! One side will almost always have some advantage, so I don't think it'd be a problem. Plus, I'm interested as to what part it could play when it runs from one deployment area to another.

If it did turn out to be a problem, I'm sure you could put some extra crossings over it for those occasions when it badly disadvantaged one player. Or just house rule it so the stronger warband gets that side!

Empire in Flammes page 14

Empire in Flammes page 14 wrote:

Rivers The Empire is dissected by many huge, fastflowing rivers. These are the lifeblood to the Empire as they bring trade to the bustling cities and act as the major source of transport between them.

To represent how models interact with water these basic rules apply:

Players should establish which way the river is flowing at the start of the game. All rivers count as difficult (or worse) terrain for all models except those considered as aquatic. See Terrain Types previously.

Models swimming with the current will double their base move.

Models swimming against the current of a slow moving river may only move a quarter of their base move, but you may not swim against the current of a fast moving river. Aquatic models suffer no reduction of their base move when swimming against the current of a slow moving river but may not swim against the current of a fast moving river.

Models wearing armour may not attempt to move through any water deeper than shallow. Shields and bucklers do not count for this as they are assumed to be strapped onto backs. If a model wearing armour finds itself in deep water – they are, literally! Each turn the model is in the water it must make a Strength test and, if unsuccessful, is taken out of action.

Aquatic models in water, either swamp, streams or rivers, can elect to be hidden at the discretion of the player. Models cannot move upstream in fast moving rivers without floating transportation, such as a boat or canoe.

Fighting in Water

Most players will find it advantageous to fight around, or actually in, a waterway. We have included some simple rules to cover fighting in water.

If a non-aquatic model is knocked down in a shallow river or stream they are swept downriver D6". Aquatic models that are knocked down will not drift with the current and can still get back into combat the following turn.

If any model is stunned while in shallow water it must make an Initiative test. If it passes, it can be turned over in the following turn. If it fails, it is considered drowned and will be taken out of action. The player will need to roll for injuries at the end of the game. This doesn’t mean that the model is gone for good but is just a bit waterlogged!

Any Undead model that is knocked down in shallow water will recover as normal according the standard Mordheim rules for Undead.

Any model fighting in a shallow stream whilst wearing light armour will be considered out of action if stunned. No Initiative test is to be taken. This does not apply to models whose skin or clothing is considered natural light armour

We do rivers all the time.  In Mordheim we tend to do them as one end of the table.  Check out the scenario Down at the Docks TC #25 for games to play using the terrain.



Naturally you can do canals...


Remember a river runs through Mordheim...


Pirates!


You are really only limited by imagination and terrain...

Everytime I see marvellous pictures like these, I want to drop all 6 or 7 projects I'm currently working on and start making boats!