Death on the Eerie Downs Campaign Log

 Death

on the

Eerie

Downs

 2012 Mordheim Campaign

In the Ostermark, there is a place of legend that very few men ever venture.  Surrounded by the Ostermark Marches, the horrid place is avoided like death itself.  This place is called the Eerie Downs, and upon the plain there is such stillness and quiet that it makes even the stoutest ogre mercenary cast glances over his shoulder and peer into the perpetual fog.  Rumors of men going mad, or simply being lost forever in the fog soaked vastness have circulated for centuries.  They say that the ghosts of the men lost upon the plain now haunt it, and their madness fuels the evil stillness that it persists to this day.

It is little wonder that we would be interested in this place.

Though the darkness hangs over the Eerie Downs like the fog that never lifts, there is a great call to this place.      The rumors seem true:  treasure lies scattered across the Downs.  A huge shipment of dwarf gold bound to Karaz-A-Karak went missing months ago - but now warbands are recovering pieces of fine art, casks of fine ale and even chests of gold from the place.  It is a time of great opportunity to those who could seize it....

Yet some new horror pervades the silent reaches of the Eerie Downs this year.  Terrible reports of beastmen warbands pillaging farms near the foggy plains have filtered into the camps along the River Stir.  Cultists have been sighted at evil spots on the plain, enacting horrid rituals and invoking their dark gods. As a result, merchants have become more paranoid and have begun hiring mercenaries en masse to guard their shipments as they pass through the Ostermark Marches and extra men for when they pass near the Eerie Downs.

Whether drawn by the ecstasy of gold or the promise of dark power to be found on the Eerie Downs, a number of warbands are converging on the plains on a course to bloody conflict.  None will step down, and only death and horror await those who cross into the silent reaches of the fog-soaked plains.  Yet if glory can be seized from the grip of this madness, an enterprising warlord might make something greater of himself.

---

Death on the Eerie Downs is the 2012 campaign for Mordheim!

This time it's something new for us at the Wargate!  Since we've taken up serious gaming with this system, we've done battle in the delve at Khazid Grimaz and in the actual ruins of the city of Mordheim.  We'll be using a slightly different ruleset this time:  Empire in Flames!

All rules from that supplement will be used!  In addition, we're now using the 2.1 updated Mordheim rulebook that is available pretty much anywhere.  This includes the Opulent Goods and rules for Mounts.  One member of each warband may take riding skills as normal.  There's a lot of extra stuff in the rulebook, so if  you need to get a copy just ask.

The game will consist of 1 or 2 Round Robins, depending on how often the warbands do battle.  At the end of the season, Warband Ratings will be multiplied by influence to determine the overall victor!

A few more things.  

1. Roll for missions using the table in Empire in Flames.  If doubles are rolled, instead play Upon the Downs from The League of Ostermark.  If the rolled scenario cannot be played for some reason, the players will also play Upon the Downs.
2. Beastmen warbands may use the beastman raider table instead, however if a 1 or 6 is rolled they must play Upon the Downs.
3. Multiplayer games are allowed in the final week, and counts for each applicable fight.  That is, Warband 1, 3 and 4 fight, so each warband counts that battle against each other warband.  This will fill Warband 1's games against 3 and 4, and vice versa or juxtaposed.  Players cannot play extra games due to multiplayer scenarios.

The Wargate is happy to announce the compiled lists of warbands and hired swords available to our players!  All the following are considered to be "official" and in-play here at our club.  This is a quite comprehensive list, and includes many new options.  These are the available HENCEFORTH and can be referenced here as needed.

Warbands

1. Amazons  
2. Battle Monks 
3. Bretonnians 
4. Chaos - Beastmen Raiders 
5. Chaos - Carnival of Chaos 
6. Chaos - Cult of the Possessed 
7. Chaos - Marauders 
8. Chaos - Norse Explorers 
9. Dwarfs - Rangers 
10. Dwarfs - Treasure Hunters 
11. Elves - Cult of Khaine 
12. Elves - Dark Elves 
13. Elves - Forest Walkers 
14. Elves - Shadow Warriors 
15. Empire - Averlander Mercenaries 
16. Empire - Halflings 
17. Empire - Kislevites 
18. Empire - Marienburger Mercenaries 
19. Empire - Merchant Caravans 
20. Empire - Middenheimer Mercenaries 
21. Empire - Mordheim Fanatics 
22. Empire - Nuln Engineers 
23. Empire - Ostlander Mercenaries 
24. Empire - Outriders 
25. Empire - Reiklander Mercenaries 
26. Empire - Sisters of Sigmar 
27. Empire - Witch Hunters 
28. Greenskins - Black Orcs 
29. Greenskins - Forest Goblins 
30. Greenskins - Hobgoblin Wolf Riders 
31. Greenskins - Night Goblins 
32. Greenskins - Orc Mobs
33. Lizardmen 
34. Ogre Maneaters 
35. Outlaw - Bandits 
36. Outlaw - Outlaws 
37. Outlaw - Pirates 
38. Outlaw - Pit Fighters
39. Skaven - Assassin Squad 
40. Skaven - Clan Eshin 
41. Skaven - Clan Moulder 
42. Skaven - Clan Pestilens 
43. Skaven - Clan Skryre 
44. Tileans 
45. Undead - Blood Dragon Vampire 
46. Undead - Lahmian Vampire 
47. Undead - Liche 
48. Undead - Von Carstein Vampire

Hired Swords

1. Arabian Merchant 
2. Barbarian 
3. Bard 
4. Beggar 
5. Black Orc 
6. Bounty Hunter 
7. Chaos Warrior 
8. Clan Eshin Assassin 
9. Clan Moulder Packmaster 
10. Clan Moulder Rat Ogre Bodyguard 
11. Clan Skryre Poison Wind Globadier 
12. Clan Skryre Sniper 
13. Cleric 
14. Cursed Hillman 
15. Dark Elf Assassin 
16. Dark Elf Sorceress 
17. Duelist 
18. Dwarf Runesmith Journeyman 
19. Dwarf Sapper 
20. Dwarf Slayer Pirate 
21. Dwarf Treasure Hunter 
22. Dwarf Troll Slayer 
23. Elf Mage 
24. Expert Marksman 
25. Fallen Sister 
26. Goblin Lantern Bearer 
27. Halfling Scout 
28. Halfling Thief 
29. Hochland Huntsmaster 
30. Imperial Assassin 
31. Imperial Tactician 
32. Kislev Ranger 
33. Mule Skinner 
34. Norse Shaman 
35. Ogre Bodyguard 
36. Ogre Slavemaster 
37. Pit Fighter 
38. Priest of Morr 
39. Priest of Ranald 
40. Priestess of Shallya 
41. Road Warden 
42. Shadow Warrior 
43. Thief 
44. Tilean Marksman 
45. Warlock 
46. Warrior Priest of Sigmar 
47. Witch 
48. Witch Hunter 
49. Wolf Priest of Ulric 
50. Wood Elf Ranger

Dramatis Personae

1. Aenur, Sword of Twilight 
2. Bertha Bestraufrung 
3. Countess Marianna Chavaux 
4. Dark Emissary 
5. Dijin Katal 
6. Drenek Johansen 
7. Johann the Knife 
8. Nicodemus 
9. The Dark Jester 
10. The Salesman 
11. Truthsayer 
12. Ulli & Marquand 
13. Vermin Lord 
14. Veskit, High Executioner

Anyone interested in something they can't find the rules for need only ask!

---

The warbands gathered for the campaign are all steely veterans of past wars, and are ready to do battle on the dreadful Eerie Downs!

• Coven of Darkness (Von Carstein)
• Cult of the Repeated Mean (Cult of the Possessed)
• Pharoah's Mace (Tomb Guard)
• Chattel Herd (Beastmen Raiders)
• The Ruffians (Nuln Engineers)
• Ahuiateteo, Servants of the Old Ones (Lizardmen)
• Deathmaw Ogre Maneaters (Ogre Maneaters)
• De Jong's Detachment (Marienburger Mercenaries)

These ruthless and nasty cutthroats will maim and murder each other until nothing remains of any opponent!  

---

The campaign is over!

De Jong's Detachment has won the campaign!

---

De Jong and his men quickly drew their swords as soon as they heard the sound of guns come from behind the broken ruins.  Smoke assailed his eyes, and he shielded them the best he could, but quickly forgot the momentary distraction when another round of gun blasts hurled towards him and his men, dropping one man to the ground and forcing the rest into cover.

The sounds of swearing mercenaries filled the small square where they had been readying the wagons.  There was so much treasure, De Jong had to search the city for wagons that were in good repair.  Now, there were three wagons with their teams ready to go.  

"Of course we would be short on horses." spake he.

It was time to leave this cursed place.  The sun was setting, and they could still see it.  If they got the wagons moving right now, they could follow it off the Downs and not have to camp on the forsaken moor another night.  Time for action, De Jong thought, as he boldly stood up to rally his men.

"Wagons, ho!" he called out, and motioned the men next to him with his sword.  They swiftly mounted the waiting wagons, and the fog was playing with their assailant's visibility, making the next volley scatter wide or strike the wagons themselves.  With a few cries of  'giya!' and 'go, horse!'  De Jong and his wagons full of treasure were barrelling away from the Ruffians who were closing in on them.

"Those guys are lucky I have to go spend ALL MY MONEY!" De Jong shouted, holding with one hand onto the railing of the speeding wagon, waving his sword at the fog coming off the Downs.

Death on the Eerie Downs Commences!

Whew!  Long time between posts, and I've really been feeling it.  I was finally able to get some work done, I think I'm still a few days late to this...but our Mordheim campaign is kicking off today (among many other things)!

This season we're introducing a new version of the rulebook (2.1) and the material from the Empire in Flames expansion!  This doesn't change a lot of the basic rules, but a lot more options have been added.  There's a lot of breadth to Mordheim, and we're going to be adding new stuff every year.

That means that this season we're adding a lot of new stuff to our fantasy skirmish game.  Some rules are being adopted as official, and there's a huge list of available warbands and hired swords on the campaign page.  I imagine a lot of us aren't fully familiar with all of the options, so make sure you check them out - you might find yourself with a new project next year!

There are a few neat scenarios that are going to come up, but Upon the Downs will surely be a hated ordeal.  We're getting a bunch of new items that will allow us to play a lot of the more interesting scenarios from Empire in Flames, such as the Stagecoach Ambush.  New and more interesting terrain will be on the table, so get those warbands painted up so we can showcase them!

The game is going to last at least 1 round robin round, so start your games as soon as you can!  We'll be updating the campaign page with more information on the warbands and the campaign leaderboard later this week.  Stake your claim to the treasure on the Eerie Downs now!

Hex & The City Campaign Log

Hex

and the

City

The Cursed City of Mordheim

Erntezeit 6, 1999 I.C. - The City of the Damned

It has been nine long months since the twin-tailed comet annihilated the city of Mordheim.  It is now a cursed place, shunned by most sane men.  It is riven with mutants, undead and daemons.  It is here we travel to do battle. This time, to the Cursed City.

Much has been said about the City of the Damned elsewhere, and that is not our focus as we step through the Wargate into the distant past of the Old World.  The time of Three Emperors is afoot, but it will matter scarcely who is truly the Emperor to those who have decided to risk their lives and souls in Mordheim.  However, the conflict we are interested in is not just a street fight between adventurers in the city.  There is a more important battle being fought that may affect the Empire hundreds of years from now...

---

The Eye of Tepok


Somewhere in the City of the Damned is the mystical artifact known as the Eye of Tepok.  The vampire Gabor Sandolescu knows it, and his Coven of Darkness has entered the city and exerted power over many of the ghouls there.  Equipped with a small army, the vampire strides the streets, searching for the artifact...

...and the servants of the Old Ones, Ahuiateteo, are not far behind.  They also know of the Eye, and wish to return it to the temples of their home.  The lizardmen have sent a warrior band into Mordheim as well, and their priest can see the omens of the god of air, Tepok, carrying him over the city...towards his eye...

The vampire was followed, however.  He stole a priceless treasure from a tomb in Khemri, a magical amplifier known as the Scarab of Atekhramen.  The Pharoah's Mace, a band of undead walkers from that distant land, have emerged in Mordheim.  They will retrieve the Scarab from the vampire at all costs, but the power of the warpstone in the city also compels their actions.

All's not well in the Cursed City, however.  A war has broken out between two rival heretic sects: the Adherents of the Repeated Mean; and the Despoilers of the Blight.  The blood runs thick in the city streets as they lash out in force at anyone they encounter.

A band of witch hunters known as the Murder of Ravens have tracked several heretics here, and aim to enter the city on a mission.  Burn the unclean, and root out the Possessed and Undead cults openly roaming the city!   The brave men of the Templars have courage and steel, but how long can they survive the nights in Mordheim?

Chattel Herd Beastmen and Bloo Moonz Orcs roam the city as well, coming in droves from the woods and mountains all around Mordheim.  They attack anyone they encounter, taking from them everything of value and most likely eating the corpses.  They may yet prove many warband's undoing as the search for the Eye begins...

---

The campaign will be in round robin format with 8 players.  Each player will play at least 7 games during the course of the season, and all the rules for campaigns in Mordheim will be followed.  After that, additional games can be played according to the regular rules until the end of the season.

The campaign is over!


Murder of Ravens has won the campaign!
Chattel Herd has taken 2nd place!
Cult of the Repeated Mean has taken 3rd place!
Bloo Moonz Tribe is Dead Last!

---

Campaign Log


Ulrichzeit 16, 1999 I.C. - The Purging of the North Abbey


Garth Torchbearer and his Murder of Ravens meticulously combed the buildings looking for the cultists, and it didn't matter which ones he found.  He would not allow them to escape Sigmar's wrath, and his warband had prepared a special surprise for the men who would renounce their savior to worship the Dark Gods.  He gripped his sword in one hand and held his torch aloft in the other, as his Asvald the Sigmarite kicked open the door to the massive, ruined church.

Since they had entered the city, they had encounters with undead, orcs, beastmen and the mad cultists who still dwelt within the ruins of Mordheim.  They had remained hidden from most of the dangerous warbands, and managed to get this far into the city without being torn to shreds by the savage denizens of the cursed city.  Here, however...they didn't find the quarry they sought.

Scattered around the desecrated temple that had once been dedicated to Sigmar were signs of life.  The cultists had been here after all.

"Sacrilege!"  Asvald proclaimed, as he smashed the massive, spoiled altar with one of his hammers.  The bloodstained marble clacked to the floor in pieces, the sign of the ruinous power that had been inscribed in blood upon it was no longer legible.

"Burn it.  All of it."  Torchbearer uttered in the near silent whisper they had cultivated while on this mission.  It paid to be quiet in the city of the damned.  Flames began to leap up around him and his followers set the old church ablaze.  Decrepit and filthy draperies began to burn with the slow fashion of wet hide, and the scattered blankets of whoever had been squatting here provided kindling for the support beams.  Though the outer building was made of stone, the interior would burn nicely.

They exited the old church, and made their way to the next building.  Behind them, the blazes they had set over the city as they purged the area around the North Abbey climbed high into the sky as the city of the damned burned once more.

Hex & The City Final Rankings!

The hardest fighting warband commanders in the city of the damned!

Welcome back to Mordheim!

Egad!  It seems like just a few weeks ago (which it was) the campaign began, and now the entire battle is over!  We'll have the campaign log updated and posted in a few days, but we'll get to the crunch right now!  The final ranks for the Hex & the City campaign are in and awards have been issued!

It's great to see so many players placing in different ranks for different campaigns!  It shows the Wargate is truly competitive, and we definitely cultivate wisdom from our defeats to bring about astounding wins as our generalship improves.

1st Place this time went to Marky Mark!  Top of the heap with the Witch Hunters, is a strong win for the forces of Order in the ongoing narrative!  We'll wrap up the storylines in the campaign log, which will post here in a few days.

2nd Place went to Jerry Wargate and his Beastmen Raiders, which have been rampaging around ever since the last Warhammer campaign!  The forces of darkness seem to have found a favored champion, but for the moment he's not in 1st Place!

3rd Place was taken by Captain Video and his Possessed Cult!  More Destruction wins for the narrative - zounds!  The top spots were heavily contested, and congrats to those who managed to secure a spot in the top 3!

We do have a new tradition here at the Wargate - Dead Last!  This time, Joe Kool is the unlucky individual who scored lowest at the end of the campaign and receives the dubious honor of the title for last place!  Better luck next time!

Stay tuned for more campaign updates this week!

Warband Briefing: Coven of Darkness

Coven

Of

Darkness

By Chief Scrivener Hannan

Mordheim, 1999 I.C.

In the ruins of the City of the Damned, a there are many cults that are feverishly devoted to their masters.  Possessed, Sigmarites and worse roam the streets in that hellish place, searching for wyrdstone amongst the ruin.  However, there are other treasures that can be found in the city – especially if you know what you are looking for.

A powerful vampire named Gabor Sandolescu has finally completed his century long search for a magical artifact of immense power.  He obtained the Scarab of Atekhramen in Khemri, and his necromantic powers have since increased tenfold.  Now, he has returned to the Empire, the place of his birth, after nearly two hundred years of roaming the expanse of the world.  He is intent on taking his place as the dark master of Sylvania, by destroying the other Vampire Counts!

Now, he travels to Mordheim with his followers.  There, they seek another artifact whose location they have divined by dark scrying.  The Eye of Tepoc, a magical ring created by the lizard-mystics of Lustria, can give Sandolescu the edge he needs.  He knows it is in Mordheim, and every night scours the city looking for the mortal who possesses it.  He must hurry, however, and find the ring before it’s taken from the City of the Damned!

The Vampire Sandolescu

            Nothing is known about Sandolescu’s past, save he was born in Sylvania and first learned how to use his vampiric powers by studying under an ancient and wizened Necrarch.  In turn, as Gabor traveled the world he taught necromancers and learned from dark wizards.  The Coven of Darkness is Sandolescu’s network of spellcasters and warriors sworn to his blood and magic.  The Coven’s power has grown with the vampire’s, and ghouls have begun to answer in droves to their magical calls.

           When his quest is completed, and he is possessed of both magical artifacts, Sandolescu plans to hide himself somewhere in Sylvania and devise powerful magics for dealing with his undead kin.  Perhaps with time, he will weaken their hold on Sylvania and raise an army of skeleton warriors to conquer the land.  Whatever the case for the future, it will certainly be more grim if the vampire obtains the Eye of Tepok.           

Hex and the City!

"Did you see the size of that chicken?!"

The new Mordheim campaign is off to a big start! Last week we went through several battles on Sunday, and this week will probably be no different!

We are actually visiting the time frame and setting from the published version of Mordheim, and will probably make several trips to and from the city on our campaigns going forward (though by no means all of them).  Our current Warhammer calendar year is 2522 I.C. - but the time frame for Mordheim is set in 1999 I.C.  This means there's a lot of room for new narratives we can insert into our world, and set up some killer new warbands as well.

Indeed, one of the great strengths of the system is the variety of different warbands and how you can approach the modeling aspect.  It takes only a few models to create a new one, and it's one of the games we can really go to town on as far as the stories go.  If you really like a certain set of models, but never had the time to build a full blown army, grab a few of the models from the line and form a new warband.  There is plenty of support for all current Warhammer races, except Ogre Kingdoms.  Hmm...might have to look into that soon.

The campaign is round robin, like most of our games.  However, after the round additional fights can take place between warbands that will affect their ratings and standing within the campaign.  We will be be fighting in Return of the Goblin King as well, and need plenty of time for the huge team battles to take place!  Mordheim games can be played no matter which players are here, for example if players have played both their Hex and the City and Return of the Goblin King battles.

Game Day begins in a few hours!  Watch your back in the City of the Damned - you never know where the giant chickens are lurking...

Dirty Greg's Despoilers of the Blight!

Howdy!   The Wargate's revvin' up plenty of gaming goodness this week, folks - but today we're going to be talking about the warband who won our Death in the Delve campaign a few months ago.  It's Dirty Greg and his Despoilers of the Blight!

Greg painted these back for the Mordheim campaign, but we just got some pics yesterday when Jerry stopped by and snapped these up for the blog.  This is a Mordheim Possessed Warband, and Greg used Quickshade Strong Tone on these.  They are based with slate from a Warhammer 40,000 basing kit.

Here we have the Magister and his closest toadies.  From left to right, it's a Darksoul, Possessed, Magister and Mutant.  It's no coincidence the Mutant looks a lot like Krampus...

Here are the Despoiler Brethren.  These guys are tough, and pack a wallop with those axes.  There were so many axes in the campaign, almost no one got an armor save.  Ever.  Note the model with the bow - during our campaign, another Possessed player complained about not having missile weapons, or models available that depicted bows.  I was about to tell him about Chaos Archers in Battle Masters, Empire Militia or Huntsmen, Bretonnian Bowmen and all sorts of other ideas where to find conversion pieces - but all I ended up saying was "Greg built one."

Beastman Gors!  These guys are strong in Mordheim, and we all quickly learned how fast we need to deal with Strength 4 creatures with axes.  Over time, his warband grew, and Greg added more implements of destruction to their armaments.  The full-on-dead-bodies warband was actually quite a sight to behold, and quite intimidating on the other side of the (very small!) board.

We started hiring mercenaries pretty early on in the campaign, and Dirty Greg simply would not allow himself to be out-dirtied.  These models represent his Hired Swords, namely a Pit Fighter, Ogre Bodyguard and Warlock!  These were done around Christmas, and I took to derisively calling the Pit Fighter "Krys Kryngal" every chance I got.

Greg did well for himself during this last campaign, and his victory has directed the ongoing saga of the Khazid Grimaz and southwestern Wissenland that we are conducting here at the Wargate.  Chaos has a firm grip on the underground city now that the greenskins have been pushed out.

Dirty Greg must have felt bad that the Khazid was now in even more dire straits thanks to his big win.  In the new campaign, Welkommen Zu Wissenland, he's now playing High Elves!  Can't wait to see what those turn out like!

Stay tuned folks!  We'll have more Army Briefings and Project Logs to show you as we get closer to summertime!

Death In The Delve: Curse of the Alderhalls Final Rankings!

The battle for the Alderhalls is over!

We've spent the past two months in the Delve fighting tooth and nail to find as many pieces of wyrdstone as possible.  The value of this treasure is immense, and many warriors died to procure as much of the sorcerous substance as possible for their masters.  Each warband had a different agenda, and now with the final scores in we can better see what's happening now down there in the deeps of the Khazid...

1. Despoilers of the Blight have defeated all comers in the battle for dominance in the delve!  Everyone is whispering tales of dread mutants and beastmen crawling about in the dark beneath the city, and rightfully fears the darkness!  The Blight Deacon now intends to use his pile of wyrdstone to claim the Alderhalls for the Chaos Gods!  Even now, beastmen gather in masses and enter the dungeons below Khazid Grimaz, and the threat of the orcs seem a distant and irrelevant threat.
2. Von Staufferman's Expedition retreated from the Alderhalls with a good store of warpstone.  A new witch hunter captain is to be appointed in Altdorf, where the expedition will present their superiors with their treasure.  After replenishing their ranks and drumming up a good sized army in Wissenland, they will march to the Khazid to aid their allies in their time of need.
3. The Adherents of the Repeated Mean know that Von Staufferman's Expedition will be leaving the Khazid to head to Altdorf.  Knowing well the road, they begin to tail the witch hunters in hopes of overtaking them in the forests.  After killing the Sigmarites and taking their warpstone, they will continue to hunt for twins in the nearest hamlets of Wissenland...
4. The Pharoah's Mace continue to lurk in the Delve, hunting for wyrdstone and other more esoteric information.  Armaeus is determined to find the Doomforge, and will not be dissuaded by the mortals scurrying about the halls looking for warpstone.  He has plenty of that.
5. Ahuiateteo: The Gods of Excess flit amongst the cracks and crevices of a few passes in the Delve that are abnormally warm.  Additionally, orcs and beastmen around the base of the mountain are having more and more encounters with larger and larger groups of the lizardmen.  What this portends, is unknown.
6. Khazid Grimaz has been undermanned and overwhelmed.  They have almost no presence in the Alderhalls, and most of the progress they had made has been undone.  The Ironbreakers and Thane's Household maintain the upper levels, but almost no effort can be made to make progress either in the Delve or in the mines.  The very existence of the Khazid Grimaz is in question, as armies converge from across the land.

So, Greg won the Mordheim campaign for 2010!  We're ringing in the New Year to the tune of Chaos!

Congratulations to Greg and his Despoilers of the Blight!  The glory of the Alderhalls is theirs!

That's not all, however! Wargate had something special planned for this, and handed out a secret prize for 1st Place today!  The Secret Treasure of the Alderhalls goes to Greg, who gets a new unit for his Warhammer army!  Now his High Elves will be stronger in the upcoming Warhammer Warbands campaign!

We're making a strong commitment to strengthening the gaming community here at the Wargate, and there will be plenty of prizes to come!  Now, our battles will actually serve to make our armies stronger and each campaign will add to our options for tabletop gaming by adding new terrain and units to our community!  

Just remember, tis the season for Chaos in Khazid Grimaz!  Now the Elves are coming!

Josh's Adherents of the Repeated Mean

Welcome back to the Wargate!!

Today we're going to talk about Josh's new Mordheim warband, the Adherents of the Repeated Mean.  A few interesting things about this warband, and Josh took a moment to tell us a few interesting things about his warband.  

Firstly, this warband has been formed of two separate Mordheim Possessed boxed sets.  Half the models once belonged to Dirty Greg, but with all of that stuff on his Mountain of Models, he never quite got to them.  Josh loves pointy hats, and well....

Another nifty thing about this warband is that it's the first project at the Wargate that was completed entirely with Army Painter supplies.  The primer and paints were all purchased in one of their Wargamer Starter Paint sets.  The paints checked out great.  Some settling did occur, but when they were shaken (not stirred) they performed admirably.

Josh used a nifty gimmick to break up the monotony of the figure's poses.  These are pretty old, and they only cast a few different warriors.  Check out the pics above and you'll see an alternating paint scheme that is really cool.  In practice, this gives him the ability to dictate different statistics or skills for individual warriors, as they are each unique (even though they are twins).

  

The models were shaded with Quickshade Strong Tone, and the bases were made to resemble greasy, green warpstone!  All in all, the project looks slick as all get out.

We're going to be taking a look at some of Josh's other projects, as well as some other stuff by the guys here at the 'gate.

And remember, Magister Kakikak sez "Get your Warbands painted, nerds!"

Warband Briefing: Adherents of the Repeated Mean

The

Adherents

of the

Repeated Mean

By Scriveners Hannan and Swearingen

Altdorf, 2493-2522 I.C.

Pythagorus was a moneychanger who made a fair bit of coin plying his trade in Altdorf, until one day he was offered a rare tome by a client who could not pay.  He accepted the expensive looking tome, and began his research into it's contents - a radical new theorem of mind-bottling mathematics.  As he applied  it's teachings to his trade, he was able to achieve a vast amount of wealth in a short time.

In addition to it's practical elements, the tome, Theoretical Algorithms for the Applied Abrogation of Limitations, was full of proposed theories that bordered on the insane - and worse, the heretical.  As he would intone the litanies and scrawled the profane diagrams and symbols contained therein, Pythagorus was mildly surprised when he began to sprout mutations.  As his acceptance of the Chaos contagion grew, so did his physical markings, which included his easily recognizable third and fourth arms.

A Lord of Change

As Pythagorus was forced to flee Altdorf due to his inability to conceal the growing taint within himself, the daemon of the book began to speak with him.  Zimiz, a daemon who had been trapped within the book to calculate the exact number of pi for all eternity for a transgression against his master, had finally found a human  to carry on his work in his stead.  Pythagorus had calculated the mythical number to the ten thousandth decimal (per the book's instruction) and Zimiz grew strong.

The daemon made contact with his nearly-gibbering devotee, and charged him with a new task that was crucial to his plan to escape.  The mutant mathematician would be set to scour the world for sets of identical infant children.  Pythagorus, under the auspices of his new master, set about creating a cult.  Nearly thirty years later, the children that were stolen by the mutant in the night would grow strong and demented in their devotion to their daemon master.

The cult's ultimate goal is to summon their master to the mortal world, and destroy the prison that binds his master.  They search far and wide for money and wyrdstone to fuel this mighty endeavor, for it is no trifle of a ritual to do this.  Pythagorus has been promised many gifts for his servitude, which he hopes might include the favor of his fickle and capricious god.

The truth is often different for the servants of such entities, but when Pythagorus has calculated the ten millionth decimal of pi, time will tell which of his hopes and fears prove to be true.

Warband Briefing: Despoilers of the Blight

Despoilers of the Blight

By Scriveners Hannan and Hayes

The Grey Mountains, 2522 I.C.

It is unknown whence the foul renegade known only as the Blight Deacon originated.  What can be told, in the whispers of those who've borne witness to the destruction he has wrought, isn't heartening to the folk of the Empire who would stand against the coming of the Chaos Gods.  One can trace the stream of corruption and death all the way from the Reikland to southwestern Wissenland across the Grey Mountains and surmise that this cult is spreading in an insidious fashion, but the truth is much more simple.  The Blight Deacon is an itinerant demagogue, gathering worshipers of foul powers to him as he moves across the old world in service of his gods.

To date, the small band consists of the dregs and outcasts of society whom have fallen in with the Deacon, as well as numerous mutants and beastmen whom he's impressed with his power and strength.  As their legend grows and the Despoilers are favored with the attentions of the Ruinous Powers, even fouler things such as deformed possessed have been seen amidst the congregations as they lay waste to villages and farms, sparing no one the terror of the Ruinous Powers.

Eternal Quest, Eternal Darkness

As time has worn on, the Despoilers of the Blight have even threated the outlying communities of Dwarfs in the Grey Mountains.  This can easily be attributed to the favor of the Ruinous Powers that the Despoilers enjoy, as their leader communes with daemon-spirits that guide them to new prey.  Each time the Blight Deacon completes one of these tasks, the Despoilers have been granted a boon.  The Chaos powers have guided them to lost Darksouls who have sworn themselves to the Deacon's will,  sent daemons into the bodies of worshipers to better ensure their success, and gifted the cult with lore and spells of great power.

As for the daemon patrons of the Despoilers, even less can be said.  The fickle daemons of the Realm of Chaos are capricious indeed, and the Blight Deacon has been canny enough to avoid being marked by any one of the fell powers.  Each of the Gods have set their blessings upon the warband, and for the true believers in the cult, that is quite enough to spur them to acts of fiendish bravery.

For soon, the time of man shall be at an end.  The time of the Blight shall begin.

Warband Briefing: Von Stauffermann's Expedition

Von Stauffermann’s Expedition

By Chief Scrivener Hannan

Wissenland, 2522 I.C.

In the southern parts of Wissenland, the Knights of Sigmar (e.g. the Witch Hunters) are quite an active part of the landscape. Mutants, witches, beastmen and worse crawl in the darkness between the days, and the Witch Hunters patrol ceaselessly the villages and towns of the Empire rooting out such evils.

Amongst those who stand on the line between the darkness and the simple folk of the Empire is the decorated Knight of Sigmar, Georg Von Stauffermann. His name is whispered quietly when it is heard that his servants may be nearby, for Von Stauffermann has earned quite a reputation as witch-burner. 

The villages along the Grey Mountains are often in need of the ministrations of the Knights of Sigmar, and the Witch Hunters that are active in the area almost to a man owe Von Staufferman a great deal of loyalty.

It is only lately that Von Stauffermann has begun to call in these favors. He has assembled a warband consisting of the hardest Knights he could find, and the stone-craziest zealots and flagellants he could tear from their errands. Now, the expedition readies for a series of voyages into the darkness beyond the walls of the villages and towns of Wissenland to bring the light of Sigmar to all who would hide from it.

With Fire and Stake

The itinerant warband now wanders Wissenland, stopping where they can along their pilgrimage. Von Stauffermann has cited several “dark places” where he hopes to find the enemies of Sigmar, but does not share this information with his colleagues. Instead, they focus on one of the objectives at a time until they have done what they can for the folk who must live in the shadows of such things. Von Stauffermann and his warband have had much success in hunting the spawn of vampires, the beastmen and mutants of chaos and of course, plenty of witch-burning.

Von Stauffermann will stop at nothing to see that every entry in his “Book of Shadows” is investigated. This book consists of Von Stauffermann’s journal, and the scraps of testimony, folk legends and even a very few facts that he’s wrung out about the various cases the book contains. Accusations of witchcraft, mutation, worship of the dark powers and other, fouler deeds are contained and kept track of within. Though he’s been working on the book for almost five years, he has much work to do before there is even a dent in the volume of tasks contained therein.

Get Into the Mordheim!

In a few weeks, our new miniature skirmish campaign will kick off. Titled Death in the Delve: The Curse of the Alderhalls, the scenario is set beneath the hold of Khazid Grimaz, where the Alderhalls under the city have recently been discovered. For those of you that played in ourWarhammer Fantasy Roleplay game will be familiar with the setting, but for those of you who are just joining us, rest assured that there will be plenty of carnage to ensue.

The campaign will be the first serious Mordheim game that has been played by the club, so we'll be taking this one pretty close to the source material. In fact, you can pretty much sub in the words Khazid Grimaz for the word Mordheim in all the material and it's perfect.

So what's the deal with Mordheim, and why should you worry about it as a member of the Wargate?

Mordheim is a skirmish game produced by Games Workshop and stands alongside Warhammer Fantasy Battle as one of the games set in that universe. The games are much different from the battle game, however. The players' forces are called 'warbands', and comprise no more than eight to fifteen models. Small games, small scale...but it's a lot more brutal.

The main draw of the game is the inbuilt campaign system. We'll be using the system right out of the book, to showcase how this sort of game can develop. Your characters earn experience and gain new skills and equipment, like a roleplaying game. The game is similar in many respects to older editions of the flagship battle games, but playing it is a different beast altogether. Look for the full rules of the campaign to be published in the Battles Book very soon.

Mordheim presents a great opportunity to collect new models for a variety of purposes, but Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay springs to mind as one of our other games that you would benefit greatly from having a selection of models that you can use as a player, either as your own character or an NPC.

It's also one of the five miniature games that are being played in rotation at the Wargate. There are plenty of warbands floating around, so there isn't any danger of you not being able to play if you don't want to. The campaign begins on November 1st, so talk to me if you want to set about collecting a small set of models to battle with during Mordheim season!