Battle Report - The Treasure of Volker Von Karl

Thanksgiving weekend is always the time for Count Chetcula's turkey day Mordheim party, and this year was no exception.  I wrote up a special scenario, the Treasure of Volker Von Karl, a mulitplayer treasure hunt scenario with a few twists.  For this game we had four players:

• Count Chetcula's Clan Pestilens Warband, Brother Typhax's Outbreak
• Ben's Orc Warband, Grognash's Little Waagh
• Luke's Possesed Warband, who remain nameless
• Edwin's Marienburger Warband, Falcula's Fine Goods and Curiousities

Deployment was pretty straight forward, with each player taking a table quarter to use as their own.  The Treasure Map counters were pretty well dispersed around the board as well, with each warband having easy access to at least one, but guaranteed conflicts should they try to get another one.

For some players, this was all the joy they could look forward to.

The game started off with each warband moving into the city to find the closest map pieces to their deployment zone.  Falcula's Fine Goods and Curiosities went first, and the Marienburgers stayed in a pack for safeties sake.  Also moving in a pack were the Possessed and Orcs, while the Skaven took a risk and split into two groups in an attempt to get to two makers faster.  After finding their first markers, all the warbands continued on a mad run to the next one, save the Orcs, who left a contingent guarding a treasure marker next to an abandoned tower, and the Posessed, whose Magister decided to stay near the first marker he encountered in a ruined house near the center of the board.  With his Wings of Darkness spell, the Magister was able to fly about the board quite well in this game, and easily made it to an otherwise difficult location to reach. 

Here is how things looked after turn one, as all warbands greedily stalk Von Karl's treasure.

The vile Possessed Magister flies to an otherwise very difficult location to reach with ease.

Orc hero: "You goblins stay here and guard the map or me is gonna whup the Gork out of ya!"

After turn two the combat started fast and furious as Grongnash's Squigs hopped their way into an unfortunate group of Plague Monks, who were helplessly chittering in fear against the assault, at least until the Horned Rat smiled upon them and their dagger attacks struck true, disabling the angry fungi until the Frenzied Brother Festrix brought his plague censer to bear on the soon to be deceased squigs.  The Orcs, knowing that they is the best, also charged headlong into combat with the Possessed, with equally disastrous results, as da Boss Grognash himself was felled by the Possessed's Possessed, who used his giant claw and large slapping hand to make quick work of the Orcs, who then routed completely on their next turn.

Squigs have big teeth but are no match against a tide of vermin.

The Orcs see that they outnumber the Possessed and aim to show them who's boss.

After being taken out of action, the Orcs now know who's boss.

Meanwhile, while the Orcs and Possessed were busy leaving blood on the streets, the cautious and enterprising Marienburgers found another piece of the map, and rolled successfully to discover the location of one of Von Karls treasure hoards.  They then put the bulk of their warband toward that effort, and soon found a stash near a statue in one of the town squares.  The sneaky Clan Pestilens Skaven also took advantage of their opponents brawl to find another piece of the map, and they too successfully rolled to discover a stash of Von Karls treasure.  The race was now on for the warbands to grab the loot, fend off a maniacal ghost of Von Karl, and make it off the board with their ill gotten gains before the Possessed got to them first.

The Marienburgers made it to their treasure stash first, and unleashed Flaming Mad Von Karl, who proceeded to immediately charge the nearest model, laying waste to a poor warrior with ease, toasting him with the Fires of U'zhul and six frenzied attacks.  Meanwhile the Skaven finally managed to prod their newly acquired Rat Ogre to the treasure stash (Mutilator the Rat Ogre had previously failed four consecutive Stupidity tests), where he scraped at the ground of a gravestone and found the loot, and Crispy Dismembered Von Karl as well.  The Skaven, realizing that Mutilator was too stupid to help, left him to fend off the raging super zombies while they escaped with the loot. 

Mutilator finds the loot and unleashes Von Karl

He takes out one of them, but it isn't long before their crispy burnt limbs knock him down, but not out. 

The Marienburgers were facing serious difficulties trying to move the treasure chest off the board while enduring the withering assault of Flaming Mad Von Karl, who in addition to the warrior took out a Gibo the youngblood, Magnificent Gruntle the warlock, Lol Freshbreeze the elf ranger, Fritz the warcat, and the 3 wound hero Leonardo and his greatsword with absolute ease, only losing one wound in the process.

While all of this was going on, other combats were happening as well.  Seeing an opportunity to help and also get some easy kills, Falcula jumped into the fray with the same plague monks who had dispatched the squigs, and despite showing an obvious display of quality versus his inferior foe, was felled by a lucky dagger strike and a critical wound.  Frenzied Brother Festrix also saw the chance for glory, and madly charged the Possessed model that had wiped the floor with the Orcs.  He easily knocked him down, and was primed to take him out of action when he choked on the fumes of his own plague censer and collapsed, creating yet another near victory for the Skaven race.

Three turns of casualties to Flaming Mad Von Karl

The Skaven were just about to make it off the board with their treasure, and were chittering with glee at the thought of all the precious items in the chest when disaster struck.  Hearing the death screech of Brother Festrix from across the city, Brother Typhax panicked, and this spread to the rest of the warband with all haste.  Not even his fine Cathayan silk cloak and unholy relic could prevent his routing, and with the third failed roll of the dice the Skaven dropped their loot within 2" of victory and fled the board, leaving only the rapidly diminishing Marienburgers and the suddenly unstoppable Possessed, along with one very angry flaming ghost left to determine the final outcome.

I see dead people!  Run!  Run for your lives!

With things coming down to the wire the game was in the balance.  The Possessed were rapidly making their way to the Marienburgers and their treasure, and were within a turn of charging into combat.  Foolishly though one of the beastmen in the band positioned himself between Von Karl's ghost and the treasure, and was immediately charged and wiped out for his folly.  Unable to fight off the terror of something almost as horrible as what they worshiped in the Pit, the Possessed warband routed and fled the board, leaving the Marienburgers to leisurely cart off the treasure, and celebrate a very hard fought victory.  

So close for the Possessed, yet so far. 

In the end the Marienburgers only managed to get some gold crowns and a Tome of Magic from the treasure hoard, but it was still a nice haul for the antiques afficionados.  The aftermath of the battle was bloody and featured lots of leg and arm wounds, a pit fight (fortunately victorious for the Marienburgers and their warband leader), and enough advances to make the whole endeavor worthwhile.  The Orcs curse the day and say they will be back with more goblin fodder, the Possessed aim to add more models, and the Skaven rue their inability to grow a spine when needed.  But fun was had by all, and at least there was the buffet to comfort those who saw the dice roll the other way.

Mordheim Warband Pictures

I uploaded some pics of some of my Mordheim warbands to the photos page for those who might be interested in checking them out.

My Mordheim Board

It's not the prettiest thing in the world, but this iteration of Mordheim, City of the Damned works for me.  I do think I might have the best Buffet of the Damned though, hands down! 

Count Chetcula's Buffet of the Damned

Mordheim, City of the Damned

A good view of my bridge, the first scenery piece I ever made.

It's cheap and not too pretty, but black painted bluefoam is great for adding instant elevation.

A good view of the graveyard and one of my scratch built towers.

Mordheim Scenario - The Treasure of Volker Von Karl

For my Mordheim party this past weekend I wrote up a special multiplayer scenerio, "The Treasure of Volker Von Karl."  It played pretty well, and I am posting it fist to help the following battle report make more sense. 

The Treasure of Volker Von Karl

Volker Von Karl was a councilor and confidant of the infamous Count von Steinhardt, and if rumor is to be believed, even more corrupt and immoral then the Count himself.  Von Karl was also quite the materialist and used his position to amass numerous treasures and valuable goods.  Already a somewhat paranoid fellow before the comet laid waste to Mordheim, he became a full on madman afterwards.

Before he was chopped to pieces and burned alive at the same time by a zealous Witch Hunter warband for suspected heresies, Von Karl shouted to his captors that death could not hold him, and woe betide those who would attempt to profit from his demise.  Of course no sooner had his ashes cooled then the many treasure hunters in Mordheim set about hunting for his ill gotten gains.  Von Karls charred remains mysteriously disappeared soon after, leading many to believe that the key to his treasure lay with his blackened bones.

Terrain
The board will be set up as normal with the following exceptions.  Five numbered markers will be distributed around the board by the players in clockwise order no closer then 10" from the from the table edge and 6" from each other.  These counters represent the dismembered remains of Von Karl.

Set Up
Standard multiplayer setup applies.

Special Rules
--Before the game the players or GM will determine the location of the three treasures of Volker Von Karl and write them down on a piece of paper for all to know.  For example: "Treasure #1 is at the Cross Gravestone near the Tower with the bloody door."  (ed. note - I thought about making this secret and hidden, but figured it would become obvious soon enough where they were, and they have to be randomly rolled to be accessed anyways so camping on the spots won't do much good for the players) 

--Each Counter represents a piece of Von Karl; the torso w/ head, two arms, and and two legs. When a model comes into base contact with a counter they consult the following table.
#1) Head & Torso - a piece of map is stuffed in Von Karls mouth
#2) Arm - a piece of map is clutched in the fist
#3) Arm - a piece of map is clutched in the fist
#4) Leg - a piece of map is stuffed in the boot
#5) Leg - a piece of map is stuffed in the boot

Each time a player obtains a piece of the map, they consult the following table
1 piece of map - Treasure location discovered on a d6 roll of 6
2 pieces of map - Treasure found on a 5+
3 pieces of map - Treasure found on a 4+
4 pieces of map - Treasure found on a 3+
5 pieces of map - Map is complete, the treasure found automatically!

To determine which treasure location you need to go to, the player rolls a d6
Roll of 1-2 = Treasure location #1
Roll of 3-4 = Treasure location #2
Roll of 5-6 = Treasure location #3

When a model finally makes it to one of the treasure locations he can pick up the chest and take it off the board or leave it for others to pick up and carry.  A single model moving the chest cannot run and only moves at 1/2 of the models movement characteristic.  Two models carrying the chest cannot run but can move the full movement characteristic for the slowest model.  Models that successfully carry off the treasure can come back for more on their following turn if so desired.

Extra Special Rules
Unfortunately for the players Von Karl wasn't kidding and he really won't stay dead.  His ghosts will hound whoever takes his treasure until either he is driven off or the treasure is taken off the board edge, at which point he will disappear in a cloud of smoke screaming madly and cursing your name.  To see which horrible manifestation that the treasure finding model unleashes, roll a d6.  Each manifestation can only appear once, so reroll as needed.

1-2 - Von Karl the Creepy Councilor (Von Karl before the comet, able thief and sneaky bastard)
3-4 - Flaming Mad Von Karl (Von Karl as he was being hacked and burned, mad as hell)
5-6 - Crispy Dismembered Von Karl (What more needs to be said?)

Each Manifestation has it's own separate profile, see the addendum at the end of the article for the full profiles.  Each Von Karl will always pursue until he is defeated or the treasure he was guarding is off the board.  His turn happens immediately after the treasure finding players turn, and he is to be controlled by any other player on the board, but must charge the closest enemy model of the warband with his treasure if at all possible.

Starting the Game 
Standard multiplayer rules apply.

Ending the Game
The Game ends when all the treasure is off the board or all warbands have routed, whichever comes first. 

Experience
+1 Survives the battle
+1 Winning leader (Any warband which carries off a treasure is considered a victor)
+1 per enemy out of action
+2 for finding the treasure chest (per chest)
+2 for defeating Von Karl (per Von Karl)

The Treasure (Roll on a d6)
Automatic - 4d6 gc
Magical Artefact - 6+
Holy Tome - 5+
D3 Gems worth 10 gc each - 5+
Tome of Magic - 5+
D3 doses of Dark Venom - 4+
Mordheim Map - 4+

The Von Karls

Von Karl the Creepy Councilor
M   WS   BS   S   T   W   I   A   Ld
4      5       4     4    4    3   6   4     8

Equipment: Sword & dagger, dark venom
Skills: All speed skills
Special Rules: 5+ ward save

Flaming Mad Von Karl
M   WS   BS   S   T   W   I   A   Ld

4      3       4     4    4    2   5   3     8

Equipment: Sword and dagger
Special Rules: 5+ ward save
  --Wizard - Autocasts Fires of U'Zhul 2x per turn
  --Hot to touch: Any model in base contact is hit with a S3 flaming attack on a 4+
  --Fear
  --Frenzy

Crispy Dismembered Von Karl
M   WS   BS   S   T   W   I   A   Ld

4       4      0     4    4    5*  4  5*   8

Equipment: None
Skills: Reslient
Special Rules: 5+ ward save
 *--Hard to kill: Each wound represents a single model, a head, 2 arms, and 2 legs.  Each model attacks w/ 1 attack and has 1 wound. So the model that gets this manifestion would unleash five models at once, all of which would charge simultaneously. 
  --Fear
 

Mordheiming

This Sunday is my annual post Thanksgiving Mordheim event, and I am pretty excited.  In addition to the ridiculous buffet spread I have planned, I am hoping to use my first actual full day off of any responsibilities tomorrow to plan a righteous multiplayer scenario.  Last year I ran a prison break game where each player picked different prisoners with different abilities who had escaped from the Mordheim jail to ally with their warband, and the resulting chaos was wonderful. 

I am hoping this year to do something that is worthy of last years success, and am think of something along the lines of a treasure hunt style game where objectives need to met in order to get a clue to determine the final whereabouts of the wyrdstone stash.  Of course it will be guarded by something nice and nasty, otherwise how could it really be Mordheim?  It's looking like I will have a group of 3-6 players depending on circumstances, which is a great number for the game, and I will have to put a leaf in the table to have a suitable surface, which is awesome because I love terrain. 

Once I get the scenario written I will post the rules here, and will hopefully have some pics from the game as well to post on Monday.  Can't wait!

Finished Plague Censer Bearers

Today I finished my Plague Censer Bearers, which is pretty exciting for me as now I have another finished unit for my in-progress Skaven army, and some new hero characters for my Clan Pestilens Mordheim warband.  I'm pretty happy with how they turned out, I used the same color scheme as the Night Goblin Fanatics I just painted, but with diseased green censers instead of bronzed balls of death.  It's not my best paintjob, but it will be good enough to not embarrass the unit on the tabletop, and the red scheme will nicely compliment my green robed Plague Monks and allow the PCB's to stand out on their own.  Anyways, here are the pics.

Skaven Byproducts

Thanks to my recent association with the Skaven, I have come down with some heinous viral infection of the nose/throat which has kept me from doing my painting.  So as the illness winds down I'm going to try and paint some plague censer bearers in an attempt to appease Lord Nurglitch and clear this nastiness out of my system. 

I did get a pleasant surprise though from my previous post, in addition to all of the other goodies one of the models that I thought was a plain Grey Seer was actually Lord Skrolk, whose model I didn't yet have.  So total bonus there!

Hopefully I'll have some new pics up next week, the PCB's are total miniature wrecks and will take a bit of TLC to go from drab to fab.