The Mutiny in Marienburg campaign uses new core scenarios written for this setting. Each scenario treats players to a taste of what life if like in the city-port for their warriors. While not every scenario is combat-centric, the waterfront adventure features violent turf wars! The best fight scenes ever.

Mutiny in Marienburg follows the same structure developed for the Border Town Burning supplement. This is different than in the Mordheim Rulebook.

For players using the standard campaign rules these Core Scenarios replace the scenarios found in the Mordheim Rulebook. Refer to Border Town Burning supplement for scenario rules to 'Last Orders!'

2D6Result
2 ....Scenario 1: Rolling Fog*
3 ....Scenario 2: Black Market Lagoon
4 ....Scenario 3: Powder Bridge
5 ....Scenario 4: Pit Of Blood*
6 ....Scenario 5: Stockade
7 ....Scenario: Last Orders!*
8 ....Scenario 6: Silk Market
9 ....Scenario 7: Illegal Salvage Operation*
10 ..Scenario 8: Burrow Town Collapsing*
11 ...Scenario 9: Dead Freight**
12 ...Scenario 10: The Sting

Scenario 13: Midnight At The Mausoleum*
Scenario 16: Swap Meat*

*optional multiplayer scenario **multiplayer scenario

Four core scenarios are now illustrated here. Scenarios are accompanied by Marienburg campaign charts. Also included are two of the special scenarios which found their way into the Marienburg campaign story. Click on links in the table above to view and save each of the scenario files. These will be updated periodically to include more new campaign scenes.

Games Workshop host their grand annual event at Birmingham NEC. It's called Games Day. It is the stage where the Golden Demon Awards and Slayer Sword for best miniature painting in the United Kingdom takes place each year. For most enthusiasts it is the chance to buy cool new releases and admire cabinets loaded with finely detailed Citadel miniatures painted by some of the most talented painters in the hobby.


Once every twenty years, a playwright, street performer and suspected werecreature is unleashed upon UK Games Day...

This year I managed to attend Games Day for the first time since I was teenager. I accompanied Chris 'Frogprince' Kneller and Michelle 'Geekgirl' Steele who go along every year! Mr Flibble came with us too because there aren't enough penguins in the Warhammer universes. "Too busy killing Batman", offered one of our coach-going companions. We travelled from the GW store in Poole. The coach ride wasn't unpleasant. There were only a handful of youngbloods among the local warband of Warhammer nerds. I can tell you a lot more wild youths went in 1992! What are kids doing these days for Sigmar's sake?

[Left to Right] Werekin, Mr Flibble, Geekgirl, the Frogprince

Tickets are priced at £30 which covers entry and a free programme. I found the handout to be fairly pointless on the day because the excellent layout explains itself. There is way too much to look at and do in a mere 6 hours of open time. I can't stress how short the day is! The ambitious schedule is suffocating. Once you deduct rest breaks you're left with too little time to pack everything in. A couple of additional hours opening would relieve retail congestion considerably. There is a lot more going on than a single report can hope to divulge. Read on if you care to hear of random activity nobody else would think to write about!

Upon arrival we hunted for tickets to attend the Forge World and Black Library seminars. Attendance is restricted to 150 places on each of 2 seminars for both. Being as the slots are 11am-12pm and 2pm-3pm there isn't much scope for flexibility. There were less than half-a-dozen places left for each seminar by the time patrons from our store's coach were being admitted. Oddly a lot of folks didn't turn up for the Black Library seminar at 11am. And why that might be? *drum roll*FORGE WORLD

After we grabbed seminar tickets we wandered through the main exhibition hall and gaming hall littered with battlefields into the trade hall. There was an enormous queue of hobbyists lined up to get to the Forge World trade stand. I've seen a scrum of punters before at the Salute trade fair last year in London. That was carnage. Nothing like this! The queue was sheer madness. Snaking all over the trade hall like some giant serpent out of a mythological legend! Suffice to say we did not join this nerdcade. Depending on whose version of events you have listened to the wait was anywhere between 1-3 hours. Nobody seems to care because the miniatures are just that damn good! One far-fetched account being relayed was that a disabled woman had waited 3 hours to be served her Forge fix. The smell of freshly forged resin warriors, vehicles and monsters is intoxicating.

I had a nose around the bazaar of books and made a couple of choice literary purchases. I was hoping to get a copy of new Time of Legends novel Neferata but the rumour it was going onsale in advance was a falsehood! It took the aged clerk some ponderous amount of effort to get Bill King's new hardback release for Sword of Caledor to ring through the till. I had exact cash in my hand by that point.

At this exact moment I could spy authors across the trading post wall signing their books for Black Library but it was time to make way to the first seminar. On the way we bumped into my old buddy Anton who manages a Games Workshop hobby store in Maidenhead! As I write this today it is Anton's birthday. Many happy returns squire.


Fantasy Flight Games were demonstrating their full crop of associated cards and board games in the main hall. Nobody appeared to be playing Blood Bowl this year yet there were fantasy football computer games demonstrations aplenty. What caught our interest was a display of Warhammer Quest and Talisman apps under development for iPhone and iPad being demonstrated by Rodeo Games and Nomad Games. According to the representative these games are being produced exclusively for Apple platforms. If it can now be wielded like Ghal-Maraz then perhaps this makes my otherwise hopeless iPhone useful for something, at last... Suck on my gromril warhammer Samsung Galaxy users! The release date on the App Store for Warhammer Quest is being advertised as Spring 2013.


Observing volunteers playing the demo quest game, we recognised vintage rooms tiles being trodden. Visually the game looks great. Politely declining an offer to face the dungeon as interpreted by Rodeo Games, Chris & I queried why there was a River Troll facing off against one young fellow (beating his warrior to death as it goes!) in the game. The demonstrator explained that in keeping with the greenskins army theme they had substituted the original large monster (it was Minotaur) with the aquatic foe. While it makes perfect sense to employ a Troll we weren't in agreement with the rationale behind this particular breed of troll, even if the well-rendered graphics are based on one of the latest funky Citadel miniature releases. The developers stated that the adventures will include unfamiliar new room tiles alongside classic favourites from the original game. According to the rep we can also look forward to new artwork for Rodeo's quest-room boards becoming available next year to download, for use with original Warhammer Quest board gaming. This means tabletop games of Mordheim-Quest can be further expanded too.

Note: Next month Frogprince & Geekgirl are hosting a multi-player Mordheim-Quest battle in the sewers beneath Marienburg. 'Burrow Town Collapsing' is our new underground campaign scenario and a Halloween battle report will follow.

Burrow Town Collapsing: Strigany River Pirates converted and painted by Michelle Steele penetrate the Marienburg Grand Sewer Network using a Warhammer Quest junction tile

Armies on Parade is a recent feature at Games Day events around the world. The competition is scored based on attendees votes. There were a couple of fantastic ogre armies entered into the contest. One was an Ogre stronghold...


Another entry was a beach party...

...with stunning Ogre pirate crew and trollish new breed of fish-dog! (or dogfish?)


Competition is stiff when there's great attention to detail for so many entries. One particular detail which tickled me was the rider of a Thundertusk wearing a diving helmet! While the idea of an ogre wearing a diving bell might have come from elsewhere in the market place it was a neat touch which I mentioned in passing to the sculptor of this miniature Seb Perbet when I passed by the designers display stand later in the day.


The winning army will be announced on the GW web site at some point. We wandered the gaming hall to check out what battles were being fought. Tilean paparazzi agent Chris 'Frogprince' Kneller grabbed pictures of unusual sights to his liking. Following the coastal theme our treasure trove led us to a cliff-top stronghold populated by ratmen (from Clan Skurvey we presumed)...


And a gigantic magical construct dominating one of the many battlefields...


Plus two ships (Nurgle Man O'War & Imperial Barge) that were sighted by me from the crow's nest...


The afternoon seminar was hosted by guru Tony Cottrell who runs Forge World and lead writer Alan Bligh who conjures most of the new gaming material. Both staff were present to explain all the latest developments. This session was packed out. Tony has a dry wit to say the least, making this presentation a joy to behold. His sense of humour provided me with plenty of laughs. Alan is lead author of those perfectly profane tomes for the Warhammer Forge. Most of the fantasy battle talk was geared towards Monstrous Arcanum up until the guys started spilling beans about Blackfire Pass which is their next lavish campaign book. We saw previews on the projector screen for more new monsters, a Dwarf command group sculpted by Steve Whitehead (more on him shortly) followed by talk of new Orc and Empire army releases. The seminar is unmissable! If you ever get the chance to hang out with the Forge World team you have to take it.

Towards the end of the day I conversed with some of the hired swords who help breathe new life into modern day Warhammer. Seb Perbet from the Citadel design team was my first victim. He is the sculptor of latest editions to the Ogre Kingdoms range including the mighty Thundertusk/Stornhorn kit which I keep calling the 'Stonehoof' in error. When I explained to Seb that I purchased this kit just to use the heads of the crew in my Mordheim warband conversions his response was indescribable.

Forge World sculptors Edgar Skomorowski and Steve Whitehead were available to discuss their work. Both gentlemen have provided Chaos Dwarf fanboys with plenty of reasons to rejoice in the past 12 months. Edgar's impressive Bull Centaurs were among the recent releases on display. He'd also brought along WiP versions of one of the centauroids. Whoops I forgot to take pictures of the concept sketches Steve had on display for his new Empire sculpts. They were characterful and very much in the vein of art from the source book Blood On The Reik (A Journey Through The Old World). Steve was responsible for producing the new Fimir warriors featured in Monstrous Arcanum, freely admitting to being a big fan of the one-eyed fiends since olden days! It's uncertain whether there will be more Fimir releases in the future. Any fellow Fimir enthusiasts will be disappointed to hear it would seem unlikely based on the political response my question prompted from Tony Cotrell (yes I posed a question using the F word!) in his Q&A session. As a consolation, Tony was admiring my hat in a very vocal way! Steve himself is blissfully unaware of what quantities of which of his miniature designs are selling like hot halfling hot-pots.

The creative imaginings of Edgar Skomorowski are well known to my friends and fellow hobbyists Joao and Cianty. Make sure you check out this link to Edgar's personal web site. It contains some stunning quality sculpting. Both of the miniatures designers were friendly gentlemen.

Which leads me onto my final port of call. The Black Library authors stand. I failed miserably to greet novelist (and self-proclaimed hack!) Joshua Reynolds at the Black Library Live 2012 due to overindulgence (mine not his). The sands of time were running out but I located Josh before departing the event for a brief exchange. He is one of the few authors right now who is writing about subject material which really peeks my interest! Josh has launched a new blog on Wordpress which you can check out here.

With the day drawing to a close there was no sign of storyteller and guitar-heroDarius Hinks. I've finished reading his book Orion: The Vaults Of Winter, detailing the exploits of Athel Loren's god-king alongside elves, faeries and polecats! It's part one of an unwritten trilogy meaning I had to find something else of its equal to read last week. Warrior-Priest, also by Herr Hinks, staring at me from my bookshelf seemed like the best story to consume next. With any luck I may catch up with Josh at a future Black Library event and eventually meet Darius along with my guitar-buddy Ed 'Skarloc' Morgan. For reasons known to the likes of us we wanna bug Darius about his academic skills in rock power and elven lore! Because the two things that matter most are talismanic tattoo ink and decibels.

Coming Up Next: The next adventure sequence in Marienburg happens below the city. A team of daring Mordheimers have been hard at work playesting an underground scenario for the MiM campaign. A copy of the detailed scenario and a battle report will be published on Liber Malefic in the coming weeks.

[Left] Witch Hunter Capt. Dave play-tests 'Burrow Town' with Webby's Criminal Cartel [Right] Canada Steve's Cathayan Monks fight a turf war verses Skyre Warp-Engineers led by Frogprince

"You should have seen it a century ago. Its amphitheatres were the envy of the world. Even the Masques of Lothern would come to play in Tor Yvresse and you know how particular they are."
— Kyrielle Greenkin, Elf Mage

Sascha Klocke visited Bournemouth from Berlin this month. Sascha, who is better known in the Mordheim community as Eliazar de la Tierra, played a sequence of 3 scenario games in Marienburg during his visit facing 6 different campaign opponents! An unusual stopover to be making if you consider realMarienberg is in Würzburg, Germany! Once our guest star has produced a suitable journal we will publish his story accompanied by a photo shoot displaying the action from the finale; a four way dispute over 'provisions' settled using flea market scenario set in the Cursed Marshes.

The Fortress of Marienburg is found in Würzburg, Germany

Earlier this year I noticed amongst the functionalities on Blogger there is a gizmo detailing the statistical activity for blog audiences. This distracted me again tonight while editing my next post. It provides various insights into which browser software views use, which web site pages were used to enter the blog plus statistics for what pages have been viewed. Most intriguing were figures for visitors whereabouts. It is marvellous to realise that gamers from all over the planet discover Liber Malefic to risk a peek! Here is a round-up for the week so far confirming the most active heretics living in countries still visiting Mordheim!

Note: While the annual results are compelling there are currently no Italians subscribing to Liber Malefic. This is odd because annual statistic shows Italy to have birthed the 10th highest number of views. Witch Hunters must have caught up with some old Tilean mobs lurking in the city! The weekly results are by no means indisputable proof of dedication to hedge wizardry because when I cross referenced these numbers against statistics from last months total views I discovered that two great gaming nations were curiously absent! Add the following countries to the list below then you have a fair idea who is currently committing the most heresy; Netherlands 104 views (4th place) Finland 44 views (7th place)

Top Nations of Mordheimers:USA 93 views, Great Britain 49 views
Germany 24 views, Canada 18 views, Spain 17 views, Sweden 12 views
New Zealand 11 views, France 11 views, Poland 10 views, Australia 8 views
Ireland 6 views, Russia 2 views, Brazil 2 views, Belgium 1 view

On a final note, prior to our visitor arriving in town we managed to complete our underground adventure game set in the Marienburg Grand Sewer Network, burrows of Undertown, secret city vaults and smugglers bolt-holes. It was an epic battle staged across four meetings. I have have completed the scenario draft and a picture heavy battle report write-up to go with that is in the works.

Captive warriors is a topical subject. It happens to be a topic I have been burning to write about this season. I recently relabelled all my topics on Liber Malefic accordingly.


Further campaign information on what Dark Elves and Chaos Dwarf warbands can do with captives can be referenced in my Hired Swords compilation article: Swords of the Empire - Mordheim Compendium of Hired Swords

Prisoners of War
One of the by-products of the Mordheim campaign rules is that warriors can be taken captive by another warband. When a Hero is captured as a result of rolling on the Serious Injuries Chart, limited options are available.

Playing a Border Town Burning campaign or using Hired Swords, can lead to other situations where warriors are captured. Consequently, despicable warbands being played in the spirit of their character might fulfil the unpleasant objective of taking prisoners and putting them to work or death.

Dark Elf and Chaos Dwarf warbands will never consent to freeing captured warriors. Any captured once-proud individuals can be put to far better use as a slave. Browbeaten warriors suffer the same humiliating fate, to be chain-ganged then forced to search for treasure and scavenge for wyrdstone!

After a battle nominate which captured warriors are being assigned to search for treasure and wyrdstone. At the end of the Exploration procedure roll a D6 for each captured warrior who was nominated. Add the results to the total score from the Exploration dice result used to calculate the number of wyrdstones shards or treasure found.

Furthermore, on a roll of 1 the captured warrior has mustered the strength and courage to bite back against his oppressors! The warrior has slipped past the fiends guard and returns to his original warband a Hero. Treat a Henchman as receiving 'The lads got talent' and the Hero gains D6+2 Experience points. If the roll made was a 6 the prisoner has been overworked, exposed to too much wyrdstone, and suffered so terribly at the hands of his tormentors that he has expired! Either result means removing the captured warrior from the Dark Elf or Chaos Dwarf player’s roster.

If Hired Swords or Dramatis Personae are captured then they are treated in exactly the same way as any other warrior. Alternatively, if the Hired Sword is eligible to be hired by the warband then treat the warrior as having been hired. No hire fee is necessary but any upkeep cost must still be met after each battle.

Models that cannot be captured by a Chaos Dwarf with a man-catcher (or Clan Skyre/Moulder Hero armed with a spike-jawed snatcher, yes skaven can buy man-catchers in Marienburg!) should be easily determined by checking the entry for the target model. If it counts as being large then it cannot be grabbed!

I have uploaded a scenario from 'Mutiny in Marienburg' called Powder Bridge that includes some material on non-player character hostages.

This is not my full package for guidelines on this subject. I have written a special scenario for the campaign called Swap Meat which Eliazar played during his recent visit. This scene provides more detail on using hostage markers as scenario objectives.

Captured models from enemy warbands form collateral in campaigns. While it is true that players can become despondent when capture experiences occur, there are a number of ways this can happen in the game rules; Serious Injury, Man-catcher, Bounty Hunter Hired Sword, Slaver Hired Sword, Ogre Slavemaster Hired Sword.


In the Marienburg setting there are a few additional means for this situation happening. These include;

1. Slaver* special skill for Mobsters warband.
2. Slaver* special skill for warband leader from a warband achievement from completing objectives from 'The Body Trade' plot.
3. Warriors being placed under arrest by warbands following the 'Guardians of the Peace' plot. Guidelines for this will be included with a scenario called Dead Freight.
*There may never be more than two warriors with this skill in the warband at any one time.

In my campaign the matter of captured warband members has become a hot topic. It is still a delicate subject. The principals for freeing captured Heroes and Henchmen (remember Hired Swords count as switching sides when the capturing warband can normally hire them!) are on page 119 in the Mordheim Rulebook;

1. The warrior may be ransomed at a price set by the captor or exchanged for one of their warband who is being held captive.
2. Captives may be sold to slavers at a price of D6x5 gold crowns.
3. Undead may kill their captive and gain a new zombie.
4. The Possessed may sacrifice the prisoner. The leader of the warband will gain +1 Experience if they do so.
5. Captives who are exchanged or ransomed retain all their weapons, armour and equipment; if captives are sold, killed, or turned to Zombies, their weaponry etc. is retained by their captors.

Using campaign achievements earned through completing warband objectives, I have found it is possible to reinterpret how a certain kind of warband must respond when taking captives. The reason for this was to provide agreeable stories that will allow players to return Heroes to their starting warband! Here are some examples of this.

Plot: Drowning the Witch - 10 Campaign Points
Warbands: Witch Hunters, Sisters of Sigmar and Mercenaries hiring a Warrior-Priest of Sigmar may follow this plot.
Torture: Instead of searching for a rare item during the post battle sequence, the leader of a Witch Hunters warband can organise an interrogation to coax information out of an unwilling suspect. On a successful Strength test, the torturer prizes a secret from a captured Hero. The Witch Hunters gain 1 extra Campaign Point. Whichever warband the captured warrior belonged to loses 1 Campaign Point and the warrior is returned to their warband. The captured Hero is released after being interrogated.

Plot: The Body Trade– 10 Campaign Points
Warbands: Dark Elf Corsairs, Mobsmen, Norse Explorers, Arabyan Raiders, Brionnese Pirates, Maneaters, Marauders of Chaos and Chaos Dwarf warbands may follow this plot.
Slaver Ring: The warband joins a slaver ring. The warband may trade any captured warriors from other warbands. The warband leader gains the 'Slaver' skill. There may never be more than two warriors with this skill in the warband at any one time. Any Hero or Henchman put out of action in hand-to-hand combat by a Slaver will automatically be captured (see 'Captured' on the Serious Injuries chart, p.119 of the Mordheim Rulebook). Heroes or Henchmen captured may not be eaten or ransomed to another warband during the post battle sequence. Heroes or Henchmen captured may be exchanged with their starting warband for hostages or captured warriors. Whenever another player sells captives to slavers at a price of D6x5 gold crowns, they should be offered to warbands in the slaver ring. If two or more warbands join a slaver ring roll dice to determine who buys each captive.

Plot: Gaze of the Gods– 5 Campaign Points
Warbands: Beastmen and Fimir warbands, Cults of Chaos including Cult of Possessed, Carnival of Chaos and Stromfels Reavers may follow this plot.
Sacrificial Stone: Any Hero or Henchman captured by the warband must be sacrificed, despite any arrangement with a Hired Sword that was hired by the warband. ie, Slaver. Instead of searching for a rare item during the post battle sequence, one or more of the Heroes in the warband may visit the Sacrificial Stone to participate in a ceremony of sacrifice. Roll once on the Ceremony of Sacrifice Chart for each sacrifice offered to the Ruinous Powers. Apply a +1 modifier to the roll for each Hero beyond the first to participate in a ceremony. On a roll of 1 the captive will always escape: 1-5 Escaped. The warrior has slipped his bonds and returns safely back to his starting warband. The warrior (or his Henchman group) gains D3 Experience points. 6 Sacrificed. Blood of the victim is spilled across of the altar. Each Hero participating in the ceremony gains 1 Experience point.

After one recent battle, Bob's Fimir warband returned a Hero to Webby's Mobsmen by purposefully letting him escape during a sacrifice! The two players have entered into a treaty of sorts. Ok so if he had rolled a 6 then the Hero would have been slain but it makes for a compelling story!

On the last Friday night of October, eight Mordheim fans convened for the first of what became four gaming sessions to determine who would ultimately conquer the Marienburg Grand Sewer Network. This is what happened.


Burrow Town Collapsing is an underground scenario for Mordheim promising more tunnels, more bolt-holes, more traps and more objectives than you can handle!

Download the scenario here:
Burrow Town Collapsing (PDF, ca. 0.3 MB)

A few days prior to our games night the two architects of this dastardly exercise in underground excavation met up to set the scene. It seemed only appropriate that Chris 'Frogprince' Kneller & I be laying the city foundations! As we are playing skaven and elf warbands, who along with dwarf artisans shaped the sprawling dungeon network found beneath the city-port. Rear-Admiral Krislik would be bullying his warp-engineers & pirate rats. Elf-Captain Malek skippers the sea elf ranger crew of his Moon Guardians patrol.

"All sorts of scavengers in the sewers. There are things you wouldn't believe living in the stew."
— Acting Sergeant Rudi, Sewer Watch

Typically the 'Mutiny in Marienburg' underground scenario sees two or more players contesting a section of the sewer network used for smuggling contraband cargo. One of the players takes on the role of the smuggler gang by being assigned cargo objective markers. The sewer network unfolds during the game as tiles are explored by warriors. Tiles are placed using a grid. The simple grid is used to control the layout of the unexplored network guaranteeing sewer sections link up. This ensures warbands will meet during the course of the game.

We playtested underground games using a rapidly expanding set of guidelines and charts. In two player battles it becomes possible for a very lucky smuggler to avoid their opponent but the expected outcome is that a turf war is fought by opposing sides. With more players involved things become more intriguing when the size of the grid increases to accommodate additional models.


Terrain
Once I felt everyone in our group was satisfied with the conditions of the scenario we began making preparations for a grandiose multi-player game using a super-size dungeon. Following the scenario principals, eight of us played a sewer game using a customised tile layout. Smugglers were invited to choose from my collection of cargo markers instead of randomising what freight is available. Having no unexplored sewer section meant there was no formal grid required. Custom sections featured non-player models, bonus objective markers and some additional dungeon events; tangle with bearded daemon-smiths at their infernal forge, plunder the tombs beneath a Garden of Morr, launch a raid on an illegal distillery, free prisoners from a castle dungeon or rescue a rooster from the halfling cooking pot! A couple of hidden rooms would also be revealed to players who 'thought on their feet' as the game unfolded.

One additional house rule was applied for this important battle to help everyone stay in the game. The first time a warband failed their rout check then they could ignore the fail result.


Factions: 3x smugglers, 2x law enforcement agencies, 3x predatory species

Player 1 - Mobsters (Webby)
Lascar sea-dogs whipped by professed Indic pirate lord Salaman Singh. The reputation of the 'Salamander' is preceded by his lethal enforcer Kala Halavaha. Their run set them towards fulfilling warband objectives from 'The Secret Deal' plot. To achieve bonus Campaign Points the cartel muscle are weighed down by sacks and chests loaded with booty, all being hauled back to the hideaway of the racketeer.


Player 2 - Strigany Gypsies (Michelle)
Bounty of choice among the grave despoiling exiles of Strigos happens to be coffins. Pine boxes used to smuggle weapons, corpse dirt and cadavers. Dragging their preferred load ties in with the 'Promise of Power' plot from our campaign. River gypsy gangs are never a welcome sight on the canals. It is rumoured the shadowy Dola family keep a dark secret. Will it be revealed under torchlight?

Player 3 - Ogres (Philip)
Guiding the Man-eaters of Tanners Alley, was a Dramatis Personae by the name of Lisette Leerer, Saleswoman, Assassin and Enforcer for the League of Gentlemen Entrepreneurs, the largest organised crime network in the city. The ogres led by Captain Krunk elected to smuggle barrels as this cargo supports their MiM campaign plot 'The Body Trade'.


Player 4 - Witch Hunters (Dave)
Witch hunter Annika Bohringer sailed from the spires of Altdorf to the fish-stink of Marienburg. In her latest bid to secure a license from the City Council to root out heresy in the port she descends below the waterline supported by her heavily armed retinue of femme fatales and frothing zealots! Not only do the Templars have a pair of warhounds, one huntress is a master of beasts with a tiger at the heel of her boot. Mutants had best beware when this big cat is let off its leash!


Player 5 - Sea Elves (Werekin)
Policing the canals in an official capacity has led the Moon Guardians 2nd Company to a midnight excursion down a sewer. Feanor Dreadweb is no stranger to dank environments. Trapper turned sewerjack, Dreadweb will use his intimate knowledge of the catacombs to help guide the way.

Player 6 - Swamp Goblins (João)
Piracy comes in all shapes and sizes! Parts of the Cursed Marshes surrounding Marienburg are infested with grobi. The smallest looters come from tribes of swamp goblins plunder the River Reik in hit and run raids! Their maggoty lairs are connected by subterranean warrens. Underground tunnels cross old smuggling routes tracing back to the advent of when men arrived in what was once known as Westerland. Diminutive pirates like Captain Stinkfoot use them when sneaking his crew into port on a nocturnal salvage raid.

Player 7 - Fimir (Bob)
Clawing monsters from a lost age strike from the Grootmoers forbidden depths! Rumours of a portal to the warp opening in the dungeons has piqued the interest of a leathery skinned Draich. With the intention of capturing a sliver of daemon essence an ambush party of marsh monsters have left the safezone of misty banks to brook a deal on the Chaos crossroad.

Player 8 - Warp Engineers (Frogprince)
Engineers from Clan Skyre squirt the musk of fear as they're being sent to find out what the heck is going on in Undertown. Along with their Clan Scurvy allies hoping the place won't collapse around their ears! The scenario title is a homage to Border Town Burning, a supplement for Mordheim which featured a dungeon scenario called Horrors of the Underground. It's something which Black Library author C.L. Werner once mentioned to me. Clint was commenting on the completion of that setting and offered his services if ever we should work on a 'Burrow Town Collapsing' game for Mordheim. Well here it is!


Set-up
The eight players deployed their warbands. We have predetermined eight entry points. These were designated based on theme. Ogres set off from a Dwarf mine tunnel being wider than the adjoining sewer corridors. Goblins started by entering through their warrens leading into an orcish den. Skaven poured from a effluence pipe into a warp-engineers lab. Strigany Gypsies dropped down into ancient tombs from a private burial mound. Fimir reached the dungeons when they swam in via a dilapidated canal inlet. Smugglers from the Spice Islands of Ind crawled in from a sewer grate.


Starting the game
It was mutually decided between two local law enforcement constabularies that we should be leading things off in this escapade. After receiving an anonymous tip about mutants on the loose plus witchcraft happening in or beneath the Craftsmarket and Dead Canal, the fearsome Templars ploughed down a stairway in a distillery leading into an illegal cellar bar. Moon Guardians from Elf Town entered via the Floodwall control room for a Dwarfen aqueduct.

With eight players it is necessary for players to take turns in pairs. One pair take their turn while two more players oversee movement and dice results. This helps keeps things moving. After the law agents had begun the game, it's the Mobsters and Fimir who are currently adhering to the ceasefire terms of a treaty in our campaign! They were followed by the Strigany and Man-eaters. Lastly the Goblin Pirates and Skyre Engineers are taking their turns.


Rounds 1-3
Our opening rounds involved warbands establishing what perils awaited them in the dark depths of the Marienburg Grand Sewer Network. A few warbands experienced mould slowing them down. Batches of magic mushrooms were plucked from damp crevasses. The first event rolled was a powder store. Somehow our group always end up with powder kegs galore when we venture underground! We've even modified the event chart to reduce the likelihood of rolling this result. A few of the players managed to locate powder kegs in the opening round despite this. Eventually we would run out of powder keg markers and result to using plastic gold crowns to keep track of kegs.

Witch Hunters don't usually drink on duty but these pious Sigmarites had entered through a cellar bar! They elected not to partake in the mysterious alcohols on tap. Things were a little rough in the bar room but any wild blows struck by rowdy patrons brushed off these heavily armoured Templars as they went about their business.

A couple of traps were set off around the dungeon. A complex trap was sprung by one of the smugglers from the Indic cartel! Swinging blades chopped past as the smuggler deftly sprung out of the way. With the danger presented by the recurring slice of the trap they began seeking an alternative route when the elves refused to send their trap expert across to deactivate the blade trap. When Webby beseeched me to help him out with this I offered to comply on the understanding that he used the trap to chop his Dark Elf Apprentice Assassin in two with it first! This pesky druchii Hired Sword has avoided death a few times too many in our campaign so far for my liking. He wasn't enamoured by my deal so his trap remained activational.


Two careless goblin mates were washed down an aqueduct whilst looting the ancient temple. One was only flushed round a U-bend. The other unlucky greenskin found himself surfing along a spout full of slurry into a spider nest. After biting the goblin to death in a sewer drain, these bloated arachnids fell under the control of a nearby elf Hero using an animal charm.

The only combat situations anticipated in our opening meet was to be warbands fighting their way past sewer hazards. Most of the Marienburg gangs got stuck-in straight away as giant spiders, giant rats or worse attacked them in the darkness. One of the fun additional features in store was the first two giant rat packs were each going to be chased by a cat! These fun to use models are represented in our games by using the rules for the Trickster-priest of Ranald's cat companion from my Priests of the Empire article - Miracles Workers. One of the shop locations in a future planned article 'Marketplace' allows Heroes to visit a pet emporium to order speciality animals. The chart for strange pets included cats as one entry. They prove popular in games causing mischief in combat. I amended the animal to polecats in my draft copy, after reading the Orion: The Vaults of Winter in which a pair of these critters do a brilliant job of harassing the Cygor from a horde of beastmen!


One of the polecats ran down a corridor chasing rats amongst the Strigany. Michelle has a Hero with the animal charming skill 'Rat Charmer'. She turned on the ability to take control of the rats and bagged herself a free cat companion for her mystical Petru the process! Adding these animals to the snake and hunting bird kept by members of their crew the Strigany are turning their watercaravan ark into a menagerie of beasts! The other cat sprang out in the company of the Moon Guardians 2nd Company. One of the elf Heroes in my warband now receives the same benefits as the waterfront witch from Michelle's gypsy crew.

Reviewing my drafted report it became clear that I'd skirted around the finer details concerning individual combats. Presented with an adventure of this magnitude the finer points of close combat can be addressed in another battle featuring only a couple of rival factions.

Upon reflection it is worth highlighting that Heroes from the Fimir warband managed to seek an audience with the daemon bound to the Chaos crossroad sewer section. This objective room relies on followers of Chaos carrying a wyrdstone item onto the crossroad tile to attract the daemon's favour. Bob has been feverishly following his campaign objectives to the point where he has tapped into the power in the stones!

By visiting an Alchemist in post battle sequences, each Hero in the Fimir warband now carries a stone of power. The gaze of the Dark Gods long since left the amphibious followers of Chaos and Bob is looking to set the record straight. The daemon was willing to bestow a sliver of his essence on a few of the already 'gifted' Heroes. Bob has rolled a lot of characteristic increases for his Heroes making them all a serious threat in close combat. It's only fitting that the wyrdstone items they carry spur the occasional mutation. As yet none has degenerated into becoming a Chaos Spawn. I think that Bob would quite like that!

As it stands the two Young Nobles and his Shearl (that lad's got talent) have acquired a Daemon Soul which allows a valuable 4+ save against magic attacks.


A memorable moment from this session was when the Draich used a Chaos ritual to take control of a giant's mind. The chained guardian was blocking their path through a fighting pit. Alas they couldn't use the titan to smash their enemies with but they were able to duck past unscathed. Some of the amphibians took the opportunity to duck down a trapdoor leading off to another quarter of the sewers on the northern edge.


Whilst Bob's fimir lost advantages gained overground for their 'Mystic Mist' spell of protection, João's swamp pirates were enjoying all the perks gained from goblins night vision! A couple of ghoul nests were disturbed in the course of the evening. The goblins keen eyes did not help them fighting these crypt dwelling fiends! We managed to eat a buffet and play a full rounds 3 rounds in an evening which totals 27 game turns when you include the sewer denizens.

Rounds 4-6
Reconvening after the weekend our group set about the task of drinking teas and eating biscuits whilst dungeon bashing our way through the next three rounds of nail-biting action!

A couple of the mobsters with high Initiative had duck past the swinging blades. The rest of Webby's criminal gang were following a new tactic. After realising that his cartel would be following behind the ogres if they chose to go one of the other routes, he began climbing them down into a sewer channel. For the rest of the session half the mob fell face-first into the stew while those landing on their feet waded through slurry at half their movement rate.


After being double-teamed by the mob enforcer and a guttersnipe who made it past the complex trap, an elf Hero found himself enslaved. Suffering from madness the Feastmaster had scouted ahead of his elven crew. There was no way out of this predicament as both Heroes picked up the Slaver special skill available Mobsmen. I was disappointed but reasonably content in the knowledge that the cartel would do the right thing and free my elf if they won the game. Not routing is the only condition allowing them to keep all captured models.


A second complex trap was triggered in this session by elves. Ironically it grilled the spider-charming elf trapper shortly before he foolishly detonated a Cathayan firepot while still holding it! Cathayan candles are good like that. Roll a 1 and the bloody firestick blows your own guys head off. My first roll was a 2 so I used a rabbit's foot to re-roll in order to throw the bombas amongst the Mobsmen advancing towards one of the main objective rooms. I felt violated when it came up as a 1! The elf Hero had the trap expert skill yet failed a roll required to disarm the device. His run of bad luck ended as the firepot blasted him against the ceiling and caused a cave-in as a result.


There were other cave-in's occurring around the sewer network. One tunnel collapse event happened in the vicinity of the ogres and goblins. They had alternative routes meaning it was of no consequence. Another cave-on event was triggered by a noisy witch hunter stomping over near where the fimir warband was lurking. They too pursued an alternative route.


Rats ahoy! Elsewhere in the sewers ratmen began being taken out of action by more giant spiders. Some skaven warriors were effectively besieged by spider attacks on all sides! While Chris rolled badly and swore loudly, in another corner of the dungeon the ogres were making easy work of a spider attack.


Captain Krunk's ogres encountered a warp bat which passively fluttered past in search of wyrdstone objects. They were greeted by an Old Prospector in the dwarf mine shafts. Before Lisette Leerer established a rapport with the Hired Sword an ogre mountain guide barrelled the old codger under one arm and marched off to the next section!


The Strigany made very slow progress through the sewers carrying a lot of loot! Giant rats having been charmed into helping the pirates on their way were killed pestering the fimir! After struggling to push past the marsh monsters, a different route was agreed, but it would involve acting innocent in front of witch hunters.

Annika Bohringer had split her forces into three. One lone Hero had scouted an open route ahead of the skaven while they fought their war with arachnids. They weren't likely to chase too closely after her for she was accompanied by her pet tiger! Most of the witch killers advanced peacefully through a stretch of corridor lined with dungeon cells where eight hostages were held under lock and key. Seemingly there were no heretics among the prisoners as the remaining hunters and their hounds moved off to inspect a weapons rack and a fortified doorway.

With no warbands looking to voluntarily rout any time soon we made arrangements for the third gathering. The game being set up in Chris & Michelle's gaming room as a semi-permanent fixture meant we would be able to continue until a natural ending could be reached.

Rounds 7-9
Our third session was explosive. The Strigany caravanmaster's plan to avoid the Templars had worked for a while, up until the Petru started practising the dark arts! Following the loss of their Dommu leader, in desperation a coffin fell open and out sprang a grumpy vampire! One foolhardy fimir noble had inadvertently woke a slumbering Strigoi who got out the wrong side of his coffin! The fimir ambushers were shaken by the Strigany Old Father who sought to settle scores after the premature loss of the Dola gang's caravanmaster. Beneath the Craftsmarket the Draich had coaxed a handful of her warriors through a secret tunnel leading north to where a witch hunter was examining a custom made weapon. She was surprised as the amphibians sprung from a trapdoor only to collapse on the floor due to the mouldy conditions in the armoury! One fimir Hero managed to pull himself together in time to receive her charge.

Mobsmen found themselves in fiery hell when they passed through a powder store. With steady hands Elf-Captain Malek unloaded a shot from his handgun that struck a barrel of powder, showing why his crew nicknamed him the Albatross. The explosion detonated a second keg flattening the lascars! Although cave-in's were avoided, this turn of events has thrown a spanner in the smugglers plans. By this point my elf lawbringers are similarly hanging on by a thread. The same goes for the Rear-Admiral's pirate rats after the body count from spider attacks rose to five. One combat swung in the rats favour when a Black Skaven named Commander Spike took down Kala Halavaha after scurrying up the enforcer's inside leg! Sal Singh's right-hand has picked up the nickname 'Turbanator' in our campaign after the destruction he has wreaked on enemy warriors. He won't live this melee down in a hurry and things were looking decidedly dicey for the cartel.


Ogre slavers bargained with fire dwarfs over a daemon weapon after visiting their forge! In exchange for a treasure chest they now possess a daemon-possessed blade. Before entering the Chaos engineers weapons depot a couple of the Man-eater Heroes did battle with two large tunnel wyrms (borrowed from Cianty's Horrors of the Underground scenario). They were represented as the head and the tail of the beast. The wyrm's tail thrashed until it went flaccid from heavy ogre boots stamping on it! After being repeatedly punched in the maw by a talented half-grown ogre Hero the limbless drake disappeared back into the crevasse from whence it came.


While their captain-led trio haggles with Chaos dwarfs over trade negotiations the rest of the ogres were fighting a turf war. Goblins swarmed the network of pipes. The ogres path was temporarily blocked by a river troll. Lisette Leerer cleared the tunnel by unbalancing the slimy regenerator in a pile of its own vomit. Proving she's all woman the assassin followed the troll. This was a combat that she couldn't win. João was passing nearly all his rolls to regenerate the troll. When the troll regenerated four wounds in one round (4+ to regenerate trolls) it dawned on Phil that he'd do better to concentrate on the smuggling mission at hand! Lisette broke off her attack. Fleeing from combat was simple enough while the troll was flailing around in sewage and vomit.


By the end of the night Captain Stinkfoot was missing in action after a run in with flea-bitten pirate-rats. The rest of his swabs and their finely cast 'white' squig (pro-sculpted from a lump of plasticene by Michelle at short notice) fled for the swamps with a barnacled treasure chest they found in an old temple that looked like it was surely too big for goblins to carry!


A witch hunter being chased by the warp bat was carrying a tainted item. She plummeted from a walkway to land in the unexplored city vault! This unexpected turn of events closed the night with the secret room tile being revealed.

Rounds 10-15
Before the start of our final stretch the cartel gracefully decided to bow out. As the tenth round began, after assessing the damage and current state of play I decided that my sea elf rangers needed to do the same.

Clan Skyre warp-engineers were routed by ogres in the opening couple of turns. Under a barrage of rapier attacks rat-of-the-hour Commander Spike was polished off by none other than Ms Leerer waving her stiletto with rapier in deadly unison.

The bestial force of Old Night managed to force his way past the fimir warriors before succumbing to injuries. The leaderless Strigany tried to press on after the Strigoi was put out of action only to encounter a chained giant who refused to fall. Throwing every projectile they had at it ultimately proved futile. Although a dwarf slayer pirate who joined the gypsy crew blew a few holes in the giant to score himself some bonus experience points before the rout. With the witch hunters right on their tail, they had no choice but to stuff their Old Father back in his box and just leg it!

The Templar captain proved that her cult of Sigmarites has nerves of steel. Finding a casket of legend with magical properties after falling off a narrow walkway and seeing their captain escaping his doom in a temple of pain. Outlasting the monstrous fimir who surprisingly made a break. The cold-blooded phantoms found themselves routing at the crucial moment when one ripped the first of four prison doors off in the dungeon cell block.

Four ogres marching under Lisette Leerer's guidance made acrobatic jumps down from a raised dais and then dexterousness abandoned her as the assassin fell gracelessly to the flagstone floor. They scooped her up before advancing unchallenged up a stairwell below a magician's shop in the Craftsmarket.

Ending the game
1st place: After bartering a chestful of treasures with twisted dwarf engineers the Ogre Man-eaters came away with daemon weapon! Loaded down with wine barrels the ogres stormed up a stairwell leading into the basement of a Magician's Workshop, nabbing themselves an alchemists flask of Nehekharan Fire!

2nd place: Rumours have circulated that a magical casket had arrived in the city. It has fallen into the hands of the Thieves' Guild. Witch Hunters held until the last and secured this legendary arfefact recovered from an underworld vault! The huntress carrying the wyrdstone item fell foul of its warp-tainting presence. Waking to find she has birthed a third arm! Normally the taint would see her purged of corruption through fire and brimstone. A recent acquisition of her Blood Stone talisman has led the covetous Witch Hunter Captain into a quandary over whether the mutation is perhaps a blessing in disguise. She may choose to let sleeping dogs lie or elect do the right thing and burn the altered flesh after all.

3rd place:Lords of the Marsh slew a watch patrol guarding dungeon cells before fleeing from the cells occupants upon realising their purity had already been compromised by one of the guards!

WANTED - Skaven skulls. Kala Halavaha will pay 5 gold guilders for every rat taken out of action.

WANTED - for crimes against the Free city of Marienburg
Kala Halavaha for uttering seditious talk of giant bipedal rats in order to spread civil unrest and destabalise the economic growth of the city.

The merchant councillors of the Stadsraad have spoken! The dirty lascar Kala Halavaha must turn himself in or face the wrath of Lord Justicar Ambrosius Aloysis, who is currently busy dealing with the local marsh gas problem.

Credits
Photography: Bob Whettonclick on images to enlarge photographs
Additional photos: Frogprince (of chained giant) and João (of Bob)
Custom quest room tiles: thebard108 and Talion78
Painted miniatures: Werekin (Ogres, Elves, dungeon doors & objective markers),
Frogprince (Skaven), Geekgirl (Strigany), Bob (Fimir) and João (River Troll)

This year for mine and Bob's birthdays I had the original idea of going to Norwegian Wood Café (again) and playing a Mordheim battle (again) with a select crowd of dedicated fans of dice and baked beans!

Once prosperous, Halsdorph a beautiful town of 2,500 souls is now a depressed community haunted by morbid dreams from the nearby Daemon Swamp! Since the earthshaking Night of Terror when the best fields sank it's a place of decay.

The decline of Halsdorph was brought about by clawing monsters from a lost age, led by masters of dark sorcery and daemon lore. Fallen creatures now occupy the mist-wreathed ruins at Halsdorph Keep. Townsfolk abandoned their crumbling homes surrounding the eerie stronghold.


'Heroes Breakfast' was an opportunity for players in my campaign to reconvene, plot schemes and discuss tactics, followed by the Battle of Halsdorph Keep itself. A multi-player Mordheim siege game played in teams, set in the Wasteland region surrounding the city of Marienburg. Two teams of warbands were led by our team captains, plus a renegade player is throwing a spanner in the works as skaven are in the habit of! Newcomer to Mordheim, our special guest player Alex Peake familiarised himself with a specially generated warband of Middenheimers.


THE RIGHTEOUS
Rangers & Zealots led by Witch Hunter General David Jarzembowski
Dave (captain) - Witch Hunters
Stu C - Elf Rangers
Phil - Ogre Maneaters + Dramatis Personae Lisette Leerer
Alex - Middenheim Mercenaries

THE FALLEN
Brigands & Heretics led by Master Sorcerer Bob Whetton
Bob (captain) - Lords of the Marsh (the Fimir)
Stu W - Marienburg Mobsters
Michelle - Strigany River Gypsies + The Undead

THE UNDERFOLK
Chris - Skaven Warp Engineers

CAMPAIGN STORY
An operation sanctioned by the Merchant City Council to cleanse Halsdorph is being led by the comely Witch Hunter Annika Bohringer. The righteous crusade has not only been licensed through the council chambers of the Stadsraad. It is being backed by the dreaded League of Gentlemen Entrepreneurs. Ogre lackeys from Tanners Alley take a break from boiling horse-hide to protect dubious business enterprises by accompanying a piratical assassin come femme fatale enforcer for the 'League You Never Heard Of'. Elven rangers guide them across the Cursed Marsh after encountering a company of Ulricans on the Middenheim Road. Knights of the White Wolf are bitter rivals of Sigmarite Templars! A rare opportunity to root out ancient evil was enough to set aside schisms of faith.

As the Witch Hunters close in, the Fimir have called upon shadowy allies to repel the crusade against their hold.

Lisette LeererDramatis Personae conversion by Werekin painted by João

SET-UP
The area of the gaming table we used for this battle was approximately 60"x48". The dimension of Halsdorph Keep were approximately 27"x31". Parts of the keep were more dilapidated than others to give the impression of a fortification in state of disrepair. Most of the breaches were shored up using obstacles such as crates, barrels & upturned carts. The ruined gatehouse entrance was barricaded by a wagon belonging to the Mobsters warband. In our rare excursion outside the Marienburg city walls I brought some wilderness terrain out of storage to plant outside the stronghold. The keep was surrounded by derelict outbuildings used to represent abandoned homesteads from the cursed settlement.


DEPLOYMENT
The Fallen team deploys first, within Halsdorph Keep or upon its battlements. After the Righteous team has deployed anywhere outside the perimeter of the walls to Haldsorph Keep, each side rolls a dice to decide which team take the first turn. The Underfolk may deploy on any table edge on a turn of their choosing after the first turn has taken place.

The Fallen team won the roll to play first.


STARTING THE GAME
Each player on the same team takes their turn simultaneously. Close combat may need to be resolved in order of Initiative. As Chris has elected to play his Skaven warband in the role as renegade, control of the 'house' warband of Undead has been assumed by Michelle. Michelle is deferring to team captain Bob, so both players are sharing ownership of the 4th warband in the Fallen team.

ENDING THE GAME
The game ends when all of the warbands on one team have routed or if a team captain routs. Any warbands on the winning side when the game ends earns 2 Campaign Points for winning the battle. The renegade player earns 2 Campaign Points for surviving the battle if casualties were dealt by his warband to a captains warband on the side that routed.

SPECIAL RULES
Alliances: Players on the same team cannot break alliances with their team. Warbands on the same team count as friendly models meaning they cannot be attacked by their allies in this battle.

Mist-wreathed Stronghold: As a consequence of their shadowy alliance the warbands on the Fallen team will be enveloped in 'Mystic Mist' (like a bound spell from magical items, the spell means missile fire suffers -1 to hit mist-wreathed targets) at the start of the battle. Fimir ambushers roll in their shooting phase to check whether the mist can be maintained by their bronze talismans of blood.

Captains: Each team captain has the benefit of being able to overrule any of the players on his team. In the event that a team captain's warband is routed then the team captain must nominate a new captain. Players must defer to their team captain in all instances! e.g. If a player would like to voluntarily rout then they will need permission from their team captain.

Morbid Dreams: Sorcerous hallucinations lead warriors to despair and to suffer from night terrors and strange visions! After the battle each Hero in the warband must take a Leadership test. Roll on the chart for the Dream Parlour from Infamous Haunts* for any Hero failing the test.

Undead and daemon models are immune to morbid dreams.

*Infamous Haunts is a works in progress chapter from the 'Mutiny in Marienburg' campaign setting. The effects are similar to drug-induced states and Heroes may end up visiting a drug den as a consequence. Note that a Hero visiting a drug den for the first time gains +1 Experience! At a fee of 10 gold crowns roll a D6 chart when visiting the underworld location named Dream Parlour. The article is currently unpublished but available upon request if you are running a campaign.


BATTLE FOR HALSDORPH KEEP
While the righteous crusaders pondered how to best four warbands protected by the walls of a mist-wreathed stronghold, the question on everyone's lips inside the keep was who exactly were these mysterious bearded cavalrymen?

Not content with barricading the entrance of the gatehouse with one wagon, the fimir sorceress identified the threat of an enemy wagon approaching. Reaching out with tendrils of dark energy she assumed control of the driver. Ironically the mind of this heroic zealot is usually immune to psychological effects yet the man was no match for the hag. Gripped in the lure of Chaos his wagon ground to a halt sandwiching ogre muscle between both vehicles. Maneaters turned on the wagoneer fearing a rear charge from the mind-twisted Sigmarite. Briefly an ogre considered piloting the wagon before storming the keep in search for wide enough breaches in its aged walls.


The lascars of Ind gave an outstanding account of themselves during the siege. The 'Salamander' Sal Singh and one of his bruisers flew from turret to turret on a magic carpet ride, before unleashing a hail of blackpowder shot. Their expertly timed blunderbuss attack caught the sea elf ranger right in a crossfire. Elves were cut down like corn. Flaxen haired Captain Malfinnor was preening himself in the reflection of his axe blade when the volleys were fired! A rogue harpy seen wearing a studded leather neck brace was also caught in the blast. The taloned beast, a consort for one of the fimir had unwisely dropped down into the smoking path of both mobster musketeers!

In fact the fire fight was so one-sided on the opening turn of the game that the elves called to their Witch Hunter general for a retreat. Annika Bohringer snarled her denial of their craven request to no avail. After realising their full potential as decoys the pointy-eared guides fled involuntarily all the same!


After the rangers routed it was time to separate the men from the elves. Seneschal von Smythe doubled his efforts as the White Wolf knights crashed into hulking scaly adversaries. Meanwhile the wolf-kin scouts found the mark with their longbows making a mockery of the sea elves appalling archery! Undead creatures took the brunt of righteously destructive missiles. Unlike elves they were unbreakable in the face of an onslaught. This zombified front line of ghouls and dire wolves formed a convenient shield of rotting meat for the Strigany. River gypsies learned the value of cooking pots as their makeshift helmets saved them when taking a tumble from tower balconies.

Warlocks were dropping like flies while beneath the ramparts, the Indic cartel enforcer Kala Halavaha (aka the Turbanator) was trying to take on a whole ogre warband! The silk-robed fighter fearlessly defended the gatehouse entrance from a wagon blocking their way into the keep.

In the thick of combat were the mounted cavalrymen from the Ulricberg. Sigmarite and Ulrican blood was spilled as these bitter rivals stood side by side. Leaders from both churches relying on their heavily armoured troops to prevail in the face of bestial fury fuelled by dark sorcery. The Draich and the Strigany Petru weaving spells to swell their own warriors might while debilitating foes. Two knights bearing insignia of the White Wolf were dragged unceremoniously from their noble steeds by clawing muscled arms of amphibian brutes. Not even the barded warhorses offering protection against such feral hate. A combined charge from Wolf-Priest Larsson and the Ulrican Seneschal captaining Middenheim settled the score. Blessings from the God of Winter and Wolves upon the heroes combined with Seneschal's gromril wargear crafted by expert dwarfen engineers spurred the Claws of Ulric on.


A lucky escape for Lisette Leerer. She fell foul of her own notoriety, attracting attention from a trio of opponents in the same combat; fimir noble, guttersnipe and a Chaos troll! Outnumbered three against one, the pirate-assassin found her face hitting marshy loam. Somehow surviving she crawled away while zealots distracted her attackers.

Forge-rats slunk into the fray (after the 2nd round on game turn 17) and unloaded a stinky barrage of poisonous magical gas. The perfume stench from their sparkling globes was all too much for the monstrous fimir. It seemed to have no effect on Singh's mobsmen. Fiendish survivors saved their scaly hides, one by one plunging into brackish bog-water tributaries while their shadowy allies departed across the sunken fields.

Halsdorph has been reclaimed! The cleansing has resulted in the capture of a master sorceress. Just not by the zealotry of either church. Bound, gagged, shipped and sold into slavery by the pirate-rats of Rear-Admiral Krislik's verminous flotilla! The latest anyone has heard that leathery old Draich is now being held captive in a sweaty palace of horse-hide on Tanners Alley by ogre taskmaster Captain Krunk. Cowardice and incompetence of Elf-captain Malfinnor was reported in an official account sent to the City Council by the Witch Hunters. Word that this dereliction of duty compromised the crusade has filtered back to Elftown. The Exarch now considers whether to despatch a Commodore to quell accusations of insubordinate captaincy soiling the Sea Rangers reputation.

The Righteous brothers [left to right: Peakey, Capt Dave, Philip]

In other news, the cartel extorted a lighthouse keeper down at Old Snorri Rocks. Refusing to pay the filthy lascars tithe has angered Salaman Singh. The Indic racketeer now threatens to move on the coastal stockade in Temple district. Local sightings of mutant wreckers in the shape of giant rats wearing tricorn hats have not dissuaded the self-proclaimed pirate-king of the Spice Islands.

Almost two years ago, with the knowledge that witch hunters could be tracing my movements, I shared some insight into some favourite forbidden texts. It was my intention to lend additional detail to literary sources of inspiration for the Marienburg setting for Mordheim campaigns.


Mysterious reasons seemingly sidetracked me from continuing my recommendations for bedtime reading! Real life random happenings interrupted my research last year meaning all relating tabletop exploits are on hiatus. After seven years in the same ground floor hideout, cascading relationship circumstances led to inevitable upheaval. My warbands have migrated a few times duting the past six months! Series 4 of the Mutiny campaign fun I was running is now on hold until the dust settles. My miniatures are cased up, my modular terrain boards garaged at the family ranch, my books... (oh my precious library!!) was boxed, then unboxed, then (hastily) bagged up! When the Sigmarite Orders do finally catch up with me I will be well practised in fleeing from combat.


Whatever happens next in the Marienburg odyssey is currently unmapped. I was reminded by a fellow conspirator to revisit my collection of tomes this afternoon. In turn prompting me to return here. The hedge wizard in question was lamenting the rising prices of books now out of print, in particular the only official Mordheim campaign book, Empire In Flames. Whilst it is available online as a PDF there are many who prefer an original hard copy for inspiration whether standing over a tabletop street skirmish or while sitting at the modelling station with a wet brush in hand.

Excuses aside my 'go to' source material, as a Mordheim campaign facilitator, is split between Black Library novels and Warhammer Roleplay publications. The latter has thinned in the advent of Fantasy Flight Games hijacking the system from Green Ronin. Green Ronin through Black Industries picked up the mantle from Hogshead Publishing. Black Library fantasy fiction is still going great guns in contrast to the lack of credible roleplay supplements seeing print. Allow me to share the best references for Marienburg adventure.

-MARIENBURG STORIES-
6 story arcs bearing importance to Marienburg acting as best references for MiM:

A Murder in Marienburg&A Massacre in Marienburg by David Bishop
Titular inspiration for the campaign came courtesy of a Black Library author who dedicated two full novels to the City of Islands and Bridges. The sequenced stories are awe inspiring at times despite some reviewers critical opinion that their telling suffers from being lacklustre. Big racketeers from the Marienburg roleplay books by Hogshead feature in the tale. Reading these novels was of as much pleasure to me as it was a research exercise. The author details some marvellous new personalities from the Marienburg Watch constabularies of his own devising. Most importantly to me, there are sea elves in it! Both novels are now out of print. Herr Bishop has since taken up a better offer in scriptwriting television shows by accounts.

Marks Of Chaos by James Wallis
Available since 2010 on 'Print On Demand' service from Black Library, it took me a while to catch up on reading this twin-novel package. Not to be confused with another title called Mark of Chaos. This reissue combines Mark of Heresy & Mark of Damnation. Although the majority of the telling is not set in Marienburg the storytelling is excellent. There is a ton of intrigue. Sheer quality of this release is not a surprise considering the legacy James Wallis left at Hogshead Publishing.

Knight of the Blazing Sun, Dead Calm from Hammer & Bolter issue #13, Stromfel’s Teeth from Hammer & Bolter issue #17, Lords of the Marsh from Hammer & Bolter issue #20 Dead Man’s Party from Hammer & Bolter issue #21 by Joshua Reynolds
Remarkable new Warhammer storyteller Josh Reynolds made his first mark with a novel set around a mysterious island off the coast of Marienburg. Good man I say! The novel was followed up with a series of 4 short stories based in the city-port. These were scarily familiar to me upon reading them because the protagonists all sit in line with factions from the Marienburg campaign system that I've been developing. Cultists of Stromfels and the constabularies are most significant. The author introduces the Marsh-Watch and not afraid to use the 'F word' he devotes more than a few pages to those clawing monsters of mythic nostalgia. I urge anyone who is spending time in Marienburg to download these editions of Hammer & Bolter from the Black Library web site simply to read these glorious adventures.


The Tilean Rat (from Wolf Riders or The Laughter of the Dark Gods) &The Man Who Stabbed Luther van Groot (from Tales of the Old World) by Sandy Mitchell
Legendary Black Library author Sandy invented the diminutive detective Sam Warble. I remember reading the first tale of the halfling sleuth aeons ago when Games Workshop first began publishing fantasy fiction. Amongst my collection of short story anthologies is the bumper release containing his second yarn following Sam's casework. Both set in Marienburg, both are brilliant told tales.

Death on the Reik Trilogy by Sandy Mitchell
Sandy was tasked with writing a series of novels to tie in with the 2nd edition release of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. This series was never released in omnibus format. It is an unusual read as Warhammer novels go. The main characters eventually make their way to Marienburg. They arrive in the second book. When they do it's well worth the wait. Sam Warble makes a cameo. The witch hunters are never far behind.

Elfslayer&Slayer of the Storm God (Audio-book/short story) by Nathan Long
Gotrek & Felix have travelled the length and breadth of the Warhammer World. Bill King took them to Albion, Kislev, even the Chaos Wastes! It was during Nathan Long's tenure that the infamous duo arrived in Marienburg. The short story released as an audio CD is a regal way to enjoy their escapades from a different perspective. It's since been reissued in a compilation of short stories, Hammer & Bolter I think. I haven't picked up the Fourth Omnibus yet, having bought the books separately upon release, but hopefully they've included Gotrek's fight against the manifestation of the Shark God, Stromfels!

-WARHAMMER ROLEPLAY ADVENTURES-
6 best Warhammer source books used for referencing epic campaigns:

Marienburg: Sold Down The River
This is the god book! A first edition release for Warhammer Roleplay through Hogshead Publishing, devised by Anthony Ragan As far as this campaign is concerned, without this roleplay source book, I would have found it difficult to get things off the ground. It contains the Great Map, drawn by Ralph Horsely and so much more.

The Dying of the Light
A series of scenarios set in and around the city. Mostly set in the surrounding Wasteland region, this is the ideal resource for understanding everything that happens directly outside of the city walls. A boon is that it contains a scenario written by Sandy Mitchell. He signed my copy at Black Library Live a few years ago! A superb resource for amphibian fans. It includes the earliest published example of a Fimir warband.


The Thousand Thrones
At the beginning of this voluminous tome of adventure, the scenarios explore Dead Canal slum district followed by the Cursed Marsh outside of Marienburg. A wonderfully quilled release for fans of Stromfels and his mutant followers of Chaos.

Career Compendium
Combines all of the career paths and adventure hooks from a multitude of other 2nd edition Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay publications. A grandiose tome for sourcing yourself hired swords capable of skulduggery! Also contains a moving story about Strigany river pirates.

Tome of Salvation
Arguably the jewel in the crown among all source books for Warhammer. This tome was the inspiration form my article Miracle Workers. I was reading this in an airport once and got so many funny looks from commuters!

Tome of Corruption
The companion release for Tome of Salvation. The inspiration for Corrupted Characters.

Five years ago I was washed up on Fisherman's Steps in Marienburg, after my companion Herr Templin & I completed the arduous though rewarding task of envisioning the original theatrical stage production Border Town Burning. After our journey I began describing concepts and themes to him based on my ideas for what could dare follow such an epic project! My confidant was curious. I had a lot of work to put in before I could claim to have something comparable to what my conspirator already had in his hands when I first discovered him skulking around in the Cathayan Borderlands!

My name is Ruprecht Drinkwater, heretic playwright, street performer and suspected were-creature and this maritime manifest was to be my sentence.

Cianty: Every Mordheim setting should convey a unique feel, not only atmospherically but also ruleswise. This is often attributed to a different environment represented by the terrain and weather rules. The Empire in Flames supplement introduced the open plains of the Empire, filled with forest sections and small village dwellings and fields. In Border Town Burning we had a similar environment, a rather open gaming board with forest sections. Ruleswise EiF introduced wagons and carts and this theme was expanded on in BTB with the Merchant Caravan warband and the feel of journeying (also represented in the objectives). Now we are back in the Old World, again, expanding and continuing the previously introduced concepts and ideas. So what is the overall feel and theme of Marienburg? Have a guess...

Werekin: On the surface Mutiny in Marienburg is all about piracy. The supplement certainly is about fulfilling smuggling missions! More than pirates, it is about devotion to fighting crime & committing crime in a port-city metropolis.

An account of the city's political struggle between it's powerful guild rivals.
A Mutiny in Marienburg
Composed by criminal mastermind Rev Larny

A campaign in a commercial port must capitalise on expanding the scope for trade deals. The fundamentals require me to broaden player's perception of currency beyond treasures/wyrdstone shards, gold crowns and what equipment or contraband items (poisons, drugs, tainted items & Chaos artefacts) they can spend it on. Corpses, stragglers (NPC models) and captured models offer alternative revenue streams. Mordheim warbands or Marienburg gangs ability to control unique locations in the campaign and tap into the special uses of these encampments. Beyond paying ransoms and meeting usual bargains, bribery becomes another serious consideration.

Malign forces will compete to commit the most horrific acts. Constabularies naturally combat these destructive threats first if they can, depending on whose agency has jurisdiction! Other factions will be tempted to commit less harmful felonious activity for ill-gotten gains only to become brigands themselves.

"We have ways of making you talk..."
The way that Witch Hunters will deal with a suspected heretic is quite different to how the City Watch handles matters. Campaign objectives and scenario rules see to that nicely. For instance a watch patrol may consider interrogating a suspect while a witch hunters warband will torture the suspect!

New objective
Plot - Drowning the Witch
Witch Hunters, Sisters of Sigmar and Mercenaries hiring a holy Warrior-Priest of Sigmar may follow this plot.

Cianty: Stu has been wanting to introduce trade to Mordheim for a long time now. Based on the concept of the Merchant Caravan, he wanted to see more trading, bargaining and fencing. Now I will leave it to him to talk further about this concept and the mechanics. What I want to do here is describe a mechanic somewhat independent of the trading itself, yet blending in with it perfectly. I think this is a great way to create a coherent feeling: providing numerous rules that are independent of each other, but contribute to the same greater goal.

My little part I am talking about here is 'bounty hunting'. For whatever disgusting reason I have always felt attached to this concept (in wargaming, that is!). I guess it is because I enjoy the social interaction between the players that goes far beyond the usual mutual head-bashing.

In Mordheim we already have the Captured result on the Heroes' Serious Injury chart. Capturing people and selling them back is a kind of trading, yet it is nicely independent as it can be done without using any advanced trading rules, but at the same time it can be covered by those rules as well.

Werekin: I will never forget the Bounty Hunter that Eliazar hired in when his Reikland River Brigands swept through during the 2nd series of our campaign! Bounty Hunters remain one of my firm favourites and definitely the number one most overlooked Hired Sword. They fight for any side when the price is right and they allow all kinds of interesting interactions with different warband objectives! Despite the motives of your gang, the Bounty Hunter proves one of the most flexible sell-swords. Whether a player leads a patrol of Watchmen trying to bring down a dangerous outlaw, or a criminal syndicate organising an abduction of innocent milkmaids the Bounty Hunter will always help to take the prize! He can assist in placing suspected felons under arrest, or simply aid in snatching victims off the docks!

"The punishment has to fit the crime..."
Rules for placing warriors under arrest appear under Scenario 9: Dead Freight. Also included are details for what happens to models after arrests have bee made. The outcomes are decided using the Conviction Chart which I created to encourage some entertaining situations between crime-fighters and convicts!

Cianty: I have always greatly enjoyed Nick Kyme's 'Fortune Hunters' article in issue 13 of the Town Cryer magazine. One of the cool Hired Swords presented therein is the Bounty Hunter. This guy had to have a triumphant comeback in Marienburg. His ability to capture opposing Heroes is a great mechanic to push the captives in the game. Additional rules for Captives? All models caught by the Bounty Hunter Hired Sword are brought to a Marienburg Prison (or a version of it). The Prison is a building. (Stu: Should models be granted access to) the Prison by playing a certain scenario?

Werekin: Yes, why not. Henceforth in Marienburg, buildings and fortifications plus other special locations are being referred to as encampments. These can be contested by playing scenarios designed to fit the purpose. There are two in the Rules section (Scenario 5: Stockade& Scenario 10: The Sting). As a consequence of playing a scenario that contests an encampment, it could be possible for a player's warband to free a friendly model that has already been captured or placed under arrest.

When a player holds an encampment, another player may take the opportunity to contest it. Motives may vary depending on the value of a location to each side. The outcome can be decided according to scenario guidelines or the players can agree this amongst themselves based on what is currently at stake in their campaign story.

e.g. Witch Hunters have established a Torture Chamber in the city. Cult of the Possessed decide to contest the encampment. The players fight a scenario and against all odds the followers of Chaos win! As the Torture Chamber is only of use to the torturous Sigmarites, the Possessed cultists raze the structure freeing any captured models in the process. When the Witch Hunters return to their encampment they find that it must be restored before being used again.

The restoration would be achieved in accordance with the guidelines for restoring encampments as described in the Epic Campaign Rules article, based on rules that first appeared in the Border Town Burning supplement.

Disclaimer - This blog post features some content originally composed by the heretic scribes Chris Templin & Stu Cresswell five years ago! Join us in celebrating the anniversary of Border Town Burning.

Heroes thrive off dangerous pursuits – Sold to the pits, held captive by a rival gang, or an illegal drug addiction. The underbelly of the city is where pleasure houses, drug parlours and baiting pits can be found. This is where hedonistic warriors will be able to entertain their darkest desires in godforsaken dens of vice and misery. It is said that more people die every year around the wharfs than on all the glorious battlefields of the Empire! Here is an exhaustive tour of Marienburg's renowned waterfront hostelries and most notorious havens of ill repute.

During the Trading phase of the post battle sequence Heroes may attempt enter one of the taverns, casinos, drug dens and bordellos of Marienburg instead of searching for a rare item.

Download the article here:
Infamous Haunts (PDF, ca. 0.7 MB)


Mutiny in Marienburg is a narrative campaign for Mordheim. A lot of the flavour for the setting is pulled from tomes published for Warhammer Roleplay. Finely quilled novels from Black Library add layers of detail to existing source material. Compiling as many flavourful notes from as many stories as possible I've been building a pattern of activities. Infamous Haunts contains 14 locations in Marienburg's underworld. The risks are steep. The rewards are great. Players whose warriors pay the underworld a visit are sure to have a story to tell. This could be just the twist in your campaign you were looking for! Here is where Heroes from your warbands may dare to visit in the the post battle sequence instead of pursuing traditional activities.

In your campaigns some players will fuss over gathering up the best equipment, others may realise that visiting an Alchemist to tap into the power of wyrdstone is the best course of action to take. What if there were other options available? Would your Witch Hunter search for a Holy Relic or would he visit the Sanitarium? Would your Necromancer search for a Lucky Charm or cajole a Dreg into visiting the Graveyard with him?


Before I realised what I had on my hands I was working on a compilation article called 'Marketplace'. My intention was (and still is!) to adapt the best material from the Encampments articles published in Town Cryer. This is partly what led me into the seediest corners of the city. Sometimes the outcomes will introduce new rules where guidelines need to be followed. There might be penalties to pay. Rewards vary sometimes revealing a secret location from the Marienburg campaign or a special character such as Trancas Quendalmanlïye at the Casino in Elftown.

On my desktop I still have another document being bashed into shape by referring to my campaign notes plus those old Town Cryer magazines. I have elaborated considerably. Anything that develops a wild campaign story. Anything that encourages modelling opportunities. If it inspires, it's being tied in! For instance that building with the green roof above Three of a Kind casino, if you recognise it, is being well represented. Marketplace will offer safer options to players than visiting the city's underbelly. This should pose further tactical choices in campaigns. Play it safe by visiting the Cartographer or take a chance by visiting one of the locations beyond Three Penny Bridge.


Of course not all warbands will benefit from these options. Enemies of mankind, elfkind, dawi or halfling folk are not permitted entry to legendary parlours of ill repute such as Golden Lotus drug den or Molly's knocking shop. As compensation for this I have a more concise set of (two) locations where the likes of greenskins, beastkin and vermin may think about heading to chill out after the battle. These will work on a completely different set of (very basic) principals to any of the other charts normally used in campaigns. Of course such primitive creatures could be too preoccupied with their wyrdstone trinkets and ceremonies of sacrifice to think about setting off in the right direction!

Felons are warriors in your campaign being identified as known criminals. Placing these models under arrest means that a player could score additional campaign points.

“Something is rotten in Marienburg. It’s a human saying. It means that there is something amiss.”
— Felix Jaegar, Poet

During my last campaign in the Free City of Marienburg we began to learn about law and order. In the opening sequence of battles we had two agencies with jurisdiction. These were two very different warbands whose agenda was to fight crime on the canals! A patrol of officers from the City Watch armed mainly with clubs and my Moon Guardians from Elftown. In the first of our annual multi-player extravaganzas crime did not pay. These battles tend to get messy with so much being at stake. Long after the sun had set the law enforcers were the last men (and sea elves) left standing.

My elf rangers were outperformed by the watch patrol. The Watch made arrests where as my elf guardians made none. This had something to do with an unsuccessful policing strategy; shoot first, ask questions later! I learned some hard lessons in those stages of the campaign when trying to engage tougher opponents in hand-to-hand combat with my sea rangers and continued to do so.

Guidelines for fighting crime were being written on the job. Some players have a problem with new rules being invented on the spot. Retrospective ‘nerfing’ is something that (some of) your friends are capable of swallowing in a narrative campaign, especially when it improves the story. When we began the adventure it was made very clear that it was a pilot run. I knew what I was getting myself into. Stakes were raised. Options got tinkered with. Fall out occurred. Contributors kissed and made up. Gameplay has evolved.

Now we have a rounded set of guidelines for crimefighting in a narrative campaign set in a city like Marienburg, Mordheim or wherever you prefer to call home. Please note that while the objectives of this plot may seem clear enough, it’s more difficult to uphold the principals of civil liberty and justice for all than you might think! Don’t be surprised when in the course of your investigations the leader of your patrol winds up in more dire straits than Axel Foley and Samuel Vimes put together.

Plot – Guarding the Peace

Models that can or cannot be placed under arrest are evenly defined in the officer’s guide accompanying the objectives. The main topics have been outlined here. I didn’t wish for this to be literal, so not every rule and situation has been defined. It’s not ambiguous either, yet it’s important that there is a little scope for freedom of interpretation. Remember this is a narrative campaign!

Most models can be placed under arrest. The question a player needs to ask themselves is not “Can I arrest them?” but “Should I arrest them?”

The only arrests which convert into campaign points are those made on these known felons, or models found to be committing a felony, such as arson, breaking & entering, or carrying fell cargo; drugs such as crimson shade, tainted item such as a wyrdstone necklace, occult item such as a two-thousand year old vampire sleeping in a quilted coffin etc

Campaigns become a lot more interesting when some models cannot be arrested for special reasons. Some characters including diplomats and powerful crime leaders have immunity from law enforcers! Of course it would be pointless trying to arrest an ungor beastman or a forest goblin. These savage creatures from the Warhammer World should always be slain to put an end to their destructive mischief.

“Goblins! Goblins! I caught that one in the stable, trying to set a fire. Waste of good horse meat. Maw curse them all.”
— Grog, Ogre Bodyguard

The warband objectives for watch patrols and other warbands who can follow this plot require the models in your chosen constabulary to work as a team. It is up to the player where they wish to play their role out as righteous lawmen, dirty coppers or a mixture with some good cop bad cop interactions!

Commonly law enforcers fulfil the role of heroes in stories. Phil Coulson currently leads his hand-picked team on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at Directory Fury’s behest. Flashing their badge of office in the Marvel Universe spells the opposite reaction to brandishing a badge in Sherwood! Brigands like Robin Hood’s merry men play the role of good guys leaving the Sheriffs men to be painted as villains.

Crime fighters from popular stories operate solo or work only with a partner. True detective or vigilante agent, whether your inspiration comes from Jack Bauer, Alex ‘Robocop’ Murphy, ‘Dirty’ Harry Callahan, John McLane or Bruce Wayne the end of campaign objective remains the same. Take the leader of that criminal enterprise into custody. Once you get the bracelets on the kingpin in your campaign then they are going to face justice!

Speaking of specialists, I do have some new Hired Swords and Dramatis Personae in mind for the Marienburg setting. One of the main characters in any Marienburg adventure is Sam Warble the halfling detective.


My earlier mention here of the halfing private-eye fondly recalls discovering his character in the early days of Warhammer literature. My purchases back then were of 2nd edition anthologies from my local Games Workshop store.


Some readers will probably recall the Konrad saga, most the tales of Felix Jaegar and his companion. Not so many Buttermere 'Sam' Warble. But he was in Marienburg and (until Gotrek slew an incarnation of Stromfels!) they were not. Hence Sam pops up during MiM campaigns.


Sam Warble, Halfling Detective conversion painted by Werekin

There are 6 more plots to come. The ones that provide healthy competition and fulfilling interactions with your law enforcement patrols will be next to surface. These involve webs of intrigue spun by corrupt officials representing the Ten Great Merchant Families and secret deals being pursued by crime syndicates affiliated with the League of Gentlemen Entrepreneurs.
I have plans to include a special scenario in the Marienburg campaign for prison breaks at Hangman’s Square. The purpose of this is to create game situations where warbands can release any felons previously placed under arrest.

Lastly I’d like to thank the boys & geek-girl who play Mordheim with me for their inspirational pursuit of gaming and the guys on the Boring Mordheim Forum whose devotion to the hobby and support of this project, especially Rationale Lemming who contributed valuable feedback in the course of this criminal investigation!

As the Portable Document Format file continues to supersede scrolls and tomes from a bygone age, many of us find ourselves torn between the disposable convenience of hi-tech software and the comfortable mustiness of hardback books.

Experience points have been lovingly notated on paper printed Warband Roster sheets for every tabletop campaign since the dawn of my virgin discovery of wyrdstone shards in Mordheim. Each piece of treasure, each new skill, each characteristic increase, each injury has been jotted with pencil on a sheet of crinkled parchment. An eraser on hand to rub out spent equipment or lost items, a sharpener kept handy to keep the HB pencil tip at a point. All of that is about to change. Record keeping will never be the same.


In the Marienburg campaign I have been running, one of our group members has been using a digital roster sheet for his warband. A number of of us are using phones to check player aids, articles or rulebooks. Now that gizmos like tablets and smart phones are becoming more affordable I decided it was worth investing in some new hardware. As a consequence I looked into the complexity of creating a Fillable PDF for the Marienburg warband roster sheet. Combining science and sorcery I have developed a new editable roster sheet.

Mutiny in Marienburg warband roster sheet - Fillable PDF

Apologies for providing a downloadable file that is chock full of entries for hoary heathens from the Northern Wastes! This is my example roster based on a Norse warband following the 'Gaze of the Gods' plot in a Marienburg campaign.

"There are no problems in Marienburg which can't be solved. Handrich willing, of course."
— Artemus van Loenhoek, Scribe

In the process of downloading and opening this player aid you will have the opportunity to to play around with the file. Delete undesired text entries and click on check boxes that have been marked with skill types, experience points and campaign points.

"This is Marienburg, lad. People are always talking. Incessantly, as a matter of fact. Can't get them to shut up."
— Abbott Knock, Priest of Myrmidia

Merchant princes, Cult magisters, Watch commanders and Cartel gang bosses with a preference for digital record keeping will be able to open this smart scroll on their magic tablets to maintain their Marienburg manifests!

Thank you to Zetazot for the original warband roster sheet designs for Border Town Burning and Mutiny in Marienburg.

Lead your group of brave adventurers through the perilous dungeons of the Warhammer world in the search for wealth and glory!


For quite some time now I have been relishing the opportunity of getting my hands dirty in the dungeons of Rodeo Games adaptation of the Warhammer Quest board game. After downloading this game from the app store I did eventually fire it up to relive the old days of dungeon questing, through the magic of tablet technology.

At the same time I have been putting the finishing touches to my draft for this year's grand campaign battle. An annual multi-player Mordheim bash featuring special guests, this year's event is set to take place in my fathers garage! After discussing the theme and premise of the scenario with João Sousa (who has a new blog called Fistful of Minis) we came up with a suitable plan. Oh, the adventure requires player aids. Here are some advance previews to download!

Download - Scenario 17: Colony of Plenty

Download - Marketplace

Download - Greater Artefacts Chart

The game is being played over the mountain gaming board that was constructed for the Border Town Burning campaign! At the moment the main table top is hidden under a blanket, stuffed behind a load of crap in the garage corner. Shelob moved in! Time to blow out the cobwebs. There will be last minute repairs made from cats jumping about on the tinder causeways. It promises to be nostalgic.


Returning to the subject of quests. Playing the Warhammer Quest app is a nostalgia trip. For those familiar with the original game there will be many old memories that come flooding back. My barbarian hero is like a faithful returning friend, the wood elf is now a waywatcher and I've been allowed to replace the dwarf with an ogre! The grey-robed wizard is a poor excuse for a shadowmancer so I replaced him with the witch hunter character. When travelling between settlements there are some inspiring graphics been modelled to demonstrate settlements the Stirland, Reikland and Averland provinces. Hopefully more will be added for players who are more addicted to questing than myself.



The topical subject I wished to raise is that of magic artefacts. Not only can items be quested for and bought using gold crowns but they can also be purchased on the app store using cold hard cash. Seems like cheating to me. You can't buy Gotrek's Axe in the Warhammer World! But in this game you can. The famed weapon 'Sunfang' can be snapped up at the bargain price of a few pounds. What would Prince Tyrion of Ulthuan have to say about that. According to lore only he has wielded it, beyond Aenarion himself.

Good luck wrestling that sword away from the blood of Aenarion! But wait, it gets better. A friend of mine who has bought the app and is more technical than me had this to say...

"Embarrassingly rodeo do not know the first thing about app security and put all the in app purchases for WHQ into an easily modified config file. What would you recommend as a starting party given I have access to all characters. Now my inventory is so full of premium items that I will need to throw away. Staff of Volans does look really cool though."

Egrimm van Horstmann infamously raided the vaults beneath the College of Light for rare arcana. There have been a number of classic stories of greater artefacts falling into unexpected hands following unusual circumstances. This one must take the cake. The receiver of the artefact cache is actually talking about disposing of the Staff of Volans! Unlike fans of lore, he has no clue that Volans was the first Supreme Patriarch for the Colleges of Magic. It won't just be hierophants throwing their hands up in despair because the ancient staff presented to Volans by Teclis benefits not only wizards from the College of Light!

Of course this heist brings us back round to the Marienburg setting. In the City of Secret Deals any item can be sought at the right price. If thieves could unwittingly lay their hands on Ghal-Maraz during the Black Death in Time of Legends, and now Staff of Volans then any greater artefact could be considered fair game for pickpockets.

The six items I ferreted out as seeming appropriate for the Mutiny in Marienburg campaign are not quite as famed as those two mighty weapons but they should put an interesting spin on your Mordheim campaign games. Rolling a 6 on the Greater Artefacts Chart means living the dream. Unlike accessing the app store you need to do something to earn it!

On a final note the download for 'Marketplace' is not 100% complete although it may look it. This player aid contains a lot of useful entries that need to be shared with anyone utilising other MiM downloads. The Greater Artefacts Chart ties in with various chapters including this new special scenario and the Magician's Workshop in Potion Square. One of my favourite features is the Animal Emporium. The final entry here was for a Geckamand.


The chameleonic fire-lizard came about when I encountered a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay web site where the hosts were adapting material from my Mordheim campaign for their Marienburg roleplay adventure. The lascar, Salaman Singh was featured in all his despicable glory as a crime-lord in their roleplay adventure. In their RPG campaign the 'Salamander' from the Spice Islands of Ind makes an appearance along with a dog-sized subterranean creature he keeps as a pet in his hot steamy boudoir! It seemed only appropriate to reshuffle the chart to account for the discovery.

"I don't trust playwrights. They can be paid. The vanity of other men is their master, not the truth."
— Captain Meisen of the Scarlet Blades, Averland Mercenary

Annual battle day is an affair featuring Mordheim regulars plus guest friends. Organised to coincide with my birthday each year there needs to be festive conditions. Surprises were various this year.

[L-R] Gold diggers arrive at Erlach: Chopper, Ant, João, Bob, Phil

A tiring excursion through Little Country, beyond the city walls of Marienburg. Site of once proud delvers is Erlach, a mining colony in the shadow of the Pale Sisters mountain range. Historically dwarf prospectors excavated the wild foothills of the Wasteland region. Most of its riches have been plucked over the years leaving slim pickings. For those canny diggers bold enough to venture deeper into untapped crevices could be a heap of spoils or the curse of greed.

Hosting the get together in my father's garage provided a change of scene in more than one sense. For this unique occasion that themed mountain board built for our Border Town Burning adventure came out of retirement. It has been kept stored in the garage ever since we completed our campaign at Games Workshop Poole set in the Cathayan borderlands. Another highlight was the refreshing keg of Bugman's Ale acquired for players to wet their whistles throughout the day.

We have enjoyed playing team scenarios before rather than battle royale style multi-player battles. These play a lot quicker based on shared turn sequences. This year's event used a chapter written for the occasion. It was published on Liber Malefic before the event in my last article; Quest for nostalgia. Golden opportunities to play doubles games using paired teams of like-minded factions don't come up often. A narrative campaign that is deeply rich as Mutiny in Marienburg provides a satisfying landscape for this story of adventure.

As much as I revel in the gaming experience itself, the set up for a tabletop battle like this is something to be appreciated in equal measure. This years encounter was memorably planned out with the assistance of fellow TBMF member João Sousa. The Portuguese-man has an eye-catching collection of Citadel memorabilia that includes lots of villagers plus a small throng of bearded characters. João has a soft spot for the stout fellows! This provided us with ample excuse to populate the entire plateau of my mountain board with beautifully painted civilians, both Umgi and Dawi. For every warband participating in the battle there will be six colonists. That was what my scenario quoted! An even mix of 48 villagers and prospectors representing the colonists of Erlach. Deploying this amount of cannon fodder colonists becomes a tactical quandary in its own right.

First at the scene was Bob. Earlier when we agreed times I hadn't factored in extra times for picking up João. That included loading his miniatures and terrain being transported to the mountain. Bob was tapping his watch when we arrived, asking "what time did we call this?" and to be fair we were running later than planned. Fortunately I had erected the board and set out my collection of miniatures in advance. What followed was a bit of reassembly work on some mountainside causeways damaged in storage. The signpost to Mordheim from Shang-Yang was repaired. João unpacking his themed terrain piece followed by miniatures representing two dwarf warbands, a goblin pirate flotilla and 48 mining colonists.

Antony arrived shortly after to signal that it was time for the colony to be deployed. Together the defending team of João and Ant creatively positioned the colonists and their respective warband pairing of Dirty Ruddy Stunties. Rangers guided by a Runesmith Journeyman and Noble led band of Treasure-hunters.

Mountain defence squad - Ant & João deploy the Dawi miners

While dwarfs were busy populating the plateau, three corners of the tabletop were assigned among three raiding partnerships. Each corner of the foothills posed different variables but it was clear that one corner was more favourable while another was most undesirable. Allocations were made based on treating higher warband ratings as a handicap upon arrival of Phil and our special guest player representing two more teams. Their team partners would be appearing later in the day due to family and working commitments, meaning these lone rangers would be deploying two warbands each then captaining both through an interim period.

The next phase following deployment was lunch, home cooked by Mother Cresswell. Fried chicken was well received. Washed down nicely by steins of Proper Job XXXXXX brewed by St. Austell Bugman's brewery.

In order of warband ratings (Team 1 = lowest, Team 4 = highest) Coham's Barbarians deployed on the North-East edge at the foot of the steepest route where warriors would ascend the vertical mount using a network of wooden causeways and a rope bridge. Ivory Road Warriors deployed on the South-East edge at the base of a winding incline most easily traversed by vehicles or large models. Predators deployed on the South-West edge had the unenviable task of scaling a sequence of rickety platforms before joining a windy mountain road leading to mine entries at the summit.

Business partnerships in the Free City

Team 1 - Dirty Ruddy Stunties
Dwarf Rangers & Dwarf Treasure Hunters
João Sousa & Antony Bowker

Team 2 - Coham's Barbarians
Cult of Stromfels & Norse Explorers
Ham Haslett & Andy 'Chopper' Extance

Team 3 - Ivory Road Warriors
Ogre Maneaters & Battle Monks of Cathay
Phil Card &'Canada' Steve Hume

Team 4 - Predators
Fimir Ambushers & Swamp Goblins
Bob Whetton & Stu Cresswell

Conspicuous by their absence were a fourth proposed team 'Mice & Men'. The pirate alliance of Clan Skyre & Clan Skurvy duping a water-caravan of Strigany river gypsies. They never sailed due to house moving commitments made by the Hayward-Steeles (Chris & Michelle). No sign either of other campaign regulars, Witch Hunters or Salaman Singh's cartel gang of lascars from the Spice Islands.

Making up the numbers this year are two seasoned campaigners. We have the long-awaited return of the mysterious Cathayans led by local wine merchant Steve Hume (aka Canada or Cad). Even longer since is the return of a very welcome guest, my old schoolmate Andy who commanded a tribe of hoary Norse sailors in our first ever annual campaign battle day: South Dock Massacre. With all the dwarfs on site it would be suicidal to walk a troupe of sea elves into their mining village. For the sake of rounding out the team partnerships João handed over his goblins warband to me, pairing up diminutive swamp-pirates with the Lords of the Marsh.

Campaign rewards for participating in this battle would be hard fought over. There was potential for uncovering spoil heaps of gold, hoarded treasures, warp-touched trinkets of cursed dwarf gold, plus a single chance at uncovering one of the Greater Artefacts speculated to be moving through Marienburg and the Wasteland at this time. Specifically we are talking about a war mask with magic properties cast from solid gold. An artefact currently associated with rival factions in the city.

Perilous features of the scenario are the involvement of considerable non-player characters. João & I discussed options for this monstrous cast of wanderers and dormant denizens. In the end settling on a suite of wandering monsters for random happenings in addition to possible scary outcomes when exploring the mines. Of these the deadliest outcomes are waking a great beast snoozing in one of the mines or attracting the attention of a migrating giant.

As (rotten) luck would have it the barbarians attracted the giant in only their second turn of the battle, presumably using their loathsome body odour, a mix of goat piss, virgins blood & honey mead!

Motivation for my giant comes in the form of Fighting Fantasy monster sized miniatures. They featured in the pages of the first Warhammer rulebooks that I clapped eyes on. As a consequence Citadel's first plastic miniatures ever released (in 60mm scale!) hold great significance to me. It was with glee that I set about bastardising a large scale resin release from Forge World. At a similar time David Stafford was working on a giant sized resin piece for his collection so that provided further inspiration to me. What started life as a limited edition stone troll has since become the (even more limited edition) giant cyclops. This was a hobby project being planned since testing the Manhunt scenario from Border Town Burning supplement.

A big change to the administration of warbands at this get together was that everyone has gone digital with their roster sheet. This was a carefully planned move. After releasing the new format of Fillable PDF warband roster sheet the guys in my campaign were quick to pick this up. We transferred all warband details from paper rosters onto these 'smart scrolls' in the weeks prior to battle day. In theory we could host all our rosters in a public folder on the Dropbox.

At this point it will not be easy to relay all the specifics of our battle. Some of us were drinking ale. Fortunately we have a sequence of photographs captured during the battle that may help to piece together some of the important moments. These can be viewed by visiting the 'Mordheim Timeline' widget in the sidebar. Scroll down to 28th June. The live feed for this battle was run using my Twitter account @Mordheimer allowing me to send images and submit captions from the game straight into the shared digital feed on Liber Malefic.

Antony departed for personal reasons or perhaps because the keg was running low when he realised he was riding his bicycle home drunk from the village. Did I mention my parents aptly live in a village!?

Bob departed due to work commitments before 'Canada' Steve and Ham would arrive. It was as if the Ruinous Powers were trying to steer the fimir raid from beyond the Realm of Chaos, as written prompts and audio memorandums sent by Bob were received continuously on my handset via Whatsapp as the game progressed in his absence!

Blood brothers - Chopper & Ham lead a Chaos barbarian charge

Things went up a gear when Steve arrived. As João, Phil & I were flagging Steve started calling some shots that helped lead his Battle Monks within sight of the scenario objectives. While the ogres had looked likely to get bogged down by the tide of colonists under Phil's leadership, Steve's boundless enthusiasm drove the monks and maneaters over the summit into the heart of the colony. The rest of us must have been too fatigued from commanding efforts from the front line. Mistakes were being made due to modifying tactics based on a frantic scramble to reach the plateau. The mountain was beating us and we knew it!

A clunky schedule of arrivals and departures had physical repercussions on the outcome of battle day. With the hour being late my dear mother's decision to call time (kick out!) on the same round the first wave of barbarians scaled the summit. A decision that came as a relief to João who like myself had been courteously abandoned by his team partner. Andy weathering the full days events in real time better than the rest and Ham being fresh to the table, Coham's Barbarians were desperate for one more round of turns to reach two objectives in their grasp! In the end it wasn't to be. Ivory Road Warriors was the only team to reach objectives with a running time that clocked over ten hours. Of the two objectives they secured only one entry reaped a positive result in the mines. A single nugget of cursed dwarf gold was enough to claim victory.

Ham assessing the vista beyond the reach of his barbarian host

What comes next? Back room deals to be struck in a thematic post-battle sequence to be hosted by Steve in the privacy of his liquor store after hours.

Stu + Steve outside the Liquor Store, in down-town Tatnam

Over the years the greatest port of the Old World has been sacked no less than four times. The city has suffered raids, sieges, conspiracies, invasions and plague. It has been razed, pillaged and burnt to the ground. In the Imperial calendar year of 2524 the hordes of Chaos befouled the Free City of Marienburg for the fifth time.

Behold the End Times are upon us! We returned to what should have been familiar surrounds of Oyster Dock in Temple District only to discover... That disaster had overtaken Marienburg.

Marienburg was founded on the ruins of an ancient Sea Elf fortress by the Jutones tribe. What elves abandoned, men rebuilt. Our city lies in ruins once again. Nurgle's Rot ravaged the population. The Plague Lord's foetid host marched on in the spring of 2525 converging on Altdorf. For anyone interested in apocalyptic current affairs or the historical destruction wrought against the greatest port in the Old World, I have compiled a fairly concise timeline of significant events.

Download the timeline calendar here:
The Marienburg Timeline (PDF, ca. 0.1 MB)

The End Times campaign for Warhammer is huge. This announcement only skims the surface of events involving the Empire, her neighbours and the hordes of Chaos from Volume 2. I am following the story more thoroughly through the Black Library novels rather than the Warhammer rulebooks releases for the End Times campaign. Inconsistencies do crop up in the End Times source material.

example: Louen Leoncour, the Lionheart
In the novel 'Fall of Altdorf', the dethroned King's chest is sawed up by Festus the Leechlord, and he dies in the arms of a Shallayan priestess, somewhat peacefully. In the 'Warhammer: Glöttkin' campaign book, the Lionheart dies in the arms of a gloating Festus, more specifically, his head is brutally sawed off and displayed to shocked Empire soldiery.

Volume 1 involving the resurrection of Nagash, maps the ambitions of the Von Carstein bloodline, including Elize von Carstein, Doyenne of Red Abbey, and her favourite get, the ghoul-caller, Erikan Crowfiend. Volume 3 charts those of Aenarion's bloodline with welcome cameos from two fan favourites, the Shadow King of Nagarythe, Alith Anar, and the Warpsword, Daemon's Bane, Tyrant of Hag Graef, Malus Darkblade.

Volume 4 is scheduled to involve the Skaven. There have been further spin-off's available in the form of new novels for Gotrek & Felix. Black Library has other releases being lined up with some of its best authors getting involved, notably a new Malus Darkblade story quilled by C L Werner.

There is plenty more I could say about the new material. That would spoil the surprise. Go check it out for yourselves. It's the end of an era. And the the beginning of a new one.

"Everywhere we look is as ruined and lifeless as the last, yet here we stay because this ruin is ours."
— Pirate-King Salaman Singh, Marienburg Crimelord

As the last hope of the Old World falls to a few heroes, the fate of the mortal realm is decided by their final deeds in these dark times. The End Times marks the conclusion of an era in story telling. The stark realisation that fables of legend have come to a natural conclusion is something fans of the stories are finding quite sad. Not everyone is willing to let go.

"If this journal is found, if the day was won, then remember this - here a Slayer lies."
— Felix Jaeger, Poet

A week after that report of our Erlach mountain battle was published my friend Antony died. We fought together on the tabletops for many years with cards and dice. A talented musician, Antony shared many hobby hours making guitar music that involved writing, arranging, recording and performing in bands with his friends. There were times when the music saved me from ruin and he was always there.


Antony appeared as a special guest player in the last battle day we ran in Marienburg. Previously he participated in this tabletop tavern brawl battle report. That was the first battle report after I began publishing articles for Liber Malefic.



Antony will be remembered as a chivalrous hero. A buccaneer amongst bureaucrats. Losing him in a cruel trick of fate was a bitter blow. Unexpectedly saying goodbye cuts right to the core. He was something of a legendary personality. Knowing the journey continues with no further contributions by his swift blade is unbearable. He enriched my life story as only a Slayer-pirate could. Miss you buddy.

War in the north has been raging on and off since before 2004 when the Storm of Chaos played out globally. The massive narrative campaign for Warhammer marked a golden age of releases that began with the Mordheim game published in 1999.


An unhealthy trend is developing in the world of tie-in fiction. The term 'retcon' was born within the comics industry. Now every major movie franchise is rewriting lore or reinventing personalities to fit a commercial template for a corporate release. Whether it is an adaptation or a continuation, there must be some logic behind the pretence that past events never occurred. Time travel unmakes historical happenings. Crossing into parallel dimensions reshapes universes. When imagination fails to deliver then for convenience let's say it was a dream. All solutions continue to be popular trends in fantasy story telling.

Anyone who takes an interest in the historical nature of things can hopefully appreciate this sentiment; What happened, happened! Get over it.

Most enthusiasts drift in and out of the hobby at stages of their lives. Playing mostly 3rd and 4th edition Warhammer battles my interest in military scale engagements had dwindled by the time 5th edition was released. The lore has been my anchor since the beginning! Reconnecting me with tabletop combat through story telling, in skirmishes (using Mordheim system) later inspired by refined sourcebooks and better quality novels published across the years that would follow. Contemporary authors like C L Werner, Josh Reynolds, David Guymer, Darius Hinks and Chris Wraight in particular have done a fine job building upon Oldhammer stories quilled by Bill King and Jack Yeovil. Exemplary work by Green Ronin in Warhammer RPG never ceases to amaze.

Of the End Times apocalypse itself I have feelings of indifference. The levelling of every major city and repository of lore contained therein is a terrible waste. Okay so Marienburg has been sacked four times previously! Cities rise and fall. Resurrection is a big theme in the series. Recovering from decapitation is a big ask. My favourite character Brunner snuffed it in volume 5. He did blow Archaon off his daemon steed with a wyrdstone bullet before being run through on the Slayer of Kings. Damn shame the bounty hunter's second pistol misfired otherwise he could've claimed an unprecedented reward. These are the moments on the battlefield I will remember. Gotrek finally finds his doom. The dwarf slayer has earned it... Unless there is another rewrite of the history books in seven years times, because Karl Franz wakes up covered in sweat to discover it was all a bad dream, his night terrors possibly induced by chewing weirdroot or more likely taking a Lahmian vampire to his bed.

Lots of hard graft that has gone into maintaining continuity over the past 15 years suddenly seems to have gone out the window. That is the element of this grand campaign which has me puzzled. There have been severe compromises made by bringing this story to press. It contains the same brand of irritating contradictions that fans of comic books have resigned themselves to living with. Forgive or forget, the epic scale of this new military orientated lore is magnificently presented. It's an ambitious series of stories where the traditions of showcasing biased accounts have not been entirely discarded. e.g. What you might have experienced in a Council of Thirteen meeting can easily discredit accounts found in a tale of Dwarf Lords.

While ambivalence surrounds the evolution of the game story for hobbyists battling in the modern day, it is amusing to find plenty of Oldhammer players quit the hobby before personalities like Nagash, Thorgrim and Malekith ever came into existence. Meaning they couldn't give a fuck if the characters or the world lives or dies.

Like the gods, perhaps some players are tired. Others are mortified by developments.

It has been worth waiting to see the thing out. The story arc itself is mammoth. A shame to upturn a rich history by hinting at the lore from Storm of Chaos being retrod. That uncertain aspect of it has been poorly handled, lending the affair to inconsistency. Dwarfs have long memories for bearing grudges. There are enough dates and excerpts to be scrounged out of source material to catalogue the second coming of Archaon (formerly Diederick Kastner, bastard son of a Norse champion of the Vargs). Anyone who was in the north when Archaon failed to conquer the Fauschlag in 2522 saw the Chaos warlord forced into retreat. Whether the Everchosen took sanctuary in Brass Keep before fleeing the Middle Mountains across the Sea of Claws to regroup, it is unsurprising the barbarian hordes were driven back. Their lack of discipline not to mention personal hygiene failings is evidence enough.


Warhammer world being brought to the brink of self-destruction might aptly mirror the marketplace position of a corporation once thought to lord over the industry from its ivory tower on the high street. Moving with the times means that all fantasy gaming could be set historically in a time of legends. Not just for Mordheim players then.

Survivors grieve and move on.

"Gotrek's passing will be the doom of this world. But it may be enough to save the next."
— Morzanna, Mutant-Prophetess

When death falls upon the Free City of Marienburg, fractious citizens witness the exploits of apocalypse. The End Times have come. Renegade personalities clash in a fight for survival. In a city shattered and leaderless, rival outfits face off to stake their claim on Marienburg. Rich thieves in a safe place became dead men on a long rope.

For this years 5th annual Mordheim battle day it was originally my intention for the player's warbands to fight in a united front against a Plague Fleet spearheaded by the brothers Glött. Inevitably realising plan A* couldn't be orchestrated without a Nurgle general volunteering to lead a few thousand points worth of Chaos despoilers through my decaying port-cityscape we resorted to plan B.

*Oldhammer Nurgle fleetmasters apply herein and we may yet re-enact this.

The back up plan discussed with my conspirators Dan and Chris was to entertain ourselves with a series of two player battles by starting off with new warband lists. Veterans of our campaign have been playing the same gangs on and off for the last four years. The consensus was that most of us prefer to start afresh for this get together. With a bunch of new recruits joining rusty veterans for the weekend, I devised a simple map-based system of area control broken down into districts and boroughs.

Each of 16 wards or ghettos was represented with a different scenario and the players could agree between themselves which ones they wished to play, or randomise a scenario if they failed to agree, then move on to face another opponent based on current whereabouts on the Great Map.

A crude tagging system was employed to mark out victories with coloured spots determining which warbands were asserting their dominance over the city.

All of the games were staged in the loft flat my girlfriend and I have moved into. We've been lucky enough to find a place with adequate space in the spare room for my Marienburg table to be set up full-time. Yet as I write this a good chunk of my terrain collection is currently boxed up as I've just returned from another weekend event with the Oldhammer community for which another full report must follow! It's been a busy month for Mordheim activity and for this years battle day featured 10 players.

João (Dwarf Rangers), Michelle (Strigany Gypsies), Chris (Skaven Warp-Engineers), Stu C (Norse Explorers), Stu W (Dark Elves), Phil (Ogre Maneaters), Bob (Fimir), Dawn (Dwarf Treasure Hunters), Enys (Sisters of Sigmars) & Dan (River Watch)

Witch Hunter General Dave made a brief guest appearance during the course of Saturday to say hi to the group. Another new face to Bournemouth Mordheimers was Kawe Weissi-Zadeh who visited during set up week with his goblins, trolls and some unreleased halflings. Kawe ended up missing the battles due to work commitments so we are planning another night for some games soon with a smaller group.

João and Bob grabbed some super snaps of the action through the day. My own photography featured here occasionally is not the best. João shot some excellent pics of the main Marienburg table terrain in my spare room. He was able to capture over 200 shots at Oldhammer Weekend whilst I was running participation games of Mordheim.

In addition to the main 6'x4' table, a second table 4'x4' was prepared in the living room by draping a Dreadfleet seascape mat across my (large enough to do this) coffee table to represent the Reiksmouth Estuary. With the excess terrain being supplied by João we had more than enough to create 10' worth of tabletop across the two boards.

Additionally the dining table was used to play Mordheim Quest games in the Marienburg sewer network with the 'Border Town Collapsing' scenario plus four tavern brawls were fought using the scenario 'Last Orders!'

Some time was spent drawing up warband lists on Friday evening. Most of the games took place on Saturday beginning in the morning and finishing quite late as has become tradition. Some of the survivors who arrived late on Saturday reconvened on Sunday for a couple more games. As the sound of battle died down it was clear that the most successful outfits had been the Dark Elf Corsairs, Skaven Warp-Engineers and Fimir Ambushers.

Everybody attending the get together brought something unique of their own making to the exploratory return to the City of Islands & Bridges. In the case of Enys and Dan that meant a supply of mead, for Michelle two tins of baked banana bread cakes, and Chris rocked up with his deadly concoction of home-brewed stout.

João took the opportunity to limber up his camera skills in preparation for the Oldhammer Weekend which the two of us had booked in for at Stoke Hall in Newark, the home of Wargames Foundry owned by 'The Mighty Avenger' Bryan Ansell. I took this opportunity to familiarise myself with Marienburg terrain to help select the best scenarios to go on the road with up to Nottinghamshire for the annual Oldhammer community event 'Bring Out Your Lead' (BOYL) III.

Although we did not get around to playing through all of the scenarios, there were some firm favourites seeing repeat play throughout Saturday. Our newest guests took the liberty of making the most of the abundance of scenery conjured up by João Sousa, Carl Merrell and I. We also made use of some new ships that Chris & I have been constructing in the hope of taking the waterfront actions beyond the limits of Fisherman's Steps, Oyster Dock and Candle Wharf. Boarding actions and danger chasing false beacons in the Reiksmouth Estuary beckons.

There was the usual spate of post battle scrambling about for desirable rare items. We kept the amount of visits to special Marketplace locations to a minimum, yet thanks to the Wasteland Exploration tables there were still some unexpected visits to the Infamous Haunts found in seedier corners of the city-port! Skaven and Fimir Heroes jostled over wyrdstone shards (1 in 6 chance of finding tainted treasures) to take to the Alchemist and the amphibious Fimm nobles felt the touch of Chaos upon them more than once. Speaking of Warp-touch rolls, we took a break from the tabletop for dinner and discovered the taint of wyrdstone upon a menu board in one of the local fast food restaurants on Charminster High Street! Another recommendation for the Infamous Haunts chapter.

The cramped streets and docks of Marienburg caused the usual amount of cursing from Phil as he led his Maneaters through the Old Money Ward for perhaps the final time. The ogres faired well enough beneath the Dead Canal on a smuggling run through the sewer network.

The lascars of Crime-lord Salaman Singh were once again absent as the Pirate-King's usual warband commander Stu Webb had chosen to lead a crew of Dark Elf Corsairs down the Reik onto Marienburg's South Dock.

Despite the absence of lockstocked holy templars with their smoking flintlock barrels we enjoyed the divine presence of Sigmar in the feminine form of an orderly visitation by Sisters of Sigmar. Our new pilgrim on the dock Enys led the ladies in a fervent charge across seaweed-strewn cobblestones to liberate orphans. Waterfront witches or heroines with halos, the Sigmarites faced the Lords of the Marsh with all their zeal.

Despite being bitch-slapped in an opening encounter by swampbound monsters they bounced back with proud posture. Righteousness prevailed in the rolling fog as the united sisterhood held their ground while craven fiends clawed at their buxom forms.

The Marienburg Secretariat repelled an assault from drunken barbarians across Powder Bridge at great cost.

River watchmen were plunged like sinking torpedoes into the Poultice Water yet with enough reinforcements the law fought hard enough to press the hoary heathens back as far as Norse Town.

The Reiksmouth Estuary ran thick with blood. An recurring aquatic menace threatened civilians each time that an eerie mist descended upon the port.

From the relative safety of priestess-blessed skiffs the fallen Sisters find they are less welcome sailing the canals than they had imagined in Manannshaven as they disembark for Temple District on their pilgrimage.

Lords and ladies. Marsh daemons biting off as much as they can chew in the shape of whip-toting she-devils. Well that's what Witch Hunter General Dave would call those feisty matriarchs.

Wharf rats slumming it down on Sour Dock. Strigany gypsies will take any kind of work. They won't do it honestly because of shadowy traditions they can never escape from. The past has a habit of catching up with river pirates! They won't be the first crew of cut-throats to dance from a gibbet in Marienburg. As the End Times approach they could well be the last!

There are some enormous vermin reported to be infesting the city. This one must have sat on a warpstone slab!

Sigmar's Solace provides safe haven for the least favourable priesthood in Marienburg. The God-King was never popular in the City of Secret Deals. Worship of Handrich is a perpetual state and the following of Stromfels rise with the tide.

What everyone wants to see right now. More pictures taken by João. Enjoy the scenery! There will be more of it in our report of Oldhammer 2015 weekend.

Last month was Spieltage 2018 in Essen. A gang of British tabletop gamers from Dorset attended with the purpose of purchasing lots of hot new board game releases. I was there to meet with old tabletop friends from across the years and make new acquaintances. In hall 6 were Games Workshop as well as Cubicle 7 who have licensed Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay for it’s 4th edition release. They are in the process of fulfilment for pre-orders and copies of the new rulebook were onhand. I had a nice chat with their staff about upcoming plans which in addition to the director’s cut rewrite for legendary campaign The Enemy Within, will include another module for Marienburg. This was my first chance to put my fingers on the limited edition embossed version which I have prepaid for my collection.

Towards the end of the fair weekend there were a ton of incoming messages and alerts hitting me about Mordheim interest from the community in my hometown of Poole. Firstly this reminded me that I needed to post here as it’s been over 3 years since the last MiM campaign phase ended. Secondly I keep meaning to include a reference to the public Dropbox account with my shared player aids contributions for this game we all adore.

*Werekin folder is found here*
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/91frsd2dftrq7ds/AAC0pPIH_icZ_EALGczkdM7ca?dl=0

There is new terrain being created by members of the hobby community in my town and various captains are conspiring to raise enough gold crowns to hire swords for a campaign.

It’s too early to tell what exactly will be happening or whether I will put up my guilders to do the same. There are so many distractions yet we do have the fantastic new Entoyment Hobby Centre that has opened in my hometown and the temptation is always there to get back on the campaign trail.

Nearly a decade has passed since I imagined a future where I blog more about Warhammer stories. Forbidden texts which I enjoy the most, including tales of the Old World that most inspired the Marienburg campaign odyssey for Mordheim. Along the way I recommended some great books to source knowledge and report on private visits to the Black Library. Now due to a severe case of 'Reikland Cabin Fever' the time has arrived to come good on the first part of my pledge.


The drawback with investing so heavily in nerdy pastimes, like one that tempts you to delve into Liber Malefic is twofold. Economy and capacity. Luckily if you cannot load all of these meaty manuals onto your shelf there is the sorcery of digital storage. Conveniently a great many titles including short stories (with b-side level quality no less!) set in the World That Was are only accessible through digital. This mode saves you a few hundred gold crowns. Fantastic reading material has become trickier to track down in 2020 than it was 5-10 years ago. Have you seen the black market prices on hard copy parchment these days?


Put the Imperial calendar year 2525 apocalypse to one side. Ignore the fact that thousands of hipsters never touched proper old Warhammer or carried a case of lead warriors mounted on square slottas. Black Library recently published a cracking slew of omnibus format books. Warhammer Chronicles are some of the best trilogies of stories ever written by their stable of authors.

The Old World lives. The Old World returns. There is a rich catalogue of storytelling that has built, razed and rebuilt its great cities, helping flesh out colonies, provinces and pivotal circumstances. Here are ten of the novels that have shaped its identity. Ten special tomes or series that made the Old World what it is.


10. Tyrion and Teclis by Bill King
Blood of Aenarion
Sword of Caledor
Bane of Malekith

Destiny is inescapable. As the story goes I got my original hit-list wrong since I failed to mention Bill. He built the world! I must have been hung over in 2002. That's what happens when heroes get distracted in the post-battle phase! William King co-write Man O'War, the naval guidelines of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. What else? Oh yeah, for anyone who is not so Oldhammer that they actually believe in characters who change the way we feel, Bill conceptualised most of the classic Dramtis Personae that pre-date whatever the Shadowlord conceived. Bill left the scene for a while. He stormed back to meet the fans in 2012 when Sword of Caledor was released. Ed 'Skarloc' Morgan and I turned out at Bugman's bar to greet Bill and shout him a pint. It was a special occasion for all of us.

The twins had been kicking around in the design process since as early as 1992. There was a deal of anticipation surrounding the release of these stories and I am happy to say they not only did the original threads justice. They exceeded our expectations! These books are keepers. You can read them over and over. Aenarion's heirs are an advisable investment to make for fantasy literature fans. I love elves. Not the haughty kind so much. This pair are something else. On top of all that, you have the despicable pleasure of Malekith as he is, or was, believable, before they falsely crowned him King. Bill defined the genre so read more of his stuff and be a better fleet-master.


9. Zavant by Gordon Rennie
The Case of the Scarlet Cell by Gordon Rennie
The Riddle of Scorpions by Josh Reynolds
The Problem of Three-Toll Bridge by Josh Reynolds
How Vido Learned the Trick by Josh Reynolds

In 2002 an unusual contribution to the Black Library legacy was touted. 'A Zavant Konniger novel' promised murder and intrigue in the savage world of Warhammer. Konniger is a sage-detective and an ex-priest of Sigmar. The scholarly sage acts as a private investigator. No other contemporary sleuth, not Cadfael, Holmes or Chan can handle himself in similar fight scenes, since the ageing sleuth combats deadly foes in perilous situations, having received training in the martial arts of the east. No other detective had such a faithful assistant as the halfling Vido, when dealing with murderous inquests.

The original novel is split into four sections, or 'cases'. The first two cases are short stories. The third case is longer. The fourth case is longest but the original casebook only weighing in at 285 pages leaves the reader craving another hit! Thankfully I discovered a fifth case in the excellent short stories anthology Swords of the Empire. Since 2004 there were teasers that the sage-detective would return* and eventually he did, if temporarily

*Hijacked by Josh Reynolds under editorial duress in the later years of the detective's case studies. A trio of new investigations to revel in.

Numerous cases had been imaginatively referenced by Rennie in the publisher notes of the Nuln University Press as lost or incomplete works. More frustrating is that the reprint is even more out-of-print than the original pressing! Fortunately you can source copies of the original in the bazaar of books that is online shopping and the short stories are available digitally. I have hyperlinked them all from this page.


8. Matthias Thulmann by CL Werner
Witch Hunter
Witch Finder
Witch Killer

The Witch Hunter Matthias Thulmann and his side-kick Streng have been immortalised in Warhammer lore in this classic series. It was reprinted in a new omnibus format for the Warhammer Chronicles range. You desperately need to read it so you can keep your heretics, mutants or blood-drinkers one step ahead of the Templars of Sigmar!


7. The Adventures of Florin & Lorenzo by Robert Earl
Burning Shore
Wild Kingdoms
Savage City
Noblesse Oblige

It's a challenging task to select a favourite book by each of my favorite authors. The toughest call was made choosing a Robert Earl novel. Earl has a brand new novel set in Hochland being released in the coming months. All of his stuff is entertaining, spine-tingling and it is romantic in the telling! His writing tone is distinct amongst Black Library authors. Comedic moments seem more common yet Earl's sinister humour is justified in a stylish symphony that 'feels really Warhammer'. In the end it was a toss up between the chilling Strigany tale of vampirism that is 'Ancient Blood' and the swashbuckling hijinks of Florin & Lorenzo.

Florin & Lorenzo are a pair of risk-taking Bretonnian adventurers. Being such bold adventurers the duo suffer none of the predictable moral dilemmas of your usual knightly characters from their home nation. Their dangerlust is a breath of fresh air because it leads them into daring romps across the Warhammer world to exotic locales. There is now an omnibus release collecting the three novels together with the short stories (including phenomenal tale 'Haute Cuisine') which is fantastic for anyone who didn't go on a jolly with them upon the initial releases.

There is odd synergy between the two characters. Lorenzo is initially meant to be Florin's manservant or at least he was at some point until their arrangement developed into being a partnership. 'The Burning Shore' takes the reader to distant Lustria, followed by a cross-country jaunt beyond the World's Edge Mountains to the Mountains of Mourn in 'Wild Kingdoms'. Robert Earl's captivating descriptions of the Ogre Kingdoms are the best thing since sliced dwarf bread. On the strength of book two alone I have to put this in my top six.


6. The Vampire Genevieve by Kim Newman
Drachenfels
Genevieve Undead
Beasts in Velvet
Silver Nails

The vampire Geneviève Dieudonné is a heroine. Something of an unusual statement given the reputation of bloodsuckers in the Warhammer game background. Kim Newman (aka Jack Yeovil) brought us the delicious Geneviève in the early days of Warhammer fiction. Compared to most of the shit these Von Carstein scumbags get up to, Dieudonné is positively angelic. Worth noting is that a lot of BL authors cite Newman's work as an influence. Indeed the impresario Detlef Sierck (greatest playwright and actor the world has ever known) seems to be name-checked in subtext more times than any other character in Warhammer history except perhaps Karl Franz. The Emperor himself makes a cameo appearance in Drachenfels (book one) along with esteemed members of his royal court.
Marketed nowadays as as suspenseful Warhammer horror repack with murder mystery abound. The first omnibus release, no longer in print, is still available from second hard bookstores online. Both reprints comprise of 3 novels and 5 short stories. The continuity of the stories might be considered a little jumbled. My vamp-loving little sister complained that the main character herself is less and less involved as the adventure unfolds. In fact, the author does some decidedly tricky juggling of sub-plots and characters. It's like he gets caught in a tangent involving an event, only then he terminates that tangent yet sees fit to return (us) to it through some nagging temptation to explore the sub-plot with a detailed explanation. It's bizarre and sensational all at once. I recommend this, even if you don't like vampire stories. Beasts in Velvet and the shorts The Warhawk and The Ignorant Armies are amongst the best Warhammer fiction you will ever read is what makes the World what it is.


5. Orion by Darius Hinks
The Vaults of Winter
Tears of Isha
The Council of Beasts
Elven storyteller Hinks nailed the cosmic end of fantasy fables in the Orion series. There was a fae telling or two bordering on funky territory before Darius came along. Darius redefined the spectrum after hanging up his own magical axe. He did it by gripping the soiled tips of the World Roots and taking us to the other side of the World. Storyteller does all this by darkening the heart of the wood with poison, before he brings it back round. Weaving spirits, animals, birds, daemons and less easily identifiable creatures in a challenging tapestry of supernatural happenings.

Check out Hinks rock band Cable. They gave the Wildhearts a run for their money in the 90's.


4. Heroes of the Empire by Chris Wraight
Sword of Justice
Sword of Vengeance
Luthor Huss
Feast of Horrors
Duty and Honour
The March of Doom

I wasn't aware that I'd read anything by this author when I picked up the first release from the Warhammer Heroes series. As it turns out I did read The Judgement of Crows, a short featured in Death & Dishonour which happens to be the latest Warhammer Anthology to be published. Having already read the heroic Norse romp that is Wulfrik, this book had big footsteps to follow in. Funnily, I only grabbed the novel because I was stuck in Taunton with a couple of hours to kill. The telling of this tale is exceptional!

The main plot in Sword of Justice concerns the selection and eventual crowning of a new Elector Count in Averland. The task falls to the Emperor's Champion, Ludwig Schwartzhelm (much to his dismay). I'm familiar with the circumstances surrounding the province from tit-bits of information read elsewhere. Even so, for what one might assume to be a fairly cut and shut military-themed story, this adventure was loaded with intrigue. Without spoiling the readers experience I will only mention that there are a lot of outstanding back-room scenes. The highlight from this read was a meeting a very special character who works exclusively for Ludwig behind the scenes. By no co-incidence the third Warhammer Heroes release was a sequel to this story. A follow-up release Sword of Vengeance concerns Kurt Helborg, exploring the rivalry of these two differing personalities. It brings the tale to a fitting conclusion.

Both of these are collected with another Heroes story for Luthor Huss in a chunky omnibus that also collates a few short stories. Empire heroics at its finest.


3. Blood of Nagash by Josh Reynolds
Neferata
Master of Death
Master of Mourkain
Ghoul King 1: Conqueror of Worms
Ghoul King 2: Empire of Maggots
To be fair Mike Lee has done a fair old amount of graft fleshing out the history of Nehekhara in the Time of Legends* series. I have a fair idea how much of a slog his job was from digesting that author's Rise of Nagash series because the first volume reads drier than a mouthful of sand scooped up from the Khemri desert. Not quite as dry as the Silmarillion but anyone who bothered to trudge through Tolkien's Elvish Sopranos will know what I mean. That is not to say either can't be considered masterful writing. The Rise of Nagash series is a hard read.

Josh Reynolds pick things up with progeny of Nagash. The first born vampires. These characters may be familiar Warhammer vampire fans since the ancestral vampires spawned the five bloodlines of their kind. What Neferata, W'Soran, Ushoran, Abhorash and Vashanesh all have in common is that they all ascended to immortality from the kingdom of Nehekhara. Vashanesh better know as Vlad the Impaler is the odd one out since whatever his fate entailed was screened out from Rise of Nagash. Along with the rest he drank from the advanced blood elixir of Nagash first supped by Neferata then passed on to the rest.

The Blood of Nagash series centres around Neferata of Lahmia in the first book. She played a pivotal role in Lee's series and it's a real pleasure to experience the Queen in her element, surrounded by a full cast of handmaidens. The second volume though is the true masterpiece of this series. I now consider it one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read! The schemes of sorcerer W'Soran and his apprentices, known to tabletop gamers as the Necrach vampires. As the obsessive fiend unravels the remaining mysteries of the 'Corpse Geometries' he works to challenge Nagash for lordship of all undead. Along the way both he and the Queen of Lahmia are undermined by Ushoran, Lord of Masks. After usurping the kingdom of Mourkain he ushers in the Strigoi bloodline by freely sharing his bloodkiss with the entire aristocracy of the Strigos empire. This includes one Vorag Bloodytooth who defies his masters will and falls under the influence of the other first borns, apart from the warrior Abhorash who he always sees as a rival. The latter plays the most mysterious role in the both ends of the Nagash saga. A warrior born, battling to slake his bloodthirst and regain lost honour. The author discusses why on his Hunting Monsters blog and it is a crying shame (tears of blood) that the series failed to reach any conclusion concerning Abhorash's debts and what he'd wanted out of immortality. The motives of the Queen's grim former champion are altogether different to the rest. Vampires wrestle for power and the ultimate control that will bring them dominion over the realms of men, while the Blood Dragon is altogether more elusive. They are all well travelled enough since the destruction of their ancient civilisation. Readers are left with the impression that the last loaf is yet to be baked. For now we must make do with crumbs instead since the few short story downloads currently available pick up the subplots of both Ushoran and Vorag.

Master of Death might not have been selling as many copies as the Von Carsteins, yet the stories told of Sylvania are all made inferior by paying a visit to the city of Mourkain. It would be remiss not to mention one last key character whose continuous appearances feature in important roles throughout the affairs of Nagash and the vampires. That would be Arkhan the Black. The liche-king was Nagash's first immortal lieutenant. The part the sorcerer plays underpins everything that happens across the timeline and he's one of my most loved characters in the Warhammer world.

*The Time of Legends series was a ground breaking accomplishment for Warhammer. It harked back to unexplained periods that some of us actually gave a shit about. Some of it is a tough read! The content was conceived to be intimidating. That is not to say it isn't an enjoyable read because it will take you deep. Much of the early biblical releases (including the ascendancy of Nagash and all that business of Sigmar uniting the tribes) challenge the reader with quizzical texts. Later releases flow naturally. If you are a fan of Skaven or Empire politics then you totally need to check out the Black Plague series. Download this since you can't find hard copies for shit. Do they even exist? No, the masterpiece of this era is the progeny of the Great Necromancer. As a lifelong fan of Nagash this cycle of undead opera has paid dividends.


2. Brunner the Bounty Hunter by C L Werner
Blood Money
Blood and Steel
Blood of the Dragon
Wolfshead

Herr Werner has produced several faithful tales elaborating on fan-favourite characters tied to the game background. I previously mentioned his Grey Seer Thanquol series and the Warhammer Heroes release depicting the barbaric escapades of Wulfrik Worldwalker. My favourite stories from CL are some of those where all new characters of his own invention have been introduced! Runefang and The Chaos Wastes series are all grand accomplishments in fantasy storytelling by the pulp-influenced author but the crown jewel in Werner's collection is Brunner.

Brunner is no ordinary bounter hunter. He's a complicated character. An elite hired sword with patience, a unique moral code, a mysterious past coupled to a curious agenda. The adventures of Brunner were (finally!) collated into an omnibus release. The Bounty Hunter visits unusual settings, notably the Tilean city states. This makes for some delightful entertainment and colourful descriptive work courtesy of Werner's imaginative insight and informative research of the southern nation. One of Werner's strengths is his ability to pen engaging action sequences! He always pumps a lot of physical activity in and the fighting is extraordinarily real in his books!

CL teased us when the sallet-helmed mercenary briefly returned in one short story. I'm unsure whether that was incorporated into the Warhammer Chronicles reprint edition because it wasn't listed but you can always download it from the Death & Dishonour collection. The first omnibus had miles better cover art.


1. Daemonslayer by Bill King
Skavenslayer
Vampireslayer
Kislev is the realm of ice and chill. It has a three major cities in addition to a great many stanitsas splayed across the Oblast. There are a richer selection of Warhammer adventures based in this country than you will ever find in the archives. Perhaps the most important settlement is Prague. Bill King owns this city. He helped build it and raze it. He lived here in it with us and shared that experience for us all to share.

The rat sorcerer Thanquol memorably appeared to foil the Slayer and his rememberer. The heroes notoriety has meant that spin-off trilogies were commissioned to celebrate their fortune. Grey Seer spawned a further two novels and the Warhammer Chronicles omnibus for Thanquol & Boneripper is now the total package for skaven fans, cunningly scripted by CL Werner. Nathan Long completed a trilogy off the back of Vampireslayer, starring the the fierce Kislevite noblewoman Ulrika Magdova after she unfortunately receives the bloodkiss from a Von Carstein throwback. None of this would be possible without Bill laying down the groundwork and all of this stuff is quintessentially Warhammer.


Those are all storybooks to read for pleasure. If you happen to be putting together a warband for a Mordheim campaign then depending on the setting your campaign is set in, I can recommend what you need to read next. Need to do a little research to get your crew ready for an upcoming series of games? Here are the top picks for inspiration and preparation.

Mordheim
If you are looking for stories to motivate your next warband then please look no further than 'Ill Met In Mordheim' by Robert Waters or the story boarding of Condemned by Fire - series of comics collected in a graphic novel written by the mighty Dan Abnett.

Then there have been murmurings of gossip concerning one Torben Badenov which I have been yet to remark upon. The Nagenhof Bell was always a favourite short story of mine. Jonathan Green can also be held to account for his heretical interpretations of Sister Von Stern from the Sigmarite Sisterhood and forms of necromancy. Gordon Rennie and Gavin Thorpe joined forces in 2001 to quill The Life and Time of Ulli & Marquand and Their Misadventures in Mordheim City of the Damned, a graphic novel which won't be easy to affordably track down.


Nemesis Crown
The Blackhearts trilogy helped define this setting in a supplement for Mordheim fans. This is great omnibus that has been reprinted more than once. If you can find a copy then snap it up if you're a mercenary warband fan. Nathan has done so much for us.


Border Town Burning
Easily the best few reads for fans of this supplement are Palace of the Plague Lord, Wild Kingdoms and Forged by Chaos. Wild Kingdoms by Robert Earl digs deep into the culture of of Ivory Road inhabitants. Palace of the Plaguelord takes marauders tribal in a deeper sense than ever before. Forged by Chaos is an obscure gem, secretly exposing popular cornerstones of Oldhammer lore. It touches upon cultures of this setting that can be better discussed after leafing through its heretical pages.


Sartosa
The pirate republic was defined by Dan Abnett in his novel Fell Cargo. Not a lot has happened on the high seas since Luka Silvaro set sail, except one time when Aranessa Anja Saltspite challenged the vampiric flotilla in a dreadful experience.


Marienburg
Writing takes a while to get into. If you're reading this far, then hopefully you have some understanding of how difficult it sometimes is. As I work to prepare new content for friends to riff off. Marienburg has been destroyed six times. With your help can rebuild the port from ruin.


The city is adored by content creators, roleplayers, video game designers, revisited time and time again, and in a tidy selection of novels by some talented authors. Breaking them down here for you in the correct order of the timeline from when they were written.

Murder in Marienburg by David Bishop
Elfslayer by Nathan Long
Slayer of the Storm God (Audio Book) by Nathan Long
Massacre of Marienburg by David Bishop
Knights of the Blazing Sun by Josh Reynolds
Dead Calm by Josh Reynolds
Stromfel’s Teeth by Josh Reynolds
Lords of the Marsh by Josh Reynolds
Dead Man’s Party by Josh Reynolds
Bernheimer’s Gun by Josh Reynolds
Marienburg's Stand by David Guymer
The Fall of Altdorf by Chris Wraight

I'm currently working on a special interview with one of these authors for issue #3 of 28 Magazine. Download the first two issues if you haven't done so already. It is a digital magazine that focuses on unique and personal projects of the Warhammer hobby.

28 Mag is being released annually and, as an entirely not-for-profit venture, is completely free to download.

Until the next time we sail together! The inevitable Werekin wishes you all to stay safe.

Imaginary panoramas with imaginary people on a journey without end. The Empire is a wilderness place of stark, cruel beauty, measured in its bewildering complexities.

Exploring of our own imagination seeking solace or escaping strained lives by entering imaginary worlds of wizards learning magic, noble knights battling monsters, acting out the parts of witch hunters and sorcerous maidens.
The latest lockdown binge of reading Warhammer story books has somewhat surprisingly introduced me to a number of unfamiliar locations in otherwise mostly familiar environments. Much of my meditation down-time for reading was spent exploring, then ruminating and I suppose researching the Ostermark province. Authors Jonathan Green and Neil McIntosh both favour the region in their storytelling. What appeals to us about this is that the ruins of Mordheim happen to be in the Ostermark province! There was no warband for Ostermarkers featured in the original Mordheim game rules. Local brigands can be perfectly well represented through the Outlaws of Stirwood warband even though Stirwood Forest itself is based much further to the south. Kislev mercenaries form the ideal basis for representing Ostermark mercenaries since many warriors fighting in the Empire's frontier land hail from further north. The League of Ostermark article by Nick Kyme provided tangible variations on a theme if you enjoy playing vanilla mercenaries from the core rules.

Band of mercenaries from Ostermark & Kislev hare around the northern province in eight thick chapters of adventure. The Slaughtered Troll tavern is the central location in The Dead and the Damned by Jonathan Green. This is an instant classic loaded with short stories perfect for Mordheim fans! There are Witch Hunters, Priests, Chaos Cults, a lot of talk about Sigmar and instances where two Saints of the holy Heldenhammer form part of the dialogue. Eowen and Ephrael.

"It it our holy duty to the God-Emperor Sigmar to recover the relics of his most beloved Saint Eowen."
— Brother Tobias, Warrior-Priest of Sigmar

The latter Lady's name already being familiar to some devout followers of the Sigmarite faith. The former appearing in the recovery of a holy reliquary, holding the mortal remains of the Lady Eowen. The appearance of Sister Ephrael von Stern was originally inspired by an amazing parallel observation based on the other big Warhammer property.

"During that incident with the Nagenhof Bell, Burgomeister Audric wasn't even in town. Rumour has it he'd had a thing going with Abbess Rilka, and he'd been up to the Priory of Saint Ephrael to ask for absolution, if you know what I mean."
— Lisbet, Ostermark Maidservant

Jonathan's solid pitch was enough to insert a fascinating character into the cult history of Mordheim, sub-world skirmish game set in a doomed city of Ostermark province, set five hundred years in the past of the Warhammer World timeline. Canonising his adaptation in the Old World mythology in the form of a Saint in the Church of Sigmar really is a story weaving masterstroke.
It's worth noting that there are two further short stories for Badenov's band published in compilations elsewhere. One is an origins story called 'Mark of the Beast' (compiled in 'Way of the Dead') and the other is the Nagenhof Bell (compiled in 'Swords of the Empire') detailing events that were mentioned as preceding one of the stories in the Dead and the Damned.
Saints of Sigmar
There is not a ton of lore on Saints. They don't even get a mention in army books made available to Warhammer Fantasy Battle military enthusiasts but neither do most gods of the Empire, like Taal and Ranald. Saints are likened to minor gods or lesser deities. The roleplay supplement for Marienburg was indeed the first tome published to apply purpose to these deities. Author of Sold Down the River, Anthony Ragan talks about the origins of Saints in an old Warpstone interview here.

It makes sense that Sigmar as the most recognisably worshipped and deified god would have Saints. Due to their being a rich history of religious personalities, some of the best holy men and women would have earned their title through acts of devotion involving heroic deeds done in the name of the holy Heldenhammer. A popular notion with Warhammer authors who are fans of the roleplaying aesthetic.
Following the events of the Nagenhof Bell short story, curiously absent from this collection of eight tales, Torben Badenov's band travel from the market town of Nagenhof, through the wooded gorge of Bruchenbach Woods on to Wollustig Castle. This is my favourite chapter from their adventures. I wish there was more like it!
The Slaughtered Troll
Ostermark's premier drinking establishment and night-spot, unofficial home of the town's equally unofficial adventurers' and mercenaries' guild; avoided by all honest, Sigmar-fearing citizens and city watch. Humans, dwarfs and even the occasional pot-bellied halfling crowd the tables filling the drinking den.

"Shhh! There are many here who would not understand or appreciate what I intend to do. It is best that they do not know at all. That which they do not know cannot trouble them."
— Luthor Harlock, Witch Hunter

Wollustig Castle
Travelling from Nagenhof, traversing a bridged waterway, twice ambushed by bandits of Bruchenbach Woods, before finally reaching Wollustig. The castle is portrayed larger than life. Without meaning to spoil things any more than I already am. Oh this report is full of spoilers peeled from the story books! The events unfolding within the castle walls are nothing short of diabolical. This is one of many favourite new locations is an underexplored province. It seems a shame that too much favour is being laboured on the City of the White Wolf when this other northerly province has such potential.
Neil McIntosh wrote a trilogy of books about the adventures of the mercenary Stefan Kumansky. Star of Erengrad was published 2002, Taint of Evil in 2003 and Keepers of the Flame finished the adventure in 2005. To say that the author takes us on an epic campaign through the Empire's wilderness doesn't sell the affair short. I wish I could read this collection again for the first time. There are some outstanding depictions of places never before seen and I have picked some excerpts out to share below in case you are struggling to get around to reading the legendary tales of Stefan Kumansky and his comrade in arms Bruno.

Forgotten City
An honourable name and a memorable one. I haven’t come across this settlement or their livery before. Beyond the plains of Ostermark is a place that does no honour to its sacred name.

Sigmarsgeist, the city upon the plain, its spreading mass lit by a phosphor glow that came not from any natural source, but from the tide of elemental energy that raged like a boiling sea below.

The key, was a place known in legend as Tal Dur. The fathomless waters of the lake held magical powers that would surpass any imagining, power enough to take the strength of a man and multiply it tenfold.

Doom came to Sigmarsgeist. It was brought by its Guides. Their desire and naked greed for power had consequences. With its gates cut off by their own endeavour, the city had been laid to waste by the floods.

Only by breaching the walls could the waters of a raging flood that came from nowhere be dispersed. As the prophecy of Tal Dur became fulfilled, grotesque troops of warp-touched prisoners, Norscans, cultists, mutants and inhumans bore down on the soldiers of Sigmar. The Chaos horde tore into the city’s Red Guard as they had tried to salvage the wreckage of their citadel from a rising tide.

It had become like a drowned world with only crests of stonework left poking through the churning waters like islands in the sea. The first springs channelled elsewhere, converging near the bottom of the Well of Sadness, where the locus of Tal Dur may be found.

Buildings wrecked and submerged, collapsed into the swirling waters. A chapel of humble worship to the healing goddess Shallya, a ruined shelter in the dark, watery wasteland.

For those strong enough to survive the deluge, its maelstrom that replaced domes and gilded towers with a drowned wasteland of rubble, draining away all sign of the lake’s existence without trace except the ravages left behind.

"I'm not surprised that our citadel is unfamiliar to you. As yet, the name of Sigmarsgeist is known to few beyond the walls. But that will change. Believe me, friend, the time will come when all the Old World will know and bless that name."
— Hans Baecker, Ostermark Mercenary

"A long time ago, before I knew I had a gift, I was a Sister. A Sister of Shallya, a priestess. Then I discovered that I had other powers, powers to heal that came from magic, as well as from the divine will of the goddess. What I took as a gift, others saw as witchcraft. I had to renounce my calling, and leave the Sisterhood. Here I can start afresh, and use my gifts as they were always meant to be used. The goddess knows, there’s work enough to be done."
— Beatrice de Lucht, Sister of Shallya

"But you must remain with us a while yet, draw strength and such provisions as we can offer. Then you can ride on with full belly and good heart. Will you consent to rest with us at least until the halving of the moons?"
— Konstantin von Augen, Father of Sigmarsgeist

"You have been brought to Sigmarsgeist and here you will be judged and your sins will be accounted for. What do you have to offer us, that might possibly postpone your miserable end? You are an abomination of Chaos. A creature of darkness. You will die here in Sigmarsgeist, and your death will purge a blight from the world."
— Anaise von Augen, Guide of Sigmarsgeist

"Behold the Mines of Sigmar. Behold them, and despair. For those of you who work hard — Who knows? Maybe you’ll find some food and rest as your reward at the end of the day. For those who don’t, take a good look about as you climb down the shaft. Because they’ll be your tomb."
— Ostermark Prison Guard

"The rulers of Sigmarsgeist were not the first to build here. As the foundations were dug, they came upon the ruins of another city, long since abandoned or destroyed. Perhaps they too had dreams of a great citadel, a bastion to protect them against evil."
— Rilke, Keeper of the Flame

Stahlfort Prison
Two weeks journey from Altdorf, through lands forsaken by man and god is a prison island in the western Reikland. Stahlfort is a human warehouse; its rows of cells arranged in layers, floor upon floor. Each has its own guardhouse, a squat, heavily fortified cage from where the warders keep watch over the prisoners in their charge.

Two days out from Balzen, travelling through a desolate landscape of marshlands. After the marshes recede into undulating swathes of open grassland, come the lakes. A web of raised strips cross this drowned land until there is no more land to path. Empty expanses of water several miles across. Unlike the greenery all around, one landmass is visibly devoid of shrubs. A featureless island, aside from the skirt of cliffs surrounding it.

Prison boats ferry arrivals between the towering cliffs of an island, through a channel cut in the cliff. The narrow fissure opens out to reveal a horseshoe-shaped harbour with wooden jetties. A flight of steps hewn from the rock lead up the cliff-top. A dark fortress of high towers and heavy walls forms the slate grey outline of the monolith like garrison.

Hundreds of prisoners, jammed inside the close confines of the cells. Life is hard here but mercifully short. Starved of air and light, with only the rats for company. Inmates leave "the pit" when their time’s up, when it's time to "stretch their necks".

Chaos prisoners are held on the other side in the belly of the prison. The area holding them is joined to the main block by a tunnel of steel, a metal cage with locked gates at either end. A prison within a prison. The Chaos cells are the dark heart of Stahlfort.

"These are the enemies of the Empire. Men who have committed abominable crimes."
— Stefan Kumansky, Kislev Mercenary

"It's true: the villain was picked up in a sweep of cultists, but that was more by coincidence than design. We were only going to have him hung. If you want him, you can take him, I suppose."
— Friedrich Krieger, Chief Security Officer of the Sekurheitszicke

"Who are we to argue the will of our Imperial masters? Or the wisdom of the glorious witch hunters? Very well. Take them through to the gates."
— Guard Commander of Stahlfort Prison

The Reikshalle Falls
A daring river escape presents Stefan Kumansky with no possibility to escape. Faced as ever with difficult and impossible choices, the heroes encounter a perilous waterfall on the river network. The waterway drop is not the only dead encounter that the party has to face.

"The falls. The right leads straight over the Reikshalle Falls! We’ll be cut off! Once we hit the falls your only chance will be to jump."
— Ernst Nagel, Former Guard of Stahlfort Prison

"Maybe they managed to get a message from the island to the garrison at Marienburg. They could be moving to cut us off from the west, while troops from the island follow our trail in from the north."
— Karl Maier, Reikland Mercenary

The Keepers of the Flame
A secret society of adversaries to Chaos. Several of the larger sects of zealots in Altdorf stir up trouble. The Apostles of Morr, the Black Confessors and the True Path. Measures being taken by the Keepers of the Flame to defy the schemes of Chaos cults is the ongoing plot for this fantastic series. The endless tide of adversaries and the machinations of the enemy within culminates into the final battle to save one the Empire's great cities.

"The Blessing of the Souls. The whole town's been building up to it for weeks. By noon today, every zealot, doom-merchant and penny-prophet in the city will be on the streets."
— Franz Sterkel, Altdorf Cutthroat

"What makes a young man throw away a good career in the Guard for the uncertain life of a hired sword?"
— Otto Brandauer, Imperial Courtier and Keeper of the Flame

"I shall summon a gathering of the Keepers of the Flame. I will gather together our brothers from across the Empire. Together we have access to powers - powers of persuasion greater than anything the Imperial gaolers can muster."
— Marcus Albrecht, Keeper of the Flame

There are too many memorable characters to discuss or describe them all. Instead some choice dialogue has been quoted throughout this narrative round up which helps to give the impression of how these strangely familiar landscapes are populated. I hope you get to read some of these enlightening stories for yourselves and I hope to make further explorations in the cult exploits of the followers of Chaos they encountered. I was rather taken with the Scarandar changelings and feathered chameleons, Tzeentchian cultists and daemonkin of the avian variety. We should definitely hope to see more of them in the future!

"The Scarandar are the servants of evil. They are human - at least, I think they are - but they have set their face against mankind and all its works. They worship a daemon, a terrible master pledged to deliver first Erengrad, then all Kislev to the Lord of Change."
— Elena Yevschenko, Kislev Noblewoman