Rules: Alliances

Must say that our Dwarven friends have proved their worth. Standing here, basking in the sunlight and shooting to these pitiful zombies below is kinda fun. Hopefully these bearded bastars won't figure out that while we're here, having fun, our true comrades are plundering their stash...

Fellow warband leaders. Have you ever found yourself in a multiplayer game full of ridiculous, totally out of flavor alliances? Well i had more than once. Dwarves and Orcs as a team? Really? It's about time to do things right. Hereby i pronounce to you a set of rules that will ( i hope) once and for all clarify the alliances in multiplayer games. Remember that these rules are optional and experimental as well. 

ME - all Human Mercenaries,
WH - Witch Hunters,
SOS - sisters of Sigmar,
DTH - Dwarf Treasure Hunters,
UN - the Undead,
CU - Cult of the Possessed,
SKA - Skaven,
OG - Orcs & Goblins,
COC - Carnival of Chaos,

In multiplayer games two or more warbands may form an alliance using the rules introduced in the Mordheim Annual 2002, "Chaos in the Streets" article. Each time a player pronounces an alliance refer to the table above to see the type of the alliance.

 

No simbol - 'Almost friendly'

These warbands are friendly to each other as much as it is possible in Mordheim. The warbands probably hate but will not move against each other until provoked.

Members of allied Warbands:

- Do not count each other as enemies. 

- May freely run within 8" of each other. 

- Are not forced to charge enemy models due to some special rules. Note however that Orc or Goblin failing an Animosity test counts allied models as friendly Hired Swords, therefore will shoot or charge on a result of '1'.

- Will automatically break from close combat with each other as soon as the alliance is pronounced. Simply place the models 1" apart. They can move as normal in their next Movement phase. Models knocked down or stunned follow the normal rules for being knocked down or stunned, etc.

- Charging, shooting, throwing non-helpful spells at a member of an allied warband will automatically break the alliance with that warband. Note that this includes attacks caused by failed Animosity test. If that happens it is still possible to form an alliance once more, but this time it would have 'Not in a thousand years' status.

/ - 'Watch your back'

Sometimes these warbands will find themselves in an alliance, although they will never truly fight back to back. Alliance would be temporary and fragile so stay aware.

Members of allied Warbands:

- Do not count each other as enemies. 

- May freely run within 8" of each other.

- Are forced to charge enemy models due to some special rules.

- Will automatically break from close combat with each other as soon as the alliance is pronounced. Simply place the models 1" apart. They can move as normal in their next Movement phase. Models knocked down or stunned follow the normal rules for being knocked down or stunned, etc.

- Will be subject to the Animosity rule so long as they will start the turn within 8" from the 'Watch your back' allies.

- Charging, shooting, throwing non-helpful spells at a member of an allied warband will automatically break the alliance with that warband. Note that this includes attacks caused by failed Animosity test. If that happens it is still possible to form an alliance once more, but this time it would have 'Not in a thousand years' status.

After the battle that ended while in a 'Watch your back' alliance, test your warband leader LD. If the test is failed one randomly selected non-leader hero will miss the next game as he refuses to fight alongside suspicious ally.

X - 'Not in a thousand years'

These warbands hate each other so zealously that they will never form an alliance. Each form of cooperation will end drastically. Some circumstances may force these warbands to fallow the same goal and form an alliance for the purpose of the game (to eliminate greater foe and then split the treasure?), but i will not happen without consequences.

Members of allied Warbands:

- Count each other as enemies. 

- May not run within 8" of each other.

- Are forced to charge enemy models due to some special rules.

- Will continue to fight each other in close combat when and after the alliance is pronounced.

- Will be subject to the Animosity rule so long as as they will stay in the 'Not in a thousand years' alliance.

- Note that charging, shooting, throwing non-helpful spells at a member of an allied warband is OK so both players agrees to keep the alliance going. These warbands are not in an alliance as your warband leader sees it.

After the battle that ended while in a 'Not in a thousand years' alliance, but before genereting income test your warband leader LD with a -2 modifier. If the test is failed the warband revolts and land frustration on the warband leader. If the leader went OOA during the battle roll for the infury table with a -1 modifier to both dice, otherwise threat the leader as OOA instead.

Multiple Alliances.

In the multiple alliance treat the alliance status as the worst possible status between allied warbands. For example an alliance between Marienburg Mercenaries, Dwarf Treasure Hunters and the Possessed will have the 'Not in a thousand years' status. 

If an already allied warband join another alliance all members of the previous alliance are considered to be in the new alliance and must accept or leave it at once. If they decide to stay in the alliance they will be counted toward the new alliance status with all it's consequences.

I hope these rules will make your games more realistic and more funn as well. I will test the rules and probably change them a little bit in the future. 


Nazroth,

Hired Swords: Part two

We have earned quite a bunch of coins at our last raid. As we have all the gear we need for now, it would be wise to use an additional pair of fighting arms. Let's head back to the Cutthroat's Den and see what remarkable new alliances we can buy with this gold... 

This is the second part of my link> Hired Swords article <link. Last time i have introduced to you what is in my opinion the best fighter, best tank, best shooter and best caster among all of the 'legal' Hired Swords. Today i'm going to fulfill my announcement and describe the best seeker, best sneak, best trickster, and best buff that you can hire. Please remember that this is my subjective opinion. If you disagree with my choice, just feel free to share your wisdom in the comments below.  So let's get to business.

Elf Ranger

The Elf Ranger has the keenest sight of all the Hired Swords. The 'Seeker' special rule allows him to spot hidden enemies at twice the distance of his impressive Initiative of 6. Armed with Elven Bow with BS 5 and M5 he is a mobile detector that will shoot your foes right after uncovering them for the rest of your warband. He will also lend some help in exploration so be assured that money spent on this nimble fellow would not be wasted.

As the elf comes with a specific role to fulfill, he appears in the third wave of recruitment.

Imperial Assassin

Death from behind, the Assassin is the best sneak in Mordheim. Starting with a decent equipment and two powerful skills he already is a capable fighter, but after advancement he becomes a real threat to all shooting warbands. Backstabber skill is an overkill with which you will be able to eliminate entrenched enemies while Hide in Shadows will provide you with all the means to outmaneuver your opponents. He will be able to hide almost everywhere and will provide a magnificent support to all close combat warbands.

"Valar Morghulis". The Imperial Assassin is my second wave choice. 

Halfling Scout

This funny looking little dude is my favorite buff in the game. Cheap to hire, economical to use, thirteenth starting member of a warband that increases the maximum number of models you can field. This means that he will be useful throughout the enitre campaign, right from the moment when you spent your first golden crowns and until the very end. And if that was not enough, he is a damn Luck magnet - call me superstitious but i know it. I just do. 

Zero wave choice, always from the start.

Arabian Merchant

He knows the best tricks. He's a two models in one. He will acquire the best items for you and in the end he will fill your chests with gold. All of which he does for free. Oh maybe not literally free but he will earn his own upkeep and leave something for the rest of the warband too. If you are thinking about a long campaign and wish to excel yourself in the exploration phase then this is your 'must have' choice. 

First wave choice on my private Hired Swords list. Sooner the better. 

Here's where the second part of the link> Hired Swords article <link comes to an end. Next time i will present you the best sniper and the best to leave alone Hired Swords.

Nazroth,

Matter of Survival: Trading

Here's your gold lad. You've made through your first encounter in one piece. I say these crowns were earned. Now listen to me boy. There's plenty of whoresons awaiting you and your gold. They will try  to beguile you with all those fancy knives and shiny armour. Do not let them get into your hed, you hear me? Spend some coins on Lucky Charm and keep the rest...

Hello there fellow Campaigners. If after the first battle you've found yourself in possession of some gold then here are some trading hints you may find quite useful.

First of all priorytise your purchase starting with warband members (if needed) then acquire less rare, cheap and most important equipment. It is of a great importance to spend your coins on things that will instantly boost your warbands fighting and exploration abilities.

Recruit heroes.

The heroes will search for wyrdstone after the battle and each one of them will drastically increase the warbands income. If you haven't recruited max heroes at the start of a campaign, or one of them died in the first battle - it is most important to recruit up to a maximum ASAP.

Recruit henchmen.

If it takes your number up to 9, 13 or 17 do not hesitate to recruit new warband members. The number of models OOA required to take Rout Test depends on it. Some scenarios offer great awards to the winner in which case you do not want to loose by failing Rout Test.

Trinkets over weapons.

Some items are especially useful. Assuming that all your heroes are equipped with weapon adequate to their role, i suggest to use this priority list:
- Rabbit foot for the leader,
- Rabbit foot for the rest of the heroes, 
- Lucky charm for the leader, 
- Lucky charm for any tough combat heroes, 
- Holy/Unholy relic,
- Rope & Hook for any agile wall climbers (Vampire, Skaven heroes etc,)
- Helmet for the leader and any combat heroes, 
- Armour and fancy weapons for the leader and heroes, 

As you can see - the first exploration will probably end with up to 5 rabbit foots and that assuming your warband will find all of them in one go.  As most of the warbands are highly leader-oriented, try to invest some gold in his safety and usefulness. Mostly becouse the Leader is an expensive, rating increasing, slowly leveling and difficult to replace member of a warband.

Hire sellswords.
Sooner or later there will come a moment of stability. The income will overcome the needs and you will wonder of what to buy next. Some players prefer to keep reserve gold for a rainy day. I suggest you do otherwise. Remember that when you gather resources, other warbands will make good use of gold and advance themselves. Invest the gold to hire Hired Swords. You can find the list of useful Hired Swords in the link> Hired Swords article <link.

Now go there and spend some gold!


Nazroth,

Rules: Footbridges (how to build and then destroy)

To move at the ground level is to ask death for a dance. If we're going to survive this mess we've got to use gangplanks. Let's head up and see if these wretches will follow our example...

Today i'm going to show you a fast & furious way to make your own footbridges. As for the reason of why you should be willing to create some gangways, it is obvious: they will present you with more movement options and strategies. Mordheim is all about simple rules and a lot of gaming options to choose from. Catwalks, gangplanks and footbridges will take your game higher and exert impact on the way you play.  Later on i will also present you with all the new rules for footbridges to use in Modheim.

For those of you who already knows how to make a Mordheim footbridge, please skip to the bottom of the post to see the rules and photos. 

Modellin footbridges

Here is what you'll need: wood / basing glue, super glue, sharp modelling knife, scissors, cutting line, brush, watter pot and some water, weights (or something heavy),

fruit basket, thin wooden planks,

Start with dismantling the basket using knife and scissors. Cut all the wood into large base* planks and a bunch of small texture** planks.

* Base planks will be used as a main body of the footbridges.

** Texture planks will be used to give the footbridges a wooden texture.

 

Prepare the base of a footbridge by adhering some texture planks to the lower parts of the base planks, so that they would look much more solid when looked upon from the miniature's eye of view. It will be quick if you use super glue for the task.

 

Now it is time to texturise your footbridges with a lot of texture planks. Fruit basket is made up of very thin planks, which are perfect to the task. Carefully apply the adhesive to the surface of the bridge, put some planks on it.

 

Now  quickly turn the bridge over so that the upper side is lying on the surface of your workbench. Texture planks are very thin and they will probably absorb some water from the glue and bulge a little. You can prevent that by putting some waight onto the drying bridge.

 

It won't take long before you will be able to relievie the completely dry footbridge. Now you can add some balustrade or ornamentation to it. Once more use the super glue to save some time. Remember to paint the complete product of your work with a mix of basing glue and water. It will harden the wood and prevent it from sheding splinters.

After all the bridges dry up, you can udnercoat and the paint them. The complete set of footbridges may look like this:

Rules: Footbridges

Footbridges and catwalks are a common sight in Mordheim as well as in the other cities of the Imperium. Some of these gangplanks are just a bunch of randomly placed planks while others are more like a full scale bridges. Whilst not a one have the same length or size, all possess a single common feature: they're all made from wood. 

For the purposes of the game please apply the following rules to all the footbridges:

Destructable object: 

It is possible to destroy a wooden footbridge. Any model able to fight in close combat phase may attack a footbridge which is in base contact. If the model is in hand to hand combat with enemy model, it may still redirect some attacks to the bridge if you wish. The hits against a bridge will auto hit and you will need a roll of '6' to wound. Models armed with axes or flaming weapons will need a roll of '5+' to wound the bridge. Small bridges (up to 6" length) have 3  Wounds, while Large bridges (more than 6" length) have 5 Wounds. You do not roll for the Injury, also Critical Hits do not apply to the bridges. Simply remove the bridge that has 0 Wounds left and perform 'Falling' for all the models that were on the bridge. 

Pit Fighter: 

The Pit Fighter skill applies to the model fighting in hand to hand combat while on the bridge. 

Regards,