It all comes down to this.
Reading the grimoire of the demon, one thing is apparent- Johan and Lothar are racing to become Demon Princes, to ascend to near-godhood, to become one of the chief minions of the great chaos gods Slaneesh and Khorne. Whoever wins, they will dominate the city of the damned. Whoever loses, will become a gibbering Chaos spawn.
If a demon prince becomes ascendant over the city, there will be no room for your warband to thrive. No room even for scavenging and survival. All you have gained will be lost. Now is the moment, you must strike or you must die. You hear rumors of the foul forces corrupting the Pit – the heart of Mordheim where the comet made impact. There the most titanic struggles are happening, and a madman has reached your camp, raving about two portals spewing wyrdstone. One is swirling purple, the other the red of blood. These chaotic portals seem to be the source of all the wrydstone flooding the streets! This must be where Johann and Lothar will finish their struggle. Grimacing, your warband sharpens its weapons and straps on armor.
As you venture forth, perhaps for the last time, to do battle in the city of the damned, somewhere, the Shadowlord smiles…
Well, this was the most insane game of Mordheim I’ve ever participated in.
This was the final showdown, the chance of the warbands to confront and destroy Johann and Lothar Von Gottlieb, the aspiring demon princes of Khrone and Slaneesh respectively. They are locked in a mortal fight for control of the city, and our warbands are caught in the crossfire. They must venture into the Pit and decide this once and for all, and set a new course for the city of the damned. Will they succumb to the power of Chaos, or cast down these demons?
We used an adapted version of the Monsterhunt scenario with a few surprises, scaled up to 7 players. It would have been very legit to do a 4-way and 3-way battle on two different tables, but this was more insane, which I liked. While the monsters looked scary, our players were confident in their murderous abilities (and perhaps rightly so)!
We had all seven warbands on the table:
- Pit Fighters (Afatblackcat)
- Dwarf Treasure Hunters (Rockfist)
- Black Orcs (Cheeg)
- Black Orcs (Machkurry)
- Orc Mob (Dungeonbuddy)
- Pestilens Skaven (Skylar)
- Witch Hunters (yours truly)
Deployment
We marked 7 locations around the edge of the board, 3 near the portal of Slaneesh in the upper part of the pit, and 4 down in the lower pit with the portal of Khorne. Our two demon princes were deployed around their portals along with 4 cultists.
The players rolled off to pick locations, selecting one by one. All three orc players (two Black Orc Mobs and one regular flavor Orc Mob) all chose to deploy in the upper pit near the portal of Slaneesh.
In the lower pit, the Dwarves and Witch hunters deployed next to each other on the south side. The Pit Fighters deployed on the west side next to the Pestilens Skaven.
In the multiplayer rules in the annual, they lay out a basic mechanism for alliances, which can be declared (out loud) and allow you to run nearby and not have to target the closest model from an allied warband. We also decided for orcs that alliances made you targets for animosity!
The three orc warbands all declared that they were allies, bent on crumpin Slaneesh for trying to steal all the fun.
In the lower pit, things were more fraught. The Dwarves and Witch Hunters felt strongly the demons needed to be banished and allied, but the Pit Fighters and Skaven entered into an uneasy alliance of convenience to balance things.
I emphasized several times, loudly and obviously, that alliances could be broken at any time and NO ONE SHOULD EVER BE TRUSTED. This alliance nonsense would never please the Shadowlord, I decided.
Full of hotdogs and half a beer in, the carnage commenced!
The Carnage
Turn 1
Our warbands eyed their enemies and unsheathed their blades, aiming to close with their foes.
In the upper pit, all three orc warbands waaaghed forward, running full speed at the Slaneeshi demons, aiming to close distance. Cheeg, Machkurry and Dungeonbuddy’s warriors all closed in, including two monstrous trolls!
In the lower pit, Rockfist’s Dwarves advanced slowly, bolstered by their Ogre Mercenary out front. The dwarf noble moved into the engineer-extended range of his dueling pistol and took a pot shot at Johann. Dwarven craftsmenship proved true, as the bullet hit home and caused a critical wound! This got through Johann’s demon save, causing his first wound!
Elsewhere in the lower pit, the witch hunters, Pit Fighters and skaven all advanced, focused on the portal and, as of yet, leaving each other alone.
After all the players had gone, the Demons had a busy turn! In the upper pit, Lothar, chosen of Slaneesh used his Lure of Chaos power to ensnare Cheeg’s leader, then charged in against his troll. Unfortunately, Lothar was not able to get through the troll’s regeneration. A slaneesh cultist charged Machkurry’s frantic nutta, scoring a crit against the orc and taking out the first model of the game!
In the lower pit, the demon of khorne breathed fire on the approaching ogre bodyguard but failed to wound, as a Khorne cultist charged the pit fighters, roaring bravely … and was duly slaughtered.
Turn 2
It was time for the warbands to pile into some demons!
In the upper pit, Cheeg’s black orcs piled into Lothar and his cultist, but first his leader passed his Leadership check, clearing the Lure of Chaos! The orcs took out a cultist and caused two wounds on Lothar, despite his demonic save! They only suffered minor injuries in return.
Dungeonbuddy’s orc mob streamed across the bridge, led by the troll who charged a cultist, vomiting… and failing to wound the devotee of slaneesh.
Machkurry’s black orcs poured forward, reaching the cultist who had killed his nutta with 3 warriors, who promptly finished off the cultist.
In the lower pit, Rockfist’s Ogre hired sword charged into battle Johann and got another wound in, suffering nothing in return! A poor showing from the demon.
Bonespoon’s witch hunters tried to launch a series of dogs into the demon, who failed their LD checks. So instead the rest of the warband moved up into position, gaining locations for their crossbow-armed hunters.
The Pit Fighters were in range to charge in against a cultist, stunning him, and moving up for easy charges next turn.
Skylar’s sling-armed Skaven climbed up the towers, readying their missiles, while the club and dagger skaven pushed forward. A handful of skaven were able to reach a cultist, who, in a rain of daggers (covered in filth, surely) fell to their blows before fighting back.
On the demon turn, the combined weight of the allied warbands was beginning to take its toll! Johann and Lothar swung widely, failing to eliminate their foes, while Lothar cast Lure of Chaos successfully on Cheeg’s pit fighter. The aspiring demon princes were barely holding on!
Turn 3
On turn 3, the powers of chaos began to swirl ominously near the portals, and players began rolling for random events at the start of every turn,
In the upper pit, Lorthar was locked in combat with Cheeg’s black orcs. He regained control of his pit fighter from lure of chaos and charged into Lothar and the remaining cultist. Dispatching the cultist, they piled in on Lothar, doing another wound!
Dungeonbuddy’s orc mob pushed across the bridge, surrounding the last cultist. The frenzied goblins also charged the portal itself! Four goblins and a troll managed to take out a cultist, while the frenzied orc charged into the portal and dealt it a blow!
Machkurry’s black orcs, having finished their cultist and showing no sign of betrayal towards their orcy brethren ran up to grab some wyrdstone. They piled into the slaneesh portal, great axes swinging, deciding this was no fun for anyone. With a mighty blow, a Black Orc shook the portal, splitting it in twain, as the purplish glow faded! The portal was destroyed!
In the lower pit, Rockfist’s dwarves piled into Johann, the aspiring champion of Khorne. An ogre bodyguard and quartet of dwarves surrounded him! The rest of the warband moved up in support, ready to challenge any comers. The charging dwarves all missed or failed to wound, despite a plethora of axes! But then it was the turn of the mighty ogre, who swung and got a crit! Johann’s demonic saves failed him, his last wound was taken, and the ogre took him out of action! This merc sure earned his keep this day. Johann howled in pain and rage as he was cast down.
Seeing the demon prince fall, Bonespoon’s witchhunters moved up cautiously towards the portal, aiming to close it once and for all. The crossbows didn’t have a shot on the portal, and the doughty dwarves no longer required more assistance in dealing with Johann.
Then it was the Pit Fighter’s turn. Through the campaign, they had been driven by success on the battlefield, bloodlust, and the desire to bring freedom to their brethren through strength. Near the swirling powers of the gate of Khorne, this pull towards violence and power became inescapable. Seeing the aspiring demon prince fall, the Pit King was overcome with a vision of power and strength, the strength to reshape the world through violence! With that, Afatblackcat decided to pounce on the Witch Hunters, all strung out within charge range trying to reach the portal! The fight was on! On the charge, they killed a wardog and stunned or knocked down several hunters!
Following this, Skylar’s skaven decided to support their allies of convenience to protect the portal and moved in on the Witch Hunters. Skaven clanrats charged into the witch hunters as well, slaying two wardogs, including one closing in on the portal. A hail of slings were sent at the dwarves as well, including a ricochet critical on the ogre, who stood fast.
On the demon turn, no random event had been rolled. One khornate cultist stood in the melee, swinging his great sword… and missing! In the upper pit, the fight between Lothar and the troll continue, as Lothar managed to whiff his hits! The Troll raised up his club and brought it down on Lothar’s head… taking him out of action and taking his last wound! The princeling of Slaneesh was brought low and left scrabbling on the ground. The aspiring demons were defeated!
Turn 4
At the start of turn 4, Cheeg’s black orcs in the upper pit started things off by rolling a random event! In a howl that reverberated through the portal and the swirls of Chaos, the chaos Wyrmspawn Gar’leth broke into the mortal realms, drawn by blood! We had a whole mechanic planned as to where this would happen, but only the Khorne portal was left standing, so that is where the dragon burst forth! But that was a long way from the black orcs. They maintained their alliance of waaghing, fighting, and partying with their fellow orcs, starting to run towards the lower pit.
Having destroyed the portal and gathered the wyrdstone, Dungeonbuddy’s orc mob and Machkurry’s black orcs also pushed down the dry canal towards the gate leading to the lower pit. The orc horde was swarming!
In the lower pit a bloodbath raged!
Rockfist’s dwarves now joined the emerging melee, aiming to hit back at the pit fighters and skaven. A beardling charged in and was ingloriously eliminated. The mighty ogre, slayer of the aspiring champion of Khorne, charged a giant rat… and missed!
The witch hunters and Pit fighters continued their melee after the witch hunters passed the first rout check of the game! They tried to counter charge, but were blocked by the Pit Fighter pursuer’s ability to doge chargers. The crossbow fire also failed to down anyone. Van Volsung the witch hunter captain went down to the pit fighters! The pit fighters swarmed over the remaining witch hungers. A flagellant went down, as well as a crossbow witch hunter! The pit fighters also charged two ogres into the chaos dragon Gar’leth – with their powers they got a crit which prevented the dragon from fighting back!
Skylar’s skaven had climbed the towers, and could now bring their slings to bear against the dragon, firing double shots! This swarm of slings did two wounds to the dragon! Incredible! But even more unbelievably, the missed shots (using the multiplayer rules) hit the ogres, one causing a crit and taking out a pit fighter ogre! The charging daggerrats also did a number on the dwarves, taking out several of them! A brutal turn
In the demon turn, only the dragon and one khorne cultist remained. The dragon dealt a wound to the remaining ogre!
Turn 5
In the upper pit, the orcs held their alliance and maintained the inexorable green tide sweeping towards the lower pit, a turn of running and hollering! The orc mob shaman had successfully cast ‘ere we go, which would enable the orc mob to strike first in coming combats.
In the lower pit, things were beginning to swing decisively to the pit fighters and skaven, and the khorne portal still stood strong!
Rockfist’s dwarves charged with a slayer, who managed to crit and cut a skaven in half! The final khronate cultist, battling a dwarf hero, had an incredible run of 4 6s in a row to hit, wound, crit, and kill the dwarf!
The witchhunters passed their rout check again under the leadership of the Warrior Priest. Their shooting and counter charges missed, failing to take out any pit fighters!
The pit fighters aimed to take out both the hunters and the dragon! The Pit King charged into Gar’leth, swinging widely, but failing to take him down. Elsewhere, a flagellate did eliminate a pursuer, but the witch hunters were crumbling!
The skaven prepared their slings again and unleashed a volley… but without the luck of last turn! While the witch hunters killed a rat, the clanrat on the gallows stunned the troll slayer, who fell 2 inches… to his death! Another dwarf hero was also taken out by the skaven- the dwarves were on the ropes as well!
In the demon turn, the dragon recovered an attack from being stunned, but whiffed! The pit fighter ogre struck back, getting a crit… which took the last wound from the dragon! The might blow cleaved its head from its neck, felling the beast! While the demons had all been defeated, the red portal still remained….
The dwarves also killed the final khornate cultist, but perhaps too late…
Turn 6
Cheeg kicked off the turn leading the green tide from the upper pit! The troll passed stupidity and charged ahead of the mob, reaching a skaven clanrat, who was crushed! While the rest of the orcs advanced, Warlord Cheeg was called away from the garage by important youngling business! Alas, he had to voluntarily rout (but in an honorable way).
Rockfist’s dwarves passed their rout check, and piled into the Skaven as best they could. Of note, the noble’s pistol aced a clanrat, taking him straight out of action!
The witchhunters were all stuck in combat at this point, swinging desperately- two witch hunters and the witch priest Johann were taken out by the pit fighters!
Having cleared out the majority of the pit fighters and orcs, with the imminent arrival of the green tide, Afatblackcat’s fighters formed a line facing the gate, ready to receive the orcs! A handful of dwarves and witch hunters remained to the rear- they would have to be dealt with later. The pursuers were out front, ready to soak up any charges.
The skaven had to pass their first rout check, always a bad sign for skaven when that starts! The sling barrage failed to slow the green tide, and the dwarf ogre killed another giant rat! The skaven warlord took out one more dwarf hero, dwindling their ranks.
From the upper pit, the orcs were just out of charge range, and missed their bow shots- next turn things would get decisive!
Turn 7
The dwarves began by showing us the true meaning of courage and passing their rout check. They decided the only good rat was a dead rat, charging in, and the ogre took one out!
The witch hunters also passed their rout, now under command of their promoted Zealot. The remaining 5 warriors killed a giant rat and eyed an open pathway to the portal… perhaps they could destroy it, if their courage holds!
The pit fighters maneuvered into the best position to fight the orcs, using the pursuer screen to hopefully break up incoming charges.
Then the skaven had to take their rout check… and failed! Our second player skedaddled from the fight! Clearly the rats realized little was to be gained by messing with these loonies.
Dungeonbuddy’s orc mob then led in the charged. The troll failed stupidity (of course) and several charges failed due to the pursuers. One charging orc did make it through, taking out another pursuer!
Mackhurry’s warriors were almost there as well, a couple in charge ranger were dodged by pursuers and failed, and their bowfire missed!
Turn 8
This was the endgame, as the orc mob faced the pit figthers!
First up, Rockfist rolled a rout check for his dwarves… and failed! The noble and ogre retreated into the streets of mordheim to tend to their beloved treasure.
Next, the witch hunters rolled a rout check … and also failed! A shame, as they had lined up a multi-charge on the demon portal!
The pit fighters passed their rout checks and remained, counter charging the orcs. Many blows were exchanged, but one frenzied orc was taken out of action!
Dungeonbuddy’s orcs continued to push in! A goblin failed animosity and charged one of Machkurry’s warriors, who put the gobbo out of his misery! The troll also failed to charge the pursuers! But a goblin did manage to take out the pit king with a lucky blow.
Now Machkurry’s warriors also weighed in. They charged and took out the knocked out pursuer, but one warrior was stunned by an ogre!
Turn 9
Now the pit fighters were up first, clinging to their portal and blood rage! Many blows were exchanged, and notably the pit slayer did smash a black orc in half!
The orc mob troll charged in, vomiting on the pit champion stunning him! A goblin then took him out. In another combat, an orc hero with a lucky rabbits foot used this to reroll his armor save… and was successful! They finally knocked down the pit ogre they were fighting.
Machkurry charged in, smashing down the pit ogre, but failing to take out the pit slayer! One pit fighter remained!
Turn 10
While the pit slayer passed their rout test (LD 9 is nice!) they were surrounded! The goblins knocked down then took out the pit slayer! With that the pit fighters were completely tabled, and the orcy alliance of Dungeonbuddy and Mackkurry (and Cheeg in abstenstia) were victorious!
The aftermath
Two orc bosses were left starring at the swirling red portal. This had been the fight of their lives, nothing would please them more than to continue this carnage! They had seen the powers coming forth from this portal- perhaps inside would be even greater adventures. Before they could enter, though, one thing needed to be settled- which boss would lead?
They had a mini combat to decide which leader would bring this mini-waagh to the realms of chaos! Fueled by mad cap mushrooms, Dungeonbuddy’s orc boss prevailed! But was also struck stupid by the mushroom’s after-effects!
Nevertheless, he persisted, leading this makeshift orc mob into the portal of Khorne, in search of even greater fighting and crumpin’!
And as the orcs charged into the realms of chaos, the pit was quiet, the pile of corpses lit only by the swirling red of the portal…
The Blades of the Damned
Howling in defeat and disbelief, Johann and Lothar are cast down from their lofty perches. Their ambitions shattered, they are transformed into gibbering spawn. While the portal of Slaneesh was reduced to rubble, the blood red portal of Khorne remains, filling the pit with eerie light. From this maw, endless wyrdstone spews forth, continuing to flood the streets of Mordheim. New warbands arrive every day, challenging your dominance. But you are now the seasoned blades of the city, dominant as you control your turf and assert your will. The day may come when you are supplanted, but it is not this day. Blood and wyrdstone run in the streets, and things are as they were when the comet hit in 1999. Somewhere, eyes glinting, the Shadowlord smiles again. This had all gone perfectly according to plan….
Final Awards!
At then end of the campaign (which was not really about winning, which is probably self evident from this report), we did highlight some of the major accomplishments of the bands!
Deathstalker award (most enemy out of action in the campaign) – Afatblackcat with 30; 2nd place Machkurry with 24!
A good day to die award (most friendly models out of action in the campaign) – Skylar with 33; 2nd place Bonespoon with 27!
The blades of the damned (highest warband tier) – Afatblackcat and skylar with 4!
The turfmaster (most turf acquired)- Afatblackcat and dungeonbuddy with 4!
Special awards:
Master builder award- Afatblackcat and dungeonbuddy, for building our terrain!
Friendly fire award- Dungeonbuddy, for losing 3 models out of action (and a bonus model killed by an ally in the final game) to animosity rolls
The bigger they are, the harder they fall award- Cheeg for taking out not one, but two ogres in a single game!
Entrepreneur Award- Rockfist’s dwarves, who had the highest average wyrdstone count as well as a successful side business in smuggling!
Final Campaign Standings
- DungeonBuddy’s Orc Mob- Brutes, 3 win, 3 losses, Tier 2, with 4 turf locations
- AFatBlackCat’s Pit Fighters- Brutes, 4 wins, 2 loss Tier 4, with 4 turf locations
- Rockfist’s Dwarf Treasure Hunters- Smugglers, 3 wins, 2 loss, Tier 2, with 3 turf location
- Skylar’s Clan Pestilens- Cult, 2 win, 4 losses, Tier 4, with 2 turf locations
- Chegg’s Black Orcs- Smugglers, 1 win, 4 losses (although a major assist in the last battle that should count as a win!), Tier 2, with 2 turf location
- Bonespoon’s Witch Hunters- Cult, 3 wins, 3 loss, Tier 3, with 3 turf locations
- Machkurry’s Black Orcs- Brutes, 2 win, 4 losses, Tier 2, with 2 turf location
And with that our group has wrapped up our narrative campaign! A huge thanks to Dungeonbuddy, AFatBlackCat, RockFist, Skylar, Chegg, and Machkurry for playing! This was a phenomenal experience, and I hope we’ll return to the city of the damned sooner rather than later! I will wrap up this series with a final campaign overview and GM guide for anyone interested in adapting aspects for a new campaign.
-BS