Wild Magic!

Creating your own scenarios is a great way of adding an extra level of detail and fun
to your Mordheim campaigns. Here, Mark Havener talk about his own new
campaign scenario. In it, warbands are looking fa wyrdstone near the crater in the
centre of the city, and large quantities of wyrdstone have some rather unpredictable
effects on magic...

With the appearance of Mordheim, it didn't take long for the new game to sweep me (and
a good many local players) away in a fervour of warbands, underhanded dealings and
hasty alliances. I started a local league which was supposed to run every other week (and
ended up running every week) that currently has around 30 members of varying levels of
devotion. My warband, 'Capitan del Norte's Raiders of Solkan' (an Estalian warband that
uses the Marienburger warband rules) has been doing fairly well and, more importantly,
we've all been having lots of fun.

One of the things I decided early on when I started the league was that I wanted to
provide an incentive for players to show up week after week. We have a league standings
sheet and on it we track who's currently winning the most games, but I didn't feel that that
would be enough to keep the players' interest. To keep them from getting bored, I decided
to do two things: restart the league on a regular basis (it was every month, but we're
currently experimenting with a 6 week limit), and provide special scenarios that were
different to those which the players would play outside of their normal Mordheim games
on non-league nights. Every other week I introduced a new scenario — my players have
fought against dreaded Bone Giants, sacked the local Merchant's Guildhouse and borne
witness to the grisly remains of a no quarter battle between rival warbands. It seems to be
a pretty popular aspect of our league, and I encourage anyone who is considering starting
his or her own Mordheim league to dc the same thing.

On the next few pages I've included one of these home brewed scenarios, 'Wild Magic',
plus new random scenario charts for either one-on-one or multi-player games. Feel fro( to
use the scenario for your games, or substitute your own homemade scenario in its place
on the chart!

Scenario table for on-on-one games

2D6 Result
2 Play the new scenario: Wild Magic.
3 Play Scenario 2: Skirmish.
4+5 Play Scenario 3: Wyrdstone Hunt.
6 Play Scenario 4: Breakthrough
7 Play Scenario 5: Street Fight.
8 Play Scenario 6: Chance Encounter.
9 Play Scenario 7: Hidden Treasure.
10 Play Scenario 8: Occupy.
11 Play Scenario 9: Surprise Attack.
12 The player with the lower warband rating may choose which scenario is played.

Scenario table for multi-player games

2D6 Result
2 The player with the lowest warband rating may choose which scenario is played.
3+4 Play Scenario 1: Treasure Hunt.
5 Play Scenario 2: The Lost Prince
6 Play Scenario 3: The Pool
7 Play Scenario 4: The Wizard's Mansion.
8 Play Scenario 5: Street Brawl
9 Play Scenario 6: Ambush! *
10 Play Scenario 7: Monster Hunt.
11 Play the new scenario: Wild Magic.
12 The player with the lowest warband rating may choose which scenario is played.

*Note on Ambush! In our league we've found that this scenario can get quite vicious if
the ambushed player is not on good terms with his fellows. To remedy this, we've come
up with the following 'fix': Any player may have his models drop the wyrdstone that they
are carrying at any time. Place Wyrdstone counters on the table exactly as if the models
carrying them had been taken out of action (see the rules for Ambush!). This player's
warband may not pick up this wyrdstone later in the game (his warriors have decided to
give up to the treasure to their betters!). Any player whose warband is not carrying
wyrdstone may voluntarily Rout if able to do so under the normal rules. This gives
players a way out that can keep their warbands from getting unfairly slaughtered.

Scenario: Wild magic

Shards of wyrdstone lie throughout the doomed city, but rumours abound that the largest
deposits by far lie near the area known as the Pit, the site where the meteor landed.
Warbands who dare venture near the Pit risk discovery by the servants of the
Shadowlord, and even those that escape the attention of these foul denizens find that the
proximity of so much wyrdstone can have a strange effect on reality. Extended periods of
time spent near the Pit can warp both mind and body, and those foolish enough to search
these areas frequently find themselves sinking into madness or mutation. Even short
periods of time spent in these areas can be hazardous, while dabblers in magic find that
the presence of large amounts of wyrdstone can make casting spells more difficult, and
their incantations can sometimes have unexpected results.

terrain
Each player takes it in turn to place a piece of terrain, either a ruined building, tower, or
other similar item. We suggest that the terrain is set-up within an area roughly 4'x4', or
4'x6' for multi-player games.
warbands
For basic (one-on-one) games, each player rolls a dice. Whoever rolls highest chooses
which table edge to set up on, placing all of his warriors within 8" of that edge. His
opponent then sets up within 8" of the opposite edge. In multi-player games, players use
the normal set-up rules (see 'Setting up the Warbands' in the multi-player rules from
WD242).

starting the game

Each player rolls a D6. The player rolling highest has the first turn, and order of play
proceeds clockwise around the table (based on where players placed their warbands) from
there.

ending the game

The game ends when all warbands but one have failed their Rout test. The routers
automatically lose. If one or more warbands have allied, they may choose to share the
victory and end the game.

wyrdstone
Due to the large quantities of wyrdstone nearby, all warbands add +2 shards to the
number found at the end of the game.

experience
+1 Survives. If a Hero or Henchman group survives the battle they gain +1 Experience.
+1 Winning Leader. The leader of the winning warband gains +1 Experience.
+1 Per Enemy Out of Action. Any Hero earns +1 Experience for each enemy he puts
out of action.

special rules
Each time a wizard wants to cast a spell, nominate the spell (and target) as normal, but
before rolling to see if the spell successful, roll on the following chart to determine w
effects the large deposits of wyrdstone nearby have on spellcasting:

2d6 Effect
2 The wizard is overloaded with power and may cast no spells this turn.
3 +1 Difficulty on any spell attempted this turn.
4 The range of any spell that the wizard casts this turn is halved. Note that this has no
effect on a spell that doesn't have a range (like a spell centred on the caster).
5 The spell is cast as normal, but it is weak and may be resisted. If the target's
controller wishes, the target may resist the spell by making Ld test on 2D6. If the test
is passed, the spell has no effect. Note that resisting the spell is an option some spells
may help the target and he may therefore not want to prevent their effect.
6 The spellcaster has inadvertently created some sort of effect in addition to the spell.
Resolve the spell as normal (rolling against the spell's Difficulty, etc), and then roll
on he Random Happenings chart, printed in White Dwarf 240, to see what added
effect the spellcaster's inept dabblings have created. If the players do not have the
 rules for Random Happenings, the randomness of the spell has injured the caster.
Roll once on the Injury table to determine what happens to the spellcaster.
7 Role reversal! If the spell is normally cast on a friendly model, it is cast on the
closest enemy model within 12" instead (resolve any effects like T extra movement
or attacks during the enemy player's turn). Conversely, if the spell is normally cast
on an enemy model, it is cast on the closest friendly model within 12" instead.
8 -1 Difficulty on any spell attempted this turn.
9 The range of any spell which the wizard casts this turn is doubled. Note that this has
no effect on a spell that doesn't have a range (like a spell centred on the caster).
10 The wizard may direct his spell at two targets within range instead of one. Spells that
affect the caster may be directed at another friendly model within 6" as well.
11 The spell is automatically successful; there is no need to make a Spell Difficulty roll.
12 The caster is filled with magical power! If the spellcaster has more than one spell, he
may attempt to cast two spells this turn. Note that the second spell must be different
than the first; he may not choose to cast the same spell twice in one turn.

Reinhold had been in the cursed city a long time. He now walked with a limp, and his left
eye had been taken out by a lucky shot from a Dwarf crossbow. Damn that stunty - he'd
thought he was out of range! In the weeks and months that he had been fighting here, the
old veteran figured he'd seen everything a man could see and still be alive. Not much
surprised him anymore. Sure, the danger of losing life and limb was still ever-present, but
everything seemed to be much the same, day in and day out. It was as if he'd never left
his father's farm! As he looked down the street from the cover of a ruined chapel, he saw
a warband of the Possessed. They appeared to be waiting for Reinhold's warband.
Another street fight, thought the old warrior ironically. Was it his imagination, or did the
enemy warband look just as bored as he at the prospect? As he signalled his men forward,
Reinhold wondered if he would learn anything new this day, or if it would be just like
any other. As soon as they came within range, the Wicker Man. the warlock Reinhold had
hired long ago, began the chant that would start the spell he always began each battle
with - Bolts of Silver... or was it Arrows of Light? Reinhold couldn't remember the name
the hedge wizard gave the spell... all he knew was that he had seen it and its effects
countless times. Down the street the enemy Magister looked to be preparing a spell of his
own.

Almost as one, both wizards finished their chanting — the spells were ready to be
released. With a flash of light a half-dozen sparkling arrows flew from the Wicker Man's
outstretched fingers toward the enemy. On the other end of the street, a shimmering glow
appeared in front of the Magister, it appeared that he was invoking the Eye of God.
Suddenly there appeared to be a twist in the air, and the ordinary became decidedly
EXTRA-ordinary. The Wicker Man's silver arrows did a quick twist in the air and flew
back towards Gunnar, one of Reinhold's spearmen. The poor fellow was skewered by
three bolts of light and fell to the ground in a heap. In front of the Magister an equally
strange thing happened — a Bloodletter, cursed Daemon of Khorne, stepped out of the
shimmering circle in the air in front of the Magister. The Daemon took a quick look at his
surroundings and proceeded to attack the astonished band of Chaos cultists.
Well I'll be damned, thought Reinhold, utterly baffled by these new developments.
Something new today after all!