Taking It to the Streets.pdf

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Taking It To

A Mordheim Primer by Mark Havener

So you’re looking to get into a new game. Walk into the local store, and you’re assaulted

with the selection. All the pretty boxes, all the lovely titles, which one to buy? You ask

the guy behind the counter, and he suggests that Mordheim is a good choice if you want

to try something new. So you take his advice and buy yourself a new game, but now that

you’ve got it, how exactly do you start using it?

The rules, the rules, always read the rules!

This may seem obvious, but the book that comes with the

game really needs to be read. Many players try to get by with

having someone show them how to play, promising the’ll

read the rules later. There’s nothing wrong with doing this,

though you may miss the finer points, and some things

inevitably get lost in translation (even those sales guys don’t

remember all the rules all the time!). Fortunately, the rules

for Mordheim were written with the understanding that

most people want to be playing games not reading rules,

and so they’re as entertaining as possible. They’re also

broken down into 5 sections – the introductory (story) bit,

Rules, Warbands, Campaigns, and Optional Rules. The

sections you really need to read are Rules and Warbands,

though the introductory section is highly recommended

before you start as well, as it gives much of the backstory

Human Mercenaries

There are several minor (provincial) variations within this list, but they’re all basically the same thing – human fighters from

one of the provinces of the Empire. Human Mercenaries should be viewed as the ‘baseline’ warband: they aren’t the greatest

at any given thing, but they can do most things well. They have reasonably priced Heroes, decent warriors and very cool

specialists. Marksmen can take some really nice missile weapons, and Swordsmen have a great Weapon Skill for humans, and

get to re-roll missed attacks when they charge!

You should decide when you buy your warband whether you want to emphasise shooting, close combat, or a mix of both. If

you favour shooting, you will want to choose Reikland as your warband’s home province, as all your Marksmen will be more

accurate (+1 Ballistic Skill). If you want to emphasise close combat you’ll probably want to go with Middenheimers as their

Heroes are stronger than other humans (+1 Strength for their Champions and Captains). If you want a mix of both you’ll

want Marienburgers, as they are from a wealthier province and therefore get more starting cash to recruit with (600 Gold

Crowns rather than the normal 500… not too shabby!). Personally, I normally choose Marienburgers when I play Human

Mercenaries, as they fit best with the flexible strategy I like to use.

The Streets

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Averlanders and Ostlanders

In addition to the three types of Human Mercenary in the

rulebook (opposite), two more types appear in the pages

of the Mordheim Annual 2002. Each follows the same basic

format as the Human Mercenary warband, with a twist of

its own.

Averlanders are restricted to only one each of Youngbloods

and Champions (called a Sergeant in this list), but gain

Bergjaegers, expert huntsmen who have the ability to set

traps. Instead of Warriors and Swordsmen, they have

Mountainguard, who have the Weapon Skill of Swordsmen

but lack their re-rolls. The warband also has access to

Halflings, who are excellent shots (keep them away from

combat though, as they are kind of puny).

Ostlanders lose Youngbloods entirely, but gain the Priest of

Taal, God of Nature. This Hero is able to use the Prayers of

Taal (nature-oriented powers granted directly from his god).

The warband loses Swordsmen, but gains Ruffians (guys that

are so drunk that they ain’t afraid a nuthin’), and an Ogre!

behind the game – your ‘motivation’ if you like. There is also

an example at the back of the book (in the appendices,

between the Playsheet and the Designer’s Notes) that may

prove very helpful if you’ve never played this sort of game

before.

Mordheim Annual 2002 (in other words, the main

references for the game, and easiest to find) in this article.

Hopefully this will make the job of picking the right one for

you even easier.

The Players

So who are these warbands that you’re supposed to be

looking at, and how do you decide which one to play? Let

me start by saying that I’m not going to tell you which

warband is ‘best’. I’ve been asked that countless times, but

the honest answer (and the one I always give people) is that

the game is well balanced enough so that no one warband is

‘the best’. Some warbands have certain advantages, but

these are balanced by inherent disadvantages, or the

advantages that the other warbands enjoy. See the comments

in the boxes thoughout this article.

That may still seem like a lot to read before you even start to

play, but never fear! You don’t have to read all the Warband

rules. Instead, just read the first couple of pages (pp 64-65)

where it explains how to set your warband up, and then look

over each warband (especially the intro on each one),

decide which warband fits your personality best, and then

read through THOSE rules thoroughly. Most of the warbands

have rules that span just a few pages, so it’ll go really quickly,

I promise! In fact, in order to help you out, I’ll be including

a few words on each warband from the main rulebook and

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Kislevites

Kislev is the land to the north

(and east) of the Empire. The

combination of a harsh climate

and proximity to the Chaos

Wastes has hardened the people

of this land. Like Averlanders and

Ostlanders, Kislevites are similar

to Human Mercenary warbands,

but have some differences. For

instance, they lose one Champion

(called an Esaul in this warband),

but gain a Bear Tamer. And while

they don’t have access to

Swordsmen or Marksmen, they

gain Cossacks (who Hate Chaos),

Streltsi (who have received

special training with the halberd

and handgun), and (if the

warband includes a Trainer) a

Trained Bear (another ‘big guy’

like the Ogre above).

Hired Swords

Many of the best warriors in the game aren’t regular

members of any single warband’s roster. They are Hired

Swords – warriors who will work for nearly anyone (for a

fee). Between the Rulebook and the 2002 Mordheim Annual

there are 10 Hired Swords to choose from.

for (or that would refuse to hire them). Skaven and

Ostlanders in particular have a very short list of Hired

Swords to choose from, in fact Skaven can ONLY hire the

Warlock, and Ostlanders can ONLY hire the Ogre Bodyguard.

Speaking of the Warlock, this snake charmer is one of my

personal favourites, and a standard addition to my

Mordheim roster. Not only does he give warbands access to

spells (nice if you’re running a warband that doesn’t

normally get spellcasters), but he also starts with 2 of them,

not just 1 like most of the spellcasters. He has access to

Lesser Magic, which gives a nice range of powers. My

favourite spell from the list is Silver Arrows , which can take

out the toughest of enemies if you’re lucky. Since the spell

requires a shooting ‘to hit’ roll, take a BS upgrade if you can

Hired Swords are probably best introduced into a campaign

rather than one-off games. They have a lower starting hire

fee than their abilities indicate, but this is balanced by an

‘upkeep’ cost. However, if you are not playing in a campaign,

there is no upkeep cost, so they just end up being a better

option than most of the warriors in your warband. Another

thing to keep in mind is that while these folks are not overly

choosy, there ARE some warbands that even they won’t work

Orcs & Goblins

Players that love a bit of wackiness and risk should enjoy this warband. Orcs are certainly

no great thinkers, but they’re always entertaining. Orc warbands tend to favour a direct,

close-combat strategy, perhaps supported by a few Goblins armed with short bows. Their

Shaman’s magic shares the same brutal and direct qualities as the Orcs themselves.

To further support the idea of the warband as a blunt implement, we get access to a Troll.

While quite expensive, Trolls are very hard to put down, and as long as you keep him

near the warband’s leader, he’ll probably do what you want him to (he’s also subject to

Stupidity, unfortunately). A nice side effect of his Regeneration in campaign play is that

a Troll need never roll for Injury after a battle… even the worst wounds will regenerate

eventually. While most of the big guys you can take for the other warbands are also quite

pricey, there’s a certain advantage to having the one that can never be killed!

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get it. Also, Luck of Shemtek and Sword of Rezhebel are an

awesome combination if you can manage to get them both

working at the same time.

The Halfling Scout, while quite

cheap at 15 GC, probably isn’t a

best first choice for your

warband. He’s a decent shot

with his bow, but his most useful

trait is his Cook skill, which lets

you increase the maximum size

of your warband by 1 warrior.

This skill really comes into play

late in a campaign when you’ve filled up your roster and

cannot hire any more (aside from Hired Swords who don’t

count towards this limit).

The Dwarf Troll Slayer is a great addition to any warband

that is concerned about Psychology tests. He’s quite mad,

and so doesn’t need to take those tests. He can’t take

armour, so get him into combat as quickly as you can!

The Freelancer is a dispossessed noble or second son of a

noble. Quite good if your group uses the Mounted

Creatures rules (which are optional), but he may seem a bit

overpriced if you’re not. Armed with heavy armour and

shield, he’ll be better protected than most of the warriors

he’ll meet, and more mobile if he’s mounted.

The Pit Fighter is quite good at what he does, at least for a

human. He’s got a decent Strength (4), Toughness (4), and

Attacks (2), and some interesting and different equipment (a

morning star, helmet, and a spiked gauntlet which counts as

both an additional hand weapon AND a buckler). At 30 GC

he’s a good deal, but he doesn’t have any useful skills and

his lowly 1 Wound and mediocre Ld mean that he doesn’t

often make it into my warbands.

The Elf Ranger is a nice

addition to any warband.

Not only is he wickedly

accurate with his Elf bow,

but his Seeker skill allows you

to modify one of your

Exploration dice by +1/-1. In a

campaign, this can be critical for

rolling the multiples that you need

to find the really good stuff. He is a

standard feature in my warbands as well.

The Ogre Bodyguard on the other hand, woohoo! Here’s a

big guy that doesn’t have a typical big guy price tag (80 GC,

which is about half what you’d normally pay for a big guy

who is part of your warband). His upkeep cost is pretty high

though, and in a campaign that can be critical as lots of

Witch Hunters

Mercenaries aren’t the only humans scouring the ruins of Mordheim. The Order of the Templars of Sigmar has been drawn

to the city as these nutters view the cataclysm as evidence of corruption that must be purged. If you like the idea of a bunch

of torch-wielding fanatics, these babies are for you! This warband combines some tough characters who hate spellcasters, a

Warrior Priest who can fight and use the Prayers of Sigmar (powers similar to the Prayers of Taal, but more militant in nature)

to help out his warband, crazed Flagellants, cheap Zealots, and even cheaper (and faster!) Warhounds.

This warband is more specialised for close combat than Human Mercenaries. While you can take some missile weapons, they

aren’t as widely accessible, and the selection isn’t great (few of the cooler gunpowder weapons are available). On the plus

side you get cheap fast Warhounds for tying up the enemy and keeping THEM from shooting, Flagellants that will NEVER

run, cheap Zealots to provide numbers, and decent characters.

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upkeep tends to keep you from expanding your roster. I like

to add an Ogre if I roll a Special Encounter that lets me take

him for free. On those (relatively rare) occasions, I can even

use him as a ‘meat shield’, standing in front of my other

warriors, soaking up missile hits with his 3 Wounds and

Toughness 4, while I use the rest of my warband to pick the

enemy apart.

Troll in close combat! Assassins can also choose from a

couple of nice skills as they gain Experience, which allows

them to strike from the shadows and hit the enemy when

his back is turned.

The Tilean Marksman (also from the 2002 Annual) is the

final Hired Sword on our list. If you need to add some good

solid missile fire to your warband, this guy might just be the

thing for you. He’s armed with a crossbow, has a good

Ballistic Skill, and has two skills that allow him to ignore

negative penalties for range and cover. Not bad for a measly

human.

The Imperial Assassin appears in the 2002 Mordheim

Annual. While he’s as human as the Pit Fighter and

Freelancer, he has some special skills that make him worth

considering. First of all, while he has his own, he can be

given any weapon that doesn’t use noisy gunpowder. This

is important, because normally you cannot alter a Hired

Sword’s equipment. It is also important because it plays

well into the Assassin’s other special ability: Poisoner.

While poison can be purchased as equipment for your

warband, it’s not cheap (and it cannot be given to a Hired

Sword). This guy gets it for free. An Assassin with a double-

handed sword and Dark Venom becomes stronger than a

Tips and Tricks

Okay, so now we know who’s involved, and we’ve read the

rules, how do we beat everyone else who’s been doing the

same thing? Well, there are a few things you can do to

improve your chances of making your fortune and striking

fear into the hearts of your enemies.

Sisters of Sigmar

The next group of humans we should look at is the Sisters of Sigmar. These ladies were in the city when the cataclysm struck,

and while most others have left, these ‘fighting nuns’ have decided to make their stand here. Obviously this warband is all

female, so if that concept appeals to you, you’ll probably enjoy playing them. As with the Witch Hunters, these ladies worship

Sigmar, though that doesn’t mean the two groups get along! Also as with the Witch Hunters, the Sisters are more combat-

oriented than Human Mercenaries. In fact, the members of this warband have only one missile weapon available to them –

the sling. While shorter-ranged than most missile weapons, slings DO have the advantage that they can be fired twice in a

turn. Double the firing rate does have its advantages!

Slings aren’t the Sisters’ only advantage. Steel whips are a specialty of this warband, and are one of the nicer close combat

weapons as they allow a warrior to attack an enemy model in close combat before she closes (risk-free attacks!). While they

do not enjoy the henchman selection that most warbands get, their choices are a decent basic trooper (Sigmarite Sister) and

a second, cheaper trooper to provide numbers. However, it’s in the Heroes category that this warband really shines,

particularly the Matriarch and the Augur. The Matriarch is the leader of the warband in both martial and spiritual matters,

this gives her access to the Prayers of Sigmar, just like the Warrior Priest above. The Augur, however, is quite unique. While

physically blind, an Augur has the ability to see the world around her through Second Sight, gaining re-rolls when rolling

Characteristic tests or attempting to hit. If your mission requires a Characteristic test be passed to succeed, the Augur is the

lady for the job.

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