Vampire Hunters

By Christian Ellegaard

The Scenario

This scenario, Vampire Hunters, pitches two warbands in the search for an old Vampire who according to the rumors should be dwelling in an isolated hollow near the Old Cemetary of Mordheim. The Vampire is an old Bürghomeister whose greed could not be satisfied by money, and whether it was the damnation of the gods or a real Vampire who caused it, the Bürghomeister did not die like any other mortals. Soon after the catastrophe of Mordheim, the Bürghomeister raised and began to haunt the city, sucking the blood of virgins and children every night and dwelling in the crypt of his old estate during the day, guarding the vast treasures that he had once possessed in the days of his glory. Many treasure-hunters have tried to steal the Vampire's gold, but they have all failed, underestimating the inhuman powers of the creature. Bound to his treasures, the Vampire is prepared to kill anybody who dares to trespass. There are a few objectives in this scenario that must all be completed by either player. In the end, as we shall see, warbands will receive bonuses for completing the objectives.

Warbands

Vampire Hunters is not designed for any specific warbands, so any warbands can participate in the hunt for the old Bürghomeister. Particularly Witch Hunters suit well into the background, but even the Undead can take part in the battle representing the agents of Vlad von Carstein hunting their master's enemies. The BattlefieldThe battlefield is set up over a roughly 4' x 4' table. Use any ruined buildings, fences, walls etc. you have. Since this scenario includes specific goals within certain buildings it is a good idea to include at least 6 buildings, preferably even more, and make it clear to both players where all the individual buildings are (e.g. by drawing up a map or marking the relevant buildings) as this can sometimes be a bit vague.

Setting Up and Starting

Both players roll one dice, the highest score deploys his warband within 8" of any table edge. The opposing player then deplopys his warband within 8" of the opposite table edge and gets the first turn.

Special Rules

In this scenario, both warbands desperately attempt to find the Vampire and slay him and afterwards get away with the treasure chest. Therefore, neither warbands will rout during the battle, no matter how many warriors they lose.

In addition, the many victims of the old Bürghomeister's bloodthirst are bound to the old Vampire, and thus in the beginning of each player's turn the player must roll a D6: On a roll of 1, slaves of the Vampire have been awoken and are drawn into the combat by the same hunger for blood that drives the former Bürghomeister. D3 minor Vampires appear on the battlefield, each of them entering from a randomly chosen corner of the table. These Vampires take shape as either young maidens and virgins or small children. Alternatively, for I know it is pretty hard to get your hands on Citadel virgin miniatures and children, you can use former servants and bhurgers of Mordheim if you want - in any case, they are still Vampires!Profile

Vampire

M WS BS S T W I A L
6 2 0 3 4 2 2 2 10

Weapons and armor: Claws and fangs! The Vampires fight with whatever they can use and do not suffer any penalties for that.

Special Rules

  • Movement: The Vampires will always move at full pace (i.e. 8") towards the nearest enemy in an attempt to charge them and suck their blood (in the case of Undead warbands searching for the treasure, then we presume that they are bound to their master and they attack any unwanted persons). If there is a third player involved in the game, then he or she can control these Vampires.
  • Bloodlust: The minor Vampires of the old Bürghomeister are driven solely by their bloodlust, and as soon as they see a living creature they are itching to suck their blood. Once a warrior has suffered a wound from a Vampire, he or she will fight the rest of the battle with a -1 Initiative penalty. This does not, however, apply to Skaven (Vampires would only get their mouth full of fur if they would attempt to bite a Skaven!). After the battle, warriors bit by a Vampire are dragged to the nearest doctor or priest in an attempt to save them from Vampirism. Roll 2D6: On 2 the warrior has fallen into the damnation of the Vampires under the command of the old Bürghomeister; on 3-12 the doctor has succesfully saved the warrior's life!
  • Bestial Rage: The Vampire is possessed by his treasures and will fight until the bitter end with a burning frenzy and rage, so he can never be Routed. The Vampire is, naturally, totally unaffected by All Alone tests as well as all other Psychology!
  • Fear: The Vampire is a horrific creature indeed - an evil parody of mankind and greed, and this causes fear in all opponents that do not cause fear themselves (you can't horrify a horrifying creature!).
  • Immune to Poison: The Vampire cannot be affected by Poison.
  • No Pain: The Vampire treats Stunned results as Knocked Down.

Objective One

The first objective is to find the building in which the Vampire is dwelling. In each building, place a little miniature coffin to represent the possibility that the Vampire might be sleeping in that house. You can use small tokens to represent these coffins such as LEGO© bricks (very colorful), but if you feel challenged, then get your hobby knife and PVA glue and build them yourself from balsa wood! This is the option preferred by the author, and with little effort you can bring a whole lot of character into the scenario! (And the coffins can be used afterwards too in ordinary battles.) Any warrior from either warband can search the coffins, not only Heroes (not to mistake it for the Treasure Hunt scenario in the Mordheim rulebook). The coffins will be placed on the ground floor or, if the building has one, the crypt or cellar, as Vampires prefer to sleep safely on the ground in their coffins. To search a coffin, the warrior must simply roll a D6. On a roll of 6+ the Vampire has been found. On 1-5 the coffin is empty, and the warrior will rush out of the building in frustration. Every time one coffin has been searched, all warriors from both warbands receive +1 to their search rolls to represent the greater chances of finding the Vampire's place of dwelling. This bonus is cumulative. Remember, all natural 1's will automatically fail. If there is only one building left to search and the Vampire hasn't been found yet, then that building will automatically be the place where the old Bürghomeister sleeps. The warrior who finds the Vampire gets a great shock and is pushed back D6+2" towards the nearest entrance of the building.

Objective Two

When the Vampire has been awoken, he will move before the first player's turn - i.e. before any of the player have moved. The Vampire will move towards its hidden treasury in one of the buildings. To decide what building this is, either roll a dice or draw lots. If a third player is watching the Vampire Hunt he or she can take over the Vampire, otherwise follow these simple guidelines: The Vampire will charge towards the building as fast as possible (see the stats below) using the straightest way. If any warriors are within the 2" of the path of the Vampire (in which case mortals as well as immortals would normally be intercepted, as described in the Mordheim rulebook) then the Vampire will attempt to strike them, using Strength 2 instead of Strength 4 as the blows are struck in a hurry. Warriors can only get Knocked Down or Stunned, so re-roll Out Of Action results (or, if you're smart: 1-3 = Knocked Down, 4-6 = Stunned). The warriors cannot strike back as the Vampire is already gone before the treasure-hunters even have a chance of reacting! The Vampire can be charged in the other players' turns as normal, and if so, the warriors can attack it too. However, it can only lose Wound points as the cold determination of the Vampire will keep it alive (or dead, if you wish). Still, it will only fight back with Strength 3 as its focus is on the treasures. In addition, it will automatically break the combat during its next turn. All enemies will be pushed back D3". When the Vampire has reached the building in which the treasures are hidden, the treasure chest automatically appears. You can use the one from the Mordheim boxed game - or, yet again, LEGO© pieces work great, but alternatively you have unlimited possibilities with a hobby knife, PVA glue and some balsa wood! The Vampire will remain in touch with the treasure chest and attempt to fight off any warriors that charge it. No warriors can "charge" the treasury - it is defended by the old Bürghomeister, and the stats are:

Bürghomeister

M WS BS S T W I A L
6 4 4 4 5 3 5 3 10
  • Weapons and armor: The Bürghomeister is armed with Heavy Armor and two swords.

Objective Three

The Vampire has been banished - but the battle isn't over yet!! There are still hoardes of treasures to recover, and now this is up to the two warbands.
A warrior can carry the treasure chest alone, but he will move at half pace. If two warriors carry it, they will move at full pace. A warrior carrying the chest cannot engage in melee, range, or spellcasting. The battle goes on until one warband manages to carry the treasury all the way back to their own deployment edge.

Ending the Game

The winning warband is the one who carries the treasure off the edge of their deployment zone. Roll a D6 below to determine what was inside the chest.

  • 1: What the...?! Well, it looked so great, but apparently most of the contents of the chest are useless scrap. You do manage to find 1 wyrdstone however.
  • 2-4: How shiny! Apart from a few apple cores there are some nice and shiny gold crowns and Wyrdstones that can certainly cover the next couple of meals. You find treasures worth d6x10gc
  • 6: What an unusual item... The warband finds a special item with an extraordinary ability. Roll on the Special Items table below to see what has been found.
  1. Sword of Parry: A long, shiny sword with some strange runes has been found in the treasury. In combat, the sword seems to have a special ability - it almost always parries the opponent's blows! If a warrior with the Sword of Parry fails to parry a blow he may re-roll the Parry roll. If the roll fails then the sword loses its effect for the rest of the game. (20gc)
  2. The Golden Comb: A warrior with a Golden Comb will automatically be Hidden if behind the smallest obstacle - even though only his foot or hand is covered! (50gc)
  3. The Black Doll: The Black Doll is an ugly doll usually worn as a necklace that suddenly turns alive when there is bloodshed. Anyone fighting someone wearing a Black Doll will be unable to parry blows from that opponent as they are distracted by the Dolls maniacal laughter. (30gc)
  4. Mordheim Map: A Mordheim map has been found amongst the useless scrap of the Bürghomeister's treasury! See the Mordheim Rulebook for details.
  5. Dagger of the Serpent: The warband finds a dagger in the treasure chest, it appears to be quite special indeed - the opponent does not benefit from the +1 Armor Save modification that usually applies to daggers, also uses the following Injury Table: 1 = Knocked Down, 2-4 = Stunned, 5-6 = Out Of Action. (15gc)
  6. Elven Mirror: The small mirror on the bottom of the treasure chest grants anyone who looks into it to see into the future ...the warband can now re-roll any one dice in the Exploration phase! (30gc)

Experience and Fame

  • +1 Survives. If a Hero or a 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 model he puts Out Of Action.
  • +1 Finding the Vampire. Any Hero earns +1 Experience for finding the Vampire. Henchmen don't earn any Experience!
  • +1 Killing the Vampire. Any Hero receives +1 extra Experience for killing the Vampire. That makes it a total of 2 Experience for slaying the beast!
  • +1 Getting Away with the Chest. If a Hero solely carried the Vampire's treasure chest off the battlefield he will gain +1 Experience.

Resources

Resources and Materials for use with our Mordheim Campaign.