Scenario: CARAVAN
The lure of wyrdstone draws all kinds to
Mordheim. A wealthy merchant and his hired guards are
travelling through the city, bearing a cargo of
wyrdstone. They're a tempting target for robbery.
Terrain
Set up all the buildings in a single street with no
outlets, similar to the "Street Fight" scenario
in the
Mordheim rulebook. Place the merchant model at one end of
the street, facing towards the other end.
Warbands
Both players roll a D6, whoever rolls highest chooses
whether to guard the merchant or try to rob him. The
guarding player sets up first within 6" of the
caravan. The robbers may set up anywhere on the street as
long as all of his models are at least 14" from the
caravan and its guards.
The Merchant
M- Special
WS- 2
BS- 2
S- 3
T- 3
W- 1
I- 3
A- 1
Ld- 10
At the beginning of each player's
movement phase, move the Merchant D3" inches along
the road. His mind is occupied with the hefty profit
he'll take for his cargo and he wants to reach a suitable
buyer as soon as possible. He takes the easiest path,
scorning cover and ignoring attackers (Note that the
merchant moves forward even if he was engaged in close
combat the previous turn). He never charges other models
and passes all psychology tests automatically. The only
way to stop his movement is to knock him down, stun him
or take him out of action.The Merchant wears no armor and
is armed with a single dagger.
The Cargo
The merchant carries a small chest that contains D3+1
shards of wyrdstone. If he is taken out of action place
the appropriate number of wyrdstone counters in the space
he used to occupy. A warrior may pick up the
wyrdstone by moving into contact with it.
Starting the Game
The robbing warband takes the first move.
Ending the Game
If one warband fails a rout test the game ends and the
routing warband wins. If the Merchant and his cargo make
it to within 2" of the opposite table edge, the
guards win. If the Merchant is taken out of action but
the guards carry his cargo to within 2" of the
opposite table edge, the game ends in a tie. Neither side
receives experience points for victory. If the robbers
steal the cargo and carry it to within 2"
of any table edge, they win the battle.
Wyrdstone
If your warband ends the game in possession of the Cargo
it may keep all of the wyrdstone. If the merchant
successfully keeps the cargo, the guarding warband
receives 1 shard plus D6x5 gold crowns for their trouble.
Experience
+1 Survives. If a hero or henchman group survives the
battle they receive 1 experience point.
+1 Winning Leader. The leader of the winning warband
receives 1 experience point.
+1 Cargo. If a hero or henchman is carrying the cargo at
the end of the battle, he receives 1 experience point.
+1Per Enemy Out of Action. Any hero gains 1 experience
point for every enemy he puts out of action.
"Lucky Fool" Variant
The Merchant possesses incredible luck and ignores the
first wound he suffers in every turn. This is not
a "lucky charm" and may not pass to any other
character.
"Two's a Crowd" Variant
In this variant the merchant has his own guards and both
players are trying to rob him. The Caravan contains a
number of guards chosen by a D6 roll from the table
below:
1-3: 6 Mercenary Warriors with sword and shield
4: 4 Mercenary Warriors with light armor and 2 axes or
hammers
5: 4 Mercenary Warriors with light armor and 2-handed
weapons
6: 4 special henchmen (Mercenary Swordsmen, Beastmen,
Sigmarite Sisters, Verminkin, etc) with 1 piece of armor
and an appropriate weapon.
When not in combat the guards do their
best to keep up with the merchant. They will attack any
warband that obstructs their path or attacks the
caravan, charging the nearest model and passing all
necessary psychology tests. Unlike the Merchant, guards
may not break off combat to continue on their journey.
Warbands may set up anywhere which is both 14" from
the Caravan and 6" away from each enemy models. The
game ends when one warband carries the cargo to within
2" of any table edge. If the merchant makes it to
within 2" of the opposite table edge the game ends
in a tie and
neither side may claim experience points for victory.
"Greedy Bastard" Variant
Warriors may steal the Merchant's cargo by moving into
contact with him when he is knocked down or stunned. If
they do so he will follow the carrier, moving D6" in
every movement phase. If he moves into the carrier the
Merchant counts as charging and attacks with both hatred
and frenzy. He will ignore other models unless they
block his path entirely.
"A Friend in the Business" Variant
This variant is used only in campaigns. After the battle
the caravan guards may have earned a reputation among the
city's merchants. If the guards were successful they will
receive a 20% discount on all equipment purchased between
this battle and the next. If they were unsuccessful, all
equipment will cost 20% more than normal. Alas, fame is
fleeting in the city of Mordheim and these discounts
apply only until the start of your next battle. A tie
does not affect equipment prices one way or another.
Specifically I'm worried about the guarding warband.
Their task seems to be exceedingly difficult. Someone
suggested I put the Merchant under his guards' control
but I'm pretty much married to the idea of an independent
model. Here are a few possible solutions:
1- (My Favorite) Give the guarding player three
"stop tokens" (Poker Chips). The guarding
player can spend them during any movement phase to delay
the Merchant. One token will stop the Merchant for a
complete turn (2 movement phases). But the Merchant is
not a patient man. After three stops he will brook no
further delays and will hurry along the road without
stopping.
2- Make the "Lucky Bastard" variant a permanent
part of the scenario. The merchant won't move any slower
but his incredible luck will make him much harder to
kill.
3- Put him in a slow-moving chariot or palanquin and
spread enemy hits among several targets. This was
McAber's suggestion. It's a good idea and very
appropriate for a merchant. Unfortunately my gaming club
doesn't have enough chariots to go around.
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