6 player Mordheim

Our gaming Group consists of about 8 people playing several different gaming systems. We started with the border town burning campaign and most gaming nights a max. Of 4 people can attend the gaming session. No problem since the campaign system provides the right mechanism to cope with this. However the other night a total of 6 players applied and actually turned up for gaming night! Now what! Multiplayer scenario’s are cool but 6-player is taking long turns and how do they all interact? Headaches all over the places.

Fortunately mister Akrimpen and I were running our weekly km’s and during these runs we come up with the best game systems you can dream of. Usually we forget them when finished running (probably only during the runners high you can conceive these brilliant ideas) but now we noted them down and confused our fellow gamers with this system.

The system
The 6-way Mordheim system is loosely based on the Triumph&Treachery ruleset for WHFB. We came up with a turn system based on playing cards. Each turn the cards define an alliance and a turn sequence. A set of 6 cards is needed with the suits defining the alliance (2 of each) and the numbers define the turn sequence. Each suite has a high and a low number (for example: 6 Clubs and Ace Clubs, 5 harts and 2 harts, etc.). Highest number goes first and then along the numbers.
First turn:  the cards are dealt randomly. After the first turn the player who went last (the Ace) gets the 6 cards and may choose the first card, then the player before him, etc. Now you can choose/guess your alliance but also determine the order of play (when you want your warband to have its turn). At the start of the turn all cards are revealed and the alliances are shown. If for some reason you are in H2H combat with your alliance partner at the start of the H2H combat phase the members are set 1 inch apart.

Scenario

Our scenario was fairly simple: 1 artefact in the middle and all warbands equal distances from the centre in 12 inch bubbles at the edge of the field. A more or less city playing field with a big plaza in the centre (lots of room for the big battle. Preferable a plaza with 4 entry gates and further fenced off.
Goal of the scenario is to get the artefact off the table. Only a hero can pick up the artefact standing next to it for 1 turn. If multiple heroes stand next to the artefact for 1 turn and you want to make a move first do a strength check to see if you can take the artefact and run. If not, you remain standing.
The rest of the battlefield has 6 weirdstone shards to pick. Just moving aside a shard, you can pick it up and continue your move.

Win conditions the usual (winning leader +1XP, surviving hero + 1XP, +1 CP playing the scenario, etc.) but we added the following conditions:

+1 CP winning warband alliance (both allied warbands get this even if 1 warband member got the artefact, this makes working together more interesting)

+1XP for the hero who got the artefact of the table

Battlereport

So far the scenario! Now for the batllereport, did it all go as planned and how good was this system!??

The 6 warbands were: Marienburg mercenaries, Beastmen, Carnival of chaos, Marauder horsemen, Ogres and Witchhunters.

The game started of with the beastmen running towards the artefact and the beastman shaman actually flying its first turn and landing on the artefact. A quick start here! The other warbands moved tactically towards the middle. Immediately it was clear the Ogres were more going for the weirdstone and the Marauders leaving their spawn alone to hunt Mercenaries.
The next turn the beastmen were shot at heavily, taking some losses and the shaman was taken out, no direct retreat move with the artefact here. The mercenaries positioned themselves with shooters in a tower and they let a hired Ogre bodyguard make a run for the artefact. Meanwhile the beastmen were picked of by the carnival of chaos, while withchunters were stalking some Ogres.
Next turns made it clear that the Ogres were only leaving with weirdstone if they were lucky and in their haste of retreating one Ogre fell of a ledge tripping his foot and crashing down heavily taking it out of action. Marauder horsemen were not faring too greatly being heavily outnumbered here. Only 3 on horse entered the fray letting the Spawn take on a Dwarf warrior.
At this point route tests were taking its toll and the playing field rapidly became more empty. The Ogre stood its ground and was apparently scary enough to start walking with the artefact. By now turn 6 arrived and the scenario ended, letting the Marienburgers have the victory and the artefact.

Awesome game in retrospect. The game system with the cards worked like a charm and all players were busy scheming to go first or last and plotting alliances they (might) get each turn. This time we played without weather rules and random events (BTB ruleset) since with 6 players the turns were already long enough. We had good fun and a lot of game in games were played (some going for weirdstone, some fighting out personal vendettas and some going for the artefact). Good clean fun I’d say.

Battle report WHBF dwarfs vs Daemons 2000 pts

Note up front: pictures to be added!

With the new dwarf army book out, I was dying to play a game with the new rules. Recently I acquired some extra dwarfs as well and it was time to give them some action after playing lots of games with the Ogres. Also playing a lot of Mordheim and even Flames of War lately so WHFB was a while ago (I’m still trying to convince everyone to play a game of triumph and treachery, but no success to date).

We fielded 2000 pts against each other and my armylist was mostly shooting with an anvil of longbeards. War machine wise I fielde a cannon, grudgethrower and an organ gun. For the rest 3 blocks of 10 thunderers (because I love the models and the fluff over quarelers) and a block of 40 longbeards. This was topped of with a lord on shieldbearers, a thane BSB (strollaz rune) and a master engineer to help shooting with the war machines.

The scenario rolled was Dawn attack and with a lot of rolling it was defined where our units would land on the battlefield. Of course this was not a preferred scenario, but it was how the dice rolled. My block of longbeards ended all the way to my right side and the rest ended left or in the middle. Very nice, since my opponents daemons ended on his right side (my left) setting our main forces as far apart as possible. Very nice when you can vanguard with your big block of dwarfs en nothing is there to vanguard towards! Argl! Bad start deployment wise.

Start of the game, I shuffled here and there, mostly positioning my shooters and war machines (pivot here and there). Now my main phase: shooting! First shot with my cannon, direct to the great unclean one in order to knock off some wounds. A nice hit, a nice wound and now d6 for the amount of wounds: 6! BLAM! Not saved, great unclean one: DEAD! WOOHOO! What a start of the game for the dwarfs. The canon is known to be the ultimate sniper and I proved this to be very right indeed.

The rest of the game for my dwarfs was mostly trying to shoot off the oncoming plaguebearer squads. Thunderers doing some of the work but not that fast and a tower got in the way. The grudgethrower managed to do mostly nothing and the organ gun was somewhat useful (at least lots of shots were fired each turn). I also had a gyrocopter flying around but the brimstone gun I found not that good an investment and I didn’t get (forgot) to drop some bombs, better luck next time here. The warmachines got swarmed over and killed by loads of fury’s. That was one of the weak parts of my army, I didn’t get to protect the warmachines that good. Part of the scenario and setting up, but also some bad tactics on my side.

During the game my huge block of longbeards and characters managed to shuffle their way to the centre but when turn 6 arrived managed to NOT get into a single combat! How nice. By loosing all the warmachines to fury’s and not being able to shoot of enough plaguebearers the end of the game was a draw, VP wise. Still it was a good game, a fun game and it was nice to see the new dwarf rules in effect.

Overall I’d say the new dwarf army book gives a new feel for playing dwarfs. A tendancy with new armybooks is that new = overpowered compared to “old” other armybooks, this is not the case for us. Only played one game, sure, but I’d say the feel for the dwarfs is balanced and inkeeping with 8^th ed WHFB. Furthermore I have 10 irondrakes waiting to be finished with paint and they must get some action soon. Very curious to see how these new guns play out.

Eminem of my eminem

Last friday we played a 2 vs 2 battle, the third round in our Border Town Border campaign (which keeps on creeping like a ancient turtle on the Galapagos). We chose the 'enemy of my enemy' scenario that after some beers soon was called the 'eminem' scenario. Sides were chosen according to alliances, with a 'good side' (Ogres and Marienburger) and an evil (or even better) side (Beastmen and Possesed).

The battle turned out rather one sided, caused by some brilliant tactical manoeuvres from my side: First I rolled fully intentionally and controlled a 'blizzard' result on the BtB weather table (chagne of 1 in 12, can't go wrong) nullifying the shooting weaponry of the Marienburger warband. Secondly I moved my warband away from Tom's on rushing warriors and marched toward the other flank, creating a supremacy of Chaos on that side. (Brilliant, despite some people interpreting this as 'cowering Nurglies').

By the time my warband arrived on the left flank, Hans' beastmen had already caused mayhem and victims within Ludo's Ogre warband. My excellent warrior Scorpio managed to add some more damage to the Ogres by spilling some black blood on his opponent (after having missed all his attacks, once again, brilliant tactics). Seeing that my commitment was not longer needed on that flank, I commanded my warband to turn against the Marienburger. This warband was a bit stretched out because of the diversity in race and tempo of their warriors. A marksman presented a tempting offer, manageable even for the elite forces of Nurgle. Off course, brilliant tactics once again payed off as the charges were intercepted by a big mercenary Ogre.

However after a few rounds of fighting, the Marienburger warband got surrounded and walked over fighting two warbands and decided to call it a day. This decision was made easier for Tom by Greatclaw, who single handedly smashed some of his warriors, including his captain. Did I mention the brilliant tactical plan that was behind this all?

Post battle income and experience rolls went quite nice. Once more the brilliant tactical plan was rewarded, when a meager henchman who had almost sneaked up behind enemy lines and almost had attacked a lone witch and by doing all this almost made an impact on the battle got the 'lad got talent' result. A fine hero indeed!



Unfortunately my loyal fighter 'Flyhead, son of Flyhead, son of Flyhead' was, despite the tactical masterplan, taken out of action, rolled a 'dead' result on the injury table. So next battle his son 'Flyhead, son of Flyhead, son of Flyhead, son of Flyhead' will replace him, looking for revenge.