Of the Chalice, Overflowing - A Mordheim Quest

Of the Chalice, Overflowing - A Mordheim Quest
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Wyrdstone, wealth, madness, and mayhem await those with the will to seize them. Gather your warband, maintain and organize their supplies, and brave the City of the Damned.
Mordheim Quest: An FAQ -- Informational Post #1
What is this?

In this quest you play the leader of a warband in the city of Mordheim, Ostermark in the Empire of Man. Your goals, allies, foes, and other aspects will in large part depend upon choices made early in the quest (especially including what type of warband you lead). Whatever choices made, however, one thing will remain constant: You are to manage your warband and hunt within Mordheim, battling foes as you compete for resources and Wyrdstone.

How is this quest structured? What will we actually be doing?

Structure-wise, I'm taking inspiration both from Mordheim itself (in its tabletop and video game incarnations) and from the bevy of CK-style WHFB quests. Each turn will typically consist of a single day, divided out into a number of phases. After the first turn or so, those phases will consist of 1: warband management, 2: downtime, 3: Missions (aka combat / scavenging runs).

Warband Management phase will include seeing to your warband's finances, making purchases of gear and equipment, paying your hirelings and heroes, training, recruiting, seeing to medical treatment, and otherwise dealing with the fallout of your last mission.
Downtime phase will involve RP segments in which you or your warband spend their time between missions when such is available. It is when you get a chance to interact with other factions or settlements around the City of the Damned, current injuries and morale permitting. It is also when your warband's scouts get a chance to explore the city to search for new hauls and missions. Want to know what the rumor mill has to say? Downtime. Want to try and broker an alliance with another warband? Downtime. Want to get drunk off your ass and bet money on a pit fight between an ork and a halfling? Also downtime.
Missions are the most straightforward phase. Having identified a potential haul of warpstone and/or salvage within the city (or some other grander strategic objective you wish to pursue) members of your warband will be set into the area in question to secure resources, kill enemies, or the like.

Is there a dice system or set of rules in use?

Yes but also no. I'm roughly kludging something together that mixes the common d100 efforts in CKII-style WHFB quests with the Mordheim: City of the Damned and Mordheim (tabletop) games, admittedly with a leaning more towards the tabletop than CotD, if only due to greater familiarity. As far as target numbers and such go, the breakdown follows:

Pass/Fail threshold is 50%. On a raw percentile roll, you have a 50/50 chance of failure vs success.
Critical thresholds are the top and bottom 15%. 1-15 is a critical failure. 85-100 is a critical success. Anything above or below the ends of the 0-100 scale merely intensify the scale of the success or failure, respectively.
Likewise, the middle 10 in either direction is the threshold for bare ____. 40-49 is a bare failure, 50-60 is a bare success. These are, respectively, neither as bad or as good as a full standard failure or success and far better or worse than a critical.
 
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Vote 1 Option Tones and Themes
Mercenary Captain:

Tone:
Mercenary, Impious, Workmanlike, Soldierly, Somewhat Jaded, Somewhat World-Weary
Themes: A Day on the Job, Wages vs Risks, Nothing Personnel Kid, Business, Fight Hard and Celebrate Harder

Chaos Magister:

Tone:
Resentful, Othered, Outsider, Culty, Surreptitious (or Very Not), Religious, Manic, Possibly Maddened
Themes: My life as a Chaos Cult Leader, The Wages of Sin are Corruption, What would you do for a klondike bar Chaos Boon?, Convert or Kill the Non-Believer, Sanity is for the Weak, Daemonic Possession for Fun and Prophet.

Witch Hunter:

Tone: Religious, Zealous, (Justifiably?) Paranoid, Hateful, Wary, Judgmental
Themes: Everyone Sus...YES EVERYONE, Rendering Judgment upon the Unfaithful, It's Not Paranoia if Everyone's Out to Get You, Hard Men and Harder Choices, Rabble Rousing for God and Prophet

Vampire:

Tone:
Amused, Ambitious, Occaisionally Pitying, Immortal, Better-Than, Artistocratic, Competitive
Themes: A Vampire Cares not for the Opinions of Cattle; You Think You're a Monster? That's Cute~!; The Sigmarite, The Witch, and The Effrontery of This Bitch!; Yes, They're Cattle, but There's Something Pitifully Endearing about the Dregs; Ghoul Management for Fun and Profit; I Would Literally Kill for a Proper Drink Right Now

Dispossessed Dawi:

Tone:
Dwarfy, Grumbling, Ambitious, (Totally Not) Desperate, Proud, Stiff-Necked, Determined, Aggreived
Themes: Of Course It's Umgak! It's Made by Umgi! Umgi=Umgak, That's Just Logic!; I Will Absolutely Strike It Rich, This Time for Certain!; Raki, Zakidum, Umgi zealots? Nothing a good az or round from the thunderers can't solve; It's Personal: It's Business; Fight Harder and Celebrate Even Harder Than That; Hands Off, That's Dwarf Property!
 
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Combat Mechanics
As mentioned in the FAQ post, I'll be using a kludged together Mordheim/CKIII/WHFRP/Mordheim:CotD set of rules. I'm mostly leaning into Mordheim rules for this, except where narrative sense would make an exception.

Fair warning, this is a pretty large infodump, and I'll be doing the rolls and handling pretty much all of the mechanical side of this, so you don't strictly NEED to know this stuff unless you want to.



How we're handling stats

Dice rolls are 1d100. 0-15 is a critical failure. 40-49 is a bare failure, 50-59 is a bare success, and 85-100 is a critical success (on a raw dice roll).

Stats modify your roll as bonuses or maluses.

For example, as a Vampire, Petra von Kelch has an initiative of 5. As the baseline human average is 3, that means she receives a +20 bonus to initiative rolls, +10 per point above average. Leadership works similarly. Here, the average is 7. Petra, as a warband leader, starts off wit h a Ld of 8, so a +10 to Ld checks. Your average Skaven, on the otherhand, has Ld 4, so a -30 penalty on Ld checks. On each area, I take the baseline average, and count that as +0/-0. Points above or below the average for the stat mean +/- 10 per point.

To hit
Hit rolls use a chart in the Mordheim rulebook comparing your weapon skill vs theirs.


Taking 4 as neutral, a 5-to-hit is -10, 4 is +/- 0, and 3-to-hit is +10.

If you hit, then they have a chance to be protected by armour. I'm still working this part out, honestly, as the baseline is unarmoured. We'll likely come back to this, as I could use some input on managing how to handle that.

If you hit and they aren't protected, then you roll to wound. It's off the chart below.


It is based on your (as modified by weapon or skill) Strength vs their Toughness. As with the Hit Chart, taking 4-to-wound as average, 5-to-wound is -10 to wound, 6-to-wound is -20, and past that, you require a natural crit or a supernumerary (above 100) crit to actually wound the thing. On the flip side, wound rolls go down to 2-to-wound, so +20.

If you confirm the wound, and it's the last wound the enemy has, which will be the case for essentially all henchmen and most heroes, I'll refer to the injury table.


Stunned are prone and unable to act for 1+ rounds. Knocked down enemies have a chance to recover at the start of next round, if not put out of action by further hits.
 
Warband Update 1
Leader: 1

Petra von Kelch
Von Carstein Vampire


Stats
Movement: 6
Weapon Skill: 6 (+30)
Ballistic Skill: 4 (+10)
Strength: 4 (+10)
Toughness: 4 (+10)
Wounds: 2
Attacks: 2
Initiative: 5 (+20)
Leadership: 8 (+10)
Equipment
Spear- Strikes First. +1Str on charge if mounted.

Special Rules
  • Leader: allows nearby allies to use her Ld instead of theirs in a certain radius (~18ft/6m).
  • Cause Fear: Enemies must test vs Ld to charge you or to attack back when charged by you.
  • Immune to Psychology: You are immune to fear and the like, and do not leave or flee combat.
  • No pain: You're undead. Pain is a construct of the flesh. Stunned injury results get downgraded in severity to being knocked prone.

Skills
None As Of Yet

Traits
(To be added)


Heroes

Necromancer:
0-1
35gc hiring cost

Stats
Movement: 4
Weapon Skill: 3 (+0)
Ballistic Skill: 3 (+0)
Strength: 3 (+0)
Toughness: 3 (+0)
Wounds: 1
Attacks: 1
Initiative: 3 (+0)
Leadership: 7 (+0)

Equipment
None; proficient with Undead standard equipment

Special Rules
  • Wizard: can cast spells from Necromantic Magic

Skills
None As Of Yet

Traits
None


Dregs: 0-3


Kaspar, the Crowned Manticore; aka: Kaspar the Accursed
Stats
Movement: 4
Weapon Skill: 2 (-10)
Ballistic Skill: 2 (-10)
Strength: 3 (+0)
Toughness: 3 (+0)
Wounds: 1
Initiative: 3 (+0)
Attacks: 1
Leadership: 7 (+0)
Equipment
  • "Troll Cleaver" (Dagger): +1 to enemy armour.
  • The Crowned Manticore: Counts-as Heavy Armour and Helmet

Special Rules
  • None
Skills
  • ????: ?????

Traits
  • ??????: ??????
  • ??????: ??????
  • ??????: ??????
Stats

Movement: 4
Weapon Skill: 2 (-10)
Ballistic Skill: 2 (-10)
Strength: 3 (+0)
Toughness: 3 (+0)
Wounds: 1
Initiative: 3 (+0)
Attacks: 1
Leadership: 7 (+0)
Equipment
  • Ill-made Skaven Dagger: +1 to enemy armour.

Special Rules
  • None
Skills
  • ????: ?????
  • ????: ?????

Traits
  • ??????: ??????
  • ??????: ??????
  • ??????: ??????

Henchmen

Zombies:

15 gc per corpse to reanimate; requires necromancer or ability to raise dead

Summary: Zombies are slow, being unable to run, but terrifying creatures. They are mindless undead, so they feel no pain or fear, nor can they be poisoned or affected by disease, but they are also brainless: they never get any better. They don't level up or gain experience like living minions do. They are extremely slow, but eminently expendable. Cheap, tough enough, unskilled, good for a walking shield of rotting meat between you and your (usually horrified) enemies.


Ghouls: hired in groups of 1-5
40gc to hire

Ghouls are living, but debased, creatures. Some say they're distant relatives of the Strigany caravans that wander the eastern Empire. All say they're mad and debased cannibals...because they are. They congregate to food and power and tend to travel in familial pack or clan groups. In combat they fight as a pack-unit or alone. They're not sufficiently sophisticated for weaponry anymore. Like zombies, they tear their foes apart with hands and teeth. Unlike zombies, they have claws and fangs.

Quick attackers, capable of improvement and learning, incapable of weapon use. Tougher than normal men, but not by much, and unskilled to boot. Zombies hold a line, ghouls swarm to flank, and eventually numbers will tell despite that.

Dire Wolves: 0-5
50gc to draw in / reanimate

Expensive, but intimidating. These reanimated giant wolves are the fastest fighters at your disposal though slower than they were in life, they still walk faster than horses, and they can charge down a running horse with ease. As with zombies, they're undead, so they feel no pain, can't be diseased or poisoned, and they can't learn anything new. They're just as good later as when you get them, no worse, but also no better.

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Warband Composition:

Undead Warbands may have up to 15 members. Beyond Petra, all of them must be paid for in some way or another from your warchest, be that in buying corpses for zombies, baiting and reanimating dire wolves, or buying corpses enough to feed a pack of ghouls, or paying for food, clean clothing, and shelter for your dregs. Honestly, most of the money is apt to go to corpses, oddly enough. But then, you set up near a settlement with a fighting pit and a backalley chirurgeon for a reason.


At present you are at your minimum strength required to undertake missions into Mordheim: 3 members, not counting your Hired Sword. While this means you can undertake missions now, it also means that if anyone were to be disabled by injury or killed outright, you would be unable to keep doing so until you'd replaced them or gotten them treated.


Warband Armoury:

2 spears: Attacks first; +1 Str on mounted charge; Str as user otherwise; can only use shield or buckler in offhand; 10gc
2 daggers; Str: user, +1 to enemy armour; 1st free, others 2 gc
1 shield; +1 to armour; 5 gc
1 sword; User, Permits parries: roll vs to-hit-roll, if your roll is higher, you're unhit.; 10 gc
1 helmet; downgrades stunned injuries to knocked down; 10 gc
0 Halberds; Str+1, 2handed; 10 gc
0 Hammer; S as user, stuns on 2-4 instead of 3-4; 3gc
0 Axe; 3gc
0 Mace; S as user, stuns on 2-4 instead of 3-4; 3gc
0 2h-weapon; 15 gc
0 Bow; 10 gc
0 Shortbow; 5 gc
0 Light Armour; 20 gc
0 Heavy armour; 50 gc

Misc equipment: (Hero only)

Rope and grapnel; reroll failed climbing checks; 5gc
Lucky charm; save against first hit in a battle (semi-rare); 10 gc
elven cloak; -1 to hit you w/ ranged weapons (Very Rare); 100+ gc
Hunting arrows; +1 to injury with bow/long bow/ elf bow; (Rare); 25+ gc
Net; ranged weapon, forces str check on target hit, prohibits moving, shooting, magic the next turn if failed; 5 gc
Bugman's Ale; a barrel immunizes against fear; (Rare); 50 gc
Tome of Magic; learn a new (random) spell either from lesser magic or wizard's own list; (Very Rare); 200+ gc
healing herbs; restore all wounds lost if used between rounds of a fight; (Rare); 20+ gc
unholy relic; auto-pass first leadership test per fight, if leader, can apply to rout tests; (Rare); 15+ gc
halfling cookbook; your warriors aren't motivated by good cooking. You don't eat mortal food. Your dregs might like it. Otherwise useless.
Lantern; see hidden foes from further away; 10gc
Mordheim map; may or may not help you find treasure in the city; (Rare); 20+ gc
Cathayan Silk cloak; pretty, expensive, inspiring. Prone to being spoiled in fights, however.


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So! Time to discuss the next steps!

Your Current Warchest is 435 gc.
This will be used to buy supplies, weapons, armour, and hirelings.
Above I have listed the various hero and hireling types along with their hire costs and their pros/cons.
I also included the various weapon types your forces are trained to use by default. Heroes can gain broader weapon training, but henchmen always use the default list.
Purchasing is handled during Warband Management phases. It requires 1 or more Heroes to go and make the purchases.
Of the four settlements around the city, only Black Pit Settlement is currently likely to permit a vampire walking about openly. Your minions look sufficiently abnormal that they would be frowned upon in Sigmarhaven. By Witchhunters, likely. Cutthroat's Den is normally a riskier place to shop, but it would perhaps behoove you to avoid sending your minions there while the priesthood of Morr's eye is upon it. For now, that leaves Brigandsburg and Black Pit Settlement.

Items listed as semi-rare to very rare are harder to acquire. A hero must be sent specifically to buy that particular item, and they may or may not succeed in doing so. The higher the rarity, the lower the chance of success.

As with purchasing equipment, hiring henchmen and heroes is carried out during the Warband Management phase after fights and looting but before planning the next mission.

Now, I'm going to want y'all to DISCUSS plans for the initial warband. This means plan votes, and a moratorium. I'm not opening voting on this until I feel like y'all have hashed out plans for a composition vote.

Also, because Vampires start with 8 xp, Petra has gained 4 starting advances. I rolled for these.

As a result, her Weapon Skill was increased to 6 (Peak human, but not peak Vampire), and she may select two new skills.

I will be opening the initial vote on what kinds of skills you would like for her in a few minutes here, once the options are typed up.
 
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Equipment Options
Warband Armoury:

  • spears: Attacks first; +1 Str on mounted charge; Str as user otherwise; can only use shield or buckler in offhand; 10gc
  • daggers; Str: user, +1 to enemy armour; 1st free, others 2 gc
  • shield; +1 to armour; 5 gc
  • sword; User, Permits parries: roll vs to-hit-roll, if your roll is higher, you're unhit.; 10 gc
  • helmet; downgrades stunned injuries to knocked down; 10 gc
  • Halberds; Str+1, 2handed; 10 gc
  • Hammer; S as user, stuns on 2-4 instead of 3-4; 3gc
  • Axe; Reduces enemy's armour save one step; 3gc
  • Mace; S as user, stuns on 2-4 instead of 3-4; 3gc
  • 2h-weapon; Strikes last in combat, +2S; 15 gc
  • Bow; Str 3, longer range than shortbow; 10 gc
  • Shortbow; Str 3 ranged weapon; 5 gc
  • Light Armour; 17% chance to negate a wound; 20 gc
  • Heavy armour; 33% chance to negate a wound; 50 gc

Misc equipment: (Hero only)

Rope and grapnel; reroll failed climbing checks; 5gc
Net; ranged weapon, forces str check on target hit, prohibits moving, shooting, magic the next turn if failed; 5 gc
Lantern; see hidden foes from further away; 10gc
 
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