Chamber of Horrors

Setup

Since the group is currently in Altdorf, an emissary from the Temple of Sigmar tracks them down.  The frail, robed priest beckons the Warriors to the Temple.  There, the Warriors are brought into the ornate office of one of the Temple Patriarchs.  Motes of dust float in the air, illuminated from the sun shining through the majestic stained glass windows behind the Patriarch.  As the Warriors expect, the Patriarch demands that the Warriors return the Decanter of Purity.  When they do, he sees it is empty, and briefly whispers a conversation with some acolytes, brow furrowed.  He says that he might need the Warriors to undertake a quest to refill the Decanter ... but first there is something more urgent at hand.

In the town of Garndorf, some two days march away, the residents live in fear.  The Lord of the region, Count Niklas Rathskeller, has been acting strangely of late, leaving his residence only at night.  Peasants have gone missing.  Some divination from the Celestial College has confirmed the Priesthood's gravest fear ... Rathskeller is a Vampire!  With the Witch Hunters largely focused on a crusade in the Badlands, the Patriarch asks the Warriors for help.  They must enter the dungeons below Rathskellar Castle, locate the Vampire's resting place, and put him to death before sundown.

Holy Water

To aid them in this Quest, the Temple provides the Warriors 1D6 vials of Holy Water.  This can be thrown like a Missile Weapon.  A vial has a range of 2 squares, and the Ballistic Skill roll suffers a -1 for every square thrown beyond that range.  If the Vial hits an Undead, it does 1D6 Wounds damage with no deductions.  These Wounds cannot be Regenerated!

In Garndorf

The Warriors make their way to the castle, arriving a few hours after sunrise.  What staff that is currently operating there seems quite afraid, and they meekly direct the Warriors to the cellar and dungeon entrance when asked to do so.  It seems they are as anxious to have this evil uprooted as the Priesthood is.

Dungeon Deck

Reserve the Dungeon Cell and the Torture Chamber.  Then, build a Dungeon Deck normally using the Charnel Caverns as the Objective Room.  Do not include any other Objective Rooms in this Dungeon.  After the Dungeon Deck is completed, shuffle the Dungeon Cell and Torture Chamber into the first 6 cards of the Deck.

Events

If a Monster Event Card is drawn, roll up a Monster from the Level 1 Undead Monster Table.  Should any Special Characters appear, weave them into the story, possibly as servants of Count Rathskellar.

Torture Chamber

A horrific scene awaits the Warriors in this room.  Gruesome implements of torture fill the room, an iron maiden, rack, bed of nails.  A prisoner is bound to a large metal gear and a group of Ghouls slowly twist an iron wheel which causes the gear to slowly turn.  Place 1D6+2 Ghouls in the room, as far away from the Warriors as possible.  A Ghoul in the corner is twisting the wheel.  Each turn during the Power Phase the wheel advances 1D6 inches.  As soon as the wheel reaches 24 inches, the victim's head is crushed and he perishes in an agonizing scream.  If the Warriors defeat the Ghouls in time, they can release the victim, who gives them a clue as to the location of the Objective Room.  The Warriors can use this information to discard one Dungeon Card that they reveal in subsequent exploration.

Dungeon Cell

The room contains the drained corpses of several of the Count's victims.  Grisly white corpses hang from the ceiling on meat looks like slabs of beef.  Each Warrior must pass a Willpower check or they are psychologically scarred by the sight and suffer a -1 to hit for the remainder of the adventure.

After any Monsters in the room are defeated, if the Warriors spend a turn removing the corpses and laying them respectfully on the ground, each one gains 1 Luck token.

Charnel Caverns

Although the Charnel Caverns was placed as the Objective Room, it is actually an obstacle that the Warriors must overcome before they reach the actual Objective Room, which is the Sarcophagus Chamber.

Sarcophagus Chamber Objective Room

There are 4 Tomb Guardians in the room guarding the resting Vampire.  The Warriors cannot attempt to open a Sarcophagus until all Monsters in the room are slain.  The Warriors must act quickly because the sun is setting soon!  The Warriors should roll 3D6 to determine how many Turns before the sun sets and the Count rises.  They can re-roll as many of the dice as they wish, one time only.  If they do not defeat the Tomb Guardians in time, the Count rises and the Vampire joins the battle!

Use the rules as written for the sarcophagi in the room, except for the following modification.  Take 3 tokens, 2 blank and one with a symbol on it, mix them up, and place them face down on the three closed sarcophagi.  When a Warrior opens one of them, turn over the token.  If it is the token with the symbol on it, this is the Count's resting place.  Do not roll for this sarcophagus.  Instead, the Warriors can at this point stake the sleeping Count through the heart, slaying the Vampire and ending the adventure.

Reward

The Warriors return to the Temple of Sigmar, showing Count Rathskellar's signet ring as proof of their deed.  They are rewarded 1D6x50 Gold each for ridding the Empire of this dangerous servant of Chaos.  Of course - how an Empire noble became a Vampire in the first place is something that raises even more questions and concerns!

Exterminators!

Setup

Baron Von Keingelt summons the Warriors hastily to his manor at the outskirts of Altdorf.  His demeanor is both irritated and stressed.  After further review of the documents the Warriors procured from the Cult of Nurgle in the sewers below, the Baron has learned some very alarming news.  It seems that the Cult was summoning a Beast of Nurgle to leash upon the rising tide of Skaven swelling up from below the sewers.  Now that this plan has been thwarted, the Skaven are unchecked.  The Cult's documents relate the story of a captured Skaven Clanrat who divulges that the Clan's Breeder is about to birth a new litter.  A Breeder so close to the surface of Altdorf is unacceptable!  The Warriors must venture through the mysterious boarded up door they encountered in the Summoning Room, penetrate the Skaven tunnels under the sewers, and locate and exterminate the Breeder.

The Baron explains that the Warriors must take care of this problem immediately, and there will be no further payment.  The City is already getting the sense that the Warriors botched the last job, leaving Altdorf vulnerable to the menace that many in Empire society still refuse to acknowledge the existence of.  If the Warriors don't rectify the situation, their reception on Altdorf will be impacted.  To represent this, each Settlement Event roll must be rolled twice, and the least favorable outcome selected.

Dungeon Deck

Create a standard Dungeon Deck using the Fighting Pit to represent the Breeder's Pit.  Don't include any other Objective Rooms in this Dungeon Deck, keep the level simple.

Events

Whenever a Monster Event Card is drawn, roll on the Skaven Level 1 Monster Table.

Objective Room

The Warriors enter a room containing a filthy, fetid pit, within which is the bloated, barely mobile, Skaven female Breeder of the Clan.  Place the Breeder somewhere within the Pit itself.  She is attended and guarded by 2D6 Clanrats, 1D6 Stormvermin, and Festid Stormvermin Champion (assuming he has not been killed).  Place as many of these as possible on the upper level of the room, and any remaining within the Pit.

In order the descend into the Breeding Pit a Warrior needs to either climb down or jump.  Use the Climbing and Jumping rules for Multi-Level rooms documented here.

The commotion of battle in the Breeding Pit, and the calls of the embattled rat-men, has a chance of alerting Clanrat reinforcements to come to Breeder's defense.  At the end of each Monster Phase, roll a number of dice equal to the quantity of Skaven still alive.  For each die that comes up a 1, place another Clanrat at the entryway to the room.

Once the Skaven are killed, the Warriors can easily exterminate the defenseless Breeder.  In the chamber the Warriors locate a horde that the semi-intelligent but vain Breeder was accumulating, composed of coins, jewelry and various trinkets.  Each Warrior can roll as many dice as they wish and multiply the result by 10 to determine how much Gold they locate.

Reward

With the Skaven Breeder put down, City officials have some breathing room to plan further action against the lingering menace.  The Warriors are thanked for their efforts and their standing in the City is restored to normal.

Prep for Session Three

Littlemonk, that prolific scribe of all things WHQ, is producing a MASSIVE tome of Warhammer Quest adventures.  He has graciously made available a preview of this work in "in progress" form.  Since my next session is two days away, it is time to think about a new Quest to introduce to the group.  So far, the party has one uncompleted Quest to an ancient Dwarf Tomb as a possibility.  Additionally, they've discovered a mysterious Skaven-marked, boarded shut, door in a room deep in the sewers under Altdorf.

The first adventure is already written and waiting in the wings (Scribe of the Fallen Clan).

The second adventure needs some fleshing out from my end.  I am thinking that the Cult of Nurgle that the Warriors decimated last session was actually summoning a Beast of Nurgle to unleash upon the rat-men below.  Now that the effort has been thwarted, the Skaven are unchecked, and the Warriors must venture into their lair to take out the Breeder.

For a third option (always good to give the players choices) I am rolling on Littlemonk's adventure tome.  Let's see, the first roll is a 2 - which means it will be a "A Dangerous Search".  Second roll is a 63 - bringing us to the "Chamber of Horrors!"  To quote:

"A well-known noble has been acting strangely as of late and only leaves his residence during the night. The Warriors discover a chamber of horrors deep below his residence."

Cool - a Quest to slay the Vampire in his tomb before the sun rises.  I see this as requiring some kind of time deadline to keep the pressure on.  Maybe the players will roll 6D6 at the beginning of the adventure, and they have this many turns to get to the Objective Room before the sun sets and the Vampire rises.  The dungeon will use a special undead Monster table, and the Objective Room will contain Tomb Guardians and Skeletons.

But where to set the location of this noble's residence?  Since they're in Altdorf now, it makes sense to introduce a rumor about this Quest and have it located close by.  Over to the Super Huge, Detailed Map of the Warhammer Old World to see what kind of villages we have close to Altdorf.  Garndorf is about a two day trek from Altdorf according to the measuring tools that the Map provides.  A quick lookup on Wikipedia doesn't divulge too much detail about Garndorf, so it strikes me as a good place to set this Quest.

Time to flesh out a few Special Events, the Monster Table, Objective Room, and the Setup.  A very big thanks to Littlemonk for providing so many new Quest options to keep our games interesting!

Session Two

Our session began with only one player bringing back a surviving Warrior – his lone and battered Barbarian.  The other three players had been decimated by Goblin Fanatics last game, so we would have three new Warriors this session.  We wound up with another Wizard, a Dwarf, and an Elf Wardancer to join the surviving Barbarian.

The new party had a choice of pursuing their original failed Quest, or to take a new mission offered by a mid-level noble to investigate a plague in the Altdorf slums that was centered around a particular sewer entrance.  So, looking for something different, the band of Warriors decided to take the noble’s offer.  None of the players spoke any Reikspiel, otherwise they may have had second thoughts accepting a Quest from one Baron Lieder von Keingelt.

We got right into the action with the Warriors descending into the twisted maze of partially flooded tunnels deep under the city, fighting off a group of Giant Frogs, swimming through flooded sections, and discovering a shanty town that was home to impoverished sewer dwellers.   These wretched folk sold the Warriors a few helpful items, and let them know about strange robed figures they’d seen roaming around the tunnels.

The first sign of trouble came when the haughty Wardancer pranced alone into an abandoned Smuggler’s Den.  He was immediately ambushed by seven Nurglings who ganged up and quickly reduced the brazen Elf to zero wounds before he could even strike back.  The Wizard, still one board section away, had to use reserve Power to cast Lifebringer and heal the Wardancer.  But the Nurglings’ Plague resulted in a permanent loss of 1 Toughness for the Elf.

Before venturing into the sewers, the Warriors had been given an item by the Temple of Sigmar to aid them in this Quest – The Decanter of Purity.  A drink from this holy relic would cure any disease or poison (including the Nurglings’ Plague effect.)  I created this custom item to introduce another tough decision for the players.  Each time a Warrior drank from the Decanter, they would roll 1D6.  On a 1, 2, or 3 they would have consumed the last drop.  The players would need to choose carefully which affliction they would heal.  With the sewers able to deliver a variety of disease effects of varying severity, a bad choice could see one of the Warriors end up with Nurgle’s Rot!  The Wardancer took little time to weigh this decision however, and hastily drained the Decanter down to its last drop.  His Plague was cured, and Toughness restored, but only time would tell if it was the right decision.

An amusing moment came with the Wizard found a Short Bow in the Smugglers’ Den.   Earlier in their explorations, the Wizard had succumbed to a Sewer Fever Event, where he had to choose two of his Stats to reduce by 1 for the remainder of the Quest.  Thinking himself clever, he chose to have the Fever afflict his Initiative and his Ballistic Skill Stats.  This brought his Ballistic Skill to 7+, making it impossible for him to fire any ranged weapons successfully during this Quest!  His joy at finding the Short Bow quickly dematerialized when this realization sunk in.

Next, the Warriors faced their first serious battle.  In a partially flooded sewer section they were beset upon by 10 Giant Spiders.  Soon afterward, about a dozen Chaos Cultists appeared from the other end of the room.  Surrounded by two groups of enemies, the Warriors fought a brutal and grim battle.  The Dwarf had earlier bought a Corrugated Metal Shield from the shanty town, which increased his Toughness.  He was feeling quite confident as a result.  However, he had forgotten about the Giant Spiders’ ability to Web their opponents!  Any webbed Warrior suffers automatic damage from future Giant Spider bites, with no regard to Toughness.  Sadly, the struggling Dwarf could not break free from the sticky webbing, and was quickly bitten to death by a swarm of Giant Spiders.

After the surviving three Warriors finally managed to clear the room, they beat a hasty retreat back up to the surface.  There, the Barbarian trained and reached Battle Level 2, gaining an Ignore Wounds ability that meant he had a chance of surviving a fatal blow.  The group also recruited the son of their fallen Dwarf companion.  The young Dwarf would enter the game with a Hatred of Giant Spiders, granting him an additional Attack against these creatures, albeit at -1 to hit in his fury.

During the second expedition into the sewers the Warriors had to double back after reaching a dead end, but then came upon the bulk of the Cult of Nurgle.  A Chaos Warlock was chanting a ritual in a Summoning Room, surrounded by Cultists and Demagogues who spewed hate-filled rhetoric at the heroes.  Here I rolled the minimum number of Chaos Cultists, so the Warriors were lucky.  The Wizard also managed to swallow the Warlock in a Pit of Despair in the first turn of the battle.  This prevented him from summoning who knows what kind of atrocity, and resulted in a final battle much easier than it could have been!

After mopping up the final few Cultists, the Warriors located both a steel ladder leading to the surface, and a large iron-bound door with Skaven markings that was barricaded shut from the inside.  The players speculated that a treasure room might lie beyond.   Or, was the door was barricaded to keep something out?  Skipping the chance for a quick exit, the Warriors decided to investigate the door, but Nurgle had other ideas.  A large group of Nurglings swarmed the Warriors, and at this very moment the Wardancer was hit with a severe bout of dysentery with left him squatting in a corner unable to fight for a couple of turns!  After this setback, the ashen-faced Elf waded back into battle, executing his Dance of Death ability perfectly, and slaying one foul Nurgling after another, leaving a trail of blood and slime.

Not wanting to push fate any longer, the Warriors ascended the ladder.  They cleaned themselves off, and presented their findings to Baron von Keingelt.  The distracted noble had to be reminded about the Gold payment he had promised, but as it turns out he did pay the Warriors in full, and seemed quite pleased that the operations of the Cult of Nurgle were so severely disrupted.  In the shopping spree that followed the Barbarian spent his last wealth on a 1,000 Gold Warhelm that would increase his Toughness by 2!

Having finally succeeded in a Quest, the Warriors are ready for whatever adventures present themselves next time.

Reckless Dice Podcast

Just a quick recommendation to listen to the Reckless Dice Podcast.  This show is quite well produced and well organized.  The hosts deliver interesting and useful information dedicated to WHRP 3rd Edition, but also on the Warhammer World in general.  This in particular can spark many good ideas that can transfer easily into WHQ campaigns.  The Actual Play episodes of this Podcast are also very well done, and have cleared up many of the questions I had about WFRP 3E.

One tidbit that the hosts mentioned was a huge map of the Warhammer World that one of them put together, complete with tools that can automatically calculate the travel time between various locations.  This labor of love took over 400 hours to produce, and includes all of the official published maps of the Old World as well as integrating content from the novels and WFRP 3E.  As soon as I find myself with a few free hours I intent to track this down and dive into it - I think it can be very handy for WHQ travel between adventures!

Baron Lieder Von Keingelt

In most other RPGs they're called NPCs.  In WHQ Roleplay flavor they're called "Character Encounters".  Page 153 of the Roleplay Book begins a useful section on how to introduce NPCs into the game, and gives some imaginative examples of Character Encounters.

In our next session, should things move in a certain direction, I have the following Character Encounter ready for the players ...

Baron Lieder Von Keingelt

Von Keingelt is a mid-level noble whose holdings border the outskirts of Altdorf.  His ancestors have the dubious honor of having been principal patrons of the sewer projects in Altdorf.  His great-grandfather, Willhelm Keingelt actually produced the "design" of the twisting maze of sewer tunnels under the city - a design that was grudgingly adopted by the College of Engineers.

Because of this history, Lieder Von Keingelt is forever associated with the sewers.  Whenever there is a problem in the sewers (and this happens with surprising frequency) the City leaders invariably pressure him to find a solution.  Due to this constant stress, the Baron is a nervous wreck, and is also in financial ruins.

If the Warriors have been commissioned by Baron Leider Von Keingelt, roll below when they complete their mission:

1. The Baron discounts any evidence that the Warriors produce, refusing to pay and claiming that the job was never completed!
2-3. The Baron tells the Warriors that his funds are tied up in some civil works projects at the moment, but that he is expecting a payout "any day now".  The Warriors can wait in the Settlement hoping to get paid.  At the end of each day, roll 1D6.  On a 6, the Baron's funding has indeed arrived and he pays the Warriors as promised.
4. The Baron hems and haws about how the Warriors fixed the symptoms but not the root cause of whatever problem they were sent to alleviate.  He finally, after much argument, agrees to pay them 30-70% of the originally promised sum.
5. The Baron seems unusually distracted, but he pays the Warriors promptly the agreed upon amount.
6. The Warriors have done such an impressive job that Von Keingelt was awarded a reward by Karl Franz himself, and passes along to the Warriors twice the agreed upon payment!

Stench from Below

The first concrete Quest based on the slew of Sewer Rules I've been publishing on the blog for the past week or so.

Quest Background

A pox is spreading through the slums of Altdorf.  Dozens have fallen victim to this plague, and the city is nearing a state of panic.  The cases are most highly concentrated in an area of the slums known simply as "The Muck".  Here, the sewage pools out of incessantly clogged sewers.  A foul odor of decay has been seeping out of the area, vile even by the standards of the slums.  Futhermore, mysterious cloaked figures have been spotted emerging from below.

A mid-level noble (Baron Lieder Von Keingelt) has been delegated to get to the bottom of this dirty mess.  With the College of Engineers staging a strike, he has commissioned the Warriors to venture into the neglected sewers of Altforf to discover the source of this plague.  He promises each Warrior 2D6x50 Gold for completing the assignment.

Special Rules

The Warriors are provided a couple of items to help them survive this difficult undertaking.  To offer some protection against the pox, the Temple of Sigmar provides the Decanter of Purity.  This holy relic contains anointed water that can cure disease.  The Warriors are told to use this precious resource only if absolutely necessary, and return any unused portion back to the Temple (see Reward).  After drinking from the Decanter (which indeed cures one disease inflicted upon the drinker), roll 1D6.  On a 1-3, the last drop is consumed, discard the Decanter.

Secondly, the College of Engineers has graciously provided the Warriors what maps they have of this section of the sewers, although the accuracy is dubious.  The Warriors can choose to use the Sewer Maps when they come to any kind of junction in the sewers.  When used, roll 1D6.  On a 1-2, the Maps provide misleading information - add 1 Sewer Dungeon Card to the top of each stack leading off from the current room.  Any other roll indicates that the Maps are somewhat helpful - the players can choose to benefit in one of two ways:

1. Pick the top card from one of the Dungeon Card stacks in the current room, and discard it if desired (unless it is the Objective Room).
2. Examine the backs of ALL of the Dungeon Cards leading off from the current junction room.  This will tell the Warriors where the Dungeon Rooms are located as opposed to the Sewer Tunnels, since the Sewer Tunnel Cards have differend card backs.

Dungeon Deck

The sewers of Altdorf are a lengthy and twisted maze of tunnels.  Use 13 Sewer Dungeon Cards instead of the 11 as stated in the Sewer Adventure rules.  The Objective Room for this Quest is the Summoning Room.

Event Cards

Use all of the Event Cards specified in the Sewer Events post, and add the following Special Event Cards to this deck:

1D6+2 Nurglings (x2)

1D3+1 Plaguebearers

1D6+1 Chaos Cultists and 1 Demagogue

2D6 Chaos Cultists

He Who Offends Nurgle
The misshapen form of a robed man staggers toward you, his flesh peeling, rotting, and falling off in pus-infused clumps.  One eyeball dangles from its socket.  "I can lead you to what you seek," he claims.
The Warriors can follow the figure if they choose, in which case he leads them to the Objective Room (the next time a Dungeon Room Card appears, it is the Objective Room).  However, each turn that they follow the plague-stricken individual, each Warrior must pass a Toughness Check, or they contract Nurgle's Rot (see RP Book).

Sacrificial Victims
You notice a pile of corpses lying alongside one of the walls in this chamber, a cloud of flies buzzing around them and dozens of rats scampering around.  You discover the Mark of Nurgle on the bodies, and note that all of them have been ritualistically murdered.
The Warriors know now that the Ruinous Power Nurgle is what they must contend with here.  This knowledge allows them to steel themselves up psychologically, increasing their Toughness by 1 for purposes of Toughness Checks against any kind of disease for the rest of the adventure.

Afflictions of Nurgle (White Dwarf)

Nurgle's Rot (RP Book)

Objective Room

In the Summoning Room, the Warriors interrupt a foul ritual.  A Chaos Warlock is busy reciting incantations next the the Summoning Circle!  Already, an amorphous form begins to materialize from wisps of swirling fog.  Unless the Warriors take him out quickly, the Summoning will be completed!

The bulk of the Cult of Nurgle that has been operating out of these sewers.  Place the following figures on the platform:


1D6+3 Chaos Cultists
3 Demagogues
1 Chaos Warlock

The Warlock does not attack or cast Spells, as he is busy trying to complete his incantations.  If he completes the Summoning, he needs to concentrate on controlling the summoned Monster.  He is, however, in possession of the Scintillant Cloak, which manifests as a shimmering multi-colored and flowing cloak.  Whenever the Warlock is hit by missile fire, roll 1D6.  On a 5+ the attack does not cause any damage, and in fact increases the Warlock's Wounds by 1.

During the first Power Phase after the Warriors enter, roll 1D6.  On subsequent Power Phases in which the Chaos Warlock still lives, add another die to the roll.  In any of the dice come up a 1, the Warlock has finished the ritual and a Beast of Nurgle materializes on the platform!

As long as the Chaos Warlock lives, the Beast will not attack any of the Cultists, and they are immune to its Slime Trail.  However, if the Warlock is killed, the Beast of Nurgle is freed, and will attack the closest figure, Warrior or Cultist, and the Cultists are subject to its Slime Trail.

If the Warriors defeat the Cult and its summoned Beast, they collect evidence of the Cult's operations: plans, logs, and other documents.  Locating a well-maintained ladder, they make the long climb back up to daylight, and the streets of Altdorf.

The Sealed Door

In the room the Warriors also discover a heavy, iron-bound wooden door that has been sealed shut from this side of the room.  Inscriptions on the door are clearly of Skaven origin!  Use this as a hook for a possible future adventure.

Reward

The Warriors have dealt a severe blow to the Cult of Nurgle in the City.  Returning to the surface with evidence of their ordeal, Vol Keingelt awards them official Writs of Honor allowing them to re-roll any Settlement Event sub-table rolls during this stay in the Settlement.  He will not offer any Gold until the Warriors bring up the subject of the promised payment.  At this point, roll on the table at the end of Von Keingelt's post to resolve the Gold payment.

Note that since the Warriors were under Altdorf in this Quest, they need not roll on the Travel Hazard table.  If the Warriors return the Decanter of Purity (having not consumed all of the contents) they are each awarded an additional 100 Gold by the Temple of Sigmar (one of the Warriors must visit the Temple to return the Decanter).

Summoning Room

This board section is available to be printed over at the Dungeon of Muggee. I didn't yet read the Quest that this room is intended for, but I thought it would be the perfect place to throw a Deamonic Monster at the Warriors!

The iron bound door opens into a dark chamber with a set of stairs leading up to a large platform. Old Spell components lie on a mat ready for use. The room looks like it has been sealed off for a very long time - no doubt to keep the horror on the platform from leaving!

• The Summoning Chamber has either one (1-3) or two (4-6) Exit Doors, located somewhere along the far end of the room. The Exit Doors are magically sealed, and can only be opened after the Monster within is defeated.


• If a Spell-casting Warring moves into the square containing the Spell components, they can take them and gain 1D6 points of extra Power they can keep until used up.


• Instead of taking an Event Card, the Summoning Room contains Monster(s) that were summoned days, weeks, or perhaps years ago, and have been seething within ever since. Roll below to determine the creature(s) that the Warriors face.

Summoned Monster Table

1. Daemonette
2. 1D3 Fiends of Slaanesh
3. 1D3 Plaguebearers
4. Beast of Nurgle
5. 1D3 Bloodletters
6. Flamer of Tzeentch

R.I.P. Skullbasha - Squig Cowboy Event

In our first session, we drew the Challenge Event Card, and Skullbasha was defeated by the Barbarian in a tense single combat.  I want to preserve a sense of verisimilitude in the campaign, and it would do no good to keep having Skullbasha turn up every now and then whenever his Event Card is drawn!  I intend to preserve the uniqueness of all named Monsters in the game in a similar manner.  When the Challenge Event Card comes up in the future, I plan to use the following Event:

Squig Cowboy

You hear the unmistakable grunting and acrid smell of a Cave Squig.  Sure enough, soon 3 of the beasts are before you, along with six Goblin Squig Herders that are off their gourds on Madcap or some other even more potent narcotic.  The Goblins sneer at you, scoffing that you surface dwellers don't have the guts to tame and ride a Squig.

One of the Warriors can volunteer to prove these Greenskins wrong (some Warriors simply cannot refuse a challenge!)  If there are no takers, the Squigs and Herders attack in a Frenzy (2x normal Attacks).

If a Warrior accepts, the Herders sweeten the deal by offering some wagers.  Each Herder wagers 1D6x50 Gold, and a single Warrior can take on each wager (go in Initiative order).

Each turn, during the Monster Phase, the mounted Squig bounces 4 squares in a random direction.  The Warrior must use their Strength and Initiative to stay mounted.  Each turn, average their Strength and Initiative (rounding down) to get their total "Rider Points".  Each turn, the Warrior takes 1D6 unmodified Wounds from being viciously whipped around and smashing into the walls and ceilings, but can use their Rider Points to reduce this damage.  Next, the Warrior must pass an Initiative Check to remain mounted.  They can apply the remaining Rider Points to this roll, even turning a roll of 1 into a successful result if enough Points are applied.  If the Warrior fails the Check, they are flung off the Squig, taking an additional 1D6 unmodified Wounds.  The Warrior wins the challenge if they can remain mounted for 4 consecutive turns (during these turns no other Unexpected Events occur).  If the other Warriors in any way intervene in the event, the Goblins and Squigs attack.  After the spectacle, the Goblins depart, either alot richer, or quite a bit poorer than before.

Tracked by a Witch Hunter

My Warhammer Quest campaign kicked off a few weeks ago, and I'm busy prepping for the next session.  I'm running the game as a light RPG, using many of the suggested rules in the Roleplay section of the Roleplay Book.  With one session under our belt, I'm thinking now about how I can make the next session interesting, playing off events that happened in the previous session.

When we left off, we had a lone Barbarian surviving the dungeon, after two failed attempts at locating the Dwarf King's Tomb Chamber.  Along the way, he thrust his sword into a Warpfire Forge, and it was infused with Chaos power, turning a brilliant green and dealing an extra 1D6 damage.

When the Barbarian returns to town, I'm going to throw a special, customized Settlement Event at him at my first opportunity.

Tracked by a Witch Hunter

As you wind your way down the dimly lit alleyways on your way back to the inn, you notice two figures trailing you from a distance, but approaching rapidly.  You are soon confronted with a stern looking man dressed in a black brimmed hat and cape.  At his side is a shriveled old crone whose eyes are a glazed grey.  The crone raises a long, thin finger at you and utters, "yes, he is the tainted one".  At that, the man draws a pistol and utters, "By the righteous wrath of Sigmar, surrender yourself, you heathen servant of Chaos!"

It's obvious that this man is a Witch Hunter.  At this point you can decide to surrender, fight, or run, as this Witch Hunter is in no mood for discussions!  Roll on one of the following tables:

Surrender

1. You are arrested and eventually tried and found guilty of possessing an illegal implement of Chaos.  You are burned in a pyre that evening in the public square.
2. You are arrested and eventually tried for possessing an illegal implement of Chaos.  You are able to bribe the officials using all of your Gold and the tainted Sword, at which point you are thrown out of the Settlement and told to go back to Norsca.
3. You are arrested and given a trial date, with a possible death sentence to follow.  The night before your trial you manage to find a weak spot in the bars, crack the skulls of a few guards, recover half your Gold and the Sword, and escape into the Sticks.
4. Somehow you are able to convince this pair that you are not aware of the Chaotic origins of the Sword. They confiscate the weapon and send you off with a stern warning.
5. The crone mumbles an incantation and flashes her hands around you, then whispers something to the Witch Hunter.  The pair mysteriously turn and leave you alone in the alleyway, scratching your head.
6. You provide all of the information you have about the Warpfire Forge, and hand the Chaos-tainted Sword to the Witch Hunter for disposal.  He is so grateful that he rewards you with a sealed document that entitles you to one free visit to the Witch Hunter's Guild and a complimentary roll on the Benefits table.

Fight

1. You are trounced in the fight and the Witch Hunter promptly places you under arrest.  Roll 1D3 on the Surrender table to determine your fate.
2. After a lengthy battle the Witch Hunter gets the best of you with. He confiscates half your Gold, and the Sword, but admires your spirit and for that reason spares your life. You begin the next adventure less 2D6 Wounds.
3. The fight is a stalemate for quite a long time, but eventually you land a devastating blow against the Witch Hunter. He is forced to retreat, but vows that this will not be the last time that you meet.
4. You best the Witch Hunter after a short but brutal battle, and he crumples dead to the ground. What do you do about the cowering crone who witnessed the incident?
5. Your green sword glows a brilliant yellow as it slices through the Witch Hunter's flesh. At that point the crone hits the ground, victim of an apparent death by shock. You look to your left and right, but cannot spot any witnesses in the dark alleys.
6. You deftly defeat the Witch Hunter with non-lethal blows, as the crone looks on in horror, hissing curses at you.

Run

1. As you break to run, you are so nervous that you trip and land flat on your face in a puddle in the alley.  You are promptly arrested by the Witch Hunter.  Roll 1D3 on the Surrender table above to determine your fate.
2. After a lengthy pursuit you take a shot to the inner thigh, then fall off of a rooftop and manage to roll down into a cellar.  You've evaded the Witch Hunter for now, but the wound leaves you permanently hobbled, and at -1 Movement.
3. You manage to evade the Witch Hunter after a long chase, but as you broke to run the crone extended her arm at you, casting a Spell of some sort.  The next time you see your reflection you notice a mark engraved on your forehead - the 8-pronged Mark of Chaos!
4. If you pass an Initiative Check you are able to get away, otherwise roll on the Fight table above to determine your outcome.
5. You nimbly avoid the Witch Hunter, but he manages to get a shot at you which hits home as you escape.  You begin the next adventure at minus 1D6+5 Wounds.
6. You easily make your escape as the Witch Hunter gets off several wide shots.

Sewer Rooms

In my Sewer Adventure house rules I create a dungeon by mixing some of the standard Warhammer Quest Dungeon Cards with new cards that represent sewer tile board sections.  Here is a set of special rules to apply to the Warhammer Quest Dungeon Rooms when used in a sewer environment.

Smuggler's Base (aka Guard Room)
This room was evidently the base of operations of a smuggler's network.  It's all but deserted now, and it looks like there was a battle here some time ago.  Dried blood stains cake the floor and are splattered on the walls.  The once orderly racks of illicit arms and trade goods now lies trashed on the floor.

Each Warrior can attempt to locate 2 items in the ransacked room.  They can choose items from the Armoury, Weaponsmith, Fletcher, or General Store.  To see if the Warrior locates an item they are searching for, make a Stock roll using 1D6.

This Room always generates an Event when entered.

Shanty Town (aka Dungeon Cell)
You come upon a dismal stone chamber that is illuminated by several camp fires.  Crude tents and lean-to's are scattered about the area, and the wretched denizens of this shanty town greet you with a mixture of trepidation and hospitality.

In the Shanty Town, no Unexpected Event will occur, and the Warriors can relax and get all of their Fatigue Points restored.  However, the inhabitants are very suspicious, so no spell casting, healing, or magic-use of any kind is possible here.  The Warriors are invited to purchase goods from the makeshift marketplace established by the poverty-stricken and homeless sewer dwellers.  Each Warrior can try to make one purchase, in 1D6+Initiative order.  Use 1D6 to make the Stock roll.  Once an item is determined to be out of stock, no other Warrior may attempt to purchase that item.

Shanty Town Market

Giant Rat Kabobs (1D6)
Stock: 3, Cost: 10 Gold each
While the thought of consuming a Giant Rat would make the least civilized Warrior cringe, this staple of the sewer dwellers is somewhat nutritious.  They count as Provisions, but each time a Warrior tries to consume one they must pass a Willpower Check.  If they fail, they cannot bring themselves to eat the Kabob this turn.

Rag Garments
Stock: 2, Cost: 10 Gold
These rags allow a Warrior to more easily blend into the surroundings, and reduce any Ambush roll against them by 1.  An Imperial Noble or Lord or Aenarion would never wear these filthy rags.

Lime Powder
Stock: 4, Cost: 20 Gold
This strong but harsh soap will cure Glop-Foot.

Sewer Pipe
Stock: 3, Cost: 10
Strength 1 weapon.

Corrugated Metal Shield
Stock: 4, Cost 20
+1 Toughness, destroyed on the first natural 6 rolled for damage.

Skiff and Pole
Stock: 6, Cost: 100
Can be used by the Warriors to traverse flooded areas.  Use a Pit of Despair marker to represent the Skiff.  It can move 4 squares per turn in water, and one Warrior must be declared the Navigator.  The Navigator cannot perform any other actions while on the Skiff, other than use the pole to propel the vessel along.  When the Warriors disembark, they can use Rope to keep the Skiff anchored.  If they don't, there is a 2 in 6 chance that it is gone when they return.

Reservoir (aka Well of Doom)
Your voices reverberate in the dark, empty cubical of a room.  Many pipes of varying sizes jut out of the walls into the room, and in the center of the floor is a large iron drainage grate.

Each Power Phase, roll 2D6.  On doubles, the Reservoir quickly fills with a rush of sewer water, tossing around everything in the chamber before receding down the drain.  Each Warrior loses a number of Fatigue Points equal to the doubles rolled.  After the water recedes, reposition all of the Warriors/Monsters on the board section using the Search Rules.

This room always generates an Event when entered.

Crumbling Room (aka Torture Chamber)
The walls and ceiling of this chamber have calcified and decayed over the centuries, and large chunks fall to the ground at the slightest disturbance.

Each Power Phase, roll 2D6 - one for the vertical axis of the room and one for the horizontal.  Determine a square on the 4x4 board section by cross referencing the two dice rolls.  Any 5 or 6 rolled negates the result and indicates that there was no crumbling this turn.  Place a Falling Block or similar marker in the indicated square.  If there is a figure standing there, the figure must pass an Initiative Test or take 1D6 unmodified Wounds.  Move the figure to an adjacent square after resolving this.  The square now contains a huge pile of fallen, crumbling rubble and is impassible.

A figure can spend their entire Phase attempting to push a block 1 square, requiring a Strength Check.  For each additional fallen block in a row being pushed, subtract 1 from the Check.

This room always generates an Event when entered.

Crocodile

Another 70 cent figure I picked up at Lincoln Park Zoo, and produced by Safari Limited.  Daemonslave over at the Warseeer forums has published a good set of stats for Crocodiles, which I reproduce here.  The only thing I modified was the addition of the Swimmer Special Rule.

Wounds:	6
Move:	3
Weapon Skill:	3
Ballistic Skill:	-
Strength:	5
Toughness:	5
Initiative:	2
Attacks:	1
Gold:	125
Armor:	-
Damage:	1D6

Special Rules
Jaws (5+), Swimmer

Jaws (n+)
If the to hit roll is "n" or above then the creature has locked the hero in its mighty jaws. Any damage is doubled and the warrior must pass a strength test instead of his next round of attacks or be hit again automatically in the monsters attacking phase. If a warrior is ensnared the creature will not attempt to bite anyone else until the hero is killed or escaped, but may make normal attacks as usual (attacks with tail, etc instead).

Sewer Events

I will be using these new Dungeon Events for my Sewer-based adventures.

1D6 Giant Frogs (x2)

1D3 Crocodiles (x2)

Wave of Sewage
You hear an ominous roar getting closer and closer. Suddenly, the entire chamber is flooded with a surging wave of raw sewage, sweeping over everything in its path!
Determine a random direction for the wave - it will always come from one of the doorways in the current board section. Each figure on the board section is pushed in the direction of the wave for 2D6 squares, losing 1 Fatigue Point per square. Warriors that are pushed a square when they are at zero Fatigue Points begin to drown in the churning filth and lose 1 Wound per square. If a figure is blocked and unable to move further, they lose 1 Wound for each square they are unable to move, as the wave batters them relentlessly.

Sewer Pig
The party is adopted by a quite large pig that somehow found its way into the sewer system.
The pig squeals with delight at seeing its new companions, and it follows the Warriors around, moving after them (Movement 4) during the Warrior Phase.  It will try to remain just out of range of the Warriors but close enough to be a nuisance.  It is so loud that it causes an Unexpected Event on a roll of 1 or 2 during the Power Phase.  The Warriors can attack the pig - any hit will kill it.  But it is so accustomed to the environment that it effectively has Dodge 4+ and Magic Resistance 4+.  Each time it evades an attack, it squeals so loudly that if a 1 or 2 is rolled in the Power Phase next turn, two Event Cards are drawn instead of one.  Monsters ignore it as not a threat.  If the pig survives to the end of the adventure, the Warriors discover that it is actually a prize sow, and its grateful owner rewards them with 2D6x50 Gold to divide among them.

Razor Fish
You feel a sudden and sharp pain rip at your submerged ankles and calves.
The Razor Fish are drawn to blood, so each Wounded Warrior who is in a Sewer Tunnel board section must roll a number of dice equal to the number of Wounds they have currently lost. If any of the dice come up 1, they lose an additional Wound in the attack.

Sewer Gasses
A brilliant fireball suddenly surrounds the Leader, as the flame of the Lantern ignites a concentrated area of highly flammable sewer gas!
The Warrior with the Lantern takes 1D6 unmodified Wounds as the exposed flame flares up in a deadly fireball, and anyone adjacent to him takes 1D6 Wounds modified for Toughness.  All Warriors that fail a Toughness Check are knocked unconscious by breathing the gas. They can try to pass a Toughness Check at the start of every future turn to recover.

Sewer Urchin
In the distance you see the form of a small child peeking around a corner.  The poor kid is obviously lost in the sewers, who knows for how long!  However, he is very skittish of strangers and keeps his distance.
Place a mini to represent the lost child.  Put him as far away from the Warriors as possible while still being in visual range.  Each turn he moves in the Warrior Phase, after everyone else has moved, and with a Movement of 4 attempts to keep as far away as possible but still within the light of the Lantern.  Monsters will ignore the child as he is not a threat.  If a Warrior happens to end their turn adjacent to him, roll below:
1. The Urchin manages to deftly steal 1D6x20 Gold from the Warrior and slips away 4 squares.
2. The Urchin screams loudly, draw an Event Card, and then slips away 4 squares.
3. The Warrior makes brief eye contact, but the Urchin slips away 4 squares.  Add +1 to future rolls on this table for this Warrior.
4. The Warrior struggles with the Urchin, keeping hold of the squirming child.  The Warrior can spend their next turn trying to calm the boy down.  At that time, roll again at +1 on this table.
5. The Warrior manages to calm the child down, and he quietly tags along behind the Warriors.  When the adventure is over, he follows them out of the sewers and slips away into the streets.  The Warrior who rescued the child gains 1 Luck Token.
6. The Warrior calms the child as in 5 above.  At the end of the adventure, the boy leads the Warriors to his home.  There the Warrior is offered a reward, make a Gold roll at x20.

Sewer Fever
You begin to feel the onset of a powerful sickness creep into your bones.
For the remainder of the adventure, a random Warrior is -1 on two of their stats, player's choice.

Putrid Waters
Continued exposure to the filthy wastes in the sewer have caused the Warriors' perishables to spoil.
Each Warrior must discard 1D6 Provisions, Bandages, food items, or any other perishable items of their choice. The Warrior decides how many of each item to discard.

Glop-foot
You feel a nagging itch and soreness develop in your foot. It grows stronger and stronger, hampering your ability to walk.
A random Warrior has contracted Glop-foot - a painful condition caused by constant marching in soggy boots. The Warrior's Movement is reduced by 1 for the remainder of the adventure.

Dysentery
You feel your inside start to churn, and your head reels. Unless you can get away from the others quickly you will find yourself in a very embarrassing position!
A random Warrior is infested with Dysentery, and must spend the next turn moving as far away from the other Warriors as possible, ignoring Pinning. During the following turn he can do nothing (you can imagine what's happening during that turn!) For the remainder of the adventure the Warrior operates at -1 Toughness, and the experience was so distressful that he loses 1 Starting Wound permanently.

Water Seepage
You notice that the wet conditions of the sewer have caused irreparable damage to some of your more  fragile items.
Each Warrior must roll 1D6 for any paper item he carries, such as a scroll. On a 1-3, the seepage has rendered the item useless, discard it.

Slashed Throat
There is a dark form sticking up from a puddle in the corner.  As you examine the scene, you roll over a bloated corpse with its throat cleanly slit.  You recognize the victim as someone from the Settlement who was rumored to the in thick with the Thieves' Guild.
Armed with this information, the Warriors can use it to re-roll any singly roll in the Settlement when dealing with any thug, thief, or other member of the underworld.  This benefit is valid only during the next visit to a Settlement.

The following Event Cards should also be included in the "Sewer Event Deck":

2D6 Giant Bats
Carnivorous Flies
Falling Block
2D6 Giant Spiders
Spore Fungus
Old Bones
Dead Body
Spider's Lair
2D6 Giant Rats
Acid Slime

Swimmer

Monsters with the Swimmer Special Rule do not suffer any of the adverse combat effects while Swimming.

Sewer Adventures

Presented here are a set of rules for running adventures in the sewer systems under the Towns and Cities of the Old World.  I'm basing these rules on the Skeleton Key Games "Sewer Tunnels" tile set, but you should be able to adopt any sewer tiles to these rules.

Building the Dungeon Deck

Sewer adventures use a combination of the standard Dungeon Cards from Warhammer Quest, and the Skeleton Key Games “Sewer Tunnels” tiles.
This method uses Sewer Tunnel tiles ST1 through ST26, so you will need some way to represent these as cards.  I suggest using spare Event or Treasure Cards, and somehow marking the tile number on the front of the card.  These cards will be mixed with some standard Warhammer Quest Dungeon Cards.  The fact that the Sewer Tunnel cards have different backs is a plus, because, as you lay out the Dungeon, you'll need to know whether the next room is a Sewer Tunnel or a Dungeon Room.

Mix 11 random "Sewer Cards" with the following Dungeon Cards from WHQ: Collapsed Passage, Well of Doom, Torture Chamber, Guard Room and the Dungeon Cell.  These rooms represent raised areas in the sewers.  Shuffle the Objective Room into the bottom 8 cards of the deck.  Special rules to use the Dungeon Rooms in a sewer adventure are presented in another post.

Events

Unless otherwise specified in a Quest’s Special Rules, Sewer Tunnel board sections do not trigger Events when a Warrior moves into them.

Exploring the Sewers

The Sewers are a twisting maze of tunnels, and are not connected to each other via doorways like normal WHQ tiles.

• There is always a chance that a doorway exists along one of the walls of the sewer tunnels.  The doorway might lead to another sewer tunnel, or a dungeon room.  When a Sewer Tunnel board section is placed (unless it is the 4-way intersection) roll 1D6.  On a roll of 1, the tunnel contains an extra doorway.  Roll to determine which wall contains the doorway.
• After resolving whether or not the Sewer Tunnel contains an extra doorway, it is time to divide the Dungeon Deck, if required.  Divide the Deck as you normally would if the Sewer Tunnel contains more than one exit.
• The last step is to complete the tunnels exit(s) leading out of the board section.  Observe the back of the Dungeon Card for each Sewer Tunnel exit leading out.  If the Card is a normal WHQ Dungeon Card, place a doorway at that exit like normal.  However, if it is a Sewer Card, turn the card over right away and place the resulting board section immediately, without a doorway connecting it.  This represents the Sewer Tunnels continuing in a long, maze-like network.

Swimming

The green squares in the Sewer Tunnels are filled with deep sewer water.  If a Warrior wishes to enter a flooded square, they must use the Swimming Rules.  Monsters can pass through these squares for a cost of 2 Movement Points.

Sewage Pipes

During each Power Phase that a Warrior is on a board section containing a sewer pipe, there is a chance that the pipe will produce a gushing wave of sewage that can push all figures on the board section back with its tremendous force.

• Roll a 1D6 in the Power Phase if the Warriors are in a Sewer Tunnel that contains sewage pipes..  If there is one pipe in the room, it gushes a wave of sewage on a roll of 1.  If there are two pipes, the first pipe gushes on a roll of 1, and the second one on a roll of 2.  Continue the pattern for rooms with 3 or 4 pipes.
• When a pipe gushes sewage, each figure on the board must pass a Strength Check, or they are pushed 1D6 squares in the direction of the wave (a Warrior can choose to forgo the Strength Check if they wish to ride the wave voluntarily).  For each square pushed, a Warrior loses 1 Fatigue Point.  For each square pushed when a Warrior is at zero Fatigue Points, they lose 1D3 Wounds as they begin to drown and swallow the filthy water.

Bridges

The bridges across the sewers are extremely slimy and hazardous.  Each square moved requires the Warrior to pass an Initiative Check.  Failure indicates the Warrior falls off the bridge, determine the direction randomly.  Remember that entering a water square counts as Swimming.

Iron Gates

Some sewer tunnels are blocked with old, rusty iron gates.  A Warrior adjacent to such a gate can spend their entire Warrior Phase attempting to bend/break the old bars.  This requires a Strength Check.

Ladders

The iron ladders lead to additional exit points for the Warriors to leave/re-enter the sewers if they wish.  To access an exit, a Warrior must first pass an Initiative Check to climb up the slimy ladder.  Failure indicates that they fall and take 1D6 Wounds unmodified, ending their turn.  Once a Warrior makes it to the top, they must try and open the old, rusted manhole cover.  This requires a Strength Check, and there is only one opportunity per exit.  Failure indicates that the exit is so tightly sealed that it is impossible to open.

That wraps up the general rules for setting up and running an adventure in the slimy, dank sewers of the Old World.  Future posts will provide Special Rules for the Dungeon Rooms, and Special Events to use for sewer-based adventures.

Giant Frog

A few days ago it was a gorgeous, sunny day in Chicago and I took the family to Lincoln Park Zoo.  In the gift shop I came upon a display of small miniature animal figures by the thousands.  I picked up some frogs, crocodiles, and a pig.  These figs are from a company called Safari Limited, and they even produce fantasy figures, including a great looking dragon for $15.  This might bear further investigation!  Anyway, it will be fun to place some of these little rubber frogs on the board when the Warriors are deep in the sewers!

Wounds:	3
Move:	6
Weapon Skill:	3
Ballistic Skill:	-
Strength:	3
Toughness:	3
Initiative:	4
Attacks:	1
Gold:	45
Armor:	-
Damage:	1D6

Special Rules
Bounce, Never Pinned, Tongue Lash

Tongue Lash
The Giant Frog can lash out its tongue at a figure 2 squares away.  If the Attack hits, the target is pulled next to the Giant Frog and takes normal damage.

Swimming Rules

I'm collecting ideas for creating a Quest that takes place under a city/town, in a sewer system that's flooding.  In several areas the Warrior might need to swim, so I'm trying to flesh out some quick and dirty (literally) house rules that will allow them to swim through the filth.

Fatigue Points

At the start of the adventure each Warrior will roll 1D6 for every point of Toughness they have.  The total will be the Warrior's "Fatigue Points" for the adventure.  Dwarfs must halve their total after the roll, due to their natural disaffinity for water.

Swimming

A Warrior can swim through a square containing water at a cost of 2 Movement Points, and 1 Fatigue Point.  If a Warrior stays put treading water for an entire turn it costs 1 Fatigue Point. Whenever a Warrior is required to lose a Fatigue Point when they have none left, they begin to drown and lose 1D3 Wounds.

Swimming and Armor

I watched a historical TV show that once said that swimming in plate mail was actually not as difficult as is believed.  There's also this link that supports my memory.  Still, it will tire you out pretty quickly!  For every point of Armor worn that reduces your Movement rate, deduct 1 additional Fatigue Point for each Swim Move made.

Swimming and Combat

Figures Swimming suffer -1 Attacks (1 minimum), and each attack is made at -1.  For obvious reasons, missile fire is not possible.  Exceptions to this rule are Monsters tagged with the Swimmer or Fly Special Rules.

Regaining Fatigue Points

Once out of the water, the Warrior regains 1 Fatigue Point per turn.  If they do nothing but stay in the same square, rest, and catch their breath, they regain 1D6 Fatigue Points.

Session One

In our session last night we had a Barbarian, Elf, Wizard and Warrior Priest.  We began with some light role playing to establish some relationships between the Warriors.  The Wizard and Elf came in as friends, the Wizard trying to look after the rather squishy (8 Wounds) Elf, and the Elf secretly longing to learn about magic, and thus sticking close to his Wizard friend.  On the opposite side of the table, the Warrior Priest made it his role to try and spread the word of Sigmar to the heathen Barbarian, who with reluctance admitted to a certain curiosity about the religion.

The Warriors were set on a quest to penetrate the Tomb Chamber of a Dwarf King dead for two centuries.  Their patron, an aged Dwarf named Galius Stonebrow, wanted to restore the honor of his long disgraced Clan.  His Clan’s custom was to engrave the walls of the Tomb Chamber with important information about the Clan, including maps, layouts of the Hold, and other valuable details.  He hoped that the Warriors could transcribe the information and return it back to him.  He promised a handsome reward - Gold commensurate with the amount of information they could return.

So the Warriors made their way to the World’s Edge Mountains, and through the cave entrance indicated on their map.  After traveling down a twisted maze of tunnels that seemed to go on forever, they finally made it to the entrance of the ancient Dwarf Hold.  They had no idea what kind of foul creatures they would find within, but the Barbarian grimly led them forward into the first room, holding the Lantern firmly before them.

They stepped into a large room bathed in a green glow.  This was a Skaven Warpfire Forge, and every turn they spent in the room they risked radiation damage.  The Warpfire Forge itself was at the other end of the chamber, accessible by an elevated walkway that also led to two doors leading out of the room.  The Warriors had heard of these tainted devices, a corruption of the masterful Dwarven forging technology by the vile mutant rat-men.  They also knew that if they thrust a weapon into the Forge, there was a good chance that it would come out with some kind of magical enhancement.

So they braved the radiation, and the Barbarian was the first to venture up to the seething green furnace and thrust his sword into it.  The whole room crackled with energy, and he withdrew his blade and saw that it glowed a brilliant green!  It could now be used like the Lantern to illuminate board sections, and more important, would now do an extra 1D6 damage whenever it hit!

The Elf was next to try his luck, but he did not get quite the same result.  Instead, the Forge belched, consuming his sword and spattering him with Warpstone magma, nearly killing him!  He also rolled to avoid a Chaos mutation from the exposure.

At that point, a Portcullis slammed shut, sealing the Warriors in the dungeon, and then they were assaulted by 10 Skaven Clanrats.  The rat-men were defending their creation against the intruders!  The battle was joined on the room’s ramparts, with the Elf quickly getting swarmed and taking fatal blows.  Fortunately for the Warriors, the Wizard was able to Resurrect him in short order to continue the fight.

Just then 8 Giant Spiders sprang out and joined the attack.  The Wizard at one point was totally surrounded by Spiders and Skaven, but with one mighty sweep of his sword managed to slay all the enemies surrounding him.  He quickly gained the reputation for being a Wizard whose sword was more potent than his Spells!

As the battle continued, the Warriors relied again and again on the healing capability of the Warrior Priest’s Ring of Jade.  Over and over again, the Warrior Priest managed to get lucky rolls that kept himself and his companions in good health.

Not able to get into direct battle due to a bottleneck, the Barbarian decided to explore beyond one of the doors in the room, and ventured into a passageway.  There he was challenged to single combat by a huge Orc named Skullbasha.  Skullbasha wielded the Sword of Malediction, which dealt an extra Wound and could negate magic next to it.  The Barbarian went into a berserk rage, gaining 1 Attack per turn, but had bad rolls the first few turns and didn’t manage to hit Skullbasha.  But finally his luck turned, and with the extra bite of his Warpfire-infused sword quickly put down the massive Orc with two blows.

With all of the Monsters defeated the Warriors collected their Gold and Treasure Cards, and regrouped in the passageway.  The Barbarian opened the next door, leading into the Shaman’s Den.  The Wizard decided not to enter the Den yet, because he knew doing so might wreak havoc on his spellcasting ability.  In the multi-level room, the party was first assaulted by the “Fascination of Slaanesh” – and had to try and pass Willpower Checks to avoid the effects.  Only the Warrior Priest succumbed, and stopped with a glazed look on his slackened face.  He would be incapable of doing anything until he was struck in combat and shaken out of the trance.

He didn’t stay under the Fascination for long, because 3 Hobgoblins ambushed the Warriors from the upper level of the room.  After a few rounds of fighting, the whole room started rumbling – a massive cave in was underway and any Warrior left in the room by the end of the next turn would be killed by the falling rubble!

It looked like the Barbarian was doomed because he was pinned in the room by the Elf, and the Elf was pinned by the others.  Since the Barbarian was the Leader of the group, he always moved first, meaning he would not be able to move for 2 turns while all of the other Warriors scrambled out.  But some “guidance from above” (from me, the GM) reminded the players that the Warrior holding the Lantern was the Leader, and the Leader always moved first.  Taking the hint, the Barbarian passed the Lantern to the Elf, who was able to move first next turn and get out of the Barbarian’s way so he too could high-tail it out of the room before everything collapsed.  This turn of events made the Elf the Leader of the group, and drastically changed the turn order.

With the way sealed off by a cave-in, and the dungeon entrance blocked by a Portcullis, the Warriors had no choice but to retrace their steps and try their luck in the other door in the Warpfire Forge Room.  Sadly, along the way in the passage way, the Barbarian fell into a pit trap.  Since the party did not have a Rope to rescue him, he seemed doomed to die there.  But in Warhammer Quest there’s always the dreaded Escape Table when all hope seems lost!  As luck would have it, the resourceful Barbarian managed to squeeze through cramped tunnels in the bottom of the pit and eventually managed to find his way to freedom – he escaped the dungeon!

Trekking back through the Warpfire Forge, the Warriors again felt the deadly radiation.  But despite this, the Wizard decided that he wanted to try beefing up his sword with some Chaos!  He thrust the blade into the glowing green orifice – and it was consumed much like the Elf’s was.  Now the Wizard – who was the meanest killing machine in the group so far – was without his sword!

Exploring through the remaining door led the group to the Torture Chamber, and the Warrior Priest bravely entered alone.  He felt the gnawing spirits of the tortured victims – this room had the potential of slowly reducing a Warrior to 1 Movement if they could not pass a Willpower Test to shrug off the malicious spirits weighing on them!  But worse, after entering the chamber, the Warrior Priest beheld a fearsome Skaven creation – the Rat Golem – a massively powerful Rat Ogre that the Skaven had augmented with mechanized prosthesis.

Eyeballing the impressive stats of this powerful creature, the three remaining Warriors thought it best to try their luck on the Escape Table!  The Elf and Warrior Priest were able to battle their way out of the dungeon, but the Wizard died in the attempt.

The three survivors decided to try and make it to a City instead of a Town or Village, so they would face six weeks of Travel Hazards.  They came out largely unscathed, and the Warrior Priest even led the group to root out a group of Chaos Cultists and everyone collected some Gold.

In the city, the Barbarian headed directly to the seediest Alehouse he could find.  After getting completely hammered, he was run over by a carriage as he tried to stumble home.  He would need to spend 12 nights in the hospital!  So much for a quick trip to the Settlement!

The next Warrior to meet misfortune was the Warrior Priest, who was accused of being a heretic and was driven out of the City.  He’d have to wait for 11 more days Out in the Sticks!

The Elf fared much better, even stopping a burglary of a jewelry store and receiving a handsome reward.  He wound up earning quite a bit of Gold and two Treasure Cards during his stay in the City!

The Warriors quickly recruited another Wizard and set off again to the dungeon.  Galius had informed them of an alternate entrance.  This time they entered into a Black Dais Chamber that contained 3 Goblin Fanatics.  The Goblins remained on the evil Dais, granting them +1 to their to-hit and damage rolls, and +2 Toughness.  With bad rolls by the Warriors, the Goblins managed to kill three of the Warriors before the Barbarian finally managed to slay them with his Chaos-enhanced sword.

That’s where we left it – with the lone Barbarian exiting the dungeon, having once again failed in the quest, but at least having the dubious honor of being the only Warrior to have survived the entire session, and with about 1000 Gold to boot – half way to the amount needed to reach Battle Level 2!

The Lost Book of Grudges: Deep Three – Sanctum of Blackfang

(Quest Prologue)
(Continued from Deep Two - The Spider Pits)

The Warriors continue their penetration of the Blackfang Orc lair.  This underground complex was once the Hold of the Stonebrow Dwarf Clan, and the Warriors were hired by one of the last living members of that old Clan, Galius Stonebrow, to find the Clan's Book of Grudges.  The Book is supposed to lie somewhere here in Deep Three.  But this Deep also happens to be the Sanctum of Blackfang, monstrous leader of the Orc tribe.  The Warriors will need to either avoid, or eliminate Blackfang in order to succeed.

Note: This adventure is intended to be run with a Gamesmaster, as it contains information that should not be provided to the Warriors until the proper time.

Moving from Deep Two to Deep Three

• The Warriors are able to find a resting place between Deeps, and enter Deep Three at full Wounds and Power.
• Remember, if the Warriors had to retreat to a Settlement during their explorations, add 1D6 Orcs to the first Unexpected Event.

Setting up the Dungeon Deck

• Reserve Gorgut's Lair and the Forgotten Chamber, then draw 12 random Dungeon Cards.
• The GM should randomly pick a Dungeon Room from these 12, and note down which Room it is.  This Room contains the secret door leading to the Book of Grudges!
• Build the Dungeon Deck normally, using Gorgut's Lair as the Objective Room.  Keep the Forgotten Chamber to the side for later.

Special Rules

Locating the Door of Frost

In one of the rooms in the dungeon is a secret, magical Door of Frost, beyond which is the resting place of the Stonebrow Clan's Book of Grudges.  The Door is concealed by a thin layer of masonry.  Through various clues in the prior Deeps, the Warriors might become aware of the Frost Door.

• When the Warriors enter the room that the GM secretly determined contains the Door of Frost, the GM should next randomly determine which wall the hidden Door is set into.
• If any Warrior moves adjacent to that wall, the GM should indicate that they feel a strong cold emanating from the wall.
• If a Warrior brandishes the Granite Orb Scepter (a Deep Two Special Treasure Card), it will begin to glow when the Warriors enter the room containing the Door of Frost, and glow brilliantly as soon as the Warrior steps adjacent to the wall containing the Door.
• If a Warrior indicates that they are searching in the area that contains the Door, the fragile masonry quickly crumbles away, revealing the frozen Door.  Place a Doorway on the board to represent the Door of Frost.

The Door of Frost appears to be made from faintly glowing, blue ice.  In the center of the frost-encrusted door is engraved a circular depression about 2 inches deep and a foot in diameter, icicles dangling from the top.

• The Door radiates such extreme cold that any figure that begins their turn adjacent to it suffers 1D3 unmodified Wounds.
• The Door is magically sealed, but could be battered down with enough force.  It has a Toughness of 5 and can sustain 30 Wounds from hand weapons or Magic Spells (Fire attacks do double damage).
• An easier way to open the Door of Frost is to insert either the Dwarf Stone RuneDisk (Special Treasure Card from Deep One) or the Granite Orb Scepter (Special Treasure Card from Deep Two) into the circular area of the door.  Doing so causes the Door to open with a crackling of ice.

Objective Room - Sanctum of Blackfang

It is quite possible for clever Warriors to discover the Book of Grudges on their own without even needing to enter the Objective Room.  However, if the Warriors manage to defeat Blackfang and his minions, the reward is great.  Doing so also provides a clear cut clue leading to the Book of Grudges in this Deep.

• Place Blackfang on the throne on the upper level of the Room.  He and his minions will use the height to their advantage as much as possible during the battle.
• Next to Blackfang, place his Ogre bodyguard, Morg (assuming Morg was not killed in an Unexpected Event).
• If Tarantalus survived his encounters with the Warriors in Deep Two, place him in the room next to Blackfang as well.
• Along with this cast of colorful characters are 1D6 Black Orcs and 1D6 Orc Archers.  Roll 2 dice for each group of Monsters and use the higher number.

Reward

• If the Warriors defeat the Monsters, they discover an Objective Room Treasure, as well as the Black Stone RuneDisk (Deep One Special Treasure Card) if they do not already possess it.
• Additionally, the Warriors find ancient stone tablets that describe how the Book of Grudges was sealed behind a hidden Door of Frost located somewhere in this Deep.  Any Dwarfs in the party can read this information.  If there are no Dwarfs in the party (pity!) then the Warriors will need to make a trip back to a Settlement with the documents so they can be translated by Galius.  Based on this information, the Warriors may desire to start searching rooms for the Door.  If so, use the Search Rules described here.  When they Search the room that contains the Door, reveal it to them after the Warriors are repositioned.

The Book of Grudges

When the Warriors Explore through the Door of Frost, place the Forgotten Chamber board section.  Inside they discover the ancient Book of Grudges sitting atop a pedestal made of crystal.  Any Warrior can pick up and lug the Book with them, but it is bound in iron and extremely heavy and bulky.

• The Warrior carrying the Book of Grudges suffers a -2 to their Movement rate.

Completing the Quest

After making it back to a Settlement, Galius spends the next 2D6 days combing through the Book and carefully communicating his findings to his trusted contacts in Dwarven society.  Something big is surely on the horizon ... a shake up of Dwarven politics of a titanic scale!

The Warriors need to remain in the Settlement while Galius spends this time planning and organizing.  After he is completed, he is able to pay the Warriors a handsome reward indeed ... a portion of the funding he has received to set in motion what needs to be done next to correct a grievous crime!  Each Warrior receives 500 Gold for completing the Quest!

Special Event Cards

To build the Event Deck for this Deep, draw 8 random Event Cards and mix these with the Special Event Cards below, as well as any unused Special Event Cards from Deeps One and Two.  Place these cards on top of the Event Deck.

1D6+1 Black Orcs and 1 Ogre.  The Ogre is Morg, Blackfang's bodyguard.  If he is killed here, he will not appear in the Objective Room.

Two-Pronged Attack!  A group of Blackfang Orcs have been tracking the Warriors and spring a well-planned attack.  Place two groups of Orcs, 1D6 in number each, on opposite ends of the Warriors.  Use a newly-explored board section if need be to place the second group.  Each group appears 1D3 squares away from the Warriors.

The Fang Door.  The next doorway that the Warriors uncover is engraved with a gaping, fanged mouth, and radiates foul magic.  The Warrior who attempts to Explore beyond this door must struggle against the enchantments of Tarantalus.  The Warrior must pass a Willpower Check or they reel against the Spell, suffer 1D6 unmodified Wounds, and are knocked unconscious for 1D3 turns.

Trap!  The Spiked Crusher.  A random Warrior sets off a trap.  A massive, spiked iron grating drops from the ceiling, doing 2D6 Wounds on all figure in a 2x2 area, pick an area that contains the Warrior who set the trap, plus as many Warriors and as few Monsters as possible.  Use a Pit of Despair marker to represent the trap.  Moving out from under this trap is also quite difficult and hazardous.  It takes a complete turn of movement, and inflicts a further 1D6 Wounds.  Moving into a square containing the trap requires a successful Initiative Check or the figure loses their footing and falls into the square, taking 1D6 Wounds, and remains prone until the start of their next turn.

Dwarf Wall Engravings.  The Warriors come upon a wall that is adorned with beautiful frescoes depicting life in the Dwarven Hold as it was before these delves were overrun by Orcs and Skaven hundreds of years ago.  The work is so inspiring that each Warrior gains +1 to hit during the entirety of the next (or current) combat, with any Dwarfs in the party also gaining +1 Attacks.

Trap!  Barbed Portcullis.  A heavy iron portcullis laced with razor sharp spikes drops from the doorway that the Warriors entered from, sealing them in.  To make matters worse, 1D6+1 Orc Archers take up positions behind the blocked portal and begin firing at the Warriors.  To lift the portcullis requires a full Warrior Phase, and a Strength Check at 9 difficulty.  But during each attempt the Warrior exposes himself to savage cuts from the barbs and spikes, taking 1D3 unmodified Wounds.

Dissenters.  The Warriors encounter a group of 1D6+1 Orcs who signal that they want to parlay.  Assuming the Warriors do not attack, this group reveals themselves to be dissenters who seek to topple Blackfang.  They see him as an abomination who needs to be wiped off the Greenskin map.  Since the Warriors are already running amok in the lair, the dissenters offer to juice things up if the Warriors can eliminate Blackfang.  Should the Warriors accept the offer, the dissenters will be watching from a distance (they cannot make their presence known to any of the other Blackfang Orcs.)  After Blackfang and his minions are killed in the Objective Room, roll below:

1-2. The dissenters pounce on the party, attempting to enslave them as they claim rulership of the tribe.  Should the Warriors lose this battle they are not killed but are subdued, and can reawaken in a holding cell which will set up the next adventure in which they need to escape.
3-4. The dissenters congratulate the Warriors and offer them half of a Gold cache worth a total of 2D6x100 Gold.  The Warrior can attack the dissenters if they wish to try and claim the entire cache, or can accept the reward at which point the shadowy Orcs disappear into the tunnels.
5-6. The dissenters proclaim the Warriors heroes, and the entire tribe is grateful to them for slaying the tyrannous Blackfang.  For the rest of the adventure, the Warriors can ignore any Event Card that results in Greenskins or Ogres.

Special Treasure Cards

To build the Treasure Deck for this adventure, draw 8 random Treasure Cards, and mix them with the 2 Special Treasure Cards below, as well as any of the unused Special Treasure Cards from Deeps One and Two.  Place this stack on top of the Treasure Deck.

Estalian Dueling Pistol (800 Gold)
This finely crafted dueling pistol looks like a valuable heirloom of ancient Estalia.  What it's doing here is anybody's guess, but if the noble family in Estalia could be tracked down, they would doubtless pay a fortune for its return.
The value of the item (800 Gold) represents what a normal Gunsmith would pay for the item.  The pistol is of no use in adventuring, being made specially for dueling purposes only.  If the Warriors could track down the noble family in Estalia that this Pistol originates from the reward could be much greater.

Map to a Chaos Cult Caverns
Tucked in leather satchel hidden under a flagstone you discover a brown, faded map with accompanying writings.  The map details the location of secret Chaos Cult in the World's Edge Mountains, and the writing claims that the Cult is in possession of a powerful artifact.
Draw an Objective Room Treasure Card and use this as the basis for a future quest.