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.