For quite some time now I have been relishing the opportunity of getting my hands dirty in the dungeons of Rodeo Games adaptation of the Warhammer Quest board game. After downloading this game from the app store I did eventually fire it up to relive the old days of dungeon questing, through the magic of tablet technology.
At the same time I have been putting the finishing touches to my draft for this year's grand campaign battle. An annual multi-player Mordheim bash featuring special guests, this year's event is set to take place in my fathers garage! After discussing the theme and premise of the scenario with João Sousa (who has a new blog called Fistful of Minis) we came up with a suitable plan. Oh, the adventure requires player aids. Here are some advance previews to download!
Download - Scenario 17: Colony of Plenty (PDF, ca. 0.2 MB)
Download - Marketplace (PDF, ca. 0.8 MB)
Download - Unknowable Cargo (PDF, ca. 0.5 MB)
The game is being played over the mountain gaming board that was constructed for the Border Town Burning campaign! At the moment the main table top is hidden under a blanket, stuffed behind a load of crap in the garage corner. Shelob moved in! Time to blow out the cobwebs. There will be last minute repairs made from cats jumping about on the tinder causeways. It promises to be nostalgic.
Returning to the subject of quests. Playing the Warhammer Quest app is a nostalgia trip. For those familiar with the original game there will be many old memories that come flooding back. My barbarian hero is like a faithful returning friend, the wood elf is now a waywatcher and I've been allowed to replace the dwarf with an ogre! The grey-robed wizard is a poor excuse for a shadowmancer so I replaced him with the witch hunter character. When travelling between settlements there are some inspiring graphics been modelled to demonstrate settlements the Stirland, Reikland and Averland provinces. Hopefully more will be added for players who are more addicted to questing than myself.
The topical subject I wished to raise is that of magic artefacts. Not only can items be quested for and bought using gold crowns but they can also be purchased on the app store using cold hard cash. Seems like cheating to me. You can't buy Gotrek's Axe in the Warhammer World! But in this game you can. The famed weapon 'Sunfang' can be snapped up at the bargain price of a few pounds. What would Prince Tyrion of Ulthuan have to say about that. According to lore only he has wielded it, beyond Aenarion himself.
Good luck wrestling that sword away from the blood of Aenarion! But wait, it gets better. A friend of mine who has bought the app and is more technical than me had this to say...
"Embarrassingly rodeo do not know the first thing about app security and put all the in app purchases for WHQ into an easily modified config file. What would you recommend as a starting party given I have access to all characters. Now my inventory is so full of premium items that I will need to throw away. Staff of Volans does look really cool though."
Egrimm van Horstmann infamously raided the vaults beneath the College of Light for rare arcana. There have been a number of classic stories of greater artefacts falling into unexpected hands following unusual circumstances. This one must take the cake. The receiver of the artefact cache is actually talking about disposing of the Staff of Volans! Unlike fans of lore, he has no clue that Volans was the first Supreme Patriarch for the Colleges of Magic. It won't just be hierophants throwing their hands up in despair because the ancient staff presented to Volans by Teclis benefits not only wizards from the College of Light!
Of course this heist brings us back round to the Marienburg setting. In the City of Secret Deals any item can be sought at the right price. If thieves could unwittingly lay their hands on Ghal-Maraz during the Black Death in Time of Legends, and now Staff of Volans then any greater artefact could be considered fair game for pickpockets.
The six items I ferreted out as seeming appropriate for the Mutiny in Marienburg campaign are not quite as famed as those two mighty weapons but they should put an interesting spin on your Mordheim campaign games. Rolling a 6 on the Greater Artefacts Chart means living the dream. Unlike accessing the app store you need to do something to earn it!
On a final note the download for 'Marketplace' is not 100% complete although it may look it. This player aid contains a lot of useful entries that need to be shared with anyone utilising other MiM downloads. The Greater Artefacts Chart ties in with various chapters including this new special scenario and the Magician's Workshop in Potion Square. One of my favourite features is the Animal Emporium. The final entry here was for a Geckamand.
The chameleonic fire-lizard came about when I encountered a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay web site where the hosts were adapting material from my Mordheim campaign for their Marienburg roleplay adventure. The lascar, Salaman Singh was featured in all his despicable glory as a crime-lord in their roleplay adventure. In their RPG campaign the 'Salamander' from the Spice Islands of Ind makes an appearance along with a dog-sized subterranean creature he keeps as a pet in his hot steamy boudoir! It seemed only appropriate to reshuffle the chart to account for the discovery.
"I don't trust playwrights. They can be paid. The vanity of other men is their master, not the truth."
— Captain Meisen of the Scarlet Blades, Averland Mercenary
