The Touch of Death

[ObviousPlayer]

Hi folks,
I've written my own WHQ campaign that I thought some people might be interested in. In short, a Witch Hunter, Warpriest, Seraphon and Aelf undertake a quest to root out an evil that has made its home in Uglu. Here's the opener. The Witch Hunter is named after an old Mordheim equivalent who also faced a problem with the undead.  I welcome any feedback and let me know if you would like to see more:

***

 

"Welcome Marius."

An ancient Duardin with a snow white beard and wizened lines that traced out from piercing blue eyes beckoned to the Witch Hunter entering the chamber.

Marius Dire took in is his surroundings. The chamber was vast and vaulted. A domed ceiling bearing numerous frescoes depicting a God-King's conquest of the Realms arched overhead. In the distance, flashes of lightening illuminated archaic machines of ancient design and the rumble of thunder pealed across a black marble floor. The Forge Eternal, where demi-Gods were re-made, lay not nearby.

"Master Brundsson." Marius smiled with warmth. "How may His most Holy Order serve you today".

The old Duardin shifted uncomfortably and did not return the Witch Hunter's smile. "These are dark time Marius. Our Lord's storm rolls out across the Mortal Realms bringing justice and retribution to the servants of dark powers. Nevertheless we are stretched thin and the battles are hard fought. We here in the Forge work tirelessly to return the God-King's soldiers to him so that they may be redeployed as per our Lord's plans".

Marius nodded. By what artifice great Sigmar had defeated death itself so that his Stormcast may be re-made when slain on the field of battle was a mystery to all save a precious few.

"There are…anomalies Marius." The dwarf paused for a moment. His gaze elsewhere. "Anomalies that must be investigated."

Marius waited patiently for Brundsson to continue. Though they had met only a handful of times, Marius knew the legend of Aleric Brundsson well. He was a master artificer and one of Sigmar's most devoted servants. He had toiled in the Forge Eternal for his entire career, some 300 years, and had succeeded his father in position. Brundsson had good reason for the pride in his heritage. He was a wise and well respected Duardin who had the ear of a God so when he spoke with caution, Marius knew the circumstances were severe.

"Stormcast are returning to us in a…changed state". Marius raised his eyebrows. The re-forging process and its effects were still not fully understood.

"Not many" continued the Artificer. "Just a handful at the moment. They are re-forged but, when the process is complete, their minds are utterly broken. They will attack any living thing on sight and have had to be restrained. At first we thought it a consequence of too many re-forgings. The process is different for all and we are still learning of its consequences. But then Brother Tuomas was returned to us in the same state. He killed two of my fellows before he could be stopped. It was his first re-forging Marius."

Marius thought carefully before speaking. That the God-King’s elite could be brought so low was a horrifying notion but Marius was a Witch Hunter and his mind was immediately deployed to finding the source of this particular cancer. "Where are these insane Stormcast now?"

"We have them locked in Azyr's dungeons far from the eyes of the citizenry and where they can do no harm" the Artificer replied.

"And what do we know of the circumstances of their death?"

"Not much. Tuomas' battalion was deployed in Uglu. We have had no contact with his brothers that remain there and no way to know what has become of them. That in itself is a disturbing notion."

"Indeed" Marius mused.

Brundsson looked into Marius' eyes. "You must go there Marius. We cannot send more Stormcast to investigate a missing battalion and a handful of mindless brothers. Take any you trust for this task, find what is there that could break the minds of the God-King's chosen and bring Sigmar's justice to whatever lurks in the land of shadow."

***

[MacDuff]

I want to know more about the anomilities, please...

[ObviousPlayer]

So the idea is to have 4 independent pieces of fluff with each introducing a new hero. Here's the second one:

 

"Marius knocked twice on the great oak and brass bound door before him. It swung open and he surveyed the room’s interior. His oldest friend’s living quarters were sparse and befitting of a Warpriest of Sigmar. A mighty hammer bearing the twin tailed comet rested on a plinth, close at hand at all times, and a tall perch stood in one corner, its usual resident absent.

Dieter Valoriun, Warpriest of Sigmar and speaker for the faithful sat at the foot of his simple oak bed. He looked up at the Witch Hunter and closed the leatherbound tome he had been perusing.

“Marius, welcome”. The greeting was genuine but hid a furrow of concern. An unannounced and unexpected visit from a Witch Hunter of the Order was more often than not a thing to be feared and, though Dieter stood ready for his faith to be tested, he wondered at the lines that ran across his old friend’s brow.

As boys Marius and Dieter had been fortunate to be schooled together in Azyrheim. It had surprised many when Marius had decided to pursue a career in the Order rather than the Priesthood.

“Well met Dieter” Marius replied. “I will get straight to it. I am to once again bring Sigmar’s light to the darkness of the realms and I would have you at my side. I bear grave tidings my friend and will tell you all but we must act with haste and I need to collect our remaining companions.”

Without further question, Dieter collected his weapon, turned and then inclined his head towards the perch in the corner of his living space. There was a crackle of celestial energy following some unseen communication and a magnificent bird of prey appeared where none had been a moment before. It inclined its head knowingly towards Dieter, its feathers shimmering through purple and blue hues.

Marius stared in wonder. The faithful of Sigmar often formed strong bonds with the native fauna of the celestial realm and Dieter’s friendship with his companion was as strong as any familial connection. Dieter spoke directly to the creature.

“Accipitus, take word to the Grand Priest that I have undertaken a holy quest at the behest of the Order. Then return to me. I will need your help in whatever is to come”. With a screech the great Hawk leapt through the nearby window. Marius watched it gracefully soar over the rooftops and battlements of city until it was out of view.

“Your pet has grown into a proud beast Dieter” Marius remarked.

Dieter scoffed. “Accipitus is no pet. He chooses his own path as must we all.”

“Indeed. Now, if you will follow me I will need your assistance in summoning our remaining companions”.

Dieter gestured to the door and Marius lead the way."

[Mr. White]

The Fluff is good. Will you be providing a link to the actual adventures? Can any group of four heroes take part or will it need to be these four?

[ObviousPlayer]

So it's been a while but below is fluff item number 3 and our latest character to be introduced.

@Mr White - I have put together general rules for playing in the Realm of Shadow and the first adventure into an ancient tomb. They are a bit disjointed and are mostly my own rough notes (I also have no photo-shop skills sadly so struggle to make things like new hero/adversary cards). Hopefully I will get around to tidying them up and will then put them up here. You could happily play with any 4 heroes (plus one faithful companion).

 

 

The chamber they stood within was dark. Faint ochre candle light cast flickering shadows against the old brickwork of the walls. Marius stood from his crouched position where he had scrawled a pentagrammic sigil in chalk onto the cold stone floor. He unclasped a small jade stone from around his neck and placed it at the centre of the sigil.

Dieter looked on, his brow furrowed with concern.

“You know my feelings on the subject of sorcery Marius. I will brook no witch craft in my presence. Only Sigmar’s most holy light is pure enough to be wielded without corruption.”

Marius did not look up. “Dieter we have discussed this many times. The Realms are a more complicated place than that hypothesis admits and it is in the grey shadows between such notions that I must walk. Nevertheless, you have nothing to fear here my friend. These magics are born of pure star essence.”

Dieter did not look contented but remained quiet.

Marius stooped lower and whispered arcane words into the jade amulet set into the floor. Motes of light coalesced and danced in the space above it. Lightning crackled. An otherworldly wind blew across Marius and Dieter despite their being several metres underground. The air took on a faint smell of ozone.

Dieter had to raise his voice as the ethereal wind picked up.

“What is that trinket Marius? I have seen you wear it for years but never speak of it?”

“It is a gift.” Marius replied. “Offered many years ago in return for my service. I saved the life of its owner and it bequeathed this amulet to me together with the instructions for its use.”

Dieter noted the use of “it” rather than “him” or “her”.

Marius continued “It warned me to call upon the power of the amulet if ever I faced dire circumstance. I consider our present task sufficiently dire.”

Marius turned and looked at Dieter. The wind howled around his black leather cape and it billowed about his frame.

“Tell me Dieter, have you ever met a Star God?”

Before the Priest could reply the room was filled with actinic light, its centre in the pentagram. He shielded his eyes against the glare. The wind howled and lightning arced across the room.

Then as suddenly as it had begun the mystic storm abated. The room returned to quiet stillness. Dieter returned his gaze to the centre of the pentagram and recoiled with surprise and fear.

Standing in the room was a third occupant. Clawed feet tapped against the cobbled stone which was now blackened and charred from the celestial energies that had been unleashed. Rising up on hind-legs like a man stood a great lizard-thing. But this was no beast. Its fore-limbs clasped an ancient weapon and shield. Its eyes bore the fading glow of star magic. It growled a low and guttural sound before bending its head in greeting to Marius.

Marius grinned. “Dieter, may I present to you Lord Chatupex, first Warden of the Solar Watch and protector of the Dawn Choir”.

 

 

[ObviousPlayer]

I've also made some changes to the general rules:

 

Fate in Uglu - The fates are fickle in the land of Shadow. The Fate Dice work as follows:

At the start of each Round the Torchbearer may choose to Roll any number of Fate Dice between 0 and 5. However, if any of the Dice result in a 1 the Torchbearer player must discard that die and receive a Stunned marker as the magic of the Shades weakens him.  If all of the Dice show a 1 all the Heroes are stunned.

The Fate dice must all be rolled together after the player has decided how many dice to roll.

Note, fate dice are not locked (because of the change to the turn sequence described below).

Missile Attacks - Heroes may not make missile attacks whilst adjacent to any enemy.

Area Attacks - When making Area attacks roll all of the dice together and then the Attacker may assign hits as he sees fit

Turn  sequence - After any fate dice are rolled, all Heroes roll their hero dice for the turn. Then, starting with the torchbearer and moving clockwise, each hero may perform a single action. Any hero may pass but may not pass twice consecutively. Once the heroes have completed all actions move to the Adversary phase as usual.