Scenario 6: the Temple of Morr
High Priest Vantor has corrupted the Temple of Morr. What was once hallowed ground is now a monument of Vantor’s madness, with the culmination of his depravity manifesting in the center of the building as a sinister device; the Soul Engine. Vantor and his dead thralls are seeking to complete their dark work, and tonight is the final night. With the fate of Empire, and perhaps beyond, hanging in the balance, The Priests of Morr lead their warbands to the Temple of Morr to put an end to Vantor’s deeds. Vantor must be stopped, and a new High Priest of Morr must be named.
terrain
This scenario is played a 4’ x 6’ area, or 4’ x 4’ if playing with fewer than three players. The Temple of Morr, represented by the largest building ideally with at least two levels, should be placed in the middle of the table with the Soul Engine at its center (use a large counter to represent it if you don’t have a suitable model). Place the Soul Engine on an upper floor if you can, and ensure that there are multiple ways up to it and plenty of room for warriors to fight at its base. If you do not have a suitable building, then any building or ruined terrain will do, so long as it serves as a notable centerpiece. Fill the remaining area with ruins, buildings, and other terrain as normal.
set-up
Soloman Vantor is placed inside the Temple within 2” of the Soul Engine. There should be two Disciples per player. In order of ascending warband rating, players may place one pair of disciples, keeping the models within 2” of each other, but not within 6” of another pair.
warbands
Players deploy their warbands in order of descending warband rating. Use deployment rules for multiplayer battles as seen in Town Cryer #5 (picking table segments, deploying within 6” of the edge, etc.)
starting the game
Each player rolls a die. The highest scoring player takes the first turn. Play proceeds clockwise around the table according to deployment.
special rules
Soul Engine: This evil device, wrought from the tainted iron littering Mordheim and bent into shape by dark magics, throbs with malevolent sentience. The Soul Engine, whether its power is coveted by the warbands or shunned by them, must be dealt with. See the opposite page for the Soul Engine’s profile.
Vantor and his Thralls: Vantor and the Dead Thralls will take their turns, in that order, after the players have completed their turns. See the opposite page for their profiles.
Sudden Death: The necrotic power of the Soul Engine has twisted the air into a storm of consumptive power. Warriors are immediately killed if taken out of action (does not apply to the Priests of Morr).
Secrets of Vantor
The Priests of Morr have gathered secrets that may aid in foiling Soloman Vantor’s plot. As long as a warband’s Priest of Morr is still in play, players spend their Secrets of Vantor in the following ways:
- Soul Protection: Spend 1 Secret of Vantor to cancel a wound caused by the Soul Engine’s Soul Siphon trait.
- Discovered Weakness: Spend 1 Secret of Vantor to reroll a hit or wound roll against either Vantor or the Soul Engine. Max 1 re-roll per attack, whether spent on the actual attack itself or the wound roll. Re-rolled wound rolls are unable to cause critical hits.
- Control the Soul Engine: If a Priest is standing in contact with the Soul Engine at the start of the Recovery Phase, they may spend at least 1 Secret of Vantor to attempt to take control. Roll a die and add 1 for each Secret spent. On a 7+, the Engine is under the control of that warband’s Priest. The controlling warband is not affected by Soul Siphon, but they may not attack the Soul Engine. Another warband may attempt to steal control in the same way. If the controlling Priest goes out of action, their warband loses control.
ending the game
No Rout tests are made. The game ends if Vantor and the Soul Enigine are destroyed. The winning warband is the one that destroys the Soul Engine (read the “warbands succeed” epilogue). Alternatively, if one warband controls the Soul Engine, and all others, including Vantor, are dead, the game ends, with the controlling warband being the winner (read the “warbands fail” epilogue). If all warbands are taken out, the warbands fail.
experience
- +1 Survives. If a Hero or a Henchman group survives the battle then they gain +1 Experience.
- +1 Winning Leader. The leader of the winning warband gains +1 Experience.
- +1 Per Enemy Out of Action. Any Hero earns +1 Experience for each enemy he puts out of action.
- +2 Destroys Soul Engine. A Hero or a Henchman gains +2 Experience for destroying the Soul Engine.
- +2 Slays Soloman Vantor. A Hero or a Henchman gains +2 Experience for putting Soloman Vantor out of action.
Profiles
Soloman Vantor, High Priest of Morr
Once the benefactor of Mordheim’s deceased, Solomon Vantor is now corrutped by the chaotic energy of Mordheim. Imbued by the wyrdstone saturating the damned city, Vantor has become a deadly creature with necromantic powers.
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 9 |
Weapons/Armor. Soloman Vantor is armed with a staff and wears light armor.
special rules
Immune to Psychology. Vantor is not affected by psychology and never leaves combat.
Demon Soul. 4+ save against the effects of spells or prayers..
Causes Fear. Vantor’s madness is enough to cause fear in even the most stalwart of warriors.
Resilient. Deduct -1 Strength from all hits against him in close combat. This does not affect armor save modifiers.
Step Aside. Each time he suffers a wound in close combat he may make an additional saving throw of 5+. This save is never modified and is taken after all other armor saves.
Lightning Reflexes. If the warrior is charged he will ‘strike first’ against those that charged that turn. As the charger(s) will also normally ‘strike first’ (for charging), the order of attack between the charger(s) and the warrior with this skill will be determined by comparing Initiative values.
Dodge. He can avoid any hits from a missile weapon on a D6 roll of 5+. Note that this roll is taken against missiles as soon as a hit is scored to see whether the warrior dodges it or not, before rolling to wound, and before any effects from other skills or equipment (such as lucky charms).
Soul Powers: During Vantor’s magic phase, roll on the following table to see what dreaded Soul Power he unleashes.
| D6 | Soul Power |
|---|---|
| 1 | “You cannot hide from death!” Vantor deals one automatic wound to the farthest enemy he can see. |
| 2 | “Attack, my minions!” If there are no Thralls, then D3+1 appear within 4” of Vantor. Thralls may immediately stand and move out of turn, and receive +1 strength, toughness, attack, and gain Initiative 6 until the end of their turn. |
| 3 | “Your soul is mine!” The closest warrior, rolling for ties, must make a Leadership test. If they fail, the warrior belongs to Vantor. They retain their profile but behave as a Dead Thrall. They rejoin their warband if Vantor dies. |
| 4 | “Feel my power!” All enemies within 8” of Vantor suffer an automatic S2 hit with no saves for anything. |
| 5 | “Death consumes you!” Each player rolls a die. The lowest rolling player must choose one of their warriors and roll at or below their strength or the warrior is killed. |
| 6 | “I am death!” Roll a D3. Each player must deal that many automatic wounds to any of their own warband members. |
Defend the Soul Engine: Vantor will stay within 3” of the Soul Engine, but will move to charge an enemy should they come within range or move onto the same level as the Soul Engine, depending on the terrain. He will prioritize attacking the closest Priest of Morr and will distribute his attacks as evenly as possible if in contact with multiple warriors.
Soul Link: If Vantor is taken out of action, the Soul Engine automatically loses a wound. If the Soul Engine is destroyed, Vantor automatically loses a wound.
Phylacteries: Solomon Vantor has ensured his survival beyond death so long as the Soul Engine turns. If he is dead, and if the Soul Engine is not destroyed, Vantor appears on the ground floor of a random building at the start of each round with 1 Wound.
Dead Thralls
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
special rules
Immune Psychology and Poison, Cause Fear
No Pain: Treat a stunned result as knocked down. May Not Run (but may charge normally).
The Dead Thralls will move towards the closes enemy warrior, charging if in range. Dead Thralls are considered undead.
Soul Engine
| Profile | M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | 5 | 5 | - | - | - |
Armor Save: 4+
special rules
Soul Siphon. At the start of each round, any warband members within 8” of the Soul Engine must pass a Leadership test or suffer 1 automatic wound with no Save for anything. Warriors within 3” of their Priest of Morr receive a +1 to their Leadership when making this test. If a warrior is taken out of action by this, Vantor gains +1 to his Wounds with no limit.
Warp Ripples: Any wounds the Soul Engine suffers as a result of non-melee attacks are ignored on a roll of 3+.
Soul Link: Same as above, but if the Engine is destroyed and Vantor has died at least once, or if this deals his final wound, the game ends.
Volatile: When the Soul Engine is destroyed, all models within 12” take an automatic S4 hit with no saves.
Epilogue
Read after playing scenario 6 should the warbands succeed
With an ear-splitting crack, the Soul Engine is rent asunder. The device shudders and comes to a sudden halt before erupting into a blast of green flame. The wailing souls of Mordheim’s countless dead rise like steam from the smoldering carcass of twisted metal, spiraling off towards the sky as the clouds begin to part. The stars shine bright upon Mordheim for the first time in a long while. Vantor and his infernal machine are no more. Now, a new High Priest shall begin the long task of righting all that Vantor had wronged. With time, the dead may finally rest easy.
Read after playing scenario 6 should the warbands fail
As the last man falls, the cackling of the new Master of Death can be heard briefly. The dead do not rest in Mordheim, and neither shall those far beyond. As the machine reaches critical mass, it sends a green wave of necrotic energy out across the land. The fallen warriors do not lie still for long. They, along with countless others, rise to serve their new master.