Undead

Grade: 1a
Source: Mordheim Rulebook (PDF)
Setting: Mordheim

Lore

Count Vlad von Carstein and his wife Isabella have ruled the province of Sylvania for as long as anyone can remember – peasants whisper of some dark secret, Witch Hunters revile them, and the Priests of Sigmar shun their court. Indeed, Sylvania has the most dire reputation of all the provinces of the Empire. Few men sent to spy on the rulers of Sylvania have ever returned from those dark Sylvanian forests, and then rarely with their sanity intact.

In the dimly-lit chamber of the Drakenhof castle, on a throne of black obsidian, sits Vlad von Carstein, the ruler of Sylvania. He waits in shadows, having set himself apart from the politics and bickering of the Empire. For he holds a terrible secret: he, and all the ruling aristocracy of his province are Vampires, undying monsters from beyond the grave. Here he patiently waits, drinking the blood of maidens from gold goblets.

For many long years Vlad has gathered his strength and mustered his Undead legions in secrecy. One day soon he will march from the forests of Sylvania at the head of an army of restless dead. The pieces of magic stone that lie scattered among the ruins of Mordheim can give the Count the power to challenge the nobles of the Empire and enslave the men of the Old World.

Wyrdstone holds enough captured magical energy to unleash a great spell of doom to rival that of Nagash the Black. If the Count is successful, he will raise all the dead between the Worlds Edge Mountains and the borders of Stirland, and go to war against the divided rulers of the Empire. His plans laid out, Vlad sends his thralls, the immortal Vampires, to do his bidding.

During dark, moonless nights, black coaches arrive at the gates of Mordheim carrying coffins. Ghouls scuttle from their hiding places to greet them, and corpses are stirred by a command which the living cannot hear. Following the commands of the Vampire, they hunt for shards of wyrdstone.

The night belongs to the Undead, and in Mordheim it is always night.

Choice of warriors

A Undead warband must include a minimum of three models. You have 500 gold crowns available to spend. The maximum number of warriors in the warband may never exceed 15.

• Vampires: Each warband must have 1 Vampire: no more, no less!
• Necromancers: Your warband may include up to 1 Necromancer.
• Dregs: Your warband may include up to 3 Dregs.
• Ghouls: Your warband may include any number of Ghouls.
• Dire wolves: Your warband may include up to 5 Dire wolves.
• Zombies: Your warband may include any number of Zombies.

Starting experience

• The Vampire starts with 20 experience.
• The Necromancer starts with 8 experience.
• Dregs start with 0 experience.
• Henchmen start with 0 experience.

Undead Skill Table

	Combat	Shooting	Academic	Strength	Speed
Vampire	✓		✓	✓	✓
Necromancer			✓		✓
Dregs	✓			✓

Optional Content

The skills available to Vampires were expanded upon in Town Cryer 11. There is a Vampire Skill list available in the Lords of the Night optional rules (graded as 1b). Talk to you arbitrator about using these rules in your warband. In addition, for Town Cryer 29 the article Aristocracy of the Night was written, however due to the passing of Steve Hambrook, this edition never got published.

Undead equipment lists

Pricing:

The following lists are used by Undead warbands to pick their equipment.

Hand-to-hand Combat Weapons

Item	Cost
Dagger	1st free/2 gc
Club, Mace or Hammer	3 gc
Club, Mace or Hammer	3 gc
Axe	5 gc
Sword	10 gc
Double-handed weapon	15 gc
Spear	10 gc
Halberd	10 gc

Missile Weapons

Item	Cost
Bow	10 gc
Short Bow	5 gc

Armour

Item	Cost
Light Armour	20 gc
Heavy Armour	50 gc
Shield	5 gc
Helmet	10 gc

Special Equipment

Undead have access to the following special equipment when purchasing items from the Trading Post, outside their starting list:

Book of the Dead

Cost: 200 + D6 x 25 gc
Availability: Rare 12 (Vampires and Necromancers only)

This is a book that contain transcripts from the famous books of Nagash, the Great Necromancer.

Special Rules

A Vampire can learn Necromantic magic with the Arcane Lore skill and this book and a Necromancer will gain a new spell permanently.

Heroes

1 Vampire

110 gold crowns to hire

Vampires lead the Undead in their search for the magical stones that will give their master the power to conquer the Empire.

Although but pale shadows when compared to the dread Vampire Lords, the immortal servants of Vlad are still some of the most powerful creatures who fight in Mordheim. Most of them serve the undying count of Sylvania, but some have found the city to their liking, and have become independent.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	6	4	4	4	4	2	5	2	8

Weapons/Armour: Vampire may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Undead Equipment.

Special Rules

Leader: Any models in the warband within 6" of the Vampire may use his Leadership instead of their own.

Cause Fear: Vampires are terrifying Undead creatures and therefore cause fear.

Immune to Psychology: Vampires are not affected by psychology (such as fear) and never leave combat.

Immune to Poison: Vampires are not affected by any poison.

No Pain: Vampires treat a ‘stunned’ result on the Injury chart as ‘knocked down’.

0 – 1 Necromancer

35 gold crowns to hire

Necromancers are evil wizards, studying the corrupt art of Necromancy. Many of them are acolytes and servants of Vlad von Carstein, and follow the agents of their master to the city of the Damned. Others are recruited from amongst wizards and warlocks who have come under the suspicion of the various agents of Sigmar and have fled to Mordheim to avoid persecution.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

Weapons/Armour: Necromancer may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Undead Equipment.

Special Rules

Wizard: Necromancers are wizards and so are able to use Necromantic magic.

0 – 3 Dregs

20 gold crowns to hire

Dregs are the most miserable human survivors of the demise of Mordheim. They are deformed and rejected individuals, shunned even by the other men and women who still live in the ruins and catacombs of the city.

Vampires often recruit Dregs as their servants and treat them with surprising kindness. As a result, Dregs are often fanatically loyal to their Undead overlords and will do anything to protect and serve them.

Dregs are very useful to their masters as they can be sent to buy equipment, weapons and supplies from the settlements around Mordheim which would often not welcome Necromancers or where Vampires would fall under the suspicion of the Witch Hunters. They can also do the bidding of their vampiric master during daylight, when the Vampires must rest in their coffins.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	2	2	3	3	1	3	1	7

Weapons/Armour: Dregs may be equipped with weapons and armour chosen from the Undead Equipment.

Henchmen

(Bought in groups of 1-5)

Ghouls

40 gold crowns to hire

Ghouls are the descendants of evil and insane men who ate the flesh of the dead. When the lean and hungry times of famine come upon the Old World, the most depraved and destitute took to feasting on corpses to survive.

Driven by their unspeakable craving for the meat of their fellow men, these creatures have given up their human life and dwell near graveyards, crypts and tombs, digging up the rotting corpses of the recently buried and consuming the cold flesh with their bare teeth and claws.

The destruction of Mordheim attracted many Ghoul clans from the north, and now they have taken up permanent residence in the crypts and cemeteries of the ruined city.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	2	2	3	4	1	3	2	5

Weapons/Armour: Ghouls never carry any equipment, apart from a few bones which they use as primitive weapons.^❓

Special Rules

Cause Fear: Ghouls are twisted and repulsive creatures and therefore cause fear.

0 – 5 Dire wolves

50 gold crowns to hire

Dire Wolves are slavering Undead hounds, the animated remains of the giant wolves of the Worlds Edge Mountains. Their chilling howls can strike fear into the hearts of even the bravest warriors or most ruthless Dwarf mercenaries. They prowl the streets of Mordheim like shadows, and many men have died with the cold jaws of a Dire Wolf around their neck.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	9	3	0	4	3	1	2	1	4

Weapons/Armour: None.

Special Rules

Charge: Dire Wolves are slavering creatures that overpower their opponents when they charge. Dire Wolves fight with 2 attacks instead of 1 during the turn they charge.

May not Run: Dire Wolves are slow to react and may not run (but may charge normally).

Cause Fear: Dire Wolves are terrifying Undead creatures and therefore cause fear.

Immune to Psychology: Dire Wolves are not affected by psychology and never leave combat.

Immune to Poison: Dire Wolves are not affected by any poison.

Unliving: Dire Wolves do not gain experience. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks!

No Pain: Dire Wolves treat a ‘stunned’ result on the Injury chart as ‘knocked down’.

Zombies

15 gold crowns to hire

Zombies are the most common of the Undead: creatures animated by the will of their Necromantic masters.

Profile	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
	4	2	0	3	3	1	1	1	5

Weapons/Armour: Zombies may not have any weapons or armour and suffer no penalties for this.

Special Rules

Cause Fear: Zombies are terrifying Undead creatures and therefore cause fear.

May not run: Zombies are slow Undead creatures and may not run (but may charge normally).

Immune to Psychology: Zombies are not affected by psychology and never leave combat.

Immune to Poison: Zombies are not affected by any poison.

No Pain: Zombies treat a stunned result on the Injury chart as knocked down.

No Brain: Zombies never gain experience. They do not learn from their mistakes. What did you expect?

Necromancy

Necromancy is the magic of the dead. It grants Necromancers the power to raise the dead and command spirits, but also destroy the vitality of the living.

Necromancy is used by Undead Necromancer

D6	Result
1	Lifestealer
2	Re-Animation
3	Death vision
4	Spell of Doom
5	Call of Vanhel
6	Spell of Awakening

Lifestealer

Difficulty: 10

The Necromancer sucks out the very essence of life from his victim, stealing its vigour for himself.

You may choose a single model within 6". The target suffers a wound (no save allowed) and the Necromancer gains an extra wound for the duration of the battle. This may take the Necromancer’s Wounds above his original maximum value. This spell will not affect the Possessed or any Undead models.

Re-Animation

Difficulty: 5

At the spoken command of the Necromancer, the dead rise to fight again.

One Zombie that went -out of action- during the last hand-to-hand combat or Shooting phase immediately returns to the battle.^✏️ Place the model within 6" of the Necromancer. The model cannot be placed straight into hand-to-hand combat with an enemy model.

Death vision

Difficulty: 6

The Necromancer calls on the power of Necromancy to reveal the moment of his enemies’ death.

The Necromancer causes fear in his enemies for the duration of the battle.

Spell of Doom

Difficulty: 9

The Necromancer whispers to the sleeping dead to rise up from the ground and seize his enemies.

Choose one enemy model within 12". The model must immediately roll equal to or less than his Strength on a D6 or the dead emerging from the earth will rend him with supernatural power. If he fails, you may roll on the Injury table to see what happens to the unfortunate warrior.

Call of Vanhel

Difficulty: 6

The Necromancer summons the world of the dead to invigorate his Undead servants.

A single Zombie or Dire Wolf within 6" of the Necromancer may immediately move again up to its maximum Movement distance (ie, 9" in the case of Dire Wolves). If this moves them into base contact with an enemy model, they count as charging.

Spell of Awakening

Difficulty: —

The Necromancer calls the soul of a slain Hero back to his body and enslaves him with corrupt magic.

If an enemy Hero is killed (ie, your opponent rolls 11-15 on the Serious Injury chart after the battle) then the Necromancer may raise him to fight as a Zombie in his servitude.

The dead Hero retains his characteristics and all his weapons and armour but may not use any other equipment or skills. He may no longer run, counts as a Henchman group on his own, and may not gain additional experience. This spell always succeeds (rules for Henchmen and experience are described later). The new Zombie^❓ follows all the normal Zombie rules (immune to poison, causes fear) except for retaining his profile, weapons and armour^✏️.