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76. Blood on the Pasturelands

Source: Fanatic Magazine #3
Setting: The Empire
Author: Nick Kyme
Broheim notes: Rival warbands attempt to rustle some horses from a pasture. The frightened horses run randomly and need taming once caught. They are defended by six Outriders.

The pasturelands are all too easy a temptation for bandits and horse thieves. The noble houses are forced to employ groups of mounted outriders to protect these lands from any would-be predators.

Two rival warbands have arrived at a pasture, hoping to steal the valuable horses there. They must battle each other and overcome the armed outriders to get to the prize within.

terrain​

The battle takes place over a 4'x4' area, As it is a pasture, it is largely perhaps with just a few scattered trees and possibly a small cottage. The only real feature of the battlefield is a 12"x12" fenced-off paddock in the centre of the table that represents where the horses have been fenced off to graze.

warbands​

Each player rolls a D6 to determine who places his warriors first with the player rolling the highest given the choice. The warband may be placed within 6" of any table edge and once the player has finished setting up his warriors the second warband is placed within 6" of the opposite edge. After both players have set up their warbands they take it in turns to place one of the mounted Outriders, who must be placed within 2" of the fenced-off paddock, and one horse that must be placed within the paddock itself.

starting the game​

Each player rolls a D6. The highest roll can choose whether to go first or second.

special rules​

Outriders: There are six Outriders in total. After both players have had a turn the Outriders take a turn. The Outriders will never move more than 8" away from the paddock. They will charge the nearest warrior within 8" of the paddock. If unable to charge they will move towards the nearest model and shoot them instead. The Outriders have the following profile:

Outrider

ProfileMWSBSSTWIALdSv
4443313185+

Horse

ProfileMWSBSSTWIALdSv
800331305-

Equipment: Sword, bow, light armour and horse (use the rules for mounted models as given on page 163 of the Mordheim rulebook).

Stealing horses: There are six horses in the paddock. As they are frightened by the commotion around them they will move randomly in the 12" paddock square. Each horse moves D6+2" in a random direction determined by a Scatter dice (if you don’t have a Scatter dice number the board edges 1-4 and roll a D6 to determine the direction, with any roll of 5 or 6 allowing the rolling player to choose a direction). If a horse reaches the fence it will stop.

Any man-sized warrior who ends his move next to a horse may try and mount it as the end of the turn. Roll a D6, on a roll of 4+ the warrior is successful and now counts as being mounted on the horse. If you roll a 1-3, the warrior is unable to bring the beast under control and must struggle with it for another turn. Once a player has mounted a horse they may attempt to steal it. Any warrior who isn’t fleeing and manages to get off the board while still mounted has successfully stolen the horse.

ending the game​

The game ends as soon as all the horses have been stolen or when one warband routs. The player that steals the most horses wins the game, or if a warband fails its Rout test then the warband remaining wins the game (and steals all the horses currently in its possession). Any horse successfully stolen by the warbands is added to its roster. Note if a warband failed a Rout test it will lose D3-1 of its stolen horses in the commotion.

experience​

  • +1 Survives. If a Hero or a Henchman group survives the battle 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 (this also counts for Outriders too).
  • +1 Per Horse Stolen: Any Hero or Henchman group that manages to steal a horse earns +1 Experience.