74: Upon the Eerie Downs
Source: Fanatic Magazine #1
Setting: Mordheim
Author: Nick Kyme
Broheim notes: Skirmish. Battle is fought on open terrain. Fog causes reduced visibility hence reduced shooting, magic, charging, etc. Fog also means models may become lost resulting In random movement & all alone tests.
A sombre and mysterious place, the Eerie Downs holds a palpable dread for the folk of the Mark; too well do they know the tales of engulfing fog and voices that whisper words of madness into the ears of travellers lost upon them.
Two rival warbands are travelling through Ostermark, seeking to pillage and plunder or to punish those who would. As they draw close to each other, the barren land all about them and not another soul in sight, a curious fog rolls over their feet and soon they are both engulfed, unable to discern friend from foe. Upon the Eerie Downs is a Skirmish scenario and all the rules given apply with any exceptions noted below.
South of Bechafen there is a wide and open plain known as the Eerie Downs. Possessed of a curious and unnerving stillness, the Eerie Downs are a foreboding place. A perpetual pall of low fog rolls upon the wild and unkempt grasslands of the Downs, numerous crags jutting up from the thick and vaporous mists like broken teeth. Woe betide any traveller lost there; men have been driven insane as the silence and the white fog engulfs them, all sense of direction evaporating into a vast expanse of nothing. It is said the souls of those who died upon the Downs haunt them still, that their spirits crave more souls to join them, their howls of anguish and bitterness a dreaded midnight chorus. It is a brave or foolish traveller indeed who ventures upon those pastures and lives to tell of it…
terrain
The Eerie Downs are a fairly barren stretch of open land with little by way of landmarks or cover. The battlefield should be fairly open with perhaps a few low lying hills to represent the undulating ground and the odd rock here and there, and perhaps a stone wall or hedge.
special rules
Thick Fog: The Eerie Downs are swathed in a thick fog which at times makes it difficult to see even beyond your nose! Visibility for shooting, charging, magic etc. is reduced to a distance of 4D6, rolled at the start of each player’s turn. Furthermore, each player must roll a D6 before they can move. If they roll a 1 they must pass a Leadership test or become lost in the fog. Any model lost in the fog will move D6” in a random direction each turn, or 2D6” if they are fleeing. They may not shoot, cast spells or charge but if they bump into an enemy they will fight them as if they had charged into hand-to-hand combat but attack in Initiative order. As long as a model is lost in the fog they will believe their comrades have deserted them (all they can see is a white mist all around them!) and will have to take an all alone test at the start of each turn (regardless of the proximity of friendly models). Continue to roll the D6 each turn and any model that rolls a 6, if they are not fleeing, gets their bearings and may move and act normally (bearing in mind visibility) from that point on. Note that if a friendly model moves into base-to-base contact with a model lost in the fog either of their own accord, or if they are bumped into by a randomly moving warrior, the presence of a comrade allows them to get themselves together and regain their bearings and they are no longer lost. Any model that wanders off the table edge whilst lost in the fog should be removed from the warband roster. They have been driven mad by the voices of the damned in the mists and are lost never to be seen again.
ending the game
Once the fog engulfs them the warbands’ are both trying to get off the Downs as soon as possible. To do so they must escape via their opponent’s table edge. The game ends once a warband has escaped with half its models. Note that neither warband has to take a Rout test during the battle, nor can they voluntarily rout, as they are effectively lost upon the Downs and trying to escape.
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. A Hero earns +1 Experience for each enemy he puts out of action.
- +1 Escapes. Any Hero or Henchman group that escapes earns +1 Experience Point.