Designer Notes

From the very beginning I knew that Mordheim was going to be special. As I have worked on this project from the beginning to the very end I can look back and say that I am proud of all the myriad people who were involved in this project, be they artists, writers, miniature designers, painters or editors.

Most of all, I'd like to thank those gamers who wrote in and gave me feedback and suggestions. Others helped me with playtesting and concepts. Many of these will find their names gracing the credits page, but there were many others, and they all helped to make Mordheim a game for Warhammer players.

Mordheim is a skirmish game system compatible with the Warhammer Fantasy battle game. It is not just a game set in a specific time period in the Empire, it is a skirmish system designed to support the Warhammer hobby. With a little alteration, you can play games set in Lustria where the Lizardmen clash with greedy treasure hunters such as the Dark Elves. Tileans and Norse, or you could descend into the deep darkness of the lost Dwarf realms to do battle between Skaven, Night Goblins, Ogres and Dwarfs and their human mercenaries.

There are many other aspects of Mordheim we could not cram into this book. In the Optional Rules section we have included some of the more unusual ideas which came up during development of the game. There are many more besides – the effects of fame, buildings and upgrades to the encampment of your warband, additional warbands, new equipment, etc. I hope to publish some of these in White Dwarf magazine in the future, so look out for them.

Here at the Studio I ran the Dark Moon campaign which proved immensely popular. Many lunch hours were spent in desperate skirmishes and ambushes, as members of the Design Studio struggled for supremacy. Many heroes emerged, wyrdstone was traded and alliances struck (and treacherously broken). To assist the players I created a storyline which involved the struggle of the Shadowlord and Grand Prince Siegfried of Reikland, as well as the dreaded Count Vlad von Carstein of Sylvania.

To make matters more interesting, I wrote several special scenarios for players to create variety and new challenges. There were frays over the possession of a merchant ship in the harbour of Mordheim, a huge battle to expel a group of Minotaurs and Beastmen which had made Mordheim their lair and even a visit by the infamous Count Vlad von Carstein of Sylvania and his consequent expedition to the ruins. For some strange reason none of the mercenaries he hired returned... All these incidents were recorded in a weekly newsletter called ‘Town Cryer’.

With a little effort you should be able to do the same. All you need is somebody willing to be the Game Master (called Shadowlord in our campaign) to write, organize and record any unusual happenings that go on in the campaign. I hope Mordheim will offer you lot of fun. Thank you for making the journey with me.

Tuomas Pirinen