The Alabaster Duke
Bodies were piled in the cobbled city courtyard, writhing with maggots. Dark buildings loomed overhead, still devastated by the comet that fell years ago. A sickening odor lingered in the air…
… The dour scene was surveyed by a small band of human mercenaries, fresh from the distance province of Reikland, who tentatively entered the courtyard on weary feet. The group was led by Sir William Grean Melk, whose once fine clothes were covered in grime from the journey. So the rumors are true, he thought, as he coughed into his sleeve. Although the ruined city of Mordheim had never been a safe place since the comet’s crash, the current state of affairs was especially dangerous for would-be treasure hunters and glory seekers. Not only had the fallen city been ravaged by the events of the previous year, which left scattered chaos minions of the deceased demigod Korgg reaping havoc throughout the grottos, but now a sickness had befouled the land. Some said the disease was a malignant spawn of evil. Some said it was of natural origin from a faraway land to the East. Still others claimed the disease did not exist, or rather it was a hoax sent from Sigmar to test the devout’s faith. No one knew for sure, but there was certain proof its existence: the swarms of flies that amassed over the piles of rotting corpses in the courtyard where the Reiklanders found themselves.
“Search the area,” Sir William Grean Melk growled to his companions, “and keep your distance from the dead. Cover your faces– that’s an order.” Several of the Reiklanders rolled their eyes in defiance to the precautions, but they followed the command nonetheless. As the warband’s henchmen spread out and searched among the nearby buildings, their leader stood and eyed the ruined church that oversaw the courtyard. The tall spires and decorative buttresses had long ago collapsed, but the walls had somehow survived, leaving an ominous deserted husk of a structure. Any manner of insidious creatures could be lurking inside, he thought, I don’t like this one bit… But before he could complete his assessment, a scream echoed from the distance. He turned in an instant, just in time to see one of his swordsman across the courtyard being surrounded by several lurching corpse-like abominations. Fuck. Undead! Sir Melk drew his sword and shouted, “Men, to arms!”
The humans were caught unaware by the attack, and were slow to organize. Sir Grean Melk began to summon his men to return from their searching, but by then a dozen undead warriors had appeared from seemingly nowhere out of the ruins. He saw ghouls, skeletons, and dregs among the enemies. Before he could even reach the battle, the swordsman who had first given the alarm was felled by a ghoul’s bite to his neck. Warm, fresh human blood now covered the ghoul, who let out a guttural snarl, as if challenging the rest of humans. In response, Sir Melk and his rallied troops charged into combat, swinging swords, spears, and halbreds against claws, fangs, and stones. Although the enemies had the element of surprise, and their numbers were roughly equal, Sir Melk surmised his troope had the advantage in superior tactics and skill. Indeed, an accurate sword soon deftly cut down an enemy dreg. Quickly after, a skeleton shattered into a hundred pieces when squarely struct by a human war hammer. After only a few minutes, the undead were being beaten back, and only a handful of the walking dead remained.
All of a sudden, a darkness swept over the courtyard. The Reiklanders, on the verge of victory, paused. As the sounds of battle came to a halt, a faint laughter could be heard across the courtyard. The laughter grew until it was almost deafening. When it finally stopped, the source became apparent to the confused humans: Perched atop the ruined church loomed a figure in swirling black robes. Its body appeared mostly human, but this creature was not human. It had long bestial claws and white skin in stark contrast to its dark wardrobe. Sprawling bat-like wings spanned out behind it. As the thing smiled, it revealed sharp fangs, and its unnatural red eyes stared at the humans with firey intelligence. Before Sir Grean Melk could process what was happening, the thing lept off of the ledge, flapping its hideous leathery wings, and landed gracefully in the center of the courtyard. One of Sir Melks men outburst, his voice wavering with fear, “it’s the Alabaster Duke!” And then, all hell broke loose.
The human warriors began to route in panic. The piles of disease-ridden corpses in the courtyard began to stir, rising to their feet by some evil animation, and cutting down the fleeing humans. Sir Melk tried to rally his men, but it was too late. Just moments ago, victory seemed almost assured, but now his Reiklanders had lost all composition. What was previously just a few remaining undead had now swollen into a massive swarm, and he was at the very center of it, with his men dying all around him. The creature known as the Alabaster Duke calmly approached, towering over the puny human commander. The only things Sir William Grean Melk could feel were complete and utter helplessness and dread. No fond memories from his home of Reikland flashed before his eyes. There was no heroic surge of courage. No honorable fight to the death. Only pure, disarming, and completely unrelenting dread. Sir Melk could only cower, as the so-called Alabaster Duke raised its terrifying claws and struck. Then, the world went dark.
Setup
Six warbands fought to wrestle control of Mordheim’s plague ridden streets from the dastardly Alabaster Duke: Maneaters, Undead, Dwarves, Marrienburgers, Carnival of Chaos, and Skaven.
The contest pitted good against evil under the most unusual of circumstances, as demonstrated by the special scenarios that dictated the battles: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M94XrfRuqN618H5-7Kz7-nUIyg1_I5uP/view?usp=sharing
To combat the plague and better understand its secrets, the following special campaign rules applied to each warband:
- Plague Reliquary Each player begins with a plague reliquary. The alms paid to the warband for access to the Plague Relic(s) in the reliquary by the remaining citizens of Mordheim accounts for extra income. As a result, each warband will begin with 700 gold crowns and can use the single game rules outlined in the optional rules on page 121 of the Mordheim Rule Book. Also, after each game, warbands receive 25 bonus gc.
- Plague Relics Each game, players are looking for one or more additional relics to add to their reliquary. You can gain or lose relics, but cannot lose your reliquary.
- Plague Weariness After 105 minutes or 8 rounds, each player must roll a rout test every round, if either player routs, the game is over immediately. Your warriors are afraid of remaining in the plague-ridden streets for too long!!
- Plague Doctor Each player has a free (no hiring cost or upkeep cost) hired sword. Use rules for witch or warlock hired swords, player’s choice. Your plague doctor must be within 8” for a relic to be identified & collected.
- Relics can be collected by units other than the Plague Doctor but not by animals/mindless units (wolves, hounds, etc).
- Warriors can pick up the counters simply by moving into contact with them. A warrior can carry any amount of wyrdstone without any penalty. Warriors cannot transfer their wyrdstone to another warrior. If the warrior who is carrying a counter is taken out of action, place the counter on the table where he fell.
With these rules and scenarios in mind, which warband would challenge and defeat the Alabaster Duke? Who would make use of their plague doctor to collect the most plague relics for their reliquary? Who would unravel the secrets of the sickness and discover a cure?
Game Play
My dog!
OH SNAP HERE IT GOES AGAIN!