Skaven vs. Witch Hunters: The Second Skirmish!

After a long hiatus, due to illness, bandit raids, and random vermin swarms overrunning the camps, on Monday, May 1, 2023 two warbands ventured once more into the outskirts of Mordheim, City of the Damned! Matt's Skaven versus Greg's Witch Hunters!

The two groups met in the south near the Temple of Morr district, on the edge of the cemetary.

On one side, the Flames of Redemption, a group of Witch Hunters led by the fearsome Werner von Halstaff and his war dog Daisy. With him were two witch hunters, Frederic and Maghilda, as well as a warrior priest, Brother Dagmar. The priest had brought his followers with him, a crazed flagellent named Hans, and four zealots: Selig, Ansil, Rudiger, and Gerwalt. They hoped to find heathens and unclean to cleanse from the city, and they were in luck this night.

Emerging from the outskirts of the cemetary, a swarm of skaven. It was only later, after the battle, that the Witch Hunters learned this had been an arm of the Skulking Blades, a hithertoo yet unknown group of ratmen skulking their way into the city. Their leader, an assassin adept, was unknown, but he brought with him a sorcerer, a few nightrunners, black skaven, and plenty of verminkind. The skaven sniffed the murky air, seeking wyrdstone, but were also glad to have caught the scent of fresh man-flesh!

The Witch Hunters set up in and around a ruined house near the district's square, a foetid fountain near its centre. The skaven slinked around the graves of the long dead.

For the first two rounds, the warbands moved up, jostling for positions within the dark alleys and around the ruined corners of buildings. The skaven sprinted from shadow to shadow, fast and nimble, the assassin adept barking orders in the vermin tongue while he skulked through the cemetary. The sorcerer made his way forwards, calling upon the dark magics, hoping for some aid, but it would find that the magic would be unavailable.

The Witch Hunters also moved up, Werner von Halstaff ordering a two pronged approach, Daisy the war dog trying to sniff out the ratmen from the other strange scents of the city.

On round 3, the skaven struck! Unbeknownst to the Witch Hunters, the skaven were attempting to surround them! Once in position, they pounced, lightning fast from their hiding holes! A Black Skaven managed to stun the zealot Selig! The verminkin with the Black Skaven tried to wing Frederic the witch hunter with a sling, but missed.

For the skaven sorcerer, it was unable to call upon its dark magics, which left it open and vulnerable to a charge from both Frederic the witch hunter and the zealot Gerwalt, who knocked down the sorceror and took the sorcerer ratman Out of Action!

Alas, poor Selig, his wits nearly dashed from his head, could only roll over and gaze up at the glowing eyes of the Black Skaven, as Brother Dagmar the warrior priest ran up to try and help! Unfortunately, on Round 4, the priest could only watch with a prayer upon his lips, as the Black Skaven took the zealot Selig Out of Action!

Elsewhere on the battlefield at the same time, the skaven pounced! While a skaven nightrunner charged from the fountain to engage the zealot Ansil, the assassin adept itself exploded from the shadows on the other side of the alley, and pounced upon the zealot Rudiger! The poor man had no chance against the weeping blades of the skaven captain, and fell Out of Action!

Witch Hunter Maghilda stood above the action and watched for an opportunity to use her crossbow, but the skaven were too well hidden behind the fountain for a clear shot, her bolt bouncing off the bronze statue. Meanwhile, danger unbeknownst to her was creeping close, as a verminkind tried to climb the wall to get at her.

Captain Werner von Halstaff moved in with Daisy barking at his side, and screamed for his witch hunters to hold, and fight back!

While the zealot Ansil was able to hold her own against the nightrunner, the flagellent Hans quickly came to her aid and smashed the nightruner Out of Action with his deadly flail!

On the other side of the alley, the witch hunter Frederic and the zealot Gerwalt fought against the Black Skaven that had felled Selig, but the skaven was quicker, dodging both of the attacks of the men, and striking Frederic with a deadly retalitory strike, taking him Out of Action!!

Round 5, the slaughter continues! The assassin adept continues its murderous spree, and springs upon the zealot Ansil and takes her Out of Action with a deadly weeping blade strike!

A Black Skaven and verminkind rushed the zealot Gerwalt, felling him and taking him Out of Action with a quick flurry of deadly daggers and swords!

A skaven nightrunner and Black skaven charge the warrior priest Brother Dagmar, but the holy man holds his own against the ratmen, although failing to land a blow himself. And most surprising, a verminkin charges the dog Daisy, but the tough war hound surprises the ratman with her quickness, and Stuns the skaven verminkin!

Werner von Halstaff looked around, at the bloody remains of some of his followers, the slavering skaven still around. Was it time to flee? He checked his inner resolve...NO! The Flames of Redemption would not run this day! He shouted at his warband to continue fighting! The verminkin finally scaled the wall stealthily beside the witch hunter Maghilda, and tried to brain her with a well placed sling stone! But the stone goes wide. But it is enough to alert the witch hunter who blasts the verminkin OFF the roof with a crossbow bolt to the chest, taking the skaven Out of Action!

The flagellent Hans rushes the nightrunner and takes it Out of Action with a deadly flail strike! Captain Werner van Halstaff rushes the Black Skaven, and after a furious melee and a near parry, the Captain takes the deadly ratman Out of Action! Beside him, his war dog Daisy, finishes the stunned verminkin, also taking it Out of Action.

The skaven have had enough. At the beginning of round 6, the assassin adept barks into the night, and the skaven scurry and slink away into the shadows, disappearing.

The battle was over. It was time to take stock, grab the wounded, and quickly search the area before leaving.

POST BATTLE

The Flames of Redemption had suffered five casualties, and all four zealots were wounded, but only Ansil succumbed to her wounds, the poison on the skaven assassin adept's blade had gone deep into her flesh. Frederic the witch hunter recovered well enough, but his Hatred of the Black Skaven who wounded him could not be soothed...he vowed to find the ratman, learn its name, and hunt it down!

For the the Skulking Blades, six of their kind had been wounded, and some more grieviously than others. Of the two night runners brought down by the flagellent Hans, one was killed outright, its body taken by the insects and vermin of Mordheim to be devoured in the gutters. The other night runner managed to survive, but its leg was broken so grieviously it would never run as fast again (-1 Mov). The verminkin shot off the roof by Maghilda was killed and never seen again. The other verminkin and black skaven managed to fully recover, and the black skaven learned something from the ordeal (+skill, TBA). But the sorcerer...was taken by the dark magics. It was said that the zealot Gerwalt saw the skaven sorcerer's body dissolve into a swarm of tiny rats...but this was never confirmed.

As to what the two warbands found amongst the ruins of the damned city, well the skaven are rumoured to have found two shards of wyrdstone and sold them in one of the outlying camps. The Witch Hunters managed to find three shards of wyrdstones, as well as the ruins of an old shoppe with a hidden cash box that held 6 gold crowns! Two of the wyrdstones were sold, to pay the men, feed the dog, and perhaps lure more followers for the hunt of the heathen.

FINAL THOUGHTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

Well, the second battle was MUCH bloodier and deadlier than our first skirmish! Lots of fun. Some relearning of the rules after a lengthy time away. Matt alerted us to the fact that Captains and Champions indeed start with experience already marked on the roster sheets! This was important, and Perry had to audit his warband, which resulted in none of his dudes getting any skills (whereas I had marked at least two of them as having gained skills). Big difference! Also, I believe last battle when a warrior went down, we only rolled once to see the result (KO, stun, or Out of Action). But Matt told us you roll for EVERY wound past the one that knocked the blighter OUT, making it a bit easier to roll an Out of Action result!

Next up: Perry's Reiklanders vs Greg's Witch Hunters. Stay tuned!