Witch Hunters vs the Possessed! The Sixth Skirmish!

On Monday, November 27, 2023, Greg’s Witch Hunters met with Jay’s Possessed.  The Witch Hunters were making their way back to the north gate, trying to return after finding some wyrdstone. The Possessed spotted them, and attempted to stop their return near Little Moot just north of the ruined Temple of Sigmar, and take the wyrdstone for themselves. Thus begun Scenario 4: Breakthrough!

A standard scenario from the rulebook.  Nothing fancy. Greg’s Witch Hunters set up first along one table edge, and Jay’s Possessed were able to set up anywhere on the table, as long as each of his warriors were at least 10” away from any Witch Hunter figures.

Winning Conditions: Greg’s Witch Hunters were designated as the “attackers” with the goal of reaching the opposite side of the table, thus making a “breakthrough” enemy lines to safety! The game would also end if either warband routed, or we reached 10:00pm and ran out of time (our deadline for playing on a school night).

The Witch Hunters warband, THE FLAMES OF REDEMPTION, continued to be led by Werner von Halstaff, with his loyal companion Daisy the warhound. Two trained witch hunters accompanied him, Frederic and Maghilda, along with the warrior priest Brother Dagmar and his followers, the flagellant Hans and the zealots: Selig, Rudiger and Gerwalt, as well as newcomer Anna. Another flagellant, Sister Bertrille, had also recently joined the flock and was eager to vanquish heretics from the City of the Damned.

L-R: zealots Selig and Rudiger, flagellant Hans, warpriest Brother Dagmar, Werner von Halstaff with Daisy, witch hunters Maghilda and Frederic, flagellant Sister Bertrille with zealots Gerwalt and Anna.

The Possessed warband, the BROTHERHOOD OF THE VOID, skulked amid the ruined streets, led by the dangerous Magister Meister Herwig. The bloated form of the Exalted Vessel Sven, a possessed, and the beastman Cousin Rupprecht were at his side, along with the conglomeration of lost and misguided souls known as the brethren: Gosric, Baldur, Klaus and Jürgen. The mutant Karl Heinz who had been lost in the last skirmish had been replaced with a similar mutant named Karl-Erik (named and anointed by the Magister himself).

Back: mutant Karl-Erik, possessed Exalted Vessel Sven, beastman Brother Rupprecht and Magister Meister Herwig. Front: the brethren, Klaus, Gosric, Baldur and Jürgen

Round 1: Werner von Halstaff shouted for his warband to move up as quickly as possible. They could see the other side of the neighbourhood, and needed to reach it as fast as possible!

Magister Meister Herwig pushed the brethren forwards towards Werner von Halstaff and his group. The chaos leader attempted to woo von Halstaff’s war dog Daisy with a Lure of Chaos but the magics of chaos are fickle and he failed to summon the energy for the spell. 

Magister Herwig: "Forwards! Souls for Chaos!"

Nearby, Brother Rupprecht the beastman moved up, his beady eyes fixed on the flagellant Sister Bertrille and the two zealots with her heading towards him.

On the other side of the battlefield, Exalted Vessel Sven and the mutant Karl-Erik moved up to intercept the witch hunters Maghilda and Frederic and their group of zealots. 

Round 2: The Flames of Redemption moved further into the ruins, and now spotted the hooded and misshapen forms of the Possessed attempting to block their route! Flagellent Hans with zealots Selig and Rudiger moved to intercept the possessed Sven. Witch hunter Maghilda, who is very nimble, was able to both move forward and shoot her heavy crossbow at the beastman Brother Rupprecht, piercing his thick mottled hide! First blood to the Witch Hunters! 

Flagellant Sister Birtrille pushes zealots Anna and Gerwalt move up, while Leader Werner von Halstaff shoots his pistol at brethren Jürgen at the front of the line, but the shot went wild.

Brother Rupprecht slid deeper into the ruins, tearing the crossbow bolt out and nursing his wounds. He would wait patiently for the Witch Hunters to come closer. Magister Meister Herwig summoned enough energy to use Lure of Chaos on Daisy the warhound, and the beast was corrupted! The once loyal dog now turned to attack her beloved master, just as brethren Jürgen also charged von Halstaff! Daisy’s bite and Jürgen’s spear attacks missed. Werner retaliated with a swift blow of his blade, but Jürgen managed to bring his shield up in time to avoid the blow!

Jürgen charges von Halstaff!

"Daisy, NO! Bad girl!"

At the same time, Exalted Vessel Sven charged the zealot Selig, who managed to choke down his Fear and stand his ground as the lumbering possessed came at him. Unfortunately, his faith was not strong enough, and Sven took him OUT of Action with a powerful blow! The mutant Karl-Erik sprang towards the zealot Rudiger and stabbed him with his scorpion tail, but Rudiger somehow managed to fight off the deadly poison – obviously his faith was stronger!

Round 3: Leader Werner von Halstaff began to take in the gravity of the situation. His followers needed to break through this line of heretics and fast! Unfortunately, his faithful hound Daisy couldn’t shake off the taint of the Lure of Chaos, but Halstaff can’t bring himself to kill her, which he knew could prove to be a fatal mistake. While Halstaff held off his possessed dog, and continued to combat the brethren Jürgen to a standstill, he ordered the warpriest Brother Dagmar to run around and get clear. Unfortunately, the warpriest’s legs were not what they used to be, and the armoured Dagmar got hung up while climbing over a pile of old crates.

Flagellant Hans, foaming at the mouth and spouting insane holy prayers to Sigmar, charged the possessed hulk of Sven, but even his deadly flail couldn’t find its mark, and the two fought to a standstill. The zealot Rudiger continued to battle the mutant Karl-Erik, exchanging naught but blows and curses with no clear winner! While the zealots dealt with the possessed and mutant, the two witch hunters (Maghilda and Frederic) sprinted past, hoping to get clear and make a break through the ruins!

Magister Meister Herwig cackled, and turned his chaotic energies upon the flagellant Sister Birtrille and her two zealots, using the Lure of Chaos upon her. But her faith was strong and Immune to such heretical thoughts, and she laughed at the feeble attempt to convert her Faithful mind.  

Exalted Vessel Sven could not find the strength to overwhelm the flagellant Hans, who continued to hold his ground. But for Rudiger the mutant Karl-Heinz was just too strong, and the combined poisonous tail and blade took OUT the loyal zealot!

Brethren Klaus, witnessing Brother Dagmar struggle over the crates, charged him and attempted to take out the warpriest, but Dagmar held his ground. Brethren Baldur charged Werner von Halstaff, and together with Jürgen and Daisy, attacked the witch hunter leader mercilessly. Halstaff managed to hold off the attacks from the two brethren, but failed to stop Daisy, who pounced upon her master and with her deadly jaws took OUT the warband leader!

Round 4: Witch hunters Maghilda and Frederic believed they could still breakthrough, despite three of their number being OUT. They rallied their remaining followers, and the warband managed to make its rout test! Perhaps because of the unified rally, or realizing what she had just done, the warhound Daisy finally threw off the Lure of Chaos!

Flagellant Sister Birtrille, with the zealots Anna and Gerwalt moved deeper into the ruins, closer to the lurking and waiting Brother Rupprecht.  

Daisy charged Baldur, but the brethren was ready and the combat was a standstill. Brother Dagmar continued to fight brethren Klaus, but can’t make any headway. 

On the other side of the ruins, witch hunter Frederic shot at Karl-Erik and took the mutant OUT of Action! 

Flagellant Hans continued to attack Exalted Vessel Sven, but the massive possessed man instead managed to take Hans OUT of Action with a mighty blow!

For the Possessed it was looking very good. Magister Meister Herwig again attempted to use the Lure of Chaos on Daisy, but the hound’s faith and loyalty was now too strong to turn it again. The brethren Jürgen and Klaus ganged up on Brother Dagmar, and Jürgen managed to get the upper hand and take the warpriest OUT of Action with a deadly strike! Brethren Gosric got into the melee for the first time, charging Daisy the warhound to help out Baldur, but the dog managed to hold them both off. 

On the far side, the possessed Exalted Vessel Sven turned his attention to Maghilda the witch hunter and Stunned her with a mighty punch!

Round 5: The Witch Hunters realize they are in dire shape, and Maghilda, shaking off the Stun, shouts for a retreat! As the Flames of Redemption rout, the Brotherhood of the Void crow to their evil gods, and Magister Meister Herwig utters a guttural chaotic laugh.

POST BATTLE
Whoa. Things turned nasty for the Witch Hunters!

For the BROTHERHOOD OF THE VOID, only the mutant Karl-Erik had fallen, but unfortunately the injury dice were not kind, and the blow was lethal! He was dead.

For the FLAMES OF REDEMPTION, five of their number went Out of Action. And the injury rolls were not kind. The warpriest Dagmar succumbed to his wounds, as did the zealots Rudiger and Selig! The flagellant Hans survived, as did the leader, Werner von Halstaff, although he was Robbed of all his possessions! An expensive outing to be sure.

Three souls go to join Sigmar's army this day!

For loot rolls:
3 shards of wyrdstone were scavenged by the Possessed, and sold upon their return to camp for 65 gold crowns. Not quite enough to even replace their (second) fallen mutant brother.

2 shards of wyrdstone were found by the Witch Hunters and sold at the Haven of Sigmar for 50 gold crowns. A quick audit of the treasury revealed that between replacing all of Werner von Halstaff’s possessions, and hiring another warpriest and two zealots, the total would be around 180 gold crowns, too much for their current purse. Apparently, some important decisions needed to be made before heading into the City of Mordheim again.

Experience was allotted as normal (no special scenario bonuses, aside from the winning leader). No new skills from the Witch Hunters, but for the Possessed, the possessed Exalted Vessel Sven increased his health by 1 point.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I love how this game can swing on a few die rolls. As with the previous skirmish, the warband with the fewer warriors and lower rating kicked butt. Jay wasn’t sure of his chances, what with one of the winning conditions to be for Greg to “simply” get two of his models to the other side of the table, but once again, the rule of ‘no running when an enemy is within 8” of your warrior’ really slowed Greg’s quick sprint to victory.

Of course, Greg considered other potentials of what he could have done and perhaps where he could/should have run, but in the heat of battle you are always at the mercy of the random dice gods, and they were not kind to the Witch Hunters this day!

Jay looks to be spending all of his 65gc loot on (again) replacing his mutant (which costs 70gc), and Greg will need to figure out how to replenish his warband as best he can with the limited resources he has. That Robbed result on the Hero injury chart may mean your warrior survives, but it can be expensive, particularly when it is your leader!

This 6^th skirmish ends “Round 1” of the 12-skirmish Round Robin of this campaign. Everyone has now fought each other warband once. Next game to be determined. It could be Reiklanders vs Witch Hunters or Skaven vs Possessed, or even Reiklanders vs Possessed and Skaven vs Witch Hunters! Perhaps we’ll let the chaotic dice gods decide…