The Possessed vs Witch Hunters! The Tenth Skirmish!

 

On Monday, April 29, 2024, Jay’s Possessed clashed with Greg’s Witch Hunters in the search for treasure! Both warbands had collected rumours of a potential stash of gold and items in the neighbourhood southeast of Executioner’s Square. When both groups made their way into the area, weapons were drawn and warcries exchanged as both hurried to search the buildings! And Scenario 7: Hidden Treasure began!

This scenario had already been played once before, between Jay’s Possessed and Matt’s Skaven.  A standard scenario. Each warband set up within 6” of an opposite table edge. The special rule here was about searching the ruined buildings on the board. Every time a warrior entered a building they could search by rolling 2D6 and on a 12 the treasure was found, otherwise the building was marked as ransacked. If a 12 was not scored by the time only one building was left to search, the treasure chest was automatically in there. Carrying the heavy chest reduced a warrior’s movement in half, although two could also carry it without penalty.

Winning Conditions: When one warband gets the treasure to the safety of their table edge, or a warband fails a Rout test the game ends. The victorious warband then gains the treasure chest (so, again, totally possible for a warband with the treasure chest to fail the Rout test and lose the treasure!). Also, if a Hero finds the chest, they would receive +2 Experience. Chest contents to be rolled after the game during the Explore phase.

The Witch Hunters warband, THE FLAMES OF REDEMPTION, continued to be led by Werner von Halstaff, with his loyal warhound companion Daisy. Two trained witch hunters accompanied him, Frederic and Maghilda, along with a conglomeration of zealots: Gerwalt, Anna and newcomer Schaeffer. One zealot, Rolf, had shown superior devotion to Sigmar recently, and von Halstaff had promoted him to henchmen hero! The flagellants, Sister Bertrille and Hans, although bereft of their warrior priest, continued to follow von Halstaff in their mutual quest to vanquish heretics and mutants from the City of the Damned!

TOP: Warhound Daisy with Werner von Halstaff, zealot Gerwalt and flagellant Hans.
BOTTOM: Zealot Anna leads henchman hero Rolf and flagellant Sister Bertrille.

The Possessed warband, the BROTHERHOOD OF THE VOID, led by the crafty and cunning Magister Meister Herwig with the Brethren, a group of lost and misguided souls following Chaos for their own nefarious reasons: Gosric, Baldur, Klaus and Jürgen.  The beastman, Cousin Ruprechet had brought another beastman to join the group, Cousin Ingvar. Magister Herwig was also accompanied by the two massive Possessed individuals, Exalted Vessel Sven, and Exalted Vessel Wülfstan!

FAR LEFT: Possessed vessel Wülfstan, then vessel Sven with Cousin Ingvar.
MIDDLE: The Brethren with Magister Meister Herwig, and Cousin Ruprecht  

Round 1: The Possessed moved into the area. Magister Meister Herwig pushed the rabble of Brethren forward, while the beastmen cousins flanked either side. 

"Get going you miserable bastards!"

On the far left, Exalted Vessel Sven let Vessel Wülfstan towards a ruined building. Sven entered, and behold, there the treasure chest lay, badly hidden under some rotting floorboard!

Treasure!

Werner von Halstaff, hearing the keening wail of the possessed vessel Sven, knew instinctively that Chaos had found the treasure! Von Halstaff shouted orders to abandon the search and charge! The Witch Hunters cried prayers to Sigmar and ran deeper into the ruined neighbourhood, intent on getting that treasure, and slaying heretics!

The Witch Hunters charge forwards towards the heathen heretics of Chaos!

Witch hunters Frederic and Maghilda follow zealot Schaeffer onto higher ground.

Round 2: Exalted Vessel Wülfstan lumbered into the ruined house to grab one side of the treasure chest, and together the two Possessed shambled out and away! 

Magister Herwig cackled upon seeing the Witch Hunters crashing through the ruins towards them, and attempted to summon his chaotic magic but failed. In a bit of panic, Magister Meister Herwig ordered the brethren to huddle up around him, and growled at the beastmen cousins to prepare to meet the humans in battle!

The Witch Hunters struggled through the ruins to reach the Possessed, moving as fast as they could. 

Maghilda from her higher vantage point took aim and shot at beastman Cousin Ruprechet, the bolt from her crossbow striking deep into a shoulder! Witch hunter Frederic beside her, let loose a volley of bullets from his brace of pistols at Cousin Ruprecht but missed!

Round 3: Exalted Vessels Sven and Wülfstan staggered as far as they could with the heavy treasure chest between them, nearly reaching the edge of the neighbourhood and safety from the blood thirsty Witch Hunters!  Magister Meister Herwig again tried to summon the awesome energies of Chaos, but again to no avail!

The beastmen charged! Cousin Ingvar charged zealot Gerwalt while Cousin Ruprecht attacked the zealot Anna. Brethren Klaus and Jürgen joined in the fray and ganged up on attacking zealot Anna!

Beastman Cousin Ingvar charges zealot Gerwalt!

Zealot Anna is surrounded by beastman Cousin Ruprecht and Brethren Klaus and Jürgen!

In the wild melee, Anna did her best to counter the attacks, but Klaus struck true with his trusty forked spear and took Anna OUT of Action! 

Henchman hero Rolf and flagellant Sister Bertrille look on as zealot Anna is taken OUT!

For Cousin Ingvar however, a dangerous first battle for him, as he failed to strike with his mace and was unceremoniously taken OUT of Action by Gerwalt’s deadly scythe!

The scythe of zealot Gerwalt struck true that day, and another heretic was purged.

Werner von Halstaff shouted to his followers to attack without quarter! From the high ground, witch hunter Frederic shot at the brethren with his brace of pistols, but missed! Maghilda took aim along her crossbow at the massive form of the Possessed Sven, a long shot…and her bolt sailed high and missed! 

Von Halstaff cursed and reached for his own pistol, but found only an empty holster, remembering too late that his pistol had been stolen by the dirty skaven!

Zealot Gerwalt, stepped over the body of Cousin Ingvar and charged the Brethren Gosric. At the front of the Brethren pack, flagellant Sister Bertrille and loyal hound Daisy charged Jürgen, while henchman hero Rolf charged beastman Cousin Ruprecht!

Zealot Gerwalt charges the Brethren! Von Halstaff and Hans give chase for possessed with the chest!

Filled with the fervor of Sigmar, Gerwalt boldly attacked, but the spear of Brethren Gosric was quicker, and got under the swinging scythe, and a foul blow struck Gerwalt OUT of Action! 

Brethren Jürgen managed to hold his own against the hound Daisy and Sister Bertrille, with neither side striking a hard enough blow. 

But henchman hero Rolf managed to avoid the beatman’s swings, and knock down Cousin Ruprechet onto his back!

Round 4: Unfortunately for THE FLAMES OF REDEMPTION, the battle was over. Werner von Halstaff and flagellant Hans could do nothing but watch helplessly as the two possessed, Exalted Vessels Sven and Wülfstan, hefted the treasure chest between them and disappeared into the ruins of Mordheim. Von Halstaff called off the hunt, and retreated. The BROTHERHOOD OF THE VOID had won this day with their ill-gotten prize.  

 

POST BATTLE

For THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE VOID only one casualty, but a disastrous one! New recruit beastman Cousin Ingvar succumbed to his scythe wounds and perished!

For THE FLAMES OF REDEMPTION two zealots wounded, Anna and Gerwalt, but they both recovered thanks to prayers for Sigmar. Praise be Sigmar.

For loot rolls:

The Witch Hunters managed to find 2 shards of wyrdstone, and a roll of double 1s meant a well was found! Witch hunter Frederic was sent down by Werner von Halstaff (perhaps for his failed shooting…) and managed to find another wyrdstone! All three were sold in the market for 65 gold coin.

The Possessed were able to scrounge up 3 wyrdstone on their way out of the ruins. Within the prized treasure chest they found 8 gold crowns, 1 wyrdstone shard, and a sword. Within the black market of the Black Pit Settlement, Magister Meister Herwig sold all three shards of wyrdstone and the sword for 75 gold crowns.

For Experience:

Experience was allotted as normal (Meister Herwig had +1 extra one for winning, and the possessed Exalted Vessel Sven received an extra 2 points for finding the treasure chest!).

For THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE VOID:

Possessed Exalted Vessel Sven: +1 Initiative

The Brethren henchman group: +1 Weapon Skill

Beastman Cousin Ruprecht: +1 Strength

For THE FLAMES OF REDEMPTION:

Only henchman hero Rolf leveled up: +1 Attack

 FINAL THOUGHTS

Another quick and dirty battle! It was over pretty fast once Jay’s Possessed found the treasure chest right away on round 1 (box cars on the first search roll!). Because he was able to get his two possessed warriors far enough away from the Witch Hunters, those two figures could actually run double their movement towards the table edge, while poor Greg’s Witch Hunters could not move further than their normal 4” once they were within 8” of the other Possessed, and so had no hope of catching them.

(NOTE for those wondering: Mordheim rulebook, page 10 under running: “A model can only run if there are no enemy models within 8” of it at the start of the turn” (with exceptions).)

Alas for poor Magister Meister Herwig, no artifact of Chaos lay within the chest, but still enough loot to recoup another expensive loss to the flock.

Next up: Reiklanders vs Witch Hunters or Skaven vs Possessed! The last two skirmishes!