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HOUSE RULES
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by Ed Hastings, aka Killer Shrike |
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It was brought to our attention over
the years that these House Rules, written
for the convenience of our local play group
back in 2000 or so, were used either in
modified form or its entirety by several
other playgroups around the world. We appreciate
the feedback we've gotten on it over the
years, and are glad that our humble "common
sense" practices helped contribute to other
people's play experiences too! |
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After arguments, disagreements, and game
stopping rules hunts proved to be a drag
to actual attempts to play Mordheim, we
took the time to formualte / collate a few
house rules, interpretations, courtesies,
and conventions into a document usable by
all. The following is an attempt to clearly
and explicitly state all House Rules in
effect in our games so that all players
are operating from a clear understanding
of any additions or alterations to the core
rules, as well as make clear certain practices
and courtesies that we as a group find agreeable. |
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CONVENTIONS and ETTIQUETTE |
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Selection of Models
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Any model of approximately 25 mm scale that
is in genre (i.e. a Fantasy miniature) may
be used as long as the model is representative
of the unit it is being used to designate.
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WYSIWYG Guidelines
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P.64 states that all members of all warbands
should have all weapons, armor, and mutations
represented on the model with the exception
of daggers and knives.
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House interpretation: Misc Equipment is
not mentioned and therefore does not have
to be modeled. An opponent has the prerogative
to deny you the ability to use any weapons,
armor, or mutations that you have paid g.c.
for, but that are not represented on the
applicable models.
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Painted Models |
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Models do not HAVE to be painted, but it
is preferrable.
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Basing of Models |
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Models can be modeled on any base the owner
desires as long as it supports the weight
of the model and balances sufficiently well
to not fall over regularly. However, any
modeling using objects that are sharp or
jagged should be avoided as a courtesy to
other players to avoid damaging their models. |
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Moving Models |
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As a basic miniature wargaming courtesy,
you should never unneccisarily touch or
move another persons models without their
express permission. This includes putting
models back or face down to designate injuries.
Always allow the opponent to handle his
own pieces unless specifically asked to
move them by their owner. |
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Common Courtesy regarding Models |
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All due care should be taken to avoid damage
to an opponents miniatures. This includes
any accidental damage that may be caused
by moving your own models. Respect the property
of others and they will respect yours. |
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Turn completion indicator |
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It is courteous to allow your opponent(s)
to know that you are finished with your
turn in a consitent manner. I recommend
the table knock, but any consistent notifier
is sufficient. |
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Oops I forgot |
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There will be ocasions when a player forgot
to do something during the appropriate phase,
and wants to redo a combat action or some
other undertaking. This is unfortuanate,
but if the game has already passed
beyond the error or oversight, too bad.
Play continues as is. |
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Rolling Multiple Attacks with various weapons |
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All attacks for each model should be rolled
for at the same time, making use of various
dice of different colors to differentiate
different weapons. If hits are made, use
the same dice to roll to wound, discarding
the dice that missed. Finally, use the same
dice that Wounded to roll for effect. This
speeds play and minimizes questions of what
special rules apply to what die roll. |
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Declaring dice allocations before rolling |
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There are occasions when it is important
to differentiate what die is being used
for what when rolling multiple dice. It
must be declared prior to rolling the order
and precedence of the dice. If this is not
done, the allocation least beneficial to
the rolling player is taken. For Ex.: if
a player is rolling to see if a Hero is
dead after a game doesnt declare the precedence
of the dice and rolls a '5' and a '1', the
worse result of 15 (Dead) is chosen. |
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WARBAND CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT |
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Number of Warbands per Player |
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Each player can have as many warbands as
they wish, so long as they only play one
warband in any given battle. |
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Falling Below Starting Gold Coin Value |
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HOUSE RULE: If a warband should ever fall
below its starting Gold level, it is restored
to that starting value immediately. In other
words, if any warband other than Marienburghers
falls below 500 gc, they are restored to
500 gc. For Marienburgheres the demarkation
is 600 gc.
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This keeps a flagging warband going and
gives them a chance to make a comeback,
and makes for a vastly more enjoyable game. |
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Heros that exceed 90 XP |
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HOUSE RULE: Heros that exceed 90 XP can
become Dramatis Personae at the option
of the owning player. The Hero leaves the
warband, and the campaign arbitrators formulate
a recruitment schema and a finalized version
of the character. The owning player must
be willing to provide a clear but concise
description of the history, goals, and motivations
of the Hero to assist the arbitartors. Afterwards,
the warrior is available as a Dramatis Personae
for the duration of the campaign. |
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Full complement of Heros vs Lads Got Talent |
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HOUSE RULE: You may decide to fire a Hero
to make room for a promoted Henchmen, but
the Hero takes all equipment in his possession
with him. |
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Warband rosters |
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An accurate, easily decipherable, and legible
copy of all warbands must be given to a
campaign arbitrator after every major batch
of improvements. An account should be kept
of what battles have been fought and their
outcome since the last updated warband.
Warband rosters whould be ready for play
upon arrival at the agreed upon playing
area.
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Two-Handed weapons |
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HOUSE RULE: It does not make sence for two
handed versions of weapons to not have the
same base effect as their smaller versions.
If the model pays the gc for both a two
handed weapon and sword, axe, or hammer
then they are considered to be one weapon
(ex: 2 Handed Sword: if a model pays the
g.c. for both a 2 Handed Weapon and a normal
sword (25 gc), then the model has
a 2 Handed Sword that grants +2 STR and
can parry, but strikes last. |
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MAGIC |
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Choosing Spells |
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Roll for chosen Spells\prayers when a Spell
or prayer user is added to the roster after
their gold cost has been paid. |
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Spells and LOS |
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Spells require LOS unless specifically stated
otherwise. Area of Effect Spells targeted
on visible models may include models not
visible to the caster in their effect.
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EQUIPMENT\RARE GOODS |
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Spending Big |
Spending Big: Few things are denied those
with truly great sums of money, and things
are no different in Mordheim. When sending
a Hero to look for Rare Goods, a player
may decide to spread some extra money around
to get leads, grease palms, and impress
the right people in an attempt to find a
particular item for sale.
This is called Spending Big; when a player
does this he may spend additional funds
to reduce the rarity of the item he is looking
for. The difficulty of a Rare Good may be
reduced by one for every 19+1d6 gold coins
the player spends. This may be done any
number of times, but must all be allocated
before the Rare Goods roll is made.
This rarity deduction applies to one roll
only, not multiple rolls by multiple heros
or multiple rolls by the same hero on different
occasions.
The gold is spent whether the item is found
or not. Also, the gold is spent if the item
is found but not purchased. In short, no
matter what the outcome the funds are expended
and subtracted from the warbands Treasury.
Furthermore, the gold spent does not affect
the cost of the item if it is found in anyway.
It is an additional amount beyond that charged
for the item.
Example: a Rieklander player sends 3 Heros
to look for an Elven Cloak, which has a
Rarity of 12. The Leader has the Streetwise
skill, and therefore reduces this difficulty
to a 10. Wishing to drop this further the
player decides to Spend Big 4 times. Rolling
4d6 he gets +12 gc. Added to 19*4 (76),
this equals 88 total gold spent to reduce
the rarity from a 10 to a 6 for the leader
only. Should he fail to find one, the other
Heros must still roll the normal Rarity
or Spend Big further to reduce the difficulty
needed. |
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Lucky Charms |
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Lucky Charms are destroyed on a roll of
a 6 when they are used.
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Blessed Water (and other 'Holy' effects) |
The definition of an 'UNDEAD' model is True
Undead ; creatures animated by dark magics.
Living creatures that work for or with Undead
are not themselve Undead.
True Undead include: Vampires, Zombies,
Dire Wolves, Skeletons, Mummies, Ghosts,
Wights, Wraiths, Banshee, Liches, and Skeleton
Steeds.
Dregs, Necromancers, and Ghouls are not
True Undead, nor are any living Hired Swords
employed by an Undead force.
The definition of a 'DAEMON' model is any
model that benefits from Daemonic powers,
but not Spells.
Daemons include: Possessed, models with
the mutation Daemon Soul, any model with
a save defined as 'Daemonic', such as a
Daemonic Aura, actual daemons such as Bloodletters,
Bloddthirsters, Nurglings, Great Unclean
Ones, Flamers of Tzeentch, Lords of Change,
Daemonettes, Keepers of Secrets, or any
other unit defined as being a Daemon in
their source material. |
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Bugman's Ale |
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Lasts one game |
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Cathayan Silk Cloak |
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Only usable by Mercenaries. |
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GAMEPLAY |
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Hand to Hand |
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Charging |
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Charges are explicitly declared (ie
model A is charging model B) in turn prior
to any models being moved. In order for
one model to be able to charge another,
an 'unobstructed line' must be drawn
between the two models. The path chosen
must be the shortest and most direct possible
route to the target, so it is not acceptible
to 'bow-out' to avoid intercepting models. |
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House Interpretation: If a path exists between
the two models with sufficient space
for the charging model itself or the charging
model's base to fit through (which
ever is larger), that does not cross any
terrain effecting the models Movement, then
the line of charge is considered to be UNOBSTRUCTED.
The line of charge may curve as many times
as neccesary up to the models maximum movement. |
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House Clarification: If nothing stops a
model from manuevering around obstacles
(including other models), such as rough
terrain and or gaps too small for the model
to fit thru, then it may charge anything
within its range of Movement, following
rules for declaring and conducting charges.
As long as the model can find a path thru
to its target it may charge that target.
As soon as the models base touches any enemies
base, they are considered to be intercepted,
even if the enemy model is already in HtH
combat. |
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All Charge moves are declared before any
distances are measured, and after this has
been accomplished the models are moved
into position in turn, observing interception
rules. NOTE: holding the measuring tape
in front of you without actually measuring
from model to model while declaring charges
is not legal. The perspective involved is
not extreme enough to invalidate a rough
estimate of distance. |
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HOUSE RULE: It is acceptible to declare
a 'blitz' charge with your opponents permission
as long as the 'blitz' is declared prior
to movement and measuring following normal
charge declaration rules. |
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Blitz Charge: Declaring that a group of
models is charging another group of models,
wherein each new charger closes with the
next available unengaged enemy model in
range. Blitz Charging models cannot double
up on defending miniatures until all other
possible models have been charged. It is
acceptible for the charge to begin with
the furthest model back charging the closest
enemy forward to maximize the effectiveness
of the charge. Blitz charging speeds gameplay
enourmously at the cost of some loss of
tactical flexibility.
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NOTE: Ask your opponents permission to declare
a 'blitz' style charge and make him
aware that he does not have to allow it. |
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Interception |
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After charges are declared, the charging
models attempt to close with their declared
target. The first enemy model within 2"
of the line of charge that is not already
occupied in HtH combat 'intercepts' the
charger.
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House Interpretation: Chargers must close
and fight with the nearest unengaged enemy
along their line of charge. The interceptor
is not moved; rather the charging model
moves to the interceptor and ends in Base
to Base contact with it. |
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Rolling to hit in HtH Combat |
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HOUSE RULE: HtH is handled as normal, but
with the following variations:
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- Rather than using the WS vs WS chart in
the main rule book, instead use the Strength
vs Toughness chart for comparison values.
This attacker looks down the Strength side
and compares across to his opponents WS.
This means that a model cannot hit another
model that has a WS more than 4 higher without
a little help form their friends.The opponent
is just too good. Think Aunt May vs. Bruce
Lee.
- Multiple Attacker Bonuses: it is easier
for warriors to be dragged down when being
attacked by a group. If multiple models
from one warband are in BtB contact with
a single model from another warband, close
combat is figured as follows: the outnumbering
models attack in Initiative order first
and then in decending order of WS. Each
attacker after the first receives a +1 bonus
to their WS for purposes of their ensuing
attacks only. Any attacks taken out of sequence
(like from spears or crossbow pistols) do
not benefit from this bonus.
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Critical Hits mixed with normal wounding
hits vs models with more than wound |
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Situations can occur vs models with 2 or
more Wounds where a single model may cause
a Critical Hit in conjunction with non critical
wounding hits. If the Master Strike result
is achieved, it is unclear as to which hit
has priority (ie, if the roll(s) on the
Injury chart are generated by the
non-critical wounds or the Master Strike). |
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House Clarification: The Master Strike takes
precendence, so up to 2 rolls made on the
Injury Chart in that HtH action caused by
the Master Striking model benefit from the
+2 bonus to the Injury roll. |
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Parrys |
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HOUSE RULE: Having multiple weapons that
grant parrys allows the warrior to make
multiple parrys or re-roll a failed parry.
For example, having 2 Swords allows a warrior
to parry twice or take a parry and a re-roll. |
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SHOOTING |
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How much of the model has to be visible to
declare a shot |
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By the letter of the rules, if any portion
of an enemy model is visible to a warrior,
the warrior may target that enemy with ranged
attacks. |
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House Clarification: If only inanminate
objects held, worn, or carried by the model
are visible, that model does not count as
a legal target. Inanimate objects include
but are not limited to weapons, spiky bits,
ornamentation, cloaks, banner poles, etc.
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Shooting at Knocked Down and Stunned Opponents |
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You must both roll to hit and to wound to
take Knocked Down and Stunned models Out
of Action with ranged weapons. |
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GENERAL |
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Kills by Falling |
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If a model is knocked down\stunned and subsequently
falls off a ledge and is taken OoA, the
warrior that knocked them down or stunned
them may mark that as an experience point
if they are eligible (ie a Hero). |
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MULTIPLAYER |
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How is the underdog bonus figured when fighting
against multiple warbands |
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You add the warband ratings of all the warbands
you actually fought with in HtH at some
point of the game or that shot at and wounded
at least one of your models or used magic
Spells or prayers that caused direct damage
against your models. Use this to calculate
the differences in warband rating. Note
that you do not count the warband ratings
of warbands that you merely shot at, even
if your warband wounded or injured models
in that warband.. |
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Alliances |
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Technically, anyone can ally with anyone
else, but the flavor of the individual bands
should be observed. |
- Witch Hunters and Sisters of Sigmar should
never ally with a force that has any form
of wizard on its roster, or any warband
connected in anyway with Chaos or the Undead.
- Skaven and Dwarves should never ally, or
Orcs and Dwarves for that matter.
- The Possessed should never ally with Chaos
bands dedicated to one of the 'Big 4' Chaos
dieties as they serve the Shadow Lord Malal,
who was cast out of the Chaos realms after
failing to kill the other Chaos gods.
- Practically no one should willyingly ally
with the Undead as all run the risk of being
killed and reanimated to fill out their
ranks.
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While in an alliance, models from the opposing
warbands do not count as enemies for any
purpose. If all winning conditions are met,
then the 2 allying warbands can agree to
share the victory, or turn against one another
and fight to the bitter end. Either player
may choose to end the Alliance in his own
recovery phase before charges are declared. |
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Shooting into HtH |
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If a HtH action is occuring on the board
and it does not contain any of a warbands
members, then that warband my shoot into
the HtH action. If the nominated target
is hit, it does not necessarily mean that
he is taking the bullet. Hits must be randomized
between the target model and all other models
in BtB with the target. |
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Fighting HtH vs models from 2 forces |
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The models of each warband initiate strikes
in their own turn and return strikes in
all other turns. Models from all enemy warbands
in HtH count for All Alone tests. |
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Scheduled vs unscheduled games |
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Games can be either. However, an arbitrator
should be present if there is ever any import
attached to a win or a loss for a particular
battle. |