Castle Wittgenstein: a multiplayer scenario for 'The Enemy Within' Mordheim Campaign

And we are back to releases for "The Enemy Within" Mordheim campaign! Phew, this one took time to bake!

Hang in there, I have more coming!

Finally I've managed to finish this campaign's multiplayer set-piece battle.

'Castle Wittgenstein' pits a couple of warbands defending the castle, hired by a corrupt baroness dabbling in dark magic, from everyone else. The other warbands will be trying to either bring the baroness to justice, steal her warpstone, or just take over the castle. Whether they work together or compete from the first round onwards is up to them.

'The Enemy Within' - Castle Wittgenstein (scenario)

Castle Wittgenstein is the iconic location where the plot of 'Death on the Reik', the 3rd chapter of ' The Enemy Within' classic WFRP campaign, finally resolves and where the heroes track down the source of chaos corruption affecting the region.

Our "first-generation, not-fully-compliant-with-rules" terrain for this scenario.

In this Mordheim campaign, the lawful warbands represent the well-intentioned heroes, while any chaos warbands (or other unscrupulous/criminal types) will be defending the baroness. Of course, warbands following the 'Host of Horrors' objective (invariably Skaven) will be trying to steal the warpstone meteorite that the baroness owns, by invading the castle from the underground.

Assaulting the castle is no small feat: this is no ruined keep with holes in its walls, although one can claim that not all expenses were spared when it comes to hiring the best soldiers to defend it. The defending warbands will be outnumbered, and will have to fend off an assault coming from the outer walls, as well as preventing enemies coming in from the underground tunnels and underground dock.

On the other hand, there are several attacking warbands, each with their own objective. While they may initially cooperate to invade the castle and defeat the defenders, they will be at odds with each other as their end goals will be in direct conflict.

This will be one of the most daring siege scenarios for Mordheim: 2 sets of walls (an Outer and Inner Bailey) 2 bridges and 3 gates to punch through. This of course only fully applies to the Lawful warbands, who start the battle outside the walls of the Outer Bailey. At least part of the Rivals warband may deploy on boats and rafts adjacent to the castle's underground dock. This allows that warband to also infiltrate the underground tunnels that lead to the Inner Bailey, bypassing the gates and bridges.

It is a complex setup, and I might have to tweak it as I playtest it further.

However, the distribution of attacking warbands (some outside the walls and others infiltrating) and the fact they outnumber the defenders 2:1, serves as a balancing factor. Furthermore, defenders don't immediately rout as normal: they instead fall back to the next defensible position (from the Outer Bailey to the Bridge Tower, then to the Inner Bailey, then the Manor).

Playing 'Castle Wittgenstein' will also require some extra props beyond the castle scenery: you need some underground tiles, and a large building with at least 10 rooms ( not counting corridors).

To ensure those with a more conservative terrain collection can play the scenario, the campaign supplement will include a set of underground tiles, as well as house interior tiles. This way you can set up the Manor as simply a large building (with no actual rooms inside) and then use the tiles as warbands move inside it.

The scenario requires a good bit of preparation, as it's got several special rules. But after all, it is meant as a landmark in the campaign, with as many warbands as possible participating.

If one of the players acts as the game organizer, keeping up with the rules will be much easier, as there will be at least one person who will have the big picture in mind, and can remind other players.

Note that there is room for a lot of shady deals and unexpected role-switching when assigning roles in this scenario. Unscrupulous Sellswords in service of an Elector can momentarily join forces with the Wittgensteins for this battle if it fits their purpose. And a band of Chaos Cultists could have a fierce hatred of the Beastmen the Wittgensteins have allied with, and will thus try to storm the castle as well.

Hope you enjoy, and I appreciate any feedback you can throw my way (which it will probably need!).

Roll high and prosper.