Archive
Doomstones 5 – What might have been
Hogshead’s 2001 title Heart of Chaos by Robin D. Laws was not the first attempt to wrap up the Doomstones campaign for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and solve the problem of what to do with the Player Characters now that they have all four Crystals of Power. When the campaign was adventures originally written for D&D, a concluding episode had gone unpublished.
While I was working on the WFRP adaptations at Flame publications, I started working on an outline for a fifth instalment that would tie things up nicely. I left it behind at Flame when I quit Games Workshop in 1990, and I had assumed that, like so many other things, it had vanished in the mists of time. But I was wrong.
A copy of my outline somehow survived in the archives of Marc Gascoigne, and recently made its way to me. I have no idea whether or not Robin Laws saw it while he was working on Heart of Chaos. There are some clear parallels between my outline and Robin’s final work (take that as a spoiler warning, if you will), but the similarities could be put down to the fact that some events and characters are obvious must-haves in a fifth and final Doomstones adventure.
Apart from saving the original Word file as a PDF, I haven’t done anything to it at all. It is just as I wrote it (though someone – probably Mike Brunton – turned it into a Word file from my original ProText file for Amstrad PCW and formatted it using Flame’s style of the time), so its integrity as a historical document is as good as it can be, for those to whom such things matter. Added later: But see the comment below about an earleir version on Gideon’s Awesome Lies blog.
Anyway, take it for what it is, make of it what you will, and I hope you find it interesting. Like everything else WFRP on this blog, this is completely unofficial and no challenge is intended to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else. Anyway, here it is.
Menfish – Another Lost Warhammer Race
Menfish? Yes, that’s right. These creatures were briefly a part of Warhammer lore. As well as the ad above from the first Citadel Compendium (1984), they were written up in the first edition Warhammer rules:
A few other humanoid fish types were released, such as the Fishman in the C38 Chaos Beastmen release and the early WH40K minitaure “Zhar d’uin, Piscean Prince,” but there was no further attempt to develop the Menfish concept or to create another aquatic or amphibious race.
Blazindragon left a comment in my post on Chaos Snakemen asking if I could cover the Fishmen for WFRP 4th edition, so here goes. As always, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Menfish
Menfish live in the underwater caves beneath the sea, and a few communities have been found in larger lakes. They live by fishing, mounting night-time raids on coastal villages, and sinking ships. Loyal only to their own kind, they attack the communities of Humans, Elves, Greenskins, and others without making any distinction between them.
The Sea Elves and other peoples have sent embassies to the Manfish communities of the northern seas proposing alliances against the forces of Chaos, but without success. It seems that the Menfish treat all outsiders as enemies, and only a handful of ambassadors escaped with their lives.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 30 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 30 | 25 | 30 | 25 | 30 | 15 | 9 |
Traits: Afraid (Fire, Sunlight), Amphibious, Animosity (other species), Bite +4, Cold-blooded, Night Vision, Swamp-strider, Territorial, Weapon +6
Optional: Armour 1, Hatred (other species), Ranged +6 (6 yards), Stealthy
The Monsters so Far:
Chaos Snakemen – A Forgotten Warhammer Race
Recently, Gideon over at the excellent Awesome Lies blog posted a very interesting and thoughtful piece on some of the more unique creatures in the Warhammer world. As well as the oft-discussed Zoats and Fimir, Gideon takes a look at a more obscure race, Chaz Elliott’s Chaos Snakemen.
Chaz tells their story himself, and gives some details about the background he had devised for them, in this interview on Captain Crook’s Funky Wenis Rodeo. Only five miniatures were ever made, and they were never formally written up for the Warhammer rules.
In 2015, Tim Prow sculpted a small range of Snakemen for the Antiquis Malleum project by Diehard Miniatures, and a few more have appeared on the Diehard Miniatures web page.
As far as I have been able to discover, though, no rules have ever been published for them – so here is my interpretation of them for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
S’Nethen (Chaos Snakemen)
A failed experiment by the Old Slann, the S’Nethen escaped from Lustria and fled north. Initially they planned to gather their strength and return to defeat the Old Slann and free Lustria, but the catastrophe of the warpgates and the creation of the northern Chaos Wastes made mere survival a struggle, and as centuries and millennia passed the proud S’Nethen degenerated into a barbaric and mutation-prone remnant of what they once were.
They should not be underestimated, though, for they have guarded their territory for millennia against the forces of Chaos, where other peoples have been assimilated or destroyed.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 40 | 30 | 35 | 45 | 30 | 40 | 30 | 30 | 45 | 25 | 15 |
Traits: Armour 1, Cold-blooded, Fast, Night Vision, Weapon +7
Optional: Armour 3 – 4), Bite +5, Constrictor, Corruption Minor), Dark Vision, Mutation, Ranged +7 (100), Size (Large), Spellcaster (Any), Tail +5, Venom (Easy – Very Hard)
The Monsters so Far:
Independent Daemons in WFRP 4th Edition
Before the two Realm of Chaos volumes presented the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos, Demons (as they were spelled then) in Warhammer and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay were not too dissimilar from the demons that could be found in any other fantasy setting of the time – although some, usually described as “Chaos Demons,” were stranger.
I touched on the question of independent Daemons in my previous post on Gargoyles, so here is a rough treatment of them for WFRP 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Independent Daemons
Instead of pledging themselves to one of the Ruinous Powers, some follow Chaos Undivided: the force of which, in their view, each of the Chaos Gods is merely one part. This is as true of Daemons as it is of mortals.
Although each Daemon is rendered unique by its combination of mutations and optional Traits, scholars divide them into four main classes:
Imps, also known as Least Daemons, are the smallest and least dangerous of their kind. They may serve Daemonologists as familiars and assistants, or devote themselves to causing trouble whenever the opportunity arises.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 35 | 45 | 25 | 45 | 60 | 45 | 45 | 25 | 45 | 25 | 12 |
Traits: Claws, Corruption (Moderate), Daemonic 9+, Fear 1, Night Vision, Size (Small), Unstable, Weapon +5
Optional: Clever, Cunning, Fast, Hardy, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Stealthy, Tail +5, Tough
Lesser Daemons are the mainstay of Daemonic armies, and are also summoned by Daemonologists and others to perform specific tasks. Occasionally, they may be brought forth from the Realm of Chaos by a magical accident, or overpower and kill their summoner. In this case they will rampage uncontrollably until banished or destroyed.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 50 | 35 | 40 | 30 | 60 | 40 | 30 | 25 | 50 | 15 | 15 |
Traits: Claws, Corruption (Moderate), Daemonic 8+, Fear 2, Night Vision, Unstable, Weapon +9
Optional: Belligerent, Brute, Champion, Distracting, Elite, Flight 60, Frenzy, Horns +5, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +7
Greater Daemons are powerful beings, and can only be controlled by the most powerful Daemonologists. They are constantly looking for ways into the material world, and are capable of summoning other Daemons to do their bidding. Their plans have been long in the making, and involve far more than simple destruction. Often they hope to enslave mortals and create a daemonic nation of their own, with themselves as absolute rulers.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 70 | 35 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 50 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 80 |
Traits: Corruption (Major), Daemonic 7+, Night Vision, Size (Large), Terror 2, Unstable, Weapon +15
Optional: Armour 1-4, Belligerent, Bite, Champion, Dark Vision, Distracting, Flight 60, Frenzy, Horns +10, Leader, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +10
Greatest Daemons, sometimes called Daemon Princes, are the most powerful of the daemonic beings. No mortal can control them, though some may be able to make deals with them. On the whole,though, they have mortal servants rather than mortal masters. They appear only rarely, either at the head of a vast daemonic army or as the power behind a conspiracy to destroy a nation or an entire continent.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 90 | 95 | 110 | 120 | 100 | 95 | 90 | 110 | 120 | 90 | 114 |
Traits: Corruption (Major), Daemonic 6+, Dark Vision, Size (Large), Terror 4, Unstable, Weapon +20
Optional: Armour 5-7, Breath +10 (Fire), Dark Vision, Die Hard, Distracting, Flight 50, Frenzy, Hardy, Horns +10, Immunity to Psychology, Leader, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Painless, Rear, Size (Enormous), Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +10, Venom (Very Hard)
The Monsters so Far:
The Mud Elemental: Two Old Monsters Combined for WFRP4
The Viydagg and Mardagg were not the only unusual “elementals” in Citadel’s miniatures range in the ’80s. The C22 “Creatures” range included a Mud Elemental, for which game rules and stats were never published.
Five years later, in the Doomstones adventure Blood in Darkness, a creature named Xhardja appeared. Also made of living mud, Xhardja took the form of lashing tentacles that rose up to attack trespassers in its mud-choked lair.
I wondered whether these two creatures might be one and the same. While Xhardja didn’t rear up in humanoid form to talk to the PCs, it is entirely possible that it could have done so. So I decided to combine the two. Here are stats for WFRP4. As always, everything that follows is to be considered a fan work and no challenge is intended to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
Mud Elemental
There is some debate among Wizards and other academics over whether or not these entities are true Elementals, or constructs magically animated from mud, or something else entirely. Those who reject the term “Elemental,” and those who do not concern themselves with such distinctions, simply call them Mudmen.
Mudmen are found in swamps and other muddy areas, both above and below ground. They can draw themselves up into a humanoid shape or sink down and become indistinguishable from the mud around them, attacking with a number of tentacles of animated mud.
Two profiles are provided below, one for the creature’s humanoid form and one for a single tentacle. The creature has a number of tentacles equal to its Wounds score, and each tentacle that is destroyed reduces the creature’s overall Wounds total by 1.
Humanoid Form
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 3 | 45 | – | 45 | 50 | 45 | 20 | 35 | 40 | 55 | 25 | 19 |
Traits: Amphibious, Bash (2) +8, Construct or Daemonic, Dependent (Mud), Dark Vision, Painless, Shapeshift (Mud), Swamp-Strider, Unstable
Optional: Die Hard, Size (Large), Territorial
| New Traits Dependent (Various) The creature requires something to sustain it. At the end of every round in which it has not been in contact with the required substance, the creature loses 1 Wound regardless of Toughness and armour. Shapeshift (Mud) The creature can shift between humanoid form and an amorphous form in which it becomes one with the surrounding mud. The transition takes a full Action. While shapeshifted into amorphous form, the creature is vulnerable only to attacks that have an area of effect or to attacks directed against its tentacles. |
Tentacle
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 2 | 33 | – | 45 | 50 | 65 | 10 | 15 | – | – | – | 1 |
Traits: Amphibious, Painless, 1 Tentacle +6, Swamp-Strider, Unstable
Optional: Die Hard, Size (Large), Territorial
The Monsters so Far:
Jabberwock: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Well, it’s not original to WFRP, of course. The beast was born in Lewis Carroll’s poem Jabberwocky, and its image was established for all time by Sir John Tenniel’s illustration from 1897.
Nick Bibby’s Jabberwock miniature was advertised in the first Citadel Journal, which was published in Spring 1985. Following my policy of covering every Citadel miniature I could find, I wrote it up for the Bestiary chapter of the WFRP first edition rulebook.
Nick Bibby’s Jabberwock (right), with a Ral Partha Jabberwock mini of similar vintage.
The Jabberwock
The Incursions of Chaos have produced thousands of strange creatures. Living in the deepest forests, the Jabberwock is little seen – at least, by those who live to tell of it – and it is known mainly through local rumours and the distant sound of its burbling cry.
The Jabberwock stands over 12 feet high, and can move by running on all fours or walking on its hind legs. All four limbs are equipped with sharp claws, and its mouth is armed with long, chisel-like teeth. They are very aggressive, but rather stupid.
The Jabberwock’s wings are too small to allow it to fly. It can only bounce along or jump a few feet into the air. Their flapping makes a thrumming, whiffling sound which can be disconcerting.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 79 | 0 | 55 | 65 | 20 | 40 | 15 | 15 | 85 | – | 100 |
The Monsters so Far:
WFRP 4 Monsters – The IndexMabrothrax: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
This post completes my re-imagining of the three odd Elementals that appeared in the Third Citadel Compendium in 1985: the Life Elemental, the Death Elemental, and the Plague Elemental. In the WFRP 1st edition rulebook, I gave them different names and backstories, making them Demons (the “Daemon” spelling did not appear until Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness in 1988) affiliated with the yet-to-be-organized gods of Law and Chaos.
Oddly, the Plague Elemental was put in the C29 Large Monsters range, while the other two were in C34 Elementals and Demons. However, it was written up alongside the Life and Death Elementals in that issue’s “Bellicose Bestiary” column.
For WFRP 1st edition, I invented the name Mabrothrax and gave the beast to Nurgle, the Chaos God of plagues and pestilence. It made sense at the time, but when Realms of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned defined the Daemons and followers of Nurgle in 1990, the Mabrothrax was not among them.
The Mabrothrax reappeared in 2005’s Tome of Corruption for WFRP 2nd edition as an Apparition linked to Nurgle. Visions rather than monsters, Apparitions could not be fought or stopped, existing only to warn spellcasters that they are being too reckless in their use of magic.
So that is the history of the Mabrothrax in a nutshell (apart from this metal track that turned up in the Google search). Here is my suggestion for using the creature in WFRP 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is extremely unofficial, completely optional, and does not constitute any challenge to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
The Mabrothrax
Also known as the Steward of Filth and Nurgle’s Handmaiden, the Mabrothrax is a favoured servant of the Plaguefather, and stands outside the normal hierarchy of his Daemons.
Its origins are obscure. According to some scholars it was once a Plaguebearer, raised up by Nurgle’s favour in the same way as the Masque of Slaanesh was elevated from the ranks of the Daemonettes. Others have suggested that it was a mortal Cult Magus who was elevated for his or her devotion.
The Mabrothrax is a large, hulking humanoid with thin, spindly arms and legs equipped with razor-sharp claws. Its body is a thin bag of skin filled with a soupy mess of entrails, excrement, and decay. Its head is dominated by a massive maw filled with sharp, jutting teeth.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 90 | 93 | 100 | 120 | 100 | 105 | 90 | 90 | 120 | 100 | 92 |
Traits
Disease (All)
As a favored one of Nurgle, the Mabrothrax carries all diseases. Whenever a victim must Test for Contraction (WFRP, page 186), roll a D100 to choose a disease randomly: 01-10 – Black Plague 11-30 – Blood Rot 31-50 – Bloody Flux 51-70 – Packer’s Pox 71-80 – Ratte Fever 81-00 – Other or roll again (GM’s choice)Fetid Blast
Once per round, the creature can unleash a blast of pestilential air (Range 10 yards, Damage +10, Blast 5, Distract, Ignores Armour). This attack is Infected. All living creatures affected by the blast must make a Hard (-20) Willpower Test or gain one Broken Condition – two if the victim has the Acute Sense (Smell) Trait.
The Monsters so Far:
WFRP 4 Monsters – The Index
Mardagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
Last week I posted about an obscure Warhammer monster called the Viydagg, also known as the Life Elemental. When the miniature was first released in 1985, it was packaged with its counterpart, the Death Elemental. Rules and stats for Warhammer 2nd edition were published in the Third Citadel Compendium, and I adapted them for WFRP in the 1st edition rulebook.
I was writing at a time before the Warhammer mythos had become really coherent, with specific Daemons serving the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos. Like its companions, the Life Elemental and the Plague Elemental, the Death Elemental clearly couldn’t be an Elemental in the classical sense, so I renamed it the Mardagg and gave it as backstory as a servant of Khorne the Blood God. At the time, he seemed like the most logical patron.
Just two years later, though, Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness began the process of developing and organizing the lore of Chaos in Warhammer, and the Mardagg did not find a place alongside the Bloodthirsters, Bloodletters, and other servants of brass-throned Khorne. Like the Viydagg, the Mardagg spent the next thirty years in obscurity. True, there was an Incarnate Elemental of Death in the 2012 Monstrous Arcanum from Warhammer Forge, but it was a quite different beast from the Mardagg.
People seemed to like my re-imagining of the Viydagg for WRFP 4th edition, and quite a few asked if I would do the same for Mardagg as well. So here it is. Needless to say, what follows is extremely unofficial, completely optional, and does not constitute any challenge to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
The Mardagg
The theologians of the Old World argue over the status of the being known as Nagash. It is no secret that he has spent millennia gathering power and trying to ascend to godhood, but the question of whether he has succeeded is a contentious issue.
Those who argue for his divinity often cite the existence of the Mardagg as proof, claiming that it is a an avatar of Nagash just as the Viydagg is an avatar of the nature goddess Rhya. Others argue that it serves another, such as murderous Khaine or dread Morai-Heg, or some unnamed and ancient god of the Khemrian Liche-Priests.
The Mardagg appears as a hooded, skeletal figure, standing some ten feet tall and armed with a great scythe. Few have seen it at close quarters, though it has been sighted from a distance stalking across battlefields or striding through the night on some enigmatic business. Wherever it goes, death follows.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 90 | 93 | 100 | 120 | 100 | 105 | 90 | 90 | 120 | 100 | 92 |
Traits: Armour 2, Chill Grasp, Daemonic 7+, Immunity (Magic: Lore of Death, Lore of Necromancy), Night Vision, Size (Large), Spellcaster (Lore of Death, Lore of Necromancy), Squeeze of Death (see below), Terror 2, Tracker, Zone of Death (see below), Weapon +14
Optional: Blessed (Nagash or Khaine or Morai-Heg), Invoke (Nagash or Khaine or Morai-Heg). (There are no officially published Blessings or Miracles for these deities at the time of posting, so the GM should feel free to improvise.)
New Traits
Squeeze of Death
This is a ranged version of the Chill Grasp Trait. The creature points at a single living target within line of sight, then turns the hand over and closes the fist. Perform an Opposed Willpower Test. If the creature wins, the icy force of death crushes the target’s heart, causing 1d10+SL Wounds with no modification for Toughness Bonus or Armour Points. This attack is Magical.
Zone of Death
The creature is wreathed in an aura of death and decay that extends in a radius of 12 yards. Any living creature must make a Hard (-20) Willpower Test each round while within the zone, gaining one Fatigued Condition for each failure.
In addition, the wind of Shyish blows so strongly within the zone that all spells and magical effects powered by Shyish gain a +30 bonus to all relevant Tests, while all spells and effects powered by Ghyran or Hyish suffer a -30 penalty.
The Monsters so Far:
Viydagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster
The Viydagg is an artefact of a time before the Warhammer mythos had truly come together. It (or rather, she) has appeared in an official WFRP publication only once, in the Bestiary chapter of the WFRP 1st edition rulebook. I think it’s safe to say that neither Games Workshop nor Cubicle 7 has any plans to use her in the future.
The Life Elemental, Death Elemental, and Plague Elemental were Citadel miniatures dating back to before the publication of WFRP, and I gave them WFRP stats and backstories, along with new names since they clearly were not Elementals. The Death Elemental became a the Mardagg, a Greater Demon of Khorne (the ‘Daemon’ spelling came later), the Plague Elemental became the Mabrothrax, a Greater Daemon of Nurgle – and the Life Elemental became the Viydagg, a Greater Demon of Law who upheld the laws of life and nature.
The original miniatures ad, from the Third Citadel Compendium (1985). The same issue presented game stats for the Life, Death, and Plague Elementals in Warhammer 2nd edition.
The Life and Death Elementals. Image borrowed from the Stuff of Legends web site.
These three were left behind as the Warhammer mythos coalesced and developed. The Greater Daemons of the Ruinous Powers became standardized with the publication of Realm of Chaos, and the Gods of Law dropped out, replaced for the most part by Sigmar and his witch hunters. And that’s no bad thing.
Still, I decided that it would be a nice intellectual exercise to reimagine the Viydagg for WFRP 4th edition, adapting her backstory to fit the present state of the Warhammer mythos. See what you think – and let me have your comments, corrections, and suggestions in the comments below.
Needless to say, what follows is extremely unofficial, completely optional, and does not constitute any challenge to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.
The Viydagg
The Viydagg is an avatar of the goddess Rhya, and appears in the Old World only in exceptional circumstances. Her name means “life-giver” in the ancient tongue of the Taleutens, among whom her worship was most widespread. Several Talabecland folk-tales tell of her appearing in the aftermath of the Great War against Chaos, restoring the land’s fertility and healing the blights left behind by the forces of Chaos. On a handful of occasions, she even entered combat against a Greater Daemon.
The Viydagg has the appearance of a beautiful woman more than ten feet tall. Flowers grow on her garments and twine through her hair. She normally goes about her work silently, ignoring the mortals around her, though devout followers of Rhya or Taal have sometimes been favoured with a word or two.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 90 | 93 | 100 | 120 | 100 | 105 | 90 | 90 | 120 | 100 | 92 |
Traits: Blessed (Rhya), Distracting (Beauty), Divine 7+ (see below), Invoke (Rhya), Night Vision, Size (Large), Terror 2, Tracker, Zone of Life (see below)
New Traits
Divine (Target)
The creature’s essence is divine power, which sustains it completely. It does not require food, water, air, rest, or anything else that a living creature might need.
All its attacks are Magical. Roll 1d10 after any blow is received: if the creature rolls the Target number or higher, the blow is ignored even if it is a critical. Should the creature be reduced to 0 Wounds, its essence returns to the realm of Rhya immediately, removing it from play.
Aura of Life
The creature is wreathed in an aura of life and fertility which extends in a radius of 12 yards. No creature with the Undead Trait may enter this zone, and any creature with the Corruption Trait must make a Hard (-20) Willpower Test each round while within the zone, gaining one Fatigued Condition for each failure.
In addition, the wind of Ghyran blows so strongly within the zone that all spells and magical effects powered by Ghyran gain a +30 bonus to all relevant Tests, while all spells and effects powered by Dhar or Shyish suffer a -30 penalty.
Graeme Davis 