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Ulli & Marquand
By Space Mcquirk & Donato Ranzato,
as appeared in Town Cryer 13.
PDF at
Downloads!
A Pair of Rogues
Never in the history of the Empire have there been such a
villainous pair of rogues as Marquand Volker and Ulli Leitpold. Once brigands in
a mercenary regiment responsible for a long list of crimes, they were caught by
bounty hunters and enlisted into the slave army of the Count of Stirland. The
pair escaped their captors on the outskirts of Mordheim, City of the Damned, a
ruinous place where death and glory could be found in equal measure. The
infamous bandits instantly recognized it as home.
Ulli and Marquand quickly developed a strong rapport with the
scum of Mordheim, a place Inhabited by the corrupt and immoral outcasts of
society. Their martial prowess and ruthless guile soon earned the nefarious
partners in crime a high degree of notoriety. As a result, the less noble
traders and prospectors of the accursed city eagerly sought out the services of
these talented scoundrels.
But their assistance did not come without a high price. Whilst
the pair would consider any task thrown their way for a mere handful of gold
coin, their loyalty was as fickle as the winds of Chaos. They built up a
reputation of betraying employers and stabbing them in the back for the sake of
a single crown. They were certainly not beyond using foul and despicable tricks
to save their own worthless hides or line their own pockets.
What became of the despicable pair, none can say but legends
of their deeds can to this day be heard in taverns throughout the Old World.
Each story is more outlandish than the next but few ever doubt the truth behind
these fantastic tales.
Dramatis Personae: Both Ulli and Marquand are new
Dramatis Personae as described on page 152 of the Mordheim rulebook and follow
all of the standard rules therein. Unlike the other Dramatis Personae Ulli, and
Marquand are mercenaries hired as a pair for one battle only, you cannot hire
only one of them.
Hire Fee:
30 Gold Crowns to hire as a pair.
May be Hired: Any warband except
Sisters of Sigmar and Witch Hunters may hire these rogues.
Rating: Ulli and Marquand
increase the warband rating by +60 points.
Marquand Volker
Reputedly the son of wealthy Marienburg merchants, what made
Marquand embark on a career as a gambler and then a mercenary and assassin is
unknown. What is known about this apparent `fop' is that his appearance belies
his true nature for he is quite deadly and entirely devoid of any morals.
Marquand personifies Mordheim `The City of the Damned' for he is corrupt and
rotten to the core - just like that place he calls his `home'. An expert
swordsman and master of the throwing knife, there are few who have crossed him
and lived. In the darkened corners of taverns, tales are told in nervous
whispers about this cold-hearted killer's reputation: that he killed his first
victim before he was ten; that he cut the heart out of the Duke of Suddenland
while the Duke's wife slept on beside him. His deadliest foe is the Witch Hunter
captain Gottlieb, `The Flayer', whose face Marquand horribly disfigured whilst
the erstwhile servant of Sigmar was attempting to redeem Marquand of his sins.
Marquand's sidekick and partner in crime. Little is known
about this huge framed Middenheimer, apart from it is unwise to be caught
anywhere near the business end of his massive warhammer! The tales tell that
Ulli Leitpold started out as a mercenary soldier, often in the service of the
armies of the Count of Stirland, and that he was present at the slaughter that
ensued at the third siege of Nuln. Life as a mercenary is presumably where he
derives his unthinking greed and cold nature, no doubt. Ulli spent some time as
a bandit and thief and teamed up with Marquand when they were captured by bounty
hunters and sentenced to live out their days in the penal battalions of the
Count of Stirland. Neither as subtle or as flash as his Marienburg colleague,
Ulli prefers to use a combination of brute force and low cunning to achieve his
goals.
These special rules apply to both Ulli and Marquand.
Wanderers: See Aenur, the Sword of Twilight
Mordheim rulebook page 153 or click here!
A Fistful of Crowns: These guys will do literally
anything for money/wyrdstone and have been known to change sides and stab
their former employers in the back for just a few crowns. To represent this,
opposing player(s) may attempt to bribe the pair into betraying their
employers and changing sides. At the start of the game, any player(s)
wishing to do this must secretly write down how much he is willing to bribe
them by (this must of course be more than the pair's starting hire fee!).
The controlling/employing player is advised to secretly write down a counter
bid at the start of the game also. The bribing player may then choose at the
start of any of his turns to attempt to bribe them (even if they are in
close combat!). If he does so he must reveal the amount he has written down
and if this is more than the hire fee plus the amount the controlling player
has for his counter-bid, then he gains control of the pair until the end of
the game. Only the player who has control of the pair is forced to pay the
additional amount so that if the original controlling player loses control
of them through a bribe he doesn't have to pay the counter-bid.
E.g., Captain Steiner of the Averland Avengers Warband
has managed to find the duplicitous pair when scouting the ruins. He
pays them their hire fee of 30 gold crowns and they agree to join his
warband for the next day's Wyrdstone hunting. Because Steiner is well
aware of his new partners' treacherous reputation he keeps another 30
gold crowns set aside in a pouch just in case.
Later that day, Steiner comes across the warband of
his arch rival, the Reiklander Captain Albrecht `One Eye'. A fight
ensues and when Albrecht recognises Ulli and Marquand (cutting a swathe
through his men, no doubt!) he yells out to them that he will pay them
fifty gold crowns if they change sides. Ulli and Marquand ponder this
for a moment and then turn their weapons against the Averlanders. At
this point Steiner throws his pouch of 30 crowns at their feet (making a
total of 60 crowns and beating Albrecht's offer of 50) and, after
counting the gold, our lovable rogues again turn their weapons towards
the hapless Albrecht, much to Steiner's relief. Of course things could
have been a lot different! For if Albrecht had bribed only 11 more
crowns, because with 61 he would have beaten Steiner's counter-bid and
Ulli and Marquand would have stabbed him in the back (literally!) and
changed sides.
This bribing business can of course get quite
interesting in multi-player games with different players attempting to
bribe at different times. Whichever player succeeds in bribing, or if
the controlling player maintains control, they must pay this extra
amount.
Where's the Money?: These guys are not likely to
accept any poor excuses if a warband cannot afford their extra pay. In the
event that a player cannot pay the extra either in crowns or Wyrdstone (The
warband should sell any Wyrdstone necessary in order to pay the hire or
bribe) the pair will deprive the warband of an equal amount in equipment
(based on market price). Failing this, they will take out their anger on the
warband leader - immediately play a close combat with the pair versus the
warband leader on his own and to the death!
Inseparable: These guys are like brothers (very
nasty, unpleasant brothers!) and are totally inseparable. They must be hired
as a pair and must remain within 8" of each other. In the event that one is
taken Out Of Action, the other will attempt to drag him off of the
battlefield and to safety. In a campaign, if one member of the partnership
retires then the other will retire.
