Through a combination of good fortune and spying, several warbands have overheard of the impending arrival of a river pirate’s/smuggler’s ship to the now deserted, crumbling quays of Mordheim. Even the toughest river pirates are loath to use the docks of the Cursed City and so they must be carrying some very rare contraband indeed. Obviously, any warband worth their salt is interested in taking the cargo for themselves. The timing of the shipment has been learnt, and as the warbands close they can see the exact location as the ship docks and weighs anchor.

Terrain
Each player takes it in turn to place a piece of terrain, either a forest, hill, or other similar item. We suggest that the terrain is set up within an area roughly 4' x 4'. On one long table edge, place a long strip of blue cloth or something similar to represent the river Stir and the quayside. In the centre of the strip of river, place a suitable model to represent the river boat (a piece of card 3" x 8" will suffice). The riverboat should be touching the landward edge of the river to show that it is docked.

Setup
Two-Player: During a two-player game both players start in the far corners and must make their way to the smuggler’s ship to steal the cargo. No warband may make use of catacombs or other skills as the information provided only gave the vague area as being the docks.  It was not until they got so close they actually saw the ship slowly move up to the wharf it is now docked at.

Multi-Player: In a multi-player game, the warband with the highest rating starts on the dock, waiting for their contacts to arrive (the ship has just docked). This warband is deployed up to 12" from the ship and cannot be forced to rout. In addition to its normal warband, they get reinforcements as outlined below, who never leave the ship. These models are the ship’s crew and will not leave the vessel, but will fight all comers (apart from their contacts). The other warbands start at the edges of the board furthest from the ship.

Special Rules
Boats: The rules for boats in Mordheim can be found in Empire in Flames in issue 24 of Town Cryer.

Voluntary Rout of the Ship: In the multi-player and two-player games, the vessel may not start to leave the dock until the forces guarding it have suffered 25% casualties. If this should occur then the ship takes four rounds to get under way, leaving from the nearest water table edge and moving at 6" per turn.

Cargo: The goods being smuggled are in crates, half of them, already unloaded onto the docks are the other half waiting on the top deck to be unloaded. Each crate can be carried by a single model at normal move rate (no running allowed). Two models may carry a crate, in which case they may run. While carrying a crate, the model may not fire any missile weapons or use any spells. If attacked, the crate will be dropped, ready to be carried by anyone coming into contact with it. Once a model escapes off the board with a crate, it may not return. Each crate in the possession of a warband at the end of the game earns them a roll on the cargo table overleaf. Should a warband rout while any of its members have crates, the goods are lost if the model is within charge range of any non-engaged opponents. The boat has ten crates for multiplayer games and seven for two-player games.

Ship’s Crew: The ship has a crew made up of a Captain and six Smugglers. In a multi-player game the crew are controlled by the Defending warband although they may never stray more than 6" from their ship. In a two-player game the crew have their own turn which takes place after the players. They will fire upon and or charge any warriors that come into range (of either side) but otherwise will not move.

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
4	4	4	3	3	1	4	1	8

Weapons/Armor: A Pirate Captain is armed with a sword, a brace of pistols and wears light armor.

Special Rules:

• Leader: Any pirate within 6" of the Captain may use his Leadership characteristic when taking any Leadership tests.
• Skills: Expert Swordsman, Pistolier and Acrobat.

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
4	3	3	3	3	1	3	1	7

Weapons/Armor: The smugglers are armed with swords, pistols and wear light armor.

The Pirate crew increases the defending warband rating by 45, but they will surrender when they fail a Rout test (taken separately from the Defending warband).

Swivel Guns: Additionally the ship has two swivel guns (reproduced below for convenience.) One of these is located at the front of the poop deck, the other on the prow of the ship. Swivel guns follow most of the rules for Blackpowder weapons: Move or Fire, Prepare Shot, but have some exceptions as noted below.

Swivel Gun; 75 gc; Availability: Rare 8
Pirate Gunners sometimes construct and carry into battle a smaller and lighter version of the real swivel cannons normally attached to pivoting mounts on the ship’s railing or sides. Though smaller than regular cannons, swivel guns are larger than normal hand guns, so big that they must be held up with the support of wooden support. They are cumbersome, and prone to failure due to imperfect castings or Blackpowder quality, but most gunners agree that they make up for it in sheer power.

Special Rules:

• Swivel Guns follow most of the rules for Blackpowder weapons (Move or Fire, Prepare Shot) but have some exceptions as noted below. A Pirate Warband may have only one Swivel Gun at a time, due to the time it takes the ship’s Master Gunner to construct one.
• Blackpowder Weapon: Move or Fire & Prepare Shot (as per normal backpowder weapons) are in effect.
• Cumbersome: The user is at –1 Initiative and –1 Movement throughout the battle. Also, Swivel Guns may never be fired twice per turn, or fired if the user moved, no matter what Skills the user may have.
• Blackpowder Rules: The normally optional rules for Blackpowder weapons on page 164 are always in effect for Swivel Guns, due to unpredictable nature of the local materials used in their construction.
• Special Ammunition: Swivel Guns use non-standard ammunition types, which must be bought for each game. Each type only lasts one game, so if it is used in a game it cannot be used again until another supply is bought. Before firing, the Gunner must declare which type is being used, if he has more than one type available in the game. Swivel Gun Ammunition:
  • Ball Shot; 5 gc; Availability: Common (one game only)
    A Swivel Gun firing these heavy lead balls can stop even a charging Ogre dead in his tracks!
     

    Range	Strength	Armor Save	Special Rules
    36"	5	-2	Concussion

    Concussion: The impact of the heavy lead projectile is enough to rattle even the hardiest warrior. Treat any resulting Injury Rolls of 2-4 as a Stunned result.
    
    

  • Chain Shot; 2 gc; Availability: Common (one game only)
    These lengths of chain and linked metal don’t cause as much damage, but can entangle an enemy model and bring him to his knees.
     

    Range	Strength	Armor Save	Special Rules
    24"	4	-1	All Wrapped Up!

    All Wrapped Up!: Enemy hit by Chain Shot which are not wounded are Knocked Down on a roll of 4+, even if they normally can never be Knocked Down.
    
    

  • Grape Shot; 2 gc; Availability: Common (one game only)
    Very small pellets, rocks, metal scrap, even rock salt are jammed into the barrel, producing a cloud of shrapnel when fired.
     

    Range	Strength	Armor Save	Special Rules
    24"	3	/	It’s Everywhere!

    It’s Everywhere!: If a hit is scored, the Pirate player may also make to hit rolls against D6 other enemy models within 4" of the target, with appropriate modifiers as normal for cover, etc. You cannot try to hit an enemy model a second time until you have tried to hit all others within 4" once, and you may not try to hit a model more than twice. There is no Armor Save modifier from Grape Shot hits. Pirates know to duck out of the way when they hear a Swivel Gun going off, and thus are never hit by friendly Grape Shot.

Starting the Game
Missing Information

Ending the Game
The game ends when all of the warbands have routed except for one, when all of the crates have been removed from the table or if the ship leaves the table.

If the defending force routs voluntarily then the ship’s crew will attempt to put under way, but the game continues if two or more attackers remain (they can still make off with crates). At the end of the game, the warband with the most crates is the winner (if two warbands have the same number then the last to rout wins). If a warband remains, it is assumed to pick up all the remaining crates (up to the number of models it has left in play) and make off with them. Those crates dropped by fleeing foes, or by casualties are not collected as they are too far away and in dangerous territory.

Experience
+1 Survives: If a Hero or Henchman group survives the battle, they gain +1 Experience.

+1 Winning Leader: The leader of the winning warband gains +1 Experience.

+1 Per Enemy Out of Action: Any Hero earns +1 Experience for each enemy he puts out of action.

+1 Per Crate Stolen. If a Hero or Henchman from an attacking warband takes a crate from the battlefield he earns +1 Experience.