HammerHack: A Typical Party in The City of the Damned

Art by John Blanche

I'm hacking Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Mordheim into an OSR style game. Since the scope is kind of massive, I'm narrowing it down to Into the Odd style expeditions into Mordheim. Characters advance in Rank by returning from these expeditions where they may encounter terrible mutants, rival mercenaries, and other terrors. 

The latest version is here.

The WFB roots mean that characters are going to be relatively simple, at least in terms of mechanics or rules. How do you introduce variety when most weapons are classified as a 'hand weapon' or only have 1 Wound before they drop? 

Well, this post is inspired by Arnold K's old post on how Making Monsters Feel Varied comes more from their lore, tactics, and goals rather than from stats or special abilities. I am a firm believer in limitation breeding creativity after all! 

A typical human character in HammerHack has a basic profile:

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

Skills: None Trappings: Hand Weapon, Light Armour

So what does advancement look like? Here's an Expert party of sample characters that have survived at least 3 expeditions into the City.

Warband by Samuel Allan

Roland's Roughnecks, Expert Rank Warband

Roland Wilhelm runs a tight operation. A longtime fighting-man from Reikland, this former road warden is accustomed to the demands of military discipline and won't have his lot behaving like some of the rabble he's seen from Middenheim camped around the City. He has a couple of mercenaries he trusts more than the normal sellswords on his payroll. They have some Gold Crowns saved up and have a wagon to call their own.

Road Warden by Samuel Allan

Roland Wilhelm

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

Skills: Battle Tongue, Perception

Trappings: Crossbow, Sword (Hand Weapon), Light Armour, Horse, Torches

Despite being the leader of his band, Roland often scouts well ahead of his wagon. The twisting streets and crumbling ruins are full of spots ripe for ambush and a careless turn could spell death. Horses aren't often for sale around the City, so he takes full advantage of having two of them and a wagon in his crew, both in running down the dangers in the City and quickly avoiding them. Roland can easily come across as over-cautious but those who have fought with him will vouch for his ability as a leader.

Hunter by Samuel Allen

Otwin Krauser

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
4	3	2	3	3	1	3	2	7

Skills: Pray, Lore (Sigmar)

Trappings: Sword (Hand weapon), Dagger (Hand weapon), Memories of what he's lost

Injuries: Lost Leg (Can't run), Bitter Enmity (Has Hatred towards Cultists)

Otwin's zealotry and fervor can often cloud his judgment, but Roland trusts Otwin to take care of himself. He's proven that much. After an ambush by some cultists where Otwin lost his left leg, he has been even more vicious in their confrontations with them since, taking trophies from the fallen foe. Some of the sellswords worry that Otwin might enjoy his time in the city a little too much. Some see little difference between him and the damned souls he so fiercely hates.

Hunter 2 by Samuel Allan

Mikail

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
4	3	4	3	4	2	3	1	8

Skills: Battle Tongue

Trappings: Shashka (Hand weapon), Handgun, Ivan (Tamed Boar)

Ivan the Boar

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld
6	4	0	4	3	1	4	1	5

A boisterous and rather cheerful man from Kislev, Mikail is the odd one out among these Reiklanders. His 'pet' boar Ivan has become something of a mascot for the sellsword band, gladly munching on their leftovers and goring his fair share of foes in the ruins.

These three have proven to be a good team so far but circumstances can change very quickly when venturing into the city.