Forbidden Psalm Game 3: I am the Real Vriprix

We are returning for the third encounter in our campaign of Forbidden Psalm: a tabletop miniature wargame by Kevin Rahman, based on TTRPG Mörk Borg.  

We’re still following two rival warbands: the Cannibals led by the vicious slaughterer Janos, and the Undeadites led by mummified barbarian Queen Heldu. Both are working for Vriprix, a mad wizard who lives in a twisted castle in the woods and never shows his face. If you missed the first two battle reports, you can catch up on your reading here: GAME ONE: THE MAD WIZARD’S TEA and GAME TWO: MY HEART HAS JOINED THE THOUSAND.

We skipped scenarios 3 and 4, and we are going straight to number five. Imposter Vriprix, a necromancer with fireballs and skeletons, appears in the neighbourhood. Vriprix wants him dead, so let’s collect that bounty!

NEW MODELS FOR THIS GAME

Queen Heldu had stolen armour from Artanaro in the previous game, so I updated her model to reflect that. The legs are from plastic Warhammer zombies, torso and arms from Warhammer skeletons, and the sword is from Warhammer wight cavalry. The head is a greenstuff copy of the original, made with a thermoplastic mould. I’m very pleased with the result, she’s recognizable as the same character in new gear.

Filth had tamed a wild Morka Porka, so I put him on the beast as a rider. Filth’s new body is from a GW LotR SBG goblin, the head is a skull, and the rest is sculpted.

This mission required a Necromancer as the main enemy/targer. I used my Mordheim necromancer, originally a Cursed City mini. The skellies are Cursed City and Warhammer box. It’s the same creature design, but Cursed City has significantly better poses in my opinion. I converted a pair into archers for this occasion, as one in four skeletons in Forbidden Psalm spawns with a bow.

Maag had lost his arm, so I represented that on the mini (you can catch it in the game photos). Ends up this state of affairs wouldn’t last long, but we will get to that.

There was also a small sheet update just before the game. Looking at weather possibilities, we equipped more minis with lights. Fighting in darkness looks nasty and crippling, so just in case the die lands on it.

DEPLOYMENT

This brawl took place on my 2’x2’ stone tile board, with ruins for terrain. As per scenario rules, the Rival Wizard was placed in the centre the board, with four skeletons around him. We rolled for weather and got Rain: all Agility tests receive -1 .

The warbands deploy on opposite sides, ready for carnage. The goal this time is to be the one to kill the imposter wizard. Additionally, the necromancer and four skeletons all carry loot that can be claimed. If the warbands don’t get struck by poor luck on turn one, they can finish the necromancer before he even gets a chance to activate.

TURN ONE

Undeadites win initiative. First order of business is to plant a speed bump at Janos’ feet, since he is the most powerful fighter on the table and the Undeadites don’t want to give him a chance to slay the necromancer first. So, Winter casts her skeleton summoning spell right in his face. She had to use an omen to reroll her initial failure into a success. Artanaro goes next and for the first time ever hits something with his crossbow, dealing three damage to a nearby skeleton. Waltz destroys another skeleton with a single blow from his great axe.

Maag attempts to attack a skeleton of his own, but it ends with no damage on either side. Filth rides his Morka Porka fortward and gores the Necromancer for four HP. Abathur comes along to help Maag and does a bit of damage to the skeleton. Queen Heldu runs forward and attacks the Necromancer next, with five damage going through. The positionig of the Undeadites around the Necromancer is deliberate, aiming to prevent him from potentially escaping towards the opposing warband. However, Heldu is risking an attack from Janos, which is not a great idea.

Janos can’t get to her yet, so he shambles around Winter’s summoned skelly, and lands an attack on one of necromancers’ bonemen.Unfortunately, the damage roll is the weakest possible and the skeleton is still standing.

Corpse Paint seals the necromancer’s fate with his glaive, using two omens to make absolutely sure it would be a success. This kill earns the warband ten gold, and the imposter wizard drops his two scrolls and a relic upon death.

Dugnutt repositions.

Turn one had an eventful monster phase. Maag is attacked by a skeleton and loses five HP. Two skeletons attack Janos and die from his counterattacks. The skeleton archer attacks Filth and also dies from the counterattack. Only one skeleton is left standing on the table, and the scramble for loot is about to begin.

TURN TWO

Undeadites win initiative. Queen Heldu moves away from Janos, but in order to be able to pick up the necromancer’s loot she can’t go far. She recovers the fireball and skeleton summon scrolls, as well as the Helm of Greed relic.

Dugnutt sneaks up near Janos and picks up the treasure a skeleton dropped. His good rolls and the Greed omen bring him 25 gold and a great axe. Waltz loots his skeletal victim and finds a suit of light armour.

Janos launches an assault on Queen Heldu. She almost loses her weapon to a fumble, but saves it with an omen. Janos uses the omen that lets him do maximum damage, which means eleven - more than enough to down Heldu. Her defensive abilities kick in, and one manages to save her. She is alive at a single HP left. Winter goes next and casts a spell that blinds Janos, making it harder for him to hit with attacks for one round. Artanaro is hoping to shoot Heldu, but cannot see her behind Filth’s massive pig, so he just moves into a better position for next turn.

Corpse Paint charges at wounded Maag and downs him with an attack. Abathur kills the last skeleton. Filths attempts to pick up the treasure next to him, fails, and loses 1 HP.

TURN THREE

Cannibals win initiative, which means Queen Heldu is pretty much toast. Janos' attack makes nine damage, and nothing she has can save her from that, so she is downed. The Grace omen removes her from play and gives the queen automatic pass on the death save. This also means her loot is gone with her, and the Cannibals are not happy. Filth goes next and sadly fails another treasure search. Abathur finds three gold pieces, and then gets attacked by Waltz. No damage. Artanaro and Corpse Paint scrap, but no damage. Dugnutt steals the treasure Filth wanted, finding another twelve gold. In hope to help Filth survive, Winter uses her Intimidating Presence ability, but Janos uses an omen to automatically pass the test and nothing happens.

TURN FOUR

Cannibals win initiative again, and Filth immediately gets downed by Janos. Corpse Paint disengages and retreats from the battlefield. Abathur attacks Waltz and misses. Waltz tries to follow Corpse Paint’s example, but Abathur doesn’t let him. He then attacks out of desperation, but it backfires and he gets a crit back, leaving him at one HP. Artanaro sees an opportunity to finish him, but misses and gets 9 damage back from Waltz, downing him instantly! The Grace omen whisks his limp body to safety. Winter tries to intimidate Janos again, but fails. Dugnutt, realizing he is now carrying a great axe and can actually do damage, lunges at Winter - but misses.

TURN FIVE

Final turn, the Cannibals win initiative again. Janos stomps over to Waltz and downs him with a crit. Winter tries to escape Dugnutt, but fails to disengage. However, she successfully intimidates him and makes him drop his axe. Abathur loots Waltz for two light armours, a great axe and a helm. Dugnutt picks up his dropped axe.

This scenario ends with turn five, so that’s it!

AFTERMATH

Even though they technically won since they killed the rival wizard, this battle went rather poorly for the Undeadites. Fortunately, they all passed their death saves afterwards. Queen Heldu gets a broken bone, Filth gets the blues, and Waltz loses a limb. This would make him unable to use the great axe, so the warband spends five XP to get him a new arm. The relic they found is Helm of Greed, which is not the best, but perhaps if they put it on Filth he will no longer fail treasure searches. The warband now owns three copies of Bones, Them Damn Bones scroll. Too bad they can’t be sold for some much needed coin! Still, the warband decides to spend some on weapon and armour upgrades to increase survivability for next time.

The Cannibals are doing quite alright, mostly thanks to the absolute beast that is Janos. He is now so hard to kill and dangerous that it makes no sense for the opponent to willingly engage him at all. Artanaro and Maag were downed during the game. Both passed death saves, Artanaro rolled no injury, and Maag got afflicted by a disease. Since the warband has an abundance of XP and gold to spend, Maag receives an arm transplant and a great axe to wield with it. The warband overall shifts weapons around, sells some off, and purchases equipment upgrades.

For those who are interested, I added rain to the images following this tutorial: LINK. Note that I use Affinity Photo rather than Photoshop, but it has all the tools necessary for this.

How do you like the updated minis for Heldu and Filth?

How many Bones, Them Damn Bones scrolls will the Undeadites collect by the end of the campaign?

What should Queen Heldu do about Janos being an absolute juggernaut on the table?

Let me know in the comments.

Big thanks to all of Gardens of Hecate’s patrons! Your support is sincerely appreciated. If you’re not a member, you can join here anytime: PATREON. The extra coin allows me to experiment with new ideas, tools, materials and techniques - and produce quality content for everyone to enjoy.