Posted:  28. 11. 2022.

 

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

We’re 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 three battle reports, you can catch up on your reading here: 

In this scenario, Vriprix sends his warbands to slay the Vampires that keep him up at night. Their lair is in crypts in the old graveard. The Vampires can regenerate by drinking the blood of their enemies, and if someone is killed by a Blood Rage Vampire, they will turn into one. Additionally, any models left on the table at the end of turn seven will be automatically killed by an overwhelming swarm of Vampires that emerges from the ground.

 

MODELING FOR THIS GAME

 

There have been some weapon changes in the Cannibals warband since the last game. And the warbands overall have changed a bit since the start, so it’s time for new group shots!



The enemies in this scenario are Blood Rage Vampires. My collection already had perfect minis to represent them, and you can read what they’re made of in this POST.



DEPLOYMENT

Weather roll: Dusk. Visibility was diminished, so models not around light source had a disadvantage. There were plenty of lanterns and torches across both warbands, so this never became an issue.

This brawl took place on my 2’x2’ stone tile board, with graveyard crypts and fences as terrain. The scenario demands three crypts across the middle of the table, which need to be searched for vampires and loot. The Undeadites organized into two teams, each aiming for a crypt. Likewise, the Cannibals split into two groups. Nobody was feeling that stretching out to attempt all three was a good idea.



TURN ONE

 

Undeadites win initiative. Waltz moves in to the middle crypt. Fumbles the roll to open it, but uses the Confidence omen to pass. This crypt turns out to contain a treasure and no Vampires, so Waltz gets a roll on the treasure table. Rolls another 1, but uses the Greed omen to reroll this into an 18. He finds a relic: the Goggles of the Unseen, which let the wearer see in the dark. The very first activation had two shit rolls; the Undeadites are hoping this is not a trend that will continue...



Abathur moves to the crypt nearest the Cannibals and attempts to open it. Fails, but uses Confidence to succeed. This crypt contains a Vampire and no treasure. Artanaro attacks the Vampire, misses the attack, rerolls with an omen, and misses again. Maag attacks the Vampire, both fail to hit. Finally, Janos attacks the Vampire his minions are struggling with. He hits, and uses Devastation omen to deal his maximum of 13 damage, which is enough to one-shot the creature! Dugnutt tries to harvest the dead Vampire’s organs, but no such luck.



On the other end of the table, Filth and Corpse Paint approach the final crypt and both fail to open it. Queen Heldu succeeds at opening the last crypt, which contains a Vampire that carries a treasure.Winter attempts to blind their Vamp with a spell, but fails to cast.

In the monster phase, the remining Vampire attacks Heldu, and both hit. Heldu knocks off most of the monster’s hit points, and only suffers one point of damage in return.



TURN TWO

Undeadites win initiative. Around their crypt, Queen Heldu attacks the Vampire and finishes it off. Winter loots the Vamp’s treasure. It’s five gold pieces. Filth and Corpse Paint try to harvest Vampire organs, but fail.

In the Cannibals’ corner, Artanaro harvests their Vampire’s organ. Janos moves towards the Undeadites, feeling invincible. Nothing left to loot, so little Dugnutt leaves the table.



In the middle of the board, Maag sees Waltz is alone and far from the rest of the crew, so he attacks. But it backfires, as Waltz hits him with a counterattack that almost downs him. Waltz tries to disengage from this dangeorus situation and rejoin his crew, but fails. Abathur joins his buddy Maag in attacking Waltz, but gets the same result - he is almost downed from the counterattack. Waltz is kicking some serious ass this game.



TURN THREE

 

Cannibals win initiative. Janos is in the mood for some bacon, so he attacks Filth and his piggy. No damage. Filth successfully disengages and leaves the table.

Maag thinks he can still win this, so he attacks Waltz again. This time he gets knocked out cold. Waltz feels now confident he can win this, and attacks Abathur to get rid of him, too. However, Abathur successfully feints the attack with his feat (first time ever he’s used this ability).

Queen Heldu tries to disengage from Janos, but he rolls crit - meaning he would get a free attack on her. She saves herself by cancelling this crit with the Banality omen.

Artanaro hobbles towards the action. Winter leaves the table. Corpse Paint attempts to disengage, but fails.



TURN FOUR

 

Cannibals win initiative. Janos attacks Heldu, but both miss .Artanaro moves into combat with Corpse Paint to cut off his fatest retreat route.Corpse Paint now has two enemies to disengage from, making it much more difficult. He fails again. Queen Heldu is successful this time, and gets away.

In the middle of the board, Abathur gets downed by Waltz. He now stands over two conquered enemies and cackles wildly.



TURN FIVE

 

Cannibals win initiative. Janos attacks Corpse Paint, they both miss and the Undeadite drops his glaive. He tries to retreat, knowing it won’t do much good to attack, he only has his dagger now to fight with. Fails again. Artanaro attacks him, and both deal a bit of damage.

Waltz loots Maag’s weapons and armour.



TURN SIX

 

Cannibals win initiative. They use the Grace omen to remove Abathur from the table, so Waltz cannot loot him, too. Nothing left for him to do, Waltz leaves the table.

Janos and Corpse paint fight, dealing insignificant damage. Corpse Paint attempts to leave again but is stopped. Since it’s already turn six and Artanaro moves super slowly, he decides to disengage and start towards the board edge. Corpse Paint doesn’t manage to stop him.



TURN SEVEN

 

Undeadites win initiative. This is an interesting situation, as all models left on the board at the end of thescenario will be automatically killed. The Undeadites realize they have found a way to get rid of Janos! If Corpse Paint decides to leave, Janos will undoubtedly let him go without trying to stop him - since Janos needs to leave the board as well. But Corpse Paint decides to sacrifice himself to put an end to this monstrosity. He merely picks up his glaive and resigns to his fate.

Artanaro leaves the board.

Janos is now panicking, because the only way he will not die is if he successfully disengages on his first attempt. Unfortunately for him and to the joy of the Undeadites, he succeeds only on his second attempt - which leaves him just short of leaving the battlefield before the Vampires descend.

Janos and Corpse Paint are overwhelmed by a swarm of Blood Rage Vampires.



AFTERMATH

 

The Undeadites end the scenario with 25 gold, 6 XP, a relic, and Maag’s stolen equipment. They lost poor Corpse Paint, but they have enough resources to hire a decent replacement.

The Cannibals leave with 31 gold and 5 XP. Abathur gets sick, reducing his toughness. Maag gets away with no permanent injuries. But the main problem is the warband lost its leader and most powerful warrior - Janos the Cannibal. Now Artanaro takes over as boss, and the guys will need to hire a new heavy hitter. They have a good stash of gold, so they can afford one with good equipment. But the loss of Janos came as quite a shock to the crew.



What kind of characters should the warbands hire to replace their fallen members?

Are Janos and Corpse Paint gone for good, or will they perhaps return as vampires?

Let me know in the comments.


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Comments
 

Vampirism is a tricky business, i should suppose the fleshier sort will stick about- dead and monstrous

And for the cannibals perhaps a more cunning member- a knife to cut the gristle

and for the dead? something washed out of the black river perhaps? tarry? but effective?

By Shubboth The Magnanimous on 2022 11 29

I root for Undeadites. Maybe they met a sad naked skeleton on their way home?

By Šibřík on 2022 11 30

Thank you Shubboth The Magnanimous and Šibřík, both good suggestions!

By Ana Polanšćak    on 2022 12 02

 
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