1

contents
So Hows This Going To Work Then? The Bridge on the River Wye Raid on the Grain Stores Dies Irae Reference Section 6 18 40 64 76-94

credits
The Warheads Team Sir John Robertson Sir Stuart Beel Sir Nick Sawyer Sir Mark Brendan Lady Debbie Keys Sir Jack SchoField Squire Mark Miller Creative Direction and Concept Character Design and Illustration Miniature Sculptor Game Design and Story Graphic Design and Layout Web Design Playtesting Support

Second revision. 2010

tabletop roleplay and miniature wargaming adventure

Come ye, come ye! Welcome to the inaugural issue of Warheads: Medieval Tales. Warheads is ostensibly a two player game of high adventure, fantasy and medieval intrigue. It is a hybrid of pen and paper RPGs (role playing games) and tabletop wargames.
For those of you new to this sort of thing, here are a couple of definitions to give you the basic idea:

role playing game

A game where players assume the role of characters written out on a piece of paper. They then act out or describe their reactions to situations and events controlled by a games master. The games master is a sort of storyteller and referee combined, setting the scene for the players, revealing the narrative, managing challenges, and taking the part of any creatures or people they meet on their adventures. In most of these sorts of games there are situations to test the abilities of the characters, where the outcomes are uncertain. These are resolved by rolling dice and consulting tables and charts in the rulebook, taking into account the characters statistics. Statistics are numbers representing physical and mental attributes or skills, such as strength, willpower, stealth, accuracy and so forth.

tabletop wargame
In a tabletop wargame (usually) two players fight a battle with armies of miniature soldiers. They set up a battlefield on a tabletop, complete with model terrain such as hills, trees and buildings, and according to a set of rules, take it in turns to move their units of troops about the battlefield and attack their opponents forces. In common with role playing games, they generally use tables of statistics and dice rolls to resolve the outcome of fights, and they use rulers or tape measures to measure distances on the tabletop. For instance, to move a unit of troops a distance determined by its movement statistic, or measure the distance to an enemy unit to determine if its within range to shoot at. here are the key points for WARHEADS Like a roleplaying game, there are characters controlled by players Like a wargame there are two sides that fight each other Each of the sides in the game has a lead character and a number of followers (collectively called a party) These parties meet up and fight tabletop battles called encounters Between encounters, lead characters and followers can improve their statistics

efore you get started, youll need to muster some equipment for the adventure ahead...
Pencils and erasers Notepaper. Although weve provided you with a lot of stuff for recording information about your characters, you may want to record some of it separately, so that you dont have to keep changing stuff on your main roster sheets A least one six sided die (preferably a handful) A ruler or tape measure marked in inches A flat playing area, about three and a half feet square Terrain. You can buy good games terrain in hobby and model stores, or online. If youre artistically inclined you can make your own. Failing that you can always bung down some boxes and sundry objects to represent things, providing all the players are clear on what theyre meant to be.

or the encounters in this magazine, you will need the following...

Trees (~ half a dozen) A bridge (~ 8 inches in length) River sections (~ 42 inches in total length and 3 inches wide) Road sections (~ 42 inches in total length and 3 inches wide) Drystone wall sections (~ 42 inches in total length) Cottages or huts (3 should do it) Miniatures. Hopefully, youll have the boxed sets of character miniatures that accompany this magazine, but if you havent, youll have to find something to act as proxies for them. Make sure everyone knows what they are Character sheets and reference tables. Youll find a full set of these in the back of this magazine or you can download printable versions at:

www.warheadsthegame.com

So hows this going to work then?

throughout the rest of this issue, and in subsequent magazines, well be telling you the story of two medieval warriors, and their bitter and occasionally hilarious rivalry: SIR HUGO and GUI LE B@TARD

Sir Hugo of Deangard

Hugo entered the world on the first day of May, in the year 1078 anno domini. Now aged eighteen, the second son of Sir Robert Bonneville and the late Lady Eloise has never travelled beyond the limits of the Fief of Deangard. Deangard borders the wild frontier of the Welsh Marches, and comprises a motte and bailey castle at the centre of a cleared area. It is surrounded by dense, primordial forests where bears, wolves, small dragons, griffons, unicorns and Saxon rebels roam and the Wild Hunt pursues the damned, or so it is said. A single road leads up to the castle and along this are the huts and cottages of the tenants. Since the age of six, Sir Hugos education has been one of etiquette, heraldry, hunting, sport and the arts of combat. He was a page until the age of fourteen, with his time divided between practicing armed and unarmed combat, and serving at banquets and ceremonies in the household. From fourteen onwards, Hugo served as squire to Sir Roberts neighbour, Sir Penhaligon, during which time he replaced the wooden swords and shields of his page training with real weapons and armour. Unlike some other feudal lords, Sir Robert encour-

aged his boy to mingle with the serfs and villeins who toil in the strip fields and purlieus of Deangard, in order that he better understand the feudal contract between lord and tenant. Consequently Sir Hugo does not regard the peasants and household staff as disposable slaves, but sees them as human beings, even if his station is above theirs. The noblesse oblige that Hugo earnestly believes in, states that in return for working the lords land, the lord must fight to protect the tenants during times of peril and war. With his squire training behind him, Sir Hugo recently took knightly vows. Sir Robert is still the resident lord at

Deangard, so Hugo has no fief of his own. He has therefore decided to tour the neighbouring Marches, seeking adventure and worthy quests, and undertaking a mission to persuade the unruly and quarrelsome Marcher lords of the benefits of proper fealty to the crown.

When are you going to make me a proper squire? Lucy is a somewhat wilful pack pony, but her handler Eck knows how to get the best of her with the promise of a carrot. Eck is a stable boy at Deangard who dreams of becoming a squire, and ultimately, one day a knight. He is by turns enthusiastic and petulant, but always energetic. Eck is a just a boy and doesnt have a place in the melee with armoured warriors, so he remains at a distance with his staff sling if there is trouble.

Eck and Lucy

Gui le B@tard

Gui is thirty one years old, having been born in Normandy just prior to Williams conquest of Anglo-Saxon England. Guis father was one of the Norman lords that accompanied William to that famous battle with Harold, and went on to settle in the newly conquered kingdom, granted lands there in return for his service and fealty. Gui knows of this because his mother, Marian, would sit the infant on her knee and tell him tales of his father, the conquering knight. Marian was not a great lady of the Norman or Angevin courts though. She was a scullery maid with whom the knight had an affair, before he departed the shores of France forever, leaving her to raise the child as best she could. In truth, the knight was a foolish and brash young man who thought little of responsibility and consequences, and regretted his actions in later life. But he knew of no way to make amends without destroying the lives and reputation of his family in England. Burning with the desire to reclaim his heritage,

Gui abandoned his mother at the age of fourteen. Without a clear plan or any money, but filled with determination and righteous fury, he soon found employment as a mercenary. Gui travelled the length and breadth of the continent, fighting in the many petty disputes between the robber barons. He even served as a captain in the army of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, in his campaign against the Lords of Saxony. After more than fifteen years of campaigning and plunder, working his way up the ranks, Gui is now as rich as any Baron or

Lord, but lacks the entitlement he feels is his birthright. There is way he can take it from the feudal society though. On the frontiers of Norman England lie the Welsh Marches, a lawless borderland where the Marcher Lords of Normandy and Anjou build their castles to command the land, without recourse to the strict feudal laws that binds the English Normans to the Monarch. Here, Gui can finally put his masterplan into action.

Mold and Oi
Oi! Pick that up! Oi! is a literally put upon serf who serves as a pack beast for Sir Beauregard when hes on quests and his brutish handler is Mold. Mold is dense as a plank, but strong as an ox. He was dropped as a baby and fed on beer and frumenty throughout his young life. In battle Mold can smite foes with his great fists or hurl rocks at them, which was one of his favourite pastimes as a child. Sir Hugo and Gui are the lead characters of the two warring factions in Warheads: Medieval Tales. That means that Sir Hugo and Gui are always going to be in the game, right up until the last issue. Other characters will come and go, joining Sir Hugo or Guis parties on their adventures.

herb garden, told that eight Oclock was yet to arrive, but the tenants were already hard at work out in the fields. It was harvest time and everyone pitched in to get the crop cut, stooked, gathered, and dispatched to the storehouses. Even though each tenant had sole responsibility for his own narrow strip of field, at this time of year the population of Deangard worked as a common force to ensure the harvest, for failure in this respect would affect all, even the lord himself. If it rained heavily before the crops were brought in, they would be ruined. Fortunately the medieval summers in England were predictable, and ideal for agriculture. Typically there was just a smattering of rain, and clear skies and warm sunshine the rest of the time. Nevertheless, everyone knew that there would be thunderstorms towards the tail end of August, and there was a narrow window to bring in the crops, between them ripening and the annual storms. If the peasants couldnt pay their tithes to the lord of the manor, he couldnt pay his tithes to the king and the church, and everyone

t was a balmy August morning at Deangard. The gnomon, on the sundial in the

would suffer. So it was that even Sir Robert was out and about under the golden sunlight, in the centre of the strips, perspiring atop an ox-drawn cart as he baaed and harrumphed his instructions, Eh, what. Sir Robert even deigned to haul sheaves of wheat up on to the cart. Far in front of the animated lord, a row of strong, wiry men, stripped to the waist, hacked away at the stalks with sickles and scythes. Behind them, women and children gathered the cut wheat into sheaves, which they piled together into bundles of about five sheaves. Finally the carts plodded along behind, and men with pitchforks expertly flicked these bundles of sheaves up on to them, where swarming children packed the crop in place.

Above them, black and white martins darted and wheeled, making short work of the clouds of flies driven into the air by the toiling people. The insects were spirited away to feed the summers final brood of young, which were soon to fledge from the curious mud nests clinging beneath the battlements and eaves of Deangard. It was a scene Sir Hugo was intimately acquainted with, having helped bring in the harvest every year since he could keep up with a cart. This year was different though, and Hugo was setting out on his quest in full knightly panoply, or as near as he could get, since he didnt have a squire or retinue yet. Sir Robert was against it, preferring that all hands stayed put and helped with the

harvest, but the boy was now a man, and so he should be allowed to make his own decisions. At just after eight, Hugo sallied forth from the courtyard of Deangard, on foot and accompanied by Eck the stable boy and Lucy the pony. Lucy was piled high with camping gear and bits of armour and weapons. Sir Robert had gladly relinquished the beast on account of its recalcitrant nature, determining that after last years fiasco it would be more trouble than it was worth having the stubborn animal involved in harvesting. Lucy had kicked Sir Robert in a most indeli-

cate place (or delicate, depending on how you look at it), when hed innocently prodded her with a twig to get her moving. He was laid up for a week afterwards and the harvest had to get on without him. However Eck, wise beyond his tender years in the ways of ostlery, kept a bundle of carrots with him to ensure Lucys compliance. Eck was a firm believer in the primacy of the carrot over the stick. The trio plodded along together, past the strip fields where they waved to the peasants and staff toiling under the sun, and on into the purlieus of the manor. The purlieus were like wooded parks

where the tangled, dangerous, ancient forest had been thinned and managed by gamekeepers and the Foresters of Dean. Here there were paths and overgrown ornaments, orchards, coppices, dells, gazebos, pools and streams, and the log cabins of foresters and their wells. The purlieus were devoid of people at this time, for even the woodsmen were down in the fields, assisting with the harvest. All around was the gentle drone of nature. Bees came here to find nectar amongst the lightdappled, flowering glades, before returning to their hives at Deangard to produce the honey Sir Hugo spread on his bread, and Sir Robert had fermented for his mead.

Presently they travelled beyond the purlieus and into the game preserves and chases of the forest proper, though they were not yet in the wild wood. Even here there were dangers, for beasts of venery like the boar may unseam a huntsman or an unwary traveller, dropping his innards on his boots before he knew what hit him.

days work for a knight and it was Hugos job to deal with such perils now. Sword please, Eck, said Hugo. It was just after four oclock in the afternoon. Youm havin a laugh? I aint your squire you know, Sir Hugo.

here were also wolves, bears, serpents, hobgoblins, fairies, witches and perhaps even the occasional beast of fable such as a basilisk or cockatrice that might drift in from the wild wood beyond. Still, this was all in a

For the purposes of this journey, that is exactly what you are, Eck. Its why father agreed to let you out of the harvesting. Now, we could be ambushed by Saxons, or ogres, or something at any moment, so dont waste any more time and get me my sword, theres a good chap. Yes sir! cried Eck, immediately changing his tune at the prospect of battle. Hed love to see a proper battle, just like all youths whove never witnessed one for real. Hugo, Lucy and Ecks journey would not take them into the wild wood on this occasion, for they

planned to skirt around it, and travel to the manor of a neighbouring Marcher Lord, Sir Beauregard the Black. Sir Beauregard lived at Castle Sudemarche, had no relations with Sir Robert, and Hugo had never met him. This was quite unlike the feudal barons on the English side of the border, with whom Sir Robert had strong ties and frequently went with on hunts, feasts and tourneys. Sir Beauregard was known to fight with other Marcher Lords for land and resources and didnt pay tithes to the king; all things that were practically unheard of amongst the English Knights.

hey had a tense and exciting night camping beneath the stars, wherein every owls kee-wick and hedgehogs rustle presaged imminent doom, but the perils of the dark woods proved illusory on this occasion. After a breakfast
of cheese, bread and cold venison from their supplies, and the ubiquitous carrots for Lucy, Sir Hugo and his baggage train headed for the border, estimating that they should reach it sometime around mid-morning.

bridge spanned the river, providing the entrance to Sir Beauregards fief. In the centre of the bridge stood three ominous looking figures: a knight clad all in sable, with fire-blackened mail, a giant simpleton, to judge by his slack-jawed countenance, and a

ventually the woods thinned out again and they came before a tributary of the mighty Severn, marking the border of Sir Roberts lands with the Marches. A stone

scrawny, knock-kneed boy, trembling beneath a burden as big as that on Lucys back. What Cheer? cried Sir Hugo. Hail, replied the knight, his voice sounding muffled and cavernous within his great helm. Lovely morning, continued Hugo. The knight did not reply, his eyes twinkling like gimlets within the darkness of his visor. Mind if we just scoot past you there. Im on a mission to see Sir Beauregard. You cannot pass! shouted the strange knight, and with a sudden flurry of metallic clanks, adopted an aggressive stance. Oh, and who says so?

I am Gui le Btard, and I speak for Sir Beauregard when I say you cannot pass. Well thats rather inconvenient; Ive come quite a long way. I think I should discuss this matter with him personally. Knight to Knight, like. If you try to pass me, I will fight you. Hugo turned to confer with Eck. Well, this is pretty rum. What dyou think, Eck? Eck could barely suppress a grin, and struggled to be serious and grave about the situation. He was finally about to see the proper battle he so craved. Well, sir. The black knight fellow there has issued you with a direct

challenge. It strikes me that now youre a proper knight and all, youve got to fight him. Yes, I see. Hmm. Okay then, whats next? Well, go on then. Accept his challenge. Hugo turned his attention back to the black knight: Very well Sir Gui. I accept your challenge. Oh Im not Sir Gui. At least not yet, remarked Gui as he reached for his weapon

etting started

Each player chooses a main character, Sir Hugo or Gui. You can either decide this by consensus or let chance make the decision by rolling a die, or Flipping a coin.

The bridge on the river wye

Alright, a fight is on now between Sir Hugo and Gui, so its time to get into some gameplay. Have a look at the map below and set up your playing area to match whats on it.

Now youre going to need to fill in character rosters for the encounter.

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Character rosters are used to track information about your characters and changes that happen to them during the course of the game. Using the values printed on the roster and a set of rules for using them, we can use dice and tables to determine the outcome of any challenge or conFlict that occurs during the game. heres sir hugos roster so you can see what it looks like:

haracter roster

Dont worry too much about what all that means at the moment, were about to explain all.

Name
This is pretty self explanatory. Its who the roster pertains to.

Move Rate

This is a value in inches that tells you how far the character can move in one turn, if they are moving at a normal walking speed, and their movement isnt impeded in any way. There will be a lot more on move rates later in the rules as many conditions and actions affect them. The value in brackets shows Sir Hugos modified move rate, in this case because he wears heavy armour, but more on that later

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ounds
Wounds is a measure of the characters physical state. Wounds can be lost as a result of combat injuries, hostile magic, poison, disease and so forth. The Wounds section on a character sheet looks like this: Its designed so you can put a stroke through each of the boxes each time you lose a wound. The table goes from top left to bottom right, so check things off in the following order: 1. Blank box. Write the number of wounds the character starts with in this box. This will most likely be 6, but a very few characters can have more. When the character drops to 5 wounds left, put a stroke through this box, then check off each subsequent box and apply the effect for each further wound suffered. 2. -1 ML (top right) 3. -1 ML (middle left) 4. -1 AG 5. -1 BD 6. KO Losing wounds has negative effects on your character (as you can imagine), and results in temporary losses to other values on the character sheet. These losses are cumulative, so after losing 2 wounds the character will have a total of -2 ML. Heres what the abbreviations mean: ML is Morale AG is Agility BD is Body KO is knocked out. The character is incapacitated and removed from play

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Morale

We arent going to use the morale rules in this first encounter, as were concentrating on learning melee combat.

Core Stats

The so called core stats (short for statistics) are key to whether the character succeeds or fails at any action they attempt. On the character sheet they look like this:

Body

Body is a measure of the characters physical prowess. The higher this value is the better it will be at fighting with weapons that require strength and aggression to use, and resisting physically destructive magic, disease and poisons.

Agility

Agility is a measure of the characters grace, speed and precision. The higher this value is the better it will be at ranged combat, using weapons and skills that require finesse, and reacting quickly.

Mind

Mind is a measure of the characters intellect, will and mental discipline. The higher this value is the better it will be at focussing and resisting the powers of faith and magic, and at performing skills that require mental aptitude.

Personality

Personality is measure of the characters ability to influence other characters. The higher this value is the better they will be at inspiring and charming others, or indeed the opposite; terrorising and demotivating them, if such is the desired effect. You start the game with 2 points in each of these core stats, and 1 point that you get to spend now. Raise one of the stats to 3 and write this into the relevant box. Write 2 in the other boxes.

XP Earned

XP is an abbreviation for experience points. You receive experience points for using your skills successfully, overcoming foes, and completing the objectives of the current encounter. Keep a note in this box of the experience points your character earns. After an encounter you get to spend experience points on improving your characters.

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Skills

The skills section of your character sheet has a list of abilities that the character can learn, with a space next to each for you to write in a number. In Sir Hugos case, for example, it looks like this: Later on in the game your character will have the opportunity to learn more skills from his list, but for now, you get to start the game with some: Pick 5 of the skills on your character sheet and write 1 next to them in the box provided

There are full explanations for what all of these skills do in the reference section at the end of the magazine. Not all of the skills can be used in this issue, for example youll have no opportunity to use jousting or maintenance this time round, but there are 5 more issues to come after this one, and rest assured, there will be times when youll need these skills.

Equipment

The equipment section on your character roster looks something like this: POW: This is a catch all term, short for power, which tells you how effective an item is at doing its job. In the case of weapons, its how much damage they can inflict, in the case of armour it is how much protection they afford, and other items will depend on the task theyre designed for DIE ROLL: In this column, you should record the bonus you get to dice rolls when using that item. Most of the time this will be the skill value associated with the item, so armour has no skill associated, therefore, put a dash here, or write N/A. Weapons will have a value equal to the weapon skill. NB: some items can be used for different purposes, e.g. a spear that you can throw, or alternatively fight with in melee. Just write in the most commonly used value here

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Now you must each choose what you are armed with at the start of this Fight. You can choose from one of the following equipment loadouts for this battle:
One handed weapon and a shield: If you do this, write the name of the weapon in your right hand and the shield in your left in the slots provided on the character sheet Two handed weapon: If you do this, write the name of the weapon in one of the hand slots and put a line in the other to indicate that you cant carry anything else in that hand Here are the weapons that Sir Hugo and Gui can choose from.

Damage: This is a measure of how lethal the weapon is. The higher this value is, the more dice are rolled to wound an opponent. Initiative: This is a measure of how quickly the weapon can be brought to bear in close
combat. Models armed with weapons that give a bonus to Initiative are more likely to strike their opponents down before they get hit themselves. Other equipment that a model can carry may also affect initiative, especially armour.

Skill: This tells you the skill to use for the type of weapon it is. The full list of weapon types and
skills is: Hand Weaponsnote that hand weapons can be dual wielded, meaning you carry one in each hand. If you do this, the skill used to wield them is Dual Wield and not Hand Weapons) Pole Arms Jousting Flail Weapons Two Handed Weapons Throwing Weaponsnote that although there are weapons specifically made to be thrown, there are also several weapons from other types can be used as throwing weapons Slingshot Archery

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Condition: Just like people, weapons can get damaged in combat. The number here is like
wounds for the weapon. If it loses over half the value it starts with a weapon becomes damaged, and is less effective. A damaged weapon suffers -1 damage and a -1 modifier to the users skill If it loses all of these points the weapon is broken and unusable, though it can be repaired later by a blacksmith

You must also record the armour your models are wearing. As both Hugo and Gui wear heavy armour you must take the heavy armour item. Heavy armour has the following profile:

Item
Heavy Armour

Protection
4

Initiative
-4

Core Stat
Body

Condition
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INITIATIVE and CONDITION stand for the same things they do on weapons. Protection is the counterpart to a weapons damage. The higher the value of Protection, the less dice an opponent gets to roll to damage your character in combat. Heavy armour confers a -1 Move Rate penalty Damaged armour suffers -1 Protection and -1 Initiative

If you have chosen to take a shield, its profile is as follows:

Item
Shield

Protection
2

Initiative
-2

Core Stat
As Armour

Condition
15

A shield uses the same core stat as whatever armour type the model is wearing A damaged shield suffers -1 Protection and -1 Initiative

Whatever is left after you have selected equipment for your character is placed on Lucy and Oi. Write these items in the group equipment roster and make a note that they are being carried by Lucy or Oi, as relevant. There are full tables of equipment that go into more detail in the reference section at the end of the magazine. This is also where you will find the group equipment roster.

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DAM:

Meaning Damage Value. In this space write in the DAM for the weapon you are using by adding its damage stat to the core stat for the weapons skill. So in this case, hand weapons and two handed weapons both use body as the core skill, so DAM is equal to Body + Weapon Damage. This is the value you will use when working out how many dice you get to roll when attacking an opponent. If you change weapons, or your weapon becomes damaged, this value will change.

PROT:

Meaning Protection Value. In this space write in the PROT for the armour you are using by adding its protection stat to the core stat for the armour type. Dont forget to add +2 if you carry a shield. Heavy armour uses body as a core stat Medium armour uses body as a core stat Light armour uses agility as a core stat Unarmoured uses agility as a core stat

This is the value your opponent compares his DAM to, to work out how many dice he gets to roll against you in combat. If your armour becomes damaged, this value will change.

INIT:Meaning Initiative Value. In this space work out Init by adding together the characters agility, initiative stat for any armour they are using and initiative stat for any weapon they are using. This often results in a negative value.

Status: This is where you record a characters availability status for an encounter. There are
three possible states, as follows: Available: This means the character is okay to take on an encounter Imprisoned: This means you must pay a ransom to make the character available (dont worry about this now, but later on, well, worry about it) Injured (#): You dont need this in Issue 1. All will be explained next time round

Upkeep: This is how much it costs to retain the services of the character. It covers their food, board and pay. Other expenses, such as medical bills, the cost of repairing or replacing equipment, or purchasing new equipment, comes out of party funds. You do not have to pay any upkeep costs in this first issue.
Upkeep is paid at the end of each encounter, before you do any other between encounters activities (we can assume that its covered for this issue, so dont pay anything now) If you fail to pay a characters upkeep, either because you cant or you dont want to, the character leaves your party. You may requisition any equipment it is carrying before removing it from the party You dont have to pay upkeep costs for characters that are imprisoned

Notes

This is a section where you can record notes and reminders about the character for your own use. For example, you could record the effects of permanent injuries here.

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elee combat rules For this next bit we recommend reading

through these rules before you start rolling any dice. Getting into Combat
Okay, so each player is equipped and ready to fight. We can start by getting them together for the battle. In order to attack an enemy in melee combat (the term we use for hand to hand fighting, as opposed to attacking them at a distance with, say, a bow or a thrown spear) your model must be in base contact with it. Base contact is another term youll hear throughout these rules. It simply means your models base must be touching the base of the model you want to attack with it. To do this you make a combat move, which is a type of action. The game is divided into turns On each turn, each model you control can perform one action

There will be more on different types of movement and actions that you can do later on, but for now, do the following: Measure the distance between Sir Hugo and Gui (it should be 6 inches if youve set up the board as shown on the mapIf not, make sure it is) Sir Hugo can move up to 6 inches on a combat move (his normal move rate is 4, this is reduced to 3 because he wears heavy armour. A move into combat doubles your move rate, so 3x2=6) Move Sir Hugo up the bridge, so that he is facing Gui with their bases touching

Resolving a Combat Turn

Okay, were going to have an exchange of blows and it might get messy! The model with the highest initiative value gets to roll dice first

Initiative

Initiative value determines who rolls dice to attack first in hand to hand combat. As you know, it is based on the characters Agility value, modified by the equipment they carry. Initiative = Agility + Equipment Modifier

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ied initiative initiative If both models have the same

value, it doesnt matter who goes First, they are both considered to strike at each other simultaneously.

That means if the person who rolls the dice first manages to KO the other model, their opponent still rolls attack dice before being removed from play.

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he test table of any test in In order to determine the outcome

Power 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 2 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 4 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 5 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 Resistance 6 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 8 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 9 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 10 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 11 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4

Warheads, including combat, we refer to the following table to tell us how many dice to roll.

12 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4

The table only goes up to 12, but it is possible to get values beyond this. In such cases do the following: Each point of power over 12 increases the number of dice rolled by +1 Each point of resistance over 12 decreases the number of dice rolled by 1 If the power ends up at 0 or less, then the character rolling dice has no chance whatsoever of successfully performing the action If resistance drops below 1, treat it as 1 for lookup purposes

The power of the attacking models strike is equal to his DAM value. The defender will resist the attack with his equipment and stats. The defending models resistance is equal to his PROT value. Now that you know the power and resistance, read across the table from the power value until you come to the column corresponding to the resistance value. The number in this box is the number of dice you roll to attack the defender. Add the characters skill value (in this case it will be 1 or 0) to each die roll (later in the rules there are other things that can add, or indeed subtract from dice rolls heres one now in fact) Subtract the opponents skill value for the weapon they are using All results of 4 or better cause a wound to the defender Natural 6 rolls always succeed (i.e. the die comes up 6 before you add or subtract any thing) Natural 1 rolls always fail

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Earning XP

Every successful die roll a character makes earns it 1 point of XP. Record this in the XP section of the roster.

Damaging Weapons and Armour

Natural 6s and 1s cause wear and tear on weapons and armour as follows: Each natural 6 rolled when attacking causes 1 point of damage to your opponents armour. They get to choose which bit of armour is damaged (i.e. armour or shield) Each natural 1 rolled causes a point of damage to the weapon used in the attack

melee combat example

Sir Hugo is armed with an axe and shield, and wears heavy armour:
Axe DAM: 3 \ I: 0 \ HW \ CND: 10 Shield PROT: 2 \ I: -2 \ CND: 15 Heavy armour PROT: 4 \ I: -4\ CND: 25

Gui is armed with a greatsword, and wears heavy armour:

Greatsword DAM: 4 \ I: -2 \ 2H \ CND: 10 Heavy Armour PROT: 4 \ I: -4

His core stats for combat are: Body 2 Agility 3 This gives Sir Hugo an initiative score of -3 Agility: 3 + 0 (axe) 2 (shield) 4 (heavy armour)

His core stats for combat are: Body 3 Agility 2 This gives Gui an initiative score of -4 Agility: 2 - 2 (greatsword) 4 (heavy armour)

Sir Hugos relevant skill is hand weapons 1

Guis relevant skill is 2H weapons 1

Hugo gets to strike first. The power of his attack is 5: Body 2 (because he is fighting using hand weapons skill) + DAM 3 (axe)

Guis resistance is 7: Body 3 (this is value to use when wearing heavy armour) + PROT 4 (heavy armour)

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Consulting the test table, we see that Sir Hugo gets to roll 3 dice: Power 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 2 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 4 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 5 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 Resistance 6 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 8 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 9 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 10 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 11 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 12 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4

Hugo rolls and gets a 1, a 5, and a 6: Discard the 1, it always fails and it causes 1 point of damage to Sir Hugos axe 6 causes 1 wound to Gui (sixes always succeed) and causes 1 point of damage to Guis armour Add the difference between Hugos hand weapon skill (+1) and Guis two handed weapons skill (+1). The total is 0 5+0 = 5 (success, cause another wound)

So in summary, Gui suffers a total of 2 wounds from Hugos attack, Guis armour loses 1 point of Condition, and Hugos axe loses 1 point of Condition.

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In this battle Sir Hugo and Gui are armed only with what they chose at the beginning of the Fight. However, Lucy and Oi both carry an arsenal on their backs, so if the tools for the job arent working out, you can change them. Your model must break off from combat to select new equipment; for the purposes of this battle, their opponent will not pursue, and will permit them the change.

ptional rules: breaking off to change equipment

breaking off
This is the safest way to change equipment, and the rules here can be used to break off for any reason in later encounters. The rules are as follows: Your model may not attack this turn, so ignore initiative and move directly to your opponents attacks If both of you are breaking off, then dont bother with attack dice at all If your opponent manages to incapacitate you, your model is removed from play, as usual

Assuming you survive the turn, use the following rules to break off: Move your model up to double its movement rate away from the opponent (So for Hugo in his heavy armour, this would be 6 inches) You may not end the move in base contact with an enemy model or on impassable terrain

If you then want to change equipment, youll need to be in base contact with the model holding your stuff (i.e. Lucy or Oi). Providing this is the case, it takes a turn to change equipment, during which time your opponent will wait until you are ready (Important Note: that only applies to this fightlater on, opponents may not be so chivalrous). Your model is now armed with the new equipment, and the other equipment is held by the pack beast. Make the appropriate changes to your character sheets and move back into the fray using the Getting Into Combat rules from the start of this section. So, now that you know how to do it, play through this fight until someone is incapacitated.

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ftermath
sir hugo wins...

At the end of the Fight, there are three possible outcomes:

Hugo lashed out with a great, swinging blow that knocked Gui clean off his feet, then stood over the vanquished foe as he struggled to sit up. Do you yield? he asked, brandishing his weapon menacingly. I yield, Sir. I yield, gasped Gui. Honour satisfied, Hugo turned to make his way back to Eck and Lucy. Look out Sir! yelled Eck. Hugo turned just in time to see Gui lunge at him, bringing the pommel of his weapon down on Hugos helmet with a crushing two-handed blow. Hugo sank to knees and darkness flooded his senses. When he came to seconds later, his helmet was off and Gui knelt on his chest, about to deliver the coup de grace

gui wins...
Gui swatted aside Hugos weapon and thrust at his solar plexus, knocking the wind right out of poor Hugos sails. He landed on his backside with a heavy thump that huffed the last of the air from his lungs and Gui was upon him in a trice. Gui knelt on Hugos chest, and wrestled the great helmet off his head. Mercy! cried Hugo, I yield. Mercy? spat Gui contemptuously. I am no nobleman, as we have established. I cannot offer mercy to a great knight such as you. With that he raised his weapon over Hugos unprotected head. Hugo screwed his eyes shut and turned away

both incapacitated...
In the unlikely event that both characters are incapacitated Gui recovers first, and as in both cases above, removes Hugos helmet to deliver the killing blow.

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ll of a sudden the weight was off Hugos chest. Blinking in astonishment he sat up just in time to see Gui high-tailing it back over the bridge. Arrows from the English side of the border stung at Guis heels as he ran. Turning around, Hugo was treated to the welcome sight of Sir Penhaligon, to whom Hugo had recently served as squire, charging towards the bridge. Get away from him you murdering Blaggard! Ill skin you alive! yelled the excited knight. Run for it Mold! shouted Gui to his giant dolt of a servant. From the bushes behind Sir Penhaligon, an archer broke cover

and loosed another couple of arrows over the bridge, prompting Mold to lash at the burdened serfs legs to get him moving. Oi! Move it! he grunted as he plied the birch switchel. Oi!, for that was the only name the serf ever answered to, tilted forward and using the momentum generated by the teetering mound of equipment on his narrow shoulders, lurched into a staggering run. Soon Gui and his companions were nowhere to be seen. Come on lad, said Sir Penhaligon kindly, helping Hugo to his feet. Nothing broken is there? Right, lets get you back to Deangard and have those wounds looked at.

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Rewards

If your character wins the fight he earns 10 XP. If your character loses, or it is a draw he earns 5 XP for a valuable lesson in life.

Core Stats

Core stats are expensive to improve, so if youre saving up, it is likely that it will be for an increase to one of these. The costs are as follows:

Damaged Equipment

Chances are that during the encounter, your equipment took a few dings. Well, not to worry, for the duration of this issue all your characters have access to their respective castles sergeants at arms, who can repair all damage for free. In the next issue you wont be so fortunate.

Stat Value 2 3 4 5 6

XP Cost to Raise to the next level 30 45 60 75 -

Spending XP

During that last encounter, Sir Hugo and Gui will have earned some experience points. These can be spent to improve core stats and skills, or hoarded to save up for an increase if you cant afford one.

Core stats cannot be raised higher than 6.

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Skills

In the previous encounter you chose 5 skills to give to your character. At this stage were not going to hold you to your choices: If you want to change any of the skills you chose at the start, erase the ones you dont want and write a 1 next to the skills you wish to replace them with This is your last chance to do this, so make sure the skills you choose at this point are the ones you want Dont sweat this decision too much, you can learn more skills as the adventure continues, or improve existing ones, and youre about to do so now

Skill Value 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wounds

XP Cost to Raise to the next level 10 10 15 25 40 60 -

There are many skills in Warheads, and we will introduce more as the series continues. Some of these skills are for use on the battlefield, and others are for use between encounters. Some skills are passive, which means they are always on and the character need not use an action to use the skills, but others are active skills and require the character to do an action when they use the skill. Furthermore, characters can attempt some skills even if they have no points in the skill, theyre just likely to be rubbish at it and probably fail. The cost of learning skills is as follows: Skills cannot be raised higher than 6.

Only Sir Hugo and Gui can purchase extra wounds, and they aint cheap: Each additional wound purchased costs 50 XP You cannot purchase more than 3 additional wounds

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he atmosphere in Sir Beauregard the Blacks great hall was more akin to a Viking longhouse than a court of the Norman aristocracy. Beauregard was unmarried, and as we know, didnt have many friends or allies among the nobility, so he feasted with the soldiers and it was a raucous affair. A lean, hunted looking servant wound his way through the softly lit hall, bearing a platter of roasted fowls on his shoulder. A pair of men-at arms, stripped to the

waist, squared off in the centre of the hall, fists up and swaying slightly. One of them took aim in an exaggeratedly careful fashion before unleashing a great haymaker that spun him right round so he was facing the wrong direction. His adversary had the good fortune to have chosen that precise moment to sway backwards, and the fist wafted harmlessly in front of his nose. A huge cheer went up. The servant expertly sachd around them only to be snapped and snarled at by the pile of alaunts, mastiff-like hunting dogs, lolling in front of the large open fire. He composed himself and set off again, hugging the wall

for safety on his way to Sir Beauregards place, when suddenly he was forced to duck an airborne clay cup. It shattered on the wall behind him, splashing wine over both servant and fowls. Finally, breathing a sigh of relief, the servant arrived at his destination, only for a sozzled man-at-arms to stick out a sneaky boot. He went sprawling and tipped the winemarinated birds into Guis lap, who happened to be seated next to Sir Beauregard at the table. Laughter erupted around the hall. Sacre Bleu! exploded Gui, and glared at the cowering servant. The room went quiet, broken only by a muffled snigger from

the man-at-arms whod done the deed. Gui looked really angry, his face a taught mask of barely suppressed fury as he stiffly brushed the food from his clothing. The servant remained on all fours, wide-eyed and paralysed with terror. Without taking his eyes off the servant, Gui swept a loaded crossbow from the table and swung it out to the side, loosing the quarrel straight into the drunken soldiers midriff.

he soldier groaned and slid down a tapestry depicting a hunting scene, then sat on the Floor, quite dead. With the spell broken, the servant quickly turned and scurried away as fast as he could, still on his hands and knees, whimpering and babbling. And you be more careful in future, you clumsy oaf, shouted Gui, fetching the retreating man a stinging kick up the arse. Normality of a sort was restored

as more servants rushed to clear away the mess, and two of the dead mans companions grabbed a boot each and dragged him from the hall. Couldnt you have just killed the servant? grunted Sir Beauregard. Those men-at arms arent cheap. I find, Sir Beauregard, that in matters of revenge it is important to direct ones wrath against the responsible party, not an unwilling dupe. Save your morality Gui, neither of us are the chivalrous type. Ill overlook it on account of the donation you have made to my campaign fund. Indeed, we have mutual interests, and so to the matter at hand.

What do we do about Penhaligon and that snot-nosed brat I knocked down? Sir Beauregard raised his hand and beckoned with a jewel encrusted finger. Id like to introduce you to a couple of my more capable aides. Try not to kill them in a fit of pique, will you. Two characters skulked forth from an alcove behind the table. Both were dressed in light armour hauberks and battle scarred pot helmets. One of them bore a crossbow, and the other a halberd. This is Jack Shady of Leicester

Ey up mi duck, remarked the fellow, touching his crossbow to the rim of his helmet and leering. Nice shot, like. and Norman Scum of Lancaster. Ow do, Sir, said the man-atarms, drawing himself upright and saluting, eyes forward. Together with these fine soldiers, continued Sir Beauregard, you and I are going to make a little sortie into Deangard to check on the harvest, if you know what I mean.

Okay, its time for another encounter now, in which youll learn about using multiple characters in a battle, other types of movement, ranged combat, and how morale affects your ability to Fight. Set up the playing area as shown here, then give the subsequent rules a once over before starting.

aid on the grain stores

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haracters

Each player rolls a die prior to placing models. Whoever rolls the lowest must place their model First, then their opponent places one. Alternate like this until no models remain. In this battle the sides are as follows: Sir Hugos Party
Sir Hugo takes the following characters:

Guis Party
Gui takes the following characters:

Sir Hugo Sir Penhaligon Glynn the Bow Captain Jenkins

Gui le B@tard Sir Beauregard the Black Jack Shady Norman Scum

Models in Sir Hugos party can be set up anywhere within 6 inches of the top edge of the table.

Models in Guis party can be set up along the bottom of the table, in the area bounded by the moat and the drawbridge (the distance between the table edge and the riverbank should be ~6 inches).

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Sir Penhaligon
What?

Sir Penhaligon traces his lineage back to the Celtic Kings of Cornwall, and hes Sir Roberts oldest friend and questing companion. He has a good and gentle spirit, sharing many of the fuddled old knight mannerisms of his friend, but for all that he is quite fearless in battle. What he lacks in speed and grace with his beloved great hammer is more than balanced by its terrible destructive power.
Lovely morning, isnt it? You orrible English bastards.

Glynn the Bow

Glynn the Bow is an archer in Sir Roberts retinue. Hes fiercely proud of his Welsh heritage, has a great sense of humour and a direct, down to earth manner of speech. One day he hopes to return to his homeland in the Marches and settle down, when it is free of the Normans. In battle he uses the Welsh longbow, which has superior range to other types of bow. Captain Jenkins

What he needs is a good kick up the arse.

Captain Jenkins is Sir Roberts loyal Captain of the Guard. Firm but fair is how the men would describe him, though many harbour a twinge of resentment at having felt the sting of his boot following an infraction or lapse of discipline, though they realise that under a different commander they may have been flogged or worse. Jenkins likes the versatility of a spear in battle, for it can be thrown or wielded in hand to hand fighting.

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Sir Beauregard the Black

We both stand to make a great deal out of this.

Norman Scum

I could let you live, lad, but its more than my jobs worth.

Sir Beauregard lives at Castle Sudemarche, in the Marcher Kingdom of Monmouth, on lands he seized from the Welsh following the Norman Conquest. A ruthless tyrant with a Machiavellian streak, Beauregard scorns the new laws introduced by William the Conqueror and lives instead by the continental code of Fort Mayne (basically Might is Right). In battle Beauregard is a well-rounded melee fighter with a penchant for the greatsword.

Norman Scum is a sergeant in Beauregard the Blacks guards. For having such a large frame, Norman is a small man in many ways. He has little ambition and is happiest when he gets to push people around and exert his authority. In battle Norman favours the halberd because it makes him look really official and goes well with the uniform.

Jack Shady

I bet you a shilling I can put one up his nose from here.

Jack Shady is a man-at-arms in the retinue of Beauregard the Black. Hes always looking for an angle to buck the system and make himself a bit on the side. Hes also a compulsive gambler. In battle Jacks main weapon is the crossbow, a weapon whose use against Christians would later be banned by the pope, because it is just too horrible.

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Guis party has broken into the bailey of Deangard (the low lying area around the keep, where various outbuildings, stores and barracks are fenced in by the palisade). Gui has put Deangards grain store to the torch. In the ensuing chaos, as the household of Deangard rushes to quell the blaze, Guis party has to escape through the tiny hamlet that lies along the road to Deangard. Hugos party has to stop them.
All of Guis party members have to try and exit the table edge opposite where they start If Gui escapes, each member of the party earns 20 XP Each member of the party earns 10 XP for each of the other party members to escape

bjectives and rewards

Sir Hugos party has to incapacitate members of Guis party to prevent them from escaping If Gui is incapacitated, each member of the party earns 20 XP Each member of the party earns 10 XP for each of the other enemy party members that are incapacitated

tat tracker

Now that there are a few characters to control on each side, you may want to keep track of stuff like wounds, weapon damage, and ammunition used up on a separate sheet.
Weve provided you with a stat tracker that allows you to record some of the most important data about your character, without having to constantly write and erase stuff on your main character roster sheets: Its use is entirely optional and it has room to record details of up to 8 characters, as shown.

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45

ules

To play through the Raid on the Grain Stores encounter, youll need to be familiar with the following set of rules. Turns

Encounters in Warheads are broken up into turns. The rules are as follows: At the beginning of each turn, each player rolls a die to decide who goes first The player that rolled the highest number can choose to go first or they can make their opponent go first A turn ends when all of the characters in play have performed one action each

Actions During a turn each character can perform one action. Players alternate between giving their characters actions. That means that the First player to act chooses a model and gets it to perform an action, and then their opponent chooses one of their models, and so on until all of the models have had a go. Therefore it is important to think about the order in which you activate your models.
Once a model completes its action, place an activation counter next to it so you can tell it has had its go At the end of a turn, remove all the activation counters on the table

Types of Action There are numerous different actions a model can perform. The following list is not exhaustive, well introduce more as they arise in the story, but youll need the following ones to play through this encounter:
Move: A model that is not in base contact with an enemy model may perform a move action (exception is a break off move, which is a special type of move used to get out of close combat). There are several different types of move action that will be described in more detail shortly Ranged attack: Models armed with weapons that can attack opponents at a distance can use one of these as their action Melee attack: Models in base contact with enemy models can attack them. This will use up the other models action too, as it has to fight as well. So when the combat action is resolved, place a counter next to both models to show that they have had their go. Also, see the rules on melee combats involving more than one character later on in this section Use a skill or ability: There are too many skills and abilities that require an action to use to list here. Read the individual skill and ability description to find out which ones this applies to Recover morale: See the morale rules later on in this section

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The following section covers most of what you need to know about moving your characters around on the tabletop. Any special or unusual movement rules, such as those caused by skills, will be described as and when they arise.

ovement rules

Move Actions
There are several different move actions a character can perform, and some of these you will be familiar with from the First encounter when Sir Hugo fought with Gui: Normal Move: This is up to the characters standard movement rate

There are certain types of passive skill (i.e. skills that are always on, that dont cost you your action to use) that only work if your character is moving at normal speed You can make as many turns as you like during a normal move (e.g. you move two inches forward, one inch to the side, then one inch in a diagonal line)

Move and Throw: Characters must be armed with throwing weapons to do this. Move up to the characters standard move rate and at the end of the move go directly to ranged combat
You must move directly towards the target you have chosen (see ranged combat below) You cannot turn on this move

Fast Move: This is equal to up to the characters standard move rate x2 You can make as many turns as you like during a fast move You are not allowed within 4 inches of an enemy model when you make a fast move, except when that enemy model is engaged in melee combat

Charge: This is equal to up to the characters standard move rate x2. A character that charges must end their move in base contact with an enemy model
You have to charge the closest enemy model you can reach, but, you may ignore enemy models that are already in melee combat (you dont have to, its your choice in this circumstance) You may not turn on this move, measure the distance to the model you wish to attack to make sure the move is legal (if not youll have to do something else) and move in a straight line until the models bases are touching This is the only move action you can do that allows you to end up in base contact with an enemy model At the end of the charge move the characters will fight, move directly to melee combat If you charge into a model that has already had its go this turn, it doesnt get to fight back

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Break Off Combat: See the rules earlier on breaking off combat
This is the only move action that a character in base contact with an enemy model is allowed to perform You may not turn on this move and you must move directly away from the enemy model

Effect of Terrain

The type of terrain a character encounters can affect how it moves. There are four types of terrain, as follows:

Normal: Normal terrain includes level ground, gentle slopes of less than fifteen degrees, roads
and other surfaces on which characters can move about unhindered

DifFicult Terrain: Difficult terrain includes boggy ground, exceptionally uneven or

broken surfaces such as scree, dense, tangled undergrowth, or slopes between sixteen and thirty degrees All movement through difficult terrain is done at a rate of 2:1, i.e. for every two inches you would move on normal terrain, you can only move one inch on difficult terrain

Climbable Objects: Climbable objects include ladders, raised platform, walls, gates, fences, etc. Basically anything that a character can climb up onto or over
Each climbable object has its own rules for how it affects movement. Where such objects occur in encounters, all will be explained there

Impassable Terrain: Impassable terrain includes deep water, large rocks, bottomless
pits, etc Characters usually cannot move onto impassable terrain under any circumstances, they have to go around it

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anged combat
Ranged Weapon ProFiles

Ranged combat occurs when a model uses a weapon that can attack enemies at a distance.

Ranged weapons have profiles containing information about their performance. For example, below is the profile for a spear, showing relevant information for battle: Item Spear Range 12 Damage 2 Initiative +2 Skill Pole Arms or Throwing Condition 5

The proFile has pretty much the same information on it that youd see on a melee weapon. The only new value here is Range, which tells you the maximum range at which the weapon can hit a target (see range rules, covered elsewhere in this section). Rolling to Attack the Target
The method for doing this is practically identical to melee combat. The DAM value for a ranged weapon is calculated as follows: Core stat (almost always agility for ranged weaponsthis is specified in the description of the skill associated with the weapon you are using) + Damage (taken from the weapons profile)

As with melee combat, the targets resistance is calculated as follows Core stat (for the targets armour) + Protection value (taken from the armours profile)

Range
The weapons maximum range is shown in inches. In Warheads ranges on the tabletop are divided into three bands as follows: Short Range: This is up to 6 inches Medium Range: This is between 6 and 18 inches Shooting at medium range targets confers a penalty of -2 to your dice rolls Long Range: This is between 18 and 24 inches Shooting at long range targets confers a penalty of -3 to your dice rolls

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ou are allowed to measure the range to a target, before you decide whether to shoot at it. Range measurements are made from the front of the model taking the shot, to the centre of the target, like so:

Measuring range diagram

All modifiers to attack dice and weapon skill included in this section, or applied as a result of abilities or equipment, are cumulative.

Movement and Ranged Combat

Models are allowed to make a normal move before using a thrown weapon, representing a short run up before they loose the missile. Characters cannot move before they use other ranged weapons such as bows or slings. Thrown weapons do not need to be in the characters hand equipment slots to use in this way. For super cinematic dynamic effect they can be stored anywhere on the character

Line of Sight

In order to shoot at an enemy, you have to be able to see it. The best way to check this during a game is to get your eye level down to model height and have a look to see if you can see the target without intervening terrain getting in the way. As long as you can see part of the model, you can shoot at it. If there are any disputes over line of sight between you and your opponent, dont fall out over it, just roll a die and whoever gets the highest number wins the dispute If theres a subsequent dispute, then the person who lost the die roll last time automatically wins this time, and so on

LOS diagram
Jack Shady declares that hes going to shoot with his crossbow. Sir Hugo is behind the cottage, thus LOS (line of sight) is blocked and he cannot shoot Hugo. Eck stands in the open though, and is a valid target.

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Cover

Cover is when the target model gains protection from the environment, making it more difficult for you to hit them. A target can get cover in the following ways: Line of Sight Obscured: If you can see less than 50% of the target model because there is intervening terrain or buildings in the way, suffer a -3 penalty to your dice rolls (this is cumula tive with range penalties) In Light Cover: Light cover is terrain that a model can effectively hide in, such as bushes and undergrowth, or an area strewn with rubble. If you shoot at a model in light cover, add +1 to the targets resistance Models can only claim a light cover bonus if the character shooting at them is at medium range Light cover completely blocks line of sight for characters at long range and beyond In Heavy Cover: Heavy cover is terrain that a model can use if it is in base contact with it. It includes things like thick tree trunks, walls, battlements, doorways, etc. Basically anything solid enough to stop a missile dead, that the model can duck behind if it gets shot at. If you shoot at a model in heavy cover, add +2 to the targets resistance

Cover diagram i
If Hugo were to stand a little to the right of where he was in the LOS diagram, Jack Shady can claim a shot at him, but as you can see from where the arrow touches the corner of the building, Jack has LOS to less than half of Hugos model. That means Jack suffers a -3 penalty to his dice rolls because the building obscures his LOS.

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n this example Sir Hugo has taken cover in a shrubbery (yes, I know, a shrubbery), and Jack wants to shoot at him:

Cover diagram ii

At 5 inches Jack has a clear shot and Hugo gets no cover bonus because the shot is at close range At 10 inches Jack is taking his shot at medium range, so Hugo can claim a light cover bonus to his resistance Finally, at 20 inches Jack is at long range, so he cant see Hugo at all amidst the shrubs

Cover diagram iii

Back to hiding behind the building. If Hugo is in base contact with the corner of the building, he can claim a hard cover bonus to his resistance.

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Target Priority

If there is more than one target in range when you decide to shoot with your model, you cant just pick the one you want. If another target is higher up the following priority list, you must shoot at it instead: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. At short range in clear LOS At short range with LOS partially obscured At short range in light cover At medium range in clear LOS At long range in clear LOS At medium range with LOS partially obscured At medium range in light cover At short range in hard cover At medium range in hard cover In melee

Where more than one enemy model qualifies as the highest priority target, you may choose which one your model shoots at.

Ammunition

Characters using weapons like bows or slings will need to record the ammunition they carry for their weapons. Generally speaking an ammunition item (e.g. a quiver containing 6 arrows), takes up an equipment slot on the character sheet like so: Once a shot has been fired with a weapon like this, it is gone, you cant recover arrows, quarrels or sling bullets after use Thrown weapons are different. After using a thrown weapon, place a dropped item counter next to the target and record that it is the weapon you have just thrown

Characters armed with ranged weapons in melee combat

Characters using weapons like bows or slings cannot use them if they are in base contact with an enemy model, until they swap to a more suitable weapon, they count as being unarmed.

Shooting into melee combat

You can try this, but its risky. Here are the rules: If you score more failures than successes on the dice roll, then youve accidentally hit a friendly model (randomise if there is more than one friendly model in base contact with your target) and apply any wounds the original target would have taken to the friendly model

Dropped items

Characters may drop items during an encounter for a variety of reasons. When they do this, place a Dropped Item counter next to the model: As you can see, the counters are numbered. This is for you to make a note of which number corresponds to which item. Any human character that is in base contact with a dropped item counter can pick up that item as their action for the turn Models can do this in combat too, but obviously if they choose this as their action, they cannot fight. When the combat is activated declare that this is your action before initiative is determined or any dice rolled

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hanging equipment

It is likely, especially now that we have characters equipped for ranged combat who may end up in melee, that characters will want to change the items they are holding in their hands. The rules are as follows:
Any human character can rearrange their equipment as an action, as follows: A model can swap what is in their hands for an item anywhere on their person, provided there is a free equipment slot to put the item away If there is no free equipment slot they must drop the item If the model is in base contact with a pack beast or accessible object that stores equipment (e.g. a weapon rack), the model can swap between what is held in its hands and the equip ment list of object or beast as if it were the models own inventory If the model is in base contact with an enemy model, they can still swap to a different item as described above, but they cannot put away the item they are currently holding in their hands. Instead they must drop it. The character may not attack on the same turn they change equipment. If the character is changing to or from a shield, the shield is not available for PROT on this turn

It is possible that combat can occur between more than two characters. This happens when any character is in base contact with more than one enemy model. The rules for handling this are as follows:

elee combat with more than two characters

When a player declares a combat action with a model, all enemy models in base contact with it are activated as part of that combat In turn, all friendly models in base contact with those enemy models are activated, and so on until there are no more models involved in the melee This also applies if a model charges into an existing combat situation Any model that is in base contact with a friendly model who is involved in the fight, but not an enemy model is not considered part of the fight Resolve attack dice rolls in initiative order If the attacking model is in contact with more than one enemy model, it can choose which one it attacks If a model that has been attacked is still in play after the attack dice are tallied and wounds applied, it does not have to attack the model that attacked it unless there are no other enemy models in base contact with it If any of the models declare non-aggressive actions, such as change equipment, break off or all out defence (see later), resolve the rest of the combat, and if those models are still standing after all the attacks are finished, they can perform their stated action

The following diagrams demonstrate this.

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sir hugo starts the Fight:

In this example Sir Hugo is activated and attacks. This activates both Gui and Sir Beauregard who are in base contact with Hugo. They must now perform their combat actions, and afterwards put an activation counter down to show theyve had their go.

If we add Sir Penhaligon to this melee, he too gets activated when Sir Hugo decides to fight. This is because Hugo has activated Sir Beauregard, who in turn activates Sir Penhaligon.

Jack Shady is added to the same situation, but in this case he is not activated by the fight. That is because he is not in base contact with an enemy model. He is in base contact with a friendly model, Gui, who has been activated to fight, but this doesnt do anything to Jack.

Finally, if we add Norman Scum, we can see that he gets activated by all of this too, because hes in base contact with Sir Penhaligon, who is in base contact with Sir Beauregard, who is in turn in base contact with Sir Hugo, who started it all (phew!).

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Morale

A characters morale level determines how well it performs in combat. As morale drops, so the character finds it increasingly difficult to fight, until they eventually panic. Morale can be lost as a result of wounds, enemy abilities, friendly casualties and so forth. Heres what it looks like on the character sheet: The track is designed so you can put a stroke through each of the boxes each time you lose a point of morale. The table goes from top left to bottom right, so check things off in the following order: 1. Blank box. Write the number of morale points the character starts with in this box. This will most likely be 6, but characters with the courage skill can have more. When the character drops to 5 morale left, put a stroke through this box, then check off each subsequent box and apply the effect for each further loss suffered. 2. -1 MD (top right) 3. -1 PS (middle left) 4. -1 MD 5. -1 PS 6. panic As with losing wounds, losing morale has negative effects on your character, and results in temporary losses to other values on the character sheet. Heres what the abbreviations mean: MD is Mind PS is Personality Panic means the character is no longer capable of fighting

Morale can be affected in the following ways:

Wounds reduce morale as shown on the characters wound track Each allied character that is incapaci tated reduces morale by 1 Each allied character that panics reduces morale by 1 When it is activated, a character can use its action to recover 1 point of morale provided it is not in base contact with an enemy model A characters morale returns to normal after each encounter.

Panic

A character that panics is no longer effective in combat. They cant fight back against opponents and are incapable of any useful action. The following rules apply: The only action a panicked model in base contact with an enemy model can perform is a break off move The only action a panicked model that is not in base contact with an enemy model can perform is to recover a point of morale

Aftermath

This particular encounter has far reaching consequences for the rest of the campaign in terms of the main characters financial situations. Guis raid has done considerable damage to the stores, so Sir Robert must dip into his coffers and buy grain from his neighbours to make up the shortfall, but he also pays Sir Hugo a regular stipend to keep him going. Sir Hugo has nobly persuaded his father to reduce his stipend to cover the loss of the grain, which he feels responsible for. Gui, on the other hand, has accumulated a war chest to fund his campaign, but he may be forced to dip into it to pay ransoms after this battle. As per the previous encounter, the sergeants-at-arms repair damaged equipment Jack and Glynn can replenish their arrows and quarrels back up to the starting amount at their respective castles If Jack is captured he may not do this unless his ransom is paid

56

In this issue you dont have to spend any money on upkeep, replacing equipment, getting repairs or surgery done, or anything of that ilk. However, when the campaign moves away from the characters home range in the next issue, theyre going to need money to survive. Dont worry if this battle went badly for you, there will always be ways to pick up more cash as the campaign unfolds.
Currency in England in the 11th century was based on the silver penny, and thats what all values are in for gameplay purposes (though a barter economy involving treasure, jewellery and other items was a widespread hangover from the Saxon era that never quite went away, despite Williams efforts to control the economy with his currency based on the silver penny). Sir Hugo has his stipend and Gui has his warchest

ero funds

Stipend

Each issue, before you start any encounters, Sir Hugo gets the following payment from Sir Robert as his stipend. The figure is adjusted by how much ransom money Gui has paid out to Sir Robert in the aftermath of this encounter: No ransom paid: 360 silver Ransom paid for Gui: +120 silver Ransom paid for Beauregard: +60 silver Ransom paid for Jack Shady: +30 silver Ransom paid for Norman: +30 silver

War Chest

Gui has this amount of money to start the game with. He will not receive any more unless he earns it in the course of the campaign. Guis starting funds are: 3000 silver

After the battle its highly likely that one or more of Guis party has been caught by Sir Hugos party. In order to try and recoup some of the losses incurred by the raid, Hugos father, Sir Robert, can ransom members of Guis party. The following rates apply: The ransom for Gui is: 600 silver The ransom for Beauregard is: 300 silver The ransom for Jack Shady is: 150 silver The ransom for Norman is: 150 silver

f Gui has been captured you must pay his ransom. As for the other three, Gui is quite at liberty to let them languish in gaol if he wants to.
Ransoms can be paid at any time be tween encounters The captive is returned to Guis party with its equipment in the state it was at the time of capture The captive is ready to fight in the next encounter. You must pay any upkeep costs that apply (not this issue, for future refer ence), but the character may not perform any between encounters activi ties, such as repairing or maintenance

57

In the Year of Our Lord, Ten Ninety-Six, we the undersigned do solemnly bear witness to the truth of Gui le B@tards claim to the rights and entitlements of all buildings, lands, demesnes, virgates, purlieus, and attendant slaves, villeins, foresters, and ploughs held under the Estate of Deangard. The current holder, Sir Robert Bonneville, must surrender such buildings, lands, desmnses, virgates, purlieus, and attendant slaves, villeins, foresters, and ploughs forthwith or suffer the consequences of a state of war between Gui le Btard and the Estate of Deangard. Signed Deacon Oswald.* Hugo put down the parchment on the scarred oak of the great table,

behind which his father sat looking pale and drawn. He looked at the old knight with a mixture of confusion and worry. They were in Sir Roberts private chambers, to which Hugo had been summoned. What does it all mean, father? Why has this chap Gui suddenly started throwing his weight around. First there was the fight at the bridge, then he burned down

half our grain store, and now hes laying claim to your estate. Whats going on? Sir Robert massaged his temples with his fingers and gave a deep sigh before raising his eyes to meet Sir Hugos. Son, there is something I need to tell you. I would not have had it thrust upon me under such circumstances, but at least your dear mother isnt around to bear the disgrace of it Father

Dont interrupt me Hugo, this is difficult. Many years ago in France, before you were born, and before I met your mother, I knew a woman. She was not of high birth, and as such there was no possibility of a match. Nevertheless, we behaved as husband and wife for a brief time, and in secret. Then I left for England with Williams army, and never saw her again. I swear I had no idea she was with child though By all the saints, Sir! You mean to tell me that the swine is my brother!

Im afraid that is exactly what Im telling you. There can be no other explanation for this. However, this challenge cannot go unanswered, and we will not capitulate to these unreasonable demands. Remember Hugo, this is your inheritance at stake here, so you must put aside your anger at me and do what must be done. You are my heir and none other. Now, I have arranged for Abbot John from the Parish of Gloucester to come here and examine this document, and draft a rebuttal. I

want you to head out now and escort him to Deangard. Take some of the retainers with you, and if you like, see if old Penhaligon is up for it. Hurry now, we must use whatever means necessary to nip this thing in the bud. The next day, Gui, accompanied by Brother Oswald, the Deacon of Gwent, Toland, who was Oswalds sexton, and a couple of other members of his usual crew waited on the road between the parish church and Deangard. Beauregards spies had informed him of a Bonneville plot to get their own

ecclesiastical representation. Dusk was drawing near and church bells chimed out across the shire, sending bats whirling from their belfries into the thickening gloom. In some far off future, a fellow named Bela Lugosi was dead. In the distance, a party approached along the road. Now for it, said Gui, and hefted his weapon. The party stopped, just out of bowshot. It was Hugo and the monk Gui had come to stop, and some more of his miserable crew. Oh not you again! cried Hugo. Have you no honour? Would you seek to ambush us on the kings highway now, you bandit?

Let me speak to him, said Brother Oswald to Gui. Go ahead. I shall enjoy this. Bandit is it? shouted the priest, brandishing his crosier. Fine words from the son of an adulterer. We are here to uphold the rightful claim of Gui of Normandy, as backed by Almighty God and the Church, which you have usurped. At the other end of the road, Friar John stepped forward. Says you, you scoundrel! On which churchs authority are you taking bribes from mercenary warlords?

Need I answer such a facile question? Stand aside Friar, theres real church business afoot. Gui of Normandy? hooted Friar John, Since when? Gui le Btard, last I heard. Or how about Gui the Parvenu? Even at the distance they stood, Hugo could see from Guis posture that hed turned decidedly wrathful. He made one last plea for sanity. Come on Gui. Look, weve clearly got off on the wrong foot, but it

seems to me that you might be my half-brother, so cant we put down our arms and discuss this thing like family? WHAAAT! bellowed Gui, You pipsqueak! You tick! Youre no brother of mine you wretched mongrel! I will kill you! Everyone forward! Hack them! Flay them! Season them and roast them! And with that Gui lumbered forward in his armour, waving his weapon on high. Battle was joined once more

Brother Oswalds letter was a mouthful and no mistake. These are all terms used in 11th century England, particularly in the Domesday record. The upshot of the list is of course to say that everything Sir Robert owns should go to Gui. Anyway, heres what they mean:
Slave: Pretty self explanatory. The terms slave and serf were interchangeable Villein: A step up the feudal hierarchy from a slave, the term is interchangeable with peasant. Villeins worked the lords land Plough: Refers to a full plough team and equipment, which consisted of eight oxen and the plough itself Sexton: referring to Oswalds sidekick Toland, is a sort of church handyman, who looks after the grounds and graveyard and carries out repairs

istorical facts

Demesne: This is land given over to the lords own use, that his tenants have to work for him as part of their feudal obligation Virgate: A virgate is a measure of land, approximately 30 acres Purlieu: Weve come across this term earlier in the magazine. It refers to the outlying parts of an estate or district, and in particular, at this time in history, it would refer to where managed woodland started to give way to wild wood

This is the Final encounter of Issue One. It takes place along the road between Deangard and Gloucester, and features a deserted cottage surrounded by a drystone wall, with an untended, overgrown orchard opposite it.

ies irae

Climbing over the drystone wall takes a full action and characters cannot do anything else.
To do so models must be in base contact with the wall when they decide to shin over it. Pack beasts may not climb over the wall

There is an opening in the wall, where a gate once stood, at the top end.

64

haracters

Each player rolls a die prior to placing models. Whoever rolls the lowest must place their model First, then their opponent places one. Alternate like this until no models remain. In this battle the sides are as follows: Sir Hugos Party
Sir Hugo takes the following characters:

Guis Party
Gui takes the following characters:

Sir Hugo Friar John Canute the Terrier

Gui le B@tard Brother Oswald Toland the Sexton

In addition to these characters, choose two characters from the following list:

Sir Penhaligon Captain Jenkins Glynn the Bow Eck and Lucy

In addition to these characters, choose two characters from the following list (subject to availability. Any characters caught in the last encounter who didnt get their ransom paid are unavailable):

Models in Hugos party can be set up any where along the top edge of the table, within 6 inches of the edges.

Sir Beauregard the Black Norman Scum Jack Shady Mold and Oi

Models in Guis party can be set up anywhere along the bottom edge of the table, within 6 inches of the edges.

65

Friar John
Think before you act.

Brother Oswald

Friar John is an abbot from Gloucester and friend of Sir Robert. He is a scholar of politics and the human condition, gifted with great strategic insight. His prayers on the field of battle tend to be for the aid of his companions. His most prized possession is a self-scribed copy of the seminal Scriptures of Saint Clobberus that he secures to his person with a heavy iron chain. In combat he can wield the holy book like a flail.

Your reluctance to give me what I want is clearly the work of the Devil.

Brother Oswald is the Deacon of Gwent, though by birth he is a Saxon from Staffordshire. He disguises his inherent sadism and self regard behind a mask of piety, and the prayers he utters in times of conflict tend to focus on harming the enemy rather than aiding his friends. If all else fails he carries an affectedly simple, custom made crosier called The Crux, which he wields like a quarterstaff.

Canute

How are you feeling today Canute? Ruff!

Toland
Ill fix you in a minute!

Canute is a small, terrier-like stray dog of indeterminate breed. He joined Friar John at some point on the priests travels and has been a constant companion since. John named the dog after the Danish king famed for his tenacity (even if he was somewhat short in the logic department). Although he isnt much of a fighter, Canute can harry much bigger opponents, pinning them down and nipping at their ankles as they ineffectually try to swat away his small, darting frame.

Toland is the grumpy sexton of Brother Oswalds Church in Monmouth. Hes handy in more ways than one, and when he isnt breaking stuff like heads and arms, hes fixing things in the down time between rucks. In battle Toland carries a bill hook that is as good at pruning limbs as it is branches, and if that should fail, he packs a hefty wallop with his smiths hammer.

66

bjectives and rewards

In this battle you have to protect your priest. In addition to XP earned for successful skill rolls, you earn the following:
10 XP to each party member if you incapacitate your opponents priest

The following completes the basic set of rules youll need to be familiar with to play games of Warheads: Medieval Tales. The rules printed here are used in this encounter, along with all the rules you have learned to date. Other advanced rules will crop up from time to time in subsequent issues. Pack Beasts

ules

Pack beasts such as Lucy and Oi! dont operate as individuals on the tabletop and dont fight. The rules for using them in your party are as follows: They must remain in base contact with their handlers at all times They do not have character roster profiles. If an opponent attacks them in melee combat or with a ranged attack, always assume it is directed against the handler If the opponent is in base contact with the pack beast but not the handler, attacks are still made against the handler If the pack beast obscures LOS to the handler, shoot as if shooting the handler using any cover bonuses the beast may claim according to the normal rules Record any equipment carried on them on the equipment roster. There is no limit to the amount of equipment that can be stored on pack beasts When the handler is incapacitated, remove the beast from play too

67

The group equipment sheet contains a tally of your funds as well as a list of all the equipment available to the party, its condition and trade value, and to whom it ostensibly belongs. Entries look like this:

roup equipment

Silver

This is where you record your current total amount of silver.

Value

Record the value in silver of the item here. There is also a notes section at the bottom of the equipment roster for you to make notes and reminders for yourself.

Item

This is where you record the name of the item.

Owner

This is where you record who the item is currently assigned to. You are free to swap items around between encounters, or during battle using the rules for swapping items or passing an item to a model in combat (see the rules later in this section).

Power

This where the bonus the item gives to power for tests is recorded (in the case of weapons this is dam, in the case of armour it is prot, other items have their own bonuses that they add to power values).

Max CND

Record the maximum condition the item can have after repairs here (this is usually the value that the item starts the game with).

CND

Record the items current condition here.

68

In this encounter weve introduced priest characters that play a support role to those doing the majority of the Fighting. These support abilities, delivered in the form of prayers, miracles and exhortations to the Almighty affect the performance of allied and enemy troops by adding counters to enhance or penalise them. Each of the priests starts with a couple of prayers in his repertoire that he can use on the battleField. Prayers are used in the following way:
You can use 5 prayers per encounter Prayers must be prepared before each encounter, as each prayer has specific requirements for its use On the blank part of the characters roster, write in the name of the prayers you wish to use during the encounter (you are allowed to use duplicates, so you could prepare the same prayer for several uses) Each prayer is single use, so put a line through it or rub it out after youve used it Using a prayer is an action, but the priest can do a normal move before he utters the prayer The power and resistance used in the test depends on the prayer. For more information, see the list of prayers in the reference section.

rayers

Counters

Many prayers add counters to target models to do things like increase DAM or PROT, or penalise skill tests. The counters are subject to the following rules: Counters remain in play until they are spent. Any that are left when the encounter ends are discarded Counters that penalise a models abilities are played by their opponent The decision to use a counter that changes power or resistance must be made before any dice are rolled Die roll bonuses are added after rolling the dice, so for example you may need 5 to hit your opponent with four dice and your character has 3 counters that can increase his weapon skill. You roll 5, 4, 3 and 1. You can add +1 to the roll of 4, and +2 to the roll of 3 to get a modified total of 5, 5, 5 and 1. Three wounds! Natural 6s and 1s cannot be changed by counters Successful dice rolls achieved by using counters to increase the results on the dice do not count for earning XP

Learning New Prayers

Priests can learn new prayers from the list in the reference section at a cost of 25 XP per prayer.

69

dvanced combat styles

The following equipment loadouts, skills and Fighting styles may be used by characters from now on. Dual Wield and Pole Arm Weapons

The combat styles involved with wielding pole arm weapons, or a hand weapon in each hand, afford the user a certain amount of finesse and tactical flexibility in a fight. You can either batter away at opponents in the same fashion youd use other melee weapons, or you can use them to block and parry enemy blows. The rule is: You may add +1 to either DAM or PROT in melee. Make your choice each turn, before any attack dice are rolled by you or your opponent

All out Defence

During combat you may find a model in a situation where you care more about saving its hide than beating an opponent. This is especially useful if you find yourself overwhelmed by enemy numbers, or if your model is alone in facing a particularly dangerous foe. The rules are: When the combat is activated, before initiative is decided or any dice are rolled, declare that your combat action is all out defence Calculate your power as if you were attacking (i.e. core stat + weapon + any other power modifiers) Compare your power to a resistance of 7 + 1 for each additional enemy model after the first that is in base contact with your model (e.g. if your model is surrounded by 4 enemies, the total resistance is 10) Roll your dice. Instead of inflicting wounds on your foes this round, each success rolled increases your protection level by 1

Here are some more actions your characters can do, speciFically swapping items. Characters can freely swap items during an encounter. With these rules a friendly model can throw an item to you, or pass it to you if they are in base contact. In order to receive an item from an ally in this way, the following conditions must be true:
The friendly model must be no further away than short range and have LOS to the receiving model The friendly model must not have performed any other action this turn

wapping items

If you are clear to perform the action, then do the following: You must put away anything you are carrying in the hand that you intend to receive the item. The rules for this are the same as if you were rearranging your own inventory If the item you are receiving requires two hands to wield, then you have to put everything away If the friendly model is in base contact with you, the item is automatically handed over. Both of the models have been activated and may do nothing else this turn

70

If the friendly model is within short range, has LOS, and isnt in base contact with an enemy model, it can throw the item to you The item can either be taken from the friendly models own equipment list, or from the equipment list of a pack beast or other item storage object the friendly model is in base contact with The friendly model makes a throw test (power = agility + throwing skill) against resistance 10 receiving models Agility stat

Results are treated as follows: If any of the dice are natural 1s they cancel out successful dice rolls Natural 6s count as double successes If you roll more successes than failures the action works If the results show that the manoeuvre failed, the item is dropped at the receiving characters feet. Place a dropped item counter there and record it

Whatever else happens, this is treated as both the receiving models action for the turn, and the friendly models. Place an activation counter on both models. A friendly model may also pass an item to a character that is in combat. All of the rules above apply, as well as the following: At the start of the combat turn, before initiative is determined, or any dice rolled, de clare that your character is receiving an item from a friendly model The receiving model cannot put away items it is currently holding, it has to drop them The receiving model is activated by this an cannot attack or use all out defence this turn

Aftermath
The normal rules for spending XP apply. As per the previous encounters the sergeants-at-arms repair damaged equip ment Jack and Glynn can replenish their arrows and quarrels back up to the starting amount at their respective castles If Jack is captured he may not do this unless his ransom is paid

71

ir Hugo sat atop a pile of hay in Deangards stables. It was the magic hour, where the day gently melted into darkness, and the nightshift and dayshift passed each other by on their way to and from their posts. Cooks and servants, guards (who were on high alert after everything that had happened), bats, songbirds, hawks, owls, butterflies, moths; each gave way to the other as the sun and moon gave way

to one another. Somewhere in the purlieus a pheasant blurted out its chuckling alarm and was answered by the unearthly yelp of a vixen. Hugos little retinue were gathered around him, all up and about after the run in with Guis party. Glynn the Bow and Captain Jenkins were there, as were Eck and Lucy, and Friar John too, cradling his uncommonly lethal bible with its great chain, and the small dog, Canute, that had accompanied the priest from Gloucester. Notably absent was Sir Penhaligon, who had returned to his own estate, accompanied by Sir Robert to attend to some affairs there. Beautiful evening, isnt it fellows?

The others shuffled and murmured assent. Was there something you wanted to say to us, Sir Hugo? Eck piped up. Hmm? Yes Eck, grasp the nettle, eh, what? Look, its about this highly unsavoury business with that fellow Gui. Your half-brother, stated Glynn bluntly. Quite. Erm, anyway. What are we to do about him? I vote we kick is arse for im! Colourfully put Captain Jenkins, said Friar John. And, to my mind, an accurate assessment of the situation. Is that so? asked Hugo. Cant we send word to the king or something? I mean this cant stand. Isnt there law in the land? The best we could manage is to

take it up with the Shire Reeve, but I really dont think that will get us anywhere. The news may not have trickled down to places like Deangard yet, but the Kings brother, Robert Curthose, is gathering an army to march on the Holy Land, and William has sponsored this venture. Domestic issues, aside from taxes of course, of which we are likely to see yet more in the wake of this news, are, I fear, rather low on the royal priority list at present. No Sir Hugo, I fear we are on our own in this matter. Injustice is abroad in the land, and the only law is that of might, of Fort Mayne, under the administration of good King William Rufus.

And the edict that Gui issued? Cant you challenge that? Of course I can, and I will. But know this. The document has no authority or validity; it is merely a statement of intent on Guis part. He will likely base his next move on how strong he feels his position is compared to yours. You have to demonstrate that you will not be bullied by him. Well there it is then, sighed Hugo. Now I must ask who amongst you will join me on this new quest to defend Deangard from Gui? One by one, all of Sir Hugos friends agreed to stand against the menace of Gui le Btard.

Hugo could have ordered them to join him, but it was not his way. In the dungeons of Sir Beauregards Castle Sudemarche, Gui looked on with an arched eyebrow, munching idly from a platter of fruits and cold cuts as Brother Oswald and Toland worked on the prisoner. The man hung from iron shackles anchored to the dripping stonework. Thats enough with the nettles Toland, I do believe the twisters are starting to glow, said Oswald, with a sadistic smirk curling the corner of his mouth. Do your worst you bastards! gasped the man, Ill never give Deangard over to you!

For it was he. Sir Robert had been captured by Guis spies! Old man, sighed Gui. Of course you wont. Where would the sport be in that? I will exercise the law of Fort Mayne, and by the strength of my arm, by the power of my sword and lance, I will unseat that cuckoo of yours. Im not even interested in offering you a bargain to spare his life, if you were to turn Deangard over to me now. Sir Robert gasped and turned his head as Oswald played the glowing metal near his cheek. Will you though? Will you spare Hugo if I comply with your demands?

Tch, tutted Gui, and blew out a grape seed. Since when were desperation and stupidity the hallmarks of the conquering hero my mother used to eulogise about? I just told you, of course not. Im having far too much fun. Guis clear, cold laughter echoed throughout the draughty halls of Sudemarche, and was joined and counterpointed by the tittering of Oswald and Tolands harsh guffaw.

eference section

This section contains all the tables and additional information on skills, equipment and actions that you will need to play the encounters contained in this issue of Warheads: Medieval Tales.

equipment
The following section contains reference tables for the weapons, armour and other miscellaneous equipment used in the encounters in this magazine.

Weapons
Item Unarmed Dagger Sword Axe Mace Hammer Quarterpike Spear Quarterstaff Halberd Bill Hook Greatsword Great Axe Great Hammer Staff Sling Slingshot Longbow Crossbow Range Touch 2 Touch 4 Touch 4 Touch 10 Touch Touch Touch Touch Touch Touch 18 12 24 18 Dam 0 1 2 3 2 3 3 2 1 3 2 4 5 6 1 1 2 3 Initiative +1 +2 +1 0 0 -1 +1 +2 +2 +1 +1 -2 -3 -4 +2 NA NA NA Skill Unarmed Hand Weapons/ Throwing Hand Weapons Hand Weapons/ Throwing Hand Weapons Hand Weapons/ Throwing Pole Arms Pole Arms/ Throwing Pole Arms Pole Arms Pole Arms Two Handed Weapons Two Handed Weapons Two Handed Weapons Slingshot\ Pole Arms Slingshot Archery Archery Cond. NA 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 10 10 5 15 15 15 10 10 10 10

Armour
Item
Unarmoured Light Armour Medium Armour Heavy Armour** Shield

Prot
0 2 3 4 2

Initiative*
0 -2 -3 -4 -2

Resistance Stat
Agility Agility Body Body As per armour worn

Cond.
NA 15 20 25 15

* This penalty is also applied to dodge and evade skills (though they cannot be reduced below 0) **Heavy Armour reduces the wearers movement rate by 25%

76

skills
Descriptions for all the skills you need to play this issues adventure.
Skill
Unarmed Combat Hand Weapons 2 Handed Weapons Flail Weapons Jousting*

Effect
Each success rolled causes the target a wound Each success rolled causes the target a wound Each success rolled causes the target a wound Each success rolled causes the target a wound Each success rolled causes the target a wound Each success rolled causes the target a wound. You may also add +1 to DAM or PROT for each round of melee combat Each success rolled causes the target a wound. You may also add +1 to DAM or PROT for each round of melee combat Each success rolled causes the target a wound Each success rolled causes the target a wound Each success rolled causes the target a wound Each level confers a -1 modifier to opponents attack rolls in melee Each success rolled generates a point of morale that is added to all friendly characters in range. If used during melee combat, you may not attack Each level is effectively an additional point of morale

Power
Body

Resistance
Body or Agility + Armour Body or Agility + Armour Body or Agility + Armour Body or Agility + Armour Body or Agility + Armour Body or Agility + Armour

Die Roll ModiFier

Opponents weapon skill Opponents weapon skill Opponents weapon skill Opponents weapon skill Opponents weapon skill Opponents weapon skill

Usage
During Encounters

Range
Touch

Body + Weapon Body + Weapon Body + Weapon Agility + Weapon Agility + Weapon

During Encounters

Touch

During Encounters

Touch

During Encounters

Touch

During Encounters

Touch

Dual Wield

During Encounters

Touch

Pole Arms

Agility + Weapon

Body or Agility + Armour

Opponents weapon skill

During Encounters

Touch

Archery

Agility + Weapon

Body or Agility + Armour Body or Agility + Armour Body or Agility + Armour NA

Range and LOS modifiers

During Encounters. May not be used if in base contact with an enemy model During Encounters. May not be used if in base contact with an enemy model During Encounters. May not be used if in base contact with an enemy model During Encounters

See Weapon

Slingshot

Agility + Weapon

Range and LOS modifiers

See Weapon

Throwing

Agility + Weapon

Range and LOS modifiers

See Weapon

Dodge

NA

NA

Self

Rally

Personality + Tools (standard/ horn/ reliquary/ etc) NA NA

-1 per target in range

During Encounters

12

Courage

NA

During Encounters

Self

*Not used in Issue 1

77

Skill
Vilify

Effect
Each success removes a point of morale from the target. Use this instead of attacking in melee combat Each success rolled removes a point of morale from the target. Make a separate roll for every enemy character in range Each level confers a -1 modifier to opponents attack rolls at range Each success allows you to roll one die. The result of the die roll is the number of arrows or quarrels you create Each success adds 1 point of condition to an item, up to its maximum value. May only be used on items with greater than or equal to 50% condition remaining

Power
Personality + Tools

Resistance
Mind + Tools

Die Roll ModiFier

-1 per enemy within 6 inches of priest

Usage
During Encounters

Range
Touch

Taunt

Personality + Tools

Mind + Tools

-1 per enemy within 6 inches of target

During Encounters. May not be used if in base contact with an enemy model

Requires LOS. 12

Evade

NA

NA

NA

During Encounters.

Self

Fletching*

Agility + Tools (improvised, fletching kit, etc) Mind + Tools (improvised, maintenance kit, etc.)

None

Between Encounters

Touch

Maintenance*

None

Between Encounters

Touch

Repair*

Each success adds 1 Mind + point of condition to an Tools (imitem, up to 50% of its provised, maximum value. May repair kit, only be used on items etc) with between 0 and 50% condition remaining See the Prayers section below for the list of effects that can be achieved Each success reduces the convalescence time of an injured character by 1 encounter Mind + Power of tools Mind + Power of tools (improvised, healing kit, etc) Body

None

Between Encounters

Touch

Prayer

See Prayers Below 7 + current number of turns needed to convalesce 7 + current number of turns needed to convalesce NA

See Prayers Below

During Encounters

See Prayers Below Touch

Heal*

-1 per wound below zero on the target at the time of injury

Between Encounters

Vitality*

Each success reduces convalescence time of self by 1 encounter (this can be attempted in addition to healing) Each level adds +1 to PROT. This isnt cumulative with armour. When attacked, use the best value from either armour or Tough skill

-1 per wound below zero on the target at the time of injury

Between Encounters

Self

Tough

Body

NA

During Encounters

Self

*Not used in Issue 1

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Prayers

The following prayers are available for Friar John and Brother Oswald to use:

Prayer
Mind + Tools 8

Effect

Power

Resist

Die Roll ModiFier

Range
12

Hymn of Battle Mind + Tools 8

Each success generates one Hymn of Battle counter that can be added to any friendly model in range. A counter can be spent for +1 DAM

Armour of God Mind + Tools 8

Each success generates one Armour of God counter that can be added to any friendly model in range. A counter can be spent for +1 PROT

12

Saints Preserve Us Mind + Tools

Each success recovers one wound on the target

Touch or Self 8 12

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Each success generates one Show us The Way Oh Lord counter that can be added to any friendly model in range. A counter can be spent for +1 to a ranged combat attack die roll Each success generates one Gather the Flock unto Me counter that is added to the user. A counter can be spent for +1 to a rally test die roll

Mind + Tools

Self

Mind + Tools

12

Show them the Way Oh Lord Gather the Flock unto Me The Lord Guide Thy Hand Satan, Stay Thy Hand

Each success generates one The Lord Guide Thy Hand counter that can be added to any friendly model in range. The counter can be spent for +1 to a melee combat attack die roll Each success generates one Satan, Stay Thy Hand counter that can be added to a single enemy model in range. A counter can be spent for -1 DAM

Mind + Tools

Mind + Tools Mind + Tools Mind + Tools Mind + Tools Mind + Tools Mind + Tools Mind

12

Gabriels Trumpet

Each success generates one Gabriels Trumpet counter that can be added to a single enemy model in range. A counter can be spent for -1 PROT

12

Blinded by the Light

Each success generates one Blinded by the Light counter that can be added to a single enemy model in range. A counter can be spent for -1 to a ranged combat attack die roll

12

Make Mine Enemy to Falter

Each success generates one Make Mine Enemy to Falter counter that can be added to any enemy model in range. The counter can be spent for -1 to a melee combat attack die roll

-1 per enemy model within 6 inches -1 per enemy model within 6 inches -1 per enemy model within 6 inches -1 per enemy model within 6 inches -1 per enemy model within 6 inches -1 per enemy model within 6 inches -1 per enemy model within 6 inches -1 per enemy model within 6 inches -1 per enemy model within 6 inches -1 per enemy model within 6 inches

12

Use the following information to Fill in your roster sheets and the group equipment table.

character rosters hugos heroes

At the start of the game he can choose to increase 1 core stat by +1 point and can pick any 5 skills on his roster and put 1 point in them. Sir Hugos starting equipment is all stored on Lucy, except for his Heavy Armour. See Encounter 1, Bridge on the River Wye.

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1 1

10 Silver

10 Silver

81

20 Silver

10 Silver
Eck is always put on the tabletop with Lucy (see the rules on pack beasts on p. 67).

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FREE
Canute does not earn any XP. What you see here is how he will always be.

20 Silver
The Scriptures of St. Clobberus is a unique item that can be used to focus prayers, or swung on its chain as a weapon. Critical damage caused by it uses the clumpy things tables. It has no sale value and cannot be sold in later issues. If damaged, it can be repaired using a leatherworkers kit. Friar John knows the following Prayers: Saints Preserve Us, Armour of God and Gather the Flock Unto Me

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guis gits

At the start of the game he can choose to increase 1 core stat by +1 point and can pick any 5 skills on his roster and put 1 point in them. Guis starting equipment is all stored on Oi!, except for his Heavy Armour. See Encounter 1, Bridge on the River Wye

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10 Silver
Mold doesnt use conventional weapons. He can throw large rocks and other heavyweight improvised missiles at opponents 6 inches away, but he doesnt get a run up like other throwing weapons. Such attacks are DAM 4 and use the clumpy things critical tables. In melee combat he uses his mighty fists.Mold is always put on the tabletop with Oi! (see the rules on pack beasts on p. 67).

20 Silver

85

10 Silver

10 Silver

86

10 Silver

20 Silver
The Crux is a unique item that can be used to focus prayers, or wielded in combat like a quarterstaff and uses the clumpy things critical tables. It has no sale value and cannot be sold in later issues. Brother Oswald knows the following Prayers: Saints Preserve Us, Gabriels Trumpet and Satan, Stay Thy Hand.

87

character rosters

88

Permission to photocopy this sheet is granted for non-commercial purposes.

89

Permission to photocopy this sheet is granted for non-commercial purposes.

90

91

counters

Permission to photocopy this sheet is granted for non-commercial purposes.

92

93

quick reference sheet

Turn Sequence
1. 2. 3. 4. Each player rolls a die Highest score can choose who must go first First player chooses a model and takes an action On completion of the action place an activation counter next to the model 5. Play passes to the next player 6. Repeat this sequence until all models that can have had an action 7. Return to step and repeat until victory conditions for the encounter are met power 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12+ 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 2 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6 4 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 5 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 Resistance 6 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 6 8 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 5 9 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 10 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 5 11 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 12+ 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4

Terrain
Models can move their full movement rate on normal terrain Models movement rate on difficult terrain is halved Models cannot move on impassable terrain

Actions
Models get one action per turn. The following actions are available: Normal Move Fast Move (x2 move rate, may not approach within 4 inches of an enemy model) Charge (x2 move rate, the model has to end its move in base contact with an enemy)* Exchange equipment (either with a model in base contact, or change the location of items on your person) Throw an item to friendly model (within 6 inches. This activates the friendly model too, so they must have an action available to take the catch) Shoot Throw (model may move up to its normal move rate before throwing) Melee attack (must be in base contact with an enemy model)* All out defence (must be in base contact with an enemy model)* Break off (x2 move rate, must be in base contact with an enemy model)* Use a skill (e.g. pray or taunt--see individual skill descrip tions for rules on use) Recover a point of morale

Melee Combat
Activate all participants in the melee Declare any non-attacking actions (e.g. all out defence, break off, receive an item from a friendly model) Determine initiative Resolve attacks in initiative order and resolve non-attacking actions Remove casualties and place activation counters on survivors

Ranged Combat
Ranges are as follows: Short Range = 6 inches Medium Range = 6 to 18 inches and dice rolls get a -2 penalty Long Range = 18 to 24 inches and dice rolls get a -3 penalty

Cover modifiers are as follows: LOS obscured (i.e. less than 50% of model visible) = -3 to dice rolls Light cover = +1 PROT to target at medium range. Light cover blocks LOS at long range Heavy Cover = +3 PROT

*all models involved in the melee are also activated, so players must choose their combat actions, resolve accordingly and place activation counters on them.

Target priority list is as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. At short range in clear LOS At short range with LOS partially obscured At short range in light cover At medium range in clear LOS At long range in clear LOS At medium range with LOS partially obscured At medium range in light cover At short range in hard cover At medium range in hard cover In melee

Test Table
Power = either Fixed Value or Core Stat + Equipment + Modifiers Resistance = either Fixed Value or Core Stat + Equip ment + Modifiers Roll the indicated number of dice and add modifiers for skill and environmental factors Natural 6s always succeed and may have additional effects Natural 1s always fail and may have additional ef fects

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Coming Soone
Issue: The Seconde
Wherein a Royal Visit and a Grand Tournament provide divers diversions for our heroes (and villains). There will be jousting, Fighting, and a plethora of new faces to jab at with sharp things. Furthermore, there shall be hunting of boars, bunny rabbits and the Great Hart, and we proudly introduce Beaky and Susan, a match made in heaven.

Competition Time
Every issue were giving away some fabulous prizes to eagle eyed-readers that can spot the elusive hare! First prize is a boxed set of miniatures of your choice and the next issue of Warheads: Medieval Tales, and five runners up will win copies of the next magazine. To be in with a chance of winning, email us with the page number you saw the hare on and your name and address at hareiam@warheadsthegame.com or fill in the competition form on the website. Good luck! The closing date for entries is 30/07/2010.

Here hare, here

95

Adventures with a different perspective Take charge of Hugo and his heroes, or Gui and his gits. Fight each other and train them up by playing through the exciting campaign from our bi-monthly magazine, Warheads: Medieval Tales, which contains rules and adventures to play a fast and fun two player tabletop game for players of all abilities.

Available Now
Each of these boxed sets of Warheads: Medieval Tales miniatures contains eight Finely detailed 28mm scale wargaming models. Miniatures come unpainted and are cast in white metal.

Issue 1

20101