5. Dark Artefacts

Dark Artefacts in a comet-shell

Dark artefacts are unholy relics used in the rituals of a sinister cult looking to take advantage of the chaos in the aftermath of the Doom. These powerful mystic objects are encountered by our warbands and can come into their possession. Their campaign relevance and primary points of game play are as follows:

Dark artefacts are sources of Mayhem Victory Points whose point values increase over time.
Dark artefacts cannot be sold or given away. Once in your possession only opposing warbands can relieve you of them.
Dark artefacts provide mystic powers to their users, but come with negative consequences. Unless stated otherwise, only heroes can equip and use dark artefacts. Any dark artefact which is not equipped is a carried item during games.
Similar to carried items, dark artefacts drop to the ground when heroes equipping them go out of action. Place a carried item marker for the artefact in place of the warrior on the table.

Warbands which begin a game possessing one or more dark artefacts can suffer surprise attacks from cultists. When making random fortune discovery rolls, a natural roll of 1 will indicate a cultist attack. Cultists attempt to capture any dark artefacts and escape with them.

Should a dark artefact be taken by a cultist or become misplaced for any reason, the artefact is Lost to the Cult, and (seemingly) removed from the campaign.

Cultist Attacks

Next: Ambushes

Dark Artefacts - Full Rules

Mordheim’s Doom has given rise to a sinister force that uses unholy relics to focus their power through ancient rituals. The cultists using these instruments are often driven insane by the corrupting effects which human minds are incapable of safely handling. However, the might provided by these Dark Artefacts for many is worth the price.

Dark Artefacts are arcane relics found during our saga and are tied to developing stories within Mayhem in Mordheim. All dark artefacts are infused with malevolent mystic powers which cause unease to any sane being near them, and scandal to those who use or possess them. Such heinous transgressions tend to be remembered however, and warbands possessing these wicked relics are noted by the chroniclers of the time. Thus, dark artefacts are sources of Mayhem Victory Points (MVPs).

Each dark artefact is unique with its own powers and potential dangers. They are fully detailed both in the campaign turn where they appear and in the Appendix for Dark Artefacts. The following rules apply to all dark artefacts:

1. Dark artefacts cannot be sold or given away (no one will take them). Hired Swords and Dramatis Personae will never carry, use, or equip dark artefacts.

2. Dark artefacts which are not equipped are always carried items. They cannot be placed in storage containers but are considered to have their own special vessels in which they are transported. Any hero carrying a dark artefact can choose to equip it (if they are able) at the end of any movement phase.

3. Unless detailed otherwise, dark artefacts can only be equipped by heroes. However, unlike a hero’s normal equipment, should the warrior go out of action the dark artefact drops to the ground as an uncontrolled carried item. Position a carried item marker on the table in place of the warrior. Warriors that cannot equip dark artefacts can control and move its carried item marker normally. Between games Dark Artefacts are always part of a warband’s treasury, never the personal equipment of warriors.

4. Any warband starting a game in possession of a dark artefact might suffer surprise attacks from cultists, see below.

Warbands which begin a game possessing one or more dark artefacts can suffer surprise attacks from the cultists which originally brought the artefacts to Mordheim. Whenever their warriors make random fortune discovery rolls, a natural roll of 1 will indicate a surprise attack. Replace the random fortune marker with models for the cultists if you have them. The cultists are assumed to have charged.

The number of cultists involved with each surprise attack depends on how many dark artefacts a warband began the game with:

1 Dark Artefact – 1 cultist
2 Dark Artefacts – D2 cultists
3 Dark Artefacts – D3 cultists
All 4 Dark Artefacts – D3+1 cultists

Even if a warband looses control of a dark artefact during the game they still suffer cultist surprise attacks for the remainder of the battle. Warbands that capture dark artefacts during a battle do not suffer surprise attacks unless they too possessed a dark artefact at the game’s beginning.

Cultist Attacks

Scorpion Cultist

M WS BS S T W I A Ld

4 3 3 3 2 1 3 1 7

A wild eyed cultist bleeding from several lashes criss crossing their body frenetically lunges at you with their dagger.

Special rules:

Non-Player Model: The cultist moves during the recovery phase of each warband. The cultist never doubles their movement score but if moved into base contact with enemy models they are considered to have charged. Close combat is resolved during the turns of the warrior(s) in base contact. The cultist recovers from injuries at the start of each close combat phase of the warrior(s) in base contact or during the next recovery phase of any warband if not engaged. Any cultist model moving directly past a warband warrior within 2” can be intercepted as if the cultist were charging.

Maniacal Frenzy: The cultist has literally whipped themselves into a state of Frenzy. Their extreme state of fervour causes them to treat a stunned result on the injury table as knocked down. After being knocked down, they loose their frenzy.

That Does Not Belong To You: The cultist attempts to capture dark artefacts. The cultist will always use their normal movement to take the shortest distance towards the closest dark artefact, moving around enemy models in their way. A single warband warrior within 2” of the cultist’s path may choose intercept as if the cultist were charging. The cultist will only climb or jump if doing so is the only means of moving towards/escaping with a dark artefact, or would clearly take fewer turns than other movement options. Should the direction a cultist takes not be completely clear, either a player which did not start the game with a dark artefact chooses the cultist’s path or randomly determine between the best choices available.

A cultist coming into base contact with a model possessing a dark artefact is counted as being charged. Fight close combat normally. If the cultist gains control of a dark artefact, they will move toward the closest table edge attempting to escape the battlefield with the relic. If they succeed or the game ends while a cultist controls a dark artefact, the relic is Lost to the Cult.

Weapon: Dagger.

A cultist controlling of a dark artefact will move toward the closest table edge attempting to escape the battlefield with the relic. If they succeed or the game ends while a cultist controls a dark artefact, the relic is Lost to the Cult.

Should a dark artefact ever become lost by whatever means, inform your Campaign Administrator that it has become Lost to the Cult. Examples include a cultist that controls a dark artefact when a battle ends or dropping the artefact into deep water. The dark artefact is removed from the campaign, but might reappear at a later time.

Lost to the Cult

As historians, poets and bards slowly begin to realise the significance of the dark artefacts, they begin taking special note of warbands which possess and use them. Thus their Mayhem Victory Points grow over time. The MVP value of each dark artefact over the course of the campaign is as follows: