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Author Topic: Greenskins, skaven and zombies oh my!  (Read 961 times)

Idinsinuation

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Greenskins, skaven and zombies oh my!
« on: October 08, 2008, 11:08:38 AM »
I'm getting a late start on my Halloween adventure, and I've decide to do WFRP this year instead of All Flesh Must Be Eaten although I'm still planning on breaking out my 150+ zombie miniatures.  Here's what I have so far:

The small Tilean town of Buffalora has a dark secret.  This deceased here rise from the grave within a week of their burial.  Luckily the town is just out of the way enough that it's deaths are most often from accident or natural causes, and Francesco (the local cemetary caretaker) is one of the few who know the truth.  When his customers rise from the dead, it's his job to put them back in the ground.  His only companion is an ogre by the name of Gnaghi.

Unfortunately for the mildly insane Francesco, he's about to start having a lot more customers.  A band of savage greenskins has set their eye upon the town.  They will begin with assaults on outlying farms.  Francesco will have his hands full, and the town's useless Mayor will be trying his best to hush up the raids.  Soon though they will make their big attack on the town itself.  To make matters worse a band of Skaven will assault the town from beneath on the same night coming into conflict with anyone they cross including the raiding greenskins.  As the dead pile up, the evil behind the town's curse will seize it's moment and they will rise almost immediately.

Panic and chaos will ensue, can the party survive the night and make it out of the town alive.  Will they get to the bottom of what is raising the dead to life, or will the town be purged by fire and it's history be forgotten.

Then I hope to end the night with the film Dellamorte Dellamore.  :D

My knowledge of warhammer lore is pretty lacking.  I'm still trying to decide the cause of the dead rising, as well as whether to have a Witch Hunter poking around Francesco's cemetary trying to get to the bottom of rumors that evil lurks within the town.  Any thoughts or suggestions?
« Last Edit: October 08, 2008, 11:12:15 AM by Idinsinuation »
"A thousand fathers killed, a thousand virgin daughters spread, with swords still wet, with swords still wet, with the blood of their dead." - Protest the Hero

blit

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« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2008, 12:33:44 PM »
I don't think the Witch Hunter is needed - it sounds like the PCs will have their hands quite sufficiently full already. On the other hand, Witch Hunters are always fun.

As for the cause, nothing Warhammer specific comes to mind but I seem to recall a Hellboy (or possibly BPRD) comic in which a small French town suffered from a vaguely similar predicament - I believe it came down to some wrongs committed (in the past) by the local ruling family.

Maybe a particularly vicious mob boss hailed from your town originally and, in an attempt to cheat death, hired a necromancer to put a spell on the family crypt, his future resting place (``he who lies here shall rise again in but a week's time'' or some such). The spell went wrong and now the effect applies more broadly.

Or perhaps the other way around: a resident of the town was murdered by the mob and now his ghost, thirsting, as it were, for vengeance claims the town's dead as his army.

Anyways, the first paragraph alone really made me want to play in (or run) a two player one shot based on it.
 

Idinsinuation

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« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2008, 12:53:09 PM »
Quote from: blit;254877
I don't think the Witch Hunter is needed - it sounds like the PCs will have their hands quite sufficiently full already. On the other hand, Witch Hunters are always fun.

Yeah, I figured he might be an interesting encounter.  He'd be a washed up drunk most likely who has grand designs on hunting "real heresy" rather than snooping around this quiet little boring town.  For my games I always like to have some encounters in my pocket in case the party catches me off guard.

Quote from: blit
As for the cause, nothing Warhammer specific comes to mind but I seem to recall a Hellboy (or possibly BPRD) comic in which a small French town suffered from a vaguely similar predicament - I believe it came down to some wrongs committed (in the past) by the local ruling family.

I already have a corrupt Mayor too worried about public appearances rather than the greenskin raids.  Could easily tie his family into the cause of the dead rising.

Quote from: blit
Maybe a particularly vicious mob boss hailed from your town originally and, in an attempt to cheat death, hired a necromancer to put a spell on the family crypt, his future resting place (``he who lies here shall rise again in but a week's time'' or some such). The spell went wrong and now the effect applies more broadly.

Or perhaps the other way around: a resident of the town was murdered by the mob and now his ghost, thirsting, as it were, for vengeance claims the town's dead as his army.

Not bad ideas, I do love the Tilean mob.  I might not even need to come up with an answer if the players decide to survive rather than get to the bottom of things.

Quote from: blit
Anyways, the first paragraph alone really made me want to play in (or run) a two player one shot based on it.

Haha that's the paragragh that is a pretty direct rip off of the film Delamorte Delamore (aka Cemetary Man).  Minus Gnaghi being an Ogre of course, although he shares many traits with them throughout the movie.

I pretty much deviate from the film plot after that paragraph though.  The movie is much more bleak and I don't want to give away the whole film while we play anyway since we're probably watching it after.
« Last Edit: October 08, 2008, 01:19:39 PM by Idinsinuation »
"A thousand fathers killed, a thousand virgin daughters spread, with swords still wet, with swords still wet, with the blood of their dead." - Protest the Hero

David R

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« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2008, 07:17:28 PM »
I realize you don't want to make it too bleak, but why not just make Francesco the cause of the dead rising ? It started of harmesly enough, with his delusion of talking to the dead because of loneliness and boredom. Being extremely socially inept and introverted did not help the situation. Chaos noticed this and cursed him, resulting in the dead rising whenever he's around.

The WitchHunter could be a "survivor" from another small town where Franceso had lived and was originally cursed. He suspects the dead rising has something to do with this troubled man. And he plans to put an end to Francesco's misery.

The Skaven want to bring back this "natural treasure" to their dark domain where they intend to make him  a priest....after the necessary surgery of course.

The Greenskins just want to rock & roll......

Regards,
David R

Idinsinuation

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« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2008, 08:00:52 PM »
Quote from: David R;254998
I realize you don't want to make it too bleak, but why not just make Francesco the cause of the dead rising ? It started of harmesly enough, with his delusion of talking to the dead because of loneliness and boredom. Being extremely socially inept and introverted did not help the situation. Chaos noticed this and cursed him, resulting in the dead rising whenever he's around.

The WitchHunter could be a "survivor" from another small town where Franceso had lived and was originally cursed. He suspects the dead rising has something to do with this troubled man. And he plans to put an end to Francesco's misery.

The Skaven want to bring back this "natural treasure" to their dark domain where they intend to make him  a priest....after the necessary surgery of course.

The Greenskins just want to rock & roll......

Regards,
David R


Good stuff!  I was going to make the skaven just a few scavengers to include an encounter or two that didn't involve zombies or greenskins but I like that idea.
"A thousand fathers killed, a thousand virgin daughters spread, with swords still wet, with swords still wet, with the blood of their dead." - Protest the Hero

David R

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« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2008, 08:53:57 PM »
I was thinking, instead of a witchhunter, why don't you make the character a hitman for the Tilean Mob. You know a Ron Pearlman type badass who was pretty pissed that his targets kept coming back to life and who is now determined to hunt down this "greater evil".

Also an old White Dwarf adventure called Morglum's Marauders would be perfect for this adventure. Each orc/goblin in the adventure has his own rather weird personality.....it would be great for this, IMO.

Regards,
David R

blit

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« Reply #6 on: October 09, 2008, 02:35:19 AM »
Quote

Haha that's the paragragh that is a pretty direct rip off of the film Delamorte Delamore (aka Cemetary Man).  Minus Gnaghi being an Ogre of course, although he shares many traits with them throughout the movie.


I gotta watch that then. Someone should really assemble a list of lesser known movies which make for good rpg scenarios.
 

One Horse Town

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« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2008, 09:47:31 AM »
An alternative to David's excellent idea is to have the Skaven tunnels directly below the cemetary. Warpstone deposits here warp all the little worms and maggots crawling in the recenty interred. Within a week, these mutations have caused the corpses a semblance of movement as their mutated invertebrate overlords cause their hosts to move in search of fresh, rather than rotting, meat.

Each attack could unload small hordes of mutated maggots and worms.

Idinsinuation

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« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2008, 02:04:29 PM »
The big thing is I have to hammer this down into something that can make for an entertaining one-shot.  That's not to say we won't continue the plot beyond the first night, but some people who play in the halloween game will likely not be regular players so I have to cram as much fun into the first session without going overboard.

My vision is a fog covered town in which the players have the leeway to go anywhere they please, avoiding or fighting the undead and other factions within the town.  My typical AFMBE stories play out like this but rather than conflicts between survival factions we will have crazed citizens, greenskins, skaven, the twisted caretaker and his Ogre servant.  That honestly sounds like plenty for one night of encounters.

I'm definitely planning on giving distinct personalities to each greenskin.  At least so they can contrast the walking dead by having names and certain behaviors.

I'm still toying with the idea of including skaven.  I like the idea that they're here searching for the cause of the rising dead to make it one of their own.  Although I don't think it'll be Francesco making it happen.  I like the idea of mutant maggots and worms.  Perhaps the skaven are harvesting jars full of them to use for making undead servants.

If my players want to pursue the story further after the first game session then I can further develop the reason why these things are happening.  Maybe send in the Tilean mob to investigate why their corrupt town officials are suddenly not keeping in touch.

SPOILER Warning for anyone who hasn't seen it.  Something from the film I've been thinking of including is the fact that Francesco snaps towards the end and decides to start putting bullets in the brains of the townspeople before they die thereby expediting the whole messy process.
"A thousand fathers killed, a thousand virgin daughters spread, with swords still wet, with swords still wet, with the blood of their dead." - Protest the Hero

Idinsinuation

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« Reply #9 on: October 10, 2008, 04:11:25 PM »
Any ideas for a greenskin raiding party or their individual personalities?

So far I'm thinking a 3 orcs and 5 goblins with one being a shaman.  Perhaps throw in some snotlings for comedic value.  (I'm a Gremlins fan, what can I say.)

I need to figure out some personality archetypes to model each one after.
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David R

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« Reply #10 on: October 10, 2008, 08:04:27 PM »
Quote from: Idinsinuation;255511
Any ideas for a greenskin raiding party or their individual personalities?

So far I'm thinking a 3 orcs and 5 goblins with one being a shaman.  Perhaps throw in some snotlings for comedic value.  (I'm a Gremlins fan, what can I say.)

I need to figure out some personality archetypes to model each one after.


Remember the WD article about Morglum's Marauders ? This is some of it from Jeff's blog.

http://jrients.blogspot.com/2008/09/orcish-malingering.html

Quote
Paul Murphy's "Morglum's Marauders", could be adapted with little work to any RPG that has orcs in it. Here's the basic set-up:
Morglum's Marauders are the Old World equivalent of the motorcycle gangs which, according to movie lore, terrorise much of the United States' West Coast. Ugly, foul-tempered, and even worse-smelling, they represent the pinnacle of Orcish civilization.

Based in an Orcish mountain-range (located conveniently near to your campaign area), from time to time the Marauders sally forth from their hidden stronghold to terrorise nearby Human villages. Though their exact numbers vary from excursion to excursion, the Marauders are composed of around eighty Orc foot soldiers, a dozen Gobbo Wolfriders and twenty or so Snotling slaves (and emergency food supply).
The tension in the scenario centers around the simple fact that a party of average WFRP characters would get absolutely slaughtered in a stand-up fight against a hundred organized humanoids. Basically, imagine taking out these guys as the mission of a handful of first or second level D&D characters and you can see the scope of the problem. Because Morglum doesn't trust his officers and desertions are common, so he only occasionally let's part of his army out of his sight. And they only pick on defenseless villages. The players are going to have to be extremely clever to beat these orcs.

Obviously you can easily steal the gist of the scenario and do your own thing with it, but if you get a chance to lay eyes on the article I recommend checking it out. The writing is fun, full of GW's characteristic wholesome black humor, in the "orcs are bastards, but funny bastards" sort of way. I particularly enjoy this random chart for determining what sort of trouble the orcs get up to when Da Boss isn't watching.

Orcish Malingering Table

Roll a D100 on the following table whenever an unsupervised bunch of Orcs fail their Leadership roll.

01-14 Horseplay: Several Orcs are engaged in a fierce brawl, while others place bets on the outcome. The fighters take D3-1 Wounds during the conflict.

15-28 Roughhousing: Like Horseplay, except that the Orcs use weapons. Fighters take D6 Wounds, bystanders take D3.

29-43 Foraging: The Orcs go off and look for something to eat. If guarding the supply train, D6 Snotlings disappear mysteriously.

44-58 Pep Rally: Some Orcs hold a competition to see who can come up with the best derogatory terms for another unit [in the Marauders]. If the other unit comes within hearing distance, see Roughhousing, above.

59-74 Furlough: The Orcs are off somewhere, catching a kip*. They reappear when the GM sees fit.

75-89 Bull Session: The frustarted Orcs plot to kill Morglum and take over the Marauders. Note: they never have the guts to carry it out.

90-00 Sick Leave: The Orcs decide that they have contracted some horrible sickness from exposure to all that unhealthy fresh air and sunshine. They go to Morglum and make elaborate pleas to be allowed to go home and die. Morglum listens sympathetically, knocks a few heads together, and sends them back to their unit.


As mentioned, the Marauders themselves had some of the most memorable and wierd personalities that I have ever read....for orcs that is. My personal favourite was the slightly senile goblin archer (?) who mumbled to himself....a lot.

Maybe you could PM Jeff and he could give you the low down on some of them.

Regards,
David R

Idinsinuation

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« Reply #11 on: October 11, 2008, 10:05:09 AM »
Quote from: David R;255572
Remember the WD article about Morglum's Marauders ? This is some of it from Jeff's blog.

http://jrients.blogspot.com/2008/09/orcish-malingering.html



As mentioned, the Marauders themselves had some of the most memorable and wierd personalities that I have ever read....for orcs that is. My personal favourite was the slightly senile goblin archer (?) who mumbled to himself....a lot.

Maybe you could PM Jeff and he could give you the low down on some of them.

Regards,
David R


Nice!  I had never read that article.
"A thousand fathers killed, a thousand virgin daughters spread, with swords still wet, with swords still wet, with the blood of their dead." - Protest the Hero