Honour’s Price
Beware the might of the Forge Fathers
Guns for Hire Deadly Marauder mercenaries unleashed
War Among the Stars
Alessio Cavatore, Warpath’s creator, interviewed
WARPATH We take the battle into space with our new science fiction wargame!
Issue 05 £2.50/€3.25/$3.75
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All about our grand new game Warpath; how it plays, where it’s set, and who’s in the fight.
Contents
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NEWS! What’s next, including a sneak peak at some Corporation trooper concept sketches.
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MARAUDERS The Marauders are the Warpath universe’s mercenaries, tough and mean and prone to piracy.
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Masters of Gore What’s more ill-tempered than an Orc? A Gore, because there’s an Orc sitting on him.
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FORGE FATHERS The only race to truly defy the Corporation, the Forge Fathers are proud and cunning folk.
FIRST CONTACT Forge Fathers and Marauders go head to head in this introductory scenario.
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MULTIPLAYER MAYHEM Summoning Lessons, a new Dwarf King’s Hold scenario for up to five players from the pen of Jake Thornton.
Space! The Deadly Frontier... We come to you with a fanfare of deafening automatic weapons fire, for this month sees Mantic venture into the reaches of outer space with Warpath, our new SF wargame.
our first range releases. The Forge Fathers are doughty, honourable warriors, whose technological might has enabled them to keep the human Corporation at bay.
We’ve eight races planned for this brilliant new system, (And we DON’T TALK ABOUT THE EIGHTH, got that? Too scary), which takes place in a fantastic, original sci-fi setting.
The Marauders are savages trained by the Corporation, who have since turned their weapons on their masters.
This issue introduces the Forge Fathers and the Marauders,
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WORLD OF MANTIC Deals, boxsets, miniatures, tools and all that jazz. Plus a free Mantic Point!
Also in this issue, we’ve new Gore riders for Kings of War, and a scenario for Dwarf King’s hold! We like to spoil you.
Editor Guy Haley Designer Sean Turtle Photography Adam Shaw, Mike McVey and Chris Palmer Cover art Jonas Springborg Artwork Stef Kopinski and Phil Moss Painters Tommie Soule and Dave Neild All rights in the design, text, graphics and other material in this magazine and its selection or arrangement is copyright of Mantic Entertainment Ltd or has been granted for use by other third parties. This includes images, text, graphics, corporate logos and emblems. Reproduction is prohibited. Mantic Entertainment, 23 Barker Gate, Nottingham, NG1 1JU, England • 0115 933 8448
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Agents of The
Corporation Numerous, well-armed and armoured, Corporation Marines enjoy technological superiority over almost all other races, and are self-assured enough in their culture to think nothing of exterminating intelligent creatures and adding their worlds to the property portfolios of The Corporation’s great companies and trading houses. These images are just a sneak peek at our large upcoming range of human villainy, out early in 2012. Until then, watch the stars, and beware of smiling men coming with offers too good to be true…
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Grudge Ancient
This brand new supplement for Dwarf Kings Hold allows you to add a third or even a fourth player to your games! The box contains two Dwarf Ironwatch, two Elf Scouts, three Zombies, four Ghouls and a metal Dwarf Beserker Lord. Naturally, you’ll find rules within for all these troop types. There’s also two new rooms and additional counters. Please note you’ll need Dead Rising or Green Menace to use this box.
News
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The Magic Moving Shop of Oz Australian hobby group hobbyhub.co has joined forces with Mantic Games to create a revolution in hobby retail, with the first ever interactive mobile hobby shop. Creator James Pheils says “It’s everything you would expect from a hobby store, great advice, gaming, painting tables and the full range of Mantic Games with live demos!” He adds “so far its all been received very positively and the added
bonus of being mobile enables us to reach audiences who have never before seen what gaming is all about”. The kiosks are mobile, but for November and December one will be at Level 2 next to Myer in the Charlestown Shopping Square, Newcastle, New South Wales. It’s open seven days a week and for late night shopping on Thursdays. More info can be found at hobbyhub.co. For events follow them on Facebook.
Little Greenies Smaller, meaner and altogether more numerous than Orcs, Goblins are vicious little blighters who delight in cruelty. Cowardly in battle, they’ll never let an opportunity to stab you or each other in the back go by without seizing it with their filthy hands.
Early in 2012 you’ll be able to add units of these horrors to your armies of Orcs, as we’re releasing a 10-man metal box set of Goblins with spears.
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am o n g
th e
Thanks to Mantic, in space everyone can hear you shout “dakkadakkadakka.”
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e’ve only gone and done it! After the great reception you guys gave Kings of War, well, we just had to go and take our excellent miniature battles into space! Launching right now into a wartorn galactic quadrant near you, Warpath is a fast, easy to pick up yet difficult to master (remember that, it’s our Mantic gaming mantra) science fiction wargame set in the distant future. Mankind bestrides the spacelanes
like a colossus, and everyone else doesn’t like us very much. But that doesn’t matter, because our guns are awesome! Pick one of the eight races we have planned (we don’t talk about the eighth race, alright? So stop asking), and do battle in the stars! We spoke to godlike gaming guru Alessio Cavatore, the man behind Kings of War and Warpath, about his new system. This is what he had to say… War among the Stars
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Mantic Journal: What are the key mechanics to Warpath? Alessio Cavatore: Warpath is very much akin to Kings of War, with very simple rules and strictly separated player turns. The difference, of course, is that Warpath has to deal with vehicles as well as humanoid combatants. Bizarrely, the rules for vehicle movement are very, very similar to the rules for moving KoW units, and only the warplanes have a completely new system (as they are unlike anything else we have dealt with before). The reason why we kept Warpath as “Kings of War in spaaace” is that Ronnie [Renton. Mantic chief] and I decided that the game should feel familiar to Kings of War players and vice-versa. We want to create a “Mantic style” to define our wargames, a gaming environment that is recognisable and has its own signature. To give you an example, think of when you hear a song that you don’t know, but you can immediately tell from the style and other elements which band it is by. MJ: In Warpath (and Kings of War), you don’t remove individual models like in some other wargames, but instead whole units. Why is this so? AC: Both systems use an abstract approach, where damage does not literally represent casualties, but rather a mix of incapacitated fighters
and the overall morale of the formation being eroded until the point when the unit loses nerve and runs away, surrenders or is destroyed. This has great benefit. There’s the simplicity of it during the game, and makes tidying up after the battle a five minutes affair! Also, it allows for some very interesting modelling projects, where units are can be built up like little dioramas, with warriors fighting the enemy, dragging away wounded comrades and so on.
“ We want to create a ‘Mantic style’ to define our wargames, a gaming environment that is recognisable and has its own signature.” MJ: Like Kings of War, you recommend timing moves in Warpath. What is it about this games mechanic that appeals to you? AC: The main reason is that I have found playing with a timer a true revelation – it creates an amazing feeling of realism and one ends up making mistakes due to the pressure. Just like in real combat, snap decisions have to be taken without hesitation in order to win the day. It’s only possible because of the segregated player turns and simple, smooth rules of the games. continued on page 14 War among the Stars
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A time of war… The galaxy is burning. The malevolent human Corporation is expanding its sphere of influence, annexing more and more star systems to its territories, bringing every alien civilization it can under its control. The Corporation’s strategy is to make contact with alien civilizations and dazzle them with humanity’s superior technology. Appearing as benefactors, Corporation diplomats will offer massive technological help to these planets: new forms of power, transit, communication and all the benefits a thousand year old spacefaring society can bring. Very few peoples turn this down. Offered membership “as equal partners” in the Great Galactic CoProsperity Sphere, these new worlds will at first be optimistic and proud of their status, but over time they discover the truth. Their societies undergo massive, traumatic change, overthrowing whatever customs and governance they once possessed in
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return for the bland, pan-galactic culture of the Corporation. Worse, what is initially offered free in the spirit of common sentient interest does not remain so for long. Soon the incorporated culture will be dependent on Corporation goods and services, and bled dry to pay for them. Turned into little better than puppet states, these slave-societies are drugged by the cheap, get-rich-quick attitudes of the Corporation, and will gladly devote all of their planets’ resources to enriching the Corporation and the few local bureaucrats that run the world for it, while the majority of the population plummet into a state of poverty and servitude. This form of cultural imperialism takes time, and it does not always work. Sometimes the most primitive culture can see through the baubles the Corporation offers to the truth. Other times, a civilisation may be too savage, too advanced or just too damn
alien to risk bringing in to man’s great galactic family. In these cases, the Corporation will deploy its considerable military might. Full-scale invasion and subjugation has been the fate of many, even complete annihilation if a race proves too troublesome. Well trained and equipped with the best in military technology, Corporation Troopers are worth scores of the warriors of less advanced cultures. The Troopers’ armour is often invulnerable to the natives’ weapons, leaving them free to mercilessly mow down scores of the enemy with pulses from their laser weaponry. Indeed, a great many Corporation recruitment videos glory in human troops slaughtering spearwaving “savages” for the betterment of the cosmos. If they encounter heavier resistance, the Troopers can bring the awesome firepower of their tanks and powered exoskeletons to bear. In dire circumstances an expeditionary commander may petition Corporation Central to unleash their most specialised force – the feared Star Commandos – who
will quickly dispatch even the most stubborn of foes. A system that has been cleared of hostile indigenous aliens is ripe for recolonisation by the humans that form the largest part of the Corporation’s population. More often than not they too are oppressed as they strip the place of its natural resources. From its ancient beginnings in the Solar System, the Corporation has spread like a malignant cancer across the galaxy, covering entire sectors in its tyrannical rule and suffocating any attempt to live free of its clutches. Their expansion continues, but the galaxy is a big place. The Corporation is not the monolithic entity many think it to be, and suffers tensions between the great Houses and Companies that comprise it. And all those pampered, rich men who debate and bicker in the sterile halls of Corporation Central share one, deep-seated fear: that sooner or later the Corporation will meet its match in the unexplored expanses of deep space…
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continued from page 11
From a player’s point of view, it makes Mantic systems unique. The experience of playing a large scale wargame with one added resource to manage – time, is different from any other wargame I’ve ever played. You’ve got to try it!
“ In Kings of War and Warpath, the only time you waste is your own.” Also, for tournament organisers it is a blessing to be able to know exactly how long the games are going to take – in the last tournament we played 1500 points games with 45 minutes per player, for example. Oh, and it makes those odious time-wasting techniques you find naughty players employing in some competitions redundant – in Kings of War and Warpath, the only time you can waste is your own.
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MJ: What other races can we expect to see? AC: Well, after the Forge Fathers and the Marauders, you’ll see the bad guys of the Warpath universe: the humans! The Corporation Troopers (redcoats in spaaace!) will be the next release. Some pictures of the models should start circulating fairly soon [check out the news section for some preview concept art and early miniature shots!] Then we have the mysterious Asterians (pixies and fairies in spaace!), the swarming Z’zor (hornets in spaaace!), the all-consuming Plague (survival horror in spaaace!), the noble Rebels (freedom fighters in spaaace!)... and there’s the eighth race. We don’t talk about them. ...but I cannot wait for their release!
Y
ip Lee tapped her foot impatiently as the lift squealed its way down the shaft toward hull bottom. Like every other damn system on the ship it juddered and banged and rattled. Nothing on the Dipping Swallow worked properly, not the food automats or the part fabricators or the showers. Well, that was a lie, one shower worked in the whole crew block. It ran cold. “See the galaxy!” the Wing Long company adverts had said “Live well, be prosperous!” Seemed better than scratching out a living in overcrowded Guangdong at the time. Seemed like a good idea. “Yeah, right,” she muttered under her breath. She was never going to be rich, never going to be comfortable, or warm, or clean. Who was? All corporation Co-Prosperity Sphere bullshit. What little history she’d read, and most of it was suppressed, suggested that there were always rich people at the top, and everyone else beneath. The people changed, the reasons for them being rich changed, but the basic situation of it all never did. She blew out a big breath. The lift clanged down hard. Hull bottom. Dipping swallow did anything but live up to its name. Huge, ancient and ponderous, the ore freighter had been hollowed out from an asteroid 400 years ago. The tug up front might have
changed half a dozen times, but the freighter part kept on going, and it was poorly maintained. Fifteen cargo bays lined Dipping Swallow’s sides, open to space. Between them, inside, was a warren of scaffolds, ducts and hull bracings. The only reason that this part of the ship was pressurised at all was so it could be inspected. Pushing nine and a half million tonnes of rocky mass to plus-c speeds caused all manner of problems. That was her job, stress inspector. The irony of it pooled into a bitter chuckle at the back of her throat. She went out into the freighter’s skinned inner hull. It was dark, water dripped down from somewhere, pattering off the peak of her grubby baseball cap. She shivered. Her breath plumed in the air, and she zipped her coat up to the neck. she tried the lights, flicking a toggle switch. Nothing. She grumbled, another damn thing that would never get fixed. She switched her torch on and walked into the dark. She’d barely gone five paces before the beam caught on sheets of ice rippled around a support strut. A frozen waterfall. A problem. She clambered up around the ice. It burned her hands and she slipped. She dropped back down and pulled her gloves on, pulled out a small ice axe from its belt loop. “Control, this is Lee, we’ve got a fluid War among the Stars
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leak down here, sector 47, not far from the lift terminus. I’m going to assess the damage now, but we’re going to need to send a maintenance crew down here.” “Happy days,” came a crackly voice back at her, as distant as the cold stars outside. “Radio in when you’re done, I’ll get them prepped.” Her voice’s echoes died away long after she finished speaking. No matter how often she told herself there was nothing but rock and more rock down here, it was always eerie. There was a bang somewhere off behind her. “Hello? Anyone there?” Sometimes Mazurek came down here, blowing off steam. He argued too much with the others. “Mazurek?”
Water drops, she said to herself. Was that light up there? She climbed higher, and found a hole; about a metre tall, big enough to clamber into. She frowned. She hauled herself upwards and pushed her head into it. She found a place to brace herself, and shone her torch around. The edges of the hole were carved out in broad cuts, like chisel marks. The hole was perfectly round, cut – chewed? She asked herself with a shudder – through ice and carb-steel alike, forming a round tunnel that led off through the hull skin and into the rock behind it. It was a little like the g-pets burrows she found in the insulation panels of the tug and crew quarters, only g-pets were tiny, and g-pets didn’t light their homes.
Nothing. Just a rock. Or the ship settling. Could be sign of another problem. She’d check it out when she was done here. She got her ice axe out of its belt loop and scrambled up the flow. Whatever had burst had stopped leaking. That was a bonus at least.
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Crude wiring ran in loops from the tunnel ceiling, lights scavenged from the ship hanging from it at awkward angles. The tunnel curved and the lights were lost to sight. She reached for her radio. “Control? Control?” the hiss of static greeted her. Some kind of underlying pulse behind it. It couldn’t be a jammer, couldn’t, could it?
A skittering noise, something that sounded like bare feet on rock pattered below her. She couldn’t keep the warble out of her voice as she shouted; “Mazurek! If that’s you stop being an asshole.”
Another banging, closer now. A burst of high-pitched chittering from the dark beneath.
There was no reply.
She span round. She had to get the
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hell out of there. Now. She let go of her ice axe and skidded down the formation on her behind, loosing her footing. Pain flared in her ankle as she sprawled on the damp, gritty ground. She bit her lip as she tried to stand. There were noises all around her. Shapes moved in the darkness. Glowing eyes bobbed in the dark, disappearing when she swung her torch toward them. There was a smell, musky-sweet. She reached down for her gun; a cheap projectile model, but a gun nonetheless. She’d always wondered why maintenance crews were issued with sidearms. She’d never been given a satisfactory answer, but they’d all heard the stories. Seemed the stories were true. Movement. Her torch caught on something, fur, maybe, muscles, large hands. It ducked out of sight behind a strut as she fired, stink of propellant and loud report confounding her senses. Another dash in front, she fired again, and was rewarded with a piercing squeal. “Got you.” She grinned, and pushed herself up, hobbled over to where the nightmare thing had fallen.
Nothing there, blood cooling in the chill, a trail leading away from her back to the burrow. “Shit.” She turned about. Nothing. At least it was going away from her. Casting nervous glances behind her, she limped painfully back to the lift. She almost cried with relief as she hit the button. The doors slid open and she looked behind her, nothing coming out of the dark to get her. She turned back to step inside and screamed. Yellowing fangs were the last things she saw as they closed around her face.
M
arauders Savage mercenaries, Marauders will fight for anyone, providing the price is right.
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herever there is war you will find the Marauders. Hulking, muscled alien brutes who revel in combat, Marauders are employed as mercenaries by all the major powers in the galaxy. For a Marauder chieftain, it does not matter who you fight or why, only how much you can pay.
“Marauder” is not the name these creatures have for themselves, in
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their own, simple tongue they are “Orx”, but Marauder suits them well. When peace reigns, Marauders become a menace to civilisation, turning to piracy and looting when they can find no paymaster. Marauders can be found everywhere, from the most densely populated core systems to the depths of interstellar space. In the wilder reaches of the galaxy, away from the Corporation Core Worlds, it is said that there is not an asteroid belt or moonlet that
does not house a pirate nest of these violent creatures. It is not unusual for Corporation scout fleets to travel to an unmapped system only to find a Marauder pirate lord has been there before, and desperate ship battles are often the outcome in these situations. It was not always so. Until less than three centuries ago, the Orx were confined to a cluster of twenty or so systems halfway toward the spinward end of the Sagittarius arm. At the time, this was right at the very edge of Corporation territory, and even today the area remains far from the bustling heart of human civilization. Forty or so worlds of various classes were claimed and scheduled
for colonisation by automated reconnaissance drones of the Klandax Company. Signs of low level sentient life activity were recorded on these planets, but this in itself was not unusual. A Grand Settlement Fleet of some 300 ships, including a portion of Klandax Company’s own military, were dispatched.
“ it is said that there is not an asteroid belt or moonlet that does not house a nest of these violent creatures.” For Klandax, it was a great shame they had not invested in more sophisticated drones.
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Download the full Marauder Army List at:
www.manticgames.com/marauders
Fleet scout teams made landfall on Caprisiam IV, and began to survey sites for an initial colony that would serve as base of operations for further activity in the sector. Large numbers of natives were recorded, but these appeared primitive in the extreme. While the fleet surveyors started their work, contact with the natives was attempted by renowned exobiologist Dr Jan Friers, working under license directly for Klandax. Friers was widely regarded as a safe pair of hands, having already participated in first contact with four alien species. He was accompanied by a half company of Corporation Troopers, so despite the alien’s savage nature, Klandax’s expeditionary commander Prakal Mitrandesh was confident things would go smoothly. Within half an hour of approaching the first native settlement, Friers was dead. The natives had attacked in force, ambushing the Corporation representatives. Although they took many casualties, the natives had killed twenty-three other men, despite their primitive weaponry. Captain Martello, commanding, described warriors of unparalleled ferocity, simple metal blades punched through his men’s sophisticated armour by dint of their massive strength alone.
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Martello insisted they had been tricked, that the natives had drawn them in to talk simply to assess them. They’d learned precisely two things: one, that the natives called themselves “Orx”, secondly, that they were extremely aggressive. Martello was disciplined for abandoning the bodies and equipment of his men, and a suborbital fighter was launched to destroy the settlement. Four hours later, an Orx force, carrying Corporation weaponry, attacked the surveying team and wiped them out. Commander Mitrandesh had the remainder of Friers’ staff declare the Orx hostile, and set about a campaign of extermination. The genocide took six weeks and cost Mitrandesh quarter of his fighting men. Still, the planet was clear. Sector colonisation headquarters were established, and the fleet moved on to the next scheduled world. The same thing happened there. And then again. And again. What Klandax’s probes had not revealed was that this promising world cluster was infested with these Orx.
Mitrandesh soon realized he had not enough men to pacify the entire region, and reluctantly applied to Corporation Central for military aid, forfeiting Klandax’s sole claim to the territory.
the corporation the worlds were soon cleared, and Klimt forced Klandax into an embarrassing handover of the new colonies to Klimt’s own masters in House Antigone.
Enter General Klimt. Named “The White Devil God” by the Kathradny [extinct], Klimt wasted no time in extirpating the Orx from their ancient worlds. But Klimt was impressed by his foe. Wave after wave of howling savages would literally throw themselves at his guns, doing enormous damage before being gunned down.
Klimt’s scheme was so successful that Orx were employed for decades as shock troopers all over the Corporation. But the Orx learnt their lesson well.
By this time, Corporation intelligence had gained a grasp of the Orx language. Klimt hit upon an idea. He had several hundred Orx captured, and once they were subdued, made them an offer.
The Marauder civilization was born, a new breed of space-faring Orx. Although most Orx auxiliaries were immediately liquidated on news of the Mandrake Betrayal, the Corporation and its enemies still make frequent use of these brutal but very effective troops as mercenaries – the reasoning being, it is better to have them fighting with you, than against you.
And so the first battalion of Orx auxiliaries were trained using Corporation war-doctrine. As they were as happy to fight each other as
A century later, during the Mandrake Secession War, an entire Orx auxiliary legion turned on their masters, seized control of a flotilla of spaceships and scattered themselves across the galaxy.
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Marauder
Grunts
Grunts are the mainstay of Marauder armies and mercenary companies, and are as versatile as they are bloodthirsty.
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arauder language is scattered with borrowed Standard Corporate terms, “Grunt” being one. Green, mean and eager for trouble, a squad of Marauder Grunts is a terrifying foe.
from beneath heavy brows, his bones are dense and skull as strong as steel. It takes a lot to bring a Grunt down, let alone their leaders. Even without modern weaponry, Marauders are fearsome foes. For a Marauder, there is little in life as satisfying as bloodletting.
Wielding deadly blades and largecalibre projectile weapons, Grunts are the mainstay of Marauder armies and mercenary companies. Led by a scarred veteran and often accompanied by a specialist heavy weapons trooper, they are as versatile as they are bloodthirsty.
While in battle their eyes glow with pleasure, they howl and roar as they fire their guns, charging madly forward so they may lay about them with their “Hrunka” knives, the traditional weapon of the Orx.
Your average Marauder is a huge beast blessed with massive yellowing fangs and sharp claws. His muscles are slabs of dense fibre, his red eyes glower
Often taken in tribute or as payment, Marauder weapons are simple things: solid-shots guns, chemical-fuelled rockets, rugged flame-throwers, weapons that are difficult to break and easy to maintain in their workshops.
Hrunka Knives Every Marauder carries a hrunka, a wickedly sharp piece of steel around 75cm long. Although all follow a common pattern, long and pointed like an Orx fang, each is unique. To earn his knife, a Marauder must kill his first enemy. Afterwards, he is taken to the ship’s foundry where he will forge his hrunka under the watchful eyes of the ship’s TechnOrx, a day that is the proudest in all Marauders’ lives.
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Raptor
Attack Trike The Raptor supports squads of Grunts as they close with the enemy or is stripped of its gun and used as a rapid transport.
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arauder weaponry is rugged and easy to maintain, but the Raptor attack trike is no less deadly for its lack of technological sophistication. Often employed as a mobile weapons platform in Marauder bands, the Raptor supports squads of Grunts as they close with the enemy. Alternatively, it is stripped of its gun and used as a rapid deployment transport for a section of Grunts. Much of the Marauders’ weaponry was developed for them by the Klandax Company, while they were still under the illusion that credit for the Orxs’ discovery would be theirs, and not General Klimt’s. Although early auxiliaries were armed with modified
Corporation Trooper kit, this proved too fiddly and delicate for the Orxs’ greater strength and size. Guns and equipment better suited to their physique and temperament was soon developed. Their vehicles are no exception. Powered by internal combustion engines, a Raptor is almost entirely mechanical and rugged with it. Raptor patterned trikes are still used by Corporation forces yet those used by humans are far more sophisticated, possessing all the electronic systems one would expect. Few Marauders possess the knowhow to maintain such things, so their trikes are simplicity itself. Marauder Raptors are often modified by their drivers, sporting overcharged engines and outrageous paint schemes.
Fighter-Bomber Swooping in from the sky on contrails of fire, the aircraft of the Marauders are as brutal as their pilots. Equipped for both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat, Fighter-Bombers are multi-role machines. The Orx physiology is a robust one, and although Fighter-Bombers are little match for drone fighters, Marauder pilots can pull off manoeuvres that would cause a human airman to black out.
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Captain
Grognark Grognark is the victor of a thousand battles the length and breadth of the galaxy and is armed with exotic weaponry, plucked from alien corpses of unknown origin.
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arauder mercenary captains are hardbitten, violent, egotistical and huge, for they keep order in their ranks as much with outright violence as with military discipline. There are rumours among Corporation conscripts that Orx grow bigger the angrier they become. The infamous Captain Grognark could well be the source of these tall tales, for he is very, very large and always in a fury. Grognark is the victor of a thousand battles the length and breadth of the galaxy and is armed with exotic weaponry, plucked from alien corpses of unknown origin. Certain sources have it that Grognark bears
a designation tattoo from the 14th Orx Auxiliary Legion. This has been sworn to by several human mercenary captains, captured Confederate officers who have employed him in their wars against rightful Corporation rule, and by the intelligence operative known only as Mostar. Grognark, it is said, likes to display the tattoo when drunk, which as Orx love drink almost as much as fighting is quite often. Despite these convincing testimonies being brought before the house and company representatives of Corporation Central, the rumours have been given little credence. The Orx 14th was wiped out in the wake of the Mandrake Betrayal, so if Grognark truly does bear the tattoo, it would make him over two hundred years old.
Ripper Claws Among the most sophisticated weapons the Marauders employ are Ripper Claws, used by their leaders and close combat specialists. Of alien origin and consisting of three blades of a dense, unknown alloy strapped to a gauntlet, Ripper Claws have monomolecular edges and vibrate at high frequencies which enables them to tear through armour and flesh with equal ease.
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Masters of Gore Number of Miniatures: 10 Product Type: Plastic Resin Miniatures Unit Type: Cavalry This Set Includes: • 10 Gore Riders with Command • 10 Cavalry Bases • Mantic Carry Case and Foam • One Mantic point
Gore Riders Type Cav (10)
This set comprises one Gore Riders regiment of 10 plastic resin models.
Get the full army list!
145pts Sp Me Ra De At Ne 8 3+ – 5+ 16 5
Special: Can have banner (+20 pts), musician (+15 pts)
www.manticgames.com/Fantasy/Orcs.html
£1 9. 99
Gores are bred for one purpose and one purpose alone – war. These massively muscled beasts are twice as heavy as an Orc, and just as bad tempered, smelly and thick-skulled. A regiment of Orcs mounted on Gores can sweep aside the most determined opposition. Indeed it takes a disciplined foe to stand before them at all. Gores and their riders form a wall of flesh that hits like an avalanche, Gores biting with their tusks while their Orc riders lay about them with their crude but deadly weapons.
F
orge
athers
T
he ancient and proud culture of the Forge Fathers has managed to retain its independence from the Corporation while others have fallen. Masters of science, artisans beyond compare, the Forge Fathers are the only aliens to trade with the Corporation on anything approaching even terms. While they are far fewer in numbers than humans, the Forge Fathers are renowned across the galaxy for their grasp of advanced technology. They are one of the only species in known space whose weaponry and spacecraft are more powerful than those of the Corporation. Their battle-suits are nigh-on impregnable, the destructive capability of their thermal guns is of tremendous magnitude, not to mention the incredible rate of fire and penetrative power of their solid-shot light arms.
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Noble and honourable, the Forge Fathers are slow to make war, yet unstoppable when provoked.
cannot be bought, and they take great pains to conceal the workings of the machinery that they sell to others. The structure, customs and habits of their civilization have only been won by the Corporation at great cost and effort, as the torture, psychological conditioning and mental engineering employed by the Corporation on war captives work rarely on the robust psyches of the Forge Fathers. Were it not for the few disaffected members of this honourable people willing to sell their secrets, the Corporation would know very little about them at all beyond that which the Forge Fathers wish them to know.
In the field of space warfare, they are unsurpassed. Their ships are much like they are: slow, massive, resilient to damage, and armed to the teeth.
Human spymasters can never be sure what they have gleaned is disinformation and which is truth. It is also a sad fact that there are far more corruptible individuals in the Co-Prosperity Sphere than in the Forge Fathers’ Star Realm. Corporation Central is well aware that the Forge Fathers have a great deal more information about mankind than mankind has about the Forge Fathers.
Forge Fathers are a cautious people in most matters, their technical secrets
Although the heart of the Forge Fathers’ realm lies coreward to
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Marauders
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Corporation space, they can be found throughout the galaxy. The great fleets of the Forge Fathers have been plying the heavens for millennia, travelling from system to system, selling their services. Although dubbed “Trading Fleets” by the Corporation, this is something of a misnomer; each great Forge Father star-caravan centres on one or more Ward Ships, a mountain of metal and stone bristling with weapons. Smaller craft cluster about it, and these are multifarious in purpose.
“ Relations between the Corporation and the Forge Father Star Realm are tense.“ Besides smaller warships, many are tailored to peaceful purpose: geoengineering, large-scale construction, fabrication, asteroid mining or whatever else the clan they belong to happens to specialise in. Depending on what they are engaged to do, a Forge Father fleet can remain in orbit around a planet for anything up to a century before moving on. This is but a short time for Forge Fathers; the longest lived in Corporation custody survived one hundred and fifty years before contriving to take his own life. It is suspected their natural lifespan is at least seventy years longer than this, and has been greatly extended by medical means. Relations between the Corporation and the Forge Father Star Realm are tense. Military confrontation between the two almost always go in favour of the Forge
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Fathers. The Forge Fathers might lack the numbers or territorial ambition to exploit such victories, but any trespass into their space by Corporation Fleets has been ruthlessly dealt with, while every attempt to incorporate Forge Father worlds or clans into the CoProsperity Sphere have been foiled, no matter the means employed. The two powers will trade, but these transactions are always done on the Forge Fathers’ terms. The activities of the Forge Fathers are of great interest to the Corporation, not least because they are capable of planetary engineering feats that make the Corporation’s own efforts appear feeble. In particular the Forge Fathers possess the ability to shift a world’s orbit; needless to say the military potential of this excites Corporation defence contractors. There appears to be a new pattern emerging in the activities of the Forge Father trade fleets, with civilisations earmarked for incorporation into the Co-Prosperity Sphere suddenly gaining a much higher level of technology. Several cultures near the borders of the Star Realm have signed mutual protection pacts with the Forge Fathers, or have allowed themselves to be subsumed into the Star Realm entirely. All this is exceedingly irksome to Corporation Central, but while the Forge Fathers’ technological might remains preeminent, there is little prospect that the situation will change.
Steel
Warriors Steel Warriors are the mainstay of any Forge Father army. Those who do not succumb to their hailstorm rifles quickly fall to the Steel Warriors’ strength and bravery.
T
he basic trooper of the Forge Fathers, the Steel Warriors are tenacious, professional and deadly. Steel Warriors are usually armed with the infamous Hailstorm or “rokfrit” assault rifle, a large calibre weapon that fires heavy explosive rounds. The rokfrit lacks range, but Forge Fathers prefer close fights, and will press on into hand-to-hand melee once their guns have thinned the foe’s ranks. Clad in “Aesir” armour, body-formed plates fashioned from reactive plastics and layered, ablative alloys whose manufacture is known only to the Forge
Fathers, Steel Warriors are afforded a level of protection in combat unknown to all but the elite in most other armies. Even with their propensity for close-in fighting, their casualty rates are often low. Steel Warriors are drawn from across Forge Father society, there is a professional core to a Forge Father army, but in the larger forces many combatants are auxiliaries or exsoldiers called up to fight. In practise this makes little difference. All Forge Fathers spend some time under arms, and no average human soldier would be able to tell a standing Steel Warrior unit and one drawn from the reserves apart.
Forge Fathers
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Stormrage
Veterans Stormrage Veterans are support troops armed with heavy guns crafted on the Forge Father homeworlds and fleets.
E
ach Stormrage Veteran has many years of experience, and puts this and his weaponry to good use blowing big holes in the enemy army. Stormrage Veterans are few in number, but the devastation meted out by a single squad can cause whole armies to flee in terror.
Stormrage Veterans are generally better marksmen than Steel Warriors, being made up of older Forge Fathers who have remained in the army - entry to this select brotherhood is generally only granted after forty years or more of service. Stormrage Veterans march to the fore of a Forge Fathers’ force, laying down complicated patterns of
suppressive fire or targeting important enemy squads, allowing the Steel Warriors to advance more safely. Off the field of battle, these gruff warriors keep themselves to themselves, drinking and grumbling over old war stories, making scathing comments to any Forge Father younger than themselves that attempts to join in. Each one is a technical expert, able to strip and maintain his weaponry with minimum resources to hand. All Forge Fathers are technically minded, but such is the skill of the Stormrage Veterans what they can accomplish with a bit of scrap and a hammer is astonishing, and younger Forge Fathers will strive hard to earn a veteran’s tutelage.
Huscarls The leaders of the Forge Father warhosts are drawn from the bodyguards of the Clan Lords. Each one has seen centuries of warfare, making them ideal leaders for these noble warriors. Their hi-tech gear makes them highly destructive warriors in their own right, especially when equipped with the virtually indestructible Forge Guard battle armour. Depending on their personal preferences, Huscarls are either armed with the famed heat hammers of the Forge Fathers or a variety of ranged weapons.
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Forge Fathers
Artillery
Two small artillery pieces that are commonly employed on the battlefield by the Forge Fathers are the Jotunn and the Surtr.
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he Jotunn Heavy Hailstorm Cannon is a quad-gun mounted on a massive tracked chassis piloted by a single Steel Warrior. Capable of firing a storm of explosive shells, the Jotunn can devastate whole sections of a battlefield.
The gun is equally as destructive against light armoured vehicles as it is against infantry, and is fitted with sophisticated targeting machinery enabling it to track fast-moving ground targets or aircraft. Although the gun carriage’s motive unit is slow – the Jotunn generally has to be carried by another vehicle to
the front – it does give it a reasonable amount of mobility on the field, while its tracks allow it to take position in surprisingly tough terrain. The Surtr Heat Cannon is a heavy anti-tank weapon, a much larger version of the thermal guns carried by Forge Father Infantry. The Surtr’s bright lance of extreme heat can burn through the most heat resistant alloys in seconds, vaporising tank crews, turning electronics to slag and causing munitions to detonate. The Sutr excels as an ambush hunter, lying in wait until enemy armour comes within range, whereupon it will be destroyed in spectacular fashion.
Valkyrs Forge Fathers are generally slow, stolid, and immovable; an exception to this rule are the Valkyrs, warriors mounted on sturdy Forge Father motorbikes. Employed as advance scouts, raiding parties and rapid strike teams, Valkyrs range far ahead of the main Forge Father armies. Expected to rely on their initiative and find solutions on the go, they are slightly maverick, not quite so hidebound or traditionally-minded as other Forge Fathers, and are therefore regarded somewhat suspiciously by others of their race.
Forge Fathers
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First Contact A scouting party of Marauders have stumbled across a small force of Forge Fathers. Who will win? Use the contents of Fate of the Forge Star to decide!
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M
ukluk roared as he gutted another beardy. His hrunka knife slipped on the plates of its armour, but the notch on the end caught under one, lifting it just enough so it slipped in nice and easy right into the beardy’s guts. It came away pulling something spongy with it. The beardy gurgled and died. He laughed and punched his Ripper claw through the face of another as he tried to bring his gun to bear on Mukluk.
The complex would be theirs soon enough, and with it lots of thalers, for Mukluk would take a cut of every beard bounty his men gathered, as well as his own.
It had been a costly fight. The Raptor was a smoking wreck close by the complex’s bunker. One of the beardy’s heavy cannons had opened up on them as soon as they broke cover, annihilating Groknuk’s section in a fountain of earth and gore. More Grunts had fallen to the beardy’s small arms fire, but then they’d been in among them, and there was no stopping them. Mukluk ran over to join his men, grinning evilly. He punched one happily on the shoulder. His face grew puzzled as the Marauder disappeared in a red mist. He hadn’t hit him with his Ripper Claw had he? It wouldn’t have been the first time.
First Contact
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Demo scenario: First Contact
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he following scenario describes how to play your first battle of Warpath, ideally using the contents of the Fate of the Forge Star battleset. This scenario is a perfect way to learn the rules of the game, because it only uses units that belong to three unit types – Infantry, Ordnance and Armour. To play you will need the contents of the battleset, a tape measure, ruler, or other measuring tool, and a 2’ x 2’ gaming area. We recommend placing some terrain on the table to both break up the lines of sight and make your game more attractive. If you don’t have Fate of the Forge Star, you can still use this scenario, just employ two small forces of roughly 700 points each.
Assemble the Units Fate of the Forge Star includes a Marauders and a Forge Fathers force. Before you start, you’ll need to assemble and glue the models together, and group them up into units as shown in the army list opposite. The rules and statistics for the units used in this scenario are summarised opposite for your convenience, to save you from having to look them up during your first game.
Set Up the Game Each player stands at one side of the table so that they are facing each other. The Forge Fathers player sets up his force first, placing all of his
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units within 3” of his table edge. Then the Marauders player does the same with his force on the opposite side.
Game On! The Marauders player has the first turn. He moves, shoots and resolves any melee (not that you’re going to have any in Turn 1...). Then the Forge Fathers player has his turn and the game continues as normal until one player completely wipes out the enemy force and (quite obviously) wins the game.
Swap Sides! Find out if you’re better than your opponent by swapping sides. This way you can show your opponent the way things should be done!
Time It! Another fun way to add a new element to the game is to time each player’s moves. You each have three minutes to finish your move. When time runs out, you finish the action you were performing and then the enemy turns starts.
Other Options It’s easy to add variety and complexity to the game using the contents of the battleset. If you find that the Marauders are losing, you could replace their machine guns with antitank guns. If the Forge Fathers suffer, you can give the Steel Warriors a BFG. When you’re ready to learn more about Warpath, try adding terrain to the
battlefield or playing on a larger surface. The best thing to do is to purchase a Hero to bolster your forces. Once you’ve got the hang of heroes, try adding other
units: Infantry, Ordnance, Armour, or even Aircraft! You can continue to expand your initial force, adding units until you will be able to field a vast army!
FORGE FATHERS All units are Headstrong. All ranged weapons are Piercing (1), unless specified. 1 Steel Warriors Section
Hailstorm autocannon
Type Inf(10)
Spd Hit Fire Ran Att Def Ner 4 4+ 16 24 10 5+ 14/16
Fire Range
Hailstorm autocannon
4
Special
36 Piercing (2)
Special: One heat hammer (see below) Heat-cannon 1 Stormrage Veterans Team
Type Inf(5)
Heat-cannon
Spd Hit Fire Ran Att Def Ner 4 3+ 4 24 5 5+ 11/13
Fire Range 1
24
Special Blast (D3)
Piercing (7)
Special: Two heat-cannons BFG (see below) Two hailstorm autocannons BFG (see below)
Heat Hammer Cost: 30 pts
One heat hammer (see below)
In melee, separately roll an extra die for the unit. If this attack hits, resolve it at
1 Jotunn Heavy Hailstorm Cannon Type Ord
Crushing Strength (6).
Spd Hit Fire Ran Att Def Ner 4 4+ 16 60 – 6+ 10/12
Special: Piercing (2)
MARAUDERS All units have the Crushing Strength (1) rule, unless otherwise stated. 4 Grunts Section
Machine gun
Type Inf (10)
Spd Hit Fire Ran Att Def Ner 5 4+ 8 12 20 4+ 13/15
Machine gun
Fire Range 5
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Special Piercing (1)
Special: One machine gun (see below) One Ripper Talons (see below)
Anti-tank gun
1 Raptor Type Arm
Anti-tank gun
Spd Hit Fire Ran Att Def Ner 12 4+ * * – 6+ 9/11
Fire Range 1
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Special Blast (D3) Piercing (5)
Special: Fast, Open Top, Crushing
Ripper talons
Strength (1). One anti-tank gun (see below)
Roll two extra dice separately in melee for the unit. If these Attacks hit, they are resolved at Crushing Strength (5).
First Contact
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A sharper part of his mind made him hit the floor. A line of blue armoured beardies were on top of the bunker. Thunderheads, or something, that’s what the beardies called them. He scrambled away on his hands and knees as half his own section were cut down in the crossfire between the beardies and their veterans. He made it to the Raptor wreck and threw himself into cover.
“Sir! Sir!” “Lugnuts!” he shouted. Dirt pattered around him, an explosion went off nearby, and he clamped his hat to his head. “What do we do now?” Mukluk risked a look over the burning wreck. A hail of bullets drove him back down. “Er, let me think.” His men outnumbered the beardies, but the odds in his favour were dwindling. He needed to sort this now, or the Captain was going to kill him. Luckily, most of his men had found somewhere to hunker down, and the beardies were out of spare warriors to outflank him. They were pinned down, but he’d been in worse situations than that before.
“Mukluk risked a look over the burning wreck. A hail of bullets drove him back down. ” 36
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“Lugnuts,” he shouted, his throat was raw, his voice drowned out by Orx roaring and the bang of gunfire. “You listening to me?” “Sir, yes sir!” shouted Lugnuts. “Right, you get over there, get them to go in there.” He pointed at the remnants of Lugnuts’ section, drawing a line in the air to the bunker door. “You go with them. I’m going to get them to go in round the back,” he pointed at Jugger’s Lads, still at full strength, more or less. “While it’s me what’s going to draw their fire, got it?” Lugnuts nodded eagerly. “Sir! Yes sir! Orders understood sir!” “On three,” said Mukluk. A shell detonated by metres away, blasting his words to bits. “Just go, go now!”
“Fire!” he roared. The battle lust took him, and he emptied his gun at the beardies on the bunker. Sparks flashed off concrete and armour. A beardy staggered back under the weight of fire, wounded maybe, not dead, but his own shots went wild. Both of Mukluk’s men went down. Mikmak took one in the gut, Umbunki, already wounded, lost his brains out the back of his head.
“ The battle lust took him, and he emptied his gun at the beardies on the bunker.” There was no sign of the other sections. Ah well, thought Mukluk, it was a plan.
Mukluk ran like the wind to Jugger’s Lads, the “pokpokpokpok” of bullets chasing his heels. He found Jugger, and told him what to do. Then he ran to where his last two men crouched by a low wall. “You’re back!” said Mikmak, as if they did not believe it, which they probably didn’t. “Listen up, youse, Lugnuts and Jugger are going to take those beardy mud eaters. We just got to keep ’em busy.” He showed his fangs, bobbing his head to show he was serious.
Suddenly, Lugnuts came from behind, up and over the parapet. He broke his hrunka on the armour of one beardy. Undeterred, he picked him up and threw him over the side. Mukluk ran forward and stabbed his vibrating claws right through his faceplate. One of Lugnuts’ Lads exploded, and then the beardies were lost under a flailing mass of hrunkas and fists. Mukluk grunted in satisfaction, and and wiped the blood off his own hrunka. He had beards to collect. First Contact
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1 SPRAY!
2 BASECOAT
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Miniatures used from Rackham, copyright and all rights reserved. No challenge to the companies’ status intended.
THE ARMY PAINTER THE ARMY PAINTER TECHNIQUE:
QUICKSHADE
THE ARMY PAINTER WARGAMERS’ ARMY PAINTING GUIDE 24pag es F In sto bookletREE res D ecem be
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“It's simply the most signiicant development in hobby painting for years. I take my hat off to them. Well done e Army Painter team. May your bristles never wilt! ”
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RICK PRIESTLEY
Creator of Warhammer & Black Powder
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WARPAINTS ACRYLIC WARGAMING PAINTS
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Dwarf King’s Hold
Multiplayer Mayhem by Jake Thornton
A
t the moment I am writing the next addition to the Dwarf King’s Hold series that will include rules for three and four player games among many other goodies (new troop types, new scenarios, more characters, etc). This will be an expansion rather than a standalone box, and you’ll need either Dead Rising or Green Menace to play it. It adds a load of depth to the game that you already play, by building on the solid
core and allowing you to tinker with various bits of DKH. You can use the new points system to tailor the forces you want to take into the tunnels; you can even swap the armies you use in the scenario, taking Orcs instead of Dwarfs, for example. And that sort of change provides a raft of fresh new challenges from the scenarios you know and love. However, until the cunningly codenamed ‘DKH3’ comes out early next year I thought you might like to have a go at this five-player scenario. This scenario is based on one I ran at Manticon (as I like to call the Mantic Open Day). It was part of a linked pair of games, with a Kings of War battle in the morning and this multi-player game of Dwarf King’s Hold in the afternoon. I’ve made a few alterations to the detail but this is the same basic core.
“ Until the cunningly codenamed ‘DKH3’ comes out early next year I thought you might like to have a go at this five-player scenario.” 42
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At the event I took the part of the Dwarfs, and it was a close run thing. I almost got out, but was swamped and cut down at the last minute, Prince Vulbar dying in a heroic last stand. Still, it was a success because everyone enjoyed it, which is why I thought it might be fun to offer to a wider audience.
Scenario 15
Summoning Lessons Up to five people can enjoy this scenario simultaneously, which pits the wicked Undead of Mortibris against the brave Dwarf Prince Vulbar and his men. How dare they! Those miscreant Dwarfs have the temerity to call me evil when I am only doing the same thing they are. Admittedly I am far better at it than those bearded fools, but that is what several lifetimes of research and centuries of practice will do. One has to be dedicated. Dedicated, that’s the word. Evil? Hah! They are such hypocrites. Summoning the dead to fight for you is either noble or it isn’t – you can’t have it both ways. It’s high time those Dwarfs were taught
a lesson. When it comes to the living dead, I am the master! Dwarf Token Pool: 6 Necromancer Token Pool: One per lieutenant’s force (A-D) Baleful Gaze: see the special rule below The Dwarfs win if Prince Vulbar sounds the Holdhorn and then finds the Way Out, as described below. The Necromancer wins if his lieutenants kill the Dwarf Prince. Dwarf King’s Hold
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Special Rule: Many Hands Make Light Work Unlike normal games of Dwarf King’s Hold, this game is designed to be played with any number of players from two to five: one Dwarf player and up to four Necromancer players. The Dwarf player starts with the models shown on the map and the tokens described, just like normal.
on. The only thing they share is that all undead count towards outnumbering enemy models in combat, and that they use the same Reserve and Discard piles (so you only need one set of tokens between them). Play starts with the Dwarf player as normal, and moves clockwise around the forces of the lieutenants (in the order D, C, B, A).
Against the Dwarf player are the forces of four of Mortibris’ “trusty” lieutenants. These must be played as if there are four players, even if you are playing a two-player game and one Necromancer player controls them all. Each lieutenant’s force of necromantic minions is self-contained, and has their own token, starting locations and so
Each of the Necromancer’s lieutenants starts at a different location: A, B, C and D. Each force initially consists of two Skeleton Warriors and two Revenants. These models may be placed anywhere on the lettered tile for that lieutenant (A-D), or in the tile adjacent to it. Each Necromancer player must place all four of their models before the game starts.
Necromancer players
Divide forces as follows
One
controls all four groups.
Two
one controls A and C, the other controls B and D
Three
one controls A and D, a second takes B and the last takes C
Four
take one group each
Important: remember to play each group (A-D) as a separate entity.
Special Rule: No Shortage of Bodies If a Skeleton Warrior or Revenant is “boned”, place the appropriate Pile of Bones counter as usual. However, if one of the Necromancer’s minions is destroyed then it will be replaced by another. Skeleton Warrior and Revenant models that die are “recycled” and can come
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back on as reinforcements. These reinforcements can be moved onto the board by spending an Action on them and counting the first square of the board as their first square of movement. They may enter the board only at their home tile (A-D as appropriate), along the side shown on the map.
Special Rule: Can’t Be Everywhere At Once Mortibris is continually assailed by his lieutenants begging for aid, but he can’t help all of them all the time. Use something (a spare model, human skull, or whatever you have lying about) as a marker to show which of his lieutenants has his attention at the moment. That
lieutenant (and that lieutenant only) may use a Baleful Gaze at the end of his turn. Regardless of whether he does so or not, move the marker that shows where Mortibris is watching anticlockwise to the next Undead player/lieutenant. There is no limit to the number of Baleful Gazes.
Special Rule: Prince Vulbar Crown Prince Vulbar has never been one to shirk his duties as the firstborn. He regularly leads expeditions to avenge the slights of lesser races or reclaim parts of lost heritage. Despite the concern that his father has for his safety, he cannot
help but also feel the pride of having such a noble son. Prince Vulbar is a powerful warrior whose natural talent for combat has been proven time and again. He carries a hammer and shield, and is clad in sturdy armour.
Model
Move
Dice
Armour
Special Rules
Vulbar
6
5
4
Shield Bash
In addition to these improved Game Values, Prince Vulbar is more resilient to damage (see the table below for the way in which this works). In effect, this allows Model hurt is Prince Vulbar Prince Vulbar with 1 injury Prince Vulbar with 2 injuries
him to take one more injury before he is killed. Note that the -1 dice penalty for being injured only counts once regardless of the number of injuries.
1 damage
2 damage
1 injury
2 injuries
2 injuries
Dead
Dead
Dead
3 or more damage Dead
You may use any spare model you have to represent Prince Vulbar. Make sure your opponent(s) know which one it is.
Special Rule: The Way Out Prince Vulbar needs to escape the trap, and his followers are willing to lay down their lives to ensure that this happens. There are secret exits leading to the outside from rooms B, C and E. Opening the Way Out from one of these tiles works in the same manner as discovering secret doors (see scenario 3), with the following exceptions:
• Only Prince Vulbar can reveal the Way Out. • As soon as Prince Vulbar spends the Action to reveal the Way Out the Dwarf player wins the game.
Special Rule: Ancestral Holdhorn Every Dwarf Hold has many ancestral heirlooms and artefacts that have been created by the master craftsmen who work in the deep tunnels. One of the most revered of each Hold’s treasures is its Holdhorn: the battle horn of the founding Dwarf Lord. It is this artefact that Prince Vulbar is seeking, and it lies hidden in the room marked H at the centre of the map. Despite the urgings of his bodyguard, and the presence of the Necromancer’s forces, Prince Vulbar will not leave without the Holdhorn. Prince Vulbar (and he alone) can find and sound the Holdhorn if he is standing in room H and has an Action spent on him (not a Follow On Action) while he
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controls the tile. He cannot move or fight during a turn in which he finds and sounds the Holdhorn. Sounding the Holdhorn will summon the ancestors of the Hold to aid Prince Vulbar in his escape. Any Dwarf models that have been killed so far are replaced with ancestral guardians. Use the “dead” Dwarf models, placing as many as possible adjacent to Prince Vulbar (though not adjacent to an enemy model). These models fight in exactly the same way as the models that represent them, in effect “resurrecting” the fallen Dwarfs. The Holdhorn can only be used once, and must be used as soon as it is found (as part of that Action).
Dwarf King’s Hold
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WorldofMantic The
Here at Mantic we love fantasy and sci-fi gaming. Nothing gets us more excited than seeing the grand sweep of two massed battle lines on the tabletop. We want more of that, so we’ve set ourselves a mission: to bring large armies of great-looking, affordable models to wargamers everywhere. That’s what we’re all about, it’s right there in our slogan: Big Armies, Big Battles ...and we mean it. Look at all that stuff! Each Mantic set comes with loads of weapons options and extras. Our boxes are hard, foam-lined plastic, and can be used to keep your models safe once assembled and painted. We even sell a bag specially designed to carry an army’s worth of them. See it online.
www.manticgames.com You can visit us at:
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verything you need to know about Mantic can be found on our comprehensive website. Here you can find background on our models, including the histories of many of our heroes and regiments, and there are plenty of hobby articles to help you get the most out of your figures, whether you want to create individual miniature works of art or a wargames army. Visit the site for special deals, videos, sneak peeks of future releases, information on events we’ll be attending and reviews of our models from across the web. Read our blog and comment on the forum. You can also sign up for our regular newsletter to keep abreast of all the latest developments. These are exciting times for us, and you can be in the thick of the action simply by logging on.
The website is the home of the Mantic webstore, where you can order our products and access great deals, all delivered straight to your door!
ManticPoints
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Free gifts are available at increments of 10 and 25 points and include mugs, key fobs, metal champions, troop boxes, signed posters and fantastic collector’s heroes on sculpted metal bases.
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Step 1: Buy stuff, collect points within Step 2: Attach points to Mantic collector’s card (if you don’t have one, you can download it from our website) Step 3: Fill in your details Step 4: Tick the box telling us what you want Step 5: Include P&P or pay online Step 6: Post Step 7: Receive cool free gift!
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Get more stuff, for free! Each Mantic product contains a certain number of Mantic points. Collect enough and you can send off for one of our fantastic gifts! It’s really that simple.
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Warpath
Fate of the Forge Star
Warpath: Fate of the Forge Star Boxset £49.99/€64.99/$74.99 Warpath is Mantic’s mass combat science fiction game, written by renowned games developer Alessio Cavatore. Warpath is easy to learn, highly tactical and very bloody. This battleset includes everything you need to play including dice, a copy of the Warpath rules and two complete starter armies of Marauders and Forge Fathers. With 55 infantry models and two vehicles, this is a great way to start your war in space.
57 Mantic Miniatures!
al ds de oa y , l ts m es in ar as Po ! ch s b tic ore Ea a i n a n m nt f M nd co o a 50
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Warpath: Forge Fathers Army £49.99/€64.99/$74.99 Smite the human interloper with your heat hammer with this Forge Fathers force! This deal has 30 infantry models, including a unit of elite Stormrage Veterans, and two Jotunn Heavy Hailstorm Cannons!
32 Models!
Warpath: Marauder Army £49.99/€64.99/$74.99 With 50 infantry models and two Raptor attack bikes, this bundle contains an entire army of Orx Marauders, ready to sell their deadly skills to the highest bidder, or indulge in a spot of piracy…
52 Models! Mantic Retail MM05_Retail_Races.indd 2
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Kings of War Mhorgoth Rising
Kings of War: Mhorgoth Rising £49.99/€64.99/$74.99 The world of Mantica trembles as Elves, Humans, Orcs, Undead, Dwarfs and more vie for dominance. This Kings of War starter set gives you everything you need to enjoy fantasy wargaming on a massive scale: two armies of Dwarfs and Undead, (that’s 101 Mantic figures), dice and rules. Written by Alessio Cavatore, Kings of War includes innovative rules for timing your turns, giving tense battles never seen before.
101 Mantic Miniatures!
l s ea ad y d lo m s, ts ar se oin ch ba c P e! Ea ains nti mor a nt M d co of an
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Kings of War: Undead Elite Army £49.99/€64.99/$74.99 The 10 Revenant Cavalry, 20 Revenants, 10 Ghouls, 5 Wraiths and 1 Balefire Catapult (48 models!) in this box are perfect for adding a little extra hitting power to your hordes of Zombies and Skeletons.
48 Models!
Kings of War: Orc Army £49.99/€64.99/$74.99 This box of green hooligans contains a mighty 84 models – 20 Greatax, 30 Ax, 10 Gore Riders and 24 Orclings! That’s enough to give any Orcbashing hero pause for thought. Go green, get even!
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Hobby Supplies Mantic also produces a range of paints, bags, foam, glue and hobby tools to make, paint, protect and carry your armies. Don’t forget that our unique plastic, foam lined unit boxes are specially designed so that once you’ve painted your models, you’ve got somewhere to keep them.
Mantic Paint Set £ 17.99 Nine paints, six figures, brush and Mantic Point.
£ 2. Plastic Clippers £5.00 50! An essential tool for hobbyists.
Plastic Glue £ 1.50 Glue your models together!
Messenger Bag £ 18.00 This bag can carry up to 4 large Mantic carry cases, with room for your rulebooks and army lists too! The bag has two external pockets for your accessories, one zipped internal pocket for more valuable items, and comes with a detachable shoulder strap.
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Venture into the dark! Dwarf King’s Hold £34.99/€39.99/$59.99 Dwarf King’s Hold is an exciting, tile-based boardgame set in the Kings of War world. Command Dwarfs or Undead in Dead Rising, as a party of bold Dwarfs risk life and beard to retrieve ancient treasures from deep within a ruined Dwarf Hold. In complete game Green Menace, fully compatible with Dead Rising, you will find rules for Orcs, while Ancient Grudge, our brand new supplement, adds the potential for multiplayer battles. Dare you enter the dank caverns of long dead Dwarf lords? Course you do.
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