Madness rules preview

Mordheim may be the City of the Damned; the Mouth

of Madness for all those who have passed through the the fetal position. Yet another is to be
city gates and surrendered their sanity, but the Sealed cursed with a permanent or temporary phobia.
City is home to terrors unrivaled, even by Mordheim’s
warped standards. The city’s twisting nature leaves nei-
ther body nor mind unchanged. Gaining Insanity Points
A warrior can hardly sleep at night as he hears all kinds • +1 Insanity Point - Failing a fear test
of inhuman screams and growls echoing in the distance.
Everyday the warrior has to live with the idea that this • +1 Insanity Point - Getting a critical wound
day there is a good chance that he will get killed, tor- • +1 Insanity Point - Getting wounded by a poi-
tured, or at best maimed. And not just by other hu- soned weapon
mans but by Daemon-possessed madmen, Skaven and
all sorts of other terrible monsters. Almost any fighter • +1 Insanity Point - Taking drugs
will go mad if he endures this kind of life long enough. • +D3 Insanity Points - Getting the ‘Madness’
result on the Serious Injury table (instead of the
normal result)
Going Insane
• +1 Insanity Point - Getting the ‘Nervous Condi-
These Insanity rules have been created to see how a tion’ result on the Serious injury table (instead of
fighter is able to deal with the terror and strangeness of the normal result)
his stay in the Sealed City, and failure can mean bouts
of uncontrollable fear, the development of phobias, or
even complete madness.
To simulate a warrior’s gradual descent into madness a
system of Insanity Points is used, which are gained in
a similar way to experience points and are effective at
the same levels.
For each hero the normal experience track is used but
in reverse to keep track of that fighter’s Insanity Points
(IP). This signifies that a fighter starts as normal, and it
takes a long time for the madness to set in - but once it
does, it’s a rollercoaster ride from there on in.
When a fighter fills up the track, he must retire because
he is too insane to continue. Heroes start at the reverse
end of the experience track. It is advised that people
use two different colored pencils to keep track of the
different points on the same chart.
Each time an IP is earned you will need to mark it off
in the same way as experience. These points are noted as
soon as they are received during the game, not after the
battle. When a new level is reached that fighter must
immediately make a Ld test. If successful, this means
that the fighter is able to think through the horror and
keep control of himself. If the fighter fails the test he
must roll on the Insanity Table (see below) to deter-
mine the type and duration of insanity the fighter gets.
Failing the Ld test can mean several things. The fighter
can freeze up and stare or fall to the floor and roll into
 ‘Run, damn it!’ Deron von Juntz stood shout-
Too Insane to Care… ing at his companions, the writhing darkness
Many societies and races are incapable of being twisted before him. His hand held his rusty sword
any more than they already are because they are either tightly, white knuckles on black leather.
completely insane or their racial mindset finds the ter- A tentacle thrust from the mass and coiled
rors somehow more acceptable. The following condi- tightly about his ankle. His helmet clattered to
tions render the Insanity rules invalid: the floor as he was pulled to the middy street.
• Henchmen Deron’s sanity had been assailed before, and
he was already bordering on a nervous break-
• Hired swords down.
• Dramatis personae Deron’s eyes gleamed bright with tears. His
• Warriors immune to Psychology howling was the last thing his companions
heard as they fled screaming back through the
The following warriors will gain IPs but the amount of street they came from. The twisting moistness
points gained is halved (e.g. for every two IP that model was around his hand now, his neck, his face.
gets, its player only marks one box on the experience In the pit of his mind he knew that he should
chart): struggle, to break loose from the deadly em-
• Warriors from Skaven or Troll warbands brace. But he could do nothing but scream.

• Warriors immune to fear It was under his clothes now, pulsing and cold.
His muscles were reacting violently, spasming.
• Warriors suffering from stupidity
The others headed back to their camp, cursing
and swearing. The realisation of their compan-
Insanity Table ion’s inevitable fate chilled them to the bone.

Each time a new level is reached you will need to roll They left him, abandoned him to die screaming
first one the Temporary Insanity table (below) and then in the darkness! A spark ignited fury as Deron
on the Insanity table (over) to determine the type and gripped his sword tighter, howling and hacking
duration of insanity that warrior gets. and slashing with hollow eyes. The mass parted
and screamed with him, as he severed tentacles
thrusting, bashing and biting the horrible crea-
ture until his screams were the only sound left
Temporary Insanity Table echoing in the street.

1D6 Duration of Insanity They had fled. They didn’t care about his fate.
They wanted him to die!
1 D6 turns (treat as 2-3, if the
madness occurs during the Soon they would sleep, feeling safe. Feeling
Exploration phase). lucky that someone else had died.

2-3 The next battle. ‘All must pay. All must die! I’ll show them. I’ll
show them...’ Deron vanished muttering and
4-5 Next two battles. giggling into the night on his way home.
6 Indefinite.
 Insanity Table
roll 2D6
All results are unique and if you roll a result twice then roll again on this table until you roll a new type of insanity.
Unless otherwise noted, all effects last as long as was rolled on the Temporary Insanity table.

2 CATATONIA 4 Agoraphobia - If the wants to move more than

The fighter falls to the floor and rolls into the fetal po- 2” away from a building or wall, he must pass
sition. Treat as Stupidity where the fighter has automat- a Ld test first.
ically failed his Leadership test. 5 Anthrophobia - His kin scares the fighter.
3 AMNESIA Enemy models from the same race as the
The warrior forgets/loses D3 random skills or spells, fighter inspire fear in him, while friendly
models don’t prevent him from being all alone.
4 PANZAISM/QUIXOTISM
6 Aichmophopia - Fighters armed with a sword,
Roll 1D6
spear, and other weapons with a sharp or
1-3 Panzaism - The warrior is immune to Fear pointy end inspire fear in the fighter.
and ‘The Terror’ as he sees all things (even
7 MURDEROUS DELIRIUM
supernatural things) as ordinary.
Something snaps inside the fighter’s mind and he gives
4-6 Quixotism - The fighter sees everything and in to the rage. He doesn’t recognize any model as friend-
everyone as supernatural threats. He must ly and becomes frenzied. If he is out of charge range, he
pass a Leadership test at the beginning of the moves as fast as possible (i.e. runs) instead towards the
Movement phase or becomes frenzied while in nearest visible model.
hand-to-hand combat or charges the closest
model or piece of terrain bigger than him (e.g. 8 MEGALOMANIA
no rocks or barrels). The warrior has to attack The fighter may not hide or end his movement phase
his ‘foe’ until he takes him out of action or behind an obstacle. The fighter is immune to All Alone
passes the Leadership test, which allows him tests. In addition, if the fighter is the leader of the war-
to break free from combat automatically (see band he cannot make a voluntary rout for as long as
LRB Optional Rules). this result lasts.

5 PARANOIA 9 CORRUPTED IN MIND AND BODY

The fighter is always on edge and thinks someone is out The warrior’s body reacts to the unnatural changes his
to get him. He may not run but may charge into com- mind undergoes. Roll on the Stygian Mutation Chart
bat as normal. He will always ‘strikes first’ in combat and immediately apply the result permanently.
unless he is carrying a double handed weapon. 10 CRIMINAL PSYCHOSIS
6 PHOBIA The fighter hates everyone!
The fighter is cursed with a permanent or temporary 11 ABYSSAL NIGHTMARES
phobia. Note that causing fear does not prevent a model
The fighter has seen too much and is plagued by hor-
from taking phobia-induced fear test itself.
rible nightmares. The model misses the next game and
Roll 1D6 must make a Leadership test. If the test is passed, the
1 Claustrophobia -The Fighter must pass a Ld warrior has defeated the nightmares and loses D3 in-
test to enter a building or each turn to move if sanity points, otherwise his fragile mind suffers even
he is inside a tunnel or similar. more and he gains D6 insanity points. These effects are
always permanent, no matter what you rolled on the
2 Acrophobia - The fighter must take a Ld test duration chart.
each turn he is on a higher floor or area.
12 COMPLETELY BONKERS
3 Nyctophobia - As long the sight conditions
The fighter may not take part in any battles as long as
are worse than bright, the fighter has to pass a
the insanity endures as his fragile mind can no longer
Ld test at the beginning of each turn to move.
bear the Sealed City’s horrors. If the madness is perma-
nent, instead remove the fighter from your roster.