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GW Memories: Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb

September 22, 2025 4 comments

I’m interrupting the series on WFRP 1 in-jokes and Easter Eggs because I just stumbled across an unboxing video for this little game, which I had almost completely forgotten. I’m putting down what I remember about it while it’s still fresh in my mind.

Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb was a boxed boardgame designed by Stephen Hand, the designer behind Chainsaw Warrior, Fury of Dracula, and Chaos Marauders. I believe it was the last game he designed for Games Workshop before quitting, unhappy with management and his role in the company. In a way, his experience paralleled mine: boardgames and roleplaying games both suffered as GW’s focus on miniatures became all-consuming. I remember (half) joking at the time that it would be more honest if the company was called Miniatures Workshop.

The title was stolen from a lesser entry in Hammer Films’ roster of mummy movies. I recall that Steve was a huge fan of classic Hammer and Universal horrors, as well as more contemporary horror. After leaving GW, he wrote the novelization of Freddy vs. Jason, among many other things.

One of the more novel design elements was the 3D board, which was assembled from carboard components in the box. The playable characters were miniatures chosen from GW’s Gothic Horror line, and I wrote up a few more miniatures as playable characters in a support article for White Dwarf. I suspect that in the eyes of GW management, the whole thing was as much an attempt to shift some more of those minis as a sequel to the well-received Fury of Dracula.

And that’s all I really remember of this game. The unboxing video will tell you everything you need to know about it, except for one thing: at the time, there was an effort to make a third gothic horror boardgame, which never came to fruition. I’m not sure it was even announced.

Perhaps I’ll blog about that in the future.


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And Also…

September’s Monster of the Month is posted on my Patreon page.

The nuckelavee is a demonic monster from the Orkney Islands, which spreads pestilence and terror in equal measure. This 4-page, system-agnostic, PDF monster toolkit includes:

  • Stat guidelines for d20-based, d100-based, and – through comparisons with common creatures from most settings – all other tabletop roleplaying systems.
  • A full monster description with lists of basic and optional skills and traits.
  • Three adventure seeds, covering fantasy, historical, and modern settings.

As a member of The Monster of the Month Club, you can expect regular, in-depth treatments of creatures from worldwide myth and folklore—some familiar, some not—in a system-agnostic format that is easy for an experienced GM to use with the tabletop rpg system of their choice.
Join us on Patreon at patreon.com/MonsteroftheMonthClub, follow us @MotMClub, or email [email protected].


40K Silliness: The Catachan Cater-Killer

April 26, 2025 Leave a comment

I mentioned this never-published beast in a previous post, and this week I thought it might be fun to try and stat it for Warhammer 40,000 Rogue Trader. So here goes.

I should admit that my writing for 40K back in the day was mostly color text, and I’m very rusty on the rules, so treat this as just a bit of fun: late-April foolery, if you will. With that said, though, if anyone wants to discuss and develop it for Rogue Trader or any other edition of Warhammer 40K – well, you know where the comments are, and I look forward to seeing your ideas!


The Chatachan Cater-Killer

It’s something like this, but 60 feet long, 5 feet high, and covered in spines

This huge beast crashes through the jungles of the Catachan Deathworld like a runaway train, devouring everything in its path as it goes on its mindless way. Its vast maw, capable of swallowing anything Ork-sized or smaller, is not its only weapon, as its body is covered in long barbs through which it secretes the toxins and venoms that collect in its system from eating the flora and fauna of this deadly world.

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Attacks

1 Bite – on a successful hit the targeted model is swallowed and removed from the table. Do not roll for Wounds.

Spines (special) – every model in base contact with a Cater-Killer’s body takes an automatic S 5 attack causing D6 Wounds, every turn that they remain in base contact.

Models killed by a Cater-Killer do not count toward the victory conditions of either side.

The Cater-Killer in Play

A Catachan Cater-Killer is a moving environmental hazard: it has no points value, and is not controlled by either side. It enters the table at the mid-point of one end, equally far away from each player’s deployment zone and pointing toward the centre of the table.

Each turn, a Cater-Killer moves its full movement allowance in a straight line. It crashes straight through vegetation, eating a path through it, and it only changes direction under three circumstances:

  1. If it encounters an inedible obstacle, such as a rock or a building, it alters course to get past it. Roll a D6: 1-3 it turns left; 4-6 it turns right.
  2. If it takes a hit, it turns 45 degrees away from the side where the hit landed. If that’s not clear, it turns away from the source of the hit. Savvy players will quickly hit on the idea of using this to try and steer it toward their opponents’ forces!
  3. If anyone or anything edible is within 2″ of its front, it changes course to put this directly in front of it.

It is recommended only to use a single Cater-Killer in a game. They are said to converge in some numbers during the mating season, but no-one has observed this from the ground and lived to tell of it.

Making a Cater-Killer Miniature

To make a Cater-Killer in proper scale, cut a strip about 12″ (30cm) long and 1/4″ (7mm) wide from a piece of carpet. Those spiky, commercial-grade carpet tiles are ideal. Cater-Killers come in a variety of colours – perhaps related to their diet – but blue and green are common. Paint one end red to indicate the mouth.


So there you have it: a bit of fun based on a memory from 1986. If anybody actually makes one, send a photo! If anyone uses it in a game, tell us how it went!



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WFRP 4 Monsters: The Index

February 28, 2024 29 comments


A couple of years ago, I started a project to create unofficial WFRP 4th edition stats for a lot of old Citadel Miniatures.

There are quite a few of them now, so I’m posting this index for easy reference.

If you like this kind of content, please leave a rating so I’ll know to do more (as everyone says online, like and subscribe!). If not, please leave a comment to let me know what you’d rather see. For example, I’m thinking of doing WFRP 1 stats for those creatures that don’t already have them.

Zoats
Ambull
Viydagg
Mardagg
Mabrothrax
Jabberwock
Gargoyle
Toad Dragon
The Spectral Claw
The Mud Elemental
Ngaaranh Spawn of Chaos
Leaping Slomm Two-Face
Zygor Snake-Arms
Independent Daemons
Chaos Snakemen
Menfish
Golems
Giant Bats and Fell Bats
Lesser Daemon of Malal
Greater Daemon of Malal
Medusas
Daemons of Law
The Cook: A Mutant
More Mutants
Great Cats and Elven Beastfriends
The Water Leaper


Monsters are one of my favorite elements of fantasy, myth, and folklore, so I hope you enjoy these.

More monsters – based on myth and folklore rather than Citadel Miniatures – can be yours from the Monster of the Month Club, my new Patreon project. It’s system-agnostic format was developed over more than a decade, and is easy to convert to WFRP – or to any other system you like!


Independent Daemons in WFRP 4th Edition

July 25, 2020 36 comments

A selection of miniatures from the Citadel C18 Nights Horrors and C22 Creatures ranges.

Before the two Realm of Chaos volumes presented the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos, Demons (as they were spelled then) in Warhammer and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay were not too dissimilar from the demons that could be found in any other fantasy setting of the time – although some, usually described as “Chaos Demons,” were stranger.

I touched on the question of independent Daemons in my previous post on Gargoyles, so here is a rough treatment of them for WFRP 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is in no way official and should be considered a fan work. No challenge is intended to copyrights or trademarks held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.


Independent Daemons

Instead of pledging themselves to one of the Ruinous Powers, some follow Chaos Undivided: the force of which, in their view, each of the Chaos Gods is merely one part. This is as true of Daemons as it is of mortals.

Although each Daemon is rendered unique by its combination of mutations and optional Traits, scholars divide them into four main classes:

Imps, also known as Least Daemons, are the smallest and least dangerous of their kind. They may serve Daemonologists as familiars and assistants, or devote themselves to causing trouble whenever the opportunity arises.

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Traits: Claws, Corruption (Moderate), Daemonic 9+, Fear 1, Night Vision, Size (Small), Unstable, Weapon +5

Optional: Clever, Cunning, Fast, Hardy, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Stealthy, Tail +5, Tough

Lesser Daemons are the mainstay of Daemonic armies, and are also summoned by Daemonologists and others to perform specific tasks. Occasionally, they may be brought forth from the Realm of Chaos by a magical accident, or overpower and kill their summoner. In this case they will rampage uncontrollably until banished or destroyed.

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Traits: Claws, Corruption (Moderate), Daemonic 8+, Fear 2, Night Vision, Unstable, Weapon +9

Optional: Belligerent, Brute, Champion, Distracting, Elite, Flight 60, Frenzy, Horns +5, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +7

Greater Daemons are powerful beings, and can only be controlled by the most powerful Daemonologists. They are constantly looking for ways into the material world, and are capable of summoning other Daemons to do their bidding. Their plans have been long in the making, and involve far more than simple destruction. Often they hope to enslave mortals and create a daemonic nation of their own, with themselves as absolute rulers.

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Traits: Corruption (Major), Daemonic 7+, Night Vision, Size (Large), Terror 2, Unstable, Weapon +15

Optional: Armour 1-4, Belligerent, Bite, Champion, Dark Vision, Distracting, Flight 60, Frenzy, Horns +10, Leader, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +10

From the Third Citadel Compendium

Greatest Daemons, sometimes called Daemon Princes, are the most powerful of the daemonic beings. No mortal can control them, though some may be able to make deals with them. On the whole,though, they have mortal servants rather than mortal masters. They appear only rarely, either at the head of a vast daemonic army or as the power behind a conspiracy to destroy a nation or an entire continent.

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Traits: Corruption (Major), Daemonic 6+, Dark Vision, Size (Large), Terror 4, Unstable, Weapon +20

Optional: Armour 5-7, Breath +10 (Fire), Dark Vision, Die Hard, Distracting, Flight 50, Frenzy, Hardy, Horns +10, Immunity to Psychology, Leader, Mental Corruption, Mutation, Painless, Rear, Size (Enormous), Spellcaster (Chaos), Tail +10, Venom (Very Hard)


The Monsters so Far:

WFRP 4 Monsters – The Index


Jabberwock: A Forgotten WFRP Monster

May 16, 2020 49 comments

Well, it’s not original to WFRP, of course. The beast was born in Lewis Carroll’s poem Jabberwockyand its image was established for all time by Sir John Tenniel’s illustration from 1897. Nick Bibby’s Jabberwock miniature was advertised in the first Citadel Journal, which was published in Spring 1985. Following my policy of covering every Citadel miniature I could find, I wrote it up for the Bestiary chapter of the WFRP first edition rulebook. Journal 1

Nick Bibby’s Jabberwock (right), with a Ral Partha Jabberwock mini of similar vintage.

I don’t think the Jabberwock appeared in any official Warhammer publication outside of the WFRP 1st edition rulebook, the Warhammer 3rd edition rulebook, and a handful of miniatures ads – but if you know better, drop me a comment! Here is my re-imagining of the beast for WFRP 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is extremely unofficial, completely optional, and does not constitute any challenge to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.

The Jabberwock

WFRP Jabberwock The Incursions of Chaos have produced thousands of strange creatures. Living in the deepest forests, the Jabberwock is little seen – at least, by those who live to tell of it – and it is known mainly through local rumours and the distant sound of its burbling cry. The Jabberwock stands over 12 feet high, and can move by running on all fours or walking on its hind legs. All four limbs are equipped with sharp claws, and its mouth is armed with long, chisel-like teeth. They are very aggressive, but rather stupid. The Jabberwock’s wings are too small to allow it to fly. It can only bounce along or jump a few feet into the air. Their flapping makes a thrumming, whiffling sound which can be disconcerting.
M WS BS S T I Ag Dex Int WP Fel W
6 79 0 55 65 20 40 15 15 85 100
Traits: Arboreal, Belligerent, Bite +9, Bounce, Claws (2) +10, Distracting (Noise), Hungry, Night Vision, Size (Enormous), Stride, Stupid, Tail +8 Optional: Corruption (Minor), Fear 1, Horns +6, Mutation, Regenerate, Stomp, Territorial, Venom (Challenging)

The Monsters so Far:

WFRP 4 Monsters – The Index

Mabrothrax: A Forgotten WFRP Monster

May 2, 2020 23 comments

This post completes my re-imagining of the three odd Elementals that appeared in the Third Citadel Compendium in 1985: the Life Elemental, the Death Elemental, and the Plague Elemental. In the WFRP 1st edition rulebook, I gave them different names and backstories, making them Demons (the “Daemon” spelling did not appear until Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness in 1988) affiliated with the yet-to-be-organized gods of Law and Chaos.

Plague Elemental - Compendium 3 Plague Elemental Write-up Oddly, the Plague Elemental was put in the C29 Large Monsters range, while the other two were in C34 Elementals and Demons. However, it was written up alongside the Life and Death Elementals in that issue’s “Bellicose Bestiary” column. For WFRP 1st edition, I invented the name Mabrothrax and gave the beast to Nurgle, the Chaos God of plagues and pestilence. It made sense at the time, but when Realms of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned defined the Daemons and followers of Nurgle in 1990, the Mabrothrax was not among them. The Mabrothrax reappeared in 2005’s Tome of Corruption for WFRP 2nd edition as an Apparition linked to Nurgle. Visions rather than monsters, Apparitions could not be fought or stopped, existing only to warn spellcasters that they are being too reckless in their use of magic. So that is the history of the Mabrothrax in a nutshell (apart from this metal track that turned up in the Google search). Here is my suggestion for using the creature in WFRP 4th edition. Needless to say, what follows is extremely unofficial, completely optional, and does not constitute any challenge to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.

The MabrothraxWFRP Mabrothrax

Also known as the Steward of Filth and Nurgle’s Handmaiden, the Mabrothrax is a favoured servant of the Plaguefather, and stands outside the normal hierarchy of his Daemons. Its origins are obscure. According to some scholars it was once a Plaguebearer, raised up by Nurgle’s favour in the same way as the Masque of Slaanesh was elevated from the ranks of the Daemonettes. Others have suggested that it was a mortal Cult Magus who was elevated for his or her devotion. The Mabrothrax is a large, hulking humanoid with thin, spindly arms and legs equipped with razor-sharp claws. Its body is a thin bag of skin filled with a soupy mess of entrails, excrement, and decay. Its head is dominated by a massive maw filled with sharp, jutting teeth.
M WS BS S T I Ag Dex Int WP Fel W
6 90 93 100 120 100 105 90 90 120 100 92
Traits: Bite +11, Claws (2) +9, Corruption (Major), Daemonic 7+, Dark Vision, Distracting (Stench), Disease (All), Fetid Blast (see below), Infected, Size (Large), Spellcaster (Nurgle), Terror 2, Unstable

Traits

Disease (All)
As a favored one of Nurgle, the Mabrothrax carries all diseases. Whenever a victim must Test for Contraction (WFRP, page 186), roll a D100 to choose a disease randomly: 01-10 – Black Plague 11-30 – Blood Rot 31-50 – Bloody Flux 51-70 – Packer’s Pox 71-80 – Ratte Fever 81-00 – Other or roll again (GM’s choice)
Fetid Blast
Once per round, the creature can unleash a blast of pestilential air (Range 10 yards, Damage +10, Blast 5, Distract, Ignores Armour). This attack is Infected. All living creatures affected by the blast must make a Hard (-20) Willpower Test or gain one Broken Condition – two if the victim has the Acute Sense (Smell) Trait.

The Monsters so Far:

WFRP 4 Monsters – The Index

Mardagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster

April 25, 2020 27 comments

Last week I posted about an obscure Warhammer monster called the Viydagg, also known as the Life Elemental. When the miniature was first released in 1985, it was packaged with its counterpart, the Death Elemental. Rules and stats for Warhammer 2nd edition were published in the Third Citadel Compendium, and I adapted them for WFRP in the 1st edition rulebook.

Mardagg - Compendium 3

I was writing at a time before the Warhammer mythos had become really coherent, with specific Daemons serving the four Ruinous Powers of Chaos. Like its companions, the Life Elemental and the Plague Elemental, the Death Elemental clearly couldn’t be an Elemental in the classical sense, so I renamed it the Mardagg and gave it as backstory as a servant of Khorne the Blood God. At the time, he seemed like the most logical patron.

Just two years later, though, Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness began the process of developing and organizing the lore of Chaos in Warhammer, and the Mardagg did not find a place alongside the Bloodthirsters, Bloodletters, and other servants of brass-throned Khorne. Like the Viydagg, the Mardagg spent the next thirty years in obscurity. True, there was an Incarnate Elemental of Death in the 2012 Monstrous Arcanum from Warhammer Forge, but it was a quite different beast from the Mardagg.

People seemed to like my re-imagining of the Viydagg for WRFP 4th edition, and quite a few asked if I would do the same for Mardagg as well. So here it is. Needless to say, what follows is extremely unofficial, completely optional, and does not constitute any challenge to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.


The Mardagg

Mardagg - Warhammer - The Old World - Lexicanum

The theologians of the Old World argue over the status of the being known as Nagash. It is no secret that he has spent millennia gathering power and trying to ascend to godhood, but the question of whether he has succeeded is a contentious issue.

Those who argue for his divinity often cite the existence of the Mardagg as proof, claiming that it is a an avatar  of Nagash just as the Viydagg is an avatar of the nature goddess Rhya. Others argue that it serves another, such as murderous Khaine or dread Morai-Heg, or some unnamed and ancient god of the Khemrian Liche-Priests.

The Mardagg appears as a hooded, skeletal figure, standing some ten feet tall and armed with a great scythe. Few have seen it at close quarters, though it has been sighted from a distance stalking across battlefields or striding through the night on some enigmatic business. Wherever it goes, death follows.

M WS BS S T I Ag Dex Int WP Fel W
6 90 93 100 120 100 105 90 90 120 100 92

Traits: Armour 2, Chill Grasp, Daemonic 7+, Immunity (Magic: Lore of Death, Lore of Necromancy), Night Vision, Size (Large), Spellcaster (Lore of Death, Lore of Necromancy), Squeeze of Death (see below), Terror 2, Tracker, Zone of Death (see below), Weapon +14

Optional: Blessed (Nagash or Khaine or Morai-Heg), Invoke (Nagash or Khaine or Morai-Heg). (There are no officially published Blessings or Miracles for these deities at the time of posting, so the GM should feel free to improvise.)

New Traits

Squeeze of Death

This is a ranged version of the Chill Grasp Trait. The creature points at a single living target within line of sight, then turns the hand over and closes the fist. Perform an Opposed Willpower Test. If the creature wins, the icy force of death crushes the target’s heart, causing 1d10+SL Wounds with no modification for Toughness Bonus or Armour Points. This attack is Magical.

Zone of Death

The creature is wreathed in an aura of death and decay that extends in a radius of 12 yards. Any living creature must make a Hard (-20) Willpower Test each round while within the zone, gaining one Fatigued Condition for each failure.

In addition, the wind of Shyish blows so strongly within the zone that all spells and magical effects powered by Shyish gain a +30 bonus to all relevant Tests, while all  spells and effects powered by Ghyran or Hyish suffer a -30 penalty.


The Monsters so Far:

WFRP 4 Monsters – The Index

Viydagg: A Forgotten WFRP Monster

April 18, 2020 30 comments

The Viydagg is an artefact of a time before the Warhammer mythos had truly come together. It (or rather, she) has appeared in an official WFRP publication only once, in the Bestiary chapter of the WFRP 1st edition rulebook. I think it’s safe to say that neither Games Workshop nor Cubicle 7 has any plans to use her in the future.

The Life Elemental, Death Elemental, and Plague Elemental were Citadel miniatures dating back to before the publication of WFRP, and I gave them WFRP stats and backstories, along with new names since they clearly were not Elementals. The Death Elemental became a the Mardagg, a Greater Demon of Khorne (the ‘Daemon’ spelling came later), the Plague Elemental became the Mabrothrax, a Greater Daemon of Nurgle – and the Life Elemental became the Viydagg, a Greater Demon of Law who upheld the laws of life and nature.

The original miniatures ad, from the Third Citadel Compendium (1985). The same issue presented game stats for the Life, Death, and Plague Elementals in Warhammer 2nd edition.

The Life and Death Elementals. Image borrowed from the Stuff of Legends web site.

These three were left behind as the Warhammer mythos coalesced and developed. The Greater Daemons of the Ruinous Powers became standardized with the publication of Realm of Chaos, and the Gods of Law dropped out, replaced for the most part by Sigmar and his witch hunters. And that’s no bad thing.

Still, I decided that it would be a nice intellectual exercise to reimagine the Viydagg for WFRP 4th edition, adapting her backstory to fit the present state of the Warhammer mythos. See what you think – and let me have your comments, corrections, and suggestions in the comments below.

Needless to say, what follows is extremely unofficial, completely optional, and does not constitute any challenge to copyrights held by Games Workshop, Cubicle 7, or anyone else.


The Viydagg

The Viydagg is an avatar of the goddess Rhya, and appears in the Old World only in exceptional circumstances. Her name means “life-giver” in the ancient tongue of the Taleutens, among whom her worship was most widespread. Several Talabecland folk-tales tell of her appearing in the aftermath of the Great War against Chaos, restoring the land’s fertility and healing the blights left behind by the forces of Chaos. On a handful of occasions, she even entered combat against a Greater Daemon.

The Viydagg has the appearance of a beautiful woman more than ten feet tall. Flowers grow on her garments and twine through her hair. She normally goes about her work silently, ignoring the mortals around her, though devout followers of Rhya or Taal have sometimes been favoured with a word or two.

M WS BS S T I Ag Dex Int WP Fel W
6 90 93 100 120 100 105 90 90 120 100 92

Traits: Blessed (Rhya), Distracting (Beauty), Divine 7+ (see below), Invoke (Rhya), Night Vision, Size (Large), Terror 2, Tracker, Zone of Life (see below)

New Traits

Divine (Target)

The creature’s essence is divine power, which sustains it completely. It does not require food, water, air, rest, or anything else that a living creature might need.

All its attacks are Magical. Roll 1d10 after any blow is received: if the creature rolls the Target number or higher, the blow is ignored even if it is a critical. Should the creature be reduced to 0 Wounds, its essence returns to the realm of Rhya immediately, removing it from play.

Aura of Life

The creature is wreathed in an aura of life and fertility which extends in a radius of 12 yards. No creature with the Undead Trait may enter this zone, and any creature with the Corruption Trait must make a Hard (-20) Willpower Test each round while within the zone, gaining one Fatigued Condition for each failure.

In addition, the wind of Ghyran blows so strongly within the zone that all spells and magical effects powered by Ghyran gain a +30 bonus to all relevant Tests, while all  spells and effects powered by Dhar or Shyish suffer a -30 penalty.


The Monsters so Far:

WFRP 4 Monsters – The Index

The Cook: A #MondayMutant for WFRP 4th Edition

April 13, 2020 3 comments

Following on from last Monday’s post, and inspired by one of the images there, here is a Mutant concept that fuses the living and the inanimate. It might be encountered in a place like Castle Wittgenstein from Death on the Reik, or the dread Castle Drachenfels, or anywhere else that has been seriously warped by the influence of Chaos.

Let me know what you think, especially if you have any ideas or suggestions for refining the stats. And if you use this Mutant in a game, please share your account of the battle!


The Cook

Cook

Encountered in the castle’s kitchens, the cook has become fused with a pot of boiling, bubbling stew. In addition to two legs of flesh, the cook has three short stubby, metal legs attached to its pot-body.

M WS BS S T I Ag Dex Int WP Fel W
3 30 30 30 30 30 5 30 30 30 30 12

Mutations: Fused Body (Body and Legs, Metal), Multiple Legs

Traits: Armour 2 (Body and Metal Legs), Painless (Body and Metal Legs), Ranged +2 (Stew – see below) Ladle (Improvised Weapon) +1

When a leg hit is indicated, take into account the direction from which the attack has come. The cook’s human legs are placed normally, while one of the three metal pot-legs is in front of each human leg, and the final metal leg is centrally placed at the front of the Mutant’s body.

For random generation, roll 1d10 and consult the following table:

1d10 Leg
1-2 Human, left
3-4 Metal, left
5-6 Metal, front
7-8 Metal, right
9-10 Human, right

Stew (Ranged Weapon)

The cook can use its ladle to splash hot stew at an enemy. This is a Ranged attack (Range 3) with the Blast 1 Quality and the Imprecise and Undamaging Flaws. Damage is +2, and any successful head hit causes one Blinded condition.

For a tougher encounter, the stew may be tainted by Chaos, with each damaging hit counting as Minor exposure to Corruption. It may even lash out on its own, giving the cook the Trait Tentacles in addition to those listed above.

Variant: The Laundress

Encountered in the castle’s laundry – or perhaps by a nearby stream, beating wet clothes on a rock – the laundress is pretty much identical to the cook. The only differences, apart from the location, are that hot, soapy water takes the place of stew and 1-2 pieces of animated clothing attack like tentacles. A hit from these has the same effect as the cook’s soup attack, depending on the location.


François Rabelais. Les Songes Drolatiques de Pantagruel. Paris : Edwin Tross, 1869.

This simpler variant has the usual number of legs, a metal body and head, and a Vomit attack.


Be Our Guest. . . .

With a little work, it’s possible to come up with an entire staff of Mutants, like a dark and twisted version of the castle’s inhabitants from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Have fun – and feel free to share your creations in the comments section below.


Monday Mutants

April 6, 2020 8 comments

Well, the Monday Maps haven’t been as big a hit as I had hoped, so here’s something different.

 

For a long time, mutants were only found in science fiction settings, their forms warped by radiation or other more-or-less scientific causes. Medieval art is full of weird and grotesque figures, though, and in a game such as Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, the Ruinous Powers of Chaos twist bodies and minds into unimaginable shapes. The Enemy in Shadows Companion has a chapter on Mutants in the Empire, and in the thirty-odd years since the first edition of WFRP was published, other games have taken similar approaches to Chaos and mutation.

 

Mix-and-match animal heads, arms, and legs are commonplace in fantasy these days, but here are some old pictures that take mutation to another level. Why not try to stat them and post your ideas in the comments below? It could be fun.

 

Mutants 1

 

Mutants 2

 

If these are too tame for you, mix in some inorganic parts for the full, Heironymus Bosch level of crazy.

 

Mutants 3

For more wacky mutant goodness like this, use “The Drolatic Dreams of Pantagruel” as a search term.

 

The mutation tables in the Enemy in Shadows Companion don’t cover anything like this, so here’s a stab. Perhaps some of you will have better ideas, in which case please drop them in the comments below.

 

New Mutation: Fused Body

A part of your body becomes fused with an inanimate object.

 

Random Generation

I recommend that you use this mutation deliberately rather than using random generation, but if you strongly prefer to do so, make two rolls on the Physical Corruption table. If they are identical, use this mutation; otherwise, apply the first roll as usual.

 

Use the Hit Locations table on page 159 of the WFRP rulebook to determine which body part is affected, and then choose from what is close by or roll on the following table:

 

Roll Material Examples
01-25 Wood Barrel, chair, chest
26-50 Stone Statue, rock, planter
51-75 Ceramic Pot, bowl, lamp
76-00 Metal Jug, tub, poker

 

Armor may not be worn on a location affected by this mutation.

 

Wood gives a Mutant +1 AP and the Painless Trait, both on the affected location only. The location gains one Ablaze condition on any critical hit with a fire weapon. Other effects are:

Wood

 

Stone gives a Mutant +3 AP and the Painless Trait, both on the affected location only. Critical hits to the location are ignored when the attack roll is a double. Other effects are:

Stone

 

Ceramic (including glass) gives a Mutant +1 AP and the Painless Trait, both on the affected location only. Because ceramic is brittle, use the higher number as tens when rolling on the Critical Tables. Other effects are:

Ceramic

 

Metal gives a Mutant +2 AP and the Painless Trait, both on the affected location only.  Other effects are:

Stone

 

Use Your Imagination!

More than any other mutation, this one requires some imagination on the part of the GM. It is not possible to cover in detail the effects of fusing with every possible inanimate object, so feel free to treat the effects above as guidelines rather than hard rules. Use them as a starting point, play around with the modifiers, and produce something that you personally find satisfying.

 

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