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GW Memories: Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb
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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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
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.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Int | Cl | WP |
| 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 3 | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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:
- 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.
- 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!
- 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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Independent Daemons in WFRP 4th Edition

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.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 35 | 45 | 25 | 45 | 60 | 45 | 45 | 25 | 45 | 25 | 12 |
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.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 4 | 50 | 35 | 40 | 30 | 60 | 40 | 30 | 25 | 50 | 15 | 15 |
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.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 70 | 35 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 50 | 100 | 100 | 80 | 80 |
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

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.
| M | WS | BS | S | T | I | Ag | Dex | Int | WP | Fel | W |
| 6 | 90 | 95 | 110 | 120 | 100 | 95 | 90 | 110 | 120 | 90 | 114 |
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 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.
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 (












