Realmshaper Wars

Source: Might & Madness/Nightmare Quest (out of print)

Realmshaper Engines are mystical powerhouses that can, at least in theory, alter the essence of nearby lands to whatever form their wielder desires. When they become damaged and volatile, however, they are dangerous beyond measure; the current state of the inner Gnarlwood speaks to that. Nevertheless, the Realmshapers have become focal points in many battles raging across the forest of late. Now, two alliances have begun to clash over one such device, which they believe can be manipulated to serve their purposes.

This campaign tells the story of two factions: the Insane and the Wanderers. Each seeks to bind the power of the Realmshaper Engine to their cause. The Insane, their minds broken and scarred by the war in the Gnarlwood, are convinced that the device will create a paradise for them. Perhaps it might, though more likely it will instead bring about a wave of disaster. The Wanderers seek to use the engine to regenerate lands long lost to them, or else to carve out a kingdom that they alone may rule. Regardless of their exact motives, they have travelled long to find a treasure capable of realising their vision, and in their zealous determination they will let nothing — not even good sense — stand in their way.

Introduction

Realmshaper Wars is a campaign arc for 4 or 6 players. In this campaign arc, the players are divided into 2 teams. One team are the Wanderers, a coalition of warbands set on using a Realmshaper Engine to create an area in the Mortal Realms they can call their own. The other team are the Insane, warbands Whose collective insanity has convinced them that the Realmshaper Engine is a gateway to a new paradise, where they shall live for eternity in permanent bliss. While it is unlikely that the Realmshaper Engine can be used to complete either task, both sides are determined to see their plans through no matter the consequences.

The campaign arc lasts for 3 battles. For the first 2 battles, each player’s warband will face a different player’s warband from the opposing team. The final battle of the campaign arc is a Coalition of Death fought between all the players.

Getting Ready

The players divide their warbands into 2 teams: the Wanderers and the Insane. The warbands on each team do not need to be from the same Grand Alliance, but it can add to the narrative if warbands that are less likely to kill each other on sight fight alongside each other make up each team (even if their tolerance of the other is only very slight!).

The Insane

At the start of the campaign arc, each Insane player rolls between 1 and 6 dice (each player chooses how many dice they wish to roll). The player whose result has the highest average (rounding up) is that faction’s Grand Psychopomp.

Crazed: After an Insane player has rolled their initiative dice and allocated their wild dice for the current battle round, they must randomly generate a new value for each [double], [triple] and [quad] by rolling one dice from each and changing the value of that [double], [triple] or [quad] to the result.

The Wanderers

The Wanderers are a coalition of warbands who, though (largely) sound of mind, are determined to exploit the Realmshaper Engine’s power. While they may not trust one another, they will fight as one to prevent any other from claiming the device.

Unexpected ‘Ally’: After their battle groups are deployed, each Wanderer warband can deploy 1 fighter worth up to 100 points from the faction of another Wanderer warband, at no additional cost in points, within 1" of a friendly fighter. This fighter cannot use abilities, is not considered part of the warband for the purposes of determining victory, and is not added to the deploying player’s warband roster. In addition, this fighter is ignored for the purposes of controlling objectives and cannot carry treasure.

Playing Through The Campaign Arc

The campaign is fought in 3 rounds. In the first and second rounds, each player’s warband faces one from the opposing team in battle. The Grand Psychopomp decides which warbands will face each other in the first and second rounds. During the second round, players cannot battle against the same player they faced in the first round.

The Aftermath Sequence

For the first 2 rounds of battles, one of the following rules applies in the aftermath sequence depending on whether your warband is from the Insane or the Wanderers:

Insane Warbands

You must determine if your warband is Lucid or Volatile. Your warband is Lucid if, at the end of the battle, there were more friendly fighters with damage points allocated to them then there were friendly fighters with no damage points allocated to them (remember that fighters that are taken down still have damage points allocated to them). Otherwise, your warband is Volatile.

• If your warband is Lucid, add 1 to renown rolls made for your fighters in this aftermath sequence.
• If your warband is Volatile, you earn D6 additional glory if you won the battle.

Wanderers Warbands

• If, at the end of the battle, there was at least 1 friendly fighter wholly within each quarter of the battlefield, add 1 to renown rolls made for your fighters in this aftermath sequence.
• If at least half of the enemy warband was taken down, you earn D6 additional glory points.

The Final Battle

The third round of this campaign arc is the final one, a single battle fought between all the participating warbands. The outcome of this battle will determine which team is declared the victor. This battle is a Coalition of Death team battle and uses the ‘Out of Time’ battleplan below.

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Planning Ahead

The final battle of the campaign arc has a set battleplan. This means the players will know how and where their battle groups will deploy before they choose which fighters are in which battle groups. We recommend the players take advantage of this and plan accordingly!

Rewards

In the aftermath sequence of the final battle, each player gains an additional D6 glory and can add 1 to renown rolls they make. In addition, each player on the winning team can roll once on the Treasures of the Gnarlwood table. If they roll an artefact that is already borne by a fighter in their warband, they can choose to either re-roll the result or gain an additional D6 glory.

battleplan

Campaign Arc Battleplan: Out of Time

The Wanderers and the Insane have at last discovered a Realmshaper Engine that is not only intact, but functional — at least, to some extent. However, it is clear that the strange construct is far from stable. Too much tampering or damage inflicted in battle could spell rain, and see a considerable stretch of the Gnarlwood consumed in a storm of change.

Attacker and Defender

Each team totals the number of victories they have earned during the campaign arc. The team with the greater number of victories are the defenders and the other team are the attackers.

Shared Resources

This battle uses the Shared Resources rule.

The Upper Hand

At the start of the first battle round, the defenders receive a number of additional wild dice equal to the difference between the number of campaign victories the teams have earned so far.

Terrain

Use the terrain map below. It is recommended that this battle is played on a battlefield 44" x 30" in size. A simple way to do so is to place 2 Warcry battlefield mats together.

Deployment

Use the deployment map below. The defenders are blue and the attackers are red.

Victory

The attackers earn 1 victory point each time a defending fighter is taken down.

At the end of the battle, the attackers earn 3 victory points for each fighter from their team within 3" of a Realmshaper Engine. They earn 10 victory points instead if the fighter is on the platform of the Realmshaper Engine.

The battle ends after 4 battle rounds. If the attackers have 30 victory points at the end of the battle, they win. Otherwise the defenders win.

Twist — Unstable Realmshaper Engine

The defending warbands have not been idle, and they have tried everything they can think of to manipulate the Realmshaper Engine. This has produced all manner of erratic magical eflects that may sporadically aid and hinder fighters.

The Grand Psychopomp rolls a dice after each initiative phase. On an even roll, they must pick a fighter on the opposing team. On an odd roll, they must pick a fighter on their own team. Then they roll another dice on the following table and apply the result to that fighter:

D6	Result
1	Allocate D6 damage points to that fighter.
2-5	That fighter’s controlling player removes them from the battlefield and sets them up anywhere on the battlefield floor more than 1" from enemy fighters.
6	Add 1 to the Attacks characteristic of melee attack actions made by that fighter.