Smoke and Mayhem: Mordheim's Optional Black Powder Rules

Black powder weapon misfires, this was a section of the rulebook that stuck with me. From my first fumbling read through in the noughties, through to now where I have found myself re-immersing myself in a game that ticks every box I could ask for, this section is a summary of why I love this game. 

Almost inherently in the design and gameplay - Mordheim is going to appeal strongest to players who are not only willing to tolerate mayhem and chaos – but who would be distraught at its absence. For me, this swingy, bedlam laden, skirmish game does something that is simultaneously simple in design and all-encompassing in its impact. Failures are not passive mechanics, instead you can break your neck climbing down from a building, your lavishly costly armour is lost to the streets if you die, and relevantly here, you can choose to have your brand-new innovation all the way from the forges of Nuln, your prized pistol, that wonderful icon of your warbands wealth and success – violently and fatally explode in your face.

Two factors about this wonderful mechanic always struck me as wonderful. First you can turn failure from being a passive “past the dice” moment into a, quite literally, explosive narrative moment in your campaign, were the very history of your warbands fortunes could swing. Suddenly, this symbol of wealth and supremacy becomes a subject of distrust and ridicule. You can picture the scene, your extravagantly wealthy Marienburg warband suddenly selling in all its black powder weapons because the mercenary captain has lost an eye to his misfiring pistol and is now opting for his entire warband to wield only the finest Tilean crossbows. Mechanics like this in a narrative driven game, make trundling mono-directional games and campaigns turn into something that is so reflective of reality where no matter how good things are no matter how sure everything seems, no matter how good it is, that there is always something lurking that might upend the preordained order for things as you had saw it.

The second thing is incredible when you spend some time to think about it. You can choose. This isn’t a must happen – this isn’t a black and white rule. You and your opponents can actively choose to engage in some collective self-inflicted misery. Mordheim even before it’s colonisation by the fans, was actively encouraging you to make your own decisions about how you play, and I’d suggest that spirit is exactly why such wonderfully rich contributions have been made to the game by its ardent followers. 

Also.. this section only recommends you lower the cost of the black powder weapons – a recommendation is a choice you can like our campaign utterly ignore… 

Black powder weapons, can like armour become a brilliant balancing lever in a campaign - mildly ineffectual, showy, and sometimes an absolutely downright stupidly expensive mistake. Perfect mayhem.