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Battle in the Isle of AlbionOver the summer of 2001, Games Workshopis running an international fantasy campaignset in the Isle of Albion. This is called theDark Shadows campaign. The Dark Shadowscampaign is primarily aimed at Warhammerplayers. However, at WarMag see no reasonwhy Warhammer players should have all thefun, so we’ve developed three new scenariosfor Warmaster based on the campaignbackground.

Of AlbionWe feel sure that by now almost all of ourreaders will have been exposed to the fullstory behind the Dark Shadows campaignvia the enviably glossy pages of White Dwarfor the positively-glowing screen of the GWweb-site. Here follows the inevitablegripping summary (cue Hawkwind inspiredtheme music).

Eons ago the Isle of Albion was the site of asprawling techno-arcane complex createdby an unspeakably ancient spacefaringrace called the Slann. Their carefullyaligned stone circles and thousands ofmiles of impressively taut lay-lines onceserved to harness the mysterious psycho-magical power of the warp. This power wasused to control the gigantic interspatialportals through which Slann craft traversedthe galaxy. At some time there was anunfortunate accident; the portals becameunstable, opening a rift into the void andcreating the zone of contamination andtemporal instability that is now known asthe Chaos Wastes. In order to stop theirdamaged portals running out of controland engulfing the entire world the Slanndestroyed or disabled their control complexon Albion. A vast quantity of dangerouspsycho-active energy was released as aresult.

This catastrophe turned the isle of Albioninto a warped land that was everafterwards shrouded by chilling mists andceaselessly mocking drizzle. The explosive

release of warp energy had the effect ofdistorting local time and space insurprising ways. As a result the islandproved almost impossible to findafterwards and many Old Worlders came todoubt its very existence. Isolated from theworld and from reality the island’sinhabitants degenerated physically andculturally, coming to live an ape-likeexistence alongside the other malformedmonsters of their devastated land. Despitethis they still retain some vestigial memoryof a time of greatness when their ancestorshelped build the stone circles and otherwonders that once formed the nerve centreof the Slanns’ techo-arcane warpmechanism.

At the eve of our campaign the mists beginto clear for the first time in eons andstrangers appear in the lands of the OldWorld – savage fur-clad mystics andsorcerers from the Isle of Albion. These arethe remnants of the Guardians – men whoseancestors were trained by the Slann in agespast to tend the stones, cast the runes, andotherwise operate the controlling

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SDARK SHADOWS

Some new scenarios for games ofWarmaster set in the mysterious Isle

of Albion.

AlbionThus was the ruin of Albion – a landpolluted by sorcery in the distant Age ofMagic. A land whose immense menhirsand arcane stone circles once served tocommand the gateways between theworlds; which to this day might stillopen those gateways and bring ruin tothe whole world. Yet thanks to the mistsand the island’s mysterious inhabitants,guardians of nature unimagined beyondthose rocky shores, that possibilityappears as remote and mythical as theIsle of Albion itself.

From Commentary Upon Ye Prophesiesof Nicodamnus – Ye Gutter Press 2Groats

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mechanisms of the warp portals. Accordingto these Guardians, the gates are in fluxonce more and the stones must be repairedor perhaps destroyed to prevent Chaossweeping over the world. Thus begins thebattle for Albion – a battle that willdetermine the fate of the world for good orill.

The ScenariosThe three scenarios described here aredesigned around Albion settings andincorporate the unique character modelsthat have been made for the Dark Shadowscampaign. However – all the scenarios canbe played as stand alone games with orwithout the Albion characters.

Each scenario aims to recreate one or moreof the important features of the Albionlandscape. The basic topography is marshy.Due to the perpetual mists, the ambientlight levels are low so there is littlevegetation and what there is stunted orshrivelled. Here and there are the remnantsof ancient forests – now petrified stumps orbare trunks amongst the bogs. Some of thescenarios have special rules to represent thebogs or the mists. The other notable featuresare the remnants of stone circles andavenues – some of which retain their abilityto channel magical power. Quite how thesework or what their relationship is to the newthreat of renewed warp activity is anyone’sguess. Some scenarios have special rules torepresent these features.

GuardiansAssuming the Albion characters are beingused, each side begins the game with eitherThe Dark Emissary or The Truthsayercharacter. These are both Guardians ofAlbion – representatives of two rival butequally inscrutable factions. It does notmatter which army has which. The DarkEmissaries are vaguely evil in appearanceand the Truthsayers are somehowenigmatically good but this is not a hard andfast interpretation. Just roll a dice for eachside and the highest scoring player pickswhich of the two models to use.

These Guardian characters are additional tothe army, cost no points and yield no Victorypoints. They do not add to the army’s size orpoints value and make no difference to thenumber of units that must be destroyedbefore the army withdraws (they arecharacters in any case and only troop unitscount for withdrawals). Guardians areWizard characters and have the stat lineshown opposite. Both Truthsayers and DarkEmissaries have the same stats – Truthsayersuse the same spells as High Elves and DarkEmissaries use the same spells as Chaos. AllGuardians carry a magic staff that adds +1 totheir Casting dice roll (maximum 6). Theycan carry no other magic items. A Guardiancan give commands to troops and join unitsin the same way as other human Wizards.

The Bog BeastThe Bog Beast, also known as the Fen Beast,Mirething, or Old Boggy, is a horrible bog-dwelling mutant whose ancestors mighthave been willing and gigantic servants ofthe Slann before they were warped bysorcerous contagion. They live in and underthe extensive bogs that cover much of theland – created by the incessant rain. Ofvarying size and ferocity, the Bog Beasts lurkin the mires and pools and prey on anythingcareless enough to wander near.

The Bog Beast doesn’t fight for one sidealone – it is a neutral creature that can begiven commands by either Guardian. Assuch it can potentially fight for each side inits own turn, assuming a Guardian managesto give it an order. As it can potentiallyswitch sides from one turn to the next it isimportant that the Bog Beast is alwaysplaced so that it is not touching any otherstands at the start of a turn. If, for whateverreason, it happens to be touching anotherstand just move them apart before startingthe next turn.

The Bog Beast doesn’t count asbelonging to either side. It costs nopoints and yields no Victory points.It does not add to the army’s size orpoints value and makes no difference to thenumber of units that must be destroyedbefore the army withdraws. As it belongs toneither side it can be shot at as an enemy –should a player wish to do so – possibly todrive the creature away from your own sidefor example. The Bog Beast may however beignored as the closest target and players arenot compelled to shoot at it should they notwish to.

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Drawings by Dave Gallagher

Type

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CREATURES OF ALBION

Troops

Guardian Wizard +0 – – 7 1 Free -/1 1*

Bog Beast Monster 6 4 5+ +2 1 Free -/1 2*

SPECIAL RULES1. Guardian. Truthsayers use High Elf spells. Dark Emissaries use Chaos spells. Otherwise as

standard human Wizard. Magic Staff +1 to Casting roll.

2. Bog Beast. A Bog Beast is an individual troop unit. It cannot be brigaded with other units –

not even with other Bog Beasts. Bog Beasts never use their initiative to move in the Command

phase. They can only be given orders by a Guardian, either a Dark Emissary or Truthsayer.

Because they are pliant to the sorcerous intentions of the Guardians whose Command value

always counts as +2 greater than normal when giving orders to a Bog Beast (ie, as 9 rather than

7). Bog Beasts have a standard monster move of 20cm. They can move through bogs as if they

were open terrain. No Command penalty is ever imposed on account of dense terrain if the Bog

Beast is in a bog or similar feature. A Bog Beast will never Make Way for friendly troops moving

into its path. A Bog beast does not fight for any particular side – it can be given orders by each

side in its own turn: Bog Beasts are large terrifying monsters – enemies they fight against suffer

the usual -1 Combat modifier for fighting a terrifying enemy.

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SCENARIO 1: THE BEAST IN THE BOGIn this scenario two rival armies approacheach other over an upland bog. The groundis mostly firm but there are a number ofpatches of bog – these count as denseterrain and as such are passable to infantryonly with the usual -1 Command penalty.The mists are relatively light in this uplandareas and visibility is considered to benormal. This is a fairly straightforward battlewith the additional problem of the BogBeast.

Set-upSetup the tabletop along the lines shown.We would suggest five bogs approximately20cm diameter be placed with one in thecentre of the table and two on each side tothe left and right. There is a hillock in thecentre of each set-up area between the bogs.

There are no special deployment rules forthis scenario – use whatever method youprefer from those described in the rulebook.The game lasts until one side is forced towithdraw – or you can set a turn limit ifpreferred. Dice to see which side takes thefirst turn.

Moving BoggyIn this scenario the Bog Beast stand is usedto represent one of any number of BogBeasts that live amongst the bogs. Each turn,one Bog Beast will appear mysteriously fromone or other of the bogs and can be given

commands by the Guardian of whicheverplayer’s turn it is. When it moves, the BogBeast has a standard move of 20cm andsuffers no Command penalty for being in abog.

In this scenario the Bog Beast does notbegin the game on the battlefield. At the endof each player’s turn the Bog Beast isremoved from the battlefield – we assumethat wherever he is he sinks beneath theboggy ground once more. At the start ofeach player’s turn he may position the BogBeast stand in the centre of any of the bogson the battlefield. The Bog Beast can then begiven orders by a Guardian within 20cm inthe Command phase. Remember – becausethey are Wizards, Guardians have acommand radius of only 20cm, so it isimportant to make sure your DarkEmissary/Truthsayer is positioned ready to‘summon’ a Bog Beast during the Commandphase.

Because the Bog Beast always starts eachturn in the centre of one of the bogs, it isworth making sure that the centre of eachbog is either very obvious or marked insome way to make sure there is no doubt.The Bog Beast can be placed facing anydirection – but must be placed in the pre-determined spot. Note that the size of thebogs is key to the effectiveness of Boggy – adiameter of 20cm is about right. This meansthat units within 10cm of a bog’s edge willbe vulnerable to a single-order charge.

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Bog

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Bog MAP I

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Playing Without Albion CharactersWhat makes this game unique is the largeand dangerous monsters that keep poppingup each turn.

Substitute the Bog Beast for a similar largemonster stand such as a Troll or Bone Giant.The monster has the same stats and rules asthe Bog Beast and can be given orders by aWizard character from either side. If youwish, substitute the bogs for similar terrainsuch as patches of quicksand or ruins.

SCENARIO 2: THE STANDING STONESIn this scenario two rival armies areconverging on one of the ancient controlmechanisms – a stone circle that at one timeformed a nodal point in the techno-arcanecomplex of Albion. It is still functioning, ifnot quite as intended, and any Wizardstanding inside the circle can draw upon itsvast stores of arcane power… if they dare!The stone circle lies upon the brow of alarge hill and the whole battlefield standsproud of the surrounding fog. Visibility istherefore treated as normal in this game.The objective of the game is to defeat theenemy army but the enemy can be forced towithdraw if your Guardian gains control ofthe stone circle.

The armies deploy opposite each otherusing whatever deployment method theplayers favour. The game lasts until one sideis forced to withdraw – or you can set a turnlimit if preferred. Dice to see which sidetakes the first turn.

Set-upSet-up the tabletop along the lines shown.The area covered by the stone circle ispassable to infantry and the Bog Beast only.The circle needs to be about 25-30cmdiameter and the centre must be marked byan altar stone or in some convenientfashion.

The Stone CircleNo spell can be cast at a unit that is whollywithin the stone circle. No missile type spellor any spell that requires a direct line ofsight can be cast through the stone circle.The stone circle acts like a barrier – allmagical power directed into it is absorbed.The exceptions to this areWizards within the circle.

A Wizard who is withinthe stone circle can castspells out of it. Note thattargets have to lie at leastpartially outside the circle.When a Wizard casts a spellfrom within the circle the spell has doubleits normal range and if the first spell is castsuccessfully the Wizard can cast the same ora different spell again. Note that this isbasically like the magical effect of the Rod ofRepetition. To keep things sane the Rod ofRepetition will not work within the stonecircle – only one repetition is possible. Notethat the first spell only has to be castsuccessfully – ie, a successful Casting rollneeds to be made – a spell still counts as

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successfully cast if it is subsequentlydispelled or has no tangible effect.

A Dwarf Runesmith within the stone circleadds +2 to his attempt to anti-magic anyspell cast by a Wizard outside the circle. Hewill therefore anti-magic on a 2+ rather than4+.

BoggyIn this scenario the Bog Beast does notappear until there is a Guardian within thestone circle at the start of a turn – Boggy willthen appear in the centre of the circle or asclose as possible. The Bog Beast is theprotector of this complex. He and hisancestors have instinctively guarded thecircle against harm for centuries. He is notbest pleased to find people intruding withinhis beloved stones.

Once he has appeared, the Bog Beast can begiven orders by the side whose turn it is asdescribed in the main rules for Bog Beasts.

VICTORY CONDITIONSOne side must withdraw if it loses half of itsunits or if its general is slain – as usual. Inaddition, if at the end of the turn one side’sGuardian is within the stone circle and theother side’s Guardian has been slain, thenthe surviving Guardian is deemed to havegained control of the circle. Once one sidehas gained control of the circle the otherside must withdraw.

Playing Without Albion CharactersWhat makes this game unique is the circle ofstanding stones and its ability to boost thepower of wizards. If you want to playwithout Albion characters, substitute theBog Beast for any suitable monster. Themonster has the same stats and rules as theBog Beast and can be given orders by aWizard character from either side.

SCENARIO 3: FOG OF WARIn this scenario two rival armies meet in theswirling fog and must struggle forsupremacy amongst a landscape that isbarely visible and against a foe who is largelyunseen. To represent this, the two armiesdeploy onto the tabletop before the sceneryis positioned. Once the armies are in placethe scenery is positioned randomly asdescribed. Visibility is reduced to between10cm and 30cm according to a dice rollmade at the start of each player’s turn. Theobjective of the game is simply to defeat theenemy by forcing him to withdraw.

Both players make a map of theirdeployment and setup their armies oppositeeach other as shown on their maps. Thearmies start off no closer than 80cm, as pera standard set-up. Once the armies are inposition the scenery is placed as describedbelow. Once the scenery is in place the gamecan begin – the battle lasts until one side isforced to withdraw – or you can set a turnlimit if preferred. Dice to see which sidetakes the first turn.

TerrainDivide the table into equal sections as closeas possible to 30cm wide as shown on themap – so an 8ft (roughly 244cm) long tablewould be divided into eight sections forexample. Roll a dice for each section andconsult the following chart.

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Dice roll Feature

1 Bog roughly 20cm in diameter.2 Petrified Wood – wood of

snaggly stumps and gnarled trees roughly 20cm diameter.

3 Nothing.4 Hill between 20 and 30cm

diameter.5 Stone circle between 20 and

30cm diameter. One only – if repeated Hill as 4.

6 Area of rock, rubble or scattered bones roughly 20cmdiameter.

Once you have rolled the feature each playerrolls a dice and the highest scoring playerplaces the feature in the section between thetwo players’ set up zones. No terrain can beplaced in the set up zones.

Bogs, Petrified Woods, and rock/rubble/bones all count as dense terrain. Onlyinfantry stands can move over dense terrainand there is the usual -1 command modifier(except the Bog Beast can move over Bogsas noted below).

The stone circle has the same rules asscenario 2.

BoggyBoggy will only take part in this battle ifthere are one or more bogs. Assuming thereis at least one Bog, the rules from scenario 1apply to the Bog Beast.

FogIn this battle visibility varies from turn toturn. At the start of each player’s turn herolls a dice and consults the following chart:

Dice Roll Visibility

1 10cm2 15cm3 20cm4 20cm5 25cm6 30cm

The reduced visibility affects all shootingdistances and it affects the distance a unitcan see at the start of its move. This canaffect a unit’s ability to charge in some cases– remember a unit must be able to see anenemy that it intends to charge at the start ofits move. Reduced visibility also affectsmagic spells where sight is required.Reduced visibility does not affect the givingof orders.

Playing Without Albion CharactersWhat make this game unique is the fog andassociated deployment and sceneryplacement. This can be used to play anygame in the fog or mist, using the ReducedVisibility table given above. There is no needto include a monster at all, but if desired anypractical substitution can be made and bogsor other areas given their own version ofBoggy that can then be commanded by anyWizard.

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30cm

MAP III

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