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Version: 0.9 (draft)

General Principles

The Basics​

In Wyrdcry, you control a warband battling an enemy warband in the ruins of Mordheim. Battles are played according to a scenario that decides the victory conditions that must be met to win the battle.

Warbands​

To play a battle, you and your opponents must start a warband by filling in a warband roster. The rules for starting a warband are found here.

Fighters​

Your warband is made up by models referred to as fighters, and their rules are contained in their fighter profile. You can find an example of a fighter profile below.

Example Fighter Profile​

Warrior​

65 gc

Disgraced state troopers, murderers and treasure hunters make up the backbone of the warband, driven forwards by the promise of coin.

Move
Fight
Shoot
5"
3
3
Armour
Health
Bravery
0
10
5+

[Double] Driven by Greed: A fighter can only use this ability if it is carrying, or is within 1” of a treasure token. Add 1 to the Fight and Attacks characteristic of this fighter’s next melee attack action.

HUMAN, Mercenaries, HENCHMAN

Characteristics​

Each fighter has a set of Characteristics that describe their physical abilities and are used when making tests and resolving actions

  • Move: How fast the fighter can move (measured in inches)
  • Fight: A fighter’s skill in melee combat
  • Shoot: A fighter’s accuracy
  • Health: How much damage a fighter can endure before taken out of action.
  • Bravery: A fighter’s courage and mental resolve
  • Armour: How much damage the fighter's armour can withstand

Keywords​

Keywords describe distinctive features of the fighter, such as their race and faction, or what archetype the fighter  is. When referenced in a rule, keywords are always written in UPPERCASE. If a rule refers to a keyword in the plural (for example, HEROES), it is treated as a reference to the singular keyword (Hero).

Special Rules​

Many fighters have one or more special rules that sets them apart from their peers:

  • Traits represent skills or racial quirks whose effects are automatically applied whenever their conditions are met.
  • Abilities represent tricks, spells and manoeuvres that a fighter can use during their activation by spending ability dice (marked as [Double], [Triple] or [Quad]).
  • Reactions are things a fighter can do during an enemy fighter's activation, most commonly by spending an action.

Friendly and enemy fighters​

For rules purposes, a fighter considers all fighters in their warband to be friendly fighters, and all fighters in your opponent’s warband to be enemy fighters.

The Battlefield​

Battles are fought on a flat surface measuring 3 feet by 3 feet, referred to as the battlefield floor. This surface is bordered by battlefield edges and populated with all manner of ruined buildings, risers and scaffolding called terrain pieces. Together, these elements form the battlefield.

Measuring​

The game uses inches (") for measuring distances and you are allowed to measure whenever you want. You must always measure both the vertical and horizontal distance, unless a rule says otherwise.

  • When measuring the distance between two fighters you always measure between the closest point of their bases.
  • If a rule requires a fighter to be within a certain distance of something, the requirement is fulfilled if any part of a fighter’s base is within that distance.
  • If a rule requires a fighter to be wholly within a certain distance of something, the requirement is fulfilled if the fighter’s entire base is within that distance.

Dice​

The game uses regular six-sided dice (D6) to determine the outcome of various rules. The most common occurrence is to beat a target number. For example, if a rule requires a dice roll of 3 or more (usually abbreviated to 3+), every result of 3 or more is a success.

D3​

If a rule requires you to roll a D3, roll a regular six-sided dice and halve the total, rounding up.

D66​

If a rule requires you to roll a D66. roll a six-sided dice twice. The first roll determines the ten, and the second roll determines the unit. For example, if you rolled a 3 followed by a 5, the D66 roll would be 35.

Re-Roll​

Some rules allows you to re-roll a dice roll, which means that you get to roll a specified amount of dice again. You can never re-roll a dice roll more than once, and you cannot select the original result even if the new one is worse.

Roll-off​

Sometimes a rule requires the players to roll-off. When this is the case, each player rolls a dice, and whoever rolls highest wins the roll-off. If there is a tie for the highest roll, roll-off again.

Modifiers​

Sometimes a rule will alter a fighter’s characteristics, or the characteristics of a fighter's equipped weapon. Usually, this means that you should increase or decrease a characteristic by a set amount. These alterations are referred to as modifiers and are always cumulative. 

Sequencing​

In most cases, rules will be resolved one at a time. If rules appear to come into play at the same time, the player activating a fighter decides in what order the rules are resolved. In all other cases, the player with initiative decides.

Visibility​

Many rules require one fighter (usually the target of an attack action or ability) to be visible to another fighter (usually the fighter making the attack action or using the ability). A fighter is visible to another fighter if a straight line can be drawn between the two fighters without it passing through a terrain piece or another fighter.

If you are unsure whether a fighter is visible, stoop down and see if any part of the target fighter is visible from any part of the fighter making the attack action. Do not include the bases the fighters are mounted upon. Lastly, for rules purposes, fighters are not considered to be visible to themselves.

Damage​

There are many ways for a fighter to suffer damage in Wyrdcry, such as being the target of an attack or ability, or falling from a height. Whatever the source, damage is allocated one point at a time.

Wounded​

When a fighter has been allocated damage points equal to half their Health characteristic (rounding up), they are considered to be wounded. Being wounded does not directly affect a fighter's combat capabilities, but interacts with certain items and talents.

Out of Action​

When a fighter is allocated damage points equal to their Health characteristic, they are taken out of action: the fighter is removed from the battlefield, and any leftover damage points are discarded.

In a campaign game, a fighter that is taken out of action risk lasting injuries or being killed, as described in the aftermath sequence.