Blood on the Quayside | A Warhammer Fantasy Mordheim Skirmish

Creating your character

There is no traditional character creation for this event. This is a Kriegsspiel-style play-by-post campaign set in the ruins of Mordheim. Rather than building a character sheet from a rulebook, each player will take command of a named character within the unfolding scenario. Your role, abilities, equipment, starting position, and immediate objectives will be provided before play begins. Players will not need to know the Mordheim rules in detail. The GM will handle the hidden mechanics, movement, combat resolution, morale, uncertainty, injury, and consequences behind the scenes. Your job is to make decisions from your character’s point of view: what you do, where you move, what risks you take, what orders you give, and how you respond to incomplete information. Before the game starts, I will provide each player with: event setting, character and faction briefings, their current situation, what they can see, hear, and reasonably understand, any allies or subordinates under their control, and their immediate objectives. The emphasis is on decision-making, tension, atmosphere, and the fog of war rather than character optimisation.

Preparing for the session

Players will need access to Discord, as the game will be run primarily through private and group Discord channels. You do not need to own Mordheim, Warhammer, or any specific rulebook to take part. Familiarity with dark fantasy, tactical games, roleplay, or play-by-post games will help, but is not required. New players are welcome as long as they are happy with a slower, written, decision-focused style of play. Before play begins, players should: Join the Discord server. Read their private character or faction briefing. Read the short “How the Game Works” guide. Ask any questions before the first turn begins. Be ready to post clear written orders or intentions when prompted. This is an asynchronous play-by-post event. You will not need to attend a live voice session each week. Instead, turns will be processed over time, with players submitting actions, orders, messages, or decisions through Discord. Players should be prepared for uncertainty. You will not always know exactly where enemies are, what allies are doing, or whether your information is complete. That is intentional and central to the Kriegsspiel style.

What Pete the Elder brings to the table

I will provide the full scenario, setting, briefings, maps, images, tactical updates, and all hidden adjudication. You will receive character-specific reports written from your point of view, describing what your character can see, hear, suspect, and understand. These reports will often include uncertainty, partial information, danger, and the consequences of your choices. I will handle the rules and mechanics behind the scenes, including combat, movement, morale, injuries, hidden enemies, timing, visibility, and the wider situation. Players do not need to calculate modifiers or manage a full rules system. I will also provide: private Discord channels for individual characters or factions, temporary shared channels when characters meet or communicate directly, atmospheric battle reports and scene descriptions, maps or images where useful, tactical consequences based on player decisions, and a living, reactive scenario where the situation develops through play. My GM style is atmospheric, tactical, and consequence-driven. Expect tension, danger, difficult choices, incomplete information, and moments where caution, speed, bravery, or sacrifice may all matter.

Homebrew rules

This event uses a Kriegsspiel-style adjudication system rather than a player-facing rules engine. Players do not need to know or manage detailed mechanics. I will handle movement, timing, combat, morale, injury, visibility, communication, and hidden information behind the scenes. Your responsibility is to make clear decisions from your character’s point of view and explain what you are trying to do. The most important table principles are: Fog of war matters. You will only be told what your character can reasonably see, hear, know, or infer. Orders and intentions matter. Clear, practical actions are better than highly complex plans. Time and position matter. Movement, hesitation, terrain, distance, and communication delays may all affect what happens. Consequences are grounded. Armour, cover, morale, numbers, wounds, fear, surprise, and leadership all matter. The GM resolves uncertainty. When an outcome is unclear, I will adjudicate it fairly using the hidden situation, character ability, terrain, risk, and chance where appropriate. This is not a competitive rules-lawyering game. It is a tense, atmospheric command-and-decision game where players act under uncertainty and discover the consequences through written reports.

How Pete the Elder creates a safe table

This is a gritty fantasy game with danger, violence, fear, uncertainty, and horror atmosphere, but player comfort comes first. Before play begins, I will ask players to share any Lines and Veils they want observed. A Line is content that will not appear in the game. A Veil is content that may exist in the story but will fade to black or be kept off-screen. Players can send these privately by message if they prefer. Because this is a play-by-post game, safety tools will be handled digitally through Discord messages. Players can contact me privately at any time if something in the game needs to be adjusted, softened, skipped, or removed. I use an Open Door policy: players may step away, pause participation, or leave the game without needing to justify themselves. Real life and player wellbeing come first. The game may include grim scenes, injury, fear, monsters, ruined urban spaces, and difficult tactical choices, but it will not include graphic sexual content, sexual violence, torture-focused play, or real-world hate directed at players or protected groups. After intense moments, I am happy to check in with players and debrief if needed. My aim is to create a tense, immersive, dangerous story while keeping the table respectful, fair, and enjoyable.