Linked Battles in Westerland

Rarely are conflicts in the Old World settled by one-off battles or a single skirmish. Quite the contrary, in fact, for it can take a series of brutal battles over the course of many months, if not years, to bring an end to a tyrant or topple an empire.

Over the following pages you will find three linked scenarios that capture the flurry of activity that erupted in the Wasteland upon Miao Ying's arrival in Marienburg. By playing through these in order, you can recreate the early stages of an ongoing conflict that was to rock the Empire for decades to come.

Forging Your Own Narrative

A series of linked scenarios is one of the most simple types of campaign that two or more players can enjoy. The idea being that the outcome of one battle directly affects the events of the next, making for unique games that tell an exciting and unfolding story.

In this spirit, the three linked scenarios that follow represent a series of historical battles that took place between the forces of Frydaal the Chainmaker and the allied armies of Grand Cathay and Marienburg, but they can just as easily be played with any army you so wish. Perhaps Miao Ying felt honour-bound to travel to the Empire in response to the threat posed by Settra the Imperishable rather than a champion of Chaos.

Maybe it was the noble knights of Bretonnia who rode to the aid of the beleaguered forces of Empress Magritta to vanquish the Norscans rather than the legions from Grand Cathay. There are plenty of options to explore.

Expanding the Narrative

If a three-game campaign is a little short, it can be expanded by taking inspiration from the suggestions given for campaign trees and adding additional 'secondary' battles between each of the 'primary' linked scenarios that follow. These might represent tense skirmishes fought as armies march across the Wasteland, or vicious battles fought over strategically important locations. This allows players to command alternative armies, or armies of differing sizes, and even allows more players to participate.

To do this, the players simply choose two or more secondary scenarios (be they Pitched Battle scenarios from the Warhammer: the Old World rulebook, or matched play scenarios from the Matched Play Guide) and play these between each of the primary scenarios, using the Wasteland and Shadowlands terrain generators on pages 26 and 27 as appropriate.

Which secondary scenario is played between each primary scenario can vary depending upon the outcome of the preceding primary scenario. For example, after playing the first of the three primary scenarios, A Timely Arrival, the players might play the Open Battle scenario if the attacker was victorious, or the Flank Attack scenario if the defender won. Next, they play the third battle in the campaign using the second primary scenario, Assault on Leonen. After this, the players might play either the Break Point scenario if the attacker wins the day at Leonen, or the Command & Control scenario if the defender stands victorious. Finally, after four games, the players will battle for glory by playing the final primary scenario, the Reclamation of Hollum, completing their campaign.