The venn diagram of Warhammer players and Malazan readers cannot be 0. I know this, because I am one of them. If there are others out there, you may feel especially jazzed at the name of this custom scenario. Let us walk the chain of dogs together, friends, and see who survives.
This is a custom (unofficial!) scenario for Warhammer: The Old World, in which an outnumbered army must escort a band of civilians through a treacherous mountain pass. Lying in ambush on both flanks is a much larger force. Its purpose? To slay the civilians and give the defenders a damn good nibble.
The Chain of what now?
This scenario is heavily inspired by the events of Steven Erikson’s unforgettable epic Deadhouse Gates. In fact, its entire existence is because I wanted to realise those events on the tabletop.
To those who have not had the pleasure of Malazan: Book of the Fallen, I implore you to give it a go. To those who tried and gave up…so did I. But do try again – it’s rather special.
The defending force exists purely to shepherd the innocent. There is no glory in killing the enemy, and while you can technically win via military might, it’s unlikely you’ll do so. The path to victory is in escorting the villagers to the other side of the board or, failing that, keeping them alive. That means plenty of screening, diverting, and wilful sacrifices of your boldest soldiers.
The villagers, for their part, want to escape. A couple of extra rules allow them to duck and weave out of harm’s way, and their skirmish formation allows them to move more nimbly than their ranked up protectors. The can flee in any direction, escape out of combat, and take courage from any surrounding unit. The aggressors must therefore hit them at range, or smash into them without compromise.
Playtesting
Our playtest had the Bretonnians (2000pts) defend against the Beastmen (2500pts). It was my first game using Brets, and I wanted to an opportunity to play them at a disadvantage. My thinking was that by being outnumbered, the ludicrous threat of their virtues and mounts might be dampened. I was wrong, and spent a large part of the game apologetically bouncing from goat to goat while the villagers looked on, unharmed.
How to play this scenario?
As the list of custom scenarios grows, The Chain of Dogs is a great midpoint for a ladder campaign. Perhaps Sound the Alarm went pear-shaped and the defenders flee south of their razed town?
Of my custom scenarios so far, this is the strangest. It’s also, probably, the hardest to accurately balance. Go into it with a narrative mindset, and don’t overthink what units are best placed to smash your opponent. Weave it into your campaigns, trial it with underused models, and immerse yourself in the desperation of a last-ditched scramble through the mountains. Have fun! Comments welcome below.
