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Depose the Orc Leader!

An Adventure for BL 1-2 Warriors

By Peter Haresnape April 2003


This dungeon is a fairly simple ‘wander in and kill everything, loot and then leave’. There is only
one deep, and it shouldn’t present any real challenge for seasoned players who know what their
warriors are and aren’t capable of.

In the waiting room, the four warriors each occupied themselves in the way they felt most comfortable. The great
Norseman, Moran Othigaz was sleeping, twitching in his dreams like a dog- perhaps reliving his victory over the leader
of the chaos cabal the foursome had destroyed a few weeks ago. The Warrior-Priest, Pentagron Liberoth was engrossed
in his great Book, as usual. Indeed, only the elf and dwarf were sensible to their situation, and both were distracted, the
dwarf with honing his Great Axe blade, and the Ranger talking quietly with a member of his kin. It was the one who had
originally suggested their names to the General, who was supposed to be meeting them. They had been waiting several
hours now, and the Ranger, Renislian, itched at the delay. This job, he thought to himself, had better be worth it…
When they finally met the General, he explained the situation in short order.

“A new Orc leader has brought a large band of greenskins into my dominion. Normally I’d let you roving types deal
with harassing them, unless they became a serious threat, but they raided several key villages last month, further in than
ever before. I want a group to penetrate one of their strongholds and take out the leader. You will be rewarded richly.”
The warriors looked amongst themselves, baffled. Though relatively young, they were not stupidly overconfident, and
didn’t relish the thought of trying to destroy an Orc leader on his home turf. Before Renislian, (the usual spokesman)
could begin to speak, the dwarf Grelik Akanhand spoke up.

“Are ya mad? Take out an Orc lord? And in his stronghold? No wonder you haven’t found anyone to take you up in a
month!”

The General smiled grimly. “I haven’t said just how well I’ll be paying— and anyway, this is a fairly minor outpost, so the
scouts say. The leader will be there, and will be relatively unguarded, as the rest of his army will be… busy.”
The raised eyebrow of the elf was all he needed to go on with his description.

“My cavalry will make camp in his territory, cutting off his retreat and reinforcements. He’ll be caught unawares, with
most of his troops retreating one way or the other. We’ll effectively offer him a battle on an open plain— the way they
like it— to stop him moving. Then you can make a surgical strike.”

And with little more discussion, the Warriors had a job. All they had to do was assassinate an Orc powerful enough to
hold numerous tribes and fortresses together. Great…
The warriors will be escorted to the entrance of a cave system, mostly abandoned, but with a rabble of
retreating Orcs returning to their master’s flag. He waits, deep in the old stronghold, gathering his
troops to destroy the local militia when they come within range, but this is simply a ruse, intended to
keep him pinned down, long enough for the warriors to get to him.

Unexpected Events
Whenever an Unexpected event occurs, roll 1D6 on the following table rather than drawing a card etc

1-3 The Warriors are attacked! Roll another 1D6 (treasure as usual).
1-2 2D6 Snotlings and 1D6 Orc Archers with Bows
3-4 1D6+3 Orc Warriors riding War Boars
5-6 12 Giant Rats
4-5
1-2 Take a Warrior Counter. This warrior is hit by a dart, which does
1D6 unmodified damage, and puts him to sleep for 1D6+1
complete turns.
3-4 A blade plummets from the roof, doing 3D6 damage to one
warrior (modified as usual). Roll 1D6- on a 1-3 roll again on the
Unexpected Events Table.
5-6 Alarms ring throughout the dungeon. Roll on the Monster Table
above. These monsters have Ambush, Magic A.
6 The Warriors meet 1D6+3 Skaven Warriors, as well as (roll on the
Monster Table above). Roll on the Initiative of the leader. If it is 6+ the
warriors realise that the Skaven are running from the Orcs. They will fight
the Orcs alongside the warriors, but will run off after the combat. If the
test fails the warriors will attack Skaven and Orc alike. In either case, the
Skaven have to make a break test each turn one of them is killed. No
Treasure.

The Warriors begin their adventure at the top of some ancient stairs. Read the following.
You have now entered the base. The map you were handed details the passages leading to the
interior. As you check your equipment for a final time, a single Snotling pulls itself out of a
hole in the wall. It studies you for a second, and then runs off as you make your way towards
it. It is clearly going to raise the alarm

Place down the Stairs, and the two passages leading to the guardroom. Place the warriors in the first 4
squares, in order of initiative, and the Snotling near the end of the passageway, just out of range. He
moves 1D3+2 spaces each monster phase, and also as soon as placed. Against arrows he has Dodge 3+,
and effectively has Magic Resistance 4+. This last is not an inherent ability, but is because the
Warriors are temporarily unused to the underground. Essentially, the first hand to hand hit, or a
successful arrow/spell will kill him. Read out the following

The dead Snotling’s possessions consist of a small key and a pouch of 20 gold.

Should he reach the door to the guardroom, read this.


The Snotling rockets towards the door, pulling out a small key and using it to slip through and
into the room beyond.

The Guardroom this room has four Barrier Squares, shown by the white bar below. The blue squares
represent the doors (with the entrance at the bottom left).

If the Warriors killed the Snotling Sentry, the room will


have 4 Night Goblins, 2 with Bows and 2 with spears,
Barrier behind the Barrier (top 4 squares).
If they did not, there will be 4 Orcs with Bows behind
the Barrier, and 4 Orcs with Spears on the Warrior’s
side of the Barrier. These all have Ambush, Magic A.
Each Barrier Square has 8 Wounds, and a toughness of 2. Read out the following if the Warriors killed
the Snotling.
The dozing Guards are obviously taken by surprise.

If not, read this.


As you enter, a hail of arrows greets you. The guards have been forewarned. The Snotling
leers at you from atop the barrier.

The Barrier should prolong the conflict, and the warriors will have to kill at least one on the other side
to leap across. Let them experiment, but make it clear the barrier cannot be climbed over without being
skewered, though those with spears can attack through it. It is essentially a jumble of mess and rubbish,
held together with its own weight.

Once the combat is over, read the room description.


The bodies of the guards fit well with the squalor of this room, but it’s clear that this is the
first of several defence stages. The Snotling lies dead on the floor, hit by a stray arrow. As yet,
you are undetected. There is a pile of junk in the corner, which obviously was excess ‘barrier’
that fell off.

Should the warriors search this, they will find a treasure card hidden. Other than that, they can move
on.
The corridor continues on, but a side passage attracts your attention. The darkness behind the
door is characterised by a terrible smell.

On the first power phase on this section, pick a warrior token. A swinging blade doing 2D6+4 wounds
(modified as usual) hits this warrior.

Room 6 Well Chamber


This dank chamber is dominated by a deep well in the centre. A long chain dangles down into
the depths, and in the low light appears to be covered in a viscous black substance. The room
is occupied by a group of monsters that are not pleased to see you…

The door to the right leads to the Well Chamber, which contains a group of monsters. Roll on the Orc
Table for the Dungeon Level and fight as usual, generating a treasure. Unbeknownst to the warriors,
there is an imprisoned Skaven, down at the bottom of the well. Should they examine the room they will
hear it, and look down the well.

The Orcs have captured several Skaven recently, and the prisoner here is one of that group. It is
bedraggled and wet, standing in disgusting water. The chain extends down into the liquid, but is only
blackened halfway down. This is a black, cursed acidic substance that will burn any skin, causing 1D6
unmodified wounds. If the Warriors pull on the chain, it will take 6 turns for one warrior, 3 turns for 2,
or 2 turns for 3 or above. There is a pair of special gloves that protect against the acid hidden in the side
of the well. Without them the Warriors will take 1D6+4 unmodified wounds for each turn spent
pulling. If the Warriors can retrieve the Skaven they can interrogate it. Let them try different things, but
the simplest way is to find the gloves and designate one warrior to haul away, with the Skaven riding
up.

There is nothing to make them talk to it, but it would probably benefit them. If they wish to interrogate
it, use the Roleplay book suggestions.

The Warrior’s Success The Information


Failure The ratman was captured while making a raid. He
begs to be released. Before anyone can do
anything he claws his interrogator (1D6
unmodified wounds) and jumps through a hole in
the wall, escaping.
Near-Success He was captured in a raid. He reveals the Orcs
are planning a raid. He claws and escapes as
above, shouting ‘You will never live to see the
River of Fire!”
Success He reveals that he was caught while on a raid. The
Orcs have been capturing Skaven and forcing
them to construct new weapons. He overheard the
guards mention ‘The Fiery Dragon’

If he doesn’t escape, it doesn’t really matter what they do with him. He will take the first opportunity to
escape. If they thrown him back, he will evade them and disappear through a hole in the wall.

Room 7 Fungal Bed (the Monster’s Lair)


This room would be pitch black without the fungus on the walls, glowing faintly. The air is
moist and warm, and the floor is a mass of soggy fungus. Something stirs, roused by the
lantern light.

Once all the warriors are in, they are Ambushed by 1D3+4 Wild Cave Squigs. These will only attack
other monsters resulting from Unexpected Events etc- not other Squigs. If they do attack another
monster but there are no targets, they will attack a warrior instead.
Once the guardians are dead, take two event cards. Deal with events before monsters.
In addition, the warriors can search the room once each. There are two items of treasure. Each Warrior
searching rolls 1D6+Move, and if any score 7+ they find an item. If more than 2 manage to find
something, the others are attacked by gnats, each of which does 1 wound before returning to the fungal
bed. There are 2D6.

Past the Fungal Bed is the Firechasm, room 8.


This room is lit by numerous torches and the glow from a lava river. Across the rickety
wooden bridge a brooding statue of a dragon gleams gold. There are three exits to this room.
Two are on this side, but the other on the far side, just past the monsters…

Roll twice on the monster Table to populate this room, with half of the monsters on one side, and half
on the other. Put archers on the far side, in any case. When crossing the chasm there is no need to roll
on the table in the adventure book. Each group of monsters is worth an item of treasure, as normal.
If any warrior looks at the statue, tell them it has several piles of gold around the base. If they search it,
read out the following and remove the warrior from the board. Replace the four squares occupied with
the dragon with either the Stairs or Trapdoor counter.

The Golden Dragon Icon tips back abruptly, and you overbalance, falling into the blackness
beneath it.
Then hand the warrior the following note
You are falling down in utter blackness, but there is a surface beneath you. Under the dragon
is a long slide that goes who-knows-where? Do not tell the others of what has happened.

If the others examine the hole (and it’s to be hoped they would be concerned by their compatriot’s
disappearance!) they find a smooth slide, as well as a staircase. This leads down into the deeper
dungeon…
The slide and the stairs both lead to the same place, a secret workshop filled with the hiss of
machinery and the groan of the slaves.

At the bottom of the slide and stairs is the Special Objective, in the Quirrek’s Laboratory board section
from White Dwarf 195. If you do not have this section, use another Objective Room tile like the Idol
Chamber or Fountain. This room contains the Skaven slaves who have been building weapons for the
Orcs. There is an Orc Boss with 4 Goblin Spearmen and 2 Goblin Archers, all on the raised platform.
The Skaven workers consist of (roll 1D3)

1 6 Skaven Clanrats, 2 Skaven Assassins


2 1D3 Minotaurs or Rat Ogres, 1 Skaven Warlock,
1D6 Skaven Gutterrunners
3 Minotaur/Rat Ogre, 3 Skaven Poison Globadiers,
6 Gutterrunners.

In addition, there is a Skaven Chieftain.


The guards and slaves will fight the warriors, but if the Orc Boss is killed, read the following.
As the Orc Boss dies his last, the Skaven eye each other and seem to rethink the situation.

Use the Wild Squig Table to determine what they do. Roll once each turn- the results apply to all of the
Skaven.

When the room is cleared, the warriors may receive 2 items of treasure, and one Objective Room
Treasure.
In the sudden quiet after the slaughter, the only sound is the great machine the Skaven have
been using to produce their foul weapons

The Warriors must destroy this laboratory, to avoid it being used for evil. Standing next to it they must
roll 4+ to rig the generator to explode. Once this is done, they have 2D3 turns to escape before the
forge explodes, destroying the room and killing anyone left inside.

Back in the Firechasm, the warriors can explore either door. The door on the dragon side leads to a
corridor, while the other leads to a corridor with an apparent dead end. This is in fact a secret door,
hiding the ambush an Orc shaman has set up. If the Wizard succeeds at an Initiative test, he will sense
magic coming from the room.

If the warriors find the secret door and open it, read the following
As you step through the secret door, the guttural chanting of an Orc shaman meets your ears.
His troops step forward…

The Shaman will cast an immediate spell.

If you have Scabnoze’s Lair, you may use that board section, otherwise use the Circle of Power. There
are four Black Orcs who form a line across the room, to stop warriors getting across to the Shaman
behind them. In addition, there are two goblins armed with spears with the shaman. All four Black Orcs
have a healing potion that they will drink from whenever they get injured. It essentially gives them
Regenerate 1 on every turn in which they have been wounded. The Shaman also has a magic item, a
ring of protection that gives him +1 Toughness. The warriors can take these items, if they look for
them. The potions are empty on a D6 roll of 1 or 2. They restore 1D6 wounds per gulp. There are
1D6+2 gulps left, unless they are already empty. However, if drunk the warrior cannot cast spells or
undertake Initiative tests for 2 turns, as he is so powerfully affected. The ring gives +1 toughness. The
Shaman was guarding a chest with four Lucky Amulets, each of which gives a single Luck token to the
warrior. Once used, this is gone forever, and the Amulet can only be sold, for 100 gold each.

From the dragon-side of the chasm room, a corridor extends. The Warriors will find at the end of a
door, and beyond that the Fighting Pit.
Directly below the doorpost a great pit stretches out. A thin ledge leads around the edge of the
pit. On the opposite side you can just make out the controls to lower a bridge over the pit.
Down in the spike-lined pit several monsters prowl.

Roll 1D3 of the following table to see what


lurks in the pit to dismember the warriors at
the first opportunity
1 1D3+1 Minotaurs and 1D3+1 Ogres
2 2 Trolls
3 1D3 Trolls

The warriors must somehow get past this obstacle. The thin ledge is rather precarious, described as
being cracked and worn, small enough to be safe for goblins, but no one else. However, if a warrior
can use it to get to the other side, (say, the elf) he could lower the bridge for the others. Of course, the
warriors could just jump down into the pit and fight out- and if they have a Trollslayer that’s what
they’ll end up doing!
These monsters will not attack any creatures on the ledge or the upper squares. They will only attack
those in the 8 pit squares. They will also not try to climb out of the pit. If the warriors use a spell or an
arrow, the monsters are not affected;

These beasts have obviously been used for target practice before, as they dodge the attack
easily

This does not extend to warriors who have descended into the pit.

Because the warriors are moving slowly and carefully, they may only travel one square per turn when
walking on the ledge. Each turn they are still on the ledge, roll 1D6. Give the athletic warriors a +1, but
it isn’t necessary to apply negatives to the dwarf, etc.

1 Catastrophe! You fall off and into the pit, taking


1D6 damage (modified for toughness only)
2 You slip on a cracked tile, and fall heavily into
the pit
3-6 You manage to keep your footing.
7+ You wobble, slip, skip, and manage somehow to
move forward an extra space!

Should they be struck by inspiration, and decide to tie themselves together with the rope, a la mountain
climbers, allow a strength test to see if they manage to pull up their comrade.

Fail The rope snaps and the warrior falls The elf eyed the beast with more than a
in. Discard the rope, too. little trepidation. I don’t mind fighting it,
Nearly The knot in the rope comes undone, he thought, but performing a trapeze act
Succeeds so though the warrior fall in the seems a little… undignified.
rope survives. He was dangling from a rope held by his
Succeeds The warrior is pulled up. dwarf comrade, Grelik Akanhand, and the
troll looking speculatively at him was
As soon as the warrior reaches the other side, he may clearly thinking about the scarcity of good
trigger the mechanism (represented by the weapon’s meat as an Orc’s pet. The dwarf gave
rack). This requires a roll of 4 or more. When this is another heave of the rope, pulling the
done; Ranger further out of range of those claws.
As you operate the simple controls, a clatter He looked over at the Warrior Priest now
of chains lowers a well-built bridge from the gingerly edging himself along the ledge on
ceiling. The way is open. the opposite side. His Holy Book had a
claw sticking out of it- the remnants of a
If, while the warriors are messing about with ledges giant, ravening rat the priest had killed by
and such, they cause an Unexpected Event, it will walloping it. Although he had made a two-
automatically take the form of 2 Goblin Spearmen, 2 minute contrition, he hadn’t yet had time
Goblin Archers, and a Goblin Boss. They will to examine the condition of his tome.
position themselves on the far side, prodding any that Moran Othigaz was holding the other end
try to come across. Warriors on the ledge who are of the rope tied around the priest’s waist,
fighting are at +1 to be hit and –1 to hit. They are also but the way he was looking at the
at –1 on the ledge table at the end of their turn. monsters suggested he was otherwise
occupied.
As for the monsters in the pit- aside from their Another yank on the rope jerked at the
inherent gold value, they guard several pieces of Ranger’s body and he bumped his head
treasure that their victims have brought them over the against the side of the pit, narrowly
years. In addition, there are two hidden pit traps. If a missing a spike. This ‘surgical strike’ was
warrior should fall into one he will take 2D6 becoming… tedious.
unmodified wounds, and need a rope or Levitation
spell to get out. What’s more, he’ll still only be in the bottom of the Fighting Pit. The monsters will not
step on the trap squares.

If the warriors defeat the monsters there are four treasure cards to be claimed. Goblins from an
Unexpected Event don’t have treasure.
Once out of the Fighting Pit, a corridor (room 13) leads to…
Room 14 The Armoury (Torture Chamber)
This room is lined with chests, and racks of weapons. Some of them are obviously magical.
This room is where the Orc raiders store their ill-gotten gains. This is the Armoury of the Orc
Lord.

There are all sorts of goodies in here, to which the warriors may help their greedy little selves. No
Unexpected Events will occur her, but if any are rolled, and would result in monsters, make a note of
the first such event. These will be in the next (last) room to oppose the warriors.
Each Warrior may examine one item per turn. Use the rules below, modified if they claim to be
searching for traps etc. At GM’s discretion, they may have to identify certain objects.

The Pile of Bones conceals a single leather pouch, in which may be found 2 provisions and 2 bandages.
The Weapons Rack has one Weapons and Armour treasure. When taken, a dart flies out, causing 1D6
Unmodified Wounds. The Elf may attempt to dodge as normal.

First Chest. This contains 100 gold pieces and a Potion of Battle exactly like the one from the
Wizard’s Guild.

Second Chest. This is empty, apart from a Giant Rat that performs an immediate Deathleap on the
unlucky warrior. If the warrior was being cautious, roll to hit as normal, otherwise it hits automatically.

The Treasure Pile is trapped, being a clever mechanism to drop a block of masonry on the head of the
one who removes the casket (which contains a single treasure card). The block falls onto the Trapped
Tile, doing 3D6 Damage, modified only for toughness and a helmet. The warrior can try an initiative
test to avoid it if he is being careful.

The Metal Grate is locked. It can be opened with lock tools as normal, or by bashing it in. It has
Toughness 3 and 1D6+6 Wounds. If it is forced open, a needle shoots out, injecting a poison into the
skin of the warrior. This poison reduces Strength by 1 until a 3 is rolled in the power phase, or the end
of the dungeon. The grate was guarding a set of scrolls, one of which is useful to the warriors. When
read aloud by either the wizard or elf it casts the Glory! spell, free of cost. It is worth 300 gold.
The Cupboard contains 4 Fire Arrows, a Firebomb, two spears (like those bought from the
Weaponsmith – see RPG book for details) and a pouch of gems worth 4D6x10 Gold. It is locked, but
may be opened with lock tools as normal, or bashed down. It has Toughness 2 and Wounds 5.

Pile of Entrance Door Weapons


Bones Rack

Chest 1 Metal
Grate in
floor
Treasure Trapped Cupboard.
(Trapped Tile Use the
Casket) Heroquest
model if
Chest 2 you have
it, or just
describe it.
Exit Door

Once the warriors have stopped bickering over the spoils, they will want to move on. Read the
following
The other door is different from the others in this dungeon. It features lumps and spikes, as if
the wood never stopped growing.

If the warriors examine it further (initiative test), they find two tiny buttons. If they press them before
trying to open the door, it opens easily. If they don’t find or use the buttons, when they turn the handle,
read this
As you cautiously turn the handle, white figures coalesce behind you, forming ghostly shapes
that move in on you…

There are 1D3+1 Ghosts, who must be defeated before the party can move on. If there is an
Unexpected Event while the Ghosts are in play, the bones in the corner animate into 1D3+1 Skeleton
Warriors, armed with swords. If the warriors defeat these forces and try to open the door without
pressing the buttons, another 1D3+2 Ghosts attack them. If the Skeletons have not animated yet, they
will do so now.

Once the warriors have figured out to examine the door, and have got through, they are within sight of
their goal. More worryingly, their goal is in sight of them…

The final room (15) The Warlord’s Council (Tomb Chamber)


This vast hall is well-lit, and fully occupied. At the great table you can see numerous
greenskins arguing loudly and violently. This is the elite leadership of the tribe, the Orcs and
goblins you must eliminate. But first you must get through their bodyguard. One way or
another, this is the end of your quest.
Place the Tomb Chamber, with the Generals (and the Orc Leader) around the ‘tomb’, which represents
a table. If you have a table model, use that.
The Generals are;

1D3 Black Orcs, 1D3 Big’uns, 1 Night Goblin Boss, 2 Orc Bosses, 1 Orc Shaman.
The bodyguard is (roll 1D6, place on the ‘ground floor’)
1 3 Big’uns, 6 Orc Archers, 6 Orcs with swords, 1D3 Minotaurs.
2 1 Big’un, 4 Orcs with swords, 4 Goblin Archers, 1 Orc Shaman.
3 3 Big’uns, 4 Orc Archers, 1D6+3 Goblin Spearmen
4 1 Big’un, 1 Black Orc, 2 Orc Boar Boyz, 4 Goblin Archers.
5 1 Troll, 6 Orc Archers, 1 Orc Boar Boy
6 6 Goblin Spearmen, 3 Goblin Archers, 3 Goblin Fanatics, 1 Squig Hunter Team.

The Orc Leader is with his generals. He will use a bow to attack the warriors from afar until a warrior
reaches the steps, when he will move to attack in hand-to-hand combat (still using his bow otherwise).

Orc Leader
W: 24
M: 4
WS: 4
BS: 3+
S: 4
T: 4(6)
I: 5
A: 2
Armour: 2
Damage: 2D6
Gold: 800
Opponents WS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
To Hit Foe: 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 5
Armed with Bow (Strength 4), Frenzy 6+, Ignore Blows 6+,
Special Rules:
Magic Armour.
Once the Orcs have been killed, the warriors can Having made it relatively intact past the
escape. They will meet the general outside the cave pit, the warriors were pleased at the few
system, and he will escort them back to the city, scant minutes they could take in the
where they receive 1 Objective Room Treasure each, treasure-store. The Ranger and dwarf
as well as 1D6x70 gold. If they destroyed the Skaven walked around disarming the traps– some
workshop they also receive 1D6x200 gold, to be split of which were very sophisticated for the
between them. Orcs, suggesting again the influence of the
now dead Skaven. The strange door had
Design Notes held them up for a while, but soon it was
Naturally, this is easier to run if you have access to open. And, all to soon, the four were face-
the Lair of the Orc Lord pack. The monster tables and to-face with the infamous Orc leader.
Magic Weapons/Items/Armour are more appropriate, While the barbarian and priest threw back
and should really be used. In addition, the events can the goblins, and Renislian traded arrows
be substituted. Of course, it also comes with a useful with the archers, and spells with the
model for the Orc Leader! The room tiles can be used, shaman, the dwarf Grelik was left to
namely Scabnoze’s Lair in place of the Magic Circle, tackle the mighty Troll that stood betwixt
but the Objective Room could also be substituted for him and the stairs. Swinging his rune-
the Orc Warlord’s Lair. covered blade, he crippled the beast’s arm,
before dealing a fatal blow to its neck. As
Tailor the monsters and events to fit your model the ranger’s spells and priest’s blessings
collection, and of course, the prowess of the warriors! warded off the shaman, Moran hoisted his
The adventure is possibly a little monster-short and glowing blade and duelled with the leader,
trap-heavy, but a few ambushes or extra rooms could finally slaying the beast. And so their
sort that. At the moment it will provide a challenge quest was ended. The only question was
for Battle Level 1 Warriors, but a good starting point how to get home…
for an adventuring career.
Enjoy!
This is the map of the Orc Leader’s base.

Secret Door

The Fighting Pit ↓

Entrance

The
Armoury

←The Fungal Bed

The Warlord’s
Council →

←The Guard Room

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