Black Library has a long and noble history of providing tie-ins to Warhammer boxed games. With the new Warhammer Quest: Cursed City, they’re doing this and going a step further. Every English-language copy of C L Werner's Cursed City – including the lavish special edition – includes a character card allowing you to play one of the heroes of the novel in your games.
Morrvahl Olbrecht is a Battlemage who cares little for those he fights alongside, and the way he plays is perfect for those who want to add a little bit of competition to their co-operative gaming.
In the novel, Morrvahl is a wizard who makes his home in the vampire-ruled city of Ulfenkarn and studies some of the darker magical arts – such as necromancy.
In the Cursed City game, these magical preferences are represented by Morrvahl’s attacks and abilities. He has a melee attack that uses his vicious scythe-bladed staff Gravebloom. The potent enchantments woven into the weapon mean that damage dealt with it can never be reduced or ignored – very useful against some of Ulfenkarn’s more resilient denizens. Morrvahl also has a powerful ranged attack that can cause masses of damage to the toughest foes.
Where Morrvahl really comes into his own is with his special ability, Soulstorm, which allows him to roll a dice for each model on the same board tile, hero and hostile alike. Any critical result causes damage – and damage to friendly models can trigger Morrvahl’s Path to Glory condition and award him inspiration points.
Using Morrvahl might not make you many friends among your fellow adventurers, but it’s a characterful way to play with loads of opportunity for fun storytelling.
You can build a model to represent Morrvahl Olbrecht using the Cities of Sigmar Collegiate Arcane Mystic Battle Wizards set. To get your hands on his character card, you’ll want to pick up the hardback or special edition of C L Werner’s Cursed City.
The novel explores events in Ulfenkarn prior to your adventures in the game. When a series of grisly murders occur – grisly even by the Cursed City’s standards – a band of unlikely heroes, including our antisocial necromancer, gather to investigate. Their journey will take them from the dark alleys of the city’s outer districts to the heart of the Ebon Citadel as they tangle with Radukar the Wolf and his court of undead horrors.
The story’s the perfect way to get a feel for Ulfenkarn before you embark on your own quests there, and you can pre-order it soon, at the same time as the game. Sign up for the Games Workshop newsletter to be sure you don’t miss out on either.
In the meantime, let us know on the Black Library Facebook page if you’ll be annoying your friends by bringing Morrvahl to your games of Warhammer Quest: Cursed City.