DECEMBER'S CALL:

HOMECOMING
Alice finds a place to call home.

DECEPTION
Clever tricks to fool your opponent ...

Painting tutorial Plast Craft Graveyard

TRAIN OF THOUGHTS
A one shot adventure for Through the Breach.. 15
Vol.

Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)

 CONTENTS

C lick
ton
a v igate! WYRD
CHRONICLES 15
FOREWORD............................................................................... 1
deception..............................................................................2
:
Notaeny pagen
December's Call: Homecoming.............................................. 10
on tur
Click er to re x!
b
num his inde
TTB ADVENTURE: Train of thoughts................................... 22
to t
YOUR LUCKY DAY.....................................................................30
SCENARIO: Evade the Patrol................................................34
UK MALIFAUX GT 2014.............................................................35
The faction with everything: OUTCASTS...........................44
BLACKWOOD HOSPITAL............................................................50
Plast Craft Painting Tutorial..........................................54

content guide

stories terrain game sessions mechanics fun & tactics painting battle-reports gallery

Credits Creative Director

Nathan Caroland

Layout and Editing

Graphic Artist
Jorge Gomez
Alex Cairns
Contributing Authors
Justin Gibbs
Michael Kelmelis
Adrian Scott
Jorge Gomez Illustrations Chris Gorham
Aaron Darland Aleksandar Aleksandrov Robert Kuzmeski
Alex Cairns Hardy Fowler Johnathan Boynton
Justin Gibbs Christophe Madura Ben Sime
Jorge Gomez Plast Craft Games

Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)

 FOREWORD
O N H A R D SU R
CE FA
PLA

CE
NG !
BA

LY
E D
HEA AT
D REPE
Been one hell of a year. Some good, some bad, some extreme awesome.
And honestly, just not enough time in the day!

Thank you all for a great year, for our great player base and
community, and for the awesomesauce that everyone has been.
We appreciate you all and look forward to another fantastic year ahead.

Nathan Caroland

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 deception
Michael is a regular writer on the Guessing Zero
gaming website at guessingzero.com, and is a co-host
of the podcast “Gaming Done Right” on the Guessing
Zero Network.
‘Deception’ is a word to which many attach
negative feelings, but people deceive each other
daily. Friends tell other friends that they look good
today. A classmate may tell you they feel fine today
when the opposite is true. An employee could tell
their boss they feel confident about a presentation
they are about to make when the truth is they are
nervous. So if ‘deception’ comes across negatively,
why do we do it so often?
At the end of the day, deception is a perfectly normal
and perfectly acceptable practice. It bleeds into all
aspects of your life: relationships with family, friends
and coworkers. And, of course, it seeps into every
game of Malifaux you ever play. It is like a web that
falls over every battle, every turn, every move. The
game is played on the board between you and your
opponent, but that is not the only battlefield. There
is one that gets barely any mention, and that is the
psychological battle that you and your opponent
are engaging in while the models are being pushed
around the table.
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Michael Kelmelis
What Deception is Not
Before we go any further, I want to be clear exactly
what we are talking about here. Deception is NOT
lying. Lying has no part in a game of Malifaux.
Every rule in Malifaux is public knowledge. The
current game state is public knowledge. Under no
circumstances should anyone EVER lie about the
game to their opponent. That is not deception – that
is outright cheating and it has no place in Malifaux.
Instead, deception is the art of concealing your
intentions from your opponent without ever telling
them a lie. There are two main ways to do this,
which we will discuss later, but I wanted to make
sure we understood that we are NOT talking about
lying before we walked this road too far.
Prepare Yourself to Deceive
Because deception comes with such a negative
association, most people try to avoid deceiving. It
is a base skill, they think, and one which should not
be brought out during the games. Nothing could be
further from the truth.
Some people have already accepted that deception
is a part of Malifaux and because of that, it is already
part of the game. If you choose not to deceive, it
 is the same as choosing not to employ other skills
that might help the game. Spatial reasoning helps
you play Malifaux. Resource management is a
huge part of the game. Heck, basic arithmetic is a
valuable skill in Malifaux. None of those would be
ignored when getting playing a game. Deception is
the same.
There are a few steps I recommend you take before
you begin to employ deception in your game. These
will help you become better at deceiving your
opponent, and in the long run, win more games.
Make Peace with Your Decision
It may sound simple, but it is incredibly important
that you understand your decision to try to trick your
opponent during games and accept it fully. If there
are any ethical questions in your head, resolve them
before you attempt to encourage your opponent to
step down the wrong path during a game.
Deceiving someone is not something everyone
has the fortitude to do. For some, it goes strongly
against their ethical line, and that is okay. It is not
for everyone. If you have ethical questions about
deception, you will not be good at it. Any hesitation
in your mind will show on your face and through your
actions, and your opponent will easily be able to see
your discomfort.
If you plan to deceive, admit that to yourself up
front, accept it, and make peace with it.
Prepare Yourself to be Caught
Accepting that you are about to engage in something
that some people find distasteful is not enough.
There are other things that you must consider
before consciously moving into playing mind games
with your opponent.
No one is perfect, and even the best at deceiving
will stumble from time to time. Your opponent will
catch you in a deception one day. There are some
circumstances that will increase your likelihood of
being caught trying to deceive your opponent. It is
beneficial to recognize them early.
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Have you been caught deceiving by this player
before? If so, their trust in you is likely strained and
it will be more difficult to deceive them again.
Have you been caught with this particular deception
before and were there witnesses to it? Like someone
who learns the secret to a magic trick, once they
know it, they cannot help but see the smoke and
mirrors when the trick turns up again.
When preparing to deceive, consider what the
consequences will be if you are discovered. Will your
opponent consider that to be part of the game, or
will they feel you went outside the spirit of Malifaux?
Will it be so bad that if your opponent catches you,
they will no longer want to play against you?
A good rule of thumb is to consider the likely negative
outcomes of being discovered. If all of those results
are ones you can live with, the deception is worth
the risk.
Know Yourself
Everyone has a tell. If you have ever played poker (or
watched any poker-themed movies), you have heard
that phrase before. Everyone has a tell. When
they are about to try to deceive someone, or bluff
someone, there’s something that they do differently.
It may be unconsciously reaching towards their
mouth. It may be that they talk faster or longer
than they normally would. Some people avoid eye-
contact while others try to maintain eye-contact
longer. The normal state for most people is not
to deceive others, so when they start intentionally
deceiving they become uncomfortable and it will
show somewhere.
The players who are best at deceiving are the ones
who act no differently when they are playing straight
and when they are deceiving their opponent. They
know what could give them away in a bluff and they
make sure that they either conceal that tell, or they
mimic their tell even when they are not deceiving
people, so it becomes a standard habit for them.
If you know you are the kind of player who cracks
jokes when they are nervous and you can’t make
yourself stop, make sure that you crack jokes all
throughout the game.
 Good deceivers also employ this trick when they
know they will need to act a certain way when they
are setting a trap. An opponent will recognize if your
behavior suddenly shifts – it will send up warning
signs for them and they will be less likely to fall
for your trap. Instead, if you know part of your trap
down the road will be to suggest to an opponent a
course of action and hope they follow it, make sure
that you are suggesting a course of action at other
times during the game as well so it blends in. If part
of the trap is to make an opponent think that when
you consider your Control Hand carefully it means
that it is a strong hand, make sure that earlier in
the game you mimic that behavior and then play
strong cards.
Know Your Opponent
It is not always possible to use the information
you know about your opponent against them.
Sometimes you may be facing someone from out
of town in a tournament, or a new opponent who
showed up at your store. But when you do face an
opponent that you know well, do not hesitate to use
that information against them.
Your deception style might involve trying to speed
the pace of a game up to where the opponent
feels rushed and makes a mistake. If you know
an opponent who is particularly susceptible to this
tactic, you should employ it with them. But if another
opponent has demonstrated that they actually make
more mistakes if they have time to consider all their
options, you may wish to tailor your style to help
them understand every option in front of them.
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Types of Deception
You have made the decision to employ deception in
your games. There is no single method of deception
that will work for everyone. If there was, it would be
easy to spot and avoid being deceived. Deception
is like public speaking – to do it well, you must
find your own voice and your own style. This takes
practice and takes experimentation, but once you
find the right way to deceive people for you, it will
fit like a glove and you will be able to step up your
game to a new level.
There are three core types of deception that I have
seen employed in Malifaux.
1. Lying
I said it before and it bears repeating: DO NOT
LIE. Lying is cheating, full stop. It is not the way
to win the game and while it technically falls into
the realm of deception, it has no place in a game of
Malifaux. Neither the game state nor the abilities
and rules of your models should be misrepresented
to your opponent. It should be clear which models
have taken damage, which tokens belong to which
models, how many cards you have remaining, what
card was just flipped, etc.
2. Withholding Information
Unless Asked For It
The second style of deception which makes its way
into games is when you withhold information from
your opponent unless they ask for it. You never lie
or misrepresent what your models can do, but you
pattern almost like a computer. You do not offer
suggestions or opinion on any matter in the game
whether it could benefit or harm your opponent. If
you see your opponent is about to make a move that
they would likely not make if they had memorized
every rule on your models, you let them make the
move anyway and take advantage of the fact they
don’t know all the rules.
This is different from lying. It leaves a bad taste
behind for some players, but you aren’t lying or
misrepresenting anything in the game. If your
 opponent asks you how many wounds Seamus
has left, you would tell them “two.” A completely
accurate response, but it might lead your opponent
into a bad choice when they did not also know
Seamus has Hard to Kill, thus ensuring he survives
the next attack.
This method of deception works well in some ways
but has some disadvantages associated with it.
As I said, it tends to leave your opponent unhappy
with the state of the game. Often they will walk
away feeling like they had been lied to even though
you never actually lied to them. This approach can
be shortsighted as it may win them the game but
lose them an opponent with whom they could share
another game. That might be an over-reaction on
the part of the player who was deceived, but I have
seen it happen before, and it tends not to be worth
the risk for me.
If your opponent does not swear off facing you in
games again, it is still a method of deception with
diminishing returns. Your opponent will usually not
fall for the same trick twice. Having learned the rule
after the first deception, that deception becomes
impossible again. Without adapting your style to
other methods of deception, eventually your list of
abilities your opponent does not know which you
can take advantage of will shrink away to nothing.
This method actually proves quite useful in
tournament settings, however. Against players you
do not often face, you do not tend to have a lot of
background on your opponent from which you can
draw, and deception by omission is an easy and
quick way to deceive your opponent. As an added
bonus, the common mentality is that this is a more
socially acceptable form of deception once the first
bell for the tournament sounds.
3. Provide Information
to Influence Decisions
I will admit, this is my preferred method of deception,
and it is a bit more complex than the other methods.
It requires an understanding of your plans during a
game and how you want your opponent to behave in
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
order to further your goals. Once you know what you
want your opponent to do, you will have to figure out
what you have available to you to encourage your
opponent to make that decision.
For example, if you have the Scheme Take Prisoner
hidden (targeting Nix) and realize near the end of
the game that your opponent could simply move Nix
away and deny you those points without realizing it,
you need to find a way to convince your opponent
to remain in place. First move one of your Ten
Thunders Brothers near the only other model near
Nix to hold it in place with Disengaging Strikes.
Once your opponent activates Nix and is about to
move away, you might helpfully remind them that
Sensei Yu has a long walk and can interact for free
as long as he has a Focus counter on him, which
he does currently. Recognizing that, your opponent
may opt to move Nix towards one of the Squatter’s
Rights markers instead to defend it from Sensei Yu,
putting him in range of your models to capture.
The deception here comes in several layers. Never
once was a lie given. While you were able to gain more
victory points out of Take Prisoner, the information
your provided your opponent in the interests of
keeping your opponent aware of the abilities on your
models did help them keep you from taking away
Squatter’s Rights from them. So your information
was of benefit to your opponent. You never once
told your opponent that they had to move Nix, but
by using the Ten Thunders Brother first to hold one
other model in place, you set up the game state so
that the only decision your opponent could safely
choose if he wanted to defend Squatter’s Rights
was to move Nix closer.
This method of deception has a few advantages to
it. First, your opponent walks away from the table,
win or lose, feeling like you are a good opponent
for the game and willing to help the game be more
enjoyable from both sides. Second, the exact same
trick can be pulled more than once if the opportunity
presents itself. It does not rely on your opponent
not knowing something. It instead relies on you
creating a situation in which your opponent’s options
are narrowed to one that you want him to take.
But what if your opponent had decided not to move
Nix towards the Squatter’s Rights Marker? At that

point, if you don’t have the ability to gain your Take
Prisoner from Nix, you’d best be certain to take the
R
Squatter’s Rights Marker with Sensei Yu. Because
at the end of the day, everything you told your
opponent was accurate. And if you cannot reach
Nix to net Take Prisoner, your next best option is to
deny your opponent points from Squatter’s Rights.
One thing to remember about this method of
deception: it, like all other methods, relies on you
being consistent in the way you present yourself.
If you are going to use this method to occasionally
provide information to your opponent with the hopes
that it will steer him towards a particular decision,
you will also need to provide him information when
you do not immediately have an ulterior motive or a
trap set. If you only tell your opponent information
when you have a trap set, your opponent is going to
catch on sooner or later.
Just make sure you are not giving him information
that will end up winning him the game. Just because
you are going to give them helpful information does
not mean you need to tell them how to beat you.
Ways to Deceive in Malifaux
So far we have mostly been talking about deception
as a high concept. But how does it all come together
at the Malifaux table? How can people deceive in
Malifaux effectively? The ways deception can be
applied to Malifaux are countless, but below are
several of the ways I have seen it used commonly.
Schemes
Deception is limited in the pre-game time period.
Most of the set-up involves decisions made
privately and then revealed to each other at
the same time. But pre-game provides a major
opportunity to prepare a later deception, and that
is in the Scheme selection.
When you get a look at the Scheme Pool, review
them to find out how many could grant full points
while Hidden. Many Schemes grant bonus points
if they are revealed, but can still grant a full three
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
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Victory Points while hidden. Pay particular attention
to those. Most players will choose to reveal them
to gain a bonus and will expect that if there is a
hidden Scheme, their opponent has not chosen one
of those Schemes.
As a rule, I try to keep at least one Scheme hidden
every game. With one more unknown piece of
information out there, I have one more thing I can
use to deceive my opponent. Even if Breakthrough
would be easier by revealing it, I would rather
keep it hidden and leave my opponent wondering
which of the four remaining Schemes I am trying
to accomplish.
Once the game has begun, keep in mind all the
Schemes that your hidden one could possibly be
and have some of your models act as though they
are attempting to accomplish those ones when it
does not take them too far from the battlefield. If
you start dropping Scheme Markers around the
board, especially with models that do not need to
Interact to drop them, you may be able to convince
your opponent that your hidden Scheme is Plant
Explosives and force your opponent out of position
simply by dropping Scheme Markers near them.
Deployment
Another time to try to deceive your opponent is in
the Deployment phase. This works particularly well
when you have to deploy first and is one of the few
advantages to deploying before your opponent.
 Rarely is anything actually said during this phase
beyond telling your opponent where your models are,
but if you are playing a faster crew, your deployment
can be used to conceal your actual strategy. Fast-
moving models can more easily move from one side
of the board to another in the first turn. Where you
initially showed strength on the board, it may turn to
weakness. Your opponent may have deployed a pair
of Guild Riflemen across from your Terror Tots and
Young Nephilim expecting to counter your strength,
but because of your speed, you can move them
around the board up another path and the strength
of his Riflemen is now limited. Your deployment
implied to your opponent that you were going to
move along the left side of the board, but instead
your crew heads up the right side.
Cheating the Control Hand
Sun Tzu said to appear weak when you are strong
and to appear strong when you are weak. This
is particularly important when you work with your
Control Hand.
When the option to Cheat Fate comes around, one
way to apply deception to the game is to always
consider for a second, even if you know that you
do not have the card available with which to cheat.
Sometimes I even pull a card out of my hand and
get close to playing it before deciding against it and
putting it back in my hand.
Every player is trying to narrow down the scope of
what their opponent has in their hand. If you have
a weak hand, as Sun Tzu says, try to present it as
a strong hand. When they are going through their
decisions, if they believe you have a strong hand,
they will often choose to be more cautious than
they should.
Likewise, if you have a strong hand, you want your
opponent to act more recklessly as though you
had a weaker hand. When your opponent attacks
someone on your side, you can shake your head
after looking at your hand and say something like
“Not much I can do about that.” It implies to your
opponent that you have a weak hand. Later in the
turn at a more crucial moment, you can cheat in
with the high cards you have been saving and foil
their plans.
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Setting Traps
Traps vary widely based on the terrain that is
available, the models each crew has, the Strategy
and Scheme Pool, the current state of Control
Hands and Soulstones and any number of other
factors. The goal of a trap is to create a situation
where no matter what choice your opponent makes,
you benefit. Deception is not always required to set
a good trap, but it certainly can make it easier.
Earlier in the article, we talked about a situation
involving Nix and Sensei Yu. In this trap, the
opponent was presented two bad choices: lose
a Victory Point by abandoning Squatter’s Rights,
or move Nix into a position that would allow Take
Prisoner to work. That the opponent did not know
Take Prisoner was in play meant that moving Nix to
protect Squatter’s Rights was the optimal move.
In another trap, a Guild player might combine the
deception of the Control Hand mentioned above
where a player implies he has a strong hand when
he has a weak hand with his positioning of a pair
of Death Marshals. His opponent may need to
get out in the open to drop a Scheme Marker for
Breakthrough, but believes in doing so he will lose
the model that drops the marker. In truth, the Guild
player lacks the cards to kill his opponent, but he
has built something different in his opponent’s
mind. As his opponent activates his model, the
Guild player reminds him that the Executioner can
destroy Scheme Markers with a special action. The
Guild player’s Executioner is out of position to do
so, and doing so may not fit into the Guild player’s
plans, but telling his opponent that makes him think
twice. Now he thinks he will lose his model and
eventually lose the Scheme Marker. It is not worth
it, so he does not move out to Interact.
How Not to Be Deceived
Bluffing and deception are a part of Malifaux. This
is not going to change. But just because your
opponent is standing across from you trying to
employ tricks to deceive you does not mean you are
helpless against them. Deception requires at its
fundamental state an agreement between you and
your opponent that you are willing to be deceived.
At the end of the day, the final decision is always
 yours. Your opponent may have tried to steer your
choice in one direction as much as he can, either by
providing no information or certain information, but
the final decision is yours.
Do not play your opponent’s game. If your opponent
is trying to deceive you, it only works if you let him.
Know your best state of mind. Do you play better
when you take time to analyze your options? Then
take time to analyze your options. Do you play better
when you read your opponent’s abilities rather than
have him read it to you? Then ask for the cards and
read them.
If a crucial decision point in the game is coming
up, do not trust your memory to what the state of
the game is. Ask how many wounds models have.
Ask if they have any defenses like Armor, Hard to
Wound, Hard to Kill, Manipulative, Terrifying, etc.
Ask if there are Defensive or Offensive Triggers. Or
just ask to read the card of your target.
If your opponent is providing you specific information
regarding a decision you are about to make, think
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about it critically. What is the benefit that your
opponent could gain by giving you this information?
A canny deceptive opponent will not always have
immediate benefit by providing you information, but
many times they will. Think about the state of the
game and what that benefit might be. Deception is
another layer to the strategy of Malifaux. You must
out-think your opponent.
Go Forth and Deceive
It is a mantra we have all heard before: Malifaux
is a complex game. It has resource management
on multiple levels, models with complex actions and
interactions, a board that is never the same and
objectives that never line up identically from one
game to the next. But all that is the dressing of the
game itself. The real battle is not between plastic
models on the table. It is between the minds of
the two players across from each other. Deception
is a skill like all others in Malifaux. It is the path
you take to ensure your strategy and your plans are
accomplished while your opponent is trying to stop
them. Ignore it at your peril.
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 December's Call: Homecoming
One Year before the Event
Alice ducked into the side alley, sprinting for the
other end. She slammed her back against the wall
behind a pile of crates, peeking past it at the street.
No one followed her. The fourteen year old girl let
out a relieved gasp and looked around furtively
before pulling the stolen purse out of her shirt. Her
dirty fingers pulled at the strings, tugging the knot
tighter. She frowned and pulled out a knife, cutting
the knot with a frustrated grunt.
Thin hands trembling, she grabbed the handful of
Scrip notes and counted them. Alice groaned, slowly
lowering herself to the ground and dropping her
head onto her knees. Ten Scrip. Enough to avoid a
beating from MacArthur... or enough to eat tonight.
Not enough for both, and she was rapidly running
out of time to steal anything else. The streets of
Malifaux City were not a place for a small, weak girl
to go running around on her own at night. The scar
on her cheek twitched at that thought, an old pain
she easily ignored.
“Now what do I do?” she muttered, running a hand
through dust covered brown hair. She had to tug
to get her hand loose from the knots. Sighing, she
stood up and stuffed the purse and money back
into her shirt. She walked to the end of the alley,
looking down the dark street. The first glimpses of
twilight, brilliant hues of purple and green, covered
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Jonathan Boynton
the run down buildings. Alice tapped her fingers on
her thigh. Maybe an hour, she thought. Then I have
to go back no matter what.
Movement in the alleys across the street caught
her eye. It was only a momentary thing, a man
shaped shadow flitting across the dark. Alice
turned her head, looking at the street, but saw no
one. She took a deep breath, then plunged forward
after the shadow. With luck, it was someone she
could steal from, enough to get food and started
on tomorrow’s payment.
It took a few minutes of cautious tracking to find
them and only desperation kept her from running.
She didn’t know these men, dressed in dark clothing
to blend into the night. But she could recognize
the quiet sense of deadly purpose that kept them
moving. She squinted her hazel eyes, trying to see
them more clearly. She spotted a variety of pouches
at their waists, ones that would be easy to grab if
she was careful.
The men turned a corner and she followed, keeping
a close eye on the sky. She’d have to be quick. She
peeked around, and stumbled back with a terrified
gasp as a hand grabbed her by the throat. A man
stepped away from the wall into her sight.
 “I told you we were being followed,” he said. Alice’s
brain latched onto details like his blond hair and
trimmed beard, the fine material of his clothing, blue
eyes wide, a toothy grin on his face... She gasped for
air as he squeezed tighter, and she tried to scratch
his face with her broken fingernails. He laughed and
slammed her against the wall, making her squeak
from the sharp pain at the back of her head. “Feisty
little girl, aren’t you?”
“What are you doing, Raethford?”
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Alice’s attacker turned his head and sneered. “You
heard English earlier, didn’t you, Harry? You have
ears, right? No witnesses. Including little girls.”
Alice panicked, kicking desperately at the bigger
man. Raethford’s eyes snapped back to her, his
face narrowed in sudden fury. The young thief tried
to scream as icy cold pain filled her throat. Frozen
fire spread into her chest and her mouth, and
ice crystals blurred her vision. She couldn’t feel
anything but the bitter cold and the agony coming
from the man’s hand at her throat. Her sight went
black as the ice forced her eyes closed.
A pair of blue eyes with red slit pupils looked down
on her, hovering in a pale haze that filled the sky.
The inhuman eyes narrowed, drifting lazily in the air.
Slowly, a set of vicious fangs emerged beneath the
eyes and smiled. The blackness returned, hiding the
terrifying sight behind a wall of sudden pain.
Alice’s chest couldn’t move, her limbs
trembled as the cold forced them into
painful positions. The anguish tore at her
mind and she barely noticed the sudden
spark of pain as she hit the ground. After a
moment, a dull heat filled her lungs. She became
dimly aware of a hand resting on her breastbone,
warmth spreading from it.
“You’re weak, Harry.”
“And you’re a monster, Raethford. I’ll take where
I’m at. I’ll be telling Ivan about this, and we’ll let
him decide whether I should have interfered.” Alice
heard someone spitting loudly onto the ground, and
then boots stalking away. “Breathe, damn you, girl,”
the man over her muttered.
Alice’s back spasmed as breath filled her frozen
lungs. She bit her tongue, and coppery blood filled
her mouth. She rolled onto her side and sobbed. The
man placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her as
she coughed up mouthfuls of water and blood.
 “Good.” She heard him sigh, then he dropped a
small bag on the ground next to her. “I can’t help
you anymore than I have. Get out of here, kid.” The
man stood and walked after the others.
The thief knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the
purse. Spitting out a last mouthful of blood and
water, Alice grabbed the bag and ran.
“What’s all this, scamp?” the gruff voice demanded.
Alice ducked back from Dustin, trying to shield the
pouch filled with her tribute from him. The tall man,
slickly handsome in his tailored clothing, stuck a
foot out and tripped her. She fell on the ground with
a grunt and the pouch flew from her hand as his
goons laughed. Dustin leaned out and snagged the
pouch from the air, then whistled.
“I’m impressed, girl.” He bounced the bag in his
hand, head leaned down to listen to the clatter it
made. “What’d you manage to find out there today?
Something far more than a few Scrip notes.” Alice
glared at MacArthur’ chief enforcer while he opened
the bag. His eyes practically glowed with greed as
he saw the handful of Scrip notes and the small pile
of gold coins that Alice had been given by her savior.
“Well, this is far more than I’d rightly expect a slip of
a girl like you to find. Where’d you go running today?”
He knelt down on his heels, staring into her eyes.
Alice said nothing, ducking away from the large man.
Dustin casually backhanded her, sending her flying.
“I asked you a question, girl,” he said quietly.
Alice trembled and tried to push herself away from
him. “I was working the markets, like I was told to,”
she whispered. A boot settled on her shoulder from
behind as one of Dustin’s men pinned her in place.
Dustin studied her face, then nodded slowly. “Good
girl.” He stood, picking through the contents of
the bag, then savagely kicked her in the stomach.
Alice screamed and curled into a ball, sobbing. The
enforcer slipped the bag into a large pouch on his
belt and dropped the Scrip notes on her. “Don’t lie
there too long, girl. MacArthur is expecting you.”
12
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
The men all walked away laughing. Alice rolled
painfully onto her hands and knees, spitting on
the ground.
No blood this time, thankfully. She laughed, a horrific
coughing sound that she could barely recognize as
her voice. What a miserable thing to be thankful for.
Alice pushed up onto her feet, picking up the notes
Dustin had left for her. Not even enough to cover
how much she was supposed to get each day. She
crushed the money in her thin fingers. It would be
the third time this month. MacArthur would have
Dustin beat her just to keep the other thieves in
line. A boss’ authority was like that. She angrily
brushed away a tear that crawled through the dirt
on her face.
Alice crawled under her blankets, wincing as she
moved. Everything hurt. She could see the bruises
already on her arms, although she knew they’d be
nothing compared to her back. An edged object
underneath the thin layer of straw on the floor
scratched along her side, and she bit the inside of
her cheek to keep from screaming. She settled back
with a small groan, curling up to warm herself in the
small closet of the abandoned building. It was far
from what she’d be willing to call home, but it was
a place to sleep in private. Being alone in Malifaux
at night was dangerous, but she preferred to risk
the dangers she didn’t know to the monsters in the
thief gang.
A soft weight moved onto her legs, and Alice smiled
as she reached down to scratch Luka’s ears. The
white cat purred, the vibrations shaking her entire
body. Well, not completely alone. She never knew
why it was that Luka had stuck with her, but she had
no complaints. A hoarcat was more than enough
to keep even Malifaux rats out of the building. He
had moved in one day when she was ten, and been
around ever since.
“Hey there,” she whispered. He turned green eyes
to her and flicked an ear, then lowered his head and
began to sleep. Smiling lazily, Alice closed her eyes.

A pale blue light filled the air. She looked around
at the mountaintop, marveling at the beauty of the
snow. She had never seen snow like this before,
layers of it that covered everything in sight. Behind
her was a dark cave, with icicles hanging down like
fangs. She took a cautious step toward it, curious
as to what hid in the depths.
Suddenly, Alice felt the presence of something
leaning over her, something old and powerful. She
spun to see a hazy blur studying her, which then
floated to look from another angle. The only distinct
features were a pair of blue eyes with red slit
pupils... and a set of vicious fangs below them. The
thief blinked several times, memories just out of
reach pushing against the edge of her mind.
Who are you, little girl? The voice sounded like a
growling hurricane, one that stretched out the last
word in a strange way. Alice stared at the fangs,
her spine stiffening. The shape moved again, and
she turned her head to watch it. She didn’t dare
say anything.
The jaws rushed towards her, snapping right in front
of her nose. Alice screamed, falling to the ground.
The fell voice laughed, the sound spiraling around
her from all directions. Don’t be afraid, child...
rejoice! This is a momentous day... I am December...
Alice swallowed a few times.
“I’m...I’m Alice. Alice Burson.”
A thief... one afraid of everyone around her. A
sudden image of Dustin’s leering face laid itself
over the haze, and she flinched away from it, bruises
suddenly appearing on her arms. They faded with
the image. Living day to day... barely scraping by...
what a pitiful life.
Alice tugged her knees up to her chin, staring at the
jaws and fighting back tears. It was true. She dropped
her gaze and looked at her broken fingernails.
13
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
I can make you strong... December whispered, the
growl coming from right next to her ear. She turned
and saw the jaws gleaming with a wicked smile.
Find me, Alice Burson, and I’ll make you more
powerful than your wildest dreams... power enough
to abandon your life of fear...
One Year Later
Alice’s eyes snapped open, the growling voice
fading to a whisper as it did every morning. Ever
since that first time, she had the same dream every
night. Her appearance changed as she grew, but the
words never did. She gently shoved Luka off her lap,
causing the hoarcat to stare at her blankly before
yawning and returning to the more important task of
sleeping. The thief sat up and stretched, pulling at
where her clothes had gotten tangled in her sleep.
She stood and walked the short distance to a
small basin of water she kept. It was dirty, the last
rainfall had been a few days past, but it served
her purposes. She wiped some of the dirt off her
cheeks, then examined her face in the water, pulling
down the skin under one eye with a frown. There
were odd flecks of bright blue floating in her hazel
eyes, growing larger with each day. She cursed
and grabbed a cloth. The change to her eyes was
unwelcome and strange, for it made her stand out.
Guild won’t have a hard time finding me with those
eyes. Best keep out of their way.
The young thief picked up a knife from the floor
next to her bedding, tucking it under her clothes
where it snugged against the small of her back. She
carefully pushed her way out of the closet room,
glancing around to check that the building was still
empty. A quiet growl made her turn around and she
quirked an eyebrow at Luka, who slipped past her.
“Coming with me today?” she asked. The hoarcat
yawned then walked to the door to the outside world
and waited for her. Alice laughed, reaching down to
scratch his ears as they went into the city.
 Luka sniffed the air and growled. Alice turned from
her newest mark with a frown, moving back into
the shadows of the warehouse. Over the last year,
she had moved to the warehouse district for her
thieving. The individual purses weren’t as good as
she could find at a market, but the men who worked
the warehouses were around more consistently.
Each day she picked on a different group, although
she took particular pleasure in stealing from the
occasional Guild officer when the chance arose.
Today had been a good day, all told, and she was
looking for one last score before night came on.
She knelt down next to the animal. “What is
it?” Alice looked around, staring at the different
buildings. They were in the heart of the warehouse
district, safely away from any prying eyes, well within
the perimeter the Guild established against the
monsters that lurked in Malifaux. Lamps had been
lit as dusk fell, throwing the whole area into stark
contrasts of light and dark.
14
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
A horrific scream filled the air. The thief spun on
her heels, grabbing frantically for her knife as the
scream was followed by shouting. She crouched
low and moved back to the wall, hand clenching on
Luka’s neck. The hoarcat hissed in protest, pulling
away from her out of arm’s reach. Alice fought the
urge to grab him and huddle in one spot. There were
more screams and shouting, and the sounds of
gunfire came from all around her. What’s going on?
She gasped for air, pressing back against the wall.
Her heart was determinedly trying to pound its way
out of her chest.
Tears of pain and fear leaked down her face, and she
hid her face in her hands. The sounds beat against
her mind, getting louder with every moment. “What
do we do?” she asked Luka. She could feel the cat
tugging on her legs. Alice looked down into his green
eyes and took several deep
breaths. Staying here and
panicking was not going
to help her survive. She
took in more air, then
nodded at the animal.
Keeping low, the two
ran for the nearest
way out of the
district. She flinched
at every sound and
 shadow, but kept moving. She needed to get away
from this place, faster the better. She nearly sobbed
in relief when she recognized the edge of the area.
The emotion was immediately replaced with terror as
she saw a figure dressed all in white leaning down
over a body on the ground. The thief took a step
back, nerveless fingers dropping the knife. It rang
like a bell as it landed on the brick path. Luka ran
forward to the body, pouncing on the meal eagerly.
The figure looked up, brilliant blue eyes staring at
the young girl. Alice would have called the man
handsome if his face hadn’t been covered in blood.
He chewed on something, then spat to the side as
he stood, tugging an axe from out of the corpse.
The thief turned to run, slamming headfirst into a
white robed woman. The woman grabbed Alice by
the shoulder, wrapping a hand in the younger girl’s
short hair painfully. Black eyes with specks of blue
stared down from a face dripping blood.
The man said something Alice couldn’t hear over the
sound of her thudding heart. She caught one word,
a name- Elinore. “I’ll deal with her, Steven. Go back
to your meal,” Elinore replied, studying the girl’s
face. Alice couldn’t look away from the red stained
teeth, clean and neat otherwise, that gleamed from
that blood covered visage. Behind her, she could
hear the sickening sound of the ax slamming into
the corpse, followed by a wet tearing sound. She
gagged and the woman let her drop to the ground
while she retched.
A gentle hand smoothed the thief’s hair. Alice looked
up to see the woman leaning down, her expression
unreadable. Elinore reached out and tilted the
girl’s head back and forth by the chin, staring at
her hazel/blue eyes. “You are marked by Him,” the
woman said finally.
“I’m...what?” Alice whispered. She ignored the
sounds behind her, focusing all of her attention on
Elinore through sheer determination.
“You have been called by the Master. December
has marked you as His prize.” Elinore pointed at
her black eyes, the strange coloring so similar to
Alice’s own. The woman frowned. “But you have not
answered it. Why?”
15
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
“What are you talking about?”
“The mountains to the north call you, child.” Elinore
stood and lifted Alice up, placing the knife into the
girl’s hand. “Travel there, and it will all be clear. If
you require a guide, go to Ridley, and ask for a man
named August. Give him this.” Elinore draped a
sharp tooth, tied with silver wire, over Alice’s head.
She stepped closed and pressed her bloody lips to
Alice’s forehead. “Go with His blessing.”
Alice stumbled into the safehouse, scrubbing
frantically at the dried blood on her forehead. Her
face twisted with disgust at the sensation of the filth
on her skin. She looked down at Luka, the white fur
of his face covered in crimson streaks of his own.
“Glad to see it doesn’t bother you,” she muttered.
He yawned and scratched at an ear in reply.
She pulled out her purse, counting the day’s
earnings, trying desperately to forget the insanity of
the last hour. She’d deal with that later, right now
she needed to focus on paying off MacArthur for
another day. The young thief had improved greatly
over the past year, so she was less worried about
tomorrow as she counted out the tribute. She hid
the rest of the take inside her shirt, hand brushing
the tooth necklace the mysterious Elinore had given
her. Her hand jumped back from that touch as if on
fire. Not now. Deal with it later, but not now.
Alice walked to the back of the room in the abandoned
safehouse. There were lots of abandoned buildings
in Malifaux proper, along the Quarantine Zone, and
the underworld elements had made their homes in
the area. She rapped her knuckles on a false wall
in a series of distinct taps. She fought down a brief
giggle as a peephole slid open. Like anyone would
be crazy enough to assault a gang of thieves and
thugs in their own home.
The guard at the peephole grunted, then pulled
open the false door and let her inside. Luka twined
between her legs and past the massive enforcer,
leading the way to what MacArthur called his
‘court’ room. It was more of an unregulated bar
 than anything else. At this early hour for the tribute
process, Alice would be one of the first of the street
thieves back, but the enforcers would be in full
swing, singing and chanting as MacArthur waited to
hear from his most active workers.
Tonight, the room was nearly silent, except for
strained whispers. The tension crackled in the
air, and Alice could see hands reaching for empty
weapon scabbards as she walked by. Luka growled,
pressing close to her with his ears flat on his head.
The pair finally got past the initial crowd to the back
of the room where MacArthur and his most trusted
associates sat.
Dustin looked up from the “throne” that dominated
the space. Alice froze, staring at him, her mind racing.
That was MacArthur’s chair, and had been since the
beginning of the gang. No one but MacArthur sat in
it. So why was Dustin so casually leaned back in it?
Then she saw the blood on the floor, and the body
that it came from.
The gang lord known as MacArthur lay in two
pieces on the ground. Crimson drained from his
neck, staining the sawdust that had been casually
thrown over the puddle. His bruised and broken face
looked at her from the foot of the throne, where
Dustin was using the corpse’s head as a footstool.
The murderous enforcer smiled when he saw Alice,
kicking the head slightly as he stood up. It rolled
through the combination of sawdust and blood,
resting with sightless eyes Alice at the young thief.
“Alice Burson, our intrepid, lonely little cutpurse.
Welcome back,” he said. His handsome face had
a fresh scar on the left cheek. The enforcer hadn’t
bothered to clean the blood away, leaving a thin
trail that ran into his neat beard. “You’re the first
tonight, little girl. Unusual that. What have you
brought back for us?”
“What happened?” she asked numbly, staring at
MacArthur’s head.
Dustin’s smile slipped for a moment, before
reasserting itself. “A disagreement long in the
coming. Nothing for you to worry about- unless you
want to make it a problem.” He picked up a brown
16
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
stained woodcutting axe from where it rested next
to the throne. “So. Give it here, Alice.”
She gulped and handed him the purse. The man
leaned the axe against his shoulder and opened the
bag, checking the contents. His lips moved as he
counted and he frowned. “I’m sorry, dear, but that’s
not enough.”
“What? But that’s...that’s what I paid just yesterday!”
Dustin leaned forward, eyes hard. “And today is a
very different day, wouldn’t you say? Just for that,
it’s gone up again.”
Alice was aware that the room was silent behind
her. She knew what was happening, that Dustin
needed ‘examples’ for the rest of the thieves that
would be coming in to give their own tributes. It was
her bad luck that she was amongst the first back.
Before she could move, Luka jumped in between
her and the man, hissing and spitting, his claws
and teeth bared.
Dustin didn’t even blink as he buried the axe in the
hoarcat’s skull. Alice screamed and grabbed for the
knife at her back, stabbing for his face. He took a
step back and let the blade go by, then kicked her
in the stomach. Her rage gave way before the pain,
and she doubled over, falling to her knees. Dimly
she could hear laughter from the rest of the gang.
She looked at Luka’s limp body while Dustin pulled
the axe out, and felt her rage return red hot.
Staring up at the large man as he lifted the axe
with a smile, Alice moved faster than she ever had
in her life. She slammed her fist into his groin, and
grinned as he gasped in surprise. Dustin fell back
a few steps and tripped to land on the throne. Alice
picked up Luka’s body and ran to the far corner
where she knew a rotten grate to the sewers lay.
The others in the room had just begun to move
as she kicked the grate down into the floor and
dropped in. As her feet touched the ground, she
began to run, confident that none of the larger
members of the gang could follow her.
Tears of rage and pain filled her eyes as she cradled
Luka’s body. She could feel the tooth necklace as
 it bounced against her skin, and remembered the
bloody face, and weapons, of the one who had given
it to her. One way or another, she swore to herself,
Dustin will pay. For Luka.
He looked up and stared at the young thief, black
eyebrows raised. Alice sat down in the other chair at
the table, nervously tapping fingers on knees. After
a few moments, the man leaned back and marked
his page in the book before closing it. “What can I
do for you, Miss...?”

“Alice,” she replied. “Are you August?”

The screech of the train whistle snapped Alice out
of her normal dream. She opened her eyes and
stretched with a yawn, sitting up from her seat in the
“Aye, that’s me.” He poured a drink from a metal
passenger car. The brakes squealed and she stood,
kettle that sat on the table, filling two metal cups
grabbing the small bag that held all her belongings in
with a steaming beverage. He placed one in front of
the world. She stepped past the other passengers,
her, then sipped from his own. He waved at her with
shying away from the Guild officers that sat closest
a pair of fingers, a circular gesture to urge her on.
to the door. The cold air of the town of Ridley, one of
the older Contract Towns, filled her lungs painfully.
“A woman named Elinore told me to find you. Said
She looked around before walking into the town I should give you this.” Alice took the tooth from
proper from the small platform that made up the
station. Snow dusted everything in sight this close
to the northern mountains. The buildings were a
strange mix of antique and new, the oldest dating
back to the first Breach, if not older. She took a
deep breath with a wince, then strode over to the
building marked ‘Inn’.

The main room of the building was a squalid bar,

full to the brim with miners and trackers. The noise
level was kept at a dull roar as people caroused and
argued. A fire blazed in a small hearth, but most of
the crowd wore fur lined winter gear. She could see a
few games of cards and dice scattered throughout,
but for the most part the room was exactly like the
safehouse. The thought made her skin crawl, and
she stamped down on it hard. No time for that.

Hesitating a moment, she cautiously stopped one of

the barmaids. “I’m looking for a man named August?”

“August Toomes?” the woman asked, carefully

balancing a tray covered in mugs with one hand. She
jerked her thumb at a back corner, then returned to
moving around the space. Alice walked towards it,
ducking her head as she passed under the stairs.
The small space seemed to be a leftover from the
original layout of the building, with barely enough
room for the table hidden in it. A man sat hunched
over a book, reading by candlelight.

17
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 around her neck, and handed it to him. August tilted
the tooth back and forth in the candlelight, drawing
it lightly across the palm of his other hand and
hissing at its bite.
“Do you know what this is?” he asked with
narrowed eyes.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I need you to take me
to the mountains. She said that you’d be my guide,
if I gave you that.”
The man grunted and drained his drink, then handed
the tooth back to her. “Tomorrow, I’ll take you there.”
He shook his head and poured another drink. “This
always has been a strange contract. Damn cultists.
Go find yourself some place to sleep, and some
warmer clothing. That won’t be enough for the
mountain.” August waved her off, opening his book
back up with a mutter.
On the side of the mountain, Alice found herself
grateful for August’s advice on the clothing, despite
it taking the last of her money. The air was freezing,
with wind howling around her as she trudged through
the snow behind the guide. She shivered, pulling her
arms in tighter and ducking her head down to focus
on placing each foot. Her breath steamed even as
the wind scorched her lungs with its bitter chill.
Damn cold. Damn wind. Damn snow.
She slipped more than once, unused to walking in
the strange environment. Each time, August hauled
her back up and steadied her while she caught her
breath. Alice looked to the side, marveling at how far
they had climbed already. The guide seemed to be
following a path that he knew well, but she couldn’t
see the route herself. She stopped for a moment
and stared down at Malifaux City in the distance,
easily viewed from this height.
Alice...
The thief stumbled back at the clear voice that
emerged from the wind. She looked up at her guide,
18
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
who watched her patiently but said nothing. Alice
turned to look up at the summit of the mountain,
squinting against the blowing snowflakes. As her
eyes adjusted, she caught a glimpse of a shadowed
cave with icicles like fangs. She gasped and
stumbled forward, landing in the snow.
Welcome child... you have finally come to Me...
December said. The blue and red eyes stared down
at her from the sky, and she was vaguely aware that
August was no longer next to her. The icy fangs
of the cave seemed to curl into a smile. Ahh... I
can taste your hunger now. Hunger for justice...
revenge... power... That hunger is good... and will
serve us both well.
“Alice!” a voice shouted in her ear. She dimly felt
a slap across her face, and she blinked away tears
as August shook her. The guide let out a sigh as
she lifted a hand to touch her cheek where he’d
struck her. “Damn cultists,” he muttered, helping
her stand. “Every damn time. Come on, we’re
nearly there.”
“We will take her,” a woman called. A cloaked figure
dressed in white stepped out of the snow, holding
a spear in one hand and tossing the man a purse.
“Thank you, August.” He shook his head and laid
a hand on Alice’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. He
pulled his hood tighter around his head, and began
walking down the mountain.
The woman walked to Alice, her face hidden behind
a leather mask. The wind seemed to die around
her, calming in a circle only a few feet across.
Alice stared at the woman’s black and blue eyes
as she took off her mask. “Welcome, supplicant,”
Elinore said with a small smile. “Welcome to the
Cult of December.”
“December asks us to give Him sustenance from
His foes, and He provides us with power in return,”
Elinore said, helping pull tight the straps on the
unfamiliar armor Alice had been given. The thief
looked over the ill-fitting equipment with a level
of confusion. It was overly large, possibly even
 made for a man instead of a slight young girl. The
older woman paused for a moment, inspecting her
handiwork before reaching for the next part.
Alice had been with the cultists for a week, during
which she had begun rethinking her decision to
come to the mountain. They were a strange breed,
keeping mostly to themselves while around Alice.
She didn’t get a sense of active hostility or disdain,
like she had felt from MacArthur’s gang. Instead,
there was a feeling of...wariness seemed to be
the best word for it. They were secretive and, well,
cultish. Alice suppressed a giggle at the thought as
Elinore continued to assemble the armor.
Only Elinore, an acolyte of the cult, spoke with her
about the cult and even that was sparse. Instead,
Alice had been given training in the use of a
strange harpoon weapon, and taught what Elinore
described as the basics of hunting. During the few
breaks in the training, the older woman had asked
many questions about Alice’s time with the gang,
particularly about Dustin and his abuses.
When Alice asked about the lessons, Elinore had
merely smiled and described it as an “aptitude test,”
whatever the hell that was. The acolyte had been
gone the past two days, leaving Alice’s instruction
in the hands of Stephen, the other acolyte she had
encountered among the warehouses. This morning,
Elinore had walked into the young girl’s sleeping
quarters in the cave complex with a pile of armor
and started helping the girl with wearing it.
Alice frowned suddenly, noticing something odd.
Elinore’s right hand was missing it’s pinky. A trail
of fresh scars spiraled up her arm, concentrated
on the back of her hand. The lost finger didn’t
seem to bother the acolyte, who continued her
task without problem.
“What happened to you?” she asked. The question
surprised her. Since when do I care?
Elinore followed her gaze and laughed. “Nothing
you need to worry about. With your initiation today,
I decided to make it a gift for you. Getting the prize
was a little more difficult than anticipated, but I think
you’ll appreciate it.”
19
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
“Initiation?”
“As a supplicant, you have yet to swear to His name
and His power. Today, you will either take the first
steps on that path, or your journey will end.”
The thief arched an eyebrow at the statement.
“What do you mean?”
“Before you can be welcomed as one of us, you must
be tested. The ritual is different for every supplicant.
Not many outsiders are chosen by Him after all.”
Elinore pulled out a white and grey cloak, wrapping
it around Alice’s shoulders with a practiced motion.
“What’s the test?” the thief asked, a sick feeling in
her stomach.
“Yours is actually straightforward. You must hunt,
and take from the essence of your prey by devouring
his heart. Other acolytes will be with you to observe,
but you will be alone in this. If your prey escapes
to the town below, or kills you, you fail and will be
discarded.” The acolyte’s tone was neutral and calm
as she said this, a sharp contrast to the burst of
panic Alice felt.
“Discarded?” she squeaked.
“If you can’t even accomplish this task, your
essence won’t be worth claiming. You will be left for
dead on the mountains where you fall.” Elinore held
a harpoon gun, the one she’d been teaching Alice
how to use during the past few days. She frowned
when the girl didn’t hold out her arm. Her black and
blue eyes met the worried expression of her pupil
and she smiled slightly. “It is a harsh existence in
the mountains, my dear. But well worth it to those
who can draw upon its strength.
“Besides,” she continued, “I think you’ll not have
any trouble with this prey. I selected him myself. He’s
gotten a head start already, so don’t waste anymore
time.” Elinore finished putting the harpoon gun on
Alice’s arm and handed the thief a toothed knife.
“Time to find out, child, if you are predator or prey.”

Alice leaned down to study the snow, frowning as
she squinted through the wind. She so wished
that she was back in Malifaux City, tracking a mark
through the familiar streets. She was comfortable
there, with the intersections that limited the number
of directions someone could travel. Here on the
mountain it was harder to predict where someone
would go, beyond down. She hesitated a moment.
Someone. Was she really about to kill a person
and... eat them? The thief shook her head. No time
for that. No time for a lot of things.
She picked a direction and started moving down the
mountain. After Elinore’s teaching she was more
confident of walking on the strange, irregular surface
of rocks, snow and ice. She still slipped every so
often, but she kept moving. She kept a tight hand
on the handful of harpoons she’d been given, not
trusting the quiver on her back.
There. There was a long furrow in the snow ahead
of her. Someone or something had fallen on the ice.
The wind had already begun to fill it in, but it was
a start. She could see the subtle hint of footprints
further on, one longer than the other. Alice felt a
surge of excitement and ran forward. After a few
minutes, the prints disappeared again beneath
the snow. She looked around, stalking cautiously
through the rock terrain.
A small hint of sound was her only warning before
she got hit in the back by a solid object. Alice
screamed in pain, rolling forward and away from
her unseen foe. It took only a moment to get to
her feet, raising the harpoon gun with narrowed
eyes. She hesitated a heartbeat to aim before
triggering the device, cursing as the wind tore the
bolt to the side.
Dustin stared at her, his face locked in a horrifying
snarl. He hefted a club and charged at her with
a yell. Alice skipped back, stumbling a bit on a
patch of ice, while her mind raced. Fear and panic
spiraled together, making her heart race as she
looked at the man who had caused so much pain
in her life. His eyes were wide and desperate
as he swung at her again, leveraging his greater
height to aim at her head.
20
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
The thief fell under the swing, sliding down the
slope of the mountain before stopping. She
stood, breathing heavily as she went to load the
harpoon gun. She cursed upon realizing that she
had dropped the spares next to the gang lord.
Dustin dropped his club and grabbed the short
spear. “Come and get me,” he spat. “I’ll make you
work for your meal, cannibal wench.”
Alice paused and tilted her head to one side.
He’s afraid. It was a strange thought to associate
with the man. Fear was never an emotion she’d
thought he knew. But here he was, terrified... of
her. A wicked smile crossed her features as she
drew the knife Elinore had given her. She leaned
forward and charged, jumping off a rock to get
more momentum. He stepped back, keeping his
body low as he stabbed at her.
She slashed again, aiming for his chest. The man
blocked with the spear and stepped forward to
punch her in the face. Alice stumbled back with a
gasp as she felt the sickening crack of her nose
breaking. Blood fell onto the white snow and she
moved away from her opponent while she tried to
clear tears from her vision before they froze.
Suddenly she heard him laugh. “Alice Burson,”
he growled as she wiped blood from her lips. His
stance shifted and he picked up another spear.
“What a surprise. The lost little girl, all alone,
joining a cult of crazed cannibals. Hoping they get
you another cat?”
Alice howled with rage and rushed him, screaming
as he kicked her in the stomach. The brute
stabbed her in the shoulder, twisting the spear
before tearing it back out. The pain was blinding,
but she kept the presence of mind to roll away
from him. She went over the pile of short spears,
grabbing one before getting to her feet. She
coughed, blood covering the ground. Her hand
shook as she tried to load the harpoon gun while
Dustin stalked towards her.
He threw one of the spears and she barely dodged
it, cursing at the pain from her injured shoulder.
Fear filled her as she stared at him, years of
constant abuse and ridicule from the man jumping
to mind. More than anything, she wanted to run.
 To run and hide from this man who had been an She embraced Alice and kissed the girl on the
immovable constant, a source of pain and fear. cheek. “Welcome home, Sister,” the woman said,
She tensed, ready to sprint away. echoed by the others. Alice hugged her fellow cultist,
reveling in the statement.
Then the spear clicked into place, and something
inside her changed. Predator or prey. She snarled, She had indeed found her home.
her vision turning a pale blue. “Enough,” she
hissed, crouching low like some kind of beast.
Dustin stumbled back as she rushed him, shoving
the harpoon gun upwards at his neck as she
pulled the trigger. The spearhead bit through his
skin, lancing through his throat and out the back.
Blood poured down his lips as he collapsed to his
knees, falling backwards.

“No more,” she spat, looking for the knife Elinore

had given her. She found it in the snow nearby,
picking it up and approaching the dying man.
Stepping close, she stared into his wide eyes as
they moved with frantic panic across her face.
Alice howled and stabbed the blade into his chest
with her uninjured arm. She stood, and kicked
against the hilt, ignoring the sickening crunch of
bone and cartilage.

With only one hand, it was hard

work to get to her prize, but she
managed to find it before he died.
The girl reached in with a bloody
hand, ripping out his heart with
supernatural strength. She held it
aloft and watched the light fade from
his eyes. Alice dropped to one knee, the
surge of strength leaving her, vision returning to
normal. A quiet growl, somehow satisfied, filled her
ears and ran up her spine. Predator or prey. It was a
simple question. Ignoring her revulsion, Alice bit into
the organ she held, choking down the first bite. The
rest went down easier after that.

She looked up as a group of the white garbed

acolytes approached. Each leaned down to Dustin’s
corpse, dipping a hand inside and bringing it out
drenched in blood. They walked to her, touching the
bloodied fingers to her cheeks. Alice stared at them
in confusion as they each moved to a spot in a circle
around her. The whole thing had the air of ceremony
to it, but she didn’t understand.

The last woman took off her mask, revealing Elinore.

21
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 Train of thoughts
A one-shot ADVENTURE FOR THROUGH THE BREACH
Through the Breach (TtB) has been out for a few
months now and you, dear reader, must be clamoring
at the bit for shiny new things! Never fear, this
module is here! This module is designed to do two
things: show off elements of TtB’s mechanics and
provide you with a one session story that you can
use as you see fit. Either way, since it’s free, you’ll
be getting the biggest bang for your Scrip!
If you’re not running a TtB game, now’s the time to
leave to avoid spoilers.
The Game
Estimated time to play: 3-5 hours for 5 players
Tarot tie-ins: CRSC 10c “If you allow the hands to
pull you down” could relate to allowing the Guild to
arrest you.
CRNC 1c: “for you must dredge the waters till
the just give up their dead” could relate to having
to stir up the animosity between the engineers to
find Charles.
Summary: The Fated are called in for questioning
by a Guild officer about a robbery of a train and
the fact that all evidence has tied the Fated to the
theft. The officer is fairly sure the Fated are being
framed, and after questioning the Fated, gives
them 24 hours to figure out who did steal the train
before they’re locked up.
22
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Joshua Pavlisko
This mystery will take the Fated through tumultuous
relationships as they attempt to discover the real
thief. At the end, they’re left with a moral quandary:
What do you do with someone who’s willing to tear
down the world to save one life in it?
Brief character summaries for some of the
Fatemaster characters can be found at the end of
the adventure.
Prologue - Awareness
The story starts with the Fated sitting in a Guild
interrogation room with Officer Thompson McMeel.
Paraphrase or read aloud the following:
The soft ticking of the Guild officer’s pocket
watch is the first sound you hear as he enters
the room. He looks fairly young with a neatly
trimmed chestnut brown mustache and a set of
wire-framed spectacles resting snugly on his face.
Clicking the pocket watch closed, the man sits
down and states, “We haven’t much time, so I’ll
be brief. You’ve all been brought in because of
a train robbery. Someone’s gone to extraordinary
measures to place the theft of this train on you,
and when someone goes out of their way to tie
a man to something, there’s something special
about who’s getting tied. As the old saying goes
‘You can’t look at bloody feathers and not say
there’s a dead chicken.’”
 He pauses a moment. “Well, I’m not going to let
them get away with it. It’s time to make hay while
the sun shines. You have 24 hours to clear your
names. I’m going to be spending today trying to
distract my superiors from the fact that 500 tons
of metal isn’t where it’s supposed to be. You guys
have that long to figure out whom actually took it.
Otherwise, you’re going to jail. No need to tarnish
my perfect record.” He gives you a wink.
“We questioned everyone, including the 3
engineers that helped build these trains, but we
got nowhere. It’s a bit of a dead end, and I don’t
have time to look into it further myself. Officer
Loath is outside to assist you and bring you up to
speed. She may act like she thinks your guilty, but
think nothing of it, that’s an officer’s job.
Scene 1 – Establishing the Stakes
With Officer McMeel gone, the players are left sitting
in his office. It’s a fairly spartan room with little to
see. Outside the door is McMeel’s partner Sara
Loath, another officer of lower rank who is prepared
to provide more information to the Fated, should
they require it. She’s not privy to all the information,
so the Fatemaster should try to play her off as
willing but hostile, happy to take a few jabs at the
players. The Fatemaster should use this opportunity
to let the players roleplay their characters and have
a bit of banter and conversation with Officer Loath.
Below is the information she can provide:
• If the Fated were framed and they don’t solve
it, she’s going to assume they did it. Loath isn’t
going to let McMeel take the fall for the Fated.
•O
 fficer Loath will accompany them to provide
them the access needed, but it’s not her job
to prove them innocent when everything points
to guilty.
• If the Fated publicly discuss the incident, it’s
likely to bring the Guild Inquisitors in, which are
less likely to provide the Fated the opportunity
to clear their names. They should be careful
about how much they share and with whom.
•W
 hile the Guard was patrolling train storage,
they saw the Fated near Her Majesty’s Rail Line
223, a cargo train that was scheduled to be
moved in the next few days for reclamation. This
is why the Fated were originally brought in.
23
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
• F ingerprints were found at the scene that match
the ones taken from the Fated.
• L ine 223 is 4 cars and the engine. The specifics
are kept under wraps, but Line 223 contained
contraband material.
• There were no overt signs of a break-in, so
presumably there was someone inside who was
helping the Fated.
• T he culprits must have access to magic because
McMeel determined the sighting of the Fated
near the train was an illusion designed to get
the Guild on their trail (no, she doesn’t know
how he determined that).
•M
 cMeel is unsure what exactly is on the train,
but he believes that there’s Arcanist contraband
on it. Loath knows the engineers that worked
on the train were questioned about the whole
thing, but the information wasn’t helpful. The
engineers investigated were Charles Faraday,
Richard Davy, and Frederick Winsor.
Once the players are satisfied with the information
they have, Loath will ask them where they want to go
and they can begin trying to solve the crime.
Scene 2 – Fear
Scene 2 takes place in multiple locations with
multiple people. Its overall structure is represented
by an Ongoing Challenge (Fated Almanac page
196) as a way to allow the Fated to investigate in
a less structured way. That said, it’s important that
the players recognize the possibility of failure here,
which would result in having their characters locked
up – often a fate worse than death!
An Ongoing Challenge provides a cinematic feel of
time passing as the Fated take on the role of private
investigators. This Challenge has two ‘paths’ of
skill checks: the Method Path and the Motive Path.
The number of successes achieved on each path
will trigger certain events as the Ongoing Challenge
progresses, as well as alter game elements in
Scene 3. The number of failures will count as lost
time for the players, giving the villain more time to
prepare. The skills listed in each of the paths are
the more common suggestions; Fatemasters are
encouraged to consider Fated suggestions for skill
usage as well.
 Ongoing Challenge
TN: Varies based on skill and location. See individual
paths for more information.
Duration: Each triggered event represents 3 hours
passage.
Increment Requirement: 15 successes to progress
the story automatically to Scene 3.
Keep note of the number of events the players
have triggered.
Method Path: How was the train stolen?
Location: Train Yard
This will involve investigating the train yard proper.
Loath will be able to get the Fated some clearance,
but they will need to maintain a low profile. The train
yard is fairly active, but well within the day-to-day
norm. There are 5 trains currently in the station.
There’s clearly defined Receiving and Departure
Yards, an old weathered looking Engine House with
a corrugated tin roof, and a 3 room office with a rail
worker clock-in station.
Possible Skill Uses: Notice/Track/Engineering
could be used to investigate where the train was
positioned. The important information to add into
the narrative is that whoever swiped the train took
it out on the tracks, but which tracks are unknown.
The theft must have been in the works for a while
given the precision with which it was completed.
TNs: 7-9 for examining the train tracks and following
where it was supposed to be.
People: Rail Station Workers
Should the players want to investigate the people
in the train yard, they’ll have their pick of a skeleton
crew of workers, custodial staff, the train yard
foreman and a handful of conductors.
Possible Skill Uses: Most of the staff will respond
better to pleasant Social Skill checks given that
this is simply a "babysitting" job for most of them.
The important information is that 3 trains have left
the yard in the timeframe that the train could have
24
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
been stolen. The staff can let the Fated know that
each departure and arrival has to be handled by
someone, but as long as the paperwork is filled
out, no one really makes a big deal about the
amount of oversight.
TNs: 7-9 for “pleasant” interactions, 11-13 for more
hostile interactions
Events
First 5 Successes (Method):
Read aloud or paraphrase the following:
The sound of bickering draws your attention to
two workers arguing. “How many ways I gotta say
it bub? I don't care that you put my train on the
wrong track, but trying to pass it off like I clocked
out that train too? It’s completely inexcusable.
Apologize, learn from your mistake, and I won’t
report you” says a man. From his dress, he
appears to be a conductor.
“I didn’t do nothing! Yer full of it and messed up
yousself. Don’t pin this on me” the worker yells
back as he begins to walk away.
If the Fated investigate, either individual can tell
them that Line 442, a coal and construction
materials line scheduled to head up north, wasn't
on the correct track for the conductor to head out
this morning (so whatever train left that morning
on Line 442 is a fake). The worker is adamant and
telling the truth that he didn't move the train, so if
the Fated investigate, they'll find what looks like a
lot of tool marks and odd angular tracks all over the
engine room. A TN 10 Artefacting check reveals that
these marks are from multiple automatons messing
with the trains.
Second 5 Successes (Method):
Read aloud or paraphrase the following:
You are approached by an older looking man
who looks like a watchman. The man pushes his
horn rimmed spectacles up on his nose and asks,
“What EXACTLY is going on here?"
 The watchman is a bit suspicious and will take three
successful TN 11 Social Skill checks to convince
that the players are legitimate. If Sara Loath is still
with them, they gain a + to this flip. If convinced,
the only thing he knows about the robbery is that
the "paperwork looked a bit clean for a conductor,
but it was in order." The watchman also managed to
learn from the man that the conductor was "off to
visit an old friend up north."
Final 5 Successes (Method):
The following event occurs:
The Fated overhear a group of workers complaining
about a “madman of a conductor” who destroyed
their construction gear on his hurry to “the old
Murdstrom cemetery.” If pressed for information,
the leader of the group will comment that “it was
Line 233, or 223, or something like that.” The leader
will joke that “the guy must have a cold wife waiting
for him to bring home dinner.”
Motive Path: Why was the train stolen?
Engineer: Charles Faraday
The Fated can follow up on Faraday at his blacksmithing
shop, a simple two story brick and mortar building
with a hook conveyor system that travels around the
ceilings. The Fated will meet with Charlotte, a young
intern currently running the blacksmithing shop.
Charles has been home sick with the flu for several
days, but Charlotte has been checking in on him daily,
making sure he is OK. If the Fated go to Charles’
house, they will find him absent.
Skill Checks (TNs 6-10): The Fated can use
Social skills to determine a lot about the situation:
Charlotte was an orphan adopted by Charles and
his fiancée Rebecca. She showed an impressive
aptitude for building, an aptitude Rebecca did her
best to encourage. After the mining accident took
Rebecca (Charlotte doesn't know much about it
since Charles was a quiet man), Charlotte ended
up handling more of the business. "I don't like to
gossip, but I think it was the combination of losing
her, and Mr. Davy kicking him out of the partnership
for more money that really hit dad." Charlotte
checked in on Charles this morning (approximately
when the train could have been stolen). She's a
little uncomfortable with letting people just walk
around the shop, but could be politely talked into it.
25
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Engineer: Frederick Winsor
The Fated can follow up on Frederick at a small
cuckoo clock shop, nestled in a quiet neighbourhood
next to a bakery and several homes. The shop is a
single story with a delicately carved wood front door.
The inside of the shop feels comfortably stuffed
with marionettes, cuckoo clocks, and other carved
knickknacks. Frederick is currently working on a
marionette duck when he notices the Fated.
Skill Checks (TNs 7-9): The Fated can use
Bewitch or Convince to get some information out
of Frederick: He doesn't seem excited to talk about
his engineering past, but will cover the basics of it.
He and the other two on the list were once friends
Earthside who were hired for their background who
ended up growing apart. Frederick wasn't interested
in the cold science of building; he liked the art of
it. Richard and to a lesser extent Charles were the
ones who liked the numbers. They tried to open a
business, but Richard was the only one who wanted
to run it. "Charles wanted to pursue life when he
met Rebecca, Richard always chased after the
Scrip. After Rebecca died, the civility the two had
died with her. I think Richard was sweet on her, but
she was drawn to Charles."
Engineer: Richard Davy
The Fated can follow up on Richard at his machinery
plant, a large warehouse that hums with the buzzing
of all the workers there. Richard is clearly doing well
for himself, shouting and pointing, signing papers,
and otherwise being a hands-on manager.
Skill Checks (TNs 8-11): The Fated can use
Intimidate or Barter to learn more about the
situation: Richard is an arrogantly busy man, and
usually seems irritated by the questioning the Fated
have. If they bring up Charles or Frederick, he will
immediately stop whatever he's doing, get in the
character’s face and say "What, does Frederick need
more money for that fire-trap of his? I'm done feeling
guilty for him not wanting to move forward with the
times." Richard tries to keep the conversation on
the facts and the progression of business. He
and Charles were aggressively pushing forward
impressive technological leaps, but Charles lost his
taste for business after falling for Rebecca.
 Events
First 5 Successes (Motive): This event occurs at
the current engineer the Fated are interviewing.
Richard will react nonplussed, and Charlotte and
Frederick are noticeably nervous. Read aloud or
paraphrase the following:
A brutish rail worker walks in, four lackeys in
tow. The leader approaches [the person the
Fated are talking to], and says, "oi... I needs
mah arm worked on proper-quick, and you’re
suppose ta be a great engineer."
He turns to his lackeys, clearly ignoring everyone
until they decide to look at his arm, which he’s
holding out. "Can you believe that conductor?
Barely got off the track before he blew through.
Coffin real estate going so fast that ya gotta
blaze down the track like a cat on fire?"
The man, who the Fated learn is known as “the
Shovel”, cleared his crew out of the way of an
“odd looking coal burner.” It was a bit odd that the
train was using an older set of tracks, but it wasn’t
entirely out of line with the Guild to proceed on a
schedule without informing people who are working
in the way. The Shovel will say the train was heading
to the north of town.
Second 5 Successes (Motive):
The following event occurs:
A dramatic attack happens at Richard Davy's
warehouse (the Fated either hear about it, or
experience it first hand). Several people are injured
in the attack, but no casualties are reported. If the
Fated are there or go to investigate, with a TN 13
Notice check they'll see a small quadruped slinking
away with what looks like piping or other mechanical
bits in its mouth. If the Fated attempt to follow it, it
will take a TN 14 Stealth by each person or they will
be spotted. If they all succeed, proceed to Scene 3.
Final 5 Successes (Motive):
The following event occurs:
Next time the Fated change locations, Charlotte will
walk up to them, looking incredibly distressed. "I'm
26
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
sorry. I wanted to make sure my dad wouldn't get
into trouble. He said he was going to go get mom
at the cemetery... he said she wasn't actually dead,
just in... 'suspended animation'."
Scene 3: The Climax
The Murdstrom cemetery has been a fixture since
before the Breach opened, dotted with trees that seem
to drip to the ground under their own weight and an
excessive amount of elaborately sealed mausoleums.
If the Fated get to the cemetery from the first event,
they’ll arrive in time to see the tell-tale signs of
smoke drifting up from a train. If they approach
fairly quickly, they’ll see Charles Faraday loading
what looks like an iron lung with frost clinging to it
onto the train by crane. If the Fated arrive after the
second or third event, the iron lung will be loaded,
and Charles will be completing final checks before
boarding the train and leaving. If the Fated arrive
after any other number of events, the train will be in
the process of pulling away.
If the Fated try to stop Charles from leaving, Charles
will get his guard ‘dogs’ to buy him time (use the
stats for the Hunter on Pg 147 of the Fatemaster’s
Almanac, adjusting the number based on the number
of players). Charles’ focus during the fight will be on
escaping, so he will avoid fighting the Fated to that
end. If the Fated do not defeat the Hunters after 5
rounds, the train will begin to leave.
If the train leaves, the Fated will be able to make
it on by running and jumping onto the train, but
they will suffer 2 damage unless they pass a TN 9
Acrobatics check. As they proceed forward on the
train, they’ll find that while the 2nd and 3rd car have
been fused into one with the only entrances coming
from the engine or the 4th car.
Inside the Train: Charles personally constructed
the train to help bring Rebecca back to life, and as
such has built in a several defences to help make
sure he will finish the job. Should the fight make it
to the inside of the Train (as opposed to the Fated
stopping Charles before the train leaves), Charles
will spend most of his time using the defences of
the train (use the Craftsman stats on Pg 127 of the
 TrAiN MaP (45yDs x 100yDs)
BoArD eFfEcTs:
Heavy Crane (10yd x 60yd)
Anyone within a 2yd aura
must make a TN9 Spd check
or take 2 damage and be
pushed 2yds away.
Cover (50mm marker)
Electro Coils (40mm marker)
Targets in a line between 2
points must make a TN 9 Df
check or suffer 2 damage and
gain the Slow condition.
Rebecca (40mm marker)
27
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Fatemaster’s Almanac, treating Charles as a Rank
8 character) from near Rebecca. This position
will provide him with almost total cover from any
attacks at range.
At the start of Charles’ initiative, he can spend
a 0 action to make a board effect occur. Unless
otherwise stated, board effects affect all legal
targets in the area. On the side of the train cars
nearest the engine, the Fated will see what looks
like an iron lung with sheets of ice clinging to it.
If a blast token hits it, Charles will immediately
refocus his attentions on the one who caused the
damage, going from defensive to what offense he
can muster, flat out trying to kill that person. “You
leave Rebecca ALONE!”
Quips for Charles during the fight: “You probably
want there to be some nefarious reason why I
framed you for this crime, but truthfully it was a
matter of convenience... it seems I misjudged the
Guild’s devotion to their job though.”
“You flail like children at spiders. I have defied many
stronger than you.”
In addition to Charles, he will have some
reinforcements in the form of Hunters. The Hunters
will enter from both sides of the traincar and
proceed to attack the players, but they will also
be affected by anything Charles does. If the Fated
are winning the fight too easily, add more Hunters
entering the train car.
Epilogue:
After defeating Charles, he mourns the fact that he
can’t save his beloved, and curses the Fated for
being lap-dogs. What happens next is entirely up to
the Fated. They have a train that’s years past what
others could make, a slightly mad genius inventor,
and a head-start. You also have a Guild officer that
knows who each of you are.
 The Cast:
Charles Faraday: The driving force behind this
story. The quote that best describes him is “They
say seeking the answers to staving off death is
sacrilege. Perhaps the answer is in seeking the right
questions.” The cycle of death and life had always
been a cold fact of life to Charles; it lacked any
emotional meaning because it was the inevitable
result. The study of this inevitability drew Charles
towards building constructs; metal and gears after
all were much more efficient machines than flesh
and bone. This stark analytical life began to be
challenged when Charles met Rebecca. They both
worked with the M&SU, and through a chance
encounter became inseparable. Charles referred to
her as “the heart he didn’t know he had lost”. Mere
days after proposing to her, Charles got the news
no one wanted to hear; she had been caught in a
mining explosion.
With all the skills and resources at his disposal, the
best Charles could do was put her into a medically
induced coma. Charles became obsessed with
trying to bring his fiancée back to full life. When
Charles began exploring texts that flirted with
Resurrectionist teachings, the other members of
the M&SU decided to distance themselves from
Charles in order to keep the Guild from coming after
them directly.
At the start of the adventure, Charles is setting in
motion the plan to claim his train that had been
caught up in a raid. He’s ready to bring his wife
back; he simply needs the materials on the train to
complete the job.
Frederick Winsor: The “softest” of the engineers.
Frederick looks like what you would expect a clock
maker to be; several pounds overweight, slightly
frayed dusty brown hair that’s traveling to grey, and
a mostly knit wardrobe. He should feel like a polar
opposite to Richard. Present him as a guy who
slightly rambles, takes his time getting to a point,
and is just enjoying the company.
Charlotte the Intern: Charlotte is a 16 year old girl
with vibrant auburn hair in a loose ponytail most of
the time. She dresses like a tinkerer in overalls,
goggles sitting on her head, and is constantly fiddling
with some widget in her hands. Present her as a girl
who’s constantly observing and parsing information.
Thompson McMeel: Officer McMeel has been with
the Guild for a few years now, and is an astute
investigator. His uniform is showing slight signs of
wear and tear, but he prides himself on looking his
best. Present him as a man who’s only going up in
rank the longer he works.
Officer Sara Loath: A snarky young Guild officer
dedicated to McMeel. Loath knows what a valuable
mentor and boss she has in the incredibly talented
McMeel, and would rather see the Fated take
the fall than her boss. She’s mostly amoral and
disinterested (because she knows she can make
the Fated take the blame).

Faraday is a man on a mission. He’s accepted that

people will try to stop him because he’s crossing
some perceived line, but Rebecca is the only person
Charles has ever truly cared about. NOTHING is too
far to save her.

Richard Davy: The more “commercial” of the

engineers. Time is money with Richard, so he’s
always after the most efficient way of doing business.
Richard is always dressed sharply; he doesn’t
flash his wealth, but quietly displays it. He should
be presented as sharp and incredibly focused; he
makes definitive decisions and doesn’t waste time
with ‘ums’ or ‘well…’.

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 YOUR LUCKY DAY
Gwyneth paused in her examination of the latest
deck of cards and rubbed her eyes. The soft yellow
glow of the factory’s oil lamps wasn’t really sufficient
for her work, and this was her sixth double-shift of
the week. She blinked a few times and checked the
last few cards for flaws.
Casually, one-handed, she cut the deck, riffled it,
and fanned out the cards. Concentrating, she ran
a finger down the pack until she found the one that
felt right. She knew without looking that it was the
Ace of Crows, and that its moment would come
during one of the few unrigged card games at the
Honeypot – dealer’s blackjack. House takes all.
A subtle crackle of energy played across the card’s
face as she pulled it from the deck and slipped
it into her bodice. She smiled as she packed the
remaining cards into a box and sealed it. That
moment of fortune was hers now, along with all the
others. This week’s shifts had been very productive.
“A fine morning to you, Mister Haversham,” the
weaselly man began, his gnarled hand extended. “My
associate and myself would just like to have a bit of a
chat about the packs you’ve been sending us.”
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Chris Gorham
Haversham shook the offered hand and looked from
the diminutive speaker to his companion, a colossal
slab of muscle with eyes sunk in an expressionless
but somehow menacing face. He’d heard of these
two, and their presence surely meant nothing good.
He smiled nervously and leaned back in his chair.
“Is there a problem with the product? I assure you,
we check every card individually for distinguishing
marks and imperfections. Haversham Cards are
synonymous with quality.”
The giant, seemingly a little behind the flow of
conversation, extended an enormous hand to
Haversham. He reluctantly shifted his weight
forward and shook it. The smaller man smiled,
though Haversham couldn’t help feeling it was more
of a leer.
“Sin-nonny-mouse, is it? Fancy.”
The huge thug wasn’t letting go. Haversham tried
to tug his hand back, but it might as well have been
caught in a bear trap as the pressure of the man’s
grip increased. His associate leaned in close, his
sharp features only inches from Haversham’s face,
his breath carrying a cloying sweetness that made
Haversham feel ill.
 “The packs ain’t all there, Mister Haversham.
Sometimes there’s cards missing. Normally that
would be an annoyance, but here’s a funny thing –
the casino’s had some losses lately. Nasty ones. Not
the kind where we can take the punters downstairs,
“It’s a bit strong calling it theft, ain’t it Sarge?
if you see what I’m saying.”
I mean, one card out of a deck, that’s barely
stealing at all.”
Haversham had no idea what he was talking about,
and was having trouble focusing while the bones in
Sergeant Galen scowled at the younger Guard. “It’s
his hand were grinding against each other.
taking something that don’t belong to you, Belham.
What the heck would you call it?” She grimaced,
and quickly added, “No, don’t answer that. Just shut
“Anyways, we checked. Every time, it was one of
up and keep your eyes peeled. This is pro-Union
your fresh packs, and every time there was a card
territory, we’re not welcome here.”
missing. Bit of a coincidence, wouldn’t you say?”

Andrews, one of the other Guards, scoffed. “Come

One of Haversham’s fingers gave way with a
on, Sarge. You worry too much. Nobody’s going to
muffled click, and he screamed. Fighting for
tangle with us while Brunhilde’s around.”
composure, he managed to stammer, “Wh-what
do you want me to do?”

“Nothing. We’ll take care of it. You maybe want to

start looking for some new employees, though.
Could get messy.”

Haversham’s face was pale and sweaty, and he stared

into his tormentor’s eyes without comprehension.

“Well, it’s been swell chatting with you, friend. Have

a pleasant day.”

There was a crunch as the giant clenched his

fist. Haversham gasped, his eyes rolled back and
he slumped limply in his chair. The two figures
turned to leave.

“The stench of her magic is thick in

this place,” the bigger one growled.
“Do you smell it?”

“Powerful mojo,” the smaller one

snapped. “Too big for us alone.”

The giant nodded solemnly. “We should speak

with Mattheson.”

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 The Sergeant nodded, forced to concede the point.
It would be a foolhardy agitator indeed that stood
against Brunhilde – the hulking Peacekeeper was
lethal suppression incarnate, even with the little
red bow that Belham had insisted on fastening
just behind its head, “So’s you can tell she’s a girl,
Sarge.” She could feel the ground tremble through
the soles of her cheap boots with every precise,
piston-driven step it took.
The five of them – six, if you counted Brunhilde
– rounded the corner of a warehouse, and the
Sergeant held up her hand for a halt.
“Haversham’s,” she pointed. “Her work area’s in
the south-east corner. Keep your guard up. If she
resists, shoot her.”
“I still don’t see why she’s getting the heavy
treatment, Sarge,” Belham piped up. “What are we
expecting this lass to do?”
Galen fixed him with a stern expression and
cocked the hammer on her Collier. “Questioning
orders, Belham?”
He shook his head ruefully. “Course not, Sarge. It’s
just... it would be so nice if something made sense
for a change.”
Gwyneth savored the taste of her latest captured
moment – a Ten of Tomes, an unlucky bust in a game
where some drunken fool had bet his entire fortune
and then some – as she set the latest sealed pack
in the crate by her workbench. Her own deck of
cards, nestled in its secret pocket, made her skin
tingle with its accumulated power.
The factory floor was almost deserted at this time of
night, with only a few workers remaining to ensure
that nothing went wrong with the clattering printing
presses. With a furtive look to make sure nobody
was watching, she drew the pack and shuffled it,
letting its power thrill her. She dealt five cards onto
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
her workbench – a Royal Flush of Rams. Laughing
quietly, she dealt again. Two pair – Aces and Eights.
Startled, she stepped back, and the wall next to
her exploded.
Gwyneth screamed as jagged pieces of brick
showered over her, leaving grazes in the exposed
skin of her face and arms. Through the dust, she
saw a huge chunk of masonry lying across the
space she had been standing in moments earlier.
A hulking steam construct was forcing its way
through the broken wall, piston-driven claws casually
tearing away the bricks. Its ponderous head swung
towards Gwyneth, and its glowing lenses focused on
her. She turned and ran.
Behind her, she could hear human voices shouting,
and a moment later there was gunfire. The deck in
her hand was crackling, and with every bullet that
whistled past her, missing by the merest fraction,
a card would flare and turn to ash. She hadn’t had
time to complete it, and its magic was unstable – the
moments she’d stolen were being lost, one by one.
“I had her dead to rights, Sarge. Something’s wrong.”
Galen nodded, her face grim. “Spread out. Find her.”
Gwyneth was fighting to stay quiet and keep her
breathing steady. Her deck was burning out much
faster than it should.
Crouched behind one of the presses, she could
see the ragged hole in the wall left by the
Peacekeeper’s entrance. One last dash, a bit of
luck, and she’d be gone.
 Half-crouched, she padded softly across the rubble-
strewn floor. She’d done it. She was fr...
A wooden beam, swung by someone outside, hit her
in the face so hard that her vision went black. Points
of light danced around her. She was flying, drifting
through the night sky. It was... peaceful. Or was she
falling? The ground rushed up to meet her, and...
circuited, their bodies crushed by massive steel
claws. The sudden motion jarred the machine, and
an old hairline fracture in one of its primary thoracic
rotator cogs gave way. With a grinding howl of
shearing metal, the Peacekeeper’s torso accelerated
into an uncontrolled spin, its flailing arms catching
the fourth Guard and scattering his body in pieces.
Sergeant Galen had taken only a second or two to
recover from the loss of her pistol, and she rushed
forward through the expanding cloud of cards and
ash, drawing her sword. Ignoring the chaos behind
her, she locked eyes with her target and lunged.

She was alive. Her head was agony, she was sore all
over, and she felt sick. Somehow, what remained of
her deck was still in her hand.
Gwyneth opened her eyes, and was greeted by a
chorus of pistol hammers being cocked in unison.
“Easy,” a gravelly female voice ordered, “No
sudden moves.”
The Peacekeeper’s harpoon fired without guidance,
but it found a mark nevertheless. The barbed hook
caught the Sergeant in the thigh, biting deep. Her
blade just nicked the skin of Gwyneth’s throat
before the rapidly-winding cable hauled her off her
feet and into the whirling claws, her howl of anger
abruptly cut short. Overwhelmed by the forces it was
subjected to, the Peacekeeper’s boiler ruptured and
Gwyneth blacked out.

Brunhilde’s tattered red ribbon fluttered to the ground.

She tried to get a look at the woman’s face, but her
eyes didn’t want to focus.

“Gwyneth Maddox,” the voice continued, “By order

of the Governor’s Secretary, you are under arrest. If
you resist, we are authorized to kill you. Do you have Someone was carrying her, cradled like a baby. She
anything to say?” looked up into the impassive face of a giant. Walking
next to them was a reedy, weasel-faced man.
Gwyneth sat up carefully, and gave the Sergeant
a bloodied smile. “Yeah,” she rasped. “Good luck “Ah, Miss Maddox. You’re going to need a new job,”
with that.” the little man sneered. “Fortunately, we could really
use someone with your skills at the casino. So,” he
snickered, “it looks like this is your lucky day!”
With all her remaining strength, she hurled the
last of her deck at the Guards, the cards flitting
and sparking in the air. Five guns went off at once
with a deafening report, each weapon misfiring
catastrophically and disintegrating into burning
shrapnel. A stray piece shot through one of
the Peacekeeper’s eye-lenses and lodged in its
control cortex.

Three of the Guards died almost instantly as

the construct’s threat assessment matrix short-

33
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 SCENARIO
EvadE the Patrol
Nothing like a Guild Patrol to keep everyone
on their toes…

SetuP
Randomly select one player to be the
Attacker and the other the Defender. After
choosing deployment zones, the Defender
places two 30mm Patrol Markers anywhere
on the board not within 10” of the Attacker’s
deployment zone. These Markers are Ht 2,
impassable, blocking.

SpEcial
At the end of every Turn after the first, after
calculating VP, the Defender may place one
of the Patrol Markers within 5” of its current
location, not in terrain.

attackEr Victory
At the end of every Turn after the first, the
Attacker earns 1 VP if she has no models
within 8” and LoS of either Patrol Marker
(and she still has at least one model in play).

DefendEr Victory
Before determining deployment zones the
Defender flips a card to determine her victory
conditions. Reflip jokers:

Crows: Aid the Patrol. At the end of every

Turn after the first, the Defender earns 1 VP
if they have at least one model within 2” of
each Patrol Marker.

Rams: Track Their Movements. At the end of

every Turn after the first, the Defender earns
1 VP if every Defending model has LoS to at
least one Attacking model.

Tomes: Guard the Patrol. At the end of every

Turn after the first, the Defender earns 1 VP
if at least three Defending models are within
2” of either Patrol Marker.

Masks: Hide Our Numbers. At the end of

every Turn after the first, the Defender earns
1 VP if no Attacking Masters or Henchmen
have LoS to any Defending models.

Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)

 UK MALIFAUX GT 2014
Sixty-six players gathered
in the North of England for
what would be a momentous
and historical event for the
Malifaux community: The
2014 UK Malifaux GT (M2GT).
This event would not just be the largest single
Malifaux event so far, but it was also a great
reminder of how much this game and its community
has grown. To celebrate M2GT and all that it means,
I thought it would be worth writing up a report of
this exciting event. For our friends across the pond,
apologies for any extra U’s in your words, please just
think of it as more authentic.
M2GT was fully a British event. Players came
from all over the isles: driving in from England,
Scotland and Wales and even flying in from
Ireland to make the event.
The Tournament season, held together by the head
Tournament Organiser Mike Marshall, was ending;
people would be coming to earn glory, bragging
rights and possibly rankings points to qualify for the
Masters (UK’s equivalent to the Avatars).
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Ben (Psientologist) Sime
The Community
Competition was not all that the event offered. With
the community being spread far and wide, M2GT
would be a social gathering for us about on par with
a small convention.
With this communication age that we live in, there
are many people from all over the world that talk
about all aspects of our hobby each day via social
media, but we rarely (if ever) even meet.
On a personal level I hail from the very South of
England. Players from the North I rarely see, and
players from Scotland and Ireland I never see, but an
event the magnitude of M2GT allowed me to. It gave
us all a valid ‘excuse’ to gather, and it was excellent.
Putting faces to names or twitter handles is great
and the people are just as fantastic, if not more,
than when they are when communicating 140
characters at a time.
With a lot of travelling on Friday, the evening was
time for a nice social gathering. There were plenty
of people indulging in adult beverages and a good
amount of the players making a night of it, which
might prove an issue for them in the morning.
 I joined up with my usual tournament group. It would
be the second event we would be in our matching
“Southern Malipro” t-shirts and the banter, friendly
ribbing and challenges were already being thrown
out for the next day.
After indulging in some fine cuisine (actually fairly
nasty takeaway food), it was a modest bedtime for
me as the real event, gaming itself, awaited.
The Location
The tournament was held in York Folk Hall, and the
venue was fantastic. It had a bar, huge space for
tournament times to be projected on a wall, plenty
of space between tables and fantastic audio.
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
A highlight was that the top four tables were on
their own stage area; this highlighted the players
doing well at the event and provided something
else to aim for over the weekend: sitting up high
on the top tables.
To complete the great venue there was even a
cafeteria that made lunch for the attendees, which
completed the lovely experience and made us all
feel quite comfortable.
The Tournament
On entry we were signed in, reminded our table
numbers and given a nice bunch of goodies simply
for attending. Some of the goodies included
a measuring device, poker chips with M2GT
 personalisation on them and cute little laser cut
crate with M2GT labelled on it. These mementos
were as useful as they were lovely; meaning that
even if the weekend did not turn out to be a glorious
trophy-raising event, quite literally everyone walked
away with something worthwhile.
Gaming wise, the format was simple: six games
over the two days at fifty Soulstones. Turf war was
the repeated strategy, and there were different
deployment types and schemes as expected.
Round times were a little longer than usual to
accommodate the amount of players getting from
table to table, and day one would hold the first four
games for an easier drive home on the Sunday with
only two.
Round One
Round one would be the first game of Turf War. Prior
to the event we had already been told who our first
opponent would be but not the scheme pool we
would have, and I was up against already Masters
qualified Mark Elwood.
Mark and I had only played once before, fairly recently
at an event Malifolk3. Coincidently Mark and I had
actually played Turf War when we met and his Dreamer
crew gave my Marcus a severe smashing.
This time I was bringing my favourite (Editor’s Note:
He means to spell it this way ) master to the
table: Mei Feng. Although the game was far closer
than our previous encounter, Mark still got the
better of me giving me a first round loss and moving
himself up the tables for round two.
A brilliant start to the event (even without a win), as
getting to play against the top players at tournaments
always is an eye opener and a great learning
experience. Maybe the third time will be the charm.
As results came in, quite a few of the usual suspects
had picked up early wins, names such as James
Doxey (the famous forum mod MythicFox), fellow
Malifool Joel Henry and team mate Benjamin Crowe.
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Round Two
The second round saw us play Stake a Claim, this
time with corner deployment and a scheme pool
consisting of Breakthrough, Assassinate, Vendetta,
Make them Suffer and (as always) A Line in the Sand.
I was up against Nathan Chenery, a stalwart player
of Malifaux 1.5, Nathan was always one of the top
people. With a little less experience in the new
edition, I was hoping I could squeeze a win from him.
Playing against Nathan was great because prior to
event my only interaction with him outside of social
media was Vassal, where we had played in a league
during the last edition. He was playing Outcasts and
I was playing Arcanists. Nothing had really changed
since that last bout except for the winner.
With Nathan on Tara and myself fielding the Beast
master Marcus, I managed to leap my way into
victory, with thanks to my Soulstone Miner charging
and killing what we sometimes refer to as “Northern
Filth” the Friekorps Trapper.
Putting myself on a win and loss, I felt a little better
with how I was doing going into round three, which
would be Reconnoiter with Flank deployment.
This round kept Joel in his pig-onesie (this was
for charity, not his usual wear) at the top tables
playing Gremlins. As well as the likes of Mr Crowe
and his Outcasts and “The Chosen One” Greg
Piskosz with Neverborn.
Round Three
Third round and a third master for my Arcanists, I
would be getting Victor Ramos out of my case to
play against another top player in the shape of Josh
Fletcher and his Collette crew.
Josh having a fairly heavy Friday night may have
been the edge I needed, even so the game was
really good fun and Josh was still a machine with
his showgirls.
 Collette and her stage team would easily secure A
Line in the Sand. They were able to put out several
scheme markers and seemingly just do whatever
they liked with them. Plant Explosives being in
the pool also had me worried due to the marker
shenanigans, but with a different reveal in the form
of Distract I could move about a little more freely.
This scheme was also the mad scientist Ramos’
plan for victory; his skill of creating Arachnids
combined with the power of creation that the
Mechanical Rider reveled in meant my crew had
plenty of little distractions. With sheer numbers my
force was also easily able to get close enough to
Josh’s deployment zone, or in more scheming terms,
achieve Breakthrough.
In the end, the distractions, my force Breaking
through and Ramos’ tools helped secure Strategy
points. Covering the table in tiny constructs allowed
me to grab me a victory and put me on a positive
record going into the last round of the first day.
Round Four
Finishing off Saturday, we played Reckoning with
an interesting mix of schemes. Assassinate and
Bodyguard for the suits meant a very offensive
or defensive choice backed by Take Prisoner and
Frame for Murder, trying to not kill all of your
opponent’s models in the thick of the battle or just
hoping your opponent will take the bait, preferably
with a Master or Henchman.
My fourth opponent was Jakab. Usually I expect
people taking smaller more elite crews in this
strategy as it tends to make your opponents life a
lot harder to score those victory points for Strategy.
Jakab, however, and Dr Douglas McMourning
decided to bring plenty of models to the table with
an ensemble of poisonous men and monsters.
I dug out Mei Feng for the second time, with her
heavy hitters in tow, Howard Langston, Joss and
Kang filled out with a Metal Gamin and a condition
removing Arcane Effigy to round out the crew.
Jakab’s synergies were nasty, getting some of my
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
models to the heights of Poison +12. He had framed
Mei Feng for murder of a Canine Remains where I had
made Howard my “sucker,” unfortunately not finished
by a model to give me the full three victory points.
Joss was the Bodyguard, but he had succumb
to poison and McMourning. Jakab decided
that Assassinating Mei was order of the day,
unfortunately, the rebel leader bounced around
the table too fast for Douglas’ weapons to catch.
With me taking advantage of his large numbers, I
managed to secure more strategy points and secure
my third win of the day.
At this point, I was on a high, discovering I would
be on table five in the morning meant I must
have been amongst or close to the top five in the
standings, and considering the tough field I was
quite proud of myself.
Joel managed to pick up a loss during the day but
his club mate Graham “Blutack” Bursnell had not
dropped a game with Rasputina, and neither had my
team-mate Ben Crowe with Leviticus.
End of Day One
During the Saturday we had some tasty jacket
potatoes for lunch, and we also had a raffle to
participate in. Not only had we all gotten “schwag”
for entering, but also thanks to support of many
stores, companies and Wyrd miniatures, there was
enough prizes that everyone would walk away with
something else.
Amongst things such as cases, crew boxes and
model trays, many people were interested in a set
of special gifts the wonderful people at Wyrd had
sent us for this momentous event: “Mystery Boxes.”
These packages quite literally said “Mystery Box”
on them, all bar Mike Marshall (he had to have a
cheeky look) were wondering what was contained.
I was not fortunate enough to win one myself but my
close friend and team mate Aaron Bailey was one
of the few to get one and in the end it was a lovely
clear red plastic Bête Noir, like she was made of
pure blood. Very, very cool.
 Speaking of Mr Marshall, putting on an event of this
magnitude is not quite a walk in the park. Planning
and organisation was taken to get the UK player
base to arrive in one place, and I thought I’d ask him
exactly how he felt the event got on: what went well,
how he would improve things and his future plans.
With a two day event, one of the big advantages
(much like conventions) is, for the most part, no one
is going home in between days – meaning a great
excuse for a night out away from the intense steam
punk battles of the table and into a nice place with
cold drinks and good food.
Thanks to Chris Holloway who really helped organise
M2GT, we had a taproom in the York brewery booked.
It was fit that he organised… well we all know that
old saying.
A few people went to their hotels for some early
nights, preparing for the big day, but a good fifty
plus Malifaux players all gathered, ate food, drank
and socialised. Dave Brown, known to many as
Clousseau, ran an awesome quiz, a GT tradition.
Speaking of tradition Neverata/Jo-Anne Morrison
also made an appearance. If it were not for her,
some of the players may not be in the scene or had
something to build from.
Many people went out for another late evening
and, not as you may expect, just the people on the
lower end of the tournament tables. I again got in
at a modest time ready for what may be my hardest
game of the weekend.
Interview With Mike
Ben:
Prior to seeing the ticket sales come in, how
well did you think this year’s GT would go,
what were your aims in size and how quick
did you think you could succeed in fulfilling
that goal?
Mike:
I wanted to get to 64 players, so that 6 rounds
would produce a winner and to be honest I
thought that was going to be a stretch.
39
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Was there still the appetite for 2-day events
anymore? Would players be prepared to travel
so that we could achieve that sort of number?
There is very much a north south divide in the
UK Malifaux scene with only a smallish group
of players prepared to travel to both ends of
the country to get their Malifaux fix.
Ben:
Comparing to previous years then, did you
think you would top what had come before,
was M2E the helpful push or is there more to
it than that?
Mike:
I had no real expectations but I do think
that I had an advantage over the 2013 GT in
terms of M2E being fully available. In 2013,
David was caught in the horrible position of
being between editions (M2E wasn’t officially
released but a lot of us were just playing the
beta) and I think that adversely effected the
numbers – it’s the reason why I didn’t go
myself for instance. I didn’t have any of those
worries this year and by putting it later in the
year, it meant that we knew that Wave 2 would
be available as well.
Ben:
What is the most difficult part of organising
an event of this size? Any tips for other
Tournament Organisers?
Mike:
Now that’s a ‘how long is a piece of string’
question if ever I saw one. Everything is both
difficult and easy at the same time. Take
something as simple as the score sheet.
You need to have one that is easy to fill in
(especially on a Sunday morning when one
or two of your players may be suffering from
the excesses of the night before) but it still
has to capture all the information that you
need. In the end, I still didn’t get it right (no
box to write your strategy points in) so will be
revising it again. The most important thing
IMO is to surround yourself with a good team.
I’m lucky that I had an excellent man on the
ground at the venue in the form of Chris and
the rest of the York Garrison club who did
all the basic prep work like ensuring we had
enough tables to put boards on (surprisingly
easy to get wrong) as well as my good friends
Matt and Lee helping out over the weekend.
 Ben:
Overall then, how did you think the event went?
Mike:
I think it went pretty much as well as could be
expected, given the size. We ran pretty much
to time, round turnaround was fast and there
were very few (two I think) data entry errors.
We were able to cope with a few Sunday
dropouts without a hitch. Biggest issue came
after the event when it was discovered that
one of the players on the final table had made
an honest error and been playing with a crew
a few stones over the 50ss limit. However,
a few texts enabled this to be solved without
any rancour and trophies will be exchanged in
the next couple of weeks.
Ben:
If you could change one thing, either you did
in preparation or at the weekend itself what
would you do?
Mike:
Nothing, it was perfect! Ok that’s certainly not
true but there isn’t one thing I would change it
would be lots of small tweaks to make things
run smoother. Space on the score sheet to write
down strategy information, a more advanced
spreadsheet that would automatically avoid
rematches, things like that.
Ben:
With such a great success and the community
seeming extra pumped about the game
coming out of M2GT, any plans for events you
want to run next year?
Mike:
I’m running the UK masters in January with a
couple of side events as a way to kick off the
2015 Malifaux event calendar, and I’m down
to run the 2015 GT as well. Aiming for 100
people next time.
Ben:
Lastly, I know that behind every great man, there
is a great woman, but behind every great TO
there is a great team. Anyone you would like to
thank for helping?
40
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Mike:
Think I said most of my thanks earlier but
the other one that I would like to thank is the
community themselves. You are without out
doubt the best group of players I have known
in 30 years of playing with Toy Soldiers and I
hope that the community will continue to grow
without losing that friendly vibe.
Round Five
Up nice and early with a stomach containing a Full
English Breakfast, it was into the hall for round five.
This time we would be playing Squatter’s Rights.
I was up against another Northern player, John
Wharton who I had the luck of meeting once
previously at another of Mike Marshall’s events
“MCC.” We did also meet across the table that day,
but in a much less competitive field of doubles at a
campaign achievement style event.
Here we would be playing one on one, him bringing
his favourite toolbox, the Sisters in Slaughter, the
Viktorias, to the table and Marcus the Beast Master
would be my master of choice again.
With a scheme pool of Bodyguard, Breakthrough,
Entourage, Outflank and the usual Line in the Sand, I
felt the game posed some quite interesting options.
In the end John and I both took Entourage, mine on
my master John’s on his free henchman.
Bodyguard for me was secretly noted as Mechanical
Rider, who would aim to secure strategy points
with its baby Gamin and trot about avoiding trouble
and keeping itself protected. John lastly declared
Breakthrough. He was always aiming to cut through
my crew, always pushing forward.
In the first turn, between the movement, dodging of
Trapper’s bullets and securing of markers, we were
off to what looked to be a close game. For a few
minutes it felt good that not only could I possibly
hang with the big dogs (John is a well-known and
highly ranked player), but I may even be able to win.
 Well, as we all know in Malifaux “Bad Things Happen”
and an early charge from Viktoria of Ashes into
Marcus left Marcus OK, but with a Whirlwind catching
Mechanical Rider (who was just casually trotting
by) was hit with a Red Joker on damage. Thanks to
Sisters in Fury, this equated to eleven damage and
one very dead rider (not the Resurrectionist).
With a key model in Mechanical Rider down, it was
my turn to flip Jokers. Unfortunately mine were black
rather than red. Failing a key Leap from a Silurid and
a killing blow from Marcus on to Viktoria Ash, I was
now incredibly behind in a game that was always
going to be a struggle even with luck in my favour.
As things got from bad to worse I leant across the
table to shake John’s hand. I had scored a single
Victory Point, but that was all I was getting. John was
a fantastic opponent and the game was hilarious, I
just would have hoped to avoid that craziness at
such an event.
With a huge victory over me John actually got himself
in position for a podium result. 5-1 could get you in
as there were only two undefeated players moving
into the last round.
As it was the Sunday before the 11th of
November, here in UK we observe a two
minute silence in honour those who thought
in the First World War and recall the ending.
I can say with great pride that the entire hall
was silent and it was a beautiful showing of
respect. The tournament clock was paused.
Everyone showed his or her respect and it
was just wonderful.
A Delicious Respite
After the lunch on Sunday, a cake raffle was also
done thanks to Nate Zettle (one of the attendees)
mum. One cake Joel had to face plant and all the
money earned from this hilarity and tastiness went
to a combination of charities in the MacMillan
Cancer Research and Royal British Legion.
It seems strange for me to plug this in the middle
here, but Doc Bungle and everyone who has
41
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
helped his #WAAC charity appeals have made over
£10,000, which is around $16,000 and shows how
fantastic this community can be.
Round Six
Into the final round, everyone was hoping to finish
on a win and get that decent record.
I would be playing against Maria Wieland of the
“Black Joker Society,” another Master’s qualified
player, but all eyes would be on table one as Graham
Bursnell of the Squigs (with Rasputina) faced off
against Benjamin Crowe of the SMP (with Leviticus)
for the extremely large trophy and all the bragging
rights of being the winner of the largest single
Malifaux event ever held anywhere in the world.
I was so proud to see two of my favourite players
in at the top: the Squigs and the team I’m in, SMP,
have had a bit of joke rivalry but this showed that at
least some of our players could back up the words.
For my story, it unfortunately ended with a loss.
Maria and her Tara crew would be my demise. A
little bit of distraction and master preference for the
strategy, which was Turf War, saw me bring out Mei
Feng one last time.
The issue that would have me kindly give Maria a
very quick and easy three-victory point lead was that
“Deliver a Message” was in the pool and Mei Feng,
well, she loves receiving letters it seems.
The game (outside of the three-point handicap I had
taken) was actually rather close. A combination of
Myranda becoming a large cat monster and Mei’s
right hand man Kang meant that I could easily deal
with anyone who dare step foot directly on “my” turf.
In the end, a decisive strike from Taelor’s Relic
Hammer would see my highly cautious Mechanical
Rider be turned into scrap and not allow me to create
the extra force of small minions to place additional
scheme markers. Some markers were placed, but
just simply not enough for me to get both my Plant
Evidence and Breakthrough schemes.
 Maria’s master employed a couple of Void Wretches
to Breakthrough and whilst one saw its demise
by Kang’s might the other had been able to pass
through terrain and sneak about in just the right way.

Turns out starting one scheme behind against a

great player is not a way to win in Malifaux.

However, it was another fantastic opponent and

sixth different master for me to play against.
Overall 3-3 was not the best result, but losing only
to three master’s qualified players was still all right
in my books.

Time to level up I guess.

Prizes!
To keep you held on for a little longer I will quickly
run down the end prizes.
The costume contest was won by Maria as Taelor.
BENJAMIN CROWE
WINNER AND "BEST OUTCAST"
With mass applause for the winners and finally
the organisers, everyone as a group had packed
up and tidied away from this monumental event
and it was time for the long journey back to our
respective homes.

James Reeves won two painting awards for his

fantastic Gremlins, one voted by judges and the
Wrap Up
other players.
M2GT was not only a big event, it was one of the
best and most smoothly run as well, making it one
The Wooden Spoon, the award for last place went of the most enjoyable I have been too.
to James Winton, the youngest player at the event.

I would like to thank everyone here from the

Best in faction trophies were awarded to seven organisers, to my teammates, to my opponents and
different players all representing their colours. even just the people who spoke to me.

Lastly was the podium: in the end, walking away with
third and best Arcanist was Graham Bursnell.
Second was my fifth round opponent John Wharton.
In first was Benjamin Crowe, representing SMP. He
was declared the Best Outcast and the winner of
M2GT the largest event for Malifaux so far.
I look forward to what this does moving on with the
UK Malifaux scene as you would expect two hard
fought days of gaming may drain some but it, for
my perspective, seemed to invigorate players into
wanting to play more, get new crews ready and
further Malifaux as a great game and community. I
just look forward to next year’s GT.
Will it break records too? I hope so and I will make
it a personal priority to be there.

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 The faction- OUTCASTS
with- everything
Yes, the title is a big call to make but hey, I needed
to draw your attention somehow, right?!
The Outcasts Faction has always been a bit of
an odd duck. From the mercenary Viktorias to
Hamelin’s rat swarm to the freakish abominations
of Leveticus, the Faction has always harboured an
eclectic mix of models and playstyles. Back in
Malifaux v1.5 the model rules prevented
Outcast Masters from hiring minions
outside their own defined set of in-
theme models. But with the advent
of M2E, those restrictions were
removed and players are now free
to mix and match all sorts of crazy
mixed up excuses for a crew!
As might be expected for a game with
such a rich background, there’s been
a reluctance among some players to stray
outside their Master’s themed models. This can
be especially true for the Outcasts with their wildly
different themes, and I certainly understand that.
After all, there’s something to be said for a crew that
looks like they belong together! But as I’ve found
out from my own experiences, the Outcast Masters
generally don’t need to stick to their in-theme
models to function well in-game. Combined with the
massive variety of styles within the Outcast faction
it actually allows players to mix and match models
to bring the exact tools they need for what they want
to achieve in-game.
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Adrian Scott
For this article then, I thought I’d go through the
themes represented by the non-Master models in
the Outcast Faction, what they offer and how they
can be taken advantage of in your games! As it turns
out almost every model in the Faction (Hodgepodge
Effigy aside…damn you Effigies!) fits nicely into one
of six groupings. That means one for each Master
except for Misaki (who currently has no in-theme
Outcast models), so I thought I would discuss
them accordingly;
Slaughter for Scrip -
Viktoria’s Mercenaries
Viktoria (and her sister) is a Master
who tends to work independently
from the rest of your crew – a trait
that’s actually reflected well in her in-
theme (non-Friekorps) Mercenary models.
In fact, the Outcast Mercenaries are almost
entirely made up of unique, independent characters
with their own style of play.
Most of the Mercenaries require little to no support
to perform on the table, are costed very well for
their abilities and even have their own set of tricks
that enable them to fill a unique niche in-game. For
example if you were looking for a mid to high cost
melee fighter, you could choose between models like
the anti-summoning Taelor (thanks to “Welcome to
Malifaux!”), the Swift and highly Adaptive swiss
 army knife Bishop, or Killjoy, who tends to pop out of Prepared for Everything -
nowhere (with Blood Price) and just kill everything in
sight! Other models can give you tricks like condition Von Schill’s Freikorps
removal (Johan’s Rebel Yell), anti-Magic (Sue’s The
As Malifaux’s premier paramilitary outfit, Von Schill’s
Man in Black), area denial (Ama No Zako’s Miasma
Freikorps come fully prepared to neutralise whatever
of Boils and Flies) or simply an expendable body to
horrors the streets of Malifaux are likely to throw
support your heavy hitters (Desperate Mercenary).
at them. This ability to negate their opponent’s
strengths really comes into its own with Von Schill
and his Steam Trunk’s mutually supportive abilities
The Mercenaries are also where you’ll find some of
and actions. But even without their Master, the
the best ranged firepower available to the Outcasts.
Friekorps offer a lot of great tools for dealing with
The Convict Gunslinger tends to win out in the pure
your opponent.
damage stakes thanks to Rapid Fire and his Trigger
Happy trigger. However Sue exchanges some of
that damage output for a set of great supportive
For starters, every Freikorps model has at least
and disruptive tricks, including his above-mentioned
Armor +1 while the near ubiquitous Freikorps
anti-Ca aura from The Man in Black. Then there’s
Suit grants them immunity to both blast and pulse
the sniper Hans, who, while not as damaging, has
damage. Blast damage is also relatively common,
an array of triggers to disrupt and kill his target. And
useful for both clearing out cheap models and
perhaps most famously, he has a talent for shooting
indirectly damaging hard to target ones. It is
off enemy upgrades with his action “Smile you Son
found on Hannah, the Specialist, the Librarian and
of a…”!
especially Lazarus. Beyond that, the
role of each Friekorps model
begins to diverge, with each
having their own specialty
Treading the Void – Tara’s Nothings in-game.
As the newest addition to the Outcasts, Tara brings
just two in-theme models to the Faction. The Nothing
Beast presents Outcast players with another option
for a high damage melee beater, but it’s also
relatively frail without Tara and her bury-related
tricks. It’s the only Outcast model in the game that
I wouldn’t recommend using outside of its “native”
Master. The Void Wretches, on the other hand, are
another matter altogether.

Void Wretches fulfil a niche that the Outcast faction

tends to lack – that of the cheap objective
claimer. They may not deal much damage, but
they’re only 4SS and can hand out Slow with
The Hectic Glow action. With a respectable
Wk 5 and Incorporeal; they’re resilient and
fast enough to help achieve objectives like
Reconnoiter, Plant Evidence or Breakthrough. As
expected, they also have some bury-related tricks
to either heal (Satiating Void) or damage (Void
Maw) buried models. Their Glimpse the Void trigger
also offers some potential for dealing with enemy
flankers. With a bit of luck you can use it to bury the
opposing model, and then bring them out next to a
more offensively-minded crew member after killing
another model.

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 As the Freikorps Henchmen, Hannah herself makes
for a very versatile model who can effectively deal
with a wide variety of powerful threats. She can
remove a threat or protect one of your own by
burying them with her Ancient Tomes upgrade.
Enemy spells and triggers are made much harder
to utilise thanks to her Counterspell and Netherflux
abilities. Finally Hannah has her Make a New Entry
action to borrow a Ca action from another model
and effectively turn their own spells against them.
Of the others, the Freikorps Specialist is excellent
at removing scheme, corpse and scrap markers
(Wildfire and Clear the Area). His Move or Burn
action is a cheap way to remove Paralysed and
Slow from your models – two of the more common
and debilitating conditions you’ll encounter. The
Freikorps Librarian offers some effective healing and
a Ca-based attack (Ancient Words) to help take on
Incorporeal models. The Strongarm Suit might come
across as a simple face-beater, but even he offers
some useful counters – Augmented Jump prevents
enemy models locking him in melee, his Pneumatic
Actuator circumvents damage prevention and his
Charge Up action lets him adapt to either shooting,
resilience or melee.
Drown them in Rats – Hamelin’s Vermin
Hamelin’s themed models consist of the lovable
hound Nix and a variety of Vermin and vermin-like
minions, from Malifaux Rats and Rat Kings, to the
Rat Catcher and the Obedient Wretch. If you read my
“Wretched Rats” article in Wyrd Chronicles #14 you
should already have some idea of my love for these
models, and I would strongly recommend all budding
Outcast players to give it a read. In short, the low
cost of Malifaux Rats plus the Obedient Wretches
ability to summon more rats allows you to easily
out-activate most opponents and grants access to
both the Rat King and Rat Catcher on demand, who
are invaluable in their own right.
While they can prove quite resilient (or at least
persistent, thanks to all the Rat summoning),
Hamelin’s themed models are not known for their
ability to inflict lots of damage. Even Nix, Hamelin’s
Henchman (Henchdog?) is more suited to resisting
damage and supporting his crew. Instead, one of
their defining characteristics is the ability for every
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
model to easily hand out the Blighted +1 condition.
Blighted itself does little more than increase by
one at the end of every turn. However the Bleeding
Disease attack from Nix or an Obedient Wretch
will deal damage to models equal to their Blighted
condition. This can be great for wiping out otherwise
hard to kill models, but it can take time to accumulate
the Blighted condition to a high enough level. It’s
thus best considered a late-game stratagem.
So while damage might not be their strongpoint,
Hamelin’s crew is particularly good at achieving and
denying any schemes that require either Interact
actions or Scheme Markers. The Rat Catcher has
Don’t Mind Me to let him take an Interact even
while engaged, and the Rat King has the amazing (0)
Gnaw Action to destroy a nearby Scheme Marker –
something that can really mess with your opponents
plans in the late game. As far as scheme denial
is concerned, it can be simple matter to engage
enemy models with your “useless” Malifaux Rats
(preventing Interact actions), but Cursed Object and
Distract in particular can prove almost impossible.
Neither scheme affects Peons (Malifaux Rats)
or models with Nilihism (Nix). Both the Obedient
Wretch and Rat King can sacrifice itself to summon
other models (thus removing the condition) and the
Rat Catcher’s Don’t Mind Me, lets him remove such
conditions even while engaged.
Crimes against Nature –
the Leveticus Abominations
Much like Hamelin’s crew, summoning is a recurring
theme among Leveticus’s themed models. However
quantity is exchanged for quality, replacing the low
damage, scheme-oriented vermin with some of the
nastiest damage dealers in the faction!
All of this starts with the humble (and horrifying)
Abomination. These cheap little minions are easy
to bring out since all of Leveticus’s themed models,
including the Abomination itself, can summon one
after killing an enemy in melee with the Desolate
Warping trigger. As might be expected, Rusty Alyce
is particularly good at this thanks to her ability to
burn a soul stone for the required suit and two of
her upgrades – From the Aether and Desolate Soul.
These allow her to summon Abominations with either
a (0) action, or from killing models with her powerful
 Clockwork Seeker. But while the Abominations
have some nice tricks for drawing cards (Vile
Reclamation) and generally just disrupting your
opponent, for the most part they’re an expendable
minion. However if you get four of them together,
they can use Concentrated Deformation to replace
themselves with the mighty Desolation Engine!
Both the Desolation Engine and Ashes and Dust
are massive, resilient killing machines with stats to
match their steep cost of 13 SS. Both have roughly
equivalent melee damage and resilience and true to
form for Leveticus-themed models, both can return
from being killed! The former does so by summoning
2 Abominations after death with Lost Focus, which
as per above, can be combined with another 2 to
activate Concentrated Deformation. The rebirth
cycle for Ashes and Dust is a little more complicated
but much harder to deal with. Upon being killed its
Desolate Core ability summons two new models
- an immobile Ashen Core in base contact, and a
dangerous yet fragile Dust Storm near the table edge.
Both can then be brought together to resummon
Ashes and Dust. At a glance this arguably makes
the Ashes and Dust a better choice, however it
mostly delineates a difference in roles. The superior
47
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
mobility and nature of its rebirth cycle makes Ashes
and Dust an excellent flanker, able to face down and
survive (or at least recover from) almost anything
thrown against it. The Desolation Engine, however,
is better at wading into the centre and beating the
stuffing out of your opponent’s crew. The Desolation
Engine has better options for dealing pulse damage
(Industrial Nightmare and Desolate Supplications)
and is arguably more Soulstone efficient thanks to
the Abominations it summons with Lost Focus. The
Ashes and Dust also has Amalgamation – an ability
that makes it immune to all conditions and being
buried. While this makes it a very difficult model for
the enemy to neutralise, it also makes it harder to
support Ashes and Dust with the rest of your crew.
Innocence is Overrated -
Jack Daw’s Tormented
Jack Daw offers two models to the Outcast pool as a
whole – his Henchman Montressor and his minions
- The Guilty. Together, the two actually provide some
great mobility options – something that’s otherwise
difficult to find within the Outcast Faction.
Montressor is a Henchman who prefers his opponents
up close and preferably in base contact, where he can
Paralyzed them with a Tangle trigger or otherwise
damage and disrupt them with a series of aura and
pulse-based effects. This is helped by
his Nimble ability for an extra Wk
action, but his real drawcard
is the Pull ‘em Tight
trigger on both his melee
and ranged attack.
When activated, the
damaged model
discards two cards
or is pushed into
base contact with
Monty. This can be
great for pulling in enemy
models or at least stripping
cards from their hand (very
useful with Misaki’s Assassinate
trigger). But Pull ‘em Tight can
also be used to push your own
models further up the field,
provided you’re happy to take
the weak damage of 1 from
Monty’s attack.
 With a high Df of 6 and some solid melee stats of
his own, the Guilty makes for a very capable minion
for 5 soulstones. His mobility comes entirely from
the (0) Follow Pain action, which allows the Guilty
to push 6” toward other models with the Tormented
characteristic. This can be used to push toward
other Guilty and Montressor. He can also apply the
Tormented characteristic to other models with his
(1) Share Guilt attack, which lasts for the rest of the
game (or until he uses Share Guilt again). So while
you could apply it to an enemy model you’d like to
close in on, you could also use it early on to give
Tormented to a friendly model you plan to push back
toward later on.
Share Guilt also works in concert with The Guilty’s
Sympathy of the Damned ability, which prevents
shooting attacks from randomising onto them when
Tormented models fire into engagements. While you
could use this to cause trouble for your opponent’s
shooters, it’s often far better just to make your
own shooters Tormented. Models like the Convict
Gunslinger can then be used to support your Guilty,
easily shooting into melee to hit whatever poor
victim he’s engaged with.
as a whole and the variety of out-of-faction models
they can hire, Outcast crews have the access to a
massive range of models encompassing almost
every playstyle and tactical option available. So
while there’s nothing wrong with just sticking to a
Master’s in-theme models, considering the entirety
of what’s available to your Outcast Master will
ensure that you have the exact tools you’d need
for what you want to do in your game. The variety
available is intimidating if you’re just starting out,
but believe me, having a handle on what all these
models are capable of is well worth it!
And if nothing else, Von Schill leading a crew of lowly
vermin is just plain funny. :)
Until next time,
Adrian

But that’s not all…

For this article I set out to cover the Outcasts as a
whole and showcase the sheer variety of playstyles
and options available within the Faction. But I’ll admit
it would be a crime if I didn’t acknowledge all the
“other” models available to Outcast Masters. As it
turns out, most of the Outcast models have options
for supplementing their crews with a broad variety of
non-mercenary, out of Faction models. In fact of the
7 Masters, just two have no options for hiring non-
mercenaries outside of their Faction (Viktoria and
Von Schill). And even then they could theoretically
get access to any Hound models (currently Guild
Hounds and Canine Remains) if they’ve taken Nix
with his Hollow upgrade.

From Crooligans to Death Marshalls, Papa Loco

to Torakage, the sheer variety of options available
would be more than enough to at least double the
length of this article. But for your sake and mine I’ll
instead leave you with this:

Between their in-theme models, the Outcast faction

48
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 BLACKWOOD HOSPITAL
“Do you mean to imply, Mr. Hall, that there’ve
been no incidents at the Malifaux Sanitarium?”
Dr. Blackwood asked; his voice patronizing. He
stared hard at the Guild’s Accounting Clerk,
intending to intimidate the man. He was the
medical authority here and intended to make
the Clerk recognize that. “After that escape
incident, your authorities expressly asked me to
come through the Breach and create something
a little more beneficial to both the mentally ill
and the surrounding society. It’s hard for me to
stomach any implication that my services are
not needed.”
50
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Robert Kuzmeski
Mr. Hall considered his response carefully,
buying time by cleaning his spectacles with a
handkerchief. He tried not to take offense at
Dr. Blackwood’s tone. He already did not like
the psychiatrist and would factor that into his
report to the Guild superiors.
“I meant no implication,” he said after an
exasperated sigh. “I simply said that with one
facility in place to store the insane, it would be
hard to fund another.”
Blackwood smiled. He had the clerk over a
barrel now. “Storage,” he said as he leaned
forward, “is precisely the problem. You throw
medication at your patients. You subdue them.
You perform outdated psychiatric practices
on them in futile attempts to render them
innocuous. On my side of the Breach, we’ve
advanced beyond glorified incarceration. We
seek to rehabilitate and restore these poor
victims - to make them functioning members of
the community.”
He analyzed Hall’s face, seeing both exasperation
and confusion in the bureaucrat’s eyes. There
was no chance of pitching the project on a
financial level. He had to capitalize on the clerk’s
 lack of medical knowledge. Insecurity with an
unknown topic would make the man malleable.
He’d be more amenable to the idea of creating
a new and better hospital. Blackwood planned
to close the meeting by showing proof of his
methodology. First, he needed to discredit the
current institution’s processes.
“Your organization has a dubious reputation. It
is overcrowded; full of people your Guild view
as human detritus. Psychiatry will help those
people return to baseline functionality. I am
sure the Governor would like to see able-bodied
workers back in the mine or the Steamworks.
Please tell me if I am wrong.”
“Sir, we have a Psychiatrist at the sanitarium,”
Hall replied, his voice tinged with irritation now.
“Dr. Morrows is in charge there and he is well
qualified to –“
“Qualified by whom?” Blackwood interrupted.
“Certainly not by any governing body responsible
for Psychiatric oversight. We arrive at the heart
of the problem; the root cause of the failures.
With all due respect to your government, this
city is a simple frontier town and it is run thusly.
It makes sense, of course. Limited resources;
limited qualified personnel. Your lawmakers do
what’s best for the majority of their citizen’s
safety without recognizing what’s best for the
society as a whole. Healthy workers, lowered
violence at the hands of the mentally ill. This is
what I offer. An end to an overcrowded building
that stores people as a warehouse might store
grains. What value do unused or rotted grains
bring to society?”
“None,” Clerk Hall answered absentmindedly,
showing just the right amount of discomfort with
the topic. It was time to press the advantage.
“None,” Blackwood repeated with dramatic
emphasis. “Let me show you another way. Come.”
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
He rose from behind his desk and motioned for
the Clerk to follow. Hall fell in step, taking in the
facility as they walked.
The building was mostly empty, save for
occasional pieces of furniture used by a handful
of workers helping to get the proposed hospital
ready. The few desks and chairs scattered about
looked to be a hodge-podge of designs, lacking
uniformity. It was an odd juxtaposition with the
elaborate Guild offices Hall called home.
“Have you furnished the place yourself?” he
asked the doctor, as much to make small talk
as to explore the man’s spending habits.
“I did, if you can call it furnished,” Blackwood
replied over his shoulder as they continued down
the long hallway. “Though the Collins University
Board of Psychiatric and Psychological Wellness
arranged my presence here, their budgetary
decisions are focused on the other side of the
Breach. I pay for the few staff I have, rented this
space and provided a bit of capital needed for
to get underway. When you see the proof of our
work, you’ll no doubt understand the potential
that Guild money can bring to our patients.”
Hall doubted that any proof the doctor presented
could live up to the man’s bluster but his role
dictated that he evaluate the doctor’s progress.
He had nothing positive to say about Blackwood;
given the condescension to he’d endured. The
Governor would suffer no fools and so far, Hall
wanted to portray this man as just that. Maybe
they’ll send him back across the Breach so I can
avoid any unpleasant meetings in the future, he
thought as they walked.
The walk seemed eternally long. The building
was much larger than the current sanitarium and
would hold a much larger patient population.
Even if all it did was house the sick and keep
them off of the street, Hall had to admit the
size was a benefit.
 The location concerned Hall. Placing a large
population of the insane so near to Old Malifaux
seemed to be courting trouble.
“Impressive structure,” Hall said as they
approached a hand-painted sign pointing toward
the treatment rooms. “But, isn’t it dangerous to
be so close to Old Malifaux? Wouldn’t that draw
attention from some of the original denizens of
the city?”
52
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
“It would be the responsibility of your guardians
to keep the patients safe from the Neverborn,”
Blackwood stated as he unlocked a door neat
the treatment sign. “If I had my druthers, I would
have preferred a more central location. Sadly,
concerned citizens voiced discomfort with an
asylum being too near their homes, given your
history of troubles.”
He opened the door to a stairwell and the two
men went down to the next floor.
“Here we are,” Blackwood said when he reached
the landing. He unlocked a set of double doors
and they entered another hall, stopping at the
first room. A closed door appeared to be made
of thick iron, similar to those found in the jail.
“This is the temporary home of patient #1078,
as your staff calls her. Here, she goes by the
name of Mary Jenson, the name she knew
before her sickness began.”
Hall recognized the number; he had come
across the woman on occasional audits at the
sanitarium. She was put there after kidnapping
and drowning two of her neighbor’s children,
insisting that voices commanded her to do
so. Since her incarceration, she screamed
constantly, begging the voices to go away.
Passing her room and hearing her cries
always gave him the chills.
She wasn’t screaming now and the
silence shocked Hall. “Is she asleep?”
“Perhaps,” Blackwood answered.
“Doubtful. It is mid-day, after all.”
“She’s just so…quiet,” Hall
mumbled. “She must be
heavily sedated.”
 “No, my dear boy,” Blackwood laughed with
genuine amusement. “Medication is not always
necessary for care. We have simply worked
with her and taught her coping skills to help
her through delusional periods. Now, she can
keep the voices at bay.”
Blackwood opened the door and Hall found
himself backing away uncomfortably. The woman
was reputedly quite dangerous; occasional fits
of violence caused of some of the more severe
injuries at the sanitarium. She calmly walked
out of her room, allaying his fears.
Her placid demeanor caught Hall off guard and
he stared at the woman in disbelief. He’d always
thought that insanity would have a distinct look.
Either he’d been wrong or this woman’s sanity
was intact.
“This is amazing,” he said, turning to face the
doctor. “You swear there is no sedation here?”
“Ms. Jenson,” Blackwood said to the patient.
“Would you please run halfway down the hall
and back?”
Without a word, she did as told. Hall watched
her carefully as she ran, looking for any
indication of sedation. Though she moved
somewhat frantically, he couldn’t imagine a
heavily drugged person possessing as much
speed. To his uneducated eye, she seemed
physically and mentally well.
“Does she seem like a woman that could
function in society?” the doctor asked smugly.
“Could she be put to work and contribute to the
growth of this city?”
“She – she could,” Hall stammered. The results
of the doctor’s work overshadowed the clerk’s
disdain for Blackwood’s abrasiveness. “I think
I’ve seen enough to file my report, Doctor
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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
Blackwood. I should get back to my office to
document my findings.”
“Very well then,” Blackwood said before turning
his attention to the patient. “Mary, please return
to your room. I will be by shortly for our session.”
The woman did so eagerly and the doctor locked
the door behind her. Blackwood gestured down
the stairs again and led Hall to the entry floor.
The clerk said little as they entered the foyer.
They exchanged expected formal pleasantries
and soon the clerk was on his way.
With Hall out of the building, the doctor locked
the entrance and turned toward the center of the
dimly lit foyer. “That went well,” he said to the
shadows. “I’m not sure what you did to make
her run on command but it was convincing.”
“Terror is a powerful motivator, doctor,” the
woman said, emerging from behind one of the
marble columns outlining the room. “Leave
the tricks to me if you want your dream to
become reality.”
“Yes,” Blackwood whispered as he envisioned
his dream. “The Blackwood Home for Mental
Healing.”
“Call it what you will,” she said, moving close
enough to whisper in his ear. “As long as you
don’t forget our arrangement. I get nothing less
than unfettered access to the patients. Break
our deal and your own mental anguish will be
permanent and cripplingly painful.”
The warm breath in his ear distracted him,
seemingly stealing his speech. He nodded
without hesitation.
“Perfect,” she said, as her fingers traced the arcane
runes adorning the wooden box in her hand. “There
are great things in our future, Doctor Blackwood.”
 Plast Craft Painting Tutorial
Plast Craft Games

Plast Craft Games has released several

scenery sets designed for Malifaux.
These elements are intended to make
a better gaming experience for players.
This is best achieved if the scenery on
the board is properly painted with a
color scheme that fits with the Malifaux
aesthetic. We have written this painting
guide to show how easy is working with
Plast Craft Games scenery to get good
results with basic painting skills.

The sample pictures included on each

product’s package are painted with an
airbrush, but since not everyone has
an airbrush, we decided to explain
how to get similar results using regular
brushes. This tutorial is designed
for hobbyists of all skill levels, so we
simplified the painting guide to make it
easier to get great results with basic Graveyard Set painting guide
painting skills. In this guide, we will be using the following colors:

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 1. Cut the connections that fix the different pieces to the PVC sheets.

2. G
 lue the different pieces that compose the main structure of the Crypt following the online
assembling instructions. Also, glue the different pieces of the 5 graves. Set the rest of the
pieces aside without gluing them.

3. A
 pply a thin coat of Ger. Panzer Grey Airbrush Primer to all the elements. The dark grey will
work as a base color for the scenery element. Note: Any waterborne acrylic primer applied
with brush or spry could be used as well.

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 4. Apply a Stone Grey drybrush coat to highlight the surface texture.

5. Apply a second drybrush coat of Ivory.

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 6. Paint the window frames, corners and the main facade details with Ivory.

7. Highlight the roof textures by applying a drybrush coat of Green Grey.

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 8. U
 sing the same drybrush 9. A
 dd a lighter drybrush coat of 10. O
 utline the door details with
technique, highlight the door’s Vallejo Flat Red to the door. Brown Rose.
texture with Black Red.

11. G
 lue the roof and the door to the main crypt structure and apply Green Wash to some points
of the buildings to create a moss effect.

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 13. A
 pply a drybrush coat of Stone 14. H
ighlight the texture details 15. Apply Green Wash to create a
Grey to the graves. by applying a second coat of moss effect.
drybrush with Ivory.

Your Graveyard set for Malifaux is complete! We explained how to assemble and paint the Graveyard Set
here, but similar steps could be followed to paint the rest of the buildings Plast Craft offers. The paints
used on this tutorial are just a guide, so feel free to substitute them with any other colors you prefer.

For further information about Plast Craft Games products designed for Malifaux visit

http://www.plastcraftgames.com

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Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)
 UNTIL NEXT TIME!
wyrd-games.net
Micéal Flynn (Order #12131258)