Malifaux seems to me tailor-made for an ongoing narrative campaign. Several of our local players agree. I wrote this stuff to help us. Enjoy.
Props to keiichiro for getting our local ball rolling.
Universal After-Battle Actions
Follow all these steps after each battle and report them to the person organizing the campaign.
1.) “Walking Wounded”
Did any of your minions with a SS cost greater than 4 (hereafter “4+SS”) end the battle with fewer than half their wounds? If so, flip a card.
If it matches your faction’s chosen symbol (Guild = Ram, Arcanists = Book, Neverborn = Mask, Res = Crossed Crow Feathers), the model starts your next game with ONE fewer wounds than normal.
If the card does NOT match, it starts with TWO fewer wounds.
If you draw the Black Joker (Remember to use a full deck when flipping), that character automatically misses your next encounter.
Note, if you do not like the idea of fielding a wounded minion, you do not have to. Just don’t use the wounded minion in your next battle. With the third book coming out in a week, and plenty of Mercs for hire, you’ll never lack for minions. I had thought this rule a bit rough until I remembered that you have the option to not use the model in question. If you do “sit” the wounded model for one encounter, it returns for the next encounter fully healed.
2.) “I like the cut of your jib!”
Success breeds success. When you defeat your enemies you demonstrate your faction’s superiority, and show your superiors you can be trusted with greater resources.
When you win an encounter, add 1 Soul Stone to your “Campaign Pool”. In any future encounter you may use these SS just as you normally would. For example, if you have 1 SS in your pool, and your next encounter is 25SS, your opponent would get 25SS while you would get 26SS.
You may refrain from using you campaign pool as long as you like (SS in the pool do not “expire”), but in order to prevent abuse, you may NEVER have more than 2SS in the pool. Example: Nate has 2SS in his pool. He decides to play an encounter with Jason, but foolishly neglects to use any SS from his Campaign Pool. He wins the encounter, but since awarding him a SS would put him over the 2 SS limit, he forfeits the SS. Poor Nate!
3.) “Killer Instinct”
Did any member of your crew deliver the blow that took a 4+SS opposing crew member to Zero Wounds? If so, the killer gets a single-use one-point “bump” when using that weapon on an initial flip. Example: Seamus uses his Bag ‘o Tools to kill Nate’s Librarian. During Seamus’s next encounter, he’s duelling Ramos with his Bag. On his initial flip, he gets an 8. Seamus may bump the 8 to a 9. The suit remains the same.
The bump MUST be used in the player’s next encounter, or it is lost.
No extra card is drawn; just picture an 8 instead of a 7. Use your imagination!
Increase the bump to two points if the model killed was a Master.
This does NOT stack with “Takedown” (see below). Choose one or the other, prior to your next encounter.
4.) “It’s in the hole!”
Did anyone in your crew take an opposing 4+SS model from full health to zero wounds with one attack? If so, the killer gets a single-use reflip when using that weapon on an initial flip.
This benefit MUST be used in the player’s next encounter, or it is lost.
5.) “You KEEP - MISSING - the - TARGET!”
Did your 4+SS model end the game without taking a single wound? IF they were involved in at least FOUR duels that had the potential to do Damage, they get a one-point bump to their DF during their next game. The bump lasts for ONE TURN.
This does NOT take effect if you were wounded but then healed back to full wounds.
This benefit MUST be used in the player’s next encounter, or it is lost.