Mordheim's Chronicles

Prologue

There was a time when the city of Mordheim boasted the title of being one of the most prosperous and affluent cities of the Empire. Merchants from all corners of the world offered their exotic goods in its bustling markets, turning the city into a vibrant and multifaceted place, where the possibility of finding anything was palpable. However, this prosperity was tarnished by the corruption and villainy that festered within its walls.

The nobles, possessed by unrestrained hedonism, abandoned their duties, plunging the city into anarchy and leaving it at the mercy of scoundrels and unscrupulous merchants who enriched themselves while the poor sank even deeper into misery.

The fate of the Empire's second most populous city and its thousands of inhabitants was sealed with the arrival of a two-tailed comet. "Sigmar's Hammer" was what the most devout called it, believing it to be the sign of the Emperor God's advent. However, it brought only fire and destruction. The comet crashed into the city, ravaging it and engulfing it in flames, leaving barely any survivors. Those who did not perish from the impact and flames suffered terrible fates in the form of diseases and horrific mutations.

Rumors spread that the comet was Sigmar's punishment, a response to the perversions and acts of depravity committed in the city. Many claimed that the Chaos Gods had set their sights on the city, and there must have been some truth to it, for after the catastrophe, the ruins harbored only specters, monsters, and demons.

Today, Mordheim is known as the city of the damned, a place where only fools, madmen, or the greedy venture. Tales abound of men entering the ruins and not returning, or if they do, returning maddened and mutilated. But for every tale of terror and ruin, there is one of fame and fortune.

The city not only preserves the wealth of its ancient and eccentric inhabitants, but the comet scattered throughout it what would be known as wyrdstone, crystals with magical properties, highly coveted and well paid for by nobles, scholars, and wizards from all over the empire. Bands from all over the known world travel to Mordheim to collect and sell wyrdstone fragments, hoping to find the hidden treasures of the city, regardless of the dangers and nightmares they may encounter.