The Battle of La Maisontaal, fought in the year 2491, ended in a spectacular victory for the Bretonnian forces of Duc Tancred.

Although at first the Skaven and Heinrich Kemmler's Undead forces fought together, this unholy alliance soon broke down when the treacherous Skaven unleashed a number of hellish Warpfire Throwers into the ranks of Zombies in an effort to destroy the Lichemaster. The Necromancer walked unscathed through the green flames, and turned his forces against his deceitful allies. Allowing the Skaven and Undead to engage each other, Duc Tancred held his forces back for a single heroic charge, which smashed the forces of the Skaven, splitting them. Despite this the rat-men fought on in desperation, attacked on two sides.

While Throt the Unclean directed his mutated creations against the Undead and Bretonnian forces, Grey Seer Gnawdoom hurtled over the battlefield, borne aloft by the power of his magic. Accompanied by a small group of black-clad Gutter Runners, he managed to fight his way inside the temple of Taal and recover the Black Ark. The High Priest of Taal, Bagrian, was killed in this attack, stabbed countless times by the poisoned blades of an assassin. Many say that Bagrian brought this end upon himself, and that his interest in warpstone reeked of the taint of Chaos.

Once Gnawdoom had this sacred item within his grasp he fled the battlefield, leaving the other Skaven to be slaughtered. Throt escaped the battle, his warpstone enhanced constitution keeping him alive despite horrendous wounds. It was rumoured that after the battle he hired the services of Clan Eshin to exact revenge on the treacherous Gnawdoom.

The Bretonnians took heavy casualties from the relentless press of Undead, for Kemmler kept raising those that fell using the devastating power of his magic and his sheer force of will. Eventually the Lichemaster tired of the battle, realising that the Skaven Grey Seer had already fled with his prize. He slipped into the shadows and was gone.

The monks of Taal praised their god for their survival and the Bretonnians returned to their lands with honour. Duc Tancred devoted the remainder of his life to seeking the downfall of the Lichemaster, tragically bringing about his own doom at the Battle of Montfort Bridge. Some rumours whisper that he walks the world still, cursed to undeath by the foul Necromancer.

Overview: The best known example of a three-way fight in the Warhammer world is, of course, the battle of La Maisontaal Abbey. To recreate this battle, set the table to resemble as closely as possible the map below. The following special rules apply.

Bretonnian army: 3,000 points selected from the list featured in WD261 and reprinted in the Warhammer Annual 2002. It must be led by Tancred, Due of Quenelles, and must be made entirely of cavalry, with the exception of one unit of Men-at-arms and one unit of Squires on foot that must be included. The Bretonnian player also gets Bagrian for free on top of his normal army.

Undead army: 3,000 points. Necromancer Army (see page 78 of the Vampire Counts Army book) led by Kemmler and including Krell.

Skaven army: 3,000 points selected from the Skaven Armies book, led by Grey Seer Gnawdoom (choose his equipment as normal) and Throt the Unclean.

First the Undead and Skaven deploy their armies in their respective areas. The Bretonnian player then deploys Bagrian, the unit of Men-at-arms and the unit of Squires on foot anywhere inside the Abbey's perimeter, representing the remaining monks of Taal. No other troops can be deployed there. The rest of the Bretonnian army does not begin the battle on the table.

Turn sequence: In the first turn, the Bretonnians move first. The Bretonnian cavalry moves in from the table edge in the area indicated on the map, exactly like troops that have pursued an enemy off the table in the previous turn.

Victory conditions: In addition to the normal Victory points, the player who has the highest total Unit Strength inside the perimeter of the abbey at the end of the game scores an extra 500 Victory points.

The five characters detailed here are to be used in the Battle of La Maisontaal Abbey, but may also be used in normal games of Warhammer with your opponent's consent (with the exception of Throt the Unclean who may always be used). They must be fielded exactly as presented in their files.