In the Imperial Year 876, a band of Norse raiders bound for Lustria captured a merchant vessel of the Empire. Unbeknownst to the Norsemen, the ship's hold contained the body of the Vampire Luthor Harkon. By the time the ship reached the waters of Lustria, the entire crew had been killed or turned into the walking dead. The ship crashed on a reef, but Harkon - along with a handful of his Undead followers - made it to shore.

There, the ambitious Harkon built himself a mighty army of Undead from the bodies of dead sailors and pirates who washed ashore after being shipwrecked on the dangerous reefs off the Lustrian shore. The army expanded, and a small empire, which would become known as the Vampire Coast, was founded on the southeastern shores of Lustria.

Harkon's ambition knew no bounds. Once established in the new land, he began to explore the ruins of the Lizardmen and the Old Ones and coveted the artifacts hidden in the temples, particularly the mummified remains of the Slann, which Harkon knew would be sources of great necromantic power. In his quest to obtain these artifacts, Harkon's army destroyed the Lizardman city of Axlotl and, hungry for more conquest, began marching inland. Slann Lord Xltep of Itza understood the danger his ancient city faced and dispatched his warriors to intercept the army of the Vampire. Aided by the ancient Kroxigor Nakai, the Lizardmen were able to halt Harkon's advance and drive back the Undead horde to the Vampire Coast.

You can now re-enact the battles fought in this famous historic conflict with the Vampires in Lustria ladder campaign. Play Escape with the Piranha Blade, On the Ourskirts of Axlotl, and March to Itza as a linked group of games or as "one-off" scenarios.

One of Harkon's lieutenants, a powerful Vampire Thrall, was dispatched into the jungles near Axlotl to retrieve a powerful artifact, the Piranha Blade, from an abandoned Lizardman settlement.

Now the Vampire Thrall and his Undead cohorts rush through the jungle to return the Piranha Blade to Harkon. Meanwhile, a group of Lizardmen have been sent to cut off the fleeing Undead.

Battlefield
The battle takes place in a 36" x 36" area that is full of trees and other jungle terrain. Make sure that at least half of the board is covered with jungle terrain features.

Objectives
The Vampire Count forces are attempting to break through the Lizardmen and return the Piranha Blade to Harkon. The Vampire Thrall, who is carrying the ancient weapon, must exit the board via the table edge opposite his Deployment Zone. The Vampire Counts player wins if the Thrall escapes off the board edge opposite his Deployment Zone or if the Lizardmen rout. The Lizardmen must prevent the Vampire Thrall from exiting the board. The Lizardmen will win the scenario if they take the Vampire Thrall out of action or if the Vampire Count force routs.

Deployment
The Vampire Count player sets up his models within 8" of any table edge. Next, the Lizardmen player sets up his models anywhere on the board but at least 14" away from any enemy model.

The Attacking side sets up all their models last. They must be set up within their deployment zone. (Up to 6" onto the table - see the map above.)

Who Goes First?
The Lizardmen have surprised the Vampire Count force and thus have the 1st turn.

Skirmish
This battle is a Skirmish. All the Warhammer Skirmish rules apply (see pp. 242-246 of the Warhammer rulebook).

Piranha Blade
Although the Vampire Thrall carries the Piranha Blade, he has not had time to learn the secrets of its use. Thus, for this battle, he will use a regular hand weapon.

Using Alternate Forces
If you choose to play this scenario with other forces, each side may select up to 215 points of troops. Each side may choose one Hero-level character, and the remaining points may be spent on Core choices. No spellcasters or magic items may be selected.

Part of a Larger Battle
If you are playing Piranha Blade as part of the Vampires in Lustria ladder campaign, the winner of this scenario may give the Piranha Blade to any character in his force for "free" in Game 2.

Luthor Harkon, emboldened by his successes in the land of Lustria, has marched his army south along the beaches toward the Lizardmen city of Axlotl. There, the army of Axlotl meets the Undead force. If the Lizardmen can win the day, Harkon will have fewer troops to send to Itza in Game 3. If the Vampire Count army is victorious, Harkon will sack Axlotl and march triumphantly toward Itza.

Armies
Both armies are chosen from the Warhammer Armies lists to a value of 2,000 points. The Vampire Count player must include Luthor Harkon in his army list (see his Special Rules here). The winner of Game 1 may give the Piranha Blade to any character, except Luthor Harkon, at no points cost.

Battlefield
The edge of the jungle begins on the western side of the board and should be represented by several tree and jungle foliage terrain pieces. The eastern 1' or so of the board represents the Great Ocean. The rest of the battlefield is a sandy beach. A few rocky outcroppings may be added if both players agree.

Deployment
1. Both players roll a D6. The higher scoring player may choose to begin deploying first or second.

2. Taking it in turns, each player deploys one unit at a time at least 24" from the opposing player's Deployment Zone.

3. All war machines in a player's army are deployed at the same time, though they may be deployed in different parts of the battlefield.

4. Champions are deployed with their unit. All other characters in the army are deployed after all other units, all at the same time.

5. Scouts and any Skink Skirmishers and Chameleon Skinks in the Lizardmen army are not deployed with the rest of the units. Instead, Scouts may be deployed after all the units in both armies have been deployed, as described in the rules for Scouts. Skink Skirmishers with the Scouts upgrade and Chameleon Skinks may be deployed as normal or may be deployed anywhere in the ocean. Skink Skirmishers without the Scouts upgrade may also be deployed in the ocean.

Who Goes First?
Both players roll a D6. The player who finished his deployment first (not including Skinks deployed in the ocean and Scouts) may add +1 to his die roll. The player who scores higher may choose whether to go first or second.

Length of Game
The game lasts 6 turns.

Victory Conditions
Use the Victory Points chart on p. 198 of the Warhammer rulebook to determine the winner of the battle.

Ater the battle outside of Axlotl, Harkon, still bent on conquest, marches his troops toward Itza. En route, Harkon's army is met by the forces of Lord Xltep of Itza, accompanied by the ancient Kroxigor Nakai. A meeting engagement ensues to determine the balance of power in southeast Lustria.

Armies
The Lizardmen force is chosen from the Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen list to a value of 2,750 points and must include Lord Xltep and the Kroxigor Nakai.

The Vampire Counts army is chosen from the Warhammer Armies: Vampire Counts and must include Luthor Harkon if he survived the last battle. However, the army's size is determined by its performance in Game 2. The Vampire Count player may field 3,000 points of troops if he won Game 2, 2,750 points if he tied Game 2, and 2,500 points if he lost Game 2.

Battlefield
A road or large path approximately 6" wide runs down the center of the board from long edge to long edge. The rest of the board is liberally scattered with trees, foliage, and other jungle terrain features.

Deployment
1. Before the battle the players must write an Order of March, to show where in their column each unit is. All war machines are included as a single unit for these purposes, as are all the characters in the army. Characters are always deployed last.

2. The players roll a dice each, highest scorer is allowed to choose a table edge.

3. Each player rolls a dice and the highest scoring player may decide whether to begin deploying first or second.

4. The players take it in turns to deploy their units, starting with the one at the top of their Order of March and working down. The second and subsequent units must be deployed closer to the neutral table edges than any unit already in play – in effect the army deploys outwards from the first unit.

5. All war machines are written as a single entry on the Order of March, though they can be deployed anywhere on the battlefield within the normal deployment zone.

6. Champions are deployed with their unit. All other characters are deployed after all other units in the army, each player deploying their characters all at the same time. Characters may start the battle within units.

7. Units must be deployed at least 6" from the neutral table edges and 36" from the enemy table edge.

8. Scouting units must be deployed in the same way as other units, except they may be deployed up to 18" from the enemy (they don’t have enough time to work their way as far forward as normal).

Who Goes First?
If the Vampire Count player won Game 2 and thus has a 3,000-point force, his large army moves slowly; thus, the Lizardmen player may decide whether to go first or second. If the Vampire Count player lost Game 2 and thus has a 2,500-point force, his small army moves quickly (for Undead anyway); thus, the Vampire player may decide whether to go first or second. If Game 2 was tied and the armies are of equal size, dice off per the normal Meeting Engagement rules to see who goes first (the player who finished his deployment first may add +1 to his roll as normal).

Length of Game
The game lasts 6 turns.

Special Characters
Use the special characters described here for their respective armies in this battle. All characters must be used exactly as described here. No additional or replacement equipment may be selected for them.

Victory Conditions
Use the Victory Points chart on p. 198 of the Warhammer rulebook to determine the winner of the battle.