As Stu over at Liber Malefic said, the only way to start a campaign is with some hard research. For the Mordheim 2019 project I have been looking through the old rulebook from Mordheim and I couldn’t help but notice some curious and funny details.
Mordheim came out in 1999, a time when Games Workshop still had some of the old anarchistic spirit that coloured its early production. These are the details I have uncovered so far. Let me know if I missed anything, I’m sure I did overlook a few thing. I really hope that there are more excellent things left in the book for us to rediscover.
- The Man with the skinned pig
This one is pretty obvious and I’m sure most of you have seen that the Man with the Pig skin appears both as a miniature and a drawing. There are too many similarities for this to be a coincidence, the book, the skull tipped staff and of course the pig. But who came first?
- the Juggler
The Juggler by John Wigley is an amazing illustration that clearly captures the mad characters that can be found in Mordheim. But here’s the kicker, he appears twice in the rulebook. I must admit that I hadn’t noticed that before I started looking for these curiosities. The Juggler can be seen in what I assume is a John Blanche illustration, the Man Nailing Coins. What a wonderful little nod.
- The Daemon Statue
Speaking of reused pieces, this one is really easy but I wanted to include it anyway. Have you noticed that the Daemon Statue appear twice? First in a very evocative illustration of madness and sacrifice and again in a smaller drawing to illustrate a rule. In this case I’m guessing that the larger illustration came first.
- Sir Swine
Sir Swine is a pig knight riding a tick with a monkey bishop riding behind him. It is an amazing piece of art, so funny and so full of symbolism. Did you know that sir Swine dies by the end of the rulebook? He meets a tragic fate, killed and eaten by a mad troll slayer. His mouth is even stuffed with an apple core. Truly tragic.
- The credits
This one is a true treasure trove. The end credit page is filled with random silly stuff. Just have a look and marvel at the crazy geniuses behind Mordheim.
- the Batman fan
Batman isn’t a character that is associated with Warhammer. But a poor guy really liked Batman, so he got himself a Batman cape. And then he was killed and raised as a zombie. Such is the fate of all in Warhammer.
- the Frog Trumpeter
One last reused concept. The frog that plays his trumpet can be found in two different places, in both instances he is happily blowing his horn.
-Alexander Winberg-
ECHOES OF IMPERIUM 
Pig illustration came first … i would still do that sort of thing if i was illustrating product – not the batman symbol tho or any other reference to IP outside that of GW …
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I guessed that was the order, do you remember who made the miniature?
I understand your point of the batman, it is kind of jarring and I usually don’t like any references to the modern real world. It always feel misplaced. However I was so surprised to see the bat logo in the book that I had to include it
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Did you notice the pied piper in reverse comic format page …
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Aye, the one with rats. That’s one I should have included as well 🙂
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Wonderful post! I never got into Mordheim (or rather didn’t know about it), but this reminds me of all the artworks in 6th ed Empire army book, which was my first foray into Warhammer. There is something forever intriguing in the darkness of the Old World.
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Glad you liked it! It was a lot of fun to write. Try to find the Mordheim rulebook, it’s worth it. Have you been to the Mordheim exhibition in Tampere?
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Great post. I always loved all the little details in Mordheim so it’s nice to see some attention on them. I should really do some of my own miniature versions of some of these characters/illustrations! I never noticed the Batman logo before!
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Glad you found some new stuff in it. I have to check if I can make a similar list for other books.
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On p. 125 the tarot card from the boxed game is pinned to someone’s hood. It appears a couple of times on the original box art too. &, my personal favourite, on p.163, there’s a hunchback figure with a bionic eye & a hook-hand — who previously appeared in a John Blanche illustration in the Necromunda rulebook!
It’s also worth knowing that owls & checker-board shields were intended as symbols of defenders of the Empire, which is why they appear throughout. I think that was mentioned in a WD article.
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Interesting finds, I will take a closer look at them. I think I know which hunchback you refer to.
I must have missed the part about owls, could very well be true. I would like to read more about it.
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As I recall, JB mentioned that in an interview for White Dwarf’s 40th Anniversary — the May 2017 issue. It goes some way to explaining the presence of an owl with a checker-board shield, as well as prompting me to include more owls & checker-boards on my Mordheim models!
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Back when Mordheim was just coming out there was a small group of lost souls living on Yahoogroups along with a Mr Pirinen and there were long conversations about the artwork and symbiology hidden inside and repeating motifs but I can’t for the life of me find it again or remember much except the fishes being nailed to people was for penitence. I love all the sketches throughout the book and magazines
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There are do many good pieces of art in it and it is so much fun discovering them. I did a post about it, you can find under the Mordheim 2019 moniker
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