Malifaux

Malifaux

Malifaux logo
Manufacturer(s) Wyrd Miniatures
Years active 2009 to present
Players 2+
Playing time 1–2 hours
Random chance Deck of cards used for task resolution
Website Malifaux

Malifaux is a skirmish-level miniatures wargame manufactured by Wyrd Miniatures involving gang warfare in the ruins of a crumbling city. According to the game's backstory, the city of Malifaux was discovered through a portal into another world. This world is a source of the valuable mineral known as "soulstone" which allows for magical effects. Games pit masters and their crews against one another for control of this resource.[1]

Released at Gen Con in August 2009, Malifaux uses a card mechanic in lieu of dice. Numbers are randomly generated by drawing numbered cards from a "Fate Deck". A number of mechanics in the game allow for manipulating this draw. The game also has the three expansion rulesets Rising Powers,[2] Twisting Fates and Storm of Shadows.[3] A second edition of the game ("M2E") was released in October 2013, with a pre-release at Gen Con in August 2013.

The universe of Malifaux

The fictional universe of Malifaux as presented in the rules books and the online Malifaux Record and Wyrd Cronicles is both a city-state and a world in a parallel dimension. This universe is also the setting for the role playing game Through the Breach. The first known breach (also called The Breach of The Great Boundary) to this world was created in 1787 after our own world was threatened by the decline of magic and magicians looking for a new source of magic discovered a world separated from ours by a thin barrier. The creation of the breach destroyed the city surrounding the ritual site ripping the life force from its inhabitants creating a new equilibrium between the two worlds. Beyond the breach was discovered the city of Malifaux, surprisingly similar to many of our own but devoid of inhabitants. The new world turned into a new frontier when crumbling mining towns surrounding the city were rebuilt into boom towns in the search and trade of soulstones, the source of magic. With exploration continuing during the following decade, hostile natives called Neverborn were encroached upon. Tombs were discovered and with them the magic of resurrection. Discovered too were intelligent machines powered by soulstone.

In 1797, the breach was destabilised by a blizzard collapsing while smoke and the sound of battle was heard Earthside. After turmoil the Guild was formed by those who had made the Breach in the first place, controlling the dwindling resource of soulstones left Earthside and preparing for its reopening. In 1897 the Breach spontaneously reopened. The Guild was ready and took control with the Breach and the reopened frontier fuelling a new boomtrade in Soulstone.

The present is 1901 Earthside. The Guild's control is precarious. Lesser, unstable breaches have appeared. A significant part of the workforce have organised themselves in the Miners and Steamfitters Union and smuggling is rife.

The city of Malifaux

The city itself is walled. Reclamation is underway, but large segments are still uninhabited, quarantined and walled off to protect the human population. A railway runs through the breach and into Malifaux as well as to a few mining towns. The city is run by the Governor General appointed by the Guild.

The surroundings

Around Malifaux human settlements are concentrated to boomtowns and pioneer towns.

Factions

Malifaux features seven different factions led by different masters supplement by different crews. Some crew masters belong to more than one faction.:

The Guild

The Guild is the law in Malifaux. They exert a fascist control over the city and are more concerned with the production of soulstone, a substance which allows for wielders to perform supernatural feats, than they are with the safety of its inhabitants. The Guild offers a mix of ranged and melee combat and aesthetically possesses a number of Wild West motifs. The crew masters of the Guild are:

Resurrectionists

The Resurrectionists are necromancers who command forces of the undead. Where the other factions are concerned with collecting soulstones, the Resurrectionists loot the ruins of Malifaux for magical devices and tomes of knowledge. They are very resilient characters in play, with the ability to absorb a lot of damage and to raise dead models as additional combatants. The crew masters of the Resurrectionsts are:

The Neverborn

The Neverborn are the native inhabitants of the world of Malifaux. They are nightmarish monsters that terrorize the human settlers in Malifaux. Their existence is linked with a calamity that occurred in the world's ancient past. They are known for their speed and abilities that confound their enemies. They possess few ranged attacks but are very deadly in melee combat. The crew masters of the Neverborn are:

The Arcanists

The Arcanists are individuals who practice magic. The Miners and Steamfitters Union is run by one of Malifaux' prominent Arcanists, Ramos. The M & SU is an organization that represents the labor class in the city. The Arcanists are actually made up from different groups that range from the Order of the Chimera to the show girls of Collette. Their primary strength is in the wide variety of spells they can cast and they also boast a number of mechanical and elemental constructs as well as beast minions. The crew masters of the Arcanists are:

The Outcasts

The Outcasts are a group of smaller interests unassociated with the major factions in Malifaux. A number of Outcasts are also mercenaries that may be hired by the other factions for use in their crews. The crew masters of the Outcasts are:

Ten Thunders

Released at Gen Con in 2012, the Ten Thunders is a shadowy faction, their masters associated with the other factions as well as their own. Inspired by the Triads and Yakuza, the faction springs from the Three Kingdoms earthside (an unified Japan, China and Vietnam) and is currently led by the Katanaka clan. Their means of transport is through a lesser breach within the Three Kingdoms unknown by the Guild. The crew masters of the Ten Thunders are:

The Gremlins

References

  1. ↑ Malifaux Rule Book. ISBN 0-9841509-0-0.
  2. ↑ Malifaux Rising Powers. ISBN 978-0-9841509-1-5.
  3. ↑ Malifaux Storm of Shadows. ISBN 978-0-9841509-5-3.
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