Between 3 and 5 players can take part in this game. One of the players should be nominated as the Master of the Catacombs. You will need to acquire some floor plans, such as those found in Warhammer Quest, marked out in 1" squares. You could even use the board from Hero Quest (remember that game?) If you are really stuck for floor plans then you can buy sheets of card marked out in inch squares from most stationary shops, and you can cut these to the sizes you require.
The Master of the catacombs (GM) should draw up a map, planning out the layout of T'Saragrad's Vault. The GM should secretly mark on his map the location of 3 pit traps and 3 spear traps. A large, central chamber should be chosen by the GM to be the treasure chamber in which the Blue Wyrm lies. Some GMs may like to use secret doorways, and keep some chambers hidden. This is fine, in fact I recommend it! Theres nothing better than the parties wondering around for ages before finally working out that they need to find a secret doorway. Be sure to point out to them before the game that you are using secret passages- it's only fair! He should also distribute 100 points of troops around the lost city with no Cavalry, War Machines or Characters., equipped as individuals. Ideally, these should be Undead, but if this is impossible, for whatever reason, Skaven or an Orc and Goblin horde could be used. Four entrances to the city should be marked out.
All the other players command 150 points of troops, with no Cavalry, War Machines or Characters. Forget about regiments, standards, etc., just equip each model as an individual, giving them whatever weapons you feel are appropriate. The effects of weapons can be found in the rules section. There is no magic in Warhammer Catacombs, apart from some magic items which can be found inside the Vault. These parties should be led by a 'Master Scout', who costs the same as a champion for the race. He should have the characters normal profile with the following alterations: +1BS +1I +1T +1W +1Ld.
The GM should set up the floor plans before the game. None of the traps, etc. should be shown until an unsuspecting adventurer stumbles upon them. The GM's forces should remain hidden, and only placed on the board when encountered by a party. It should not be obvious which room is the chamber which holds the treasure and the Blue Wyrm. A fixed number of turns should be decided on- I find that 15- 20 is a good figure, after which the game will end, and all figures still inside the Catacombs are dead... Now you're ready to play Warhammer Catacombs. Oh, there's just the small matter of the rules...
