The great Cities of Sigmar are bastions of hope and civilisation, but they are few in number – each is akin to a single flickering flame amidst a vast and turbulent storm.

Over the course of their short but bloody history, enemies have laid siege to these cities on numerous occasions, and at times they were faced with such peril that they would have surely fallen if not for the allies who came to their aid.

This battleplan tells one such tale, a tale of a city besieged for weeks by an enemy warlord. Disease and starvation has spread through the beleaguered and trapped populace like wildfire, and though there are allies to the north-east and southwest, they know nothing of the city’s plight – the enemy shoots on sight any messenger bird that leaves the city walls.

To send word of their predicament, the city’s warriors must sally out and carve a path through the enemy lines for a message bearer to escape.

It is now or never; without aid, all hope will be lost and the city will surely fall.

Each player picks an army as described in the core rules. One player is the Defender. Their opponent is the Besieger. The Defender must use a Cities of Sigmar army.

After the Besieger has picked their army, they must secretly split it into a north-easterly contingent and a south-westerly contingent. There must be at least 1 unit in the northeasterly contingent for every unit in the south-westerly contingent. The Besieger notes down on a piece of paper which contingent each unit in their army is in.

The Defender then chooses whether the battle takes place to the north-east of the city or to the south-west of the city.

The Besieger sets up their army first. If the battle is to take place in the north-east, the Besieger can only set up units from their north-easterly contingent. If the battle is to take place in the south-west, the Besieger can only set up units from their south-westerly contingent.

In both cases, the units that are not set up are placed to one side as reserve units and will arrive during the battle (see REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE).

The Besieger must set up their units wholly within their territory and more than 9" from enemy territory. The Defender must then set up their army wholly within their territory, more than 9" from enemy territory. The territories are shown on the map.

A select few of your warriors receive sealed parchments stamped with the royal sigil of the city. Theirs is a forlorn task – to break through the enemy lines, traverse the wilds beyond and bring news of the city’s plight to neighbouring allies.

After both armies have been set up but before the first turn begins, the Defender secretly chooses 3 of their units to bear the message for aid and notes this down on a piece of paper.

The Defender can choose which player takes the first turn.

The following additional command abilities can be used in this battle:

Fall Back!: Throwing themselves into the fray, a champion of the city commands their warriors to disengage to safety.

The Defender can use this command ability in the combat phase. If they do so, when picking a friendly unit to fight, if that unit is wholly within 18" of a friendly CITIES OF SIGMAR HERO, that unit must make a normal move and must retreat instead of fighting.

Sound the War Horns!: The Besieger’s army forms battle lines upon command, desperate to stop any forces breaking through.

The Besieger can use this command ability at the end of their movement phase. If they do so, they must pick 1 friendly unit that has been set up on the battlefield in the same turn and is wholly within 18" of a friendly HERO. That unit can make a normal move of D6" (it cannot run).

The city’s forces assemble at dawn, rushing out of the city gates from an unexpected quarter. The Besieger’s scattered forces rally to the sound of blaring horns and race around the city walls, eager to join the fight.

At the end of the Besieger’s movement phase, they can roll 1 dice for each friendly unit that is in reserve. If the roll is equal to or less than the number of the current battle round, that unit can be set up anywhere on the battlefield that is wholly within 6" of a Reinforcements Battle Edge (see map) and more than 9" from any enemy units.

A path has been carved through the enemy lines. Seizing their chance, warriors bearing the city’s message make their way out into the wilderness beyond.

At the start of the Defender’s hero phase, if a friendly unit bearing the message for aid is within 3" of the Escape Route Battlefield Edge (see map), the Defender can choose for that unit to escape. If they do so, they must remove that unit from the battlefield.

The battle ends after the fifth battle round or after every unit that was bearing the message for aid has either escaped or been destroyed.

At the end of the battle, if only 1 unit bearing the message for aid has escaped, the Defender wins a minor victory. If 2 or more units bearing the message for aid have escaped, the Defender wins a major victory. Otherwise, the Besieger wins a major victory.