Failed Experiments: Weaponised Failure
- The Gamebreakers
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Not every experiment can be a success. For every towering monstrosity, perfectly engineered killing machine or alchemical breakthrough produced by the Umbral Veil, there are inevitably a few... less successful outcomes.
Enter the Failed Experiments, the first five-model unit to join the Umbral Veil.
The Failed Experiments are the unfortunate remnants of attempts to create something greater: humans whose bodies proved too weak, whose minds proved too dull, or whose flesh simply refused to become a proper monstrosity. Instead, crude weapons are bolted to their limbs, whatever remains of their minds is given a few basic instructions, and they are sent back out to serve the Veil in a different capacity.
They are not particularly strong. They are not particularly clever. And they certainly aren't the pinnacle of alchemical engineering. But they are cheap, numerous, surprisingly difficult to get rid of, and (most importantly) expendable. And that makes them useful.
The Failed Experiments on the battlefield
On the battlefield, the Failed Experiments fill a role that has been kinda missing from the Umbral Veil roster: Bodies. Lots of bodies on 32mm bases.
As the faction’s first five-model unit, they can screen more valuable models, contest objectives and generally get in the way. DEF 5 and ARM 4 aren’t impressive, but Resilient (1) makes them surprisingly annoying to remove with weaker attacks. Apparently, enough experimental drugs and questionable procedures eventually make pain optional.
When simply surviving isn’t enough, there’s Overdose. Another experimental cocktail improves their hit and damage rolls for the activation, briefly turning those crude weapons into a genuine threat. There are side effects, naturally, but the Alchemists prefer the term “acceptable outcome.”
Repeated experimentation has also left some mental scars. Their Conditioned Reaction reverses the effect of Alchemical Surge: instead of moving towards an Alchemist, they move away. Apparently, one lesson survived all the experiments: When you see an Alchemist coming, run. This also gives Alchemical Surge a new tactical use, effectively pushing five expendable bodies further towards objectives, enemies, or wherever they can cause the most trouble.
A Different Kind of Success
The Failed Experiments aren't going to replace the Spinebreaker or the Goreclaws when you need something torn apart, and nobody in the Veil would confuse them with one of their prized monstrosities.
That's exactly the point. They bring something new to the Umbral Veil: numbers, board presence and expendability, with just enough resilience to make removing them inconvenient and just enough offensive potential to make ignoring them dangerous.
They failed to become the monsters they were supposed to be. But on the battlefields of Astira, even failure has its uses.
The Failed Experiments are now available in the Shroudfall Shop!
And as always ... break the game!
