Devilry Afoot - Redcaps and wolves

I've recently been concentrating on page-setting the manuscript for Devilry Afoot, but the last of my miniatures for the game are also slowly getting finished up. Here are three redcaps, and a pack of three wolves.

Redcaps are a particularly vicious and resentful breed of fairy folk – wicked goblins that either serve wicked masters or stalk lonely ruins looking for wayward travellers whose blood they use to dye their caps. Despite their iron-shod feet, redcaps are surprisingly fleet of foot and almost impossible to outrun.

These redcaps are some of the most fun miniatures I've painted in ages. They are actually 3D printed goblins from Highlands Miniatures, but almost certainly inspired by the redcaps of Scottish folklore with their pointed caps, pole-arms and steel boots. 

As the primordial hunter of man, wolves have long been feared for their cunning and aggression. With haunting howls and sharp, predatory eyes, the nocturnal predators stalk the fringes of farmland waiting for the opportunity to strike, carrying of livestock and unwary humans alike.

These wolves are from Crooked Dice. They are deceptively simple sculpts that really come to life with a touch of paint.

28mm Seleukid royal command

Here is another command stand for ProjectSeleukid - this time a royal party consisting of a king and shield-bearer from Aventine Miniatures, and a queen carried on a litter by Checkpoint Miniatures (CP Models). I went with a purple a colour scheme as I dared to indicate just how very royal the royal couple are.

This base will not be used for the planned Magnesia scenario, a) because I am running the left flank commanded by Seleukos (future Seleukos IV, but in 190 BC still just the heir apparent), and b) because radiate crowns are not a feature of Seleukid iconography until c.170/169 BC, midway through the reign of Antiochos IV Epiphanes (Seleukos IV's younger brother). 

Technically speaking, only a small number of Seleukid king's used the divinising feature: Antiochos IV,  Alexander I, Antiochos VI, Alexander II, Antiochos VIII, and Demetrios III. Here's something I wrote a while ago on the matter LINK. 

I intentionally set the king figure slightly back on the base to make it a bit ambiguous as to whether he was the most important or powerful figure present. From the middle of the 2nd century BC, Kleopatra Thea and her nieces Kleopatra IV, Kleopatra Tryphaneia, and Kleopatra Selene were to take leading rolls in propping up respective husbands, sons, and step-sons who became husbands. On balance, this is most likely to be Alexander I Balas and Kleopatra Thea (150-145 BC), or Antiochos VIII Grypos and Kleopatra Thea (125-121 BC), but I'm happy to be a little flexible on that! 😁

Devilry Afoot - 13 game campaign (session 1)

With the completion of Devilry Afoot fast approaching, we set out to run through all 13 scenarios included in the rules as a single campaign, following the same party of hunters as they struggle against the forces of darkness.

The starting hunting party consisted of four characters:

• Fr. Hans, a devout but lustful religious;
• Goodman Gruber, a gallant goodman who's slovenly nature is tempered by his penitence;
• Dr Midnite, a lustful physician and astrologer;
• Colonel Clijsters, a retired soldier and skilled duellist, who's experiences on the Continent have left him doubting his faith.

Scenario 1) A discovery of witches

A coven of witches has been discovered, gathering just beyond the edge of a small hamlet for their witches’ sabbatt. As ominous storm clouds gather, a small party of witch hunters has been recruited to  root them out.

Our hunters had a rough time of their first supernatural encounter. Fr Hans managed to wake some sleeping innocents and herd them to safety; Dr Midnite, despite taking a wound, shot and killed one of the witches. However, Col Clijsters lost his nerve and fled from the field, and Goodman Gruber was taken out of action in a savage attack despite first killing several imps. By the time the storm broke, the witches were gaining the upper hand, and the hunting party withdrew in defeat.

The skilled hand of the physician ensured that Gruber recovered without any permanent impact. Clijsters may not have suffered any physical scarring, but he would need to do something dramatic in the next outing to recover his wounded pride.

Scenario 2) The dance macabre
When the dead walk again upon the earth it is a sign of great evil. For the local villagers, the shambling terrors that now haunt the night revive memories of ancestral wickedness, of curses laid, and of the perpetration of the most devilish deeds. Summoning a party of pious men of standing, they hope that the Word of God will settle the unquiet dead and leave their past firmly buried.

This scenario sounds simple on paper, but in the wrong circumstances, things can get quickly out of hand. In this case, things rapidly went from simple to chaotic. The religious, Hans, ran forward to start blessing the monument at the centre of the burial ground, but while Dr Midnite moved forwards to distract the single revenant, a roaming spectre kept Clijsters away from the fight. Gruber pushed on alone to defend Fr Hans from the other side, but everywhere, the restless dead were rising from their graves (I ran out of revenant models and had to substitute ghouls). 

Both Hans and Gruber were overcome by revenants while Midnite fell back. The monument was just one blessing away from being sanctified, and everything now hinged on the doubting (and up until now timid) Col Clijsters. He pulled himself together and, despite all the odds against him, leapt the cemetery wall, ducked under a tree and managed to quote scripture with enough sincerity to save the day. 

The good doctor again managed to keep all of his comrades from suffering any permanent injuries and, as a result of his growing renown, gained a devoted follower - young Betty. 

Scenario 3) Lost in the woods

They knew that they should not have been awake at such an hour, let alone out of doors, but neither child could sleep. It was as if something called to them through the woods. Woods which seemed, at this hour, so alive, so irresistible. When the children’s absence was noticed, the alarm was raised and a search party set out in their wake.

For the party's third adventure, they set off to save the children from their worst nightmares. The two boogeymen started in different parts of the table so, while Midnite and Betty set off after the furthest, Clijsters, Hans and Gruber turned their attention to the nearest. Before the doctor and his follower could reach the children, the far boogeyman was almost upon them. However, rather than attack, at the critical moment it squatted down and hid in the rough terrain, providing the children with the chance to escape. 

Both Gruber and Cljisters were wounded by their opponent, but between them, Midnite and Betty managed to kill their monster. The boogeymen are tough and unpredictable, and their ability to manifest the fear of the nearest hunter caused much distress, but in the end, the children survived and the party earned their reward.

As they sit counting their shillings in the public house the next afternoon they hear rumours of savage attacks on livestock and shepherds in the next parish. Sighing, they quaff their ale and prepare to move on ...