Devilry Afoot - a folk horror monster-hunting handbook for tabletop skirmishes.

Something wicked this way comes with the release of Devilry Afoot, the folk horror skirmish game that sets 16th or 17th century heroes against the darkest imaginings of the early modern mind.

Co-operatively control self-righteous but flawed human monster hunters against the forces of darkness controlled by the game's action and reaction mechanics. From redcaps and revenants, to witches and werewolves, each of the thirteen monster types profiled in the rules are rooted in European (and North American) superstition and folklore form the period.

With thirteen example scenarios and open-ended campaign rules, follow the rise and demise of your characters over a series of linked games against ever fiercer foes.

Devilry Afoot is playable with as few as 6-12 miniatures on a 2’x2’ (60cmx60cm) table. Games can be played in less than an hour allowing multiple games to be played in a single sitting.

The 130 page rule book is available as a hardcover book through Amazon, or as a pdf from Wargame Vault.

Sample pages can be found on the game page of this blog, and you can join the discussions on the Facebook group.

ProjectSeleukid - thorakitai/imitation legionaries

The latest unit for ProjectSeleukid are these 28mm armoured heavy infantry with thureos shields and short spears from Aventine Miniatures. For Magnesia, these will represent the 4,000 Lykians, Pisidians, Pamphylians brigaded together. Their equipment if not specified in the sources, although as part of the main battle line it is likely that they were either thureophoroi or thorakitai.

In more generic 2nd and 1st century BC battles, I will field the unit as reformed Argyraspides (hence the fancy silvered metalwork and super ostentatious purple helmets). I am yet to see any specific evidence that suggests there was much of a difference between the so-called imitation legionaries, and generic thorakitai in Seleukid armies. At Daphne (166 BC) the only real description of these troops - given by Polybius 30.25.3 - is less than detailed.

Heading were some men equipped in the Roman manner in mail cuirasses, five thousand men in the prime of their life.

For a number of convincing reasons, it is usually considered that these 5,000 were half of the Argyraspides, the elite Seleukid heavy infantry who deployed as phalangites at Raphia and Magnesia. I think this is quite reasonable. But the meaning of 'equipped in the Roman manner' says nothing of precisely how they were armed, nor how they operated in the field.

For now, at least, I am happy to deploy the unit in whatever way suits the rules or the context, seeing the spears as either melee weapons, or as throwing spears. In Fantastic Battles I would opt to run them as : elite company: drilled, shieldwall, thrown weapons (or long spears).

Battle of the Bulges - 10mm Fantastic Battles

The second game of the long-weekend saw my pot-bellied army of the halfling shires up against Roger's pot-bellied ogres. The two forces lined up for a grill or be grilled battle of the bulges.

The halfling army dwarfed its ogre foes, but the dice gods are not always on the side of the big battalions. In an echo of our last clash (beastlings vs wood elves) the ogres used both the night march and ambush strategies, deploying forward generally, and having one unit of ogres with heavy weapons deployed immediately in front of the halfling lines.

Before a dice was rolled, the stunty folk were already quaking in their ... well, not in their boots obviously, but if they had boots, that's where they would be quaking.

Funnily enough, deployment mishaps saw those ogres late, deployed much further back than intended. The rest of the ogre line was grand, but the halflings were a bit messed up with multiple late units, some enthusiastic truffle hunters and diseased poultry riders.

As the halfling line tried to get back in order, the truffle hunters and poultry riders started to sweep around from the right flank where a unit of yetis was swiftly approaching.

The yetis went straight through the truffle hunters, leaving the poultry riders to dodge out of the way, attacking the heavy-melee weapon ogres in the flank while the halfling kitchen militia barrelled into their front (to everyone's great surprise!). 

On the halfling right, a unit of smilodons charged into the halfling archers on the hill and were flanked immediately by the halfling yeoman cavalry. Sadly, a unit of ogre rhino riders then turned up after a flank march and hit the halfling cavalry in the flank.

In the centre, the late halfling units finally made it to the battle and everywhere ogres, halflings and treefolk were cleaving left and right and stubbing toes, and generally having a scrap. 

The smilodons and archers both scattered on the right, leaving the halfling yeomen to turn to face the rhino riders, but it was all a bit late and the yeomanry soon scattered. On the far left, the tiny unit of halfling wardens peppered the impetuous yetis until they too were forced from the table.

The halfling wardens decided that they couldn't do much more and set off towards the settlement to see if they could make some mischief in the ogre rear. The ogre mage blinked one of the treefolk units out of combat, allowing the ogres to focus their attacks on the halfling hearthguard in the centre.

The halfling cockatrice, nipping at the flanks of the ogre centre soon found rhino riders in its rear.

The halfling army was flagging. Despite having the regenerate trait, and a warlord trying to rally them, the kitchen militia steadfastly refused to rally and the resolve loss was mounting up.

And then the halflings could hold no more and the army crumbled. They had lost 13/12 break points, while the ogres had only lost 5/8. A pretty mediocre showing from the wee chaps, and a mighty win for the ogres.

Battle of the Wild Things - 10mm Fantastic Battles

Over the long-weekend, Roger and I managed to get in two 1,000 point games of Fantastic Battles, picking two armies from our collections and rolling a die to decide the match ups. For the first game, Roger's Wood Elves and their woodland minions took on my Beastling highlanders commanded by the Red King. 

The Red King arrayed his beastling forces in a defensive position, with a levy unit on each flank, the bog trolls and skirmishing slingers in the centre, supported by a two-company unit of mjowls and two individual moohemoths. A three-company unit of chariots and a captain were sent on an off-table flank march round the right flank.

From left to right (in the photos), the wood elf line was composed of a wild hunt, tree shepherds, minor tree spirits, giant bears, greater tree spirits, a forest dragon, and some giant eagles. He used the Night March strategy, deploying 3bw closer to the beastling lines.

Mishap rolls saw the woodland army remain in good order other than the giant bears who were overly enthusiastic and deployed forward of where they were supposed to be. Among the beastlings, the red levy on the left were so enthusiastic that they found themselves among the woods - not good for a shooting unit with long spears - while the yellow levy on the hill on the right arrived stricken with disease. 

The opening turn saw the first melee engagement. On the right, the giant eagles swooped from their hiding place among the trees and charged straight into the yellow levy on the hill. 

On the left, the captain attached to the red levy tried to get them back out of the woods but counted on neither the tree shepherds' great speed, nor the expedient use of an elvish blink spell. The living trees bumped straight into the rear of the levy and scattered them after only a single round of combat.

In the centre, the bears received several turns of missile fire from the bog trolls and slingers, greatly reducing their resolve. Meanwhile, the rest of the woodland army advanced. The beastling mjowls flew over the top of the slowly advancing minor tree spirits to start threatening the wood elf rear. 

By the end of the second turn, the beastling chariots had arrived to the rear of the elves, but the elves had advanced so rapidly that they were left with no one to fight! A slow turn about the woods began. 

In the centre, the beastling slingers fell back allowing the moohemoths and trolls to engage the weakened giant bears, and while the tree spirits also attacked the bog trolls, they were themselves charged in the rear by some timely-summoned fungal shroomlings. Over the course of the melee, the wood elves lost their giant eagles, giant bears and minor tree spirits in one foul swoop. 

Meanwhile, the tree shepherds and wild hunt were making their way closer round the front, and the beastling chariots made every effort to take arrive before the fight was over. The mjowls and the forest dragon sort of, flapped about a bit in the middle...

Then the dragon struck, attacking the moohemoth carrying the beastling magic-user, killing it quickly, but not before more shroomlings were summoned into its own flank. On the beastling left, the bog trolls formed a kill circle/tortoise formation to hold off the tree shepherds, and the slingers and yellow levy converged to hammer the greater tree spirits with missile fire. 

The tree spirits rushed forward into the skirmishers who chose to stand and fight, taking a battering, but causing enough damage in return to scatter the trees, thus bringing the elves to their break point and finishing the battle with a convincing (and rare) win for the Red King - 5/11 for the beastlings, 10/9 for the wood elves.