Clachtoll & Nigg - a 28mm wyvern and his little green questing knight

Oh my! What a joy! Oh what another diversion!

Clachtoll, the wyvern, is a splendid model from Red Bard Games, a small company that I have recently come across. He (or she...) comes with a big angry looking orc rider. Not one for orcs, I sourced Nigg, an alternative goblin rider, from Highlands Miniatures. Now the pair are ready for another whirlwind adventure!

Warp Miniatures - Nest o' Kobolds

With an explosion of purple, I'm pleased to have finished off my nest of Warp Miniatures kobolds - ordered as 3D prints from BS5 Beyond Games. These chappies were such a joy to put together and paint up. They're unlike anything I've done before and were a very welcome change.

The little spearmen and warlock have been previewed before, but joining them now are three slingers, and three blade-wielding hard lads. I'm not sure that I need any more, but I'd be very happy to check out more of the range in future.

Devilry Afoot – Some notes for beginners by Steve Holmes

One of the dedicated playtesters for Devilry Afoot, Steve Holmes, has generously pulled together a few notes that may be useful for newcomers to the game. 

****

The setting first grabbed me. People hunting supernatural monsters isn't unusual, particularly in the tabletop roleplaying hobby, but such games tend to feature elves and dwarves in mythical settings, or "ordinary joes" in 1920s America.

Devilry Afoot takes us to (mostly) Europe from the mid-16th to mid-17th centuries. Europe experiences a renaissance, reformation and counter reformation. The religious schisms provoked bloody civil wars across the continent.

For those below the noble and martial classes, it was an age of superstition. A time when the dark one's minions stalked the lands at night and preyed upon the innocent. Devilry Afoot sets its action here, a skirmish wargame with a tasteful scattering of roleplaying elements.

Each game sees a handful of hunters set out to thwart the forces of evil at night. The game mechanics autopilot the bad guys, while players control one or more hunters each. This permits comfortable play, either solo or with multiple players. I have played solo with up to four hunters. I've also "run the monsters" while two friends controlled four hunters (two each).

My games typically last an hour, your mileage may vary here. This allows a few friends to play several linked games over the course of a day. Experience the joys of hunter advancement, and the sorrows of a beloved character falling in battle.

I'll run through the anatomy of character creation. Then I'll introduce a couple of my own hunters who survived the rigours of playtesting.

== Character (hunter) Creation
Hunters enjoy some of the flexibility of characters in tabletop roleplaying games. These are generally simple, avoiding massive lists of options or equipment.
Hunters can be created in under 10 minutes, but I'd advise newcomers to build their hunters in advance. If you're introducing new players, progenerate a selection of hunters for them. Create at least as many spares, since hunting the Dark One's minions isn't child's play. Expect, and be prepared for losses.

You hunter will be built in five steps:

1. Select an archetype.
2. Select traits and skills permitted by the archetype.
3. Roll dice to determine the (guilty) secret.
4. Roll to determine savings (shillings).
5. Buy equipment.

== Archetype
There are five choices reflecting the day jobs of upper and middle class citizens who hunt monsters.

Pick from:

• Gentleman (Lady)
• Goodman / Goodwife
• Religious
• Scholar
• Soldier

Think of these being similar to the classes of a typical RPG, through with less enforced specialisation. Everybody here can do all the things and wield all the weapons. Some are just a bit better at certain types of action.

Your archetype will initialise your profile (stat line), which consists of:

• Resolve - ability to activate (get more done in a turn), and resist evil influence.
• Move- Starts at 4", may be increased through traits and experience or reduced by permanent injuries.
• Attack - Close combat skill: Gentlemen and soldiers are good at this.
• Shoot - Ranged combat skill: Soldiers are good at this, Religious hunters are not.
• Wounds - Start with 3, injuries reduce this. If it reaches zero the hunters is out of the game.

== Traits and Skills
A hunter's archetype determines whether any can be selected at creation time. It also restricts which can be learned as the character gains experience. Traits and skills work in similar ways.

Traits tend to be innate abilities, while skills are learned abilities. Skills relate to hunting, martial or scholarly abilities. They provide variety, two scholars might specialise in Physician and Theologian skills respectively.

There are eight traits, and eight of each class of skill (three classes).

== Secrets
It is a time of strict public morals, when citizens would conceal the darker sides of their character. Secrets introduce a great period feel to the game. Hunters are assigned their secret by a die roll, rather than selecting.

Your hunters guilty secret may include (From a total of ten):

• Drunkard - Drink, sir, is a great provoker of three things; nose painting, sleep and urine.
• Gambler - The party's silver bullet fund was gone, at the turn of a card.
• Lustful - Deliver us from temptation. She was too comely to be a witch.

With the hunter's physical, mental and moral character established (and appropriate profile amendments applied) it's shopping time.

== Money and equipment
The unit of currency is Shillings - and hunters will roll dice to determine their starting budget. This is 20 + d10, except Gentlemen who add an extra 10 + d10.

That money can be used to purchase equipment, which is subject to a 5 item carry limit and a 2 hand wielding limit. Light items like silver shot, holy water or bandages can be carried in multiples counting against one carry limit.

The equipment list has 30 odd items, which include hand weapons, missile weapons, shields and armour, illumination, hunting paraphernalia like holy items, wolfsbane, wooden stakes, a rope and hook or bandages. Hunters may also supplement their party with a dog or a follower.

The rules keep things simple, none of the "broadsword, shortsword, falchion, seax, rapier" of the D&D game. A sword is a sword here, each as useful as the hunter who wields it.

There is an art to selecting equipment for a balanced party. You are hunting at night, the bad guys can see in the dark, you can't, so you'll generally require some illumination sources.

Everybody probably needs a weapon. Your devout religious man might get by with a silver crucifix, provided his fellow hunters are prepared to meatshield for him.

Hunters who wish to employ sneaking tactics will not want a lit lantern or a yappy dog at their side. Sneaking tends to be a slow and steady tactic, not one that lends itself to group attacks.

Your starting money will restrict your hunter's equipment options. This turns out to be a virtue in game. You may be tempted to pack a sword, dagger and a brace of pistols, but swapping items burns a valuable action. The hunter who pauses to reload or draw a reserve weapon will often grant an opening to a very unpleasant monster.

== Other game stuff
I won't go into detail about game play, monsters or scenarios here, since the focus is on hunter creation. I'll just say that:

Activation is random, you won't know whether a hunter or a monster will act next, nor how many actions fate will grant them.

Thirteen scenarios are included. These provide plenty of inspiration to create more of your own, or to swap monsters around for infinite variety.

There are also thirteen (that number keeps appearing) monsters. The rules provide a clever situation Vs die roll table to determine monster behaviour. Most monsters also have a special rule or two, making them more than a mundane stat-line. Witches, for example, might attack, but may also try to charm, curse or summon an imp to attack.

== A couple of characters
I'll briefly introduce a couple of my own characters who became experienced monster hunters during playtesting.

Colonel Mustard was a respected soldier. He began the campaign wielding a sword and a torch for illumination. The charge martial skill granted a bonus when first moving in to combat. His secret was that he was a backslider; his lack of religious conviction risking followers deserting.

Mustard survived the whole campaign, gaining monetary rewards and experience along the way. He added a pistol (replacing his torch) with silver shot, and a buff coat and cuirass for protection. Experience upgrades improved his shooting, wounds (raised from 3 to 4) and increased his movement. He also learned the "furious attack" martial skill, an option to decrease close combat accuracy for increased damage.

By the end of the campaign Colonel Mustard was a redoubtable hunter with a big pile of shillings, and incredible tales to tell anybody who would listen.

Reverend Farthing joined the party late in the campaign, after a previous religious hunter fell in the course of his duty. As his title implies he was a religious character, who had the Theologian skill. He carried a silver crucifix and a torch, and kept a sword at his side.

His secret was Wolf Bitten, he would transform into a wolf if his activation dice (10 sided) showed double one on any turn. Until then, he gained advantages to movement and attack. He did his utmost to conceal rapid beard growth and rapid nervous movement in polite company.

Farthing was quite a specialist within the hunting party. Religious, theologial and the crucifix provided stacked bonuses to the "quote scripture" action causing enemies to flee. This granted opportunity attacks to an engaged hunter like Mustard, who could strike at the monster as it recoiled.

He suffered a permanent arm injury which penalised use of two-handed weapons. Not wishing to repeat this, he invested some of his reward money in a Cuirass to provide a degree of protection.

Mustard and Farthing made a good battle pairing. Mustard providing the muscle with sword, and silver-shotted pistol. He shielded Farthing from monsters’ direct attacks. Farthing illuminated the scene and discomforted enemies with his constant biblical quotations.

Devilry Afoot - 13 game campaign (session 4)

The fourth session of our Devilry Afoot campaign saw us play a further five scenarios, completing all 13 scenarios included in the rules. You can catch session 1 here, session 2 here, and session 3 here if you need to catch up.

We returned to the campaign with our usual party of four characters and a follower: Fr Hans and Goodman Gruber, both wolf-bitten and hoping to keep their secret hidden; Colonel Clijsters the doubting soldier, and Dr Midnite the lustful doctor along with his follower and assistant, Betty. All of the characters were pretty experienced monster-hunters at this stage and we were feeling confident.

Scenario 9) The Guardian of the Wilds

For generations the locals, living in their scattered hamlets and isolated steadings, had kept clear of this land. Old tales told by the hearth through long winters remembered the stories of the ancient guardian of the wild who kept to himself so long as he was left alone. Over the years, some had sought to disprove the stories, heading cocksure into the hills, never to return.

Now, in the hard times, hungry eyes and greedy minds have started to wonder at what treasures may have been accumulated by this so-called guardian. Treasures enough to feed families, or to equip armies perhaps? The sickness of greed overcomes even the strongest of bonds as plans are established to send out a new expedition.

This scenario is oppositional and saw bickering within the hunting party. Setting out as a duo, Hans and Gruber trekked into the wild north looking to find and loot the troll hoard rumoured to be hidden far from prying eyes. However, Clijsters and Midnite, with Betty in tow, had the same idea. The two parties converged on the stash from different directions, only to disturb the local troll. 

Gruber used his speed to great effect, getting in close to the standing stones where the treasure had been buried. While Fr Hans used the Word of God to keep the troll at bay, Gruber grubbed around in the dirt and quickly discovered the hoard. 

All the while, the rival party were having much more trouble reaching the standing stones, their resolve faltering when it really need not. They finally reached the stones just as Gruber made a run for it with the loot. Dr Midnite, in a fit of outrage, fired a 'warning shot' (i.e. he missed) at close range, but to no avail and the duo escaped with the treasure, leaving the newcomers to deal with the troll. 

Clijsters took the lead in the fight and was only saved from almost-certain-death multiple times thanks to his combination of cuirass and buff coat. A good shot fired by Betty, and some handy blade work from Col Clijsters, saw the troll eventually killed; its bounty actually amounted to far more than what turned out to be in the hoard. 

Having mulled over the events of the evening the following day, the party made amends and decided they were more effective as a team and would remain so going forwards. 

Scenario 10) The vigilists
After a succession of incidents where the freshly buried were disinterred and their bodies seemingly taken by graverobbers, the parish council determined to hire watchmen to keep vigil over the latest burials – vile beings of the meanest sort, executed for their crimes and hastily buried. As the last of the crowds drifted away with the setting sun, the vigilists were left speaking quietly by the gravesides, alone for now, but with one eye turned towards the looming darkness, and another fixed on the freshly dug earth.

As the noises from the village settled into the depth of the night, the party maintained a watchful eye over the graveyard. Just as the Witching Hour approached, two ghouls came, glinting-eyed, towards the freshly dug earth. Luckily or the party, the monsters came in across the fields rather than through the sleeping settlement. 

The first received a volley of pistol shots and was then finished off by a brutal attack from Col. Clijsters. The second, skirting one of the buildings, was headed off by Midnite and Gruber, before Fr Hans appeared quoting scripture and driving it from the area. 

Following their great success, Gruber attracted a new follower, Rupert, to assist in future adventures.

Scenario 11) All Hallows’ Eve
On All Hallows’ Eve, the night before All Saints Day, the veil that protects the living from the dead is at its thinnest. Tears in the fabric of Christian society spill forth foul spirits and demons to wreak havoc on the God-fearing. Woe befall anyone foolish enough to be abroad on such a night.

The party were certainly foolish to venture out this night. As they surveyed a landscape littered with witches, werewolves and a barghest, the very first character activation of the game saw Fr Han's lycanthropy take hold. Having hidden his wolf-bitten secret since the events back in scenario 4, the priest now heeded the call of the other werewolves on the table and transfigured before his comrades eyes.

Wedged between Gruber and Clijsters, Hans the werewolf turned on the colonel, biting him savagely and transmitting the curse of the lycanthropes. Before the party had much of a chance to respond, the barghest charged towards them growling, causing Gruber, Clijsters and Betty all to flee the scene. With little reason to try to make it alone, it was all Midnite and Rupert could do to skulk away after their running friends. 

What a disaster for the party, but such a delight to watch!

Scenario 12) The harrying
When the soldiers were first sighted, nobody in the village thought anything of it. They had little to do with the war, and life carried on in the community as it had for generations. But on that day, the soldiers entered the village and in their wake, came looting, death, and worse. Those who could, fled; following the well-trodden paths to seek refuge in other settlements. As they trudge on through the night, drained both physically and mentally, they hope and pray that a rescue party has been sent to find them. But the calls and noises echoing through the darkness make it clear that the ordeal is far from over.

Despite the absence of Fr Hans, the fallen father forever lost to the forces of evil, and Col Clijster's new wolf-bitten secret, the party were feeling confident as they set out the escort the fleeing innocents. Arriving at the scene between the refugees and a group of outaws, the party split, Gruber, Rupert and Betty trying to head off the barghest, while Clijsters and Midnite turned their attention to the outlaws. 

Midnite took down one outlaw with a well-placed shot from his dragon. Some of the bandits returned fire, before the others closed in melee, surrounding the good doctor. The threats of one caused Clijsters to lose his nerve - a recuring problem for the doubting soldier - and he fled, straight into an evil tree which lashed out, badly injuring him.

The barghest charged straight towards the nearest human - the hapless Gruber - who fell before its savagery, his cuirass and buffcoat unable to stop the beast. As the great dog then leapt towards the innocents, Betty lined up a close range, well-illuminated shot, and missed the barghest, the stray shot killing one of the innocents standing nearby.

If things could get worse, they quickly did. The evil tree lashed out and wounded both Betty and Rupert, before killing another innocent. The barghest's intimidation then drove the rest of the civilians from the table. The last the party heard of them were their screams as the beast pursued them into the night.

Despite the horrendous events of the evening, the stories told afterwards obviously played fast and loose with the facts; both Gruber and Dr Midnite ended up with a second follower - young Oliver and Faustus, the apprentice physician, respectively.

Scenario 13) Hunger
On the frozen frontier, the winter is king. The season of scarcity has driven some to unmentionable acts of violence and cannibalism. The curse of the wendigo stalks the land, striking at outlying settlements, leaving nothing but devastation. A party of hunters heads out ahead of a raging storm, striving to reach their neighbours before the wendigo strikes again.

The hunting party, its ranks swelled with new followers, set off to catch the wendigo haunting the frontier. The beast was surrounded as it emerged from one of the houses which had, thankfully, turned out to be empty. As it approached the next cottage, Rupert, Midnite and Betty all fired shots at it, causing a flesh wound, but nothing more.

The braver sort, Gruber, and Oliver, supported by Clijsters, then went in for the kill. Sadly Oliver was killed almost immediately and as the wendigo feasted on his body, it recovered from its wounds and grew bolder and stronger. 

But it was not enough to save the monster.  It soon found itself cornered against a building and surrounded by swordsmen. The dancing blades of the hunters slew the beast, and the scenario was completed.

****

Over thirteen hunts, the party grew, both in number and in confidence. Despite some scenarios going their way, it was far from a straight run. Even in the final hunts the experienced team were overcome by circumstance and each of the hunter's secrets impacted on their ability to successfully complete their bounties. 

The three hunters who were wolf-bitten over the course of the scenarios proved that the curse had its own benefits, becoming more powerful and faster, but in the end it was all too much for Hans.

The combination of buff coats and cuirasses worn by Gruber and Clisjters made them almost unstoppable, but sometimes even the most well armoured veteran hunter will expose a weak point to a monster as Gruber demonstrated against the barghest. Clijsters' doubtful faith repeatedly saw his resolve faulter before more intimidating monsters.

Midnite's lustful nature made him particularly susceptible to charms when fighting the witches and vampyre, but overall he proved a most useful member of the party, patching wounds and ensuring that few of the many potential kills and injuries suffered by the group had any lasting effect. 

Now, with purses bulging with silver, the hunters eye up the seemingly abandoned lodges here on the frontier. With the wendigo dead, they can think about settling down with little else fear. Surely...

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.

Warp Miniatures Kobold Warlock

Sitting down this weekend, my finger slipped and I accidentally painted this awesome kobold magic-user from Warp Miniatures. I didn't mean to, it just sort of happened.

I'm never particularly comfortable painting fire - and this chap has an awful lot of fire going on thanks to his fireball - but I think I got away with it this time. Sticking with the purple skin that I tried out on the kobold spearmen last month, I went with 'Sorcerer's Apprentice' colours for his hat and cloak.

If, like me, you don't have a 3D printer, BS5 Beyond Games (based in Bristol) are licenced printers for several Warp Miniatures ranges. 

The central tenets of Devilry Afoot and the activation mechanic

Devilry Afoot is almost complete, with just some supporting photography to be completed before publication - scheduled for the end August 2024. Ahead of release, I will be sharing a few snippets from the rules to help players prepare for what's to come.

Devilry Afoot is intended to be played as a pseudo co-operative game, pitching a small number of brave monster hunters against the forces of the Devil. Players control parties of two to six fully fleshed out characters each with their own strengths and weaknesses, sometimes supported by sundry followers, against monsters whose actions are randomly automated by the game mechanics. Games should be fun, but challenging. Of course, written as a co-operative game, Devilry Afoot also lends itself to solo play. 

By default, games of Devilry Afoot are assumed to take place during the Devil’s hour or witching hour. Exactly when that is varies from place to place. Some say it is the hour from 3am-4am, 12 hours after the presumed death of Jesus of Nazareth. Others situate the Devil’s hour to an hour either side of 3am, or perhaps the hour after midnight. Regardless, it is a time of darkness when all goodly and god-fearing souls should be asleep.

Several central tenets colour the rules:

• Despite the moonlight, vision and line of sight is hampered by the darkness.
• Shadows should be dangerous places.
• Generally speaking, the monsters know where the humans are, even when they can’t directly see them.
• Monsters are not always rational, and irrational creatures can make irrational actions.
• If god-fearing souls are asleep in their beds, what past traumas and dark secrets drive the hunters into the dark places to face the Devil’s minions? Heroes they might be, but flawed they certainly are.
• Players are encouraged to be proactive in building a narrative around their activations and the monsters’ actions and responses. It is more fun if the barghest fled because of the shot fired at it, rather than because the dice rolled a 1.
• Lastly, it is hoped that players will take a collegiate approach to their games. The rules are intended to belong to its players. If something doesn’t fit your narrative and all players agree, feel free to tweak what you need to make a compelling storyline.

The activation mechanic

A game, or hunt, in Devilry Afoot takes place over a number of turns. During each turn, all models on the table will have the opportunity to be activated one or more times. Th order in which models are activated is determined randomly by drawing initiative tokens from a bag.

At the start of each turn, one token per character is placed in the bag. Character tokens should all be the same colour, so if there are four characters, there will be four tokens of the same colour placed in the bag. A single token of a separate colour is added to the bag if any innocents are present on the table. Each monster profile in the rules shows how many activation tokens should be added to the bag for that type of monster. A coven of witches will have two activation tokens, but a werewolf will get four. Each monster type gets a different colour of activation token.

Over the course of a game turn, tokens are drawn randomly from the bag. The colour of the token will indicate which type of model may activate.

Each character may only be activated once per turn, in an order determined by the players. However, when they activate, they roll 2d10 against their Resolve value (modified by various factors such as proximity to a light source, number of wounds suffered, whether monsters are already in base contact etc). They may carry out up to two actions - or one, or none - depending on their rolls.

Each time an innocent or monster activation token is drawn, all models of that type (i.e., all witches, or all ghouls) carry out one action determined by a d10 roll on a table. While each monster token only allows for a single action to be carried out by each creature, all monsters will have multiple tokens in the bag and will thus carry out multiple actions at different stages over the course of a turn. The unpredictability of the monsters is ensured through both the random activation sequence, and the d10 roll to determine their action.

So get your activation tokens ready. You'll not need many - 20 (five each of four different colours) should see you right. We use coloured meeples, but you could equally use coloured dice, playing cards, or tiny scrunched up pieces of coloured paper; anything so long as activation order can be randomised. 

Picts or it didn't happen...

After a pretty intense few months, I was lucky enough to pop o'er the water to Scotland for a wee break with the family. I was doubly lucky that my family are most happy scrambling over monuments in the middle of nowhere. 

We went a little Pict/Iron Age/early Medieval crazy over the course of the break, visiting brochs, standing stones and hill forts the length of the highlands. Here are a couple of pictures that may inspire some miniature broch-builders out there...

Dun Troddan

Dun Toddan, near Glenelg, was the first broch we visited and probably the best preserved, standing 7.6m tall for almost a half of the circumference. 

Dun Telve

Dun Telve is only 500 metres down the glen from Dun Troddan. It's less well preserved overall, but stands taller at more than 10m.

Cairn Liath

On the opposite side of the highlands, Cairn Liath sits on the coast between Golspie and Brora. It's a lovely little broch with a well preserved outer wall and visible elements of other structures in the immediate area.

Clachtoll Broch

Back on the west coast between Clachtoll and Stoer beaches, Clachtoll Broch sits on a rock ledge hovering just above the high water line. It is well preserved all around, but only to about 3m. The chambers inside the walls are particularly well preserved.

Dun da Lamh 

Near Badanoch in the centre of the country is Dun da Lamh, a Pictish hill fort with pretty impressive walls and more impressive views; well worth the climb to get there.

Dunadd

And the last of the early Medieval sites was Dunadd, the capital of the Scotti-Irish kingdom of Dalriada established in what is now Argyll. Having put my foot into the inauguration footprint, I'm pretty sure that makes me the new king of Scots. Surely no one would have done it since...

Of course there were loads of other sites too - mostly Neolithic through to 17th century, but maybe those are for another time.