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Devilry Afoot: Edge of Reason - Headless Horseman

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After a bit of an epic process I have now finished up a Headless Horseman for Devilry Afoot: Edge of Reason .  What started as a lovely gesture from JB, gifting me a Dragon Trappers Lodge 3D sculpt, ended in tragedy when, several hours into the paintjob, I dropped it and it exploded. One of the pitfalls of buying 3D sculpts off the likes of Etsy is that you can never be sure of the quality of the resin used, and this one was particularly fragile. In a bit of a downer I looked about for a metal headless horseman, assuring myself that the old ways would prove more robust. My first port of call was the Westwind Headless Horseman range. The photo on the Westwind website is a bit small and pixelated, but I gave it a shot and placed an order. Sadly, what turned up could never have been checked for quality control. The rider lacked detail generally, and the head carried in his left hand ended in a detailess blob with a flash line. The horse seems to have been cast with completely mis...

PDEE: Further adventures with the Trout Clan - part 2, Meeting a Megatherium

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2 Meeting a Megatherium  A foraging party from the Trout Clan is on the hunt for special delicacies demanded by the wife of the Council chief, who’s expecting her first child any day now. Here’s a shot of the foragers: three hunters: Dancing Club, Dancing Spear; and Lunging Spear; accompanied by two women and two children who traditionally don’t have names as such (Photo 1). Each Hunter also has a hound, but they wouldn’t stay still long enough to be in the photo. The children are old enough to throw rocks, which counts as pelting but only at S range. The party are out on the edge of the Clan’s territory. Beyond the stream is unknown country, and likely to stay that way. Exploring new lands is not a priority for H. pattayaensus (Photo #2). Their task is to gather succulent berries from each of the white flowering bushes, which grow only in this location, and to also bring back at least two little goats (critters) which will have to be searched for in the terrain pieces. But, as soon a...

PDEE: Further adventures with the Trout Clan - part 1, Unfinished business

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Mark's prehistory month is upon us, and first up we return to check in on the Trout clan... ***** 1. Unfinished business In the years since the great pestilence the Trout Clan, which suffered far more than the Grey Wolf clan, has slowly rebuilt. It has moved to a new home territory in the hilly uplands and has learned how to adapt to the different environment there. It also successfully absorbed the remnant Mud Crab clan to replenish its numbers. I’m following the adventures of the Trouts for this year, and next year it’ll - probably - be back to see what is happening down in the lowland valleys with the Grey Wolfs. Last Autumn the hunters of the Clan tried to destroy a family of Cave Hyenas (pack predators) who lived in some rock outcrops on a hillside that was far too close for comfort. Three hyenas were killed, and three hunters wounded, before the attempt was called off (see report 05 Feb 2024). Now that Spring has come around it’s time to try again. The Hyenas have moved to a ...

Devilry Afoot: Imbolc 1625 - If you go down in the woods today...

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You’d better go in disguise If you go down in the woods today You're sure of a big surprise It’s the festival of Imbolc (aka Candlemas). There is a tenuous connection with fertility (of sheep, at least, and possibly people for all I know) which I’m shamelessly exploiting for this excursion back in time to C17 Rutland and the village of Frommage, where as usual Devilry is Afoot. And, its a tradition in Frommage that unmarried young women and men may stroll in Fineshade Wood on Imbolc Eve. Under the trees, where nobody sees They’ll hide and seek as long as they please Get ready for another dispatch from Mark! ************* For this game the scene is a wooded area, partially surrounded by stone walls. The young people allowed an evening off from societal conformity are represented by a dozen lads and lasses (Innocents). They are protected by three members of the Watch, detailed below, who have drawn the short straws to be on duty tonight. Because you never know. And as it happens Fi...

28mm ancients with Fantastic Battles, c.200 BC

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After a bit of an unintended break (too much work, not enough hobby), my 28mm Seleukids made it to the table with weekend for an 1800 point game of Fantastic Battles against Gary and Tony's combined barbarian horde (Carthage, Rome, Germans and Numidians). The Seleukid breakpoint was 21, the allied army had a breakpoint of 22. Mishaps messed up Tony's Carthaginian lines pretty badly, with slightly less impact on Gary's Romans and Germans. The Seleukid line suffered more from disease than poor deployment; the Cretan archers even found that half their number deserted before the battle began. I had hoped that the fields on the Seleukid right would mire the barbarian advance, allowing me to hold them back and shoot them with my Eastern archers. The scythed chariots in the centre charged forward, but were engaged to front and flank by barbarian skirmishers. In the centre, the heavy infantry and heavy cavalry were arrayed in the middle, while Arab infantry and camelry were deploy...

Devilry Afoot: Edge of Reason

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Over the next few months, I will be releasing a few new monster types and scenarios for  Devilry Afoot . Initially these will be put out as free individual pdfs through the Facebook Group, or folks requesting them via the blog, but once this cluster of foul devilry is completed, I'll compile them into a single (still free) digital document and put it in the download folder for Wargame Vault customers as well. The monsters recieving this treatment mostly fall into stories stemming from the late 18th - early 19th centuries. This was a time of enlightenment and industry, but where superstition and conservative social values persisted on the edge of reason. And so, a new party of hunters was required! These are all from the Matchlock Miniatures Regency Zombie Hunters range. This is my first experience purchasing from Matchlock Miniatures. They were pretty cheap, came quickly, and didn't require a lot of clean up, so that is all great. I'm not sure what to make of the sculpts th...