Lest We Forget

Devilry Afoot - The Dance Macabre

Owen has also recently been delving into Devilry Afoot, solo style.  I invited him to share his games & thoughts here and am delighted he accepted!

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This is the second scenario from the rulebook and the Hunters will be facing Revenants and a Spectre. Our band of Hunters have been approached by townsfolk desperate to rid an evil presence from their parish; the devilry infecting the burial ground must be removed. 

To remove the devilry, a devout soul must stand within the burial ground and successfully quote scripture a total of three times. If the efforts are successful, the hunting party will earn a reward of a quantity of shillings from the local populace. 

On this hunt Sir Raleigh has decided to invite another Hunter with more martial skills. Captain Harry Ryder late of the battlefields of the continent brings a unique insight in the evil staking the lands and eagerly accepted the invitation. Together with Sir Raleigh Lockjaw, his Game Warden Avery Goodman, preacher Solomon Hardacre and scholar Alexander Hollingsworth, the band stride forth into the night...

 

TURN 1

As the Hunters approached the cemetery they spied a shambling figure near the main mausoleum. Off to their right masked by trees a softly glowing light moved towards them in the shadows. Sir Raleigh started forward and ordered Avery to fire a Shottle at the shambler, now seen to be a Revenant! Avery’s aim was true but while he was sure flesh exploded from the creatures chest it remained standing and turned towards the Hunters. Suddenly, the glowing apparition rushed forward screeching but had no effect on the Hunters as it advanced upon them with surprising speed!

Capt Ryder saw the threat and rushed forward, striking with his wooden stake only to miss! The Revenant’s return strike did not miss striking a massive blow to send Ryder reeling ears ringing and blood gushing into his eyes! Hollingsworth leaped forward hurling a vial of holy water onto the Revenant eliciting an unearthly scream enraging the Creature as a brown smoke rose from where the water soaked into its body! Solomon now moved closer to the combat raising his voice quoting scripture but without effect on the Revenant. Enraged, the undead creature flailed about but missed Ryder with its blows. Meanwhile, the Spectre's screeches rattled Sir Raleigh who stumbled back in fear!

Turn 2

Seeing the Revenant distracted by the effects of the holy water, Hollingsworth moved in and struck out with his own wooden stake but only drew the ire of the Revenant who dealt a massive blow, raking the scholar's chest and sending him to his knees!

Sir Raleigh recovered from his momentary lapse of courage and, seeing both the scholar and soldier in dire straights, rushed forward desperately- lunging at the Revenant with his own wooden stake. Lady Luck or God guided his arm true, striking the Revenant through its rotting eye! The Revenant gave a huge shudder then with a foul stench ridden gasp collapsed in tangled heap of bones and rags! 

An eerie sigh seemed to spread through the burial ground and some of the palpable darkness seemed to lighten. The Hunters felt some small relief sensing no more undead would rise at least for now but to their peril they had forgotten the Spectre during their battle with the Revenant. Sensing weakened victims, the Spectre increased its screaming, causing Capt Ryder, Solomon and Hollingsworth all to scatter in terror! Solomon however had staggered away from the Spectres cries, through the gates and into the center of the graveyard.

Turn 3

Realising where he was, Solomon gathered his wits and started quoting scripture in a rising voice! As he called out the Lord's words he could feel the oppressing evil start to lift from this place! Hollingsworth meanwhile attempted to bind Capt Ryders wounds but his hands shook so badly he was unable staunch the bleeding. The Spectre continued its attempts to intimidate the Hunters but to no effect. Sir Raleigh pushed forward hurling a vial of holy water at the Spectre but missed! The Spectre sensed Game Warden and turned upon him. Avery was frozen in terror, unable to move or act!

Turn 4

Solomon’s reciting of scripture faltered his throat dry! Sir Raleigh readied another vial of Holy Water while Hollingsworth moved to gain some distance from the Spectre in hopes of avoiding effects of its banshee wails. Avery knowing his musket balls would have no effect also kept a wary distance from the apparition as did Capt Ryder knowing in his weakened state the screeching might well drive him mad! Seeing its victims moving away it redoubled its efforts to cower Sir Raleigh but his fortitude was strong now!

Turn 5

The Spectre, frustrated with its lack of effect on these puny humans, increased its screeching in pitch and volume but to no avail! This time Sir Raleigh’s aim was true and his last vial of holy waters struck the Spectre with an unholy flash eliciting nightmarish screeches! Hearing this, Solomon moved closer and lifted his voice in rapturous praise of the Lord! The Spectre wheeled to face the preacher’s assault and with a final scream echoing into the trees faded away. The feeling of pervading evil lifted further….

Solomon went on to complete his cleansing of burial grounds without further interference. The other Hunters sank to the ground, exhausted by their encounters. As dawn's light broke through the trees a delegation of the local townsfolk came forward with a small purse, poor as they were. While thankful for the Hunters efforts they wished them gone quickly as reminders of the evil that still haunted the land.

Post Game

A tough battle facing just ONE Revenant. If they had been forced to fight more I fear things would have gone very badly for the band! 

Both Capt Ryder and Hollingsworth recovered from their wounds and apart from Ryder, the Hunters all went up a level. The reward from the townsfolk was very meagre but the bounties on the Revenant and Spectre gave their purses a satisfyingly heavy feel. Tonight they will sleep in a good Inn, eat their fill and drink the horrors away...at least for now. Next time they sortied out to challenge evil each Hunter will be able to take a well armed follower!

Unknown to the others, Capt Ryder did not go to his room at the end of the night but joined a table engaging in games of chance and wagered all his coins in his purse! This time luck was with him and he doubled his earnings. This time...

The Postman cometh!

Just home from a work trip to find a wonderful box of goodies waiting for me from RRB Miniatures in Ohio, USA.

I like supporting indie authors and games companies, and was attracted initially to the "Surviving 'Nam" Vietnam rules by Mike Demana.   Rich at RRB put together a great little package with dice, cards and a playmat that his wife hand crafts - how fun is that! 

Author Mike also kindly signed my book for me, which I appreciated.

My "signature edition!"

I've quietly followed Mike's great blog "Lead Legionaries" for ages, not realising he was moonlighting as an author. 

If you haven't come across his blog before you can find him here:

https://leadlegionaries.blogspot.com/

I was already paying for shipping, so why not support Rich and Mike by getting more books? Just natural really. Actually, these were vaguely familiar titles for me from our FIW campaign days but postage to Australia from the US made these challenging to get at the time. Really glad I could now get them for my collection.

These new additions look great at first glance with a depth of research into the colonial period prior to the FIW. 

They will also be very useful when I (finally) get to my project for King Philip's War, which took place 1675-78 around where we lived in Rhode Island and we visited a couple of the battlefields and museums at the time. Its now considered one the bloodiest conflicts in American Colonial history and permanently changed the geopolitical landscape of New England. 

Really looking forward to digesting all of these properly

Thanks again to Rich at RRB Minis - go check them out here:

https://rrbminis.com/

And for the anon Trolls posting nasty messages: thanks for reminding me that buying American is also tariff free!

I'm delighted to support local, independent authors and small businesses wherever they may reside.

Pack & Coven

Those who enjoy Devilry Afoot will be interested to know that author Nic has this week released a small expansion - Pack & Coven - just in time for your all-hallows eve gaming adventures!

This expansion allows players to all be a pack of werewolves OR a coven of witches BUT you are still, awkwardly, trying to retain their humanity. They still have to protect the innocents, despite them not really wanting you around, and kill other monsters hunting them. The opportunity to cast spells and gain significant boosts transforming into a werewolf makes for a very different (and fun!) game.

I appreciated the opportunity to participate in the playtesting process, and look forward to trying this out with our usual gaming group.

And yes this general errata entry on the front page is absolutely the result of Mattijs van de Velde, my poor Dutch goodman who came to a sticky end in the service of the Vatican!

https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-horror-from-new-world.html

Pack & Coven is available for free at the Irregular Wars download page here:

https://irregularwars.com/pages/downloads

Thanks Nic!