Hexenjager - The Concept

Hexenjager is a project for gaming a fantasy version of the witch hunts of the 17th Century.  In this 28 mm skirmish game, the witches are not the innocent victims of the actual historical events.  Rather I have made them the diabolical creatures which religious authorities of that day imagined them to be … in their darkest nightmares.

At the close of the 30 Years War, Central Europe was a mess.  Famine, plague, and wandering bands of hungry mercenaries stalked the countryside.  Although Protestants and Catholics were no longer fighting openly, there was still a struggle for the hearts and souls of the people.  The hunting and burning of witches and magi had reached a fevered pitch.

Strictly historical witch hunts would make a very poor game. The innocent victims posed no real threat to the authorities that went forth to arrest them.  It was pure tragedy, but alternative history allows us another option.  We can take it to the table as a fantasy game.

Now put yourself into the mind of a poor, uneducated peasant soldier.  Awakened from his barracks bed in the middle of the night, he is told that his squad will escort the local magistrate to a hill in the forest, to arrest a suspected witch.  If the authorities are correct (and who would question them) the witch will have at her side all the malice and strength of Satan himself.  Imagine this soldier’s fear as he marches into the night, checking for the third time in as many minutes that his powder is dry, his matchlock musket is ready, his sword loose in its scabbard.  Yes, the silver crucifix still hangs from its chain over his breast.  This soldier’s fear is the inspiration for Hexenjager.