Rules for the Hexenjager Project

Although I enjoy writing rules from scratch, I want to employ a commercial set for this project.  There are many options available.  For now, I’m planning to use the Song of Blades and Heroes system written by Andrea Sfiligoi of Ganesha Games.  Its simplicity and adaptability have enabled it to be used for many gaming genres.  Two spinoff games in particular will furnish most of the mechanics.  Fear and Faith is the horror version of the system.  Its title says it all, with mechanics that put the power of fear and faith on the same plane as weapons and armor.  This is the heart of what I want to capture with Hexenjager.  Flashing Steel, written by Andrew Boswell and Greg Hallam, is the swashbuckling version of the system.  Being set in the same era as Hexenjager, it provides useful details and special abilities for the heroes.

Like most fantasy skirmish games, the Song of Blades and Heroes system assumes players will compete head to head with opposing forces.  For various reasons, I want Hexenjager to be a semi-cooperative game instead.  Players will command parties of soldiers, clerics, and witch hunters.  Each party will represent some faction with an interest in proving it offers local citizens the best protection from the evils that stalk the night.  The witches and their allies will be run by an AI system involving cards and flowcharts.  I will enjoy creating that AI system.

Apparently, I am not alone in enjoying solo/cooperative miniature gaming as many of the popular skirmish rules systems are now evolving to accommodate this play style.  Exciting times!

 

Skeletal Run - After Action Report

After escaping from the Alchemical Monster, the conjuror Argonomix tries to gather his scattered warband and formulate a new plan.  Accompanying him are Crosby the Crossbowman, Sergeant Arpat, and Ratlicker the fleet-footed thief. 

Together, they enter a park-like quadrangle surrounded by high walls to either side.

As they begin crossing the snowy field, flaming skeletons emerge from the ruins on either side.  All eyes turn toward their leader, waiting to hear the battle plan.  "Run for it!" shouts Argonomix before promptly teleporting from their sight.  Abandoned on the field, Sergeant Arpat takes command.  "Go, go, go!"  They enter the skeletal gauntlet at a run.

Argonomix emerges from teleport to snag a treasure, half-way down the field.  Pausing the examine it, he is ambushed by a burning skeleton.  His staff deflects the blow, but Argonomix's robe catches fire.  In desperation, he again casts teleport, reaching the end of the field in safety.  But what of the men he left behind?

Ratlicker the thief sprinted down field, but a tempting treasure persuaded him to stop and grab.  That was his undoing as a flaming skeleton attacked and brought him down.  Meanwhile, Crosby and Sergeant Arpat are fighting their way down the field.  Crosby dispatches two skeletons but not before the Sergeant succumbs to burn wounds.

Alone on the field, Crosby begins his perilous dash toward safety.

Burning skeletons attack repeatedly, but Crosby seems unstoppable, killing 3, 4, 5 skeletons!  The end is now in sight.

Skeleton #6 falls to a  shot through the eye socket.  A mere six inches from safety, our gallant crossbowman's luck finally runs out.  Crosby is killed.

Once the burning skeletons have moved on, Argonomix returns to the field, reviving the thief and Sergeant Arpat.  They will, after a long rest, fight on for the riches of Felstad.  Only a cold mound of rubble and a battered crossbow mark the grave of Crosby.  Another hero earns his Frostgrave.

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.