It's Friday the 13th - Prefect day for a Gothic Horror Game... Empire of the Dead - Rescue the Prisoner!

Our first campaign game saw Pauls Lycaons; the Bad Dogs, largely chew up my Gentlemen of The Pall Mall Patrons. After which they slinked back to their woodland lair to spend their ill gotten gains, and plan and scheme for the future...

Perhaps what they weren't expecting is to return home to find one of their associates captured, and held by a foul Nosferatu coven... Lucifer's Beloved!

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I had decided to add another faction to our gaming, my Nosferatu. I'll admit, I didn't really fancy my chances in this game as the Lycaons are similar to the Nosferatu; some big beasties in combat as leaders backed by some shooty stuff and animals. But I reckon the Beastlord is more dangerous than the Graf..., and the Graf could be penalised if its a daylight game... still, I could take some firearms, which the wolfskins couldn't... so I could win out in the early stages with a bit luck if shooting could be effective...?

Paul hosted the game and set up a woodland scene with large areas of area terrain and clumps of woods, trees and bushes dotted about...

We rolled off missions and got Prisoner, so Paul grabbed his Desdurova figure and then we rolled off to see who would be attacker or defender. I won the roll and chose to defend; holding the prisoner in the board centre. Paul would have to come to me...

We rolled again for Day/Night and again I won the roll, and selected Night so my Graf would be of some use. It would restrict the shooting of my thralls to 18" with their rifles but that should be plenty from the centre of the board outwards and the Lycaons would have to close with me anyway...

Pauls take on the game is an enjoyable read here.

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Deployment; My Graf, Victor Constantin, and his loyal thrall, Dimitrie secure the captive in the centre of the wooded table. Two more thralls with Hunting rifles, Ivan and Marius flank their positions... The Guardian, Vasile is forward, and behind is a swirling swarm of bats...

Victor and Dimitrie...

The Lycaons come at me from two sides... and get first turn to act. They advance and let off some arrows and crossbow bolts to no effect.

Return fire from the assorted Hunting rifles and Heavy Pistols kills one wolfskin to the flank and Downs the Packmaster!

The next turn sees the Nosferatu get priority, and now that the Lycaons are closer and I have had time to take Aim... more shooting finds its mark...

Killing another wolfskin on the flank and Downing a wolf!

With two downed enemies nearby I sense a chance to finish them off and the Graf commands the batswarm to the attack... though this does leave a hole in my lines which lets the Lycaons in... and Ivan the thrall is killed by a wolfskin... Dimitrie is charged by the Beastlord but holds his nerve and fights it off wounding it in the process!

To stop the bats swarm having free reign to take out the downed Packmaster and wolf, a wolfskin runs out from the woods to engage it...

With things hotting up in the centre the Graf leads the captive away... Vasile runs forward to aid the bats against the wolfskin... Dimitrie is still fighting off the Beastlord and Marius finds himself facing a wolfskin with claws of the wulfen... no shooting this turn its all getting tied up in melee...

Dimitire is Downed by the Beastlord but Marius holds off the wolfskin...

Vasilie and the Bats manage to slay the wolfskin, freeing up the bats to head off next turn and do their mischief...

Another wolf comes round the woods to try and lend a paw to its comrades...

Next turn the bats do their dirty work taking out the Downed Packmaster who has refused to heal up over 3 recovery rounds...

Amazingly Dimitrie shrugged off the Downed injury getting back to his feet, realising it was nothing but a flesh wound, .. only to be torn asunder by a now very vexed and frustrated Beastlord... this damned thrall had tied it up for several turns!

But the loss of the Packmaster puts the Lycaons on 50% and a pack break test is required... The Beastlord will pass a Bravado test on a 4+ on a D10, keeping his whole pack in the game... but Paul obligingly rolls a 2 and the Pack withdraws!

WOW!

What a game for the Nosferatu... its seemed fortune was certainly smiling on Lucifers Beloved this day as they seemed almost unable to put a foot wrong... wheres the Lycaons seemed to stumble from one round to the next... the dice gods can be fickle to say the least!

The Lycaons woes were not over yet... the post game sequence had to be worked out...

I had started as the underdog in Standing, so got a bonus for my win... topping out at 63 Shillings for the game!

My two Injury rolls came out as Stern stuff for Ivan, so complete recovery, and Dimitrie became Unhinged - not surprising considering his fight with the Beastlord!

Paul on the other hand, managed to roll a DEAD result for one of his wolfskin, and the Packmaster was Arrested by the Peelers! Someone must have been hiding in the bushes!...

I arrest you in the name of the law!

Paul pondered the effects of this 'Arrest'... and rather than risk another scenario to rescue him and potentially lose more men, decided to leave him to the courts... a dice roll later and Paul finally rolls a 10...when he didn't want to... the Packlord is found guilty as charged and Deported!

That's two Faction members lost in one game!

The fates were certainly fixed one way this day, and I couldn't help glancing round the room we were playing in... Pauls partner Tina is a bit of a Gothic Horror nut and the bookcase behind me was filled with such literary gems as these...

...and standing on the mantelpiece watching the game was this fine fellow and family group...

I couldn't have been in better surroundings!

Paul sportingly took it on the chin, though was obviously somewhat frustrated... but an overall view still has Pauls Lycaons in a good place for the campaign on the whole, with money enough to replace the Packmaster for next game...

I managed to add a Consort, another Batswarm and a Thrall with Volleygun to my Nosferatu... so looking good for next game... but Daylight is always a concern... and any game with dice can thwart the best laid plans... till next time gentle reader... keep the doors and windows locked and the garlic near!