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!

Empire of the Dead; a Fracas on the outskirts of town, and a spot of desert Island discs...

"Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf, when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright!"

The membership of the Pall Mall Patrons; Gentleman's Club and Order of the Sons of the Empire, had been made aware of disconcerting rumours, concerning strange recent events occurring on the edge of this great City of the realm.

Packing their equipment and armaments, and bolstering their courage with a wee tot, against the bracing evening air, they set out to determine the nature of the occurences.

And thus it was that Harrison Fortesque-Smyth (President; Heavy Pistol and Sword), Teddy "Tex" Montana (recently arrived from the US and instantly indoctrinated as Vice President thanks to his rather large and impressive Bowie Knife, and Heavy pistol ), and the available members at short notice; Reginald Carstairs (Repeating Rifle and Knife), William Thompson (Hunting Rifle with scope, and Knife), Archibald Davenport ( Sword and Heavy Pistol), and Cedric Carruthers (Heavy Pistol and Knife), found themselves on the outskirts of town, looking out into the darkening gloom beyond the hedgerow...

A steady drizzle had been falling for most of the afternoon, and a faint breeze blew the smells of the surrounding countryside towards them...

"I say Carstairs," said Archie, "Can you smell wet dog?"...

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And thus our game unfolded, with Paul making a long overdue return to the gamesroom, and bringing with him his Lycaon faction, comprising Beastlord, Packmaster, 4 Wolfskins with Crossbow, Claws of the Wulfen, Bow and Throwing Daggers respectively and accompanied by a large wolf-like hound.

To keep things simple we played a classic Fracas, as it was Paul's first game and I haven't played for many moons...

Pauls take on the days events can enjoyed here in his inimitable style!

I set up the available urban terrain that I could and tagged onto this a rural landscape setting... to keep in theme, I deployed in the Town in a group; The Patrons didn't fancy separating in the dark with the strange howls and snarls drifting across the night air.

The Lycaons spread out across the the countryside in a long skirmish line...

The Gentlemen, pausing to shake hands, and wish each of the very best of luck and good hunting, left the town making for the minor road leading off into the gloom.

The Lycaons advanced, making use of cover but also content to be concealed by the gloom of the night...

Having ventured forth as far as their nerves could take them, the Gentlemen found a rocky bushy outcrop and took up firing positions, peering out in the gloom... its wasn't long before a large shaggy wolf like hound loped into view. A volley of panicky fire blazed forth, lighting up the night, and with a yelp, the hound crumpled to the ground...

Having steadied their nerves, the Gents suddenly found themselves under fire from their flank, as arrows and crossbow bolts began to thud into their position...

Reg picked his hat up off the ground, an arrow embedded through it..."You cad, Sir! By God you'll pay for that!

The exchange of fire continued for several moments, until Tex bravely moved out to try and flank the wolfskins position...

The wolfskins seemed unconcerned by this and kept up their shooting. They knew what was coming up behind them to bolster their flank... the Packmaster...

"Tex? Tex! There's something else coming, look out!"

Meanwhile on the other flank, more wolfskins had been making their way round, trying to distract attention from the snarls and growls coming from the undergrowth, further off in the gloom to the gents left...

Having jumped the City hedgerow the Beastlord now made its way towards the rear side of the gents formation making full use of the cover... Tex having reached the wall surrounding the mad old woman's cottage saw his chance, lowering his pistol and blew away the Wolfskin with Bow.

Snarls and growls were now however very close to his side...

Another exchange of fire had seen Willie move out to try and get a better shot with his Hunting Rifle, only to get clipped by a crossbow bolt. Feeling distinctly dazed by this he slinked back into cover. However two sharp reports to left from the repeating rifle of Reggie, saw another wolfskin slump over behind a bush, a small distance away...

A terrifying growl, to Tex's right, caught his attention real fast, as a mass of hair and teeth and muscle, rushed at him. With the the briefest time to react Tex drew his Bowie knife and braced himself against the wall, but to no avail. The ravenous Packmaster battered him down!

A moment later and Tex lapsed into unconsciousness, howls fillings his ears, though gunshots seemed close at hand...

Hearing screams to their right and looking on in horror as Tex was battered to the ground, Cedric and then Harry, fired their pistols at the maddened beast, and to their great relief, with a howl and a cry, it fell backwards and lay still...

More firing from Willie and Reggie, had dropped another Wolfskin alongside the forlorn remains of its brethren... but the sound of growls and snarls grew louder to their left as suddenly,...

... a great hairy beast burst forth from behind the hedge to their flank... and tore into Reggie! It wasn't a pretty sight!... By the time the last bits of Reggie had fallen back to the ground, the Beast had already charged headlong into Archie, who barely had time to raise his sword in self defence!

Reacting to the screams to his left, Harry somewhat in shock stood up from his crouch behind the bush and was rewarded by a crossbow bolt in the leg...

Grimacing from the pain, he turn to face his attacker, and together he and Cedric fired their pistols at the last remaining wolfskin, who toppled backwards, dead behind the stonewall...

The final sounds that fateful evening were the blood curdling screams of Archie, as he was torn apart!

With a sniff of the air, and sensing its pack had been destroyed, the Beastlord let out one last blood curdling howl, and bolted off into the night...

"My God Sir!" said Willie, looking at the bolt sticking out of Harry's leg... "That was a close call, old boy, lets get you to the quack, eh?"

-----o0o----

A most enjoyable light hearted game, and good to see Paul return once more to the gentleman's gaming parlour...

Not put off having succumbed to the Gents firepower, and emboldening by ripping apart a pair of my Gents club, Paul and I decided to have another game, but with the sun well past the yard arm, it was time for luncheon.

So we had a pause for a spot of tiffin, and to feed and water the smaller reprobates under our care, then decided to return to the fray and another round of adventure. This time moving the action to a remote Caribbean Isle, where rumors of strange heathen artefacts abound...

Rumour had it that there were three possible locations of hidden treasure upon this God forsaken spit of land, and both factions headed off into the undergrowth.

{We decided that the entire Isle would count as difficult ground, for movement and provide soft cover (-1) for any shooting. The denser clumps of bush were impassible. We also put out some odd plants that were going to use the Dangerous Flora charts - and then promptly forgot to enact these!}

The opposing Factions deployed on opposite beaches and dashed madly into the fray...

The gents reached a treasure site first, only to find their hopes dashed. This was quickly followed by the Packmaster finding a treasure site, and with a howl of glee, claimed the heathen artifact!

Alerted to this, the Gents pushed on as best they could through the clinging underbrush, trying to shoot down the jubilant Lycaons as they made their way back to the beach...

And despite letting their pistols blaze, and seeing the Beastlord briefly slump down to the ground, they could not stop the Packmaster running off with the prize...

Wolfie (AKA Poppy) ripped the throat out on one poor gent, and fought her way towards Tex!

An exchange of fire occurred else where, and saw a couple of Wolfskins go down... but the Beastlord had by now recovered and was skirting the perimeter again, looking to exploit a flank...

Sadly the gents were powerless the stop the Packmaster making it back to the beach, and another jubilant howl signalled the victory for the Lycaons!

With the game won and in the bag in the blink of an eye, but not enough time to start a fresh game, we just continued to play this game out.

Wolfie got revenge on the gents in short order, after her rapid demise in the first game, and proceeded to chew her way through 4 Gents, by the end of the game!

The gents managed to pop another wolfskin, but the Lycaons were now unstoppable it seemed, the Beastlord ripping apart Reggie...

...and Wolfie chewed through Willie...

With two gents left, Cedric shot down another wolfskin, who was covering the return of the Packmaster...

But the Beastlord then tore in to Harry, who withstood his initial charge but with telling injuries...

The Packmaster ripped into Archie felling him and moved on into the battle with Harry...

Unable to withstand two great hairy beasts, Harry was torn asunder, bravely standing his ground till the last...

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A great fun pair of games, that has us enthused to now try starting a campaign series of games.

EotD is an excellent skirmish game, bags of fun and character, and easy to play and pick up the rules... well worth a recommendation!