A 28mm skirmish game of ficticious historical characters and their desperate battles in an alternative WW1 setting.
“I came face to face with a mercenary the other day.
He was resting on the stairs of the shelled school,
and, beside him, a dog.
Their bodies were scarred, battle wounds old and new. The canine’s black fur matched the coal black greatcoat of the soldier.
He picked up a can of jerky, divided it equally and gave half to the dog.
They left moments later, paying no heed to the beggars along the road.”
Anton was severly wounded during the great cull and was left for dead by the frenzied Cultists.
He found himself deep in enemy territory, disoriented and short of ammunition and food.
Anton believed he was the only survivor in a world of traitors and, maddened by grief and solitude, waged a war of his own behind the enemy lines, setting ambushes and destroying enemy infrastructure.
His nickname is Ratjuice, due to his appetite for dead rats.
Eugene experienced the horrors of war from the start, has seen things no man should ever see, and like many others, he found solace at the bottom of a bottle.
As long as there is wine, no job is beneath Eugene, no matter the odds.
He retains the colourful traditional uniform of the nineteenth century rather than the practical horizon-blue field dress of the Liberation Army.
No mercenary is more beloved by locals than Toymaker.
Karl Krämer is one of the few German soldiers who survived the great betrayal of 1916 but the attrocities he witnessed left him broken in spirit. Unable to cope with the reality of war, his mind returned to the happiest days of his life and his small workshop.
Every time he passes by a village, the wandering artisan brings children gifts and helps the poor.
Toymaker takes great pride in his work and when he is not fighting, he crafts new toys as he was taught before the war by his late father.
Mr Burke is the last remaining alive member of a violent bandit group that terrorized the American desert.
He was convicted and sentenced to death but fled the United States to Europe, France.
Mr Burke soon made a name of himself as a cut-throat who’s not afraid to get his hands bloody.
“It is real, the ghost in the trenches. I know because I’ve seen it.
It was the night that all went to hell. Back then I was attached to a Stray Dogs mixed squad, saboteur division. We found ourselves deep into enemy territory, the trenches were crawling with German soldiers, screams and laughter filled the air. Despite our best efforts, ultimately the primary objective was lost. We were outnumbered five to one and most men were killed in the first moments of the attack. The order to fall back was issued and we broke ranks.
My rifle was damaged by a grenade shrapnel and I had to drop it. I run as fast as I could but I got lost in the unfamiliar trenches, losing the remnants of my comrades as I stumbled into a dead end.
I turned around and there stood a single German, the piercings on his face stretching the skin in bizzare ways as he smiled. He walked slowly as he took aim.
I closed my eyes, preparing for the end. Out of nowhere came a clang followed by an agonised scream. I opened my eyes and was shocked to see the German soldier screaming and cursing, his foot was caught in a mechanical trap, metal teeth biting deep, touching bone.
Then I saw it, the ghost in the trenches. A man in heavy clothes walked from the shadows, his arm extended, revolver in hand. He moved towards the trapped soldier slowly, until the barrel of the gun touched the German’s nose. They both stood there for a long moment, unmoving and silent. The man holstered his gun and reached for the axe on his back. The German’s head hit the ground with a dull thud.
The man then picked up the bloody bear trap, strapped it on his back and turned his head towards me one last time before disappearing in the darkness.”
#Atropos28 