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The Silver Bayonet
The Silver Bayonet: A Wargame of Napoleonic Gothic Horror
A skirmish wargame of gothic horror during the Napoleonic Wars written by the Joseph A. McCullough, the award-winning creator of Frostgrave .
As the wars of Napoleon ravage Europe, chaos and fear reign and the darkness that once clung to the shadows has been emboldened. Supernatural creatures--vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and worse take advantage of the havoc, striking out at isolated farms, villages and even military units. Whether they are pursuing some master plan or simply reveling in their newfound freedom is unknown. Most people dismiss reports of these slaughters as the rantings of madmen or the lies of deserters, but a few know better…
In Britain, a secret award--the Silver Bayonet--is presented to those soldiers brave or fortunate enough to have faced these creatures and survived. Often, these survivors are swiftly seconded to a specialist unit and ordered to report to one of Wellington's exploring officers. Formed to root out and destroy the supernatural menace, these small units are tasked with investigating strange reports, scouring battlefields, and seeking out allies and artifacts that could stem the tide. Britain is not alone in this fight--the other great nations have their own units dedicated to the fight against the supernatural--but that is not to say that mankind is united in the face of the rising darkness. While the rising darkness is a common foe, and rival units may forge uneasy and fleeting alliances, patriotism and national interest will just as often pit them against each other in races for ancient knowledge or forgotten treasure.
The Silver Bayonet is a skirmish wargame of gothic horror set during the Napoleonic Wars. Each player forms an elite band of monster hunters drawn from the ranks of one of the great powers. Riflemen, swordsmen, and engineers fight side-by-side with mystics, occultists, and even those few supernatural creatures that can be controlled or reasoned with enough to make common cause. The game can be played solo, co-operatively, or competitively, with players progressing through a series of interlinked adventures with their soldiers gaining experience and suffering grievous wounds and their units triumphing… or falling in the face of the shadows. It is a game of action and adventure, where musket and sabre meet tooth and claw.
As the wars of Napoleon ravage Europe, chaos and fear reign and the darkness that once clung to the shadows has been emboldened. Supernatural creatures--vampires, werewolves, ghouls, and worse take advantage of the havoc, striking out at isolated farms, villages and even military units. Whether they are pursuing some master plan or simply reveling in their newfound freedom is unknown. Most people dismiss reports of these slaughters as the rantings of madmen or the lies of deserters, but a few know better…
In Britain, a secret award--the Silver Bayonet--is presented to those soldiers brave or fortunate enough to have faced these creatures and survived. Often, these survivors are swiftly seconded to a specialist unit and ordered to report to one of Wellington's exploring officers. Formed to root out and destroy the supernatural menace, these small units are tasked with investigating strange reports, scouring battlefields, and seeking out allies and artifacts that could stem the tide. Britain is not alone in this fight--the other great nations have their own units dedicated to the fight against the supernatural--but that is not to say that mankind is united in the face of the rising darkness. While the rising darkness is a common foe, and rival units may forge uneasy and fleeting alliances, patriotism and national interest will just as often pit them against each other in races for ancient knowledge or forgotten treasure.
The Silver Bayonet is a skirmish wargame of gothic horror set during the Napoleonic Wars. Each player forms an elite band of monster hunters drawn from the ranks of one of the great powers. Riflemen, swordsmen, and engineers fight side-by-side with mystics, occultists, and even those few supernatural creatures that can be controlled or reasoned with enough to make common cause. The game can be played solo, co-operatively, or competitively, with players progressing through a series of interlinked adventures with their soldiers gaining experience and suffering grievous wounds and their units triumphing… or falling in the face of the shadows. It is a game of action and adventure, where musket and sabre meet tooth and claw.
- GenresGaming
160 pages, Hardcover
Published November 9, 2021
18 people are currently reading
26 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 5, 2025
The Silver Bayonet is a gothic horror game – the napoleonic wars have taken hold of europe, you paint up a unit of specialists who have come together to form units called Silver Bayonets – to fight off vampires, zombies, ghouls, ghosts, etc.
More often than not, the scenarios have you uncovering some daunting terror. For example, in the first scenario, something strange has been seen attacking isolated houses and farms in the countryside.
It’s X-Files/supernatural meets Sharpes' Rifles. Fighting supernatural creatures with blackpowder.
It’s got a lot of lovely black and white art with various monsters and Silver Bayonet members fighting them. Looks like quite the fun time!
More often than not, the scenarios have you uncovering some daunting terror. For example, in the first scenario, something strange has been seen attacking isolated houses and farms in the countryside.
It’s X-Files/supernatural meets Sharpes' Rifles. Fighting supernatural creatures with blackpowder.
It’s got a lot of lovely black and white art with various monsters and Silver Bayonet members fighting them. Looks like quite the fun time!
January 21, 2025
I love McCullough's work. His contributions to gaming are immense and he always seems to have things demand my attention. I am not a huge Napoleonic fan so I kind of avoided this work. Then I saw there was a Canadian supplement and figures to match that looked too amazing. So glad I made the leap. This game style will work nicely for me. My painting rate has slowed as I have aged and the small unit size and figure count is great for me. I can't wait to play as I immensely enjoyed reading the core book and loved the art style.
February 8, 2022
Has many of the strengths of Frostgrave, but seems like less variety in abilities/effects. Theme is great and carried through in the rules for fright and terror, etc. Will update rating/review when I've actually played a few games.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews