Cofgods and Hunters: The Hunter — James Rudd Illustration

A continuation of the Cofgods and Hunters project as part of my Final Major Project I wished to expand on the world through the creation of the Hunters Guild/ Player Character, and showcase potential design elements that could effect gameplay, such as weapons and equipment.

Who are the Hunters Guild?:

The Hunters guild (or Player Characters) are a group Hunters specialising in hunting down the ethereal threat of the Cofgods. The Guild was originally established around the 13th century due to the widespread nature of Christianity throughout Europe and the phasing out and abandonment of some of the old practices and beliefs, and the hunters were dispatched to eradicate the first known corrupted Cofgods. This at first proved to be a challenging task fraught with danger and difficulty.

However, through the years they discovered how best to tackle these troublesome foes and recorded all their knowledge in vast bestiaries to pass down to the next generation of hunters. These hunters were respected and, in some cases, feared by the public due to their ability to combat corrupt and ethereal beings, these warriors were paid well and were fitted with the best armour and equipment at the time. However, as time moved on and centuries past, both the numbers of hunters and Cofgods dwindled and began to fade into obscurity, “Magic” became science, and the immaterial and ethereal became nothing more than cautionary folk tales told around campfires.

Because of this people questioned these hunters, these relics of a bygone era, these men who had swindled peasants out of many a coin fighting things that didn’t exist, as such their funding was cut, and the guild had to improvise modifying weapons and armour from a generation ago in order to fit their purpose. However, the guild is needed once more as these strange occurrences have once again risen into the public view. Religious reforms, wars, and a besmirching of the old ways has angered the last remaining Cofgods who will stop at nothing to rid the world of those who betrayed them and left them to rot.

Weapons and Equipment:

Due to the world being set in the civil war (for a more in-depth synopsis see Cofgods and Hunters: The Cofgod) I researched in detail the various weapons and and armour that were available at the time in order to create a sense of historical accuracy and practicality to the designs. I would also research weapons and armour from a generation ago in order to really capture the underfunded nature of the organisation as well as to adhere to the rules I had set out during the initial worldbuilding.

The weapons chosen for the Hunters had to fit the following requirements:

They had to be low Maintenance (higher maintenance meant higher cost of upkeep)
They had to be durable and capable of dealing high amounts of damage and blunt force trauma
Preferably bladed in order to deal with potential hostile human threats as well
Multipurpose and can be used in conjunction with other weapons.
Must look visually striking in order to differentiate them from the common soldiery

In the end I settled on a weapon known as the bardiche. This weapon was primarily used by forces throughout Russia by the Streltsy (units of firearm infantry throughout the 16th till around the 18th century) in which these bladed weapons were used in conjunction with rifles. In order to achieve this the Bardiche became used as a rest for the rifle with the barrel being fed through the loop where the axe head meets the pole in order to steady the rifleman’s shot.

Gameplay wise this could also add some variety and make for some interesting tactics and would also allow me to differentiate myself from games of a similar genre and steer clear of falling into fantasy monster hunting tropes of using modified crossbows and war bows. It would potentially allow for compelling gameplay with the bardiche being used for faster riskier up-close attacks, the rifle (due to the reload times on older firearms) could be used for slower pace but generally safer ranged attacks with a risk of the enemy advancing during reloading. It would also be great to see how the modifications made by the hunters would look, how they could translate into gameplay mechanics as well as in general allowing me to showcase more niche historical weapons and equipment to a wider audience and add a sense or realism to the way in which the hunters could fight and operate.

Rifles and Hand Mortar:

In regard for the rifles I ended up For the type of rifle in question I was originally going to go with a 15th century matchlock rifle with the idea that due to the guns age it would be cheaper and more affordable, but instead I decided to go with the Wheel lock rifle instead (the firing mechanism that came after). The Wheel lock rifle was developed in around 1515 and worked by striking a piece of flint against a rotating wheel with a milled edge, which would then cause sparks to fly, thus igniting the gun powder and propelling the bullet out the gun. This firing mechanism having been developed in the early 16th century still fit my criteria of having weapons and equipment from around a generation ago and was something I had rarely seen throughout video games, movies, and TV and would allow me to create something interesting

I would combine this with a more personalised decorative aspect, taking inspiration from the Afghan Jezail Rifles which were very personalised rifles which were said to have had the firing mechanisms taken from old British Land Pattern Muskets (or Brown Bess rifles). These rifles were often ornately decorated with all manner of painted and caved patterns by their wielders, and this was something that I wanted to bring to these Wheel Lock rifles and to the hand mortar.

The hand mortar was a weapon said to be created in around 16th century but saw widespread use through the 17th and 18th century. The weapon in question had an effective range of around 80 yards (or 73 meters) and was able to shoot multiple grenade variants such as incendiary and explosive types. I wanted to include this weapon as a way for the hunters to have modified grenades that were founded in reality but modified and steeped in superstition, as such I wanted some form of grenade launcher that they could take with them as a small side arm mounted on their back around the belt line.

Wheelock Hand Mortar and Grenade Sketches

Bullets and Grenades:

The weapons in question would fire a range of modified musket shot and grenades in order for the hunters to more effectively vanquish their ethereal foe. The modifications in question would be steeped in genuine superstitious practices that revolved around warding of evil and purifying the home these included:

Burning sage, other herbs and incense:

Burning sage and incense has been a practice done by many cultures and religions throughout the world for a variety of reasons. In most cases it was and is done to purify places and to ward of evil. In this case I wanted to weaponize it in the form of smoke and incendiary grenades as well as smoke and incendiary bullets as well. The idea would be that these would both produce a damage over time effect and push the creatures back and force them to retreat.

Iron:

Iron is said to repel ghosts, demons, and other evil entities and in many instances iron fences were built round graveyards keep spirits in, and in the case of other properties to keep spirits out. Likewise iron horseshoes were placed on the gateways and above doors for to create a similar effect in preventing spirits from crossing the threshold of the house. Iron horseshoes were meant to bring good luck and fortune to the occupants of the house as well. In this case all weapons such as the bardiche as well as some musket shot variants would be made from iron in order to be effective against an ethereal foe.

Holy Water:

Holy water has been used over the years to bless and purify places and people especially within Christianity, I also wanted to weaponize this through the use of holy water musket shot which could create almost burning effect and give the player more options when attacking the Cofgods.

Salt:

Circles of salt were used and in some cases are still used in some cultures as a way to create a protective barrier in order to prevent evil from entering the home. This also has connotations with magic circles which were circles drawn out of either salt, flour, or chalk for the use of practicing magic in order to keep the magical energy within. This is also said to create a barrier between the magic user and the entity they summon. In the context of the game however I wanted to have the salt be used to create a barrier between the hunters and the Cofgod by carrying around a satchel of salt in which they can use to mark salt lines and circles in order to create protective barriers between them and their ethereal foe.

Armour:

For the hunters armour I initially researched weapons and armour from around the time of the civil war, delving deep into armour styles worn by different variants of soldiers such as: Pike men, Harquebusiers, Cavalry, and Cuirassier armour, however I soon remembered that the hunters were meant to have equipment from a generation ago and thus settled on armour known as the Brigandine.

The Brigandine was predominantly used from the around the 14th century through into the 16th century and consisted of individual plates fastened inside of a fabric jacket, this meant that it was historically cheaper to make than specifically tailored full plate armour and was worn by all manner of combatants from different classes, from archers and the common soldier, to knights, even to the nobility.

Its popularity came from its cheaper production, greater flexibility, mobility, and greater customisation as the material in question used for the outer garment layer could be customized in terms of both the colour of the fabric used and the ability to have designs embroidered into the fabric itself, which for the nobility who used this armour variant meant they had the chance to express themselves and show off their wealth, through intricate designs and embroidery.

Hunter Brigandine Armour with Armoured Samhain Headpiece

Another factor that steered me more toward the brigandine was the what the armour was used for and the types of weapons it was built to go up against. The brigandine itself was predominantly used at a time when the main battlefield weapons of the day consisted of polearms, war bows, Warhammers, and swords, and although early variants of firearms existed such as the matchlock rife in the 1400s the longbow was still the more common ranged weapon used in its day.

What this meant in terms of tailoring it towards the hunters was the fact that the hunters when facing the Cofgod would be engaging in more hand-to-hand range combat against a swift ethereal foe, as such I deemed that it would make sense for them to have a cheaper, reliable, flexible armour that was more tailored for their combat experience. The more customizable options also meant that I could also have the Hunters Guild crest embroidered onto the front of the brigandine, and have it still be historically accurate for the type of armour worn.

Headpiece:

For the headpiece itself I took inspiration from the festivals of Samhain and Láir Bhán and the costumes and props used throughout. In the case of Samhain I took inspiration from the costumes that people dress up in which were traditionally made in order to imitate the evil spirits and creatures that were said to roam the earth during the celebrations. This was so that the creatures would not take them as they would believe that they were one of them. The people would also mark their faces with ashes from the central bonfire that was kept going through the festival. The costumes were made up of feathers and fur which I would combine with the skull used throughout Láir Bhán. which was a tradition involving the skull of a horse veiled and carried by a member of a small party who would all dress up in costume and go door to door singing songs and attempt to gain entry into houses for food and drink.

I would combine the skull aspects of Láir Bhán with the decorative ornate aspects of traditional Samhain costumes as a way for the hunters to almost disguise themselves as spirits as to offer themselves a measure of protection when warding of these corrupted ethereal beings.

I would this with aspects taken from the plague doctor outfits, particularly relating to the herbs used to drive off the miasma of bad smells that was said to be causing the plague. This would be done in order to grant the hunters an extra layer of protection against the corruptive properties of the Cofgod. The herbs would be placed in a front hollowed out metal mask that would be attached to the headdress and would act as both armour plating/ face protection as well as a rudimentary respiratory device modelled after the way plague doctors would place bags of herbs at the end of the beak sections of their masks.

Hunter Sketches to final Design:

James Rudd Illustration

James Rudd Illustration

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James Rudd Illustration

James Rudd Illustration