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by Adam Loper and Vince Venturella
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 Table of Contents
Story of Hell - 4 Movement & Combat - 32 Reward Tables - 43
Movement - 32 Titles - 46
Playing the Game - 6 Fly - 32 Advancement - 48
What do you need to play? - 6 Climbing - 32 Recruitment & Expedition - 49
Glossary of Terms - 6 Combat - 32
Example of Play - 8 Combat Style - 33 Scenarios - 51
Starting Play - 10 Combat Range - 33 King of the Hill - 52

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Rolling Initiative - 10 To-Hit Number - 33 Relic Hunters - 53
Activating - 11 Combat Attack Roll - 33 Desecration - 54
End of Round - 12 Combat Defense Roll - 34 The Twins - 55
Ending the Game - 12 Damage - 34 The Beast - 56

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Retreat! - 12 Slain Demons - 34 Extracting Power - 57
Soul Dice - 34 The Prison - 58
Building Your Cabal - 13 Marked for Death - 59
How to Build Your Cabal - 13 The Field of Battle - 36 Crystal Towers - 60
Philosophies - 15 Ruins - 36 Hellstorm - 61
The List of Demons - 20 Shrines - 37
Making Your Leader Demon - 22 Swamps - 37 Rules Summary - 62
Leader Essences - 23 Forests - 38
Leader Relics - 24
Making Your Devout Demon - 25
Making Your Lesser Demons - 28
Lesser Demons - 28
e Pools - 39
Crags - 39
Random Terrain Table - 40
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Greater Demons - 30 Campaign Play - 41
Superior Demons - 31 Post Game - 41
Effects of Death - 41
Cull the Weak - 43
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Reign in Hell: Demonic Skirmish Combat

was created and designed by
Adam Loper and Vince Venturella
Lead Developer: Layout and Art Direction: Reign in Hell is copyright © 2021 by
Thomas Lyons Adam Loper Snarling Badger Studios LLC
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Editing: Cover art by an awesome anonymous

Cathy Venturella person who was paid for their work, and
Emily Selk Loper who we look forward to working with
again This is a work of fiction. Names, char-
Thanks to the playtesters and people acters, businesses, events, and incidents
who provided feedback: Internal miniature art photographed by are the products of the authors' imagina-
Sam Lenz Adam Loper and Vincent Venturella and tion. Any resemblance to actual persons
Scott James Walter digitally painted over by the very talent- or demons, living or dead, or actual
Jon Ninas ed Scott Sez at ArtistsEmpire.com events is purely coincidental.
Thomas Lyons
Chuck Moore Other illustrations by Adam Loper and No demons were harmed in the making
Tyler Emerson from stock illustration services Cre- of this game.
ative Market and Envato Elements

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 Hell was not always this way – chaos, madness, and strife.
It had been, for many millennia, an ordered place with a
single-minded purpose: Hell was an engine built for the col-
lection of souls, or rather the precious energy that could be
gained from souls. The Directorate of Hell ruled over a great
many demons of every size and shape – each with disparate
specialties within many sins, nightmares, and tortures.

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The most desirable souls came from Earth, and the denizens of Hell made
countless trips to our realm in attempts to access this energy. They made
these excursions through an ancient portal: a singular device in the realm of

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Hell – the creation of which was lost to time – which allowed demons to
appear nearly anywhere on Earth, and in nigh infinite combinations of ‘dis-
guises’ so as to trick, palter with, and otherwise pluck souls from the peoples
of Earth. The rules of Hell and the workings of the portal did not allow
these demons to run roughshod over humans and steal them back through the
portal for extraction; rather they needed to bring the humans back willingly.
Thus they did so for millennia with trickery and bargaining. Upon reaching
the other side of the portal and entering Hell, these souls were willing no
longer.
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The Directorate of Hell had long commanded these demons and their excur-
sions into our realm, as demons are by and large content to be led, and follow
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stronger demons. There were power struggles within the hierarchy from
time to time, but challenges were either solved ‘peacefully’ or through quick,
brutal tumult. Everything ran as clockwork for age upon age.

Demons of differing types and varying levels of power were sent to Earth
depending on the desired targets. Charismatic, persuasive schemers were
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dispatched to convince powerful men and women – rulers, politicos, the

well-moneyed – to surrender their souls in the pursuit of more, always more.
However, even the souls of children were required by the Directorate, and
lesser, simple-minded demons were sent to trick the young in the forms of
fairies, gnomes, and the like.
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Eventually, one such demon in disguise – trying to convince a toddler to

follow to its doom – was discovered and captured by a quick-witted grand-
mother. She believed in the fey peoples, and observed this gnomish creature
playing with her grandchild, but quiet delight turned to concern when the
small figure tried to convince the child to follow outside. The grandmother
knew cold iron could bind fey peoples, and so she contained the gnome,
which quickly transmuted to an angry, snarling mephit – but it was held fast.
Cold iron was ineffective against the fey peoples, as they did not truly exist.
But unknowingly, it had power over demons.

This captured demon was handed to the town elders, who then handed it to
the church, who then offered it to a group of scholars, leaders, and others

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 who had been following the “demon problem” for centuries. This was their
first real opportunity.

The lesser demon was not threatened with harm, as the scholars correctly
surmised that killing the demon would be quite difficult and would only
send it back from whence it came. Instead, they promised to imprison it in
a cold iron box, abandoned in our realm for eternity. This was too much for
the weak creature, and it quickly betrayed its kind.

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Humanity amassed a large force of demon hunters from different religious
orders and universities the world over. Using the knowledge gained from
the captured mephit, this army breached the portal to Hell with one grim
purpose: to destroy the portal and stop the trafficking of souls from our

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realm into Hell. Stories of the deeds done that day are lost to the past, but
two things are known: the hunters’ one-way trip succeeded in destroying the
ancient portal into Hell – effectively protecting humanity from the demon
threat; and the Directorate of Hell was shattered and unable to reform,
throwing Hell into the chaos still churning to this day.

In the resulting power vacuum, demons of all kinds rose up and attempted
to seize power, but this led only to endless fighting, war, and eventually a

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near-destruction of Hell. All that had been built was cast into ruin.

What now remains are scattered demons fending for themselves, some trying
to return order to this chaos. In the time since the portal was closed and the
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Directorate destroyed, new philosophies have arisen. New ideas of how to
reshape Hell – and demons of the cabals who follow these beliefs are willing
to do anything to bring them to reality.
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Reign in Hell is a fast paced, brutal, miniature-agnostic skirmish
game set in Hell. In this game, you lead a cabal (a group of demons)
on a quest to reshape the face of Hell according to your Philosophy.
The game can be played as a one-off engagement or as part of a

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longer campaign (see page 41). Over time, your cabal will grow in
power and attract or evolve more powerful demons.

Why a "miniatures Reign in Hell is miniatures agnostic – you can use any miniatures
agnostic" game? you like (within the bounds of the base sizes suggested). Feel free
to build your own visions of the monstrous denizens of the under-
One of the main reasons people world. Whether you favor classic shades like Greek mythology, red-
horned demons with pitchforks or terrible cenobites that crawl from
play miniatures wargames is for
the enjoyment of the "hobby" part
of wargaming – the building and
painting of the miniature figures
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What do you need to play?

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and terrain used in the game. The • A play area of roughly 22 x 30 inches – any flat space or table will
hobby – as opposed to the "playing" do – but a printed mat or textured board looks nicest. The area
portion of wargaming – allows you
can be slightly larger or smaller, depending on your preferences.
to express your creativity in a way
The 22x30 size is becoming popular among larger companies,
most tabletop games don't.
and fits well on normal conference-style tables.
• Several (three to five) pieces of suitable terrain roughly three to
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In our game, we want you to either

four inches in diameter. Your terrain can be anything you like, but
use the demon models you've always
wanted to buy from established rocks, crags, and ruined structures will make your play area look
companies, use the models you may suitably hellish.
already have in your collection, or • Seven to ten miniatures to suitably represent your demons – rec-
kitbash or 3D print your cabal of ommended base sizes are found in the Demon List (see page 20).
demons to look exactly as you want. • A number of d12s equal to the number of demons in your cabal.
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And remember: demons in different • At least ten (10) d6 dice.

cultures are very different, so what-
ever model you want to be a demon Glossary of Terms
is perfectly valid. Throughout the game, you will encounter several terms and game
element names, which are summarized and defined here for easy
reference.

Active Player: The Active Player is the player that is currently acti-
vating a demon. The Active Player has priority in any decisions that
can be made simultaneously, such as dice replacement. All other
players then make their decisions in a clockwise order around the
table.

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 Cabal: Your group of demons within the game is called a cabal. This
includes your Leader, your Devout and any minion demons your
warband might include. The composition (i.e. the demons) that are
part of your cabal can change over time.
What does the Devout
Devout: A Devout demon is part of your cabal and represents the
lieutenant, advisor or 'heavy' for your Leader. They are a true be-
represent?
liever of your Philosophy and seek to change Hell, reshaping it to fit
The Devout is a very singular type

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their beliefs. Each cabal contains one and only one Devout demon. of demon, and the Leader of a cabal
Devout have unique abilities drawn from their faith and belief. For spends a great deal of time selecting
more information on Devout demons, see page 25. the proper demon to become their
Devout. Within a cabal, the Devout

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Dice (Die): This is a standard 6-sided dice containing numbers of embodies the unquestioning belief
pips of 1 through 6. This is sometimes shortened to d6. If the game in the chosen philosophy. They are
says “roll a dice” – it is asking you to roll a standard (or possibly mul- zealot, recruiter, and executioner.
tiple) six-sided dice.
The cabal is nothing without the
d12: This game uses a second type of dice, the d12 or twelve-sided philosophy, and the Devout is the
dice having numbers or pips from 1-12 on the faces of the dice. Any- physical representation of that be-
time the game requires you to use or roll a d12, it will specifically lief, even to a degree more than the

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reference d12. All other references are to d6 above.

Leader: This is the Leader of your cabal, the force of personality that
has drawn together your Minions and Devout through fear, strength
Leader themselves.
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or payment. Each cabal has one and only one Leader demon. The
Leader is a powerful demon and has special abilities within Reign in
Hell. For additional information on Leaders, see page 22.

Minion Demons: Minions are the hordes of Hell your Leader has
recruited to execute their plans. Minions begin their life as lesser
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demons, but by accumulating power and souls, they can grow to

become greater demons or even superior demons, powerful forces
in their own right. Greater and superior demons are simply lesser
demons that have grown in power enough to improve some of their
abilities permanently. For information on how a demon can grow in
power over a campaign, see page 41. A cabal can have any number of
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Minions up to the maximum cabal size of 10.

Natural Roll: Anytime a rule refers to a natural roll, this means the
result of dice rolled before any rerolls, bonuses or replacement dice.
This includes the use of Soul Dice. A natural roll is the first and un-
modified roll of the dice.

Objective: Some scenarios will include taking control of objectives.

Objectives represent items of value in game. Unless otherwise stat-
ed, an objective is controlled by having more demons within a cer-
tain range than any other player. The scenario will tell you when the
timing of control is determined.