These aren’t actually familiars in base Cursed City, but they’re similar… Update! They ARE called familiars in the Nightwars book.
When do the diregoyle, gnawbone stray cats, and gravestones appear?
Spoilers below!!!!
Diregoyles
This little fella only pops up in one crisis…
Day-time Hunt Crisis – Page 26: Crisis 6 – Thieving Diregoyle
They swipe a piece of treasure, or similarly valuable item from the active hero.
Gnawbone Strays
Only come out at night to cause mischief…
Night-time Hunt Crisis – Page 29: Crisis 16 – Unruly Row
Night-time Scavenge Crisis – Page 33: Crisis 50 – Yowling Horror
Gravestones
These are mostly seen as an effect of the Deadwalker Zombie behavior table. On an unlucky behavior roll:
Gravecall: The leader must place one available gravestone model in an empty space adjacent to a hero on the battlefield. If there are no available gravestone models, or there are no empty spaces adjacent to any hero, no gravestone models are placed. Then place an available Deadwalker Zombie on the battlefield in the same space as, or in an empty space adjacent to, each gravestone model on the battlefield. Those Deadwalker Zombies are now part of the active hostiles’ hostile group. Then each acting hostile makes an Advance action.
However! In the Gorslav decapitation adventure “Shuffling Horrors”, if, in the second stage of the adventure “The Corpse Garden” a 2, 3, or 4 is rolled during the Event Phase, then…
The Will of the Gravekeeper: Place one available Deadwalker Zombie in an empty space next to each gravestone model on the battlefield.
This event doesn’t place a gravestone, but it does employ them.
Nightwars
We started our first game of Nightwars today! It looks like Diregoyles, and Gnawbone Strays factor into gameplay a bit, though there is no special mention of gravestones.
That’s the rundown on familiars in Cursed City, as far as I’ve played anyway.
