Brier, the Monstrous (Vigil Backstage)

Meet Brier: forest guardian, National Trust manager, monstrous. For as long as the Rosebrier Forest has existed, so has Brier. A shapeshifting fae guardian with a penchant for mischief, they are a generally benevolent fairy - just don’t accept a ride from them when they’re a horse.

Join Strat as he fills in Brier’s character sheet with help from compère Matt and fellow hunters Chris and Ellie.

Programme notes

This production contains fantasy violence.

Our promo this episode is for OMEN Investigations, a comedy horror podcast starring three secret agents as they travel the world fighting monsters, ghosts, aliens and other paranormal perils.

Dramatis personae and other definitions

Brier: a mischievous shapeshifting púca, the fae guardian of Sherrydown’s Rosebrier Forest.

Gwynned: a former shieldmaiden of the triple goddess Morrigan. For the crime of saving a mortal man from the Morrigan’s cruel whim, the goddess exiled Gwyn to live as a duck, overlooked by mortals. Recently freed from the curse, Gwyn is trying to do good without attracting her mistress’s attention.

Cameron Jarvis: an intense young man, obsessed with monster hunting since his parents and sister were killed by ghouls while camping outside Sherrydown.

Jinny Greenteeth: proprietor of the Grove of Oddities, a tacky Sherrydown tourist attraction. In a past life, Jinny was branded a witch after a series of drownings in her Lancashire village.

Department of Omissions (DO, DoOm): The UK government department tasked with preventing harm to citizens from supernatural phenomena. Severely defunded under Tory austerity policies and currently prioritising major urban population centres.

Sherrydown, Brackshire: A historic English market town. One of the first towns to lose its DoOm office.

Omission effect: The rejection of certain beings and phenomena by long-term memory. Can be suppressed by concentration, mnemonic techniques, hypnosis, trauma, or the light of the full moon.

Credits

COMPERE: Matt Boothman

STARRING:

  • Strat as Brier, the Monstrous

  • Natalie Winter as Gwynned, the Divine

  • Chris Starkey as Cameron Jarvis, the Wronged

  • Josh Yard as Jinny Greenteeth, the Spellslinger

ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM: Monster of the Week, designed by Michael Sands

MUSIC BY: Alexander Pankhurst

SOUND DESIGN BY: Natalie Winter

EDITED AND PRODUCED BY: Matt Boothman

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