Dark Sun Update: TPK!!!

In finishing up Marauders of the Dune Sea, a published adventure from Wizards, I oversaw the first TPK (total party kill) of my GM/DM career. I certainly did not set out to gakk the party, but a convergence of circumstances led to their ultimate doom:

• They were a 4-man party instead of the standard 5-man group.
• They had 2 strikers instead of a striker and a defender.
• They were unlucky.
• I mis-interpreted a monster power and made a creature too potent for 1 or 2 turns until I caught it.
• We're all still learning the rules.

I think everyone still had fun, and we will likely take a break from DS and make new characters when we decide to pick it up again.

In the meantime, my buddy Rico is setting up to run D&D Essentials, and we also rolled up characters for Lou's Gamma World game (that was a blast--I highly recommend getting that boxed set ).

I rolled up a Telekinetic Empath with the ability to briefly shift into a pure light form. I'll be using this model from vast repository of painted minis. He'll be ideal for post-apoc action.

That's all for now. Later this week, more painted Dark Eldar!

--Scott

Sand Golems!

I really can't mention the old Mage Knight line enough on this blog. It continues to be a repository of miniature possibilities that is second to none. Exhibit 49-B, the Sand Minions!

I will eventually be needing some Sand Golems for my Dark Sun RPG sessions, so in cruising eBay, I came across this mini, and it was perfect. I ordered a pair ($1.00 ea.), and right out of the box they require little to no alteration to fill the desired monster role. After popping them off of their bases and re-basing them appropriately, I touched up the paint job slightly (re-painting some weird blue bumps on their bodies gray). I then flocked, painted, and dry-brushed their bases, and whammo, instant Sand Golems!








Here they are side by side with a Reaper Dragon man Shaman (also excellent for DS!):





And some random battle shots:






Later this week I hope to show off some re-purposed Reaper spell effects.

As always, thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Painted Bug Warriors!

I took so many shots of these guys for the Aegis Figures blog I had to post a few up here as well. As the guys on the Lead Adventure Forums keep pointing out, these guys will work just as well as Victorian Science Fiction figures as Thri-Kreen for Dark Sun. And that's the point, really.






Thanks for checking them out!

--Scott

Dark Sun Characters: Mul and Half-Giant

As I prepare more minis for the DS session this Saturday, the conversions are coming at a furious rate!

This time round I have a pair of new figures to show off, a Mul Fighter and Female Half-Giant Fighter. Both could figure in Saturday's adventure, but I could also see using them as player character models for myself or a needy player.

The female half-giant is another great Mage Knight find. Points to anyone who can ID the origin figure, as I tore her from her base so long ago, I forget! The Mul is a converted GW Chaos Marauder.





Note the nice size difference between the burly Mul and the Half-Giant--I think it's the perfect scale balance.



More later this week, including a return to 15mm sci-fi!

--Scott

Dark Sun: Gith Drone?

Finding appropriate miniatures for DS has been an ongoing challenge, but I've forgotten that sometimes the answers to these questions are right under my nose. The Gith are debased descendants of Githzerai and Githyanki, a savage and psychic race well-suited to the harsh environment of Athas. I needed a suitably savage looking mini that could be modified to represent these unique looking threats.

I found my answer with Old Glory's Ghost Miniatures Orcs.

With a bit of green stuff, I cobbled together this nifty conversion:





The Ghost Orcs are cast from lead, and they're quite easy to convert and work with. Some have more armor than others, but with a bit of green stuff for the head and facial hair, I think they will be spot on!



More to come this week as I ready my second session, the first installment of Marauders of the Dune Sea!

--Scott

Dark Sun: Prepping for Marauders of the Dune Sea

I ran my first DS game last Sunday night and it was a blast. Now I am planning on running the newly published official adventure, Marauders of the Dune Sea (MotDS). This adventure has about 16 encounters worth of monsters and foes--that's a lot of models to represent on the battle-grid!

If you know me at all from this blog, you know I am going to try and do this as best I can, getting as close to representational figures as possible.

I'll spend my next few DS posts discussing some of the challenges in finding and converting figures for this task. While I am at it, I will also spot in a few non-DS posts for folks who might be interested in some of the other stuff I am doing.

Anyway, to start off, MotDS features an encounter with a race of nasty, little subterranean aberrations called Hejkin. Finding analogs for these guys in 28mm has not been easy! For one thing, they're small in D&D terms. They would normally occupy a 20mm round base. I've been fishing around on eBay and I may have found the solution. Again, I have Mage Knight to thank. The Satyr from MK Dungeons should provide me the base I need for the conversion. Check it out:



I'll be cutting the horns off and re-working the feet into more bird-like analogs. I have also considered swapping the heads out all-together with GW Moria Goblin heads, but I don't think I have the will for that. We'll see...

Anyway, I've got a half-dozen of these suckers on the way at $1.00 a piece, so at least the investment is small.

Next DS post I think I will discuss the issues with trying to find suitable models for a female Half-Giant.

--Scott

Dark Sun: Another Mage Knight Conversion

As conversions go, this is a mild one.





I took a Mage Knight Sect Hunter from the Nexus set and tore off the metal shield. I replaced it with the barrel of a Tyranid weapon--making it look like some kind of organic animal shell.

Here's a closer look at the conversion for the shield:



I also replaced the glaive head with a stone spear tip made from styrene.

A quick and dirty re-paint was done on the entire mini to finish her off. I've got my eye on a bunch more MK figures as I get ready to run my second DS game, the Marauders of the Dune Sea published adventure from Wizards.

I'll be sure to share them as I do them!

--Scott

Dark Sun: Halfling Warrior

First off, Happy Labor Day! If you have the day off, great, and if not, thanks for looking in on things here. I hope the blog makes your holiday work-day go a little faster.

Finding appropriate Halfling models for my DS game has been tough. They're feral little buggers, and any armor or weapons they have should be from natural materials, not metal. Chronopia Swamp Goblins are actually a pretty decent fit, and I used this fellow below as a villain in last night's DS session. He was Onglac, Halfling Wilder and Bounty Slayer.





Perhaps a trifle over-armored, but he did the job! And here is a comp shot for size reference of the three most recent DS miniatures I've worked on:



Thanks for reading!

--Scott

Dark Sun: Cilops Mage Knight Conversion

Dark Sun has some crazy monsters. The Creature Catalog is replete with strange and deadly threats, and modeling them for D&D games can be a challenge.

Page 25 features large natural beast called the Cilops. I've been using Mage Knight figures to adapt humanoids for DS, but I thought I would try my hand at a proper monster.

The base for this figure is a Mage Knight Thorn Crawler. I highly recommend securing a few of these. They're great minis!

Anyway, a bit of green stuff allowed me to create this monstrous centipede's single eye.










And here's a comp shot with the Tharn for scale:



More DS stuff to come!

--Scott

Dark Sun: Tharn Bloodtracker

Here's another great mini suitable for D&D Dark Sun RPG gaming. It's a Tharn Bloodtracker from the Hordes skirmish game by Privateer Press.









Sold in a box of six similarly equipped minis, I split the box with my buddy, Bill, and we each ended up with three. These figures will make excellent elves or half-elves for Athas. Her equipment and clothes definitely have the necessary DS vibe.

The Hordes line has some other figures that will be useful for DS, so I'll try to acquire and profile them as I go along. More DS stuff this weekend, along with a brief visit back to Heavy Gear!

--Scott

Dark Sun Character: Human Female Gladiator

The Gladiator Wars range from Old Glory does have some excellent figures suitable for Dark Sun. I've done some minor conversions on this female gladiator to maker more suitable for the DS RPG sessions I'll be running.





I added the shoes and the loin cloth. The rest seemed perfect for DS. I'll need a few more such figures to fill out the encounters I am planning!

--Scott

Mage Knight Minis Suitable for Dark Sun?

I thought I would post a short list of some Mage Knight minis that folks could acquire cheaply, and that could be used for Dark Sun games with little or no conversion. I have tried to include the set number and name in parenthesis.

Lyra Fairhame (092 Pyramid Set)




Amazon Priestess (040 Uprising Set)




Nexus Psychic Scrounger (Mage Knight 2.0 Set)




Cult Enforcer (043 Sorcery Set)




Galeshi Stalker (045 Omens)




Elven Acolyte (009 Minions)



There are many more than this available, but this just gives you an idea of what a great wealth of material is out there. All of the above figures can be had for $1.00 a piece on eBay, and most sellers have multiple copies.

With so many great figures out there, I'll be sure to re-visit this in the future!

--Scott

Dark Sun: A Dwarf Conversion

Dwarves in Dark Sun are tricky. They don't have beards and they're largely hairless.

This presents some challenges for someone wanting to create convincing minis for a DS RPG session. I found one excellent candidate so far, however. Wargames Foundry makes one of the best-loved lines of Gladiators around. In it are several dwarf gladiators perfectly suited to Dark Sun.

With a few bits added, here's my first DS Dwarf!





I worried his blade a bit and made it look more like a natural substance, some sort of green crystal in this case. I need to clear coat the mini, then varnish the blade.





The above spiked shield bit is from the Tyranid Warriors plastic sprue. The pouch is from the Bretonian Men at Arms sprue.

And here's a comp shot for scale reference:



More DS conversions and finds to come as I work on them!

--Scott

Dark Sun Character: Thri-Kreen Conversion

My buddy Bill ordered a few packs of the Myrm from the 100 Kingdoms line (he's making a Thri-Kreen for my game). He was kind enough to pass one along to me.

These are great figures and will make excellent Thri-Kreen, even unmodified. But I was not that keen on their large, monstrous heads, so I actually got out the green stuff and made one of my own. Is it a bit crude? Yes, but by my standards I am pretty happy! Judge for yourself!








And a couple of comp shots against the Valiant Miniatures Thri-Kreen:






The thorax is still a bit of an issue, but for an RPG, it works. The question is, can I actually sculpt an equally good, or better, head for the second one? With my meager talents, it's a crap-shoot!

--Scott

Dark Sun Character: Thri-Kreen Ranger

Continuing in my search for viable Dark Sun models to use for my D&D game, I realized I'd ned some Thri-Kreen models. I found a perfect mini from the old Magnificent Egos fantasy line (now owned by Valiant Miniatures). I purchased their excellent "Tru-Keen" figure from Noble Knight Games, an online vendor I recommend with confidence.

Anyway, between other painting duties, I banged him out this weekend!







I did the blades in crystal, as metal is rare on Athas, the world of Dark Sun.

And some comp shots to give some scale reference:





Honorable mention goes to Black Orc Games' Hundred Kingdoms Myrm models. We'll be adding a few packs of these to our collection for more variety.

Later this week, I may have a good lead on some Cannibal Halflings, and a Skaven surprise!

--Scott