Hordes: Troll Impaler

I completed the second member of my Trollblood force --the Troll Impaler! This figure's great sculpt and rules combine to make a him a must for most Trollblood forces.

One of the oldest sculpts in the Hordes line, he still stands up!









And here he is with Madrak:



Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Mega Minis Medusa!

I'm working on Labors of the Gods, and what's any self-respecting Greek Mythology game without a Gorgon or two? So here's mine, courtesy of Mega Minis!









And here's how her profile will look in the game:

Medusa, the Gorgon (57 pts.)
Cursed by Aphrodite, her beauty forever replaced with a visage so hideous that it can turn any onlooker to stone, Medusa finds solace in serving Hecate's dark designs. Although she hates any follower of Aphrodite most of all, she does hold a special hatred for men. As they once looked upon her with lust, now there is only horror. She is careful to keep her eyes closed when among her fellow Daughters, but in battle, she seeks to meet the eyes of any unfortunate willing to gaze upon her. Failing this, she uses her bow & arrows to deadly effect.

Attributes
Prowess 2D
Endurance 2D
Spirit 5D

Background
Mythical Creature (Natural Attack: +1D ATT/+2D DEF/+1D DR, Outcast, Petrifying Gaze)

Move: 6" Fate: 0 Vitality: 6

Equipment: Bow & Arrows

Combat Stats
ATT 3D (Bow), 5D (Petrifying Gaze)
DAM 5D
DEF 4D
DR 3D

Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Hordes: Trollbloods

Oftentimes I will start into a particular faction for a game based solely on the appearance of one or two of its models. This is one of those times. The alternate sculpt of Madrak Ironhide grabbed me from the moment I saw it. I hemmed and hawed for several weeks, looking at it on the shelf of my FLGS, putting it back, picking it up again.... Then I gave in.

I decided to build a beast-heavy Madrak force, and start it at 20 points. For another 5 points, I can add a unit of Fenblades later on and have some infantry support, but I felt 20 pts. would be a good way to go. I'll share my list later this week, but I managed to finish Madrak himself today. Here he is!











I'm pretty happy with Madrak's paint job. I ended up not using a single ink wash on the figure. He's all blends, with a bit of stippling and dry-brushing mixed in. I hope the other pieces in the force go as well!

--Scott

Warmachine Cryx Wreck Markers

Just wanted to show off these slick Wreck Markers I painted for a client's Cryx force. These counters can really enhance the look of a game when you do get around to destroying an enemy Cryx Warjack.

These metal markers were fun to paint--I hope he gives me a few more to do!










Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

More Myth Stuff

I've managed to squeeze in a few more figures for Labors of the Gods over the last two days. Here are some quick shots of them!

First up, a Foundry Herakles and a Mega Minis Satyr, a perfect core for a heroic warband!





Next, here are a few comp shots with the two and some Amazons:





That Amazon with the spear (above) is also newly painted, and part of the excellent Mega Minis line. She's available on their site here.

Here's a group shot of the five completed figures:



More to come later this week! Also, a return to Hordes (if I can swing it between mercenary painting gigs!).

Thanks for looking!

--Scott

Mega Myth: Figures For Mythic Skirmish

I'm always working on various Goalsystem related rules projects. Since I am on no one's schedule but my own at this point, I tend to flit between different projects as the whim takes me. For a while I thought that RoboFire might be my next game out of the gate, but now I think it could be Labors of the Gods. LotG will provide players the rules to do mythic skirmish battles and campaigns. Think Jason and the Argonauts, Hercules and Xena, Troy, etc., etc.

Anyway, these rules will not be tied to a specific figure line. And they're playable in 28mm and 15mm scales. I intend to include some shots of miniatures in combat in cool, period terrain to jazz up the book's interiors. A lot of mythic lines exist, so I intend to feature (and credit) a few of them in the book. At least one company's figures will get special attention, and inclusion.

J.D. Lauck at Mega Miniatures was kind enough to send me a batch of his awesome mythic fantasy figures. These cross several of his company's lines of figures, and as I paint them up for the interior, I will include previews of them here. They're really dynamite figures and a great value.

First up, a figure I'll be using for the sorceress Circe.





You can find her on Mega's online store right here.

Next up, an Amazon archer:





She can be found the store right here.

Here's a comp shot of the two side by side:



I'll be showing off more Amazons, monsters, and mythic heroes as the week goes on. Sharing these will act as motivation for me to get them painted up so we can get the layout for the book squared away.

More to come!

--Scott

Reaper: Monk or Mage?

This week I picked up Bertrand the Monk from Reaper Miniatures. He's one of those interesting figures that could fulfill a number of roles in a fantasy campaign. He's equipped in such a way that he'd make a nice monk, for sure, but he'll work just as well as a younger magic user.

Last night I put some quality time into him and I am quite happy with the outcome!









And finally a comp shot for scale (I'm certain he won't run into trouble with the guards!).



Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Old PC Art III

It's been a long while since I did another installment of Old PC Art, but I was going through some old records of campaigns last night and I came across a real treat. It's been my pleasure to both work and hang out with Chris Moeller, a super-talented professional artist who does lots of work for DC Comics, Wizards of the Coast, and many other companies in the comics and gaming industries. Living here in Pittsburgh, Chris and I became acquainted through the nexus of Phantom of the Attic, and since then it's been my pleasure to game with him from time to time.

Back in 1996 - 1998, I was running the Doomstones campaign for Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Chris sat in for two sessions and ran a Dwarf fighter named Nirgathu the Fat. Chris' inspired role-play of his character was also accompanied by two amazing renderings that he did of him. These were done idly, as I would describe a scene, or as I was prepping some other aspect of the game. They reflect Chris' amazing ability to compose a character and invest him with a spark of life that is the hallmark of his professional work.

Without further ado, I give you, Nirgathu, the Fat!







Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Someone Call the Guard...Dog!

One of the neat things about the land of Ferelden (in the world of the Dragon Age game) is the culture's reverence for dogs. They breed them in many varieties, and they're a big part of everyday life. I decided my City Guard needed some guard dogs to patrol with them, so I dug out one of my Gripping Beast Irish Wolf Hounds from the old Dark Ages backlog and painted him up.

A quick and easy paint job that will add a lot of character to a crew of city guardsmen!







And here's a shot of him with his "pack":



Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

A Student of the Arts Arcane

Checking through my various role-play minis, I realized I have a shortage of younger spell-casters--i.e., non-Gandalf lookalikes.

While at Phantom today I picked up a youngish looking Reaper mage and gave him a quick paint job using some recently inherited Vajello paints. I'll need to find a few more like him to have handy for various RPG encounters.





And here he is pictured with a Reaper Psuedodragon I painted a few years back:



More fantasy minis to come this week!

--Scott

Like A Peasant Scorned...

I've sung the praises of Old Glory's Revolting Peasant Mob packs on this blog before, and I am here to do it again! Today I dug out another great figure from my Revolting Women and Children bag and painted her up with the intent to use her for the Dragon Age RPG, or any other fantasy game I intend to run.





And here is comp shot as she deals with a pushy City Guard Sergeant:



Later this weekend, more single RPG-style minis to show off!

--Scott

Another Raider For the Crew

In between working on stuff for customers, I knocked out another Wargames Foundry Viking last night. The detail and crispness of these figures really makes them a joy to paint. This guy will make an excellent NPC in my upcoming Dragon Age games, and he'll certainly find a home in my Viking warband. I believe he makes 24 total Vikings done now.

That should at least be enough to take on a lightly armed abbey!









Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Picking a City...

The Dragon Age tabletop RPG from Green Ronin feature a great system and rich background born from the highly successful computer game of the same name. But it's a bit thin on details in some areas. Namely cities. As I get ready to run the game, and set my campaign in Denerim, the largest city, I found myself with no city map.

Not having the time or desire to make my own, my choices were either crib one from an existing book, or buy a generic one. I popped over to RPGNow's web site and after a quick search, I found exactly what I needed! 0one's Blueprints!



I almost immediately bought the Great City, a super product at a great price ($1.65)! This includes a nice sized city map with generic quarters, the ability to print as a standard sized sheet or a poster map, and lots of added details. Building out from the Great City, you can buy detailed packs on each of the quarters that feature maps on the various locations, including popular taverns, places of business, and temples. I also bought the Dock Ward to check out the more detailed ward sections, and this was also a dynamite buy at $1.65. I imagine that I will eventually buy them all.

I'll be doing a more detailed review of these products for Play Unplugged in the coming weeks, but suffice to say that for fantasy games using any system, I heartily recommend them!

Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott

Someone Call the Guard!

How many times has that imperative wrung out in a fantasy RPG? I've been getting ready to run my first session of the Dragon Age RPG from Green Ronin, and I've decided to set a lot of the campaign in the city of Denerim, the largest city in the nation of Ferelden. It's a teaming 'burgh, as cities go in this campaign world, and I realized I would need a crack unit of City Guard to enforce the major laws, or perhaps engage in a bit of institutional corruption themselves!

I decided to use some Bretonnian Men-at-Arms models. I re-based these guys on 20mm metal washers, and used some muted tones for their uniforms.







Although it is a magical world, magic is neither frequent nor accepted enough to be used to make everyday things like communication easier. Taking advantage of all of the cool bits on the Bret. sprue, I decided the Denerim City Guard would use trained birds to carry messages to and from their barracks. This could let them call for reinforcements, or report on a pressing investigation, or perhaps even make a corrupt sergeant aware that his smuggling contact had just entered a certain tavern.

Here's the Guard Sergeant with one of his messenger birds:



This is a perfect example of how sometimes fleshing a concept out in miniature can spawn new ideas for my campaigns. It's why I believe so strongly in using miniatures for most of my games. Anyway, I've got at least two more guardsmen to work on, and then I will move on to some other characters.

Thanks for checking out the blog!

--Scott