Reaper Goblin

I managed to get some time painting today, and I knocked out this Reaper goblin fighter. A nice mini with a dynamic pose!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Dungeon Delve Design Log 3: Who Wins the Race?

With literally dozens of potentially playable fantasy races available as options, I quickly realized I could not put them all in the book. I had to pick and choose. My goal was to hit the must-haves (Elf, Dwarf, Human, Halfling) and then go from there. I also wanted to create a unique rules "identity" for each race, a mix of dice bonuses, penalties, and other special factors.

Since I am using my own version of classes in this game, I also found a nice way to differentiate otherwise similar racial types: the Favored Class.  Each race (except Humans) gets two Favored Classes. If the player picks a Favored Class for his character's race, he gets +1D to his Class trait.  For example, Elves have Ranger and Mage as their Favored Classes, so if I'm making an Elf Ranger I would add +1D to my Ranger Class trait.

So what do you get for playing against type?  Most 1st level characters start every game with 3 Fate points, and these can be an incredibly powerful resource in the game. They let you, among other things, literally cheat death. Characters who end up with a Class trait that is not a Favored Class gain +1 Fate point to their starting total each game. That's a powerful reward for going outside your race's comfort zone. Does it balance out with the +1D you would otherwise get on arguably your most important trait?  Perhaps not, but with its greater role-play sensibility, GDD is not really going for total, 100% balance. It's about fun and character.

I'll be including "rough" rules for building your own races; if we end up leaving a favorite of yours out (everyone who wants to see rules for classed-up, Grimlock Fighters, raise your hands!), you can make it yourself! 

Anyway, here's a brief rundown of the races featured so far and their favored classes:

Race and Favored Classes
Each race entry lists its favored classes, but we’ve also grouped them here in one place for easy reference. Favored class grants +1D to Class trait. If you do not choose a class that is favored for your race, you gain +1 Fate point.
Race                 Favored Classes
Dwarf                 Fighter, Priest
Elf                     Ranger, Mage
Goblin                Fighter, Thief
Halfling               Druid, Thief
Human               Any
Kobold               Ranger, Priest
Lizardman          Fighter, Druid
Orc                    Fighter, Ranger

Keep in mind that each race will also get trait dice bumps and penalties and minor special abilities or faults.

I'll discuss those in a later development log.

Give me a shout-out if you see any glaring omissions--and I know Gnomes aren't on here yet, but I will get to them. In the meantime, take the advice I gave a to good friend who was despondent when 4E initially excluded Gnomes: Take a dwarf, trim his beard a bit, and fill him with whimsy!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Orc Spear Fighter

It's been too long since my last post, but I've been really cracking on Goalsystem Dungeon Delve, so a lot of my painting time has been consumed by it.

Managed to get this Ghost Miniatures Orc Spear Fighter done. He'll make a great character for play-testing GDD!

Here's how this guy might look in the game:

            Torvok, Orc Fighter Level 1  (Spear Fighter)

Fighter 5D

Defense 4D

Strength 5D

Toughness 4D (5D)

Fate 3 [  ] [  ] [  ]

Size: Medium   Move: 6”    HP: 10

Primary Attack & Damage: Spear 6D ATT/5D DAM

Attributes, Powers & Equipment

Bloodlust, First to Fight

Long Strike +3", Whirling Defense, Mighty Blow

Spear, Chainmail

Cost: 51 pts. 

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Dungeon Delve Design Log: Save vs. Petrification!

I thought that I would check in from time to time and discuss the rules for Goalsystem Dungeon Delve (GDD) as I develop them.  Right now I am knocking out the extensive monster building section by adding a host of creature powers. These powers will allow players and GMs to model all sorts of classic dungeon threats.

A favorite of mine from my days as a youth has always been the Medusa.  I remember seeing Clash of the Titans at Mt. Oliver Theater in the summer of 1981. I was 11, and the Harryhausen Dynavision effects blew me away!  Flash forward 4 years and I was playing lots of MERP, Rolemaster, and then D&D. I was always horrified at the prospect of my character being petrified and left behind.  And I wanted to bring some of that feeling to GDD, so of course, we'll stat the Medusa up for the game, and include a nifty Petrification power for use with her and other famous monsters like the Basilisk and Cockatrice.

Here's what the power write-up looks like so far:

Petrification
Type: Attack
Effects: This attack can turn its target to stone! The default version of this attack is close combat, but it may be upgraded to a 10” range for additional points. The upgraded ranged version may still be used in close combat as normal. Either way, the attacking model makes a prime trait check versus the target’s Defense. If the attack hits, the attacker rolls his prime trait again (plus any carried dice), this time versus the defender’s Class trait. If the attacker wins this opposed check by 3+ goals, the target is petrified, and also suffers 1 Wound. A petrified model and all of its possessions count as a statue. It may not move, attack, or otherwise interact with its environment. It does provide cover to models in base contact, but itself is immune to any further damage effects from any cone or radius attacks.
Range: Close Combat or 10”
Cost: 15 pts. or 25 pts. for the ranged option 

I also thought it might be fun to make up some petrification counters, so I grabbed a couple of figures from my unpainted minis bin and here's what I turned out:

 I photographed the figures in my War Torn Worlds Ruinopolis modular ruin system terrain. Great stuff for Dungeon battles. 

Look for more GDD design logs coming soon! 

Thanks for visiting! 

--Scott

Monsters For The Delve

In casting about my collection for ready monsters to use in play-tests of Goalsystem Dungeon Delve I came across these "lovely" Mage Knight giant worms. I long ago threw away their MK bases, so forgive me for not knowing their actual names! I do know they'll make excellent lower-tier threats for the Caravan adventure I am currently working on for the book!







And a comparison shot with the Reaper monk:



For that matter, the Fang Worm I touched up a couple years ago would work very well too!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Reaper Bones Ghost

Easily the "bendiest" figure I've worked with in the new plastic line, but still a great mini, and a perfect candidate for GW's now old Thrakka Green wash over a white undercoat.







And a comp shot with your friendly neighborhood Reaper monk:



Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

GDD Gets A Cover Artist!

Great news to announce on the Goalsystem Dungeon Delve front, Chris Moeller has kindly agreed to do a cover for us! Mr. Moeller makes his living painting wonderful pieces for the adventure gaming industry, including work for Magic the Gathering, D&D, DC Comics, his own Burning Empires RPG property, and many, many others.

Here's a shot of the amazing cover Mr. Moeller did for Terronus: Isle of Goblins:



Be sure to check more of his work out on his own site.

As the rules progress, I will check in with development logs letting folks know where we are and how things are going. In the meantime, I am devoting a lot of my free time to writing, so you'll see a lot more posts featuring only one or two painted figures, or perhaps discussions of art or rules bits for the Dungeon Delve game.

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Dreamblade 2D Shades

Another great re-purposed Dreamblade mini I'd like to share are these 2-dimensional monstrous shadows. They make excellent ghosts, spirits, and, well, animated, monstrous shadows!

Anyway, perfect for fantasy, horror, or a combo of both!









Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Reaper Bones Werewolf

Managed to get the Reaper Bones Werewolf done. Can't say enough about the quality of these low-cost plastics!







And a comp shot for scale:



Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Announcing: Goalsystem Dungeon Delve!

Over the last five years, a lot of folks (well, 49 e-mails--is that a lot?) have inquired about an expanded Goalsystem Fantasy skirmish game. Well, I finally find myself in a place where I feel comfortable working on this, so here I am to announce that I have commenced work on Goalsystem Dungeon Delve!

I'll need a few weeks to knock together the nuts and bolts of this thing, but here is a list of some basic design goals, in no particular order:

• Utilize the latest version of GS as seen in Blasters & Bulkheads and the upcoming Department

The more I work on this the further away I am getting from this goal. Nothing for it, just the way I work as a designer. --SRP

• Adapt the rules to faithfully cover the Dungeon Fantasy genre (i.e., level-based advancement, monsters, treasures, etc.)

• Expand the role-play aspects of the system to better cover non-combat encounters, but do so in such a way as to not infringe on players who just want to kill stuff in the dungeon

• Include mechanics for building your favorite races and classes into the game, because we won't be able to fit them all in

Those are some lofty goals, and they'll likely mature as the project moves along. My good buddy Joe Dragovich will be handling the layout and visual design chores. He did Labors of the Gods and Blasters & Bulkheads. Super artist Thomas Scioli is along for the ride to provide character designs and artwork. If I can twist his arm, I'll also have my pal Schuyler Hernstrom along for some lavish prose on the chapter intro pieces.

And I hope to involve some of you folks in the play-testing. You know who you are, the usual suspects! The folks who've helped keep me going in this hobby the last 10 years.

Now for some gory details. I've always wanted to do a cloth-bound, hardcover book with a sewn binding. Maybe smallish, 6" x 9". Call it a fetish of mine. I dig those sorts of books. In order to do this, and really, in order to fund any kind of real print run on this book, I would need to go the Kickstarter route. Is this something folks would be amenable to? It may not be practical, but I am considering it. We'll of course also be doing an ultra-affordable, printer friendly PDF version no matter what way I decide to go with the print. It will be B&W no matter what we decide to do, I think.

This is just me doing some fishing right now. If we go this route, Joe and I will put together a proper Kickstarter pitch and the first place I announce it will be here.

So, yeah, Goalsystem Dungeon Delve! Tell your friends, hide the Kobold women and children (Chaotic Neutral, indeed!), and sharpen your swords! There will soon be quests to undertake and evil villains to slay!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Reaper Bones Ogre Champion Completed

Got him done this morning!

Here he is:









I figure his club is a magic, sentient weapon. Who's really in charge? You decide.

Here's a scale comp shot:



Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Another Dreamy Find

You know, Dreamblade miniatures have really served me well over the years. This line of incredibly odd, weirdly scaled pre-paints from WotC contains a number of gems suitable for 28mm gaming.

This latest piece I have re-based is a Soul Grub, #68 from the Base Set expansion.











I used it as a beast in my latest Freeport game. A local beggar was actually a dangerous serial killer, and in reality, he was this crazy beast! A dark, soul consuming servant of the Yellow Sign!

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

Next Project: Reaper Bones Ogre Champion

I've been waiting to get some Litko 40mm plywood bases to work on this guy. Well, they arrived, so now it's time to work on him!

Here are some preliminary shots:

'







There's nary a mold line on this guy, so prep will be a snap! I will base him up tomorrow and get to work on him.

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott

LotR: Wood Elves

I've got a small warband of plastic Wood Elves done. They'll be a nice complement to my Dwarf Rangers.











These are nice, dynamic single-piece plastics, but you need to use some subtle techniques on them to get the most out of them, as they do have a bit of "detail melt" here and there.

Thanks for visiting!

--Scott