400th Post: Retconning is a virtue

I'm a day tardy getting this post up, but i'm not opposed to post-dating! :P This an important milestone to recognize... 400 posts!!! What an achievement!

These last 8 years have been a journey. Real Life™ has kicked my butt a number of times over the last 14 years and I have had to back burner this blog. At the pace I try to maintain, I would have hit 400 posts in only 4 years. That said, I am very proud of this accomplishment. Heck, averaging 50 posts a year ain't bad.

But wait, there's more! I have a small showcase to share--A group of  WHFB Wood Elves Glade Guard Winged Fey Forest Creatures, given to me by Lord Grimskull. Whew, what a mouthful.

I don't have a WHFB/AoS Wood Elves army but I figured they could see the battlefield as Dark Heresy alien creatures, Necromunda mutated animals, or even as a stand-in for a small flying creature in D&D. With that in mind, I chose blue-green colors on the figure and a complimentary neutral base color. The figures are based on 20mm MDF round bases.

Thanks for the journey. Hope to see you in 400 more posts!

D&D 5e PCs Showcase

I am in a 5e D&D campaign that my buddy Lord Grimskull is running.

My character is a Human (1/4 Orc) Ranger who has been on his own for a long time. Influenced by the sci-fi game I am also in, I wanted to replicate having different ranged weapons for different situation.

So my character has a short bow for melee, and a heavy cross bow for sniping.

The finished piece. I started using a horn for warnings and long range communication in game after I started painting, but I still managed to add a bit last minute.

One of the other players is playing a Half-Elf Paladin. He bought the figure and I offered to convert and paint it for him. He wanted a head swap and here is the picture I sent him of possible options.

Here is the finished model. You can see the new head fits perfectly.

D&D 3.5e PCs WIP

Awhile back, I started running my wife and son through a D&D 3.5 campaign. We are starting with The Sunless Citadel and if they want to keep going, we will continue with the rest of that series.

They decided to play twins, brother and sister--One is a fighter, ad the other a cleric. To emphasize being twins, I chose to build the base figures identically. The axe was custom built for my son's character, from plasticard, plastic tubing, and 2 orc axe heads.

Base colors down, nearing completion.

Fantasy RPG Dungeon Dressing 2

A gallery of my Fantasy Dungeon Dressing collection.

Part 1 of this series was posted a few years ago, and can be found here. These pieces have been acquired over the years. Some are purpose bought, while others were lifted from boardgames. A few of the items date back to the mid 80's, but a large portion of them were collected on the 00's.

RPG's originally ware a game that played out exclusively in players minds. But my group is comprised of mostly wargamers, hobbyists, and creative-types. We have turned our combats into detailed 3D tactical exercises. A direct result, I have collected various pieces to help visually describe/dictate the tabletop.

Spell Effects

These represent a number of spell effects such as Mage Hand, Invisibility, Living Fireball, Turn to Stone, to name a few.

Doors

Dungeon Doors from Advanced Heroquest and Dungeon Bowl.

Columns

Resin and plastic columns. The marble was painted with a sponge stippling technique.

Traps

Various traps from Mage Knight.

Outdoor Scenery

A small collection of resin outdoor scenery.

Fantasy RPG Dungeon Dressing 1

A gallery of my Fantasy Dungeon Dressing collection.

These pieces have been acquired over the years. Some are purpose bought, while others were lifted from boardgames. A few of the items date back to the mid 80's, but a large portion of them were collected on the 00's.

RPG's originally ware a game that played out exclusively in players minds. But my group is comprised of mostly wargamers, hobbyists, and creative-types. We have turned our combats into detailed 3D tactical exercises. A direct result, I have collected various pieces to help visually describe/dictate the tabletop.

Statures, monuments and obelisks

The three grey pieces and the one front-and-center are pre-painted from Mage Knight. I painted the remaining items. The two light colored obelisks in the back row are from Reaper (?). The three dwarf statues in the middle were made from plastic bottle screw-on caps and GW multi-part plastic figures.

My favorite of the bunch are the two brass lions on marble plinths. They are resin models. I am especially proud of the marble technique (see inset, top).

Loot

Most of these are pre-painted sets from Mage Knight and Master Maze. The large groupings (cloth, crates, bags, etc) in the middle and the barrels in the back were painted by me.

Furniture

Only the two sets of tables with solid back chars are pre-painted sets from Mage Knight. Everything else are a combination of resin and metal models that I painted. The mirror on the tiered stand is one my oldest dungeon decor pieces. The rug under the desk is a piece of plasticard with the ends scored (to make the tassels).

Miscellaneous

A menagerie of pieces that didn't fit anywhere else. I painted everything here.

The pot is also one of my oldest figures. It originally had billowing smoke that culminated into the shape of a wizards face. It broke off, so I decided to re-purpose it. I made the campfire out of small gravel and toothpicks.

Thrones and Magic Items

The left throne is a game piece and the right throne is from Mage Knight. The stone work both thrones are on are GW square bases. I used a small file to carve out the stones. The throne on the left sits atop a 60mm, 40mm, and 20mm base.

All of the magic items (except for the two flying swords) are from Master Maze.

Well, that is it for part 1. The next installment will focus on larger pieces and out door items.

I Smell a Rat! | Fantasy RPG Figure Collection (part 12)

Finally wrapping up this series about 3 months late...

I will make the last entry into this series short. Rats (especially Giant Rats) are a staple vermin in any fantasy setting.

As with many of my 'mobs' and generic baddies, these have been basecoated, ink washed, drybrushed with 1-2 layers of highlights, then details added.

Dire Rats/Giant Rats - All of the individual rats are actually sci-fi vermin--Necromunda Mutant Rats. The Giant Rat Swarm (the large base in the back) are from an unknown company.

Rats - All of these figures are from GW. They are originally from Mordheim, Basic Hero Quest and WHFB minis.

To see the previous posts in this series, see the following links:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | 

Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11

D&D 5e Test Run

I played a game of Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition!

My buddy Lord Grimskull ran a session of D&D 5e about a month ago. There were 4 PCs, although one player couldn't make it.

We started with some experience. Since 3rd level is a big power boost and there is a career path choice, the DM decided we would be 2nd level.

As soon as we started "rolling" up characters I was taken aback... point... buy... abilities... !?!?! Yep, the standard in 5e is stat buy... no rolling 3d6 for your abilities. This was different. I know 3rd and 4th edition had optional point buy rules, but in some way it felt wrong. 

The basic stat block is 15/14/13/12/10/10. I think everyone else took that. I chose to take the extreme of 15/15/15/8/8/8. With my racial bonus, I ended up with 17/15/15/10/8/8. The game is designed so you CAN NOT have a starting character with an ability over 17. In fact you would have to take the extreme starting stat block like I did and put two of the 15s in your racial prime stats to end up with two 17s (17/17/15/8/8/8).

It took about 2 hours to get 4 2nd-level characters rolled-up created. We were an adventuring group that had been together for at least 2 missions. The most recent was simple goblin extermination. Our party consisted of a Dragonborn Rogue (me), a Human Wizard, a Gnome Cleric (NPC), and an Elf Paladin. The game starts as we arrive back at the small logging village that hired us to hunt gobbos.

After a night of kicking back and spending our recently acquired coin, things started going awry late that night: Weird sounds, a dead body, missing grave stones, and a dense wall of fog surrounding the village. We survived the night. The next day, the fog spoke to us, threatening our lives. We dug here the missing grave stones were to find there were no bodies at all. Mid-day, the leader of the village guards went into the fog and never came back. We rallied the villagers to build up defenses.

Before night-fall we built a roof-bridge between the watch tower, the temple and the barracks. We put all of the food and supplies in the temple, and anyone who couldn't fight went in the barracks. we tried digging pits between buildings and boarding up windows, but we only managed to get the south face finished before the second night.

We were attacked by strange undead. I lost track of how many varieties, but it was at least 3--The "grunts", a long legged fast type, and ones with a 20' tongue attack that grabbed you like a lasso. The night did not end well.

The map shows were we left things. The figures laying down in buildings are actually on the roof (and alive). The one figure in the upper right laying down in the street was a prominent figure. We lost over half the fighting villagers (most of them were guard-types). If things go the same the next night, Im not sure we will make it through! 

This was supposed to be a one-night test drive of 5e, but things ran long. Everyone had fun and thants the point of all this anyway, right! We are planning to finish up in the near future.

Character Illustrations Part 1

A selection of 25+ year old RPG character drawings.

Welcome to my Retro series, where I share creations from yesteryear. Click on the Retro label to peruse all the past articles.

Here are some of my fantasy character illustrations created in the mid to late 80s.  They were all drawn with technical pens, markers, and colored pencils. I used The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe as reference.

These images are also on my Deviant Art account.

Hope you enjoy!

Elfin John
Elf - Fighter/Magic-User/Thief
D&D

 

Arcoten
Human - Warrior
WHFRPG

Human - Fighter
D&D

Human - Ranger
D&D

Human - Magic-User
D&D

Halfling - Rogue
WHFRPG

Human - Thief (Posing as Magic-User)
D&D

Grin and Bear it | Fantasy RPG Figure Collection (part 11)

I love bad puns... and I'm really bad at them!!!  

Today I present a quintet of bears.

1. A plastic toy bear (early 00s)
2. A D&D Miniature Dire Bear (mid 00s)
3. A plastic toy bear (early 00s)
4. A metal bear miniature from "I Don't Remember Co." (late 90s)
5. A WHFB Wood Elf Animal Handlers bear (late 90s)

Short and sweet today. Thant's all today folks. Ta ta!

Motley Crew | Fantasy RPG Figure Collection (part 10)

I think this series is getting a little long in the tooth. I will be ending it shortly and present the remainder of my Fantasy RPG Figure Collection in a different way.

First of we have some felines...

1. A pair of D&D Miniature Guenhwyvar (mid 00s)
2. This is a Saber-tooth Tiger, but I don't remember the foundry that made it (early 00s)

The Saber-tooth is the only one I painted. I don't remember if this was for a generic encounter or painted specifically for a player. The photo does not do the figure justice. All the interim shading steps are lost--There is a dark base coat, an ink wash, followed by 5 successively lighter highlights.

Next we have a variety of small four-legged mammals...

1. A trio of Boars; foundry unknown (late 90s)
2. A D&D Miniature Fiendish Dire Wolverine (early 80s)
3. A D&D Miniature Fiendish Dire Weasel (mid 00s)
4. A quartet  of D&D Miniature Celestial Dire Badgers (late 80s)

In this group, the Boars are the only figures painted by me. Nothing special here... they look in RL pretty much like they do in the image.

To see the previous posts in this series, click below.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Air Superiority | Fantasy RPG Figure Collection (part 9)

A smorgasbord of flying thingies!

Can't have too many flying pests to annoy an adventuring party with. This installment of my RPG Figure Collections focuses on small flying creatures.

This is a GW Vampire Counts Bat Swarm.

A flock of GW Warmaster Carrion

These are actually sci-fi creatures. I based them of fantasy (square) bases as I wanted to bolster my selection of monsters for D&D. They are fGW Necromunda Ripper Jacks.

Lastly, here is a selection of various familiars--A hawk, cat, owl, and eagle.

All but 2 minis were painted within days of each other about 10-12 years ago. They were speed painted (and based)--Base cote, dry-brush hi-light, and ink wash... done! It took a total of about 2 hours from primer to matte cote for the lot. 

That all this time. To see the previous posts in this series, click below.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Cold Blooded | Fantasy RPG Figure Collection (part 8)

'Ere we gots ssome snakeses and ssome ribbiterz...

A small group of reptiles and amphibians. Although, these don't come into use too often. 

Not much to say about these guys. The only ones I painted are 2, 4, 8, and 9.

1. A D&D Miniature Giant Grog (mid 00s)
2. This is a wood sculpted toy/trinket (early 80s)
3. A D&D Miniature Giant Grog (mid 00s))
4. A GW Talisman Toad (late 80s)
5. A D&D Miniature Displacer Serpent (mid 00s)
6. A D&D Miniature Fiendish Snake(mid 00s)
7. A D&D Miniature Iron Cobra (mid 00s)
8. I no longer remember where this mini came from (early 80s)
9. And #8s partner (early 80s)

Thats all for this post. Hope you come back again!

To see the previous posts in this series, click below.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Man's Best Friend | Fantasy RPG Figure Collection (part 7)

This is a short one today. Dogs and a beast of burden are up next in my collection series.

Only a few figures to show off this time around. The donkey was included as it seemed to fit here best.

1. A Mordheim Dog from GW (late 90s)
2. 1 of 2 war dogs from a set by Grenedier I think (late 80s)
3. A very old GW donkey. It came with a small cart. I added the green-stuff baggage (late 80s)
4. 2 of 2 war dogs from a set by Grenedier I think (late 80s)
5. This is either a GW or Reaper dog (early 00s)

I wish I had about 10 dogs in total (for RPG purposes) I always seem to need more than I have.

Let me know if you have any question or comments about this series. Any suggestion on how to improve them is welcome too.

If you like this article, see below for the previous articles in this series:
Part 1: Wagons Ho!
Part 2: Constructing Elementals (part 1)
Part 3: Constructing Elementals (part 2)
Part 4: Giants Among Us
Part 5: Have Horse, Will Travel
Part 6: Bark at the Moon

Bark at the Moon | Fantasy RPG Figure Collection (part 6)

Here's the next installment of my RPG figure collection. Going through all these figures in various qualities of paint are beginning to inspire me to re-do some of them.

Unlike the horses in my last Fantasy RPG Figure Collection post, I do know the companies that produced these figures.

1. 1 of 4 wolves, part of a Grenadier Orc Chariot seen in this post (late 80's)
2. 2 of 4 wolves, part of a Grenadier Orc Chariot seen in this post (late 80's)
3. A D&D Miniatures Dire Wolf (mid 00s)
4. Freki, one of Leman Russ' personal wolves from GW (late 80s)
5. A D&D Miniatures Winter Wolf (mid 00s)
6. 3 of 4 wolves, part of a Grenadier Orc Chariot seen in this post (late 80's)
7. A GW Goblin Wolf Rider wolf (early 90s)
8. 4 of 4 wolves, part of a Grenadier Orc Chariot seen in this post (late 80's)
9. Geri, one of Leman Russ' personal wolves from GW (late 80s)
10. A GW Goblin Wolf Rider wolf (early 90s)
11. A GW Goblin Wolf Rider wolf (early 90s)

There have been a few times when I considered re-basing the D&D Miniature figures into my standard basing style. But the main reason I don't is that I have this crazy idea that I will actually play D&D Miniatures!!

That's all for my wolves. Next up are dogs. 

If you like this article, see below for the previous articles in this series:

Part 1: Wagons Ho!

Part 2: Constructing Elementals (part 1)

Part 3: Constructing Elementals (part 2)

Part 4: Giants Among Us

Part 5: Have Horse, Will Travel

Have Horse, Will Travel | Fantasy RPG Figure Collection (part 5)

I have done these kind of posts before, but decided to give them a proper name! Behold the "Fantasy RPG Figure Collection" series!

None of these figures are painted to an exceptional level, and only a few are painted to what I would consider (now) as table top standard. I don't remember the manufacturer of each figure, but they are likely a mix of Grenadier, RAFM and Reaper.

1. Random horse, came with rider (early 00s)
2. My first horse figure, came with rider and standing version (early 80s)
3. My second horse figure, came with rider (mid 80s)
4. Random horse, came with rider (early 00s)
5. One of a pair of "adventurer's horses", came without rider (mid 00s)
6. PC's horse, came with rider and standing version (late 90s)
7. One of a pair of "adventurer's horses", came without rider (mid 00s)
8. Female PC's horse, came with rider and standing version (mid 90s)

The reason these horses do not have riders attatched is because I primarily use (and re-use) them as steeds for PCs and NPCs. I'll either place the character's mini next to the horse, or add a label with the rider's name on the saddle.

Horse number 6 was the only horse that had its rider painted.

Here are the past articles in this series:

Part 1: Wagons Ho!

Part 2: Constructing Elementals (part 1)

Part 3: Constructing Elementals (part 2)

Part 4: Giants Among Us

Large Gothic Church Ruin WIP

Pics of the behemoth ruined church that has been in progress for years!

I think I started this project about 4 years ago. It is comprised of parts from Pegasus Hobbies Gothic City Large Set and Gothic City Ruins 1.

This will be a multi purpose building--Able to be used in WH40K, WHFB, D&D, and Dark Heresy.

At the time, my OCD was strong and I felt the need to make the building fit on a 12" x 24" MDF board. I was also working on various other buildings and ruined buildings that would all fit on a 12" x 12" city grid. 

However, I no longer feel that it is important--Especially if a building will look better mounted on a 10" x 22" board.

I had made some sketches of how I wanted to make a partial roof (over the front third of the building, but couldn't find them.

The building is siting on a pink foam foundation so that I can have a raised altar/platform.

Deathbot is anxious to battle somewhere else besides the hilly grasslands. The wastelands of our last was a nice change of pace, but he is dying to play in city and/or Necromunda terrain.