Another commercial break?

I have been absent from my blog for a while.  Sadly, I have been taking a course that is filling up most of my spare time.  If it is any consolation, the rest of the time has been filled by my regularly scheduled D&D game and the wife and I started playing a video game together.

So what is with the title?  Another batch of terrain posters advertising made-up companies?

Dungeon Saga terrain by Mantic. Image not my work, used without permission.

No, instead I have stumbled across a Kickstarter that I think is worth sharing as it has a very good deal on terrain bobbins that I find fiddly and frustrating to make.  Mantic has rolled-out something they call Terrain Crate.  This is a series of small terrain items suitable to dress up either your RPGs or wargames tables.  The idea for this came from an add-on they developed for Dungeon Saga, their Dungeon Dressing bits which have sold better than the game as far as I understand.

Dungeon Saga terrain by Mantic. Image not my work, used without permission.

Why?  Simply put, it is a good product that had a wider audience than their game did.

So I will share the link for you to check out at your leisure, an investment worth checking out in my opinion.

Just click on the picture to go to the Kickstarter.

As for the video game?  Ironically another Kickstarter it turns out: Divinity: Original Sin.  This is a very fun Diablo-esque throw-back game but it is completely class-less and has a very funny and well written story.  It can also be played cooperatively with split screen so the two people are not stuck together and forced to follow each other.

So a short post this time around with a very commercial flair, hopefully I inspired you to have at look at what I consider to be a good deal, even if you choose not to spend your money.

RPG Fodder

Work has been very busy of late, but fortunately with the new fiscal year, a lot of the year end nonsense is wrapping up for me.  Good news for you, is that I could find some free time today.

Today has been fairly productive, as I polished off quite a few different figures for the ongoing RPG campaign.

Zombie Ogre by Reaper Miniatures.

Zombie Ogre by Reaper Miniatures.

Zombie Ogre and Joliee, female scribe by Reaper Miniatures.

Up first is a zombie ogre.  I like how this model looks, and eventually I will go back and finish his base.  The fact this zombie is literally held together with bandages makes him look like the redneck special…a bit of duct-tape and good as new.

I decided to add some blood-stains to the bandages and applied a rust wash to the metal…but I am not satisfied with how that turned out.  When I finish the base, the rust may get a rework.

This guy will be a nice surprise for the group in the RPG campaign.  The first encounter they had was an ogre running a toll-bridge, which was actually a cover for a group of bandits.  They paid the ogre, and killed all but one of the bandits.  This will be the ogre making a reappearance, just a lot more worse for wear.

Filth Beast by Reaper Miniatures.

Filth Beast by Reaper Miniatures.

Filth Beast and Joliee, female scribe by Reaper Miniatures.

Also getting some paint is one of my two filth beasts.  For those unaware, this is a miniature interpretation of the otyugh.

This is essentially a disgusting natural garbage and filth disposal as it eats rotting organic material (including it’s own feces).  Yuck.  It also spreads disease with all its attacks for some reason.

I grabbed two of these minis as it is good dungeon fodder for any game you are running, and are tough enough to challenge even parties well past their level.

These two monsters will play a role in a loop-closing adventure.  The party has been hanging around the same village for some time, although they burned it to the ground and evacuated the villagers, so it is more rubble than village.

A few weeks ago, they stumbled across a battlefield cursed by a slain necromancer (which had been hinted at to them since they first arrived).  There will be a couple of new players joining the group this week and they will lead the party to the ruins of the necromancer’s stronghold (for treasure and to hopefully stop the necromancer and his army from rising over and over again).  These two will add some tougher opponents in the mix with the various undead that don’t stay dead.

Hellhounds by Reaper Miniatures.

Hellhounds and Joliee, female scribe by Reaper Miniatures.

Shadow Hound by Reaper Miniatures.

Shadow Hound by Reaper Miniatures.

Shadow Hound by Reaper Miniatures.

Shadow Hound by Reaper Miniatures.

Shadow Hound, Hellhounds, Warg and Wolf from Companions Animals by Reaper Miniatures.

Looking ahead for a monster type I am short on figures for, I painted up several of the wolf-types I have.

Up first are the Hellhounds.  Rather than a demonic creature, I went for a more mundane look.  I did this for two reasons.  First it gives me more versatility, and second these really remind me more of the art for dire wolves in the D&D books than hellhounds.

Next is the shadow hound figure.  Although transparent purple and meant to be used as an ethereal monster, I thought it would look cooler as a giant werewolf/demon hound/giant canine.  I went for a grey with this one, but I likely will pick up at least one more to go with black.  This reminds me very much of the werewolf in the Never-ending Story that hunted the champions of the Childlike Empress.

For all three of these, I had primed them weeks ago and quickly did wet-blending to get them hammered out.

If you haven’t worked with Bones before, you can paint them as soon as the brushed on primer is dry.  But, and this is important, if it isn’t fully cured the primed has a habit of peeling and rubbing off while painting.  The subtle transitions on the wolves were from being able to apply pressure.  The Filth Beast has less smooth transitions as the primer kept rubbing off since it had only been dry for a couple hours when I started.

To show off scale, here are all of my wolf-types.  For proxies as wolves, I now have several.  Conveniently, these will also be useful for an encounter I have prepped for when the party follows the lead for another treasure.

A lot of diverse miniatures today, so hopefully something inspired you today.  If nothing else, it shows what a quick afternoon of wet-blending can do for you.