Its not easy...being Green...

For the first iteration of the Golden Gobo Painting contest that us fans of Oldhammer have participated in I had to really do some soul searching to pick a suitable figure.  This is a somewhat unique contest in that not only did participants have to paint up an Old School figure but we had to create a stat line and background story for our character.  This made the contest quite fun and proved to be a challenge for me as I'm not the best and coming up with "fluff" for my figures or armies....but I gave it a go.

As I ruminated on my figure choice I kept coming around to one of my absolute favorite Marauder Goblin Sculpts....an uncatalogued Goblin Mage.  I had painted a version of this figure back in the late 80's and he served my evil armies well on many a battlefield.  Luckily I liked this figure so much that I managed to hold onto him for all these years...and I can even share it with you...here he is in all his late 80's glory!

haha...as you can see at the time I was fully on-board with the Green base edge and the neon green Goblin skin that was so popular in the 3rd edition...but despite that you can see that this is a VERY cool figure that just oozes character...love this guy.  In fact other than the skin color I like my color choices for his robes...and kept them for the new version I painted for the Golden Gobo.

In a trade on Frother's late last year I stumbled into another copy of this great figure....so I didn't even have to strip this guy down to paint a new version for the GG.  Here is my new version of the figure...I call him Darnog the Dank.

So...I've toned the skin down a bit and given him Dark grey sleeves instead of all blue...and WOW...looking at them next to each other you can really see the value of decent basing...so much better!

Once the painting was done I started to think about the Fluff for Darnog...first I came up with a Stat line for him and a short background.  Once the juices were flowing I also cranked out a brief story describing how Darnog came to posses his powerful protective magic item. 

I should note here that the place names used in the background and narrative are not ones you will find on any map of the Old World...but are of my own creation...and will be more fleshed out as I continue to work on a campaign to play with my local crew...hopefully over the coming winter.

DARNOG the DANK Level 20 Goblin Wizard

Stats
M   WS   BS   S   T   W   I   A    Ld    Int    Cl     Wp
4       4      4    4    4    4   4   1    7+2  8+3  7+2   8+3

Equipment
Darnog is unarmored and carries only a staff as a hand weapon. He is, however, equipped with a Bracer of Protection which gives him a saving throw of 4+.

Background
It is rumored that Darnog the Dank was spawned in the depths of the eastern Grimwald…the great forest to the north of the city of Culhaven. Reportedly his magical abilities manifested themselves early and he is said to have had considerable control of them even at an early age. Some say that he consumed the rest of his littermates…and some say even his parents.

He first became known to the men and dwarfs of the region when his tribe was instrumental in the destruction of a relief column of troops from Finhoff marching to break the siege of Culhaven in 2367CE by the army of Larlog Kahn. Rumors of the hideous experiments carried out on captives of this column by Darnog did not take long to reach the council chambers of Culhaven where vengeance was sworn. When Larlog’s army was later destroyed by a coalition force of troops from Culhaven and Woodelves from the western portions of the Grimwald, it was hoped that Darnog had fallen in battle. But his Dark magics have been reported as instrumental in a number of other actions since then…though no credible witnesses have survived to report it with any certainty.

The few firsthand accounts that do exist from individuals who have encountered this powerful goblin all mention the pungent odor that seems to permeate from him. It is as if he has absorbed the very essence of the deep, dark, wet forest into his being. Perhaps it is through some twisted form of primal connection with the forest around him that has allowed such a debased being as this goblin to achieve such unheard of power. The most recent reports have placed him with a small but growing band of goblin raiders on the fringes of the Grimwald where they meet the Blighted Hills which also includes the notorious unit Skliff’s Shootas. His destruction is still of the highest priority for the city councilors and residents of Culhaven.

Narative
Erich watched in bewildered fascination as the goblins swarmed over his wagon load of good and his dying horses. It reminded the trader from Culhaven of a pack of five year olds let loose on a pile of sweet meats. Squabbles erupted over particularly shinny bits of loot, distracted goblins walked into each other or tripped over tidbits of gear that were strewn about….and the Noise! It was an endless din of gibberish mixed with squeals of delight, as treasures were discovered, and grunted curses of anger as they were snatched away by another greenskin.

His fascination was broken by the scream of Pie Eye as a goblin repeatedly stabbed the wounded horse in the neck…attempting to finish the poor mare off. Erich cursed between clenched teeth as the goblins began cutting chunks of the animal off before she was even dead. Occasionally one of the vermin would throw a glance at Erich…he knew his time would come before too long…but for now they seemed content with rifling through his belongings. They had caught him off guard, half asleep on a hot summer day driving his wagon through the dense woods north of Culhaven. This road was supposedly safe but the dense woods in this part of the province were occasionally infested with groups of greenskins, he should not have been traveling alone…but guards were expensive and profits were slim. If he somehow escaped this nightmare he would personally volunteer to lead a force of retribution to rid the wood of this foul group.

After another ten minutes of rooting through his wagon load of trade goods, and stripping his team nearly to the bone, a group of five of the larger goblins turned their attention to the trader who lay trussed like a hog at the edge of the forest. As the group ambled over to him, Erich tried to shake the sleeve of his tunic down over the thick gold bracer that was fitted tightly around his left arm. Sadly the motion seemed to attract attention to the only valuable piece of equipment that Erich actually owned.

“Wots dis den eh? Got a bobble der do ya?” the largest of the filthy figures barked at Erich. When he failed to answer the goblin went on “Gif it ‘ere or I’ll stick ya good” he said as he pulled the long curved blade knife from his belt. The cruel looking blade was still sticky red with horse blood.

The goblin’s feeble mind failed to understand that with the fetters they had secured him with he couldn’t possibly comply…even if he wanted to…so again he kept his silence.
 
“fine den…its da ‘ard way den is it?” the goblin spat, glancing at his neighbors to insure that they would back him up.

“ya Skliff…the ‘ard way it is..I’s like the ‘ard way” one of the others muttered, his face twisted into a cruel smile… and they moved to pin the merchant to the ground by piling on top of him. The one apparently known as Skiff pulled his bound hands out in front of him and knelt on Erich’s elbows. The pain was intense but he knew worse was to come.

“right den…lets git to it den..dat bobble gonna look right nice on me own ‘and” Skliff growled as he brought the knife down to severe Erich’s forearm just above the bracer.

The bracer that had saved his Erich’s life innumerable times was about to become the end of it as well. It had been a gift from his uncle Heinrich on his deathbed. The old man swore it had some charm that had kept him safe during his years with the mercenary outfit he had spent his youth serving with, and Erich had no reason to doubt him. In many bar room brawls, scrapes with highwaymen, and that unfortunate incident during the Brewery Riots, Erich had emerged unscathed and he could only attribute that to the “charm” of his uncle’s gift.

It was just as the knife was about to cut into his arm that Erich became aware of the smell. Not the rancid body odor smell of the filthy goblin who was kneeling on his arms, but a wetter, mustier, earthy smell that suddenly seemed to fill the air around them. At first Erich could not locate the source of the smell…not until he heard the loud crack of wood on skull and Skliff suddenly pitched to the side…out cold…could the trader determine its origin. Looming over him…filling the space above him where Skliff had knelt…was an ancient Goblin dressed in heavy dark blue and grey robes…a gnarled wooden staff clenched in his wrinkly hands. His face was slack and expressionless, but his eyes glowed red with pure malevolence. As the rest of the Goblins holding Erich down backed away, giving way entirely before newcomer he heard several of them mutter the name “Darnog.”

Even though he was no longer restrained by the pile of goblins that had been sitting on him, Erich was frozen in place by some unearthly power. It was as if the gaze of Darnog alone had the power to hold him motionless. As the wrinkled green skin stepped up to stand directly over him, Erich now knew where the wet musty smell that permeated the air was coming from…this was Darnog the Dank…a powerful goblin wizard and scourge of the Eastern Marches. Erich’s bowels suddenly turned to water and it was all he could do to keep from soiling himself. Where before he had considered escape an actual possibility he now knew that a quick death would be the best he could hope for. Darnog's reputation was well known to all...

Darnog seemed to sniff the air around the merchant…and his gaze suddenly shifted from Erich’s eyes to the golden bracer on his arm…and there it lingered for a long second. With careful precision Darnog brought the end of his staff up and gently tapped the bracer twice. Immediately the ornament sprung open in a way that Erich had not even known was possible. Darnog bent over slowly and pulled the bracer free of Erich’s frozen arm…and as he straightened the wizard fastened it around his own forearm. Without so much as a word Darnog turned and walked away…taking Erich’s last hope with him.

Once it was clear that the grizzled goblin was done with him, the remaining greenskins closed in on the hapless trader…No Charm would protect him now...

Well there it is...I hoped you enjoyed the story.

Cheers,

Blue

Chaos...the BIG and the small Part 5

Well its only been 6 months since my last update on the Chaos project that I've been working on...so lets get to it!

To remind everyone what I'm talking about...I've been working on a 12 figure commission for a mate from CDO (HlH) who wanted me to paint some of his classic Chaos warriors to match his already painted MM90 Chaos Dwarfs....the sculpts of which were inspired by the corresponding warriors.

So this post brings this project to a close...it took much longer than I expected to complete these and I must applaud HlH for his patience with me while I finished these off for him...he has been very gracious.

Anyway...enough jibber jabber...lets look at the minis!

First up we have this guy who is wearing the skin of some sort of saber toothed cat over his Chaos Armor...here we see him with the corresponding MM90.  Keep in mind the HlH will be taking care of the bases and shields so that they match his existing figures.

As you can see I mixed things up just a little....instead of painting the pelt tan like on the MM90 I chose to use the grey of the dwarfs beard for the Warrior pelt....I felt this contrasted with the Bronze armor a bit better.

Here are the detailed shots of the Warrior...

Next up are my favorite pair of this group....the Skull Face boys.  I love both the MM90 and the Chaos warrior versions of this sculpt.  The fact that the warrior version is an uncataloged release just makes it more interesting...it took me quite awhile to get ahold of a copy of this one for my own collection.  I was not even aware that he existed until HlH mailed me his copy to paint.

Paint job wise this one is fairly faithful copy of the MM90 supplied.

Here is the individual shot of the Chaos Warrior.

Alrighty then....that brings us to the final figure....the Mage!  I must say that this one intimidated me the most...for a couple of reasons.  First of all the two sculpts, while similiar, have more differences than the previous pairs.  Secondly the MM90 Mage is by far the coolest dfigure in that range...and that is saying something!  And lastly HlH's PJ on the MM90 version had a lot of bright color that I feared trying to duplicate.  But as my Dad used to say "there ain't nothin' to it but to do it!" So...in this case I tried to stick with the same color pallete to get a similiar feel... but did not try to slavishly follow the mini-me version.  Here they are side by side.

And here is the Chaos Wizard (Amon Dul) Solo...

And just for fun...here are all 12 of the comission pieces together in one group.

This has been a fun project...and these were hard to package up and send away...but they are gone now and I can get on with trying to collect my own copies of them....hehehe.

Cheers,

Blue

Learning to Crawl...Part 3

Yorin and Dorek were in front as they approached the double doors at the end of the hallway...Yorin looked at Dorek and nodded...Dorek nodded back...they both knew that either glory or death lay in the room beyond.  So far the raid had gone well.  After a few initial fumbles Yorin and his crew had eliminated the guards from the front room...Dorek had assisted Florin in dispatching one of the goblins...and surprisingly the old mage had killed the other with his staff before shredding an Orc archer with a spray of magical bolts.  Yorin grinned in satisfaction when he thought of his own contribution to the action...as the commander of the guard raised his sword to strike Yorin the dwarf had caught him in the chest with a powerful blow from his axe...killing him outright.

Yorin and Dorek each grasped a door handle...and the dwarf leader whispered...one...two..three! On 3 they each flung their door open...revealing the large room behind.  The dwarfs had only a second to take in the room full of enemies in front of them before all hell broke loose...

Turn 6
Yorin and Dorek approach and open the doors.  The baddies on the other side move toward the door and prepare to "receive" their visitors.  As the doors open Drakenhoff unleashes the Rain of Svarog on the dwarves...catching all but Magnison in a powerful blast of magic.  Drakenhoff actually rolled a natural 20 with this spell and caused 2 wound to Yorin and Dorek...Florin avoided any serious harm by hiding behind his comrades in front of him.  Since Drakenhoff is wearing the Circlet of Incantation he is able to cast a second spell this turn and unleashes Forked Lighting on Dorek and Yorin...causing them each a third wound.

Turn 7
The Baddies win the initiative and charge in with the warriors up front, attempting to bottle up the dwarfs in the doorway.  Orc warrior 1 steps up and lands a vicious blow on Doreks shoulder causing 2 wounds...bring his total damage to 5 out of 6 vitality points!  Orc warrior 2 attacks Yorin and though he lands a blow fails to wound the dwarf leader.  In their half turn Dorek returns the favor by inflicting one wound on Orc Warrior 1 and Yorin bashes through the shield of Orc warrior 2 driving his war axe deep into the greenskin's shoulder killing him.

here is the situation at the end of Turn 7

Turn 8
The enemies win the initiative again and continue to keep our heroes pinned in the doorway.  Larlog charges forward to engage Yorin.  Fluffy and the Orc archer decide to back off toward the rear of the room to see how the action in the doorway plays out.  In the Orcs Melee phase Orc warrior 1 presses his attack on Dorek and over powers his defense driving his blade deep into the dwarf rangers throat, Dorek collapses in a gurgling heap of blood, beard, and chain-mail where he once stood. Larlog proves a good match for Yorin as well and causes one wound on the dwarf leader.

In the dwarf turn Florin steps over the still twitching body of his dying cousin, Dorek, and attacks Orc warrior 1 who is still attempting to recover his blade from dwarf rangers body...Florin brings his flail crashing down onto the Orc's head making a sickening thud and killing him instantly.  Magnison attempts to cast Silvery Barbs at Larlog but the mystical forces prove elusive and the spell fails.  Yorin steps back for a second and quaffs his healing potion before stepping forward and swatting Larlog on the side of the head with the flat of his axe.  This knocks what little sense the Orc leader had right out of  his head and he stumbles...stunned. 

Turn 9
The Dwarfs finally win initiative..Florin dashes (well dashing for a dwarf anyway..;))into the room toward Fluffy and the Orc archer.  Magnison steps through the doorway and casts Silvery Barbs at Drakenhoff...but once again the spell fails him.  Yorin presses his attack on the stunned Larlog causing a wound.

Drakenhoff steps forward and engages the Dwarf mage in a magical duel casting Forked Lightning at him but failing to make the bolt appear.  He then turns his attention to the captain of his guard and casts Touch of Belenos on him healing his 1 wound and unstunning him (is that a word?).  Fluffy charges forward into Florin and overwhelms him with a flurry of claws and fangs...causing 1 wound.

End of Turn 9

Turn 10
The dwarfs take the intiative again.  Magnison remebers the proper cadence for Silvery Barbs and directs it at Drakenhoff...this time the spell is successful and the Big Bad takes 2 wounds!  (not bad for an old codger!)  Yorin and Larlog trade blows but neither is able to land a strike.  Fluffy latches onto Florins leg with one of his mouth and sends the dwarf tumbling causing 1 wound.

As the Baddies begin their half turn the Orc archer fires an arrow at the the Dwarf Mage and misses.  In this phase Larlog dodges Yorin's axe strike and manages to find a chink in the dwarfs leg armor causing 1 wound.  On the other side of the room Florin tries to fend off Fluffy from his position on his back but the Beast grabs his other leg in its other mouth and causes yet another wound.

End of Turn 10

Turn 11
The dwarfs retain the momentum of the encounter...the Dwarf Mage tries Silvery barbs once again but after his last success is over confident and not able to make it work again.  In the doorway...enraged by the wound to his leg Yorin gives a mighty war cry "Chakka Shok Chakka Cor!" (Dwarven Axes Dwarven Might!) and battles through Larlog's defense to land a blow that nearly severs the Orcs Chieftain's left arm at the shoulder....but fails to put him out of the fight.  Across the room Fluffy is now standing on Florins chest and gnawing on various bits of the dwarf...luckily his chain mail seems to be taking most of the damage...though he does receive another wound.

Again the Orc archer misses the dwarf mage with his bow...(why did I bother to give orcs bows?)  Drakenhoff is also having a hard time with the mysical arts and fails to cast both Hand of Belenos and Forked Lightning...he must be too busy watching his favorite pet playing with his new chew toy!  Yes thats right Fluffy causes yet another wound to Florin...bringing his total to 5 wounds....things are not looking good for the Dwarf Barbarian.  In the doorway Larlog...staggered by the wound to his shoulder can not match the fury of the enraged Dwarf leader and Yorin dispatches him by removing his head from his shoulders with a single blow.

Turn 12
Enraged by the death of his Orc Captain, Drakenhoff and his minions take the initiative and the evil warlock manages to casts Forked Lightning at the Magnison and catches the dwarf wizard with a bolt of blue energy causing 1 wound.  Feeling powerful Drakenhoff also attempts Rain of Svarog but can't quite pull it off.  The Orc archer attempts to help his boss out with another arrow but might as well not have bothered.  Frustrated that he is not able to bite through Florin's armor, Fluffy backs off slightly and swats the dwarf across the face with one of his enormous paws...stunning him.

In their half of the turn Yorin charges forward toward Drakenhoff hoping to end the fight with his War Axe.  Magnison attempts to help him on his way by casting Fleet of Foot...but fails...again.  On the floor the stunned Florin somehow manages to keep Fluffy from disemboweling him...but does little else.

Turn 13
The dwarfs take the initiative.  Magnison strikes first by casting Silvery barbs at Drakenhoff and causing 2 more wounds!  The archmage now has lost 4 of his 5 vitality points! ...but he does have a double strength healing potion attached to his belt.  After his successful magical attack the dwarf mage moves left coming closer to Florin in hopes that he can pass a healing potion to the downed barbarian.  Seeing the evil mage staggered by the blast of magical bolts Yorin passes his Willpower test and successfully charges the fearsome wizard.  As he charges in Yorin thrusts forward with his axe haft catching the wizard in the chest and knocking the wind out of him.  The Big Bad is Stunned!!!  Across the room Florin still manages to fend off Fluffy and finally shakes off the daze he was in.

As the Baddies take their turn the Orc archer misses...yet again....sigh.  Fluffy pounces on the reviving Florin and chomps on his wounded leg again causing another wound...6 out of 7!  And though he was gasping for air and trying desperately to take the healing potion out of his belt pouch Drakenhoff was able to avoid a killing blow from Yorin....just barely.

 
Turn 14
The Evil side wins the initiative.  The Orc archer tries once more to fire an arrow at the Dwarf mage and misses...frustrated he throws down his bow, pulls out his sword and starts to move around Fluffy...hoping to come to grips with the dwarfs up close.  Drakenhoff is still stunned but manages to stay out of Yorin's way...but since he is stunned is unable to quaff his potion.

Though horribly mauled and bleeding from dozens of punctures and lacerations Florin summons enough strength for a desperate strike with his great weapon.  The end of his flail catches Fluffy right between the eyes (On his right head) causing the vicious beast to step backward and shake both his heads...trying to clear the flashing lights that suddenly fill his vision (stunned!). 

As the dwarfs take their half turn Florin struggles to his feet and raises his flail high above his head...he then brings it crashing down on Fluffy's left head...and something gives way in the hounds skull.  The slobbering animal is killed instantly and drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes!  The collapse of Fluffy allows Magnison to draw a line of sight on the Orc archer...the wizard once more calls on the mystical powers to send a flight of Silvery Barbs flying across the room.  They strike the Orc in the Chest and shoulder sending him spinning across the room where he collapses...never to rise again.

On the other side of the room Drakenhoff has recovered his breath and steps forward in hopes of finishing off the dwarf leader...but Yorin has been taken by the Bloodlust and lands several savage blows in a row dismembering the evil wizard where he stands.  For a moment the archmage's body remains standing...blood gushing from the newly open wounds...then it slumps to one side and falls to the ground....a sudden silence  fills the room...Only the panting of the exhausted warriors can be heard.

Yorin just stood there for a moment...stunned that it was over...before him the remains of Drakkenhoff lay in an expanding pool of blood....he didn't look so fearsome now.  The axe in his hands suddenly seemed to weighed a ton...so he let it slip to the floor with a clang.  The sound seemed to rouse Yorin from the trance into which he had slipped...he looked around at the others.  Magnison was leaning over a badly wounded Florin.  The red-headed dwarf was seated in front of the dead hound that had caused his many wounds...he patted Fluffy on the head in an almost tender fashion.  Here had been a worthy opponent for the Barbarian....almost his match.  Yorin looked down and saw that Drakenhoff's right hand still held a small bottle containing a potion...which Yorin assumed was a healing draught.  The Dwarf leader pried the mage's stiff fingers from the bottle and brought it over to his brother. "Florin...drink this mate"  but the barbarian couldn't even raise the bottle to his own lips without help from Magnison. 

"Its done boys" Florin muttered as the effects of the potion started to take hold....his wounds stitching themselves back together as they watched.   "Now...lets get out of here...this place gives me the creeps!"  Yorin smiled ...they had done it...and most of them would be going home to share the money they had earned ...All but poor Dorek...he had no idea how he was going to explain that to his wife....

Conclusion
WOW! What a turn around!  I could have sworn that Florin would become puppy chow for Fluffy and that Drakenhoff would have had fun finishing off the rest of the party...but fate did not deem it so.  Drakenhoff's major failing was not taking his healing potion after his first two wounds.  By deciding to wait until he was more wounded...to take advantage of all the potions abilities...he allowed himself to get stunned and therefore not able to take the potion before Yorin finished him off.  With two more wounds available he would have almost certainly eliminated Yorin and been able to turn on the others with all his magic.

Florin's comeback was nothing short of miraculous...that's what I love about games like this...sometimes the dice just really "heat up" for one side or another and then...anything can happen!  Even a half dead dwarf can come back to kill one of the most powerful creatures in an encounter with two quick blows.

This has been a really fun exercise for me...I really enjoyed the game and look forward to playing it again soon...in fact I'm leaving for some more field work in a week and I will certainly be bringing along another small dungeon and some figures.

I'll have some feed back for Gareth...mostly just suggestions of things that need to be clarified in the rules...but that shouldn't stop anyone from giving these rule a go...you'll have a ton of fun!

Cheers,

Blue

Learning to Crawl... Part 2

Yorin hefted the bag of gold in his hand....and wondered if it was enough.  Was it enough to risk his and his companions lives?  Would they even be successful in their mission to kill Drakenhoff and his minions?  Would they live to spend this gold?  Would they ever even emerge from the dark dungeon into which they were about to descend?  He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts...the next few hours would tell...best to put aside his doubts and get on with the job.

He looked around at his companions...his brother Florin combed his long flowing red beard and stared vacantly at the entrance to the darkness below.  Florin, at least, he had no doubt in...as long as there was an enemies head to be cracked Florin was ready and willing...he lived to fight. 

He had less confidence in his cousin Dorek (from his wife's side he often pointed out when the boy did something idiotic), who stood off to the side testing his new bow string and obsessively rearranging the arrows in his quiver.  His actions plainly betrayed the nerves he was feeling.  

Beyond him sat Magnison...the old mage seemed to be staring off into space...mumbling to himself beneath his breath.  Yorin had heard that he had been quite a powerful wizard in his day...but he seemed old a fragile now...he hoped the old timer was up to the task ahead.

"Rights lads...best get on with it" Yorin said as he hefted his ancient axe...the grip felt soft and comforting in his powerful hand.  He looked at each of the others in turn and they all nodded back in response to the question in his eyes...Yes! they were ready. "Dorek...you take the lead...have that bow of yours ready! Florin you next...Magnison you take the middle and I'll bring up the rear...Lets do this thing!"  

Without another word they slowly worked their way down the dark spiral staircase before them...taking their time and allowing their eyes to adjust to the dim into which they descended... none of them new what horrors or rewards awaited them at the bottom...but they were about to find out...

Before we get into a Turn-by-turn description of the initial encounters of our intrepid heroes lets take a look at the situation into which they are descending.  As outlined in the narrative above our lads are arranged single file as they traverse the spiral staircase that leads into Drakenhoff's lair.

(please remember that these pictures were taken in a hotel room with poor lighting and my iphone...so they are not up to my normal standard)

In the first room our team will encounter a pair of Goblin gurads who are busy playing cards (or whatever Goblins do to pass the time) at a table.

In the room behind them we have the rest of the initial guard consisting of an Orc archer and the Orc lieutenant Uorglock...As GM Ive deemed that they will not become aware of the intruders until they engage the Goblins in hand to hand combat.

To the left of the guard room is Drakenhoff's workshop...and what will prove to be the hardest fight of the day...because it contains the Big Bad and his personal guard.

In here we have the man himself who is at his desk dealing with paper work (as usual)...his faithful (and viscous) hound Fluffy...the captain of the guard, Larlog, and two Orc minions...one archer and one warrior type.  The inhabitants of this room will not become aware of the intruders until they begin to approach the double doors of the workshop.

Ok then...thats enough preliminaries...lets get on with the FUN!

Turn 1
As Dorek came to the bottom of the stairs he crossed the hallway...giving him a better angle of fire on the goblin guards and allowing Florin to move into the hall as well.  Seeing the Dwarfs come barreling down the stairs the goblins jumped up and started across the floor toward the intruding stunties.  Once again I made an GM decision that they would only get 1/2 their normal movement due to being surprised.  Here is the situation at the end of turn 1.

Turn 2
The dwarfs win the initiative roll and so get to move first.  Dorek snaps off 2 arrows...one at each Goblin...and misses...obviously Yorin's concerns about the boy were well founded!  He then steps back allowing Florin to step in front of him and advance and Magnison to enter the hallway and draw a bead on the goblins as well...raising his staff he casts Silvery Bards at the approaching greenskins...but his control over the mystical forces is shaken by his nerves and the spell fails.  This leaves the Wizard in a vulnerable position and the Goblins take advantage by charging into Melee...one against Florin and one against the hapless dwarf mage.  The Goblin attacking Florin hits him but fails to cause any wounds.  Amazingly Magnison thrusts his staff out at the last second and catches the goblin approaching him right in the center of the forehead knocking him to his knees...dazed...and confused as to what just happened. 


The Situation at the end of Turn 2

Turn 3
This time the Goblins win the initiative.  The goblin attacking Florin is overwhelmed by the dwarfs defense and takes a hit but his ample armor deflects the blow without damage.  Magnison...frustrated with his lack of control over the mystical forces and impressed by the physical power of his staff uses it to crush the skull of the stunned goblin at his feet....the first victim of the raid has been claimed!

The clash of arms happening in the guard room has alerted the Orcs in the back room to the presence of invaders and they exit the room hoping to get in on the action.

Turn 4
The Goblins win initiative again and the reinforcing Orcs enter the front room and the archer snaps off a hurried shot at the dwarf mage...which goes wide.  Uorglock approaches the combat but can't quite reach an opponent by the end of his movement. The remaining goblin renews his attack on Florin but again, despite winning the combat,  fails to wound him.

As we shift to the dwarf half of the turn Magnison moves out of the hall and into the room..shifting right to allow Yorin into the fray.  The dwarf Mage finally gets his shit together and hits the Orc archer with a blast of silvery barbs...reducing him to a gory mess.  Yorin charges forward into the Orc Lieutenant and with one mighty blow severs the Orc nearly in half.  Dorek slings his bow over his shoulder...draws his sword and rushes forward to stab the goblin in the side while he is defending against a flurry of blows from Florin...the room is suddenly silent...all the immediate foes have been dispatched.

Turn 5

Knowing that time was of the essence the dwarf party quickly turns to the left and starts toward Drakkenhoff's workshop.  Becoming aware that something is amiss in the outer rooms the archmage and his minions start to react toward the door to prepare for the on-rushing intruders.

Next post...the exciting conclusion!  Stay Tuned!!!

Cheers,

Blue

Learning to Crawl...Cavern Crawl That is...Part I

Howdy all...

I was away from home doing field work for my job this last week...and I took along some hobby things... I did some painting at nights and when we had a weather day I decided to try something new...actually playing a game with some of my figures!!??!  I know its a crazy idea...But even this old dog can learn new tricks!

Since Gareth the Grot announced his self written set of rules for dungeon crawling called "Cavern Crawl" (see here) I've been itching to give them a try.  They sound like a good low stress and fairly fast set of rules.  I have no experience with Hero Quest or any of the other Dungeon Crawl type games so this is a first for me.

The first order of business was to pick some characters...both good and bad.  As I had grabbed figures fairly quickly as I left on this trip I simply picked four of my favorite dwarf figures and a selection of Orcs and Goblins for them to slaughter...for the Big Boss BadDude I picked a recently acquired Chaos Wizard and a nasty chaos hound for his pet.  The choice of a party composed entirely of Dwarfs kind of misses one of the great points of the Dungeon Crawl games...the diversity of races and classes...but I had to work with what I had.  So I made one of my Dwarfs a "Knight"...one a "Mage"...one a "Barbarian"...and one a "Ranger."  This way I would get a feel for most of the classes...if not the different races.

So lets  meet our Heroes (Fair warning...I'm terrible with making up names...sorry about that...)  Covering the slinging of spells for our heroes is Magnison the Mage

Wielding a a large axe and looking for some heads to crack....we have Yorin Yellowbeard ...the Dwarf Knight

Filling out the Head Bashing section of the party is Yorin's slightly unbalanced brother Florin Flamebeard...Dwarf "Barbarian"

Along for the ride...and handy with a bow is their cousin Dorek...the dwarf Ranger...

On the Side of Darkness...we start at the Bottom with the near worthless minions of the evil tyrant our heroes will be attempting to kill...a couple of Goblins...

Slightly bigger...slightly meaner...and slightly stupider...are the Orc minions... both archers and warriors.

trying to keep a handle on these minions are two slightly meaner Orcs....namely ....Larlog the Lasher (chieftain) and Uorglock (captain)

Defending our villianous leader...and keeping is feet warm at night...is his faithfull pet Fluffy (direwolf)

And finally...the master of disaster himself....Drakenhoff the Dark (Archmage)...

Now that we have met our cast of characters...lets look to the playing area.  As I wanted this to be a fairly fast and furious game I choose to keep the playing area quite small...only a few rooms and hallways...Here is the layout.

Quite a small "Cavern" but it should be big enough to allow me to get a feel for the mechanics of the game...and have a bit of fun in the process.

In the next post we can look at the beggining of the gane in Earnest!

Cheers for now!

Blue

Little Dwarves...Great Big Swords Part 3

I only have time for a quick post tonight as the fam and I are heading out for a long weekend holiday....so before I left I wanted to get up pictures of my "finished" White Knight Zweihander unit I've been working up for the Unit Challenge over at Bugman's.  I say "finished" because I only got 10 of the 12 finished and now that I have the newly released segerant headed my way I will have a few more models to add to this wonderful unit.

Anyway...here are the piccys.

Here they are ranked up 5 wide and two deep...

Here is Rank 2...

And here is the unit from a slight angle...

Ultimately I would like to expand this unit to at least 14 models...so they will be deployed 7 wide...which, for visual purposes, I prefer...

Thats all for now...I hope to get the additonal figures done before too long...but you know how that goes!

Cheers,

Blue

Happiness is an Open Blister....

Today I got to experience something that has become rather rare in my collecting "career".  I received two packages today (no...that's not rare..:-) )...one from a friend in Ireland and one from an ebay purchase...and both were loaded with UNopened Blister packs...7 of them in fact!  Now if you are an old lead head like myself...and I know most of the people reading this are...you probably understand how rare an opportunity this is.

Here they are in all their glory...

I know there is some dispute in the collecting world about blisters...many folks seek these treasures out so that they can keep them intact...forever preserved on a shelf or in a box...never to be molested by human hands.  On one level this seems a laudable goal...but to me it just seems a waste of good figures!  These babies were cast with the intention that they would some day see the table top...and perhaps a lick of paint along the way.  I am NOT a keeper of unopened blisters...nor will I pay extra for privilege of owning one...because...well... I'm just going to open it anyway!

So I took these gems out of the boxes they were shipped in...ogled them through the somewhat discolored and brittle plastic of the blisters...took moment to imagine what path they had traveled since the early 90's when they were cast and packaged away. (hey I'm an archaeologist...thats what we like to do! haha)

 And then....

Well....

I had a lot of Fun opening them!

Ahhhhh...thats better...now the former inhabitants of those plastic cages are free to mingle with the other unpainted members of their units...and dream of a day when they will be wearing a fresh coat of paint and facing off against a worthly opponent across a misty battlefield.

More about the contents of those blisters at a later date...

Cheers,

Blue