Minis: Man at Arms & Weird West Oz Scarecrow

While thematically these are very different minis, I used basically the same colors on both, painted them at the same time, so you get them together. Also, I didn't really take any good WIP pics, so you get final pics plus some description of what I did.  

First up, the Reaper miniatures henchman. I love the old school simplicity of this guy, and in keeping with the sculpt, I wanted to keep the paint job simple, but I also wanted it to be a little brighter than I usually go for. 

Next up is the scarecrow. I wanted to really lean into the creepy with this figure, and I think I pulled it off. It's funny how even using the same colors there's nothing cheerful or bright about this guy. Granted the sculpt helps a lot, but especially on the coat, minimizing the areas of highlight and leaving more shadowed areas really makes a difference. 

The greens and browns on both minis are going to look familiar, as I used the same base colored for these figures as I did for the plant folk in the last mini post, wilderness green, highlighted up with candlelight yellow, and russet brown. The design on the shield is the same candlelight yellow. 

I used reapers Pathfinder reds, starting with the asmodeus red as the base, and using the seoni scarlet to highlight it. 

The black on each is Carbon Grey given a black wash

The wood and bones on the scarecrow were a mishmash of colors starting with a base of russet brown with various hints of other colors added in to get different shades. 

The metallics all started with a base of stynylrez metal tone primer, and then brought up with shadowed steel or old bronze. Most of it was then hit with a wash of black, and a tighter highlight to pick up the details. 

Rappan Athuk: Black Bones and Rot Grubs

Session was played on 1/1/23

Nick, Fighter 7 (Me)
Borumar ½ Orc Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 5 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 5 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 5 (NPC)


Player’s Note: I took very sparse notes this session, and don’t really remember what happened 11 months later, so… enjoy!

Checked the SW door in the corridor

5 Black Skeletons! Aroon, & Jameth fail their fear saving throws

Coffin Room - Rotting corpse of a small humanoid next to the coffin. In the coffin is the body of a human female in chainmail. Borumar checks it, and gets attacked by rot grubs. The inside of the coffin is purged with fire. 120gp collected from the ashes.


Gains: pocket change
Kills: black skeletons, rot grubs
Losses:

Freeblades Vinelings, Dryad, and Saryad

Some years back at Reapercon I picked up a couple minis from DGS Games from their Freeblades skirmish game.. and like many of the minis I've gotten over the years, it was a LONG time before I pulled them out to work on them, but last month, I finally did... spurred on by the couple of vinelings I added to the pile of opportunity. 

After washing them, and gluing them to their bases (I put the dryad and saryad on slightly larges bases than the vinelings) I decided to bend the vinelings into slightly more active poses, and then primed them with a red-ish brown primer.  You can see the color on the base of the vineling below.

Once they were primed, I used Russet Brown as the primary color to paint them with, and added Osirian Sand to lighten the color for each successive highlight. Mostly this was dry brushing. Then it was onto the foliage. 

I used Wilderness Green as the base color, and then lightened it up with more Osirian Sand.

Once that was all dry it was time to add some basing material. I started with a mixed sand to give it texture and to cover the gaps in the bases. I then painted the base with the same Russet Brown, and gave it a quick Osirian Sand dry brush.

 I followed that up with a mix of various turfs and static grasses to tie it all together. After cleaning up the edges of the base with pure black, they were good to go! 

Simple paint jobs, but absolutely lovely sculpts. My next Freeblades mini is a necromancer that I'm combining with a Mantic Zombie to make a little diorama.

Rappan Athuk: Through the Front Door

Session was played on 12/26/22

Nick, Fighter 7 (Me)
Borumar ½ Orc Thief 9 (Josh) & Fido
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 5 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 5 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 5 (NPC)

At the graveyard, the main tomb has 8 gargoyles perched on it. The party pops over to the dwarven statue to get the key, then head for the door. The gargoyles attack, succeed in grabbing Koltic, pulling him up into the air, the gargoyle is killed, but then Koltic is dropped down hard. Using the key, the party rushes in and closes the door behind them. Down the passage, past some bone piles through the viewing room, ants room, Borumar gets poisoned by some playing cards that were left scattered about, and he had to collect. They avoid a pit trap, heading north toward an empty cavern. There’s some weird gurgling noises, the party searches around and finds a secret door. The “friendly” ghast gets a little too personal with Koltic, but some decent treasure is recovered.

In a larger cavern a pristine toilet is too much for Borumar to resist, but sadly, and predictably it turned out to be a mimic. Nick pulls him off the toilet-mimic, and they run from it down some stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs is a long room with blood stains, a bunch of dead rats and one dead halfling. The door to the north is covered in scratches and has a hatchet buried in it. A key sits unturned in the lock.

Gains: gold and silver coins, poisoned playing cards.
Kills: ghast, gargoyles
Losses:

Stonehell & Rappan: Downtime on both sides

Session was played on 12/18/22


Nick, Fighter 7 (Me)
Morgana, Magic User 9 (Rob)


Work at the keep has progressed. The kobolds have built into the moat and under the castle, expanding out the small basement/dungeon into a decent sized warren.

In the Rookery Tower, the demon birds now number 10! Thankfully the pact between Nick and the matron seems to be holding, and they’ve left the kobolds and the workers from the village alone.


Meanwhile Morgana continues her magical research, and after a month of work succeeds in creating a bag of holding for Borumar. She then moves on to learning Summon Elemental, and crafting a basic wand of fireballs. Over those couple of months, she also takes on 5 apprentices, and begins to receive the backing and patronage of a local baron.

---

DM’s Note: As it was only Rob and I, we had a pure logistics session, and since Nick, even as the master of a keep has less to do than Morgana, we spent a fair bit of time on her side of the campaign world.

Stonehell: Heading Home

Session 215 was played on 12/11

Morgana, Magic User 8 (Rob)
Borumar, ½ orc thief (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin (Lanse)
Koltic, Cleric 7 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf (NPC)

The party returns the locket to the ghost of Singu, and the geas on Koltic is released. Singu doesn’t ask for his sword and armor to be returned, or the staff, and the party doesn’t offer.

Leaving the tomb, they swing past the fishing town that is in the process of deciding if it wants to relocate closer to the water or rebuild the dam. Down river they go, getting harassed by 4 bogfoots (DM Note: I… what? I can’t really read my notes here, they don’t make any sense. Bigfoots?) that throw poop at the party. Morgana chucks a fireball at them, killing 2. The other 2 run away.

A day out of town, they camp for the night, and are surprised by a band of gnolls that surround the camp. Blotto wants to climb the grassy gnoll, the rest of the party just lays into them, and even unarmored and outmanned (out gnolled?), they mow them down with little difficulty.

Back home they rest for a few days before taking advantage of the Tournament of Champions taking place in town (DM Note: I rolled for various weapon trainers to see who was available, and got multiple masters and grand masters). Morgana, Aroon, Jameth, Koltic all succeed in improving their skill level.

Gains:
Kills: 2 bogfoots, 10 gnolls
Losses:

Oct ‘23 In Review

It’s been a very soggy month, with 3 summer-like days near the end, and then cold for Halloween. At least it was dry for the kid’s birthday party and also for Halloween itself. It was cold, and we had fewer kids than last year, but I still enjoyed sitting outside in costume with the fire pit and a pumpkin beer. 

 
Gaming
Last month’s attempt at scenario 2 of Stargrave Hope Eternal didn’t go well… Early this month I reset, and tried again, with better results. I was able to rescue the prisoner, and get most of my figures off the board. I had to take a little liberty with the scenario as written, because the grav-sled crew got taken out, and it just drifted away. I decided that the figures on the train would jump, and rolled on the chart as if they were taken out in combat.

I started playing in a Savage Worlds superhero game, but playing the villains. The campaign is called “Necessary Evil” and we’re 2 sessions in. I haven’t actually read Savage Worlds yet, so some of the mechanics are still a little vague to me, but I’m picking it up.

Stonehell has the players assaulting the Dwarven Hermitage. Not sure where they’re going to go after, or how they’re going to deal with the Gloom Crown. They pledged to give it to their Vrilyian patron, but it would be a majorly campaign altering decision if they do. I kinda hope they do. They’re currently holed up, hoping to recover some spells, but they aren’t going to get the chance without interruptions.

Miniatures
Not a big month for completing minis. I did paint up another 3 walls and another missile silo for the terrain set. Only 2 more pieces to finish to wrap up the New Eden terrain. I also painted up a Saryad, Dryad, and 2 vinelings from Freeblade as part of my “paint something other than Reaper minis” urge. And because of course I was still gonna paint some reaper minis, I painted up an ax wielding henchman and a Weird West Oz Scarecrow. 

 

That’s what I got done. What I started includes a big red dragon and a lich lord on a throne. We’ll see how quickly and how well I can get them wrapped up. I just finished some green stuff gap filling that they needed, and took the opportunity to sculpt a new arm for a dire badger and some eyes for a carrion crawler, as well as making 5 little worm monsters. They still need teeth. 

I also took advantage of the last of the summer-like days to get some priming in before the cold and rain moved in

Media
Star Trek Lower Decks Season 4
Ahsoka
Poison
Loki
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th Part 2
Wallace & Gromit Curse of the Were-Rabbit
The Lost Boys


Goals for Nov
Play scenario 3 for Hope Eternal
Try to get at least 2 session reports written per week.