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Wednesday 23 February 2011

Toadally Ribitulous...

Apologies for the pun-tastic title - its getting late...

Another magic-related post and another handy mini to have around when their's wizardry about.


This little chap is an old Chaos familiar - I bought him with my burgeoning Slann warband in mind - thought he'd make a nice toadling from which the scouts could obtain venom for their blowpipe darts!



As its the nearest thing I have to a toad, and until Dave adds the rather nice looking toad (toads?) to his Bederken range, it'll have to do for when poor unfortunates find their circumstances somewhat changed due to nefarious hocus pocus...




 I suppose the next thing to do would be to come up with some ideas to represent the portals the Skulldred magic system use - unfortunately I won't have time this week as familial duties will keep me away from the painting desk over the weekend, but I hope to play the game on Sunday....



They dun turn-ed him inta a h-h-h-horn-ey-toad

Elemental my dear chap...

Nearly ready to play the next instalment in my mini-campaign, set in the Ramalian mountains near Orc's Drift!
As you may know I'm looking forward to testing out Dave's magic rules which didn't get a look in during my last game - A Miner Engagement.

To that purpose I surmised that my budding magicians will need things to summon if they're going to do a bit more than chuck fireballs around at each other - so I painted this!


The old citadel Earth Elemental - again another impulse buy on ebay for a few quid! Luckily I had an old scenic base lying around which was rather fun and easy to create the effect of the elemental bursting from the ground - you could tell that's what he was doing right?!


Thought I'd also include a teaser pic from the upcoming game, Escape from the Larder of Doom!!!



Will the Gnomish wizard be squashed by the looming elemental or is he summoning the being to do his bidding... Cue dramatic music! 



Can you dig it?!

Monday 21 February 2011

You know much that is hidden, O Tim...

... Quite.

I've also been busy with the bad guys - as I haven't tried the new Skulldred magic system it seemed a good excuse to paint up a few minis I've been wanting to get to grips with for a while.

This chap is another ebay impulse buy - mainly because he reminds me of Tim the Enchanter from Monty Python's Holy Grail! No bonus points for guessing where I got the inspiration for my colour choices!

So here is Tim the....  Necromancer!



Not sure where the mini is from - I'm assuming an old C series preslotta evil wizard or something similar?


But how will he figure in The Larder of Doom?

Where have all the Orcs gone?



All will be revealed... when I get round to playing it!



I should also introduce his somewhat unpromising apprentice - Big Tim!

Gnoming me, gnoming you...

A-haaa!

So I've been totally distracted from the Orc's Drift project again! This time I've been painting a few minis I wanted to use in my next game of Skulldred, now that Dave's tweaked the magic system.


If you remember we left what was left of our Dwarf heroes holed up in their newly dug mine with a horde of Orcs waiting hungrily outside... So I figured the little guys might want a little help if they are to escape and what could be better than - some littler guys!




I landed these wee fellows off ebay ages ago for quite a bargain and they've sat neglected till now -

Glimtwiss Greenfinger - Gnome Elementalist




Dibber Trowelson - Gnome Hero





Allam Smallmarsh - Gnome Warrior





Herb Slugsbane - Gnome Warrior




And finally Griebel Birdscarer - Gnome Shootist (you may have seen him before but he's had a change of hat colour since...)





So its off to do some bedtime reading on the new Skulldred magic rules now!

Sunday 20 February 2011

Hagar the Horrible...

Well I've reached another milestone in my Orc's Drift project - The Severed Hand Tribe are now complete!







For once I managed to save the exciting character minis till last as a treat, instead of facing endless ranks of ordinary soldiers in a slog to the finish!

And here they are...

Hagar Sheol - Chieftain of the Severed Hand


As you can see I haven't managed to afford the crazy prices the original scenario mini goes for on ebay so I've used Eeza Ugezod of Mother Crushers fame in his place - not a bad proxy I think!


I had fun with his shield design - to tie in with the theme of hands doing various things I thought I'd give Hagar a touch of class with this reproduction of Michaelangelo's famous painting of the Creation of Adam! Unfortunately I couldn't fit both God's and Adam's hands in and as you can't beat a good lightning bolt or three, they finished the design off... 




The last two minis that complete the tribe are the drummer and Champion from Harboth's Orc Archers, who will be placed, funnily enough, with the Severd Hand's archer unit - more pics to follow of the now completed Regiment of Renown in my next post...




Of course I had to repeat the archery target emblem on the drums for the musician - how else does he know which bit to hit!



And I may have gone a step too far with daft shield designs for the champion...



What with all the bullseyes around I felt this character would be quite fitting to adorn his shield!
For those of you unfamiliar with the old UK TV show, Bullseye, have a look here and you might just fathom out what on earth I'm on about!



Anyway, back to Orc's Drift - that now leaves me with the Vile Rune Tribe (still purchasing minis for this one!) and the Elves - not far to go now!

Tuesday 15 February 2011

A Miner Engagement... Skulldred 2.03 Battle Report

Ok - so got no painting done at the weekend but I did get round to giving Dave's new version of his Skulldred rules a go - here's the report.
I decided on another "offshoot" scenario to tie it in with Orc's Drift - this time an isolated Dwarf mining expedition encounters an Orc raiding party foraging for food.

The rules were brilliant - simple elegant and definitely playable after a few bevvies! The dice rolls felt right and characters behaved as you would expect. It even played well as a solo game - again I switched sides each turn and put myself in the mindset of each leader in turn.

The Dwarfs


The Orcs



A Miner Engagement
Everyone had thought them mad as the small company of Dwarfs wound their way up the Kachhas Pass, up into the high peaks of the Ramalian mountains, far above the Fendal Plains. Any fool could tell something was afoot - reports of Orc warbands on the move had come filtering in from the many remote outposts and settlements that lay in that farflung wilderness. Massed hordes of Goblins already threatened the towns of Ortar and Palesandre to the East.

Nevertheless, Piewright Sourdough and his brother, Feldspar, pressed on. The small band of miners and Dwarf strongarms they had gathered had nought else in their minds but the mineral riches lying up in that mountain fastness. Indeed, once they had found a promising spot at the head of Dedaend Cwm their initial diggings had looked promising. A rich vein of quartz had pulses racing, but only 40m into the rock face it became clear that it was barren of gold.

Then they heard the hunting horns...



Dwarf Turn 1



The Dwarf crossbowmen lining the ridge that ran along from the mine entrance had heard the Orcs' raucous approach from miles away, but now caught sight of the disgusting rabble emerging at the valley bottom.


Norbert Quarrletips raises his trusty crossbow, taking aim at a particularly nasty looking Orc archer he fires, dowing his target. Cheerfully whistling, he reloads his weapon. Just outside the mine entrance, Deadeye Magrew calls to his subterranean companinons before snapping off a shot at one of the gangs of Snotlings seething across the landscape. Failing to hit any of the miserable creatures, his shot gives them a scare and they dive for cover. Along the ridge Cranequin and Gaffleson also join in the volley of fire, although both shots are ineffective at this long range.


 

Orc Turn 1

The Orcs are off - following the direction of the fire that had been directed at them. The hounds sprint forward towards the mine - two of them, catching the scent of fresh stunties, race ahead. Garstric Upzet the Hill Troll dumbly follows the cackling mass of snotties towards the low hill that commands a good view of the Dwarf position.

Spurred on by Logdobs guttural cries, one of the archers runs forward to loose a cruelly barbed arrow at Deadeye. Luckily for the Dwarf he manages to duck aside just in time. The rest of the archers dash into the cover of the wood with a plan to sneak forward and bushwack the Dwarfs later on...


Dwarf Turn 2

The crossbowmen once again take aim - Fletch Gaffleson, his view blocked by the ruin lying below him, aims high at Garstrik's great bulk, although his shot goes wide. Cranequin draws a bead on the only viable target in front of him - the foul Dripping Noze gang. Unsurprisingly he doesn't manage to impale any of the spiteful little gits, but the cowardly creatures go to ground with a squeal. Meanwhile, Gaffleson, struggling with a stiff loading mechanism, only has time to relaod his weapon - ready to fire next turn. Nobby, however, calmly takes aim and fires at the lead warhound, Deefer. Again the long range and intervening cover combine to save the vicious brute!



Knowing that to be trapped in the relatively shallow mine workings would mean certain death, the Dwarf miners sally forth to create a defensive perimeter at the valley head. Alfryd Tinnyson and Nipper Shortshanks start work on a makeshift barricade, using sacks and rubble from the slag heap.


Orc Turn 2

The Orc forces surge forward, eager to be out of sight of the keen-eyed Dwarf crossbowmen.




The Snots cower behind the hill, closely followed by Garstrik. Dogbreff ushers his hounds behind the ruins - ready to pounce.



Continuing through the wood the archers abandon their downed and badly bleeding compatriot, earmarking him for the cooking pot later!




Dwarf 3

Nobby quickly reloads and fires again at the snarling Deefer. This time the bolt hits home and the dog goes down. Deadeye also takes aim at the prostrate form of the hound but fails to live up to his name. Fletch and Cranequin are of the same idea but are too busy reloading to lend their hands.




 Graywracke, Widelode and Longpockets move to block the bottlenck between the hill and the ruins, hoping to buy the others time enough to prepare their defenses...


Taking advantage of this the miners complete another section of wall.


Orc Turn 3

The Orc archer finally cuccumbs to his wounds ( returning the dredskull counter back to then Orc's active pile to be put to use in a more critical situation.).

The warhounds throw themselves into the fray with the Dwarf advance guard in a blind rage. Nasha bowls into Widelode and throws his considerable bulk back with the ferocity of its attack. Graywracke manages to absorb the impact of Bad Mintun's attack and the combat between thm is a draw. Whipit, however, manages to pull Longpockets to the ground and, ganging up, Fidon't finishes the job, savaging the unfortunate Dwarf.



The Snotz pour over the hilltop like a green tide of... well, er, best not to mention. Garstrik follows demurely behind.




Logdob and his archers pick their way through the woods to take up firing positions flanking the dwarf line....



Dwarf Turn 4

Having watched their companion's fate at the paws of the hounds with horror, Gaffleson and Cranequin co-ordinate a deadly volley of fire on Fidon't, killing the beast outright! Deadeye reloads and fires a potshot at Whipit, forcing him to dart out of the way.

Graywracke hits back at Bad Mintun with his trusty hammer, this time forcing the brute back, swinging himself round to leave a clear shot for the crossbows, should the opportunity arise... Widelode, also gets the upperhand against his opponent, shoving the snapping monster back and dashing round the side to place it between him and the advancing Bogey Boyz!


Shortshanks and Long Tom busy themselves with a few hasty additions to the barricade, while the others grimly tighten their grips on their weapons and ready themselves for the imminent melee.


Orc Turn 4

Whipit, enraged by his near miss with a crossbow bolt, turns and launches himself at Graywracke. The beleagured Dwarf is pulled down and turned to dogmeat (killed outright so no Skulldred to save him!).

Now unengaged, Bad Mintun whirls round and charges Widelode, but the doughty Dwarf fends him off with the blunt end of his great hammer! Fidon't now goes for the jugular but instead gets a face full of said hammer! The dog crumples to the ground with a pathetic whimper.

Deefer, with a shake from his head, finally recovers (sacrificing a dredskull) and charges the flagging Widelode, forcing him to retreat.



With an insipid cheer (best they could manage!) the Dripping Nose Gang dash across the open ground to fling themselves at Feldspar, behind the wall. A combination of the makeshift fortification, the dwarf's fearsome shovel and the Snotz' dismal fighting skills sees them forced back!



The Bogey Boyz follow behind with a chorus of jeers and catcalls at the Dripping Nose's poor show!
Klopps Stinkeye scrambles up the hill to plant his banner, and its grisly warning to the Dwarfs on its summit. Around him the lead archers loose several aimed shots, downing Nobby and Deadeye in an uncharacteristic show of accuracy!
Garstic Upzet continues his amble round the back of the hounds, intrigued by the glint of Dwarf armour up on the ridge. Panting like a dog, Dogbreff finally catches up with his unruly charges and tries to restore the illusion of control.


The remaining archers take up vantage points at the edge of the wood under Logdob's command, ready to rain down volleys of black arrows on the Dwarf lines.



Dwarf Turn 5

Despite the calls from his companions behind the barricade, Widelode fights on. Forcing a draw with Bad Mintun again, he doesn't fare so well against Deefer and is once again forced to give ground.



Nobby and Deadeye dust themselves off (sacrificing two Dredskulls!) and begin reloading their weapons.
Piewright, yelling brusk commands, organises a volley on the lumbering bulk of the Hill Troll. Deadeye, Cranequin and Gaffleson all fire at once, felling the foul creature like a rotten tree. However, a low groan confirms their worst fears - the malodorous behemoth is only down and not out!


Meanwhile, Nobby, now reloaded, succeeds in downing one of the Orc archers swarming the hill (running low on Dredskulls the poor fella is left to die of his wounds).

Once again the miners sit tight behind their barricade, watching helplessly on at Widelodes's plight.



Orc Turn 5

Trading another Dredskull, Fidon't is revived and immediately charges into the ruckus with Widelode. The red mist once more descending, Bad Mintun follows like a good little warhound. Tiring from his efforts at fending off the multitude of snapping jaws, Widelode's hammer slips from his grasp and he is savagely savaged by the rabid pack! (Again killed outright so no Skulldred miracles here!)


At this bloody turn of events Whipit is sent into a frenzy and, as he is the nearest, turns on the downed Garstic! Coming too just at the right moment (God bless those Skulldred counters!) Garstric easily squashes the mad dog! Feeling rather put out by this unprovoked attack, the troll decides to take it out on the Dwarfs guffawing loudly at him from their mountain ridge...


Buoyed up by their large numbers and not wanting to be shown up by the other rival gang, the Snotz charge once more into the breech. The Dripping Nose gang once more throw themselves over the barricade at Feldspar, who, quite calmly, squashes them one by one with the flat of his shovel!

The Bogey Boyz fare marginally better, being fought off to a standstill by Alfyd Tinnyson.

Dogbreff encourages his hounds to come to heel with a well placed boot, ready to send them against barricade.

The archers open up with a rain of arrows in an attempt to dislodge the Dwarf crossbows from their vantage points. Gaffleson is forced to duck aside but survives the volley.




Dwarf Turn 6

Once again Piewright orders a volley on the looming Hill Troll. Again, the troll staggers under the hail of crossbow bolts, and again the Dwarfs chew their beards with despair as the brute dusts itself down (last Skulldred counter for the Orcs!), plucking the missiles from its flanks to use as a toothpick in dislodging an irritating bit of gristle (last night's donkey) from his festering teeth.



Seeing the danger posed by the now pretty irritated Troll, Piewright calls for the miners to form a hunting party of their own, to leave the safety of the wall and kill the creature. Long Tom, ever the impetuous youngset at 87, leaps to attack Garstic on his own - amazingly pushing him back! Nipper and Kanaeri follow behind to lend a hand and Piewright, himself, descends the mountain ready to sell his life dearly. 


At the other end of the barricade Feldspar joins Tinnyson - fending the vicious Snotz off and forcing them back.


Nobby draws a bead on the now unengaged hounds, although the bolt whistles by harmlessly.

Orc Turn 6

Logdob again orders his archers to fire on Nobby. They loose a volley off and cackle as the plucky Dwarf falls, doing a great impressio of a pin cushion as he goes!


Another archer joins the band on the hill as they let another volley off which brings down Cranequin (the Dwarfs only have one Skulldred counter left and opt to sacrifice these two brave souls in order to have some backup for the melee at the bottom of the mountain.).


Garstic lashes back at Long Tom in a blind fury, smashing him to the ground and killing him outright.


Dogbreff barks a command at his hounds but they don't need much telling! Shortshanks is set upon and torn to shreds!


The Bogey Boyz, having had a conflab, have come up with a plan. Realising that the barricade is nigh on impregnable to them they try a new tactic - get sneaky! To this end they turn and scramble off towards the end of the barricade in a brave flanking maneuvre - once the hounds have cleared the way...!


Dwarf Turn 7

Piewright's words echo across the valley -

To the mine! Death may await us there, yet it will be a richer end than will be had here in the daylight!

With that the Dwarfs make their fighting retreat.

Gaffleson levels his crossbow one more time at the nearest hound, ending its brutish life. The deed done, he turns and heads for the mine entrance.



Deadeye follows suit- his shot sends another hound scurrying for cover, buying his companions in the valley bottom some much needed space!


The remaining Dwarfs, keeping a beady eye on the enemy and a tight grip on their weapons, beat a retreat back to the mine.


Orc Turn 7

Seeing their quarry in full retreat all Orc forces press forward, the scent of victory, and dinner, in their noses.

Garstic limps forwards but isn't fast enough to catch the fleeing Dwarfs. The Bogey Boyz, however, have had enough and, realising that they will be next on the menu once the Dwarf meat is gone, they run off in a panic!

The remaining hounds, still hungry for Dwarf flesh, leap the barricade but are fended off by Kanaeri as he backs up the mountain path. Dogbreff follows, hefting his mace in anticipation. 



As the Dwarfs disaapear into the mountain, Logdob bellows another command at the archers. Despite the volume of arrows skittering amongst the rocks none find a softer target.



Couting up their kills, Logdob was pretty satisfied with the days work - there might even be a few scrap for the ladz back at the camp by the time they got back. With what passed for a smile on his brutish face he began scratching crude letters across the stone the surviving Dwarfs had blocked the mine entrance with...

"Ere, Klopps - Ow do yoo spell Larder?"