Watching the deniers, and the twitchers bathe in the Lake of Hali
22/08/2020
Managed to get back into painting figures vibe.
Ral Partha as recommended by one of my regulars.
I’ve always had problems with Ral Partha, back in the day, much like Grenadier the quality was variable and the distribution atrocious.
Now with the Internet, its much easier.
these two bad boys are well sculpted and got painted easily with dry brushing.
Now back to the Rangers…
19/08/2020
And now for Rita’s snapshots.
I’m to the left, Alan top right.
So Thorin and Matilda’s war bands charged in – and Thorin’s take the only casualty of the day on the good side.
My three, running away, using copious amounts of Heal and Eldritch Recall !
Lady Matilda vaults effortlessly into the keep, and starts hunting down the clues.
All three Rangers’ companions got stuck in to defend the keep whilst the clues were unravelled.
With all the clues found, the beacon lit, time to get out !
Especially as nasty things like Gnoll Shamen were turning up.
Run away !
So now we have all the clues including who the spy is, I have foolishly offered to write up a couple of follow up scenarios. Seeing as I’ve finished all my pieces for the Community newsletter, processed all the photos here, no excuse not to getting cracking on with it.
15/08/2020
So after 5 months, I finally got my first social occasion, a games session with Alan and Rita.
Not only that, it was my first proper games of Rangers of Shadow Deep (ROSD).
We played outdoors, under a gazebo, in the shadow of a two storey garage/games room, with a fan…but it was a VERY hot day.
We played a scenario that I had written – RoSD The Outpost v0-B. (NB: A few changes will be made following the action, but it gives you an idea)
So, we had set up top left corner in the first photo, and the shield bosses were the clue markers, with the Gnolls setting up in all three other corners.
First blood to Lady Matilda (Rita), a Gnboll archer cut down.
Alan was playing Thorin, and myself Adeltharium. Thorin and I were higher level rangers than Lady Matilda so we were assigned virtually to take out the roaming creatures and get the clues outside the castle keep.
\Fortunately this bunch of Gnolls kept ambling around well away from us.
Unfortunately, this lot got stuck in with Thorin (Alanb’s) henchmen.
As there were three of us, and this is a collaborative game, each of our Rangers only came supported with 2 companions.
So when Alan lost one of his companions early in the game it was a blow.
Adelatharium and co get stuck in, pathetic archery on my behalf.
Ruckus !
With the Gnoills getting the worst of it.
Ditto !
Fortunately, after a major injury or two, Heal, Eldrtich Recall and Split Cast were emp
loyed to heal Adelatharium and Hannie the Scout were restored to reasonable health.
A skeletal knight turned up whilst Thorin’s crew searched the body of a fallen knight.
Unfortunately, whilst Thorin and ±Matilda got to the castle keep, the random monsters started spawning, leaving me to deal with them.
The beacon was lot, the treasure and clues retrieved, the enemy was confronted on the stairs.
The Gnboll Sergeant and Cultist were dealt with.
Just as well…
because the monsters were piling up outside.
Time to: RUN AWAY.
Adelatharium m y ranger being the last to achieve his Climb roll and get out !
part 2: Rita’s photos….
Even though were were outdoors, with a fan, under a gazebo in the shade the heat was so intense we stopped the second game that afternoon.
lesson learnt – it was a great collaborative game which the system is good at delivering with all of us working to enable each other.
This does give me time to write up two more follow up scenarios as to who the spy was etc…
13/08/2020
Last of the Amera stuff, one from the Future Zone, demolished building.
Equally at home for Frostgrave or Mordheim.
Good vantage point.
Very easy to paint. yes we can all make home made ruins, this is just cheaper and quicker.
May well get another set and flock them green for Warhammer/ROSD.
12/08/2020
Another Amera item:
I ahd to go get a new tester pot for the soil colour.
And I found out that GW no longer does static grass, so a trip to the model centre fulfilled my needs – the new grass I almost the same and a bit of UV will fade it out to totally mix in.
03/08/2020
More from Amera – these are from the sci-fi range but a ruin is a ruin.
So how to turn this into not grey plastic, and not just dry brushed grey stone ?
Well I’ve used the old Citadel Dark Flesh on buildings before so…welcome to the red (light) district.
Of course I peaked on the Amera website, and someone had beaten me to it, so much for me being original.
Blasted buildings.
Obviously trimmed, same methods of painting.
Nice and light weight clutter for the battlefield.
Good for breaking line of sight. Will probably get another set to go with greenery like RoSD.
Cheap as chips to boot.
30/07/2020
Some time ago I bought TTCombat’s Savage Domain Ancient Beacon. First item from this company, its cheap and I didn’t pay P&P.
Its quite a chunky piece of scenery, with two main storeys 3@ high each, with what I call a pergola on top.
Nice big stairs so for once you can get halfway up the staircase and leave the figure there.
So how was it it to put together as an MDF kit ?
Mixed experience, overall good. The staircase was complex but fitted together wonderfully. As did the pergola, which had a lot of pieces to fit together.
yet the bulky tower section really did not fit well – the lugs and holes were far too tight and I ended up trimming many of them.
The pergola roof, 6 steps, on each side to make this, and 4 top pieces – so 28 in total. These fitted in perfectly.
So I’d recommend them with some provisos – you’ll need some experience, and a sharp craft knife/clippers. YMMV as this is a sample of one.
14/07/2020 1 Comment
Here are the other bits.
I didn’t use the masonry paint on any of these as the detail is shallow.
Another simple and cheap piece.
Ideal for both FG, RoSD and other games.
13/07/2020 2 Comments
I’ve bought from Amera before, but took a punt on some more ruins suitable for FG and RoSD.
The detail is soft and shallow, but can be made to work with some good dry brushing.
But this beastie is only £9, so you get a lot of value, and in this case, a nice centre piece for any table.
Or £1 for these two wall sections, simply cut the plastic with a good pair of scissors.
This reminds me of the Bellona scenery I had as a kid.
Painted with my usual textured masonry paint which gives it a bit more heft and rigidity.
Usual stone coloured emulsion, my new light stone emulsion 9another tester pot)…though that was marred when two copulating flies landed in it and had to be fished out.
Puddles made using Agrax eartshade and Camo green washes mixed to make them look like dirty puddles.
25/06/2020
Two more quickies as I grind through the Rangers:-
Starfire Elementals from the Maze of Malcor.
Quite simple to paint, using a 30 year old pot of mettalic blue paint that I have yet to source a replacement for !
I built this Inn some 19 years ago (I hope the Rangers don’t take me this long), but neglected to finish off the tiling until a month ago.
I used the inner cardboard tube of a kitchen roll towel to make them so they have a slight bump to them.
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I was a third of the way through undercoating it before I realised a black blob is not photogenic, so here is part of it, its a big construction using my usual techniques, but with added balconies and large bay windows.
Its going to take a long time painting…hopefully not another 19 years ! 😀
The Lost City of Carcosa 