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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Brown World Hills

 Howdy folks!

We're going to be working on a lot of terrain in the near future, so to kick things off we're going to take a look at these cool gaming hills the club got ahold of!  We've been using them for a while, but there is an interesting thing about these hills:  they've been refurbished.

Sacks the Giant, out for his evening stroll through the Badlands.
Jerry Wargate brought the three gaming hills (the roundish three) a few years back.  They were covered in a green flock that had lost it's adhesive, and the flock was peeling off.  Any touching it, and it would come off.  So, we did what anyone else would do.  Underneath the flock was a styrofoam hill that was in great condition, and I was determined to keep that.

The flock came off relatively easy, but it took a moment and everything had to be as smooth as possible on the surface.  A layer of white glue went over the entire hill, and we allowed that to dry.  This created a second "skin" on the hill and made it a bit denser, but the real reason we put that on there is so we could spray paint the white hill with a light brown satin spray.

Oh no!  Sacks will have to walk around the steep part of this hill.
 The irregular piece was done the same way, but it was carved from some leftover foam tiles.  Once they were dry, another layer of glue went on in places (but not the sides) for some light brown flock, or dark brown, some talus and some dead grass for the irregular piece.  I hate putting flock on the sides of hills where it will be rubbed away by gamer's hands.

Such a jolly old stroll!  Now, to head back home and have a snack!
These hills turned out to be quite interchangeable.  They can be stacked and arranged in many different ways, which is always good for terrain.  They fit right in on the Brown World table, but don't look out of place anywhere else so they are good for a lot of table configurations.

Well, that's it for me for now.  Until next time, try not to die of thirst in the desert.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Beneath the Khazid


Though it's been a few weeks since we wrapped up the Doomforge, our last Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay campaign, we haven't really hit on what happened that fateful day deep below the dwarven hold Khazid Grimaz.  We had a wrap-up session when we had a guest player, and I think everyone had great fun during our epic adventure!  Now, the narrative will continue to evolve, and the events of the final sessions of our roleplay campaign have a heavy impact on the direction it will take!

Accompanied by the Deeping Well mercenaries, Prince Spiridane continued his mission to stop the dark elf sorceress Viorlix from gaining control of the elemental seal beneath the dwarven hold.  Only the swordmaster Tilagiar and his apprentice Ferendor remained of the escort from the Venger, and their lizardmen allies had lost many of their number as well.  When the explosions rocked the inner chambers, it was Spiridane and the shaman Ylometexca whose sorceries shielded most of the party.  Alas, a few were lost in the chaos and upheaval.  The fiery depths of the mountain claimed many, many souls that day.

It soon became apparent to the sorcerers that this close to the elemental barrier they were in danger of their magics failing, or worse, becoming uncontrolled.  The safe spot under the collapsing mountain was maintained by their sorceries, and that meant that at any moment they could all perish with the rest of the city.  Something had to be done, although Spiridane and Ylometexca would have to maintain the magical barriers and somehow find a way out of the burning death pit the lower halls had become.

The key to the sorceress' plan was the magical energy roiling around the seal.  The actual artifact itself, an eight foot wide circular glyph, was set in an extradimensional space near the 'heart of the mountain'.  It was from this place beyond the material world that the magical energies of the elements were harnessed, configured and regulated.  The cause of the upheaval in the Khazid was the results of Viorlix's tampering with the seal and her occupation of the elemental vortex there, a powerful arcane fulcrum.

The sorceress had expected her old enemy Spiridane, and the warriors from the Tower of Iron Woe allowed  our heroes into the chamber of the seal without much fighting.  It was there, at the fulcrum of power itself, the Deeping Well mercenary company encountered the witch, and very shortly thereafter, combat erupted.  However, with the power of the arcane fulcrum at her command, Viorlix was a powerful foe indeed.

Yet Spiridane and Ylometexca had not abandoned the party.  With a device gifted from an ancient slann, and aid from the elf lord and lizardman shaman, the mercenaries were able to overcome the elemental vortex and shut down the arcane fulcrum, and with it most of Viorlix's power.  Yet, she was not so easily beaten.  She escaped with what remained of her magic, soon to plague the world again with her evil schemes...

Using Spiridane's magical portal, the survivors of party escaped the collapse of the mountain and certain doom.  Yet there was one more complication...

The party was on the deck of the Venger, Spiridane's elven warship!

So ends the tale of the Deeping Well and the Alderhalls, but it's not the end of the tale of Khazid Grimaz.  Along with the rest of our portion of the Old World, our living campaign marches forward.  Even now, in The Greystone Pass War, Viorlix's army threatens to control the now lawless passes around Greystone in an attempt to find the elemental seal once more.

As for our friends the player characters, a very special honor was given to them, but we'll find out more about that at a later date.  We may catch up with those characters again, but they belong to the world now, and the Old World certainly needs heroes.  Hope you enjoyed playing!

See you on Game Day!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Shaun's Moria Adventure, Le Portion De Treis - On the Table!

Greetings from the battlefield!  Perpetually late and behind posting schedule,  I figured I'd better snap some photos of Shaunny's models, since they've been done for almost a month.  Here is the third and final installment of Shaun's Moria Adventure, showcasing his 500 point Moria army.
Continued from Part 2.

With all the models ready to go, we brushed Vallejo Black Lava onto the bases to give them some texture.  After that, a quick black spray got them basecoated and primed.  The troll got a grey basecoat, as it would have a different skin tone than the goblins.  Shaunny also asked that I paint his cave troll, as he was intimidated with the model's large size and strange skin tones.  I happily obliged - I hadn't painted a troll before.

Durburz's Warband (Blackshield Drummers, 4 Blackshields & Cave Troll)

A limited palette was formed when we dug through our mountain o' paints and found all the basic colors for the goblin color scheme in the books.  No wild color experimentation here - this is about learning the basics. Thankfully, it's basically red, green and metal.  The textured bases were painted to match the Brown World table, and we thought about how to spruce them up.

Blackshield Captain's Warband (8 Goblin Spears & 4 Goblin Bows)

I have to take a moment to tell you how everyone stopped and tried to figure how this could be Shaunny's first army.  The models were looking great!  To top that off, they were coming off the paint tray a lot faster than expected for a total novice (as he claimed to be).  Shaunny seems a natural and getting the paint where it needs to go, and quickly at that.

Once the models were painted with Shaunny's surprising skill and speed, I still had to finish the troll.  First things first, however - we applied Army Painter Quickshade to the goblins, and shortly thereafter applied Anti-Gloss to tone down the sheen of the shade coat.  The results turned out fantastic, and make these goblins look worn and weathered.

I didn't apply Quickshade to the Cave Troll, instead using the opportunity to demonstrate drybrushing and inking to Shaunny.  I think it turned out nice, and the Agrax Earthshade ink we used (from GW) did a nice job of bringing the bigger piece in line with the shade on the goblins.  Now that he's armed with the basic techniques, I have no doubt we'll be seeing a lot of nifty things come from Shaunny's burgeoning paint table.

Blackshield Shaman's Warband (8 Goblin Shields & 4 Goblin Bows)

We decided to try something different this time.  For the bases, texture is good but embellishment is better.  We thought that it might look cool if the goblins were scurrying across a muddy field, so we immediately got to work with the Woodland Scenics Realistic Water.  Using some darker browns to simulate wet mud, we mucked up the bases and added the water effects to form the pools.  Some Swamp Tuft sets the base off, and breaks up the color a bit.

500 points of love, straight from the Black Pit.

500 points of Moria goblins never looked so good!   Shaunny performed well in the latest campaign with this army, but next year's event season is more promising after the completion of this project.

Bigger update to the site today with all current campaigns updated.  We've been getting more games in, so make sure your forces keep up with the magnitude of their battles!  It could get out of hand if your soldiers aren't being deployed enough, and it can really impact your campaign scores.  Plan your battles accordingly!

Saturday, August 04, 2012

Bignutt's Pathfinder Log

Final updates to Bignutt's Pathfinder game.  What a ride that was!  What have we learned?  The Wargate doesn't care for meddling Pathfinders...


Return of the Kobold King

Shadow grips the Darkmoon Vale as we return to Golarion.  This is the adventure log for this Pathfinder campaign, brought to you by your fantastic GM, Bignutt!  We'll enter adventure summaries and other important info here when it comes to light in the campaign.

In this campaign we will continue of the original Pathfinder adventure paths, and become very familiar with the basic rulebook.  This is our first real foray into Golarion, so


Cast of Heroes

At the outset of the new campaign, many new heroes join the party to replace those who have fallen.  We'll update this roster to be as current as possible.

Updated 7.15.12
  1. Brother Mentok
  2. Kaleb
I'm fairly certain everyone else is dead, if not they were playing a brand new character.


Session Log
  1. Death of the Kobold King - A party of adventurers forms in Falcon's Hollow to explore the ancient ruins in the Darkmoon Vale.  Inside, they fight to recover the village's children from the clutches of an evil cult.  This adventure took place mostly during the last campaign, and the first session of this one.  From the ruins in the old forest, very few of our brave band live to return to the surface.  
  2. The Burning of Falcon's Hollow - It doesn't take long for things to get out of hand when several militant clergy of Iomedae travel past the outskirts of Falcon's Hollow.  In short order, a few important people find themselves dead, and the town has to summon up the entire militia in order to deal with the rampaging worshippers of the goddess.  In the process, a few buildings burn.
  3. Night at the Inn - Another set of adventurers is put in an awkward situation at an inn, which leads to threats of severance of toes and legs.  After a short spat in the inn, the sheriff demands the party stay the night at the inn...
  4. The Assassin Vine - The next morning, a treasure hunter accuses the party of destroying his magical map, and tries to have local law enforcement intervene.
  5. Death to Pathfinders - The party rejects the Pathfinder Society by cutting off a head or two.


Updates

Updated 7.15.12
  1. Kaleb has returned to Falcon's Hollow with the children safely!
  2. Kaleb and Brother Mentok survive the campaign!