NPC Central (and the start of a baggage train).

I'm on a bit of a mission to get a range of npc's ready for my future games, be that Heroquest, Frostgrave, Mordhiem or WFB; I just feel they can add a whole lot of additional interest to a game by adding small side quests or passing on information to a band of adventurers for example. And they increase the visual spectacle/experience. I also harbour the idea of a having a not-so-merry band of mercenaries having an entourage accompany them as they ply their trade across foreign lands. Those mercenaries will need food, entertainment, weapons, baggage etc and of course these trades double up in other fantasy settings where they may be more insitu. The former idea will see them following as part of a baggage train and the latter alongside my dungeon scenery to be found in taverns, castles etc.

To start with I've delved into my old Rensburg Empire Army and cherry-picked the most appropriate figures for this task. I painted these a fair few years ago but never compketed the project as an army (one day, one day) and used some of them at a previous BOYL as part of a scenario driven RoC warbands game. I've painted and added another slave girl and the walking spell on familiar to the mix too:

Amongst this group you can see an executioner (perfect for my dungeon room with scratchbuilt rack on the way), some sorcerers (will be using the Heroquest altar with sacrificial slave girls), a very old Marauder villager woman, a scribe (alchemist?) with hound who could be seen with a bookcase or indeed the alchemists workbench.

To add to this group I decided to steer away from Citadel and explore other ranges, so I've just received some cheap Reaper Bones villagers, some beautifully old school Otherworld Npc's and some very cool looking Tombstone civilians from Black Scorpion Miniatures. Just need some wagons from 4Ground next to complete the baggage train idea.

I'll start painting these up when I return from the excitement of Bring Out Your Lead at the Foindry, Newark this weekend where I'm planning on playing some Coldhammer (Frostgrave/1st edition mash up), Judge Dredd vs zombies, some Advanced Heroquest, Advanced Sapce Crusade and will help GM some RoC warbands games too..

Dungeon scenery part 2 (Heroquest)

Having completed the first set of resin furniture from Scotia Grendel, I felt the urge to go all old school and paint up some Heroquest scenery too. I didn't want to touch my own boxed copy (there's nostalgia attached to the original plastic, unpainted set I own) so I picked up some broken and damaged lots from ebay and set about adding some extra details before painting them up. I have to say that painting such pieces is a real chore to paint (even after using grey primer to speed up the process) and it took all my willpower to persevere and not get side-tracked onto all the more interesting projects, like more npc's for example...

Here's the outcome. You can see that I've used some Styrofoam to add height to the tomb, added extra weapons and barrels to the tables and raised up the altar: 

The alchemists table came to me in good condition, if a bit sparse, so I added a scroll to the desk. The only fun bit is painting a few additional details, like the ink in the pot on the quill.

The tomb was primed grey so it only needed some drybrushed highlights and a load of weathering washes. I was tempted to add some decals to the shields but common sense and need to move on prevailed.

Very quick and easy paint job here, unfortunately the top of the halberd is missing and I forgot to add a new weapon in my haste to progress. Anyone for a metal pole as your weapon of choice/

I raided my bitzbox here and added a load of weapons and other artifacts that I can imagine are for sale from an appropriate merchant. I have now bought the merchant model....

I think this one will be added to the tavern pieces I painted last time around. Again I've got the appropriate npc's lined up (from Otherworld) to paint soon...



And the altar. It's a bit too tall now so the mage/sorcerer that I'll paint up for this will be stood on a step/plinth. I see this as a sacrificial altar (hence the blood) and I was very tempted to freehand an image from the Heroquest rulebook onto the blank page ion the right. Again, common sense prevailed (although it is the small, unique details that can set pieces apart..) I also have some slave girls which I'll paint up to accompany this piece.

Next up I'll paint some of the npc's I've mentioned in the post and I've got a few scratchbuilt bookcases that need some attention too. I'll play some games with my kids soon so I can get some nice set-piece photos with all the pieces included.

The Rat Catcher (an npc)

I bought this figure from the Foundry whilst at BOYL last year and wanted to get him painted before my return visit to Nottingham, next weekend. I've also got a few other npc's that I'd like to get stuck into (with a paint brush) over the coming weeks to accompany the dungeon furniture I've also been working on. I like the idea of being able to include them all in games to help progress the narrative and to create a prettier picture.

He may need a bigger cage (and may not be quite so affectionate) to the bigger rats emerging from the sewers...

I think he needs some sort of logo / pattern or text on his sash - any ideas?

I put a bit more effort into the base for this miniature, leaving the slotta opening uncovered by greenstuff when sculpting the cobbles, to act as an open drain and I then used a little plasticard / rod for the rusted pipe and drain cover.

A bit of Nurgle's Rot mixed in with some Woodland Scenics water effects were poured into the sealed gap to create the look of running sewage.

I found this picture online which obviously heavily influences the sculpt and I did consider using a range of black and white clothing on him.

In the end I decided to use some of the striking yellow and red patterns that I remember from the Pied Piper of Hamlyn on my Rat Catcher's shirt and stockings.

But I also wanted to give him a bit of a dapper look with a tweed overcoat based upon this.

Dungeon scenery Part1

I picked up a few resin pieces of dungeon furniture from Scotia Grendel  to add some interest and narrative to my Heroquest / Frostgrave games. There were a few casting issues which needed cleaning up, but otherwise they all do the part and look really good painted up:

I've got some scratchbuilt bookcases to do next as well as the original Heroquest scenery and then some Otherworld/GW/Foundry npc's to add the final layer of narrative to my games..

Battle report: The Fight for Baron Curcass' Castle

The Scenario.

It has been rumoured that Baron Curcass, in his madness, has left his castle, near the river Lynsk, seriously undermanned. The castle is surrounded by a dark, dense forest and peering out from different locations are several warbands, wondering whether they can sneak into the castle for some plunder..





On the eastern edge of the forest emerges Uston'Noth's chaos warband:

Uston'Noth's Tribe. Nurgle Warband: 



Uston'Noth - Level 15 Champion - Mark of Nurgle, Scaly Skin, Moronic


4 Cultists led by Kraak'n - Level 5 Initiate Sorcerer - Mark of Nurgle, Cloud of Flies, Puny
Spells: Stench of Nurgle, Steal Mind, Summon Familiar


4 Chaos Dwarves.

On the western edge of the forest a band of Orcs are led by JugNugg Igg (this warband was created using Erny's generator)

Orc Warband of the Orange Sun:

JugNugg Igg - Level 10 Orc Shaman - leading 2 Orcs (bodyguard)
 Spells: Leg Breaking, Blinding Flash, Fireball, Flight, Windblast, Bewilder Foe

Harnack - Underling Level 5 Orc (The Beserker)
Double Handed Weapon

Heavy D and his Boyz - Orc Champion leading 5 Orcs
 Shields,standard and musician.

5 Orcs of the Scattered Tribe
Light Armour

From the Northern Edge is the notorious Blag and his merry band of Goblins:

Blag - Goblin Level 10 Hero. Light Armour, over-confidence

4 Goblins, including Dot, the archer

Shnaznat - Goblin Level 15 Shaman

Spells: Leg Break, Fireball, Strength of Combat, Animosity, Create Illusionary Hero.

And the remnants of the guards of Baron Curcass' castle:

6 Human Fighters:

And here's the set up at the beginning of the battle:

Turn 1. Sequence: Goblins, Humans, Orcs, Nurgle.

Dot takes a pot shot at a Chaos Dwarf and misses, whilst everyone advances towards the castle gates. The Human defenders, having seen multiple attackers emerge from the woods, begin moving inside for cover and to try and lower the drawbridge.

Kraak'n casts summon familiar and receives a rat full of magical energy.

The summoned rat familiar

Dot taking a pot shot

Turn 2. Sequence: Orcs, Humans, Nurgle, Gobbos.

The Orc archer takes a long shot at the humans who are scurrying for cover, but misses.

The rest of the Orc warband advance towards the gates

JuggNugg Igg casts two fireballs at the humans, but does not wound any of them.

The humans almost get everyone inside the castle, two defenders take up position to raise the drawbridge...

The Goblins, led by Blagg, make quick progress towards the drawbridge, keeping close to the castle walls.

The minions of Nurgle walk into the clearing in front of the castle, ready to split forces in order to try and head off the Orcs and get into the castle. The Dwarves lag behind with their stumpy legs.

Turn 3. Sequence: Gobbos, Humans, Nurgle, Orcs.




Blagg, in a show of courage, silently charges into the back of the last of the humans just before he was able to reach the relative security of the castle. Blagg swings and misses.   !

The human (known as Bill), initially surprised at the sneaky attack, but quickly growing in confidence as he sees the inept swordsmanship of his opponent, lunges hits and wounds the Goblin leader.

Blagg shits himself and legs it away! Bill pursues but fails to kill the little bastard, who keeps running.

The rest of the humans quickly decide to start raising the drawbridge, leaving Bill outside to fend for himself, deciding that his obvious martial prowess will see him through!

The Nurgle Warband approach even closer, except for the Dwarves who can't keep up. Kraak'n casts Steal Mind on the Orc Beserker, rendering him a gibbering fool for 1 turn.

The Orc archer gets lucky with a shot at the Cultists taking one down with an arrow through the throat. First blood!

Turn 4. Sequence: Orcs, Gobbos, Humans, Nurgle.




JuggNugg Igg's Orc bodyguard charge the humans just as the drawbridge is about to raise up. Realising the sprint is longer than they expected, their attacks are weak and miss their mark. The humans, prepared for the attack, hit back and kill one of the Orcs. A stand off ensues.

To help his boyz out, JuggNugg Igg casts Blinding Flash into the combat, meaning neither side can strike anymore blows during the next round of combat - he hopes to enter the fray himself and kill the remaining defenders.

The rest of the Orc boyz prepare for combat with the advancing Nurgle warband.

The Gobbo warband, seeing their leader Blagg, screaming past them, take one look at Bill and decide he's not to be messed with. They leg it after their leader!

Bill reforms, feeling incredibly plucky now and heads back to the castle to help his fellow defenders out

Uston'Noth charges into the Orc boyz and the level 15 character chops down 2 orcs with ease.

The Orcs look worried and are pushed back by the ferocity of the attack.

Turn 5. Sequence: Gobbos, Humans, Orcs, Nurgle.




The Gobbos rally, except for Blagg who scurries off into the woods to literally lick his wounds.

Bill charges the JuggNugg Igg, but none of his blows cause any harm. He is soon knocked out by the Orc, never to recover..

JuggNugg Igg moves into the castle where he can see the blinded combatants flailing ineptly at each other.

Harnack charges with a frenzy into the remaining cultists, gnashing his teeth and missing with his attacks. The cultists fluff with their attacks too.

Uston'Noth kills another Orc and easily deflects their attacks at him (it was at this point that I realised that a Level 15 Nurgle Champion was much better than all the other characters...)

Turn 6. Sequence: Orcs, Nurgle, Gobbos, Humans.




JuggNugg Igg charges into the humans, but neither side cause any damage. Harnack the Beserker is more effective, in killing two of the cultists, who feeling overwhelmed, are pushed back. The other Orcs are completely wiped out by the savage attacks of the Champion of Nurgle.

Dot takes another pot shot at the dwarves with his short bow and again misses by a mile. Shaaznat effectively casts leg break on the Nurgle Shaman, who wails in pain and staggers at half speed towards the castle. 

Inside the castle the humans and orcs continue their stalemate with neither side giving or taking an inch.

Turn 7. Sequence: Gobbos, Nurgle, Orcs, Humans

The Gobbos, feeling ridiculously brave (spurred on by their hatred no doubt), charge into the Chaos Dwarves. A few swings later and the Dwarves laugh in their faces. A goblin is nonchanantly put to the sword. Even so, the Goblins want another go...

Shaaznat casts fireball at the Nurgle champion, trying to stop him from entering the castle and actually wounds him!

Uston'Noth, almost oblivious to the fiery wound, charges into the orcs rear (who are already engaged in a battle with the humans) and kills an Orc boy. His sights are on the Orc Shaman next...

The Chaos dwarves take down two goblins with ease but the remaining Goblin, fighting for his life, surprisingly kills a chaotic stunty with a solid thunk to the skull.

Harnack kills the remaining cultist and looks for where else he could charge... he sees the backs of some unsuspecting chaos dwarves...

JuggNugg Igg, aware of the presence of the Nurgle Champion and still fending off desperate blows from the human defenders, decides to cast Flight to the safety of the ramparts!

The human defenders see an opportunity to gain some momentum and charge the repulsive Nurgle champion hoping to repulse the invader from their castle...

Incredibly they win the combat and succeed at pushing their foe back from the interior of the castle!

Turn 8. Sequence: Nurgle, Gobbo, Orc, Human.

Uston'Noth in a fit of fury, kills all but two of the human defenders. They flee leaving the Nurgle Champion to miss all his free hacks.

[Missing photo]. The lone goblin manages to take down another dwarf, before succumbing to a fatal belly wound.




Shaaznat charges the lame Nurgle Sorcerer and spectacularly takes him down with a sharp blow of his stave to the bollocks!

.

JuggNugg Igg, from the ramparts, uses his Magik Teef to cast Raise Undead and raises 8 ghouls who he will command to try and take down the Nurgle champion (seen here killing the fleeing humans with a load of free hacks)

Turn 9. The end game...




Harnack charges the lone Chaos Dwarf and they become locked in combat. For a long time, neither giving in...

Shaaznat, decides he's had enough, not wanting to get involved in the melee in the castle where ghouls are surrounding the Nurgle champion. He wanders off looking to start his own warband, maybe with the cowering Blagg as his minion...

JuggNugg Igg also decides he's had enough, knowing he can no longer influence the battle raging beneath him. He might pop back later to see the outcome..

And how it all ended up. Who knows who controls the castle, the undead or the Nurgle champion? Who won the battle between the beserker and the chaos dwarf? And will the greenskin shamans be able to gather new warbands so as to fight another battle?