Display Cases

You know when a seemingly easy modelling project takes way longer than it should to complete and the results are nowhere near as good as you’d hoped?

So you end up slapping on a coat of paint and saying ‘bugger it, that’ll do’? Oh, and you can’t even be arsed to take decent photos?

Here are some display cases for the Relic Room scenario from Maze of Malcor (approximately 6" long, 1" wide and 1" tall as per spec).

Whoopee.

The Iron Throne

And so it came to pass: the undead horde of Eternal Winter laid waste to the land of the living, leaving nought but swirling snows and freezing blizzards. On that fateful day, at long last, the Night King stood before the fabled Iron Throne: seat of the rulers of men since time immemorial.

“Er, so… it’s like literally an iron throne…”

“Yes oh Dark One,” hissed a rotting lackey. “The fabled Iron Throne: made from the swords of a thousand vanquished-“

“Yes yes, I know all that. I just thought, y’know, it was like symbolic. I didn’t expect it to be made of actual bloody swords!”

“’tis a symbol of great power oh King of Winter. Men have fought over it since it for aeons.”

“Fought to get off it more like! No wonder the living realms were so easy to conquer – they must’ve spent their defence budgets on haemorrhoid cream! Why didn’t you tell me? My arse is bony enough as it is without having to sit on a chair made of bits of pointy bloody metal!”

“Nonetheless it is now your rightful seat of command oh Lich Lord. What is your first edict oh Barrow Emperor? Sally forth the Legions of the Dead and destroy what remaining life remains on this world until even the lowliest insect is but dust beneath your feet?”

“Well yeah, duh!”

The great throne room echoed with a hollow ‘clonk’ followed by a pained sigh.

“But first, fetch me cushions - lots and lots of cushions.”

I saw an Iron Throne photo clip on sale for a couple of quid in Primark, part of their Game of Thrones range, and couldn’t resist.

A quick paint job later and my Frostgrave warbands have a nice (if rather uncomfortable) throne to fight over. Remember, 'when you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground (unless you happen to roll a 20).’

Turning the Tables

Continuing in my attempt to get myself back into the modelling groove, I’ve cobbled together some more easy-build scenery in the form of these tables.

The second scenario in the Maze of Malcor expansion is set in a huge feasting hall and calls for three ‘long dining tables’. The scenario doesn’t specify how long, so that gives me plenty of scope.

The tables are simply offcuts of MDF or plastic disks with either bits of plastic sprue or more MDF off-cuts for the table legs. In retrospect the longer tables may be too narrow, but I went with what off-cuts I had lying around, so hey-ho.

The tables were lightly sprinkled with pieces of rubbish and stuff from the bits box to make them look ‘well-used’. The plates were largely neutered drawing pins and the cups were snippets of cable insulation. Not bad for a few hours work!

The Furnace

It was not for treasure that Gog the Mighty; Stalker of the Frozen Waste;, cleaved his way through the great Collegium of Artistry. Neither was it for glory, nor fame, nor the need to best himself against the rumoured phantom of the sinister Malcor.

No, it was none of these, for Gog the Mighty; Slayer of Frost Giants; sought only one thing…

Wiping the ichor off his greatsword, he stepped over the corpse of the giant insect and pushed open the great iron doors that stood between him and his goal. Bare torso glistening, he stepped warily through the doorway and smiled as he beheld the great black thing squatting in the middle of the huge chamber.

Dark hulking shapes moved slowly around it, but a barbarian warrior such as Gog the Mighty; Hunter of Snow Leopards; made short work of those. Soon he was facing the thing itself, with it’s smoke-stained pipes, blackened chimneys and fire-rimmed circular hatches.

His smile growing wider, he turned his near-naked body so that his loincloth-clad rear was as close to the intense heat that emanated from the thing as he dared.

“Ahhhh….”

No, it wasn’t treasure, glory or fame that Gog the Mighty; Crusher of Ice Demon; sought… it was warmth.

In an effort to get myself back into the groove again, I’ve made a start on some scenery for the Maze of Malcor expansion – namely the furnace from the eponymous fourth scenario in the book.

This scenario calls for a giant furnace room, in the middle of which stands said furnace: a 6” square model with a hatch on each side (wherein the Coalmen constructs will try to drag the unwary).

As luck would have it, I had a plastic bowl from a recent takeaway which was exactly 6” in diameter. I glued some old paint pot lids for the hatches and stuck some bits on top for chimneys. I also poked the inside of the bowl with a compass point to make rivets.

A quick going over with some black primer and an indifferent paintjob in an attempt to make it look hot produced this model. It’s a simple build for a one-off piece that’s only needed for a single scenario, so it’ll do.

An Eye for the Ladies

Once upon a time there were two beautiful princesses. This royal pair of siblings did what all good princesses do in stories that begin with ‘once upon a time’: they sang songs about love and suchlike, held elegant balls full of handsome princes, befriended small woodland creatures and generally acted prettily.

Of course what the stories that begin with ‘once upon a time’ don’t tell you is what happens to the third, less attractive sister the pair kept locked up in a miserable basement of their pretty princesses’ castle.

For deep down in this elegant, multi-turreted edifice, poor Lumperalla spent her days cleaning, dusting and battling through the grimy piles of washing-up that the pretty castle, with it’s pretty princesses and endless balls, generated on a daily basis.

To make sure that Lumperella worked every second of every day, the pair, being rather adept at magic, cast a wizard eye spell in the basement. They made it perfectly clear that, should the poor girl ever stint, rest or otherwise pause in her toil, they would cast a petrify spell via this eye and turn the unfortunate creature into stone.

Naturally, after a suitable period of time, when Lumperella had suffered the requisite amount of torment as dictated by stories that begin with ‘once upon a time’, her fairy godmother intervened and gifted her with the knowledge of a certain reaction spell.

The princesses first noticed something was amiss when the supply of clean crockery began to dry up. Looking through their wizard eye, they saw Lumperella sitting on a comfy chair, helping herself to the castle’s port and puffing on a large cigar. Enraged, they immediately cast a petrify spell and sent it hurtling down the visual conduit.

As the magic screamed towards her, Lumperella deftly weaved her reaction spell and deflected the blast straight back through the eye, turning the miserable sisters into stone statues. It is said that their chipped, battered and not at all pretty forms can still be found in the remains of the once-elegant castle, somewhere deep in the frozen city – side by side in front of a battered scroll, upon which a faded wizard eye spell can be barely discerned.

And Lumperella? Upon being freed from her incarceration she became the most formidable wizard of the age and laid waste to vast swathes of the civilised world.

It just goes to show doesn’t it? Never trust stories that begin with ‘once upon a time’…

The summer holidays continue to take up what little free time I have, but taking advantage of a summer sort-out I did manage to rescue some old toys from the bin, including two Disney princess figures and a plastic scroll. The princesses were glued onto plinths (okay, tops from Capri Sun orange pouches) whilst the scroll was simply stuck to a base.

The former will serve nicely as extra statues whilst the latter will serve as a wizard eye marker (and as such I also painted the underside of the base so that it can hang off walls too).

Tardy Terrain

Yes, I’m still here! The weather’s been too nice for hobby stuff recently, as BBQs and paddling pools have trumped gaming days and painting sessions.

However I have found time to paint up a bunch of bits from last year’s Mantic Terrain Crate Kickstarter, which came up with the goods recently. Giles persuaded me to chip in a few bob, which netted me a Dungeon Debris set, together with a horse and cart and a few pieces from the Treasure Room set.

You can read Giles’ review of the stuff here, and see some more painted examples here.

This stuff is what I call street furniture – all nice and ruined after centuries beneath the ice. Notice I’ve included the horse, cart and associated baggage in this too.

More ruins of the stone variety. The skulls came separate, so I glued them on to some of the bits (minus the one I dropped on the floor and can’t find).

Some nice piles of treasure and armour to tempt the unwary. In hindsight I wish I’d have gone for the Wizard’s Lair set too, which would’ve served me well for any forthcoming Maze of Malcor scenarios, but obviously it hadn’t been published then!

Some more loose bits turned into spare treasure tokens (allowing me to experiment with painted on floor tiles). Also an alternative Giant Rat model in the form of a rat swarm (again these came loose with the terrain). Anyone who’s read Terry Pratchett’s The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents will know the inspiration behind this model.

Not the best photos I’m afraid - the colours of the pieces vary subtly in real life and they look less monochrome - but hey ho... Right, where did I put my Super Soaker..?

Open the Sluice!

At the time of writing the weather is far too nice to be sat indoors painting, but I have managed to knock up some sewer channels for one of the Breeding Pits scenarios.

'Here Comes the Flood' has competing warbands enter some kind of waste processing plant, which is split into four by 3" wide channels sloshing with... well, it's best not to inspect them too closely...

These are simply strips of plasticard with the 'banks' built up slightly with glue and tape to represent the crumbling edges of the channels. I gave them a quick paintjob and then glossed over them a bit. Nothing special but they'll do the trick!

The Frozen Thieves – A Scenario

Having a few Celtic casualty figures left over, I hit upon the idea of painting some as some frozen statues. This in turn got me thinking up a scenario…

The Frozen Thieves

Back in days of yore, the fearsome Ice Dragon made it’s lair on the outskirts of Felstad and brooded over it’s vast hoard of magical treasures.

Many a foolish thief would try to pilfer the Ice Dragon’s trinkets as the beast lay seemingly asleep, but, as they stole back into the city to hide their loot, a shadow would envelop them as the dragon descended upon it’s prey.

Such unfortunates would be blasted by it’s icy breath, turning the cowering thieves into frozen statues. It is said that while the Ice Dragon is long dead, these statues remain to this day and, more importantly, so does the treasure they so hurriedly discarded.

Set Up

The table represents the last hiding place of a group of thieves as they were set upon, centuries ago, by the Ice Dragon. Set up the table as per a standard game of Frostgrave.

Each player should place one treasure token and two figures representing frozen statues, as per standard treasure placement rules. Deploy warbands as normal.

Special Rules

The frozen statues represent thieves that have been frozen by the Ice Dragon. Although frozen solid, spellcasters may be able to thaw them out enough to learn where they have hidden their hurriedly hidden booty.

To do so, the spellcaster must be in base to base contact with the statue and use an action to successfully cast any spell in his/her repertoire by rolling a casting roll of 10 or higher (i.e. a spell that requires a 10 or more to cast, or a spell with a lower casting value that is empowered to 10 or more).

If the spell is cast, the magical energy will partly awaken the frozen form. Consult the table below.

The frozen statues will only reveal one item of treasure, but may have multiple spells cast on them until they are completely thawed out.

Casting roll	Effect
10-17	The frozen statue is thawed out enough to scream the location of some of the hidden treasure. Place a treasure token in a random direction, d20” from the statue. If the treasure has already been revealed, nothing happens.
17-19	The frozen statue is completely thawed out.  In addition to revealing the treasure as above, the figure temporarily joins the spellcaster’s warband. It has the same stats as a thief, but, due to it’s recently frozen state, can only take one action per turn. If the spellcaster has room after the game, the thief can join his/her warband and operate as normal in subsequent games.
20	You manage to completely thaw out the statue, but the thief has been driven insane over the centuries and will make an immediate and furious attack on the spellcaster. Treat it as a barbarian which, due to it’s recently frozen state, can only take one action per turn. If it defeats the spellcaster, it will act as a wandering monster for the rest of the game.

Experience and Treasure

Any treasure revealed by the frozen thieves is treated as normal.

Experience is calculated as normal, but with the following additions:-

• +10 for each thief that is thawed, or partially thawed out a frozen thief by the spellcaster (in addition to the usual experience earned by casting a spell). This only applies once per thief.
• +10 for each thawed thief that joins the spellcaster’s warband and survives the game.
• +10 for each thawed thief that is killed by a spellcaster’s warband (in addition to any experienced earned if killed by the wizard).  

Optional rule

You may introduce the Ice Dragon into this scenario. See Spellcaster magazine issue 2 for rules on using dragons.

For each spell that reveals a treasure, make a note of the number rolled (including modifiers, empowerment etc.).

When that treasure is picked up, roll for wandering monsters as usual. However, if a creature is spawned and if either of the rolls on the monster table matches the noted spell casting roll, place the Ice Dragon on a random corner of the board.

Treat the Ice Dragon as an ‘adult dragon’ with the spit poison trait (this represents it’s icy breath, which has weakened during the intervening centuries).

The Ice Dragon activates in the next creature phase.

As per the dragon rules, spellcasters gains +50 experience if their warband slays the dragon.

A Princely Sacrifice

Apologies for the lack of posts recently – lack of gaming and modelling time means I haven’t done much hobby-wise.

I have however made a start on the specialist terrain needed for Forgotten Pacts. I’ve cobbled together a sacrificial altar (out of foam and No More Nails glue), for the Rescue the Prince scenario.

The prince in question is a Warlord Games Celtic casualty figure.  I’ve a few more left and have an idea for them – more of which at a later date.

I still have to make a glowing sphere on a plinth and some telescopes – something to ponder upon…

Oh, and please don’t forget my little competition (https://frostgravery.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/50th-lead-adventure-page-giveaway.html) – there are still a few more days left to enter!

Foulhorn!

“Ye gods! What hellish realm spawned that abomination?”

The tracker winced, wishing that his new employer would keep his voice down. Thankfully the creature squatting at the other side of the clearing seemed more interested in it’s meal than any noisy wizards.

“None my lord, for they are the natural offspring of this world.”

The wizard’s apprentice joined the pair and peered around the pillar they were hiding behind.

“That’s a beast of nature? Like a bear or boar? I don’t believe it!”

It was indeed a strange thing, the tracker mused, watching as the animal held down it’s prey with one pair of powerful arms, whilst another, smaller pair delicately sliced off chunks of flesh with bladed ends.

“Aye, it suckled at it’s mother just like you and I, young master.”

“Huh!” the apprentice sniffed, “My mother's nothing like that!”

"Don't forget I've met your mother..." muttered the wizard as he flicked through the large grimoire he habitually carried with him. “Ah, yes… It’s a Foulhorn isn’t it? Looks a bit different than the illustration… Says here that the ancients used them in the Millennial Circus due to their ferocity.”

“And they also have very good hearing my lord," said the tracker as the Foulhorn raised it's head. "Perhaps we’d better make a run for it…”

Foulhorns are another of those Frostgrave creatures that are quite specific in their description. These powerfully built hunters are horned beasts that not only have normal limbs, but also a pair of arms that end in sword-like blades. They appear primarily in the Arcane Locations supplement (also collected within the Frostgrave Folio), but also get a mention in Forgotten Pacts.

The base model for my version of the creature, which differs a little from the illustration in the Folio, is a Reaper Bones Numenera Ravage Bear. To this I have added a pair of Tyranid arms I got off eBay. They’re rather puny looking compared to the model’s arms, so I glued them to the front of the body, rather like the little arms of a T-Rex.

The paintjob is quite a simple one – maybe a little dark, but I’m happy enough with it.

I’ve also knocked up a couple of pillars. These came about due to the sprue exchange thread on the Lead-Adventure Forum, where participants puts their unwanted stuff in a box and posts it to the next person on the list. This person takes out the bits he/she wants, puts in some unwanted stuff and sends it on, etc. etc.

This time around there wasn’t anything I particularly wanted, but I did take out a pair of Weeping Angel figures – freebies from a Doctor Who magazine I believe. They aren't the best sculpts (I cut the arms off one as they were so badly done) and are made of in rubbery plastic, but they’ll do for statues. A little bit of plastic tubing and some texture and voila, some (rather wonky) pillars.

Speaking of the Lead-Adventure Forum, don’t forget my 50th LAF page celebratory competition!

A Splash of Colour

As my new warband takes it’s first tentative steps into the underground Breeding Pits, the terrain it encounters can only be described as, well, grey.

As this small sample shows, my dungeon tiles mat is a very similar colour to the vast majority of my terrain pieces, making the whole thing look very grey and monotonous. After pondering how to change this, I hit upon the idea of making some mosaic patches – remnants of the original flooring that has worn away over time.

After a quick search for mosaic and tile patterns I was able to knock up a number of patches, which I then printed out onto label paper and stuck to some thin plasticard, before cutting them out and giving each piece a coat of matt lacquer.

Here they are added to the original sample layout. I’ve chucked them all onto a small space, so maybe it all looks a bit too busy, but if I spread them out around the whole table, they should hopefully add a welcome splash of colour.

The Deadly Assassin

Being an assassin may seem like a glamorous job, but behind every swift, sharp exit there’s a tonne of preparation and spadework – quite literally in some cases.

Dig a deep enough rut and your target’s wagon will ‘just happen’ to break a wheel in it. Thus distracted, your target is easy prey to your ministrations. Usually this is the end result of your client’s displeasure in your target but sometimes it’s, y’know, just for fun.

The assassin watched as the merchant’s goods spilled out of the stricken cart. The fat bejewelled man was busy berating his driver while the bodyguards looked on with wry amusement. No-one saw the assassin coming.

First rule of assassination? Not only make your own luck, but remove other people’s as well...

A quick post before the half-term holiday next week. The only soldier type I was lacking was the assassin. This has now been duly rectified with this Reaper miniature.

The cart is a very nice model, not only as a general piece of scatter scenery but also an integral part of the Loot the Cart scenario from Thaw of the Lich Lord. It was kindly given to me by my pal Giles (cheers mate!) and given a quick paintjob.

Walls & Toys

Just a quick post in amongst the seasonal madness that is JP Towers.

You've probably already heard that dragons have come to Frostgrave! The latest issue of Spellcaster is now out, and contains rules for fielding these fearsome beasts, including a challenging co-op scenario.

I haven't got a dragon model in my collection, but here's a quick snap of a Papo dragon that lurks in my daughters' toy box, which will do at a pinch.

Also, my pal Giles very kindly made me some walls (cheers mate!), to act as wall spell markers. He's done a great job and these will replace my current wall spell markers, which are chunks of plain grey foam.

That's it for now. I've got a few things on the painting table, but whether they'll be done before the Xmas hols remains to be seen. Have a good 'un folks if I don't see you before!

The Evil Shed

One of the Ulterior Motive cards calls for a wooden shack, within which the walls have been daubed with hideously evil markings. This building has been discovered by one of your warband and must be destroyed!

I could have probably knocked up some jerrybuilt shack, but found this MDF old shed kit from Charlie Foxtrot Models and thought it looked pretty cool. I also had the last of my bonus to spend, so into the shopping cart it went!

A nice, easy build and a good piece that fulfils the card requirements and isn't going to to fill up my terrain box.

The Beasts Below

“Get up; you’re on in five minutes!”

T’rok groaned as the beastcrafter pulled the rope on his nose ring.

“I said get up!”

The wizard pulled harder, forcing the minotaur to his feet. The creature could easily have swatted the old man into the cell wall, but that was not how things worked in the breeding pits. He was the beast’s master – his creator.

T’rok groggily shook his head whilst waving his acquiescence, causing the beastcrafter to ease up on the rope. The minotaur allowed himself to be led into the armoury, instinctively reaching for his favourite axe.

“Gonna be a good one today,” cackled the wizard as he handed T’rok his punch dagger. “Lot of money on this one.”

As the minotaur was ushered into the empty arena, the first thing he noticed was the silence. He frowned – it’d be difficult to work himself up into a fighting frenzy without the roar of the crowd. A flickering light up in the stalls caught his attention – a large glowing eye, glaring down at him.

A wizard’s eye, from which he could catch the occasional sound: a murmured conversation, the clink of glasses - so this was to be a private viewing. He hated private ones – no atmosphere, no appreciation, just some upper-class wizards in some comfortable tower watching the fight and usually losing interest when the canapes were being served, long before the coup de grace.

Still, a fight was a fight. He braced himself as the large portcullis opposite him began to rattle open. There was a screech, then another and another, as several large reptilian heads snaked out of the darkness. Behind them waddled a huge scaly bulk with a long whipping tail. A hydra!

T’rok tensed. Fighting hydras was difficult, but if he could get a decent charge in first he would be in amongst the snapping jaws before they could lash out, forcing the beast to look inwards on itself. He lowered his head and began to scrape the floor with his hoof, but then paused.

The hydra seemed strangely disinclined to attack. It stood there, heads waving around as if trying to catch the scent of something else. It was mewling, whimpering, as if something much more fearful was on the approach. He looked up at the eye, the light from which was oscillating wildly as the spectators on the other side of it screamed.

Then there was silence. Suddenly T’rok was aware of an intense cold. Bewlidered, he turned to the hydra, which had ceased thrashing and was now calmly sniffing the ground. One of it’s heads casually looked up at the minotaur and grunted. Then the creature swiftly turned around and was gone through the portcullis. T’rok stood there, shivering. He no longer felt the presence of his creator bearing down on his will. For the first time in his violent life, he was free.

A couple of great Reaper Bones models to fill the gaps in the Breeding Pits bestiary: a minotaur and a hydra. The hydra was a bit of a pain to put together as I had to soak it in boiling water and glue it whilst the model was still hot and pliable, but the joins aren't immediately noticeable. All told, I'm pretty happy with the paintjob on these.

I’ve also knocked up a quick wizard’s eye, as I suddenly realised my illusionist carries a wizard eye scroll and I was going to field her in my last game. I didn’t get to use it in the end, but it’ll still come in handy one day. This model is simply a painted round base glued to a bit of plastic sprue, on a rectangular base.

Standing Stones, Posting Pics

The task of replacing the now broken Photobucket links on the blog continues. 

In posts with small picture counts I will try uploading them straight into Blogger and see how long that lasts. 

Posts with larger photo counts, such as battle reports, would take much longer to do this, so I’m trying out Google Slides as an alternative method of presenting them.

Therefore, most of the old battle reports will still have the same text, but instead of having photos of the action interspersed between them, there will be a slideshow at the top of the post – this will hopefully save me a lot of work!

And now, on to some proper blogging…

Many Frostgrave scenarios call for magical pillars, mystic monoliths or runic stones, not least the new Ulterior Motives pack, so I thought I’d cobble some together.

Following my experiment with No More Nails glue and EPE packing foam, which I used as a starting point for a Dwarven sarcophagus, I hacked some more pieces of foam into standing stone shapes and smeared the glue over them.

Once this has dried I glued them to circular plasticard bases, which I textured. A quick spray of Halford’s black primer later and they were ready to paint! I went for a greenish look for the stones, drybrushed with grey as they were looking a bit too green.

I then attempted to paint glowing turquoise runes on them. I’m not convinced I did a particularly good job on the runes, but they don’t look too bad at a distance.

Anyway, it’s another hole in my terrain requirements filled, and proves that EPE foam will take NMN glue, which can be sprayed with car primer, giving me more options for terrain building!