Warhammer Quest Dark Elves with crossbows

I have finished painting 12 Dark Elves with crossbows for use with Warhammer Quest. I gave a purple tint to their armor, which I think turned out pretty well. Have a look at the pictures below and let me know what you think.

Black Powder officer personality cards for American Civil War

I saw on another blog a great idea of using a deck of playing cards for assigning officer personality traits in games of Black Powder, instead of rolling on the charts. He designed some loyouts with different combinations of personality traits and portraits of fictional generals on them, then got them professionally printed onto a deck of playing cards. So instead of rolling for traits, he draw cards from the deck instead, with the added bonuses of having the card as a a handy reference during the game, and having an image to associate with your general. I decided to make a deck up for my Black Powder American Civil War games, using photographs of actual generals on the cards instead of artwork of imaginary ones.

Warhammer Quest Hobgoblins

My Warhammer Quest Hobgoblins, from the level 1 monster table, are now painted. To get some variety without needing to spend a lot of time on them, I picked four base colors: blue, grey, brown, and orange. Then I used a different combination of these four colors on the clothing of each of the models. This way they all look different, while minimizing the number of colors I needed to use, which saves time.

I also tried out a new method of basing that I've been meaning to try for a while. After painting and varnishing them, I removed them from their slotted bases, clipped off the slot, and filed the feet down flat. I then had to do some touch-ups around the bottom of the feet or where paint chipped or cracked from the clipping. I then glued them to transparent acrylic disks.

It was a bit of extra work, but they look great on the table. The bases become hardly noticeable at all, and all the artwork on the board tiles can be seen through them. This is definitely the way to go for games like Warhammer Quest, which are played on flat surfaces. With more three dimensional terrain, the smooth acrylic disks might slide around if they are set at an angle on the side of a hill or something. I'll have to try that out. But so far, they have worked out great!

Warhammer Quest Painted Alternate Wizard Character

Here is a finished model for use as a Wizard character in Warhammer Quest. The model is from the metal Reaper Miniatures range. It is apparently the "Aaron the Conjuror" model from the Dark Heaven Legends category. I picked him up a long time ago because I thought he'd make a good Warhammer Empire Lore of Fire wizard, but now I'll use him as a Warhammer Quest Wizard. I wanted him to look somewhat opulent, as if he came from a wealthy or noble family before attending the colleges of magic. After that, I figure he spent a few years just bumming around the Old World, really "finding himself", which lead to some adventuring with some other bored wealthy pals. Anyway, have a look at the pictures below and let me know what you think.

Warhammer Quest Painted Chaos Warrior Character

I finally got around to repainting my Warhammer Quest Chaos Warrior character model. I don't have much to say about the paint job. It is pretty basic. I wanted to downplay the obvious chaos elements, since I imagine he would have to hide the blatant signs of chaos worship while travelling around the Old World. I assume he doesn't carry the gigantic axe and equally huge belt buckle around town with him, since they have obvious chaos icons on them. Without those, he should be able to pass for a normal human knight out on a quest. At least a normal human knight who really likes skulls and horns.

Warhammer Quest: Fountain of Lost Souls - Part 3

If you wish to read the previous two episodes in this adventure, click on the links below.

Part 1
Part 2

After failing twice already, the Imperial noble and his band of adventurers make their way once again to the dungeon where they hope to retrieve the gemstones containing their stolen souls. The gems lie within the waters of the Burning Fountain, hidden deep beneath the Dragonback Mountains. Will they finally succeed, or are their souls forever lost? Read on to find out!

Warhammer Quest: Fountain of Lost Souls - Part 2

See Part 1 of this adventure here.

A band of adventurers, led by an Imperial Noble, return to a dungeon they were previously forced to abandon, which lies in the caves beneath the Dragonback Mountains. They hope to retrieve the magical gems in which their souls have been imprisoned by a conniving sorcerer. Will they have any better luck on their second attempt? Read on to find out.

Warhammer Quest: Fountain of Lost Souls - Part 1

A mighty Sorcerer, resident in Marienburg, wishes to find the Burning Fountain, a mythical place rumoured to exist somewhere in the caves below the Dragonback Mountains. Scrying its exact location has proven to be of no use, but he has managed to obtain a picture of the fountain itself in his sorcerous mirror, confirming that it does indeed lie somewhere under the mountains, and is guarded by ferocious monsters.

No matter how much gold he offers, no one can be found to venture that far afield, so he has cunningly entrapped the four Warriors under a curse, capturing their souls in glowing gems. Using powerful magic, he has reached through his mirror and dropped these gems into the fountain.

The Warriors have no choice but to find the fountain and retrieve their lost souls. The gems must be returned to the Sorcerer before he can reunite the Warriors’ ethereal bodies with their physical bodies. He is apologetic about this underhand trick, but does promise rich rewards if the Warriors succeed in capturing some of the waters in a specially prepared container while they are there.

Warhammer Quest: Sword of the Deathking

The Fortress of Vorag lies beyond the Badlands, on the Plain of Bone. It was from this proud, cruel citadel that Ashkral Deathking, a follower of the all-powerful Necromancer Nagash, ruled many centuries ago. Endless legions of the dead strode to battle at his command, and the living fell before their unearthly might.

When Ashkral was overthrown by the Orc Warlord Morak Bloodcrusher, the dying Necromancer swore that he would one day return. His shattered body was taken by his acolytes to a secret place deep beneath Cripple Peak, on the shores of the Sour Sea. However, the Deathking was not truly dead, he was merely in a state of limbo between this life and the next. The only weapon said to be truly able to kill the Deathking was the sword he himself had wielded. This was to be buried with him so that it could not fulfil its destiny, and so that he could wield the powerful blade when he arose from beyond the grave.

Unfortunately, on the way to his tomb, the acolytes carrying the sword were ambushed and killed. With his last burst of energy, before he passed over to meet his master, the head acolyte hurled the sword into the Sour Sea, screaming that it would never be seen again until the Deathking stirred once more.

Since then, there have been great upheavals in the land, both politically and physically. The nearby volcano, Karag Haraz, has erupted many times in the years since the Deathking’s defeat, spewing lava and magma across the region and causing the earth to tremble and shift. Over the years the citadel has been reduced to rubble and the Deathking’s story has passed into legend.

However, after the most recent eruption an ancient sword was thrown up onto the surface, and the entrance to a long sealed dungeon revealed. The myth of the Deathking, so long regarded as nothing more than a story, looked to be possible!

The Warriors have been summoned to take the sword and enter the newly-opened dungeon, there to find and slay the Deathking once and for all before he rises from his grave.

Warhammer Quest Painted Imperial Noble Character

I have repainted my Warhammer Quest Imperial Noble character model. He had a very basic, an not very good, paint job from a long, long time ago. I probably should have stripped off the old paint and started over from scratch, but I didn't. I just painted right over the existing paint, which was on there pretty thick, and it turned out okay. Have a look below and let me know what you think.

Warhammer Quest: Destroy the Tomb

The Dwarf Lords of Karak Azul have recently deciphered an ancient Dwarf scroll written in runes so old that even the Dwarfs have taken many years to identify their true meaning. Early on, the Dwarfs realised that it described a shrine of great magical power located somewhere in the Worlds Edge Mountains, beneath the tomb of a mighty Warrior. The Dwarfs knew that to find the shrine would put them in control of the most powerful forces they could possibly unleash upon their foes. The exact location was a mystery until recently when, after many years of painstaking work, it was finally pinpointed. To the Dwarfs’ horror, they realised that the shrine was directly below the Orc Fortress of Iron Rock.

The Dwarfs decided that the shrine had to be destroyed to prevent it falling into Orc hands. If the Orcs should find it, who knows what they would do? An attack by a large force would raise the Orcs’ suspicions about the Dwarfs’ motives, so the Dwarfs have asked the Warriors to sneak into the Orc stronghold to destroy the shrine.

Warhammer Quest Painted Warrior Priest Character

I have repainted my Warhammer Quest Warrior Priest character model. He had a very basic, an not very good, paint job from a long, long time ago. I probably should have stripped off the old paint and started over from scratch, but I didn't. I just painted right over the existing paint, which was on there pretty thick, and it turned out okay. Have a look below and let me know what you think.

Horse and Musket Bolt Action - with Cavalry Rules

I've taken a first pass at writing some cavalry rules for a Horse and Musket era version of Bolt Action. I have also cleaned up some of the other rules to make them more clear, and included it all below so everything is in one place.

Cavalry

Cavalry models act the same as Infantry except as noted below.
Cavalry can mount or dismount using 6" of movement. While mounted, the following rules apply:

• Orders: They cannot go Down voluntarily. They can perform an escape move when assaulted by infantry, like a recce vehicle.
• Movement: They can Advance 12" and Run 24". They cannot enter buildings. They ignore obstacles, unless deemed impassible to Cavalry.
• Shooting: Shooting attacks against them receive a +1 to hit modifier. They suffer a -1 penalty to hit rolls when shooting while mounted. When firing on the move (with an Advance order), the only weapons they can fire are those that have the Cavalry type. The only weapons they can reload while mounted are those with the Cavalry type.
• Assault: Assault damage rolls against them receive a -1 penalty. They cannot benefit from using two assault weapons together.

Display Case for Miniatures

I have finally gotten around to getting some display cases for some of my painted miniatures, and I'm so glad I did. For a while, I have been thinking that it is quite a shame to spend so much time painting up miniatures just to stick them in a carrying case in a closet and never see them. So I have wanted to get something to display my painted miniatures in for a while now, and recently I finally got around to it. I ordered two glass curio cabinets made by a company called Coaster Home Furnishings. They were not easy to assemble on my own, but I got it done and filled them up with some painted miniatures, and it is quite nice to walk by and have a glance at some of my painting accomplishments. Have a look at some pictures below.

Tyranid Army

I recently put all of my painted Warhammer 40,000 Tyranids out on the table, packed in as tightly as possible, and snapped a few pictures of my entire painted army. Just like with my Vampire Counts army, the models in this army were painted over a huge time span. The Genestealers were some of the first models I painted. However, even the most recently painted of my Tyranid models (the Trygon/Mawloc and some of the Termagants) were painted almost four years ago at this point. Have a look at the pictures below and let me know what you think.

Horse and Musket version of Bolt Action

I was thinking lately that I don't want to have to learn a lot of different sets of rules for playing different historical periods at the same scale/level of game. That will only discourage me from getting miniatures in new periods that I don't have rules for. So I'm thinking about adapting the Warlord Games "Bolt Action" World War 2 rules to earlier periods, such as the "Horse and Musket" era, approximately 1700-1900 AD. Before getting into my specific modifications, here are some things in Bolt Action that I think need to be addressed.

1. The long reload time of muzzle loading weapons needs to be represented.
2. Rifled weapons should be more accurate than smoothbore.
3. In Bolt Action, the roll to cause damage is based on the training level of the target, which I don't think makes sense for Horse and Musket periods. Aside from being behind cover, which is already represented by cover modifiers, I don't think soldiers were trained to avoid being shot.
4. I want to be able to represent some troop types being slightly better or worse at shooting, or slightly better or worse in assault. In Bolt Action, most individuals are pretty much equal in offensive ability, but I want Grenadiers to be better in an assault than Militia, for example.
5. Assaults should probably be less instantly decisive. With the need to reload most weapons after one shot, there wouldn't be as much shooting at point blank range to end things quickly. Having to beat each other with rifle butts might cause an assault to drag on longer.
6. There needs to be some detailed rules for cavalry. I don't think cavalry is addressed in the Bolt Action rules, though there may be rules for it in one of the army book supplements. Even if there are some cavalry rules, they probably aren't to the level of detail that would be desired in a game where cavalry would be more important and prevalent.

If you can think of other areas where the Bolt Action rules might need to be altered or amended, let me know. I think those six points cover most of what needs to change, at a minimum. With the exception of cavalry rules, which I'm not sure about yet, I think all of those points can be covered with a few simple rules change, a few modifiers, and some new weapon and unit stats. My proposed changes are listed below.

Vampire Counts Army

I got all of my painted Warhammer Vampire Counts miniatures out on the table and took some pictures. Take a look below for the pictures of my entire painted Vampire Counts army, in its current state. The Mantic Games skeletons are some of the most recent things I've painted (before I started working on the Warhammer Quest miniatures), while the Games Workshop skeletons, Vampire, and Wraith are some of the very first things I ever painted, probably close to 15 years ago.

Warhammer Quest Doorways

Seeing some painted doorways for Warhammer Quest may not be all that exciting to you. However, it does mean that everything from my Warhammer Quest boxed game is now finally painted! It looks like Warhammer Quest was released in 1995, so it only took me about 19 years to get it all finished. Anyway, it is still a noteworthy accomplishment for me. Have a look below if you'd like to see the pictures, with a cameo by the well-worn Warhammer Quest box mentioned earlier.

Warhammer Quest Mantic Ogres

Here are some pictures of another finished group from the Warhammer Quest level one monster table: three Ogres. The figures are the Mantic Games ogres, which I got as a free bonus from the Mantic Kings of War Kickstarter project. After working with them, I don't think I would buy any of the Mantic "Plastic Resin" models. These were a pain to work with. It was difficult to remove the mold lines, and all three of these figures required heating some parts to bend them into the correct position, and even then there are large gaps at the shoulders and necks. They are good sculpts if you don't mind the freakish proportions, and the end result looks pretty good, they just required a lot of extra work. As always, let me know what you think of the paint jobs on these.

Last Saga beta rule suggestions playtest

I played out another solo game with the Last Saga beta rules to test out some suggested rules changes. The table setup and scenario were identical to my first Last Saga playtest game, but with the deployment zones swapped between the two sides. This would give me a chance to try out some different rules ideas and see what kind of effect they had.

Warhammer Quest Zombies

Here are some pictures of my finished group of six zombies for Warhammer Quest. They are a mix of four very old metal zombies and two of the current (though still very old) plastic zombies, all from Games Workshop. I'm not sure why you only ever face at most six zombies in Warhammer Quest, even though on level one you can face up to twelve skeletons or Orcs or other more challenging enemies. I guess there are a lot of things about the Warhammer Quest monster tables that don't make much sense. In any case, have a look at the pictures below and let me know what you think.

Last Saga beta rules test

Last Saga is a skirmish wargame based on 32mm miniatures. Different factions fight against each other in a science-fiction universe. Games portray confrontations between two small groups of units, filled with action and where tactics are key to victory. In a Last Saga game each player uses between 6 and 15 miniatures.

That is the description of the game Last Saga taken from their Kickstarter project page. The rules are in development, and the current "Beta" version can be downloaded from a link on the aforementioned Kickstarter page. The purpose of the Kickstarter project is to raise money to create a range of metal miniatures for use in the game. The initial goal was to raise enough money for two initial faction starter packs, but they have exceeded that goal by quite a bit, and are now offering starter packs for 4 different factions, along with additional add on units for all of them. Only a few models have been sculpted already, but they have some really nice concept artwork for many more of them.

I had a read through the rules, and thought they had some really interesting mechanics behind them. I decided to do a quick solo playtest of the Beta rules to see how they play out. The kickstarter page links to a "Print and Play" list of downloadable files with printable unit cards, standups, tokens, and templates for playing the game. I created two 100 point factions using the units available in the Council and Raiders of Saanar starter packs (though I may not have used the same weapons that come with the starter packs, since I didn't check that). I decided to play the "Probe Lost" scenario, which has an item placed in the center of the table that both sides are trying to retrieve and return to their deployment zone.

Warhammer Quest: Nurgle's Rot

The city of Praag, which lies close to the border of the Chaos Wastes, has been struck with the dreaded Nurgle’s Rot, a disease spread by the foul Power of pestilence and decay. The death toll is mounting, but the physicians in the city are powerless unless they can find a cure. There appears to be only one hope.

In the ancient myths and songs of Kislev, a fountain is described that has waters so pure and so cold that any creature harbouring any evil nature is frozen to death as soon as it touches the waters. The doctors of Praag believe that this may provide a cure for the disease.

The fountain is said to lie in the mountains north of the High Pass. The Warriors must seek it out and return with some of the precious liquid. They are given a special container in which to carry the water.

Warhammer Quest Skeletons With Bows

Below are pictures of my finished group of six Skeletons with bows for my Warhammer Quest games. These are some very old Warhammer skeletons that I've had sitting around for a long time. When I started painting them I realized that most of them have arrows stuck into their bases. This would be find if the base was going to look like grass or dirt. Unfortunately, it wasn't going to make much sense to have arrows stuck into the stone floor of a dungeon. So I improvised and adding some little dirt piles where the arrows meet the base. I'm not sure it's all that convincing, but I suppose it's better than nothing.

Warhammer Quest Skeletons With Swords

Behold, six painted Skeletons with swords for use in my Warhammer Quest games. The miniatures are the current Games Workshop plastic skeletons. There's not much else to say about them. Take a look at the pictures below.

Painted Warhammer Quest Box Miniatures

To commemorate having all the miniatures from my Warhammer Quest boxed game painted up (except the doorway sections), here are some celebratory pictures.

Warhammer Quest Goblins With Spears

I have finished painting the spear armed goblins from the Warhammer Quest boxed game. As with the other groups of monsters, I tried to add some variety by giving them different colored cloth, belts, and furs. They also all had different shields, and painting unique shields added a lot to the painting time for these guys. However, with these goblins completed, I now have all of the miniatures (monsters and heroes) from my Warhammer Quest boxed game painted! All I have left is the doorway sections, and the boxed game will be completely done. I will put up a post soon with some pictures of all the painted miniatures from the game, but for now have a look at the goblins with spears below.

Warhammer Quest: Destroy the Warpstone Icon

Rumours abound of a powerful long-lost Skaven artefact that has been rediscovered in the Worlds Edge Mountains. The artefact is a skull-shaped icon made from raw warpstone, and its mutating powers are said to be beyond imagination. The icon must be destroyed at all costs to stop the Skaven reclaiming it. Unfortunately, the only way to destroy the icon is to hurl it into the cleansing flames of the firechasm.

I did something a little different this time, and put the captions directly on the images for more of a comic book styled report. You can click on the images to see larger versions so the text is easier to read. Let me know what you think of the new format.

Warhammer Quest: Extinguish the Flames

Below the lost Dwarf stronghold of Karak Vlag, the ancient forge fires still burn. Now occupied by evil creatures, the flames’ magical energies are being used to create chaotic and cursed weapons. The forges must be extinguished before their new masters learn how to manufacture weapons of even more awesome power.

The Dwarf Lord of Zhufbar is host to the descendants of the lords of Karak Vlag, and shares their fears. Although the quenching of the ancient flames seems an act of unthinkable wrong, it is the only option available to prevent the creation of a greater evil.

The exiled lords of Karak Vlag know that only the first item forged in the magical fires - a ring - can extinguish the flames. As the ring is an ancient Dwarf treasure, it must be hurled into the chasm by a Dwarf. If the Dwarf is killed, then the Warriors have, by default, failed.

The Warriors must first defeat the guardians of the firechasm, as only then can the Dwarf hurl the ring into its depths. The ring in question is located on one of the claws of a dragon statue that decorates the firechasm.

Warhammer Quest Goblins With Bows

I am continuing to paint the miniatures from the Warhammer Quest boxed game. I have now finished the six Goblins with bows. As with my other groups of Warhammer Quest miniatures, since they are all identical, I tried to add some variety with the paint jobs. This actually has an added gameplay benefit, I've discovered. Players can easily indicate which monster they intend to attack by the color the monster is wearing, instead of having to point to the model. Below are some pictures of the finished Goblins with bows.

Warhammer Quest: Banish the Daemon

The great Wizards of the Empire have scried out a powerful, brooding power that is growing below the ancient Dwarf hold of Karak Azgal. As yet, they believe the presence to be relatively weak, and therefore probably bound to some material artefact such as a statue while it gathers strength.

Although they do not know its purpose, they suspect that it may be a lesser daemon of the Chaos Powers, trapped in the rocks below the earth in ages past, and freed by the incessant digging of the Goblins and Orcs as they search for the lost treasure of the Dwarfs who once inhabited the city. The truth is that the daemon has escaped the prison of rock that held it for so long, and is now resident in a statue of a great fire dragon in an ancient temple (the firechasm). Soon it will fully awaken, and walk the world once more. The Wizards have employed the Warriors to destroy the daemon and ensure that this never happens.

Warhammer Quest Orcs With Bows

I am continuing to paint the miniatures from the Warhammer Quest boxed game. I have now finished the six Orcs with Bows. As with my other groups of Warhammer Quest miniatures, since they are all identical, I tried to add some variety with the paint jobs. With these Orcs, I gave them some different colored outfits, belts, pouches, and boots.