Dungeons and Dragons Eight Week Project - Summary and DMs Comments

To finish off the D&D8W posts I'd like to give a brief idea of what I was aiming for, and, perhaps, what I might do differently next time.

As I mentioned previously, this was the first time this particular group had played face to face. Indeed, although everyone knew some of the group, there were first time introductions for several members.

It was great to finally meet up. Some of the players had never seen each other before, but there was a very friendly atmosphere from the beginning.

The Adventure 

I used the five room dungeon structure for the Crypt and I felt it worked very well. It was my first time consciously following this model, though I suspect I've included many of the elements in the past.

I'm not sure if Zarrel retreating to her crypt quite counted as the Reversal and I think the players were expecting to face a tougher final form. I'd have had her retreat to regenerate, but she never got the chance; the party can deal out a lot of damage now if they work together. 

Also, we were getting close to six o'clock, the nominal finish time, and another big fight would probably have been rushed.

Harrow's desire to face the vampire while her Spectral Guardians was still in effect really drove the pace, which was excellent. In case you're wondering, yes, she did have another third level spell slot, but she's keeping it free for any required Revivify.

Looking back, I missed the chance for some monologue from Zarrel. She's got a back story that she could have referred to, but I'm sure there are hints to it elsewhere. 

This is something I'm guilty of, not giving the opposition enough to say. I tend to get caught up in the tactics. To be fair, the party rushed in, spells blazing, and she wasn't around very long anyway.

Zarrel herself wasn't taken straight from the Monster Manual. That would have been too tough. Instead, I took the Knight stat block, boosted it slightly, and added features from the Vampire stat block that seemed to me to fit the story.

Non Scenery Prep

I prepared 5 x 3 index cards for every player's spells (they all have some spell casting ability now). 

I also made magic item cards, class and race features cards and spell slot cards. I noticed that the spell slot cards weren't used, but everything else was.

All this needs something to hold it, and I found wooden boxes at The Works (a UK chain selling discount books, crafts and other sundries) that nicely hold the various cards, dice and a mini or two. 

Harrow's box with just some of the cards

Harrow shows there's plenty of room

Roland's box with mini and cards 

The Deck of Discord 

The adventure as written is based around the Deck of Many Things. I've no problem with this as background in the original, but I decided early on in the campaign to switch this for something else. 

Partly because the 'find a card and get a minor extra power' is very fourth edition and doesn't transfer smoothly to fifth. Partly because it doesn't seem to quite match up to how I imagine the Deck to work.

There's also the fact that I lent my deck from the original adventure to someone many years ago and never got it back.

So I came up with the Deck of Discord. A very Chaotic artifact. It's purpose is to spread Chaos and change the behaviour of creatures. The powers are much more nebulous than the Deck of Many things, though the party have witnessed at least one instance of a card being used directly against them. 

Roland has been gifted a platinum box by Bahamut, with instructions to shut the cards away. So far they've done this, and resisted any and all temptation to use them.

All this means that I needed a Deck. 

There's plenty of options to buy or print off the internet, but I wanted something all my own.

I'd already sketched out some of the cards, or bone plaques as we are describing them. I'm aiming for a sort of 'Medieval' look in art style, though I admit, its very vague. 

I even found another wooden box, again from The Works, but sadly my existing cards didn't fit in, so that meant redrawing them all again, this time sized to fit and on white Mounting Board so they have the right sort of thickness.  

Sadly I didn't have time to paint the box silver, but I think the thing works as a prop.  Perhaps too well:  The players are keen to keep the plaques locked away, so other than a brief inspection, they never got examined all session!

The Deck of Discord 

Where Now?

The 'Heroes of Nentir Vale' will continue to adventure remotely; their quest to reclaim Gardemore Abbey is progressing nicely,  though there are some factions that they still need to deal with (including a potential one that they are unaware of!).

It would be nice to direct them elsewhere; a couple of characters have backstory hooks that could lead east, and there's plenty to explore there, including another official adventure, though in this case I'd be borrowing background stuff than plot.

I'm certainly hoping for another live session, but not for a while perhaps.  I'd like it to be another important goal, but I'm not sure what that's likely to be yet.

But, Minis?

You've seen the character minis, the skeletons and the zombies (which didn't get used, they were for an earlier version of the Garrison, but the Heroes have already done that area online), now here's Zarrel herself. 

Zarrel Gardrinsdottir

Zarrel again

I wonder if any of that gear is worth anything?

I didn't want to go for the standard Gothic lady vampire mini, this girl's a fighter, and should look like one. In fact I avoided undead minis altogether and used the Reaper Figure Finder for something elven looking.

Shardis, Female Elf Rogue (SKU 77741) was exactly what I wanted, and I already had the mini from one of the Reaper Bones Kickstarters in one of my boxes of unpainted minis.

I deliberately gave her very pale skin, VGC Elfic Flesh, and her clothing is based on VGC Jade Green, with dark green for the undertunic and yellow leggings.

So that's my random thoughts about a great fun gaming experience and the prep I did.

I'm busy getting the next online session ready, always working on the next one. I'm also getting something painted for my Old School orcs, which after working to a deadline for this is kind of relaxing.

Dungeons and Dragons Eight Week Project - Scenery 1 - Planning and a Tomb

As I recently mentioned, I'm combining my eight week project with the Season of Scenery Challenge to add some scenery to the adventures.

Floor Plans 

In the past I've done full 3D and 2.5D builds, but this is going to be a bit less monumental. All this group has seen is maps drawn on Inkarnate and shown via Roll20. I'm looking forward to showing them another way, and experience has taught me that when players actually see terrain, they interact more with it, like the glow around objects in video games.

I plan to use my trusty Pathfinder mats, with some hand drawn prepared floor plans for special areas. I could print off the Inkarnate stuff, but that's a lot of ink, and I want to show that you don't need fancy software to enjoy the game. 

There's also the minor issue of furnishings. I try and have the Inkarnate maps as detailed as possible, but sometimes circumstances (the characters) can change them. It's not much of a problem if it's just moving a chest, but it can be more dramatic, as in the incident where the party deliberately collapsed a ceiling to stop a horde of gnolls.  I won't be able to print off new maps part way through the game, so drawing and terrain models are the way to go.

I'll try and draw out a few special encounter areas. Previously, I've used 1 inch squared flip chart pages, but these are nearly gone, and I can't find replacements at a reasonable price.  However, I did find a product called "spot and cross paper", used in dressmaking for patterns. This alternates dots and crosses on the vertices of a grid, and it's available in inches. A roll cost me under £17 for 10m on Amazon, and it's better quality paper than the flip chart too.

Scatter Terrain 

I've plenty of unpainted Mantic Terrain Crate stuff, which will come in useful, but I've already identified some gaps in what I need. For speed (and economy) I might use some of the Crooked Staff Print and Paste terrain, my limited experience suggests that it should be good.

But what do I actually need?

As always, the goal is to finish up with a terrain set useable for many games. 

While it would be nice to do a special piece just for this adventure, I suspect that time is against me, so, to begin with at least, it's going to be fairly generic.

Tombs are a must, there's plenty of exploring still to do in the crypts. 

Rubble/rubbish piles are always good, providing some cover if high enough, difficult terrain, great for hiding in or behind and very atmospheric.

Pillars, again good for partial cover and to prevent being surrounded. They also help a large underground space to seem more believable.

General Furniture; beds, chests, tables, crates and barrels. More stuff to add 'realism' and introduce stuff for the characters to interact with. I won't bother with benches or chairs, they can be assumed, and the models tend to get in the way. That said, if they are present, someone's bound to pick one up and hit someone else with it.

Special Furniture, such as altars, weapon racks, torture equipment, tents etc. may or may not be made. It's down to time available. A stone table* could stand in for an altar. 

I suppose tombs really fall into this category, but they are such a significant feature of the Abbey crypts, that I couldn't really leave them out.

But enough waffle, time for some actual terrain.

Speedpainted Tomb

Here's a tomb from Mantic's Dungeon Saga game.  It's supposed to be for a dwarf, hence the small size, but I think it looks fine. It's really an experiment in using Speedpaints to see if they are practical for getting the Terrain Crate stuff done quickly. 

I started with an Army Painter Dark Tone wash, followed by a white drybrush.  Then it was a simple coat of Army Painter Speedpaint Holy White.  The result is a grey rather than white, but it looks ok.

To add a bit of extra interest I painted the very top section in Vallejo Game Color Hammered Copper and then stippled Vallejo Game Effects Verdigris over it, especially in and around any cracks and flaws.

I really like the result, but I've only two or three of the model, so it's not really a practical choice for the adventure.  

I might reserve it for any particular special undead the party meets. Clearly I need to find an alternative for the tombs in the game.

Well, Well, Well

And as a bonus, here's the Dungeon Saga well. 

I painted one a while back to use in Frostgrave. This one is more experimenting with Speedpaints for Terrain Crate models.  Besides, there are wells in the Abbey, should I ever need a model.

Briefly, wash and dry brush just as the tomb, then I picked out various stones with various Speedpaints, including Pallid Bone, Gravelord Grey, Hardened Leather and Sand Golem. 

The whole lot was given a light dry brush of VGC Bonewhite to soften the harsh contrasting colours, then a coat of matt varnish, both to lose the glossy finish and to protect the Speedpaints. I worry that excess water (such as a spilled drink at a game shop) will reactivate them causing a colourful mess.

So there's a lot of waffle and my first two minis for the Season of Scenery. There's plenty more (especially tombs) to come. 

I'm fitting in the terrain building amongst the mini painting,  it's a nice change of pace. 

*I suppose the Dungeon Saga tomb would work as a stone table, but it does look rather funereal.

Star Saga

I got my copy of Star Saga the other day.  Actually it was last week, but its been a hectic weekend of Concerts (and migraines).
This puts my totals for December back some way, so what is in the box and is it worth it?

The box is just 11" square and 4" deep, designed to look like some sort of containment vessel.

A lot packed away inside.  I haven't checked, but I think there is some sort of dimensional warp here allowing Mantic to fit in more minis.

I haven't tried the game yet, but the system is like Dungeon Saga, which I liked.  There is an artificial intelligence option, either allowing up to four players to play against it, or one person to have a go on his or her own.  A great way to learn the rules.

But its the minis that I suspect a lot of you are interested in.  These are all photographed straight from the box (with insufficient overhead light to show the details).

The four main heroes, Wrath, Francesco 'The Devil' Selvaggio, 'Curby' and Captain Erika Dulinsky.  Wrath is an established Deadzone character, being the only Judwan to turn to violence, a result of tampering by the Corporations.  Selvaggio appeared in a Deadzone short story.

Extra heroes Alyse and Ogan Helkkare, flanked by two of ogan's Sentry Guns.

Four of the 'bosses', organic Data Storage Unit X-02-A (a Chovar), Enforcer ES435 'Monarch', Guard Commander Graves and Dr. Lukas Koyner.

Lab Technicians, the lest powerful of the minions.

Security Guards

Plague Victims (I wonder what Dr. Koyner has been experimenting on?) 

Corporation Marines

Two Corporation Rangers (elite marines) flanking another Marine.

Extra Mercs, a Koris, the Rebs Sphyr leader Kira Nikolovski, and The Fear, one of the Nameless.  

Blaine (of course), Hacker Halftail and a new sculpt of the Survivor (another established Deadzone character)

Finally, The Abomination, straight from Deadzone, and a pleasure to own.

There is some scenery as well. cabinets and storage tanks

Desks and tables

A small cabinet and some computer terminals.  in the game the terminals are used to unlock doors or find out additional information

Crates, which can be searched for extra items

Doors.  

The quality of the pieces is good.  Dungeon Saga seemed OK, but The Walking Dead was much better in terms of sculpts and casting.  Star Saga is, to my mind, even better.

There are also a slew of tokens and floor plans, special dice (reminiscent of the old heroquest dice), data cards for teh heroes and the opposition, as well as events and items and a Rule book and a Mission book.  More missions will be published, and several were unlocked during the kickstarter.

The Kickstarter edition contains some extras; bonus minions and the Extra mercs.  Even so, the base game is a good set.

Apart from playing the game itself, there is lots of opportunity to use the minis in games of Deadzone.  I'll certainly be using Nikolovski in my Rebs trike team and the technicians would make ideal targets to be captured, rescued, or even infected.

One very nice thing about the game is how mantic use it to expand their Warpath universe.  Including Some known characters makes the place come alive, but the addition of new races and details about worlds and different Corporations help it to grow.  I wonder how many different races now inhabit the Warpath Universe?

Goblin Vanguard Ready

I've finished the Vanguard goblins I was working on.  They make up the sample warband from the alpha rules, though I have had to do a bit of fudging for some of the support characters.

Group shot.

The troll and mawbeast, both from Dungeon Saga.

Various troops and rabble, all KoW goblins just like these I did earlier.

The brains behind it all, Dungeon Saga Biggit (because he looks impressive compared to the KoW goblins) and an artillery crew and a sneak from the KoW orcs.

They all painted up nicely, I used mostly Vallejo Game Color paints with a wash of Army Painter Strong Tone to shade everything at the end.  The minis were gloss varnished with yacht varnish to provide a good protective coat, then given a layer of Windsor and Newton acrylic matt varnish.

the base texture wasn't my usual, its too coarse for my liking (though I think it would look good painted as rocks for my dwarves).  Its good enough that I don't feel I need to re do it though.  I will add to these eventually but this should be enough to get a feel for the rules.  

I had to make do with some substitutes as I couldn't find my goblin command pack.  The DS goblin makes a very fine leader, but he may get demoted when I do find my command.  The other two metal minis will stand in for a Banggit and a Wiz, but again, will still find a place in the band when the proper minis turn up.

I've also been working through more 15mm figures for my Kings of War small scale project, more on those later, and I am near finishing the dwarves to fight the above goblins.

Current totals for November

Bought 1 (the survivor)
Painted 22 (Frostgrave and Vanguard warbands, including a troll, which must be good for bonus points)
Sold/traded 92 (5 dwarf berserkers and 3 lesser obsidian golems, 18 Napoleonics, 26 Gothic Horror, approx 40 GW orcs, plus some WH40K scenery)

This is going to take a hit when Star Saga turns up, and its Recon on Saturday, though I don't really have a shopping list.  I might have to count those 15mm troops individually!

Warbands

It should be no secret to my reader(s) that I like skirmish games.  The small size of the forces is a definite plus; you can get playing that much sooner.  I also think it's easier to tell a story within the game, as the miniatures are more like personalities.
Frostgrave is one such, and a while ago I showed my warband made up of various prepainted minis, mostly from the old WotC D&D line.  This warband was only ever meant to be a 'get-me-by' until I got round to painting one from scratch.  Now I am well on the way to finishing two warbands, on the grounds that its easier to show the game to someone with a warband ready for them to play.
For 'reasons' I am theming each warband; this is what I have so far.

Warband 1 'Sons of Empire'.  These are made up of old GW figures, mostly the rather excellent Empire Militia (formerly the Mordheim humans).  These minis are ideal for Frostgrave, although perhaps they need a scarf or something.  They will also do for Ghost Archipelago, and D&D as well.  this picture shows four of the thugs, before I remembered that thugs are supposed to be unarmoured.  I'm sure if I make it clear what the are, no one will mind.

More of the 'Sons of Empire'.  (l to r) Another thug, a knight, borrowing a torso and shield from the Empire command options on the spearmen/handgunners sprue, and two archers.

Warband 2, 'The Men of the North'.  These are Gripping Beast Dark Age Warriors and Archers.  (l to r) two thugs and two archers

More 'Men of the North (l to r) knight and three thugs.  More Gripping Beast.

The Men of the North will, of course, fit into my Blood Eagle games as well, so they are nicely versatile.  No wizards yet, they and their apprentices are still on the painting table, along with reinforcements for both bands.  That's the problem.  Once I start thinking of ways to show the different soldier types, I can't stop.  Already both bands have thieves, men-at-arms and infantrymen on their way to being finished.

These aren't for Frostgrave though.  That said, there's no reason why not.  This is the sample goblin warband for the alpha rules of Kings of War: Vanguard.  I rooted around among my KoW goblins and found what I needed, along with some reinforcements from Dungeon Saga.  Just about all these will find a place in my KoW collection as well as being good for Vanguard, so yet more versatility.

I like the look of the rules so far, and want to try them soon, though I have a DeadZone campaign to finish off first.  I suppose I should get an opposing force as well.  At around a dozen minis that shouldn't be too hard.

DS Furniture

To go with the doors, here is a sample of the Dungeon Saga furniture.

 The lighting isn't the best, I'm still experimenting with the lamps, but you get the idea.

Both shelf units are lovely pieces, very versatile and they paint up nicely.  The table is good, and I look forward to putting some of the pieces from Terrain Crate on it when that arrives next year.  I've used the barrels more than anything else, they provide interest, and cover, and in one game they were 'spawn points' for undead rat minions.

Painting was a simple overbrush of dark brown over black undercoat.  A further, lighter overbrush of a lighter brown, followed by drybrushes of Khaki and then bone.  Details were picked out in the relevant colours, usually with one highlight.  I might add a bit more shading with selective washes, but they will do for now.

DS Doors

I have (finally) got round to painting some of my Dungeon Saga furnishings.  I thought it was a good time to show them as Mantic's current Kickstarter, Terrain Crate is doing well and is close to ending; the stuff in there should fit very nicely with the DS stuff.

Double door about 2" wide.  I find this the most useful as I am currently using them with the Heroic Maps Ancient Dungeons set.

The doors were first washed then undercoated black.  I used the Vallejo black undercoat.  Its designed for airbrushing (and works great for that) but it also works well when brushed on.  The planks were basecoated with light brown.  I picked a few planks out on each door to paint lighter or darker, I think this gives a more naturalistic look; after all, they were presumably all made by hand (or claw), so I try to avoid too much uniformity.  A quick wash of sepia and the wood was just about done.

The bulk of the stonework was painted dark grey (VGC Charcoal?) then a few stone picked out in lighter colours.  The whole lot was drybrushed in light grey to tie the different colours together.  I'm not sure this works quite as well as the planks, and I'll try and tone it down a bit next time.

The ironwork was first painted in black, then picked out in chainmail.

I'll get some pics of the furniture up later today.

Moar Kickstarter Temptation

Well, it's been awhile, loads happening, not all game related.

I'll get back to posting more regularly, but I've not had much worth showing recently (at lest, that I can show before the players see it).

I'll just mention the following Mantic Kickstarter for RPG terrain, Terrain Crate.

The style seems similar to the 3D stuff included in Dungeon Saga, which has seen a lot of table top use in my D&D games, and it hasn't even been painted yet.

If it's at least as good as that, then I recommend it.  The Kickstarter price is certainly very good; you might not have an immediate use for everything includes, but it's well worth it if you use minis and like the 3D element.  I've found that the more you use this kind of prop, the more the players respond to it and use it within game.

I have just started painting the DS stuff, and it paints up very well.  I'll post some of it as soon as its finished.

Orc Krudger

The first 'Orc tober' post, a Krudger I painted for a local painting competition.

The mini is the orc warlord from 'The Warlord of Galahir' expansion for Dungeon Saga; actually the resin collector's version.

The figure is very nice, and (confession time) the first resin miniature I have ever painted.  I wish now that I had got more of the resin specials for dungeon Saga.

I went for muted 'naturalistic' tones, and he is based on broken pillars to fit in with my Kings of War orc army.

Sadly he didn't win, though gaming group honour is preserved, as that category was won by T'Other One.

Open Day AAR

I'm back from the open day and I had a great time.
I got the few bits I wanted (and a few more things) and attended the Kings of War seminar where we got to hear about the plans for KoW

Kings of War, a 'Rorke's Drift' type scenario.

Deadzone display board, showing just how flexible the terrain system is

More of the display, I like the funky lighting

Kings of War again

A fantastic Dungeon Saga set up

There was a big game of Warpath too.  The sandy terrain was great

More of the Warpath board

The new Deadzone is clearly suitable for families