Team Adventure - Ferros' new look.

Ferros, the expert in all things undead (creating as well as turning, these days) has got a make-over. Since he joined the group, Ferros' player has been using this figure

but since he's just celebrated a birthday, we thought that he deserved a figure of his own. We naturally turned to Brian at Lead Legion, who'd painted the Elysia and Gullhor figures. Brian not only managed to locate a new figure for Ferros that was at the same time reminiscent of the current incarnation but also brought a lot that was new to the character, but also breathed life and individuality into the figure. I direct you to his blog, where you can see the new Ferros in all his glory.

I can't recommend Brian's services highly enough; he's helpful, knowledgeable and delivers exquisitely good results at very reasonable prices. If you haven't given him a try, what's stopping you?

Team Adventure - Better the Devil You Know

It was not long before the elves appeared from beneath the trees. Gullhar was given the task of handing over the staff. The elven leader, BirdsPaintedOnWater looked slightly confused and asked the party what it was. Elysia explained that they believed it was the crystal that they had been sent to find. The elven leader said the crystal in question was a large piece, about the size of a human head, not one attached to a staff.

The party realised that they had jumped to the wrong conclusion (and freed the demons in the process) and decided that another delve into the dungeon was needed to bring their quest to its proper end. The elves told them that although they did not know what the staff was, they could tell that it was an object of great power and that it had probably belonged to the holy man of the party of knights that had attacked the dungeon many hundreds of years ago. The party explained that they had met the ghosts of the knights. Ferros’ eyes lit up when he heard that the staff could be used by a cleric.

Leaving their horses happily munching grass, the knights’ bones carefully bundled and the staff in the care of the elves, the party set off back down the winding stair, along the tunnel and across the bridge. Soon, they arrived at the room where they had seen the wrecked altar and Zanurax had tried to convince everybody that the carpet had tried to attack him. This time, the party decided to investigate this bizarre allegation and Alagon prodded the carpet. Right on cue, it rose up and tried to grab the spear point. Much debate was held at that point about what to do with the killer carpet before Elysia wondered if it might make a valuable addition to the Moat House redecoration programme. Using her Comprehend Languages, she attempted to establish contact with it and sure enough, it replied to her. It revealed that it was a Mimic and posed as a carpet to try and trap unwary dungeon denizens, then eat them. Elysia offered it a deal – join the party, work to protect the Moat House from intruders and it could have all the baddies it could eat. The Mimic agreed and to show what it could do, it assumed the shape of a treasure chest. It also told the party that it had larger and slightly less intelligent cousins who were nowhere near as friendly. Elysia told it that she thought it had assumed a very nice pattern as a carpet. The Mimic replied that she was very kind and that not every passer-by was so complimentary. Some just walked by without even noticing it.

Struck by that comment, she asked the Mimic who else had passed by recently and it revealed that somebody large with bony feet was a regular visitor to the room, passing through every few days. It could say no more than that, since it could only really see feet in its carpet form.

The party moved on along the passage towards the Pool, although they thought that the room wherein the stirges had been seen also merited investigation. Gullhar peeped in and saw that there were six heat signatures in the rafters; Ferros used his Speak with Animals spell to question them about visitors to the room (his player accidentally used an extremely suggestive phrasing of this question that had everyone at the table creased up with laughter). The stirges just wanted blood and revealed, during the conversation that nobody came into the room or had done for a long time. Ferros cast Locate Object and scanned the room but there was no indication that the crystal was anywhere nearby.

Feeling sure that what they sought was still ahead of them, the party arrived at the edge of the water. All was dark now that the staff had been removed. Elysia cast Fly and transported herself and Ferros across to the far side. They began their search of the cells where the demons had been imprisoned. There were huge scratches in the stone of the cells, marks of the frustration and anger that the demons had experienced during their centuries of imprisonment but no obvious signs of secret doors. Ferros’ Locate Object spell was still running, and he began to sense that it was nearby. Using triangulation, he pinpointed it about fifteen feet beyond the wall of the most left-hand cell. The wall seemed very solid indeed and it was likely that there was some other route to its location.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party had begun to get a little restless and had returned to the altar in the room of the Mimic. They put their backs into trying to shift it, but it was only after Alagon had managed to put his back out that Gullhar and Alurax moved it and watched it break up into a pile of stone fragments. Behind it was just plain wall and underneath it, flooring that showed no sign of any secret entrances.

Alurax had the idea of investigating the demonic figure that they had found standing near the entrance to the Great Avenue and off they set to do just that.

Meanwhile, Elysia and Ferros had been doing a bit of investigation on their own; they had been looking at the map that they had drawn of the dungeon so far and had concluded that there must be more rooms between the hall where they had met the salamanders and the Water Elemental’s pool. Rather than traipse all the way down to the far end of the Great Avenue, they began to check the southern walls of all the rooms that that they had so far entered. Using another Fly spell, they began to check the walls of the Pool and found a section of stonework that seemed slightly uneven compared to the rest. A quick push from Ferros caused it to slightly open and with a bit more effort, they were through and into a small room.

A passage led off and wound its way into the dark and from there came the faint sound of running water; rather than pause to collect the rest of the party, the daring duo pressed on to see where the passage led.

It came out in a large room that overlooked a pool into which a waterfall cascaded. There was a stream feeding into the pool and one flowing out. Ferros peered in and his scrutiny was rewarded by a glimpse of something glinting in the silt at the bottom of the pool. Sure enough, it was a key; this time, a golden one.

On the far side of the room were three doors and it was towards the one on the right hand side that Elysia and Gullhar made their way. Just as they got to it, it opened and out stepped two burly half-orc fighters. Elysia told them that they had come for the crystal, only to be informed that it was quite safe and in no danger from any interfering adventurers. Elysia promptly slept them; Ferros killed them and dumped their bodies into the stream.

Meanwhile, Alurax and co had finished their investigation of the demonic statue and had found nothing that could be moved or pulled on it. They decided to look at the plinth but to do that, they had to topple the statue itself; they applied the strength of all four characters and eventually managed to push it, get it rocking and finally send it crashing to the floor whereupon it splintered into a mass of shattered stone.

Elysia and Ferros entered the room from which the half-orcs had come and found only one other exit. Ferros pushed the door slightly open and peered in. There was a stone altar against one wall and on it, a knife that appeared, in the flickering torches as if it were rusty.

Use low-level lighting to achieve that "Evil" look

The two brave adventurers stepped into the room and were confronted by a mysterious stranger in black who asked them what they were doing there. They replied that they had come for the crystal. He laughed derisively and asked if they were the best that the “pathetic tree huggers” could muster in the way of a search party. He had plans for the crystal himself and boasted of his intention to summon a horde of ghosts to drive the elves from their forest. Then his image warped and shifted until he stood before them, a nine foot tall creature, little more than a skin-wrapped skeleton with a huge scorpion tail, holding what appeared to be a large bone hook.


It was clearly a stand-off until one of the sides made a move; Elysia ran out of patience first and fired a Sunburst from her Wand of Illumination. The creature reeled back, blinded for precious moments, while the two party members launched their attack with magic missiles and a pair of arrows from Ferros. The creature staggered under the impact of the assault and as Elysia readied another Sunburst, it vanished.

They were momentarily bemused by this but then decided that they needed to find the crystal and fast; some probing of the walls on the north side of the room revealed an area where a draft was coming from a gap in the stone. Elysia stood back and fired a brace of Magic Missiles at the stone, which slowly swung open to reveal a passage beyond. They started up it but they had only got half way when the creature reappeared behind them and attacked again. Elysia’s attacks caused it some damage but it seemed to be shrugging off some of the missile attacks this time and a Sunburst failed to have any impact whatsoever. She was struck by its huge bone hook and neatly grabbed, whereupon the scorpion tail reached up and over and stung her; she felt a strange weakness passing through her.

Ferros, on the other hand, used the party’s stock of magic arrows to fire at the creature again and again and finally managed to put one arrow through its throat. It dropped the bone hook, was gripped by convulsions and its withered skin turned to dust before its skeleton shattered into a thousand bony fragments. Ferros’ player was informed that he could add the title “Devil-Slayer” to his character sheet. The Bone Devil, for such it was, had been despatched but the party’s quest was not yet over as they still had the crystal to find. Sure enough, further up the passage, they came to a room where a large chest was pushed against one wall. It had three locks and both Elysia and Ferros surmised that the gold, silver and platinum keys might unlock them. Unfortunately, they found that the keys were entirely the wrong size. Reluctant to disturb the chest with any physical damage, they Enlarged Relic, sent him off to bring Zanurax back and put the thief to good use opening the locks. He managed to get the first one open, whereupon the second and third began to tick ominously. He moved on to Number Two and all he got was a face full of poisonous gas but he managed to hold his breath until it had dissipated. The third lock delivered a dose of paralysing gas but this too had no effect on the doughty thief.

While he was busily trying to get the second and third locks open, now that their traps had been discharged, there was a noise from down the corridor and Elysia and Ferros turned to see four half-orcs moving in towards them. A Sleep and a Stinking Cloud laid three of them low and the fourth was swiftly brought to the brink of death by mace, dagger and staff; he fled and left his incapacitated comrades to be despatched by Elysia.

In the room, Zanurax managed to get the chest open, to be rewarded by the sight of the crystal. Its golden aura of life energy radiated out in wisps and tendrils and the thief heard a seductive series of thoughts in his head, urging him to pick it up. Elysia had glanced back and urged him not to touch it. It was with a great deal of effort that he resisted the temptation. Using the last of her spells, Elysia called up an Unseen Servant to carry the crystal out of the chest, back through the rooms and passages and across the Pool to Gullhar, the only one of the party who could safely handle it.

Eight hours later, the magic user and the devil-slaying cleric had recharged their spells and could finally leave the dungeon with the crystal that they had fought so hard to acquire.

That's where we ended the adventure for today. Before I go, I'd like to introduce you all to the new-look, fully-painted Elysia.



Mummy Grognard's been using a Reaper figure for quite some time now but thanks to the services of Brian from Lead Legion, she is now resplendent and ready to take part in more adventures, Relic perched on her outstretched arm. I wholeheartedly endorse Brian's services; his rates are phenomenally low for the excellent standard of work that he does and he is extremely approachable when it comes to liaising on the progress of commissions. Go on - give him a try!

The last of the Drow

Well, this marks the final figure in the Miniatures Monday series. It's the last photo I've got of figures that I feel are of sufficient interest for me to wax lyrical about either the casting, painting or things inspired by the subject of the figure itself.

Today, we have an all-action Drow with a wickedly sharp dagger and the famous hand-crossbow, scourge of the Underdark. From the look of it, this Drow is, like myself, left-handed. Andy's gone once again for the blue tint to the hair and has brought that blue in again elsewhere on the figure. The sickly purple of the gloves and the lime green of the trousers (or is it hosiery) and the skirt of the tunic remind us again that when you are brought up in darkness, colour is entirely subjective. The sleeves, what can be seen of them, would appear to be a shade that I'd call "Nightfall" if I were a Drow tailor.

One thing I do like about this figure is the face - the look of sneering contempt for Overworlders as they face the wrath of Lolth. Even wholly black, it hints at the evil behind it. In fact, it reminds me of this chap

Yes, Lucius Malfoy is a wannabe Drow.

As I mentioned above, this is the last Miniatures Monday and I've been pondering its replacement. I had thoughts of doing a mini-adventure, scenario or even just some ideas or hooks for each monster in the Monster Manual, one a week - it might be a slightly edited list as I can't think of that many exciting adventures for shriekers, but I'm working on it and we'll have to see what comes of it.

Miniatures Monday - The Mind Flayer

I'm sure that everyone enjoys reading Dungeonmum's Portworld stories and of course, they feature the struggle against the tentacle-faced ones. I knew that I had a Mind Flayer figure somewhere in the box and here it is.

For sheer malevolence, this figure is hard to beat. The imperious stance says that this is a guy who is used to giving orders and expects them to be carried out. The yellow eyes, although featureless, send the message that he wants your brain and he's going to get it. The head and hands have a look of burnt skin about them, blotchy and entirely unearthly. I like the finish that Andy has given the skirts of his robe - the blue really does have the look of a satin material. I really get the feeling of alien decadence about this figure. The choice of a cream for the top half of his robes really sets off the skin colour and the Ming the Merciless collar adds to the image of Uber-villain that these guys play so well.

Not many people use psionics nowadays for obvious reasons but the concept of the Mind Flayer is still a chilling one. Recent Portworld posts have shown in gruesome detail just how they go about getting to their favourite meal. In my garden, we have thrushes who crack open snail shells to get to the meat inside. I've seen it happen a couple of times, and have found the empty shells more often. There is a great degree of foreshadowing in having a party find corpses with their skulls cracked open and empty. Lets them know who's waiting for them in the depths.

And there's worse to come - just Google Ceremorphosis for the grisly details. For sheer horror value, I reckon it gives Cyberconversion and assimilation by the Borg a run for their money.

Monday Miniatures - White Dwarf, the figure.

A long time ago, when Citadel Miniatures hadn't sold out and gone all Warhammer and White Dwarf hadn't done likewise, the former produced a selection of figures based on the characters in the latter. I have Thrud the Barbarian and Gobbledigook around somewhere but this one, the actual White Dwarf from the magazine's masthead is one of my favourites because it's actually one you can use in an adventure.

It's not wholly armoured (I do have a dwarf in plate but no picture of him yet) so it's given Andy a chance to do some non-metallic finishes. The trousers and jerkin that sits over the top of what you can see of his chainmail has been done out in a pale green, lighter than Lincoln - I'd call it sage. His metal cap has a tint of steel blue about it, as does the blade of his axe. Perhaps that's the colour that dwarvish steel is. They forge in mysterious ways, you know. Just ask Carter Soles.

The beard's texture lends itself well to a bit of highlighting and the brown of this chap's face fungus (tucked into his belt, as can be seen) has been dry-brushed in a sort of very pale cafe au lait. It gives the impression, to me at least, that this is not a particularly old dwarf.

Coupled to that is the non-combat feel about his outfit that makes me think that this is a dwarf in civvies. I suppose that they would wear some sort of armour about their persons even on their days off, but this is a dwarf who is not expecting a pack of Uruk-Hai to come haring around the corner any moment soon. Maybe he's taken the opportunity to pose for some tourists - humans or maybe even hobbits who've climbed all the way to the top of the mountain to see the dwarves.

We tend to have an image of dwarves as dour fighters, handy with an axe and somehow rather Scottish (thanks for nothing, Peter Jackson) although Tolkien said that he viewed them more like Jews - "at once native and alien in their habitations, speaking the languages of the country, but with an accent due to their own private tongue..."
(letter from Tolkien to Naomi Mitchison, 8th December 1955).

Jews with axes - interesting image. I've always imagined them in rather similar vein, having read that letter a long time ago (nearly 30 years now) although the notions of dwarves and beer remain inextricably linked in my mind. Not sure why - were they big drinkers in Tolkien or have I got my cliches mixed up again?

Miniatures Monday - Holy Orders

Which is better?

"I turn the ghouls"

or

"Back, foul shambling shapes of corruption, I banish thee to the graves whence you came, in the name of (insert your deity's name here)"

Well, of course we'd all like to think we'd be the latter, putting the maximum effort into role-playing the cleric, but after a while, we default to the former and I think that games are possibly the poorer for it.

If you do want to go for the Laurence Olivier approach to playing a cleric, then this is the figure for you. Just look at that dour, humourless and very earnest face, framed by a cowl and - for good measure, in case the deity is off making a cup of tea - a helm. That's the sort of face that would willingly turn heretics into bonfires, put a hand to the Inquisition's rack and, yes, use twenty words to turn undead where only four would do.

The shading on the robes is perhaps a little heavy-handed, but bear in mind that the figure is only 25mm and on the table (rather than exposed to the merciless eye of the digicam and flash) would probably look a lot better. Again, the metal of the breastplate, what can be seen of it, is suitably tarnished, and the tiny pouches at the belt are well done. Note the way in which the belt buckle is picked out in metal, compared to the leather of the belt itself.

The club in the right hand, presumably there in case faith has to be backed up with deeds looks menacingly chunky and those knobbles would make a dent in many an orc's head. In fact, the cross itself is heavy enough to do 1d4 of damage if wielded in anger.

The (lack of) wisdom of wearing a white under-robe into a dungeon is exemplified by the generally grubby finish that Andy has given it. That's definitely a sixty degree wash.

Playing men in skirts is an interesting feature of running magic users and clerics (the enfolding swathes of cloth would surely hinder the expeditious retreat of this holy man). Poking out from under his hem are his sandals, which - while authentic for this monastically-oriented cleric - might be a bit impractical in the dungeon environment. I can just imagine a 1st level cleric, having just begun his career in dungeons complaning that he can't go down that tunnel because he'd get his robes dirty and the underground stream would give him chillblains.

It's given me an idea that clerics and the religious in general might make a good theme for the Hooks Alphabet. I'll mull it over and see what comes up.

I'm hoping to post something on the Solo Dungeon this week and something a little tasty that might be of use to you all as well. If not, then I'll see you on Friday for some more art.

Miniatures Monday - Baruk Khazad! Khazad ai-Menu!

And we all know what that means. Today's figure will be recognised by long-term followers of the blog as that of Hruthnor Notchblade, dwarven fighter of renown, famous for his motto "First in the attack, last in the retreat, and get the hell off my mountain!"

Let's take a good look at this mini - check the horns out on the helmet. Andy's not gone for a single colour but instead has given them a tan shade at the base and darkening towards the tips. Very much as horns would be in real life. The helmet itself is a plain iron cap, shiny on the edges but dulled elsewhere. The hair and beard have a distinct red tinge to them but dry-brushing has give the impression that this is a dwarf with a good few years under his belt.

For a change, the face casting of this figure has given Andy the opportunity to put some real character into its features. Over his back, you can just see the crossbow, which Junion Grognard made so much a feature of Hruthnor's repertoire. The gloves are a vivid green, which is unusual - I'm not sure why Andy chose that. Perhaps he fancied an eye-catching contrast.

The boots again, much like the haversack on the knight last week have benefitted from a great paint treatment - they really look like worn leather, long-travelled, warm and dry. Those boots, you could imagine, might see you from the West Doors to the Dimrill Gate, not to mention outrunning a Balrog.

Miniatures Monday - Oh what a Knight!

Today's miniature has such a wealth of detail and a cracking paint job that I thought I'd do both front and back shots for him. In contrast to some of the more recent stuff I've displayed, Andy has gone for a grassy base this time, to emphasise that this knight prefers the great outdoors to going underground.

I should at this point mention that he seems to have become separated from his shield - that lumpy bit on his arm was Citadel's bid for a bit of interchangeability - you could swap shields around depending on which one you preferred, but his has probably ended up at the bottom of the box with all the little bits and bobs like that.

Never mind that, though - feast your eyes on the excellent treatment of the armour on this figure. Like the chainmail on the Drow a couple of weeks ago, it really looks authentic. You can almost hear the grinding of metal on metal as he moves. Anyone who's had to clean older metal (as have I) will know that the tarnishing and oxidisation does indeed linger in the nooks and crannies, as is the case here.

Turning to the back of the figure, check out the mace, tucked down behind the haversack that looks as if it is really made of leather. Andy could have gone a bit heavy on the darker brown but he's kept his head and his subtle use of the deeper tones makes all the difference.

In a recent conversation with Old 4 Eyes, we discussed the improvements in casting technologies over the years that had enabled figure sculptors to get away with lots more in the way of detail. Faces back in the day were somewhat odd on occasion but this one, to me, has a certain haughtiness that well befits a knight of the realm. I like the blue feather crest on his helmet, the only real splash of colour on a figure that is otherwise stripped down for combat. Check out the blood on the sword - not dripping with gore but there nonetheless, dirty and a reminder of the battles that this warrior has already faced that day.

Well, I hope to get another post in during the week but if it doesn't happen, I'll see you on Friday for the Art slot.

Miniatures Monday - Under the Sea

Crawling out of the sea this week comes what I'm assuming is Citadel's take on the Sahuagin. It's a nice figure (there are more in the box but I'm using this as a representative sample). Andy has gone for the light green base with a darker turquoise wash to give the hint of deep mysteries of the sea for this chap. The eyes are a deep black and you will notice that there is a tiny (and it really must be tiny, given that it's hardly visible on a 25mm figure) spot of white to represent the glint of light on the shiny surface of the eye.

I'm not sure what the thing is that he's carrying - a weapon of some sort, I would assume. The floor is again painted in a dungeon stone style.

I've not done that many (okay, I've not done any at all) underwater adventures. I had a cracker of an idea once but it foundered (if you'll excuse the pun) on the rock of lack of players. Now that I'm designing modules, I might well trot it out for the world to judge. Sahuagin tend to put in an appearance in our world, rather than the adventurers having to voyage into the depths, complete with water breathing apparatus, etc, and whilst any appearance of these scaly fish-men is good to see, I can't help thinking that the party would have it easy against them. Let them meet the sahuagin on their home ground and it might be a different story.

But, above water or under water, there's only one thing to do with these denizens of the deep...

Miniatures Monday - Back to the Darkness

No, not the Mindflayer (although I do have one and when I've got the digicam fixed, I'll be putting a picture of that up) but another of Lolth's little chums.

Now, firstly I must admit that I've absolutely no idea what that big stick is; given that the Drow are nifty with the magic, I suspect that it's some sort of arcane artifact. It appears to have something winding round it but as for what that nobbly thing is at the top, it's anyone's guess. The dry brushing on the chainmail gives it that niello effect, really making it look like real chainmail. Again, the white hair has that bluish tint to it that gives the Drow their air of having been isolated from any sort of daylight for a long, long time. The lank and pale hue puts me in mind of bodies that have been underwater for prolonge periods.

The head-dress, skull motif and belt are picked out in gold, but it's a gold that has a slightly reddish tint to it. Why does that not surprise me when we're talking about the Drow?

Note that just visible below the skirts of the mailshirt is what appears to be a garment in a sickly green colour. I like the idea that everything about the Drow is distorted, warped and slightly decayed, the corruption that warps their souls leaching out into everything that they do.

Finally, of course, there is the stone flooring pattern on the slotta base, Andy's trademark when it comes to the dungeon figures we've been seeing over the past few weeks.

Tune in next week, when there'll be something fishy going on.

Miniatures Monday - The Three Goblin Stooges

Citadel Miniatures always designed to give the figures personality. That's what we've got today. I set the arrangement up randomly but to me, the central figure definitely says "Boss". His henchmen on either side are geared up for some action but he's doing the goblin equivalent of the Haka.

In my opinion, too little is made of that sort of thing - the psychological aspects of combat that would surely go on amongst humanoids. All too often, goblins, kobolds and even orcs are just regarded as excuses to get the swords wet, whereas they would probably have evolved rituals, gestures and insults to precede a fight and try to freak out their enemies. Most minor humanoids wouldn't know that in a very few minutes, they're going to be new entries on the fighter's kill list; as far as they're concerned, here are new enemies that need showing, in a typically goblin way, just what they've got themselves into.

I did have my doubts to begin with about the solid red for the eyes, but looking at it again, it occurred to me that when we take photos with flash, the eyes often look red anyway, and this shot might well represent cave dwellers snapped in a moment of illumination. Depending on how you reckon infravision works, it may well be that there are more blood vessels in the eyes of dark-dwellers and this may well increase the amount of redness when light falls on the back of the eye.

And speaking of dark-dwellers, next Monday, we welcome the return of something that just loves the darkness...

Miniatures Monday - Elric, is that you?

Not sure what it is about this figure that made me think of Elric. He's got long white hair but that sword isn't Stormbringer and the figure is just a bit too muscular and beefy to be the doomed Melnibonean prince. Still, its raised face and ghastly expression - as if he's calling out to some infernal deity - somehow makes the sickly green complexion and the white eyes with a tint of red all the more appropriate. The armour, which to me has a mediaeval authenticity, again benefits from Andy's excellent metal painting techniques with what appears to be dent damage around the shoulder guards.

In fact, with the foregoing in mind, I have just thought that this figure would make an excellent anti-paladin. I've never come across them but I suspect that if I did, this is what one would look like. A sort of Sith Lord of D&D.

Miniatures Monday - The Ogre

Meesa back! Firstly, apologies for the lack of SNFC this weekend. Mummy Grognard has an important assignment for her Health and Safety qualification and so she was on the computer the entire weekend (Friday night to Sunday evening). All being well, the postponed fixture should take place on the 17th.

And now to business.



I've no idea where it says that all humanoids are green. Perhaps it's to do with Shrek. It seems to have become an accepted fact; I mean, look at all the pictures of orcs these days - green to a man. The Monster Manual tells us that the skin colour of ogres is "dull blackish brown to dead yellow", their warts and lumps often being a different colour altogether. Mind you, the MM also uses the word 'hide' rather than 'skin' in that particular entry, so it's pretty evident that the ogre is to be regarded as more animal than person.

Be this as it may, let us pause to admire the sheer belligerence of this figure. Its slant-eyed countenance and leering, snarling mouth says to anyone who is still around to listen that it really, really wants to fight. Its hair is white (not sure why, but perhaps it runs in the family) and the top-knot bound up by hide of an unspecified nature completes its punky malevolence.

I like the huge notch taken out of its halberd (a veteran of a good few fights if the rust and/or blood on the blade is anything to go by). And if we let our glance drift downwards, past the knuckleduster, past the very impressive vambrace on its other arm, we come to the ripped trousers, which seem to be the colour of stone-washed denim. Hey, perhaps they are - this is one tough cookie, who - if he lived in the modern age - would probably be riding a Harley.

It's such a mean, malevolent figure that I tend to use it to stand in for anything that little bit bigger and that little bit meaner than orcs or goblins. He and a mate recently played the Bugbear brothers from the Training Dungeon as well as being an actual ogre later on in the same adventure.

Miniatures Monday - the Stone Druid

Something a little unusual today. This figure came as a standard Citadel Miniatures cleric, although I reckon that it was a druid since the sickle can be seen hanging from his belt. However, Andy had decided to use the figure (which I don't think was ever needed, since I can't recall anyone playing a druid back in the day) as an experiment in stone painting technique. I reckon it worked out pretty well. It really gives the impression that the figure is made of stone, complete with weathering and a little chip taken out of it here and there, as can be seen on a fold of the robe.

I can see myself actually using this one as a dungeon ornament, hinting at worrisome females with snakey hair somewhere in the depths. In fact, the caption for this figure could well be

"Medusa? Ha, doesn't scare me, all shall fall 'neath the hammer of..."

Miniatures Monday - The Water Elemental

Citadel Miniatures released all four of the Elemental figures back in the 1980s. The Fire Elemental is not, in my opinion, the world's greatest iteration of that particular creature, so I decided not to put it into this particular series. The Earth Elemental will be featured in the coming weeks and I don't think that we ever bought the Air Elemental. However, this beauty really has to be appreciated for both the quality of the sculpting and the painting thereof.

We need to remember that this figure was produced way back when; modern sculpting technology was still a good few years in the future but with what they had, the Citadel designers could turn out some real gems. This is one such.

What I like about Andy's painting on this one is the way in which he's not gone for a uniform colour scheme for the whole figure. The base is that blue-grey of a storm-wracked sea, with slight highlighting on the crests of the little waves. As we move up the trunk of the figure, the piscine scales start to suggest something more than just water; there is the hint of white foam that comes to a culmination at the huge crest of spume that tops the figure's head. The main body of the figure with its firm musculature is painted in bold sea green and turquoise - it's the perfect choice of colours to suggest something that has risen from the ocean deeps.

I don't use elementals much in my adventures. Perhaps I need to revisit the Monster Manual and start thinking of good uses for these under-utilised entities. If anyone has any good pointers, do please let me know.

Miniatures Monday - The Purple Wizard

From the Diaries of J.R.R. Tolkien

7th August, 1968

"Christopher and Michael called round; they had been to Amsterdam on a day-trip and had brought back some delicious cakes and some new tobacco that they thought I might like. Later, whilst walking in the garden, some real elves came out of the bushes and started dancing around me. Then I climbed on the back of a huge dragon and we flew off to Rivendell. There, I met a purple wizard called Star Spirit and he bet me that I could not climb into the sky and pull down all the diamonds..."

8th August, 1968

"Man, my head hurts..."

Miniatures Monday - The Blue Wizard

Tolkien afficionados will remember that besides Gandalf, Saruman and Radagast, there were two more wizards, Alatar and Pallando, known as the Ithryn Luin or Blue Wizards. I don't think that Andy was such a Tolkien devotee that he knew about them, but the colour scheme that he chose for this figure, which may well have been designed with a nod to Gandalf (note the sword at his belt) fits the notion of the Blue Wizards to a tee.

It's difficult to see the features clearly, what with the beard and the wide-brimmed hat, but the impression you get from looking at the figure is "You don't mess with me."

Massively powerful wizards are a staple of fantasy fiction from Gandalf the Grey to Bayaz, First of the Magi (although there is a world of difference morally between those two). There's something about the concept of an old man keeping his power cloaked until the time comes for him to unveil himself and really kick ass. The power is all the more awesome for having been kept veiled for so long.

Miniatures Monday - The Drow Sorcerer

Today, we are graced with the presence of one of Lolth's followers. Marketed originally as 'Dark Elves' (no mention of Drow, I seem to remember) Andy's gone for the traditional black skin and white hair (in later figures from this selection, the hair has an ice-blue tinge to it - it kind of adds to their sinister other-worldliness). The robes are in lush, almost decadent shades of purple and red, with ornate gold trim that speaks of sybaritic practices in temples deep beneath the earth.

Again, the stonework floor pattern can be seen on the base; long-time followers of the games accessories market will remember the dungeon floor plans that had a design very similar to this.

There are a couple more Drow figures waiting in the wings for their appearance - I'll see what comes out of the box next week...

Miniatures Monday - The Slave Ogre

He's big, he's bad, he's a bruiser. Although he's called a slave ogre, presumably because of the chains around his ankles (not sure if you can call them manacles if they're not on the hands), he'd make an excellent villain for a low level dungeon.

His armour really has the look of metal (yes, I know that it IS actually metal but you know what I mean) and there is the neat use of slight shading around the arm straps to give the look of stonewashed denim to his sleeve.

Again, Andy's gone for the stone floor effect on the base, and for added exotic flavour, he's made the ogre an albino (note the red eyes balefully staring). IMHO, it gives the figure even more of an air of menace.

Ogres generally don't tend to wear armour. They're regarded as a bit too dim. But if they did, I'd like to think they'd look like this.

Miniatures Monday - The Jolly Green Giant

I'm not sure if this guy was supposed to be a Hill Giant originally but Andy decided to give him a more back-to-nature look. I love the axe, which has that authentically primitive feel and whilst not dripping with gore, has the 'used' look. We can only guess at the havoc that this guy has wrought with it.



If you look carefully, you can see the detail on the bearskin he wears as a cape, and also the splashes of blood in the painted stone floor detail on the base. Again, Andy has eschewed the obvious bright red for something that seems far more realistic and actually looks like spilt blood.