Need for Bushes

I'm really trying to play an actual game, and set in the evolving make-believe world/campaign I've got in my head. The arrival of Sellswords and Spellsingers, as I've mentioned before, has spurred me on to finally try some solo gaming -- especially since my old plans have been mostly killed by lack of space since our move. So for the past few weeks, I've been slowly making plans. After initially selecting a warband for the Warhammer-Empire miniatures exchange minis, I've completely changed gears and decided to go with Plan B. In fact... maybe that should be their name: Plan B.

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After a harrowing journey through the Grey Mountains and his narrow escape from the Barrow, Zogmar finally grew a little more cautious. An almost "strategic" thinking started to creep in as he began recruiting among the misfits and dispossessed of the foothills and  Bitter Moors. From his small retinue he selected Zomar's Finest. Six of the brightest, strongest, or most talented (in some manner) among a sad and motley group to undertake a scouting mission with broad goals: find easy targets for supply & looting, determine strong points to be avoided, and aid in locating recruits for the proto-horde. Plan B, some witty half-orc called them, as the main force was taking up the safer mission of raiding isolated farmsteads and recruiting among small camps of bandits and outcasts.

They may have been viewed as an accessory to the main action, but their mission proved the stuff of legends... at least among Zogmar's camp.

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The first mission they will be undertaking is... a trap! After raiding along the foothills of the Grey Mountains, Zogmar's forces hit one wrong target -- a small inn at a crossroads frequented by the small garrison assigned to the western roads. Several small detachments of guards have been sent to keep the mysterious raiders from venturing further east -- precisely where the Finest have been ranging in recent days. After quietly scouting out the area, the Finest are trying to slink back out of the area. As they travel along a shallow gully in the Moors, something doesn't seem right. Spike, probably the most attentive & savvy of the group, calls out his suspicions, and the party proceeds cautiously...

In terms of Sellswords, the mission is a modified Through the Badlands -- which I will call Through the Wastelands. Some alignment swapping fun... orcs & troll for guards and ogre.

I just need some more bushes! Of all the stupid things... Luckilly I've made some before. Like the ones in the back of the second pic. Hopefully I can crank some more of those out soon -- or just go buy some lichen or similar crap from the local craft store!

More Half-Orcs - The Brutes

I previously mentioned thinking about adding a couple of larger figures to the half-orcs. I like the idea of variety in the unit. (And I'm still considering what to do about smaller figures to mix in.) So here's the two Reaper orcs used as half-orcs...

Now I will continue with the rest of the Black Tree (half) orcs to wrap up the unit... for now.

Painting these has got my mind wandering about my Zogmar ideas. They will work well as mercenaries for Marienburg, and allies for the Fomorians, but I'm also thinking back to the half-baked* idea of a misfit warlord assembling an army of equally misfit troops. I think some half-orcs are perfect for that.




*Or half-written. I've got a great deal of a game/campaign setting in my head, I just need to keep writing it down and get it into some sort of presentable form. My plans are still to create a complete oldschool campaign book. Probably a static web site as well. I am still dying to actually play some games. Thinking about playing some RPG campaigns too. So frustrating when I'm stuck trying to spontaneously squeak out 10-30 minute allotments of painting time at odd hours of the day!

Epic Disasters of the Wargaming World

Photobucket

It doesn't impact this blog, but the recent Photobucket debacle has caused quite a disturbance. That includes my gaming forum posts, painting logs, etc. at places like Warhammer-Empire, Lead Adventures, and the Oldhammer Forum. Most of that was the exact same stuff as here -- so it's not like I "lost" all record of my painting & gaming adventures -- but it is a major hassle. Not that I've got much time to do anything about it, so I'm going to host images elsewhere, and just keep going.

To be honest, I can't believe Photobucket has survived this long. They were once a good service that I would have been willing to pay for, but they've become a growing train wreck in recent years and the thought of paying $400/year for their service is laughable.

Me

More work travel, more non-gaming/painting responsibilities... so not much fun going on here. As always, I hope to change that -- and hope to post more interesting things here. I actually just snuck in a good half hour of painting... but not much to show for it at the moment. I'm hoping to get a little more time later. So... maybe actual miniatures stuff soon?

Age of Zogmar

Been thinking about my theoretical gaming setting, campaign, and ideas again...

I guess you could call it an in-game rationalization for the type of gaming I'd like to be doing.

Pure Rock Fury and Giant Cards, Round One

Pure Rock Fury

While unpacking and digging through stuff yesterday, I unearthed my "Pure Rock Fury" CD, by Clutch. I hadn't listened to it (nor had much certainty of its whereabouts) for a while, so I tossed it in the car and was listening as I drove around running errands today.

It struck me that a few of the songs make a perfect soundtrack to the overblown but still unfinished oldschool narrative campaign I've been overworking in various revisions. And it's funny, because that fed back into my gaming ideas and gave me a few fresh ideas/adjustments. In particular, "Immortal" could be Zogmar's theme song...

And "Drink to the Dead" reflects some of the odd blend of fey & undead that I've had swimming around in my concepts for the Wasteland setting...

At any rate, the music is neither fresh nor does it fit everyone's taste, I'm sure. But I just felt like rambling on about my love of Clutch and creating fantasy settings/narratives. ;)

Giant Cards, Round One

I previously mentioned working on giant cards. I think I've got six more or less ready.

The remaining two in prep are for the still-unpainted Warploque giant and the "Middlehammer" metal giant from Citadel.

I may do a set for the skeletal giants next.

Althammer

I decided on the Althammer name for my project and, at least for now, as the header/title for my blog. It's never really had a real title until now.

I liked this as Alt (rather than the initial "Old" prefix) can be construed as short for "Alternative" or as "Old" in German, as that's the obvious inspiration for much of the Empire. My project is inspired by a lot of the Oldhammer concepts, it will use alternative rules, and it will be in a setting that is both in the past and an alternative history/timeline of the Old World.


So there you have it.

Also a change of background, just for some mew color.

:)

Zogmar Distraction

In homage to typical post-public GW marketing, I will follow that last post up with a big let-down. ;)

As I continue to work on the big armies of Marienburg vs. the Undeadish (MvU), my mind has recently been wandering into two lines of thought...

One is that I may return to an alternate Warhammer (AltHammer?) setting after all, rather than something entirely new. At least for now. There is still too much of it that I like. However, the "local" setting will be all mine.

The other is that I think I may try delving into some smaller or skirmishy games too. Maybe I will tie these together with my plans for the MvU campaign. Maybe they will just happen in the same setting, but not interact. Who knows. At any rate, I'm looking at what I can put on the table right now -- or with minimal painting or touch-ups. I still have a lot of painting & basing I want to do before MvU, but I'm also itching to play a game soon. Just for fun I'm starting by digging out the stuff I hadn't planned on using in the MvU. Ancient figures. Some painted back in the days of 3rd & 4th ed. WFB. When I pulled out the goblins I previously posted, I also found the half painted model I have now dubbed....

ZOGMAR.

Working on a name for his hammer. Maybe a wyvern upgrade.

I also based a couple of old wolves...





And some more troops to support the gobbos...






I painted over the Goblin Green base edges on these relics from ages past. They may be one of Zogmar's first encounters.

As with the big game, I'm a little indecisive about what rules to use. The more I see/read about the Oldhammerers around the internets, the more nostalgic I'm getting for 3rd ed. So maybe I will give that a shot. Or maybe even 2nd, which I've never actually played. Or there are a few other games I might be willing to try.