Reaper Bones #30 - Lizardmen

Something a bit different for this week's miniature monday with Lizardmen.

Lizardmen / Lizard folk

Reaper Miniatures seem to have a large selection of lizardfolk across a number of ranges including Bones / Dark Haven and their Warlord line.  In my opinion lizardmen get a fairly rough deal from mini companies, usually you get a couple of sculpts and that's it.  I have 3 from the original Bones kickstarter. 

• Lizardman Spearman (SKU 77154) - Ben Siens
  
• Lizardman Warrior (SKU 77050) - Gene Van Horne
• Lizardman Warrior [with spiked club] (SKU 77155) - Gene Van Horne

Lizard Men or Lizard Folk - they all taste like chicken

I enjoyed painting these so much I am tempted to buy the others in the range to flesh out my lizardman warband.  These include:

• Lizardman Archer (SKU 77425) - Gene Van Horne.
• Lizardman with Club & Shield (SKU 77426) - Gene Van Horne 

Bones Progress 

Reaper Bones #29 - Valeros, Iconic Fighter

Another Monday, another Reaper Bones Miniature painted.  This week it's...

Valeros, Iconic Fighter - Bobby Jackson (SKU 89007)

Valeros is a desperate looking specimen.  Not in terms of the sculpt, Bobby Jackson has done a fantastic job, but in terms of his expression.  The fight has got to that stage of the evening where it's all or nothing.  The party are out of action and only Valeros stands alone against the horde.

 I chose to give him some bandages and he's dropped his broken shield to fight two handed against twice as many foes.  Let's hope that the cavalry turns up soon...

Valeros, Iconic Fighter

Bones Progress 

What on the D&D Earth is this?

The Dungeons and Dragons movie is 21 years old this year and after a 9 year hiatus there is 4th movie in production.  Hollywood does love a reboot.

However, The thing that has been bugging me for the last two decades is...

What the hell is Phil Cornwell supposed to be?

Phil Cornwell as uncredited Purple Humanoid

Obviously someone spent a whole heap of effort to design the prosthetics that Phil wore (you can't disguise his voice though) but I don't know of any civilised humanoid race which matches his description.  I do think he is kind of cool though. 

Is he supposed to be a triclops? Perhaps he is supposed to be some form of demi-beholder?  What is the purpose of the third eye? what is that vestigial fin on his head? why is he purple?

Answers (and any homebrew builds) in the comments box below.

My favoured explanation is that he is the product of some ill conceived magical experiment fusing the DNA of Mick Jagger with Xanathar?

What if Mick Jagger and Keith Richards ran a corner shop?

Of course this comes several months after the sad passing of John Sessions who was a long time partner of Phil during the 80s alternative comedy explosion.  Mick and Keith's corner shop on Stella Street holds a very dear place in my heart.  He is sorely missed but I will immortalise them both in my RPG campaigns.  Mick & Keef's Magical Emporium & Shoppe of Convenience.

Phil Cornwell (Mick Jagger) John Sessions (Keith Richards) - Stella Street

Reaper Bones #28 - Medium Fire Elemental

Like a bad movie franchise that seems to go on forever (I'm looking at you Sharknado!!) here is another transparent mini but this time it's RED.

Medium Fire Elemental - Bob Ridolfi (SKU: 77083)

Smaller and much, much sexier than the Large Fire Elemental thus is a cute mini with ridiculous wings.  Whilst this may have worked in metal (this is a remoulded Dark Haven mini) in plastic she's a bit floppy given her slender form.  Still I enjoyed painting her even if the transparency effect has been lost a little.  

As promised I did use a pot of old (and I do mean old) Citadel Red Glaze that has probably seen better days.  My Blacklist Miniatures Kickstarter is inbound and includes 18 transparent minis!! 

I think I might need some new inks.

Reaper Bones #27 - Grave Wraith & Labella DeMornay, Banshee

More translucent minis again this week. 

Grave Wraith - Bob Ridolfi (SKU: 77097)

I'm starting to develop a sort of technique using progressively darker washes and then dry brushed highlights.

Labella DeMornay, Banshee - Julie Guthrie (SKU: 77096)

Controlling the amount of light leak is very difficult and if you overdo it you lose the transparency effect.  Sometimes it's difficult to actually see what you are painting on these minis as the raw transparent plastic doesn't create shadows which define things like facial features.  A blackwash to begin with really helps.  

A much better painter friend of said I should really be using inks so maybe on my next transparent mini I can throw some 30 year old Citadel shade on it.

Big shout out to Daniel of dhump3.com for the tips.  If you are looking for some quality graphic design for your company or a fantastic digital painting give him a shout. 

Reaper Bones #26 - Translucent Terrors

Following on from last week's Ghostly Summons, this week I managed to finish off two more translucent minis.

Night Spectre - Julie Guthrie (SKU: 77099)

Spirit - Jason Wiebe (SKU: 77098)

As you can see I haven't nailed the photography or the painting just yet.  Translucent minis are more difficult than you imagine especially if you are trying to incorporate lighting.  It's weird how some paints block the light and others don't. 

Still I am pretty pleased with how the Night Spectre came out.

Miniature Milestone - Over 100 Reaper Bones Painted

 A long overdue post to mark the milestone of passing 100 painted Reaper Bones miniatures.

100 Reaper Bones Miniatures Painted

Bones Progress

Reaper Bones: 245 - Painted: 109

Related Posts

• Reaper Bones #1: The Marathon Begins - Where I paint a dozen Giant Rats.
• Reaper Bones #2: Kobolds, Are They Dogs or Dragons? - Where I paint a dozen kobolds.
• Reaper Bones #3: A Carcase of Skeletons - Where I paint a half dozen skeletons.
• Reaper Bones #4: A Shuffle of Zombies - Where I paint five zombies.
• Reaper Bones #5: Introducing Shaina Coppervein, Dwarven Orc Hunter - First PC mini.
• Reaper Bones #6: Mimic, Treasure Chest and How I re-base my Bones - Where I paint furniture.
• Reaper Bones #7: Fire Elemental Meets Novelty Lamp - Where I hack a mini with LEDs.
• Reaper Bones #8: Flaming Sphere LED Tealight Hack - Another mini LED lighting project.
• Reaper Bones #9: Elliwyn Heatherlark, Gnome Bard - Another PC mini.
• Reaper Bones #10: Horace "Action" Jackson - A Baddass disco dancing Motherfucker.
• Reaper Bones #11: Pirate Captain Thorin Stoneheart - A Swashbuckling Philanthropist.
• Reaper Bones #12: Monstrous Menagerie - Clay Golem, Eye Beast, Griffon, Owlbear, Marsh Troll.
• Reaper Bones #13: Giants - Male Storm Giant and Female Cloud Giant.
• Reaper Bones #14: More Monsters! -Ape-X, Female Demon, Two Golems, Oxidation Beast.
• Reaper Bones #15 - The Road Warrior - Mad Max - 50 bones painted at last.
• Reaper Bones #16 - A Patrol of Orcs - 5 orcs out hunting your party.
• Reaper Bones #17- Personalities - Player Characters, NPCs or a villain or two.
• Reaper Bones #18 - Furniture
• Reaper Bones #19 - Townsfolk - 4 resident NPCs
• Reaper Bones #20 - Devil Women - A couple of Hellborn beauties.
• Reaper Bones #21 - Nova Corp & IMEF Soldiers - 15 Sci-Fi Badasses in heavy armour
• Reaper Bones #22 - A Flurry of Familiars - 11 teeny tiny magical friends
• Reaper Bones #23 - Vermin - Beetles, Scorpions and Spiders
• Reaper Bones #24 - Kyra, Iconic Cleric - An Arabian Holy Woman 
• Reaper Bones #25 - Ghostly Summons - aka A Watery mistake
  

Hawk the Slayer

I can't believe that I've been running this blog for 11 years and never written about Hawk the Slayer. 

Hawk the Slayer Poster by Les Edwards - Buy on eBay

 Released in 1980, this low budget sword and sorcery movie was written and directed by Terry Marcel and starred John Terry as the eponymous hero, Hawk, seeking revenge against his evil brother Voltan (Jack Palance).

Hawk is your classic do-gooder protecting the weak and the innocent.  We see him kill a couple of bandits who are torturing a witch and he saves the one handed warrior Ranulf (William Morgan Shepherd) from bandits who are using him as a target in their axe throwing game.  A grateful Ranulf tells Hawk that he has been looking for him for weeks.  He needs help defeat evil Voltan the Dark (really?) and to save the Abbess of the Convent of (Annette Crosbie, One foot in the Grave).  Hawk suggests that they recruit some old friends,  an unlikely bunch of adventurers in the shape of Gort the Giant (Carry On star Bernard Bresslaw) Crow the elf (Ray Charleson) and Baldin the Dwarf (Peter O'Farrell).

Hawk visits the witch who uses flash powder and two reflective hula hoops to transport him to the locations of each of his friends where they get their own little montage to show off some of their character and special skills.  Once together they relieve Sled the Hunchback and Slavemaster of the river Shale of his ill gotten coin to pay the Abesses ransom.  They then hole up in the convent and wait for Voltan to turn up.

Meanwhile Voltan's son Drogo decides he wants a bit of the limelight so on hearing that Hawk is at the convent he decides to barge in, take the gold and kill our hero.  Predictably he is hopelessly outmatched and suffers a mortal blow.  The merciful Hawk lets two of the survivors drag Drogo back to Voltan's camp and tells him he is waiting for him with the gold.  Voltan is grief stricken at the death of his son and kills the two survivors in rage.

Questions I Couldn't Help Asking (Plot Spoiler Alert)

1.  So if he hates his brother so much (he killed his father and his wife after all) where has Hawk been all this time.  We know he has been adventuring with his three compatriots, but they haven't been with him for some time as they tell us this when they are reunited.  Surely he can't have been on a long moody horseback ride all this time, there's only so many murky and bubbling fetid lakes you can ride past before you get bored.  Shouldn't he have been busy ridding the land of his evil brother and not letting him wreak havoc across the land leaving countless dead innocents in his wake?

2.  In my opinion the order of the flashbacks should have been reversed.  Voltan kills Hawk's father after he kills his bride as evidenced by him wearing the helmet covering his burned face.  Maybe that would have given him enough impetus to hunt him down straight away.  Unless he is a big fan of revenge being served cold (like Gazpatcho Soup).

3.  To be honest Voltan is a bit of a confusing villain.  One minute he is threatening to kill his own son the next he is blind with grief and kills the only two people who can tell him the size of Hawk's force.  I put this down to Jack Palance's overacting.  Not so much "pick up the gun" as "pick up the sword" and we all know how that turns out.

Why is Hawk so Great?

This is early sword and sorcery cinema.  It predates Conan the Barbarian and the plethora of wannabe's by about 2 years.  It is also the most faithful representation of a typical fantasy RPG plot.  A bunch of diverse heroes from different backgrounds, races and skills band together to fight off a great evil and protect the innocent and weak.

It's squarely aimed at an adult audience.  There's no cute puppets here, only marsh goblins and mis-shapen men.  One of my favourite characters is Sped the Hunchback played by Decland Mullholland who Star Wars fans will instantly recognise as the guy who played Jabba the Hut before they decided to replace him with a giant slug.

Declan Mullholland discusses motivation with Han Solo

The characterisation of Crow the Elf as a smaller than human figure is bang on point for early D&D which distinguished itself from Tolkien's lofty elves.

The interplay between Gort and Baldin is fantastic.  We often see Dwarves as these stoic sturdy types who are not the sharpest tools in the box, but Baldin is a rogue and his weapon of choice a whip.  He is as quick with it as he is with his whit.  The two have an antagonistic relationship but are true friends until the end.

The film poster was painted by the legend that is Les Edwards and is one of those instant classics which would look good on any fantasy fan's wall.  This one included

Cast Highlights

• Roy Kinnear turns in a classic performance as the frightened innkeeper.
  
  
• Warren Clarke does a fantastic turn as a bandit.  He would later go on to bring Det. Supt. Andy Dalziel to life.
  
  
• Declan Mulholland gets a credited role as Sped the Hunchback.  His performance as Jabba the Hut wouldn't be seen for years until the cut scenes from Star Wars were included in the Special Editions.
  
  
• Maurice Colbourne plays one of the axemen.  He would later get his big break playing Tom Howard the title character in the south coast shipyard TV soap opera Howard's Way.
  
  
• Annette Crosbie as the Abess.  A national treasure who would later go on to play Margaret the long sufferring wife of Victor Meldrew.
   
• William Morgan Shepherd - Character actor who played many 90s scifi and unforgettably was Blank Reg the punk pirate TV station host from the short lived but awesom Max Headroom.
  

Reaper Bones #25 - Ghostly Summons

Those translucent Reaper Bones minis seem like a great idea, particularly when you can integrate LED technology as I did with my Flaming Sphere and Fire Elemental.

In reality many of them have very spindly lower portions which makes uplighting them particularly difficult.

It is however a great opportunity to try airbrushing gradients and to play with a 20 year old bottle of Citadel Blue Ink Shade.  You be the judge of whether I managed to pull it off or not.

Ghostly Summons - Julie Guthrie (SKU: 77095)

To be brutaly honest I interpreted this mini to be some sort of water elemental spell and nothing supernatural of ghostly at all.  This explains why I painted it blue (Facepalm).

Ghostly Summons - SKU 77095

Reaper Bones #24 - Kyra, Iconic Cleric

Probably my favourite D&D setting is Al-Qadim: The Lands of Fate.  This is one of the many settings that TSR released in the 80s and has a unashamedly Arabian Nights feel to it.

Kyra, Iconic Cleric - (Derek Schubert - SKU: 8901) 

Kyra exudes that persian vibe from her head to her toes and I can see her squaring off against a capricious Djinn or some of those vile Yikkaran Yak-men any day now.

Kyra, Iconic Cleric - (Derek Schubert - SKU: 8901)

---

Bones Progress

Reaper Bones: 245 - Painted: 102

Related Posts

• Reaper Bones #1: The Marathon Begins - Where I paint a dozen Giant Rats.
• Reaper Bones #2: Kobolds, Are They Dogs or Dragons? - Where I paint a dozen kobolds.
• Reaper Bones #3: A Carcase of Skeletons - Where I paint a half dozen skeletons.
• Reaper Bones #4: A Shuffle of Zombies - Where I paint five zombies.
• Reaper Bones #5: Introducing Shaina Coppervein, Dwarven Orc Hunter - First PC mini.
• Reaper Bones #6: Mimic, Treasure Chest and How I re-base my Bones - Where I paint furniture.
• Reaper Bones #7: Fire Elemental Meets Novelty Lamp - Where I hack a mini with LEDs.
• Reaper Bones #8: Flaming Sphere LED Tealight Hack - Another mini LED lighting project.
• Reaper Bones #9: Elliwyn Heatherlark, Gnome Bard - Another PC mini.
• Reaper Bones #10: Horace "Action" Jackson - A Baddass disco dancing Motherfucker.
• Reaper Bones #11: Pirate Captain Thorin Stoneheart - A Swashbuckling Philanthropist.
• Reaper Bones #12: Monstrous Menagerie - Clay Golem, Eye Beast, Griffon, Owlbear, Marsh Troll.
• Reaper Bones #13: Giants - Male Storm Giant and Female Cloud Giant.
• Reaper Bones #14: More Monsters! -Ape-X, Female Demon, Two Golems, Oxidation Beast.
• Reaper Bones #15 - The Road Warrior - Mad Max - 50 bones painted at last.
• Reaper Bones #16 - A Patrol of Orcs - 5 orcs out hunting your party.
• Reaper Bones #17- Personalities - Player Characters, NPCs or a villain or two.
• Reaper Bones #18 - Furniture
• Reaper Bones #19 - Townsfolk - 4 resident NPCs
• Reaper Bones #20 - Devil Women - A couple of Hellborn beauties.
• Reaper Bones #21 - Nova Corp & IMEF Soldiers - 15 Sci-Fi Badasses in heavy armour
• Reaper Bones #22 - A Flurry of Familiars - 11 teeny tiny magical friends
• Reaper Bones #23 - Vermin - Beetles, Scorpions and Spiders

Reaper Bones #22 - A Flurry of Familiars

Probably the tiniest bones I have yet to paint.  Unfortunately I seem to have lost my dog mini from Pack 1 but I'm sure he'll find his way home.

Familiars 1 - (Various Sculptors SKU: 77176)

LtoR: Bat, Hawk, Dragonnewt, Weasel and Cat

Familiars 2 - (Various Sculptors SKU: 77196)

LtoR: Fairy, Coatl, Red Hood, Fire Sprite, Ragdoll and Tree Sprite

---

Bones Progress

Reaper Bones: 245 - Painted: 95

Related Posts

• Reaper Bones #1: The Marathon Begins - Where I paint a dozen Giant Rats.
• Reaper Bones #2: Kobolds, Are They Dogs or Dragons? - Where I paint a dozen kobolds.
• Reaper Bones #3: A Carcase of Skeletons - Where I paint a half dozen skeletons.
• Reaper Bones #4: A Shuffle of Zombies - Where I paint five zombies.
• Reaper Bones #5: Introducing Shaina Coppervein, Dwarven Orc Hunter - First PC mini.
• Reaper Bones #6: Mimic, Treasure Chest and How I re-base my Bones - Where I paint furniture.
• Reaper Bones #7: Fire Elemental Meets Novelty Lamp - Where I hack a mini with LEDs.
• Reaper Bones #8: Flaming Sphere LED Tealight Hack - Another mini LED lighting project.
• Reaper Bones #9: Elliwyn Heatherlark, Gnome Bard - Another PC mini.
• Reaper Bones #10: Horace "Action" Jackson - A Baddass disco dancing Motherfucker.
• Reaper Bones #11: Pirate Captain Thorin Stoneheart - A Swashbuckling Philanthropist.
• Reaper Bones #12: Monstrous Menagerie - Clay Golem, Eye Beast, Griffon, Owlbear, Marsh Troll.
• Reaper Bones #13: Giants - Male Storm Giant and Female Cloud Giant.
• Reaper Bones #14: More Monsters! -Ape-X, Female Demon, Two Golems, Oxidation Beast.
• Reaper Bones #15 - The Road Warrior - Mad Max - 50 bones painted at last.
• Reaper Bones #16 - A Patrol of Orcs - 5 orcs out hunting your party.
• Reaper Bones #17- Personalities - Player Characters, NPCs or a villain or two.
• Reaper Bones #18 - Furniture
• Reaper Bones #19 - Townsfolk - 4 resident NPCs
• Reaper Bones #20 - Devil Women - A couple of Hellborn beauties.
• Reaper Bones #21 - Nova Corp & IMEF Soldiers - 15 Sci-Fi Badasses in heavy armour
  

Vintage Miniatures - Ral Partha AD&D Ogre Mage

Last week I shared the oddity that is the Ral Partha AD&D 3 Stage Miniature Illusionist.

Ral Partha made some absolutely beautiful miniatures back in the day and one such mini is...

Ral Partha AD&D Ogre Mage 11-405

This is a hefty beast standing an impressive 50mm tall.  He is a multi-part mini with a seperate katana and  optional left hand with dagger or holding a female prisoner.  Lost Minis Wiki has a great archive of all the AD&D range and photos of both A & B configurations of this mini.   

Ral Partha AD&D Ogre Mage - Buy it on eBay

The Ogre Mage was lifted from Japanese mythology (along with the Oni) and appeared in Greyhawk supplement (1975) hence the attire. 

I decided to go a non traditional route with this mini and paint his face red as he has a very devlish grin.

Jessie's Prints Episode 11 - Earth Elemental

This week, I are mostly been printing...

Earth Elemental - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3294553

Schlossbauer is one of my favourite designers on Thingiverse.  He manages to make his prints just detailed enough and yet not too detailed that they print awesome on my budget FDM Printer.  If you are into RPGs, Fantasy Miniatures or just want something different to print then check him/her out.

Schlossbauer Earth Elemental - (Reaper Miniatures Hellborn Rogue for scale)

I printed my Earth Elemental at 200% scale as I wanted him to be double as both a large and a huge creature.  He came out at a nicely sized 85mm high with a 62mm diameter base.

The model prints in 4 parts (2 x arms, 1 x torso and 1 x legs) and I made sure that I laid the arms down on the print bed with the palms facing down so that any stubble left over from the support structures are on the inside and less visible.  The parts went together like a dream.  Schlossbauer's designs are well sliced and have simple keys so there gap filling is always minimal.

Vintage Mini Ral Partha 3 Stage Illusionist

Back in the day Ral Partha had a line of PC Minis which depicted your character at 3 stages of levelling up.   This was a really neat, if a bit niche, concept and the full list of these minis can be found on the Lost Mini Wiki.  

In today's world of bespoke 3D printed minis from Hero Forge, this sounds incredibly antiquated, but remember kids, 40 years ago, there wasn't a thing called a 3D Printer unless you worked at Area 51!

01-331 Illusionist

He's a weird one.  I guess you have to be weird to want to play an Illusionist as they are "all show and no go".  Ral Partha captured that essence of weird perfectly in this mini with his stupid Fez, his stupid wand, the magic orb and his particularly stupid parachute pants.

Left to Right: Low, Mid and High Level Illusionist before repainting

I never liked the higher level version in this particular set and lord knows how I came to own it, I was probably thinking the low level character would make a good NPC mage in my Al-Qadim games.  The other 2 just look plain ridiculous.  As you can see stage one boy got a bit of a paint job courtesy of my step daughter when she was about 8 (many years ago).  Sadly she never completed it and I don't think she'll be too upset if I repaint it. 

These minis (and Ral Partha in general) don't command a particularly high price when you search for 3 Stage minis on eBay.  I'm not too gutted about repainting them and it's high time they got a refresh.

Primer and Zenithal Highlight

As with any mini I paint these days I prime in black and then a zenithal highight with white, both out of the rattlecan.  I find that even if I am not airbrushing the mini a zenithal highight serves a great purpose of both pre-shading and helping me to delineate areas of colour. 

3 Stage Illusionists Zenithal Highlighted

Glazing with the Wet Palette Technique

The wet palette is an often talked about next level painting technique which essentially is about using highly dilluted translucent layers of paint to gradually build up areas of colour and shading.  The preshading from the zenithal highlight is your biggest friend as it has already laid down the areas of deepest shadow and your translucent glases simply add the colour.

Blocking out the colours with glazes

Finished Paintjob

Ral Partha 3 Stage Illusionists Final (front view)

I think I have captured theabsurdity of this particular set.  The colour choices were intentionally very bold and ostentatious which only increases with level.  I also wanted to capture the ageing process in his beard and eyebrows. I'm happy with this sow's ear to silk purse transformation.

I am concious that I have never shown the back of these minis so here you go.

Ral Partha 3 Stage Illusionists Final (back view)

I could have spent much more time on these minis, but to be honest I got a bit bored with them.  As I mentioned earlier, I am not in love with them, I painted them out of morbid curiosity and I never expect them to see any tabletime. 

I might use the high level dude as some Grand Vizier in an Al-Qadim style game.

Reaper Bones #20 - Devil Women

In the 80s, Sir Cliff Richard sang:

"She's just a devil woman, With evil on her mind..."

and these two Hellborn beauties are not the sorts of ladies you might take home to meet your mum.

Tiviel, Hellborn Rogue (Derek Schubert SKU: 77118)

Triviel, Hellborn Rogue - Buy it on eBay

Sinessa, Hellborn Sorceress (Bob Ridolfi SKU: 77119)

Sinessa, Hellborn Sorceress - Buy it on eBay

Bones Progress

Reaper Bones: 245 - Painted: 69

Related Posts

• Reaper Bones #1: The Marathon Begins - Where I paint a dozen Giant Rats.
• Reaper Bones #2: Kobolds, Are They Dogs or Dragons? - Where I paint a dozen kobolds.
• Reaper Bones #3: A Carcase of Skeletons - Where I paint a half dozen skeletons.
• Reaper Bones #4: A Shuffle of Zombies - Where I paint five zombies.
• Reaper Bones #5: Introducing Shaina Coppervein, Dwarven Orc Hunter - First PC mini.
• Reaper Bones #6: Mimic, Treasure Chest and How I re-base my Bones - Where I paint furniture.
• Reaper Bones #7: Fire Elemental Meets Novelty Lamp - Where I hack a mini with LEDs.
• Reaper Bones #8: Flaming Sphere LED Tealight Hack - Another mini LED lighting project.
• Reaper Bones #9: Elliwyn Heatherlark, Gnome Bard - Another PC mini.
• Reaper Bones #10: Horace "Action" Jackson - A Baddass disco dancing Motherfucker.
• Reaper Bones #11: Pirate Captain Thorin Stoneheart - A Swashbuckling Philanthropist.
• Reaper Bones #12: Monstrous Menagerie - Clay Golem, Eye Beast, Griffon, Owlbear, Marsh Troll.
• Reaper Bones #13: Giants - Male Storm Giant and Female Cloud Giant.
• Reaper Bones #14: More Monsters! -Ape-X, Female Demon, Two Golems, Oxidation Beast.
• Reaper Bones #15 - The Road Warrior - Mad Max - 50 bones painted at last.
• Reaper Bones #16 - A Patrol of Orcs - 5 orcs out hunting your party.
• Reaper Bones #17- Personalities - Player Characters, NPCs or a villain or two.
• Reaper Bones #18 - Furniture
• Reaper Bones #19 - Townsfolk 

Amoebaman - A Plantman PC idea for your RPGs

I came up with a silly idea and had to post it otherwise I would forget I'd had it.  Clearly too much cheese was consumed that day.

Ameoeboids

These complex vegetable organisms are humanoid in shape and come in a variety of heights and classes.  they have all the same stats as humans.  Their one distinguishing feature is that they reproduce asexually.

Yes every time they level up they immediately split into two distinct life forms with the same stats, skills and memories.

Go forth my Son (or daughter)

Of course whilst it sounds like a fun idea, it presents a problem for the party if they keep on their new recruit.  If this lappens every level by 4th level (assuming that they all survive) their will be 8 versions of it and the party will keep growing exponentially.  The player will have to decide which to put to the sword and which of his children to cast out into the cold unforgiving wilderness.  Tough love indeed.

In hindsight perhaps to prevent this getting out of hand reproduction should be capped at twice per lifetime.

Not at all Thought Through

I cannot be held responsible for my creation if you should choose to use it in your game.  It could be an interesting Invasion of the Body Snatchers style plot hook though if you use it as a benevolent monster NPC type which can also assume the visage of an unwilling party member.

DC came up with the Amoeba Man idea first - dangitt!

A to Z of UK RPG in the 80s - Q is for Qadim

Q is for Qadim, Al-Qadim

TSR brought out many different campaign settings during the 80s but the one that really caught my attention was Al-Qadim The Lands of Fate.  The premise is simple it's the world of exotic Arabian adventure. Think Aladdin, Sinbad and the 40 thieves or Prince of Persia.

Why Al-Qadim is Worth Your Time

If you are like me and have been running games for the best part of 35 years, I am sometimes weary of the standard quasi medieval fare.  Your players know the monster manual like the back of their hand and there is no mystery any more.

Al-Qadim is a rich and spicy setting which is both familiar and completely alien at the same time.  The protagonists are often humans hell bent on acquiring power through strange magics and the use of elemental forces.  The strange and unfamiliar monsters range from the plethora of Djinn (Genies) to the smelly mishapen Yakmen.  All of them will be unknown to your players and therefore genuinely mysterious, intimidating and scary.

Your players are going to have to use their roleplaying skills of guile, cunning and persuasion rather than putting everything to the sword.  Trust me they're going to love it.

Need More Inspiration?

There are a ton of classic movies out there which will whet your appetite for some sun, sand and sorcery.  

• The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1953) - A Ray Harryhausen classic with
  
• The Golden Voyages of Sinbad (1973) - Caroline Munro and Tom Baker star in this epic.
• Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) - My favourite Sinbad movie starring Jane Seymour and Patrick Troughton 
  
• Arabian Adventure (1979) - Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Mickey Rooney and John Ratzenberger what more do you need.
  
• The Thief of Baghdad (1940) - The definitive and classic version
  
• Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) - Jake Gylenhall, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley
  

Unloved and Unwanted

TSR pumped out a huge number of settings during those heady days of 2nd Edition AD&D.  Like Birthright, Mystara and Spelljammer it didn't have much staying power and it got shelved like the rest. 

I was lucky enough to pick the majority of my collection up at the height of their unpopularity when my FLGS was clearing out.  Prices are significantly higher now but investing in Al-Qadim has a solid and fun payback.

My Collection Includes

The Land of Fate	Arabian Adventures	City of Delights
Corsairs of the Great Sea	Ruined Kingdoms	Assassin's Mountain
Secrets of the Lamp	Golden Voyages	Caravans

Tunnels and Trolls Adventures - iOS/Android App

Once again the Fans of Dead Games Society came up trumps.  A member pointed me in the direction of the Tunnels and Trolls Adventures app (available for both iOS and Android).

During this COVID-19 Lockdown I need some solo adventuring whilst I wait for eBay to deliver my physical T&T Solo Adventures.

Tunnels and Trolls Adventures

The app is free and comes with 27 adventures:

The Ascendant (Free) Buffalo Castle (40) Blue Frog Tavern (40) Sword for Hire (40) A Sworded Adventure (40) Gamesmen of Kasar (40) Misty Wood (40) Caravan to Tiern (40) Road to Gull (40)

Golden Dust, Red Death (40) Hot Pursuit (40) Sewers of Oblivion (40) Deathtrap Equalizer (40) Stop Thief! (40) City of Terrors (50) Ultimatum (40) Overkill (50) Naked Doom (Free)

The Black Heart (Free) The Necropolis of Vaarh (Pt 1) (Free) The Necropolis of Vaarh (Pt 2) (40) Labyrinth (40) Circle of Ice (10) Seven Ayes (10) Grimtina's Guard (10) Thief for Hire (10) First Command (10)

The Characters

You start with 4 basic characters which can be selected using the horned hemet icon, these are:

• Borgoth  - Dwarven Warrior with
  
• Lelana - Elf Warrior
  
• Morgan (Human Warrior)
• Rufus (Hobb Warrior)

Like all solo adventures your class is limited to warrior types for simplicity's sake, no spell casters here.

However, there is the option to roll your own character with a fairly simple pick and place interface which I like.  You get to choose from the four basic races Dwarf, Elf, Hobb and Human and Lore panels give a little bit of flavour text to explain the race, how "Adds" work and what your modified scores will be if you select the race. 

Updating Your Character

The app handles all the recording of experience and items you acquire as you complete the various adventures. 

However, it does not level you up or equip your character with new weapons you acquire on your adventures.  Make sure that you check back regularly to update your character and their inventory.

The Ascendant (Free)

This an introductory game designed to teach you the basic mechanics of T&T and the interface but the storyline is well written, rich in descriptive text.  It is a bit binary in terms of the decision tree, you either choose to do something or not, but this is understandable given that it is essentially targetting a newbie audience.

Your character goes from a humble villager to a starting adventurer which reminded me of the Dungeon Crawl Classics 0-level character concept.  I am a fan of this method of starting a new character as it is a refreshing alternative to the cliched "You meet in a Tavern".

Naked Doom (Free)

Buy it on eBay

As author Ken St. Andre says "I'm trying to kill your character" and there's no mistaking that.  You will have to acquire a decent weapon and some bonuses if you want to successfully beat some of these challenges.

It's been a long time since I played Naked Doom IRL, but this brought the memories rushing back.  I felt a real sense of relief when I finally escaped and a nagging sense that I'd left much yet to be discovered.

The beauty of this app is that you can pick another character and be dungeon delving again within minutes.  You may have to try several different characters to find the optimal combination of Attributes and Adds to successfully complete every path.  Good Times.

The Necropolis of Vaarh Part 1 (Free)

This is a well written but short taster adventure which sets the scene and gets you through the wilderness and up to the gates of the Necropolis.  To continue you must purchase part 2 or as I did play using one of my hearts. 

It is very short but still it has some excellent characters and some items can be acquired which have some significance both in this part and the next.  I enjoyed our brief time together and was sufficiently intrigued to give Part 2 a go which proved much more in depth and deadly. 

The Black Heart

A night on the town sounds like fun, you've got a coin full of gold and the Black Heart Gambling Den awaits. 

Essentially this adventure is a series of games of chance which are played using attribute checks.  The twist is that if you win you gain adventure points, if you lose you pay with your life force (CON).  An interesting concept which is definitely finding its way inside one of my cities.

Micro Transactions

The majority of the adventures must be purchased using the in game currency of Gems at the (bracketed prices) listed above.  You acquire Gems in game as loot and also buy puchasing them at the store.  You can buy 50 Gems for the $4.99.

However, the game is supported by ads.  If you watch an ad you earn 1 heart and can play any adventure once without owning it by spending a heart.   

Good Cheap Fun

This was some good cheap and incredibly fast fun whilst I waited for my solo adventures to arrive and to be honest why not take advantage of technology if it is available.  I really appreciated the fact that every adventure could be played for free.  If everything had been locked off with micro transactions I would have not given this app the time of day.

I blazed through the five adventures in no time and would have played more but the postman delivered my new solo adventure book in super quick time. 

Wish me luck as I enter the Arena of Khazan!