#dungeon23

Greetings! 

It has been an age since I last used this blog but the recent #dungeon23 craze has inspired me to return. 
I will chronical my progress here as I follow along with Sean McCoy's idea but with my own take and outcome hopefully. 

The original idea (can be found here) was to note/journal a room of a dungeon or to try and at least create SOMETHING to get in to the creative habit, even if the result that day was simply "an empty room".

I love the idea and for my take on it will be keeping a dead tree notebook but will also try to post a tidied up version online. Where my version will vary is in the focus of the subject, I do not intend to make a Megadungeon, instead, it will likely be a collection of encounter ideas, situations, NPCs, Shops, POIs, unusual situations along with several single or dual level dungeons.

While I may miss the odd day here or there, it is my hope to have something significant to show and potentially run in a years time. 

So off we go..

Day 1. 
Scrumpin Sach's Cider Shack

scrumping

steal (fruit) from an orchard or garden.

A little background

Sachley Undernook is a halfling entrepreneur that has built a hugely successful business for himself, selling the finest Cider in the whole region. With a combination of charm and a touch of halfling luck, Sach managed to go from selling jugs of cider from a broken wagon on market day to running a small shop and bar in just a year and hopes to take the next big step up to owning and running a tavern soon.

Unfortunately Sach's success was built on a flawed business model, all of his apples were scrumped and not a single one grown or paid for! while the business was small, a few apples from here and there were hardly missed but as the demand grew, so did the shortfall in the harvests of the local orchards. 

It didn't take long to figure out where the crop was ending up and was soon a source of ire for some of the smaller farms. The local reeve was already drunk on cider when they reported it and Sach denied any knowledge and claimed he sourced all his apples legitimately from the next town over. With their concerns dismissed, Old Boare and several of his farmhands have now taken the law into their own hands.

As the party approach or while passing by...

Approaching the small shack, a freshly painted sign that reads " Sachs' Cider" in bright red paint a white background can be seen standing proud of the small wooden building it is attached to. Out front are several small tables with a small fotted flower and some crude but sturdy looking stools surrounding them. 

Approaching the shack a shrill cry rings through the air. The is of agonised, almost childlike, and followed by some gruff jeering and humourless laughs.

The door to the front of the shack is locked but the rear entrance has been smashed and pushed loosely back in place from the inside. The rear room of the shack seems to be the source of the commotion.

The back room is full of apples, jugs and barrels on a variety of cabinets, crates and shelves that give the room a busy and well used look. A focal point in the centre of the room is large a screw cider press, with a large barrel to collect the pressed juice and a large screw type mechanism designed to pulp the apples and force the juice from them. Standing with their backs to the door are a group of large men with the appearance of farm hands, though from behind it is hard to tell much more about them. 

An older man can be glimpsed between them, pointing angrily at the something in the middle of the presses. anyone listening at the door will hear him growl "...think you can take the food of our plates do yer?! think you are above payin' me and my boys? times are tight and you be takin from us?! well let us show you how tight things can get 'round here for theives..." followed by the creaking of the screw press being turned by one of the thugs, instantly drowned out by the awful scream that rings out...

Who is here...

A group of 4 farmhand thugs, all tall and strong looking lads of bearing the look of locals, surround their boss an orchard farmer by the name of Rodden Boare "Rotten to the Core if you ask the local kids". He is wearing brown, threadbare and stained old clothing and sports shoulder length, greasy, brown hair that hangs in a skullet around his liver-spotted bald scalp. Boare is from one of the poorer plots of land and has felt the loss of Sachs' scrumping more than most. 

Sachley himself a young Halfling in immaculate dress, a mop of dirty blonde hair and a handsome face, currently contorted in extreme agony is on his knees beside the one of the presses. His hand is trapped in the press and being mangled inside as one of the thugs adds another rotation. 

Boare is out for blood and is deranged in his anger, fighting anyone that interferes until rendered unconscious or killed. The farmhands are less committed and will flee if seriously hurt or should Boare go down. 

Ogre Kingdoms - testing a new scheme

Hi folks,

I have been out of the Warhammer and 40k world for a few years now but last week I found out they had completely changed the fantasy game to the Age of Sigmar.

I really like the stream-lined play and think it is the kind of game I would enjoy, so with that in mind I was inspired to dig out my old fantasy army and start updating it for a fresh start in the new incarnation of the game.

My ogres have featured on this blog a few times, it was the first army I ever painted in its entirety but a few years ago i got it into my head that it was time for a change and I striped all my core units.

Big mistake. I lost my focus on the project and my army sat languishing in their case in various states of paint and repair for several years, un-played and unloved.

Here is my test mini, it is still far from complete as the face needs finishing and the spikes on his iron fist need changing over to an iron colour rather than the gold base they have at the moment. But it is roughly where I want to be with it.

Unfortunately the mini was a bit rough around the edges from being stripped and repainted a couple of times(Ogre Stew) so I will have to pay a bit more attention before painting the rest in tidying them up before priming.

I have a couple of commissions in the works and will get some pictures up once they are finished and back with their respective owners.

In other news, Warhammer World announced they are bringing Blood Bowl home! The XXXXXX League Cup looks like it will be a blast! unfortunately I sold my last team (Humans Team)  and it looks like I will have to miss out on the fun unless i can grab a team in the mean time. Damn!

I am off to mope for a bit now, stay frosty.

Apoc/Rob

Some stuff

As promised, here are a collection of minis I painted in my absence from the blog.

Some are quick rush jobs to get on the table others have had a decent amount of time spent on them, so this is a bit mixed lot all told.

First up we have my non-coms all from the awesome Hasslefree Miniatures, there stuff is fantastic and currently on of my "go-to" sites when i am dreaming up a new character or want something cool to paint.

Every campaign and adventure tends to feature a tavern or inn and putting these guys down really helps to flesh out an encounter. The kids are a particular favourite of mine as irl i have 2 girls and a boy with about the same age gap these guys have, call me sentimental :P

Next is another couple of NPCs that end up on my tables quite often. 

First up is "Running away from a giant" man from the Games Workshop giant kit. he is an accessory piece to the Giant in said kit but he is the perfect representation for a whole host of NPCs like captive, village idiot, coward soldier and any number of other NPC roles. He has seen a lot of tabletop use in The Crypt of the Everflame Module from Paizo, as Roldare a lone survivor of a terrible event that has left him a little unhinged. It is a module i have run 7 or 8 times and every time i unpack him it's like finding an old friend!

Second of the the two is this chap, a very plain paintjob but again, this is a versatile NPC taking the role of executioner, village idiot and henchman extraordinaire! a fun mini from Hasslefree. He also makes me giggle as he reminds me of one of the gamers i regularly play pathfinder with.

Next up is Seraphine, my Oracle Character for Pathfinder Society, the mini is a bit battered as she has seen a few games and a couple of less than careful games have "Ooops..." and dropped her! Marbella from CMON's exclusives, the sculpt is beautiful and she was a real pleasure to paint.

She has been a fun character to play too, an oracle of wind her hair is always moving as if blown in a gentle breeze or as if she is trapped in a shampoo advert :P An Aasimar of immense beauty, until you notice her lame and mangled leg as she walks. Her allure is somewhat lost as once noticed it is hard to see anything other than the twisted and misshapen flesh of her limb. 

The mini was too nice to ruin a leg to match the character but it still works i think :)

This is the Pathfinder Iconic character Lem, A halfling bard by Reaper Miniatures.

This was a lot of fun to paint and great practise for some freehand patterns on his coat, trousers and handkerchief. I would love to paint the rest of the iconics eventually (had done Damiel the Alchemist previously HERE) if funds and time allow.

 

This red-headed fellow if my Cleric character named Cook. He was quickly converted from Dirk, Male Rogue by  Reaper Miniatures and some bits I bad in my extensive bits boxes from my war-gaming days. His hand looks pretty bare and with good reason, he used to wield his god's favoured weapon of a small hammer but it was knocked off a while back and never replaced. 

This young lady had been kicking around in my spare minis box for years before finally being painted up. She is another Reaper Minis (Laurana, Sorceress) and the sculpt is pretty decent with the exception of her raised hand which looks like all her fingers over run over by a cart.

Besides the hand I quite like her, I am thinking she'll be the Sorcerer Alicia Week ;)

This shady looking character if Frankie, a Varisian thug i use in my Shattered star campaign as nearly every mook in the city of Magnimar. Every Frankie is related and part of one of the many gangs in the city and they all speak with a very bad New York/italian street thug accent "Ay Frankie look at this guy..." "Ooh Frankie C ain't gonna be happy with this.." stolen from every good and bad gangster flick. Some are called Tony or Gino for variety every so often too. 

The mini is from Reaper, Dub Bullock, and was a joy to paint as he has bags of roguish charm waiting to be brought out.

Next up is Dolph, a 5 minute conversion from a shaved down Dark Angels 40k body and some bits from the bits box and not much longer on the paint job. All in i think i spent about 30 minutes on him in total, not the most polished mini or paint job but he worked perfectly as a Tiefling magus for the game that night.

Next up is Vasquez, my new Ranger. My favourite class in Pathfinder, rangers are versatile and forgiving of my brain farts when in combat and this guy really captures the mysterious stranger that keeps people at a distance look perfectly. 

Kept a very limited pallet for this chap but unfortunately some of the subtleties is lost in my bad photography.

Finally, this is the Pathfinder Spy Mini from Reaper. She was sitting half finished on my desk for several years but finally finished a little while ago. 

She was fun to paint and it was the first time i ever used elf flesh as a base paint colour in all my years of painting! random but true :P

That is a chunk of what i was up to while away from the blog, there was a lot more but most was commission work or work for my friends that went out without pictures being taken :(

Hopefully i shall have some new stuff to show off in the following weeks and I have started taking more commissions on again so I will make sure to get something up soon. 

I now take single miniature commissions where you can give me your character concepts and i will source, build, convert and paint your RPG characters in addition to the usual Teams, Armies and War bands.

Prices are available on request.

As always I love to hear from folks that stop by, so say hi below or drop me an email :)

Until next time folks, stay frosty!

Apoc/Rob

Quick update

Was hoping to have pictures up by now but my camera's battery has died a terrible death. Amazon will deliver a replacement tomorrow and i'll have some pics up shortly thereafter.

Currently mourning the loss of Alan Rickman :( RIP Hans Gruber.

Taking pictures

Hello Internet, 

Following on from my last post, today while sat at my desk, I have been playing around with lighting and pictures. 

I was hoping to use a couple of different minis to get a better feel for what will be my best setup (for now) but realised the case with my completed minis has been left at my gaming room where I run my Shattered Star Pathfinder campaign. I will stop by and grab it tomorrow and post some pictures of what I have been doing in my absence from the blog. 

As you can see from the images below, I have a bit more work to do as I just can't seem to find the right balance of lighting in my dungeon/office and still need to get the settings on my camera correct. 

I may have to re-invest in a light box, I had one years ago but it got lost in one of many moves, the last picture is ok but could be much better. 

The miniature used is Marcus from Malifaux. I painted him up to use as an unarmed Brawler Character in Pathfinder because I thought he looked pretty badass. To be fair most of the figures put out my Wyrd Miniatures are! He will probably also make an appearance as a mook/thug in the campaign I am currently running too. 

The campaign is only a few sessions in and so far the party have been beaten down by nearly every encounter they have had! Throw away fights with poo chucking goblins became life or death epics that were a lot of fun watch unfold. 

Another highlight for me was setting up some intros for my new players using their back stories. One guy is playing a barbarian who had been making money fighting for cash in seedy bars while waiting for assignment (The Shattered Star campaign has the party start as fresh minted Pathfinder agents) so I gave his character a little notoriety in the city's underground, going so far as to invite him to a big stakes tournament run by one of the bigger gangs in the area. 

I did this figuring he would follow the story, play through a few encounters and then we can have this tourney where he would get some added combat to fight out while the others can use the event as a fantastic way to gather information about local events and people. 

One problem, every encounter he ended up starting a fight with the local gangs and getting his arse handed to him. So the locals went from calling him Champ for his prowess to "Champ" as an insult in short order. 

I have also been toying with the idea of building some cool terrain to throw out at my PF games, having binge watched Drunkens & Dragons, go check it out, has some of the coolest advice and his live streams descend into hilarious drunken commentary on life, gaming and philosophy!

He uses terrain to great effect without taking away from the action/story in a way I think will really enhance my own games. So expect some scenery building posts in the future :)

Anyway, more posts to follow soon hopefully, until then stay frosty people, 

Apoc/Rob