Kingdom Death Monster: Playing the Prologue

 We played our first Game of Kingdom Death Monster and it was a lot of fun! 

The game components and the treatment of the Monsters is, in a word, lavish.

After getting set up for the first game, which took a while due to a plethora of one time only tasks like setting up the absolutely essential components organizer, we dove into the first showdown: The White Lion.

We named our starting survivors: Jahira (curly red head), Dlenn (ash blonde), Rost the Elder (Old guy with beard), and Samael (suave guy with blue/black hair).

Having awakened into a strange reality, on a floor of stone faces with nothing but a bit of cloth and a mysterious lantern, the survivors are immediately set upon by the monstrous White Lion. They scramble for position and acquire weapons in the form of broken bits of the ubiquitous stone faces... this is the Founding Stone.

Our survivors set up in two groups with the idea that the monster would attack one and the second group would come to their aid.  Great in theory but tricky in practice.

The monster headed over to the women and attacked Jahira.  She was extraordinarily lucky that the monster missed one attack and the second attack landed on the only area that she had any protection.

It turned out that the men were out of position and could not make it to the monster to help so the women moved toward them after Jahira made a desperate, but vain, stab at the beast.

 The men moved up and the monster engaged them. The women came to the aid of the men and Jahira scores first blood on the beast.

This is when we began to understand the combat mechanisms.

 The game's AI works really well.  The AI deck for each encounter is constructed from a large pool of cards.  The number of cards varies with the difficulty of the encounter, is unique to the monster, insures that each encounter is different (sometimes radically so) and serves simultaneously as the action and health pools.  Basically as the monster takes woulds its available actions are also reduced.

 The combat is very dynamic and there is a lot of movement of miniatures.  Tactically its very interesting and requires the players to learn how the monster is likely to react and coordinate their attacks to take advantage of the monster and predict its movements to bring numbers to bear.  The monster itself is very powerful and the survivors must make good choices to fight it.

Luck helps as well!

 Here Dlenn sets up the White Lion by anticipating the AI targeting priority.  She stabs the White Lion in the face, getting a crit which allows her to shear off the White Lion's "Glorious Mane" (a valuable resource as well as a chance to permanently increase the strength of the survivor... Dlenn was not insane at this point and missed out on the strength upgrade) and then runs away... toward the other survivors... getting isolated by the monster is very... very ... bad.

Unfortunately the AI knows this as well...

Samael moves to the rear of the monster and lands an attack... except that its actually a ploy by the monster... who now has Samael right where he wants him!

The "Clever Ploy" is in the hit location deck and also reshuffles the Hit location deck once played... to include the Clever Ploy itself.  Shuffle the deck well... nothing is quite as frustrating as having that evil card popping right back up!

 As a result of the Clever Ploy the White Lion grasps Samael and drags him away from the group to isolate him... doing grave damage to him in the process.  He is permanently made unable to use "survival" which is an essential skill to ... well.. surviving...

The White Lion Enrages on its activation... which does not bode well for our survivors.

With the mauled Samael down for the moment the White Lion returns to the fray and the damage begins to pile up on the survivors. They don't really have any protection to speak of and, fortunately, the damage tended to be broadly distributed.

The survivors are also beginning to understand that many attacks, if unsuccessful, cause the monster to move away from the attacker making unresolved hits null.  Its important to resolve attacks in a smart order and anticipate the results of failure.

 The turning point for our survivors... Jahira attacks the monster getting the "Fuzzy Groin" hit location... as the card describes it..."you hit the monster right in the ding dong."

She also rolls a lantern (crit) for damage!  This gives the monster the persistent injury "Lost Ding Dong" which really... really... really.. gets it angry.  The monster is livid, gains +1 damage which hurts a lot) and Jahira permanently gains the "Priority Target" token... the White Lion will attack her until she is dead!

The angry and enrage stack... which means the monster's hits are doing severer damage with every successful strike... with the monster needing 2+ on a d10 to hit... this fight needs to end soon. 

Dishing this kind of damage the monster quickly kills Jahira... the primary focus of it's ire and briefly loses its enraged status. 

Fortunately the monster is really beat up by this point and has few AI options remaining. This also means that it re-enrages immediately an remains in that state until the bitter end.








After a furious chase around the table Dlenn wounds the monster removing its last AI card.
The monster responds with its basic behavior which slaps Dlenn in the head for severe damage...  blinding her in one eye and leaving her prone before the beast...

Samael then sacrifices his founding stone and flings it at the monster scoring the killing blow and saving Dlenn!

What a fight!



The survivors then wander about and find a strange glowing column called "The Lantern Hoard". They understand it to be a safe area and, with with the other survivors that have also found their way to this spot, found their settlement here.

We entered into the settlement phase and determined the population, gender mix, spent resources building a Skinnery, a Bonesmith, and an Organ Grinder.  Dlenn emerges as the leader of the settlement and gains +1 Courage. They spent Innovations established some of their moral codes.. the first one is the Death Principle where they must decide what to do with their dead.  Do they Cannibalize or Bury? We chose Burial but that may have some long term complications given the limited food supply... we'll see.  They also developed Language and Consequences of Language which generates the core of the Innovations deck.  They then crafted armor and weapons and , with resources running low prepared to depart to hunt another White Lion.

It was late by this time so we called it a night.  I've got some reading to do and some idea what I need to paint up next for the campaign.  I expect some alternate survivors, some survivors in hide armor, and a Butcher.

There is still a lot to learn about the game but it seems like it'll be fun along the way.

Proxy Wars Episode 1: Mordheim

I play a lot of games, and dabble in quite a few more, and for many years I scrupulously used only the exact minis intended by the manufacturer for use with their game.  Its helpful, of course, especially in terms of WYSIWYG, but eventually everyone that plays a faction within a game ends up looking very similar.

( Brunhilde, Kinght of the Blazing Sun and acting  Witch Hunter Captain stands firm against an assault by a Sigmarite Sister and two Novices...Brunhilde is a real Heroine putting one novice out of action and keeping the remaining Sister and Novice tied up in melee for the rest of the game (top and left).  Brunhilde is from the Raging Heroes classic line and the Sisters are GW originals. Below: MVP Gretchin interrupts her journey rescue of Captain Brunhilde to ambush a novice sister that was searching for warpstone.)






For me, these days, the "Looks Cool!" factor is a big deal so I've branched out into proxies in a pretty big way. I'd always used the odd alternate manufacturer figure for special characters, especially those written up in the rules but whose figure was missing from the product line, or just because it looked like it would be a good fit as a sergeant or unit champion/standard bearer/musician as these types of miniatures were often available in only one pose or might even be entirely absent.

 The table was set with a Deepcut Studios cobblestone mat and a pile of Tabletop World buildings.  To give the game a "night time feel"  I used a blue light and a couple of overhead white spots.  The result was stark shadows and a gloomy night time feel while still maintaining enough light for comfortable play.

The match was the opening round of a campaign and first up were Witch Hunters vs Sigmarite Sisters!

 Fueled mainly by the amazing complete proxy armies that are available from folks like Raging Heroes, Avatars of War (Although they now have a rule set of their own in Warthrone), and Scibor, I'm building complete proxy armies as my first choice.  In doing this I'm not necessarily looking for a less expensive way to produce an army.  Raging Heroes, for example, is not a discount mini shop.  I'm looking for the minis that best portray what I want to play.







 There are downsides to proxy armies, of course, but they are largely confined to official company events and tournaments where there may be a requirement for official miniatures in order to participate.  I don't do tournaments for the most part so it doesn't really have an impact on my gaming.



(Above and above right: A large central melee broke out.  The Witch Hunters face off against the Sisters.  Witch Hunter Gretchin, supported by the Warrior Priest Whilhelm and the wardog Walter, faces off against the Matriarch Beatrix.  A lucky crit by Gretchin with the dueling pistol takes the Matriarch out of action before she can strike! Witch Hunters Hildegard and Johan hold fast in a furious engagement with Sister Superior Magda and two Sisters.  One turn later, Wardog Walter, and Warrior Priest Wilhelm add into the grand melee while Gretchin exits the area to head towards Mercenary Captain Brunhilde who is all alone and engaged in a lopsided duel.  Meanwhile two novice sisters decide to dodge the grand melee and scour the area for warpstone.)

After dispatching both the Matriarch and a novice Gretchin claims final victory by forcing the game ending route check...











The teams!  The Sisters spent more gold building their warband (492 to 485) but came up short on rating compared to the Witch Hunters.  The ratings ended up being Sisters - 68, Witch Hunters - 96 not enough for an underdog bonus but enough to notice.

 

The minis:  Sisters of Sigmar are all Games Workshop while the Witch Hunters are a mix of Games Workshop and Raging Heroes.

Aleksandr Kurganov, Krell, and the most disturbing gnome...

 Aleksandr Kurganov, Chief Commander of the KST.  This is a massive, and heavy, model.  I chose the metal version for this one and it plunks down on the tabletop with authoriTAY!

Shown with a Nurgle Terminator and Assault Marine for comparison.  I like that he is shorter than the Space Marines but still imposing.

 I split the difference on positioning on the base.  The left foot overhangs the base a bit but shifting him too much farther over and the cloak would have become a weapon in it's own right!

He's on a 40mm beveled base like the Terminator and is pretty stable on that.  I went with a Grey and Red scheme to fit in with some incoming Inquisition troops that I'll be working into the campaign fluff.

 This cape has a lot of room for silliness.  I did some stark shading but decided against freehand for the moment... I'm kind of torn between inventing a House Kurgan Sigil and waiting to see what Raging Heroes comes up with in that regard.

 Reaper Bones I Kickstarter.   I really just signed up for everything with the idea that I'd be using it to fill out a long neglected FRPG collection as my interest in Tabletop Roleplaying was perking up. 

In one random bag that I pulled out of the massive Kickstarter box was this... Gnome... pleasure cultist?  ... Inquisitor?

In spite of being perhaps the most disturbing Gnome miniature I've ever seen it was a lot of fun to paint and gave me a few ideas for story lines... I was a bit inspired by the Penny Dreadful character with the outrageous and, I assure you , completely natural..... hair! 

 Yeah... chaps!  pimpled, warty, gnome buttocks... oh my!

It did get a Slaanesh-esque sigil on the hood but otherwise but otherwise a plain utilitarian purple color.  I thought about designs and stripes but thought they might obfuscate how outrageous the miniature really was.










The Gnome spending some quality time with Warlord Krell...

Krell is still missing his back banner and is on a round lipped base instead of his original square one.  I think both of these minis are being added to the pile of stuff for Carnevale. 

Have fun and beware of gnomes in chaps!

Kurganova Yaga Coven

 Baba Yaga and Arushka join Shashenka and Tarja to complete the Yaga coven.

I finished Shasenka and Tarja a while back so I'm really excited to finish these two and complete my Elemental Coven.  Mind you the Elemental Coven is a construct for the campaign at home and not an official organization as far as I'm aware.

 Each of the Yagas, as I envision them,  has an elemental specialty Arushka Is the Wind Witch and was worked up using the Reaper Vampire Skin triad on the garments and Vallejo flesh tones.  Gold is vallejo Gold and Secret Weapon Flesh Wash Rustungs Farbe from Gamecraft for metal highlight..

After working on some War Machine models, and playing a lot of Star Wars games, I stated thinking of the staff as a "Force" weapon and went with blue force blades.  Vallejo sky blue, Secret Weapon Blue Wash Vallejo foundation white highlights. 

Both Arushka and Baba Yaga got the blue blades while Tarja and Shashenka's weapons are coded to their element and the blades are not well defined.  I may backtrack and give these two more distinct blades and, in keeping with the "Force" theme may have them color coded to the element instead of defaulting to blue.

 Baba Yaga started ans an Earth Element in the aspect of The Crone.  Armory Olive Green, Reaper Vampire Triad, Reaper Blood and Fire Triads.

She got a tech upgrade along the way and some metal armored cables help give her more of a techno magi feel.

This model is metal and very sturdy while Arushka is resin and seem a bit on the fragile side.

 Another view of the complete coven... although I seem to have botched the focus on poor Baba Yaga...
 

Back to the painting!

Skaven, Warcasters, Stormblades, and Vash the Stampede?

 The finished, retouched, Skaven Globadiers.

Its the first go at the Agrellan Earth on bases and I have some learning to do... more thicker paint! It's a hard habit to acquire!

 One poor guy is missing his air tank... I have some steam power backpacks from max mini someplace that I'll swap in.... once I locate them that is!  They are not in their assigned location!  

The glowing green poison daggers are inspired by the Mordheim Video Game art... love the ratties!

They were looking just a bit too green so they got gaseous blue lenses and warp tokens just to pop a bit.

 For salvage these came out ok... perfectly usable on the table top.  There is a small pile of left over rats like these coming through the table as well as some Reaper Ratmen that are very Skaven-esque.

 Now there is a reason why this Cygnar Warcaster is painted in heretical colors instead of the traditional blue and cream... but we'll get to that a bit later!

I think this is Captain Victoria Haley and I'll keep the moniker as I press her into service as an agent of the Inquisition.  She'll lead the personal retinue of the Inquisitor that is responsible for confirming compliance of a recently rediscovered/ recontacted Inquisition element that had been isolated by a warp storm for a very long time.

 Red and White are good Inquisition colors, although my most recent foray into that realm has a grey and red scheme... no worries though Captain Haley's small team represents a visiting inspection and not part of the regular unit.

 Accompanying Captain Haley are these Stormblade infantry storm knights.  Her personal, hand picked, retinue.

 The real reason for the color scheme!  I saw this Warcaster, who I think is Coleman Stryker, I don't actually play War Machine so its all a bit awkward.

Anyway!

I saw this guy and thought... WoW... Privateer Press made a Vash the Stampede Miniature!?!

I gotta play that game!

Turns out I was way wrong... but still... Meet Inquisitor Inspector General Vash the Stampede.

These are a bit on the steampunk side of the Grimdark but I think they'll do.


Off to paint more, and make up more story line....

Cheers

Carnevale French Vatican Guard

 I finished the Big Unpack yesterday... finished is of course a relative statement and there are a few odds and ends that will slowly ease into their new spots.... but the main work of unpacking is done!

That means today I got to spend some time working IN the studio instead of ON the studio.  I decided to pick up where I'd left off on Carnevale and start prepping some Raging Heroes.  I also found the Foldio II which lead to more goofing off with pictures than painting miniatures.

Anyway I did manage to finish up a couple of French Vatican Guard and a Deacon.  I really love that after the catastrophic opening of the Rift in the Sky,  and the ensuing destruction of Rome, the Vatican moved to Avignon, France... seat of the Anti-Popes, or the Black Popes of the Schism... way back when...

 I decided to do the Guard in a French Impressionist style which turned out to be a lot of fun to paint.  They look good from tabletop range and really interesting when picked up for a closer look.

The expressions and poses of the miniatures are very good as you can see... here the Deacon is  admonishing the Guard for their sloppy appearance...

And a little closer look reveals... just how little the Guards think of the Deacon's tongue lashing.

I've also made the uniforms recognizably French rather than a special pattern for the Vatican Guard.  The Guard are meant to be a symbol of the ascendance of the French State as they are a protective force for the Church.  No mistaking who these guys really work for!

This week I have more Carnevale, some Raging Heroes, and some Tabletop World in the queue.

See ya soon!

Tabletop World Merchant Goods

Lets just get this out of the way... Tabletop world makes great stuff!   Here is an example.  These are the 'Merchant Goods' package that I added to my order of the 'Merchant Shop'.  Wow!  its a really big assortment of highly detailed goods... the veggies, fruits, sausages and even fish can be identified quite clearly... no indistinct lumps here.

These, as is typical of my TTW experience so far, required zero clean up... I mean zero.  I washed these and went to painting them straight out of the box. Totally worth the price tag.  This is really a big deal for me as it dramatically reduced the time it took... imagine cleaning all these... hours for me anyway.  As it turns out it took just three sessions to knock out the whole set. 

I decided to approach these with washes over a white primer base as I've been struggling with paint thickness recently.  Here I did thin base coats of paint followed by layers of washes and a glaze here or there.

 A view of the goods together with the shop.  I'm anxious to do the cobblestone 'Town Square' and put it all up on a terrain board.  The Bevie will likely be subjected to a furious round of Mordheim in the near future!

... provided, of course, I locate the Mordheim minis.... DOH!

With the exception of the plums... which I inexplicably forgot to detail the stems and leaves... I spent a bit of time reveling in the detail of the individual elements.  I really like the corn cob colors and the fish... though the pumpkins  and cabbages also came out pretty well.