Treasure Tokens - Scrolls

This will be a quick tutorial to start off my series on making treasure tokens. 

We are making scrolls today! 

This morning, you might have made coffee the “old-fashioned way”: with a filter.  I recommend unbleached basket filters for crafts.  You can use them straight out of the package, but soaking them in tea or coffee (or just using them to brew) softens any manufactured edges and ages them perfectly.  Set out coffee and filter in the sun outside to dry.

SIDETRACK:  You can wash the coffee grounds and dry them in the oven or outside to use as dirt for basing and terrain work.  Dried, used coffee grounds are great for terrain and bases!

Sorry for getting side-tracked – back to the filter.  Once the filter is dried (likely that night unless it is Summer) you cut pieces from it.  I made my strips 7/16^th of an inch wide, or just under an inch (approx. 2.3 cm).  I made the length 2.5 inches long for each scroll (6.5 cm).  You can cut them longer to make them more bulky, but I wanted these smaller. 

 

 

 

As you can see from the first photo, even after you scrape off the coffee, there is residue.  That side of the filter will be the outside of your scroll, but you still may or may not want the residue on there.  Take a stiff brush or an old toothbrush and sweep your filter with medium pressure until you have the right amount of residue for your project.  My scrolls might have been on the ground, so they would have collected some dirt.  I brush it twice to clear off any large pieces, but the rest of residue clings to the paper.

 

Take a toothpick and press it to on the inside edge of the cut paper.  Then, roll the paper up on the toothpick like a spool (see image below).  Pinch lightly so it does not unravel and slide the tooth pick out.  Take a small dab of white glue and apply it to the inside of the edge and then light press so it sticks together.  You can unroll a part of the scroll and glue it farther down the length to give it the look of the scroll unraveling, exposing its arcane symbols and esoteric text.  That can be applied with a fine point pen – I do not recommend ballpoint.  I really like Uniball pens. The gel ink offers sharp edges and the thinner tip means less to smear for those left-handers like myself.

 After the glue dries, you have your scrolls, ready to be added to Scheme/Scenario Markers, on bases, or somewhere on your miniatures.  You can wrap some twine around a single scroll to give it the look it is being stored or transported; you can tie together a  whole bundle of them an put them on a cart, in a crate, or on a bookshelf.  You can also get some thin satin ribbon to make the scroll/bundle look more precious, regal, or official.   The ones I made are going to be the scrolls belonging to a learned hermit and were left behind in the hermit's haste to flee , so they are not bundled, one has partially unrolled where it lies.

 

There are more tutorials to come in this series on treasure.  We will making chests, sacks, books, potions, and anything else catches our eye.  Any suggestions?

I hope this sparked some imagination and I wish you a great day as you enjoy your journey!

The Ancient Well Takes Shape

Now, we want to start adding filler to shape the well and create a mood that fits its potential environments.  I want it fairly weathered and asymmetrical; I am thinking abandoned towns, ancient cities, and dank dungeons.   So, I am only going to add enough spackle to fill in the gaps and make it appear the mortar has either eroded away or only a small amount was used in the original project.  This is what we are starting with:

 

You can see quite a bit of gaps allowing light to shine through - that's ok; I think of these gaps as room for the model to develop personality.  Let's get those gaps filled and see what becomes of our mysterious well.
Normally, I always add a bit of water and a bit of paint to prepare the spackle for application.  When the spackle is wet, it is easier to work.  Adding a little bit of water, the spackle still holds it shape and has some spring to it; good for vertical fills and connecting two points.  Adding more water creates a slurry, good for when you want gravity to work for you and have the spackle settle into low areas.  I advise starting with a bit of water, as I almost always do, because you will be wetting your tools and fingers as you go, so the spackle will get wetter as you need it o without turning to soup.

I also recommend acrylic paint being mixed into the spackle.  The paint will make the spackle crack less when it dries, gives it some springiness once dry (resists chipping….a bit), as well as helps in the later painting stages if your spackle is supposed to be some other color than bright white.

I wanted to use up some spackle I was using for my desert terrain before it dries, so this spackle in the photos will be reddish in color because I had used a burnt sienna acrylic paint to tint it.  I would recommend using two drops of black and four drops of brown paint because it makes a nice “dirty” base.  The reddish color needed a lot more work than I had thought.  It was not as bad as  if i left it bright white, but it still required an extra few steps of inking after the spackle dried before the painting began.   I carved a popsicle stick and toothpick so I could get the spackle into every single gap, no matter how small or inaccessible.

Next step is adding the spackle.  I start with the inside gaps.  Any place light shines through (hold the well up to a lamp or shine a flashlight onto it) gets spackle pushed in.  I use my hands, but you can use a popsicle stick, too.  Either way, remember to dip your finger/tool in water periodically so the spackle releases easily.  You want the spackle to fill all the holes.  Below is a snapshot of the inside filled.  You do not need to worry too much if it cover your stones.  The next step is when you determine how much of the stone ends up exposed.  The amount of coverage depends upon the look you want to achieve. 

 

Now, get a sponge or some foam.  I use the foam that I pulled out of my miniatures carriers.  You can also use the foam that is packed in most miniatures when they ship.  Grab a cup of water.   Wear some clothes you don’t mind getting splashed (just in case) and put down some plastic or paper.  With the wet sponge, wipe across the spackle-covered stones with medium pressure.  This will smooth the spackle, push it into the lower crevices, and remove it from the upper part of the stone, leaving it exposed.  Again, you will wash as much or as little to get your desired look.  Keep the sponge wet and continuously clean it out with fresh water so you are not just smearing spackle everywhere.   I used medium pressure and I did the entire inside well once, let it dry, went back to that night and wiped it again to get my final look that I liked. 

 I wanted a look where the mortar has worn away and the only remaining mortar holds the stones, for only a few more years.  If I didn't remove enough spackle, I would wash it again for a third time.  If I remove too much, I have to add some spackle and then wash again.  I like the inside so I repeat the same steps for the outside.  This is what it looks like after the outside is done:

 

I then let the well dry for the night.  In the morning, I will begin the staining of the spackle and then the painting of my well.  Until then, make your miniature world in your image!


 

Ancient Well

This will be my first Malifaux/Frostgrave crossover terrain piece.

 Supplies Suggested:

Small lid -- the lids from mini cups are perfect. Diamond sells a bagof 50 cups with lids are the greatest for various projects.  If you can’t find a bag of mini cups, the local take-out or salad bar has them.  Order a salad with dressing on the side and you will have what you need after a healthy lunch! (Make sure you wash the cup and lid well if repurposing)

Wax paper  -- Protects your work surface and allows your glue to dry evenly.  I like the results much better than newspaper, but reusing the flyers they endless stuff in your mailbox are an ok substitute.

Small stones – I bought a bag of gravel from the local hardware store.  The gravel is various sizes, but for this project I pick out stones that are big enough to fit 3-4 onto a penny.  This creates a scale where it seems feasible the stones were hand carried to site and manually assembled.  This well is going to look ancient, but can also be used in settings where it looks like the denizens did the best they could with the material at hand.

Wood Glue – Flexible and strong.  A little more expensive than White glue, but a bit cheaper than Hot glue and I prefer than either when it comes to gravel.

Paint --  I am picturing this being used for Frostgrave mostly, so I imagine grey stone.  Inexpensive, Craft acrylic paints in Black, White and Grey. 

Spackle – This is the mortar.  Get a tub of spackling paste from your hardware store, you will use a lot of it in your coming terrain projects (great for hills, cliffs, cabins, water features and basing, too!)

 

1.   Find a lid that is slightly smaller than you want your finished product.  Cut a piece of wax paper that will be slightly larger than your finished product.  Place the lid centered on the wax paper, with the inside facing up.  The lid is not only going to serve as the guide for your well’s circumference, but it also  holds your “water”.

2.       Squeeze your glue (I recommend wood glue over the other options) onto the wax paper around the outer edge of the lid.  This glue will not only connect the stones, but it will also bond the stones to the lids.

 

3.       Start placing your stones around the base, flush against the outside of the lid and to one another.  Do not worry about spacing them, there will be enough gaps and space due to irregular shape and roundness of the gravel.  I create an irregular base, randomly alternating between large  and medium –sized gravel pieces.  You can create a more uniformed look by just using medium -, or even two small, –sized gravel pieces deep, but I like the irregular profile and it allows the second and third level of stones to settle in interesting ways.

 

4.       Once you get the initial base surrounded with gravel so it looks how you want it, let the glue set. 

 

 

 

5.     Now comes the fun part….. Well, fun in a fiddly  I-hate-gravity way.  The second level is you finding the stones that naturally settle into the gaps created by the base layer of stones.  It doesn’t have to be perfect because you are adding the “mortar” later to fill gaps and smooth the outer and inner profile.  The second and third level are your chance to create your well’s personality.  Will the stones be of uniform size, shape, and spacing, or are some going jut out, tilt, or even be missing in places?  It all depends on the story you want the well to tell.  I went for the middle ground.  Most of my stones are the same size, but some stick out more than others and some are rounded and others have sharp points.  I want the look that the builders had to use available material which might not have been ideal, but it was still useful and had a lasting result.  I also wanted to give the impression that the stonework was starting to shift from over the centuries so I allowed my pieces to sometimes move how gravity wanted them to settle.  I suggest letting each level settle and for the glue to set before going to the next level.  This is the project that will take a few days, but each day is only 30 minutes or so of gluing.

This is what my well looks like after the final level.  I went with 3 levels.  For 28-32 mm scale, I think anything higher seems impractical from the fluff of citizens getting water and also from a terrain perspective of giving cover, but not blocking LOS.

 

Next entry will discuss the addition of mortar and paint.

Let me know if I skipped anything, you have any questions, or was unclear about a step.

Have fun building your miniature world!

 

4-Player Story Encounter markers

There are story Encounters that use the four suits in their set-up and the players Scenario.
Below is an image of such a game's set-up where we had to deploy four 30mm markers representing the four suits onto the table  and the players later pulled aces or jokers to see which one of the markers was their target.  If you pulled an ace, your goal was to Interact with that particular marker and then hold onto it for the rest of the game for 3 VP.  You could get another VP for grabbing one of the other Markers.  Joker meant you could grab any marker, but each one was only worth 2 VP.   Max for Scenario was 4 VP, so Schemes were still important and even more important for the player with the Joker.


Table



Deployment from Bird's-eye view.

 
 

The silver rounds on top of the 30 mm markers have 1 of the 4 suits written on them.
 Each marker was placed on the table by a player prior to drawing their Scenario win-condition.  Most placed the Markers mid-table.  The silver rounds are Fantasy Flight plastic tokens I bought on sale and they are pretty great for writing on with a dry-erase marker, but they do stand out and I am always looking to replace them with more thematic tokens when I can.

I found some cake toppers that I am in the process of staining and dinging-up to replace a the silver tokens for these Scenarios.

I am liking how they are turning out thus far:


FYI

It has been so long since the game, I do not have a Battle report, but here are the participants seen in the set-up.

Top Left:  Ten Thunders' Kang and 3 Rail Workers
Top Right:  Arcanists' Snowstorm, 2 Ice Gamin, and December Acolyte
Bottom Left:  Guild's Sadhir and 3 Westrels
Bottom Right:  Resser Valedictorian, 2 Rotten Belles, and Effigy

Guild left the game on the 3rd turn and the game ended with Arcanists and Ressers tied.
Ten Thunders could have actually won the game, but the player dedicated the crew to attacking other than following their Schemes and Scenario (I believe they pulled the Joker which meant they could get 2 VP for grabbing any of the markers).  Combat is a means to an end in this game rather than the sole purpose of the crew which I love about Malifaux.  
 

Resser Proxies

The Resurrectionist faction lacks powerful range attacks, most of their models are easy to hit, and they are slow - so why play this faction?   Where Ressers really shine is attrition: keeping bodies on the table that can keep hitting and making those all-important Interacts.  One way they do this is by replenishing their numbers with summoning.  Without upgrades, Seamus and McMourning really suffer in this area and when Poison or Terrifying are countered, they are even more at a disadvantage.  Two Upgrades available to Ressers can lessen this disadvantage: Maniacal Laugh and Spare Parts. The top of my list of Upgrades for Seamus is Spare Parts;  I have the original sculpt of the Rogue Necromancy but it was to pricey to spend 2 SS for one situational summon a game, if I was lucky.  Not sure if I will ever take Maniacal Laugh, but I thought I might as well have it available if I wanted to try out my Corpse Bloat/Maniacal Laugh combo sometime.

Due to the lack of Guild Autopsies from Wyrd and my delay in purchasing Mindless Zombies (because their box costs almost as much as a Master Crew box), I have not been able to get the full potential out of Seamus who is being pummeled by an endless supply of opponents immune to Horror duels.  I take the Effigy, but 4 SS is an expensive Arcanist tax and the model is usually the first to die so I only get minimal return on my investment.  Summoning will give Seamus the needed bodies to keep the enemy at a distance so that he can fire is gun and jump around around the board completing Schemes and Scenarios.


I raided my box of zombies that came with Season 1 of Zombicide and used some tacky to temporarily adhere them to some 30 mm bases.  From there, I wanted to paint the horde that would become Mindless Zombies while adding a gun and sword to the zombies that would become Guild Autopsies before painting them, too.  Here is my progress so far.

 Guild Autopsies:  I know the original sculpts from Wyrd were emaciated, deteriorating, and shambling, but I went with a more well-fed zombie.  I am thinking these particular guards died from an unhealthy mix of sitting at a desk and eating lots of fried foods.  The Tweedle Twins never passed their physical, but their dad was a high-ranking official so they both got cushy clerical jobs. 



Base painting for two models.
Next step is to add gun and sword..

Left Side:  Sword in scabbard turned
out OK,  Gun looks a little better
from this angle.

Right Side: Sword and gun added.
Barrel bend is more obvious
from this angle, but the look of
the grip seems decent. 

 













Mindless Zombies:  Dipping into my Zombicide Season 1 box again, I pulled some smaller models to be this horde of meat shields.  I don't see using more than 3-4 at a time, but I painted an extra just-in-case

Tacky used to stick models to 30 mm bases and then added a base coat.



     Added a wash.  Will probably add another wash.





 

Budget Carrier

Transporting your miniatures can get as expensive as buying and painting your miniatures. 
When you are first starting into miniatures or just starting a new game, you will be more interested in your money going towards building your army.  Here is an idea for an inexpensive, possibly free, way to transport your minis in relative safety.

There is a caveat:  your models are not secured in-place so they will rattle around a little while transporting and they will definitely bounce around if you do sharp turns or tilt the carrier.  You get what you pay for, but it is more than adequate with gentle care.  My painting is not to the level I want, so I am not too concerned about wear from bumps and scrapes from transporting; also, all of my minis are works-in-progress. 

Start with a sturdy cardboard box; it will possibly be what your minis were shipped in or if you bought your minis from your Local Game Store, ask your LGS if they have any lying around.  Next, get some empty egg crates -  make sure there is no yolk or any other stuff that can get on your models.  Cut the tops off of egg crates.  I gave my a good shake and dusting to get out any little bits that could chip or rub my minis.  You can add a little glue to the bottom of the crates to secure them to the box once you found a good configuration.I buy 18-packs of eggs so I was able to fit two crates in the box and it left just enough room for the container I have of tokens.  Notice in the picture that the crate accommodates all base sizes.  If you have the bubble pack that the box was shipped with, it can go over the top of your minis to make transport a little more secure.

In time, you will branch out to expensive carriers and foam or magnetic bases, but for the beginning it is more immersive to spend $20 -$50 on more minis rather than transportation for 6-10 models.

Happy gaming!

Miniatures Monday - July 27th

Miniatures Monday at Battleground Games in North Charlotte!

This was the second game for Andrew.  He just was initiated into the world of Malifaux and selected Mei Feng and her Crew Box for Arcanists as his intro. The miniatures look great and she is just amazing on the table.  I think she is the toughest Master I have had to deal with so far!  I will add my spin on the battle report in another post, but for now I wanted to share the table we played on, our deployments and a snapshot of the 6th turn when the final blow was dealt. 

Andrew and his crew of Arcanists did prevail against Seamus' band of Resurrectionists.  It was all about completing his Scenario and Scheme. Mei was a melee powerhouse the entire game so the Arcanists had 3 VP from Reckoning, while Seamus only was able to get 2 VP.  I was able to Assassinate Mei while keeping Seamus at 12 Wounds, but I failed to keep four scheme markers down on the center line for Line in the Sand - that Emberling was dropping Scheme Markers like it was getting overtime at the USPS. We shared Strategy and Schemes and had them declared since this was his second game and it is best to slowly acclimate to the rules and add the complexity in layers.  All in all, it was a great game!

Well played, Andrew, and welcome to the game!

Seamus and the beginnings of my Fox Hunt crew!

Mei and her Rail Crew!



Lots of corpses in the end.  I think Kang and the Emberling were all that remained of the Rail Crew.  Seamus and the Carrion Effigy were all that remained on my side.  I was able to summon only 3 Dead Doxies due to bad Fate hands.

New Resurrectionists

McMourning's box, Body of Evidence, was my most recent purchase in the world of Malifaux and my second encounter with Wyrd's new plastic miniatures.  I had purchased the Story Encounter box , University of Transmortis a while back when it was 50% off, but I never got around to assembling the Students.  I had originally purchased the box because it was supposed to have Solo Play as one of the potential encounters, but the hope was much better than the reality because on paper, it seemed very lackluster.  Charlotte is very sparse when it comes to miniatures outside of 40k and Warmachine and Malifaux was forgotten after the transition to 1.5.  Now that there is some hint of a revival with 2nd edition and a new game store is supporting interest with Malifaux. Battleground Games in North Charlotte has created Miniatures Monday which allows a place for lesser-played games like Malifaux, X-wing, Kings of War, Infinity, Mordheim, Dreadball, and whatever else you want to play a chance to shake the dust off - it seemed a good time to assemble all my Malifaux plastic.

I got it done, but it took me all weekend to do it.
There are so many tiny pieces!!!!
It is not like it is difficult; I think anyone can assemble them, but there are numerous small pieces that need time to set after joining.   You can't glue the limbs all at once and I am not really interested in using glue additives to make them join faster or use contact cement.  Also, if the pieces are large enough, I suggest pinning everything you can.  There were some hands and feet where it is impossible, but each piece probably has 3-5 pins in them.  After priming them, I am glad I did.  I brush on primer rather than use a spray can.  I get better results brushing and I can tint the white primer however I like.

Anyways, here is a Resser Family photo:

L to R: McMourning; Zombie Chihuahua, JoJo; Nurse Jenny, Nurse Jenni; Canine Remain, Daisy; Sebastian

L to R: Valedictorian; Student of Viscera; Student of Steel; Student of Sinew

All together!   29 SS in front, 32 SS in back.

Here is the Family after a necrotic-tinted primer painting:

 



More to come!

Perdita vs. Ramos - Part 2

Now, it is time to make a decision on my Crew and how they will be placed on the table.


6.  Hire & Reveal Crew:   I was certain I was bringing Guild Hounds because there was a majority of Interact schemes and that meant 6 Soulstones were already spoken for.  My initial reaction was to go with Sonnia since she specializes in fighting Arcanists, but I was not sure if she could handle Rasputina which was my guess for his declared Arcanist Master.  Sonnia is not a pushover, but  it was the terrain, deployment, Scenario, and Schemes that made me question Sonnia.  I considered Lady Justice but passed because she is melee heavy and I was still thinking Rasputina and exploding Gamin. I instead went with Perdita and her Family because they are amazing with sniping and I could slow forward movement with the Family covering lanes.   My mind was fixated of getting VP from dropping Scheme Markers, so I went with a Brutal Effigy for cheap Interacts and possible Healing for Perdita if things went wrong.  Two Guild Hounds and the Brutal effigy seemed plenty to deal with the Schemes and Scenario while the Family (Perdita, Francisco, Santiago, and Nino) were all about tying-up the enemy and preventing them from doing any Interacts. 
I took two Upgrades -
Perdita: Trick Shooting
Francisco: Wade In

Daniel's arcanists sent Ramos. Grrr..... I pictured swarms of metal spiders and exploding Octopi and wished I had chosen Sonnia or, at least, chosen Papa Loco over Santiago.
Ramos brought an Electrical Creation, Howard Langston, Brass Arachnid, and Joss.  I am guessing he went with the heavy models because he was planning of summoning an army of constructs to run
schemes.
Upgrades - I believe Ramos had Electric Summoning which seems really powerful for only 1 Soulstone.  Also, he had Under Pressure and Field Generator which were both really irritating to deal with. 

7.  Choose & Reveal Schemes: I chose and declared Line in the Sand since the Strategy had us fighting for the center of the table already and my thinking was that on turns when the Squatter markers were occupied, I could drop Scheme markers with models out of engagement.  In case I was overwhelmed or lost the center, I decided to go with the one melee-focused Scheme, Murder Protégé.  I was still wishing I had Roundup as an option.  I delclared Murder Protégé in hopes he over- or under-committed Langston; either option would be optimal for me: over-committed 12 SS model would aid me with winning the VP for killing it (still at the expense of a ton of AP to do it).  More ideal would be him under-committed which would mean I would not have to deal with the monster most of the game and Ramos would not get his Soulstones worth out of him.


8.  Deploy Crew:  We deployed incorrectly and we drew the center line incorrectly, too. 
OOPS!!!!
The image in rulebook shows players deploying from our respective right corners of the table, up to 18" from the corner and up to 9" inward from the edge.  We deployed  from our Left corner instead (see below).
I won the deployment flip, which allowed me to force Arcanists to deploy first. He hid his Brass Arachnid and Langston on the far side of the table by the woods which I was happy and sad about:  probably impossible to get Murder Protégé but did not have to deal with three powerhouses at once.  His other models were as close to the center as he could deploy.

I took advantage of Out of the Shadow and deployed Nino at the center of the table and peeking out from Hard Cover with LOS to Ramos and the Electrical Creation.  Nino moved only once this game and that was due to repositioning after being pushed by a Defensive Trigger after hitting Ramos.  I would say Nino was my MVP.
The two Guild Hounds deployed 9 inches up from the edge and as far right as I could because I had hoped to get to far right of the table to do some Squats on that side of the table. I was not thinking.  The hounds would have to deal with Langston and that would never happen.  I did not realize my error until the 2nd turn.  They were largely wasted this game.
The rest of my crew (Perdita, Family, and Brutal Effigy) were cramped together between a cactus, building, some rocks and a lot of Severe terrain underfoot.  It was a less-than-ideal deployment that required too much AP to reposition. 


I did not take a picture of deployment, so the dots with show where I deployed. 

- Table -

 

Purple:  Perdita

Orange:  Francisco

Grey:  Santiago

Yellow:  Nino

Blue:  Brutal Effigy

Red:  Guild Hounds

Guild managed to score 7 VP's and Arcanists scored 3 VP's so it all worked out in the end.  Arcanists did have terrible Fate hands and two terrible Black Joker flips which sealed their fate.  Ramos flipped a Black Joker on his Turn 2 Summon and Langston flipped a Black Joker Turn 3 for a damage against Francisco who was sitting on only 3 Wounds.  Francisco was then able to kill Ramos turn 4.

Some Thoughts

 

 Perdita is amazing with the ability to ignore armor.  I felt the first two turns were wasted with her spend AP moving herself and casting Obey to move Family.  Obey is so great on the enemy.  Obeying Joss to Walk out into the open  on turn 3 so he could be shot up by the Family was cinematic.  She would have been better away from Severe Terrain.  She would have done better deploying with the Guild Hounds and moving up to the stone walls by the large building.  This would have allowed her to threaten Langston and Ramos.  I should have taken the Upgrade Aura Ancestral.  Ignoring Terrifying and making it easier for Guild to pass Terrifying duels would have ensured Langston died. I didn't know who he would take, so the better way to think about it is that I should not have taken Murder Protégé knowing I would have to pass numerous Terrifying duels to kill Langston.
Nino is great in a spot where he can see 12 or more inches into the enemy's half of the table..  Francisco and Santiago are only good as a pair; I think I was most disappointed in their performance.  Not having a way to get around terrain really made those two suffer.  An Austringer, Death Marshal, and extra Soulstones for Perdita or Upgrades probably would have been better.
The Brutal Effigy did not stand out because he just dropped Scheme Markers and Interacted. Perdita was barely in combat so it was not worthwhile to spend an AP so she could draw 1 or 2 cards for the whole game.  Perdita was never attacked, so there was no need to heal.  The Brutal Effigy is still a solid choice for 4 SS.
I love dogs.  If dogs are in the game, I play them.  Guild Hounds are not even close to being good like Canine Remains.  It is just so expensive to take two so they can Interact and drop Scheme Markers.  It is also so precarious having to keep them both alive to be useful.  A Watcher or Death Marshal might have been better.  Part of their ineptness this game was my poor planning which led them to be on the same side of table as a 12 SS Terrifying model for two turns.  They should have switched places with Perdita and the Brutal Effigy.  It would have been more difficult for Francisco and Santiago to deal with Joss, but I think they could have still done it.  I am sure I have more thoughts, but I have written more than planned already and I have no bat rep for anyone else to really understand what I am going on about.  Enough journaling for now!

I will take more pictures next game and that might help me write a journal/bat rep hybrid that might make more sense to those who were not there.

Happy gaming, everyone!

Small Houses

The idea for these houses came from various period photos of houses that were built for the mining towns that cropped in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century.  I also see the potential for these to be used on a bayou/swamp table.  I want to capture the inhabitant's poverty - not only in the monetary sense, but also of the time available to the inhabitants.  These were functional buildings that provided shelter, but little comfort.

Right now, I have the basic structure created.  I still need to add the frames for the window and doors which will be done with a thinner strip of bass wood.  I knew I was adding frames, so you will see the edges for the door and window are not even - I did not see the need to re-cut since the edges will be covered.  I will also be staining the wood once the trim is completed.

 

 

After the staining, the roof and flooring will be created for these.  I wanted the roof and flooring modular to allow me the flexibility to use these houses in desert and bayou settings which might require different looks for each location. I will attempt a short foundation, a slightly raised porch, and a raised-on-stilts foundation.  The interior flooring will be the same wood I am using for the trim.  I have even thought of creating a dirt floor.

More of that to come!

Perdita vs. Ramos - Part 1

I got the chance to play an actual game of Malifaux on Monday at Battleground Games.  
Rather than a play-by-play, I wanted to take a look at the effect decisions made during the Set-up had on the following 5 turns of the game.  Part 1 will have Steps 1-5; part 2 will have steps 6-8.

Standard Set-up

1.  Define & Place Terrain:  The table was a desert outpost. There were three small buildings, 1 medium building, one forest, Ht 1, Climbable stone walls that provide Hard Cover,  1 large Severe Terrain patch at the center of the table with 3 cacti that are Hazardous but also give Soft Cover.  From the Deployemnt area to the center of the table there are lots of Ht 2 Blocking, Impassable Rock Outcrops that also provide Hard Cover. Shooting can be really dangerous in Malifaux, so lots of cover and Blocking terrain is essential to keep the game fun for both sides.

2.  Determine Encounter size:  35 Soulstones.  Not really ready for 50 Soulstone games at this point.

3.  Announce Factions:  I declared Guild.  I had brought Seamus, Perdita, Lady Justice, and Sonnia, so I had the most choice with Masters under Guild.  Daniel declared Arcanists.  I am glad I did not pick Seamus who has limited influence on Rasputina and Ramos crews, one of which was certain to appear on the other side of the table.

4.  Determine Deployment: Daniel flipped for Deployment zone and he seems to always flip Flank.  This is definitely the hardest deployment for some reason.  Even with Nino having From The Shadows, I still felt like my Deployment was not going to be advantageous.  The L-shaped deployment always makes me feel like I am going to get crowded too fast.  I had initially thought I was going with Sonnia, but my fear of getting jammed moved her to 3rd place with Lady Justice moving to the top spot. 

5.  Determine Strategy & Scheme:  Squatter's Rights was the Strategy flipped.  Lady Justice still on top, but uncertain of the crew I would take with her that could hold the center well.
The Schemes flipped were Breakthrough, Distract, Murder Protégé, Power Ritual, and the ubiquitous Line in the Sand.  The Arcanists also had their Faction-specific Scheme, Gathering Power.  I would have like the Guild Scheme, Roundup, but I had left my card at home.  So, now we have only one combat-based scheme and the rest are all about getting to the Center or beyond and holding territory.  Guild Hounds?  Brutal Effigy?  Francisco and Santiago tag-team?  This looks like the heart of my team because those 5 models could handle any of those schemes. Even if I chose my Master poorly, this crew could still pull it off themselves.  I am starting to consider Perdita .......

To be continued......

Buildings

Slowly, but surely, I am getting to posting pictures of my numerous Works In Progress.  You will see that I jump around a lot! 

I am thinking of just editing some of my WIP posts instead of creating new ones each time I have completed a step just to keep things tidy and centralized.  I will play around with it and see what works.

 Malifaux is blends multiple landscapes as well as multiple genres.  Right now, I have gravitated towards creating desert environments for my demo games at Battleground Games.  So, I have decided to make some buildings that fit that environment.  I am thinking mining camp and early structures in a Boomtown.  These buildings can be later repurposed as bayou buildings with a branching out to a swamp environment.  Some may even work in a Victorian city setting if I make them storage sheds or even worker-class hovels.

Small Dwelling or Storage Shed.   I made two roofs for it: one moss-covered for swamp environments and a wood roof for my desert table.  The varnish is really shiny on the roof for some reason, so I am thinking of ways to dull it or refinish it.

Frontier Jail - I added a flat roof that could bear a second-story addition and it also allows characters to maneuver around on top.  I am planning on adding a floor and interior features, possibly modular features to switch between Bank and Jail - to think of a few.

More buildings to come!

Learning Malifaux - Game A

I wanted to spend some time exploring  how I introduce players to Malifaux. 
When I run demonstrations, I like to run three games of growing complexity which I will refer to as:  Game A, Game B, and Game C.  I have found this method is ideal for all skill levels and comfort with miniatures games. 

Ideally, I will have the opportunity to play all three games with the new player either in one day or over the course of several meet-ups.  Sometimes,  you get only one game to hook them (or lose them) and you choose the game that best fits where they are in skill and comfort with miniature games.  Game A is best for those that never played Malifaux;  Game B is for those who have played Malifaux, remember some of the rules, but it has been awhile or played prior to 2e ; Game C is for those who have played 1 or more Henchmen games in 2e and want to advance to larger, more complex games.  Game B may even be for some advance wargamers who do not mind the complexity and challenge of learning a lot of new rules at once, but I do not recommend higher than Game B for the first play-through.


In this entry I will talk a little more about what GAME A looks like and the purpose of the game.

Crew:

No Masters; Henchmen as Leaders.

Minions only; no Enforcers, Peons, or Totems.
15 Soulstone crew size
No Upgrades 

Terrain:         

I want enough terrain to cover 1/4 - 1/3 of the 3'x3' table.  Malifaux thrives on terrain but I do not want too much for the first game because I want lots of movement and interactions.  I want to place terrain features that will demonstrate Severe, Blocking (Ht 1 and Ht2), Dense Hard Cover, Soft Cover, Hazardous, and Climbable.  To meet these demands, my table usually consists of: 1-2 buildings, 1-2 forest, 1-2 rocky hills, 1-3 walls, water feature or rocky patch of earth, and 1-4 rock outcrops/statues/pillars/pile that are Ht1 and/or Ht2.  Eventually you will want terrain that looks somewhat natural, but proxy whatever you can if you do not have scale terrain built.  Soda cans can be wrapped in foil to create rock columns, felt or construction paper can simulate forests and water features, books can stand in for rocky hills that can be climbed. 

Who to Use:                       

I recommend Samael Hopkins and 3 Witchling Stalkers for one of the crews.  There are enough Conditions and Triggers in this crew as well as synergy present in this line-up without being overly complicated.  Also, Samael ignores Severe Terrain while the Witchlings do not - this will allow the new player to acclimate to the terrain rules in Malifaux and see the advantages that Abilities like Unimpeded bestow.  Other good Henchmen/Minion crews I currently consider:

The Judge w/ 2 Guild Marshals

Barbaros w/ 3 Terror Tots
Viktoria of Blood w/ 2 Ronin

For the second crew, I select a crew that has Terrifying in it so the new player can see how Horror duels work and how they affect the game.  This may be Bad Juju or Madame Sybelle as the Henchmen.  I do like Madame Sybelle for demos because she introduces the  Terrifying and Hard to Wound abilities, auras, Blasts, and (0) Actions.  This is match-up is great because the other crew will likely not have some of these Abilities and Actions so the new player gets a taste of many different Abilities and Actions without being responsible of keeping track of every one.
  Henchmen/Minion crews suggestions for the second crew:
Madame Sybelle w/ 3 Rotten Belles
Bad Juju w/ 2 Silurid
Valedictorian w/ 3 Crooked Men
Hungering Darkness w/ 2 Illuminated

These suggestion only consider currently available models.  I look forward to future releases that will make models like the Spawn Mother and Gupps available which will be a great way to introduce summoning in Game A without being over-powering.  The goal is to ideally create an even match with contrasting abilities.

Goals & Length:

By the end of Game A, the initiate should be comfortable with reading the stat cards and knowing what everything means or at least knowing where to look in the rulebook for it.  They will have plenty of practice moving their models, using AP, flipping duels, and keeping track of VP.  You will also review Conditions, Negative/Positive Flips, and using Soulstones.  To keep things simple, but still exciting, I go with this game set-up:

Strategy: Turf War
Schemes: None
Turns: 5 - Locked

The game will last only 5 turns, but I include an explanation of how additional turns could result with the card flip at the end of the 5th turn.  I will also discuss schemes at the end of the game and show examples of how the game would have played differently if schemes were involved.
The strategy Turf War is great because it is a simple Strategy to grasp that does not emphasize  just killing other models; also,  it forces the models to the center of the table.  Forcing the models to the center of the table will allow plenty of  terrain interaction. A Strategy not emphasizing killing will still allow plenty combat and engagement but will allow me to demonstrate the importance of using AP towards earning Victory Points over risking models to get a kill.  This also allows discussion of models' strengths,  for example: Bad Juju is great in combat, but the Silurid are too expensive for combat and serve better earning VP's. It is the job of the demonstrator to keep the game going for as long of the 5 turns as possible; bad decisions should be discussed but not exploited. 



In our next installment we will discuss Game B.  Let me know if you have any questions about Game A or if there is anything you wish included in my discussion of Game B.


Happy Days Gaming!

Desert Terrain Pieces

Here are some of the terrain pieces on their own.  Some are in various stages of completion, but all are functional and are being used in games and demonstrations.  You can refer to the earlier post to see examples of what they look like together on a table.  They look good with or without a gaming map.  I did create a desert sand & dirt gaming mat just for Malifaux (it is big enough so I also can use it for WarmaHorde games).  Below I will give a brief comment on how I use each piece on the table for games/demos.




Pond:  Severe only
Walls:  Ht 1 Blocking, Climbable (costs 2" of movement), Hard Cover

Trees: These trees have their own amorphous bases that sit on top of some sand/dirt/grass templates to determine the area of the forest  (3rd photo, below trees and cacti, are examples of such templates)
Forest are Ht 5 Blocking, Severe, Soft Cover,
Cacti:  These can sit on top of sand/dirt/grass templates to simulate a patch of cacti that be determined as Impassable or Hazardous.  They can be placed on top of 30 mm bases or just on their washer based to create a single Hazardous piece of terrain.
Sand patch:  Can be left bare to be just Severe Terrain; place trees or other flora to create various forest terrains.

 

 

Outcrops:  The first two outcrops are small, about 4" - 7" across.  They are Ht 2 Blocking, Hard Cover.  They are stable enough to be Climbable, but I usually treat them as Impassable to encourage flanking and making hard choices (bottleneck or spread out).  The third outcrop is much larger and is definitely Climbable. There are two levels on each.  The second level provides a Vantage point.

 

Desert Terrain Tables

Although I am moving towards a focus on the Resurrectionst, I decided on creating several pieces of modular terrain that will create a desert theme.  I imagine the possibility of outposts, mining camps, mines, and boomtowns.  Here are some pictures of  the table set-ups I have used for demonstrations .   The first two pictures also feature the gaming mat I made to simulate the dirt and sand of the American West.  The third picture has a piece of orange cloth as the mat that can purchased at any fabric store or even some Wal-Marts. 

I am really enjoying the desert theme; each of these tables has every type of terrain trait in Malifaux and it is a great training ground to learn the rules on.   Also, they bring back a lot of memories from my childhood growing up in California and visiting my Grandfather in Arizona.  I hated the heat of the Southwest deserts, but those deserts were beautiful beyond belief even in their stark simplicity.  I think they would have been even more awesome with giant lizardmen, evil puppets, ice constructs, and witchlings running around!

 

 

 

 

 My next post with have close-ups of terrain pieces.