Game Designer Newsletter

For those who want to keep up with everything I've got going on as a game designer, and not just a hobbiest, you can read my latest newsletter here: Joseph A. McCullough Newsletter | Patreon

The photo is just to grab your attention! 

Beastly Satyrs

 

My latest painting triumphs! (Because I consider every figure I paint to the best of my ability a triumph.) These are both Reaper plastic figures that I cut off their integral bases and put on GW bases. I plan for these guys to do double duty. They will serve as beastmen in my dungeon crawler, but I am also going to use them as evil satyrs in Warriors of Athena.  Actually, I suspect they'll appear in other places as well, I've got a Cthulhu-esque Rangers of Shadow Deep scenario that needs beast men and a Silver Bayonet one as well, both found on my Patreon. 

The Best Part...is the Gargoyle!*

As part of my dungeon crawler project, I'm trying to collect substitutes for all of the creatures found in the basic HeroQuest box, so I can run those games if I want. Thus, I absolutely needed a gargoyle. Luckily, Reaper obliged me by putting out this guy. Once again, I cut it off its integral base and stuck it on a GW style one, which I like better aesthetically and tends to be more stable. 

Generally, I don't like painting creatures that are just big areas of flesh. I find it a bit boring. So, most of this figure is painted with Speed Paints. Blue for the body and bone for the horns and talons. This left it looking a little plain, so I went back and added lots of dots. I didn't have a plan for this, I just kept dotting as long as I thought it looked good. I think it adds a lot of visual interest.

*If you know, you know.

The Crumbling Crypt

To achieve bingo on my wargaming bingo card this year, I needed to scratch build a piece of terrain. So, I did a quick-build of a crumbling crypt. The main body of the building is made with foam card and strips of cardboard. I drew the stones on the walls with a pencil. I wish I had spent a bit more time on this part, as they are a bit wobbly. I then added a few Hirstarts bits to create the doorway, the statues down the side, and the drain at the back. I think combining these two techniques makes for fast builds with some nice detail. 

The base is just more foam board, bevelled at the edges. I coated the cut edges in white glue to protect them from melting when I primed it black.

Painting was quick and easy. I used a makeup brush to quickly do a few layers of grey, with a final layer of white on the Hirstarts features. When making terrain like this, I think it can be really enhanced with flocking. I put a layer all over the base and added in a few tufts and flowers. Then I glued bits of lichen at random points to show the plants growing in the odd cracks and corners.

Finally, I added a few runes over the door and running down the sides at the front. They are subtle, but they give it a bit more visual interest and a bit more creepiness. 

Like I mentioned, I wish I had spent a bit more time on the stone work, but overall, I am happy with the results. I think it'll make a great addition to the tabletop!

 

Warriors of Rohan (Redux)

 

Over the years, I have made several attempts at painting a Rohan force, but I've never been completely satisfied with any of them. Late last year, I bought the War of the Rohirrim box set from Games Workshop, and had a go at that. It is filled with lovely figures, but I didn't enjoy painting them. They were just too small, which was exacerbated by their more realistic proportions, which made their heads and hands seem incredibly small. So, I gave up on them. I've painted enough minis now to realize, I just like the slightly chunker variety.

I have now returned to an old idea with a few new twists. I bought some metal Goths and late Roman figures from Footsore Miniatures. I cut them off their integral metal bases and glued them onto GW ones. They come with open hands to hold wire spears, but I cut off the hands and replaced them with plastic ones holding hand weapons. Finally, I gave them shields from the unused portion of the above mentioned box set.

I can honestly say, these are the Rohirrim I've always wanted. The ones that fight in my imagination when I read The Lord of the Rings. 

This is probably more work than most people are going to want to do, but the work is part of the fun. Now I've got some really unique figures. Yes, at some point I will run out of GW shields, and I still need to work out how to handle cavalry, but these are bridges to cross later.

Interestingly, my new figs scale pretty well with the older, metal Rohan sculpts from Games workshop, so that I would have no problem mixing them in the same force.

 

Polo in the Pub!

This weekend I was in the pub for a three-player, Hairfoot Polo, showdown! With three players, I decided the matches should run until someone scored two goals. We played 3 games with final scores of 2-0-0, 2-0-0, and 2-1-0, with two different winners. Guess who scored 0 in each game? Yes, I have now been shut out in my last five Hairfoot polo matches! 

From a game-design perspective, I think I made a mistake reducing the winning goal number to 2. Having 3 players, and thus 3 scoring nets, meant that scoring happened very fast. Fast enough that neither damage nor applause were major factors in any of our games. I think switching it back to 3-goals-to-win would bring both of those aspects back into the game and make it a bit more interesting.

None-the-less, there were many jokes about pigs, turkeys, and mole-rats, lots of dice-rolling and wall-crashing, and a good time was had by all!

Warhammer 40,000 Combat Patrol - 4th Edition

This weekend I met up with a couple of friends for a big round of gaming. We started with two games of Warhmmer 40,000 - 4th Edition - Combat Patrol!

For the first scenario, I volunteered my Inquisition forces to be the sacrificial lamb, in a scenario where they tried to escape with a chaos artefact. Unfortunately, neither the Sisters of Battle nor the Eldar were too keen on me getting away! All three rhinos were quickly disabled. One squad was pinned down by a large squad of Eldar, the other by the sisters.

For a moment, it looked like salvation might have arrived, when two groups of chaos hounds showed up to cause problems. This led to my favourite moment when the Eldar warlock bravely tried to use his powers against the hounds - but failed - and was horribly eaten. This distraction allowed my Inquisitor and his retinue to sneak around and catch the large Eldar squad on the flank. However, this resulted in mutual annihilation, and the game when to the Sisters.

For the second game we played a three way capture the flag. The half of the army I left on the defence did well holding back the sisters, but the offensive force couldn't make much headway against the Eldar, and they eventually won the game.

It took a bit to remember the rules, but 4th edition isn't that complicated in most parts. I appreciate this older edition because it retains more of the 'simulation' aspect of wargaming, whereas more modern editions have gone heavier for the 'gamey' side, if you know what I mean. 

Anyway, a good time was had by all. Enjoy the photos!