Tabletop World Townhouse

For a couple of years now, I have been aware of Tabletop World, a producer a highly-detailed, fantasy wargaming buildings. From what I could tell, they were the best resin pieces on the market. However, I was always put-off by the high-cost of shipping to the UK. Well, now there are a couple of places to get them in the UK, notably Zealot Miniatures and Element Games, so I decided it was high time to see if they were as good as they looked. So, I ordered Townhouse I.

When I first pulled it out of the box, and viewed it in its yellow resin, I must admit, I wasn't hugely impressed. It was nice, but didn't look special. Then I started to paint it...

This piece was an absolute dream to paint. All of the detail is sharp and heavy. And what detail. If you look closely, you can see a lot of the nails in the roof tiles and support beams - not that I bothered to paint them. I mainly just dry-brushed and washed, and the results were fantastic.

It also has a detailed interior, which I didn't paint, because I find doing so awkward and not much fun, and I never end up using the interior anyway.

Really, I can't praise it enough. I like it so much that I immediately ordered another cottage to go with it! 

The only point I'm not sure about is the height. The miniature it is pictured with is on the smaller side of 28mm, and it looks a fine. Bigger figures look a bit tall. This is mainly because of the GW bases I mount most of my figures on, so I might need to put a piece of wood or something on the bottom of the house to give it a bit more height. (Or maybe not, it's not that big a deal.) 

If you want top notch fantasy buildings, these are them.

Drakar and Darts

 
I am continuing work on my Silent Death project. Up to now, I have been mostly painting ships at random, but I have decided that I will focus my goal on collecting the fighters that were released for the first edition of the game*. So, the fighters presented in the original rulebook, and the two expansions Overkill and Black Guard**. This includes a total of 24 different fighters and gunships, which seems like more than enough to get started on, especially since I'm painting up two sides. I'm going to knock up a spreadsheet to see exactly how many of each I want. 

This week, the red team gained some new forces, a pair of Drakar gunships and two Dart light fighters. The Drakars are metal, while the Darts are plastic. The difference in quality is noticeable, but not so much that it is likely to bother me on the table. 

I really enjoy painting these fighters as breaks between other projects, because they are quick and easy. 

* The physical appearance of many of the fighters changed between 1st and 2nd edition (which is actually the biggest difference in the editions). I'm just using whichever design I like better or happen to have.

** The first edition of Silent Death also saw the release of the Night Brood box set, which introduced alien 'bug' ships. I have this box, and would like to add those forces someday, but it is beyond the scope of my project at the moment. 

The Ruins of St. Mary’s Church, Eastwell

In an effort to get out and enjoy the last few days of summer, my family went searching for the mostly-forgotten church of St. Mary’s, Eastwell, that we saw mentioned in a book. Despite all of our modern technology, we did manage to get briefly lost and accidentally drove onto private property. However, a kindly security guard set us on the right road.

The road was long, narrow, overgrown, and didn’t seem to go anywhere, until it ended at a small gravel lot, right next to the ruins of the church. It’s an enchanting place. Only one side of the church actually remains, consisting of the main tower, a small chapel, and the wall between. A few other fragments of wall are scattered about. Of these, the largest chunk contains a stone plaque, marking it as the supposed resting place of Richard ‘Plantagenet’. According to legend, this shadowy figure was the illegitimate son of Richard III, who went into hiding after his father’s death (probably a good call).

The ruins are bordered, and often overshadowed, by numerous ancient yew trees, and the site sits right next to a lake, populated by a large flock of extremely noisy ducks. There are a few graves scattered around the place, mostly broken and completely overgrown.

The site is owned and maintained by The Friends of Friendless Churches, an intriguing charity.

The whole place definitely feels like the setting for a fairy-tale or Arthurian romance.

We had a lovely time exploring, playing hide & seek, and eating our lunch. From the church, we were able to join the ‘Pilgrims' Way’, the path that runs from Winchester to Canterbury, and briefly walk along that ancient trail.

It’s always a good day out when you can explore some medieval ruins!

Frostgrave – Brycho’s Celestichord

What if you played Frostgrave on top of a game of whack-a-mole? That was my starting point for the Frostgrave scenario which appears in the new issue of Wargames Illustrated (#393).

I think this scenario is a great example of why the Frozen City is such a great setting for a wargame. Essentially, I (or you) can come up with any crazy thought for what might make a fun scenario, and then create a narrative that uses the strange, broken magic of Frostgrave to justify it. That’s right, a wizard did it! In this case, it’s old Brycho Tarran, the greatest Astromancer that ever lived!

If you are in the UK you should hopefully be able to find the new issue at W.H. Smiths. Otherwise, it can be ordered direct from Wargames Illustrated.  North Star also gets some copies of each issue in stock, though they don’t seem to have this one at the moment.

Rangers of Shadow Deep: Menagerie - Print-on-Demand!

The print-on-demand version of Rangers of Shadow Deep: Menagerie is now available on DriveThruRPG!

Frostgrave: Perilous Dark – A Double-Winner!

It was a big day for Frostgrave yesterday, as the first-ever ‘virtual’ UK Games Expo came to a close.

First, Frostgrave: Wizards 2 won both the Judge’s Award and the People’s Choice award for Best Miniature Range.  A huge congratulations to Nick at North Star, Phil at Osprey Games, and to the sculptor, Bobby Jackson. These guys all had a lot more to do with this set than I did!

A few minutes after that, Frostgrave: Perilous Dark also ‘pulled-the-double’, and took the Judge’s Award and People’s Choice award for Best Miniature Rules. I admit that I’m very proud of that book, and I think its use stretches beyond Frostgrave. It also didn’t hurt that it’s a book on solo and co-operative wargaming that came along just when such a book was more useful than ever.

It’s been a crazy, confusing, and mixed-up year. I am delighted and proud to have won the awards, but I wish that I (and everyone) could have been at the show celebrating this hobby we all love. I wish I could have shared a few high-fives and maybe even a hug or two with the Osprey Games gang and other friends. Next year, hopefully! (And who knows, maybe Frostgrave: Second Edition will be up for the award!).

Many thanks to the organizers of UK Games Expo. I’m sure it was a major effort to organize the online version and it sounds like a lot of people had a lot of fun because of it! Also, a big thanks to everyone who voted for Frostgrave in the People’s Choice Awards! 

Odyssey of the Dragonlords (for 5e)

If you like Dungeonsand Dragons: 5th Edition, and you love Greek myth, then go ahead and buy Odyssey of the Dragonlords. I doubt you will be disappointed.

Odyssey of the Dragonlords is a mega-campaign set in an ‘undiscovered’ continent that can be dropped into any D&D world. It’s a bronze-age place, filled with centaurs, satyrs, minotaurs, etc. It is also a land on the brink of crisis. Essentially, the non-aggression pact between two sets of gods is about to come to an end and all hades is about to break loose!

Each of the players becomes one of the heroes prophesied to save the land, and this is more than a mere narrative tag. Each hero basically has a specific background (whether they know it or not) that ties them into the greater story, and gives them specific objectives during the campaign. It’s a neat, but not overly-intrusive system. The heroes start as low-level adventurers, who are essentially wandering-around, looking for ways to increase their wealth and reputation by fighting monsters in the classic Greek myth style. However, they are slowly drawn deeper and deeper into the looming war of the gods.

Over the course of this long, sprawling campaign, they will make a journey of exploration like Jason and the Argonauts, descend into the shadowy underworld, and eventually battle the gods themselves.  It’s EPIC with a capital everything!

I have no doubt that this book could provide years of gaming, but for those of us who are unlikely to play such a thing, it is also just a great read, filled with numerous cool ideas that could be used in other games and other campaigns. The writing is excellent, the editing is good, and the artwork is lovely. It’s the kind of book that just makes you want to pick up some dice and fight some monsters!

It really is an excellent gaming book that captures the spirit of Greek myth without just rehashing all of the stories we already know. It’s a great addition to a gaming library.

[Disclaimer: Odyssey of the Dragonlords is published by Modiphius who also publish my own Rangers of Shadow Deep: Deluxe Edition. That said, I only reviewed this book because I thought it deserved it.]