Mice and Mystics

 

I am currently trying to gently nudge my family into hobby gaming and away from the classic family games that tend to bore me. After a bit of research, I decided to start my campaign with Mice and Mystics created by Jerry Hawthorne and produced by Z-Man games. It’s a classic, co-operative ‘Dungeon Crawler’ in which the player are all mice (or humans turned into mice) and must battle through various missions, taking on rats, roaches and spiders.

Players can choose from six different mice, which basically represent a classic Dungeons & Dragons party. There are 2 warriors, a cleric, a thief, a ranger, and a magic-user. You only use four at one time, but as we are a family of four, that’s perfect.

We’ve only played a couple of sessions so far, but they have gone well. I’ve had to simplify the rules just a tad, and make the missions a bit easier, but that doesn’t seem to have impacted the fun. My six-year-old son is especially taken with the game, even though he least understands the rules. He just loves the idea of his mouse bashing roaches with a big hammer.

Hopefully, as we go along, I can slip in some of the more complicated rules. Maybe one day, I can even use it as a springboard to do some full-on role-playing! But I’m getting ahead of myself. For now, it is fun to just sit with the family, roll some dice, and get a little taste of dungeon delving.

It’s also given me a bunch of new miniatures to paint. Now, these are ‘board game’ pieces, so the detail is not as sharp as I’m used to, but it’s pretty good. I’ve already painted up the first two heroes: Collin the Warrior and Tilda the Healer. I really enjoyed Collin and think he looks pretty good. Tilda I’m less pleased with. I regret painting her in white – although I was trying paint them to match their cards in the game. Oh well, it’s still a lot better than an unpainted figure.

We will see how it all gets on!

Fatewinder

This is one of the Fatewinder figures from the Stargrave range, sculpted by Bobby Jackson. I think it works great for any kind of sci-fi mystic, magic-user, or telepath, and she will probably be joining my Dropship Down crew anytime they need that kind of support.

No lie, this figure was a real joy to paint. Just such sharp, crisp detail. Enough detail that it was fun to paint without so much I was pulling my hair out. I went with purple skin both to accentuate the 'alien' nature, but also to get a good contrast with the drab brown and grey of the clothes.

The Old Well

 

This is an MDF well from the Kromlech Frostgrave range. It went together easily. I already have a well I use for Frostgrave, so I decided to paint it up for a more temperate climate. Painting consisted of a grey spray primer and a couple of layers of lighter grey dry-brushing, and then a light blue for the roof, and black for the bottom interior. I also put a thick layer of white glue inside to give it kind of murky, watery look. I then glued on some little patches of flocking and a couple of tufts of flowers - which I think go a long way to giving an old, realistic feel. Really, it was a piece that took very little time to make look pretty good!

Having finished, I thought it would make a perfect backdrop for my Dol Amroth army. It just looks like the kind of thing that Gondor would have built in its heyday, but hasn't been able to maintain in the later, Third Age. 

Construction Vehicles on the Shelf

Next to the desk where I do all my writing and painting is a large bookcase. This is where I keep most of my favourite books, my gaming books, and my own works, so that they are all within easy reach while I work. However, I keep one shelf open for one of my current painting projects. This both beautifies the room and also encourages me to continue with the given project. Right now, the shelf contains my Dropship Down stuff. 

Most recently added to the shelf is a second construction vehicle from the Games Workshop Galvanic Servohauler set. It's a really great set and can mostly be painted in a generic way if you don't want to use it for the 'grimdark universe'.

I painted this smaller one to more or less match the first one, with a dirty, weather-beaten look. I try not to spend too long on such things as they are basically just terrain and most of the detail is wasted when viewed at 'playing distance'. Also, I don't want the terrain to outshine, or distract from, the miniatures during play.

The Red Guardian

Last year was not a particularly good year for me. Professionally, things went well, but I had some major struggles with anxiety. I won’t go into that here or now, but thankfully, I am doing much better at present, and generally feeling a lot more positive about life!

During those rougher times, one of the things that helped get me through was a return to the Marvel Comics I had loved as a teenager. I got a subscription to Marvel Unlimited and read something like a thousand comics during the year. (That’s getting my money’s worth!). I also started painting Marvel Crisis Protocol figures.

I think MCP is a pretty cool game, with some very neat and interesting mechanics that really simulate the feel of super battles. If that is your thing, it is definitely worth a look. It is, however, a very tactical, competitive game with lots of intricacies and rules interactions, which isn't what I’m usually looking for when I play miniatures games. So really, I have just been collecting and painting the figures, more as modelling/painting projects than as gaming pieces. I love getting to paint with brighter colours than I usually use on my fantasy/sci-fi figures! Plus, the figures are larger, which is nice on my slowly fading eyesight!

I haven’t posted any of that work to my blog because I was trying to stay offline more, and to keep one bit of the hobby to myself. These days though, as I am feeling better, I have started to have the desire to show off some of my work. So, here is the latest MCP figure I have painted: The Red Guardian.

In truth, I’m not overly familiar with the character. I have come across his team, the Winter Guard, a few times, but they never made much impression on me. That said, I really love the four figures they have released for the team. What I really like about Red Guardian is how generic he is. I mean, aside from his colours, he’s just about a ‘typical superhero’ at least in my mind. I painted him mostly by the book, except for his shield, which I made all red and white because I thought it more striking and fitting.

For the red body suit, I tried something new, in that I layered the red up by adding yellow to it. It’s subtle, but I think it worked well without making him go orange. Thankfully, I was able to use an ink to pick out the little hammer and sickle on his belt buckle, because that is some tiny detail!

I will likely go back and show off some of the other figures I have painted over the last year and a half.

'Goose Guys'

The other day my son came into my office and asked me a question about the 'Goose Guys' on my shelf, and I realized it has been awhile since I showed off my progress on my Dol Amroth army. I have slowly been adding figures to it over the last 6 months. I'm still a long way from where I want to be, but I have made progress. 

As can be seen, the army currently consists of:

• 1 Swan Knight, Mounted
• 6 Swan Knights, Foot
• 6 Swordsmen
• 4 Spearmen
• 4 Archers

So, 21 figures in total. Not bad. My first goal is to bring the swordsmen, spearmen, and archers up to 8 men each. That way they can take the place of a standard 'Gondor' force as seen in some many Middle-Earth SBG scenarios. I then want to increase all three of those units to 12 men each and bring the mounted force up to 6 to serve as my army for Lion Rampant. Eventually, I want to have enough to use for Oathmark.

I am talking with a some friends about doing some 'extended format' Battle Companies games that would allow me to get some of the guys some early experience.

Does Anyone Roll a d6

 And think, I got a '9'!

Some sparkly dice I picked up in Copenhagen in order to make GURPS rolls. Actually, I've just kept them on my desk and rolled randomly every once and while. I call it work.