Reaper Miniatures - Cave Spider

 Happy Halloween!

This brute is a Reaper Miniatures Giant Spider. For my younger role playing group I needed to have a cave spider just in case they went to explore a cave system that was behind a secret door in their adventure.

I didn't want to use an existing spider already painted as I wanted something new to spring on them. I then remembered that I had this ugly blighter handing around in my ever growing pile of unpainted mini's and decided that it was high time it made an appearance.

It was a pretty simple painting process. I base coated it in a light grey. Inked it in blue ink then, once it was dry, I dry brushed it in white paint. The eyes are Citadel Chaos Black.

For the webbing, I used both cotton wool and a craft glue that is very stringy (and consequently not useful for anything other than webs, in my view).

I also included a Reaper Miniatures Spider Swarm to represent this beasts spider hatchlings. Unfortunately I over did it with the cotton wool so they aren't too easy to see. That said, they do look like they have just hatched within a big bundle of spider silk.

The rock is a garden pebble that had a flat edge. I wanted the impression of the spider scooting down the cave wall towards to player characters and so wanted this thing descending on the base. 

I also wanted the impression of webbing across the wall and so wanted the pebble as an anchor point for the spiders web.

Now to scare the pants off the player characters by revealing this one.

Reaper Yetis

Here's the latest addition to the villain Randalph's forces, Yetis!

These are Reaper Miniatures Yeti's. I haven't painted their Shaman yet, but that's one is on the 'to-do' list.

These guys feature in the upcoming second part of the Adventure

So my roleplaying group came up against Randalph's Christmas Gnoblars last week and it was an interesting outcome. The PC group consisted of eight players. They were in single file heading up the face of a sea cliff along a narrow path when those in front came across a shallow cave in the cliff that dipped in about 20m. 

Here the three PC's in the lead (a dwarf barbarian, dwarf fighter and a human rune master) encountered ten of Randalph's Christmas Gnoblars who were using the cave as a look out post. In quick order a fight ensued and the ten little blighters were quickly slain. BUT not before they got a Critical Hit in on the Rune Master. He succumbed to his wounds and failed his first death save, dying then and there!

The four of them should prove more than a handful for the PC's

The true irony to all this is that that very same PC was just "resurrected" the game session before. He died in an earlier mission, was preserved with a Preservation Spell and brought back to Saltmarsh at the end of the mission. The next game session saw a chance encounter send the surviving PC's on an adventure that took them through a series of challenges granting them four powerful magical items that were able to restore their fallen comrade.

Having restored him back to life with the aid of the Soul Gem he had fortuitously been wearing when he died (which trapped his soul upon death, thereby permitting his "restoration" back to life) and the four magical items, he was feeling pretty happy with himself.

You see, I don't permit resurrection of characters in our game. But the fact he had this Soul Gem provided a great story narrative to unfold for the group. Story telling should always trump rules.

Then he got killed the VERY NEXT ADVENTURE during their first combat!!!

Why do I bother.... 😒

Christmas Gnoblars

 "Christmas Gnoblars?" I hear you say...

Best not to ask really...

All I can say is that they play a staring role as the villains in a plot to set off a large black powder bomb in Saltmarsh in tomorrows D&D'lite game (with home brew rules).

Each year my group has missed out on a Christmas themed adventure and I thought this time I would get in early('ish) depending on how many sessions it takes them to finish the adventure. As we play once a month, I thought it best to get into it now rather than next month.

No MOAB 2020, the Watcher in the Water eat it!

 

Well, sadly there is no MOAB this year. Personally, I blame the Watcher in the Water. Must have eaten it!

On the 'plus' side, guess I'll be saving a few dollars this year...

Anyway, here's the latest terror I unleashed on my younger RPG group recently. They lost their ferryman in its attack but valiantly held their ground against its unrelenting tentacled assault and made it to the other side of the river.

MOAB 2020, you will be missed....

Ghoulish delight

 All from Games Workshop...

Reaper Miniatures Earth Elemental

 

I needed a stone or earth Elemental for an Arena fight with the player characters for our recent foray into our D20 role playing universe. This fella, from Reaper Miniatures, fitted the bill nicely.

Basically the players were confronted with a series of challenges, one of which involved a fight with an Elemental in an Arena. They had to retrieve an Azure Light from the Elemental. In order to do so they had to vault on to the creatures back, stay on without being thrown off, and attempt to rip its gemstone eye out (which was the Azure Light) in order to progress to the next challenge.

What complicated matters was that the players were unarmed and without armour. So they had to make DEX checks to dodge out of the way. Vault on to the creatures back (another DEX check). To stay on its back each combat round was another DEX check and in order to grab the gem was yet another DEX check, all with different Target Numbers.

One character failed their dodge and so got squished against a huge iron gate and the Elemental. They then failed their first death save of three, and promptly died. Brutal!

I did tidy up the base, by the way, so that the paintwork was better than it appears in this image.

Emmus, Another Scibor Dwarf joins the Adventuring Party

Meet Emmus. He's the latest addition to the adventuring party, and the brother of Rorg in the game.

Emmus is another excellent Scibor Miniature.

The new player just joined the group for our last playing session so its been the key painting project I have been working on of late. Been painting a bunch of baddies as well for the upcoming adventures. I'll post images of them as well.

Now on with the painting!