In today's post, the first model of an army I really want to start, where they not so bloody expensive on the 'bay right now.

Arnor!  Former kingdom of glory and sister lands of Gondor and destroyed by civil war, it is roughly the area of the Shire, Bree and the lands of the Dunedain.

The first model for this force as such is the advisor of the King, Malbeth the Seer.  The royal advisor of the last two kings, he made two prophecies: that Arvedui would be the last king of Arnor until Aragorn II, and that Aragorn II would walk the Paths of the Dead.

The model is a really nice sculpt if you ask me, and the lavish greens make him stand out in the force, which will become predomantly armour with green and white details.

Now to see if I can paint some warriors to at least get a Battle Company ready of the great realm of old...

Figures from the very first starter box in this entry, as we descend in the dark pathways of Moria... and I finally gotten around painting them.

The diminutive goblins faced the Fellowship, awoken as they all where when the Dwarves dug to deep.

This batch, containing 12 models as such, also allows me now to field the 11 man starting sized Battle Company, by just removing a single archer from this lot... and makes a great starter to kick off Orktober with (as in the book, they aren't actually called goblins, but orcs instead).

So for this smallsized entry, pun intended, a dozen warriors joined the finished cabinet to bring ruin to the Mines.  Maybe a battle companies game on a dungeon tiled layout seems like a fun idea...

And they are ridicilously cheap to field (and to buy, the sprues are en masse on ebay for example), as these 12 Moria Goblins combined only cost a measly 5 pts each with their relevant bow, spear or shield upgrade.

Now I only need to paint some leadership for them first!

Well, nothing to fancy today actually, just three brave Galadhrim warriors (also known as "Haldir's Elves" as they fought on the Deeping Wall... in the movies) for my forces.


Though I will be painting the rest of the unit (and then some) up in the future, these three guys complete the Battle Company for Lothlorien now.


One armed with a spear and shield, while the other has the Elven half and half sword, they can perfectly support each other for more dice that can hit harder due to the half and half being used tzo handed, making a fearsome combo even in those small scale skirmish games.  And the archer just pops down enemies as they approach...


And slowly but steadily I`m getting through those companies as such... as now 12 stand completed out of the 38 in the book.

Mighty Glorfindel, the hero reborn...

Perhaps the mightiest of Elven warriors ever to walk Middle-earth, eclipsing even the likes of Elrond or Gil-Galad, fair haired Glorfindel is a legend amongst the Free People.


While he was instrumental in leading his people out when Gondolin fell, he fought mighty Balrogs, and even though he went down in those days, the gods revived him for his selfless sacrifice.  And now he walks in Rivendell, the Last Homely Home.

Even though left out in the movies (his biggest sequence in the book was rewritten with Arwen instead coming to the aid of Frodo), he is included in the Rivendell army list, and that makes Noshi a happy camper.  This classic model is unarmoured, but his immense Fight skill and special rules will make you lucky if you can actually hit him in combat, as he is prone to winning duels with whatever the evil forces throw at him.

I went for really light hair on him, as well as a light grey tunic in order to make him stand out on the table, a true central figure of an Elven force.

One can only imagine how the Quest of the Ringbearer would have gone had he indeed been allowed to join the Fellowship...

The latest of the series of the Crisis wargame show figures I painted up for the The Vault showcase, is our very own Antwerp figure of myth.


While his story is a fantasy tale, immortalised in a statue on the Grote Markt in Antwerp, there was actually a Roman steelement here in the old times, and he is told to be a soldier stationed there.


But the legend tells how he fought the giant Antigoon, who blocked the access to the port of Antwerp on the river Schelde, and after defeating him tossed away his hand.  Which is the tale of how Antwerpen came to be, "Hand-Werpen" or translated "Toss-Hand".



The figure was sculpted for the show by Paul Hicks, and represents Brabo in his Roman armour (on the statue, he is standing butt nakes...), and with the cut off hand lying at his feet.  His pose represents him moments after his victory, as he has just taken of his helmet and still clutches his sword.


A lovely figure, and this was also entered in the Lead Adventure Forum "Modern Fantasy Panting Party" club, granting me the badge from there (the first one I ever earned tbh).

Oh, and for those intrested, my painting "recipy" for Brabo:

Perhaps the lowest ranking (in Challenge level) of Hags, the Green Hag is never the less till a daring opponent to face.

Using stealth, invisibility and spells, she draws upon the desperation of her victims.

I went on to print one to actually include in an encounter for my aventurers, or who knows, adventurer... because she can be defeated in other ways then pure combat.


The model as always comes from mz4250 files, and printed up rather okay, considering printing figures I found out is not my strongest thing yet on my trusty Ender 3.

Now to finish building the story around her...

Actually printed up to represent the Alchemic experiment in the first solo Frostgrave scenario from the Dark Alchemy expansion, this beast can be unleased upon my pc's as well should they misbehave.


I liked the model, an mz4250 design as most of my DnD prints, as it looked like something truly otherwordly as a sort of lobster demon thing.


Now, in the DnD Monster's manual, these survivors of the ancient Abolth empire are a daring foe to face even though it is only challenge level 4, but it can be a serious deterrent early on to block doorways and the likes.

And in the Frostgrave scenario, let's say it's better to reach the door then to face it in combat, especcially at the lower levels of spellcasters (like mine).

Just remember dear PC's, in DnD you don`t fish for food, the food fishes for you...

The kobold, little reptilian ball of joy...

Or, as in most low level campaigns, the "mainstay enemy" aka punching ball for starting out adventurers.

Not to brave, rather shabby fighters, and about as tough as a wet sheet of paper, these are often the first "mass encounter mobs" characters come across.  And "mass" being usually an impressive 3 or 4 at the most.


So I printed up some of mz4250's Kobolds for just that reason, to have a couple of them ready for first encounters and lootgrabbing.

Nothing to fancy, and the one which had an arm print accident has already been lovingly dubbed Stumpy...

Finally I build and painted the first of my Sarissa Precision gorgeous terrain pieces, created especially for the Burrows and Badgers game by Oathsworn.

Now, me and Noshi have been a fan of the game since day 1, demoing it even at the last TSA Open Day that took place in 2018 (with a modified, aimed at kis, game), but due to circumstances it all fell quiet a bit in 2019.


Even though the first building where bought at the Crisis 2018 show, it took me until earlier this week to start assembling the first of two of thse small ones I have at current.

Now, I must say I did it a bit wrong with the diagonal supports, apparently you have to force then down a bit further but apparently to some Insta-friends that is a common thing with this building, the other ones in the range are far smoother they say.  Also thanks to the people of Sarissa immediatly responding to my Instagram post about how to best handle the MDF and cardboard combination, which was a first for me tbh.

The little building was then undercoated and painted in those acryllic paints from the Amsterdam range I have been hoarding the last weeks, before being smeared with PVA to flock the roof and front garden.


Some meadow flower tufts from the Army Painter range where attached around the door and front garden parts of the building, as well as the odd small one at the top to give it a bit of contrast in the flocking.

A lovely little building, this is something I`ll really look forward to put on the table, as I am starting to paint up my figures for the game again as well.  I guess the cute little animal toys baby Thorin is collecting are part of the "need" to paint little antromorphic beasties at the moment hehehe.

Now to start assembling one of the larger ones... and probably order the rest of the range of buildings as well ;-)

Another solo project for the coming weeks, it is time to at last venture into the frozen city of Frostgrave!


Just a few years overdue, but heck, the game looks great and I finally did what I wanted to do from the outset: print and paint a warband for the game.

I know there is a long running campaign over at the club, and I might join in, but for now, I`m starting out in the game with some solo adventuring, and the Dark Alchemy book for that, so I first created my warband of course.


Leading the expedition is the Illusionist Lashat tell'Aranos, glory seeker and general con artist.  He has from his own school the Illusionary Soldier, Monstrous Form and Teleport spells.  From the aligned schools, he knows the Sigilist spell Push, the Soothsayer spell Mind Control and the Thaumaturgic Heal, always a handy spell to have in your arsenal if you ask me.
From the Neutral spells comes the Enchantment Animate Construct, in case there is a hole in the followers roster to be filled up, and the Summoner spell Plague of Insects.
He is joined by his Apprentice, Yanneal.


On the followers level, he has a full roster of 8 soldiers by his side.  Ranged support comes in the form of an Archer and 2 Crossbowmen, while the main melee is carried by two Infantrymen with two-handed weapons. Rounding out the bodies are 2 Thugs, while his trusty War Hound has also joined the party.


Wether or not this will prove a good mix, one cannot tell, but soon I`ll be ready to venture into the frozen city and find out!

With the Apprentice, I`m now ready to venture into Frostgrave

This student wizard will hopefully learn a lot from the master, and I have big plans for her.


After I'll complete the solo adventure Dark Alchemy, I`m planning on giving the Apprentice Journey supplement a go, which can be found in the Frostgrave facebook group.  This a series of quests where the wizard stays home and gives reign to his student.

But for now, she can nicely tag along and learn what has to be learned!

So I finally finished all the henchmen for my Frostgrave warband, and now I can start dabbling into the highly acclaimed game.


And that will start by doing some of the solo adventures while still here at home.

Now, in this entry I have all the remaining Henchmen, and let's start out with the ranged support of my warband.  An Archer as well as 2 Crossbowmen will hopefully provide the needed cover as the warband goes along on it's business.


Business taken care off by this Warrior with two-handed weapon as well as a lowly Thug.

The final "henchman" is actually not really a fighting model, but al Illusionary Warrior.  This spell effect that I gave my Illusionist can provide some additional body when pressed for members...


Now all I need to do is gather the forces together and start exploring the frozen city of Frostgrave!

It has been a long time, honestly to long, since I threw myself on the excellent figures of Oathsworn's Burrows and Badgers range.


But with the recent release of their campaign expansion (mine is in the post as you read this), I started working on the figures again.

And let me tell you a little secret: Guardians of Ga'Hoole is my guilty pleasure, I think after the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Aliens, that is probably the movie I saw most in the past years.


You see, I have a thing for owls, and ever since the first Kickstarter that launched the game, I have had the Barn Owl in my first order.  It just took scandalously almost 1.5 years before I painted him.


I think though I got him a nice three layer colour scheme on both an earthy brown for the feathers on the outside, and a light grey for the inside.  The armour was done in a golden colour to add some variation in the scheme.

I love this model, and it is the one figure I won`t allow Noshi to claim to put in her warband when we play this again in the future...

After discovering the source of what killed off the village, Loraliel and his band of companions make way into a clearing where the spiders seem to have nested.  The nests must be destroyed to prevent further victims!

Now, first a note on scenery and models.  For Giant Spiders, I didn`t went for the humongous kind, but like the artwork in the book a size that would cover a figures head and shoulder.  I also opted to go for a ruins and pillars setting as I don`t have enough trees (yet), apart for the actual nests which are the pine tree patches, with the nest for distances located at the exact centre.

On the Rangers side, it is the same warband of course from scenario 1, hauling around some minor items but more importantly (and sadly) a sick Iramer, hero of the first game.  This means he is at a health and a roll penalty for this scenario, not ideal for one of the bruiser models in the band.

On the mob side, the spiders are the 3d printed, well spiders and unless I get very unlucky with the kills and the event deck, 6 should be enough.  The possible zombies are once again the Army of the Dead like in scenario 1, to keep continuity, while the survivors are generic dark age models I have lying around.

And so everything was set up, including the random placement of the spiders.

Before the game started, one could try to roll to remove a spider from the table, which I failed, and to find some herbs in the form of a single dose of Fairlight Leaf, which Rachmel succeeded on as he has Survival +3.


Turn 1

In the first turn of the ten the scenario takes, Loraliel activated Theomir and Cuchulain,  after Loraliel had shot down a spider.  My Ranger has done more already then in scenario 1 by now...
A Ray of Light breaks through the clouds, making one of the spiders scuttle away from it.


Turn 2

Loraliel activates the same group this turn, and shoots a second spider stonedead.  Cuchulain charges another spider, smacking it across the floor, while Theomir reaches the first cocoon, discovering it's inhabitant deceased.

The spiders pounce on our heroes, as the one charging Cuchulain gets flattened as well.  Loraliel however loses to a spider and would have taken 6 damage, but he opts to Roll With the Punch to half this, allowing him hopefully to Heal himself in the future to negate the Poison effect.  Rachmel rushes to his aid and dispatches the vile creature.

The event deck spawns another spider on the table though

Turn 3

Loraliel uses his sole action to heal himself back up, as Cuchulain charges a spider that had advanced to close.  He loses the fight however, and ends up taking only a single point of damage, but unfortunatly this also causes Poison, limiting his actions for the game.


Rachmel investigates a cocoon and finds a survivor, while Theomir advances up to the next one. The event deck entangles Cuchulain in a spiderweb...


Turn 4

Loraliel and Rachmel activate, and while the Ranger advances to help Theomir, Rachmel goes to support Cuchulain, who has broken free of the webbing... barely as he rolled a 5, but could add his +7 vs the target of 12.  He loses the fight again from the spider, taking no damage this time, before retaliating and killing the spider.


Iramer investigates a cocoon holding another corpse, as does the one Theomir and Loraliel investigate... except that corpse refused to stay dead and suddenly they are locked in combat.
The event deck, to top it off, spawns another spider right next to this fight.




Turn 5

Loraliel attacks the zombie, causing two points of damage on it.  The spider in turn charges him, but is swiftly dispatched before Theomir finishes off the zombie.

In the meantime, Karaniok burns down the first nest, while Rachmel unravels the final cocoon, freeing another survivor.  Theomir moves to the nearest nest and burns this down as well.
The event deck webs Karaniok now though...




Turn 6

In a feat of strenght, the Arcanist breaks free of the webbing.  Loraliel contacts a nest, as does Karaniok now, while with no monsters present the others group up to protect the survivors.

The event deck spawns a second nest tree near Karaniok though, with a treasure but also a vicious looking spider!  The event deck is then reshuffled as it reached it's end.


Turn 7

Loraliel burns down his nest and advances to the beleaguered Arcanist, who gets charged by the spider.  The combat draws, killing the spider, and while lightly wounding Karaniok also puts him under the effect of Poison.


He uses his action though to burn down this nest as well, as Iramer and Rachmel advance towards the final nest and the treasure lying there.  However, a spider spawns here as the event deck comes up with the ace card.

Turn 8

Loraliel advances and tries to shoot the spider but misses.  The beast charges Rachmel, and puts him down on 4 hit points.  Even with Karaniok in support now, Rachmel loses the fight again and goes down.

Iramer then charges the spider, and with the support of Karaniok and his Fight bonus manages to win the battle by a single point, putting the very dangerous spider down.... before the event deck spawns another spider at this location.


Turn 9

However, before that beast could do anything, an arrow plants itself in it's body as Loraliel shoots down his third spider of the day.  Iramer burns down the final nest, while Karaniok moves to the last treasure chest to pick it up in the final turn.  The event deck comes up with another Ray of Light but there are no spiders to scare.


Turn 10

The only thing happening is Karaniok picking up the treasure chest.  The event deck smiles on me, as it only tosses a web on Theomir... and the heroes return to base to report on the events.

The Gains

Quite a lot this time round.  With 9 spiders and 1 zombie killed, all cocoons investigated and two survivors brought back alive, and all the nests destroyed, 93 XP was scored.  This puts Loraliel to level 1 now, and he increases both Stealth and Survival by 2, and Traps by 1.
Poor Rachmel survives, but is Badly Wounded, meaning he must either miss the next game or start out with -5 Health.  Iramer however has shrugged off his Disease now he got in scenario 1.
As the Potion of Toughness is transferred to Cuchulain, the treasure chest reveals a Herb Pouch which for now goes to Lorariel.


All companions bar Rachmel gain 2 Points, while the unfortunate guardsman scores 1...

And so ends the first mission of this highly enjoyable gamesystem.  But before I will go to mission 2 in my solo efforts though, I`m dibbing myself in the Frostgrave setting first next time, because I have to try out this new mat now don't I...