Murderhoboes of Devil's Canyon Session 5: Fire When Ready

After almost a month away, we reconvened!

Dramatis Personae:
Johann Borscht, Dwarf Fighter 3
Baphomohawk Jones, Elf Wizard 3
Yngwie Magnusson, Dwarf Thief 3 (deceased)
Brunhilda von Sass, Elf Fighter 2 (deceased)

Replacement Characters:
Skogul von Sass, Elf Fighter 2
Turkman Price, Human Cleric 2

Flush from the victorious counting of coins and appraising of gems, Johann Borscht gleefully dragged a bag of money into Old Man Walter's Junk Shop, purchasing the Cosmic Ray Cannon he'd put on layaway weeks earlier.  With it, he received a chrome-plated gauntlet connected to the Cannon's onboard targeting computer, allowing him to "throw the horns" at a target and have the Cannon calibrate and fire, as well as a spare battery pack and a battery recharger, ensuring he'd never run out of firepower.  He proceeded to test the Cannon by disintegrating a couple trees, including one apparently possessed by a demon - and then disintegrating the demon.  Carefully pocketing the gauntlet and storing the Cannon in the Sagoth Caves for safe-keeping, the party returned to the town of Devil's Canyon and their local watering hole, the Chunderdome, to plan their next move.

They quickly learned that Vathek the Diviner is still offering a reward for the iron-bound Book of Necron, which he has seen in the caves via his crystal ball, guarded by corrosive slime creatures.  They also learned that another adventuring group, the Scofflaws of Renown, ventured into the cave of the Sloth-Toads to retrieve the magic sword of Delos the Throat-Slitter and never returned.  The appeal of a magic sword led them to decide to enter the cave of the Sloth-Toads themselves, even hiring Vaako, the former torchbearer of Delos, as a guide.

Their first foray into the swamp that fronted the cave proved less than successful, as a monstrous hybrid of swan and scorpion rose up and promptly sliced off one of Yngwie's legs with its claws, then slicing and stinging Brunhilda von Sass to death before Johann could hack the monster apart with his ax.

[Game Master aside: Brunhilda von Sass is played by my girlfriend, and was her first RPG character ever.  I count myself blessed I'm not sleeping on the couch for the next week.]

Retreating and recruiting, Johann and Baphomohawk picked up Skogul von Sass, Brunhilda's bitchier sister with an eye for getting people in her debt, and Turkman Price, a cleric of Nyarlathotep bedecked in plate armor and a particularly stupid corkscrew hat.

Their second trip was much less eventful, until nearing the mouth of the cave, when numerous giant frogs surfaced from the swamp muck, their bodies coated with mangy patches of greasy black hair, some of them with extra eyes - they didn't harass the adventurers, just watched.  Baphomohawk recalled that these mutations were likely a sign that the area was consecrated to the Dread God Kzadool-Ra.

Entering the cave, they spotted a cluster of Sloth-Toads -- five foot tall humanoid toads, their bodies covered in patchy black hair and with large, pointed ears.  These creatures were crouching behind a pile of rocks, watching the adventurers but not advancing.  At the far end of the cave were an enormous pair of bronze doors, and on the other side a sub-cavern, from which quickly emerged a special minion of Kzadool-Ra -- an enormous toad whose eyes snapped open, bathing the cave with blinding light.

Fortunately, the adventurers had come prepared, having been warned of this creature by Vaako, and only Turkman was blinded by the light.  Shielded behind a welding mask, Johann threw the horns, eager to discover if his Cosmic Ray Cannon, now positioned on a ledge outside the Sagoth cave, could target the creature.

It could, and in a moment everything within 30' was splashed with the flesh of this creature, the light gone.  The Toad-Sloths, seeing this grumbled and slouched out into the swamp.  Forcing open the bronze doors, they found themselves in a long hallway, the walls polished and carved into detailed reliefs, which Skogul took the time to examine, determining that they told the story of this temple - that a heretical sect of Serpent Men turned their backs on Father Set to worship Kzadool-Ra, set up shop here, and were cursed by Set, transforming them into the dull-witted, non-sorcerous Sloth-Toads.

At the end of this hallway, a second set of doors led into a football field-sized chamber, with two doors on the left and three on the right, and a 30' tall statue of Kzadool-Ra, appearing as a gigantic sleepy black toad, covered in fur, with large batlike ears, reposing in a Buddha-like recline.  The statue's eyes consisted of a pair of giant yellow-green gems, carved into spheres and enchanted to glow, illuminating the room faintly.

Investigating the rooms on the left revealed a pair of treasure vaults; Johann began shoveling coinage, much of it belonging to empires long fallen, into their Bag of Holding, while Skogul found the magic sword they'd been looking for.  One of the doors on the right opened, with a pair of sword-carrying Sloth-Toads emerging, but they were quickly dissuaded, and investigating the other two doors revealed Sloth-Toads that simply refused to acknowledge the adventurer's presence, even when Johann hacked apart one of them that was wearing a hat resembling a bishop's miter.  And stole his hat.

Vaako was sent to try and pry the eyes loose from the statue of Kzadool-Ra, and after working one free, something grabbed him and started pulling him into the (apparently hollow) statue.  Johann blasted the statue apart with the Cosmic Ray Cannon, and from the rubble emerged a flowing blot of inky blackness, like a slithering absence of light.  Johann blasted it again and again with the Cosmic Ray Cannon, each bolt dividing the slithering blackness into smaller entities that continued to ooze sluggishly forward until finally broken down by the power he was throwing at it.

Returning home, they made a stop-off at the Sagoth cave to return the Cannon to storage and to arrange for the Sagoths to loot the cavern of the Sloth-Toads in its entirety on the adventurers' behalf.

A cursory examination confirmed the enchantment on the sword - a +1 Shortsword, +3 vs. Diurnal Mammals, granting the wielder Darkvision (or, if they already have it, doubling the range), and on a natural 20, a swarm of Giant Vampire Bats descending on the target for one round - and also revealed an enchanted ring in the treasure gathered by Johann.

As Turkman held the heavy platinum ring, set with an enormous amethyst and a dozen tiny diamonds, he heard a whisper in his mind to place the ring upon his finger.  Considering this no more ominous than the usual voices he hears in his mind, he slipped the ring on, instantly being aware of its power - three times a day it could fire a bolt of crackling eldritch energy, and could do much more when reunited with its "other half," ensconced in the Temple of Zygak-Xith on the Purple Islands far to the west.

Dinovember - and Dinoversary!

Next Wednesday, November 18th, marks five years that Gina and I have been a couple.  Last year, as a gift she gave me the Reaper Bones Cthulhu; this year, while a much more modest purchase, she got me a figure that I probably would not have dropped the money on myself, much as I might want it - and it qualifies me to join Michael Awdry of 28mm Victorian Warfare in celebrating what he calls "Dinovember."  Behold, Reaper Miniatures' Carnotaurus!

Yes, I know the packaging reads "Carnosaurus."  While "Carnosaurus" is a loose sort of way of referring to any large meat-eating reptile, this specific example is a Carnotaurus sastrei, a somewhat unusual theropod (bipedal meat-eating dinosaur) from South America, dating to a few tens of millions of years before Tyrannosaurus rex showed up in North America.  Carnotaurus was unusual for a couple reasons, the most obvious being the two thick, flattened horns above its eyes.  Paleontologist Gregory S. Paul speculates that these were like used by males competing for mates, and I for one don't find any reason to disagree.

As an aside, I was a biology major before I switched to the study of history (couldn't pass Chemistry, so couldn't proceed in the biology major program at my alma mater), and my primary interest in that field was always prehistoric life.

This being a gift from the Queen (no lie - Gina's full first and middle names are Regina Victoria), you can bet your sweet bippy I'll be taking my time and making sure this is the absolute best work I can do.  I've been considering color schemes, and originally had thought to do him a sort of bricky red-orange with dark brown, almost black, striping on his flanks.  However, this is apparently the single most popular color scheme to depict Carnotaurus in - checking Google Images, I came across a number of these figures painted that way, as well as a couple paintings of the animal artists had done.  I don't want this to be just one in a dozen or so of these figures - I want it to pop.

image source: Wikipedia

I found the image to the left, and I think I might go with something similar, possibly brightening the turqoise/teal of the dorsal and flank striping and fading the tan tones down to a light buff or even an ivory on the underbelly and lower jaw.  The orange I might even brighten to a yellow in highlights.

In other hobby news...I got just about nothing.  I haven't painted since last Sunday, I've done very little RPG writing -- my notes for this coming Sunday's D&D game have been completed for over a week now, and I've stalled somewhat on not just my series on how to write a Call of Cthulhu adventure, I've also stalled on writing the adventure itself.  I may try to start work on the next post in that blog series to see if it helps snap me out of the writer's block I'm feeling towards the adventure.

I did order a copy of the game Frostgrave this morning, after reading a number of reviews and being very impressed with what I saw, as well as discussing the game with a friend of mine who plays the wargame Malifaux, to see if he'd be interested in learning the game with me (and given that Malifaux players are somewhat thin on the ground where he lives right now, I may build a warband for that game - you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, kind of deal).  The clincher was realizing that this game would give me a reason to build and paint some of the Wargames Factory figures I've had sitting in my closet since, ahem, last November.  Wargames get much more appealing when you realize you don't need to spend any more money on figures then you already have.

Well, OK, I will probably end up buying and painting a couple wizards for the game at some point.  And some undead.  But the core of two, maybe three if I decide to do something with the Persian figures I've got, war bands for Frostgrave are sitting in my closet waiting to be assembled, and I feel pretty good about that.

There is More to Manliness than Machismo Alone

November is Movember, dedicated to raising the profile of men's health risks, especially in the areas of prostate and related cancers as well as men's mental health - an issue that many men suffer in silence on, deeming it "unmanly" to ask for help.

Bob Murch of Pulp Figures is, for the third year running, raising money for Movember and offering an exclusive figure, only available for the month of November, in exchange for donations.  This year's figure, shown to the left, is rugged adventurer Captain Krustache of the Kashgar, with guns drawn and furry vest belted tight against the chill of the Gobi nights.

Pulp Figures has long been my number one preferred source for figures - I love the amount of character in every sculpt, as well as the clean lines and (in most cases) minimal flash to clean up.  As a man who has experienced mental health issues in the past and manned up enough to ask for help, I recognize what big issues these can be, and I was happy to donate to the cause - getting a figure in exchange was gravy.

Paint Table Saturday - Pulp Figures' Rocket Corps and Mounties

One very nice thing I've been seeing in the miniature painting/wargaming side of the hobby is "Paint Table Saturdays," in which bloggers show off what they've got on their work benches on any given Saturday for others to comment on and offer commendation and encouragement.  It's a very friendly thing and as I get back into painting my little toy soldiers, I thought I'd offer up my own Paint Table Saturday this weekend.

I dug out two packs I'd purchased a while back from Pulp Figures to work on this weekend; I love Bob Murch's richly characterful sculpts and clean lines, and his figures are always a joy to paint.  Given that he also worked on RAFM's Call of Cthulhu line, these figures fit nicely with that range.  I'm not sure what inspired me to buy a pack of Canadian Mounties, other than perhaps I'd read a piece of Mountie fiction; the Rocket Corps are an obvious one, given my long and deep-seated love for Disney's adaptation of Dave Stevens' love letter to the pulps.

The figures were cleaned and glued to 20mm plastic bases (courtesy Wargames Factory), and then given an undercoat of black Krylon since it was warm enough to go out and prime on the porch today.  I've begun basecoating the major color blocks of the figures as well; red being such a finicky color in general, and doubly so over a black undercoat, the Mounties' jackets have been based with burgundy so I can layer up to a bright cardinal red.

My "work bench" is also my dining room table, so I won't be able to leave these guys up overnight (since I do have to get to work on Italian chicken and broccoli alfredo in a little while), but I'm hoping to get a little more work done on them maybe tonight, and certainly tomorrow.

Fire Spiders, Part 2

Here's a few better shots of the two Fire Spiders, taken under daylight conditions:

It's startlingly warm for November in Rochester, New York, so I took some time this morning to clean, assemble and base the handful of metal figures I currently have unpainted, and I'll be taking them out in a few to put a coat of primer on them.

Fire Spiders!

I had some free time today, and I had a couple cleaned and prepped Reaper Bones figures - a pair of Giant Spiders - sitting on my work table.  I'd spent a lot of time trying to repose the legs on these fellows into more dynamic poses only to have them slowly revert towards their original positions after their baths in boiling and ice water.  I'd seen these spiders painted up in purples and greens, as well as a number of examples people had painted up as "Ice Spiders," in shades of blues and whites.  I decided, if there were so many Ice Spiders, then there needed to be Fire Spiders as well, and thus was my color scheme decided.  I'll take better pictures tomorrow but for now here's a shot of the pair.

I think these will be among the last Bones figures I paint; I thought I had a good handle on working with the material after Cthulhu, but I've just had a lot of hassles with other figures in this line, and I've had enough.  Gina has recommended I go back to metal figures and work slowly and paint beautiful display pieces.

Feeling the Wargaming Bug Again

Traditional historical wargaming, for whatever reason, is essentially a dead hobby in America, I think.  I don't know if the evolution of Dungeons & Dragons from wargaming contributed to its decline, or if it's somehow seen as an "English" thing that we, as Americans, have turned our backs on out of some sense of patriotism, or what.  Either way, I cannot drum up interest locally for historical gaming; wargaming, if it occurs at all (especially where I live), is strictly Warhammer/40K stuff, with a little bit of Malifaux seeming to float around as well.

I don't have the money, nor the time, nor the steadiness of hand and keenness of eye to handle that sort of gaming.  I'm realizing that as I putter at applying paint to a few Reaper Bones figures; even my big, chunky Bugbears are giving me trouble (in part because I can't lay down a basecoat on these figures without clogging the detail).  I think, for financial and eye-strain reasons, if I resume wargaming I'll need to go down to 1/72 scale plastic figures or similar.

Nevertheless, I'm craving the act of setting up painted toy soldiers, pushing them around a table, and creating a narrative of a battle being fought between them.  This flared up extra-hard yesterday; I was listening to the Hardcore History podcast's newest episode, on the rise of the Achaemenids, and I just desperately wanted to recreate the battles fought by the powers of the time - the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Hittites, all of them.

This is probably because I'm some sort of crazy person.

I also want to not spend money on things right now; Gina and I have agreed to do a giftless Christmas because the consumerist urge and the constant media barrage demanding that we SPEND SPEND SPEND BUY BUY BUY takes away from what really has value in our lives.  I don't want to keep up with the Joneses; I want to celebrate what I have that's important.

Instead, we're putting money away instead for two trips to Columbus, Ohio in Summer 2016; in June, to attend Origins Game Fair, which we may attend strictly as civilians or which I may try to run a game of Call of Cthulhu at.  Haven't really made up my mind yet, and I have a few months yet before event registration closes.  Then in July, we'll be returning to the same hotel to attend Pulpfest 2016; we both had a very nice time at the 2015 show, and met some really great people and ate wonderful food, so we'd like to return to that show.

So what's a crazy person to do?

I won't lie, I came close to pulling the trigger on some 1/72 scale plastic Egyptians and Sea Peoples yesterday; each box would have sufficed as a full-sized army for Neil Thomas' One-Hour Wargames (which I still want to try out one of these days; and there are solo play rules in there...) but restrained myself; even if it only came to $25 for the two boxes of figures plus shipping, that's still $25 that could have been a meal for Gina and I at Origins or Pulpfest, or a new book at either show.

I took a pretty significant pay cut when I switched jobs back in August, and I'm still adjusting to the new pay-schedule (I get paid every other week now, whereas every other job I've held since 2004 paid weekly), plus Gina just went down from working a per diem job plus two part time jobs while going to school full time, to just school and the two part time jobs, so we don't have a ton of excess money right now; we can cover our bills just fine and have a bit left over for fun, but it would feel very irresponsible of me to throw away money on a hobby on a lark like that; What does it matter how little I'm spending on armies if I've got nobody to play with? Playing a solo game just seems lonely.

So I'm going to bank this for now and see how I feel in the coming weeks; if the desire's a passing thing brought on by listening to the history of Cyrus the Great, I'll feel better about not buying two boxes of soldiers.  If this keeps up, I may just have to bite the bullet and play by myself for a bit.