Sunday, November 1, 2026

The Ophidian Menace

 A few months back, I did a little bit of creative writing for Alex over at Forge of Ice, and as a thank you he sent me a set of "Ophidian Menace" figures he'd added to his line of fantasy and sword-and-sorcery miniatures. Serpent people have been a mainstay of sword-and-sorcery since 1929, and with Alex having recently busted his foot, I figured seeing more of his figures out in the wild painted would be a positive for him.

First up is my absolute favorite of the bunch, "Zassek, the Fang of Ael-Karna":

 

Look at that. This guy's like a recruitment poster for being a serpent-man. T-posing with axe and shield, one foot up on a tactical rock, kilt and chainmail around his waist, screaming. He's ready to fight anyone.

Next up is "Xuss-Duhl, the Primeval," described on the website as a throwback to a more ancient form of serpent-man:


Kept things pretty straightforward with him, and realizing now I largely copied the color scheme on the official display model.

Next up is a member of the "Agamm," a tribe of Neanderthals that serve the Ophidians:


 Nothing too fancy but I like the pale blue "empty" eyes on the serpent hood. I think those came out really nice.

Next is "Xha-Hsthuul, the Mis-Born," a sorceress who has some human blood mixed in with her Ophidian heritage. This is straight out of Robert E. Howard's short story "Worms of the Earth," where a witch born of a human mother and an inhuman, serpentine father directs the story's hero to the treasure he seeks.


 I realized late in the painting process that she's sculpted with sleeves while I'd painted bare arms. I think on the table it won't be too noticeable. 

Finally a gross one - this is "The Regurgitated," an unfortunate fellow fed to the serpent-god Vrissth'ra and vomited up as a zombie slave:


 I really like the purple wash over the desaturated green skin tones. 

There's also a bit of terrain - the "Idol of N'ha Khaash," an Ophidian fertility goddess. This is basically a Venus figurine with large slanted eyes, a forked tongue and two-fingered hands, so enjoy the snake-titties. I based it on a 40mm flat round base and hot glued some plastic foliage to it. 


 


Miniatures Acquired: 246

Miniatures Painted: 257

Terrain Acquired: 9

Terrain Painted: 11

Scatter Acquired: 21

Scatter Painted: 25