Sunday, January 13, 2019

Frostgrave Mausoleum

Frostgrave Graveyard and Mausoleum
In the cold, cold ground...
It's time to add more plots to the cemetery!

I finished up my first 3d printed piece, and to be honest I'm glad I'm done with it.  It was printed with an FDM printer, and I got it cheap on the Ebays.  Yet the texture really perplexed me.  There wasn't much I could do except just paint it.

Frostgrave Cemetery Setup 1
This would probably have been more awkward in the end.
Originally I had planned this as part of a full piece cemetery, but I decided to use all the constituent parts of that project and make it three separate ones:  Cemetery Gates, Cemetery Graves and now the Mausoleum finishes it up.

Frostgrave Cemetery Setup 2
You can't really see the FDM texture, but it's there...
It turns out these were the only pics I had of the piece in it's original printed form.

Frostgrave Mausoleum
After all the stonework is done.
I painted these with the same stone patterns I used on the cemetery gates.  An unidentified drab brown, with some Scorched Brown and Mechanicus Standard Grey.  I had originally primed the entire piece with a flat grey that really matched GameColor Cold Grey, and all of the main fixtures are painted that color.

Frostgrave Mausoleum
Angle from the back.
After that, Secret Weapon Heavy Body Black over the whole thing.  I haven't been able to restock that yet, but I will definitely be hunting.  It's great stuff, for real.  I'm using it like it's going out of style.  I hope it doesn't.

Frostgrave Mausoleum
The entryway was especially challenging as the texture really bothered me.
For the decorum, I wanted to use Hexwraith Flame but the FLGS didn't have any.  I picked up some Nighthaunt Gloom, but ended up only using that on the Angel of Death on the front door.  For the rest of the fixture and inlays, I gave it some Nihilahk Oxide.

Frostgrave Mausoleum
A barbarian fighting a robot in a cemetery.
I was unsure about applying the snow, as I always am.  This is more of the Woodland Scenics Soft-Flake Snow mixed with pva glue.  Sometimes it doesn't dry like you want it to, and I haven't exactly mastered the mix ratios yet.  I think it turned out fine, but it doesn't have a base so there's no snow piling up around the foundation.  Maybe it's heated somehow from within...

Frostgrave Mausoleum
Another barbarian, fighting another robot, in another part of the cemetery.
The theme of these projects really comes out.  I think it looks good on the table with all the other pieces, but maybe not as flat and nice looking as the original layout suggested it might be.  On the other hand, all the pieces are modular and can be used in any fashion we can imagine.

Frostgrave Mausoleum
Frostgrave Mausoleum
Softly, the snows came...
Now we've got some cool terrain options for Frostgrave.  On a 3'x3' table, this setup actually takes up a fair amount of space.  It can be spread out among the ruins for a wider effect, but I haven't made up my mind yet if I need to get more of the cemetery walls from Reaper.

I probably do...

Frostgrave Mausoleum

Friday, January 11, 2019

Star Wars: Edge of the Empire

GameDoc has started a Star Wars game for us here, and it looks like it's going to be a blast.  We're back around a real table, and I don't even hate the dice system. 

Star Wars: Mayhem, Inc. Campaign
Somewhere in the Outer Rim, things are about to get hotter than a worrt in the double suns.

Exposition

It is a time of great tension in the galaxy. The GALACTIC EMPIRE is embroiled in a civil war. In response to civil unrest, EMPEROR PALPATINE has disbanded the Imperial Senate and granted the regional governors, backed by military forces, control of their systems, along with leave to maintain order by any means necessary. The CORE WORLDS suffer the most. 

Meanwhile, the OUTER RIM of the galaxy remains only marginally under the control of the Empire. Local authorities, including gangsters and warlords, retain a great deal of power. Individuals may find more freedom and opportunity, but at much higher risk. On the desert planet of TATOOINE, one band of such fortune-seekers have run afoul of the HUTT CARTEL and now race to escape with their lives...
- GameDoc

Scum & Villainy

Rokka Reer and Kali Shakka are Twi'leks bound to the service of one particularly surly Hutt named Teemo.  While in Teemo's service, they meet the young doctor Xander Cruz.  Xander enlists the help of some surly, shady characters in order to hatch a plot:  free Kali and Rokka from Teemo's clutches.

Modo Phloid is a small time con-man and big time thief.  He's had enough of Teemo's blithering idiocy, and is looking for a leg up.  His partner is the 'reformed' murderbot B3-T5Y, affectionately known as 'Betsy'.  The two have a small reputation for larceny and skulduggery, but this time they needed more planning and muscle.  To that end, they have enlisted the help of their friend X, a devaronian immigrant to Tattooine who is also an accomplished survivalist and tracker.

Then came the day it was time to blow the joint and leave Teemo in the dust...

Current
  • Rokka Reer, Twi'lek Performer
  • X, Devaronian Scout
  • Kali Shakka, Twi'lek Mechanic
  • Xander Cruz, Twi'lek Doctor
  • B3-T5Y, Droid Heavy
  • Modo Phloid, Human Thief
Session Logs

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Iron Seer Campaigner

Increase confusion.
Inspirobot has a plan for your work day.
The Campaigner is back!

The newly revised section compiles all our current campaigns in one space for easy tracking.  It's now more of a forward-facing launch site for our players to get all they need from one stop without having to search through the archives.  The Wargames and RPG Portals will lead to all information relevant to game lines, but the Campaigner keeps everything up to date in an easy to parse format.

Previously, this section was another blog, but we really needed a better user interface for this information.  It's on Google Sites for the time being, but we'll probably be switching to a more robust display system in the future after I get around to re-jiggering some hi-def backgrounds.  It could take some time, though - I'm currently forging myself a new helmet.

So if you've got a hankering for games, check out the Campaigner section to see what's going on.  This is especially useful since our current campaign formats allow anyone to play for any side at any time, so don't feel bashful about asking to get into one.  That's what it's there for.  Whether you're into wargames or RPG's, all the info you need for each ongoing battle will be readily accessible from the Campaigner.

So marshal your forces and dig your pc's graves early.