The Workbench

So after posting some of the Darkhaven Army in progress, I thought I'd put up some pix from other minis getting attention...

These three pix are for my Nordland Army.  All figs are from Copplestone.  I love Copplestone minis.  And the fuzzy green balls behind them are the tops of my Seuss trees.

Here are my Pygmies (Blue Moon) with bows, blowpipes, and javelins in a kraal/stockade.  You can see huts behind.

Belit and Conan (both Copplestone) leading her Corsairs (Blue Moon).

A Monolith made from insulation foam.

Elven chariots (Mighty Armies).  These are obviously not the best sculpts... I mean they're not as sexy as Copplestone, Demonworld, or Xyston... but they really paint up well... especially with my style of painting.  Hopefully that's praise for the minis rather than condemnation of my abilities.

The Elves are all from Demonworld.  The panther mount is... I dunno... it is a lioness from some 28mm line.  And the tiger is actually a rubber toy from a quarter bin.

And a shot of the above Elves in front of my mushroom forest.  The mushrooms were made from wooden pegs and two part wood putty.  Also, you can see a stand of fairy godmothers (Chariot).

The Army of Darkhaven

Here are the first pix...

Tanaros, the Blacksword (Demonworld) with Troll (Magister Militum) standard bearer.

Staccian cavalry. (Copplestone)

I've primed the Trolls black and the Staccians white.

Obviously, my early New Year's resolution is to blog more often.

Namarie, Boaz

Sympathy For The Witch-king.

I read Jacqueline Carey's duology The Sundering earlier this year and I've been working on a new army... the army of Darkhaven.  Carey's story consists of the books Banewreaker and Godslayer.  They make sense once you get into the story, but I admit the title Banewreaker does not immediately inspire confidence in the author nor her imagination.  In a nutshell, it is a highly condensed version of Tolkien's Ainulindale from The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings... but the villains are the protagonists.

In The Sundering, Satoris (Melkor) is commanded by Haomane (Manwe) to remove the gift of procreation from Men so that Elves will always rule Urulat (Middle-earth).  Satoris is most heartbroken because his sister Arahila (the creator of humans) goes along with Haomane's royal plan.  The other gods who created races (Neheris - Trolls, Yrinna - Dwarves, Oronin - Were) also go along with Haomane's decree.  When Satoris refuses, the other six gods wage war upon him. In abiding with Haomane's wishes, Arahila, Neheris, Yrinna, and Oronin basically abandon their created races.  The war is a stalemate with the six gods on the western continent (Aman) and Satoris on Urulat (Middle-earth).  But Satoris is gravely injured by a shard of the diving essence (Silima) wielded by Oronin.  Satoris retreated after seizing the shard, afterwards called Godslayer.

After many years, Haomane sends three divine beings disguised as humans (Istari) to lead an attack using three fragments (Silmarils) of the original god (Eru)... two are slain, but one, Malthus (Gandalf) survives.

Deprived of their god, beset by Elves and Men, the Trolls accept Satoris' offer of allegiance.  In the intervening thousands years or so, a general peace settles over Urulat.  I forget the name of the mightiest human realm, but it's basically Gondor.  Anyway, a thousand later, Blaise Caveros is the general of Gondor and best friend of King (something) Altorus.  Blaise campaigns for the king and comes home to find his wife has given birth to Altorus' son.  In a rage, Blaise murders both his wife and his king.  He flees heartsick into the wild.  In his grief and despair, he hears Satoris call to him... and he responds.  Satoris gives him a purpose... to lead the Trolls... to change them from a mob into a cohesive fighting force.  Satoris gives him a magic black sword... and Blaise Caveros basically becomes the Witch-king.

Satoris also forges an alliance with Staccia (Rohan) who has suffered at the hands of Gondor.  Their ruler, Vorax, becomes Satoris' primary ambassador and procurer of goods.  His appetites are legendary.

Satoris also takes in Ushahin (Sauron), the Dreamspinner.  Ushahin is the product of a Man raping an Elven princess.  He is shunned by both races and raised by the Were (mystical humanoid wolves).  He uses ravens and his own magics to see things far away.

Together, the Blacksword, Lord Vorax, and the Dreamspinner are called The Three (Nazgul).  They are the chiefest servants of Satoris and he's used Godslayer to give them immortality.

When Malthus (Gandalf) convinces Cerelinde (Arwen) to marry Aracus Altorus (Aragorn) and thus begin to fulfill the prophecy of Satoris' destruction, Satoris takes this as a declaration of war... and acts accordingly.  Of course, Elves and Men are stunned by Satoris' sneak attack and brand him a traitor and deceiver all over again.

I'm not going to tell you the whole story, but I need you to know that Satoris, the Dreamspinner, the Trolls, the Ravens, all of the outcasts who've joined Satoris, and Blaise Caveros the Blacksword are all painted in a positive light. The Blacksword is the main protagonist.  On the other hand, Malthus (Gandalf), Aracus (Aragorn), and Cerelinde (Arwen) are portrayed unflatteringly.  Dani (Frodo) is an ignorant yokel manipulated by Malthus.

The Sundering is part of the fad of debunking famous, but outmoded, literature. I am a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire, GRRM's epic where the good guys are getting worse and the bad guys are getting better.  After sevnty years of Tolkien's style, contemporary writers are going a bit in the opposite direction.  The obvious difference is the realistic story telling versus mythology, but the real difference is the leaning towards the rejection of moral absolutes.  And that is dangerous... Nonetheless, The Sundering was an enjoyable read.

So..... I'm working on the Army of Darkhaven.  I'll post more pix... later.

Namarie,

Boaz

Put Up or Shut Up.

First, Bad Daddy, Cyborg, the Kid and I played Fantasy Rules! in January.  Actually we attempted to play them. I was supplying all the minis, the army lists, the table, and lunch.  I did a great job of getting it all together and then losing the army lists.  I cranked out four lists (Dwarves [I prefer Tolkien's misspelling over Dwarfs], Orcs, Japanese, and Chinese) in ten minutes.... and we played Dwarves (Cyborg) and Orcs (Boaz) in an unlikely coalition versus the eastern alliance (ooooohhh, Galatica reference) of the Chinese (Bad Daddy) and the Japanese (the Kid).

If you've played Fantasy Rules! then you know about the Moral Clock.  Suffice it to say that each side starts with ten morale and the first to zero loses.  Cyborg and I lost the first turn and were immediately behind.  Entering what would be the last turn, Bad Daddy and the Kid were leading five to one and they went first.  Needing a miracle, my Orcs overran and killed the Shogun (minus 2 morale) and Cyborg's Dwarves surrounded and executed the Imperial Prince (minus 2 morale) and won the turn (minus another morale for the eastern alliance... and we won.  We only took them down by five morale in the first fourteen turns and then got five in the last turn.

And then we looked a bit closer at the rules and found out that I cheated because I did not have a beast master with my wyvern... Ultimately it flanked and ate a third of the Samurai on the field.  Oooops!

It was an interesting mechanic.  There's a lot of pushing and disorganizing units.  There is some amount of loss of command and control.

But the feeling is not as epic as our system.... Scramasax.

Second, we played Scramasax in February and March.  Crusaders, Kong/Lost Jungle, Fairies, Sky Pirates, Dark Elves... it all blends into one giant beating.

Third, the Romans are still waiting for primer.

Third, I ordered the Ping Panda from Bombshell.  He's painted already.  He'll be a great hero for the Chinese.

Fifth, Copplestone Castings has produced 15mm Barbarian Cavalry.  If you did not click the link, then think of Conan on horseback.  Bare chests and long hair.  If  I replaced the swords and axes with arakhs (sort of like scimitars), then I'd finally have my Dothraki Khalasar for A Song of Ice and Fire.  It's time to put up or shut up.

Sincerely, Boaz

Veni. Vidi. Picti.

Okay, so I only had twelve weeks of Latin in eighth grade... thirty-three years ago... and I'm hoping the title of this post and the new title of the blog are correct... or at least plausible to people not named Horatio or Calpurnia.

I've been posting on a website, The Chronicles Network, for about six or seven years now.  I promised the readers in the G.R.R. Martin forum that I'd show them pix of my ASOIAF minis.  Well here are the first views.

The first two pix are Wildlings Mammoth Hunters and Wildling Warriors (Demonworld).

Here are (left to right): A Dornish Captain, Mace Tyrell, a knight, Eddard Stark, and Ser Parmen Crane. (Mace is AD&D Battlesystem and the rest are Demonworld.)

The Kingslayer.... Ser Jaime Lannister, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, with his golden hand (Demonworld).

Night's Watch Rangers with bows (Demonworld). Night's Watch Rangers with axes (Black Raven, except for the command figs). Lord Commander Jeor Mormont (Demonworld)... aka, the Old Bear. Night's Watch Rangers with swords (Swordsmen are Black Raven, Knight is Demonworld).

Six of the Kingsguard.

I'll be taking more pix soon.

Sincerely, Boaz

Photos...

Let me see if I can figure out the intricacies of putting in a picture...

Hopefully a picture will appear below.  It should be uncropped... displaying a giant Shark Man (Reaper), one of Poseidon's chosen, being attacked from behind by Bad Daddy's Ogres (Warmaster).

Well, according to the page preview this is going to work.  So I'd better try another pic or two...

Here are the Greek Guard (Xyston) defending a village.

And here we have Joe (Schleich), Son of Kong, and Kong waiting for the Uluz general (Blue Moon) on the zebra to order the charge.  Sadly, all three monstrous apes were gunned down by devilish Dwarven trickery.

I should also post a horizontal pic...  A barbarian hero (Demonworld) in front of the troops.

I think I have it working...  So all that's left is to start taking pictures of my armies.

Sincerely, Boaz

Fantasy Rules!

I'll confess that the setting of fantasy (magical medieval, mythological, and Middle-earth) floats my boat much more than science fiction settings... i.e. Fantasy Rules! I also happen to be hosting Bad Daddy, Cyborg, He-who-must-not-be-named, and The Kid on the 25th when we will put aside our Piquet rules and play Fantasy Rules! The Kid and I have never played these rules and it's been about fifteen years for the other guys. We'll see how it goes...

On the plus side for Sci-fi, I have been replaying Knights of the Old Republic. I'm almost done. My character, Jaran Rando Kang is ready to face the droid assembly line and then Malak. I've probably played through KOTOR ten times over the years. Jaran is a 5/15 light side Consular, but he's not as fun as a dual wielding Guardian. I'm a bit apprehensive about fighting Malak. I just don't know if I can do enough damage.

 Hopefully this post will come out in seperate paragraphs.

 Sincerely, Boaz

Edit: Paragraph problems solved... and I went back and edited the last few posts.