Reboot to the Head! A little Mini Mondays for you...

Hello again, World!

While the summertime meant mama-time over dungeon-time, things are finally falling into place for fall. And this blog has been too-long neglected, especially considering the amount of raw data that I've been accumulating even as I've been failing to post.
In the coming days and weeks, I'll be posting many of the papercraft gaming models I've been finding, admiring, buying, printing, cutting, folding, gluing, and even occassionally using ;)
I'll also be reviewing a few of the many excellent resources (digitally and in print) I've discovered for gamers and game-masters, beginners, kids, and old grumps. :P
But for tonight, where it's still Monday somewhere, I'll be talking about an impulse buy that has turned into an impulse collection... with perhaps no end in sight.
For Mini Mondays, let me present:

duh duh DAH!

HeroClix


[now let me take a few minutes to clean up and post some pictures, please :) ]

Hopefully you recall our handsome adventurer from the Dungeon for Dominion Day, brave Montresor Jericho, from DC's Crisis line. I picked him up for a song ($0.50) at my FLC&GS, Strange Adventures,  because he so closely resembled the hero from the best computer RPG that ever was, or ever will be, Sierra's Hero's Quest Quest for Glory. I've still not found any better candidate, in metal, plastic, or paper. He's seen duty more than any other mini, and braved the Skeleton King's Crypt not once, but twice, while my son & I played Pathfinder on a picnic in the park.
Well, he was also a gateway mini, and after the disappointments I've suffered with the hit-and-miss quality of WizKids' Pathfinder Minis releases, I found the prospect of HeroClix _very_ appealing.
Buying from the bargain bin allows me to see what I'm getting and therefore get what I like, pay little for it, and keep or convert as needed.
I plan on rebasing them gradually, touching up a few spots where the brush went awry or the colours need adjusting for my needs, and only altering a couple more drastically. Mini-painting is another entirely new experience for me, so I'll go slow, do as little as possible, and only experiment on the cheapest, most disposable ones until I'm feeling more confident.

Over the course of a month or two, I bought 34 bargain-bin HeroClix for $22.75, or $0.67/mini on average; 7 for $0.25 each, 11 for $0.50 each, 2 for $0.75 each, 14 for $1.00 each. Roughly a third need no conversion, another third only light modification, and the remainder some, none (saving 2-3 recognizable superheroes for my boys later on), or completely (cut up for parts).

Pros: No Surprises, Cheaper, Generally better paint jobs than I've found with the Pathfinder Minis.
Cons: Need for re-basing for best results, Not Pathfinder-specific,
Break-even points: slightly larger scale than most RPG minis.

Sorry, I'll have to add more more details and photos later. Looking over my stash, and my records, this got more involved than I'd planned.

Today's big news was supposed to be that I'd found HeroClix Marvel Classics and DC Classics 3-packs at my favourite local "dollar" store for $2.50 apiece. Savings of 75%, my sons will get to play with recognizable superheroes (or it'll be up to me to run a superhero campaign sooner rather than later), and one or two will have life outside comic-book settings. Commissioner Gordon looks like he'd be great as an aging pulp detective ;D

Picnic Adventures! Picnic Mimic!

What kids ever met up in a tavern? Nope, our bold adventurers begin their heroic journey one simple, sunny summer day, enjoying the fresh air and a delicious picnic. But what is a picnic without ants?

Here is adversary number two for our bold Picnic Adventurers (the first ANTagonist was diplomatically turned into an ally): a baby mimic at play!

The picnic basket is all one piece, folded, and has the following options built-in: food, blanket, mimics (2), and lid to keep it all in!  Dryw the Harper's female cleric from his Imperfect Child Adventurers set is included for scale, and your defense!

[My submission to the Single Figure category for this year's Papercut Awards over at the Cardboard Warriors forum]

I'd not originally planned to include this and my other entry into the Papercuts 2013 contest, but if I don't now, I never will get them done ;D I hope it at least brings a smile to your face, if not admiration for my skill!

Sadly, only camera working is my iPhone, and neither of my printers nor my scanner were in the necessary full working order to assist, so things are a little rough. My mini, therefore, is the original, prior to being scanned and printed. My photo-scan needed too much digital manipulation to restore true colours to make it worth my while for the contest submission.

Picnic Adventures!

What kids ever met up in a tavern? Nope, our bold adventurers begin their heroic journey one simple, sunny summer day, enjoying the fresh air and a delicious picnic. But what is a picnic without ants?

Here's what I've been up to all summer. Well, lots of picnics, certainly, with my two boys lil' G (age 7) and lil' L (age 3). And trying to get a game of Pathfinder going with my husband and our friends while having to satisfy my fix diving into this wonderful hobby of papercraft for gaming. The closest I've come this true adventuring has been A Pathfinder Picnic in the Park with lil' G, GMing him as he went through the solo adventure in the Pathfinder Beginner Box, The Skeleton King's Crypt, with help from a couple of paper minis.

The combination of my favourite pastimes inspired me to start designing a kid's game which may one day see the light of day. The pictures below show a glimpse into a couple of adventures I've got planned. The ant is Reivaj's Ant Warriors Standard Bearer, shrunk to 67% and de-weaponized so that he doesn't present a threat to Dryw the Harper's excellent adventurers [Imperfect Child Adventurers]. The background is from The Hobbit Companion book, the ground from a Japanese papercraft site modded in Gimp, the greenery from Oversoul Games (whose Dungeon Plungin' I have yet to read the rules for), and the Picnic Mimic, blanket, and log are all mine. The log, in fact, I've already shared in a previous post, and was my first paper mini, made on the fly for that first photo.

[My submission to the Diorama category for this year's Papercut Awards over at the Cardboard Warriors forum]

Supplemental to the entry, a couple of fun details as I play around with Dryw's amazing little adventurers...

I'd not originally planned to include this and my other entry into the Papercuts 2013 contest, but if I don't now, I never will get them done ;D I hope it at least brings a smile to your face, if not admiration for my skill!

Sadly, only camera working is my iPhone, and neither of my printers nor my scanner were in the necessary full working order to assist, so things are a little rough.

Mini Mondays!

Okay, I know I said in my original Mini Mondays/Module Mondays post that I'd be alternating Mini Mondays (odd days) with Module Mondays (even days). However, our at-long-last-we-are-going-to-actually-PLAY! group didn't actually play Dungeons & Dragons this weekend. Instead... we played Dungeon! a dungeon-crawling board game put out by Dungeons & Dragons. Close enough... especially since we got more than enough plurality in the Daiquiris half of our Dungeons & Daiquiris Saturday evening...

So without further ado, Mini Monday! (I'm odd - close enough?).

While last week I posted a review of the Pathfinder Battles Builder Series: We Be Goblins, today I'll be focusing on something completely different: Paper Minis!

In particular, a spectacular freebie, sure to add lots of flavour to many a campaign, especially any of the number of Pathfinder adventures set in gypsy-inspired Varisia.

Imperfect Wagons: Gypsy Wagons by D. Caraley (AKA Dryw the Harper), from the Cardboard Warriors forum.

Mini Mondays! We Be Goblins!

The deranged alchemist Mogmurch.
He stands 20mm to the eyes.

A new blog, a new feature! I'll be alternating Mini Mondays (odd days) with Module Mondays (even days), highlighting and reviewing whenever possible the best I've seen / read / purchased. To kick things off, I will be including an edited version of the review I posted to paizo.com of the Pathfinder Battles Builder Series: We Be Goblins.

Pathfinder Battles—Builder Series: We Be Goblins

Available now at here at Paizo's website, or at your Friendly Local Gaming Store (FLGS) in single packs (MSRP $2.99) or 24-pack Display Cases (MSRP $59.76). Canadian, international, and even different store prices may vary. My FLGSs had single packs priced at $2.79CAD and $3.95CAD, respectively.

 

FANTASTIC! exceptional detail & finishing, fabulous fun ;D

wackyanne — Monday, 11:38 PM

Impossible to resist if you are any fan of goblins at all, I imagine many visiting paizo.com have had these on their wish list since the day they were announced. Let me say, these minis in no way disappoint (how could they? They Be Goblins!). The sculpts are full of personality and exceptional detail, and the paint jobs are fantastic. There is a great balance of matte and shiny surfaces (appropriately assigned), nice metallic work on the weapons, no painting outside the lines that I can find (over the 6 minis I've gotten so far), and there is a nice wash so that the depths are brought out. [One difference to the photos shown at Paizo.com is that I have a blue lizard mount for my Goblin Warchief, instead of the plain brown pictured. His back half (lower torso, back legs, and tail) and his forearms (lower front legs) are all denim blue, with the rest black-speckled brown. It looks great, but again, is different from what is pictured.]

As to randomization in the case, I've been lucky, with the Goblin Warchief in my first package*, and no duplicates in the further 5 I purchased at another store. I've another two that I'm leaving in the package until I just can't resist any longer ;)

The Goblins arrived just in time for their second module outing - another home run for Paizo (& smart marketing). While I was playing in a We Be Goblins Too! game at my FLGS on Free RPG Day, a guy from another table (who'd bought out most of the case) shared his duplicates so that we all might play with our actual character's minis. It certainly enhanced the experience! The cherry on triple-fudge sundae, to be sure :D

I would also like to add just how much I like the Pathfinder Battles Builder Series as a whole, and why it is such a great idea in so many ways:
#1 Goblins! Epic Win!
#2 Allows you to play Iconic monsters ;)

General benefits to the series as a whole:
#3 allows you to populate larger creature encounters, adding as few or as many as you like
#4 that little bit of surprise, the happy kind, while still knowing that you are sure to get a goblin (or undead, in the upcoming set), instead of some more random monster or NPC.
#5) a token something to pick up at your FLGS every time you pop in, at low price-point (good for the buyer, the store, and Paizo/WizKids - win/win/win!)

Cheers!

*That happy discovery redeemed WizKids for me, as I was very disappointed with my lot in the Shattered Star booster I'd bought as my first ever mini purchase. I'll add that review in when I have more time.

Mini Mondays! Module Mondays! We Be Goblins!!!

A new blog, a new feature! I'll be alternating Mini Mondays (odd days) with Module Mondays (even days), highlighting and reviewing whenever possible the best I've seen/read/purchased. Our gaming group has yet to get off the ground, so my one-&-only contemporary tabletop experience was this weekend's Free RPG Day. Therefore, my module experience is limited ;)
To kick things off, I will be including edited versions of reviews I posted to paizo.com of this year's Pathfinder Free RPG Module, We Be Goblins Too! and of the Pathfinder Battles Builder Series: We Be Goblins. The module I'll be reviewing from the player's perspective, and a newbie player at that. Once I've had a chance to read it over in more detail, and hopefully run it for my gaming group, I'll review it from the GM's perspective. Keep a look out!