Temporal Dogs

Since one of our characters was trapped in the Temporal Prime Reality in our of our campaigns, I had to do some research on how exactly that plane works and what kind of animals live there. One of the few that I felt my poor level 4 Priest could handle was the 4HD Temporal Dog.... I was wrong.

Even one Temporal Dog was a little too much for him to handle and though he gave a valiant effort and almost subdued the beast, sadly it was too much for him. Temporal Dogs are pretty scary beasts. i was running it more as a wolf then using its special properties, but the unwary time traveller, a Temporal Dog can just easily follow them out of the Temporal Prime using the Time Slip Spell that Chronomancer's use.

 So the guys will ahve to look out when the Time Travell now as upo to six of these dogs could lie in wait for them.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Damn Mimics!

A monster so classic in Dungeons and Dragons it is almost a cliché no campaign is complete without one encounter with a Mimic, and these 15mm versions from Splintered Light Miniatures do a fantastic job at representing them on the table top.

I have already thrown them into JADE's 2nd ed AD&D Campaign Arachnophobia as a chance encounter, they stumbled upon, and in truth... When I placed the bookshelf and the chest down, Dave called immediately that they were about to face a mimic. With my hand revealed, as the DM I had one more trick up my sleeve... Only of of them was a mimic, the other was a normal bookshelf/chest.

They chose poorly and the bookshelf sprung to life.

Thankfully I rolled so poorly during this encounter that my party came away with barley a scratch. I will get someone next time.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Cecilia the Cow

Though her time with the party was short, I painted this mini since the guys at JADE have a tendency to forget about the various animals they buy/steal without having a mini to represent them. And it worked! they totally remembered to handle their cow during a combat situation but alas, scared out of her wits at the sight of a giant spider, the poor beast fled blindly into the woods and was never seen again.

A shame! I thought she made a great edition to the party. But Imagine this won't be the last time the guys try to acquire a cow in this game.

This mini was originally a draft ox from Tin Soldier UK that required a bit of knife work tom make slighlty more cow like... it was the best I could do.

Written by: Andrew Gregory

The Prussian Sky Fortress

Back in 2014 I purchsaed this Dystopian Wars Prussian Sky Fortress on Jeff's behalf from the Toronto Fan Expo. They guy selling it told me that he was planning on getting rid of the rest of his inventory since no one was really playing it. And to prove him right, I brought it home and it has sat on my shelf for the past 26 months.

Well we have started looking at our Dystopian Wars minis again, and I finished this fantastic looking Zeppelin mini.

A few years back, Jeff and I made an agreement that I could hold on to his Prussian fleet assuming I finished painting and followed his purple and black colour scheme. Purple wouldn't have been my first choice, but I think it works pretty well.

Jeff has wanted this Sky Fortress for a while, especially after the effectiveness of tiny flyers was demonstrated... In at least the first edition of the the rules... And everyone scrambled to get aircraft carriers. It was an interesting microcosm of an arms race.

Well we basically stopped playing after the September of 2014, but recently we have been trying to revive it. Fingers crossed that the guys will have time to finish something up themselves.

In the mean I get to gawk and such an awesome model, and something that was a real treat to paint!


Written by: Andrew Gregory

The Gray Ooze

While these three minis from Splintered Light miniatures were clearly meant to represent 3 different oozes/slimes, I needed 3 Gray Oozes for an encounter, so gray all 3 became.

Of course in the end I only needed 2 Oozes, but the deed was done, and I am sure they will get used for something.

Jeff's Character Godfric in Half-Orc Super Heroes was actually rendered unconscious by these creatures, as his months in captivity and regular beatings had taken their toll on his body. Luckily his partner the Gnome Thaddeus was able to rescue him.

So they have served their purpose as a small in game encounter... And what Jeff doesn't know is that there are more of them in the sewers his character Godfric calls home.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

A Small Part of the Sewers of Theogonia

I prepared this small map for Jeff to play through as his character fled the prison into the sewers beneath the city of Theogonia. It was small dungeon designed for him to meet a few monsters, blocked passage ways, and some chances to acquire at least some limited supplies.

There were Gray Oozes roaming the halls, collapsed tunnels, passages blocked by rusted steel doors, waterfalss he had to scale, and of course a mysterious whirl pool leading to the god's know where.

All of this was leading him towards the centre of the map where he and his prison mate Thaddeus found an abandoned control centre they decided to use a base.

Had I had paid attention to how low Jeff's character Godfirc's HP was, I would have toned down the difficulty a bit, but he managed to survive. So it couldn't have been all bad.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Godfric Light-Wing Gurn

For about 6 or 7 months Jeff and I have been running his Half-Orc Rogue/Monk through a D&D 5 adventure that we call Half-Orc Super Heroes. It took until Game 5 but I finally got around to painting his Half-Orc mini for the game.

This mini is from Splintered Light Miniatures, and can be found in their 15mm Half-Orc player character set

Godfirc has been through a lot in the passed five games. Jeff wanted to create a "Batman-esque" character with a tortured past, and of course I had him play that out in game. So far, he has stumbled upon a mysterious smuggling plot; and was then was captured, tortured and imprisoned for two months. With the help of his Gnomish Tinker cell mate, the two were able to escape through a tunnel they dug into the city's sewer system. There they battled strange gray blobs, and made camp at a long forgotten control centre in the ancient cities sewers.

Planning to keep the control centre as a base camp, Godfric now plans to gather the necessary supplies before plotting his revenge on those that imprisoned him.

The next game of Half-Orc Super Heroes will take some planning and preparation. But hopefully we will have game 6 soon!


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Goblin Wolf Riders

These 15mm Goblin Wolf Riders are gorgeous! made by Mirliton miniatures and from the same set as the Goblin Archers from a few weeks prior. Great sculpts, that really make the party look like they are charging ahead.

In JADE's Hymns of a Vagabond campaign; the goblins are coming. We have sported hordes coming through a long forgotten and unguarded pass in the thousands. And of course some of those guys are riding wolfs.

We have a nice split between swords and spears between our wolf riders, meaning that we can have our choice of engagements... Or of course just unleash all four of them.

We even have a few choices of armour for these guys ranging from the chain mailed leader, the leather bound spearmen, and this guy... who is wearing a sack... or something.

I was asked specifically by the DM to get 1 of these wolf riders painted for next game. So I really hope I am not tempting fate by preparing all 4.

Well, I get to find out what happens tonight with these figures in Hymns of a Vagabond Game 13. And let's hope this isn't the last.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

4 Tips for Using Time Travel in Dungeons and Dragons

Ever since we introduced a Chronomancer complete with his time travelling spells into our 2nd ED AD&D game Arachnophobia, time travel has been on our game group's mind. It is just so complicated, particularly in a tabletop game setting. And if you are going to use it in your you had better be ready.

As a group, we have talked about the implications while playing other games and through that we have a figured a few tips and tricks for handling Time Travel.

So here are 4 tips to help you better host Time Travel in tabletop RPGs.

1. Use Encounter Tables

The Chronomancer's Handbook tells the DM that time travel should never work out exactly as intended, and that things should always be slightly different. I have a found a way to make those slight differences meaningful in game is to create small 4 option encounter tables for each minor event I want to throw at my players.

This way, when my Chronomancer goes back in time, some of the smaller details about the game are changed ever so slightly, simulate a "butterfly effect". This makes things interesting, and of course can lead to better or worse encounters for the players depending on what was rolled. I find this gives them a different experience for each use of time travel, keeping things fresh.

2. Talk it Over with the Group

I have said this many times before about hosting your game, but it stands true for time travel as well. Talk with your group. Make sure everyone understands what is happening, and listen to their thoughts on the effects of the change that the time travel event will have on the game, and the timeline itself.

The exact details of how time travel is supposed to work out is a very hazy subject, debated by futurists, authors and scholars alike. So use your full pool of knowledge and talk to your group; they can help you sort everything out, and keep time travel reasonable and fun.

3. Don't Rob Your Players of XP

The first time Dave went back in time using his Chronomancer's Time Slip Spell, I could see that look on my players faces. That concern that only happens when fighting a monster that deals level damage: Will I lose my experience for this?

We decided no. That is far too much power for a player character to have, so while they may lose physical possessions, their experiences in the other timelines permeate into the new one, as a sort of aftershock. Everyone accepted this as a good compromise, and it helped not waste everyone's time by having their player progress erased.

We also agreed that this was dependent on how far we went back in time. So if one character went back to the beginning of the campaign... say from game 24... and met the others, there is enough of a time disparity there to justify having those players start back at their lower levels, however of course getting that far back in time is no easy task, so likely the player party will need to accompany Chronomancer anyways.

So keep notes and talk it over, make sure no one feels robbed.

4. Just Let it Happen

At the beginning of JADE's Arachnophobia Campaign, when the other guys learned that Dave was going to be a Chronomancer they all asked me the same question.

"(As DM) You are going to limit that right?"

They figured that the ability to re-do a failed part of the adventure was far too much power for a player to have, and that it would likely slow the game down as Dave endlessly retried events. Despite their fears I told them I was going to let Dave handle it himself, and we would see how it went. Begrudgingly they accepted it, but as soon as they started to use time travel things didn't exactly go their way.

To account for the increased game length, I simply started writing the games to account for the fact that they could go back in time. So that structure allowed the game to proceed at a regular pace. However, Instead of being too powerful time travel has been just the opposite. Dave has attempted to save the life of an NPC named Allison Rey twice, and now she has died for a third time. They lost another NPC in an encounter with an owl bear and a player character is now trapped in the Temporal Prime due to an argument over the ethics of time travel based resurrections.

It comes down this: time travel is complicated, and will never be as simple as going back and "just re-doing it" over and over until you get it right. Changing the past has major consequences and these even came to light in game without me having to step in with some deus ex machina brought in by the Dungeon Master; The chaos just happened. While one of the NPC's was killed by an Owlbear, the other, Allison Rey, was actually murdered by the player character who is now trapped outside of time. And thus, they went from a party of 9 at the start of the game down to a party of 6 by the end.

So even in a Dungeons and Dragons game,time travel is messy, and Dave has learned to not use it as lightly as he has in previous games. But in the end, just letting it happen and the players sort it out was the only way they could learn how to use it properly and responsibly in game.


With any luck that helps you sort out your Time Travel based issues, and I hope enjoyed some of the art from the Chronomancers book in 2nd ED AD&D.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Daisy the 15mm Mule

What with the guys wanting to steal Nigel the Porter's Mule, I knew that I would have to get something ready to represent it in the party.

I actually have no idea whether or not they still plan to go through with it at the time of writing this, but as the Dungeon Master it pays to be prepared.

This mini is from 15mm Co, and I normally don't consider their minis to be of the greatest quality, however this mule is amazing. I love the attention to detail with all packs the chest, the bags, and even the pig tied to the back of it. Great job guys.

Now, the scale of mule is a little larger then the rest of the party; making it stand closer to the height of a small horse than a mule. But it is a small detail.

Even if it doesn't get stolen, now that I have the mini I am sure some one will buy it is some game. Who doesn't want a pack mule after all?


Written by: Andrew Gregory

P.S. They completely forgot about wanting to steal the mule and left town without poor old Daisy.

15mm Owlbears

I love Owlbears in Dungeons and Dragons. They are the perfect balance of goofy and scary, and I needed some for my 15mm collection. I found these guys come from 15mm Co. and honestly they are a little silly; looking more like they are ready to give you a hug.

Of course, Splintered Light miniatures just resealed some better ones which I am planning on snagging, but for the mean time these guys will serve their purpose. And despite their awkward appearance, they do look like Owlbears.

Goofy looking or not, Owlbears are not to be trifled with, and I am sure these guys will claim their fair shares of Player Character lives.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

P.S. In Jade's 2nd ed AD&D Campaign Arachnophobia, These guys claimed the life of the same NPC twice after a time travel mishap.