Just a Plain Ol' 15mm Drawn Cart

Stolen in Game 17 of Arachnophobia from the Village of Warrem, this Cart was to serve as the mini for the ale and wine laden vehicle they lifted when the town was celebrating the 100th birthday of its eldest member: Grandma Nelson. They were only able to keep it for a single game before they lost it during the Penkurth Massacre.

The surviving members were forced to abandon it when they fled Sir Gavriel de Ponce and his men. That was now 4 days ago in game, and given they have entered the City of Darfield who's gates are now sealed in preparation for the coming spider invasion it is unlikely they will be returning for it.

I sadly have no idea where I got this cart from, but you will notice that the yoke and wheels are the same as on my 15mm Fantasy TARDIS. That is because I cannibalized the other cart in order to create the TARDIS. Think of it as 15mm kit bashing.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

The Third Minotaur's Maze

I recently found this map in the lost stacks of  blog drafts, and decided to bring it it to light. This was the map that Elijah quickly drew for his maze of the Minotaur Campaign Game 3: all the way back in 2015.

The theme for the third Minotaur's Maze was Mountains and Flight, and all of the creatures we encountered were bird like, or a mountain dwelling species., with the exception of a few odd balls thrown in for fun! This was a dungeon crawl after all.

An interesting note about this game is that is also marks the first time that the party successfully fought and took down a dragon! You can see it in the top right hand corner of the map: Young Bronze Dragon. Though it was only a young dragon, Dave and I were very proud of the feat!

As usual the map was made in about 20 minutes by Maze of the Minotaur's DM Elijah.Though now in 2017 it has been a while since I last looked at it, but I remember it fondly

Plague Marine Standard Bearer

When I started Warhammer this odd and entirely pewter banner was one of the few that was available to chaos forces, and certainly the most Nurgle-like of the lot (aside from the standard you saw in the Old School Plague Marine Squad). My original paint was so terrible that I never thought I would be able to recover but thankfully I was able to create this ghastly standard.

I don't have much of a reason for having standards in my army. I just like how they look.

Written by: Andrew Gregory

Old School Plague Marines

Back in the days when Games Workshop minis were all pewter they were still cranking out Plague Marines. Slightly different then the old Chaos Space Marines, these guy heavily featured gas masks and spiked helmets.

you can clearly see from these designs where Forge World got their inspiration from for their Death Guard Plague Marines. The plain and bloated Armour of the old Death Guard is a far cry from where they ended up these days.

I actually quite like many of the design elements of these 2nd - Early 3rd ed Plague Marines. The simple design of the armour and the archaic gas mask evoke images of ancient toxicity and I especially like the wood paneling on the sides of many of the weapons. It makes them look out of time; a feature I am glad to see returning to the newer minis.

Of course I am not going to argue that they are better sculpts than their modern cousins, simply that I actually quite like them in a nostalgic kind of way. And as a collector, this squad was a must have for my army.

I plan on mounting these guys in one of the Old Rhino Minis that many of you have seen on our Twitter and Instagram. Follow along there for more updates.

Written by: Andrew Gregory

Clops the Horse

When the Party in JADE's Arachnophobia Campaign found the Fantasy TARDIS, I had to give them a way to move it in game. So along side the TARDIS I also gave them this grey horse, which I named Clops.

The Guys gleefully adopted him, keeping the name Clops and he has accompanied the party for just two games now. However Clops' purpose is greater than just pulling the TARDIS.

The Wizard Zinthilas from JADES' Hymns of a Vagabond Campaign also had a figure on Horseback, and Clops would serve as the horse when he dismounted.

So not the most interesting of miniatures but certainly a useful one. Clops' mini came from Peter Pig Miniatures... I think.

Written by: Andrew Gregory

Zinthilas the Wizard on Horseback

When the Wizard Zinthilas arrived at Waerham's Hold in JADE's Hymns of a Vagabond campaign, he came by Horseback. Since Zin moves with a cane, any time we left the Hold he would ride his horse. This left me with a problem from a game perspective: I didn't have a mini for him, and there aren't a lot of choices for Wizard's on horseback in the 15mm scale.

So I took a 15mm Guard on horseback cut off his legs, and then cut torso off of a 15mm Wizard and glued them together, I then used a small amount of Green Stuff to extend the robes over the Guard's chain mailed legs.

I think it worked really well!

Both the Guard and the Wizard used to make Zin on Horseback, were from Splintered Light Miniatures, and of course you can get Green Stuff from Games Workshop.

Since making this mini we have had two games of Hymns of a Vagabond, and I have yet to use it in a battle. Let's hope next game we get the opportunity.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Hypothermia in Dungeons and Dragons

In Hymns of a Vagabond Game 20, Orin "Cutter" Broil met an unfortunate end. While travelling in late November, we were forced to cross a freezing cold river without a bridge. While most of us got across without any issue, unfortunately Aren, who was carrying Cutter at the time, slipped and fell in the river plunging both of them into the ice cold water.

So the way Hypothermia works in AD&D's Dungeoneer's Survival Guide is that you have to be in cold water for an hour. Since we were hours from anywhere and having trouble getting a fire going the first condition was met. Both parties passed their Constitution checks and staved off the first bout of Hypothermia.

A further problem arouse when we didn't have any dry clothes for them to wear forcing them to endure another hour of exposure. Aren passed his roll, but Cutter was not so fortunate. He failed, and being a 1evel 1 multi-Classed Thief/Magic User he only had 4 HP.

The DM rolled the 1d6 Damage assigned for failing the rol1 out in the open. He rolled a 6, and in AD&D 0HP or less is dead. no ifs, ands, or buts. This was absolutely crazy in game and was the first JADE character to be killed by the elements.

So if you want to add Hypothermia into your game, simply have your players make a CON check for each hour of exposure. Each time they fail, deal 1d6 damage to them. This damage goes away after 1 hour of warming up. DM's be wary, our 1st Ed AD&D Campaign  Hymns of a Vagabond is a largely survival based game. We all knew this was a possibility while playing this game despite how harsh it may sound. So make sure your players know what they are getting into before you spring death-by-weather on them.

Next time we go out we will bring warmer clothes, and dry clothing we can change into. More blankets are also a must, as well as better planning and prepartions to cross cold bodies of water without a boat or bridge. For us it was a learning experience and a mistake that we will not repeat again. Kinda suck that it cost us a player character to learn it though!

RIP Cutter

Written by: Andrew Gregory

15mm Guards on Horseback

In game 18 of Arachnophobia the party encountered a group of guards on horseback that rode into the town of Penkurth. They were lead by the cruel Sir Gavriel de Ponce and brandished a warrant of arrest for the party. I readied these horsemen in the event the party tried to flee Penkurth. If that was the case - I planned to ride them down as they fled. The battle however happened on foot and in town foot during an event that we have come to call The Penkurth Massacre, and so they were never used.

I painted these guys using the same style that I painted my 15mm Guards: with yellow cloth, silver armour and wooden shields. Now in retrospect, on these guys the colour is a little bright and overwhelming, and I would figure out where to paint a few more accents if I were to paint them again.

The reason I chose the colour yellow to signify my Guards is two fold. First it means they stand out from the crowd, making them nice and obvious when setting up a complicated miniatures scene, so the players have a clear view when the battle starts. Secondly not many players choose yellow for their character's colours so there are no conflicts.

It is not the greatest colour, but it serves well and in Arachnophobia has become the House colours of the evil Count Opplethor.

These minis are from Alternative Armies and are interestingly one solid piece. Most 15mm riders I have seen come with a horse and separate rider making these stand apart from the rest.


Written by: Andrew Gregory