How to Set Up Small Encounter Tables in Dungeons and Dragons

A few years ago I created a campaign designed to work as a randomly generated "One-Off" D&D campaign. For those familiar with JADE you may recognize the name Ivershill, as that very game. In this game  every encounter used a small three entry encounter table that I rolled on to determine the event, meaning that the opening Nine events of the game had 19,683 possible event combinations.

It has been a few years now since we played Ivershill, but the effect creating those small tables had on me as a Dungeon Master can not be understated. As time went on an we started JADE's long running Arachnophobia Campaign, and those small encounter tables followed me to that game, though this time I upped them to four entry encounter tables, and used them a little more sparingly to fill in the space between my scripted encounters.

Aside from helping me simulate a butterfly effect from the Time Travel featured in Arachnophobia, These tables also kept things very interesting and fresh for me as a DM. In the end I never actually knew with 100% certainty how a game would play out. A single event could alter the course of the campaign, and for me that was exciting! But of course coming up with all those unique events can be a challenge. That was why I settled on four entry tables: large enough that I can roll a d4 to determine the event, small enough that I will not spend most of my prep time making events that will not happen.

However even coming up with four unique events for every encounter can be a difficult. So I also came up with a rough guideline of the types of encounters every four entry encounter table should feature.

So here is what you need:

1. A Monster Encounter

Let's get this one out of the way. One of the events in your table should be an area appropriate monster that wanders into the area...Or a Wandering Monster if you prefer. And while the players may choose to work their way around the creature, fighting it should always be an option in this sort of event.

So if one of the encounters in your four entry table is a Wandering Monster, then that means there is always a 25% chance that your party will need to defend themselves.

2. A Gift

Things fall off the backs of carts all the time, and it is always surprisingly interesting to see how your players react. This can be anything from a gold ring, to a wheel of cheese, to a bag of severed human hands... Whatever fits the tone of your campaign.

These sorts of found items can spark some very entertaining debates among the players. I have heard group discuss whether they want to try and return the item, whether or not the item is booby trapped, whether they should even pick it up at all, etc. etc.

3.  "Hey Look a Bird!"

A bit of an inside joke, but effectively this type of encounter is a description of the world around the players that is used to build atmosphere. So effectively it amounts to being about as important as "Hey look a bird!" These sorts of encounters are a great way to give your characters a break, and a moment to think about where they are and how their position has changed since the start of the game/campaign.

So change the weather, mention the mountains in the distance, describe a hawk that flies over the dense canopy above. Whatever suits the moment. Then take some time and ask your players about their character's thoughts and motivations. It will be a great break from combat and a good chance for your players to consider their characters.

4. A Small Side Quest

While larger side plots should be introduced through character interaction, a small event for the players to get wrapped up in is a great way to keep things fresh. This sort of encounter should be a a small mission that they players may either choose to ignore or complete. You know, the sort of thing you might find in a video game.

So you might encounter a young boy desperately pleading with passers-by to help rid his farm of bandits, or two merchants blocking the road with their carts and arguing over who crashed into who. The rewards for the players here are XP, a bit of money or items, and best of all potential allies as you help people and make friends. The downside is of course the expenditure of time on fairly meaningless matters, and the potential for harm, and making enemies.

Be sure as a DM that you do not bite off more than you can chew here. A side quest introduced in a random encounter should not take more than the rest of your current game to complete. It is supposed to be a small event to fit in between story encounters, not the game itself.

So there you have it! May four entry encounter tables change your games as much as they have changed mine!

Written by: Andrew Gregory

All images from D&D 5's Volo's Guide to Monsters 

Detect Alignment: Darth Vader

There are few villains more iconic, frightening, or layered than the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker. A supreme example of a character arc that dances across the alignment spectrum, the once-renowned hero of the republic- and chosen one -who befell a tragic turn to the dark side of the force, remains a nuanced enigma of anger, remorse, and ultimately redemption. In light of this darkness, unmasking Darth Vader is a challenge worthy of the inaugural edition of JADE's new series: Where we take some of the most essential characters from literature, film, TV, and all other forms of media pop culture, and and we break them right the f down for your discerning pleasure.

To truly understand and appreciate our favourite characters on the level they deserve, we must decipher the coding which governs their souls: The inner set of morals, desires, and passions that fuel their rise into the echelons of legend -yet remain hidden in the shadows to those on the outside. In the case of Darth Vader, Yoda is apt in surmising how clouded the boy's future is when a young Anakin is first brought before the Jedi Council by Qui-Gon Jinn.Yet even the Grand Master of the Jedi Order still eventually agrees to train the young boy of prophecy, ignoring his own supremely lawful better judgement, and setting events in motion that will shape the galaxy's destiny for thousands of years to come.

Now, as a Jedi Knight just merking ALL of the droids during the height of the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker usually operates on the fringes of what could be considered “lawful” conduct. Very quick to grow impatient and angry, the hasty and self-assured “chosen one” frequently embraces a chaotic methodology in completing his objectives -often-times exploiting all the combustible elements of a given situation - before using his incredible skill and ability to manipulate them to his advantage. This reckless behaviour leads his Master -Obi-wan Kenobi -to regularly express concern regarding the increasing arrogance of the young Jedi.

When Anakin finally falls to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader -And prior to losing the fierce lightsaber duel against his former master on the volcanic shores of Mustafar (due largely to his own arrogance)- the young Sith Lord's chaotic nature is still consuming him: Vader's dark-side turn is largely influenced by his inability to control the fear of loss - and is fuelled by his desperate and frantic attempts to gain greater power in order to prevent it no matter the cost. It's only after killing the love of his life does Vader's personal alignment shift to mirror the calculated, menacing breathing of the respirator now keeping him alive.

But we aren't just talking about the fall from good to evil here - or the move into darkness from light. We're talking about a complete overhaul of Anakin's operating psychology once he turns. Gone largely are the free-spirited tactics of the incredibly powerful Jedi Knight, replaced by the more precise, patient, and ruthless dictates of a confined Sith Lord completely devoted to the teachings of his dark master. To pinpoint Darth Vader at the height of his career as Palpatine's prize is to examine a broken man clinging to the alignment of Lawful Evil. Here are some of the ways Vader channels it to become the Empire's deadliest enforcer:

Dedication - Darth Vader is a savagely efficient killing machine. Though he loses a great deal of his force potential when his limbs are severed by Obi-wan- and he is horrendously burned- Vader eventually becomes accustomed to his brutally uncomfortable mechanized suit after enduring an excruciating rehabilitation period. He is able to combine the suit's strengths with his own remaining force power, and re-emerge as one of the deadliest weapons in the Imperial Arsenal. It is only the resilience offered by a fierce adherence to the code of the Sith that pushes Lord Vader to adjust to his now drastically-reduced capabilities. By this point, he has noting left except devotion to Palpatine, and does whatever it takes to keep his master on the throne -and uphold order in the post-republic government structure.

As the quintessential Lawful evil personality, Vader sees committing murderous acts (such as hunting down the remaining Jedi after the purge) as part of a duty to his master. “You don't know the power of the dark side of the force” becomes this Sith Lord's mantra, and he consistently demonstrates a faith that far surpasses any notion of an “archaic religion.” Lawful Evil is arguably the most dangerous alignment because it represents methodical, intentional, and fanatical raison d'etre. If Darth Vader is hunting you down, you're already dead.

Hierarchy- Very characteristic of those aligning with lawful evil is the willingness to operate within a hierarchy -in order to increase their power over others. Though LE characters would like to rule, they are willing to serve. Vader knows that in his mechanized state, he would never be able to overthrow the Emperor on his own -choosing instead to remain a snake in the grass, waiting for the right opportunity to bite. Though not technically cannon, the training of Starkiller as a secret apprentice -before betraying him to Darth Sidious upon the dark lord's discovery- is a great example of the search for a powerful tool to overthrow the Emperor (while remaining unable to break free of Palpatine's grasp) prior to Vader's discovery of Luke Skywalker.

At his core, Darth Vader cares about tradition and order, but not about freedom, dignity, or life. (His own included.) Racked with remorse and guilt over the death of Padme, Anakin surrenders the last of himself to the dark side of his self hatred, and becomes a devoted agent of evil. He may play by the rules, but it's without mercy or compassion. This is probably the only reason why Vader is willing to take orders from Tarkin- instead of just ripping out the Grand Moff's spinal cord- and executing all of his subordinates for their disturbing lack of faith. 

Vengeance- Though hopelessly enslaved and devoted to Palpatine following his loss on Mustafar, Darth Vader never forgives his master -whom he ultimately blames for the death his wife, Padme Amidala. Vader realizes that he must align his chest pieces perfectly before attempting to strike down Sidious, yet the notion of vengeance remains etched in the back of his mind. For it is failing to avenge a loved one that is a cardinal sign of weakness to a Lawful Evil entity- and one which must be rectified if they are ever to find some semblance of peace.

Revenge as a driving force aptly explains Vader's fanatical obsession with finding Luke Skywalker, converting him to the dark side, and overthrowing the Emperor to reign as father and son. It's the thought of vengeance that keeps the mechanized Sith Lord locked up in his ordered state of darkness, but ironically enough, it's also what brings him back to the light. Unable to witness his son being executed at the hands of his slaver, Darth Vader chooses to sacrifice his own life by murdering Darth Sidious, avenging his family, and finally bringing balance to the force as the prophesied chosen one.

When we think of Darth Vader as one of the most iconic movie villains in history, it's hard to see past the terrifying stature, menacing voice, and the haunting gasps for air which are synonymous with impending doom. And yet, when we unmask the terror and disarm the monster, we are left simply with a damaged soul desperately clinging to the order he so lacked in his youth. Vader remains a deeply stratified character surviving beneath the black-iron prison he's confined to, but we're confident we've provided the thorough analysis required to cast light on the shadows of Anakin Skywalker. Let us know what you think of Darth Vader's alignment, and stay tuned as we continue to explore the true forms of the characters who grip us the most. May the force be with you all.

Written by: Jeff Clive

All images sourced: https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Anakin_Skywalker

JADE's New Monster Race Dice!

That's right! JADE's new Monster Race Die is out an ready for you to use in your D&D game! But of course everyone has questions and we are hear to answer them!

1. What is the Monster Race Die compatible with?

Our Monster Race die is compatible with D&D 5e and features the races listed as Player Character Races in D&D 5's Volo's Guide to Monsters Book.

To use it simply replace the Race Die in our Set II RPG Character Dice and roll up your new chareacter!

2. Is it available as an individual die?

Absolutely! In fact right now we are only selling them.

3. What D&D Races are on the die?

The Monster Race Die features the seven player character races that were introduced in the Volo's Guide. Those monsters are:

Aasimar
Firbolg
Goliath
Kenku
Lizard Folk
Tabaxi
Triton

The 8th side is the JADE Reroll face.

4. There are other races with Player stats in the Volo's Guide, why only these 7 races?

So we debated doing a set of Volo's Monster Race dice to cover the all of the creatures VOlo's Guide introduces. However since the guys at Wizards of the Coast made a distinction between new monsters and new player character races in the book, we decided that we would to. 

That and we want to make sure that there is a clear difference between a Monster Die, and a Player Race Die.

5. How much is it?

Our New Volo's die retails $4.50 Canadian. That works out to $3.50 USD for our american friends.

6. Why is it black and will you be releasing the RPG Character Dice in black?

Just for fun! We thought everyone would appreciate a change from our usual white scheme. And we are definitely considering releasing out RPG Character Dice in a variety of different colours.

So get your onw Monster Race Die now!

Written by: Andrew Gregory

Creating D&D Maps in Dia

Containing the starting points of Arachnophobia Game 1-24 (Green lines), Arachnophobia Game 25+ (Orange Lines) and Thomas Time Travel Adventures (Purple)

Any one familiar with our 5 Ways to Manage Your Campaign or JADE's Arachnophobia Campaign will recognize the above image. It is part of the map that I created in a program called Dia and one of the tools I use to track the progress and position of my player party in game.

Dia is web mapping, and drawing software. It is great for bubbling mapping out your story, or as I have used it to create simple maps interactive "live maps" And the best part is that it is free!

Dia only saves in an editable format. So all of those objects in that image are movable sizable, etc. etc. Making it the perfect interactive map. It is also huge.

The image above only represents a small portion of a country I call the Graylands. However zoom out and you can see more.

The Graylands

So here is an image of the entire Graylands. The image at the top is roughly in the center of that blue mass. Which is impressive enough as it is... But we can keep going.

The World (which I haven't named yet)

This is my entire world (more or less) completely zoomed out... Which my computer absolutely hates and just slows right down so I don't normally work at this level. However, for reference the image at the top of the article is in the middle of the blue mass at the top left the image above.

To my rough idea of a scale, it is around 5000 miles from the top to the bottom. The blue areas represent dense collections of objects, and ultimately the places that I have fully populated. I currently have no fewer than 5 campaigns happening in this world, each in their own location and tracking their progress on a game by game basis using different coloured lines.

I have had people tell me I should export this map out into something more attractive. But aside form the fact that the image prints out to a 20gb PNG file that is roughly 20ftx20ft in area, I have never found any software that actually let's me manage my map live, and at such scale.

And that isn't the only thing we use Dia for in game.

The Battle of Jedburgh Stables

In our last game of Arachnophobia, we played it remotely over Discord and And I set up a battle using Dia. Each player had their own coloured cicrle, the Gray are buildings and we even were able to through down some AOE spell effects (the green stars are Entangle spells).

It worked brilliantly and as the DM it only took me about 10 minutes to setup!

The Island of Delphi in the Hellenistic Isles. The yellow lines are the Age of Heroes Party, the Reddish brown Age of Heroes: Cletus' Tale (Roughly the centre left in the max zoomed out map)

Now everything being said, there is one elephant in the room here. Dia is not designed to do what I am doing with it. I have been working on my world map for two and a half years and have spent countless hours creating each line of coast, each road, forest, village, city, encampment etc. etc.

I honestly started off with a just simple map connecting all the towns the players were travelling through. Each town was a circle with a name connected by a line showing the road. And as the game grew so did the map. A forest here,  a bandit camp there, and then one day I just decided to sit down and map out as much as I could. It has taken me ages to get this map into the state that it is in, and so taking up this sort challenge is not for the faint of heart.

But all in all. These days I couldn't imagine hosting a D&D game without using Dia to map out something.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

The 9 Stages of Playing a Warhammer 40k Game

Warhammer 40k, or any tabletop game really, can be a great experience and a roller coaster of emotions. From the joy of seeing your army setup and on the table, to the elation of victory and the crush of defeat!

So here are the 9 stages that everyone goes through when they play a game of Warhammer 40k

1. It's Exciting!

If you are anything like me you only get to play this game about once a month. Your buddies come over, it is a big event and it is going to take the whole day.  Excitement is in the air as everyone shows off new purchases, new minis finished or generally discusses new things they have discovered in  the rules.

These times are great! The mood is amicable and everyone is ready to throw down.

2. Oh Shit, We Should Probably Start Playing!

The guys that I play Warhammer 40k with aren't actually my usual JADE game group. They are the same guys I used to play 40k with back in High School, and again I only see them once a month, so we spend a lot of time chatting and catching up! 

Usually some one then realizes we should probably get going and a flurry of activity begins. The focus is there as people finish up their armies and get their forces ready for action.

3. This Game Takes Forever to Setup.

This is where your weakest players begin to break. Tabletop miniatures games take literally forever to get going. This is not for the weak of heart, and the larger the armies and the more players, the longer this takes.

The strategy for the game starts to unfold here, but also the cracks start to show, as some players try and hurry others so that they can get on with the game! Others move slowl and methodically setting up their force.

4. Ok We are Finally Playing!

The turn order is decided, and the rulers and measuring tapes come out and you are finally playing the game! Then.... Your spouse comes down and asks you who's winning. It has been three hours after all, and you to sheepishly tell them that you really only kinda, sorta, just got started.

Shaking their head they walk away. They will never understand, but at least you can get back to the game now.

5. Things are Not Going Well.

After a disastrous first turn, you morale is pretty shaky. But maybe, just maybe if you can regroup, you can pack enough of a punch to turn the tables once and for all!

The next few turns go quickly there are fewer models on the table and targets are being selected with more ease.

6. The Come Back of the Century.

Your strategy worked and a glimmer of hope rests on the horizon! It is only a matter of time beofre the game is over and victory is yours.

Despite your outward confidence this is a tense moment. A good or bad roll from the enemy could make or break you. You just gotta keep it together.

7. Oh My God This Game Takes Forever!

You have been playing this game for almost 8 hours at this point. Your feet hurt, your back aches from bending over the table, nerves are frayed, and now everyone is quibbling over the minutiae of rules.

This game needs to end soon. Dice are being thrown at each other and poor decisions are being made on the table. true fatigue has set in.

8. Ok Guys This is the Last Turn.

With everyone agreeing that regardless of what turn it is, this is the last one. A renewed spirit fills the room. The final pushes happen on the table and the strategies wind down as everyone pushes their armies into victory positions, or gets that final shot off that they have been planning.

With morale raised, things become much more cordial around the table again. It simply doesn't matter, you have probably already figured out who is going to win.

9. Good Game Everybody!

With the game likely decided by the end of turn two, the game wraps up quickly and you all reminisce about how well, or how poorly your army did. The smiles return and plans go to the future! 

Next weekend everyone agrees. And nodding you all promise that this month we will certainly get in more games! This never happens, and the monthly session gets rescheduled four weeks later.

And the cycle begins again.

So that is pretty much how my games go. How do yours pan out?


Written by: Andrew Gregory

What Makes a Good Dungeons and Dragons Campaign?

I wanted to be a dungeon master as soon as I got started playing D&D almost 15 years ago. So with most people wanting to be player characters in the game, I have hosted a lot of campaigns. I personally rarely use modules, preferring to write my own stories and adventures. This means that  for as many campaign as I ave seen succeed, I have had twice that many fail.

Being slightly less critical of myself, these days my campaigns are usually successes. They keep the players interested and wanting to come back for more. I currently have no fewer than 3 games running that are approaching or are well into the 10th game mark. Our Arachnophobia Campaign, for example, is going into Game 31 next session, with no signs of stopping!

Now all that said, not every game you host or play can be an absolute smash, but here are five things that every D&D campaign should have to keep things as fun, and as playable as possible!

1. A Prepared Dungeon Master

Something I say a lot on this blog, and I am not afraid to say again, being a dungeon master is a lot of work. You need to be focused during the game, and you have work to do when you are finished. Whether that is reading the next chapter of the module, calculating the player XP, or writing the next game, you have preparations to make.

So be sure you actually give yourself enough time to do this. Keep notes during the game so you can reference them later. Take time to map out how the events of last game effect the events of this game. Consider consequences of what's to come, etc. etc.

Essentially do your homework, and your campaign will come to life.

2. Well Thought out Player Characters

This one is for the players in any campaign. It is really easy to make hilarious characters in Dungeons and Dragons. I personally have a barbarian who after the first swing with their magic weapon will leave it buried in their victim in order to switch to bare-fisted melee. It is a terrible tactical decision, but it is hilarious and really fun to play. That being said, while playing these sort of silly characters can be fine (My barbarian only plays through dungeon crawls without any real role play events), It is important to think about who they are as a person.

Any genuine role play event will require your characters to have more depth to them so that they can make reasonable decisions and participate in that half of the game. I have often found that parties that feature too many of these goofy characters tend to fall apart due to their own silliness. Without any real personalities to fall back on the comedic troupes of each of these players will be all you have, and rarely have I found that it is enough. These sorts of groups often result in the party getting arrested for causing a public disturbance, or worse.

So even if they are a strange person, think about your character's back story, how they will react in different situations and spend some time to create a well thought out character. They will get further in the game.

3. Actions that Have Consequences

Both players and dungeon masters should always be aware of the consequences of their actions.

Players, this means that you should think before you act. Bands of murderers usually get run out of town and eventually labeled as Bandits. Being disrespectful to Clerics means that they might be reluctant to heal you. Etc, etc. So plan out your interactions a bit and keep in mind the consequences of what you do.

Dungeon masters, you need to pay attention to what is going on. Look at what your characters are doing and determine what the likely outcome will be. It is ok to skew it in their favour if you like, but when the player's actions matter, they feel more involved in the world and motivated to keep going. Don't be afraid to give them some negative consequences for poorly planned actions as well.

So add a touch of realism and consider what happens when you begin to interact with the world.

4. Encounters That are More Than Just Combat

Fighting things is fun. There is no two ways about it. But endless battle encounters can get real stale real fast. Once your group figures out an effective formation they will simply re-use it and battles can lose their pizzazz. Sure you can absolutely change combat up! You can throw in a new monster, change the terrain they are fighting in, and so on and so forth. But better still is to shake things up with a non-combat based encounter.

One thing you can do is give the players a puzzle a solve. Have them fix a bridge so that they can leave town. Shrink them down to being only 6" tall and have them figure out how to escape the room. Have them figure out how to sneak into the royal court. The possibilities here are only limited by your imagination!

So have them use their problem solving skills and keep them on their toes. The reward of solving a complicated puzzle will be as sweet as a combat well won... Just make sure that your puzzle is actually solvable.

5. A Fair and Reasonable Atmosphere Around the Table.

It is up to dungeon masters and players alike to keep the game going. Remember that it is just a game, and we all want to have fun. So players need to realize that they can't always get what they want, and that the story needs to move forward regardless. Dungeon Masters if your players are unhappy you need to make some changes, and work with them.

Ultimately Dungeons and Dragons is a team sport and it works best if everyone is trying to make it a good game. So be mindful if you are pointlessly holding up the game to the determent of others, and if hosting, provide challenges to over come, not death traps the squeeze through.

In short, avoid being selfish as a player and a sadist as a DM and your game should go off without a hitch.

Every D&D group is different, and communication between everyone involved in the game is a must! So your group maybe different. But I have found over the years that maintaining a fun D&D campaign is largely about how much effort everyone is willing to put into the game. So do your homework, create well thought out characters, throw them into interesting scenarios where the outcome really matters, and be a good  and supportive player and dungeon master in D&D, and your game will run fine!

How do you guys keep your campaigns fun and interesting? Let us know in the comments!


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Central Powers Parseval-Siegsfeld Type Observation Balloon

Although the Central Powers in the First World War did use the Allied Caquot Type Observation Balloons, they also came up with their own... Ummm... Let's call it a "unique" design...

To get the elephant out of the room right now. Yes it is remarkably phallic, and yes it does sort of look like a used condom. But I promise you that was what they actually looked like.

So like their allied counterpart, the Parseval-Siegsfeld type balloon is a flight balloon. That means it is designed to remain stable in high winds. Where the allied version used three fins and an oval shape, the Parseval-Siegsfeld type balloon, uses the wind to fill the bag underneath at the back. This provides the balloon with more stability as part of it is filled with the blowing wind itself.

I actually think it is a really cool design, despite how wang-like the balloon may appear.

There really isn't a lot of information about military observation balloons online. Most of what I can figure out comes from Wikipedia and snippets of articles that once found disappear back into the web never too be seen again.

I am not sure why I am surprised that there isn't a community of military ballooning enthusiasts online, but at the same time I am surprised.

So, regardless of its appearance, we now have a Central powers observation balloon so that we can do Allied-centric Balloon busting missions.

If you want your own Parseval-Siesgfeld Type balloon you can print your own with the model  from Thingiverse.

I can't wait to shoot one down.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

The Tabletop Space Cannon Project Part 2

It has been a few months since Mike and I had any time to work on our Space Cannon Project, but before last Saturday's Age of Heroes AD&D Game we had a few hours to continue our plans! We had left off deciding which way the barrel would face on the base, how we were going to mount it on the base, etc, etc.

So, we made some new decisions and Mike figured how to mount and support the cannon on the base.

Original Rough Concept

The original idea was for the Cannon to sit as shown above. However from the very start, Mike thought it would look better if the cannon was facing the other way. He also envisioned a dug out structure between the tines of the lower platform. After looking at what we had created, he finally convinced me.

Second Concept 

So this is roughly what the cannon's profile will look like when finished. The next challenge was how to mount the cannon on an angle onto the base. While I prepared the arches to cover the side (Which are no where near done but you can see above) Mike began creating the framework that would support the cannon.

It is a little hard to see in this image, however the cannon will be supported by a series of increasingly long rectangular plates with a semi-circle cut out of the top of each to support the cannon. There will be three to four of these risers and that will form a base for the cannon to rest in.

Since that probably didn't make a lot of sense, the below image should give some clarity.

So these risers are made out of plasti-card, and we had a hell of a time getting the cannon to rest on them properly. But after some patience and diligence with a glue gun we finally got them in place, and that cannon was able to stand for the first time. Well, at least for a moment.

The next issue was that plasticard, styrofoam and glue gun glue doesn't weigh very much, And our Nerf gun barrel was too heavy, which caused the whole structure to tip. To offset this issue I glued these two bolts to the bottom. They are actually the original Canvas Eagles bases that Elijah and I made all the way back in 2011 before JADE was a group, but that is a another story!

So we have a a lot more work to do before the cannon model is together, let alone painted and ready for the tabletop! We will keep you posted with more updates to come as we slowly move towards finishing this thing.


Written by: Andrew Gregory

Reviving a 2nd Edition Pewter Chaos Dreadnought

Like my Pewter Great Unclean One, this old Chaos Dreadnought is one of the original models that I bought back in 2003-2004. Like most models from Warhammer 40,000 2nd and 3rd Ed all Dreadnoughts were solid pewter back in the day, making this fella a hefty model on the tabletop.

Even back in the day, and with the exception of a few Forge World pieces like this Multi-Melta above that were considered quite good, the Chaos Dreadnoughts were thought of as looking a little goofy looking. And frankly my terrible painting and conversion skills back in the day did nothing to add to the model's aesthetic.

When I pulled this guy out of my old chest of 40k models he was in a sorry state. The above picture is after hours of removing terrible look green stuff blobs, and bits of Tyranid spikes that were haphazardly super glued in place. However, after a 24 hour bath in some concentrated simple green cleaning solution and some scrubs with a toothbrush he was practically brand new!

Ok, so it was almost as good as new, but it was certainly good enough to bring back to life! Originally I had planned to paint this guy up as a Black Legion Dreadnought, however 8th Edition was a huge change up! and now my Death Guard army has plans for no fewer than three Dreadnoughts in some builds, so this guy was conscripted for the purpose. The Black Legion will have to wait.

So it took me a bit to get it together, but I finally had the time and motivation to sit down and finish this guy once and for and honestly it was really a joy to paint. Call it a combination of nostalgia and a genuine love for old Games Workshop Minis but I had a blast painting this guy! The angles and sculpt were quite fun to work with and it was a treat to slowly see the model go from drab to fab.

So that is how I recovered my old Pewter Chaos Dreadnought , which I guess are called Helbrutes these days. But honestly, even though it has been years since they changed it, I still think that's kind of a stupid name. Like Chaos Rhino's are still called Rhinos, and Chaos Land Raiders are still called Landraiders, so why are the dreadnoughts now something different? And why did they have to pick the goofiest name ever?

But Anyways! That's my third Chaos Dreadnought. Up next I have the second discontinued Forge World Plague Marine Dreadnought and I really can't want to paint it!

Written by: Andrew Gregory

P.S. The word "Mori" as seen on the banner on Dreadnought Fist means"To Decay" in Latin. And that is according to my Sister Sarah who has studied Latin and can Read for her PHD in Medieval Studies. So I am honestly just taking her word for it. Lol!