Surpise!

Yes, well, I'm back posting again after, er, two months (really? that long?). For those who did read this blog (all 3 of you) I thank you humbly for your patronage. I've not been absent entirely though--I think many of you have seen me commenting from time to time on other blogs. Anyway, fall is here and that means more time indoors and more blogging.

A preview of a few ideas I'm working on:

Cover art encounters - BBG has a great recent post on the evolution of D&D covers and it got me thinking: have you ever picked up a book or module expecting to play the scenario on the cover only find that it's NOT in there? Have you ever scrapped the text in favor of recreating the scene on the cover? Stay tuned on that one.

Make a mini game - I've been really inspired by what's going on over at Paladin's blog about mini/micro games. (Not sure which is more correct--or maybe they should be called nano-games??) Anyway, he's got quite the collection and a great deal of knowledge/experience with the little buggers. It was his posts that inspired me to pick up Dungeoneer last week. In addition, I picked up HeroCard Orc Wars. Both are card-based games and OW actually includes beautiful tiles and some minis.

This is all leading me towards a passion project I've wanted to do in mashing up rules-lite RPGs with board games. I've been obsessed with trying to revamp the old Dungeon! game and I've started/stalled about a half-dozen times. I think I read somewhere that another blogger was doing the same and I'll be damned if I can't find his posts at the moment. Every time I think I'll lean more RPG I find some cool new board game or vice versa. And then Dungeons and Digressions had to go and post this. Which completely overloaded my circuits with joy and jealousy. :)

In any case, this is always on my mind, so expect some updates.

Geekish encounters/musings - My nerdliness knows no bounds, and I've recently run into a few local writers and illustrators so I'll make a few posts about the folks doing great work here in the Twin Cities.

Minis, bad sketches, etc. - Don't think for a second that I won't post about the cool minis that I've been amassing. And the bad sketches will continue until morale improves. Or until my drawing ability does. (Don't bet on either.)

That's all for now, be ready for more!

Pirates vs. Undead, Pt. 2

So I wanted to post close-ups of some of the pirate and skeleton characters I mentioned a while back. When I found them in the toy shop out east, I was surprised that for they were actually painted considering how cheap they were (under $10 or so). Now they're not exactly Rembrants, but considering they were like 20 to a pack plus accessories, that's a pretty good deal.

So here's a few shots of the pirates, I've given them names:

Shipwright Dooley

Hale O'Volley

Chopper Daniels

Blackpowder Billy

First Mate Collins

...and Captain Crabbacke!

Next time: Skeleton warriors!

Beware the Blue Oriental Dragon!

I had blogged earlier about the virtues of using toy figures for gaming. In a little back-and-forth on the comments at Back in '81 I mentioned posting a few pics of the Safari Ltd. blue dragon. They call it a Chinese dragon (also known as a lung dragon) but I'd like to think she'd be just as easily found in other nearby Asian regions. Here's a few choice shots:

Profile with Reaper Miniatures knight (from the Legendary Encounters collection of pre-painted minis).

Big 'ol dragon booty. Be nice, just because her back is turned doesn't mean she can't hear you.

Now where did that dragon run off to?

Pirates vs. Undead, Part I

TO ARMS!

Two summers ago I picked up a couple of pirate figures while visiting family on the East Coast. I stopped in at toy shop and found these great pirate figures--about the same size as little green army men. They came with a bevy of pirate accessories: a dinghy with oars, a few sacks and crates of cargo, a ladder (!), and the requisite treasure chest with gold. The accessories are nothing to write home about (hence the lack of pics) but the figure pack has some darn decent minis and they were cheap too: about $8.99!

And that's not all! It came with a horde of scurvy, undead scoundrels! No doubt they're angry about having their sandy graves disturbed by the pirates trying to bury their treasure. The photos aren't lit so great, but you can click to enlarge and see some detail.

GARRRRR!

So of course you know this means war....
The trusty first mate leads a scrappy landing party through the wretched undead mob....

...on his way to rescue the Cap'n!

Is there anything better than pirates and skeletons duking it out??!

Enjoy landlubbers!

Back At It...

Well I've had a very busy last few months, and I thought it was time to get my act together and get back to posting. I'll be posting some more mini photos soon, but I thought perhaps a preview might be in order....
See you soon!