[Kinda Book Report] Between to fires

I got this book in my Amazon recommendations Between Two Fires by Christopher Buelman. The blurbs is not quite descriptive as to the content. I went into it expecting a piece of historical fiction set in France during the 100 years war, and I got that

What I did not expect to find was a story filled with supernatural elements taken from medieval demonic literature. Monsters we are less familiar with but who are no less horrific. Therein lies their horror...

Add to everything a plot that could lead to the end of the world and you end up with this book. I devoured this book. The subject of it called to me, even if as the plot advanced it became less and less historical fiction.

If I have to rate it... I'd say a strong 4 or a weak 5, which I will settle on 4/5.. a great book overall and a surprise to me.

[Commission] Warforge Alchemist

The second commission for Ron.

I believe this is the first time I painted a warforged... I just never use them in my games, so I never had any reason to paint one.

Again, he gave me pretty simple instructions. "Go with a blue scheme" was all he said.

At first, I thought about making him of blue-tinted metal... But quick tests did not make it look good. I wanted a subtle blue but it didn't work out. Came out too blue.

So instead, I chose to make the wrapping a deeper shape of blue and the body more dirty steel metallic. The result is that the brown leather really pops against the metal and the blue draws the eye.

For the base, I painted a broken lantern and a skull that were there, peeking out of the grass, leading to the question: what happened to their owner? Maybe I'm just too entertained, but I amused myself by the story they told.

One funny thing is that the model had a support line that connected directly into the warforged's mouth. I left it there and painted it as a cigar, and extra accent.

[Commission] Goblin Alchemist

I received this commission by my friend Ron at the Sunday D&D game.

His demand were simple: make it look good. He sent me a palette that was simple. I got the impression that his character was a type of back-alley alchemist or potion reseller. Whatever the case, buying something from him should make you wonder exactly what you got until you drink it.

And even then...

The most interesting aspect, as a painter was originally the many potions... they are so small but I wanted them to be different colors to showcase a variety of products...

Something that's hard to see are the plaids I painted on his pants. They really look good.

The cloak has two tone: A hood section mostly red and a dark brown bottom section. I like the mix of the two as it breaks the big blob of brown.

Gencon Perks: Minis for the GMs Olympia 4

Part of the GM perks for FOE is that you get some "products". I am never truly upfront with those because I never know ahead of time what I will be able to offer. This year, I managed to paint nearly everything that appeared in the adventure and offer baggies of miniatures to the GMs.

I printed and painted them myself.

Gencon Perks: Minis for the GMs Olympia 3

Part of the GM perks for FOE is that you get some "products". I am never truly upfront with those because I never know ahead of time what I will be able to offer. This year, I managed to paint nearly everything that appeared in the adventure and offer baggies of miniatures to the GMs.

I printed and painted them myself.

[Ozaka Campaign] Big Finale!

Our winter campaign, set in Ozaka has come to an end as the PCs tackled a strange creature hunting the refugees from the Yaminoryu's depredations. With the situation in Aoshima only getting worse between the Tojo and the Wakou.

This game began with the greatest question a GM ever asked his table...

Do you carry any explosives on you?

Their investigation led them to a fog-covered cemetery where a light shun growing darkness. Then, the nian, a flaming monster mixing elements of a lion and a dragon. The nian represent the craziness associated with the annual celebrations of the Lunar New Moon... A celebration known for its fireworks displays.

What followed was an epic battle where the terrain itself fought for the nian... The lanterns (visible in the picture) exploded whenever the PCs came near them! Until finally, the creature was defeated.

This epic battle put out level 8 party against this new monster (which will be published in an upcoming Ozaka Monster book). Due to school-related timing issues (half our party are high schoolers), we closed this chapter of the campaign. As some players will no longer be available for a few months, I think it easier to end this chapter and start something new.

Whether we will come back to Aoshima, or even Ozaka, remains to be seen.

Stay tunes for more details!

Gencon Perks: Minis for the GMs Olympia 2

Part of the GM perks for FOE is that you get some "products". I am never truly upfront with those because I never know ahead of time what I will be able to offer. This year, I managed to paint nearly everything that appeared in the adventure and offer baggies of miniatures to the GMs.

I printed and painted them myself.

Gencon Perks: Minis for the GMs Akhamet 2

Part of the GM perks for FOE is that you get some "products". I am never truly upfront with those because I never know ahead of time what I will be able to offer. This year, I managed to paint nearly everything that appeared in the adventure and offer baggies of miniatures to the GMs.

I printed and painted them myself.

Gencon Perks: Minis for the GMs Ozaka 2

Part of the GM perks for FOE is that you get some "products". I am never truly upfront with those because I never know ahead of time what I will be able to offer. This year, I managed to paint nearly everything that appeared in the adventure and offer baggies of miniatures to the GMs.

I printed and painted them myself.