These are hormagaunts, the melee troops of the tyranids.
For SpaceFOE, they are called gnashers part of the Ticks. The ticks are creatures who are insect-like and spread out into the cosmos. They fight by swarming targets mindlessly. I have some Small (CR 1/8), Large (CR 1), and Huge (CR 2) versions.
I have been distantly involved with the folks at Lurking Fears who produce some really good gaming stuff, particularly with Call of Cthulhu. Recently, I saw a post from them asking for volunteers to play a streamed game of Rat Queens, with the PCs taking on the roles of the titular Queens.
Therefore, reading the first trade paperback was required for the game. It's been a long time since I did something with required reading. In fact, I think it was an interview... I did not get that job (thank God!)
So on to the story. The Rat Queens are one of many adventuring/ mercenary parties in the town of Palisade and well... like most young people with a lot of money and not much to spend it on, they get drunk, fight each other, and cause a lot of damage.
Yep, they are pretty much the typical D&D party. They talk trash. Curse. Sex. A lot. Then booze. And drugs. In short, they are the stereotypical 20-something college crowd with money and power!
Now the good points: I like the four Queens. They each have their personalities and the conflicts generated by these personalities are interesting and really sells the whole piece. I've a feeling you could put these four into whatever situation/ adventure and they would play out with similar hilarious results.
The main villain of the piece is also efficient (though I've a feeling he will suddenly become completely incompetent so the Queens can prevent him from doing his nefarious deeds).
The art is topnotch and really effective. The writing is competent. The characters are good. The story has some interesting twists. The world has some consistency in a gaming sort of way.
So why do I not like this? Why do I get the feeling this book is "not for me." The in-your-face, over-the-top rowdiness turns me off. Now I don't "hate-hate" it... But I don't think I would read much more of it either.
So... what do I rate this? If you like this sort of thing, you may go as high as 4/5. But I can't go that high. I thought about giving it a 2/5 but there are a lot of things here that I liked that don't warrant that. So, I have to settle on 3/5 but with severe warnings. This has an MA rating (or should).
I picked up this book prior to a work trip to Florida earlier this year. I always prefer to have a physical book when I travel and unable to find one that tickled my fancy on Amazon, I went to my local Barnes & Nobles to pick up a book by its cover.
After much browsing, I settled on this one.
Why? Because it seemed like a one-off. I have endless series because it typically means the author has no idea where the story is going. Give me a start-middle-end where I can then decide to continue.
Without spoiling... the story is that of siege. Sieges make for interesting stories.
The story has its moments, with a devious main character out of his league trying to sell lies to a Constantinople-style city. Many of the inventions/ ideas he uses are reasonable. The cast around him are competent and interesting with diverse perspectives that each highlighting different areas of concern. The characters are a high point.
Where do I start with the issues with this book? No messages of any kind can leave the city unless the main character does it. It just felt like a D&D game. A 100,000+ army sits outside a city for months without attacking. Airtight naval blockade (okay, that one made sense). The time passing is unclear at best. The whiffs of racism are unequally applied, feeling tacked on and not addressed more than in random scenes.
The worse of it all: the epilogue. I was waffling between "this is cool" and "this isn't great" but that epilogue... Basically, it said "none of this really happened and it does not matter." Telling me the reader that this was a work of fiction IN THE FICTIONAL WORLD. That sold it.
When I put the book down, I was not interested in reading the first chapters of other books. I just left them and closed the book.
What would you rate it, JP? I hear you asking. I waffled between a 2/5 and a 3/5 throughout my reading. The epilogue brought it down to a clear 1.5/5, rounding it out to a 2/5. A weak 2.
A classic Tyranid Hive Tyrant to lead an army.
In SpaceFOE, the Tick Queens are the generals who lead their brethren into battle. They evolved from the greatest of the Tick warriors. This thing is massive and it lords over all other creatures of the range. The third photo shows how the Queen lords over the huge gnashers
This Praetorian soldier belong to the Black Cohort. I hate painting large sections of black and used a little highlights not to hide the shiny black color.
This Commissar is ready to take command of an army of Local Defense Force (LDF). She could also be used as a boss for the Red Gang.
I remember reading about the demon lords from my Monster Manual II back in the 80s. His entry was pretty lackluster. He fought Demogorgon and Orcus, and troglodytes... I wrote him off as uninteresting in favor of other bigger, badder dudes. The picture made him look like he had a single arm.
It was not until I played and ran Expedition to the Demonweb Pits that my interest in him as a viable bad guy really picked up. He became a major character in the original and the remade Witches of Pikemaster.
This product takes new creatures from the expanded "Witches" and collects them into a small document. You get a number of new demons. Many of these demons proved to be quite a unique challenge to high level (8-12) because of their unique powers.
The art within by The British Shark, Blehc, and MedievalKyte really highlight everything.
A big thank you goes to my victims players: ActionMan, Billy, Corey, JP2, Marvin, and Sarah who suffered at the hands of the monsters.
"Witches" was written with Graz'zt as an opponent but one who is more than a demon monster out to rampage and destroy (but his goals are not good).
You can get it on the DM's Guild by itself.
The product is also half-price through the FOE Avernus Bundle, also on the 'Guild.
A big thank you for your continued support.
I finally got my hands on the first Defenders omnibus. I was looking forward to it.
The Defenders are the non-team superhero team, and it shows. Doctor Strange, Hulk, and Namor form the core of the group. Most of the stories lose time by bringing together these characters. Namor in particular provides very little that Hulk does not. When the Silver Surfer joins, it's even worse. Bunch of over powered characters who need Doctor Strange to solve what's happening while they punch stuff.
There are some highlights here.
First, the origin of the Valkyrie is given and her transformation over the issue is interesting. She starts off as a bad stereotype of a feminist, complete with predictable catchphrases. It took her a long time to grow into a full-on character (beyond this issue.)
Another highlight was the Defenders/Avengers cross-over where they deal with a plot from Dormammu and Loki. As the Defenders tried to free the Black Knight from being petrified. This was a six-issue plot. The worse part was the 6th "epilogue" when they travel in time to medieval Middle-East.
I think this one waffles between a low three and a high two. 2.5/5, which rounds out to 3/5.
These two girls were initially destined to become Necromunda Escher gangers, but I decided to go a different route and use a simple scheme. One has an ice scheme and the other a more forest-y.
This is a random off-brand Delaque juve from Necromunda I think would make a great bounty hunter with that long duster. The odd angle is because I had to fix him after his foot broke off.
A nobleman for SpaceFOE. His clothes look like crushed velvet. I really like the sculpt of his pistol.
This noblewoman resembles Helen Miren. She had a pistol that broke off, leaving her with something that resembles a deadman's switch or a communication
Perhaps the most random character of all, this is a model of the killer from the Scream franchise. Although he has a black robe in the series, I went for a blue scheme - because I prefer not to paint too much black.
This was a low-polygon Mech-priest painted in classic colors. I like his drill arm. The arm broke when I took it off the printing supports. I glued it back in its current position.
I painted this generic adventuress based on Sheila from the classic D&D cartoon, giving her a cammo cloak using a color scheme similar to the Spy.
This sniper I did with two different types color cammo schemes. The cloak with brown and green for his pants.
I built my tyranid warriors to carry a variety of weapons and use them in Grimdark Future. I like the ecclectic armament.
In SpaceFOE, they are elite Tick warriors who serve a local commanders. Unlike the gnashers and spitters, warriors are rather intelligent and have a sense of self-preservation.
I painted this guy as a member of my classic Cawdor Necromunda gang with purple and lavender.
This sergeant is ready for action and lead troops into action. I keep thinking he might lead the Green Thugs as an officer.
In 40k, poxwalkers are the mindless hordes of creatures infected by Nurgle.
In SpaceFOE, they are the vessels of the Rot simply called Rot Zombies. Their bodies become ever more deformed as the disease advances until nothing is left of them. When their bodies become so deformed that they can not longer move, they collapse and eventually die. And the Rot become dormant.
I really like this sculpt for a number of things: the staff and that its eyes are covered. Makes for a mysterious stranger.
This character is an uncontrolled psyker or someone who is being possessed. It is rare to find a sculpt with this type of pose. I went for a simple job with him.
Rahadin is Strahd's majordomo and a seriously disturbed individual. My group REALLY hated him and fighting him scared my players more than Strahd himself. Such an evil individual deserved more than what was in Curse of Strahd...
That's where Rahadin: Dread Knight of Ravenloft comes in... Extend the fun of using the psychopatic dusk elf...
Death is not the end in Barovia...
Get it now on DM's Guild (during October 2023, there is a 40% sale off Ravenloft Titles!)
