Historical Figure of Renown: Saladin

Known best among us Westerners for his encounters and his gallantry with Richard Lionheart, Salah al-Din, was a Muslim conqueror who led a rags-to-riches story. From a minor lord is Mesopotamia, he rose to be the ruler of Egypt and one of the greatest leaders of the Muslim world. In a time when hatred and bigotry between the Christian and Muslim world ruled, his name was praised and revered by all. For this feat alone, he made this list.

Saladin fought everyone of the faction in the Middle-East: from Mesopotamia to Egypt to the Crusader to Syria and he even took on the famed Assassins! He was known as a generous man who gave a lot of his riches to his subjects.

In many ways Saladin is, to me, the epitome of what a D&D Paladin should be: honest, direct, constantly striving for the good of his people, willing to act swiftly when he thought his cause was right.

History has been kind to him and his legacy. I tried to think of Saladin as a bad guy, as someone who was legacy-hungry or obsessed with himself. But his actions throughout his life do not lend themselves to that.

Using him (as an opponent) Saladin is a man of principle above all. As an opponent, he is honorable and works within the law. He is the enemy who is one of ideology. He is not bad, but someone who supports a cause or a side different than the PCs'. It makes it that much more interesting because unlike the typical villain, simply raiding his castle and taking him out is likely to make things worse.

Using him (as an ally) A rather classic patron, this good guy seeks adventurers to further his agenda and do good in the world! Perhaps a bigger twist is that this patron's agenda actually is to do good! No dark purpose! I know! So novel!

JP

Menoth: Flameguard

I won these guys in an online auction around the time I decided to start a Menoth force. These guys paint up nicely. I chose off-white for the robe (I find that it makes them look more active. And somewhat... natural. The purplish-pink and gold make a nice contrast to the white I think. The result is a nice-looking unit.

The sculpt on these guys works for me. They are dynamic and full of character. I keep thinking of using them in a NeoExodus interactive in some way. I keep thinking as Peacekeepers or even a unit of Sanguine Covenant soldiers. The future is still to come...

JP

Menoth: Cinerators... with banners

JP loves banners... So when I got the Two-player battle box for Warmachine, two models for the cinerators that came with the box came with irrevocably bent swords, a great idea blew over me... POLES AND BANNERS. So I went about converting these two to have poles... and banners! This was the first time I painted any Menoth models seriously. And I liked them... It has been so long since I painted fully armored models in large quantity.

I'm rather quite pleased with the outcome of the models. They look big and impressive!

Plus they have banners!

Sunday Funnies: Death of Bruce Wayne!

I was reading a blog the other day (yes, I keep wait for Sunday to post the funnies rather than the rest of week), and found this. This is hilarious!

And surprisingly COMPLETELY SFW!

I KNOW!!!

Click for full-size image.

JP

Mercenaries: Thor Steinhammer, dwarf with a flamethrower

Another one of the goodies I got from Gamers' Haven!

Thor is a fire-obsessed dwarf... surprising that he still has facial hair! I did a fairly simple paint job to make his tie in with the rest of my dwarf Mercenary force.

JP

Cygnar/Mercenaries: Constance Blaze

When I first took Josiane to the Louisville Game Shop, I had her choose a miniature. I expected her to pick a nice caster-type, but she selected a heavily armored modeled, Constance Blaze. So now that I have the model, my other daughter, Kitty, created a warrior type... so guess who has a mini for her character now? Kitty!

I don't know if I'll ever use her to play Warmachine but if I do, it will be as a Mercenary, and not as a Cygnarite (considering I sold my Cygnar before moving...) Still a simple paint job on a nice model. It was quick and easy.

JP

Hordes Minions, Retribution: Anyssa Ryssyl Nyss Sorceress

Lanyssa is a great-looking model and one that was on my Gamer's Haven order... She is a characterful model and one that may very well end up being a future character of mine! I gave her green hair to look like the rest of my Nyss models (the blighted ones). Since Purple is the main color of my Everblight army... I gave her a purple cloak to represent that she hunts them. I chose a drab-brown color for her outfit to represent the fact that she is alone and would most likely have to scrap together her own clothing.

Her base was done like my Legion of Everblight: rocks and snow with a few tufts of grass.

JP

Historical Figure of Renown: Josef Stalin

When I started this list, I tried to think of people whose name should be known by everyone. Stalin's name came up. I won't make any attempt at trying to present him as a benevolent dictator or someone who was just misunderstood. Stalin was a monster and a madman. He is the first "warning to History". Stalin is proof of the madness the Cult of Personality engenders.

It is interesting to think what Russia might have become in the hands of someone who was less of a mad ogre. While the fall of Imperial Russia was inevitable, the transition into a constitutional monarchy or a (non-communist) republic might have redefined the 20th century and the poles of power in the world. Stalin prevented that and preyed on his people to feed his mad desires and ruthless ambition. What could a gentler Soviet Union have done for mankind?

As I said an interesting exercise.

To me, Stalin is the ultimate story of the Lieutenant-taking-over, not the man who got there as the head man. Stalin rose to power in the shadow of Lenin. As a kid, I read "Tintin au pays des Soviets" and that was a major influence on me. Hergé's book reveals a number of things about the Soviet Union and how they operate. As a child, I thought they were quite funny. But today... I just re-read the story and though while not the best of Tintin's it includes a few gems, such as the "vote" which I copied here.

At the time, I had difficulty understanding how/why a government would take these types of actions against its people. But with age came understanding.

Even after his death, Stalin's shadow loomed over the Soviet Union. At that time, the country was committed in a number of locations and it could not back down from a showdown with the US and the West. It had to stand strong for the sake of communism. Egos were involved and it would not be acceptable to simply give up. So the standoff continued, and even intensified. His mark would remain as both a stain and a mark of sheer will and determination. Even after Khrushchev liberalized the Union, there were still many who wanted a return to Stalinist politics.

Using him (Early days) Stalin was always a loyal thug. He was a good thug by all accounts, but a thug nonetheless. As a local leader of a larger organization, such as a thieves or merchants guild. He has a reputation for being ruthless and efficient.

Using him (Mother Russia's Husband) Upon Lenin's death, Stalin deified him, creating a communist messiah. Then he set about consolidating his power and removing any threat to himself and his power - real or imagined. It is this era that I think of whenever I imagine a government oppressing its people at the whims of a mad dictator.

Using him (Aftermath) The tyrant is dead, he made his nation powerful. His death does not result in a civil war, but rather a power struggle between those who seek to keep the same type of policies and those who seek to change - or modify them. How each factions plays their cards really gives us a lot of adventure potential.

JP

Hordes Minions: Wrong-Eye and Snapjaw

You might remember that before leaving Colorado, I had some store credit left and I arranged with the store to order and pickup my goodies at Tacticon. Well as usual, the guys from Gamers' Haven came through and I got my hands on these two bad boys.

My children are both fond and scared of alligators (our visit at the Colorado gator farm did little to alleviate that). So I painted these miniatures trying to make them look as realistic as possible. So I researched a number of alligator pictures then painted these guy accordingly! I like the final result!

In-game they are also pretty great because they are willing to work for any Hordes faction and Cryx (which I don't have). However these guys are pretty cool on their own.

Legion of Everblight: Warlock Saeryn

Saeryn is a warlock from the Legion about whom I have read a lot. I am quite curious about how she plays.

I painted her to stand out from the rest of my army by giving her a bright green hairdo. My son asked me "Daddy, why did you paint this girl like the Joker?"

*Facepalm*

The boy was right...

Legion of Everblight: The Raek!

The raek is a creature I have been meaning to get for a long time. I like it's look that makes me think of a tiger. So I opted to give it an orange base on the hard chitin. The result is surprising... It is a clear contract with the rather drab rest of the army. I like the result.

Legion of Everblight: Blackfrost Shard

Now that a brave turkey as come and gone, it is officially the cold season. What better way than to put together the Blackfrost Shard for the Legion of Everblight! These three fellows are full of character and would make good RPG characters for sure. I have been thinking of building an elf character...

On this day of Thanks three or five Legion solos

On this day of Thanksgiving, I want to thank you, my readers for faithfully reading this blog and providing me with insight and comments (on and off-board). Thank you.

My offering today includes three legion Solos (well 5, but). I never got to play any of them - yet.

The first picture has three spell martyrs. Next is Anyssa, the huntress on her elk-thing. Finally, a sorceress on hellion. All of them painted to match the rest of my army.

JP

GOSTOR: Skill Encounters released!

Dear fans and friends!

It is with great joy that just in time for Thanksgiving, that I announce the launch of the new series of products. GOSTOR: a Grumpy Old Schooler's Take On Rules. Thanks to my friends on Facebook for the name!

This first installment in this new series of products is "Skill Encounters" a light framework for more complex skill-based encounters. Those familiar with "Skill Challenges" in other games will find the basics to be known already. However, where skill challenges have a reputation for behind unwieldy and uninteresting, Skill Encounters focus on providing a fast, simple system aimed at rewarding creativity and engaging the whole party.

Check this new product out!

It was fun to design! And I can't wait to hear what people think!

As an added bonus, between now and December 3rd, the book will be available at the special introductory price of 2.49! Click here this special price! It is valid until December 3rd 2013.

I am looking for authors for a variety of products, just let me know!

JP

Two Deathstalkers for the Legion

One of the first things every gamer must do is fine and support their local store. I used to be a man who gave love to two stores in Colorado: Gamers' Haven and Petries, which I enjoyed for different reason. Now that I'm in Kentucky, I had to find a new place. This place is the Louisville Game Shop. I know, the name is not overly imaginative, but the place feels like an old-school store - but with tables to play in the back.

The first order for minis that I posted at my new game store was for two Deathstalkers for my Legion of Everblight. These hunters are pretty cool and will beef up my small band of striders - a unit I already love very much.

If you look closely you will notice the minor conversion I did to one of them.

I will be posting a number of Legion pictures in the next few days.

JP