It is often said that the mods do not close one thread without opening a new one and here we are with the Reaper 2024 thread.
If you're new here, Reaper took the reins as the general fantasy mini maker after the fall of Ral Partha and Grenadier and continues to make a line that's a mix of solid generic fantasy, large plastic kits. and insane concepts you never knew existed but now you need.
They do stuff in a variety of mediums, a PVC plastic called Bones, 3D printing and a large line of METAL for the manly men among us who are manly enough to use God's own casting medium.
Would you like to know more? Here's the 2023 thread.
So what do they have for us in 2024, well first some stuff from 2023 that I only just saw...
Sir Michel the Gold goes with Sir Guy the Red and Sir Roland the Grey as nice generic knights. The nice thing about Sir Roland of course is that, unlike the others, he comes pre painted.
The explosion in PC races in D&D (et al) has led to a similar explosion in minis to cover every variation, like this hellborn sorceress. She can also serve as a hellborn mage, hellborn illusionist or hellborn witch, and with some conversion a hellborn conjuror or hellborn summoner.
She's joined by a human wizard who seems to be wearing armor which just offends my old school sensibilities.
And finally Elquin the Daring, an Elf Hero, because elves don't need character classes, they're just naturally good at everything.
Some solid if unremarkable Hobgoblins and war dogs. I forget which is which.
and then for no apparent reason a giant snapping turtle and nightingale bard.
And finally this month's freeby (with $40 purchase) the "Elusive Weaselmancer" which I am sure is an in-joke or reference to something, but darned if I know what.
And there we are, a good start to another year of Reaper Madness.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: I’d love to see the Barbenheimerswift mini. But for now I’ll settle for that old school Bretonnian knight.
Ditto. She'd pair up nicely with my original vintage 90s post-apocalyptic Elvis in Vegas show gear mini from Demonblade.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Kid_Kyoto wrote: I wonder if anyone has registered BarbenheimerSwift2023@aol.com yet?
There's a handle that will truly withstand the test of time, just like my BritneyFan2000@yahoo.com address.
Ironically, I still use made up aol addresses with TV character names whenever someone requires me to give an email for something I don't care about. If there ever was/is someone named James Kirk or John Sheridan using an old aol email then I sincerely apologize to both captains for three decades of spam.
The Nightingale Bard was sculpted to provide support for Ukraine. All the proceeds were going there from sales of it during 2022/23. Guessing it was cast in a previous version of Bones prior to this re-release.
Jet lagged after an 18 hour+ trip from the US so what do I do, I reread the 2023 Reaper thread.
A lot of models from there have disappeared, I know Reaper is trimming it's metal back catalogue looks like Bones/Bones Blacks/Bones USA etc catalogue as well.
Plus a lot of Kickstarter stuff never hit retail.
So y'know FOMO, get 'em while they're hot and all that.
Weaselmancer has to be a reference to Beastmaster the TV Show..... right..... right!
Also, that human wizard is not wearing armor, she is wearing fetish gear. No, she is cos-playing as a Genshin Impact character! There, now your old school sensibilities can be settled.
Aw man, why does so much of their KS stuff never make it to retail? It's always a bit of a mystery to me...
I really want the Mongrel Folk from the current KS, but that's the only stuff I want from the base pledge... Such a dilemma, to pledge a gazillion bucks for a few models!
Anyway, I'm now officially subscribed to your 2024 thread. May you shake off jet lag quickly
pancakeonions wrote: Aw man, why does so much of their KS stuff never make it to retail? It's always a bit of a mystery to me...
I really want the Mongrel Folk from the current KS, but that's the only stuff I want from the base pledge... Such a dilemma, to pledge a gazillion bucks for a few models!
Anyway, I'm now officially subscribed to your 2024 thread. May you shake off jet lag quickly
it does. they're just on a delay, to ensure that all the KS backers can get their stuff. they just closed Bones 6, and are still releasing the Bones 4 stuff. probably so they can spend time building up inventory on the Bones 5 stuff before opening it to public sale.
they do post some of the stuff they had too much of in the KS for sale not long after shipping for a KS ends.. they just go out of stock fast and pull the entry until they can release them for good.
It's going to be printed resin, so I won't be buying this as it's not my cup of tea material-wise (especially with those easy-to-break eyestalks which would have been perfect in plastic,) but kudos for the design.
Waaagh_Gonads wrote: Those are some crisp castings, much better than what i normally associate with Reaper, especially the Bones line of models.
Yeah, the Bones USA and 3d prints are so much better than regular bones/bones black. I noped out of the kickstarter base set pledge when I saw it was going to be bones black for some horrible reason.
It's going to be printed resin, so I won't be buying this as it's not my cup of tea material-wise (especially with those easy-to-break eyestalks which would have been perfect in plastic,) but kudos for the design.
Another obscure D&D monster homage, FYI. First seen in Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and reprinted in Monster Manual II. I like that Reaper does this sort of thing.
The pirate ship is for sale on reaper.com however doesnt look like it will ultimately be available through normal stores. I ordered mine today through them. At least it has free shipping!
Perhaps it's just me, but I would get the ship if the masts had a proper height. This way, it just feels like it's been cropped and that just isn't right.
I'm glad they made the masts the way they did - for me function is more important than form, and spindly, fragile, complex masts would be very hard to play with. For a fantasy ship, these look great painted up. They also have a nice and strong set of magnets in their base, so they stick firmly to the deck and can be easily removed as gameplay dictates. I love mine, even if it doesn't get out to play on the table top as often as I'd hoped it might...
Just noticed that there's some cool scenery pieces from the latest Bone 6 Kickstarter Lost Tomb expansion set that would have been really cool now that the Tomb Kings are back!
Too bad I missed the late pledge manager by a few days/weeks (ended in December), would have totally picked that up only for the scenery pieces! Hopefully they get released down the road by themselves.
As a consolation, I found a box that have the Bones 4 scenery pieces the other day so started tinkering with them! Also got the Bone Dragon from that same Kickstarter that can also be used for the TK, so cool surprise to finding those things that I forgot!
First off a Sea Dragon, just the thing for my upcoming City of Bad Hydras campaign.
Then two halflings, just the folks to call if you need to dispose of any cursed jewelry your uncle left you.
And then a Horrible dwarf fighter.
The Henchman Linkboy is definitely on my list now.
As is the Night Watchman, who after he saves the city by detecting the Hobgoblin raiders was promoted to the Gentry and became a Knight Watchman.
On the Monster Side we have an Air Scion/genie/ethnic stereotype dude.
Goblin Wolfrider? With an axe? When I was a kid only Elves were Wolfriders!
I picked up this guy in metal during the Plague Years, still a favorite.
I have no idea what this is.
I'll go with Goat Centaur and call it a day.
I still love Reaper the diversity of its lines. Not only do they have Goblin Wolfriders with Axes and Goat Centaurs, but also Orc Leaders who are pointing! With light conversion he can also be an Orc Leader who is playing "pull my finger"
And finally another off-beat addition to the line... an ELF, with a BOW, named GREYLEAF!
I have no idea what this is.
I'll go with Goat Centaur and call it a day.
Just an ordinary Mammoth Centaur. When it was colder, there were lots of them. He has the woollen body and the tusks, but with his free hands he doesn't need the trunk anymore - it would also have been a vulnerable spot when fighting off those ivory hunters.
warboss wrote: If I were an adventurer, I'd probably get killed petting the bunny.
When I ran 2nd Edition, I let the players take an Intelligence check to notice the bunny looked "off". This was because the art and the description in Monster Manual II had the rabbit as a less-than-perfect copy. There's a good chance you'd live if you were at my table
Most Reaper minis don't have any fluff text, it's just Dwarf Pirate Wereshark and the rest is left to your imagination. Not so this one.
This item includes three miniatures suitable as NPCs that may have been taken captive by enemies or monsters in a dungeon. One example is given below:
In the latest attack, a young nobleman, Stredon Cardagg, was intercepted while en route to meet his betrothed in the upriver city of Barrowgate. A message was left behind following the attack, crudely scrawled into a wooden plank. The message demanded a ransom in arms, armor, and other goods for the return of young Stredon. To demonstrate the seriousness of their demands, the goblins bit off Master Stredon’s thumb and nailed it to the plank. The Cardagg family has offered a generous reward of 500 gp for the youth’s safe return.
While this figure of two henchmen carrying a mimic obviously needs no fluff text.
Those are nice clean but characterful sculpts. I was mildly surprised to see that Bobby Jackson did them. I used to sarcastically call him “Booby” Jackson because most of his sculpts for Reaper were gifted with endowments. I like most of his sculpts though. In general, Reaper has a good group of sculptors
There are apparently 'warehouse finds' with limited quantities, unlike most models which are available in infinite quantities forever and ever.
So just imagine this, the Toxic Spore Swarms are attacking the village, the the townsfolk are locked in their hovels, while the heroic Plague Doctor does battle with her sterile blade and elixir bottles when suddenly the townsfolk open their doors and come out screaming they need a haircut and want to go to a puppet show and whatever so now the heroic Plague Doctor has to fight a two-front war to save people who apparently don't want to be saved.
Nah.
Too unrealistic.
Luwin Phost, Wizard - the Wizard bit is helpful to tell him apart from Luwin Phost, Sorcerer, Luwin Phost, Warlock and Luwin Phost, Certified Public Accountant. Phost is basically like Smith over there.
I feel like I finally have the perfect model for Morticia Addams.
Six goblins for six bucks. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick amirite?
Which kinda calls into question why the orc archer is $5.
Finally Sir Rictus the Undying. I always wanted to play a heroic undead, a Paladin whose battered corpse is kept on his feet by magics and geas until he finishes his mission.
All of those models were already available in Bones USA. Looks like they're just leftovers from the KS. Bones USA has far better detail, bones black you can probably run over it with a car.
I am holding out hope for a Halfling knight riding a horned goat. Please Reaper, hear my cry!
If they never grant your wish, you might want to take a look at Warlord Games offerings. They're not technically heavily armored knights but they do have halfling archers and spearmen riding horned goats FWIW.
I am holding out hope for a Halfling knight riding a horned goat. Please Reaper, hear my cry!
If they never grant your wish, you might want to take a look at Warlord Games offerings. They're not technically heavily armored knights but they do have halfling archers and spearmen riding horned goats FWIW.
Spoiler:
Or Westphalia's awesome Halfling winged hussars... that sadly are no longer available...
I really wish they did unmounted versions of those halflings on dogs for use as a PC. Given they just did like 12 halflings you'd think maybe they could have cut 2 of the others to have the option.
Appropriately enought, March's freeby is the Hibernian Wizard
He helps Irish immigrants find jobs and housing, fights against discrimination and of course organizes the annual St Patrick's Day Parade. Life of the party and pillar of the community is the Hibernian Wizard!
Next up is the Sea Giant, while some of his accoutrements give an idea of scale an actual scale in the photo would sure be useful!!!
Speaking of scale or lack thereof I'm sure the De(monic) Giant is properly huge but how huge is he?
I kind of hoped the Sea Giant and De Giant would be accompanied by the Insectoid Bee Giant but instead Reaper skipped right ahead to the Eye Giant.
And if you like them both you should definitely pick up the Sea Eye to go with them.
This was a real D&D monster wasn't it? The undersea version of the Beholder or something? Can't remember off hand.
So that's our theme this month, alas no S(torm) Giant yet but I am sure time will deliver.
The war mammoth does look nice. Is it a previous kickstarter model? I'm curious how it will compare pricewise to the CMON ASOIAF Free Folk offerings given that Bones is traditionally known as an affordable option.
I kind of hoped the Sea Giant and De Giant would be accompanied by the Insectoid Bee Giant but instead Reaper skipped right ahead to the Eye Giant.
Nah, it's a See Giant (albeit with monovision - but you get used to it, I have it with two eyes) - so maybe you'll get the Bee Giant. Of course, there're also the responsable Key Giant, the sophisticated Tea Giant and the fearful Flee Giant... But with the Flea Giant you have the chance for another Insectoid with some massive movement advantages.
Not sure what I will do with him really, thinking of doing him up as a statue.
He can join my other Zeus.
Spoiler:
But obviously he'll need someone to fight.
Or maybe this fella. ARG! I wish they showed scale somehow!
There's this too, but I don't think the holes in his wings are too aerodynamic. I would hate to buy a dragon with anything less than total scientific accuracy.
So I got the demon and Zeus plus some townsfolk I had my eyes on, a good day of ordering. And the giant figures were still less than the price of a Primaris Lieutenant.
For the last few weeks many of Reapers new release have shown up as
but that problem seems to be sorted out.
Though the front page still says New Products for February
Which seems minor but many people won't look past that and assume there's nothing new out. Maybe a generic 'New Releases' would be better.
Anyway...
Caerindra Thistlemoor, Female Fighter who remains true to her code of chivalry by only fighting fighting females.
Jana Frostwind, Female Barbarian who remains true to her code of barbarism by only being barbaric to females.
This treasure pile can also serve as a Demi Lich if you are one of those weirdos who actually uses a Demi Lich in a game. I mean seriously? I think I saw one once, in a module, and I had to look up what the heck it was!
As I've said many times, Reaper's strength is in the depth and diversity of their line. So whether you need an Orc with a sword, or an Orc with an axe you are covered. Best of all with a quick swipe of the hobby knife you can change one to the other!
Giant Rats, can never go wrong with some quick giant rat swarms.
Or Kobolds. Unless of course they're sold out. Which these are.
I have to say the Kobold with the crossbow bugs me on some level, they should not be smart enough to make or use crossbows. The dude with the knife tied to a stick, he seems about the right level for Kobold technology. Now Goblins, Goblins are clever lil buggers and I bet they make some really crossbows with barbs and stuff.
Female Cleric with mace, Male Cleric with hammer, Dwarf with axe, they can't all be Giant Maui Were Sharks.
St Patrick's Day is over but the sons of Erie are still represented by two more members of the Hibernian Society.
And finally we have Gus Greenweevil, Halfling Henchman, a master of stealth so sneaky the photographer still can't find him.
I should be getting my Storm Giant (et al) soon who can then join the pile and be painted sometime in 2034.
This treasure pile can also serve as a Demi Lich if you are one of those weirdos who actually uses a Demi Lich in a game. I mean seriously? I think I saw one once, in a module, and I had to look up what the heck it was!
I prefer Hemi Demi Semi Liches myself. They really make the player quaver.
(Don't mind me, just levelling up my dad joke stat...)
And we're back, as they say April Storm Giants bring May Mammoths and that's what we have!
This month's freebie is an Elf Bard who is totally ready to "lute" the monsters' hoard.
If, like me, you are tired of throwing down the same darn orc with his sword up, Reaper has you covered with their new Orc Warrior (Sword Down) figure!
Alternately you can go with 3 kobolds for $5 which is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, though they can also do that if it's what you're looking for.
Then we have a bunch of adventurers with names like Molly Copperpot, Gurndor Hoardtaker, and Erebus Nalis Realm-Wide Pull-my-Finger Champion 1987.
I forget which is which though.
Am I the only who thinks that Succubi should be sold in two packs with their normal mode and their demon mode? Am I the only one developing strong opinions on plastic Succubi?
The Townsfolk Prisoners go right on my wish list. No, I have no use for them, but they have so much character.
I'm thinking of using this Female Duskwarden as a Female Dawnsentinel until the official model comes out. Of course I will have to convert the cut of the boots and just have to live with the fact that she's wearing her ceremonial tie on the left arm rather than the right.
This is a really sad story, Elbert always wanted to be part of the Royal Elven Shakespeare Company but after his stiff performance in Midsummer Night's Dream he was forever known as the Wooden Elf King.
The nice thing about the Fungoids is if you leave some in a dark, moist place you've get dozens more, for free!
Just smear some vegemite in your hair and you'll be fine.
The Phase Cat is some sort of beast that displaces itself, no doubt the arch enemy of the Wink Hound.
The Wall of Thrones is a useful obstacle for players, a great way to do a Sleeping Beauty campaign, or a diorama to recreate some classic 90s Japanese cartoons.
Finally the two new big boxes.
Shavynra, or as she is known as Instragram, Shavynra Who Slays.
And finally the War Mammoth. I saw a guy working on one on Facebook and it looks like it is a bit smaller than I would like, only able to fire 2-3 models on its back. But still, better than a sharp tusk in the eye. Though it can also do that if it's what you're looking for.
The Dawnwarden looks like a great starting point for a Rogue Trader conversion.
Y'know she would at that. She has almost enough skulls. I just have to hope my converting skills are up to the task of turning that hand crossbow into a laser gun.
Now I'm very curious about how big that War Mammoth actually is. Does it come across as a baby War Mammoth? Seems kind of cruel to make infants march off to war. Or maybe it's a War Mammoth for Halflings? A War Minmoth?
Talking Banana wrote: Now I'm very curious about how big that War Mammoth actually is. Does it come across as a baby War Mammoth? Seems kind of cruel to make infants march off to war. Or maybe it's a War Mammoth for Halflings? A War Minmoth?
This month's freeby is EYDIS, FEMALE BARBARIAN. She's uh, female. And a barbarian. And actually wears clothes. So there you go. What more could you want?
There's also a storytelling vignette called the Troll Bridge's Toll where you can recreate the story of three Billy Goats crossing a bridge with Troll under it. Or you can um... Y'know, that guy, with the thing, who does stuff... Look I never said it was a good story.
Then we have one of Reaper's occasional forays into superhero models with this diorama where several spider-themed heroes heroically capture a group of midget jewel thieves.
And finally we have Arkoth the Ancient, a powerful spider monster. Just thing for a game where Dofor has to deliver a cursed necklace to Mount Apocalypse to prevent the Dark King from returning.
Simple yet effect and evocative barbarian mini. I might keep an eye out for that one locally.
The diorama's don't do much for me, but I could see some gamer adjacent people might enjoy them as gifts. I know I have painted up the Nativity scene and given at gifts a few times.
Easy E wrote: Simple yet effect and evocative barbarian mini. I might keep an eye out for that one locally.
The diorama's don't do much for me, but I could see some gamer adjacent people might enjoy them as gifts. I know I have painted up the Nativity scene and given at gifts a few times.
Well they are more miniature and terrain encounter bundles than just dioramas. It might be kind of confusing because the pic makes it look like the spiders attach to the terrain part but they don’t unless you glue them there. They aren’t like sculpted in. They are separate minis from the terrain piece. They do a lot of these rpg encounter sets. Defintely for gamers not just gamer adjacent!
This month's freeby is EYDIS, FEMALE BARBARIAN. She's uh, female. And a barbarian. And actually wears clothes. So there you go. What more could you want?
IMPORTANT! Eydis, Female Barbarian is now Maeve Greysky, Female Barbarian. Unless of course Eydis has a twin named Maeve. Mmm, twin female barbarians....
Sorry what was I saying?
June is of course Pride Month in the US, when corporations such as LexCorp, Weyland Yutani and Tyrell roll out their rainbow logos for a month and then forget entirely about the issue.
Naturally an industry titan like Reaper will not be left behind, so we see...
The Pride Paint set. With colors such as Dancing Queen, Friends of Dorothy, Betty White and of course Sapphic Sunset it's the perfect set for all your footloose and fancy free painting needs.
We also get...
An "Adept" with a weird stick, who can also pass as a Druid with a weird staff, an Alchemist with a weird rod or even as a Homeless Dude with a weird rucksack for modern games.
An aristocrat with his trusty rapier and a letter from his daddy saying he's a big boy now so don't mess with him.
A Female Half Orc Arm Wrestler, should you need someone to arm wrestle female half orcs. She should not be confused with the Female Orc Half Arm Wrestler who only wrestles folks who had their arm amputated below the elbow. It's not a skill in wide demand but it's good to know someone has it covered.
In all seriousness I love this figure. She's just there with her elbow on a keg, drinking her beer, waiting to show up the next arrogant hero who thinks he can take her. Another case of a figure I never knew I wanted but now I must have.
Finally I see Reaper has given in to the woke mob with a female paladin. And then they did that tweet that since the order of paladins was first created there have always been female paladins. I'm sorry but I have a first edition D&D players handbook (the real one, with the dudes prying the gemstone eyes from an idol!) and there's no mention of female paladins.
Please pardon the 'well akshully", but there is mention of female paladins in the AD&D 1E PH. Yeah, I had to go look at mine, the 5th printing from 1979, and
Spoiler:
Players Handbook wrote:"A paladin character is a fighter sub-class, but unlike normal fighters, all
paladins must begin as lawful good in alignment (q.v.) and always remain
lawful good or absolutely lose all of the special powers which are given to
them. They have both fighting abilities and limited spell powers (at high
level). To become a paladin a character must be human, have a strength
of not less than 12, a minimum intelligence of 9, a wisdom of 13 or more, a
minimum constitution of 9, and not less than 17 charisma. If a paladin has both strength and wisdom in excess of 15,he or she gains the benefit of
adding 10% to the experience points awarded by the Dungeon Master.
Gygax's daughters were playtesters and players in his Greyhawk campaign, so Gary had to account for them. One of the NPCs in Hommlet had been one of his daughter's PCs. Y'dey the cleric?
The troll bridge looks like a fun kit. How big is that spider?
Finally I see Reaper has given in to the woke mob with a female paladin. And then they did that tweet that since the order of paladins was first created there have always been female paladins. I'm sorry but I have a first edition D&D players handbook (the real one, with the dudes prying the gemstone eyes from an idol!) and there's no mention of female paladins.
I know you're sarcastically trying to lampoon the only allowable target demo for derision in the D&D hobby (grognards) but they never had an issue with female characters and neither did early editions of D&D. They do however have an issue with people misrepesenting both them or D&D's history. From page 7 in the 1st edition AD&D PHB.
Although the masculine form of appellation is typically used when listing the level titles of the various types of characters, these names can easily be changed to the feminine if desired. This is fantasy — what's in a name? In all but a few cases sex makes no difference to ability!
I don't think Kid is targeting D&D players there, but more referencing the hubbub that surrounded the introduction (and Big Brother style lack of acknowledgement of the retcon) of female Adeptus Custodes.
Red Harvest wrote: Please pardon the 'well akshully", but there is mention of female paladins in the AD&D 1E PH. Yeah, I had to go look at mine, the 5th printing from 1979, and
Players Handbook wrote:"A paladin character is a fighter sub-class, but unlike normal fighters, all
paladins must begin as lawful good in alignment (q.v.) and always remain
lawful good or absolutely lose all of the special powers which are given to
them. They have both fighting abilities and limited spell powers (at high
level). To become a paladin a character must be human, have a strength
of not less than 12, a minimum intelligence of 9, a wisdom of 13 or more, a
minimum constitution of 9, and not less than 17 charisma. If a paladin has both strength and wisdom in excess of 15,he or she gains the benefit of
adding 10% to the experience points awarded by the Dungeon Master.
Gygax's daughters were playtesters and players in his Greyhawk campaign, so Gary had to account for them. One of the NPCs in Hommlet had been one of his daughter's PCs. Y'dey the cleric?
The troll bridge looks like a fun kit. How big is that spider?
It's like... everything I thought I knew is a lie!
As for Grognards, I'll have you know I am still outraged, OUTRAGED about the Custodes retcon.
Spoiler:
Custodes were supposed to be shirtless dudes in leather pants with spears that have concealed lasguns!
Turning them into the Solid Gold Space Marines was lazy. Just imagine if they were unarmored musclemen who can carve through your army through raw skill, so much more interesting.
I am so outraged (OUTRAGE!) I have none left for female Custodes.
First off a diverse and characterful group of town watch. An idealistic young woman full of hope and trust in the good of human nature, a well dressed nobleman out to fulfil his noblesse oblige until it's time to take over the family estate, a grizzled vet who's Seen Things, and a happy go lucky halfling. Honestly if you're looking to write a light hearted fantasy novel/police procedural/murder mystery this would be a great cast to start with.
Then a quartet of Greek Myths.
A cyclops suitable for representing either Argos or Steropes. With some conversion you could even use him as Brontes!
Then the Bull of Minos, the Minotaur!
Just the adversary you need to take on Sean Connery!
Spoiler:
The slightly NSFW 'Greater' Medusa, a title that just puts all the other Medusas in their place. I bet they're just green with envy.
Get it?
Cause like they have snake hair and snakes are green.
I mean except when they're like brown like a rattlesnake. Or blue like the aptly named Blue Viper of Indonesia. Have I mentioned that at work we have a snake catching pole? It's to catch any cobras we might find on the grounds and safely release them elsewhere, probably over the wall in some other company's grounds. I've never used it myself, frankly I'd just use a machete. I mean yeah this is their habitat and harmony with nature and all God's creatures and wotnot but if I see a cobra I'm going all machete on it.
Where were we?
A hydra!
And a proper snake hydra too rather than a multi headed komoto dragon. I'll be picking this one up to add to my City of Bad Hydras collection!
As nice as that Medusa is, it's a bit irksome that so many sculpts copy the Ray Harryhausen look (snake tail and bow). Even GW did it with the Bloodwrack Medusa in the Dark Elf Cauldron of Blood. Too much Lamia / Echidna confusion going on for my taste.
It's all the more annoying when put alongside the accurately snakey Hydra.
Why not more mythologically accurate Medusa minis? There's at least three other looks to choose from. I live for the day someone does the centaur Medusa from that one bowl ...
(Reaper does have at least one 'classical' Medusa in rags IIRC.)
No One Important wrote: Then I guess I've just spent too much time on the internet and see allusions to other bad fantasy reptiles when there are none.
I get it, I saw Urotsukidoji too.
I am thinking of the City of Bad Hydras though, I imagine a city filled with bizarre stone architecture and disturbing statues, a forbidden temple in the center, a furtive population who disappear behind locked doors by nightfall, mutants in the sewers, hydras and other freaky creatures in the caverns below them and some sort of disturbing non-Euclidean geometry beasty at the very bottom.
August has a new freeby, a Dwarf Hero who, in a daring departure from fantasy cliches has a weapon with a hammer on one side and an axe on the other!
From a dwarf to a giant! A giant with two baboon heads, tentacle arms, and cloven hooves! I have no idea what I could use such a crazy beastie as in a game. Maybe I can do a demo, where it'll gorePCs until they're gone.
Also big, we have two fighting Julie Guthrie dragons in the "Dance of Death".
And a Crocosaurus which can also count as a Crocodile Dragon.
What's nice is I will finally have something to go with this:
Next up a return to Greek myth with a centaur lord who can be converted into a human lord if you happen to have a set of legs handy. That also leaves you with a headless horse for a truly accurate Headless Horseman conversion.
Follow me for more tips!
There's also a line of 'pokey tools' to clear out clogged nozzles in your paint bottles. With several different toppers for them they're just cute enough that I can see the appeal.
Now what I really need is thin wire to clean out my plastic cement bottles... the dripper tubes are too thin even for needles! Testors used to include a little wire thing but Revell does not. Very annoying.
The growing number of animal races in D&D has been great news for mini makers. Is the market for human/elven/dwarven/orcish antipaladins saturated? You can corner the market for Turtle Folk antipaladins!
Which Reaper apparently has.
There's a bit of nautical theme this month, besides the turtle antipaladin (or is it a tortoise antipaladin, maybe it can count for both?) we have a dire jellyfish, another market Reaper has cornered.
Along with some sort of undersea Behol- I mean um, Undersea Observer. Yeah.
And a Ghost Pirate Captain cast in clear plastic. Who can also count as a Corporeal Pirate Captain through the clever lifehack of painting him.
Finally some treasures for your heroes to find under the sea!
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Now what I really need is thin wire to clean out my plastic cement bottles... the dripper tubes are too thin even for needles! Testors used to include a little wire thing but Revell does not. Very annoying.
1, Remove metal tube from bottle (in the case of the blue/yellow Revell product).
2, Apply fire, normally from a cigarette lighter (though other sources are available).
3, ???
4, Allow to cool.
5, Insert back into t'bottle.
6, Profit!
I acknowledge that some fine wire to run through post stel 4 might be handy, but the above process has been working for me for years.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Now what I really need is thin wire to clean out my plastic cement bottles... the dripper tubes are too thin even for needles! Testors used to include a little wire thing but Revell does not. Very annoying.
1, Remove metal tube from bottle (in the case of the blue/yellow Revell product).
2, Apply fire, normally from a cigarette lighter (though other sources are available).
3, ???
4, Allow to cool.
5, Insert back into t'bottle.
6, Profit!
I acknowledge that some fine wire to run through post stel 4 might be handy, but the above process has been working for me for years.
dang! I never thought of that!... briliant!
I use some thin "piano wire" I get at the hobby shop for pinning parts in models... works fairly well
Anyone else here going to ReaperCon this year?
If you have not ever been, it is definitely an incredible experience! I started going 2 years ago and I am hooked!
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Now what I really need is thin wire to clean out my plastic cement bottles... the dripper tubes are too thin even for needles! Testors used to include a little wire thing but Revell does not. Very annoying.
1, Remove metal tube from bottle (in the case of the blue/yellow Revell product).
2, Apply fire, normally from a cigarette lighter (though other sources are available).
3, ???
4, Allow to cool.
5, Insert back into t'bottle.
6, Profit!
I acknowledge that some fine wire to run through post stel 4 might be handy, but the above process has been working for me for years.
Well that was not the part of my post I expected to get feedback on, but thank you, I will try it.
From a dwarf to a giant! A giant with two baboon heads, tentacle arms, and cloven hooves! I have no idea what I could use such a crazy beastie as in a game. Maybe I can do a demo, where it'll gorePCs until they're gone.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Now what I really need is thin wire to clean out my plastic cement bottles... the dripper tubes are too thin even for needles! Testors used to include a little wire thing but Revell does not. Very annoying.
1, Remove metal tube from bottle (in the case of the blue/yellow Revell product).
2, Apply fire, normally from a cigarette lighter (though other sources are available).
3, ???
4, Allow to cool.
5, Insert back into t'bottle.
6, Profit!
I acknowledge that some fine wire to run through post stel 4 might be handy, but the above process has been working for me for years.
Well that was not the part of my post I expected to get feedback on, but thank you, I will try it.
I found out about this method a couple of years ago and can confirm it’s pretty effective most of the time. Just make sure you have tweezers or pliers to hold the tube; it gets hot quick!
Still 2 days in September, plenty of time to comment on the September releases!
This month saw Reaper Con and the start of fulfillment on Bones... 6? Maybe? But there was still a pretty decent release package which fits into 2 nice themes.
Oh and freeby Cleric, so 3 nice themes, but one is free so I don't know if it counts or not.
First up some 3d printed steampunk cowgirls! Like this angry bride! Because who doesn't love steampunk and who doesn't love cowgirls!
Then we have Laura? Lana? Kara! Kara the very angry teal-clad archeologist. She's just who you want for raiding an ancient sepulcher, mausoleum, crypt or even a catacomb. She'd also be highly adept at exploring a small rented farm, especially one in Scotland, comprising a plot of arable land attached to a house and with a right of pasturage held in common with other such farms.
Dixie Dynamite, Steampunk Cowgirl Freebooter also appears to be a sheriff based on the star on her belt. Or maybe she shot the sheriff? Only you can decide!
Sara the Steampunk Alchemist appears to be preparing a chloroform-soaked rag, no doubt to anesthetize some poor injured gunslinger and certainly not to drug a young maiden for her forbidden experiments.
Then we have the cryptids!
First off a mutant, cyborg, steampunk ape, who I suppose is not technically a Cryptid, but does have an optional drill hand so they even each other out.
And a Henchape, who again is not technically a cryptid but does have roller skates.
...
Why is roller skates two words and gunslinger one word? I mean no offense to gunslingers but I think there's a lot more rollerskaters around.
Cryptid Mothman is technically a cryptid and has clear wings, and a tactical tree trunk. So bonus points.
Sasquatch is out there just sashaying through the forest looking all Sassy.
While Goatman's combination of a meat cleaver and rope is just disturbing.
And the Chupacabra rounds it out. The Caipirinha's exotic name means 'goat sucker' whose etymology we will not dwell on, and the Chimichanga has been sighted in Mexico, Puerto Rico and the southwestern United States. I can see the Churros being a worth addition to many fantasy and modern horror games as it goes around sucking goats.
So there we have it, some nice additions to games. I do have to note the prices, these are all 3 prints and around $10 which worries me. I mean if you want it you want it, but ever riding prices and a chaotic mix of casting mediums can make it hard for any company.
Yeah, I was skeptical at first too, but we got a print as a freebie in one of our orders and it was really well done. No layer lines, no bumps from removed supports, etc.
Considering how low Reaper prices are and that I don't own a 3d printer it definitely convinced me.
ScarletRose wrote: Yeah, I was skeptical at first too, but we got a print as a freebie in one of our orders and it was really well done. No layer lines, no bumps from removed supports, etc.
Considering how low Reaper prices are and that I don't own a 3d printer it definitely convinced me.
If they come printed that's doable. I just don't like the trend of more and more 3D printed figures (old man yells at cloud moment here) but I especially dislike it when people only sell STLs. Not everyone has a printer and not everyone wants to have one, if only for safety reasons.
HOws the 3d print material feel? I'm mostly familiar with the brittle, hard to use stuff - so hopefully they've found something a bit more like Bones Black?
There's a free "Ghoulie Bag" this month, no real details but it is free!
Also a 12 color starter paint set, a cool basic product for $30.
On the mini side we have a "Small Gelatinous Cube" (an inch). Now I wonder if anyone really needs this, I always proxy them with ice cubes myself, which is cheaper and encourages quick play.
I don't have much to say about these "iconic" adventurers, yeah, I mean fighter with a sword, cleric with a mace, all competent enough but nothing that makes me want to open my wallet. No 'sparkle" y'know, no character. And they're all 3D prints for what that's worth.
Same with the mouselings, if you like them great, but these just don't have any real character.
Now these goblins, they have tons of character, they're just having a grand old time living their best lives. Makes me want to play a goblin next time.
OMG, yes, him!
Same with these skeletons! Jazz hands!
So does this Kenku oracle, I can only imagine the wise advice he would give us.
"Oh oracle, which is more important? What you know or who you know?"
"WHO!"
"Oh oracle, which is the best UN agency? Is it UNESCO? World Food Programme? International Organization for Migration?"
"WHO!"
"Oh oracle, which was the best British invasion band? Was it the Beatles? The Stones? The Byrds?"
"WHO!"
"Oh oracle, which was the best Chinese president? Chiang Kai Shek? Mao Zedong? Xi jinping?"
"Hu!"
Very useful character!
The ragged bride from last time got some new images and seems to have GINORMOUS steampunk sniper rifle. Which is confusing since I'm not sure a ragged bridal gown is what one wears for sniping, but there you go.
This handsome evil cliche has just the right amount of too much to tempt me.
And finally Reaper's long-time Spokes Succubus Sophie gets a new version for the 2024 Reapercon. She's dressed in clean armor and wielding a cross of all things? Could this be Sophie redeemed? Had she turned from the forces of darkness and joined the armies of light? There's a epic storyline already brewing in the back of my mind...
Talking Banana wrote: The Kenku's got a conspicuous mold line across his head and shoulders, which is bizarre for a 3-d print.
It's just the chronoscope stuff that's 3D printed from what I can tell. The pathfinder stuff all says "Bones Plastic", so I'm guessing Bones USA.
I like that they toned down the jank that normally clutters up pathfinder designs. Valero "only" has 10 layers of crap on him rather than the usual Wayne Reynolds 20 layers.
Talking Banana wrote: The Kenku's got a conspicuous mold line across his head and shoulders, which is bizarre for a 3-d print.
Yeah the Kenku is some form of Bones plastic, not a 3D print.
Looking at him again I realize he's not really an owl, more of sparrow looking chap. So probably the exchange will go more like this:
"Oh wise oracle, the Holidays are coming up and my budget is limited, should I spring for a luxury hotel or just somewhere I can get a clean bed?"
"Cheep!"
"Oh wise one, my car is breaking down, should I get another Volkswagen or go for an Audi?"
"Cheep!"
"My mentor, is $15 a good price for a Server Skull shaped painting tray?"
"Cheep!"
"Wise master, I have a date with my roommates cousin next week and I wanna know like what kind of date is she, a heavy drinker or a lightweight?"
"Cheep!"
Nevelon wrote: I think they are more crow/ravens. So the joke will need to be with “Caw"
“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”
Nevelon wrote: I think they are more crow/ravens. So the joke will need to be with “Caw"
“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil!—prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us—by that God we both adore—
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore—
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”
Quoth the Kenku: “CAW!”
I was more expecting something along the lines of:
How do motorists get around Boston? Caw!
Who in the mechanicus was behind the primaris project? Caw!
He and 3 of his buddies are starting a charity. If 4 good Caws…
I remember seeing painted photos of this model in the early 2000's:
I think it was right before Werner Klocke was well known. Pretty sure it was well before he did work for Reaper.
I always thought it was like a part of his resume or something he entered in a big painting competition like Crystal Brush.
Hell, that color photo with the pistol might be the same piece (since that was how I remember it was painted) with magnetized weapons.
On a somewhat related note, my Reaper Bones 6 Kickstarter has shipped and should arrive tomorrow. Yay!
I've painted about 2 dozen Reaper miniatures for DnD in the past 2 months, taking a break from 40k modeling. Using a mix of conventional paint/shade/highlight and slapchop, I'm getting pretty quick at it. I still HATE the white resin/PVC/whatever models, but the greyish resin ones are a treat to work with.
kronk wrote: On a somewhat related note, my Reaper Bones 6 Kickstarter has shipped and should arrive tomorrow. Yay!
I've painted about 2 dozen Reaper miniatures for DnD in the past 2 months, taking a break from 40k modeling. Using a mix of conventional paint/shade/highlight and slapchop, I'm getting pretty quick at it. I still HATE the white resin/PVC/whatever models, but the greyish resin ones are a treat to work with.
My Bones VI is sitting on my doorsill, waiting for me to get off work.
I do quite like Reaper models as a change of pace. The lack of extraneous details can make them quick to paint up, and it's very satisfying to paint a whole team of skeletons or whatnot in a single session.
Is Bones USA like the original Bones Black or like Siocast?
I picked up some of the Bones Black sci-fi Dinomen recently and like them a lot. Incidentally, they look better in person. Reaper only shows pics of each of them from a single angle, which in a couple cases hides or diminishes the cool tails they have.
> but I especially dislike it when people only sell STLs
Late reply, but designing a miniature is very different from casting and selling it. Same idea as a game designer who's fine with writing rules, but doesn't want the business end of physical printing. Or someone who enjoys writing, but doesn't want to take the business risk of publishing books. For only selling miniatures as a 3D print, I suppose this allows miniature companies to sell low-demand sculpts, sculpts that don't work as well with molds, or new sculpts that they may later move to casting if demand is high enough. Me, I'll be interested in them more if they didn't have mold lines.
Still, I have enough mini's, and you can always use HeroForge or some other company to print your "hey, look at my alchemal vampiric half-Drow half-tiefling dual-wielding spellcaster / anti-cavalier and his three-legged dark black dragon singing familiar" for your RPG's...
Yeah, it is more fragile than Bones Black but holds excellent details IMO on par with metal without the PITA of getting primer/paint to actually stick to it. I greatly prefer it to regular bones, and wish their KS was for more Bones USA.
Yeah, it is more fragile than Bones Black but holds excellent details IMO on par with metal without the PITA of getting primer/paint to actually stick to it. I greatly prefer it to regular bones, and wish their KS was for more Bones USA.
It's thermo plastic but not siocast. They're using some other machine and nylon formulation and not having to pay the inflated siocast price.
Yeah, it is more fragile than Bones Black but holds excellent details IMO on par with metal without the PITA of getting primer/paint to actually stick to it. I greatly prefer it to regular bones, and wish their KS was for more Bones USA.
It's thermo plastic but not siocast. They're using some other machine and nylon formulation and not having to pay the inflated siocast price.
I don't see any updates showing they switched to a generic nylon thermoplastic for casting, and I'm not aware of any other companies using a generic version (I thought Siocast was the only option companies had). Is there any info on a non-branded nylon thermoplastic out there? I'm one of the few that actually likes the material, a generic version would mean more availability from smaller companies.
I bought a reaper "Death Marble" thinking it was Bones Black, and was very disappointed by its soap bar-like consistency and how poorly it cleaned up. Now I know it was Bones USA, as well as my first and last experience with Reaper Siocast models.
The Death Marble won't be my last Reaper purchase, though. They still have an expansive back catalogue of metal and Bones Black models.
Yeah, it is more fragile than Bones Black but holds excellent details IMO on par with metal without the PITA of getting primer/paint to actually stick to it. I greatly prefer it to regular bones, and wish their KS was for more Bones USA.
It's thermo plastic but not siocast. They're using some other machine and nylon formulation and not having to pay the inflated siocast price.
I don't see any updates showing they switched to a generic nylon thermoplastic for casting, and I'm not aware of any other companies using a generic version (I thought Siocast was the only option companies had). Is there any info on a non-branded nylon thermoplastic out there? I'm one of the few that actually likes the material, a generic version would mean more availability from smaller companies.
Thanks for the correction. They weren't calling it Siocast at first so people assumed it was a generic solution.
Knight Models, I believe, doesn't use Siocast and has been using thermo plastics longer then I remember Siocast being around.
Flying Frog Productions (Shaows of Brimstone) use a thermoplastic as well and don't call it Siocast.
In both cases the products I've had from those 2 companies looks better and is more durable then any Sicocast branded model -- and are very nice generally to work with (especially the FFP stuff). If they are using Siocast then they both have some blend that no one else is using.
My box of Bones 6 just rolled up over the weekend (alongside Dragon's Down, so Reaper had to sit for a bit, while I oogled DD!) and their new minis look fantastic.
Does anyone know what the Waspnettle Lizardmen and Orcs of the Ragged Wound are made from? They're very impressive.
I also got the Light house and Guard Tower update. This big terrain piece is fantastic, I hope they make this one available on their site, I already love mine.
Sorry about cluttering this thread with the Peter Miles / Nyder / Doctor Who photo-meme, by the way, which has since been removed by a vigilant mod.
I think I understand the rules a bit better now. Peter Miles / Dalek-related memes are unrelated to wargaming so they're off limits; videos of Daveed Diggs / the Little Mermaid are wargaming related, so they're OK to post here.
Talking Banana wrote: Sorry about cluttering this thread with the Peter Miles / Nyder / Doctor Who photo-meme, by the way, which has since been removed by a vigilant mod.
I think I understand the rules a bit better now. Peter Miles / Dalek-related memes are unrelated to wargaming so they're off limits; videos of Daveed Diggs / the Little Mermaid are wargaming related, so they're OK to post here.
LOL it's more a question of where they're housed. If something like the Lil Mermaid is housed elsewhere and kinda on topic or good for a laugh by all means link to it. But if you're uploading something to our server it should be wargame related.
Yeah probably clear as mud but it somehow makes sense in my head.
I'm pretty sure it's a reference to It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, where Charlie Brown keeps getting a rock given to him while trick or treating while the other kids all get candy and such.
Does anyone know what the Waspnettle Lizardmen and Orcs of the Ragged Wound are made from? They're very impressive.
They're 3D printed per the box. My waspnettle tyrant had a few tiny support nubs on him. Very good prints and quality.The sturdiness of some of the bigger pieces impressed me too. The giant skeleton can stant under his own weight! Whatever bones mix is more like ABS.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: LOL it's more a question of where they're housed. If something like the Lil Mermaid is housed elsewhere and kinda on topic or good for a laugh by all means link to it. But if you're uploading something to our server it should be wargame related.
Yeah probably clear as mud but it somehow makes sense in my head.
Nothing matters anymore and it's all turned to offal...
So let's look at Reaper November releases!
First off this month's freebee the... (checks notes)... (rechecks notes)... (shakes head)...
The uh, Dire Turducken.
If you're not familiar with the turducken (which my spellcheck recognizes as an actual word) it is the greatest creation of a country that considers bacon a condiment and whose national motto is "why not both". Or "why not all three" in this case.
Once again Reaper delivers something I never knew I wanted until now. And just in time for Thanksgiving.
And then some bandits, who can also serve as brigands, highwaymen, marauders, robbers, thieves or heroic freedom fighters as your tastes dictate.
The Clay Golem might also see use as a Batman villain.
The Animated Armor can be converted to a knight be the simple expedient of sculpting a face, and arm pits and uh, lower ventral area.
I always liked the Animated Armor idea for young players in RPGs, it's a bit freaky and you get to fight an evil knight only with out all that blood and weeping relatives and trauma.
You can tell the Isadora is a mighty witch since she's walking around the forest with bare feet and a bare midriff, she's obviously cast "Protection from Branches and Small Stones".
Save money on your dragon models by buying Dragon Hatchlings and playing 6mm games!
OK this is nice. The "Spikeshell Druid" is a charity mini with $10 going to victims of the hurricane. And it's pretty cool too!
You can't see it in the picture but this fairy is printed in translucent material so you can do neat effects.
And finally some walls of stone to round things out. They can serve also as walls of rock, walls of earth, walls of brick, or even walls of Krytonite for Heroclix games!
I think you missed the opportunity to use the wall of stone as a poorly paved street of cobblestone by laying them down flat. obviously it needs repair as some parts are just trip hazards. Still very useful in games set in Oz.
Well November is coming to an end, time to fry up the Dire Turduken and gird ourselves for Black Friday.
And check out Reaper's November releases!
First up is a plethora of steampunk figures!
Steampunk fairy, no I don't know why she's showing off her knickers.
Clockwork fairies, not to be confused with steampunk fairies, you can tell because they are not showing off their knickers.
Time Witch, arch rival of the Newsweek Witch.
Steampunk Cowboy, the figure makes more sense when you realize he has two robot arms coming out of his back. Personally I'd like to see him with 4 robot arms so he can be Six Gun Sam the Steampunk Gunfighter, but here we are.
Then a slew of Wild Folk/Firbolg characters, who folks, that live in the wild. Apparently it's some sort of magical half-giant race for D&D with tremendous diversity. Whether you want to play a ranger, or a druid, or a multiclassed Ranger/Druid they have you covered.
And then finally Reaper gets into the Christmas spirit with this Female Krampus, I don't normally like these violations of the Black Friday Accords but I'll let it go.
Don't get me wrong, I'd like to support Reaper more often - but then they'd actually need to have some flaming stock for their newer releases in their UK store...
Dysartes wrote: Don't get me wrong, I'd like to support Reaper more often - but then they'd actually need to have some flaming stock for their newer releases in their UK store...
I've gone back to just ordering from the US store because their UK one is so unreliable.
I'm waiting until the end of the month to put in an order because I want a couple of busts that are coming out then, not only is 80% of my order currently out of stock on the UK site, it's not even listing one of the busts I want.
OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote: it feels less like a store and more like a big shed they can bulk send KS stuff to for fulfilment that then offers the excess stock for sale,
restocks are very few and far between
Now imagine what it's like for us in the EU. Somehow, they still haven't gotten around to setting up even a minor shipping hub or the like.
Well the days of 2024 are dwindling down to a precious few...
But a few more models are still slipping out!
This week a bunch of cyber punk figures by Werner Klocke, 3D prints apparently from his Freebooter line.
Franka, with her bridal bouquet is a "future widow" now is that because she's a widow who lives in The Future, or because she's about to put a round in her husband? Only you can decide.
Eve is an Android Assassin. No android will survive with Eve on the job!
Aspera is an Apocalyptic Samurai, from a future era where cybernetic prosthetics are common but we all use swords instead of guns.
Finally we have Clara the Sister of Mercy.
Thankfully Reaper includes a rear view so we can fully appreciate her assets.
Just 15 days left in the year, will we get anything else? Who can say?
Easy E wrote: I have to admit, if I bought Sister Mercy because the front looked cool and found out about that back.... well.... I would be a little put out.
Truth! But the beauty of the model is, you can just paint her up like she's wearing black trousers. Tight ones, perhaps. But trousers nonetheless.
Nope, I never ran an underwater anything. I did have a few on the water/sailing adventures... and one of the player's, upon learning they could buy a boat and go sailing proudly proclaimed, "We can be seamen, seamen." He got a few looks. He didn't realize...
The Blackmoor supplement (little brown book #5) first introduced underwater adventures to D&D. Alas, by that time D&D had already been ruined by the Greyhawk supplement. Thanks for nothing Rob Kuntz. IIRC, it also had the very strange Arneson adventure Temple of the Frog. And the monk and the assassin characters, and rules for diseases. Because what's a FRPG without a way to play out leprosy, tuberculosis and the biggest baddest of them all, the bubonic plague.
Red Harvest wrote: Nope, I never ran an underwater anything. I did have a few on the water/sailing adventures... and one of the player's, upon learning they could buy a boat and go sailing proudly proclaimed, "We can be seamen, seamen." He got a few looks. He didn't realize...
The Blackmoor supplement (little brown book #5) first introduced underwater adventures to D&D. Alas, by that time D&D had already been ruined by the Greyhawk supplement. Thanks for nothing Rob Kuntz. IIRC, it also had the very strange Arneson adventure Temple of the Frog. And the monk and the assassin characters, and rules for diseases. Because what's a FRPG without a way to play out leprosy, tuberculosis and the biggest baddest of them all, the bubonic plague.
Women and seamen don't mix, that's what I always say.
As for Blackmoor, wow, deep cut, that's a good 10 years before my time. Kudos. And especially for having Strong Opinions about Greyhawk ruining D&D.
Did anyone, ever, in their entire gaming careers, even once, run an underwater adventure?
Once... for a single session when the underwater book came out... but it was in a gonzo scifi setting/game back in the 90s as n00b teenage roleplayers so not really applicable to a fantasy style mini. In effect, it was just an otherwise normal adventure with a faux 3rd dimension of theater of the mind movement for all characters with some penalties.
I had a module for one featuring underwater and fishmen with a name a I do not recall. Never actually played it. It felt like too much logistical work.
Did anyone, ever, in their entire gaming careers, even once, run an underwater adventure?
Yes. Several times.
They were all stand alone one-shots or chapters/segments of larger generally non-aquatic campaigns though. (I don't count our most recent Pirate ship based campaign as Aquatic - its more PoTC style. Land adventures, fights aboard ships, ship to ship battles....)
I've yet to run a campaign actually set underwater. Where going to the surface would be odd chapters/adventures.
As a player the closest I've been in is our ongoing 1e Pathfinder campaign. The Ruins of Azlant. The further we go the more time we spend underwater. Wich, since the BBEGs are Abboliths, makes sense.
Red Harvest wrote: Alas, by that time D&D had already been ruined by the Greyhawk supplement. Thanks for nothing Rob Kuntz.
How did Greyhawk ruin D&D, in your opinion?
Wildly off-topic but, it began the trend of placing character skill over player skill by emphasizing stat rolls and creating skills (the Thief class) which was quite a change. It might not have been so bad if there had been a way to train up the stats, which is one thing 5E got right.
Easy E wrote: I had a module for one featuring underwater and fishmen with a name a I do not recall. Never actually played it. It felt like too much logistical work.
The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh and its sequels? The fishmen were Sahuagin. Getting back on topic, it looks like Reaper calls the Kuo-Toa, Tiiks and the Sahuagin, Slithe. If you want Reaper equivalents to D&D monsters.
I have never ran an underwater game, but that doesn't mean horrors from the deep can't pay a visit to an unsuspecting coastal town. Or maybe they are absolutely suspecting, and even lay out the welcome mat.....
Ofcourse you dont run underwater campaigns untill you have the proper models to set up the encounters.
With this Fathom Tyrant the GM can finally get those campaigns going.
The slightly misnamed Ogre Magi, I would hate to order this assuming I would get two or more Ogre Magi and be disappointed to find I only got one Ogre Magus. Caveat Emptor my friends! Maybe they should have called it an Oni, no pesky plurals in Japanese.
(All that being said it's a fine looking figure and goes on my wantlist)
Now the female hellborn Paladin has none of those pesky issues but raises so many other questions for me. Like how does a presumably evil half demon become a lawful good paladin? When she casts protection from evil does she hurt herself? Cause that would be a neat kind of penance thing. And how does she sheath that sword anyway?
I don't think I mentioned it but Reaper is also doing a line of busts. 3d printed, $50, and the listing does not give a size which is kind of frustrating. Still they look like they'd be good for serious painters.
The slightly misnamed Ogre Magi, I would hate to order this assuming I would get two or more Ogre Magi and be disappointed to find I only got one Ogre Magus. Caveat Emptor my friends! Maybe they should have called it an Oni, no pesky plurals in Japanese.
(All that being said it's a fine looking figure and goes on my wantlist)
Well, you'll always have the DOTA2 ogre magi at least...
Spoiler:
Regardless, and in all seriousness, that's a really cool figure and probably better than most that I've seen for Eastern style ogres/oni for decades. Definitely better than the D&D prepaints but not as good as the collectors edition multipart D&D ogre mage kit (but obviously much less expensive coming from Reaper as a normal Bones release) and several 3d models that you have to print yourself. I agree Oni would have been a preferable name. From a figure design perspective, I think I'd have preferred if his head was about 10-20% smaller to accentuate his size/girth more than his current slightly bobbleheadedness. Regardless, I'll be picking him up and he'll be my second reaper fig purchase to go along with my ogre porter conversion!
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Now the female hellborn Paladin has none of those pesky issues but raises so many other questions for me. Like how does a presumably evil half demon become a lawful good paladin? When she casts protection from evil does she hurt herself? Cause that would be a neat kind of penance thing. And how does she sheath that sword anyway?
In 5E, paladins don't have to be LG. Never really made sense for Blackguards to only be spawned when a paladin falls - not every evil knight needs to have Darth Vader's backstory. One can be as devoted to petty acts of kicking puppies as to slaying dragons and wotnot.
Paladins should be LG - if you want exemplars of other alignments, a, your game needs to actually make alignment important; and b, provide bespoke classes for those alignments, as abilities are likely to differ - or you could just not cave to those not up to RPing a Paladin...
Dysartes wrote:Paladins should be LG - if you want exemplars of other alignments, a, your game needs to actually make alignment important; and b, provide bespoke classes for those alignments, as abilities are likely to differ - or you could just not cave to those not up to RPing a Paladin...
Well, as an OG 1E AD&D guy, I was going to 100% agree with you here but...
Geifer wrote:I don't see a problem with playing a Paladin of Meh, the god of zealous indifference.
Seems the class should be called like Divine Champions with different names for different alignments. Paladin pretty much screams good guy/gal/demihuman.
Well November is coming to an end, time to fry up the Dire Turduken and gird ourselves for Black Friday.
And check out Reaper's November releases!
First up is a plethora of steampunk figures!
Steampunk fairy, no I don't know why she's showing off her knickers.
Clockwork fairies, not to be confused with steampunk fairies, you can tell because they are not showing off their knickers.
Time Witch, arch rival of the Newsweek Witch.
Steampunk Cowboy, the figure makes more sense when you realize he has two robot arms coming out of his back. Personally I'd like to see him with 4 robot arms so he can be Six Gun Sam the Steampunk Gunfighter, but here we are.
Then a slew of Wild Folk/Firbolg characters, who folks, that live in the wild. Apparently it's some sort of magical half-giant race for D&D with tremendous diversity. Whether you want to play a ranger, or a druid, or a multiclassed Ranger/Druid they have you covered.
And then finally Reaper gets into the Christmas spirit with this Female Krampus, I don't normally like these violations of the Black Friday Accords but I'll let it go.
This time.
I actually recognise the time witch as Freebooter. If that is true, then I wonder what other molds they have. (Hopefully the chaos witch[cannot show the pic here])
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Seems the class should be called like Divine Champions with different names for different alignments. Paladin pretty much screams good guy/gal/demihuman.
It certainly doesn't seem very well thought out to me that every deity can have a cleric but the holy warrior class is reserved only for gods of lawful stupid and chaotic stupid alignments.
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Seems the class should be called like Divine Champions with different names for different alignments. Paladin pretty much screams good guy/gal/demihuman.
It certainly doesn't seem very well thought out to me that every deity can have a cleric but the holy warrior class is reserved only for gods of lawful stupid and chaotic stupid alignments.
Paladins are usually devoted more to ideals than gods directly. And while I'm also a traditionalist re: Paladins should be Lawful Good, the current 5E class options are geared to specific alignments (one sub-class each for LG, LN, NG).
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Seems the class should be called like Divine Champions with different names for different alignments. Paladin pretty much screams good guy/gal/demihuman.
It certainly doesn't seem very well thought out to me that every deity can have a cleric but the holy warrior class is reserved only for gods of lawful stupid and chaotic stupid alignments.
But you already have to customize them by alignment, an Evil Anti-Paladin isn't going to have healing and protection from evil in his skillset. So why keep the name?
Somewhere (gestures towards a pile of boxes in the attic) I have an old Dragon article that proposed 9 paladins, one per alignment. It was typical 80s D&D, random, arbitrary, too detailed in some places, not detailed enough in others.
In the end of course do you need a Paladin class? Aren't they just multiclassed Fighter/Clerics?
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Seems the class should be called like Divine Champions with different names for different alignments. Paladin pretty much screams good guy/gal/demihuman.
It certainly doesn't seem very well thought out to me that every deity can have a cleric but the holy warrior class is reserved only for gods of lawful stupid and chaotic stupid alignments.
But you already have to customize them by alignment, an Evil Anti-Paladin isn't going to have healing and protection from evil in his skillset. So why keep the name?
Somewhere (gestures towards a pile of boxes in the attic) I have an old Dragon article that proposed 9 paladins, one per alignment. It was typical 80s D&D, random, arbitrary, too detailed in some places, not detailed enough in others.
In the end of course do you need a Paladin class? Aren't they just multiclassed Fighter/Clerics?
The answers to your questions are:
Yes
No
But there's an actual forum section to debate this you know....
Kid_Kyoto wrote: Seems the class should be called like Divine Champions with different names for different alignments. Paladin pretty much screams good guy/gal/demihuman.
In Pathfinder 1st edition... they had the Paladin (LG) and the Anti Paladin (CE) and then an archetype for the Paladin called the "Gray Paladin". The Gray could be any good (L, N or C) and had to worship a god who was LG. LN or NG).
But the "hellborn" mini could just be a Lawful Good Tiefling paladin. Overcoming her seemingly inherited evil (even though she is not bound by race to be evil anyway).
Has anyone ever bought any of their "printed" models?
If so, what's the quality like and how difficult is it to cut them off their bases due to obsessive basing requirements do any cutting for conversion work? I'm seeing a lot of models I want that have the "printed" search tag on them.
Yeah it's January 2 but these are listed as December releases so into the 2024 thread they go!
Galdanoth doesn't even both to dress himself up rhetorically as an "archer", no he's an elf sniper picking off evil mages, warlords and random civilians who get in the way. No one is truly innocent. That's Galdanoth's motto.
"I cast - Molotov's Spicy Cocktail!"
Mouseling Ranger and Yeoman, Yeomouse? Yeomouseling?
Let me sleep on it.
I love that the dwarf ranger's axe can double as a pipe wrench.
Now surely that is IT for 2024 no? I mean we're are legit out of time? Surely my next post will be for 2025?
METAL 
