One year later, with a new project

 Hi everyone! 

It's been a year since my last post on this blog, and many things have changed. As announced, we have moved from a house to an apartment, so we had to reorganize a little. My painting table was installed in the dark basement of the house, it's been exchanged for a real, well lightened desk in a comfortable room, with enough space to store thousands of minis. In a word, that's great!

As already answered to some previous comments, there has been only minor damage among the tiny troops, nothing impossible to repair. The figures were mostly well packed, which had been long to achieve (more than 2 months), and the unpacking had been even longer (and not finished yet). But at the end of december, I took a few days of and started to paint again.

I was in a new place, I wanted a new project, largely inspired by some excellent threads on LAF. Since my family and I love board games and RPGs, I decided to create a small world for a Fantasy RPG campaign using 28mm figures. Easier said than done! I need:

- many trees for a large forest

- some houses for small hamlets and villages

- towers, walls, big houses for a town

- some ships for rivers and seas, and a port of course

- every large or little things needed for human activities (carts, furniture, market stalls, goods, crates...)

- some NPCs, animals and creatures to people all those places

- and of course, some figures to represent the main characters

I would like to represent a world in which combat is not a central activity but a desperate option. I guess it will take years before I am fully ready, so let's proceed one step before another. The beginning of the campaign is written, so I focused on the needed elements for that chapter. Some of the figures are painted, and I have a few prepainted buildings that allow me to represent a small hamlet, near a forest.

Let's have a look. We can even start to imagine a story.

Olga (Reaper mini)

This is Olga. She lives in a house in a small hamlet in a poor region a the foot of a high mountain range, with her husband Enguerrand and their daughters Sonia and Claire. Their house is modest, but she works hard to keep it nice and as cosy as possible, and she can sometimes propose a bed for not too suspicious travellers passing by - there aren't many.

 

Enguerrand on his cart (Crooked Dice)

Here you are Enguerrand, with his cart, transporting goods for the benefit of some shopkeeper in a neighbouring village. His mule is old but can still do the job.

 

Sonia (Archon studio)

 Their daughter Sonia is working in a small field. She is sowing seeds for a future harvest. The plot of land will give them enough for subsistance, but not to sell at the market. Her sister Claire doesn't work with her, as she headed off towards the woods a few moments ago, looking for bushes to pick berries from.

 

1985 Citadel blacksmith

 Gill is a blacksmith. His workshop is close to Olga's house.  There are not so many craftsmen skilled in working with iron in this area, so he is an important man in this  small community. He has just stopped working as he is looking at some foreigners arriving in the hamlet.

 

Jolie the scribe, and Dioscoride, the herbalist (Reaper minis)

Well known Aragorn and Legolas figures from LOTR range by GW

The newcomers look like adventurers. Some of them have weapons, but also scrolls, and a book. Maybe they're interested in the forest, and the strange creatures that live in ? 

The two rangers look nervous. They seem to be looking for someone, or something. Jolie, the girl with the book, pushed her glasses up and asked Gill: "Hello, Mr blacksmith! Excuse us to disturb you, but we are looking for a marsh demon that was spotted in this are a few days ago. Ti is a very dangerous creature, have you seen it ?".

Gill was about to answer when a scream of terror rang out.

"It was Claire!" said Olga in panic. "I told her not to go into the forest alone!"

"I can see her coming back, she's running and, oh! Guys, I think your demon is right after her, and it is not alone!"

Poor Claire, running with her empty basket (Fireforge miniatures)

Picts and Marsh Demon, Conan range by Monolith

The demon is here, escorted by two horrible savages! Where do they come from ?

The two rangers immediately run towards the creatures, one of them shouting: "Jolie, prepare one of your spells at once, We will need it very soon!"

Will the adventurers be strong enough to defeat the demons ? What will become of Claire ? Well, these events are not meant be part of the RPG campaign, but who knows ? Maybe we will hear of these characters in the future.

Hope you like them, as usual :)