The Electric Speakeasy

Herb Roflcopter wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 17, 2018 12:18 am

that was ballsy- ending a campaign with a noble sacrifice? I'm impressed, I don't think I could ever convince my players to do that.

They didn't really have much of a choice in the matter, actually. Once they figured out it was going to be a TPK though, they had confidence I'd reward them for their trust.

I'm short on time and I don't want to rush my post about maps & miniatures, so until I get a moment, here's a few jokes only role-playing gamers will understand:

Literally laughed out loud. I love the "killed the table" one!

Cousi wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 25, 2018 2:36 am

Literally laughed out loud. I love the "killed the table" one!

Mimics are rare in my campaign; the last time I used one was in a dungeon cell, and it clearly was only interested in eating demon worshipers because it loved the way they melted in its mouth. The PCs ended up taking it with them and feeding it evildoers.

On the topic of hex grids, I've always used them instead of the square ones for combat. The only other guy who DMs uses them too, except he uses a slightly larger grid, so we have to remember to convert movement rates and weapon ranges since the size is just enough to make a difference.

On the topic of miniatures, plastic flat ones seem like a good idea, they store easily, are likely unbreakable and don't cost much. Unfortunately, I'm hooked on lead & three-dimensional figurines like a drug.

Every time I think I completed my collection, a few months go by and I start looking to see if there's some obscure monster I would like the players to fight- and I always find one.

Recently, I picked up a miniature of the villain known as Demogorgon, and came away disappointed. It didn't cost much, and now I see why:


Not bad, really, but when you place him next to a human fighter:


Yeah, ol' Demogorgon isn't much taller. He ought to be a huge menacing threat. Look at these other miniatures in comparison:


Demogorgon is even less impressive when stacked against a Vrock (low level demon), a bone golem (mindless construct), and an Eldritch Giant. He ought to be far scarier than any of these creatures!

I do enjoy the 3d figures but frankly, they never match my mental image of the characters. My setting is somewhat unique so most figures simply do match what a character might wear or use. I call it Geis and the background can be found in this blog: https://geischronicles.blogspot.com/201 ... ing-i.html. I working on converting it to World Anvil simply because I like their format much better than a blog.

Yeah, I know about places like HeroForge, but they still don't fit my mental images and fortunately I can just draw and color on shrinkydinks so that's what I use.

That being said, as I get my finances under control I am more seriously considering getting some 3d figures for the monsters. I love miniatures, but they're expensive. I also prefer to paint them rather than get them pre-painted. Frankly, from the role the Demogorgon played in Stranger Things, you'd think they'd have a decent miniature for it by now.

Cousi wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:47 pm

Frankly, from the role the Demogorgon played in Stranger Things, you'd think they'd have a decent miniature for it by now.

Haven't watched Stranger Things (I don't watch much TV at all) but I heard D&D is featured prominently in it.

I started out with lead figurines back in the 90's, and only started collecting prepainted plastics a few years back when I was looking for some way of making my adventures more interesting. I realized I'd used all my old miniatures, and thought it might be cool for the players to face off against some new foes they'd never seen before.

I used to enjoy painting them, but now I simply don't have the time. Also, sometimes I didn't buy a miniature because I didn't want to bother painting it. Now I can get one already ready to go? Yes, please.

Also, some of them are ridiculously expensive and I won't pay more than a few bucks for something I won't use often. Even so, for a while the only miniature of the Gelatinous Cube was going for $50, and that's outrageous! Normally I don't go higher than $3 or $4 for a regular-sized mini, and maybe $8 or $9 for a larger one. Players in my campaign tend to fight fire/frost giants, so I'm okay with getting a few of those, because they're going to see a lot of use.

Yeah, one thing I need to do is bake some shrinky-dinks of the common villains in the world. As you saw, I basically use a counter for the bad guys and while it's fine, I'd rather use a figure of some sort.

Speaking of, this is an early draft of the three elites of the Kol Draahl;

From left to right, Myde Laethe (warrior mage), Alahn (pure warrior) and Zoraban (psychic warrior)

I like this thread, it inspires me to take care of crap I've been wanting to do. Like re-designing the Zoraban.

Cousi wrote: ↑

Wed Oct 31, 2018 7:55 pm

Yeah, one thing I need to do is bake some shrinky-dinks of the common villains in the world. As you saw, I basically use a counter for the bad guys and while it's fine, I'd rather use a figure of some sort.

Speaking of, this is an early draft of the three elites of the Kol Draahl;

From left to right, Myde Laethe (warrior mage), Alahn (pure warrior) and Zoraban (psychic warrior)

I like this thread, it inspires me to take care of crap I've been wanting to do. Like re-designing the Zoraban.

Those are cool; maybe someday using a 3D printer will make those drawings a reality.

Here's an old battleground drawing I did years ago:


Somewhat inspired by a scene from the movie The Golden Child, these are enormously high platforms the players must jump on to get to the other side (making DEX checks every time) Of course, there are occasional enemies on some of the platforms so the going isn't that easy.

I like it! I love taking inspiration from various things. I've taken inspiration from everything from fantasy novels, anime, US cartoons, news reports and anything else I can.

"I got it Monty! Now turn on the damn lights!" - Chandler Jarrell (Golden Child was an awesome movie)

Cousi wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 01, 2018 5:29 pm

I like it! I love taking inspiration from various things. I've taken inspiration from everything from fantasy novels, anime, US cartoons, news reports and anything else I can.

"I got it Monty! Now turn on the damn lights!" - Chandler Jarrell (Golden Child was an awesome movie)

I just watched it again this year with my daughter- still holds up in my book.

I tend to borrow heavily from Edgar Rice Burroughs; specifically his Barsoom novels. I even had an NPC named Tars Tarkas at one point. If the 2012 movie John Carter had become a franchise, I would have been a bit embarrassed as each film would have revealed more of my sources for numerous characters and city names.