Suffer No Guilt Yee Who Wield This In the Name of Crom

Holy crap it actually does say that. I've been watching the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film at least twice a year for the last 34 years, and until I flipped the frame, I never realized what the runes on Conan's father sword said (or in fact that they said anything at all).  SUFFER NO GUILT YEE WHO WIELD THIS IN THE NAME OF CROM.  It's nice to find that I can still be surprised. :-)

I've stared at those runes for many years an never got it.  I'm really impressed that they thought to put this kind of detail into the film.  Just one more reason that Conan the Barbarian remains my favorite S&S film of all time.  I really can't wait for the Modiphius Conan RPG.  Crom!

Far Away Land Stories on Patreon

Far Away Land Patreon. 'nuff said. For real.

Seriously though, Simian Circle Games is launching a Patreon.  They put out a great game and are fantastic about supporting it.  If you have a few extra dollars each month, you should really think about donating.  I know that I'm planning too!

100th Anniversary of the Battle of Jutland

The Destruction of the British Battlecruiser HMS Invincible

100 years ago today, on May 31 1916,  The German High Seas Fleet attempted to destroy a portion of the British Grand Fleet by luring them into a trap.  The British turned the table on the trap, and what resulted was the largest Battleship engagement of the First World War, known to the British as the Battle of Jutland and to the Germans as the Skagerrakschlacht.  Despite being outnumbered, the German High Seas Fleet made a good accounting of itself, due in part to superior gunnery.  In the end, the British lost 14 ships and over 6,000 men, while the Germans lost 11 ship and over 2500 men.  The result was a strategic victory for the British, and the German High Seas Fleet spent most of the rest of the war in port acting as a fleet in being.  

The German Battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz in port after the battle

Today only one ship from that battle survives.  The British Light Cruiser HMS Caroline is docked in Belfast and is currently being restored for the 100th anniversary of the battle.

The HMS Caroline in Belfast

There is plenty of more information about the battle available in many other locations.  I just like ships.

Miniatures Monday

This week for Miniatures Monday, we have another figure from Fantization Miniatures.  This one is Manannan Champion with Greatsword.  You can get your own copy from Fantization here for $6.99.  I find their miniatures to be very nice, and they don't tend to require a lot of mold line cleanup, which is always a plus with me.  The results aren't bad, but in retrospect, I wish that I had gone with some war paint.  I suppose that I could always add it in the future though.  I can imagine this guy painted like Schwartzenegger when they went to steal the princess from Thulsa Doom's Mountain of Power, but I will probably do something a bit more subtle.

How to Play Dark Tower - Vintage Board Game 1981 (Mini Review)

Wow, I can't believe that my Dark Tower board game review/play example has almost 19,000 views! I realize that in the grand scale of youtube, that's still close to zero, but hey I'm impressed. :-)  Thanks to everyone who has watched!

Weird Adventure Wednesday

This week's weird adventure idea:

On a cold day you are accosted by a glassy-eyed adept in a drug den.  The adept tells you a forgotten tale that 4 weeks journey to the southwest, over The Miraculous Fen of the Serpent stand The Creepy Spires of the Sky.  It is told that hidden there is The Tremendous Magnesium Orb of the Unbending Planets.  But beware, for the adept tells you that it is told The Sorcerous Worm of Wakefulness dwells there!

Miniatures Monday

I paint a lot of barbarians.  In truth, they probably make up about 20% of my total number of painted miniatures.  Partly this is because I've always been a fan of barbarian fiction like Conan and Thongor, and partly it's because when I started painting 30 odd years ago, I wasn't very good at painting them, but really wanted to be.  Not that I'm all that good today, but I've certainly improved.  This miniature is Roth Mac Lyr from the Fantization Miniatures Celtos line, and you can buy your own copy from them for $6.99.

Roll a D6

Lizardman Modifications (multiple photos)

I've always been a big fan of lizardmen.  When I first started playing D&D back in the stone ages, I always wanted to play one, and when I ran games, they frequently appeared as antagonists.  So of course, I've always been a big fan of lizardman miniatures.  Reaper Miniatures makes some great sculpts, but I've always been a bit disappointed with the selection of weaponry their lizardmen come with.  They tend to have a lot of clubs and things that while dangerous, just don't look that impressive.  Now I get it, they are stone age savages who live in swamps where metal would rust pretty quickly, but I want my lizardmen to be cunning and crafty.  I expect that they will actually use the weapons that they acquire from slaughtering hapless merchants and unlucky adventurers.  So I set about modifying this set of lizardmen (DHL Classics Lizardmen II available from Reaper for $11.99) to better match my vision.  Let's take a look at the the original minis.

The original lizardman group

Now, these are look pretty tough, and I certainly wouldn't want to run into any of them in a dark swamp, but I want my lizardmen to be more elite.  The fellow on the left has a stone sword, which I actually think is pretty cool.  Some effort must have gone into making that, and it's probably some sort of lizardman heirloom, possibly carved from a mysterious stone found by his grandsire deep in the swamp.  I like the look of that one, so I've left him alone.

Stone swords can be cool too!

Next, the fellow in the center has a rather wicked looking maul made from a spiky stone tied to a big stick.  While I sure wouldn't want to get hit with that, I think that we can do better, so I replaced it with a big curved two-handed sword.

Now that should up my damage a bit!

Finally, we come to the fellow on the right.  This guy has a bunch of skulls around his neck and appears to be rather important, but for a weapon he's carrying...a bone.  Honestly, were they on their way to raid a village when he noticed that he had forgotten his weapon?  Did he stop by the rubbish heap and just grab a dead adventurer's femur?  I decided that he really needed an upgrade and replaced his bone with a wicked looking barbarian sword.

I'm so glad I pulled this out of the rubbish heap instead of a bone!

So now we have my upgraded lizardman raiding party.

The final group armed to the teeth, or to the fangs!

The modification weren't hard, and my new mini craft drill made the work much easier.  I'm pretty pleased with how these modification turned out, and can't wait to get started painting them.  So what do you think, do you prefer your lizardmen to have stone aged weapons or more modern weapons?

Warhammer Quest

I'm not sure how I missed this, but Games Workshop is releasing a new version of Warhammer Quest this month!  Of course it costs $150, and it's one of their limited runs, but still it's nice to see them using some of their older popular properties.  Plus, if Space Hulk is any indication, it won't be the last time we see it.  I've grown rather disenchanted with GW over the years, but this certainly makes me think, even though it doesn't look as fancy as the original.

Miniatures Monday

This week for Miniatures Monday, we have a dual wielding northern warrior.  It's not among my best work, but I've done a bit of touchup here and there to get it to the point where I'm happy enough with it.  My attempts at painting black hair tend to meet with rather mixed results.  The miniatures is Dantrag, Northern Adventurer, and is still available from Reaper Miniatures for $6.99.

Weird Adventure Wednesday

This week's weird adventure seed:

On a stormy night you strike up a conversation with a mumbling stargazer in a busy inn.  The stargazer tells you a forgotten tale that 5 weeks travel to the west, across The Mystifying Hills of the Mysterious Warlock was built The Illusory Shrine of Extinction.  It is said that there is hidden The Crimson Tripod of Entanglement.  But beware, for the stargazer cautions you that The Dire Jailer of Mutation guards that place!

Miniatures Monday

This week, we have a couple of malevolent spirits.  I painted these a shading experiment where I base coated the the robes in white then used a light blue ink to fill in the recessed areas.  I was pretty pleased with the results.  The miniatures are from Reaper Miniatures, and are Model number 03298: Spirits.  They are still available for $9.99 from the online store. 

In my high school German class (1986), we listened to this every day for a month.

Miniatures Monday

After a hiatus due to some time away, Miniature Monday returns in all of its sorcerous splendor.  This week we have a staff wielding sorcerer from Reaper Miniatures.  I'm pretty please with how the shading on his robes and beard turned out.  The miniature is 03393 Vistaril Quillscratch and can by purchase from Reaper for $5.99.