Mars Miniatures

Mars Miniatures

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Army of the 12 Monkeys

 
James Cole : I'm here about some monkeys.

Jeffrey Goines : Monkeys?

James Cole : Monkeys. Yes. Twelve of them.

Got this dance that's more than real
Drink Brass Monkey, here's how you feel
You put your left leg down
Your right leg up
Tilt your head back, let's finish the cup
MCA with the bottle, D rocks the can
Ad-Rock gets nice with Charlie Chan
We're offered Moët
We don't mind Chivas
Wherever we go, we bring Monkey with us

 

The Army of the 12 Monkeys have brachiated their way into this post. Well some of them at least. Have we have had monkeys and apes on this blog before..? Oh yeah, an army of monkeys made their first appearance with the very first episode of the "Tales from the Beer Cart" campaign from way back when. (http://mars-miniatures.blogspot.com/2016/08/tales-from-beer-cart-part-1-lost-in.html) Well, here they are again! 

Here we come, walkin' down the street
We get the funniest looks from every one we meet
Hey, hey, we're the Monkees and people say we monkey around
But we're too busy singing to put anybody down

What are their objectives? Or do they even have any? (Perhaps they want revenge against Kyra the Banshee for their defeat in Ost-In-Edhil) They have marked their graffiti symbols over mass transit stations from Gondor to Arnor. Nowhere is sacred to these hooligans. The White Tower of Gondor has sent a proclamation "Stop your Monkeying around! Anyone caught vandalizing public property will be sentenced to hard labor in the Gulags of the Ered Lithui or be Suicide Squad-ed into the Moria Reclamation Project!"


These figures are sculpted by Gary Hunt and available through Zombiesmith.  The number 12 in the Army of the 12 Monkeys is the number of factions in the army. This first part is called the Mandrill Guard. Guess I have to find 11 other types of primates in 28mm... What have I got myself into?

Here is Captain Mongo, the leader of the Mandrill Guard.  He rides a pretty cool beastie of some sort. It gallops on all fours, and has some horn tusks.

Captain Mongo: Mongo only pawn in game of life...

The beastie does have muscular arm/legs. So, I guess its a primate. Whatever it is, I will say that like the rest of the 12 Monkeys it will probably have a trait that disregards movements penalties in wooded terrain.

 Pathfinder, Trait: This model can move through difficult terrain with no penalties.

They are beautiful sculpts in my opinion. Very dynamic poses and very artfully done.

The Mandrills might be gentle and shy in times of peace but when the warhorns sound... Its on like Donkey Kong!

The Mandrills have made it to their destination.

Captain Mongo bows before Azrogorgon.  Mongo looks up at Azro like a Space Marine would look up to a Primarch. With deference and possibly some bromance. 

Captain Mongo: Lord Azrogorgon, the Mandrill Guard have arrived and are at your command! 

Lord Azrogorgon: My first command is to....

Lord Azrogorgon:  ...get down with the boogie! 

Mandrill Guard: Jungle Boogie! 

Lord Azrogorgon: Get down, get down... 

Mandrill Guard: Jungle Boogie! 

Lord Azrogorgon: Get up with the get down!

 ~~~

So what primates will show up next? Gorilla Grodd or Mojo Jojo? Mighty Joe Young or Kong? Im voting for Clyde!

Right turn , Clyde.

Real Next Post: Uncommon Valor!



Friday, September 23, 2022

Teal Skinned Orcs

 Ive had many Greenskins before. Orcs of many hues and colors from days long past remembering.

But have I had Tealskins? Now Im not so certain, but I do think these are my favorite Orcs Ive painted. Behold! From Mordor comes the Pimps of Gore! They have come to bring a new dawn of savage conquest in the name of Chaotic Evil or Lawful Evil or the less inspiring Neutral Evil! 

For those not privy to the D&D alignment reference - Orcs were once Chaotic Evil in Holmes Basic D&D, then changed by Gygax to Lawful Evil. But LE feels more like Hobgoblins who seem more regimented and disciplined. Arent Tolkien Orcs always squabbling amongst themselves? They cleared the path for the Hobbits to escape Cirith Ungol, didnt they? Which I suppose inspired GW to give Warhammer its Animosity Chart/Table.

Though I do suppose Neutral Evil is a better fit for Orcs. But whichever flavor of Evil the Orcs decide to adopt on any given day, there will be a good bashing involved!

Onwards to the pics!


These guys are from Dragonbait Miniatures who got them from Dark Fable. Sculpted by the great Orc himself - Kev Adams.

The Animosity roll and its infamous roll of a "1".

 Get 'em! Them other greenskins is asking for trouble! Pulling faces, shouting rude insults and hurling dung. They deserve a good bashing!

Taken from 2nd edition WHFB:

ORCS 

Orcs are powerful warriors, far tougher than any other goblinoid race. They are repulsive monsters who love to inflict pain, cruelty and death on other living creatures. Orcs are always fighting, if they cannot find enemies to fight they will fight each other. All of Orc technology and culture is geared towards conflict. They are dangerous individual foes, but lack the organisation or motivation to present any real long term threat to humanity. Orcs speak the common Goblin tongue, usually about four octaves lower than any Goblin. 

Physique. 

Orcs are the largest of the goblinoid races, and can often reach almost 7'. They are powerfully built, with crooked legs and a shambling, ape-like gait. Their arms are long, so that their huge hands almost reach to the ground. An Orc's head is far from appealing; their faces are brutal with huge teeth and jaws, their small piggy eyes peer from underneath ugly, overhanging bony ridges. Skin is often greenish, or a dark ali ve brown and is covered in warts, scars, dirt and snot. 

World Distribution. 

Orcs are most common in the barren Dark Lands, where goblinoids are the dominant species. They live in communities with other goblinoid types, often as leaders or chieftains. A few wandering tribes inhabit the Northern Steppes, whilst there are countless Orcish underground strongholds in the Worlds Edge Mountains and the Mountains of Mourn. Orcs are not common in the lands of Cathay or in the Southlands, where Hobgoblins are more prolific. 

Alignment. Evil. 

Base Size. 25 x 25mm. 

Special Rules. Subject to animosity against other goblinoids. Orcs can act as leaders of other goblinoid regiments.

An address to the golden door
I was strumming on a stone again
Pulling teeth from the pimps of gore
When hatched a tragic opera in my mind
And it told of a new design in which every soul is duty bound
To uphold all the statutes of boredom
Therein lies the fatal flaw of the red age

So we burned all our uniforms
And let nature take its course again
And the big ones just eat all the little ones
That sends us back to the drawing board

We've got rules and maps and guns in our backs
But we still can't just behave ourselves
Even if to save our own lives
So says I
We are a brutal kind, whoa

~~~ 

Ok, The Shins make it to the blog and its for an Orc post of all things! What has this world come to? Still I defend it. The song is about the cyclical nature of rule. And the brutal nature of man....? Pardon me while I guffaw! Humies got nuffin' on us Orcs!

Nuff said!

Cheers,

Mar

Next post: Quit Monkeying Around!



Thursday, September 22, 2022

The Woses and the Dreamquest for Unknown Kadath

 The Awakening Dream-Time of the Woses

OR

The Dreamquest for Unknown Kadath

OR 

The Valar Must Be Crazy


 Hiya buddies! I'd been busy for a month or so with commission paintwork. This time for a museum! Well pardon me, Mr fancy-pants. But if you are ever in the neighborhood of Sheridan Wyoming, drop by the Museum at the Bighorns and the Rosebud Diorama has figures painted by your buddy pal Mars Minis. Im happy to leave behind some legacy in this world, some mark on the cave wall that says "I was once here!"

 I didnt plan this post's content to coincide with Amazon's Rings of Power. Im just doing my own thing, like as I always have. What does this blog and Mr Bezos' billion dollar project have in common - making our own versions of Middle Earth, of course. Well, I have been watching the Rings of Power series and here are my thoughts in a nutshell...

Twist #1, Gimli is female! (Female Dwarves do have beards, right? So who can tell?) Twist #2, Gimli is pregnant! Twist #3, Legolas is gay. (OK, we all saw that one coming. Twist #4, Gimli is pregnant with Legolas' child!  But seriously, Rings of Power sucks. IMHO. Sorry, but it sucks. And it has nothing to do with "wokeness" or powerful women or the racial equity in every fantasy race and nation (its the sign of our times)...  Rings of Power is just plain terrible storytelling. It feels like a bunch of cosplayers improv acting a bad fan-fic story at an open mic night. Amazon goes to prove the old adage - money cant buy everything. But isnt the Moria Reclamation Blog the same thing, I hear you say? Well I suppose I am writing fan-fic of some sort, but really its just words to accompany my gaming. (Thats my excuse anyway.) But also... I KNOW that what Im doing IS a parody. It says so, right on the tin! Look at the side bar, its over there on the left "The Moria Reclamation Project is a narrative wargame campaign set in a wacky Monty Python-esque version of the Mines Of Moria. Its a mishmash of Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, and the Lord of the Rings."

So, TLDR, Amazon could have spent more time on the writing of the script and dialogue. Also, I had a Hobbit herbologist named Poppy before Amazon had their Poppy!  I have more emotional investment in not-Conan and his pet dino in Tartakovsky's "Primal" than anyone in Rings of Power. Its animated with no spoken parts!  Ok, the black elf in Rings is pretty cool, but they shouldve just made a Drizzt Do'Urden movie instead.

Like I said earlier, Im just doing my own thing, like I always have. Im not making the Woses dark skinned because of wokeness. I do think in actual Tolkien canon, the Woses are probably light skinned westerners of some sort - maybe like Pictish pygmies? But in my imaginary campaign, this particular branch of aboriginal tribal peoples are from the Southlands. 

OK, enough with the disclaimers... on with the post!

 

The Druedain (not to be confused with Dunedain!), aka the Woses, aka the Pukelmen.

They are tribal peoples who are close to nature and can be found in forests like Druadan Forest at the border of Gondor and Rohan. Or in the Druwaith Iaur near Andrast in Southern Gondor. 

Woses carry bows to hunt wild game for food. The Woses think everyday should be a celebration and celebrations always needs to have a roast pig on a stick over an open fire.

As an aside, Istriya the Witch of Pinnath Gelin is from that part of the world. Perhaps she knows of them? She has dryad friends, maybe she also knows of the Woses in those forests.

Now this particular tribe of Woses are darker skinned than the ones in Druadan or Druwaith because they are from Harondor which is north of Umbar and south of Lebenin in Gondor.   

Another aside... Baron Orson is the Baron of Lebenin. Another suspected character in our blog who might have come across theWoses.  

Not long ago, a pilot threw out his glass Coke bottle from his propeller plane and it landed in a Wose village. While the natives found many beneficial uses with it, they also found that this modern technology also brought on modern woes - like jealousy over its use. Ultimately leading to it being used as a club when one lady didnt want to share it with another. (The Prime Directive was breached!) Their once happy village was now sullied by the thoughtless littering of civilized man's garbage. Much like the One Ring, the Woses found that power corrupts absolutely and have sent a fellowship of their own on a quest to return this mighty artifact to whence it came. Thus begins the saga of "The Valar Must Be Crazy".

Mi seh one ting Nancy kyaahn understandOne ting Nancy kyaahn understandWha mek dem a taak bout mi ambition?Seh, what makes dem a taak bout mi ambition?Some a dem a aks mi weh mi get it framSome of them ask me where me get it fromA chuu dem nuh know it's fram creationA chuu dem nuh know it's fram creation 
Bam bam, ey, What a bam bam 
 
I never troubled no one
Em see is my ambition
I come fi nice up Jah may can
Ey what a bam bam, said what a bam bam

A chance meeting on the cultural crossroads... between the Woses on their quest and the easterling delegation known as the House of Red Dragons.  (Oh and also I didnt name House of Red Dragons to coincide with House of the Dragon on HBO! Which reminds me... Im loving Elric Melnibone on that show. That helm on Doctor Who #11 is great. Someone just do Moorcock already for Lord Arioch's sake!)

Wose Chief: *complaining in his native language*

Iron Dragon: Not sure what he is saying, but Im thinking it has to do with the Coke bottle in his hand.

Lady Snow Blossom: Maybe he wants to recycle it? Tribal peoples ARE environmentally friendly. Then again, maybe he wants to know where the closest 7-Eleven is to get a refill?

The Woses are debating whether Kyubee the Kirin is good for eating.


 The last surviving Gondor knight escorting the House of Red Dragons and one of the Rohan archers make friends with the Woses. See the Battle of Rhun Wald http://mars-miniatures.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-battle-of-rhun-wald.html

Buying bread from a man in BrusselsHe was six foot four, and full of muscleI said, "Hey, do you speak-a my language?"He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich

And he said...

 ~~~

Edit: Totally forgot to circle back to the reference to Lovecraft in the post's title. Prepare to be underwhelmed!
Aboriginal Australians go on Walkabouts aka Vision Quests aka the "Dreaming". I dont know too much about it, but my guess its some kind of spiritual nature/soul quest while living off the land in a migratory fashion? Im thinking a road trip movie but with walking and camping.

Tcho Tcho (Lovecraft's sinister tribal asians) are like Woses but have succumbed to the Mythos dreams (think Burmese Gollum, or try not to!).

Strange Horizons did an article about the connection in Aboriginal Lovecraft here: http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/articles/aboriginal-lovecraft/

But anyway, in my campaign these Woses are still primarily good natured. If they stay that way... who knows?  All we should know is that their ancestral "Dreaming" gods are calling them to take a larger part in the global troubles brewing in Middle Earth. If the Free Peoples are to survive, they need everyone to help out, both the great and the small. Im looking at you Hobbits and Woses to save the day!


 Next post: Orcs!



Wednesday, August 10, 2022

The Battle of Hollin Gate, Part 3 The Finale

 The explosive and shocking finale of The Battle of Hollin Gate!

 

Mortimer launches another Lightning spell on the gate.

Lady Elerina uses her Stun spell to keep Chaos warriors and Beastmen from attacking Mortimer who is causing steady damage to the gate.

Mortimer: *winks at Elerina* We make a good team, dont we?

Lady Elerina: With victory or death in the balance... I will permit your possibly inappropriate speech towards my person.

Mortimer: No. I only meant that we make a good spell casting team...

Lady Elerina: Anais told you me of your easily befuddled ways, Mortimer. *laughs* Sorry couldnt help it. Ok, no more distractions. Lightning blast that gate to oblivion!

Mortimer: Ohhh... ha ha. Yes mi'lady! Oh that naughty Anais!

Paladin Cosette intercepts an ape Beastman that was bounding for Tuddles.

And with a great thwack of his tentacles, Nyarlathotep slays the Watcher in the Water. Tuddles gasps as his pet is brought low. Goodbye Watcher... we hardly knew ye.

And two more Night Gaunts arrive from out of the gate. Which brings a total of 3 Night Gaunts on the board. But where is the third one?

Ah, there it is! It drops down on Poppy! And wounds her!

She makes a Resolve roll and gets away from the Gaunt. And just in time, Sir Haystacks jumps in to tank it! Haystacks tells Poppy to stay back but she moves forwards instead! What does she think she is doing? 

Poppy heroically runs for the gate! Perhaps no one will notice a small hobbit who has set out to achieve the impossible. Poppy's time to shine has come and destiny calls! Hobbits may be small in stature but their time to show their mettle has come! A light shines from the sky and a choir of angelic voices is heard.

Poppy: Here I come, gate! I will destroy you! With only my little wooden staff with an acorn on top of it!

Sir Haystacks: Come back here, Hobbit! I saved your life and now Im responsible for it! Get back here! *tries to go after her but has to defend himself from the Night Gaunt*

Nyarlathotep puts fear into Shrub Beard's mind! Its a vision of a forest fire! With smoke, and heat, and burning leaves everywhere! Shrub Beard cant help but flee, which leaves Anais by herself!

Anais: Noooo... Come back, Shrub Beard! First the Watcher is slain, now Shrub Beard is gone...  Im all alone! Nevermind... I will fight on! Come at me mindless terror beast, if you dare!

But for all her bravery, and even with her magic sword... Anais falls to Nyarlathotep the Crawling Chaos...

Lady Elerina sees her bodyguard has fallen but its no time for sorrow. Not yet. She must fight on! They can still win this battle. She has to protect Mortimer. His Lightning blasts can bring the gate down.

Lord Mysterion vs Lady Elerina.

Lord Mysterion: I will break you, she-elf...

Lady Elerina: Thats Lady She-Elf to you!

Elerina casts an Intimidate spell on Mysterion... and succeeds!

Lord Mysterion routs off the board into the gate itself!

"Where you going dude? Im going home, Donnie. Phone's ringing dude. Thanks Donnie."

On the left side, a Night Gaunt kills another Azer, which leaves one Azer left on that side.

On the right side, the Azer Chief is the last Azer on that side. He faces the other Night Gaunt, but not before he lobs a throwing axe at the gate and damages it! The gate is down to 3 wounds!

Cosette intercepts a Beastman headed for Mortimer.  Cosette is the star player when it comes to intercepts this game. She looks back at Tuddle, hopes he will be ok without her for a bit.

Tuddle makes it to the gate at the same time that Poppy does! Can the Hobbits bring down the gate?

Tuddle: Oh no! This gate is too strong for me to destroy! This is as far as my imagination took me. Can you do anything Poppy?

Poppy: *grunts* Uh.... no. Nothing doing. Just keep trying Tuddle!

Cosette finally defeats her enemy and rushes to the Hobbits. Surely she can do it! There is still time.

Cosette: *whispers a mantra to herself* Time is the substance of which I am made. Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger which destroys me but I am the tiger; it is a fire which consumes me but I am the fire.

But she also fails to damage the gate! Time is running out!

Mortimer casts another Lightning and damages it! One more point of damage is needed!

Final turn is here! The Azer Chief also arrives. Together with all these heroes here, someone will do it, right? With Baron Orson still fighting at the Mausoleum, and Sir Haystacks fighting a Night Gaunt... this is everyone that can destroy the gate.

Mortimer: Ok everyone heave!

Chief Azer: Blast it to bits!

Cosette: For Rohan!

Hobbits: For the Shire!

But a Night Gaunt lands on poor Poppy and claws her. As she feels unconsciousness approaching, she forces herself to stay awake. Not yet, she thinks! I have to know how this ends! She turns her head and watches...

The Azer Chief is now in combat with the Night Gaunt.

Nyarlathotep slays Mortimer before he can cast another Lightning. Then crushes Tuddles with a smack of his tentacles. This place is a hotbed of tragedy!

The Azer Chief kills the Night Gaunt!

With the final two attacks, Cosette and the Azer Chief make their final rolls...

The Azer Chief fails.

Cosette fails.

And then Poppy slips away into unconsciousness. She thinks to herself, "So this is how the world ends. Bye!"

And a tidal wave of Mythos creatures pour out of the gate of Hollin! The game ends... in defeat!

"I have seen enough to know that I have seen too much."

~~~

Poppy wakes up in a bed! Where is she? Lady Elerina stands at the foot of her bed and gives her a warm welcome. At Poppy's side is another bed and in it... is Anais, who also wakes up. Mortimer walks into the room with bandages over a broken arm. 

Poppy: Where are we?

Mortimer: Isenford in Rohan. After we lost the battle, we picked up our wounded and slain and ran out of there with Nyarlathotep and his creatures at our heels. Baron Orson carried Kipper's body instead of taking some treasure from the Mausoleum. Shrub Beard came back and carried you, Tuddles, and the Watcher in the Water, who had shrunk back to the size of a cuttlefish again. *seeing questions in Poppy's eyes* Im sorry... Tuddle has passed away. We lost Kipper too. And the Watcher in the Water.  You, Anais, and I barely survived. Luckily for us, Butters the Pony and the Beercart was passing by and gave us a lift. He is faster than anyone would have thought.

Mortimer: The Azer Chief and one other Azer are the last remaining Azers in our world. The Interdimensional Port Authority has put sanctions on all dimenionsal travel for now. Many malevolent entities from the Dark Dimension has entered our world. We failed our mission. But we can still lead a defense here in Rohan and in other places. We must unite our world and fight Nyarlathotep and all other Mythos.

The surviving Fellowship members hold a farewell ceremony for Tuddles, Kipper the Squire, and the Watcher in the Water.

Elerina's song:
"Across the evening sky, all the birds are leaving
But oh, how can they know, that it's time for them to go?
Before the winter fire, I will still be dreaming
I have no thought of time
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?

Sad, deserted shore, your fickle friends are leaving
Ah, but then you know, that it's time for them to go
But I will still be here, I have no thought of leaving
For I do not count the time
For who knows where the time goes?
Who knows where the time goes?"

Cosette's song: (she carries Kipper's swords and sheds tears for her squire, then recites a Rohan dirge)
"Thou wert swift, O Morar! As swift as deer in the desert: terrible as a meteor in the night sky. Thy wrath was as the storm. Thy sword, as lightning in the field. Thy voice, as a stream after rainfall, like thunder on distant hills. Many fell by thy arm: they were consumed in the flames of thy wrath. But when thou didst return from war, how peaceful was thy brow.

Deep is the sleep of the dead, and lowly their pillow of dust. No more shall he hear thy voice, no more awake at thy call. When shall it be morn in the grave, to bid the slumberer awake?

 Narrow is the confines of thy dwelling now! dark the place of thine abode! With three steps I encompass your grave, O thou who wast once so great! Four stones, with their heads of moss, are the only memorial of thee. A leafless tree and long grass which whistles in the wind.

Why then dost thou awaken me, O breath of spring? Thy voice exclaiming, I refresh thee with heavenly dew; when the time of my decay is approaching, the storm is nigh that shall whither my leaves. Tomorrow the wanderer shall come, the traveler who beheld me in my glory: his eye shall seek me in the field, but me... he shall not find."

Poppy's song: (she has the Clam Shell of Grey Havens now)
"I wish today could be tomorrow,
The night is dark,
It just brings sorrow, let it wait.

Thank you for the days,
Those endless days, those sacred days you gave me.
I'm thinking of the days,
I won't forget a single day, believe me."

~~~

Lady Elerina: We lost the book-bearer. who now will carry the book?  *Elerina opens the book to find that the pages are blank* What was the password again? Anyone? 

Everyone tries and fails. Poppy remembers correctly (I solemnly swear I am up to no good), but still the book is blank. The password has changed somehow. Theories?
Poppy keeps the book for now.

So here is the new team: Lady Elerina is the new team leader, Baron Orson seems to have changed his narcissist ways and is second in command of the team. Kipper might not have been the Baron's squire, but his death seems to have affected him deeply. Oh and dont forget the Beercart and the 2 last Azers! The Fellowship also hope to receive reinforcements before the Mythos invasion of Rohan starts. The White Tower of Gondor has sent word that any survivors from another team sent to Eryn Vorn will probably join them. (Thats going to be Balthazar the Blue and his party of adventurers - Adeline, Prince Arioch, Mordecai the Butler, Lenore the Valkyrie, Malekith the Anti-Paladin, Karnov the Barbarian, and McGirk. And again, thats IF any survive their mission!)

What about Mortimer and Anais?

Mortimer is too wounded and will be recovering in the Undying Lands at the Istari Resort Hotel and Rehab. As he arrives there, he is greeted by a certain Grey Wizard named Olorin. And another eccentric Brown Wizard with an unkempt appearance. They talk of the olde days and Mortimer tells them of recent events in return. In time, who knows, Mortimer may return.

Anais also is heavily wounded and will rest in Rivendell Rehab with some elderly Elf celebrities who never left Middle Earth, namely Celeborn and Glorfindel. They give Anais history lessons and she teaches them new and hip lingo to use at inappropriate times.

~~~

Final thoughts:

I thought Tuddle would be the center of the new stories for this blog going forward. But the Dice Gods are fickle. Maybe its Poppy's story all along. She now holds the Book of Pickles and its map. With it, she is now the Quest-giver (or receiver).

Im glad Sir Haystacks survived. he is my favorite miniature of the team. Plus with Lady Elerina's bodyguard out of action, Haystacks will fill that role. Especially since Elerina made him a knight in their first battle - Redhorn Pass. Although, with the Baron's change of character, he might be my favorite ongoing character arc for this team. Which reminds me of Alpha's heroic turn in the Rogues of Rhun.

Oh and thanks to Joe P. and Steve B. for coming out and playing this game with me. Even though they lost, it was a cinematic and nail biting loss that could have been victory to the last die roll. Thanks fellas!

 So not sure what the next post will be. But the next big battle will be the Battle of the Brownlands with the Rogues of Rhun. And we will see if the House of Red Dragons will join up with them afterwards, since they are both in that neck of Middle Earth. 

Cheers,

Mar

The Battle of Hollin Gate, Part 2

 Here is Part 2 of the Battle of Hollin Gate!

 

Kipper squares off against the Night Gaunt and is wounded by its claws. Suddenly the Night Gaunt takes off and flies away.

Kipper: Im grateful its gone... but I wonder where its gone off to? I think those Azers need help. Maybe I will go there? I hope the Baron doesnt waste time looting the treasure in the Mausoleum until after the battle is won.

Suddenly, a Beastman appears. It makes some sonar pings and attacks Kipper!

Kipper: Its some sort of bat. Do you know what they call bats in Rohan? Bats? No. Chicken of the cave. Have at thee, fiend!

Bat Beastman: Ping!

The Azers on the right are attacked by fast moving Beastmen who use their Stampede ability to get into melee combat. One of the Azers takes the high ground.The Azer Chief slays a reptillian beastman.

On the right side, Beastmen stampede into the Azer lines as well. A walrus beastmen slays one of the Azers. Instead of dying, the fallen Azer is auto-teleported back to the Elemental Plane of Fire - banished for a set amount of time from entering our world. Those Dimensional Port Authority agents really enjoy deporting our Azer buddies dont they? Azers are just dreamers. Dreaming of a world where tropical fruity drinks can be had by all...

Deported Azer: Im ok, buddies! Continue on without me. Message me the outcome of the battle, wont you?

Azers: *shaka handsigns* See ya, brother. Tell em back home that our mercenary gig is doing well! Keep the Pina Coladas ready when we get back...

The bat beastman slays Kipper the Squire as Baron Orson is too late to help him.

Baron Orson: Just rest easy there, Kipper. Just hold on, buddy boy. You're gonna be ok.  I will deal with this batman and get you some help. 

Kipper: I'm gonna die! This blood's scaring the shit outta me, Baron! I'm gonna die, I know it!

Baron Orson: Oh, excuse me, I didn't realise you had a degree in medicine! Uh... ah... are you a doctor? Are you a doctor? Answer me please! Are you a doctor? Huh?

Kipper: No, I'm not.

Baron Orson: Ok! So you admit you don't know what you're talking about! So, when you're through giving me your amateur opinion, just lie back and listen to the news! I'm taking you back to the rendezvous, Mortimer's gonna get you a doctor... Poppy! Poppy's gonna fix you up, and you're gonna be ok! Now say it! You're gonna be ok! SAY IT! [sings] You're gonna be ok! Say the goddamn words, you're gonna be ok!

The Night Gaunt that flew away from Kipper is perched at the top of Stunties Bar & Grill. What is that thing up to?

Lord Mysterio and his Chaos gang are at the gate.

Lord Mysterio: Ok, fellas. Make sure no one gets past us trying to damage our gate.

At the center, its battle time! Cosette and Anais are engaged with Chaos warriors. Shrub Beard charges in from the other side and helps out.

Cosette the Paladin squares off with a Chaos warrior with a giant crab claw.

Anais attacks Lord Obscuro. She has her shiny new magic weapon. Lord Obscuro does have a nasty ability - Nullify. Its going to be a battle of magic weapon vs anti-magic power.

Tuddle leads his new pet and points at the Chaos Warriors near the gate.

Tuddle: Sick em, boy. Go get em!

Elerina and Mortimer pat Tuddle on the back.

Elerina: Like they say... "Speak softly and have a bigger pet monster."

Mortimer: Well done, lad. That'll show them to try to move in on our territory. And let me add my two cents...

Mortimer uses his Chain Lightning spell. He fires it off and it hits the Gate of Hollin damaging it, then it ricochets back and hits a Chaos warrior and incinerates it, then it ricochets one more time back at the gate and damages it again! The heroes cheer! The gate has now taken 2 Damage Points out of 10. Chain Lightning is a one use per game spell. But he also has a regular Lightning spell, not as powerful, but he will continue blasting that gate every turn with it.

But Lord Obscuro is still alive at the Summoning Circle which means the "big bad" has arrived and will be accompanied by some yet to be disclosed company.

Its Nyarlathotep the Crawling Chaos! Not only is he beastly in melee combat, he can Mass Siphon at range - damaging targets and sucking their life force and healing his own wounds. But also he is Omniscient! An ability that takes any one successful roll on the Hero turn and forces it to be rerolled but this time with a -1. Then on the Villain turn, it takes any one failed roll, and allows it to be rolled with a +1. 

Nyarlathotep: Pain has a face. Allow me to show it to you.  We'll tear your soul apart! Your suffering will be legendary, even in hell. 

Poppy: Eh... kind of wordy. Villainous threats are scarier when theyre more to the point. Just sayin'...

Tuddles: Oh noes?! Its him! I saw him in a dream. He has followed me into the real world! (see http://mars-miniatures.blogspot.com/2021/12/mythos-nightmare-creatures-and-hobbit.html) He has alot of friends on the other side. If they all come through the gate... our world is in trouble like we havent seen since the days of Sauron and Morgoth. We gotta destroy that gate at all costs!

We take you to the sky-cam brought to you by Bugman's Brew. 

Overview of the battle. 

"For relaxing times, make it Suntory time."

Now we take you back to the action...

Clash of the Titans. 

Suddenly these beasts with their big Health scores dont seem so big. Since they got lots of attacks and score double damage! And they both have Armor Piercing attacks so -1 To-Saves. This fight wont take long at all... Nyarlathotep has Omniscience though. The Watcher in the Water has... the power of love! For its new friends and its Hobbit master which he aims to make proud. Still Nyarlathotep has wounded the Watcher and seems to be winning this fight.

Shrub Beard batters his way through the Chaos warriors.

Anais makes good use of her magic weapon and slays Chaos Lord Obscuro who instead of using his power on Anais, turned off Mortimer's Lightning spell. But now with Obscuro slain, Mortimer's spell is back again!

Lord Obscuro: Well done. Continued success with your gang.

Cosette the Paladin slays her Chaos warrior enemy. Things are looking up for the Fellowship!

The Watcher in the Water, Anais and her magic weapon, and Shrub Beard gang up on Nyarlathotep! But will it be enough?

~~~

Next post: The finale of The Battle of Hollin Gate!