Here’s another 8 single figures chosen to create a 10+ man warband using some of the existing barbarian figures I have from the previous sets.
I went with a consistent color scheme and this time I thinned most of the colors with acrylic ink instead of water, and did only a single pass instead of two.
Just a couple rangers from Demonworld line, to accompany the Ranger Captain I had posted in at the Assorted part.
So far, one will have gathered that I have painted quite a few miniatures in the past year. A quick count gives me 141 medieval/fantasy and 40 more sci-fi 15mm miniatures. Since I have failed the timeline for the #gygax-worldbuilding-challenge, I have decided to at least reach 200 before the year’s end. 19 more to go. But I digress.
All these miniatures won’t see action soon, unless I explicitly try to put them into action. I can’t wait for when my Five Leagues campaign comes up with the appropriate enemy. My Warhammer Fantasy Battles Ruleset isn’t meant for the skirmish gaming these miniatures are based on, and RPGs don’t require such a vast amount of fighters. And here’s where Knyghte, Pyke and Sworde comes in.
Knyghte, Pyke and Sworde (KPS for short) is a set of miniatures gaming rules for “mass skirmish” games ranging from 4-5 figures on each side up to battles with 30-40 figures each. The publisher is Nordic Weasel Games, and I’m becoming more and more a fan of their work. I had the game for a short while, and after a quick recent read, I liked what I saw.
Quick, fast, simple rules, easy to remember and look up. I skimmed through the most advanced chapters, since I wanted to get a battle running. In less than an hour I had set up my table, and prepped the battle based on the Level 1 of the Starter Scenario. A very simple Scenario to get you started.
At this point I’d like to say that KPS isn’t solo-oriented. The simplistic nature of the scenario doesn’t require much ruling, so I decided to just play both sides fairly. Given some experience with solo play, I doubt that a more advanced theme would pose much trouble, but that’s just a feeling that I haven’t put to the test.
Note: This is less a review of the game, and more an actual play report, so I don’t want to go into details explaining what is what. To help understand some things better I will not use the KPS terminology, but the meaning that derives. If I’m going to use a KPS specific terminology, I’ll put it in CAPITALS.
The starting battle is quite simple. Just a fray between two small, equal sized forces. My current table is small, 60x60cm, so I wanted to have only a few figures. There’s one group of three archers, one group of three footmen and one hero per side. Without giving any different characteristics, for fairness sake, in theme only, it’s going to be Humans vs Elves.
The uneasy truce between the Tyl’danor Elves and the Border Prince Jacob has come to an end. In the frontier, fighting erupts among the garrisons of the opposing towers of each side as news reach of atrocities against civilians and mobilization for war.
The messengers ride off away, having delivered the news, and Sergeant Rollo quickly orders the archers to the tower. Across the small gorge, Lady Lindarel points the Elf sharpshooters to the hill behind the barricades.
Swords are drawn, shields are worn, and the opposing sides march off to battle.
Humans win initiative.
Carefully, the two sides take up positions across the border.
It all feels weird to them. Up until yesterday they were waving at each other in a cordial manner. Now they have swords drawn, shields strapped and bows strung.
The archers take up position on higher ground. The elf sharpshooter hide behind the barricades while one human climbs the narrow garrison tower, having an overview of the entire field.
Fearing the elf skill in the bow, the human infantrymen advance under the cover of the woods, while the elves, fearless, advance in the open.
Two veterans, Sergeant Rollo and Lady Lindarel look at each other. The don’t show any fear, and carefully, move towards each other under cover.
Humans win initiave.
Two sharpshooters are hit! One’s KNOCKED OUT, another is WOUNDED. They roll for BRAVERY and succeed. They shoot back and miss.
The human footman leader is equal in combat with the elf hero, and because of that he wins! He also scored a CRITICAL. But can’t score a wound.
He wins the combat and scored another CRITICAL. Lindarel is KNOCKED OUT.
A volley of arrows flies from the human side. One arrow finds an elf in the eye, killing him instantly. Another one, wounds their leader, lodging itself in her knee. She grits her teeth, and orders to fire away. Their arrows though fail to reach their intended targets. Hitting the battlements or the barrel covering their enemies.
Not wanting to be mocked for cowardice, the human footmen, leave the safety of the tree cover, and move into the open.
Lady Lindarel wastes no moment. She charges at the Leader of the human group. Blades clash and shields clatter. Despite her skill, she opened herself too much in her charge. The human has the upper hand, and pushes her back.
Sergeant Rollo doesn’t leave from a good challenge. He joins in combat with Lindarel. His skill matches hers, but she’s already tired from the previous clash. A flash of Rollo’s blade and she’s down.
The elf warriors scream out at the loss of their heroine. Quickly, they advance to save her body from any desecration.
The elves win initiative
Sergeant Rollo is equaled against the two elf warriors. But a GLANCING BLOW, passes and he’s WOUNDED. The other elf warrior leader wins against the human footman leader, but he can’t overcome the armor.
But all shots miss, hitting the barricades instead.
Seeing Sergeant Rollo in the open, the elf sharpshooters take shots at him. One arrow hits him, causing another WOUND. This means Rollo is KNOCKED OUT, and the nearby human footmen must test BRAVERY.
They lose, and must RETREAT.
Now the elf warriors, with renewed fervor, attack Sergeant Rollo who stands above Lindarel’s body.
Two of them lock in combat with him and wound him, as his large sword can’t handle two opponents at once. The elf warriors leader takes it out on the human footman leader and, but the human heavy armor saves his life.
The human archers release a second volley against the elf sharpshooter, but all the arrows hit either the hill or the wooden crates.
Instead of shooting back, the elf sharpshooter leader order and aims at Sergeant Rollo. The dead are important to the elves, and they would be held accountable if they left their heroine to the enemy vultures.
Their arrows strike true, bringing the wounded Sergeant down, hitting him in the eye slits of his helmet.
The human infantrymen hearts fill with fear as they hear the singing of the elvish arrows. Rollo dropping down dead, tips the scales. Their leader gives the command for tactical withdrawal, and they retreat away from the battlefield.
The elves win initiative.
They miss and are out of ammunition.
The elves shoot from across, using up their last arrows, hitting and KNOCKING OUT a human archer.
Lindarel’s sacrifice has turned the battle. Decisively, the elf warriors climb the hill, and come dangerously close to the human archers.
The human fingers tremble. Their shots miss. Their quivers empty. Another volley of singing elvish arrows, kills the archer who was out in the open.
The elves win iniative.
Two elves against one archer win the ENGAGEMENT quickly, and KNOCK him out.
Without any more arrows the battle comes to an end.
Two elf warriors charge at the human archer, who draws a short sword to fight it out. His slash is blocked by the tall elvish shield. The other elf drives his arming sword deep in the humans ribs. And he drops dead.
The elf leader comes knocking on the tower door. The archer on top just looks down in horror as he’s out of arrows.
The elf sharpshooter across the hill lower their bows. They’re out of missiles, but a weak smile is drawn on their faces.
They have won the day.
So fast and easy! I loved every minute of it. It took me an awful lot more to write out this actual play report than to run the game! And I was taking pictures at the same time!
I find combat faster and lighter than Five Leagues, but at the same time ‘just enough’ to keep things interesting. It’s said that multi-player rules are more complex and with more bookkeeping than solo-aimed rules. This isn’t the case with KPS. I didn’t find anything that would make me think “I need a second person to help me with it”.
It wouldn’t be an actual play from my side if I hadn’t messed something up. I completely forgot about the EXHAUSTION rules. Retrospectively, the only impact of EXHAUSTION would be in Rollo vs Lindarel (where Lindarel already perished, so no impact), and the Elf Warriors against Rollo (who was wounded, so it might just save me a volley of arrows against him). Considering the outcome, there would be no change to the end result. Maybe… just maybe an additional human archer being wounded. I’d like to have the rules in mind, because it would give me an even better feeling of the game.
To sum up, I will be doing more light, fun, actual plays with KPS. This system has come to stay in my bag of active play games.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the choice of models comprising the Blighthaven Dwarf Warband (might yet still acquire them in the future), so I decided to make my own, by choosing single Demonworld figures. 8 more dwarves, along with the two already in the Adventurers pack, make a nice 10-strong warband.
So considering that only 3 orcs aren’t enough to make a warband, I acquired 7 more single orc figures. Went with the color scheme I had in the first three.
Foe the shields, I did a freehand red eye on black background. If I had an acrylic marker, it would have been a bit sharper.
Battered, the party looks at each other.
“Since we’re here, we might as well take a look inside!” Leowyn says.
They head in, not losing any time scouting the yard or the remaining towers. Dwalin up front, followed by Leowyn, and Camthalion at the rear.
Despite having some meta knowledge, the party is in a bad shape, and an encounter even with the few remaining orcs could be fatal. Nevertheless I decided to take the risk. It’s all or nothing!
Q: Is everything as expected?
A: No, roll 1d8 on TWENE: 1: Increase Simple Element. The keep is in an even worse status of disrepair.
From the main gate to the east side of the keep, the party enters the ground floor of the hexagon shaped keep. Window slits light the room. It must have been a beautiful, elegant hall, but no more, the walls are hung with torn tapestries and ruined paintings. Broken sculpts fill the inscribed stone floor. A set of stairs to the west side lead up, and another leads down.
I decide to reach for the upper levels first. If there’s any reinforcements arriving, we should be able to see them from there.
“We should go up first. The vantage point could be important if we’re going to have any visitors.” Says Camthalion, and the party agrees, taking the upstairs.
Q: Is everything as expected?
A: No, roll 1d8 on TWENE. 6: Decrease major element.
According to the module, there was not much here. I decide that most of the balcony has collapsed, and the quarters are not reachable.
Most of the second floor is totally ruined. There’s no telling what purpose this floor served. Access to the windows of the east side isn’t possible, so the party moves on to the top, third floor of the keep.
Q: Is everything as expected?
A: Yes, but it’s going to be Unlikely in the next scene question.
They reach the top floor. There’s a door to their left, and one to the front, left ajar, leading to the east side of the keep, from where they can stand watch. Weapons drawn, they go inside.
Q: Is everything as expected? (Unlikely)
A: No, roll 1d8 on TWENE. 8: Remove major element. So the orc lookout isn’t here. It’s possible that they weren’t here in the first place (maybe they weren’t as disciplined as they should), or seeing the demise of their friends are hiding elsewhere in the floor. They can’t have fled because they’d have met with the party. Unless they decided to head in the lower levels, which is unlikely.
The party enters a slightly big room with windows overlooking the courtyard and the path leading to the castle.
“I’ll stay here and watch while you search. I’ll warn you if I see anyone approaching.” Says Leowyn, seathing her sword and drawing her bow. She takes position at one of the windows and watches.Dwalin and Camthalion start searching the floor on a counter clockwise fashion. They go to the door to the north and open it, carefully.
Q: Is everything as expected?
A: Yes, but it’s going to be Unlikely in the next scene.
They come across a room with various texts of experiments and weird apparatuses, all in disarray.
Let’s see if Dwalin finds anything interesting.
Perception: 96+94+23-30=183: Absolute Success!
I can’t believe it. They found the one secret room that even Ar Gular didn’t know existed!
Dwalin notices something odd about the bookshelves. He pushes them a bit, and discovers a tiny hidden chamber behind them! Inside they find texts on weird experiments on altering the size of beasts. Having a nose for valuable things, the Dwarf takes out his backpack and puts the papers carefully inside. He may not have found his relic, but the expedition has already paid off.
They enter the room to the west.
Q: Is everything as expected? (Unlikely)
A: No, and, roll 1d10 on TWENE: 7: Add Major Element.
Hacking RecMUNE even further. I've noticed that Recluse plays with probabilities by using an advantage dice on the respective Black or White die. This weighs results towards an and result. If I added a disadvantage dice on the opposite Black or White die, this would weigh results towards a but result. So I will add a disadvantage hack on the opposite die for a Slightly Likely/Slightly Unlikely probability, thus gaining more granularity.
It’s pretty clear to me that the Major Element is the orc lookout who was removed from the Observatory room. Most likely hiding somewhere inside. If he’s not seen, he’ll try to ambush our party (if he doesn’t act in anyway, then why add this Major Element, makes no sense).
So for hiding, there are no opposed rolls, only a Perception roll modified by the Search bonus of the searcher, and the Hide bonus of the hidden person. Dwalin has a +23, the Orc has a +12, but Dwalin has also a +20 bonus because of his absolute success in the previous roll.
Perception: 05-97-38+23-12+20=-99: Blunder. You may not try again on the same topic (the room in the same day).
The Library’s walls are filled with Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Old maps and torn-up books are everywhere on the floor and tables. Everything is covered in dust.
As Dwalin enters the library and starts to search for secret rooms similar to the one he found before, he hears a scream, and an orc jumps out from between the bookshelves, coming at him, with his hatchet.
I need to ask a question first.
Q: Does the orc have a facing advantage?
A: Yes. Since it’s a simple yes, I’ll go with Flank. If it was a Yes, And I’d go with rear attack. This is in addition to the surprised bonus.
So normally Camthalion would go first, but since this combat initiates with the appearance of the orc and it’s attack, I’ll go with this first. I won’t risk it, and commit all of Dwalin’s OB to parrying (+66).
Also the Orc here doesn’t suffer much from daylight. I’ll only give them a -20.
Orc: attacks Dwalin (Surprised): 65+63+20+15+5-20-66-30-20=32:-.
Camthalion: moves behind Orc on the other side of the bookshelf corridor.
Dwalin: attacks Orc: 89-30=59: 4 hits.
Camthalion: attacks Orc (Rear attack): 61+23+20+15-5: 114: 12B: 40-10=30: Blow to upper leg. +5 hits. If no leg armor: +3 hits & 2 hits/rnd.
Orc: attacks Dwalin: 07+63+5-30-20=25:-.
Dwalin: attacks Orc: 82+66-30=118: 16C: 37: Blow to forearm. +5 hits. If no arm armor, stunned 1 round.
Camthalion: attacks Orc (Rear attack, stunned): 73+23+20+20+15-5=146: 18E: 32+20=52: Minor forearm wound. +4 hits. 2 hits per round. Stunned 1 round.
Orc: Stunned.
Dwalin: attacks Orc (Stunned): 86+66+20-30=142: 21E: 48+20=68: Blow breaks bone in leg. +12 hits. -40 to activity. Stunned 2 rounds. Orc is down.
The Orc hacks at the surprised Dwarf, who puts all his effort to deflect his blow, successfully. He manages a weak hit as Camthalion closes in from the otherside of the bookshelf corridor. Now the orc has nowhere to go.
Camthalion jabs with his sword, thrusting it in the upper leg of the orc, causing it to cry out, as black blood starts pouring. The pain is searing and the orc can’t get a hit on Dwalin, who now has turned to face him. The element of surprise is gone, and the orc understands their stupidity.
The realization hits as hard as Dwalin’s heavy mace on the orc’s forearm, stunning him.
Camthalion follows up from behind, slashing at the wounded arm, causing further bleeding. The orc is unable to react, as Dwalin finishes it off with a downwards strike on the leg, breaking it to the bone. It cries and falls down in pain, losing consciousness.
The duo proceeds to check the room to the south.
Q: Is everything as expected?
A: Yes
Going through the door to the south, they pass through what seems to be the the servant’s quarters, and proceed further south.
Q: Is everything as expected?
A: No. Roll 1d8 on TWENE: 5: Increase major element. This is the Lord’s bedroom, there is no important Major Element here, so it’s all grander than usual.
The last room, seems to have been the bedroom of the lord of the castle. What grabs the attention is the exquisite bed and linens. It looks as if it’s still being used. Opening the last door, the party realizes they have come full circle, and having searched the entire floor, they go to find Leowyn.
In the back of my head I still have the appearance of the Orc captain and possibly 0-2 orcs. I’ll only make them have an appearance if the oracle rolls deem so (through an intervention maybe), which are quite common as I keep asking at each and every room.
“Everything okay?” Leowyn asks them. “I think I heard some cries…”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle.” Says Dwalin, tapping gently at his mace.
“Did you find anything?” She asks.
“Some research papers of value, but nothing relevant to our current tasks. We should be on our way. Anything to report here?” Dwalin points to the window.
“Nothing so far.” Leowyn responds.
“Then we head down below.” The Dwarf leads the way back downstairs.
Again, I cannot choose the direction to go first in the Level One of the Underchambers (sounds ominous doesn’t it?). So, I’ll roll 1d3: Left to the Hall of Heroes, Ahead to the Arena, or Right to the Storage Room (it also leads further down, but the group doesn’t want to leave without searching the entire floor).
1: Left to the Hall of Heroes.
Q: Is everything as expected?
A: No. Roll 1d8 on TWENE: 5: Increase major element. The major element here is the 50 gp tucked into the paintings at the end of the hall near the great statue. I’ll make it 75 gp.
The long narrow passage is filled with the family portraits of, what seems to have been the inhabitants of the castle. They appear useless. At the end of the hallway a huge statue stands.
Dwalin: Perception: 38+23=61. Failure.
Nothing seems to grab the attention of the party, and they proceed to the door to their right, leading into an Arena like room.
I was very lucky here. The adventure states that if I tried to take the jewelry (that’s a lot of gold) the stone statue would wake up. It’s essentially a golem, and the strongest enemy in the adventure. But we never found or saw anything to make the party look further.
Q: Is everything as expected?
A: No, and. Roll 1d10 on TWENE. 6. Decrease major element. It’s either the bear, or the gold: the gold. I’ll reduce it to half.
Coins of all sorts of metals litter the entire floor of the room. Dwalin’s eyes glimmer with desire. What awakens him from the trance of gold, is a muffled growl, increasing in intensity and becoming a thundering roar. In the center of the room, rattling it’s chained leg is a huge bear.
“Look at that gold!” Dwalin shouts. “You’re good with the bow! Kill it!”
“I won’t slaughter a chained up beast just for the sake of petty gold. We should move on.” Camthalion counters.
Now, for me this is a great example for party dissent. The dwarf wants the gold. The elf doesn’t want to kill the poor bear. This isn’t a GM decision, but two players, and the odd thing is I’m running both.
So I’ll roll Influence skills for both, and decide what will happen based on the following table.
| Dwalin\Camthalion | Success | Failure |
|---|---|---|
| Success | They fight each other for their beliefs | Dwalin convinces Camthalion |
| Failure | Camthalion convinces Dwalin | Dwalin will attempt to kill the bear on his own |
Dwalin has a Presence penalty of -5, and Camthalion has a Presence bonus of +20
Dwalin: 34-5=29: Failure
Camthalion: 13+20=33: Failure
Dwalin scoffs. He readies mace and shield and goes in front of the bear. “If you don’t want to help, I’ll do it on my own.”
Bear: attacks Dwalin: 53+70-30=93: 5A: 19-20=-1: Fairly weak hit. +0 hits. Zip.
Dwalin: attacks Bear: 04+63-30-20=17: 0
Bear: attacks Dwalin: 82+70-30=122: 11C: 51: Blow to shield arm. +5 hits. Shield torn away. Dwalin is down.
Camthalion: attempts to drag him away. MM: 87+35=122: 100% success.
The stout dwarf enters the arena. His gaze fixed on the bear. It growls, and brings it’s paws down on the dwarf, falling like rocks on him. The fight wears him out, and despite holding on, he fails to counter. Without pause, the bear doubles back, and a strong sweep tears Dwalin’s shield away. The strike is more than the dwarf can handle and he drops. Without wasting a moment, Camthalion gets in harms way, and swiftly, drags Dwalin out of the bear’s reach.
He looks at the bandaged Leowyn, and the unconscious dwarf. Under the sound of the growls, he tells Leowyn. “We should leave. We can always return later.”
Q: Is the shield reachable?
A: Yes, and, it’s next to them, far from the bear.
“We should. We can camp out of harms way for a day or two, maybe somewhere with a vantage point to make sure noone comes back here without us knowing.” Leowyn adds, as she picks up Dwalin’s shield, and the three of them leave the keep.
So I’ll roll for the quality of the camp site. 73: A good, hidden camp site, with view on the keep and road.
The weather (5) stays warm with clear skies and calm winds.
Encounters: 66/16+50=66:-/- (I’m giving the avoidance roll a +50 bonus since the party is actively hiding, and they have a good camp site).
The weather (5) stays warm with clear skies but a breeze warns of the impending rain.
The weather (7) becomes cold, overcast, with steady rain, and a breeze.
The weather (7) stays cold, overcast, with steady rain, and the wind becomes a gale.
Right before dawn, the weather (9) becomes cool, overcast, with light rain, and the wind becomes a breeze again.
Encounters: 95/16+50+25=91:-/- (I’m giving an additional +25 bonus to the avoidance roll due to the weather).
Q: Does anyone reach the castle?
A: No, and. The heavy rain have made the road impassable. It’s doubtful anyone can come.
Overnight, the party has recovered 20 hit points. Leowyn is back at full strength. Her bleeding has stopped. Dwalin is at 16 hits.
Camthalion casts a healing spell on Dwalin: Spell: 19: Success: Heals 1 hits. Dwalin is at 17 hits.
The heavy rain makes resting uneasy, but it ensures noone will bother the three. Camthalion and Dwalin barely speak to each other, but as Camthalion casts his healing words on the Dwarf at first light, Dwalin mumbles. “Thank you. For saving my life.”
Camthalion nods, and the party gathers to consider their next steps.
| Name | Days Rations |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 6 |
| Dwalin | 6 |
| Leowyn | 8 |
Arrows: Camthalion is at 18 arrows.
| Critical Delivered | Orc | Bear |
|---|---|---|
| Camthalion | 105 | 0 |
| Dwalin | 0 | 0 |
| Leowyn | 0 | 0 |
| Kill Points | EP |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 0 |
| Dwalin | 195 |
| Leowyn | 0 |
| Criticals Received | EP |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 0 |
| Dwalin | 400 |
| Leowyn | 0 |
| Hits Received | EP |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 0 |
| Dwalin | 21 |
| Leowyn | 0 |
| Spellcasting | EP |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 100 |
| Maneuver Points | EP |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 50 |
| Dwalin | 0 |
| Leowyn | 0 |
| Non-Idea EP Total | EP |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 255 |
| Dwalin | 616 |
| Leowyn | 0 |
I’ll give the entire part half the total as idea points. 435 EP total, 145 each.
Summing up, from previous session.
| Name | Experience Points |
|---|---|
| Camthalion | 3488 EP |
| Dwalin | 5241 EP |
| Leowyn | 2689 EP |
Money: The party pool is 9sp, 4bp, 2cp and 3tp.
Hit Points: Dwalin is at 17 hit points, Leowyn is at full hit points, Camthalion is at full hit points.
When I resume on next session, I need to remind myself to draw a card for Leddon’s secret clock.
Loved getting into the dungeon, even though I had to get the party out before finishing the delve. I wasn’t entirely sure about how I played the interaction between the party, but I think it played out okay in the end.
Since this and the previous session were dungeon delving, I decided not to use the BOLD connections for intra-party banter. It felt weird not doing the same routine I did in the past sessions, but it was a valid choice, focusing on dungeon crawl instead.
Once more the oracle and random generators provide ample feedback to make an interesting story. I expected to find Ar Gular or Thuk returning to the keep (meta knowledge here, it’s a pre-written module) but the heavy rain (or something else) seems to have stopped them from doing so.
Dwalin is the heavy hitter of the party, and I must consider getting him back to strength before going back in. Maybe forage for some herbs to help in healing. But is waiting, worth the risk?
Here are the four additional single figures I got to complement the Town Guard warband.
So, I got some additional Mercenary single figures from the Demonworld line of Ral Partha. They made a clerical error here and sent me a banner bearer, instead of a pikeman, and I was very happy when they sent the correct miniature after I contacted them about it. I went with the same color choices as the rest of the Mercenaries, and did a freehand banner painting.
Not only have I delayed posting, but I’m lagging behind. Tomorrow is the final and fifth week begins in the challenge, and I’m just now doing the third week materials…
Anyhow, here’s what I had done for week 2.
| 2d6 | Encounters around Kamora |
| 2 | Drake |
| 3 | Troll |
| 4 | Elf Slavers (Hunting, Transporting) |
| 5 | Elf Outrider Patrol (Looking for dissidents, Collecting tolls) |
| 6 | Human Bandits |
| 7 | Merchant (Travelling, Setting shop) |
| 8 | Wild beast (Wild dogs, Wolves, Bear, Giant lizards) |
| 9 | Runaway Slaves (Dwarves, Goblins) |
| 10 | Caravan |
| 11 | Ogre |
| 12 | Wyvern |
I recall watching a YouTube video by Tabletop Minions that said about the time spent in our hobby, and about a common excuse for lack of time. In my particular case, my lack of time spent in solo playing (wargaming or roleplaying) in the past month or so was due to my focus on miniatures painting and terrain building. I consider both of these part of our hobby. Nice, painted, complete scenery and miniatures can be evocative and helps with immersion. Of course none, of these are necessary, as one can play in virtual environments or even theater of the mind. But I really love putting the little figures on the table. It brings back fond memories.
I am uploading some of my painted miniatures photographs from time to time, but I really want some natural light for these shoots. On the fantasy line, I have painted more orcs, dwarves, high elves, barbarians, beastmen and some extras to the existing mercenaries and town guard sets, among others.
Lately I discovered a new way (for me) to create buildings, which was fast, modular, and with nice results.
The core material was corrugated cardboard, accompanied by cork sheet and wooden sticks (art supplies). I speckled and primed these as I used them, but made sure that I pushed the brush in instead of drawing it along the cardboard in order to texture it (don’t use a good brush, it will ruin it). Main color white, washed with brown and drybrushed white top-down in the end.
Also I switched from PVA glue for the terrain, to UHU universal glue, which isn’t water soluble and cures much faster.
Did two sets, one middle-eastern/ancient and one middle-ages/iron-age. The core buildings are more or less the same, but the roofing is different.
You can see the end result in two scenes I set up here.
I’ve learned a lot from this process, and I intend to finalize these sets with some walls and small additional items to further liven it up.
Don are discussing. 
Solo, Pen, Paper and Dice 
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