Horse Miniatures

Because we're in a campaign that uses a lot of horseback riding, I recently bought several horse miniatures from a site called Stuffer Shack. We used them in our most recent session, and they worked very well. The horses are positioned in such a way that your mini can fit on the same base. One of our horses even had two riders, and they both fit just fine.

They come in 12 styles, so there's something for everyone. The party's Halfling Monk rode a pony, while our Dragonborn Paladin rode something grander. You can order specific ones, but that costs extra. I just ordered the 10-pack, and was perfectly satisfied with the variety. I didn't get two of the same horse, so everyone in the party had a unique steed.

They come with some sticky-tack for keeping your minis from sliding off the horse base, which could be useful, but I found I didn't need it. The horses are solid, well-made, and feel right at home next to WOTC's pre-painted minis.

If your campaign involves horses, I highly recommend them. If you also want to try the same seller's bloodied markers and mini counters, there's an Adventurer's Bundle that's a pretty good value. Our group already has a good system of keeping track of such things, or I would have gone for that deal myself.

I'd also like to add that they shipped the horses very quickly, and I received my order just a couple of days after I placed it. Impressive.

Here's some pics:

Dice

I have a thing for 20-sided dice. I've always thought they were neat, even when I was a little kid who thought D&D was satanic. I've always wanted to find ways to use them in other games. I wonder how much it would change Monopoly to use a d20? You'd get around the board faster, but you'd also have a chance to roll a 1 (which is impossible in normal Monopoly).

I started collecting RPG dice about a year before I actively started looking for a D&D campaign. Here's some pics of my collection:


I know it's silly, but I like to match up dice with the personality of the character I'm playing. A magic user might get something clear or sparkly, while a melee type might get darker colors. I also like to get matching dice bags if possible.


I also like collecting weird dice dice, in strange sizes or that show funny results. Clockwise from top left: Large dice, glow-in-the-dark dice, tiny dice, and clear dice.


Here's a few unusual ones, including astrology dice, d1000, d100, d30, d24, pizza toppings, months, round dice, mood dice, weather dice, rock/paper/scissors dice, and a few odd finds.


I used the mood die once while DMing, when playing a mentally unstable character who had violent mood swings. Some day I hope to do something similar as a player.


This is a solution I had for playing in the car:

These bead boxes are made by Craft Mates; I bought mine at Joann. You shake the whole thing then look at the die you needed to see. The compartments lock shut so the doors shouldn't open while you're shaking it. Of course, 4e is difficult to play without minis, but if you run a low-combat module, you can probably get away with just writing on graph paper. I put them together when planning our last Florida trip, but we didn't get around to playing D&D, so I still don't know if it's a workable idea.

Miniatures

While I've played individual D&D games from just about every edition, my first full campaign was for 4e. Tantris was a very good campaign, run by a veteran DM. However, the DM was new to 4e, and we played using a lot of elements from previous editions. Most notable was the lack of miniatures. It worked for us - it was a low-combat campaign, and we were running fairly simple characters. But in general, 4e just doesn't work without miniatures. There's way too many powers involving zones and "burst 2 in 10" spells and tactical moves. But beyond that, I just don't think I want to play in any non-mini campaign again.

My reasons are threefold:

1. I just really like minis. I've always enjoyed collecting things, and I was collecting D&D minis long before I actually started looking for a regular game. But my minis aren't doing anyone any good just hiding in a box.

2. My mind wanders. During the Tantris campaign, I had to give the DM my full concentration every second, which is hard for me. Sometimes he'd say something that would spark an idea in my head. I'd suddenly think, "Oooh! That gives me an idea for a story!" And I'd start writing that story in my head. When I finally returned to the present, I had missed three paragraphs of exposition. It was even worse in combat. Our DM was great at describing action scenes, but it's hard to keep an entire battlefield in my head. I'd constantly lose track of who was standing where. With minis, one glance at the board and you know where everyone is standing, who are affected by which status effects, and even which enemies have taken the most damage.

3. Breaks. When everything is in everybody's heads, then we all have to hear every word to know what's going on. If somebody has to go to the bathroom, then the game has to stop. Otherwise you'll just have to catch them up when they get back, and what's the point of saying something the first time if you know you're going to have to repeat it in a minute. With 4e, you just wait until combat, then get up right after your turn. Someone else can look at your character sheet to help determine if an attack hits you while you're gone. By the time you get back, it might be your turn again, but you can plainly see where everyone is standing now, which creatures are bloodied, and who is dazed/prone/blinded/etc. Nobody has to repeat anything.

Some people think using minis limits roleplay. I disagree with this totally. For starters, out-of-combat roleplay is unchanged. In combat, well, admittedly 4e's combat rules are tighter, which in itself might limit roleplay. But that has nothing to do with the minis themselves. And I don't see how knowing where all the creatures are standing affects roleplay. Personally I've seen some pretty neat roleplay in combat regardless. It really just depends on the player, and whether the DM is willing to allow off-the-wall combat moves.

Anyway, that's a lot of buildup for what is basically a blog to show off pictures of my minis. It's nothing special - I don't like painting minis, so I pretty much collect WOTC's prepainted stuff. But regardless, here's some pics of my collection.

Here's some of the ones my friends and I use for our characters:

Gygax High, Class of 2008

Top Row:
Krusk (Half-Orc Rogue, LFR, Rick)
Rhogar Bloodfang (Dragonborn Fighter, LFR, Bryan)
Kryla Bloodfang (Dragonborn Sorcerer, LFR, Matt)
Voranna Elun (Eladrin Ranger, LFR, Matt

Middle Row:
Dorath (Goliath Fighter, Praktas, Bryan)
Talindra Seryth (Shifter Avenger, Avatars of Torm, Matt)
Aria Thatcher (Half-Elf Bard, Scarred Lands, Matt)
Flint (Shifter Ranger, LFR, Bryan)

Bottom Row:
Damakos Redhorn (Teifling Rogue, Praktas, Rick)
Lia (Eladrin Wizard, LFR, Misty)
Drew Baker (Human Fighter, Praktas, Bryan)

Here's some other misc pictures of my collection. For most of these you can click on the picture for a larger version.

Let's start with some elemental types:

Constructs:

Other various creatures:

You shall not pass!

Lizardfolk, Kobolds and Goblins:

Animal types:

A few pics of heroic types and other non-monsters:

Some undead, insects, and drow:

If this one looks blurry, it's because they're using magic to distort your vision:

Orc fortress:

Okay, that was fun and all, but bring on the Dragons!

Most of these pictures were arranged and taken by KJ. Some of the props are pieces by Dwarven Forge.

Character - Talindra Seryth

This is my current character in the Artifact Hunters: The Avatar of Torm campaign.

Name:
Talindra "Tal" Seryth

Class:
Avenger

Race:
Razorclaw Shifter

Gender:
Female

Alignment:
Good

Deity:
Sune






Background:
Tal was born to a tribe of forest-dwelling Razorclaw Shifters. Though the members of her tribe all had tan skin and brown hair, Tal's colorings were shades of gray and black. This might have simply been a natural genetic mutation, but the tribe believed it to be the mark of an evil god. Fearing a bad omen, they took the infant to a clearing on the other side of the forest, and left her there to die.

Whether by pure chance or divine intervention, the infant was found by a member of the Talons of Retribution, a reclusive order of religious assassins. A somewhat darker offshoot of the Harpers, the Talons are a multi-denominational cult, united by their common hatred of Bane.

The Talons also thought this strange baby was a sign from the gods, but unlike the Shifter tribe, they interpreted it as a good omen. And so they took her in and raised her, training her from infancy for one purpose - to seek out and destroy Bane worshipers.


Personality, Mannerisms, and Appearance:
Tal has a kind heart, but others often see her as rude and unapproachable. She is obsessed with her life's mission, and has little use for hobbies or small talk.

When she shows a sense of humor at all, it tends toward insults and sarcasm, mostly because she holds her teammates up to her standards of discipline. When she fails at something herself, she obsesses over it internally, and will spend days replaying the event in her head and analyzing where she went wrong. Despite her single-mindedness, she has a soft spot for art and beauty.

Tal has catlike facial features, which become more pronounced when she is angry. While most members of her species have brown or tan skin and hair, Tal's colors are more gray and black. She has bright green eyes, often her only visible feature when she's in the shadows. She is missing part of her left ear, and has scars all over her body. Most are the result of a childhood spent in training. She has a small tattoo on her inner left wrist, the symbol of her religious order. She usually wears dark clothing.

Creating this character:
When our last campaign ended, we were in a bit of a rush to decide what to do next. I wanted to try something new, and was open to anything. Someone suggested Avenger, a class which I knew nothing about. I've had the PHB2 since it was released, but for some reason I'd never read the pages on that class. I've got to say, it's interesting. Not as damaging as a normal striker, but it makes up for it by hitting more often.

Originally Tal was going to be an Elf. I even chose the name "Talindra" by searching the web for pages on Elf names. The only thing that bothered me was I was tired of elves. Okay, technically I've not played a full-blood elf in 4e. I played a few in NeverWinter Nights, and in 4e I've played Half-Elves, Drow, and Eladrin. But I still wanted to do something less Elven. At the last minute, less than an hour before I left the house for our first session, I decided to make her a Shifter. I've always liked cats, and I've always wanted to play something catlike. Plus, Shifters have the same stat synergy as Elves for the Avenger class. Our resident statcruncher thinks I've made a mistake, since Elves are faster and can shift through rough terrain. But I've always preferred fluff over crunch.

The next problem was choosing a miniature. I didn't have a mini that really looked like a female shifter, much less one with a greatsword. I finally went with the Catfolk Wilder:

The problem is, Shifters don't typically have black fur. I could have lived with that - a mini doesn't have to look a exactly like your character. But I like the way the mini looks. So I wrote Tal a background that gives her darker skin and hair. The weapons are still wrong, but it's not like she couldn't hold two swords. Maybe that's what she looked like in training. These days she carries a single large blade and wears black robes, but she might occasionally look like her mini when she's practicing.

Artifact Hunters: The Wrath of Keanu

Game Date: 11/6/2010
DM: Nick

The Party:
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

The Session:
Our last session ended with us agreeing to compete in three arena matches. While some characters were fighting, the rest of us were allowed to place bets on the outcome. We really cleaned up on this one.

First up, we had Marek the Silver vs a Half-Orc Hunter. Marek probably could have finished him off pretty quickly, but Rusty kept rolling badly. He was very close to dropping when he finally won. Next we had Anna Bella vs a Hex Knight. She creamed him pretty quickly. Finally we had Talindra Seryth vs the Gnome Arcanist. Tal managed to bloody him in the opening round, by using a charge attack, spending an action point, then using her daily. She finished him off a few rounds later.

After a brief celebration, we were back on the road to resume our quest. After a couple of days of travel, we found ourselves surrounded by a group of undead. There were two gray oozes, two ghoul fleshseekers, two ghasts (one of which looked like Keanu Reeves), and a plaguechanged ghoul. It wasn't an easy battle, and we lost a lot of blood, but we did win.

A couple of nights later, we were camping, and were attacked by an Owlbear and a Cave Bear (which we kept calling a Care Bear).

A few days later we met a trader, riding on the back of a scathebeast. He tried to sell us a few things, but his prices were a bit high. Then he tried to steal from us, turned invisible, and tried to ride away. We chased him down and fought him, and forced him to surrender. He turned out to be a doppelganger. After much debate, we executed him by feeding him to his own scathebeast. The beast is now Gavail's mount, which should make things interesting.

At the end of the session, we were preparing to fight a large number of bandits.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Rewards:

Total XP gained: 3050 (610 each)

Total GP gained: 6180 (1236 each)

+1 Flowform cloth Armor (Anna Bella) lvl 4

+2 Astral Fire Finemail (Julian) lvl 7

3x Potions of Healing (one went to Gavail, 2 to Sleepy)

Climber's Kit (Morigan)

Silk Rope

Couters of Second Chances (Anna Bella) lvl 5

Scathebeast Mount (Gavail) lvl 4

+1 Dark Leaf Armor (Gavail) lvl 4

Artifact Hunters: The Real Quest Begins!

Game Date: 10/16/2010
DM: Nick

The Party:
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

The Session:
Today we began our true mission, to find Torm's armor. First we each bought a horse (Anna and Tal are sharing one), and then we were off. We spent most of the session town-hopping, traveling East and resting in each town.

In one town we encountered a group of thugs who claimed to be the town guards. They asked us for some gold as a "leaving town fee". We saw through the ruse and made short work of them.

In another town we were given the chance to play a game where we would have had to steal a woman's undergarments. We passed on that one.

In yet another town we caught a bit of a stage show. A Tiefling magician was performing magic tricks. For one trick, he asked for help from a child in the audience. Then the Tiefling unhinged his jaw and bit the kid's head off. The magician turned out to an Oni Devourer with a sweet tooth for kids.

Though it was five against one, we had the additional problem of innocent bystanders. The Oni kept eating more children during the fight, so we had to take the monster down as quickly as possible. Best line - "Damn, I really wanted to eat you." (DM Nick, to the childlike Anna Bella.)

We wrapped up that battle and headed out of town. Or next fight took place in a swamp. We faced four Greenscale Hunters, two Vine Horrors, and two Crocodiles. The Hunters were no big thing, but the Vines and Crocs had some fairly devastating moves. Luckily, Gavail managed to hit a large group of them with a Sleep spell early on, which dramatically shortened the battle.

We left the final Hunter alive, and he agreed to become Marek's squire. We're calling him "Sleepy", since he spent the majority of the battle unconscious.

In the next town, we agreed to help someone by fighting in the arena. We got as far as choosing our foes, then ended the session.

Next Session:
Three of us will be entering an arena for one-on-one battles. Marek will be fighting a Half-Orc Hunter, Anna will face a Hex Knight, and Tal will compete against a Gnome Arcanist.

Reminders:
I will be unavailable on the 23rd and the 30th. On the 23rd some of the group will be playing at a Gamma World event, and they have a special Halloween game planned for the 30th. Our next game will be on October 6th.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Artifact Hunters: Miniquestapalooza!

Game Date: 10/9/2010
DM: Nick

The Party:
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Julien (Dane) - Kalashtar Cleric
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

Note:
Call it laziness or lack of time, but I'm not going into as much detail this campaign as I often do. A more complete log of our campaign's story appears on our Obsidian Portal page (meticulously updated by Nick), while my blog is more of a summary with personal anecdotes.

The Session:
When we left off, we had a choice of four mini-quests we had to complete to make a name for ourselves. So now we simply had to choose: Gnolls, Orcs, Chapel, or Tombs?

1. First we went off to raid a tomb. We encountered a Howling Hag, accompanied by several zombies. Thanks to Julien's Turn Undead power, a lot of the minions were taken out in one round. We breezed through this battle.

2. Next we explored a cave full of Orcs. The battle was soon joined by a gi-normous War Pig. Nevertheless, we slaughtered them all and had ribs for dinner.

3. Then we investigated a church where strange whispers had been heard. We each picked a door or window, the plan being to all crash through at once and surround whatever might be inside. What actually happened was Anna Bella, our plucky mini-monk, made a dramatic entrance... while the rest of us kept failing our rolls to bash our own doors. The Halfling found herself alone against a Spine Devil, two Legion Devils, and Gnaw Demon with a sweet tooth for her face. She fought well and stayed on her feet. Julien managed to keep healing her through a window, even though he couldn't quite climb through it. Eventually the rest of us found ways into the building, and made short work of the baddies.

4. Finally we faced some Gnolls & Hyenas. Early in the battle, Talindra got flanked by the boss and one of his cronies, who managed to drop her in one round. She's really glad we've got a cleric in the party now. This was the toughest battle of the night, but we pulled through.

Afterwards, we returned to town, and impressed the head librarian enough to gain access to the main quest. Next session we'll be headed out of town, looking for pieces of Torm's wardrobe.

Artifact Hunters: The Avatar of Torm - Session 1

Game Date: 10/2/2010
DM: Nick

The Party:
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

A New Start
With two character deaths (and some other factors), last week we decided to try something different for a while. So today we started a new campaign. It involves a mission from church of Torm, and combating the influence of Bane. Bane is the evil god of tyranny, corruption, power, and general nastiness. (He also broke Batman's back once.)

About Our Characters:
Talindra Seryth was raised by an anti-Bane cult. I say "cult" because even though they are technically eliminating evil from the world, they are obsessive about their cause, and they care little about the morality or legality involved in achieving their ends. Tal was raised from birth to be a holy avenger, dedicated to finding and eliminating Bane's followers.

Also in the party we have Anna Bella, a Halfling Monk who kicks major ass despite her petite size. Gavail Pontiff is an Eladrin Wizard who studies history and dislikes the worship of gods. Marek the Silver is an honorable Dragonborn Paladin. Morigan McBane is a Human Artificer who enjoys exploring ancient ruins and hunting for treasure.

The Session:
We began in the city of Triel, where they were preparing for an event called the Divine Death. But soon we were given a plot hook that had us traveling to the city of Berdusk to look for the Gauntlet of Vestigius.

On our way we were attacked by a gnoll and two hyenas in the forest. Once we reached Berdusk, we found out that the gauntlet had been taken into some caves to the North. In these caves, we fought Goblins, Fire Beetles, and finally an Imp before finally getting the gauntlet back.

Next, we were told to head to the Elturel Monastary and speak to the head librarian. However, we were not allowed entrance until we proved ourselves. Next session, we will begin by selecting one of four mini-quests. One involves a Gnoll Outpost, another involves an Orc Raiding Party, another involves Haunted Tombs, and the last one involves an abandoned Chapel of Tyr.

A more extensive recap of our session appears on our Obsidian Portal page.

...And On A More Personal Note:
There's an episode of Daria where a student dies. Since Daria has a reputation for being unemotional, one of the dumber students asks her how to stop feeling sad. Daria charges her money for the advice, cash up front. After the student pays her, Daria says, "Find some other way to feel." The student immediately gets angry that Daria charged her for such simple advice. Then Daria says, "It worked, didn't it?" The student stops, thinks a second, realizes that getting angry really did make her forget about her grief, and walks away without saying anything.

Well, that's how I've felt ever since I started putting together this character. I mourned a little when my character died last week, but working up a new character made me forget about it. I'm very excited about Talindra, she's unlike anything I've played before. Writing her description and backstory is very cathartic, like being reborn after death. I do feel a little shallow though, as if I'm saying, "Out with the old, in with the new. Get your ass killed, we'll replace you too." But these are just fictional characters, how sad can I really be?