Your Glorantha May Vary

I have only one wargaming regret - a lesson learned the hard way; never, ever sell your painted miniatures.

Back in the late 1970's my friends and I discovered role-playing games. Inevitably this involved numerous sessions of D&D, until one of my friends introduced us to Chaosium's RuneQuest. This was something of a revelation. The percentile based game mechanics, logical character progression, realistically lethal combat - and the Bronze Age, rune-magic infused world of Glorantha; everything about it just struck me as so much more 'grown up' and believably coherent than D&D's cartoonish medieval fantasy tropes. 

Looking back now, I can see that there was very little actual role-play to our games. No 'theatre of the mind' for us. It was mostly about cool miniatures, battling monsters and slaying stuff. No wonder I became a wargamer not a role-player.

And those cool miniatures? In 1982 Citadel Miniatures released the first of their boxed sets of 25mm RuneQuest miniatures to support the Games Workshop UK edition of the rules. Over the course of infrequent pilgrimages to Games Workshop's Birmingham store I managed to collect 9 of the eventual 12 box sets that were released. I must have been far more productive in those days because I painted every miniature and amassed quite a nice collection. They didn't see much action in their intended role as RPG miniatures, but did get repurposed as table-top troops for fantasy wargames. 

Time moved on, my wargaming interests changed and the RuneQuest miniatures remained packed away in their original foam-lined boxes. By 2010 I found myself in a financial tight spot and looking for any way to make a bit of extra cash. Out came the RuneQuest boxes and on to eBay they went. At the time I rationalised that they had been tucked away unused for at least a couple of decades and would probably see out the next couple in the same state, so there was no point holding on to them. Better to let someone else have them and get some use and enjoyment out of them.  I had a few moments of hesitation at the time, but how I wish now that I'd talked myself out of selling them. Looking back, it was a bit like throwing out a collection of old family photos. They were memories, part of my early gaming experience. I still feel a pang thinking about it. Well, there it is.

Enough of this maudlin nonsense!

I still have a small collection that escaped the 'sell off'. Just one original (empty) box and five miniatures; a griffin, a wyrm, a pixie and two Aldryami runners. I dug them out the other day. The miniatures were a bit chipped in places, probably from when they last saw action on the tabletop, but nothing serious so I decided to spruce them up a bit.  I restricted myself to retouching the small areas of damaged paintwork rather than doing a complete makeover as I wanted to keep the miniatures as close to their original state as possible. My only improvement was to replace the old square cardboard and flock bases with some proper round textured bases, which really helped to make the miniatures 'pop'.

I found it interesting to compare my current painting style with that of 40 years ago. It hasn't changed that much, but I used a lot more drybrushing back then.  Everything was painted in Humbrol enamels with white spirit or turpentine as a brush cleaner, so with that and all the drybrushing I must have got through cheap synthetic brushes at a fantastic rate. I can't figure out how I managed to paint any kind of detail with manky split-haired paint brushes, but I seem to have managed okay. My eyesight was a good deal sharper back then, even if the brushes weren't. 

So, here they are:

The Wyrm

Pixie

Griffin

A pair of Aldryami runners

That pesky pixie again, with a 16mm die for size reference. Tiny 'lil blighter he is.

In a fit of nostalgia I briefly contemplated rebuilding my original collection but quickly abandoned the idea. The boxes of figures do show up on eBay fairly regularly, but for eye-watering prices. A better plan would be to slowly add something new. There are a few miniatures from my Mythic Battles: Pantheon collection that would be perfect, so I already have enough to get me started. I'd also like to 3D print some miniatures that fit the look and feel of Glorantha as I envision it. This will be my personal take on Glorantha. Your Glorantha may vary.

Oh, and just because digging out the old miniatures gave me a sudden hankering for all things RuneQuest and Glorantha I bought this on impulse:

I have no intention to start role-playing but couldn't resist a purchase for curiosity's sake. It's a boxed set, which was a clincher for me. Proper RPGs always came in a box back in the day. It is a beautifully produced and presented set that I shall treat as inspirational reading. Fantastic!

Hmm, wait, there's a solo adventure in there...

Bank Holiday Bits and Bobs

I've been stuck indoors today due to the typically sh*t Early May Bank Holiday weather - high winds and heavy rain. The upside is I've had a bit of a hobby day, in between drinking copious amounts of tea. Yes, there was toast too.

I don't often post uncompleted stuff on the blog, but it's been a while - and, well why not.

Currently on the painting desk are a bunch of Star Wars: Legion Imperial Stormtroopers. I love painting endless shades of pale grey and white. Not. They are great figures, just not very inspiring to paint, which is my way of excusing myself for my usually glacial painting progress. Don't tell their boss, or he'll find some "new ways to motivate" me! Still, I'm happy to have done some more work on them. One step nearer to completion.

"and over here we have... more unpainted miniatures!"

While I painted away, the 3D printer has been humming quietly in the background. Fresh off the build plate today; another terrain piece for Mythic Battles:Pantheon board game. It now joins the painting queue behind the Stormtroopers.

The ruination that is Mythic Battles.

I like some background listening while I'm painting - a chance to catch up on a backlog of podcasts. Queued up today and in no particular order were:

WSS Podcast - The Wargames Soldiers and Strategy crew. Always worth a listen.

The Grognard Files - The inimitable and eminently listenable Dirk the Dice. This one scratches my RPG itch, though it's a good few years since I last role played anything. (TSR's 1980's vintage 'Top Secret' revisited briefly in a fit of old school nostalgia in 2018). Sadly, it didn't last.

Lead Pursuit Podcast - Blood Red Skies (and other aviation wargaming topics). Usually something interesting, though I tend to 'tune out' when they get too much into 'the meta'. Great website too.

The Mad Axeman Podcast - I tend to skip through the chatter about about ADLG (Art De La Guerre) rules and competition games (not my thing at all), but there are usually some gems in amongst the general chatter, not least the now regular 'I'm sorry but I think you're an arse' feature. Check out Episode 77 if  (like me) you have never seen the attraction of wargaming the American Civil War.

I've also been busy making cards - specifically a Fortune deck for Pulp Alley. I've had a PDF copy of the 1st edition rules for a long time, but never had the opportunity to try them out. Cue an email from my cross-channel gaming buddy Ian, hatching another game idea and asking whether I had the rules. Well, we are going to need a Fortune deck, so I got busy with the printer, card and hobby knife. 

Pulp is on the cards

Over the past few weeks, Ian and I have been battling it out with Bolt Action via Skype using Ian's DAK and 8th Army forces. We have another game lined up this week, so I spent a bit of time re-reading the rules, the next scenario and pondering whether I'd made a good choice with my force selection. 

Speaking of Bolt Action, Warlord Games recently had a Spring Sale, so I took advantage and a couple of books came winging my way; Close Quarters for Cruel Seas and Air Strike! for Blood Red Skies. I've not done much with either game recently, but I like the simple pleasure of flicking through rule books - so I was able to indulge myself a bit today.

Light reading for a rainy day.

All-in-all, a pretty good day hobby-wise. 'Every cloud...' as they say.

Mythic Battles: Pantheon - Scenery

These are the terrain pieces from Mythic Battles: Pantheon - a selection of 'Broken Columns', 'Crow Trees' and 'Lugubrious Trees'. Lugubrious, huh? That's the first (and probably the last) time I've ever heard any gaming piece described as lugubrious. Anyway, they are suitably twisted and gnarled as befits Mythic Battles rather dystopian vibe. 

The trees were modified a bit. Some of the 'Crow Trees' had their avian occupants clipped off so they don't look quite so identical. The 'Lugubrious Trees' all had an animal skull and a Spartan shield moulded on, most of which I carved off. A couple of the trees had replacement shields added, scrounged from the bits box. I think they were from Foundry miniatures originally. As the shields had identical patterns cast on, I filed one smooth for variety and painted a Classical Greek style dolphin on it freehand. This took a bit of trial and error, not made any easier by the fact that I had already glued the shield in place before I decided to paint the design, meaning the overhanging branches kept getting in the way of my paintbrush. Hopeless planning on my part, but the final result was worth the effort

The trees all come with integral bases, but the columns don't. As they are plastic and very light, they are rather prone to being accidentally displaced when in play, especially the taller ones. To give them a bit more stability I decided to base them.  They are intended to be individual pieces on the game board, so that heroes and monsters can pick them up and hurl them about, but I decided the taller columns would be based in pairs as they are most at risk of being toppled inadvertently. There are still enough single column pieces to replace a 'double' piece when one gets thrown and removed. The bases were built up using thin plasticard and textured with a mix of PVA glue, filler and fine grit. Small stones were used to represent rocks and rubble. After painting, the addition of  some grass tufts completed the bases.

As a bonus, the trees and the broken columns will do double-duty in other games, but it did make me realise just how little usable table-top terrain I have. I suspect that the focus of my efforts in the New Year will be to rectify that.

Mythic Battles Pantheon - Athena vs Hades

Athena? Remember her? Had her own poster shop back in the 80's. You know. The one with the New Man with baby and that Tennis Girl scratching her bum. Call that art? Look at her now though; proper kick-ass Greek Goddess and leader of mortals. That's more like it! Here she comes to sort out that Underworld upstart Hades...

Odysseus - "I have a cunning plan my goddess..." 

It has taken far longer than either of us anticipated, but Pete and I finally got to revisit Mythic Battles Pantheon for a rematch. This time Pete controlled Hades and the forces of the Underworld (Cerberus and a pack of Infernal Hounds), plus the hero Atalanta, pitched against my line-up of Athena, Odysseus, The Minotaur and a unit of Hoplites. The action took place in Mino's Labyrinth, which should have suited the Minotaur right down to the ground. Events would prove otherwise.

Hades' forces go on the offensive

During the long interval since our first games Pete and I had forgotten some of what we had learned. This meant play started a little slowly as we rechecked rules. As neither of us was familiar with our forces' talents and powers we were also a little unsure of the most appropriate tactics. 

Hades and Athena rush to collect the precious Omphalos.

Pete took the initiative in the first game, sending Cerberus bounding out to dominate the centre of the board and collect his first Omphalos token. He proved impossible to dislodge, despite the Minotaur's best efforts. There was much skirmishing around the edges as Atalanta and Athena made use of their ranged attacks, but Athena's forces were hampered by the blocking terrain of the Labyrinth and it was Hades who got to another Omphalos token first, sealing his victory.

Cerberus and the Minotaur go head-to-head-to-head-to-head!

Game two picked up the pace as both Pete and I began to get the hang of our respective forces' abilities. Athena gained extra activations for her units through her special abilities, but Hades realised that he could draw strength from destroyed units (even his own) to recover lost damage - and strode about the Labyrinth with impunity. Meanwhile, the Infernal Hounds got the better of the Hoplites. A mighty charge by the Minotaur that barrelled through Atalanta, Cerberus and Hades was not enough to save the day and Hades' forces emerged triumphant again. Two-nil to Pete!

Unleash the Infernal Hounds!

So much for Athena. Maybe she's not cut out to be a Greek Goddess after all. Back to retail for you girl. You should have stuck with the poster vibe.

Once again, Mythic Battles Pantheon delivered a couple of fun and engaging games. Neither side found it a walk-over and once we'd started to grasp the subtleties of our respective forces' unique abilities the tactical options made game play even better.

We'll no doubt return to Mythic Battles Pantheon again in the (not too distant) future.

Mythic Battles - The Overlord Compendium III

A copy of The Overlord III arrived in the post a short while ago. I'd been waiting for this since January when Monolith first hinted at it on their forum.

There's a very active Monolith fanbase which has been largely responsible for the production of two previous publications; Compendium I and II, which covered additional material for Monolith's Conan boardgame. Compendium III aimed to do the same for Mythic Battles Pantheon.

Now I have my copy, here are my thoughts.

Versions
The Overlord III compendium is produced in both French and English language versions. This review is of the English language version.

Format

The Overlord III is A4 soft-bound, saddle stitched (i.e. stapled) and runs to 44 pages including covers.

Presentation

Printing is in full colour throughout on good quality thick, glossy paper. The layout is clear and easy to read and enhanced by illustrations from the game. Its good to see that Monolith haven't skimped on quality. Overall, this is comparable to the printed material in the core game. Top marks for Monolith here.

Content

There are eight scenarios for Mythic Battles Pantheon; three standalone and five for a campaign based on the Odyssey. Whilst all the scenarios look fun and challenging to play, they are not new material and are already available as free downloads on Mythic Scenarios. It is disappointing that The Overlord III compendium does not contain any original scenarios, though some do appear in English for the first time. Players who only own the Mythic Battles core boxed game may also be disappointed to find that several of the scenarios require one or more of the game expansion sets.

Continuing the Mythic Battles theme, The Combo Pool is a two-page article on a number of force recruitment options designed to be mutually supportive and beneficial. Choosing the right combination can enhance the overall strength of your chosen force, so if you are looking for ways to do this The Combo Pool will set you in the right direction. Maybe there are shades of power gaming here, but I think the article is useful beyond that in highlighting a few of what must be hundreds of potential combinations to experiment with. As with the scenarios, the examples include forces from several expansion sets, so you will need more than the core boxed set to try these out.

Next up is a tutorial. 'The Rocks' details how to make a 3D terrain element for the Mythic Battles map  'Olympus Ruins'. The tutorial steps are easy to follow and well illustrated, though the finished piece isn't the most inspiring bit of terrain. I much prefer the look of the 3D printable version offered by Monolith  as a downloadable .STL file on their forum. However, lack of a 3D printer makes the 'home made' version an acceptable alternative.

Fan fiction is a mixed blessing. Sometimes it can be surprisingly good, sometimes mediocre and occasionally unadulterated rubbish. The short story 'Phobius' can best be described as falling in the 'mediocre' camp. There is nothing terribly bad about the story or the writing style, but nothing terribly good about it either. To be fair, it does suffer in places from being translated rather badly from French into English and it may be that in its original language it is a decent story better told. Personally, I would have been happier to see more scenarios, tutorials or articles on game strategy instead of fan fiction, but I understand Monolith are attempting to cater to all tastes. Perhaps the intention was to offer some inspiration to Mythic Battles RPG players, though that isn't stated.

Of more practical use is a painting guide for Talos and other fire elementals. This covers four pages, liberally illustrated with step-by-step photos. The text is fairly easy to follow, but is somewhat marred in places by poor translation from French to English. In fact there's whole paragraph of text that hasn't been translated at all; signs of sloppy proof reading and editing. The writer refers to his choice of colours at various points throughout the text, but it would have been helpful if these could have been presented as a list, either at the start or end of the article.

At this point, the compendium departs from the theme of Mythic Battles Pantheon and devotes five pages to a primer on Norse mythology. This is anticipates Monolith's next instalment of the Mythic battles line; Mythic Battles Ragnarok. It is an interesting read and probably helpful in 'setting the scene' for Ragnarok. I don't recall seeing something similar from Monolith for Greek mythology, but perhaps their thinking was that Norse myth is less well known and deserves a better introduction to players. I  should say at this point that I have no interest in investing in Mythic Battles Ragnarok when it is finally released (presumably via Kickstarter), so my preference would have been more material for Pantheon - but that is no fault of Monolith's.

The final article is a photo-essay on the sculpting of a 'Demon Nurse' for Monolith's new game; Claustrophobia 1643. Again, I would have preferred more Mythic Battles content, but found the article an interesting insight into the sculpting and design process. For example, I had not appreciated the forethought required when designing large, complicated sculpts to accommodate multi-part castings. In this case, the underlying metal armature had to be designed in such a way that when the sculpt is cut into parts, the armature does not get in the way whilst still supporting the sculpt.

The rear cover of the compendium is devoted to a profile of Jarl Jorund (or possibly Jorun - there is some confusion here as the title says the former whilst the accompanying recruitment card says the latter). This is a new unit for the forthcoming Mythic battles Ragnarok. There is a brief description of the unit in play, recruitment and bonuses, plus the aforementioned cut-out unit cards which you will need to copy unless you want to deface your copy of the compendium. I guess Monolith have included this as a 'teaser' for Mythic Battles Ragnarok, though you could experiment by recruiting this unit to your Mythic Battles Pantheon forces (but you will have to provide your own model). 

Value for money

At the time of writing, The Overlord III is available for 3 euros from French game retailer Philibert. For a 44-page, full colour soft-cover book this is a very reasonable price indeed. However, once you factor in postage rates it does look a little less of a bargain. For example, postage to the UK is quoted at 9.95 euros. To be fair to Monolith, they have previously come in for some flak from customers who ordered but failed to receive copies of earlier publications - so this time, orders are only sent by trackable, signed-for postage which of course increases postage costs. Philibert also don't skimp on packaging. My copy arrived in a  heavy-duty card wrapper which meant it reached me in perfect condition, but at a cost in postage compared to a flimsy envelope or plastic wrapper.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

Good quality

Well presented

Useful, playable material and tutorials for Mythic Battles Pantheon

Value for money (base price)

Cons:

No new scenarios

Some material is unusable without Mythic Battles Pantheon expansion sets.

Poor translation, editing and proofing

High postage costs

Conclusions

The Overlord III Compendium isn't all that I'd hoped for. There's no denying the physical quality of the product, but this is let down by issues with translation and spelling that could easily have been picked up by some decent proofing and editing. Okay, it's fan-made so it isn't a 'professional' publication, but it has Monolith's input and endorsement; it's an 'official' product and Monolith are using it as a vehicle to promote their existing and forthcoming games. In that sense, I would have expected better. 

As to content, I do feel a bit cheated by the fact that none of the scenarios are new. Since this is a paid for product, I would not expect it to contain material that is freely available elsewhere, albeit in download format only. The inclusion of four pages of fan fiction just feels like padding to me. It adds nothing to my understanding or enjoyment of Mythic Battles Pantheon (though I appreciate that others may enjoy it, or find it inspirational). 

Overall, this is a useful but flawed product. I'm glad I got it but wish it delivered more. Perhaps my expectations are unreasonable, given the bargain price of the compendium (postage not withstanding), but I can't help feeling this is a missed opportunity to deliver some original content - even if that meant a greater purchase price.

In conclusion, I have given The Overlord III Compendium a rating of 3/5 ✮✮✮✩✩

Mythic Battles Pantheon

On to the games!

Gods, mortals, monsters and heroes clash in the ruins of post-apocalyptic Ancient Greece

Mythic Battles Pantheon is set in a post-apocalyptic Ancient Greece where the gods are still powerful beings, but shadows of their former selves. Fragments of their divine power - known as Omphalos - are scattered about the Earth and are the focus of a new power struggle. Whichever god can collect sufficient Omphalos to regain their former power stands to lead a new Pantheon reshaped in their image. To complicate matters, the cataclysmic events have emptied the Underworld, unleashing Titans, monsters and heroes of Greek legend, all of whom are participants in the new struggle for power.

As my opponent Pete and I were both new to Mythic Battles we chose to play the introductory scenario in the 'Getting Started' book included in the core box set. This covers the basic rules and pits father against son in the form of Zeus vs Ares in a bid to collect and absorb two Omphalos, or destroy their opponent to win the game. Both gods were assisted by a small band of heroes, monsters and troops. Zeus was backed up by a unit of Spartans and the Hydra. Ares was accompanied by a unit of Hoplites and the hero Achilles.

Zeus  - "Spartans? Where are the other 297?"

We played a couple of games and drew at one game each. As they were learning games, we probably messed up a few of the rules but we had a blast all the same. I'll admit that I wasn't sure I'd like this game. I've mentioned before that it was the miniatures that attracted my attention and the boardgame was of secondary importance. A couple of games has changed all that. Although we only just scratched the surface, I can see a lot of tactical options and depth to the game. It doesn't hurt that the game components are well produced and ooze quality too. All in all I'm very happy with Mythic Battles Pantheon and am looking forward to further games (with the hope that I won't have to wait another 12 months for my next game).  

"Why couldn't we just have a cat or a dog like ordinary folks?"

Ares was having another of his infamous temper tantrums...

Wot no paint?

The last time I got to play a game of any description was over 12 months ago. When I checked, I couldn't believe it had been so long. This is not good.

My abstinence is partly due to lack of opponents since my regular gaming pals are all now some distance away (in one case across the Channel) meaning games have to be on-line via Skype.  I'll talk more about gaming via Skype in a later post, but suffice to say it does have its drawbacks.

Fast forward to Sunday 18th March 2018 and by great good fortune three of us managed to get our ducks in a row (should that be penguins? - It was perfect weather for them) and met up at the West Midlands Military Show (WMMS) in Aldersley. Kudos to everyone who managed to get there despite the snow as the atrocious weather had clearly knocked holes in attendance (traders, demo games and punters alike). The show was a bit subdued, but from our little reunion came plans for my first proper game in ages. So, the following Wednesday my mate Pete made the journey over to chez nous for a game of Mythic Battles Pantheon.

                                                                                                                                                                             

I should admit at this point that in my eagerness for a game I've probably committed wargaming heresy by playing with unpainted miniatures. I am unrepentant. Well, Mythic Battles is a miniature boardgame and boardgames don't count, right? I would never contemplate fielding unpainted miniatures on a table-top wargame, but have no qualms about doing so on a boardgame. If that sounds like double-standards I can only say in my defence that I have come to terms with the idea that boardgame miniatures are 'playing pieces', in much the same way as a chess piece is. When I first saw the Kickstarter campaign for Mythic Battles it was the miniatures that attracted me and I had imagined using them in a fantasy table-top wargame setting. I had zero interest in a boardgame. It took some time for me to come around to accepting the whole boardgame package but now I have, I can happily get on with simply enjoying the game.

Of course, I do still want to paint the miniatures and at some future point I will post some pretty pictures of my efforts, but right now having fun playing the game is more important to me. So, if the thought of playing with unpainted miniatures is likely to give you apoplexy, please stop scrolling now and look away before you reach my next post.