Today I finished the first ‘Mechs I’ve painted since 2007. This lance for my Long Nights mercenary company is full of firsts: essentially my first time doing camo (I was about 10 for my actual first time), pin washing, flocking, detailed glass, and really pushing for subtle edge highlights. Natural light close-ups Lightbox shots These […]
My first lance of ‘Mechs in 16 years Read More »
In early 2021, I did a year-end retrospective photo for 2020 — the year I got back into miniature painting. I painted 97 miniatures that year, and I had a blast; returning to an old hobby I’d never quite clicked with (it’s complicated) was a perfect lockdown activity. By contrast, 2021 saw my enthusiasm flagging.
My 2021 and 2022 in miniature painting Read More »
Well, shit: I just ruined a fully painted miniature by using the too-thick dregs of my varnish bottle and completely fogging it out. I haven’t done that in years! Not since the last time I used spray varnish, at least a decade ago. I should have trusted my impression that it looked a little thick,
Pour one out for my first camo ‘Mech Read More »
This unassuming little Valkyrie represents a lot of firsts: I started with the Valkyrie because it’s the plainest of the lance I’m currently painting, and the one I cared about least. I figured I’d goober some stuff up here before moving on to something cooler. I’m taking a more subtle approach with my ‘Mechs than
The best mini I’ve painted (so far) Read More »
I’m not sure all my notes (many rolled in Tome of Adventure Design [affiliate link]) will survive the next steps, but I’m off to the races with #dungeon23. Weep at my terrible handwriting! I like megadungeons with multiple entrances and verticality, so the Black Furnace has a main entrance, two chimneys (which can be used
#dungeon23: off to the races! Read More »
I’ve juggled things around a bit since my initial #dungeon23 post. With less than 24 hours to go until my first room, it’s time to lay the last bits of ground work for the Black Furnace. The thing I’ve changed up is mapping: I bought a graph paper notebook (4 squares/inch) and a Jujutsu Kaisen
#dungeon23: ground work Read More »
2022 has thrown the Ralyas a couple pretty hard curveballs, but so far we’re doing [whatever you’re supposed to do in baseball when someone pitches you a curveball] and managing pretty well. I usually focus on hobby stuff here on Yore, though, so I figured it was time for a little 2022 wrap-up — all
2022 end-of-year hobby wrap-up Read More »
Sean McCoy‘s #dungeon23 challenge has been making the rounds on Mastodon: Every day in 2023, write one room of an old-school fantasy megadungeon (or whatever similar project tickles your fancy). I’ve been intrigued, but felt like I didn’t really need another project next year — until this morning, when the puzzle pieces fell into place.
#dungeon23: The Black Furnace Read More »
My kiddo and I started an OSE campaign set in Godsbarrow in November, and I’ve been making lots of little rulings on the fly during our sessions — which I love! There’s a default flowchart my brain automatically follows: Lots of things in Old School Essentials [affiliate link] are already X-in-6 rolls; this is a
X-in-6: one of my favorite tools when GMing old-school games Read More »
My kiddo, Lark, is playing a goblin beast master with giant mantis companion in our OSE Godsbarrow campaign, and the mantis stat block in the OSE Advanced Monsters book is, uh, 9 HD too high for a 1st level beast master. I needed a 1 HD version. Following the Just Use Bears principle, I statted
OSE monster: 3rd instar giant mantis Read More »
