The White Wolf

One of my favorite series here lately has been "The Witcher" by Andrzej Sapkowski.  My wife introduced me to the book series as well as the video games back when we were dating.  Sadly the books have not been completely translated into English so I have not had the chance to finish reading them yet.  My wife, on the other hand, completed the series years ago because they were translated into Russian a long time ago.  Part of my wife educating me in the Witcher universe, was also watching the Polish series Wiedźmin staring Michal Zebrowski as Geralt of Rivia.

So needless to say I am a Witcher fan.  About a year or so ago I started thinking about how to play the Witcher in miniature.  It was my search for potential rules that actually had me end up supporting the "Open Combat" kickstarter.  Then it was the search for miniatures.  It was in the Darksword Game of Thrones miniature range that I found a figure I liked for Geralt.  Then it kind of stalled...  But now there is a lot of new hype since Netflix has decided to do their own live action version.  This of course got me motivated to make some progress on my own designs.

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Geralt of Rivia was taken from his family at an early age to the stronghold Kaer Morhen to under-go the training to become a Witcher.  Part of the training involves the Trial of Grasses were the trainees are subjected to harsh toxins and chemicals that cause genetic mutation.

There is a very high mortality rate among the trainees, but those who survive will be better equipped for fighting against monsters.  The results give them super human strength and agility.  Learning some magic spells also enhances their arsenal of weapons and defenses.

Geralt was very resistant to the Trial of Grasses and so was able to be subjected to even harsher doses making him quite the exceptional Witcher. The results have made him one of the best and most successful Witchers. The side-effect of these extra trials was the loss of pigmentation in his body causing him to have pale skin and white hair.

Because of his pale complexion he is known in the Elder Speech as "Gwynbleidd", the White Wolf. There are several schools of Witchers, but Kaer Morhen is the Wolf school.  Each Witcher has a wolf medallion he wears to signify his position, but it also vibrates to let the Witcher know when magic is nearby.

From Kaer Morhen, Geralt goes out into the world to become a full-fledged monster hunter.  Being a Witcher doesn't pay well and he finds he is not well liked or trusted by the humans he seeks to protect.

But when monsters appear and start killing people or livestock, then everyone wants to have a Witcher in their town.

Once the monster is slain, he gets paid and often finds he is not wanted in town any longer.  Thus continues the trek to the next town in need for our hero.  Sometimes the monsters turn out to be the good and helpful kind, while the humans turn out to be the evil and true monsters.  The tales of Geralt are always interesting and thought provoking.

Even Witchers have bad days...

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I have some allies to paint to join Geralt's adventures... and need some more monsters.  I welcome any suggestions for strigas, etc.  Thanks for stopping by friends.

Rod

Huntmaster Farhop and Whisper

There very few who can claim to know all the paths of Cool Dip Swamp better than Hedger Farhop, the Royal Huntmaster.  There are even fewer who can claim to be able to name the species all the creatures that inhabit the swamp.  But none can claim to know the life patterns, migrations, feeding habits of all its creatures as well as Hedger Farhop.  A point he takes an extreme amount of pride in, especially after downing a few Muckfly Ales.

The Huntmaster can almost always be seen accompanied by his faithful companion, Whisper, the wasp.  Their work is well coordinated but often neither will mutter a sound, and yet when you see them at work it is almost as if they can read each other's minds.

He is a very quiet man frog who tends to keep to himself.  And would prefer to spend most of his time alone in the swamps instead of social gatherings.

But, when it comes to organizing and leading the hunt, he does come out of his quiet shell and excels at his work.  It is said that there  has never been a better and more skillful Master of the Hunt.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is another figure from Darksword Miniatures.  Cheers!Rod

Bart Rallop, Royal Wizard and Keeper of the Generally Eternal Flame

Bart has served as the royal wizard and adviser to King Tribbit for as long as any frog in Cool Dip Swamp can remember. He is a wise old codger and well respected by all. Even tempered (which is quite rare in a wise wizard) he gets along with just about everyone.  Not only is he the leading authority in flora and fauna in the area, but he has a vast library of spells at his disposal.  Among his duties is keeping the Generally* Eternal Flame lit and available to all to see.  It is the beacon of enlightenment to the frogs of Cool Dip Swamp, proving to all they are more than just mere amphibians, but have grasped the use of tools and fire.

* - Note:  "Generally" is given here with the knowledge that all swamp creatures realize fires tend to fall prey to accidentally being extinguished in areas with large bodies of water.

The Frog Wizard is from Dark Sword Miniatures.

Cheers!

Rod

Hoppers of the 1st Royal Regiment of Hoppers

Greetings all!  Here's some more frogs for ya.  This is actually the last of my Eureka frogs.  Kinda tempted to get some more because they're so fun, but I really should find them someone to fight first.

Anyway, this was my second entry for the challenge.  I was going to try to pick a simpler color scheme, but ended doing just as much work.  But the Blue Poison Dart frog looked cool so I had to try it.  I like how they turned out.  I hope you do too!

Group shot...

Hoppers with Spears only...

And with shields...

And the drummer, standard bearer and captain.  The captain is rather dashing.  I decided to name him LaSalle after Napoleon's famous general.

I do have a handful of frogs I picked up from Darksword Miniatures, so this isn't the last of the frog posts.  But this week I'm working on some different toys.

Cheers!

Rod

Whompers of the 1st Royal Regiment of Hoppers

Greetings friends!  My first entry to the Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge were some Eureka frogs from their "Pond Wars" miniature line.  I dug these up from the lost realm known as the lead pile.  When I entered into this challenge I told myself I would not buy any new miniatures, but focus on making a dent in my lead pile.  [Yes, Ray, I'm still holding strong but the shakes are getting worse!] In the process, maybe I'd complete or at least revive a few stagnant projects.  When I found all these frog warriors in my lead pile I thinking, "Why have I never painted these?  They're hilarious!"

So, here's the first batch of frog warriors.  I went online to look at how to paint a frog and discovered frogs have all kinds of colorful patterns.  Now considering the AHPC's scoring is based on the number of miniatures painted, I'm a bit of my own worst enemy here.  I saw the red-eyed tree frogs and thought, "I want to do that!"  As you can guess it took a lot longer than just painting them green and white.  Oh well, I really like the results and hope you do as well.

On Eureka's site they are noted as carrying mallets, but I kept thinking "whompers" sounded more appropriate!

Cheers!

Rod

Office Display for My Wife

A while back, my wife made a plant display for me to take to my office.  My hobby is miniatures and games.  My wife's hobby is orchids.  She has a lot of orchids.  Think about your lead pile... paint it green and go roots.  That's her orchid collection.  Anyway, so she shared her hobby with me and I get to see it every day at the office.  It's a Japanese orchid called a Neofinitia Falcata "Fugaku".

I thought it would be fun to do the same for her.  So I let her pick out a miniature.  She found one she liked from Dark Sword miniatures.  I intended it to be a "pretty" display, but when I had finished the figure she stated, "Where's the blood?  Shouldn't she be dirty?"  And so I went and made her look like she'd been in a fight.  Next request was for there to be a body covered in blood.  I found this pirate at Reaper and immediately started chopping him up to fit on the display as a casualty.  The rest is all milliput, rocks, dirt and a mixture of static grass and silfur tufts.

Anyway, it was a lot of work and I'm pretty proud of it.  I think she enjoyed getting to have a say in  how it's built.  Fun project, but now I'm ready to get back to WW2.  Hope you guys like it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Rod