Giving 'Four Delvers' Treasure Hunt a Solo Run

    Beset by giant spiders & orcs, my 'Four Delvers' fight their way through an abandoned town 

My long-time friend Keith wants to run "dungeon crawl" fantasy skirmishes, and is searching for a good set of rules. Last weekend, he hosted us at his place to play test a version he'd cobbled together using Dragon Rampant battle rules. It provided an entertaining evening. However, we both agreed in discussions afterwards that it was not the right rules mechanics for an adventuring party exploring caverns or dark places. DR's activation rolls and one action per "units"adapted to single figures seemed clunky. So, we agreed to keep exploring. My friend Rich Brown is a fan of David Bezio's Four Delvers rules. I downloaded them (free on the RRB Minis & More website) and gave them a quick study. For those that don't remember, Bezio is the author of Zombie RV rules, which I played extensively the past two years and ran at various conventions.

    In David Bezio's 'Four Delvers,' players control an adventuring party of four characters

After reading the rules, I discussed them with Rich and David, and also sent them on to Keith to look over. Keith and I weighed giving them a try or continuing with a side project I've been scribbling on recently: using Mean Streets gang warfare rules for small scale fantasy skirmishes. Keith felt that since we still had more to write and play test with the Mean Streets variant, we should give Four Delvers a try. They are an already published set and Rich recommends them. It would be less work than creating our own set with Mean Streets. In addition, David has been working on an expansion called Four Delvers Quest, which introduces new character types and adds more stats for the adventurers. Rich had also added a bit himself to David's base rules, such as new monsters and more. 

If you remember my Zombie RV games, I also added more details and a campaign system when my friends and I were playing it. Four Delvers reminds me a lot of Zombie RV -- very simple and streamlined rules that are open to expansion and tricking out to make it what you want of them. In fact, Keith, Rich, his friend Kyle, and myself created a group email to discuss new expansions. I look forward to brainstorming with them and hope we're able to create a campaign or system for a series of linked games. 

    'The Courtyard' scenario set up with treasures and enemies (circled in red) - five orcs await our entry

Since Rich has played at least a dozen games of Four Delvers, and I had yet to try them out, I decided that I should probably play a game. It makes sense to try something before you start pontificating about what you want to change! So, I created my own adventuring party of four delvers, throwing in one of the new character types David had created. The party was led by the bold hero Oslac, a fighter of great renown. His companions are Malik the Wizard, Erevan the Elven archer, and Callum (a Barbarian, the term I would prefer over "Berserker" for that new class). I chose one of the 10 scenarios in the base rules, The Courtyard. It seemed simple, plus it matched the setting I am planning on using for my eventual small scale fantasy skirmishes that I would like to run -- adventuring in an abandoned city that has fallen into decay.

    In addition to the enemies on the board, each turn there is a chance a wandering monster will appear

In the scenario, the delvers (the game's term for the adventuring party of four) are exploring the courtyard of an abandoned noble's house, searching for treasure. The board is very small in this game -- only 18" square. So, delvers and creatures are in contact and fighting almost immediately. I blocked off a section of my new 3'x3' stone pavement mat I bought recently, and set up the terrain. For the delvers and enemies, I grabbed a mix of my Saga and Dragon Rampant figures. I also pre-rolled what foes Oslac and his band would facing: five orcs, two of which were armed with bows. Giant spiders would be the wandering monsters, if and when they appeared. Players roll 1d12 at the beginning of every turn, with a 9+ meaning a wandering monster arrives on a random board edge. I also rolled randomly for the board edge that my delvers would enter from, as well as the location of the orcs and three treasures. Interestingly, most were concentrated very close to the board edge we would be entering from. 

    Oslac, left, and Callum the barbarian charge in and deal bloody wounds to the surprised orcs

That was very unfortunate for one of the orc archers, who started only 3" from our entry point. I had my "Fighter" (Oslac) charge onto the board to start the game, slashing it for one wound and sending the archer reeling backwards. Each character type has their own special abilities and statistics. A base fighter rolls two strikes when in melee, needing only a 6+ on each d12 to hit. When you hit an enemy, it has a chance to roll a Save (the orc failed). However, when a figure is reduced to 0 Hit Points, it is not out of action. Each subsequent unsaved hit causes a wound, which prompts another die roll. The result can be either "flesh wound" (no effect), Stunned (figure may do nothing on its next action and is -1 to Saves), or knocked out of action. So, the orc would require at least another hit to kill it. 

    The wizard Malik arrives, pausing next to a treasure token to zap an orc archer across the board

In response, one of the orc's comrades charged Oslac, but missed his attack. Next, the barbarian Callum hurtled onto the board hoping to deliver the knockout blow to the orc archer. His "Berserk" ability allows him to continue rolling attacks if he rolled a 10+ on his attack. Wouldn't you know, my barbarian obliged on his very first attack! However, I rolled "flesh wound" for no effect. Callum's follow up attack missed. The orc also missed in its attempt to "Battle Back." When an enemy attacks you, you get to strike back, but your roll is at -2. Annoyingly, the enemy archer staggered back again, still alive! In Four Delvers, after each time you activate one of your figures, you next resolve an enemy's activation. Activated figures can move and attack, attack then move, or move twice (but not come into contact with enemy). Instead of attacking, they can instead do an action like cast a spell, pick up a treasure, etc. My wizard Malik stepped onto the board moving into contact with the closest treasure token. Instead of picking it up, he hurled a Magic Bolt at the other orc archer far across the board (but in line of sight). He zapped him for one hit -- my delvers were off to a good start! 

    My Elven archer Erevan gets the party's first kill - the orc Oslac had initially charged & wounded

It just got better when my Elven archer moved onto the board, sheltering behind the the chest-high stone wall and taking aim at the closer wounded archer. Erevan's shaft struck home, the orc missed his save, and the ensuing d12 roll saw it sink to the ground, unconscious or dead. One of the orc's companions charged into Callum and hit him, but the barbarian saved. Meanwhile, the giant spider who had arrived as a wandering monster at the start of turn one scuttled quickly into the courtyard seeking fresh prey. All in all, though, a good first turn. Turn 2 started off on a note of concern, though, as yet another giant spider appeared. That was two 9+ rolls on d12's in a row! 

    Here comes trouble! The first of 3 wandering monster spiders hungrily scuttles into the courtyard

I began my turn with Oslac, again. Rolling two attacks, as opposed to my other character's one, and with the best chances of success, he would be my hammer. He charged into one of the orcs and struck him twice. However, the wily orc saved both times. Fortunately, its "battle back" missed. In Four Delvers, the target of an enemy charge always recoils after the combat -- even if it wounded the charger and took no hits itself. No figures end a round of melee in contact with each other in these rules -- the defender always backs up 1". I'm not sure I like that. First, I would prefer that figures that took a hit backs off. Who knows? Maybe that will be my first house rule...ha, ha! I like that players can choose the order their figures act in, but the enemy always begins with the closest to a delver. The two sides, Delvers and Enemies, alternate activating a figure until all have done so. 

    No dummies, the elf & wizard shelter behind the wall while the fighter & barbarian block the orcs

The wily orc that Oslac had just charged moved into contact with Callum, hitting him, but fortunately the barbarian saved. Two can play at that game! Malik, seeing the approaching spider, grabbed the treasure token and ran to the wall alongside Erevan. Another orc charged Callum, who avoided its blow but struck it on his counterstrike. Dang it! The orc saved again! On his activation, Callum sidestepped and struck a different orc, once again rolling 10+. He hit with his follow up strike, but once more the second hit caused nothing but a flesh wound. Grrrr! Stung, the orc battled back and hit Callum, who did not save and became my first character to lose a hit point. Both he and Oslac began with 3 hit points, though, while Ereven had two and Malik only one. As Turn 2 progressed, I was beginning to feel some frustration as the enemies I hit always seemed to save. Strikes that caused wounds also failed to knock them out of action. I realized what may be frustrating me on Turn 2 may end up saving one of my characters on a later turn, though. Still, it was getting annoying as the orc and spiders refused to go down! "Mom! Grikhnash isn't taking his deads...!" 

    Well, it WAS a good idea...until Shelob's sister decided to do an end run to get at the wizard & archer

Finally, turn 3 saw no new wandering monsters appear. Oslac charged into the wounded spider and gutted it, watching as its talon-tipped legs twitched and then went still. Meanwhile, the second spider had rounded the corner and was scuttling quickly towards Malik and Erevan. The archer aimed and sank an arrow into its grotesque body, causing a hit, but it kept coming. An orc made the mistake of hurling itself upon Oslac who blocked its spiked club with his shield and then slashed its legs with his sword. The orc screamed and fell to the ground. Another enemy down! Callum got in on the action and charged into another orc and struck him down, as well. Turn 3 was progressing much more successfully! The spider charged Erevan, who avoided damage and backed up. As long as no new enemy arrived, it looked like my delvers might be able to take these foes down.

    My deadliest fighter, Oslac, guts the first spider -- its blood pooling next to the orc he struck down

No new creatures arrived on turn 4, but my delvers developed a mild case of the "misses" -- most of my attacks missed. Worse, Callum received his second wound, and Erevan was wounded by the spider. Oslac did "Stun" one of the orcs, so at least it would not activate on its next turn. Still no new enemies were taken down this turn and we suffered two hits. Worryingly, turn 5 saw another spider arrive. Thankfully, when I rolled for the board edges, the spiders continued to show up on the ones furthest away. Though fast, the spiders would have to spend their entire first turn on the board moving and still be unable to reach any of my delvers. Actually, we had not progressed far from the board edge we entered from. The enemies had come to us, though we still had only one treasure.

    3 orcs & 1 spider down, and my delvers are off to a good start at killing their enemies

Seeing Malik and Erevan backing off from the giant spider, Oslac shouted a war cry to attract its attention and charged in, hitting and stunning it. Malik fired a magic bolt at the orc archer who'd been shooting at them from across the board and finally killed it. Erevan loosed an arrow at the new spider as it entered the courtyard. He shouted for Callum to dash for the treasures since the orcs in front of him were all down or stunned. The barbarian bolted forward and skidded to a stop next to the fountain, picking up and throwing over his shoulder a bulging leather satchel. He was not far from the next treasure, so sprinted for it on his next turn, picking it up, as well. Malik, seeing that the elf's arrows weren't stopping the oncoming spider cast "Freeze" upon it, stopping it in its tracks. Noticing Callum had pick up the final treasure, he shouted for his companions to withdraw. 

    Angry at the arrow wound from Erevan, the 2nd spider deals a slash to the elf, who backs up

The adventures slashed at orcs or spiders near them. As the creatures backed off, the delvers turned and ran from the Courtyard. They heard the angry noises of their enemies, but dashed down the dimly lit alley. They met up with Callum, and kept running for the bridge that led across the river. After a few moments, Erevan cocked his head and said he could hear no sounds of pursuit. They could slow down and proceed more cautiously. Who knows? Perhaps the spiders and orcs had turned on each other? Although both Erevan and Callum were wounded, all four had survived. On the bridge, they stopped to bandage their wounds, Oslac taking the small chest from Callum while Malik tended to him. He turned the wooden box around in his hands, examining it. "Let's wait till we cross and are back at our camp before opening these." On the horizon, the sun began to peek through the mists rising from the river. The adventurers turned their back on the abandoned and haunted city, and marched towards the sunrise.

    Shouting a war cry, renowned fighter Oslac charges the spider, driving its hideous bulk backwards

After the game was over, I feel that I rolled reasonably well for the treasures. My delvers found two magic items -- one a potion of Speed and the other a magical axe that is +1 to hit. We also earned 10 gold coins. Much like with "supplies" in Bezio's Zombie RV, the gold coins allow characters to expend one for a re-roll of a dice. I suppose they will also ensure a comfortable stay at an inn while my wounded delvers rest and recover. Did I enjoy the game? Yes, I did. I am concerned about possible frustration to players like I experienced on turn 2, as the enemy saved against all my hits or my wound rolls resulted in "flesh wounds." I messaged Bezio with a couple questions to ensure that I played the game right. Do monsters keep fighting just like characters at 0 hit points? He confirmed that I played it right (which Rich had also told me). He was intrigued, though, by the idea of a subsequent unsaved hit on a creature at 0 hit points automatically knocking it out. He said playing it that way would be "faster and more cinematic." He encouraged me to try a game that way to see what I thought. So, expect to see another test run of Four Delvers, as Oslac and his band venture back into the decaying city.  

    Callum races through the blood-spattered courtyard to pick up the delver's 2nd treasure token

On my paint desk, I am nearing completion of the next batch of Elven archers for my next Dragon Rampant army. I also am painting up the big alien monsters that I bought at Cincycon a few weeks ago. They're coming along well, and should be a nice addition to the potential foes for Critter Control in my Majestic 13 games! The Catrine House for my medieval town is proceeding more slowly, though. I think I need to take a break from elves more often to speed progress along on it!

    Fortunately, the treasures were near each other, so the barbarian snatches up the final one -- victory!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 65

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 48

First Batch of Elven Spearmen from Warhost

    My 1st batch of 28mm Elven spear from Warhost -- I love the Tolkien vibe of these figures!

I really enjoyed painting the first batch of archers for this project, so I was looking forward to seeing how I fared on the spear. I chose two of the five spear packs (eight figures) I'd purchased from Badger Games and opened them up. I was happy to see the brass wire spears included, but a bit surprised by the long, elaborate, 3-D printed points to glue onto the tips. This was an extra step that I wasn't crazy about because it was one that I could easily screw up! I think I did manage to super glue them on relatively straight, so the first potential crisis averted!

    These 8 spearmen come from two Warhost packs -- 2 base poses (stabbing & receiving with spears)

Next up, I cleaned off the flash and attached the shields and spears. I'm glad to see that Warhost models the right hands as a closed fist. It is a simple matter to use a pin vice to drill a hole into fist and then to use two-part epoxy to glue them into place. There were four poses holding their spear upright and four stabbing downwards with them. As I examined them closer, they seemed to be sculpted in pairs of very similar figures. So, the four stabbing downward had two basic poses wearing the same type of armor, whether scale, banded, or whatever. I liked how they may have a similar look, but still contain slight differences in helmets, vest length, or whatever. However, I would say overall they are less individualized than the archers, but a long way from a 1970s or 1980s mono-pose regiment of figures. Of course, I would also paint their clothes in varying tones of green. So, that would help individualize them even more.

    Among those stabbing & receiving poses, there was a big variety of armor, vest length, etc.

After priming, I painted the various parts in the same order that I did with the archers. Flesh was first, then armor, inner tunic, outer vest, and so on. Speaking of the armor, that was probably the hardest thing to figure out on a couple the poses. What was armor and what was tunic? I actually guessed wrong at first and had to go back and redo armor on four of the figures. There were also some unique types of armor amongst the spearmen -- one pair of poses wearing a vertically banded armor. It looked almost like lamellar armor that some steppe horseman wore historically. I painted all of the armor types in gold on top of a gunmetal base coat, though. In later batches, I may paint some as dyed eather or linen for a change of pace. We'll see! For now, I'm sticking with the Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings, elves-in-golden-armor look.

    I have almost 2 dozen greens among my paint bottles & employed a variety of shades on this batch

For the inner tunics and outer vests, I followed a similar approach as I did with the archers. However, I was more organized. With a Sharpie, I put a number 1-8 on each base. On a notepad, I wrote down what colors I would use for each article of clothing ahead of time. This allowed me to think more about which shade of green I would use for the lighter inner tunic and which darker shade I would use for the vest. For the decorative lining on the vests, I also tried to use color combinations that were a little more subtle and less high contrast. I was worried that the contrasting colors I chose for some of the archers may have looked too busy. I examined the first batch closer, noting which patterns and color combinations I liked. Hopefully, the spearmen's vest decorations turned out a tad more subdued. I imagine this will be something I get better on as I progress through this army.

    I tried to make the decoration on the vest hemlines more subdued this time - I like how they look!

Writing my proposed colors for each figure also helped me keep track of where the armor was on some figures because it wasn't always easy to tell. For example, I was fairly certain that five of the figures were wearing leg greaves, while the remainder looked like they were wearing trousers. Or were they? After I was done, I thought maybe the trousers could just have been greaves whose top was simply covered up by a longer vest. D'oh!! I did not go back and repaint them as greaves, though. I also noted for each numbered figure which had armor popping out tunics onto their shoulders, for example. It kept me on track more and reduced instances of going back and redoing parts! 

    Wood elven spear assemble near an ancient pavilion deep in the woods, ready for battle!

For the equipment and trousers, I'm sticking with the brown tonal range I used for the archers. When I think wood elves, I typically think green and brown. Shoes I painted in various leathers, browns or grays to fit with what I feel is a sylvan look, as well. My long-time friend Jason asked if I would recreate the shields of my old 25mm Ral Partha Elven army with my Dragon Rampant army. Way back in our brief Warhammer Fantasy days, I had a very cool army of wood elves using the gorgeous, but venerable, wood elves from Ral Partha. Based out of Cincinnati (an hour and a half away), it was the miniature company I grew up on. In that army, each of my mono-pose regiments of elven spearmen had a matching type of leaf design as their shield blazon. For example, the regiment painted in red-brown regiment had a maple leaf. However, with the Warhost figures, there are a variety of shield faces. Three had a number of raised, circular designs or bosses on them. The other five just had a single, central, decorative boss. I felt it would be too hard to use the exact same blazon on the two different shield types. So, I made the decision to make each shield different. I did some Google Image searches of leaves and their colors, and saved my favorites. 

    Shield closeup for you, Jason! Homage to my 25mm Ral Partha wood elf army, sold long, long ago...

I am planning on fielding most of my elven infantry in units of 12 Light Foot armed as "Mixed weapons" in Dragon Rampant. This means they are equipped with both melee and ranged weapons. I plan to mix a relatively equal number of archers with spear or sword-armor elves in the units. Next up, was the elves' long, flowing, rock star hair. I liked how the four different shades of blond I used on the archers turned out. So, I duplicated it here. I also liked the very dark blue for the center dot in their eyes. Previously, I would often use lighter shades of blue or even gray on some miniatures. However, I've come to the opinion that these eye colors often seemed to get lost on the face. Tthe figure would end up with an almost glazed look. So, lately I've been using a very dark brown for the eyes of most of my figs. These are elves, though, so I went with dark blue. I like how it looks. 

To be honest, though, I would say that my batting percentage on painting a perfectly good eye is about 50-75% for each batch of figures. I like how half or more come out, but am not crazy about a certain percentage of each it seems. I know there are many good miniature painters -- more skilled than me -- who eschew painting eyes. However, I found early on, when painting a 15mm army of Ancient Picts with tattoos and individual tartan or checkered patterns, that doing precise details like that but leaving the eye sockets blank looked...well, weird. Almost like they were creatures who had no eyes at all. I know some folks go by the "six foot rule." Unfortunately, though, people pick those figures up and hold them up more closely than six feet to examine! Plus, with my close up photos of each batch of figures, I am zooming in WAY closer than six feet! So, the "eyes" have it!!

    Final look at these excellent Hobday & Hicks sculpts -- I am very happy with how they turned out

 To touch on something I mentioned in this post early on, I am a bit concerned about the 3-D printed elaborate spear heads. Being spear points jabbing at an imaginary enemy means they naturally stick out. Will they 3-D printed points snag on things, or be dropped and snap? I guess we will see once the elves start making an appearance on the tabletop. I hope that they don't break, because I'm worried that replacing the spear points will be a pain in the butt! If that happens, I will likely trim off the entire point and repaint a new, simpler one directly onto the wire spear itself. I was actually tempted to do that anyway when I began assembling this batch. I decided to bow to the wisdom of the figure sculptors, though, and give the points a try! So, cross your fingers and stay tuned on how that turns out! Speaking of Hobday & Hicks, I was very flattered and grateful for their praise of the first batch of archers both on this blog and Facebook. Thanks, guys -- I truly appreciate it!

What else is on my painting desk at the moment? Well, prior to leaving for Cincycon last week, I got out five of my seven ABC Robot Warriors that I'd won in a raffle a couple years ago. They were soft plastic figures that were a royal pain in the butt to glue together. Superglue didn't really work, modeling cement didn't, and neither did two-part epoxy. I swear that some of the folks designing miniatures are frustrated military modelers of days gone by! Anyway, I figured some could be used as big alien monsters for my Majestic 13 games. Once I got them all glued up and had a close look at them, I was wishing I'd picked a different batch of figures to paint...haha! Esepcially after I bought all of those more appropriately big alien monsters at Cincycon! That would be cheating, though, on my 2026 vow to alternate older figures with this year's purchases. So, I've been soldiering on and working on these not-as-simple-as ABC figures simultaneously with the elves. Stay tuned to see how they turned out -- I will likely finish them next week.

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 159
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 60

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 3
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 16
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 48

Random Fantasy Bits...or are They??

    A Forest Spirit from Beldolor Studios is cornered in the woods by a swarm of giant spiders

Sticking with my pledge this year to alternate current projects with batches of "clearing out the lead pile," So, I came up with this small group of figs to paint up. The spiders are from the Wargames Atlantic Giant Spiders plastic kit. The towering Forest Spirit deer thingie is a 3-D mini I picked up from Beldolor Studios last summer. I can see them getting used for various fantasy games. The Forest Spirit is bizarre enough I can maybe slip him in as an alien in my Majestic 13 games. Maybe...what do you think?

    Plastic giant spiders - a kit from Wargames Atlantic that is NOT easy to assemble...at least for me!

Anyway, assembling miniatures has never been my thing -- one of the reasons that I prefer metal. I pulled out the two sprues of the spiders that I picked up from Firelands Games last November (they sell sprues individually, as I've mentioned her before), and went...ummm, whaat? How the heck do I put these together?? I guess I am not the only one who has wondered that, though. There were a number of instructional videos on YouTube on how to glue them together. The one by the British-sounding guy even seemed a bit peeved at all the critics of the box and mentioned it one or two times during his tutorial. He felt that it was unwarratned that Wagames Atlantic got some heat because there were no instructions included!

    Assembling difficulties aside, they are really cool plastic models that hopefully are not too fragile

Personally, nothing about assembling the two larger spiders was intuitive to me, and I paused my way through the video and did my best to follow along. I screwed up a bit on the legs, but they look good enough, I imagine. I did modify it a bit, though, and decided to pin the two halves of the spider's body together. That was just too fragile of a small, flat connection point for me. Still, it was about an hour and half's work and the two Shelobs were glued together and to the plastic base. The four little ones require no assembly, a fact that the video narrator seemed awful proud of! For that matter, neither did the 3-D printed Forest Spirit. I shudder to think how many parts a plastic kit of that figure would require!

    Big ones look grotesque and menacing while these little guys look just plain creepy - heebie jeebies!

I spray painted all seven of the miniatures in Krylon Fusion Acrylic Black Matte, and followed up with a 50/50 of water and acrylic black paint. I then went online and Googled images of spiders, a process which can give you the heebie-jeebies if you look at too many pages! I was looking for inspiration for a color scheme, and honestly didn't find one that I liked from nature. So, I decided to dry brush the all black spiders with a medium gray. I liked how they looked, but knew they still needed some color. I examined the miniatures more closely. I ended going with the striped pattern simply based on the modeling of the figures. The colored bands are raised joints or surfaces on the legs. I decided to do those in various colors and hopefully they would look nice. The nasty looking talons on the end (and their fangs) I did in a bone color to stand out more.

    Elevated view where you can see the big ones' multiple eyes -- okay, heebie-jeebies here too!

I do have to admit that, occasionally glancing over to my left as I was painting, and seeing the ones I'd finished the stripes on, did give me that "Gaaahh!" moment. I took that as proof they were looking creepy enough. Doing the color outlining on the head and around the eyes was the trickiest part. Luckily, I had just bought a new detail brush and the tip held up nicely for this work. I did the eyes black, and for the larger spiders, added in little dots of red to prove to the world that they are indeed evil, repulsive creatures...ha, ha! I put a brown wash on the talons and fangs. That meant I was done except for the flocking. That step was more fiddly than normal because my brush had to swipe in underneath the bodies and between the too many legs of the spiders.

    In the end, I was happy with how this big guy came out, though early on, I wasn't 100% sure

For the Forest Spirit, I wasn't 100% sure what colors I wanted to use. I decided to make it deer-ish. Not exactly like a deer, because it is quite clearly not one. However, I wanted it to not simply be random colors like purple and yellow or anything. So, I went with the brown color palette, with tans, oranges, and such. I used the highlighting color to tie everything together so the various tones looked like they actually belonged together...unlike the clothes that some people I know wear! 

As I was finishing the Forest Spirit, I sat back and looked at it. I thought it was just "okay" -- not great. I began to wonder if I should get creative and give his fur a pattern or something? Like stripes or giraffe-style splotches? In the end, I decided not to go to that extent. Perhaps I should have, though. I'd be curious to hear what folks think about it. I bought it kind of on a whim as it was in Beldolor's "misprint" bin at Origins Game Fair, where I have seen them the last two years. After I did the final brown wash, I feel it tied the color scheme together even more and I am reasonably happy with it.

        Another look at the drama in the forest better showing off my new photographic backdrop

I am not sure when these figures will see the tabletop, but they started the year in my unpainted pile and now they're done! Woo-hoo!! Expect more one-off batches like this from me this year, if I follow through on my pledge to reduce the lead pile. Speaking of which, other than with Miniatures, I am doing fairly well on the Painted vs. Acquired in 2026. But don't get cocky, kid! I go to my first convention of the year this weekend. And you know what that means....purchases!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 95
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 49

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 0
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 2
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 24

First Batch of Warhost 28mm Elves Completed!

    My next army for Dragon Rampant -- Wood Elves, using Warhost's 28mm metal figures

I am now officially on my way to painting up my second army for Dragon Rampant, 2nd Edition. I purchased these Warhost Elves from Badger Games awhile back and really like how they look. Definitely very Tolkien style elves -- or at least Peter Jackson's version of them! No punk rocker elves with mohawks here...ha, ha! I'm painting them in batches of eight because, well, they come in blister packs of four figures. Sure, I guess I could mix packs together to be able to do my more comfortable six at a time, but since the bulk of the army is foot figures, groups of eight shouldn't be too bad. I hope!

    I really like these sculpts -- very much in the line of how I envision 'Tolkien elves' -- not GW ones!

After cleaning the figures of the very little flash on them, I epoxied them down onto their bases. It was nice to be able to skip the "messing with weapons" step here. Of course, they're archers, so you have to expect they're going to come with their bow and arrows cast on! I proceeded straight to the priming stage with my usual Liquitex White Gesso -- thank you, Jason, for introducing this to me awhile back! It does a nice job of providing a good surface for paint and even hard-to-cover-with colors work well with a first coat most of the time.

    It looks like green is going to be the operative color for my Wood Elves -- I have a dozen-plus shades!

And speaking of colors, I decided that green was going to be my operative color for my wood elves. I pulled out every green I owned and lined them up on my desk. Then I went into my closet for my overflow or restock paint collection. I pulled out new ones that looked like a slightly different shade and weren't represented on my paint racks. Once the lineup was done, I closely examined the miniatures. I noticed they appear to have an inner long-sleeved tunic and a long, flowing outer vest. I decided that with this batch, I would use lighter shades for the inner tunics and darker shades of green for the outer ones. Yes, it was going to be green on green "blend into the woods" plan! I decided that any accents or equipment colors would be painted in various shades of brown and tan. At least that is how I am envisioning them at this stage!

    Most of the figs have helmets and half of them have scale or banded armor which I painted gold

First, though, was the flesh. I painted their skin with a much paler flesh tone. I still used the ruddy wash I normally put over Caucasian skin, but I made sure it was a light application. I liked how it looked after it dried. It was still paler than my standard humans, but the wash gave definition to the folds and shadows on the face and hands. I had thought about not doing the wash at all, but didn't want my elves to look like they were corpses! Plus, my all-time favorite Tolkien artist, the Brothers Hildebrand, doesn't portray elves as ghoulishly white-skinned. In their paintings, elves always have a healthy flesh tone. Hopefully, these figures end up replicating a Brothers Hildebrand look! The next step was to paint their helms and armor. One pack of four was wearing scale or banded armor underneath their vests. I base coated it with a craft paint called Gunmetal Gray that is very similar to the Iron Wind Steel that I normally use. It is slightly lighter, though. Over that, I painted a craft paint gold highlighted with an even brighter shade of gold. Skin and armor were done!

    I don't think I went overboard on decorating the long, outer vests the archers are wearing

Next, it was on to their clothes and lots and lots of greens! I painted the under tunics first, setting out the first eight shades of green that I would use and placing a figure next to each paint bottle. Once done and dried overnight, I dry brushed them either in very pale greens or white. Then it was on to the long vests. I picked out a nice contrasting shade of green for each and placed it behind each miniature. Same plan here -- base coat and then dry brush the next day. I was quite happy with how my green on green looked after both colors were applied and dry brushed. I figured that I may as well do the hair next, since these Warhost elves have long, flowing "rock star" hair (but NOT punk rock star hair!). I used four different shades of yellow for their blonde hair, ranging from a very pale yellow to a strawberry (almost red) blond. Each was highlighted in a lighter yellow shade.

    Another look at all 8 figures in front of a backdrop of forest & mountain that I had printed

Next, it was on to the pants and shoes/boots. I switched to a brown palette here, using various shades of beige or tan for the pants or leggings. The shoes were done in either gray or a medium or darker brown. The next day, dry brush highlighting finished off those parts of the miniature. Now, it was back to those green tunics. Early on, I decided that I was going to put decoration on the vests. For most, I simply added a border in various colors (not all greens!) and then added contrasting dots. These were done with paint rather than my micron pens. After doing their belts, it was time to do and decorate the quivers, sword sheaths, and pouches. For about half of these I used micron pens, the rest were done with a fine point brush.

At this point, I think I realized that a batch of elves was probably going to take longer than a batch of orcs or goblins. I felt like I had been working on these figures steadily for a week, and I still wasn't done. I was close. The last things to finish off were the bow, arrows, and feather fletchings. I went back and forth on whether to do a wash on these. Elves always seem to be dressed immaculately -- not dirty and dusty. Maybe elf magic repels dirt...ha, ha! So, I decided to hedge my bets. I did a brown wash on the skin, hair, and lighter colored clothes or equipment. That means the green clothes are straight base coat and dry brush -- no dark wash. After I put the first layer of flocking on, I was happy with my decision. I think they look fine a bit brighter than my usual darker look for my miniatures.  

    Final zoom in on all of their inner tunics and outer vests -- how many shades of green can you see?

Speaking of flocking, I often go with a standard look for a force when it comes to flocking. I tend to stick with the same basic blended turf with patches of green grass, and then let the tufts or other base decoration define the army's ground cover. For the elves, I decided to go with one green grass tuft and one flower tuft. And lots of leaves! I had bought two new types of leaf base scatter at Michigan Toy Soldier, as well as getting two others for Christmas. They'll be on full display on the bases of my wood elves.

All in all, I am very happy with my first eight elves. Only about 50+ more to go...ha, ha! So, what else is on my painting desk right now? I am painting some Wargames Atlantic plastic spiders that I picked up from Firelands Wargames last year. I am also doing 24 Pin markers for my Vietnam games (though I doubt I will ever need that many!). Also on the table are three 28mm Vietnam miniatures that my friend Will brought back for me from Gringo 40s. They are two Vietnamese snipers and one U.S. air crewman  on foot evading capture. I really want to get the pin markers and snipers done in time for next weekend's Cincycon, when I will be running Surviving 'Nam twice. So, stay tuned and see if I accomplish that!

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 95
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 42

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 0
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 2
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 24

Our 3rd Dragon Rampant Outing Visits 'Hacky Valley'

    My 'Bonefish band' of orcs, goblins, trolls & wolves closes in on a force of Mountain Dwarves

Our Sunday evening gaming group got together for another round of Dragon Rampant, 2nd Edition. This time, we took a visit to "Hacky Valley" -- one of the scenarios in the book. We had six players, so I set up three one-on-one tables on my 12' wide gaming table downstairs. I was faced off against Joel S, borrowing a Dwarven army this time. He's played a different army all three times, which I guess there's nothing wrong with. Some people prefer variety! On the winter valley table, Allen's Bretonnian Knights faced off against Jenny's Fantasy Vikings. And on the desert valley, Tom's reconfigured Beastman army tackled Keith's undefeated Mordor Orcs. Tom has used a vastly different list for his beastmen all three games. This one, he said, was modeled on the Wheel of Time series.

    3 tables of 'Hacky Valley' set up side by side on my 12' wide table -- each battlefield was 4'x4'

In Hacky Valley, the 4'x4' table features a central two-foot wide valley. It's flanked on either side by a one foot wide plateau, separated from the valley by impassable cliffs -- except for a ramp leading up to each escarpment in the center of the table. The goal is essentially to destroy the enemy's army and hold the valley. The scenario description adds some whimsical nonsense about pies, but I spared the group that part of the description. I also added three pieces of rough terrain to each setup, one one on each player's half of the board and one more towards the center. The battlefield was already somewhat cramped, I figured. We didn't need to make it even more constricted. I do wish the rules had added a real terrain placement system to the rules to resolve cases where an army that wants lots of terrain is facing one that wanted a more open board. Oh well, I guess we can always port in a systems like Saga's, if it really bothers us. So far, I've set up the boards each time we've played and no one has complained.

    Dwarf-Goblin Wars: my enemy's battle line with Hobbit scouts and Dwarf heavy foot on the right 

In my matchup, I was facing Joel's borrowed Mountain Dwarven army, lent by Keith (of course). Keith is really enjoying our foray into DR! and the chance to get armies that have sat on his shelves for too long into action. He's even been inspired to paint up more figures to flesh out armies where he didn't have enough to field one. Joel's army consisted of a 9-point (almost 1/3 of the army points) cannon. It was bought as Heavy Missiles with Slow, Longer range, Bodkins (6's equal two hits instead of one), and Champion (re-roll 1 missed die on each attack). Maybe there were more special abilities -- I'm going from memory here. There was another Heavy Missile crossbow unit to support it, and the army general and his Heavy Foot bodyguard was nearby, too. On both flanks up on the plateaus, Joel deployed his Hobbit Scouts. The one opposite my right was given another unit of heavy foot for support, as well. A unit of heavy foot pikes was just below, advancing towards the ramp leading to that cliffside. 

    Bonefish Band advances with my eager goblin archers leading the way all game long

I didn't want to give the cannons or crossbows much chance to do their damage. And since we alternated deploying a unit at a time for the setup, I placed my units in the central valley more on the right -- away from the cannon. We would use the woods as cover and line of sight blockers as much as possible. I deployed my goblin archers (Light Missiles, Cowardly, Weak) on the right, one up on the plateau, one just beneath it in the valley. Behind the goblins on the plateau, I deployed my large wolfpack (Lesser Warbeasts, Large - which gave 2 extra figures). My two units of armored orcs (Bellicose Foot, Armored, Cowardly) were in the center, along with the warchief and his Elite Foot and the Trolls (Greater Warbeasts). My idea was to advance on the crossbow and cannon masked by the forests, then charge through at them and destroy them in hand to hand. The goblins would concentrate on shooting the enemy on the right hand plateau, who began advancing towards us as rapidly as their dwarven and hobbit legs could carry them.

    My forces in the valley drifted to the right, as far away as possible from their very dangerous cannon

In fact, Joel advanced across the line fairly aggressively, holding back only with the cannon and crossbows. The goblin archers took the first shots and began whittling down his small unit of Hobbit scouts on the right-hand plateau. My rolling for targeting the little buggers wasn't so good, it took me three turns to get them below half strength and to fail their courage test. From that point on, we switched to the heavy foot marching resolutely behind them. I tried to keep the wolfpack, who were following the goblins, from getting within "Wild Charge" range of the dwarven foot, but Joel kept coming and eventually, the wolves would have to lope into contact.

    2 of our regulars weren't feeling well & couldn't make it, so we had only 6 armies fighting it out

Meanwhile, in the center, Joel's heavy foot dwarves were similarly pounding forward, looking to renew the bloody Dwarf-Goblin Wars. I was having trouble advancing my armored orcs, though. One of the two units actually failed to move four out of its first five attempts (only a 6+ roll on 2d6!). Still, I was able to sneak one of them up behind the central forest and within "Wild Charge" range when the dwarves got close enough to charge my goblins. This first attack of the game was successful for the orcs. They drove back the dwarves, killing a number of them. However, that put them in long range of the cannon and crossbows. Both fired a volley and drove my orcs back. The previous turn, the cannon had fired an extreme range blast at my orc warlord and his bodyguard in the forest on our side of the board. We figured we were safe under the cover of the trees (and with an armor of 4). However, Joel rolled 7 hits -- five of them sixes on 2d6. Not wanting to take 12 hits, I hurriedly consulted all of the special rules Keith had tacked onto the cannon. To my relief, I saw that Bodkins (two hits for each six rolled) does not happen at long range -- whew!). Needless to say, the warlord hurriedly abandoned the trees and scooted away to his right, to better be in range to inspire his troops with their courage rolls (definitely NOT running away from the cannon, oh no!).

    Dwarves are advancing aggressively towards us despite occasional casualties from the goblin archers

On my left, Joel's Dwarven king and his bodyguard were advancing forward stoutly, supported only be the shooting of the cannon, crossbows, and scouts up on the plateau. I figured Joel was using him as bait. Any unit that charged him would end up in line of sight and range of the dwarven and hobbit crossfire.  Still, it was his leader! So, I moved my trolls up (once again, using the central forest to obscure them from missile fire). My reluctant unit of orcs slowly ambled that direction, too. Joel seemed okay with the trolls impending charge and did nothing -- not even forming Wall of Spears for defense. On my next turn, I rolled for the wild charge of the trolls, needing only a 3+ on 2d6. SNAKE EYES?? You've got to be kidding! The trolls, who spent the entire last game pointing out the pretty birds in the trees, once again stared slack-jawed at the various birds flitting around in the branches. "Ooooh, dat one's purty!!" The orc warlord shouted at them and had his trumpeter blow several blasts on his horn to get their attention, hopping up and down and pointing at the dwarven king. Reluctantly, the trolls jogged forward on the next turn and slammed into the dwarven king's line of armored dwarves.

    'Barak Khâzad!' dwarves shout as they prepare to join battle with the Bonefish Band

My rolls were below average while Joel's were above, so he drove my six trolls back, killing one. On his turn, the cannon belched flame and the crossbows twanged and two more trolls fell. Even the plucky hobbit scouts tried to get in on the act, but their stones bounced off the trolls' armored hides. After reducing them to half strength, the dwarven king surprisingly charged the trolls. Angry at all the missiles stinging them, the trolls growled in rage and flailed away at the dwarves. This time we rolled much better, and drove the charging dwarven foot back. On my turn, the armored orcs charged in and cut down many of the dwarves. To this point, Joel's activation rolls had been superb, but his courage tests were tending to be subpar. He rolled badly enough on this roll that the king and his bodyguard fled the table. On the rest of the battlefield, my archers had been slowly riddling the ranks of his units that were falling back. Soon, a unit of hobbit scouts and another dwarven heavy foot were fleeing towards the rear, as well.

    As the dwarven foot near my goblins, armored orcs burst forth and charge into their ranks

The wolfpack and the dwarves on the plateau were locked in a death struggle. The pack would charge in, be driven back by the heavy foot in Wall of Spears, then reform and charge in again. On the third charge, both units fell below half strength and both of us rolled low enough on our courage tests that we broke. At this point, all that the dwarves had on the field were the cannon, crossbows, and scouts on his right flank. I reformed my armored orcs and they began to advance to cover behind the central forest. At this point, Joel decided the game had been decided, and said his dwarves would begin withdrawing from the field. Having suffered the brutal cannon blasts of the enemy, the orc warlord let them march off the field, unmolested. The Bonefish Band had the advantage in units, but it was not out of question that a couple wild swings on the rolls could change our fortunes. We would take the victory, and maintain possession of Hacky Valley and its apparently delicious pies!

    Pushed back by the Dwarven king's bodyguard & blasted by the cannon, my trolls stagger back

In wintry valley, Jenny and Allen's game was wrapping up at the same time. Allen had lost most of his elite knights again as a result of their sometimes unwise wild charges. Still, the Bretonnians had prevailed and driven the Vikings from the snow and iced choked version of Hacky Valley. The next day, Jenny said her courage tests were abysmal. It seemed though she was doing more casualties than Allen, but her troops were failing most of their courage tests. Discussing it, we think that perhaps Allen and Jenny were applying the modifiers wrong. Prior to this game, I had even redesigned the QRS I had created to make it more streamlined and easier to read. Still, if the way she recounted how they did it the next day was true, they were really off on the rules...haha!

    Armored orcs sprint past the trolls & crash into the dwarven king's bodyguard, breaking them

We all turned our attention to the death struggle going on between Keith's Mordor Orcs and Tom's beastmen. Tom's army had been completely retooled to try a new tactic. He had two units of Lesser Warbeasts as his strike force. He gave them the very expensive Cannibalistic trait, meaning each time they destroyed one or more enemy strength points in melee, they would regain one lost figure. The beastmen -- trollocs, I believe they're called in the novels -- would have their ranks replenished not only by the Cannibalistic ability, but also by spellcasters using Heal on them. So, he would hurl the trollocs forward. When they were driven back eventually, he would heal them up and send them charging forward into the orcs' ranks again.

    Keith's Mordor Orcs, left, square off against Tom's deadly 'Wheel of Time' army in a bitter struggle

Keith, on the other hand, had a defensive battleline of orc archers, supported by bellicose foot (like my armored orcs) and heavy foot. When Tom's warbeasts advanced within range, they would receive a snout full of arrows, then be charged by the orcs. When I started watching, both commander's tactics were working and creating a bloodbath. Each side was down to three units. Tom had one trolloc unit and two supporting spellcasters inside Light Foot. Keith had his bellicose foot, an archer unit, and a heavy foot unit. The trollocs eventually caught and destroyed the archers. When the bellicose orcs charged out for vengeance, they were finally driven below half strength. They fell back, and Keith saw the handwriting on the wall. He began to back off and withdraw from the valley. Pies weren't worth this carnage! After an exhausting struggle that saw both sides fall below half strength, Tom decided to let him go unmolested. Each had lost more than half their army, so Tom was willing to take the dearly-bought victory without following up. 

    Keith tries a gambit with a burrowing giant purple worm, but it was dispatched by Tom's beastmen

Afterwards, Tom was worried that he had "broken" the DR! system with his combination of cannibalistic and healing spells. I told him that he came a razor thin margin from losing that battle. I was watching when his Army Points fell to half or below. If he had failed his rolls on that particular set of courage tests, I think it would have broken the back of his army. His wizards would have to Rally instead of casting Heal. The battered beastmen would have lost another figure and fallen further back. I told him I thought he had come very close to defeat while I was watching. Keith apparently had designed his army to be a defensive wall. and Tom had nearly broken on it. The wall cracked first, though. They agreed it was a great game and that Tom's army, though tough, had proven it wasn't unbeatable. 

    Keith's Mordor Orcs were undefeated in their previous 2 battles coming in to face Tom's beastmen

Dragon Rampant is a fun system. We've enjoyed it all three times we've played. It's also fun to create new army lists with the wealth of fantasy abilities you can tack onto basic unit types. Although I am a long way away from having my elves painted up, I am having fun with how the Bonefish Band plays. It is an aggressive, charging army. It is enjoyable to run, and so far, I've been fortunate in my outcomes. If I can just convince my orcs to advance when I tell them to and my trolls to ignore the birds, I think they'll continue to do fine!

    Final moments of the game -- each side reduced to just 3 units and teetering towards breaking

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 95
  
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 34

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 0
  
• Terrain painted in 2026: 21

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 2
  
• Scatter painted in 2026: 24  

    On Wintry 'Hacky Valley,' Jenny & Allen square off for control of the vital mountain pass

    It was human vs. human -- Knights vs. Vikings, in this matchup in the ice and snow