Dungeons and Dragons - Eat Sunlight, Vile Undead!

After a long hiatus, my gaming buddies and I are getting back into a D&D campaign. The difference this time being that I'm moving from behind the DM's screen into the players seat. And what better way to make this transfer than painting up my own individual mini for my PC!

My character is a paladin (side note: I started playing D&D back in the days of 2E, when such classes as the paladin and bard were virtually unatainable due to random attribute generation, so I'm taking this opportunity to play one) and I've chosen Reaper's Dark Haven miniature 03010 Silas, Male Cleric to represent him. Here he is painted up:

I like this figure a lot, because while he may seem static, I feel there is a lot of character sculpted into him: the many pouches would indicate he's well-versed in adventuring, and his hands on his hips ooze self-confidence. I'll probably give him a much more paladin-sounding throwback name, such as "Thaco the Thoughtful" and have him shout such prose as mentioned in the title of this entry, since D&D is after all heroic fantasy and paladins would be expected to shout such before charging head-first into his enemies!

Heavy Gear - Sleeping with the Enemy

After the long winter months, spring is in the air here in Ontario, and with it come a renewed vigor for painting miniatures! I've gotten through another project, and here are the pictures of my results:

So, after all these posts about building my Northern Army, why have I decided to paint a Long Fang Naga of all things? Two reasons, actually: first, I got bored of painting layer after layer of brown, and; second, I think the Naga is one of the most iconic machines in Heavy Gear, and I'm a bit jealous that the South have a strider that has some survivability!

Now, I don't play South at all, but I do have a couple of things to say about the Long Fang Naga. I find that most Southern forces, if they field a Naga, will field the vanilla variety, with their anti-gear and anti-tank missiles. The Long Fang Naga is 80 TV, but you could also get 2 field guns for 70 TV. Southern players may also be apt to save the 10 TV, but here are some points why it is better to take the Naga over the field guns:

1. Mobile Weapon Platform: Field guns have a speed of 0/1 whereas Nagas have a speed of W 4/7 or G 6/12. The efficiency of your field guns will be won and lost where they are placed before the battle even starts, whereas the Naga can react to keep its guns throughout the game.
2. Armoured: Anything stronger than a brisk breeze will destroy a field gun (it has an armour value of 8), while the Naga has an armour value of 23. Both units will be stationary when they fire, but there is a difference of on 1 between the movement modifiers for Defence. This comes much more in handy when dealing with Air Strikes or sniper units with rifles.

And now I'm off to paint my PC for my upcoming D&D campaign. More on that soon!

Heavy Gear - I'm Not Dead and the Northern Infantry

Hi All, After a long hiatus I finally have something to share with you, my platoon of Northern Infantry. Some people paint their figures in batches; I, for the most part do not. I feel that I lose interest too quickly when painting like this, and that the model will suffer as a result. Unfortunately, I don't think their is any easy way to paint 40 men, so I bit the bullet and got them out of the way. After some mind-numbing sessions of painting and repainting Bubonic Brown on man after man, here are some pictures of my results:

And from another angle:


So where do Infantry sit in a game setting? I've got a couple of thoughts on how useful they are below:

1. Priority Level & Cost: First of all, Infantry are a Core unit, soe they will fill out your required slot regardless of PL. Second, they are dirt cheap! Infantry are a versatile unit (more versatile, I would say, than the General Purpose Squad) and can be effectively outfitted for under 150 TV.
2. They excel in places where others do not: Infantry can move through Static Models, where no other unit in the game can. Dense/Urban terrain is the GI's best friend! Combine this with the special rules of Hull Down and Hiding, infantry will not only be difficult to get Active Lock on, but will have a default Defence depending on the terrain to save them if the dice are not in your favour!
3. Spotters: With access to Target Designators, Infantry become great spotters for your units with Guided weapons (which the North has great access too). Get them stuck in with Hull Down and Hiding, while your heavy weapons opt for Stand By for Coordinates special rule, and you will be raining guided mortars and missles on your enemies much to their frustration!
4. Harrassers: I personally play with infantry equiped with Anti-Gear Rifles (AGR), compared to the optimal Light Guided Mortars (LGM) they also have access to. I don't like to have my footsloggers sit back, but instead aggresively take objectives and support the Gears. Giving them weapons such as AGRs gives them the ability to reach out and touch the enemiy's light gears. They will not autokill anything with these weapons, but "many hands make light work" and many light damage results will result in kills over the period of the game.

My next project sit awaiting more paint beside my Infantry. More to come...