Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: James Holloway on September 24, 2017, 04:04:32 PM
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Hi all,
I recently started a new podcast, Monster Man, in which I read my way through the 1977 AD&D Monster Manual and discuss it. You can find it on libsyn ( http://monsterman.libsyn.com/ ) or just search for it in your podcatcher. But the important thing for this thread is that I've decided to try to accompany each episode with a miniature photo of at least one of the monsters featured in that episode.
I've put episodes 1 and 2 out already, so here are the photos for those:
Here's the Ahnkheg:
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/7ea2fe160fab585ddb789f6867f81a98/tumblr_owmmcgVzus1sf1oqto2_1280.jpg)
That's a Reaper Bones model with Grenadier and Reaper fantasy figures.
Also in episode 1 is the Ant, Giant:
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/01cbb80902923ac6bd397d82a5f4e6a6/tumblr_owmmcgVzus1sf1oqto1_1280.jpg)
Another Grenadier figure getting attacked by Halloween decorations.
And featuring in episode 2, it's the Ape, Carnivorous:
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/26543ac132ca31109784c50ffd8439fc/tumblr_owo92dvjVd1sf1oqto1_1280.jpg)
I want to say that's another Reaper figure, with adventurers from Foundry and ... I dunno.
Some of these are models I painted a long time ago, so they're not all marvelous, but I'm actually quite pleased with how much that classic text I can put on the table.
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More additions from today's episode: it's the Baluchitherium and the Basilisk. Sadly no Barracuda, and I was a little surprised to find I don't have a Baboon.
(A good number of the animal monsters are just going to be cheap plastic toys. Such is life.)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/afeccc4263b0b74e6a5d94edbe3cc43c/tumblr_owvosj0OCH1sf1oqto1_1280.jpg)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/a0a14e89dbad7cef8f3a834a001d0f70/tumblr_owvosj0OCH1sf1oqto2_1280.jpg)
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Hi James,
I'm sorry you're not getting more responses to this. I think it's a fascinating project and will follow your posts with great interest. (I admit to its being a bit of a stretch, but it reminds me a little of the lady who decided to cook her way through all of Julia Child's Introduction to French Cooking. There is something about working one's way through something in its entirety that is very attractive, I think.)
Keep up the great work!
Daryl
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This is a cool project and one I'm going to be following. I actually had considered doing a painting log based on the current Monster Manual, but like many things I've planned it never happened so kudos to you for actually doing it! :)
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I enjoyed the first couple of episodes of the podcast, James, nice start.
Let me know if I can help out with some miniatures.
Richard Scott
Otherworld Miniatures
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Fascinating project and since I don't know how catch a podcast I'll rely on what you show here.
Well done and thanks for posting.
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Fascinating project and since I don't know how catch a podcast I'll rely on what you show here.
Well done and thanks for posting.
Well, you can always play it on the web at: http://monsterman.libsyn.com/ . Just scroll down and click the play button under the episode you want to listen to. It means you have to be at your computer (or tablet or whatever) and online to listen but since the episodes are only about 10 minutes long it's not a huge deal. I am currently trying to update on Tuesdays and Fridays
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I enjoyed the first couple of episodes of the podcast, James, nice start.
Let me know if I can help out with some miniatures.
Richard Scott
Otherworld Miniatures
You don't make a Black Pudding, Blink Dog, Boar, or Brain Mole, do you? Right now I don't have a single model for episode 5, although I suppose I can always just call a regular dog a Blink Dog!
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Well I enjoyed them so far as I have had time. Like anything else - as now - I am working rather than doing something for myself.
Still I get on LAF at the same time so... ::)
As for minis, a few of the old stuff are available new from Ral partha europe (actually have a number of animals in metal), some from mirliton, but I guess it depends on what your looking for and how much cash you can put into it, then as you say there are plastic toy animals to match to some - and many a repainted toy looks good - just look at what some of the amazing work gets shown here.
Then there's always reaper bones stuff to.
Slimes ? Puddings? Got glue gun? Make your own example:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?437405-Make-your-own-Black-pudding-Green-Slime-Ochre-Jelly-minis-for-about-10
Go officialish with wizkid stuff
eg
https://www.magicmadhouse.co.uk/wizkids-d-d-nolzurs-marvelous-miniatures-wave-1-blink-dogs-p245845
no idea on brain mole though!
That aside, I will be keeping track with interest to, and if I can find the odd thing to fit that you need we might sort that out as well.
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To go with the new episode, which covers creatures from Bear to Beholder, here's a Beetle, Giant, and the aforementioned Eye Tyrant. I'm sure I have some bears somewhere, too, but I didn't get a good photo.
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/24ba5a4529e103bc685833a617e71a22/tumblr_ox18ywTLFa1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/b2c3ec3e3f31f83d82e03ac69f3d5df6/tumblr_ox18ywTLFa1sf1oqto2_540.jpg)
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You don't make a Black Pudding, Blink Dog, Boar, or Brain Mole, do you? Right now I don't have a single model for episode 5, although I suppose I can always just call a regular dog a Blink Dog!
3 out of the 4, yes!
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3 out of the 4, yes!
Well, I'll be damned. A miniature of a brain mole -- a 1 HP gimmick monster with nothing going for it except an absolutely amazing illustration. I am genuinely delighted.
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(A good number of the animal monsters are just going to be cheap plastic toys. Such is life.)
Ironically a good number of the original MM creatures were inspired by weird plastic critters found in bags of cheap import toys.
Many of the creatures not based on mythology, the bullette and otyugh for example, owe their creation to some sculptor in HongKong or Japan with more imagination than talent.
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Ironically a good number of the original MM creatures were inspired by weird plastic critters found in bags of cheap import toys.
Many of the creatures not based on mythology, the bullette and otyugh for example, owe their creation to some sculptor in HongKong or Japan with more imagination than talent.
Yes! I actually talk about this quite a bit in an upcoming episode, a phenomenon I call "the tragedy of the owlbear." (Tragic in that not enough people still do this.) I plan to have a contest in which people will do this as well; perhaps I can give away some plastic monsters as prizes.
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More additions from today's episode: it's the Baluchitherium and the Basilisk. Sadly no Barracuda, and I was a little surprised to find I don't have a Baboon.
(A good number of the animal monsters are just going to be cheap plastic toys. Such is life.)
(https://68.media.tumblr.com/afeccc4263b0b74e6a5d94edbe3cc43c/tumblr_owvosj0OCH1sf1oqto1_1280.jpg)
That is just the coolest little Basilisk! Where'd you find that miniature?
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That is just the coolest little Basilisk! Where'd you find that miniature?
He is a Reaper Bones model.
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This series is terrific! Lots of great, though-provoking stuff that's really handy for running games. Can't wait until you hit the humanoids.
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Ironically a good number of the original MM creatures were inspired by weird plastic critters found in bags of cheap import toys.
Many of the creatures not based on mythology, the bullette and otyugh for example, owe their creation to some sculptor in HongKong or Japan with more imagination than talent.
Don't forget the rust monster and the owlbear, which were also in that grab-bag of plastic toys.
(http://diterlizzi.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/MonsterManual.jpg)
Kudos to James for this project. I adore the ankheg and the basilisk, and applaud the (mis)use of the plastic animal toys. I do the same thing on occasion, though the effect on the battlefield is generally much improved when you take the time to tart them up a bit.
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Don't forget the rust monster and the owlbear, which were also in that grab-bag of plastic toys.
(http://diterlizzi.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/MonsterManual.jpg)
Kudos to James for this project. I adore the ankheg and the basilisk, and applaud the (mis)use of the plastic animal toys. I do the same thing on occasion, though the effect on the battlefield is generally much improved when you take the time to tart them up a bit.
Yeah, and I do when I have time, but a big drawer full of animal toys is still just a handy thing to have around.
One of these days I'm going to have a contest: people will send in monster writeups based on random toys, or share them on blogs or twitter or whatever and link them to me, and then we'll pick a winner (or let people vote), announce it on the show, and send them, I dunno, a big grab bag of weird creature figures or something. I haven't worked out the details yet, but I think it will be fun.
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Another week, another couple of episodes: http://monsterman.libsyn.com/
In honour of episode 6, here's a Bugbear and a Bulette:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLdtYgsWsAE8ACU.jpg)
That Bugbear photo's not great; sorry.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLcAvRmXUAATAA3.jpg)
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I'll have to have a listen to this. I remember the old MM with a lot of affection.
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(https://78.media.tumblr.com/77327f8ea7370ee3448248f1d2a13091/tumblr_oxlj8apGev1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
This episode's critter is this Carrion Crawler, which I believe is a model from the old 3rd ed. era D&D board game.
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New episode, new monster! This time, we're looking at everything from Centipede, Giant to Couatl, including this Chimera!
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/d4808393686f670b56fbc99ef72c97c3/tumblr_oxr25gBJxX1sf1oqto1_1280.jpg)
This bad boy is a Reaper Bones model I painted in a hurry as part of a painting challenge to create an army, so it's a little bit of a rushed job, but overall I'm quite happy with it. Its deathly colour and purple goat head are all about fitting in with the army's colour scheme.
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Speaking of making monsters out of cheap plastic toys, Episode 9 features the Crab, Giant!
The zoo gift shop really is the gift that keeps on giving.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/website/episode-9-crab-giant-to-crocodile
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DMUubwAXkAADs_q.jpg:large)
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It's time for the most metal section of the Monster Manual. That's right, I'm talking about ...
\m/ DEMONS \m/
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-10-demons
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DMkMmgwW4AAnVIi.jpg)
This Gargoyle came from a HeroQuest set my wife found in a charity shop in Langley Moor, near Durham. It was £1.50 and came with some extra Marauder Undead. I also got a set of Man O' War with extra Empire ships, also for £1.50. It was a pretty good find! This was 2002 prices, but still.
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This topic is a nice candy eyes, not the best paint job but inspiration pusher.
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Of your latest posts I especially like the Chimaera and the demon - both look splendid. Such a fun project!
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This topic is a nice candy eyes, not the best paint job but inspiration pusher.
Well, the last model in particular was painted 15 years ago. I like to think I've come some way since then. But it's true -- I often don't put as much effort into monster paint jobs. If you listen to the podcast, I actually talk about it: chances are it's a model you're not going to be using more than a few times, so it's important to get something you can do quickly that looks pretty good on the tabletop.
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Morning coffee with classic stuff. Hilarious and inspiring! Made my day. :)
Although I've never really played the classic DnD, I have many of these models, sadly lying half painted or unpainted in some boxes. Gotta give them some love!
Thanks!
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Demons already? are you sure you haven't sneaked a couple of extra episodes in there somewhere ;)
Great fun series, thanks for taking the time to do this.
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Demons already? are you sure you haven't sneaked a couple of extra episodes in there somewhere ;)
Well, it does come out twice a week. Three times in this coming week, in fact, since I have some time off and I thought it would be fun to release a bonus episode for Dinosaurs. I'm still pretty daunted by the scale of it, though!
Great fun series, thanks for taking the time to do this.
I'm glad you're enjoying it!
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If it was Demons last time, that means this one is Devils!
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/ec6e7ee80b9a6ed1776e5e65592133e2/tumblr_oybjovRoml1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
The pillar and I theeenk the altar are from Reaper, the warlock is a Reaper Bones model, the lady with the spear is a Metal Magic figure, and the devil himself is a lightly repainted HeroClix Kid Devil.
Anyway, give it a listen: http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-11-devils
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A bonus episode to celebrate my birthday! This one co-stars my lovely wife, Allison, who has some opinions about dinosaurs.
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/e773719abdce36efc965a4deaecf4ab6/tumblr_oyf4nqNM1Y1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-12-monster-man-and-wife-special-dinosaurs
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And we close out the week with some miscellaneous D-monsters, including this Djinni from ... I want to say Grim Reaper? The characters are from Reaper and Lance & Laser.
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/9832505ecfed9ef40b3cf096e2450e79/tumblr_oyh0ki1DRS1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-13-displacer-beast-to-doppelganger
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A big name today -- dragons!
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/f681415bbe9664a4f85162f458d613b4/tumblr_oyok5hYdBs1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
I got this toy dragon in a charity shop for £9. His crude black paint job is already flaking off the glossy plastic, but he worked for the game I needed him for. He even roars and stomps his feet.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/epsiode-14-dragons
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Here he is in action:
https://youtu.be/TWWj9UD4qP4
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It has begun! It's time for the first Monster Man Contest, in which listeners make monsters out of cheap toys, write them up for their favourite RPG, and win prizes donated by generous sponsors! Tell your friends! Enter the contest! Sponsor it if you would like to! For more details, read on:
Monsters are great. Making monsters is doubly great. Making monsters while saving money is triply great. And making monsters, saving money and winning fabulous prizes? Has such felicity existed before now?
The first Monster Man contest celebrates the spirit of creative improvisation and adaptation that is such an important part of role-playing games. It's something I've talked about on previous episodes of the Monster Man podcast (http://monsterman.libsyn.com), and now it's time to put it into practice!
Here's how it works:
1. Find a cheap toy
When Gary Gygax needed inspiration for a new monster, he turned to the cheap plastic toys he could find in any dime store. The Bulette, Rust Monster, and Owlbear all come from these little monster models.
So head down to the pound shop (or dollar store, or flea market, or dusty corner of the attic, or wherever) and get yourself some cheap toys. These are going to be the starting point for your monster.
2. Let your imagination work
Use the toy as inspiration to create a cool monster. You can modify the toy if you like, but this isn't a conversion contest: you won't be graded on modelling skill. Expert sculpting isn't any better than sticking on a new head with hot glue, adding evil eyes with nail polish, or making spikes out of toothpicks.
3. Write up your monster
Create a Monster-Manual-style entry for your creature. It should have a description of the thing's habitat, behaviour, and so on. You should also create stats for the monster in your favourite game. It doesn't have to be AD&D -- that's the game the podcast is about, but part of the point of the show is that the Monster Manual is inspirational and informative for any gamer.
4. Submit your entry
If you have a blog or website, put your entry up there and send in a link via email, Twitter or what have you. If you don't have a blog, email me the writeup and I'll post it on mine. I'm @gonzohistory on Twitter and my email address is the same thing at gmail. You have until Sunday, 26 November to submit your entry!
5. Vote for the finalists!
Check out the contest entries and leave a comment or send an email or tweet telling me your two favourites, in no particular order.
6. Finalists go to the judges
I and my team of volunteers will total up the scores, identify the 8 finalists, anonymise them and send them to the judges. Our judges will select winners for 1st through 3rd place.
7. Win fabulous prizes!
Every finalist will receive a finalist's goodie bag including a PDF scenario from Chaotic Henchmen Productions plus a bunch of other fun stuff (watch this space for further prize announcements).
The third-place winner will receive a print scenario from Chaotic Henchmen (or a selection of PDF scenarios if that's their preference), plus a £10 gift certificate from Otherworld Miniatures.
The second-place winner will receive a print scenario from Chaotic Henchmen (or PDFs as above), plus a copy of the Secrets of Shandisholm core rulebook and Barrow Ring Burning supplement from Oakbound Studios and a £20 gift certificate from Otherworld Miniatures.
And the grand prize winner will receive a print scenario and a £30 Otherworld Miniatures gift certificate. The winner will also have their creation sculpted by Geoff Solomon-Sims of Oakbound Studios!
Do you make games or game-related products? Would you like to support the creativity of Monster Man's listeners? Get in touch! You can email me at gonzohistory@gmail.com or send me a message on Twitter @gonzohistory .
This contest is made possible by the generosity of our sponsors:
Chaotic Henchmen Productions: http://www.chaotichenchmen.com/
Oakbound Studios: http://www.propworkshop.co.uk/oakbound/
Otherworld Miniatures: http://otherworldminiatures.co.uk/
Listen to Monster Man for announcements, future contests, and more fun stuff: http://monsterman.libsyn.com
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Contest is still going on, with great prizes to be won, so if you like making monsters get cracking!
But the real news today is that I finally have an episode with miniatures in the photo and not just toys (well, I guess there are always adventurers). Today's ep includes Dwarfs, so here are some:
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/b74a62576ec929b01625be0a0c1102c0/tumblr_oyu2tbR7S01sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
From left to right, these are from Grenadier/em-4, not sure, Citadel (Lastro Lupintal, a really great and characterful sculpt. What eyebrows!) and Essex. The Essex paint job is old, but I think these are great models. That gnarly Bob Olley quality just works so well for them.
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I find your project very inspiring. I've been thinking about converting some cheap toy monsters for generic fantasy creatures for a while now. It's great to see so many cool and often simple ideas. I will watch this with interest.
Also, could you tell me who makes the maiden with the sword, bottom right in the picture?
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/d4808393686f670b56fbc99ef72c97c3/tumblr_oxr25gBJxX1sf1oqto1_1280.jpg)
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That is a model of Aethelflaed, Lady of the Mercians, one of a line of models of women from history you can find at http://www.colonelbills.com/15.html (warning: small, not-great photos of miniature boobs). As you can see, most of the line isn't useful for me (and I kind of question who it is useful for), but there are one or two good ones. You can buy both the Belt Fed version and a version of Aethelflaed by Bad Squiddo here: http://badsquiddogames.com/shop#!/Dark-Ages/c/20887902/offset=0&sort=normal
I'm glad you're enjoying the project!
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I'll get in this contest if I can find something good. :D
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I'll get in this contest if I can find something good. :D
Please do! And don't feel too constrained by the limitations. We've had a contestant who made a monster out of Play-Doh and another who's using an image of the toy he has in mind because he can't find a physical one. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
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Hmmm. Does the contest entry have to use toys as such? I'm a big fan of Reaper Bones for kitbashing stuff, and it's certainly pretty cheap compared to a lot of things I could monsterize. Got a fair number of random bits and pieces laying around from previous hack jobs too, which wouldn't hurt any.
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That might be a different contest in the future, maybe! The core idea of this, though, is miniatures that aren't miniatures -- although I agree with you that Bones are actually cheaper than a lot of other things, especially for overenthusiastic Kickstarter backers like me. But not for this one, I think.
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And we're back! It's a grab bag of E-monsters today, from the Eagle, comma, Giant, to the Efreeti! The zoo gift shop strikes again.
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/98cec77c93bb722cc49052a5f0946bff/tumblr_oz1jdm3viA1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
https://goo.gl/ges6ux
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More E-monsters! This episode we've got elements and elephants, which would also be a pretty good name for a very different RPG.
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/8bd9a924700e740414339605858b7c00/tumblr_oz750kSCAU1sf1oqto1_1280.jpg)
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/ed19a9fd7afe8704a185383d22533889/tumblr_oz750kSCAU1sf1oqto2_1280.jpg)
https://goo.gl/ABRoQx
And don't forget: the contest is still going on. There's still plenty of time to enter and plenty of great prizes to be won!
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More sponsors! More monsters! More hype! It's an update on contest progress as we wrap up Week 2!
http://gonzohistorygaming.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/the-monster-man-contest-week-2-update.html
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Neat thread. That basilisk is fantastic. A great sculpt and a fine paintjob make for a killer figure.
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Neat thread. That basilisk is fantastic. A great sculpt and a fine paintjob make for a killer figure.
Thanks! It was kind of a rushed paintjob, actually, but I feel like the colour makes it work, which is gratifying.
Speaking of unusual colour choices, here's this episode's featured "monster," the Elf!
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/d2da54984b0c9a78644a2b736c8ad0f8/tumblr_ozeh92MuGs1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-18-elf-to-eye-of-the-deep
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Today's critters include the Frog, Giant and the Flightless Bird, and no, I have no idea why it isn't a Bird, Flightless either. Th flightless bird model comes from Rafm; Oakbound distributes them in the UK.
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/b35f671d9a0132098c2225e0feffc593/tumblr_ozjx0z6s9Y1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/886cf0daafa0ea60bb6cde82510cf5bc/tumblr_ozjx0z6s9Y1sf1oqto2_540.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-19-flightless-bird-to-fungi-violet
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No new monster pic, but it's contest update time! The deadline has now been extended to 30 November because it's just easier that way.
https://goo.gl/fycoae
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I do not have an image of any creature from today's episode -- or rather I do, but I have no idea where I put my gargoyle. Anyway, it's more like an architectural gargoyle, so it doesn't really count. I can't believe I've gone all these years and never bought or made a gelatinous cube.
https://goo.gl/xyTUZy
Anyway, to pay the image tax, have this Reaper shark guy.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DPJMxiSXkAARaw3.jpg)
And if anyone knows where that adventurer came from, I'd be grateful to know. She had a textured integral hex base, and I want to say she has a certain Kev-White-ish look about her, but I'm just guessing.
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Yes, I think she's a Kev White sculpt, from a small range of dungeon adventurers made by Ground Zero Games. I used to stock them in my shop in Cambridge, so you may have bought it from me! :)
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Yes, I think she's a Kev White sculpt, from a small range of dungeon adventurers made by Ground Zero Games. I used to stock them in my shop in Cambridge, so you may have bought it from me! :)
I got given this one by a friend, as I recall, when he cleared out his old minis collection. But he might have!
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It's exciting times in this episode, with lots of horror monsters: we've got Ghasts, Ghosts, and Ghouls!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-21-ghast-to-ghoul
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/56e6985c03cfd368445b8c71320c31bb/tumblr_ozwwqjcWEW1sf1oqto1_540.jpg)
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/069b39855828b37d4babb3657029e1b9/tumblr_ozwwqjcWEW1sf1oqto2_540.jpg)
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/9c25bad806c5b5462bad8f16f46cd845/tumblr_ozwwqjcWEW1sf1oqto3_540.jpg)
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/3f1ed5db3abb38b3b55b9f9433f9bb4b/tumblr_ozwwqjcWEW1sf1oqto4_540.jpg)
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That hangman's ghost is really cool. I'm trying to put together a graveyard set too; Nice looking area terrain!
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That hangman's ghost is really cool. I'm trying to put together a graveyard set too; Nice looking area terrain!
Thanks! The hanged ghost is an old Horrorclix figure: #102 Lynch Ghost. He came in the starter set, so he's usually pretty cheap on the secondary market.
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Some great minis here, as we are close to the I's here's my submission, the Invisible Stalker :D
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Some great minis here, as we are close to the I's here's my submission, the Invisible Stalker :D
Aaaaargh, look at those horrendous mould lines! :o
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Another good episode. A thought that's occurred to me recently is that D&D gnolls are actually very much like folkloric ghouls - especially the connection with hyenas. I'm painting up some of the Frostgrave gnolls as ghouls for HOTT at the moment.
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Another good episode. A thought that's occurred to me recently is that D&D gnolls are actually very much like folkloric ghouls - especially the connection with hyenas. I'm painting up some of the Frostgrave gnolls as ghouls for HOTT at the moment.
That's true, the moreso when you look at Yeenoghu's sort of corpselike appearance. I always thought of ghouls as being more like jackals than hyenas, though. Either way, they both have that sort of "dishonourable scavenger" motif going on. As someone else pointed out, you can call someone a dog as an insult or a compliment(ish). But there's no way to call someone a jackal or a hyena favourably.
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And I almost forgot! It's time for a new episode. Today's topic: Giants!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-22-giants
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DPtUMMKXcAAqg_I.jpg)
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That's true, the moreso when you look at Yeenoghu's sort of corpselike appearance. I always thought of ghouls as being more like jackals than hyenas, though.
According to Hasan El-Shamy's Folk Traditions of the Arab World, there's at least one Arab folktale that describes the ghoul as a hybrid of a hyena and a jinniyah (female jinn). Oddly enough, ghouls originally seem to have been more like ogres than scavengers - and the graveyard lurking and eating of buried corpses (as opposed to eating freshly killed humans) may have largely been introduced by Western writers and translators.
One of the interesting things about D&D monsters is the way in which synonymous creatures are spun out into distinct entities. After all, kobold, orc, bugbear and hobgoblin all just mean "goblin" - and ettin, ogre, titan, etc., essentially mean "giant". I wonder if the phonetic similarity of Dunsany's "gnole" and "ghoul" played some part in D&D's hyena-headed gnolls. As you say, Yeenoghu adds a connection to the living dead.
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According to Hasan El-Shamy's Folk Traditions of the Arab World, there's at least one Arab folktale that describes the ghoul as a hybrid of a hyena and a jinniyah (female jinn). Oddly enough, ghouls originally seem to have been more like ogres than scavengers - and the graveyard lurking and eating of buried corpses (as opposed to eating freshly killed humans) may have largely been introduced by Western writers and translators.
One of the interesting things about D&D monsters is the way in which synonymous creatures are spun out into distinct entities. After all, kobold, orc, bugbear and hobgoblin all just mean "goblin" - and ettin, ogre, titan, etc., essentially mean "giant". I wonder if the phonetic similarity of Dunsany's "gnol" and "ghoul" played some part in D&D's hyena-headed gnolls. As you say, Yeenoghu adds a connection to the living dead.
Yeah, I say that very thing about goblins in the upcoming goblin episode -- there are a load of monsters that are folklorically just something like "bad fairy." Ent is another example of a name that just means "giant."
With gnolls, they do sort of fill an animal-man slot that isn't otherwise filled, I guess, especially as the D&D ghoul doesn't have the doglike features of the Lovecraftian one. So maybe we're seeing the "degenerate cannibal" and "canine monster" aspects of the ghoul being split off? I mean, I don't think anyone put that level of *thought* into it, at least not explicitly.
One of the weird things about the upcoming golem episode is that it's one of the much rarer cases where the MM takes completely distinct monsters and says "these are the same kind of thing" rather than taking one creature with many names and asserting that all the different names are different things. It sort of bugs me on a folklore and literature level, but in D&D terms there isn't one of them I would really part with, you know? I like gnolls a lot, as the gnoll episode will show. I think it's largely because hyena heads just make them look cheerfully malevolent. Orcs may be brutes, but gnolls are dirtbags, which I find appealing.
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Yeah, I say that very thing about goblins in the upcoming goblin episode -- there are a load of monsters that are folklorically just something like "bad fairy." Ent is another example of a name that just means "giant."
Yes, indeed - enta geweorc and all that.
With gnolls, they do sort of fill an animal-man slot that isn't otherwise filled, I guess, especially as the D&D ghoul doesn't have the doglike features of the Lovecraftian one. So maybe we're seeing the "degenerate cannibal" and "canine monster" aspects of the ghoul being split off? I mean, I don't think anyone put that level of *thought* into it, at least not explicitly.
I wonder if the "degenerate cannibal" side of things was amplified by Night of the Living Dead, which must have been fairly fresh in the popular memory in the early 70s. Its "zombies" are called ghouls, as I'm sure you know. It might explain why Gygax, etc., didn't go with the bestial ghoul of Lovecraft and Arabian folklore. I suppose there are also the transparent-fleshed ghouls of Nehwon too.
One of the weird things about the upcoming golem episode is that it's one of the much rarer cases where the MM takes completely distinct monsters and says "these are the same kind of thing" rather than taking one creature with many names and asserting that all the different names are different things. It sort of bugs me on a folklore and literature level, but in D&D terms there isn't one of them I would really part with, you know?
I know what you mean. It's one of these things that makes the assumed world of D&D much better for games than say Middle Earth - where, once you've dealt with orcs, trolls and wargs, you're largely through the common-or-garden monsters. Conversely, it makes the D&D universe largely unsuitable for fiction. Glorantha and Tekumel might be the only game settings to walk that particular tightrope.
I like gnolls a lot, as the gnoll episode will show. I think it's largely because hyena heads just make them look cheerfully malevolent. Orcs may be brutes, but gnolls are dirtbags, which I find appealing.
Yup, hyena-men are hard to beat.
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Speaking of hyena-men, it's time for gnolls! And also gnomes.
But mostly gnolls!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-23-gnolls-and-gnomes
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DP8vjdYXcAALbdJ.jpg)
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Another great episode!
One minor point of information: I don't think the gnome/troll idea comes from Dunsany, but from Gygax and Arneson in the first edition of D&D, where they describe gnolls as follows:
"A cross between Gnomes and Trolls (. . . perhaps, Lord Sunsany [sic] did not really make it all that clear) with +2 morale. Otherwise they are similar to Hobgoblins, although the Gnoll king and his bodyguard of from 1–4 will fight as Trolls but lack regenerative power."
Note that there's no mention of hyenas there: the hyena-man concept only arrives with the Monster Manual. I think there's a bit of a pattern there: all the "goblin" creatures in original D&D are differentiated largely by hit dice and other stats, rather than by physical characteristics - which makes sense, given that the words all mean more or less the same thing. But in the Monster Manual, these things get changed. So kobolds go from being a sub-type of goblin to a sort of dog-man, gnolls become hyena-men, orcs become pig-men and hobgoblins become sort of mandrill-men samurai.
Good point about the Reaper gnolls - they're a little too butch and not sneaky-looking enough. The Frostgrave plastics have more of the creepy, cackling aspect.
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Another great episode!
One minor point of information: I don't think the gnome/troll idea comes from Dunsany, but from Gygax and Arneson in the first edition of D&D, where they describe gnolls as follows:
"A cross between Gnomes and Trolls (. . . perhaps, Lord Sunsany [sic] did not really make it all that clear) with +2 morale. Otherwise they are similar to Hobgoblins, although the Gnoll king and his bodyguard of from 1–4 will fight as Trolls but lack regenerative power."
Note that there's no mention of hyenas there: the hyena-man concept only arrives with the Monster Manual. I think there's a bit of a pattern there: all the "goblin" creatures in original D&D are differentiated largely by hit dice and other stats, rather than by physical characteristics - which makes sense, given that the words all mean more or less the same thing. But in the Monster Manual, these things get changed. So kobolds go from being a sub-type of goblin to a sort of dog-man, gnolls become hyena-men, orcs become pig-men and hobgoblins become sort of mandrill-men samurai.
Good point about the Reaper gnolls - they're a little too butch and not sneaky-looking enough. The Frostgrave plastics have more of the creepy, cackling aspect.
Yeah, I need to pick up some of those FG gnolls.
I think your explanation is spot on -- we start with a mechanical need for differentiation of humanoid monsters, and then when we have more space and a bigger art budget we start filling in the differences.
On the gnome/troll thing: I grew up near Stanford University, which has a local landscape feature just called "the knoll" -- as in a low hill, like "the grassy knoll." The first time I heard of this, a school friend explained to me that a "knoll" was a cross between a gnome and a troll. And this became a running gag -- when you passed a road sign pointing to the knoll, you'd say "look out, the knoll" or whatever.
So I guess I just always assumed that "gnoll" was self-evidently gnome + troll, although it could equally just be a good-sounding made up word. Making up names that sound like they should be folkloric monsters is very hard, but "gnole" is a good one.
I confess I have not actually read How Nuth Would etc.
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On the gnome/troll thing: I grew up near Stanford University, which has a local landscape feature just called "the knoll" -- as in a low hill, like "the grassy knoll." The first time I heard of this, a school friend explained to me that a "knoll" was a cross between a gnome and a troll. And this became a running gag -- when you passed a road sign pointing to the knoll, you'd say "look out, the knoll" or whatever.
That actually sounds as if some OD&D text might have percolated into the local folklore - which is quite marvellous in itself - though it could just be "parallel evolution". Grenadier used to call its gnoll miniatures "knolls" (copyright worries, one presumes).
Alan Garner has a tremendous, half-page story called "Gobbleknoll" in his Folk Tales. It starts, "There was a hill that ate people." I think it's a retelling of a Native American story (with the rabbit as Trickster, etc.). Oddly enough, that collection contains another example of a published text becoming a folktale in "Iram Biram", which is a retelling of Lucy Clifford's 1882 story "The New Mother".
I confess I have not actually read How Nuth Would etc.
Now, now! There's no excuse for that! It'll take you all of ten minutes - and is well worth the read:
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dunsany/wonder/10.html (http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dunsany/wonder/10.html)
I've often read that and "The Hoard of the Gibbelins" (http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/dunsany/wonder/9.html) to my kids as bedtime stories. They absolutely love them - along with a fair few other Dunsany tales, but those are the favourites.
I think "Nuth" also gives an insight into the thief character class in D&D.
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It has begun! Voting is now open for the Monster Man contest, so go there and support your fellow gamers. Just click on a monster to go to its entry. I hope.
https://goo.gl/YahBth
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This new episode is all about goblins (and goats). My wife Allison pops in to guest host!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-24-goat-giant-to-goblin
These little guys are Reaper Bones. I like their mischievous faces. I know that people don't like green goblins, but that ship sailed in the 60s.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQRgmAYWkAAdxpI.jpg)
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Following up on goblins, we've got golems! It turns out I don't have a lot of golem figures -- I don't even think I have a lot of unpainted ones! -- which is weird for me, since I do like these monsters.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQg6V3pXcAAW1Gc.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-25-golems
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I enjoyed the goblin show. One thing, though: in The Princess and the Goblin, I don't think MacDonald's goblins are described as being made of stone (unless there's a later description I've forgotten), but as originally being people - perhaps driven underground by (of all things!) the tax burden on the surface! Here's the quote:
"Now in these subterranean caverns lived a strange race of beings, called by some gnomes, by some kobolds, by some goblins. There was a legend current in the country that at one time they lived above ground, and were very like other people. But for some reason or other, concerning which there were different legendary theories, the king had laid what they thought too severe taxes upon them, or had required observances of them they did not like, or had begun to treat them with more severity, in some way or other, and impose stricter laws; and the consequence was that they had all disappeared from the face of the country. According to the legend, however, instead of going to some other country, they had all taken refuge in the subterranean caverns, whence they never came out but at night, and then seldom showed themselves in any numbers, and never to many people at once. It was only in the least frequented and most difficult parts of the mountains that they were said to gather even at night in the open air. Those who had caught sight of any of them said that they had greatly altered in the course of generations; and no wonder, seeing they lived away from the sun, in cold and wet and dark places. They were now, not ordinarily ugly, but either absolutely hideous, or ludicrously grotesque both in face and form. There was no invention, they said, of the most lawless imagination expressed by pen or pencil, that could surpass the extravagance of their appearance. But I suspect those who said so had mistaken some of their animal companions for the goblins themselves—of which more by and by. The goblins themselves were not so far removed from the human as such a description would imply. And as they grew misshapen in body they had grown in knowledge and cleverness, and now were able to do things no mortal could see the possibility of."
This passage is interesting for a number of reasons, not least because of MacDonald's acknowledged influence on Tolkien's orcs. Like the MacDonald's goblins, the goblins of The Hobbit are clever:
"Now goblins are cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted. They make no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones.”
That's quite interesting in light of the received image of the D&D goblin as being stupid, as you discuss in the podcast.
Also, like Tolkien's goblins, MacDonald's are "corrupted" creatures (in this case, corrupted by their environment).
The other thing that's interesting is the use of synonyms: kobolds, goblins and gnomes. That's very much in line with the podcast's discussion of how Gygax etc separated out synonymous terms.
It's also fair to say that MacDonald's goblins are very much like D&D dwarves. The contemporary illustrations show them with long beards, and like Tolkien's dwarves (and goblins), they are very strong: " ... although dwarfed and misshapen, they had strength equal to their cunning". See Tolkien's references to the "terrifying" strength of Grishnakh's arms, etc. In the original D&D booklets, the goblin illustration shows an ugly creature with a long beard.
So the MacDonald/Tolkien goblin is short, ugly clever and strong. The D&D goblin is merely short and ugly. I wonder why.
Very keen to hear your take on golems tonight!
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This new episode is all about goblins (and goats). My wife Allison pops in to guest host!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-24-goat-giant-to-goblin
These little guys are Reaper Bones. I like their mischievous faces. I know that people don't like green goblins, but that ship sailed in the 60s.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQRgmAYWkAAdxpI.jpg)
Yeah, the pathfinder style goblins are fun ones. Reaper has another set of 4 of them and a single one. You also have the few from the Deep Cuts range that are also great.
I think the Reaper Gremlins also might match with them.
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Yeah, the pathfinder style goblins are fun ones. Reaper has another set of 4 of them and a single one. You also have the few from the Deep Cuts range that are also great.
I think the Reaper Gremlins also might match with them.
I think I have those other goblins, at least the single character, around here somewhere, but just never got around to painting them. That is the problem with goblins, of course -- to do them effectively you need lots. I suppose I have a load of the old Warhammer Fantasy Regiments goblins, which did have the advantage of being free.
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Oh, and while we're here, let's check out a new episode, featuring the Gorgon, Grey Ooze, Green Slime, Griffin, and Groaning Spirit. Whew!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DQ1dphuXUAAUXbn.jpg)
https://goo.gl/reR8vZ
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Just listened to the last two. Great stuff again - I really liked your contrasting of 'golem aggregation' with 'goblin differentiation': a very good point.
I dimly recall that there was an illustrated children's book of mythology published in the 60s or 70s that probably provided the missing link between Gygax's gorgon and Topsell's (i.e. it showed the gorgon as a fire-breathing bull, like one of the khalkotauroi). I'm sure I've seen the illustration from the book floating around somewhere on the internet.
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Golem aggregation is a great term. :D
Just a reminder: it's the last day to vote in the Monster Man contest! So many great monsters, including some by LAF regulars, so definitely check it out:
http://gonzohistorygaming.blogspot.co.uk/p/monster-man-contest-voting.html
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Finally found time last night to start listening to this series. Enormous fun! Thanks for doing this. I still have my copy of the original MM and enjoyed your commentary greatly.
(My copy is from 1979, and describes itself as "4th edition", but as far as I can tell it's identical to what you quote, so maybe it's actually 4th impression or printing rather than edition, but that's by the by.)
I'm about ten episodes in so far and looking forward to more. Keep them coming!
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Finally found time last night to start listening to this series. Enormous fun! Thanks for doing this. I still have my copy of the original MM and enjoyed your commentary greatly.
(My copy is from 1979, and describes itself as "4th edition", but as far as I can tell it's identical to what you quote, so maybe it's actually 4th impression or printing rather than edition, but that's by the by.)
I'm about ten episodes in so far and looking forward to more. Keep them coming!
Thanks! I actually don't know what year this copy is from, but my understanding is that unlike, say, Deities and Demigods, the various printings aren't that different.
Today's episode features Halflings, Hellhounds, Harpies, and Herd animals! I'm actually pretty sure I have some models for Hellhounds and Herd animals somewhere, but I haven't had time to take a photo, so you'll have to be content with this Reaper Bones halfling.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-27-halfling-to-herd-animal
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DRFGJrzW4AAMElL.jpg)
My Bones models seem to attract lint; I'm gonna have to dust them.
Also! We have top 8 finalists in the Monster Man contest, which will be going to our panel of judges today!
http://gonzohistorygaming.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/the-monster-man-contest-finalists.html
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I think I have those other goblins, at least the single character, around here somewhere, but just never got around to painting them. That is the problem with goblins, of course -- to do them effectively you need lots. I suppose I have a load of the old Warhammer Fantasy Regiments goblins, which did have the advantage of being free.
The single one is pretty definitely a character one.
Between the sets from Reaper and the one from Wizkids (Deep Cuts) there's 12 sculpts, 11 of which are more general looking and can work for conversions. The numbers go up with the Gremlins if those match as they look a lot like them in their pic, but I haven't gotten them.
There are also the prepainted pathfinder goblins...a lot of them have some pretty good sculpts and you'll either luck out with a decent paint job, or just strip and repaint how you want
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And we're back! This one's got the Hippocampus, the Hippogriff, the Hippopotamus, and the Hobgoblin! I turn out not to own a model of any of these. I used to have loads of Uruk-Hai, but I gave them away before a move back in the early 2000s, I think.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-28-hippocampus-to-hobgoblin
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Bit of a cheat in this episode, since the monster I chose to represent was ... the horsey.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DRoy4DgXUAA-qqK.jpg)
Anyway, this one has the homonculus, the horse, the hydra, and the hyena, so it's pretty good. I read some poetry in it, even, but it doesn't rhyme so it's cool.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-29-homunculous-to-hyena
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Today's episode polishes off the I section at one go.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DR9tE42W4AAuPQB.jpg
This imp is another GZG model, I think? I got it from a friend who had already painted it. I was going to base it on a 20mm round base, as you can see, but I never got around to finishing it. Another thing on the to do list, I guess!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DR9tE42W4AAuPQB.jpg)
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Only three monsters in the J chapter, and realistically two of them are jackals. Still, I'm pretty happy with how this episode came out, and pretty happy with the jackalwere I painted for it. It's a Grenadier miniature, and I tried to replicate the colouring of the black-backed jackal in painting it.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DSNTjg2X0AAUPYz.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/monster-man-episode-31-jackal-to-jaguar
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We have a winner in the Monster Man contest -- but in my eyes, they're all winners. Check it out:
https://goo.gl/nyz8wd
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We're heading into a stretch where I don't have as many models, but I quickly painted up this Grenadier Medusa type to stand in as a Lamia!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DSw_Y0IXkAArUG_.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-33-lamia-to-lamprey
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I've been ill, so please excuse infrequent updates. Episodes have been going up, but I haven't been posting about them here. Still, I'm on the mend, so here's today's show. I thought I would talk a lot about the lich, but I turned out to have a surprising amount to say about the leucrotta. Or leucrocotta. or crocotta. Or kynolykos!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-35-leucrotta-to-lion
Here is a picture of a lich, though, since I definitely don't own a leucrotta model. This is a Reaper Bones figure, and I got so frustrated painting it that I just kind of slopped it and moved on. When I took it out of the D&D figures case, its arms and horns were bent to hell too. I assume this was originally a metal model, and some of those don't make the transition to the Bones material well. Eh. Cheap though.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DTVTlBZXcAA4HbP.jpg)
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More great stuff!
On the hobgoblins and their link with apes/monkeys: I'm sure I read somewhere (and I think you can trace in any case) that there was conscious a stage in the development of D&D humanoids from "synonyms ranked in power" to "each assigned an animal to resemble". So, in the first instance, they're all just goblins of various stature. But then kobolds become dog-like, orcs pig-like, gnolls hyena-like, bugbears bear-like and hobgoblins mandrill-like (those blue noses!). In some cases, illustrators took the resemblance further than Gygax had intended. So, if hobgoblins are a bit like large monkeys, one can sort of see why they might keep close(ish) relatives around to guard their lairs.
There's a kind of echo of Christina Rosetti's Goblin Market (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44996/goblin-market) in these animal-like goblins, though I doubt that was an influence. But who knows?
I really enjoyed your discussion of the leucrotta. Have you read Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun? There's a terrific and rather eerie encounter in the third volume (The Sword of the Lictor) with the alzabo, a creature that is clearly based very closely on the leucrocotta. It's the perfect primer for a GM wanting to run a gaming encounter with the beast. Wolfe comes to it via Borges, I think, as the crocotta and leucrocotta are inlcuded in the latter's The Book of Imaginary Being (and Wolfe is clearly a big Borges fan).
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More great stuff!
On the hobgoblins and their link with apes/monkeys: I'm sure I read somewhere (and I think you can trace in any case) that there was conscious a stage in the development of D&D humanoids from "synonyms ranked in power" to "each assigned an animal to resemble". So, in the first instance, they're all just goblins of various stature. But then kobolds become dog-like, orcs pig-like, gnolls hyena-like, bugbears bear-like and hobgoblins mandrill-like (those blue noses!). In some cases, illustrators took the resemblance further than Gygax had intended. So, if hobgoblins are a bit like large monkeys, one can sort of see why they might keep close(ish) relatives around to guard their lairs.
Hm. Interesting! Also, none of them really took, other than gnolls and bugbears, which have stayed pretty close to their original sense. Orcs in today's D&D just look like, I dunno, slightly toned down GW Orcs, kobolds are very explicitly lizardlike (and they're a bit lizardy in 1st) and Hobgoblins just look like ... hobgoblins, I guess. In the case of kobolds, that's clearly a direction they chose to go with them, but with the others I wonder if they just couldn't shake the pervasive cultural influence of Tolkien and subsequent products that included Orcs.
There's a kind of echo of Christina Rosetti's Goblin Market (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44996/goblin-market) in these animal-like goblins, though I doubt that was an influence. But who knows?
I really enjoyed your discussion of the leucrotta. Have you read Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun? There's a terrific and rather eerie encounter in the third volume (The Sword of the Lictor) with the alzabo, a creature that is clearly based very closely on the leucrocotta. It's the perfect primer for a GM wanting to run a gaming encounter with the beast. Wolfe comes to it via Borges, I think, as the crocotta and leucrocotta are inlcuded in the latter's The Book of Imaginary Being (and Wolfe is clearly a big Borges fan).
Yeah, I thought of the Analeptic Alzabo when I was recording that segment, actually! Wolfe plays with the idea there that the creature actually takes on something of the *mind* of its victims, rather than just their voices? I don't remember the precise details, but it makes sense, since the whole series is about identity and Severian is constantly meeting people who are in some way his double or reflection. What exactly is it that makes you *you*? I think one of the reasons the leucrotta is a little more of a horror monster than some of the other classical fantastic wildlife is that we don't like things that threaten the boundaries of our identities.
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Hm. Interesting! Also, none of them really took, other than gnolls and bugbears, which have stayed pretty close to their original sense. Orcs in today's D&D just look like, I dunno, slightly toned down GW Orcs, kobolds are very explicitly lizardlike (and they're a bit lizardy in 1st) and Hobgoblins just look like ... hobgoblins, I guess. In the case of kobolds, that's clearly a direction they chose to go with them, but with the others I wonder if they just couldn't shake the pervasive cultural influence of Tolkien and subsequent products that included Orcs.
That's all true - except that the pig-orc is very much with us still! The original Monster Manual illustration is iconic, and it spawned the piggy orcs of the D&D cartoon and (probably) the Gamorrean guards. And there are still a number of companies (Otherworld, Antediluvian, Splintered Light, Minifigs) producing pig-orc miniatures. It's impossible to tell, but I imagine a large proportion of D&D players are still thinking "pig" when they encounter orcs.
As you say, though, the illustrations today look GW-lite. There's a kind of circularity there, because Citadel's orcs were pretty obviously intended for D&D in the first place. The Fantasy Tribes range are much more D&D than Tolkien, what with their polearms and crossbows. And they're a bit closer, I think, to what Gygax envisaged than the Monster Manual illustration:
"Actually I envisioned the D&D game orcs as porcine in appearance but not actually pig faced--more like large, upturned noses and small tushes jutting from their mouths, heavy bodies and small, pig-like eyes."
So it's ironic (or fitting) that the descendants of Citadel's FF orcs, who do fit that description, have ultimately displaced the pig-orcs in the Monster Manual itself.
Yeah, I thought of the Analeptic Alzabo when I was recording that segment, actually! Wolfe plays with the idea there that the creature actually takes on something of the *mind* of its victims, rather than just their voices? I don't remember the precise details, but it makes sense, since the whole series is about identity and Severian is constantly meeting people who are in some way his double or reflection. What exactly is it that makes you *you*? I think one of the reasons the leucrotta is a little more of a horror monster than some of the other classical fantastic wildlife is that we don't like things that threaten the boundaries of our identities.
Yes, indeed. If done well (say, by coopting the player of a dead PC who the others think might still be alive), it could be truly unsettling.
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This interview (http://unclehyena.livejournal.com/214973.html) is interesting on Gygax's views of D&D monsters (as well as his flagrant revisionism of how they came about!).
Given his comments on gnolls here and on orcs elsewhere (quoted above), a general trend seems to be that Gygax wanted the humanoid monsters to be a bit like certain animals, but illustrators made them much more like the animals than he had intended. So, he didn't envisage gnolls as hyena-men, but as "hyena-like. Thus they are hairy, have a bad odor, and the female gnolls are larger and stronger than the males, a pack of gnolls is led by a female".
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I'm not sure that I believe any of these tales of Monster Manual art not reflecting Gygax's intended appearances of monsters. Surely if a piece of art was presented for the MM, and he didn't like it, he would've sent it back with a request for a revision.
I suppose that it's possible that he might have occasionally thought 'Well, it's not quite what I had in mind, but it looks cool anyway, we'll run with it!', but if Orcs were not meant to have porcine snouts, their depictions in Swords & Spells, MM, Holmes Basic and the Minifigs official D&D range would never have happened.
I don't have a copy to hand, but I'm pretty sure that Kobolds were described in Keep on the Borderlands as dog-like, with yappy voices. Sure, the MM illustrations show them with scales skin, but I don't remember them having a reptilian Heritage until much later on, possibly 2nd edition (Dragon Mountain?), and then more explicitly in 3rd.
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I'm not sure that I believe any of these tales of Monster Manual art not reflecting Gygax's intended appearances of monsters. Surely if a piece of art was presented for the MM, and he didn't like it, he would've sent it back with a request for a revision.
Well, he's certainly an extremely unreliable narrator! I'm not sure the orc story is entirely implausible, though. He might not have been terribly bothered at the time - after all, long-snouted orcs were in currency through the Brothers Hildebrandt. And he might have taken an "illustrators have licence" view - which, after all, was probably the norm before companies like GW started putting more emphasis on consistent appearances and intellectual property.
There might also have been cost or time factors involved: I don't know how much leeway there was to send drawings back - or how much oversight of the illustrators.
I suppose that it's possible that he might have occasionally thought 'Well, it's not quite what I had in mind, but it looks cool anyway, we'll run with it!', but if Orcs were not meant to have porcine snouts, their depictions in Swords & Spells, MM, Holmes Basic and the Minifigs official D&D range would never have happened.
That's a good point: there was a lot of consistency in those early sources (after the first version of D&D, when the rough orc illustration is different - just a generic ugly humanoid). The Minifigs range are very closely based on the MM illustrations.
On the other hand, there's the Citadel AD&D range: these were official figures, but the orcs look pretty much like other Citadel orcs of the era; they mix happily with the LotR and C15 ranges. And they don't look anything like the ones in the Monster Manual. So TSR endorsed both pig-faced and GW-style orcs during the lifespan of the first MM.
So it may just be that Gygax didn't care that much - or that he took a "do your own thing" stance, in line with the DIY ethics of 70s fantasy wargaming.
I don't have a copy to hand, but I'm pretty sure that Kobolds were described in Keep on the Borderlands as dog-like, with happy voices. Sure, the MM illustrations show them with scales skin, but I don't remember them having a reptilian Heritage until much later on, possibly 2nd edition (Dragon Mountain?), and then more explicitly in 3rd.
That certainly rings a bell. I think the MM says "scaly" as well as doglike, but they definitely looked more like dogs than reptiles in the illustrations. I've never understood the move towards making them reptile-people: that niche seems to be pretty well filled in D&D, whereas dog-like goblins have at least a bit of folkloric resonance.
As an aside, does anyone else think that Gygax ended up sounding rather like one of Jack Vance's wizards?
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"I, with equal vehemence, am Mordenkainen!"
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Speaking of which, it's time for another episode!
In this one, we continue our tour through the L section, with the kind of weird Lizard, the useful Lizardman, the uninspiring Locathah, and the weird but charming Lurker Above!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-36-lizard-to-locathah
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DTpwuauXcAAb92_.jpg)
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"I, with equal vehemence, am Mordenkainen!"
Ha! Exactly!
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Right, time for a new episode, this one featuring the Lycanthrope and the Lynx, Giant!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-37-lycanthrope-and-lynx-giant
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DT5IsDlX4AATC2i.jpg)
By the by, if anyone knows where that adventurer comes from, I'd love to know. She has kind of a Runequesty vibe to be, but I dunno.
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No photo with yesterday's episode (I don't appear to have a figure for a mammoth, manticore, mastodon, or masher), but here's one for today's very special episode about owlbears! This is out of order, but that's the kind of deluxe treatment you get as a Patreon backer.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/special-episode-owlbears
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUS4ezMWsAEA7MB.jpg)
The owlbear is a Reaper Bones model, and frankly I think it's kind of an awkward pose, but I bashed it out over the weekend and overall I'm pretty happy with it. I'm trying not to get too hung up on the individual quality of the models and take a view of the collection as a whole.
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Today's lead-off monster is the Medusa, but I already used up my good medusa model for the Lamia entry, so instead have an easy one ... because the next monster in the episode is men! Perhaps man is the real monster ...
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-39-medusa-and-men
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUdMGMHXkAAwQ3T.jpg)
I ran out of patience and space, so I didn't include every variety of Men in the book, but I got a good number: there's a bandit, a brigand, a berserker, a buccaneer, a pirate, a tribesman, a dervish, a merchant, and a pilgrim. Good enough.
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A little more actually monstrous -- this episode includes the Merman, the Mimic, and the Mind Flayer! This Mind Flayer was provided by Otherworld Miniatures, and I painted it up in a hurry so I could post it along with the episode, but I think it looks OK! I might go back and touch up the robe.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DUxsrIsXUAADf2A.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-40-merman-to-mind-flayer
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This has been a lot of fun to follow!
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My most fave monster in the entire Monster Manual - you've done it justice with those white, life-less eyes that will just drink your soul.
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Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you're enjoying the show, Father_Andrew!
One of the cool things about the Otherworld Miniatures I was recently very generously sent is how closely they're modeled on the MM illustrations -- right down to the totally inexplicable skull just hanging off the guy's robe. Is it supposed to be the skull of someone whose brain he's just gobbled up? It's a mystery.
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Feels like this M section's been going on forever. Today we bash out the Minotaur, some Molds, and the Morkoth. Overall, some pretty high quality monsters!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-41-minotaur-to-morkoth
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVBT7bIWsAARHP6.jpg)
I mashed this Reaper Bones minotaur out in a hurry for the episode -- the show is actually inspiring me to paint, which is nice -- but I'm pretty happy with it. Like a lot of my Bones monster figures, it's just a base coat of grey highlighted up to white, coloured with washes. Picked out a few details like the metal bits and the horns and that's about it.
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Still enjoying your trip through the Monster Manual! Some great, fun figures in this thread.
The owlbear is a Reaper Bones model, and frankly I think it's kind of an awkward pose, but I bashed it out over the weekend and overall I'm pretty happy with it.
I like the paint job, but I agree that's not a great sculpt. The owl bear has always been something of a favorite of mine, so I just picked up the other two Reaper miniatures of this monster. Metal, but both much nicer poses. ;)
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Still enjoying your trip through the Monster Manual! Some great, fun figures in this thread.
I like the paint job, but I agree that's not a great sculpt. The owl bear has always been something of a favorite of mine, so I just picked up the other two Reaper miniatures of this monster. Metal, but both much nicer poses. ;)
I'm trying not to be a perfectionist for this project -- well, I try not to be a perfectionist about anything -- because one of my principles for D&D monsters is that they're only going to come out on the table every so often and therefore you need to get a wide range of them done and not worry too much about any individual one. But sometimes these little things bug me.
Anyway, I failed to paint my mule in time for today's episode, so I dug this old HeroQuest mummy out of the case. I should do his base but I can never decide how I want to paint it.
You know we're getting our old-school gaming on because this episode of Monster Man talks about mules! Oh, and some kind of lumbering undead horror, but let's not bury the lede here.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-42-mule-and-mummy
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/c/5/5/3/c553d7a5e6172c69/20180204_150125.jpg)
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Today's episode focuses on the Naga and the Night Hag. I skip the Neo-Otyugh because I'll talk about it when we get to the Otyugh.
(https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/106143/20180207_110410.jpg)
The naga is a Reaper Bones model, and has the usual trouble with mould lines, but I speed-painted it up and I think it looks pretty OK.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-43-naga-to-night-hag
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I just realised the images on these posts weren't working. Are they OK now?
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They are.
That snake skin is a achievement.
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They are.
That snake skin is a achievement.
Thanks!
There's nothing to it, actually -- the model is primed grey, then given a directional drybrush in light grey and then white to bring out the scales. The colours are just done with washes. It's a fast method, but it works really well on models with a lot of textured surfaces like this one.
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The Naga's scale came out wonderful. Thanks for sharing how you went about it. I have a Naga to paint and you have given me another method to consider.
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Thanks!
There's nothing to it, actually -- the model is primed grey, then given a directional drybrush in light grey and then white to bring out the scales. The colours are just done with washes. It's a fast method, but it works really well on models with a lot of textured surfaces like this one.
This sounds similar to what Hobgoblin is also doing. I have tried it with some ents and got a reasonable outcome, not as good as the two of you, however.
Do you use standard washes or make your own?
This is a great project, by the way. It looks like the quality of the figures and painting keeps increasing. You should be very proud of what you have achieved.
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This sounds similar to what Hobgoblin is also doing. I have tried it with some ents and got a reasonable outcome, not as good as the two of you, however.
Do you use standard washes or make your own?
This is a great project, by the way. It looks like the quality of the figures and painting keeps increasing. You should be very proud of what you have achieved.
Thanks! As far as washes go, it varies. Sometimes I just use GW or Army Painter washes, often in multiple layers. I do my basic shading with a mixture of brown and black washes, a trick I swiped from Ramshackle Curtis; it helps make the shadows look a little warmer. For areas of richer colour, I often take a paint of the appropriate colour and thin it with a matching wash so that I can get something that's very thin but still has a lot of colour to it. And then for some areas I just paint it in the usual way, especially areas of fiddly detail or where I want very bright colours.
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He didn't get included in time for episode 42, but here he is, belatedly: the mule!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVwoeDZWkAEpz4q.jpg)
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Latest episode came out while the site was down, so here it is:
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-44-nightmare-to-nymph
The mysterious aquatic figure is another Reaper Bones model.
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/9/4/1/6/941623de043ddb89/20180210_114315.jpg)
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A new episode drops, and I have not one but two photos of ogres! Although arguably that second guy might be a giant.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-45-ochre-jelly-to-ogre-mage
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWJVgtsVoAEzu3T.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWEDJrwX4AE8JTc.jpg)
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Very entertaining thread! :)
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Very entertaining thread! :)
I'm glad you're enjoying it! Knowing there are people paying attention has really helped keep me honest.
Speaking of which, here's today's episode: orcs! and also the otter, giant.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWd8eF4W4AAjD5m.jpg:large)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-46-orc-and-otter-giant
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Friday means a new episode of Monster Man! This time we cover the otyugh and its smarter, more successful cousin the neo-otyugh, but the only monster in this episode I had a model for was the owl, comma, giant. Zoo gift shop to the rescue yet again.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWteEMGWkAArmJU.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-47-otyugh-to-owlbear
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I'm back! There was no miniature for Tuesday's episode, but have this one for today's, which features the Purple Worm. I also have some jellyfish I should get out to do a Portuguese Man o' War, comma, Giant, photo when I get the chance.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-49-pixie-to-purple-worm
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DXRZInhXkAECEwS.jpg)
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Good stuff!
Have you read Ishiguro's The Buried Giant? There's a rather terrifying pixie attack in that.
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Good stuff!
Have you read Ishiguro's The Buried Giant? There's a rather terrifying pixie attack in that.
I have! I wasn't thrilled by it, but I did think that in places he did a good job of making otherwise well-worn fantasy or fairy-tale tropes interesting.
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I have! I wasn't thrilled by it, but I did think that in places he did a good job of making otherwise well-worn fantasy or fairy-tale tropes interesting.
Yeah, I enjoyed it but wasn't immediately thrilled by it either. But I do find that it's a book that sticks in your head, and I plan to reread it soon. There are certain visual flashes - like the ogres with the leashed dragon - that are marvellous.
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It's episode 50! This one's a listener mailbag special, covering lots of questions. Plus: the malevolent Quasit, which is basically an Imp with a different alignment, but hey.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-50-listener-mail-and-quasit
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DXmE8qtWAAAr9tt.jpg)
This little guy is a Reaper Bones model, and before you ask, yes, he's supposed to look like Mike Wazowski. He's not actually meant to be a Quasit, but I reckon one little demon is pretty much as good as another. The guy with the staff is an old Grenadier model, one of the first minis I ever owned when I was a kid. The stone with the carvings on it is a terrain piece for Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago.
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(Cough)...Ral Partha...(cough)
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(Cough)...Ral Partha...(cough)
My bad. I could have sworn! I guess when I see those thick oval bases I always think Grenadier.
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I think he was one of those Ral Partha three stage characters in this case a cleric
(http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5511/481/400/3stagecleric.jpg)
anyway not trying to derail the thread cool Quasit by the way.
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I think he was one of those Ral Partha three stage characters in this case a cleric
(http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5511/481/400/3stagecleric.jpg)
anyway not trying to derail the thread cool Quasit by the way.
Yeah, he was. A version of him (which isn't this one, but a plastic figure) also came with one of the introductory D&D board games. I got him out of the "tin bin," a big box of cheap loose figures that used to sit at the end of the counter in my local games shop when I was in high school. I loved that thing. I remembered the figure, just not the manufacturer.
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Anyway, there's a special episode today, thanks to the generosity of the show's Patreon supporters! It's about unicorns.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/special-episode-unicorns
I got this unicorn as a generous gift on this here forum, and I believe it is in fact from Grenadier, or at least that's what I was told. The tail had snapped off, so I replaced it with a plastic plume or tail or something from the bits box.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DXrKLWIX4AEAqet.jpg)
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Honestly, the star of today's episode is the rakshasa, but I don't have a rakshasa model, so the rat, giant (Sumatran) it is!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-51-rakshasa-to-rat-giant-sumatran
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DX1geWRXkAAnQlw.jpg)
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Just wanted to say I've been enjoying the podcasts, but haven't picked any up for a while, off to go catch up.
Chris
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Another great episode! I can 'lend' the thread a genuine rakshasa miniature: this old Grenadier one:
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Another great episode! I can 'lend' the thread a genuine rakshasa miniature: this old Grenadier one:
Nice! I do have a cool elephant man around somewhere, although his spear broke; I keep meaning to fix him since there's a species of elephant-headed humanoids in Frostgrave: Ghost Archipelago.
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D&D rakshasa's are probably not that easy to find. There are probably a few cat people type miniatures around making it easy enough to find a humanoid tiger man but then his hands need to stuck on upside down o_o
looks like Ral partha did one back in the day
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2a/ac/0b/2aac0b6c653c7d470d10539b09462f5e.jpg)
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D&D rakshasa's are probably not that easy to find. There are probably a few cat people type miniatures around making it easy enough to find a humanoid tiger man but then his hands need to stuck on upside down o_o
looks like Ral partha did one back in the day
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2a/ac/0b/2aac0b6c653c7d470d10539b09462f5e.jpg)
The upside-down hands thing is interesting. The rakshasa in the MM illustration just has normal hands, which I was surprised to see!
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Today's episode was a tough one. I definitely don't have a remorhaz, and although I am pretty sure I have more than one rhinoceros in the creature drawer, a hasty search found nothing. Maybe I was thinking of baluchitheriums. But yesterday I did a quick swing through local charity shops (I work right near a load of them, which is handy) and got this ray for 20p.
I do a surprising amount of underwater photography for this show. I should put a filter on there.
Anyway, here's the ray, featuring a Poundland shot glass used as a cheapo flying stand.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYKGbvRW0AAa-zU.jpg)
You can check out the episode here: http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-52-ray-to-rhinoceros
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Looking forward to the next episode.
Just wondering if you'd seen my comments/questions added to ep. 49? Probably arrived too late for the 'mailbag special' ep. 50.
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Looking forward to the next episode.
Just wondering if you'd seen my comments/questions added to ep. 49? Probably arrived too late for the 'mailbag special' ep. 50.
Dang it! Libsyn is supposed to send me an email, but I must have goofed up the setting somehow.
The good news is: you're going to get your wish. When I'm done, I'm going to do a little break, maybe do a few weeks of episodes about odd subjects just to cleanse the palate, and then yep, we're going to do the Fiend Folio.
I'm going to say "this goofy monster is redeemed by some good Russ Nicholson art" so often I'm thinking of setting it to music.
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So, this is not technically a miniature, but I don't have any roc models, so when I needed one in my D&D game, this is what I did:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYZqma_WsAAHjm5.jpg)
Anyway, the new episode covers the roc, the roper, the rot grub and the rust monsters. I'm astonished I don't have a rust monster. Could have sworn I did!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-43-roc-to-rust-monster
(Yeah, I know it says 43 but it's actually 53. The title on the page itself is correct, anyway.)
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If you want a relatively cheap Roc, the best way to get them is to look for some of the plastic eagle toys and repainting them.
I've got one put up that showed up a few times, but is the right size that a lot of little hands try to get to it to play with, so it tends to be left up high.
If I remember right, DM Scotty did a video about one he converted with a few things as well.
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Honestly, the star of today's episode is the rakshasa, but I don't have a rakshasa model, so the rat, giant (Sumatran) it is!
Another great episode! I can 'lend' the thread a genuine rakshasa miniature: this old Grenadier one:
D&D rakshasa's are probably not that easy to find. There are probably a few cat people type miniatures around making it easy enough to find a humanoid tiger man but then his hands need to stuck on upside down o_o
looks like Ral partha did one back in the day
The Rakshasa shows us one of the pitfalls/gotchas waiting for those who would approach the Monster Manual with a collect-them-all mentality. I would suggest to those that have a dedicated Raksasha model and who are playing AD&D by-the-book, the chance you will have an opportunity to use it in a game is a slim-to-none, and that on the other hand, if you lack a dedicated Rakshasha model but have any kind of D&D miniatures collection, you already have a model better-suited to represent a Rakshasa than a said dedicated figure. The reason is simply that Rakshasa's almost never appear in their true form (and it's debatable whether a tiger-person is their true form, or even whether they have one true form). Even if you have a party with a player with a true-seeing ability, it will be one or two among the party, and the marjority will still see the creature in whatever guise it chooses.
The lesson is that monsters in the Monster Manual need to be read through thoroughly and placed in context before you go out and buy figures, and I speak from experience. I have a similar collect-them-all project going, although I am collecting and painting in the order of things I think I'll need most in the game. But I've often gone through the Monster Manual planning out what I'll do for whatever monster type "when I come to it" or when the opportunity to buy presents itself (on ebay for example). I was pleased with myself for collecting six dopplegangers from the Dwellers Below box set... until I went back to the entry to plan their use in a game, to realize the chance I would actually ever be able to place them on the table is nil. The rakshasa and doppleganger aren't the only ones, either.. the brain mole... the thought-eater... etc. With something like Slaadi, you will probably have an opportunity for a super-cool reveal late in an adventure, but most of the time you will be using other figures....
So you've got to ask yourself, are you collecting more as a display-case exhibit or as a practical collection for in-game use? Are you going to still paint a figure for a small chance of ever placing it on the table? If you have such a figure already, do you alter the monster's rules to give yourself a chance to play with it? Or do think further outside the box and play with it in a different sort of game, for example one with rules for cutaways to what the villain is doing in his lair with his minions a la Mum-Ra in Thundercats?
D&D presents a host of challenges like this to the would-be-collector. In any event your prep-to-play ratio for any one monster or group is probably going to be bad, but some are going to be abysmal.
There are tangents we could explore...let's take spriggans and duergar, for example. These guys can grow huge, so you need two different models to represent them. You can find giant dwarfs (the overwelming trend in giants is to proportion them like deformed dwarves anyway) but going back and modeling any 25 or 28mm dwarf to match your chosen giant is the challenge. I must have a 100 25mm dwarves or more, but none are a perfect match for the Asgard giant I picked from from Viking Forge that is a perfect for the big version. And that's just one spriggan or duergar. What if I want to have a party of 3 (and spriggans have a 3-12 encounter size and duergar 2-8 (201-300 in lair)?
Other thoughts to explore.... the MM illustrations don't always match up with the text, and were one artist's take on it working from a brief, and if I had to pick between text and illustration, I'd say text is more canonical. Also, MM entries are often stub entries where there may be an assumption that you're drawing from a wider body of mythology. The raksasha is a prime example. Your view of the raksasha will be ever so richer for visiting the wikipedia page and doing a google image search. Sometimes there is a specific and unspoken source for a creature rather than any kind of body of myth. For example the displacer beast. The baku is a particularly interesting example because it both has a body of myth but also a specific book of Japanese monsters that you can trace it's likely origin to.
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The Rakshasa shows us one of the pitfalls/gotchas waiting for those who would approach the Monster Manual with a collect-them-all mentality. I would suggest to those that have a dedicated Raksasha model and who are playing AD&D by-the-book, the chance you will have an opportunity to use it in a game is a slim-to-none, and that on the other hand, if you lack a dedicated Rakshasha model but have any kind of D&D miniatures collection, you already have a model better-suited to represent a Rakshasa than a said dedicated figure. The reason is simply that Rakshasa's almost never appear in their true form (and it's debatable whether a tiger-person is their true form, or even whether they have one true form). Even if you have a party with a player with a true-seeing ability, it will be one or two among the party, and the marjority will still see the creature in whatever guise it chooses.
The lesson is that monsters in the Monster Manual need to be read through thoroughly and placed in context before you go out and buy figures, and I speak from experience. I have a similar collect-them-all project going, although I am collecting and painting in the order of things I think I'll need most in the game. But I've often gone through the Monster Manual planning out what I'll do for whatever monster type "when I come to it" or when the opportunity to buy presents itself (on ebay for example). I was pleased with myself for collecting six dopplegangers from the Dwellers Below box set... until I went back to the entry to plan their use in a game, to realize the chance I would actually ever be able to place them on the table is nil. The rakshasa and doppleganger aren't the only ones, either.. the brain mole... the thought-eater... etc. With something like Slaadi, you will probably have an opportunity for a super-cool reveal late in an adventure, but most of the time you will be using other figures....
So you've got to ask yourself, are you collecting more as a display-case exhibit or as a practical collection for in-game use? Are you going to still paint a figure for a small chance of ever placing it on the table? If you have such a figure already, do you alter the monster's rules to give yourself a chance to play with it? Or do think further outside the box and play with it in a different sort of game, for example one with rules for cutaways to what the villain is doing in his lair with his minions a la Mum-Ra in Thundercats?
I think those are all great points. To be perfectly honest, my motivation for the miniatures is simple: experience showed me that my links to podcast episodes were more popular when they had an image! So I figured that since I like painting models and I already have a good number of monster models lying around I could solve one problem with another and deal with both my social-media marketing problem and my pile of unpainted models simultaneously (well, at least a little).
Of course, that hasn't been how it worked out, because then I started wanting to acquire models I didn't have, like the unicorn or the mimic (speaking of a model that can look like anything). I should have anticipated that, I suppose.
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If you want a relatively cheap Roc, the best way to get them is to look for some of the plastic eagle toys and repainting them.
I've got one put up that showed up a few times, but is the right size that a lot of little hands try to get to it to play with, so it tends to be left up high.
If I remember right, DM Scotty did a video about one he converted with a few things as well.
Yes, that is definitely my plan. I use a lot of toys in my D&D games, for philosophical as well as practical reasons. But in this instance, the player, who had just levelled up, sprang it on me as a surprise and I was forced to improvise. Polymorph and similar are really taxing when you use miniatures -- but it's good! You have to accept some shenanigans in this game and not get too precious about having just the right model or you'll never be satisfied.
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Speaking of shenanigans ... wait, I've read that wrong. Speaking of sahuagin, it's time for a new episode!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-54-sahuagin-to-satyr
These Reaper Bones fishmen are clearly intended to be sahuagin, especially with the four-armed guy. I quite like their lures, although on these soft plastic models they tend to straighten out more than they probably should.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYuULiKW0AARr9B.jpg)
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More toys in this episode -- I imagine this is not unrelated to why there are so many giant animals in the Monster Manual! I don't know where this giant scorpion -- excuse me, Scorpion, Giant -- is from. I expect I found it in a charity shop and threw it in the creature drawer.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DY9hwHvXkAAaaQX.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-55-scorpion-giant-to-sea-lion
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I'm astonished I don't have a rust monster. Could have sworn I did!
James! That should present no problem to the Monster Man!
Triceratops bod + bug head and antennae + propellor = Rust Monster :P
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W1mrkhv9iTI/WkFhwhXVQ8I/AAAAAAAACOo/-8eMQ9Lh4VcxEZ0ti9UXqORGxUTEvl3lACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2583.JPG)
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That rust monster is a great conversion.
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James! That should present no problem to the Monster Man!
Triceratops bod + bug head and antennae + propellor = Rust Monster :P
(https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W1mrkhv9iTI/WkFhwhXVQ8I/AAAAAAAACOo/-8eMQ9Lh4VcxEZ0ti9UXqORGxUTEvl3lACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_2583.JPG)
Hah! I love it.
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I promise actual miniatures for next episode, but it's more plastic toys this time as we take a look at the Shadow, the Shambling Mound, the Shark and the Shedu! I have a pretty good shambling mound stand-in, though maybe a bit small, but I haven't painted it yet. I wonder if there's a Heroclix Man-Thing?
Anyway, enjoy this shark:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DZR-R1XWkAUa6SF.jpg)
And the episode:
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-56-shadow-to-shedu
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I'm astonished I don't have a rust monster.
In May Wizkids will release one in their unpainted line of minis.
Grimm
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In May Wizkids will release one in their unpainted line of minis.
Grimm
I'll have to be on the lookout!
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Ahhh, finally an episode with some proper miniatures so I don't feel guilty posting to this thread. This Shrieker comes from Otherworld Miniatures and was hastily painted before the podcast released. I'm pretty happy with it, though!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DZhQeKwW4AA_uw1.jpg)
I'm also going to put up a pic of some skellingtons once I get it uploaded.
You can listen to the episode here: http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-57-shrieker-to-slithering-tracker
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A new episode features both the Snake, Giant and the Spectre!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-58-slug-giant-to-sphinx
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/1e6e17b071597314028b6a147830267a/tumblr_p6lpchAGCr1sf1oqto1_1280.jpg)
(https://78.media.tumblr.com/dfc727a6b97029a1d8600e80ce2c4d9e/tumblr_p6lpchAGCr1sf1oqto2_1280.jpg)
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I haven't updated this thread recently because I have been out of town, but episodes have still been coming out. Here's what I have:
Episode 59 covered a bunch of animals including the spider!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/2/9/a/e/29aee3ac140db2d2/20180401_174901.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-59-spider-to-stag-giant
A special episode dealt with trolls -- I included a couple of troll images to show either variation or scale creep, depending on your perspective!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/e/3/d/a/e3da14f37e0b9a08/20180401_175739.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DaAbAYSWkAIZ12j.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/special-episode-trolls
And finally today's episode features, inter alia, the stirge -- with stirges courtesy of Otherworld Miniatures and hasty paint jobs by me!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/f/b/9/dfb94db6ac822551/20180405_121848.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-60-stirge-to-sylph
Whew!
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A few new updates: I have added a Tick, Giant to the collection. I could have done more with the patterning -- ticks actually can have quite interesting markings -- but on the other hand, giant tick.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dapi-26WkAAlSXe.jpg)
And for today's episode, I was at a loss for what to use until I remembered that a friend had given me all his old miniatures and that they included some GW Lizardmen, which make OK troglodytes:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DbNrnO-XcAEIHQL.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-63-triton-to-turtle
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Yikes, that tick somehow makes me think of a bloated facehugger o_o
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Yikes, that tick somehow makes me think of a bloated facehugger o_o
Yep, that is a nasty looking critter. Shudder.
Edit: Where did you get that grey/black troll with the white hair a few posts back? A beautifully painted miniature that brings out the power of these creatures. I would like to try to get hold of one of those. Great podcast on trolls btw.
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Yep, that is a nasty looking critter. Shudder.
Edit: Where did you get that grey/black troll with the white hair a few posts back? A beautifully painted miniature that brings out the power of these creatures. I would like to try to get hold of one of those. Great podcast on trolls btw.
Looks like one of the old Julie Guthrie Trolls from Grenadier. Mirliton (http://www.mirliton.it/product_info.php?pName=dungeons-goblins&cName=fantasy-15-mm-hord-of-the-things-army) is selling them, albeit only in a set with 15mm Goblins.
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Looks like one of the old Julie Guthrie Trolls from Grenadier. Mirliton (http://www.mirliton.it/product_info.php?pName=dungeons-goblins&cName=fantasy-15-mm-hord-of-the-things-army) is selling them, albeit only in a set with 15mm Goblins.
I believe that's right, although I got it second hand.
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As we get close to the end of the book, we're getting a lot of one-monster chapters. Fortunately, there's a lot to talk about with the vampire!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/5/1/8/8/5188da4814073469/20170424_075042.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-65-vampire
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These last few episodes have been tremendous. I think the troll special is the best of the lot - really good stuff.
Have you read Hrolf Kraki's Saga? There's a troll in there that's a sort of winged beast - much like a dragon.
"
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These last few episodes have been tremendous. I think the troll special is the best of the lot - really good stuff.
Have you read Hrolf Kraki's Saga? There's a troll in there that's a sort of winged beast - much like a dragon.
Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the show. I have read Hrolf Kraki's Saga, but not in ages. I think that's a good example of "troll" really just meaning "monster" in a lot of sources, which of course is what we've already observed about "goblin" and "bugbear" and so on.
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Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying the show. I have read Hrolf Kraki's Saga, but not in ages. I think that's a good example of "troll" really just meaning "monster" in a lot of sources, which of course is what we've already observed about "goblin" and "bugbear" and so on.
Yes, indeed. I think there's also some suggestion (I may have gleaned this from Shippey's The Shadow-Walkers, among other places, and from conversation with a Norwegian friend) that "troll" is often as much an adjective as a noun, meaning something like "uncanny" or "eldritch". So the "troll-women" of the Eddas aren't necessarily what we'd think of as trolls (big monsters) but perhaps something more like "uncanny women" or "fairy women" or "sorcerous women". Of course, every translation renders it as "troll women", but there may be a false friend (in the translation sense) at play.
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Yes, indeed. I think there's also some suggestion (I may have gleaned this from Shippey's The Shadow-Walkers, among other places, and from conversation with a Norwegian friend) that "troll" is often as much an adjective as a noun, meaning something like "uncanny" or "eldritch". So the "troll-women" of the Eddas aren't necessarily what we'd think of as trolls (big monsters) but perhaps something more like "uncanny women" or "fairy women" or "sorcerous women". Of course, every translation renders it as "troll women", but there may be a false friend (in the translation sense) at play.
Yeah, some people have argued that "troll" is sometimes used to mean something like "witch" -- I like your suggestion of "uncanny." I think that's very appropriate.
It is interesting how often female trolls appear, too. I would say that it's to do with Norse society's rigid-but-vulnerable gender roles, especially when you consider troll insults, but then there's the thing of weapons often being named after troll women. It's all a bit murky, isn't it?
Not speaking of trolls at all, but I guess speaking of things that are unclear, yesterday saw the arrival of a special episode requested by a Patreon backer. This one's about mimics! I didn't have a model of a mimic to use for the photo ...
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DcLcmibX4AEE6T0.jpg)
... or DID I?!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/special-episode-mimics
Man, I am running out of models as we get to the end of the book. I do have both a Wolf and a Wight, and a Wraith, so that's OK. I definitely don't own a Xorn. Should be OK for a Zombie, which just means I gotta paint a yeti promptly.
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And another new episode, this one featuring the Wight, the Wind Walker, the Will-o'-the-Wisp, and the Wolf! Here's a dire wolf from Reaper. The archer is from ... Essex, maybe?
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DcVsTiZXkAUrGtR.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-67-wight-to-wolf
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Just a few episodes to go! This one let me blow the dust off some classic Citadel models, so that was nice.
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/b/6/e/1/b6e136da71ebb5c6/20180507_093330.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-68-wolverine-to-wyvern
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No xorn miniature, sadly, but here's a yeti, hastily pulled out of the box of Bones and speed-painted for this episode.
(https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/106143/20180507_092730.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-70-yeti
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A really nice collection of the grotesque and bizarre creatures of the roleplaying days of my youth! Thanks for posting.
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A really nice collection of the grotesque and bizarre creatures of the roleplaying days of my youth! Thanks for posting.
Glad you're enjoying them! Today's episode brings us to the last creature in the Monster Manual, but Season 2 will be pushing ahead into the Fiend Folio! Honestly I'm not sure if I'll have so many figures for the weirdies in there, but we'll see how we go.
Anyway, the last monster in the Monster Manual is, fittingly enough, the Zombie. These are some of the oldest models I own -- old Citadel zombies bought when I was just a tiny and painted several times since. Technically I may have stolen them from my brother.
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/9/2/7/3/9273eb4a05e8fdfb/20180507_093422.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-71-zombie
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... Season 2 will be pushing ahead into the Fiend Folio! Honestly I'm not sure if I'll have so many figures for the weirdies in there, but we'll see how we go.
Good to hear as I’ve very much enjoyed this thread. Think of this as a chance to beg, borrow ,steal, buy or scratch build figures to fill any gaps.
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Good to hear as I’ve very much enjoyed this thread. Think of this as a chance to beg, borrow ,steal, buy or scratch build figures to fill any gaps.
Well, that's the plan in theory, but at two episodes a week, you never know. I do have one conversion in mind already, though ...
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Loving the podcast, it's got me through many hours of boring office work :) Nice to see the physical version too.
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Nice old zeds - I do not own those particular ones, but I have a handful from that generation. Truly gruesome!
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The new valkyrie episode is terrific!
James, did you ever see 2000 AD's take on the Njal's Saga valkyries?
(http://www.planetpulp.dk/billeder/tegneserier/slaine/time_killer_rebellion/time_killer_06_stor.jpg)
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The new valkyrie episode is terrific!
James, did you ever see 2000 AD's take on the Njal's Saga valkyries?
Wow, I have not seen that. I guess if I was going to draw a scene of eerie slaughter, Glenn Fabry is the first person I'd think of, though!
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And we're back! It's season two of Monster Man, and we're doing the Fiend Folio! I'm having to get a little creative for the monster miniatures. For this episode I used a spare Reaper Bones mummy and an axe from the bits box to make an Adherer. We'll see how long I can get away with this!
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-77-aarakocra-to-adherer
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DfJ1Q3uW0AA5Fy8.jpg)
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I've enjoyed watching this project grow. Are there any creatures I could help out with? I don't mind donating a few critters.
catalogue views of my stuff here: http://krakongames.com/catalogue/
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The Fiend Folio is such a great book, I'm looking forward to seeing some minis of the weirdness found within.
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I've enjoyed watching this project grow. Are there any creatures I could help out with? I don't mind donating a few critters.
catalogue views of my stuff here: http://krakongames.com/catalogue/
Thank you! I'll spend some time trawling your catalogue with my copies of the Fiend Folio and MM2. Some great monsters in there!
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Today's episode features the Aleax, the Algoid and Al-Mi'raj (since "al" already means "the").
An Aleax is just a person that kind of glows in a colour related to the target's alignment, so I bashed out a quick silver base and purple wash on a model I probably wasn't going to be using anyway.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-78-aleax-to-al-miraj
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/b/3/c/b/b3cbd6b9788012ce/20180607_105718.jpg)
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I didn't do any work on today's model: it's just a clear plastic ghostie, I think from WotC. I don't *think* it's the same clear plastic ghostie I used for the Spectre, but honestly the Apparition is pretty close conceptually.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-79-apparition-to-astral-searcher
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dft9MtaWAAEAzP9.jpg:large)
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More B-monsters in the most recent two episodes, including the Babbler and the Blood Hawk!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/5/b/0/c/5b0c1cfd1b05ef24/20180618_212555.jpg)
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/4/a/5/a/4a5a1254c762c861/20180621_114828_1.jpg)
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Last plastic dinosaur for a while, I promise: it's the Bonesnapper, appearing alongside the Booka in today's episode:
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-82-bonesnapper-to-booka
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/a/0/3/a/a03a2197e2737918/20180625_123855.jpg)
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You know what I like? I like ... bullywugs! The name's just fun to say.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-83-bullywug-to-bunyip
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dg2JZ31X4AA2qfI.jpg)
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I'm looking forward to this. I caught up on the last couple of episodes last night, and they were terrific - especially the episode on giants.
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I'm looking forward to this. I caught up on the last couple of episodes last night, and they were terrific - especially the episdode on giants.
Thanks! I was pretty pleased with the giants episode; there was even more I could have said, I think, but time started to run short.
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Another brace of good episodes!
I feel I ought to 'donate' this fellow to the thread:
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Oh wow -- the Dark Creeper! That's a really cool model.
Another brace of good episodes!
I feel I ought to 'donate' this fellow to the thread:
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Also, this toy ape from a car boot sale stands in as the Dakon in Friday's episode.
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/3/5/0/d350f688c6f029a1/20180712_185835.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-87-dakon-to-dark-stalker
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Today's episode features the Death Knight, so here's one from Reaper:
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/9/e/1/e/9e1e012dfae4a32d/20180716_091833.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-88-death-dog-to-death-knight
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Another good episode!
I take your point on small dragons re: the firedrake, but there's also a good argument for smaller dragons made by Wayne Rossi here (https://initiativeone.blogspot.com/2015/09/more-dragons-in-dungeons.html). He talks about how 'dragon inflation' has meant that there are far fewer dragons in D&D than there should be and would be if they were commonly horse-sized (as in lots of historical depictions) rather than gigantic.
I also feel compelled to add this firenewt ("Sir Salmon Saliva the Second", a PC in the Whitehack campaign I run for my kids) to the thread.
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I know I've been away a long time, and I apologise for the necromancy, but Monster Man continues. Here are some of the monsters I've featured since the last time I checked in!
The Denzelian! (Don't judge me.)
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/1/b/c/d/1bcdf041e61127ab/20180719_203615.jpg)
The Guardian Familiar!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/9/5/b/c/95bc3070c1ac26d5/20180917_140235_2.jpg)
The Hellhound!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/e/7/c/7/e7c727e304c03db4/20180921_092002.jpg)
The Ice Lizard!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/4/4/e/c/44ece0f125147a31/20180928_091519.jpg)
The Kenku!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/a/4/6/8/a4683bdc03d81e90/20181001_140836.jpg)
The Kuo-Toa!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/8/f/1/d8f1331e87dd7978/20181008_160829.jpg)
The Lizard King!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/1/e/a/f/1eafbc2992b8022a/20181010_221022.jpg)
The Norker!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/f/f/5/3/ff5391f70c72bd7f/20181029_091807.jpg)
The Ogrillon!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/1/5/e/2/15e2cb7e9317e81b/20181101_185304.jpg)
The Revenant!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/4/c/c/5/4cc5c9810b8a609f/20181115_113708.jpg)
The Scarecrow!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/b/1/b/f/b1bf128645101a76/20180917_125223.jpg)
The Skeleton Warrior!
(http://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/5/b/0/2/5b02704b10263ab5/20181130_093155.jpg)
The Skulk!
(http://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/d/c/6/4/dc643d48196a338a/20181202_145505.jpg)
And the Slaad. Whew!
(http://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/7/2/1/e/721ee30982f970f9/20181202_145555.jpg)
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Good to have you back! The podcast's been great in the interim!
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Nice additions there. What the hell is a denzelian? (Lol, just found it, googled it with a spelling error first time round)
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Nice additions there. What the hell is a denzelian? (Lol, just found it, googled it with a spelling error first time round)
D&D is never shy of adding some more slimes and oozes! I think that in 1981 it didn't evoke the automatic association with Denzel Washington.
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I do love this thread.
Keep them coming.
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I have to say, I am really enjoying the new format for your Fiend Folio podcasts :-)
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I have to say, I am really enjoying the new format for your Fiend Folio podcasts :-)
I'm glad you're enjoying them!
Speaking of new episodes, this is an old photo, but I don't think I've posted it on this thread. It goes with a special episode about ... Bullywugs!
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/3/b/e/2/3be2985e82b0d37e/20180625_145819.jpg)
The lighting isn't amazing (what else is new), but it shows off my Reaper jungle frog guys and a spare toad man I had lying around. I actually have some of the D&D bullywug prepainted models as well, but I'm not as much of a fan of them -- they just look like blobby people rather than frogs.
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great project and figures.
lovely paint-jobs (ok, not including the Denzelian - which is great anyway).
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great project and figures.
lovely paint-jobs (ok, not including the Denzelian - which is great anyway).
Thanks!
Today sees the release of an episode of Patron Deities on the main feed. It's about Cthulhu! I know this model is just a spawn of Cthulhu, but my budget doesn't run to a full-sized Cthulhu.
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/c/7/3/c/c73c1ba002fd503b/20190117_091027.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/patron-deities-episode-31-cthulhu-mythos-introduction-and-cthulhu
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Fhtagn!!
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Hey, I just saw this link on another post here https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=114642.0
It has many depictions of the SAMPO! i remember your discussion of it in your patreon Deities & demigods for finnish mythilogy
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/768891.page
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Hey, I just saw this link on another post here https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=114642.0
It has many depictions of the SAMPO! i remember your discussion of it in your patreon Deities & demigods for finnish mythilogy
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/768891.page
SAMPO! Ask for it by name!
Speaking of the frozen north, here's a giant! He's not from the giant episode, but another one I just painted up.
(https://66.media.tumblr.com/1407eeaed84ff8dab58abe627c708e7d/tumblr_pm9tzaCrED1s761l9_1280.jpg)
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It's another monster improvised from a toy -- the Giant Caterpillar, which appears in today's episode on lesser-known Fiend Folio creations.
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/0/e/3/2/0e3269eec6669b69/20190218_113639.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-147-fiend-folio-inspiration-part-one
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Giant Caterpillar, a Halfling village's worst nightmare I suspect lol
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Giant Caterpillar, a Halfling village's worst nightmare I suspect lol
That would be a great battle. Ranks of halflings, their pudgy little faces set in masks of grim determination, hoes and spades at the ready, with their leader brandishing a sword in front of them.
"They may take our lives, but they'll never take ... OUR CABBAGES! CHAAAAAAAAAAARGE!"
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Also here is a little vignette with an old daemon I used as the illustration for today's special episode.
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/5/5/8/1/55819e666b1b73a7/20190221_084421.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/special-episode-the-warhammer-connection
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I always feel foolish putting these improvised monsters up, but here's one for today's episode: Rover, who didn't make it into the Fiend Folio for copyright reasons.
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/b/6/0/4/b6043a2602883452/20190301_081212.jpg)
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-150-fiend-folio-inspiration-part-four
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Another Cthulhu Mythos critter from the Patreon-only podcast Patron Deities -- it's an Old One, or a Primordial One as they're known in D&D!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D1mt64yW0AEWsoH.jpg)
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Who makes that miniature?
(My son has been hard at work making his own Old Ones (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=115175.0).)
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Who makes that miniature?
Rafm, I believe. I've had it forever -- must have painted it in 2002 or 2003 while doing my MA.
(My son has been hard at work making his own Old Ones (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=115175.0).)
Amazing! I love the flying/swimming pose. Really dynamic look to a design that can sometimes look ungainly.
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Thanks! I showed your comments to my son, who is delighted! (He's working on a mi-go at the moment.)
I'd forgotten about Rafm's Cthulhu range; it's rather good. I still have quite a few of the Rafm reptiliads kicking about.
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Today's episode features the Aurumvorax and the Azer! This model is just a Reaper Bones dwarf, but I thought he had a sufficiently cranky expression.
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/episode-155-aurumvorax-and-azer
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/a/b/4/d/ab4d1d5d1636b2b2/20190317_123725.jpg)
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Blimey! That giant is awesome!
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Blimey! That giant is awesome!
Thanks!
Today's special episode is about monsters as PC races:
http://monsterman.libsyn.com/special-episode-monstrous-pcs
Here are some Essex miniatures Chaos Knights (I think!) that I painted up: you can learn more about that paladin, Sir Gilbert de Jurasse, in today's episode.
(https://ssl-static.libsyn.com/p/assets/c/3/b/9/c3b9e879252b058a/20190416_124209.jpg)
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I've not seen those, I really like the way they look.
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I've not seen those, I really like the way they look.
Yeah, the Essex fantasy range is a bit hit or miss, but some of the hits are very nice; real old-school charm.
I misremembered: these are Knights of Evil, not Knights of Chaos. But in my game Sir Gilbert will be a pure-hearted paladin.
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This little guy isn't technically a Monster Manual monster, but I didn't know where else to put him. He's a Heartbreaker goblin, but Kev Adams sculpted a Where the Wild Things are face on him for me. Paintjob looks a little raggedy up close, so I might touch it up a bit, but it'll do.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D4axDAGXoAAr7IZ.jpg)