Starting Out Lovecraftian Gaming!!! ( 17/1 new terrain and MANIAC with AXE!!)

[Legionnaire]

I have plans to start a Strange Aeons project and having played the 1st Ed rules I am very much looking forward to the 2nd Ed. During the months up to that release I therefore will invest in a small collection of minis and scenery and post some musings about the setting etc. here.

Having played the Chill RPG back in the day, I am also going to incorporate a little bit of the S.A.V.E. feeling  .

SETTING

I plan to set it in the 1920's but on the British Isles/ Europe to make a slight detour from predominantly America based ones. The Threshold branch is relatively new but have connections across Europe and in it's extension the farther reaches of the world. The 'HQ' if you so wish to call it is Toadington Hall, the estate of Lord Edgar Enfield-Weatherby.

Besides having a servant staff, Toadington Hall also houses a modest research facility with books, tomes and unusual objects, all to aid the Threshold agents in understanding and combatting the forces of the Unknown!!!

THRESHOLD OPERATIVES

There is no such thing as a formal 'try-out', the agents are purely chosen due to either their experience with the Unknown or their specific skill set, in rare cases both are applicable. They come from varied walks of lives and cultural backgrounds and sometimes their personalities clash, but they have to set those aside to prevail against the Darkness that is threatening to engulf Mankind. They are the Last Line of Defence, because if they fail, Earth will be Doomed!!!



Lord Edgar Ivanhoe Enfield-Weatherby (Pompy) (Protagonist)

Old money and distinguished ancestry as long as your arm, Lord Edgar was always a disappointment to his parents. He was more than happy to waste his life away cavorting and carousing, gambling and follow his latest decadent whim. As the Great War broke out his father gave him an ultimatum: either join the Army and 'grow a backbone God Dammit' OR you would be handed some money one final time and then the family would wash their hands off you!!! Lord Edgar balked at the prospects of going to war and chose the money, effectively cutting off all form of contact and relation with his parents and his heritage. Several years later Lord Edgar returned to the fold, his parents had passed away due to ill health but the estate had surprisingly been passed on to him in the will. Lord Edgar returned a much changed man, gone was the 'devil may care' attitude and the former party animal had turned into a 'royal bore', as one of his old comrades put it. He had become a bit of a recluse and lights were on in the manor at odd times of night, sometimes foreigners passed through the village and stayed there for days on end, and often he undertook travels away from the estate and out of the country, citing business trips, but no one is quite sure what kind of 'business' Lord Edgar is involved with.

He rarely speaks about where he's been or what he has been doing during his years away, but this much has come to light: after his father sent him away he bought a one way ticket to Shanghai, China, The Capital of depravity in the Far East, where he indulged to excess and very nearly perished. Seeing the errors of his self destructive ways he rose and became a better man. Together with his manservant Dao Wu he made it his business to seek out and help other unfortunates like himself.

The Truth is obviously something else: during his years in Shanghai he encountered the Unknown and nearly perished, for some time he was institutionalised but managed to overcome that and with renewed resolve he threw himself once more into the fray. The death of his parents provided him with the means and his experiences in the Far East were the reason he decided to set up an office and he spent the first months of his return to his birthplace scouring the newspapers for clues to potential allies. He has built up a small network of informants and sources, mainly in western Europe and some connections to Scandinavia.

Lord Edgar wears an almost perpetual sombre countenance and usually dresses in rugged clothing, he is usually armed and he possess that flint-hard determination that comes with staring into the Abyss and making it flinch!!! He is almost always accompanied by his manservant Dao Wu.

Dao Wu (Agent)

Dao Wu is Lord Edgar's opposite in much, he is far from the 'mysterious Far East' and a bubbly, jocular, friendly, outgoing chap. He speaks English with a slight accent and several Chinese dialects and Japanese. For many years Dao Wu has been aiding Lord Edgar in the neverending battle against the Unknown and somehow, no matter how dire the situation seems to be he always can manage a smile or a quip.

Dao Wu is a very accomplished and skilled close combattant and acts as Lord Edgar's bodyguard and close confidant.

Helmut Germscher (Agent)

An Austrian by birth and looks like someone's kind grandfather. Helmut was too old to join the military service in the Great War and has built up a small reputation as an authority on ancient cultures. He is fluent in several languages, including Latin, Greek, Spanish, French and Russian. Lord Edgar has sought out his advice on several occasions, and despite not being much for getting involved actively on the field, unless unavoidable, Helmut is a very important cog in the machinery.

Bengt Lilja(Agent)

Bengt was always a bit of a daredevil, even back home in Uppsala, Sweden. He wanted adventure and excitement so as soon as he could he ran away from home and signed on a merchant ship. For several years he roamed North Africa and the Mediterranean as a mercenary, taking the jobs that seemed exciting. But something happened there, something terrible and uncomprehensible and he decided that he had had his fill. Lord Edgar found him though and gave him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Bengt is a skilled and deadly fighter, both with guns and close combat, having had lots of combat experience in Africa.

Yvette Benoit (Agent)

The only female member so far, Yvette is young, attractive and socially very adept. She works as a journalist for a newspaper in Marseilles, writing a travelling column, but that's not her main usefulness to Lord Edgar. She possesses that very rare quality that makes her able to foresee future happenings and perceive invisible energies, although those powers are unpredictable at best. She claims she saw Lord Edgar in a vision and large formless shadowy shapes surrounded him, which gave her an inexplicable fright, and the day after she saw his picture in a newspaper. It seemed too much of a coincidence that their fates were intertwined.

Besides being able to travel pretty freely on account of her job, a passable use of Italian and English and her psychic abilities, Yvette doesn't really posses any other skills of note. Bengt has given her some pointers in how to use a firearm and to protect herself, but she has never had to apply that knowledge, violence scares her.

[Legionnaire]

A very small update, received 5 Cultists and two 'investigator' miniatures from Artizan that are basecoated awaiting painting.

Also wait for some stuff from Fenris Gaming and four Mantic Ghouls. But at least I can show you the 'new' vehicles for my upcoming SA 2nd ed gaming

[cuchulain23]

Nice looking figs. I like your background for your agents.

[Legionnaire]

Nice looking figs. I like your background for your agents.

Thank you, I have now painted the replacement figures for the professor Helmut and the journalist Yvette. Pictures will be up soon.

[Legionnaire]

Small update to the slowly growing SA 2nd edition gaming. Fluff will follow a bit later



Miss Yvette Benoit- French travel journalist and psychic.
Professor Helmut Germscher- Austrian renowned linguist.



Nefarious Cultists!!



A blurry picture found in the smashed camera in the search for a missing Threshold team. Appears to picture horrendous Ghouls!!!

[No Such Agency]

Nice looking figs. I like your background for your agents.

Yes, you need an optimistic guy like Dao Wu around when battling the hideous tentacled unknown.  Copplestone were a good choice here, Pulp Figures might be another option that works well for you.

[Legionnaire]

Because I got a 'special' little goodie from Mason, I decided to make a fun 'report'. Gotland is the place where I grew up, but have been living over here in the UK for the past 10 years. Hope you like my little 'photo shoot'  


(Translated from Swedish by Professor Helmut Germscher)

Hangvar parish, Gotland, Sweden, September 9th, 192-. I came to this remote island trying to validate the veracity of the local folklore. The island is surrounded by the Baltic Sea and the travel to the mainland is long, there's a daily ferry and even though the main town, Visby has some modern commodities like electricity, most of the remainder of it seems to still be in the Dark Ages. I arrived at this northern parish and have investigated some strange sightings at odd hours. A couple of the villagers have been sighted at a secluded cabin in the woods, not far from the coastline.


I remained hidden and waited. After some time, when it was well and truly dark, five sinister clad individuals emerged from the cabin, carrying lanterns and chanting, which made the hair on my neck stand on end. They trodded off deeper into the woods, and I followed with a racing heart.


In a clearing they stopped and spread out, in what seemed like a pre-arranged pattern. Hands raised to the skies and chanting in a voice that was almost unnatural! I don't know what language it was, certainly not Swedish, but more akin to what would emerge from a not wholly HUMAN throat!! It seemed like they had congregated around something of significance in the clearing but I couldn't see well enough. With sweat pouring down my forehead I slowly drew nearer as they seemed almost in a trance.


NOOOOO, NOOOOOO!!!!

(This is the last that was recorded by Johan Lundkvist, he was found wandering in the village of Hangvar with his mind gone. After some convalescence at an asylum, he relocated to Switzerland, as far away from the sea as he could get.

[Mason]

It seems there are some very strange things occurring in Gotland!
I grew up in Peckham and it seems that things were not so different there.
 

Very atmospheric, both the pictures and the prose.
Excellent.
The monochrome certainly sets the mood.
 

[Legionnaire]

It seems there are some very strange things occurring in Gotland!
I grew up in Peckham and it seems that things were not so different there.
 

Very atmospheric, both the pictures and the prose.
Excellent.
The monochrome certainly sets the mood.
 

Cheers mate, your 'Blasphemous Idol' was the 'soul' inspiration to these little photographs, as it deserved to have a little bit more than just a slap-bang photograph taken of it  !!! I wanted to go for Sepia but couldn't get the camera to display it satisfactory so went for monochrome and I think it turned out pretty alright  

Well, Gotland is still a pretty remote island, 3hrs journey by ferry or 40 minutes by plane, but nowadays we get a gaggle of tourists gawking every bleeding summer (year round population ca 60000, number of tourists a year, about 1.5 MILLION!!) So count on LOTS of strangeness going on 

[Legionnaire]

Professor Helmut Germscher is investigating some strange happenings in a small French village. Behind the stone wall and the locked gate he can see many strange Monolithic stones and suspicious wooden crates.



Professor Germscher scales the wall with difficulty, he's not as young as he used to be, but nothing will stop him from getting to the bottom of this mystery. Inside the shed he finds more wooden crates with odd contents, dirt and more Eldritch stones!!!



Climbing in through an open window to the adjoining small cottage, professor Germscher finds himself in a small study!!! Book cases are filled with ancient tomes and manuscripts from floor to ceiling, in the corner a grandfather clock ticks the seconds away, like the Grim Reaper gnawing at your lifeforce!!! This is larger than he can handle himself, he needs to immediately send a telegram to Lord Edgar in England!!!



"What are you doing over here, you snoop!!! This is private property!!!" As professor Germscher is leaving the house, he is set upon by a wild eyed scrawny and dirty man. He is hefting a very sharp looking wood cutting axe in his hands and the good professor is sliding his hand into the jacket pocket, closing around the handle of his Mauser pistol...



All the new bits in COLOUR!!!

Outhouse, boxes/ crates and stone wall are all 4Ground. The stone wall was quite fiddly to assemble, all the brick work pieces had to be glued separately onto the piece and some of the holes in the bases were not nearly large enough to fit the pieces into so needed a good sanding to expand them.

The study (desks and grandfather clock), book cases, rune markers and axe wielding maniac are all from Fenris Games, quite happy with the result, especially the maniac was very nice, very little cleaning up needed to be done and you had a sprue of five heads to choose from.