Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Fantasy Adventures => Topic started by: Bearwoodman on 01 September 2021, 12:30:18 AM
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The Reaper Bones IV Kickstarter Core Set included a number of goblins. Like many of the smaller Bones models the detail on these figures is fairly soft and vague. Accordingly, when they first arrived I arrogantly deemed them unworthy of my precious hobby time and ignored them in favour of the larger and more impressive models that accompanied them.
My primary school-aged and son is not really very interested in painting miniatures. He will, however, sit with me occasionally to humour me, and so one day I generously permitted him to have a go at a few of the Bones goblins. I was actually quite impressed by how a splash of contrast paints brought out the character in the sculpts. I offered to tidy up his paintwork a bit and add a few details, and he accepted. We ended up working together in this manner over quite a long period to produce a small force of goblins including a few larger allies from the Kickstarter box.
For my son the advantage was that he ended up with an army that was painted to a better standard than he could achieve on his own while still feeling a sense of ownership and pride in the effort he had put in to produce them. For me, I got to spend time painting with my son, and I found it very relaxing to consciously paint to a lower standard than I would usually aim for. I did not try to fix every mistake, or add highlights to every area of colour. I just tried to focus on emphasising the expressions on their shifty little faces and remedying any obvious missed bits before the limits of my son's attention span were reached.
We organised the figures we had into units for Dragon Rampant, as although we had never played it, it is a rule set that is generally mentioned favourably in this forum for being simple and flexible.
Goblin infantry (Light Foot)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/BPKaVUUwxzjJ/360.jpg)
More Goblin infantry (Light Foot)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/fyQHGU7jP63s/360.jpg)
A Wyvern (Lesser Warbeast + Flyer + Flame Attack)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/dYr8fMUqxgT9/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/nLPxbmkoY2vV/360.jpg)
A Goblin firebal!-hurling wizard and bodyguard (Heavy Missiles)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/YCTxhxmNTuqH/360.jpg)
A cave troll (Lesser Warbeast)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/A42ErUVK9gr7/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/S6MVNqPF87gx/360.jpg)
Armoured Goblins led by the fearsome, er, "Captain Blueface" (Elite Foot)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/bH6rgHU4gE96/360.jpg)
The next step was to arrange a battle...
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Very cool little army. Your son should be proud!
I also put these minis to the side with bones 4, in fact I might have givben them away to my kids who always pick over the goodies I toss aside from the bones kickstarters.
Dragon rampant is a good easy to learn game. Hopefully you should enjoy it.
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Great little army and perfect for gaming with the offspring. You'll enjoy Dragon Rampant, I've never had a bad game.
Hopefully he'll be inspired to get some more figs on the table.
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How awesome to get to hobby with your son! Hope you realize what a lucky papa bear(woodman) you are!
I'm inspired to get back to the painting table with my 10 year old and maybe finally get some gaming in.
Keep us posted on your efforts :D
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Oh yes! I support this rampage!
Funny story (well... side note more like it). I bought a load of Mirliton's goblins to try and make a DR force of goblins. Much harder than anticipated! Haha. But you are getting there. The point? Oh! Yes, the point. Well, the point is that IF you want to expand your goblin rampant force, I think the ones from Mirliton could be an OK mix. Slight deviation in size maybe, but that fits.
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Fantastic-looking army! Brilliant ideas for the heraldry too - what could be more gobliny?
The troll looks especially good, I think - great face!
Lots of options there, too, for Dragon Rampant. It's a great game, and you can have fun trying out different profiles for the troops in different games.
One thing you could do for variety is put all the bowmen in one of the light infantry unit and use that as "Light Foot - Mixed Weapons". Another would be to play the troll as a single-model unit of Bellicose Foot (perhaps with the Shiny Armour upgrade). That makes him a bit slower than a Lesser Warbeast, but even more hard-hitting. For various reasons, Bellicose Foot units are particularly fun to field in the game.
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A very cool force
And great that you were able to do it with you son too.
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Lovely idea. I hope you enjoy your games.
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Those look like they paint up fine, particularly for Bones. Love the freehand shield artwork, particularly the spiders and the slug. Just the kind of icon I'd expect from a goblin.
Did the wyvern myself a while back, that one's a solid sculpt without having to say "for Bones" at the end. One of Julie Guthrie's better efforts IMO, and not hurt by the material it's cast in (nor is the cost, at $8 retail).
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Fantastic looking goblin retinue!
I've had my eye on that troll and wyvern ... any chance we can get a group photo to see how they scale to the rest?
Have fun!
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Great work. A good sized warband for Dragon Rampant. Got playing soon and your son will be addicted. It's a nice simple game with plenty of individuality and enough nuances to keep games fresh and interesting.
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Looking good! I particularly like your work on the Troll.
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Lovely stuff! I very recently broke out those Bones goblins (as in, clipped them off the sprues for the very first time, despite owning some since 2017...) for a D&D game for the kids and their friends, and I was surprised how characterful they were (and how quickly they died..).
It might be worth noting that the range was expanded in the Bones V Dungeon Dwellers expansion, including a different Archer pose and a lone crossbowgob. Lots of hidden gems in that one.
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Thanks all for the encouragement and advice! My son has read these comments and he is chuffed, he is even talking about the next army he wants to put together to show you (although don't hold your breath!).
Minus: I do appreciate how lucky I am, and now fleeting this period of joint father/son hobbying might turn out to be! I hope you get some good painting and gaming in with your son!
Dr The Viking: Thanks for the Mirliton goblin tip, I had not seen those before. I hope your own goblin force appears in this forum in due course once you get to the, er, point that it is ready!
Hobgoblin: That is interesting advice on the unit profiles. In particular I have noticed how fast lesser warbeasts are, and this does seem more appropriate for a Wyvern than a Troll. I will experiment and report back!
Chief Lackey Rich: I agree about the bones Wyvern, and Julie Guthrie's sculpts. I am also looking forward to painting the Griffin from Bones IV which I think she did too. My favourite of hers from Bones IV, however, was her Zombie Dragon which was the first thing I painted after the shipment arrived. Which gives me an excuse to show some pictures, with my Olfactomancer (slightly converted Northstar Elementalist) for scale:
(https://myalbum.com/photo/vswpDJNN7GWR/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/7VbdbnPfRVdH/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/C3J2r8BZXqrq/360.jpg)
Jack Hooligan: Here are some group shots for scale purposes as requested. Let me know if you want me to compare them to any other figures.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Zc3xkS7xoxAG/360.jpg)
The whole band:
(https://myalbum.com/photo/zuGAP72N9yzn/360.jpg)
Tordelback: I agree the figure are full of devious and malicious character (with a dollop of sneaky cowardice). I did um and ah over the Dungeon Dwellers expansion but decided against it in the end as I had already set my heart on the Greek Odyssey box and the Pirate Ship (the latter of which is still boxed awaiting my birthday!) and I could not justify adding any more plastic to the pile. Please post pictures when you have painted yours up!
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With a new Goblin Warband and a new rules set naturally the next step was to try them both out. We were very pleased with how gobliny (yes, that is definitely a word as Hobgoblin has used it already in this thread) our generic Reaper Goblins looked, but I knew they were not the only variety of goblins in the area. My mate has both Lord of the Rings orcs/goblins for use with the SBG as well as a greenskinned force of GW Orruks and Goblins for Age of Sigmar. But how to prove which goblinite gang were actually the most goblinesque? Clearly the answer was:
FIGHT!
The generic nature of Dragon Rampant made it reasonably easy to prepare approximately balanced forces for each of the three warbands. My son was to lead the Reaper Raiders, as set out earlier in this thread but in order to balance the points the troll was left back at Goblin Cave and both units of Light Foot were given Short Ranged Weapons to represent the smattering of bows and spears that could be shot/thrown at opponents who got too close.
The Ironjaw Invaders (AKA The Pink Horde) were based on the GW Ironjawz Start Collecting Box and would be led by my mate. They featured:
Three enormous Boars with riders (Elite Riders)
Three multi-coloured Trolls (Heavy Foot)
Armoured Orks (Bellicose Foot with Shiny Armour)
Goblin Fanatics (Bellicose Foot)
Goblin Archers (Light Missiles)
The Mordor Marauders would be led by my mate's son (most of the figures dated from when the LotR films came out and were therefore older than he was):
2x units of SpearGoblins one including Saruman (Heavy Foot)
Warg Riders (Heavy Riders)
A Giant Spider (Lesser Warbeast)
A Balrog(!) (Greater Warbeast)
Another friend of ours was also available for a game. He did not have his own fantasy army (Goblin or otherwise) so he would command my Gnomish force of:
Organ gun (Heavy Missiles)
Crossbow Gnomes (Light Missiles)
SpearGnomes (Heavy Foot)
HalberdGnomes (Light Foot)
2x Pairs of Gnomish Druids (Scouts)
As I was forcing everyone to play an unfamiliar game I would be GM. We just needed a scenario:
Farmer Gnigel was content. His work for the day done he lay back against a convenient mushroom, puffed on his pipe and admired again the vast bulk of his prize-winning pig, Temperance. Truly she was a fine specimen, with a collection of rosettes from village fetes and local agricultural shows up and down the Valley to prove it. In fact he had heard that word of impressive size had spread beyond the Valley; to somewhere he's never heard of called "Mordor", another place apparently known as the "Mortal Realms", and even all the way across Goblin River, up Goblin Mountain to Goblin Cave! Temperance was famous, and all was well with the world.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/r3MKdsdZKTTP/360.jpg)
Temperance would start in her pen in the centre of a 4x4 ft board, and the Goblin warbands would each enter from a different randomly selected table edge each with the objective of taking Temperance back to their respective homeland in time for breakfast. The Gnomes would arrive on the remaining table edge in turn 2 to try to ensure that Temperance remains in the Valley.
I had imagined that the various brands of goblins would duff each other up in the centre of the board with the Gnomes taking on what was left. What actually happened was the due to some appalling activation rolls the Pink Horde, who started opposite the Gnomes, took an age to get themselves organised and moving towards the pig pen, with the trolls eventually leading the way. The other goblin bands, provoked by a rash early volley from the organ gun into the Balrog and some annoying sniping from some Gnome Scouts at the Wyvern, spent most of the game ignoring the pig and gleefully crushing the plucky little folk with the pointy red caps. By the time it was time to go home the question of which goblin band would be bringing home the bacon was not yet decided (there were alliances being repeatedly proposed and broken in true goblin style), but it was clear that Temperance was no longer Gnomish property.
Here are a few photos, apologies for the quality, the light was poor.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/FAsBEv3jsNtX/360.jpg)
"Bring me that pig!"
(https://myalbum.com/photo/EtxUJeysvvxe/360.jpg)
While Farmer Gnigel dozes, trouble is on the horizon.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/v9yk8kA733NQ/360.jpg)
Hideous creatures approach.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/KD49hB5byi5V/360.jpg)
The Gnome gunners are still frantically reloading when the terrifying beast arrives.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/WkubvKQYbzgR/360.jpg)
The Gnome Light Foot fight to the last female musician. Alas a banjo proves insufficient to deal with both a Giant Spider and a pack of Wargs.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/iGL9yGF84ysU/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/33ET9JuS9PFw/360.jpg)
Saruman's minions make short work of the sleeping farmer.
(https://myalbum.com/photo/WvLhdeDQnFg2/360.jpg)
(https://myalbum.com/photo/Xu2LhMRq8pH8/360.jpg)
"Here piggy!"
(https://myalbum.com/photo/HbMvDyQncQoG/360.jpg)
The standoff at the pig pen.
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Wonderful!
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That's a nicely painted army and great battle scenario. Lots of good character in those goblins.