Gorgon Hoplite Shield

I made a shield out of polymer clay, green stuff and Milliput. It has a diameter of 40 mm. I might use it as a shield for some scratch built hoplites later.

2 Hoplite Shields

I'm working on two hoplite shields.

Have a nice weekend!

The Shadow in the Sun / One Page Dungeon Contest

Lina (15), Hendrik (13) and Joaquín (11) wrote a dungeon for the One Page Dungeon Contest.

You suddenly wake up in a huge, pretentious hall filled with diamonds and furniture that was all colored in bright yellowy gold. A being, which you can't recognize because it's shining so bright, sitting on a throne starts talking:

“You have been chosen to save the sun from the shadow trying to take us over! The shadow beings have been waiting a long time to defeat the light beings, which make the sunshine, so the sun is forever dark. They are in the center of the sun, waiting until tonight, so they can eliminate us, leading to the sun never rising again. Will you help us?”

You agree to help them.

The sun ruler explains to you what awaits you in the dungeon:

The first step is to go to the weapon dealer to get weapons for the mission. The difficulty is that the dealer is very sketchy, and because you don’t come from the sun, he’ll try to scam you to get more money or give you weapons that don’t work. If you try to defend yourself, he might end up killing you, so what you need to do is be as careful as possible. From him, you'll need to buy Darkvision and the weapons or enchantments of your choice but be careful; shadow beings are immune to weapons using fire. The most effective weapons are metal, wood, or light-related weapons.

The second step is finding the secret passageway inside the weapon shop to the inside of the sun. There, you’ll find a room (1) full of traps designed to kill you. You’ll need to find the traps and then find a way to get around them. The traps are not only on the floor tiles but on the walls too. The traps include the floor disappearing, the walls crumbling, or highly venomous lizards being thrown at you. All the traps could instantly kill you, but luckily the room isn’t that big.

Once you’ve escaped, the next room (2) awaits you. There, you’ll have to fight your first group of three shadow beings, which will protect the next rooms at all costs, even at the cost of death. The downside for you is that the room is incredibly dark, so you’ll need to have Darkvision to even have a chance of making it out. The shadow beings have very powerful weapons, which can each kill you with three hits. Their problem is that the sun beings have gifted you very powerful shields, so not every attack reaches you, but you’ll still need to be careful and kill them as fast as you can.

In the next room (3), there’s venomous fog, which can kill you fast, but the door to the next room is closed, so you have to find a key for the door. The difficulty is that the room is filled with a lot of things, ranging from antique teacups to fluffy pillows, making it hard to find the right key. The time until the rise of the shadow beings to the surface of the planet is getting shorter every minute, and once they’ve gotten to the surface, nothing can stop them.

In the penultimate room (4), a huge shadow beast is waiting to kill you. It could devour you instantly, but it has one weakness: it is deadly allergic to bread and salt. You can buy bread in the weapon shop, but salt can only be found in the fourth room, so you should not only look for a key but also salt to defeat the monster.

The last room (5) is filled with shadow beings, which you’ll have to kill as fast as possible because there’s only half an hour remaining until their rise. With the right weapons, it’s easier to kill them, so choose wisely.

If all goes well, the sun shall rise; if not, we're doomed, because with the sun, all of our solar system goes down.

Are you up for the challenge?

The Eternal Necropolis

On Sunday I had a conversation with ChatGPT about the One Page Dungeon Contest.

Me: 

I need an idea for a dungeon for the One Page Dungeon Contest. This year the subject is "And Still They Rise". I just need a couple of sentences please.

ChatGPT:

The Eternal Necropolis

In the desolate wasteland, a hidden necropolis emerges from the shifting sands. Despite countless attempts to destroy it, the undead within this cursed dungeon continue to rise, defying death itself. Brave adventurers must navigate treacherous traps, battle hordes of relentless undead, and uncover the source of this perpetual resurrection to put an end to the eternal nightmare.

Me: 

Can you shortly describe 5 rooms?

ChatGPT:

Certainly! Here are short descriptions of five rooms within "The Eternal Necropolis":

1 Hall of Resurrection: A vast chamber lined with rows of sarcophagi, each containing ancient mummies. As intruders enter, the mummies rise from their slumber, their decaying bodies reanimating to defend their resting place. The room echoes with the eerie chants of necromantic rituals.

2 Chamber of Reflection: A serene room adorned with mirrored walls and a still, reflective pool at its center. However, the mirrors hide malevolent spirits that attack anyone who gazes upon them. To progress, the adventurers must navigate the room blindfolded or find a way to dispel the vengeful apparitions.

3 Maze of Wandering Souls: A twisting labyrinth where lost souls endlessly roam. Phantoms whisper distorted truths and half-truths, attempting to mislead those who dare to enter. The walls shift and change, forcing the adventurers to rely on their wits and intuition to navigate the maze and avoid being trapped forever.

4 Chamber of Eternal Flames: A scorching-hot room engulfed in perpetual flames. The air crackles with intense heat, and the floor is covered in molten lava. To progress, the adventurers must locate hidden platforms or activate ancient mechanisms that temporarily extinguish the flames, providing brief respite to cross the room unscathed.

5 Crypt of the Undying King: A grand sepulcher that houses the remains of a long-forgotten ruler. The room is guarded by spectral knights and shadowy guardians who fiercely protect their fallen monarch. To proceed, the adventurers must uncover the secret burial rites that bind the Undying King's spirit and perform a ritual to finally put his restless soul to rest.

Me:

Thank you.

ChatGPT:

You're welcome! If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask. Good luck with your One Page Dungeon contest!

Fimo Dragon Rampant

A picture from our last game of Dragon Rampant.

The miniatures on the table are two Pokémon monsters made out of Fimo and a couple of Space Marines and Orks from my friend’s collection.

The Fimo monsters won.

Have a great weekend!

12 Bamboo Men

This is a picture of my desk.

I didn't have too much time to paint miniatures lately but hope to finish painting this little scratch built bamboo forest now.

Have a great weekend!

Honor Among Thieves

I watched "Honor Among Thieves", the D&D movie, with my family. Then I asked my daughter what she thought about it.

"Although the plot of the movie was predictable, the movie was entertaining. There were various funny jokes and I found the characters to be quite well written. All of the characters had thought out back stories which the audience got to see through their storytelling. The stories also influenced and explained the choices they made. Overall I would recommend the movie."

Madballs Horn Head

A toy I bought in Sioux City, Iowa in 1986.

6 Pictures from the Tactica 2022

This is me playing Saga at the Tactica in Hamburg last year. I look tired because the night before, in a Portuguese restaurant, I had talked for hours with Krüger and Jörg about Tolkien and Brecht. Don’t ask me why …

The first game we played was presented by the club Kurpfalz Feldherren. They used the ruleset Pikeman’s Lament and had a very beautiful table of a port.

A picture of Krüger playing Warmaster. High elves vs dwarves. It was the first time I saw a Warmaster game. To my surprise troop movement was very fast and there were strong domino effects. A lot more action on the table than I had expected.

Mario Cart. This table looked like so much fun. Unfortunately I couldn’t try it, but I hope the game will be presented at another convention.

Der Schnitter von Hanau. A vampire game presented by two members of the Tabletop Club Rhein Main. They used the rule set The Silver Bayonet and created such a great atmosphere that I believed for a second that the two game masters actually were vampires …

Mould Lines

I'm working on six Surprise Egg terror birds at the moment.

After undercoating them I noticed that they had thick mould lines which I couldn't remove with a scalpel because the terror birds are partly made out of soft plastic.

I covered the mould lines with green stuff which was fun but took a bit longer than planned ...

Happy New Year!

I went to a photo booth to take a picture for this art vs artist collage which is popular on Instagram at the moment. I tried to look friendly, but 2022 was another stressful year on many levels. Anyway …

Hobby-wise I met a lot of interesting, friendly people, played Dingstown, Saga and The Silver Bayonet at gaming conventions and Dragon Rampant and Das Schwarze Auge with my kids.

I finally finished all my old painting and sculpting projects, this was my New Year’s resolution for 2020, and I started a funny army, consisting of surprise egg toy animals and scratch built bamboo men. I will continue painting these in 2023.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my posts, look at all the pictures and for your kind and inspiring comments.

(By the way, one of the images is AI-generated.)

Have a wonderful 2023!

Karl