Dungeons & Dragons & Drawing

Once upon a time Often upon fifteen+ years ago, I played that little role-playing game called Dungeons and Dragons. As you'll notice in the "Labels" section on the right, I've mentioned D&D here before, plus in a short product description for Nerdy With Children a few years back. I owe my cousins for introducing it to me, because I loved it, and used it (like many people have) to build storytelling skills, plan and write novels, and enjoy a whole lot of adventures with my friends. I guess you could say this is my attempt to pay it forward!

I've mentioned in earlier posts that, after a long hiatus from dungeon-delving games, I eventually found Descent 2nd Edition. I'm still a rabid Descent fan, which I value for its artwork, its relative simplicity (compared to RPGs, which it isn't), and its short preparation time. In other words, I've appreciated not having to fill what I remember as the very time-consuming role of "Dungeon Master."

However, a few months ago, I discovered a Humble Bundle for an RPG called Pathfinder, which is D&D 3rd edition's Open License rule system re-branded by Paizo Publishing. I wasn't eager to jump back into tabletop RPGs; if anything, I avoided it. However, the bundle included digital copies of hundreds of dollars worth of rulebooks and quest modules for less than $20, which was hard to ignore. I mentioned it to a father and son at my church as well as my two boys, and they all convinced me to go for it.

Descent 2nd Edition Painted Miniatures, Part 5

In Part 4 I explained what Hero and Monster Collections are and shared the miniatures (painted by my brother) from the first three: Oath of the Outcast, Crown of Destiny, and Crusade of the Forgotten. Though Fantasy Flight Games has released and announced even more expansions, the following completes my current collection. These come from Guardians of Deephall and Visions of Dawn. They were finished in August but I've been slow to post them. Enjoy!

HEROES

Mordrog (Orc Warrior)

Lord Hawthorne (Human Warrior)

Sahla (Human Healer)

Silhouette (Human Scout)

MONSTERS

Crypt dragons

Wendigos

Dark priests

Descent 2nd Edition Painted Miniatures, Part 4

Parts 1, 2, and 3 in this series of posts have focused on heroes and monsters exclusive to the second edition of Descent. I never played the first edition (which was apparently quite a bit longer and more complicated), so I was excited when Fantasy Flight Games first started porting its heroes and monsters over to second edition in Hero and Monster Collections. Previously, players who owned the first edition miniatures could still use them in second edition if they purchased the conversion kit. The Hero and Monster Collections are geared more toward players like me with no first edition miniatures. Each one contains four heroes and three monster groups, all with new sculpts and artwork (much better if you ask me). As a bonus, each also contains two new quests playable by themselves or as side missions in a regular campaign. There are currently five collections available with a sixth on the way. In this post I'll share the first three: Oath of the Outcast, Crown of Destiny, and Crusade of the Forgotten. As usual, my brother painted all the figures and took all the pics.

HEROES

Trenloe the Strong (Human Warrior)

Laurel of Bloodwood (Elf Scout)

Shiver (Elf Mage)

Elder Mok (Orc Healer)

MONSTERS

Beastmen

Bane spiders

Razorwings

Descent 2nd Edition Painted Miniatures, Part 3

In this third post showing my painted Descent: Second Edition miniatures, I'll focus on both big box expansion: Labyrinth of Ruin and Shadow of Nerekhall. Each contains four new heroes and classes, four new monster groups, several new lieutenants, new quests playable alone or in a full campaign, and new game mechanics. As mentioned in Part 1 and Part 2, the paint jobs and pics were done by my brother, whose Etsy store of various geek-related crafts can be found here.

Labyrinth of Ruin

HEROES

Pathfinder Durik (Orc Warrior)

Dezra the Vile (Human Mage)

Ulma Grimstone (Dwarf Healer)

Logan Lashley (Human Scout)

MONSTERS

Goblin witchers

Volucrix reavers

Carrion drakes

Arachyura

LIEUTENANTS / ALLIES

One of the new mechanics introduced in this campaign is the use of allies. Depending on which path the heroes choose, they will receive assistance from either a healer or a scout, with an opportunity to switch later on. Whichever is spurned then falls under the overlord's sway and becomes an evil lieutenant. As with the lieutenants in other expansions, these are represented by picture tokens unless you buy the Lieutenant Packs, which in this case include both versions of the character. The ally version includes a hero sheet, making them playable as heroes in any but this campaign. Both are pictured below, along with the transformed version of Ariad (I don't have the other).

Serena (Human Healer)
(Left: lieutenant; right: ally/hero.)

Raythen (Dwarf Scout)
(Left: ally/hero; right: lieutenant.)

Queen Ariad
(spider form of the campaign's big baddy)

Descent 2nd Edition Painted Miniatures, Part 2

Continuing the series of posts showcasing my painted Descent: Second Edition miniatures, here are the heroes and monsters from two of the all three available small-box expansions. Half the size of full-box expansions, each contains two new heroes and classes, two new monster groups, one new lieutenant, new quests playable alone or as a mini-campaign, and new game mechanics. I don't have the third, Manor of Ravens, but here's Lair of the Wyrm, and The Trollfens, and Manor of Ravens. As mentioned in Part 1, the paint jobs and pics were done by my brother.

Lair of the Wyrm

HEROES

Reynhart the Worthy (Human Warrior)

High Mage Quellen (Elf Mage)

MONSTERS

Hybrid sentinels

Fire imps

LIEUTENANT

Valyndra

Descent 2nd Edition Painted Miniatures, Part 1

For a long time I looked for a dungeon-delving board game the likes of Milton Bradley's HeroQuest, which I had largely ignored as a teenager in favor of more complex RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons. As an adult and father, I wanted something easier to teach my kids and to play in a single sitting, with more emphasis on miniatures than role-playing. Unfortunately, HeroQuest is outdated, and maybe slightly too simplistic. After checking out some of D&D's own beginner games and others like it, I decided Descent: Journeys in the Dark Second Edition was the best combination of quality, quantity, and compelling rules. Though not perfect and certainly a bit more complicated than advertised, it has been an extremely enjoyable hobby. I've been playing for a few years now, primarily with a group of friends in a monthly game night, but also with my wife and kids.

One thing I knew I'd never do, though, is paint the little plastic miniatures, which is otherwise a time-honored tradition in this arena. I just wasn't committed enough and doubted my artistic ability. Then my brother Michael - one of the regular players in my monthly group - acquired Imperial Assault, a Star Wars-themed version of Descent made by the same company (Fantasy Flight Games). He quickly painted his miniatures, and realizing he had a knack for it, offered to paint some of mine, too. Since I own the base game of Descent and most of the expansions, I doubted he'd be able to paint very many of them. Instead, he has now nearly finished my current collection, and the results have been phenomenal!

I never could have guessed how much it adds to the experience to play with painted figures. Some might wish they came painted already, but I've thoroughly enjoyed waiting to see my brother's latest work. Though I've been a bit stingy about sticking to the artwork, he has added just enough creative touches and stylistic choices for these to bear his signature, which is way more meaningful to me than figures painted in a factory. So naturally, I have to show them off! I can't do it all in one post, so to start out, here are the figures from the base game campaign, "The Shadow Rune." Michael took the pictures, too, but stood them on Imperial Assault map tiles because he didn't have access to mine (they look identical from a distance).