Shadows Of Brimstone

Nefaro · December 12, 2014, 01:53:52 AM

Finally.

Got both sets assembled. Primed the four heroes from the Swamps set and was gonna do the other four from City but wanted to let them continue drying overnight instead (used cement on them). It probably took me longer than most people since I can get a bit OCD when seeing crap that needs trimming and such when I should just be gluing.

Was a sizable portion of two evenings to assemble the two sets. Still need to punch out all the board tiles and counters, read the last half of the manual, etc.

I plan on doing a single crawl tomorrow. The painting can wait after dicking around with assembly so much this week. >:D

bayonetbrant · December 12, 2014, 06:29:05 AM

wherez tha pikcherz?!?!

Nefaro · December 12, 2014, 12:13:55 PM

Quote from: bayonetbrant on December 12, 2014, 06:29:05 AM
wherez tha pikcherz?!?!

Haven't painted anything yet.

I'll take a couple pics in the middle of the game.

Nefaro · December 12, 2014, 08:06:45 PM

Sweet baby Raptor Jesus it has taken some time.

But both are finally ready to go. Hrmm.. well maybe I'll also sleeve the bajillion cards too. ;D

Here's the hordes of stuff. Shot from a ways directly above but you may still get an idea of the quantities. The big Harbinger model is 9 inches from wingtip to wingtip. You still have to write a few character related things down on paper such as XP, Gold, and any bonus Abilities chosen on level-ups. Since it's a persistent RPG-ish thing, I'll probably just keep one of the smaller notepads in the box.

Barthheart · December 12, 2014, 08:52:24 PM

Wow! That's a lot of parts! Looks like fun.

Arctic Blast · December 13, 2014, 12:38:09 PM

Do the cards have the same weird finish to them that the cards Flying Frog's other games do? It can only be described as feeling like they were dipped in wax.

Nefaro · December 13, 2014, 09:36:59 PM

Quote from: Arctic Blast on December 13, 2014, 12:38:09 PM
Do the cards have the same weird finish to them that the cards Flying Frog's other games do? It can only be described as feeling like they were dipped in wax.

No. Thankfully these don't have that extra thick wax finish that make them stick together so much. However, they're pretty flimsy. Not a big deal with the large character cards and the many full-sized Town Event sheets. But the hundreds of playing card sized ones may take a beating on their edges and get rather flimsy after lots of shuffling.

For that reason, and also due to my two largest mixed card decks not being cut completely flush (from the two different sets), I'm probably just gonna penny sleeve them. I'm a bit hesitant to be constantly bending them with a poker shuffle anyway so may as well spend the extra time doing it.

My last component issue is going to be storage, of course. If I sleeve the cards, they won't fit in the plastic box insert slots made for them. Looks like I'll have to toss those. Will probably line the boxes with that thin rubber mesh used for kitchen drawers to give it a tiny bit of extra cushioning, if so.

******

Played my first run yesterday, using the Lawman and the Preacher in the first basic scenario. Was very successful although the final battle was pretty touch & go at first. Thought I was gonna lose it but made a good fightin' comeback.

The game is definitely more combat oriented than other FFP games. I only had to make a couple skill tests from Encounter cards during the run, although it would've been a bit more if not for my use of some gear abilities for neutralizing them. Luck of the room exploration draw I suppose but it's pretty obvious that there will be lots of fighting.

I enjoyed the first game, although I'm not sure if it has as much strategizing as I'd like just yet. But I've not even seen the whole game - the first mission doesn't even include gates to the Other World locations nor much in the way of special conditions. And since my characters were only noobs at Level 1, they didn't have a bunch of extra equipment (found or bought) and skills to lend a lot of extra options. So it was a nice intro to the system, with a lot of die-rolling combat, but there is more yet to be experienced once my characters have become more experienced and better equipped. The enemies will also slowly get stronger along with you.

It's obvious that using Roguelike tactics comes in handy since spaces occupied by models block movement. So if I got ambushed while my two heroes weren't side-by-side in a two space hallway, they could often get surrounded and start taking some nasty damage. So blocking paths is essential. I couldn't imagine living through some of the encounters with larger numbers of enemies using only one character, even with the extra instant revive token.

I took a pic or two but haven't uploaded them yet. The table sprawl is pretty crazy on this game, even with only two characters. Can't get it all in one pic while still being able to make stuff out. ;D

The couple regulars who do YouTube solo vids that I watch included a bunch of rules errors and such. So it wasn't much help in pickign up the flow, for me. It did take some rules referencing on my first run and I expect to do so a bit more when further stuff is added. I printed off a rules reference someone posted on BGG and that makes the little details much easier to look up. They aren't terribly complicated but there are some little extras you need to remember to do, and the occasional hard number (like carry weight limit is Strength + 5).

Right now I'm in the middle of learning the Town & Travel system. It's definitely similar to Warhammer Quest.

Nefaro · December 13, 2014, 09:50:00 PM

This guy's vid series has close-up views of the components. Most are still primed of course.

He also seems to have the rules down better than others, at least from the few minutes I've seen thus far.

Nefaro · December 15, 2014, 12:53:26 PM

Got the four heroes from Swamps Of Death painted, based, and finished. They look a bit shiny because the lighting wasn't good so I used the camera flash.

The faces on the models were all deformed to various extents. I don't spend any extra time on faces either so they look like they've already been mutated by corruption. ;D

My game table has a lot of light above it but the glare can be ridiculous. I took some shots of my first final battle but the glare on some of the components was pissing me off. A dozen Void Spiders surrounding my Law Man, Martok, and some Stranglers bringing up their rear.

Martok! NOOOO!

He died to the spider onslaught pretty quickly but I still had one free Revive token, granted for using two characters in a mission. He went down quicker than a broke saloon girl when they surrounded him, but he tanked & spanked them after getting back up and dusting himself off. I was almost certain we were gonna die since the spiders were oozing through the gap between Martok the Law Man and the Preacher, surrounding him.

I used the Matte finish on top of the sand, on the rancher lady on the left. It looks a bit mushy or melted after it dried and I'm not sure if it will lend much more support than the glue underneath already does. I may go with the heavily watered-down Elmer's glue on top even though it will be glossier. Don't really want to paint it but I'm still concerned about collisions knocking divots in the sand.

BanzaiCat · December 15, 2014, 01:02:05 PM

Great job on the painting. Makes an awesome game look damned awesome.

Nefaro · December 15, 2014, 05:21:54 PM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 15, 2014, 01:02:05 PM
Great job on the painting. Makes an awesome game look damned awesome.

Thanks B_C! I'm still finding my footing with painting and doing a little experimenting. So it's nice to have some encouragement.

Nefaro · December 15, 2014, 07:34:06 PM

Extra note:

This was the first time I used Tamiya Extra Thin Cement on plastic models. I was extremely happy with the lid-brush that came with it and the fluid seemed to almost go into the right spots all on it's own.

I had picked it up because I heard that it didn't "burn" the plastic so bad that it turns a bright white color when you get some on the outside. I put this to a serious test, even going so far as to apply it liberally on some of the wide seams to avoid smooth them without using putty. And it didn't noticeably change the color. Superb. I'm a convert!

Nefaro · December 19, 2014, 05:50:37 PM

Still got all my SoBS stuff splayed out on my gaming table and plans to finish painting the rest of the heroes before running another session.

But gonna have to box all this stuff up soon when company's over around the holidays and wants to do some Never Have I Ever or Cards Against Humanity over some beers.

I'm dreading trying to pack all this stuff back in. Even if there are two large boxes for them. Especially since they may just get unpacked again soon. ;D

BanzaiCat · December 19, 2014, 06:37:14 PM

LOL...I think I was insane ordering this. It won't be at my house until sometime between Christmas Eve and the end of the month...but at least I'll have a few days to spend putting things together. I'm going to try to go find that glue you recommend in the next few days.

I'm a total painting newb...what would I need to paint these figures? I assume some kind of primer at least. What paints/paint brands do you recommend? Any tutorials out there that might help (I'm sure there's tons, I just haven't looked because if there ARE tons, who is the best)?

Painting might be something I do down the road, but if it's relatively inexpensive I might be able to do it under the radar, so to speak.

Nefaro · December 20, 2014, 12:22:19 AM

Good paints aren't cheap, if you're stocking up on a wide variety.

I've been using pretty much all Vallejo stuff. Including their black primer. A lot of people use a plain 'ole black or grey spray primer that you can get at the local hardware store (such as for cars) but if the weather is humid or cold.. or just notably different temp than inside.. then it can make the primer run or clump after you've sprayed it on outside. Not to mention worry about wind, children, or pets bumping the box and knocking them over while they're drying out there. Plus I find that there is always some spots that need some extra brush-on afterwards anyway. So I just spend the extra time doing it by hand instead of spraying if I have any qualms about leaving a box of them outside after spraying them. It can be difficult planning ahead for spraying them here since the weather changes so abruptly so if I end up doing so, it's spur of the moment.

You can get by with a set of base colors and a wider range of the most used colors. For instance, using four different brown colors has been a big help in my painting because most minis I've done have various leather bags, shoes, wooden-handled items, hats, armor, etc and doing them with a wider range of browns really makes them look better. I also have three different shades of gray, a variety of greens from a camo pack of paints, and at least a couple different ones for the each of the other base colors. Also a wide range of skin tones and some washes although you can just heavily water down regular colors to get those. I recommend using or making washes when you start because it is a real easy way to add shadows and/or a dirty look to stuff.

There are butt-tons of painting tips vids on YouTube, as you may suspect.

It's not something I'm addicted to, especially trimming the flash & mold line crap off the damn things, but once I've started actually painting it is a nice getaway where I can just crank some music, zone out, and turn my thinker off for a bit (which I don't often do) while still remaining focused and occupied.

Edit: Keep in mind that I only recently started painting my game minis so there are probably plenty veterans here who could offer better insight on painting. The four minis I posted in this thread were only my third batch of humanoid minis ever painted, and I don't think they turned out as good as my second batch although some of that was due to some parts of the model details being a bit deformed in places. They definitely look a lot better on the table but it costs time & money.