iamfanboy

If the other Tyrants cooperated to lock up Cherufe's power, they still wouldn't trust each other. Perhaps splitting the key to unlock that prison was a compromise between them - and gave the pieces to two rivals so they wouldn't cooperate and bring Cherufe's power down for themselves.

6 hours ago, Astrella said:

The main lore thing I find hard to grasp is exactly what and how the event was, how the gorgon features into it, etc... Me2 feels better about it to be honest, I found Crossroads and onwards easier to understand at least.

The way I'm interpreting it, part of Cherufe's power was imprisoned by the Tyrants in the Red Star before the Grave Spirit was invited into Malifaux, because he was stronger than any of them individually and they were afraid or jealous. Plague brought the Red Star down to Malifaux because with the rest of the Tyrants locked away, he figured that he could take that power for himself and become in one stroke an unstoppable being. However, he was interrupted and broken during the process and Cherufe's power instead fragmented, attaching itself to people of strong Fate potential - basically, Masters.

That's why, in Shifting Loyalties, that power was drawn back to the Governor/Burning Man (aside from being a convenient excuse to finally remove the Avatar manifestation problem hanging over game balance). It was never really the Masters', just sort of... found by them, and when the real owner came calling it was taken from them.

The Gorgon is... interesting. I'm not sure what their plan is for her, but she seems closely allied with the Grave Spirit in some way. But I'd lay dollars to donuts they have a plan for her. Remember, they've had Titania in Malifaux art since 1e, and only released her last year!

I would be surprised if there WASN'T at least a rough outline of the events that led to Kythera's release, with notes on what the Tyrants and other significant characters were doing during that time, and it's probably become more detailed over the years. We only get hints and fragments of it because that's all that the people would know IN 1902-6.

I think that overall the best stories for introducing the factions are actually in Shifting Loyalties. Not only do they all involve multiple Masters and Henchmen, but they also evoke the personalities of each. Most of the M2e stories are really the end of the M1e/Rising Powers plotline, and for that they're GREAT. I loved the idea of Molly's growing independence, of rising tensions between Rasputina and Ramos, of imprisoning Cherufe in Sonnia's body - but they're hardly the best choices to lead into a faction for beginning players picking up the book.

I feel as though Wyrd was selling M2e to existing customers, rather than new customers, and I'm not sure what their entry point IS aside from "Henchman will help you." The Starter Box is pretty lean on details, though it does have some, and really feels more like a demo kit IMHO.

39 minutes ago, Ergonomic Cat said:

Oh, he'll be mine.  I have no concern.  He was reading the book and getting interested, watching us play, talking about the rules.  It's only a matter of time.

Muah. Haha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!! *coughcough*

38 minutes ago, Astrella said:

I've read all the books and there's still bunches of stuffs I don't get. I'm not sure whether things are intentionally kept vague or I'm just not good at grasping them; but the fluff is still very engaging.

Intentionally kept vague is my guess. What I meant by perfectly clear is that I knew who the people were (they were all Guild heroes), I knew what the stakes were (releasing Cherufe from his prison and devastating the world of Malifaux and beyond), and I was invested in seeing a positive resolution for the story.

But to someone picking up the book idly? The M2e books had some of the worst storytelling of all, because by itself most of the stories lacked any context even if they had good writing.

Context is everything when you're telling a story. If I started a story with, "One guy slammed his hand on the library table and said, 'If you don't give me back my ring I'm going to kill you in your sleep!'" then it's a story about violent people. If I preface it by saying, "One time, when me and my friends were playing D&D at the public library, we got the cops called on us after Charlie shouted..." then it's a funny gaming-and-real-life intersection story.

So much of M2e floats without context. The boxes don't tell you what or who is inside. The overarching story is only accessible with access to now-obsolete books (and has changed some, where's Leveticus' central position? Usurped by Perdita?) and is now looking to be spread between the three games of Malifaux, TTB, and TOS.

I mean, I certainly love it a lot more than many other games I've played in the past and future, and there's a reason I'm glad to hench for Wyrd, but it'd be easier if I didn't have to photocopy the 1e book and leave the story at the store for people to read.

It's salesmanship. We already know their points - they want to be competitive, they want to be reassured that it's not a heavy investment, they want tournament support.

1) Competitiveness. Make comparisons between weakest/strongest Warcasters in a faction, "Well, you know how Haley2 is way strong into almost anything with a solid pairing in Haley3, and Sturgis1 or Kraye1 is way weaker, so if you don't like the Haleys you almost can't play Cygnar? Well, Malifaux is nothing like that. Every master is on a fairly even playing field, and the ones that are slightly weaker are usually that way because they're more challenging - pick the ones you like, and they're actually GOOD. Also, there's no weird nonsense like nirfing Haley1 when she isn't the problem. When they cuddle or buff someone, it's because they need it, and it makes sense - not a single person complained when Wyrd changed a bunch of models in January because every change was logical and balanced."

2) Cost. "So, how much do you have in Warmachine right now? Just your primary faction? Yeah, $600+ sounds about right. Man, my bare bones army, with no real swap options, cost me around $300 and that's with internet discounts - retail, it'd be close to $500! And how much of that money was spent on units that you can't even take, but bought and painted because they looked good? Malifaux ain't like that. Yeah, you should probably start with two different Masters, but once again they're really good at balance and none of the included models are 'toss in the bits bin' - that's about $100 RETAIL. Unless you're going 'Zombie Lord Guy' - which is an option! - you can pick up two or three more small boxes of individuals or squads to cover a few additional bases and you'll have a fully competitive force for under $200 retail. I'd recommend you go retail, by the by; Wyrd does put out limited edition sculpts to people who spend a certain amount at brick and mortars..."

3) Prize support. "So if I get people in stores and earn Soulstones, I can have Wyrd ship me prize boxes. Foil art cards for masters, alternative sculpts for existing models, even full crew boxes! They also have certificates, and participants get tokens called Guilders that can be swapped for limited edition Master models. When did PP ever do THAT? No, Wyrd doesn't go for the 'massive tournament scene' because frankly, it seems almost self-defeating. Too much work for not enough return. They run major events at cons where they release even MORE alternate sculpts of different models - check out this Nightmare steampunk vehicle crew!"

Don't go hard sales on them. Don't push them. Ask them questions, give them time to think about the answers themselves, and then show the comparison. The key points are these:

$200 gets you a competitive force in a faction.

All the Masters are fairly even so pick a couple you like out of your chosen Faction and build around them.

Wyrd offers great prize support and has incentive programs to support the brick and mortar stores we play in.

@prof_bycid, one of the best investments I ever made was a Foldio portable studio. I spent YEARS - literal, actual years - trying to find a good, cheap light box solution until I found out about the Foldio. It's not what I would call cheap, ($75 for the larger size!) but it's worth it just for the ease of setup and use. Takes 30 seconds to put together, takes 30 seconds to take down, folds out of the way, takes great pictures every time... If I had space in my house for a permanent light box setup, that would be better, but not by much, and I've learned things from using the Foldio that would make it a better setup.

And that Wendigo looks suitably horrific.

I think i'd prefer keeping at Emissary. I mean, I'm not a rich man, and buying 30ss a month isn't TOO hard but more? This month was a little fluke-y what with commissions. 

@SoylentRobot, sentai colors? For what looks like undead Viktorias? Are you trying to say that the new Power Rangers is the work of Ressers?

@ringsnake, I love the Stitched Together, you really got across the idea of bags of human skin. I think the main problem with Huggy is that he looks... slimy, not spirity. A frog monster instead of an ethereal cloud of addiction. If he were glowing, that would get across the idea of him being a spirit. The easiest way I've found is to have the interior colors be lighter and move to dark colors on the fringe - I've been using white washes to do that for a while now. A quick fix might be to do the mouth interior in pure white or super-light blue instead of the green... but if that messes with your chosen palette I'd understand.

Frankly, I do like the renders as well, without colors - but there are some people to whom CGI renders of minis subconsciously says, "This is a placeholder, actual mini may differ." Just a note, something like, "Our minis are created with CAD and this image is a perfect representation" would help.

I mean... it's not a lot, is it? Just shrink the image on the back by 30% to include some info about what's in the box. Even the blurb from the Masters section of the website would fit neatly on those boxes.

If I were to name my gut feeling, it's that Wyrd markets to existing customers rather than trying to aggressively increase share. This isn't a bad thing. Wyrd minis are... well... not for beginners, and if the history of miniature companies is anything to go by, when they get too big they do silly things like cancel Henchman programs.

But it does mean that vital information is often spread out among the books. Imagine that you're reading the M2e book for the first time and bump across the Guild story. Who's Samuel? Why is this Sonnia lady spraying fire? So, there's this lady who can conjure a big monster and ride it?

Now I've READ the 1e books so it made perfect sense, but as a total newb picking up the book it would be complete nonsense. It's reading the last chapter of a long, long story first without any time to get invested in the characters or stakes. In other words, poor editing, not necessarily poor writing.

@sirbrokensword, Abuela and Brutal Emissary are good add ons; you'll probably also want some cheap minions for several of the missions so getting either Guild Hounds or Reporters or (if you want to stay in theme) Pistoleros de Latigo would be good. Just watch out for Abuela. She is REALLY HARD TO PUT TOGETHER. Put her legs and body together FIRST, and then put the wheelchair together around her... in theory. I still had to shave some of her off to get it all in there.

And don't forget, assemble as much as you can on the sprue first, gluing small chunks to larger chunks, and then separating it. There are two ways Malifaux minis go together: The hard way, and the impossible way.

@prof_bycid, at this point I've apparently crushed Emissary - 59ss in Perdita's crew alone, along with Sue, Sammy, Merris, and now Lelu & Lilitu... 95ss total? I sit down to paint and look up hours later with four or five finished models. Though now I realize, belatedly, that I didn't freaking take pictures of them unpainted and unassembled. I mean, I've got shots of my entire collection circa mid-February, and it's blatantly obvious that most of those minis aren't in there, but...

Getting minis painted isn't my problem, quality is. Though painting Lilitu reminded me why I try not to care so much about better than tabletop. I CAN'T STOP, especially after seeing a miniature played across my computer screen eight times taller than real life, all its worst flaws visible.

I was trying for a 'tanned leather out of human skin' look, but it just looks orange. Still, visually striking. It was only after I took this pic that I realized the bump on Lilitu's waistline too small to see by eye was a bit of flash I'd missed while cleaning her up after assembly. I had to go back and cut it off, and while I was in there I touched up so the transparent dress effect was more visible.

And THEN I realized that I had somehow painted skintone over a part of her clothes which were wrinkling and would have the blue - once again, right at that waistline. So I had to go back and fix it AGAIN. And then I realized... I no longer wanted to do this, I had to set it down and accept it as good enough for a first time doing transparent clothing.

Oh, and these guys.

The angle is just all wrong on the Enslaved Nephilim so his facepaint looks extremely weird, and I had to avoid the temptation to give Papa Loco Joker hair - when in the asylum would he have access to dye?

Uhh...

Each of the Warmachine Battle Boxes actually come with a little booklet that has a short story about the Warnoun inside, along with a blurb about each faction inside that same booklet - and a painting guide for the faction you chose. It also has a description on the back of the box describing what and who's inside for each starter set.

The Alpha Strike Lance boxes includes cards about the faction that the lance is is painted as inside, and talks about them on the back.

The starter box for Infinity's rulebook has blurbs about each faction - my friend only owns that, so I can't say anything about their packaging other than that.

The X-Wing Miniatures game only has a paragraph on the back about the ship on the blisters, but the larger boxes include booklets talking about the contents and even have missions for that boxed set inside.

I wouldn't touch 40k with a diseased rat, but GW traditionally considers little things like that an upsell opportunity.

Yes, Malifaux is a good game @solkan. But credit where it's due, and criticism where it's fair: Wyrd relies too much on the Internet and Henchmen to help them sell their game. The boxes are attractive, but tell you nothing about the minis inside, the game, or even - aside from a cryptic symbol - what minis belong to which faction.

Also, the flat renders on the back are not attractive. Yes, they're perfectly representative of the minis inside because of the CAD process, but to someone picking up the box they look fake and computer generated because they are.

It's to the point where I'm tempted to put together a pdf booklet of the basic info they have on their website and just drop it at the local gamestore.

Beckoners and Lilitu do kind of the same job (moving models around), but Lilitu is also a bit of a beater (and her brother is even more of one), whereas the Beckoners work best in a crew that has a lot of Brilliance and Darkened stuff - Jacob Lynch's crew basically. I mean, i want to buy the Beckoners too because they look lovely to paint, but if you're using a lot of Nephilim than the twins are a stronger choice.

I feel a little... odd... posting here now, because I paint to a tabletop standard for personal reasons (mostly because I get too upset when a mini gets broken or chipped), and you guys don't have that problem. Very, very obviously don't have that problem...

However, I shall persevere! I got sidetracked a bit by a paying job. My gamestore owner got in the Ortegas and he wanted two things: 1) Dia de los Muertos facepaint, and 2) Raiders colors.

I'd like to think he's getting his money's worth. This was yesterday's work:

I didn't see how messed up Fransisco's and Abuela's facepaint was until I took the pic - fixed it already. Also, Abeula's headlights are painted now. Still have the Nephilim and Papa Loco on my paint tray, mostly because I'm going to be doing Lelu/Lilitu next and the totem will share a lot of colors with them.

But I probably won't count those, as I didn't declare them at the start.

You put WAAAY more effort into yours, and I do love them - especially your Perdita. Which way did you decide to paint the faces, black first and then outline the white or white first and then color in with the black? I went black first and I was underwhelmed with the effect.

It's tournament legal to use photocopies of the Upgrade cards, so if you have the first and fourth rulebooks (or a friend with said rulebooks...) you can copy and print them out. Or if you want official cards, think you'll be playing multiple factions, and want to support Wyrd more, you can buy the Generalist Upgrade Decks - they're handy because they come with multiple copies of each card that you can have more than one of, and the cards from the rulebook aren't quite the same size as the real ones.

The rulebooks are GREAT for the stories and because they have rules for all the models (letting you peruse your opponent's stuff at leisure) but only the main rulebook is strictly necessary - and there's a rules only version of that if you want to save money. If your group does Campaign Mode, that's in the third book (Shifting Loyalties), but when you buy a model you get the stat cards so the rulebooks aren't strictly necessary.

Caveat: Your local playgroup may be critical of you using Upgrades that you don't at least own the book or the actual cards for. So the main book and Ripples of fate may be necessary.

Oh! Almost forgot to mention the Doppleganger! She's good for several reasons. She can copy ANY non-Leader (1) Action that doesn't name a model specifically (but can't declare triggers); Nekima can swing four times with that tasty damage track, you can sling out multiple Lures from Lilitu or the Beckoners, or if your opponent has something you want to use (Joss's electro axe? Austringer's bird?) you can copy that too! She also lets you Cheat Initiative flips, which alone is almost worth the 7ss.

First off, you need scheme runners - fast, cheap models that can drop Scheme Markers quickly and in odd positions while your bigger models are doing other schemes, or that can quickly move into positions for table quarters. For Neverborn they come in three varieties: Silurids, Terror Tots, and Insidious Madnesses. Silurids are pretty generally good (but are Swamp Fiends so work really well with Zoraida), Terror Tots are fast and with the right upgrades can grow into Young Nephilim and then Mature Nephilim, and Insidious Madnesses are MADE for Pandora (and the Dreamer), but don't work too well outside of those two masters. Silurids come in Zoraida's box, and Terror Tots come in Lilith's box, but Madnesses are sold separately.

Overall, I'd probably recommend Lilith's box - she's fast, beatsticky, and still has some control, whereas Titania is more tanky, so they compliment each other well. Zoraida is... interesting, but she really requires a large model pool from a lot of different factions to use well. The downside to Terror Tots is that to use them to full potential you need more minis - but more on that later.

Next, I'd say the Primordial Magic. It gives solid benefits to any master it's taken with (unlike both Pandora's and Titania's totem, which are only useful rarely if at all).

Lastly, and this is optional because it's very easily seen coming from a mile away, is prepping for a growth list where you turn Terror Tots into Young and Mature Nephilim - so buying the box that has Young/Mature Nephilim, and then the Black Blood Shaman, is mandatory for this path. Turning a 4ss model into a 6ss and then 11ss model, especially after it's already done its job by dropping tons of Scheme Markers, is pretty awesome.

With those, I'd say you've got a solid selection of models. If the Strategy and/or Scheme pool has a lot of stuff involving Scheme Markers, then you bust out Titania and her related models with squeaky Terror Tots. If it's all about aggressively moving forward and/or brutally putting an end to an enemy, Lilith's your girl. Lastly, Pandora is all about zone control - Turf War is pretty brutal with a model that can hurt a lot of enemies at once.

What I find most unfortunate about this is that someone just paid me money to do their Ortegas up in Dia de los Meurtos facepaint (and Raiders colors), and this topic pops to the top...

And the pictures don't work. D'oh!

Nephilim? They damage enemies with their blood, several of them regenerate (Nekima, Lelu & Lilitu) and they have a growing mechanic that if you go all in turns little guys into big beaters. You could also convert Teddy into a more trollish monster to get even more regen on the table.

I could see such a crew being led by Zoraida instead of Lilith if you want more thematic; a little old swamp witch leading an army of monstrous brutes seems pretty cool.

So my take on the basic game is this:

It would be fun even if there were only twenty models in the game, not hundreds.

The basic game has such complexity that even if both sides had barely more than the same selection as a chess player, the permutations would be nearly endless. It's quite brilliant in that regard, and one of the things I admire most.

However, defeat often comes from ignorance of a model's capabilities - the Gunsmith can get Fast? Sammy LaCroix can remove Scheme Markers AND get Stuffed Piglets? - rather than planning, tactics, and luck. Now that is something solved by memorization, and it IS a common problem among many wargames - I regularly get gotcha'd in Warmachine - but even if complication is a common problem it's still a problem.

But don't get me wrong. Malifaux has a round dozen good points and only two or three bad points. It's just that as a salesman my technique is to point out, "Well, this has one or two downsides, but look at all the upsides!"

Malifaux has: Intriguing storyline that is consistently moving forward with new developments (oh, that Burning Man...), interesting and wildly different characters in a character-driven game, a wide variety of beautifully sculpted models that appeal to almost any aesthetic taste, easily understood gameplay, deep variety of gameplay thanks to the unique method of divining the Victory Point conditions of each session, almost impeccable game balance across the factions and Masters, easily scaled games that finish in a reasonable time frame, the alternating activation system which means a player is always actively engaged in the game, and an integrated campaign system.

What it also has: a multitude of confusing and difficult to understand models, miniatures that run the gamut from 'difficult to put together' to 'a separate BEARD?' making it hard for less dextrous players to put them together, a storyline that's spread across eight main books (four of which are no longer in print), and a company that seems a bit... over-reliant... on the internet and the Henchmen to explain things. Would it really be so hard to shrink down the images of the models on the back for a quick blurb about who's inside the Crew box?

But if it's an equation, the plus and the minus together still equals a huge positive number in my book.

The Gremlins are goofy storyline-wise but deadly serious in gameplay.

So I've been doing a lot of Warmachine along with Malifaux lately and...

The balance in WM is awful. You've got the complete gamut from Rank S (Haley2) to Rank F (Blaize1), and the power gap is huge, and on top of that it feels as though some factions *cough*Cygnar*/cough* are developer darlings, with other factions being ignored - and some design decisions make no sense at all.

Malifaux has none of those problems. Almost everything is IMHO Rank A and B, with one or two models dipping into Rank C. Each faction is treated equally; last year they released one new Master for each faction and each one is reasonably equal to the others.

There are also a wide variety of models that fill the same role, but do so uniquely. For example, Scheme runners (models that move fast and drop markers to achieve VPs) are common. The Neverborn has three different models (Silurid, Insidious Madness, and Terror Tot) which are good at scheme running, but each has its own unique flavor: Silurids can move and attack very far, Madnesses lower enemy Willpower and can move through terrain, and Tots can grow into more threatening models.

Also, Warmachine is basically one game mode: Assassination with Capture The Flag as a tiebreaker if you can't kill the other person. Every GAME of Malifaux is unique: sometimes you need to move into the center, sometimes it's table quarters, with additional Vp-earning Schemes like trying to kill their most valuable non-Master model or put Scheme Markers up against buildings in the enemy side of the table.

Negatives of Malifaux: The miniatures. Yes, they're beautiful, are all plastic (so tired of metal minis), and my brush has rarely been so inspired than when moving across their surface, but good spirits above are they among the most difficult kits I've ever had to put together. I almost THREW Abuela Ortega across the room last night. I seriously wonder sometimes if the guy who designs them in CAD has ever even tried to put one of his minis together.

Sometimes there are 'gotcha' moments, because even Minion models can be Warcaster-level complicated and the amount of choices available to a Master are awe inspiring. Tonight my Gremlin-playing friend didn't realize just how hard it is to kill Colette and took Assassinate as a Scheme over much more achievable Schemes that were available. Yes, a rookie mistake, but sometimes rookie mistakes can be horrible early NPEs.

@Chou Love them! The one thing I'll say is that adding just a touch of white or a much lighter color into the upper left/right side of a lens gives it a much more eye-drawing look than just the flat color; you don't have to go full jewel, but a bit of glint makes it more interesting.

And it could be that you did that already - given the level of highlighting I wouldn't be surprised - but I can't see it in those pictures.

So I got my Oiran and Lelu & Lilitu boxes today and... the naginata Oiran is missing her face. And she's my favorite one. I mean, I was adding the fan Oiran to my Showgirls stage anyway (a less obvious weapon), but darnit, I really wanted to paint her. Time to send a mispack request to the overlords.

I think I'm going to do something a little crazy and try for a transparent/wet dress look on Lilitu. It's clingy enough that it looks like it COULD be sopping wet. Now, to figure out the proper color to blend with the purplish skin tone I've decided on for my Nephilim...

So. I've been playing Warmachine and Malifaux a lot, going back and forth between them, and despite the differences between them (such as one being WAY better), there is one common thread between them:

Defeat comes from ignorance, not planning. Or go look up that quote from Sun Tzu about knowing yourself and knowing the enemy if you want more elaborate.

The problem is that there is just so much to know. I appreciate the complexity that the core Malifaux rules have, but both it and WM/H are hugely complicated in the number of interactions and abilities that models have. And I frankly just don't have it in me any more to memorize a half-dozen new models every time I sit down at the table across from another person.

So rather than ragequittableflip either or both games I'm trying to come up with a nice, simple way of knowing what a model is capable of with a few seconds of reading rather than being forced to ask for my opponent's cards over and over again. The goal is similar to RPG statblocks for NPCs; yes, it's adorable that Sue's ability is called Hurt and I never fail to laugh at Tara's "Through the Hole" even when it's what I need to kill her, but what matters is what they DO, not what they're called.

I'm trying to make it universally applicable across a variety of games, but able to be customized to that specific game.

So far this is the format that I've come up with:

NAME
Move: How far the model can move in one standard activation, like 5"/15" Cg 7" Unimpeded
Melee: melee engagement, damage, and extra effects. Each different attack surrounded by parentheses to separate them.  Formatted for Malifaux (Df 2" D2/3/5 R=+1 Damage M=Target Discard 1)
Range: ranged damage formatted as above. (Df 14" 2/3/4 M=Push Self 3" R=+1 Damage)
Life: The HP and other defenses that a model has
Buffs: Any positive effects that can be applied to its side; healing, Scheme Marker deployment, or more AP
Debuffs: Any negative effects it can apply to your side

Any abilities that have to be triggered are in (parentheses), anything that's always on are not.

These keywords go into the Buff, or Debuff section, as they're not strictly speaking damaging attacks

Push: Any extra movement that a model can grant, either to itself or others.

Heal: Any damage removal that this model can accomplish

Resource: Any way the model has of adding resources to its side, or taking away from yours

Stat: Any way this model has of either enhancing its own side's stats or lowering yours.

Summon: This model can summon other models, with a list of the possible targets.

The following are additional keywords that might be added to any of the above words:

Self only affects self

Friendly only affects friendly models

Enemy only hits enemy models

Kills the effect only succeeds on when the target is killed

Dies the effect only succeeds on the model's death

Wounds the effect only succeeds when the target is wounded

Hits the effect only succeeds if the target is hit

Charges limited to a successful charge action by the model

Radius x" The effect extends in a set radius around the model

Once can only be taken once per turn

Suits are simplified down to the first letter, M R T and C.

So, for example:
DR GRIMWELL
Move: 5" Cg 7" Unimpeded AP+1 Wk
Melee: (Df 2" D2/3/5 R=+1 Damage M=Discard 1) (Df 2"D4/6/10 AP2)
Life: 9 Df6/Wp5 Ht2 Soulstone
Buff: (Push 4" Range 6" Friendly Once)
Debuff: Disengaging Strikes +

ANGEL EYES
Move: 5" Cg 7"
Melee: (Df 1" D2/3/3 M=Push Self 3") (Radius1" D1 if Wounded)
Range: No Melee Randomization (Df 14" 2/3/4 M=Push Self 3" R=+1 Damage) (Df 6" 2/2/3 AP0)
Life: 8 Df6 Wp6 Ht2 Soulstone
Buff: Heal2 Self on Kills

CABARET CHOREOGRAPHY
Buff: (Stat All Friendly models can remove Scheme Marker to gain +1 AP) (Summon Mechanical Dove, Chain Mechanical Dove)

Note what's missing. Soulstone cost, skill values, any pregame placement or 'before first turn' movement; I want to make this a warning list, what you'd note down if you could write fast enough. It is most emphatically NOT supposed to be a replacement for the cards themselves, and is in fact designed to leave holes in just such a way as to REQUIRE the actual rules.

I'm thinking about compiling all of these for the complicated wargames and then putting them into some sort of app so you can quickly pull them up on a tablet to consult them.

Does it read well? Do you think it would be useful to do? I'm in a 'questioning myself' mood, so I'm trying to see holes in the idea.

2 hours ago, athelu said:

@iamfanboy it looks like you are going straight from the base color, to a wash of nuln oil (or some other black), is that correct? I would recommend trying a three color scheme; where every color is made up of three different colors. This would be a deep shadow, then the mid tone - this is the actual color you want the area to be, then a highlight. You can then use a wash to knit the three layers together. This will make the colors more dramatic. Just some food for thought -- what you have already done works great for tabletop.

For some minis I do that (looking forward to the twins), but the LeCroix I had to match are just base color+dark brown wash, and this is the second I've had to paint Sue due to chipping. Iron Wind Metals ralidium hates paint no matter how well you prep and seal it. I went tabletop because it upsets me when a metal miniature gets chipped, in proportion to the amount of time I spent on the mini.

Uh... not so much 'work in progress'... and tell me if it's uncouth to post finished pieces, I did these yesterday afternoon and I'm not sure if I should just hold off until the end and post them all as a mass?

This is the first time that the Foldio has failed me; I just could NOT get Sammy's lower face lit up well. Somehow, though, it works as a shadow.

I did a little splish of water to make it look like she's soaring out of the swamp. Wet-blended the flame and tried for a little OSL on the backs of her legs.

These two Gremlins were commission work for a friend who had bought some pre-painted LaCroix, and because I didn't have the flocking to match the current bases I went with more swampy bases. The nice thing is that the gamestore owner saw that the turnover was only a week and is now making louder noises about me painting his models.

I lost the flame for Sue's guitar a long time ago, and improvised a piece out of some transparent sprue. This is a repaint, and overall I'm pleased with how my skill level has gone up some since he first time I painted him.

Now, I just wait until my Oiran and Lelu & Lilitu come in Tuesday. Maybe Torment: Numenera?

6 hours ago, Renegade Cabbage said:

I went Meijer's and bought a few 9" x 13" baking pans that have a plastic lid that attaches to the lip of the pan. The lid has a handle built into it. I think I paid around 5$ apiece for them. I can carry any models that I have in them with 3 exceptions. Those being, the Rail Golem and the Shadow and Lucky Emissaries. Those, I attach to the side of the pan. And on those I have bigger magnets in the bases. 

That's a good idea! Do they stack easily? I might have to point my friend in that direction and check for them at a local store.

I was thinking I'd have to magnetize LCB's waist and store him in two halves if I wanted him on my trays. Fortunately that isn't the case, he's juuust barely short enough to fit, but it is a worry. You can break them down somewhat just because of the innumerable parts which often make up a Malifaux mini.

Okay, so right now I have on my table Sammy & Merris LaCroix (commissions) and Sue, that's 23ss. My store has 3 Oiran and Lelu & Lilitu coming in for me, though I'll only paint Lelu & Lilitu. That's 37ss so far. Lastly, my Gremlin friend is going to hand me Gluttony as well, that's 45.

Oh, who am I kidding. I'm probably going to be painting the Oiran as well. But that isn't a guarantee, I do have 11 Cygnar Trenchers to get off my table - not BAD models, just not Malifaux level - and I may hold the Oiran back as a reward for painting the WM stuff.

I... don't have much problem getting stuff painted.