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Rangers of Shadowdeep - Campaign Inspirations/Mood Wall

 I have set myself a fairly ambitious goal to create a solo ROSD campaign, a new warband, and some terrain to go along with it all. The idea for this did come to me all at once, but I have spent a good deal of time lately immersed in very niche parts of the miniature hobby and adjacent hobbies, and I decided that creating a new narrative campaign would be satisfying. The main reason it is a solo campaign is because I am just stuck at home right now, although it could easily be adapted into a group game.

But as I have not completed the warband or the campaign... today I want to talk about the inspirations that brought me to this point. It's a combination of art, games, blogs, music, and community, and it gives a bit of a background on how I view the hobby. For some of you, a project of this size probably doesn't seem that daunting, or maybe you have done something like this before, but this is my first real go at something like this, and I want to document it a little bit.


The first thing that set me on this path was 28 Mag, which is a specialist magazine devoted to 'grimdark' art and miniatures, often called Blanchitsu, Inq28, Aos28, and a number of other names. The creativity that the contributors to this magazine display is astonishing. I don't expect I will ever reach the heights they do (and many of them are professional painters/sculptors/creatives, so it may not be fair for me to compare myself), but they inspire me to try new things and step out of my comfort zone. Besides the physical work they do, these creators often put a strong emphasis on story and narrative, breathing life into their figures. They made me want to create a cool kit-bashed warband, but I also realized that this warband needed a reason.

 

28 also opened my eyes to the world of Instagram hobbyists who work in the grimdark/blanchitsu style. Most of the magazine contributors are also regularly posting their creations online.

 

https://www.instagram.com/totally_not_panicking/

 

https://www.instagram.com/gardensofhecate/

Mariusz Lewandowski is a contemporary artist who obviously takes strong influence from Zdizlaw Beksinski, creating grim and fantastic worlds.

https://www.instagram.com/mariusz_lewandowskiart/


I am also really hooked on the illustrations of Ian Miller. Specifically his depictions of cities, towns, fortresses, and other bizarre architecture. I believe that some medieval architecture probably had strange angles and sagging roofs, but he takes these concepts to the extreme. These places look ancient, inhabited, and desperate... Perfect for a skirmish!

Ian Miller

These are all great visual inspirations, but there have been a few books I have picked up lately that have also focused my attention. Firstly, is The Black Castle by Les Daniels:

It is a pretty standard, pulpy fantasy novel from the 70's, but the subject matter is interesting to me. It is about two brothers, one who is a vampire, and the other who is the grand inquisitor of the Spanish inquisition. There is much ado about witches, demons, and being burned alive. It is not as dark as it sounds, and it paints the forces of the dark in a much better light than the inquisition. This led me to think of my own witch hunters as possibly being the villains of their story. Or at least, not the heroes.


The next book is The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer:

This is a lovely book that has changed a lot of my perceptions about life in this period. The aim of the book is to get us to see Medieval England as a living, breathing place, where people led fruitful and fulfilling lives, and not as a caricature of peasants toiling in mud. Mortimer's rich description of daily life in the city has helped me to think about fantasy architecture and design in new ways.


My final inspiration (that I will list here, because there are many many more, and I am getting tired) is a YouTube video! It's actually just music. It is three Albums of dark atmospheric music that have been spliced together by the creator. This is what I listen to while I hobby lately, it makes me think of vampires and dark castles, and creepy things. Perfect.


Thank you for taking the time read through this list of things that I like. I admit, it is not very engaging reading, but maybe you like similar things and this list gave you some ideas. The next post will be shorter!






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