Skip to main content

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!






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Miniature Makers: A (not at all) Definitive List

For nearly 20 years, I have been captivated by the miniature hobby. For most of that time, the only company I was truly aware of, was Games Workshop. The giant in the room, GW certainly has an impressive range of sculpts and a strong design vision. In the last few years, I have become aware of a wide range of other companies, brands, and sculptors, who have their own unique visions about what miniatures are. This will be a living list of the miniature manufacturers that have been recommended to me, or that I have purchased from. It is a very diverse list. Some manufacturers focus on their own proprietary games, and some just sell bits. I have not ordered from all of these companies, so your mileage may vary!!! If there is a company that you love, and it is not listed here, drop me a line and I will add it to the list. Pictured above - https://www.blacksunminiatures.co.uk/product/guardian/   * - Companies with a star were suggested by hobbyists on Reddit and throughout the community...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stargrave Loot Tokens

 I thought I would show off my Stargrave loot tokens. They are pretty simple, but I'm really happy with them. I followed the same method I used for my Frostgrave tokens, but I put a bit more effort into the data loot. Both sets were made from spare/old 40k bits. These data loot were made with bits of foam-core, foam insulation, a toothpick and some old eldar bits. The screen are just craft foam that I painted green, and then mixed that green with white to do the screen details. These terminals look good on the field! The physical loot tokens are super-duper simple. I probably could have put some more effort in here, but I wanted to get playing! These are just 3 pieces of 40k bits stuck to a base. Nothing fancy! I glued on some plastic plants that looked a little bit sci-fi to me.
Post a Comment
Read more

Rangers of Shadowdeep - Scenario 1: Ableheim

This is the first scenario I created for my Red Brothers campaign, and I had a blast creating and playing it. Since playing it I have made a few tweaks, and I'm sure you will have some creative tweaks as well! I love playing with randomized mechanics, especially when I am trying to create a narratively driven game. Setup: Ableheim is a town that houses corruption and cult activity, the warband has been sent to investigate and destroy any corruption they find. A mob gathers to watch the warband, getting increasingly agitated. Victory:  - Find and destroy the corruption; - Exit the table through the starting path Mechanics: Houses When a character investigates a house, roll a D6; If a 6 is rolled, that house contains the corruption. If no 6 is rolled, the corruption is in the last house. If a D6 roll fails, add +1 to the mob counter. When the corruption is found place 1 cultist, 1 cultist archer, and 1 demon in the house (or near it). Mob The mob consists of 3 villagers/militia model...
Post a Comment
Read more