More RP's for the collection

 

A few new arrivals of early Ral Parthas -  Assassin, Vampire, and Mummy. 

The Assassin code is ES 13 and the date under the base should be 1976 but can't verify the last number because of a small gouge. 

The Vampire (Count Dracula) miniature code is ES 14 with a date of 1976.

The Mummy code is ES 20 from 1976. 

I have another assassin that is packed away some where, but havent been able to locate it for a few years, even though I've searched thru old boxes numerous times. It's hiding somewhere, but then that's what assassins are supposed to do. 

These minis have been primered and pre- shaded.

Realm of the Free King map / Rule sets arrived

I went in to Inkarnate and added to the main map for Realm of the Free King. It's not all complete, but I can update it as various projects progress. I don't do much in the way of hex crawls in conjunction with game play, but it's nice to have an overall visual of where things are. 

The plan is to run quick dungeons using the new rule sets I have, to see how they work out. Each one has mechanics that I like, so I anticipate ending up with at least a couple of rule sets that I will keep as the main framework and add or subtract features I glean from the others to make a compilation that works for my solo play. I think Mork Borg may be a standalone in consideration of the Calendar feature, but the other sets will need to cover low fantasy D&D, and some kind of Gothic Horror crawl for my Slayers set of minis. 

The last of the books I ordered arrived last week; Solo Game Master Guide and Index Card RPG Master Edition, along with a deck of index cards. After a quick browse it looks like both of these have some great resource material for solo play, and I'm interested in the ICRPG Ghost Mountain section as a good base for some Gothic/Desert gaming. 

New Rule sets to ponder for the coming year!

 I've been on a bit of a binge since Fall acquiring rulesets for TTRPG games that I find interesting. I watch a few online channels fairly regularly, and reviews come up for various systems and modules in the realm of OSR. I've also shopped at DriveThru RPG in various categories looking for rules light systems that I can implement in a solo player format.

 

While it is nice to be able to purchase a rule set in pdf and receive it immediately, there is just something to be said for having a hard copy you can hold in your hand. I have the pdf for all these volumes, but I enjoy getting the booklets when I can.

 

I searched a little for an original copy of Chainmail to go with my OD&D collection, but really couldn't justify the cost. The print on demand version works well enough for my needs. Who knows? I may find an original at an estate sale someday. I purchased White Box to cover OD&D basics so I can reduce the wear and tear on my first three original volumes. I have the Old School Essentials Basic, but only in printed pdf form, and the price was really great for the White Box rule set.

 

I purchased Mork Borg at the local Gaming store and got the supplement off of Amazon. Their site has pdf support so I can use that for reference as opposed to thumbing thru the rules book, but I'm glad I bought the hardback as it really is a unique project, worth the bound price. 

Both of these books are rule sets by Questing Beast, and are in the rules light category of OSR. 

I printed out Maze Rats from the pdf as I didn't have any luck finding a copy, or a print on demand version. Knave is a newer release, and was still available in print. 

Another rules light OSR that I found intriguing is DEATHBRINGER by Dungeoncraft. No spells are listed in this rule set so you need to source them elsewhere, but this set is a quick read, printed double side on a single sheet of paper folded into a booklet. Well worth having for the price point.

On the way is Solo Gamemasters Guide by Geek Gamers and the Master Edition of Index Card RPG. 

More Lord of the Rings miniatures

 I picked these up thru separate auctions in the last few months. All are from The Lord of the Rings line for Elan Merch made by Heritage. Since the undersides are stamped Elan Merch that's usually how I refer to them.

The mounted figure is 1751-k Servants of Sauron (un-released).  I have two of the Servants of Sauron that came from Hobby Haven in 1977 -78, and was able to obtain the full 1751 set of nine a few months ago. This mounted figure was not in that set as it was unreleased, so this Nazgul is a nice find. 

The Gandalf and Aragorn miniatures are from 1750 The Fellowship. Coding for that set is a bit wonky as Gandalf is simply coded 1, and Aragorn is C,  although one of the hobbits is 1750 C. I may look for a catalog image as I think the set up will probably explain the coding system for this group. 

The previous Aragorn figure I got back in the '70s had his sword broken off at some point, so nice to find this one to replace him. 

All have been primed, washed and pre shaded with vallejo acrylics. 

Some RP aquisitions

 A few more Ral Partha miniatures from the late 70's. The Wraith in the foreground is the earliest; ES 30 with a base date of 1977 on the bottom. It also has the ES number on the top of the base. 

The Cold Drake (01-072) and Griffon (01-051) are from 1979 and the Winged Serpent is the 4th version with a date of 1982.

The number coding for the Wraith in the 1978 catalog is missing for some reason. It does show up in the 79 catalog with a coded photo and it is in the listing in the proper order. Unsure why it was missing a year earlier. 

The Cold Drake and Griffon are both v2, and the Winged Serpent miniature replaced the Serpent Creeper versions 1-3.

All have been primed, washed and pre-shaded with acrylics. 

25mm Rohan standard bearer

 This is a Heritage casting done for Elan Merch in 1980. It is listed as part of a diorama set "On to Helm's Deep" #1713-d for the Lord of the Rings miniatures line.

This came with the Nazgul set I got in an auction. The minis were not individually pictured and although I could identify the complete set of Nazgul ( which was what I really wanted), I really didnt care what the other four were. 

Once I got the order I was suprised to find the four extra minis were the full set of "On to Helm's Deep".

This is Guthlaf, Standard bearer to the King of Rohan. 

The other 3 mounted minis are Gandalf on Shadowfax, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. I will be painting these at a later date.

25mm Tasmanian Devil

 

This is a 1977 Tasmanian Devil from Heritage's Der Kreigspielers Fantastiques 1100 line #1158 by Steve Bisset. This mini was purchased and painted by me around 1978 and had a few years on the gaming table with the White Box set before it was packed away when life changed.

Here he is from a couple of months ago in his original Humbrol paint job from '78.

I stripped off the Humbrol and painted him with Golden highflow acrylics. I've started making washes in small batches with flow aid, matte medium and acrylic that has been working well.