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Post by Meph on Feb 13, 2015 0:54:30 GMT
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Post by Meph on Feb 12, 2015 0:47:53 GMT
Problem fixed, no adhesive needed. #8 x 1 inch wood screws. Counter sunk from the bottom and drilled into the tentacles. You would have to tear the rubber to get these things off without unscrewing them.
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Post by Meph on Feb 11, 2015 22:31:39 GMT
I have a giant octopus encounter coming up in the next week or two so last night I set to working on that project. I cut apart my octopus and hot glued it to my wood bases. It all went great and looked great. Today though I went to paint them and they were not attached to the wood at all, only held in place by the surrounding glue. Last night they were fine. So what do I need to seriously attach these things?
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Post by Meph on Feb 11, 2015 21:01:11 GMT
If you have any concerns at all about ink prices then stay away from color laser. I have a color inkjet and a b+w laser. I use the laser printer for just about everything these days because it's the most efficient way to print b+w. Color on the other hand can get a bit much. Even a cheaper 3 color laser printer will usually run you about $85 for each color + the cost of the drum. They might claim to yield something like 1800 pages but that is with something like 10% coverage. The kind of stuff you would be printing is much more coverage than that. I love my laser but if I ever decide to print my tiles then I will just convert my ink jet into a continuous ink system.
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Post by Meph on Feb 10, 2015 21:54:29 GMT
Need to do something with the base and i'm really not happy with the paint job but it will serve.
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Post by Meph on Feb 10, 2015 19:09:33 GMT
I paid $1 each for those cans at the dollar store. There has to be something cheaper near you.
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Post by Meph on Feb 10, 2015 16:30:33 GMT
THese things have some pretty nice detail to them and they seem to take paint well. I sprayed the undersides black because they are white but other than that I am just going to paint them.
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Post by Meph on Feb 10, 2015 16:05:08 GMT
I really need to stay away from those stores. There is a Real Deals just outside of town that I have never been to so I figured I would check it out. GOLDMINE! I ended up picking up everything here for $12 total. The bags of insects are all one type. 2 bags of spiders and 1 bag of crabs. They had more stuff so I imagine I will be back there next week. =) Had to grab a dragon to make one of the Dragon Thrones. Probably go back for a few more to throw in a bin for another day.
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Post by Meph on Feb 10, 2015 11:09:32 GMT
No damn. I didn't really get much done yesterday and probably won't today either. I have 3 dart machines to get cleaned and repaired for sale. Had all vacation to do it and today is my last day. Spent all my down time on D&D
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Post by Meph on Feb 10, 2015 11:07:42 GMT
One thing I have found is that the Crayola model magic is pretty fragile at that size. I didn't put them on bases and I had to be careful because some tips of the legs already broke off. I am going to cut some bases today and put them on, then I need a way to harden them up. I was thinking about trying some Polycrylic. I know I saw someone one here used it as an acrylic sealer but how about the hardness?
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 22:41:49 GMT
Crap, I completely forgot to post one major detail until DndPaladin mentioned a Doppleganger. The Human and Dwarf that they rescued are actually Dopplegangers. They are sticking with the party and the plan is for them to finally reveal themselves at the most inopportune time. When they finally did camp one of the fighters on watch managed to catch a glimpse of some sort of "shimmer" happen with the Dwarf. They questioned him, he played dumb. They immediately turned to the Paladin to detect evil, but since dopplegangers are neutral she detected nothing. They are remaining cautious and even asked the Human if he knew what was up with the Dwarf. This should be fun. More about that next week I think.
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 16:22:50 GMT
Well if nothing else I might just start with about 20 white ones and buy the edge marks for numbers. Make it easier to keep track of multiple monsters in combat. Then I can expand from there. The ultimate kits are nice but they have way more variety than I need. For 2E I will NEVER need that many markers at any one time. Really only need number markers and then occasional markers for poisoned, held, paralyzed, etc. I am betting two 10 packs of white for numbers and a GM Pack of 6 colors with 4 of each in it (24 total colored) would be more than enough for me.
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 16:06:05 GMT
Awesome. So you put the metal bases on all your minis also? Looking through their site I would have to make my own Edge Marks. We play 1st and 2nd Edition AD&D and most of those marks are pretty worthless for us. Nothing some clear vinyl and a printer can't fix. Thanks for the link, I think I might have to get some. Just spent about $400 on new minis this month so I might give it a short break first but it's on my hit list.
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 15:52:23 GMT
The DM get two drawers to store all manner of gaming resources. curufin, where did you get those tokens in the drawer? I am looking for something like to show status. Did you make them or buy them, and if you made them where did you get the tokens themselves from? I am guessing from the blanks that you made them. Would love to see/know more about them. They look like a great solution.
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 15:40:59 GMT
That is pretty epic! Exalt for you. Do your players know anything about this yet? Well, kind of... I don't currently have a group for which I DM, and only recently started playing again after a 10 year self-imposed hiatus. What that translates to is that I have sufficient time to work on the project. I really want to run through this with an old friend and our children, to introduce the kids to RPGing. My daughter and her friends think that its very cool. She said to one of her friends, "You've got to see my dad's new hobby. It like a 2nd grade art project, only much cooler!" Kinda mixed emotions for me on that count, but the enthusiasm with which she said it could only be taken as the sincerest form of praise. She really likes it and wants to play in Strahd's world. She is about the same age as I was when I started playing. And if it never gets played - well, that would be a shame - but I am really enjoying putting it all together. That's all that really matters is that you're enjoying it. My daughter is the same way. Today is a snow day and the first thing she asked me is "Daddy, what are we making today". If nothing else, run your kids through it and have a great time. I took a 20 year break and have now been back playing since July and DMing since November. It will come back and if you play through that the seed will be planted. =)
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 15:22:36 GMT
That is pretty epic! Exalt for you. Do your players know anything about this yet?
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 15:05:19 GMT
No, what I meant was that I wont have all day every day to craft if I want =)
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 15:01:26 GMT
So when we picked up this week the players were still in the large cave where they killed the Grizzled Cave Bear. They were seriously beat up and very low on healing. I did a quick inventory before the game started this week because I had some players that were lagging behind on levels. At this point everyone should be 4th level and the last 2 levels of the dungeon are meant for 5-6th level. We had 3 players at 4th level, almost 5th. The other 3 were 3rd level and some were still a couple thousand xp away. There was also a discrepancy in magic items as the Paladin and one other Fighter had none. So I decided to add some magic tailored for those 2 which would in turn give them a nice XP boost. They have really been hanging on by their teeth through this entire dungeon and I find myself pulling punches a couple times every night. I roll my dice openly so there is no fudging in that respect but I may tone down an encounter if it looks like it will go badly. I know some people don't believe in that but my players told me last night that they are loving the direction our games have gone, so I must be doing something right. I don't know if I mentioned it before but this party is really unbalanced. We have 3 Fighters, a Paladin, a Thief, and a Cleric. So in typical Fighter fashion they decide to push forward with only 2 heals left and a couple of Greater Healing potions that they have been carting around for a couple months. In the cave they had the option to drop off the ledge into the large cavern below where they could faintly hear dripping water or they could go back into the main section of the dungeon. After the encounter with the Bear they decided to go back into the dungeon. They decide to check out the first room. As usual the Thief checks the door for traps and to see if its locked. He doesn't listen for noises, he never listens for noises. Tells the party that the door is clear and one of the Fighters opens it up to hear a growling noise. He decides to step in and peek around the room. They came upon the other half of the Ogre guard contingent from the entrance in their post along with their Hellhound. Of course the Ogres heard the Thief fumbling with the door and were waiting for the party. The Fighter is surprised and one Ogre grabs him, hurling him into the room where the other 2 Ogre pummel him. The next fighter rushes in to immediately run into the Hellhound who breathes fire on him. All hell breaks loose, the cleric is rushing in to use one of his heals on the first Fighter. The Thief in his usual non-thief fashion rush right in to face and Ogre toe to toe. (Really, someone needs to show him how to play a thief) They manage to win the encounter barely suffering a lot of wounds. The party is really messed up. I am completely amazed and baffled as the Cleric asks to barricade themselves in the room to rest and heal, but the Fighters say they should move on. After the melee in the room they hear some shouts for help down the hall and rush to see what it is. They find a Dwarf and a Human locked in a cage, no weapons, no armor. The question them and find out they are the last 2 members of an adventuring party that fell to the Ogres. They locked them in here and don't know what happened to the rest. The party decides to free them and give them an extra dagger and hammer that they had. They proceed down the hall and find 2 doors. They check the door on the left which leads to a set of stairs leading down. They decide to close that door back up and spike it shut the best they can. The open the other door to find a room that is dripping with water. There are some kind of shrooms growing in the corner and the southern floor and wall are covered with a nasty yellow mold. So true to his "dumb" warrior form, the same fighter that got himself turned to stone decides to go poke at the mold. Releases a cloud of spores 10'x10'. He was the only one in the section luckily and he made his save vs. poison or die! The party decides that the room just isn't worth it so heads back up to the end of the hall and checks the door to the north. It opens to a natural cavern sloping down similar to the cave on the other side where the bear was. They decide to go exploring in. The 2 npcs that they picked up agree to carry torches since they have no armor and weak weapons. The move the party in and 2 of the fighters move ahead without a light source hoping that the Elf Fighter might be able to see some heat signatures in the caves. He doesn't see any large sources but he does see a few small things on the floor of the cave up ahead and the cave stinks. Both fighters fail their int checks and neither notice the large pile of crap they walked through. They end up calling the rest of the party forward and they start pressing forward. As they pass by an alcove on the right they hear a loud screech to their right followed buy one far to their left and one ahead of them. They quickly take a defensive stance as they are flanked by 3 Owlbears! (I don't have any Owlbear minis yet). It is a REALLY rough fight and the players end up using both of their Greater Healing Potions and the last Cleric heal. The main fighter ended up getting hugged and took some significant damage. After they encounter the party decided to split into 3 groups with light sources and search the cave. Their insistence to split up WILL get them all killed one day. So as the encounter was written there was a dead half eaten Elf in the cave that the Owlbears were feeding on. The Paladin found that next and searched it. The Elf was chewed up, his leather armor destroyed but she found a nice Long Sword partially under the corpse and some Owlbear poo. That gets her started because she has no magic at all and between the xp for the night and xp for the sword once identified it should put her into 4th level. One of the other Fighter checked the alcove in the North and found some natural stairs leading down to another large cavern which was dimly lit with a blue bioluminescent light. Just like the Cave bear encounter, the party was really afraid to explore the remainder of that cave so they headed back into the main dungeon section and opened the Southern door at the end of the hall. They couldn't open the lock so one if the Fighters decides to kick it in. Inside, the room was filled with Shriekers that immediately started shrieking. They party kinda panicked at this point and didn't really know what to do. At a situation like this I love to start a slow countdown quietly. Usually one or two will notice me doing and realize that they need to act fast. The party just seemed so helpless. They haven't stopped to rest, they were completely drained of heals and they were very close to death. I gave the party a little extra time because I knew this could end in a wipe if I played it like intended. They party decided to back down the hall near the Ogre room and wait for the inevitable. The Shrieker's were an early warning system for the group of 7 Troglodytes that serve the Black Dragon on the lower levels. Of course the Troglodytes grab their spears to investigate (Another one of my "take it easy on the players" decisions. 1 Spear attack vs 3 natural attacks). The Troglodytes come through the Shrieker's to see the door kicked open. They also see the door to the cavern open so 4 of them head into the cave and 3 head down the hall (my next gift to the players). They end up fighting the 3 and winning. Finally the players decide to move back into the Ogre room, barricade the door, and rest. I decide to give them a break and allow them to rest a couple days barricaded in there. Realistically those Trogs would be all over them but hey, rolling new characters over a couple Trogs just isn't that glamorous. They live to fight another day. After resting and healing up best they could they decide to try and burn the mold in the southern section. One warrior soaks a rag to cover his face, throws a vial of oil on the mold near the southeast door followed by a torch, and then closes the door. It begins to smoke like crazy which in turn alerts the remaining 4 Trogs on the other side of the door. They players hear the Shriekers and turn to engage. The fighter and cleric, faces bound with wet rags decide to wait a couple rounds and then attempt to head through the door south. They rush through the south and come up from behind the Trogs to attack them from behind. The players easily win this encounter and finally have some luck on their side. They search the Trog's quarters and find a chest of silver. In the corner of the room is a fine Quarterstaff covered in Yellow Mold. =) One of the Fighters with no magic happens to be specialized in the Quarterstaff. The Cleric uses his herbalism proficiency and he is able to figure that since mold thrives on warm damp climates, it's probably adversely affected by light. Of course Continual Light (which renders it dormant for 2-6 turns) never occured to them. They decided to soak a cloak to keep the spores down and throw it over the staff. They wrapped it tightly and decided they will take it out with them and see what they can do. They decided to head back and finish exploring that cave now that they are in better health. The follow it through the Owlbear area back to the ledge with the Cave Bear. In that last section there is a bit of water dripping off the walls leading to a large pool of water on the cave floor. Most of the players are cautiously searching the area while the one fighter (Stone/Mold guy) proceeds to walk up and start washing himself up in the pond. As soon as he disturbs the water it alerts the 9 Troglodyte Zombies in the bottom of the pool. Troglodytes used to be ritually drowned in this pool. They are bloated and pale, but it take 3 turns and a few outright hints before they finally put it together. The Cleric is able to turn 7 of them which makes the encounter trivial at that point. The night was winding down but the players wanted to check out the cave below them with the blue bioluminescent lighting. They make their way down there. There are glowing mushrooms in the gave giving a dim glow to the entire cavern. There are some large piles of rocks and shrooms so they split up again to start searching the cave. They have intruded in the lair of a White Worm (Caecilia) that immediately moves to attack. It moves right for the closest player which happens to be the Thief. It bites the Thief once and then the players engage. They had a really good round and much to my dismay they almost killed it in the first round. The one downside to a lot of Fighters is they can potentially do a LOT of damage fast if they roll well. Fortunately for me on the next round I rolled a natural 19. On a 19 or 20 the Caecilia swallows up to a horse sized creature whole. Down goes the Thief. That left him with 6 hit points left and the Worm does an automatic 1d8 to swallowed victims. Luckily for the Thief the players proceeded to kill it that round. They loved the encounter, mainly because of the custom mini but I was disappointed at how easily they killed it. I guess I underestimated their ability. That is where we left it for the night. Next week should be a doozy. Lets just say their Wand with 2 remaining charges of Stone to Flesh will come in handy. Next week will also bring them back with the Royal Court of Wererats that they had a run-in with earlier. The best part of the dungeon should be the 4 sword wielding Bone Guardian. =) Should be fun.
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 11:36:16 GMT
I made another cube yesterday for the other DM at my table. I spent my morning painting about 60 more 2" and 3" modular wall sections because I felt I was short and then last night was game night, so not much crafting. Will have a big update with pics in my Weekly game thread. School is closed today and the kids are home so I will get some good crafting in today. =) Unfortunately vacation is over tomorrow and i'm back to work wednesday....now I have to wait a whole 4 months for my next 2 weeks.
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Post by Meph on Feb 9, 2015 11:26:20 GMT
This stuff looks great.
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