Bring on the Night!

So,

As I mentioned last post, I had just got back from a vacation trip to CA with the wife and the Brightwell's. One thing we all did together was head up to Universal Studios Hollywood which we put in a 12 hour day and watch some folks get motion sick (I shall not mention the name of the effected party member so as not to embarrass him). Anyways one of the attractions that we did (except for my wife the scared cat) was the Universal House of Horrors walk thru attraction.

So as the name implies, this is your basic haunted house sort of walk thru, but the cool thing is that Universal has populated it with some of there classic horror creatures like Dracula, the Mummy, Frankenstein and the Wolf man as well as a few others. (Like Chucky who scared Robs wife so bad the cast member who was playing Chucky,  fell back laughing and Rob and I were busting up as well!).

Well Universal did an outstanding job on the sets inside and I was impressed and inspired at the same time. This got me to thinking of my Empire of the Dead collection back home and I needed to throw some paint on a few models.

So this week while working on a commission for Saguaro Painting Service customer, I painted up a few models for myself. So here are my efforts from this week. First up are a few of my Lycaon group that I am building.

The wolf pack!

 Now, you may notice that these are not the official EotD figures, but they are from the West Wind Gothic Horror line. Before EotD was announced, I purchased these figures just because they looked cool and I was going to use them for some Pulp games (which will still happen!).

So first up are two of the Great Wolves that are in the Gothic Horror line. I went for a grey scheme and you can not see it, but they both have a black strip running down their backs. These guys are pretty huge, they are close to the old GW wolves that were out a few years ago.

Fluffy and Fido!

Now for my Beastlord, I used the West wind Loup Garou figure which is massive! I had to bend his legs to get him to fit onto the base. I really like how he looks and he feels right for the Beastlord, which is the leader for the Lycaon  faction. 

I'm big and mean!

 I also painted up this pack of West wind Wolf men, which once again is from the Gothic Horror line. I use the guy with his head back howling as my Pack master. These figures were fun to paint up and look nice on the table.

Howling at the moon baby!

The last model I decided to paint up is my Graf for the Nosferatu faction. This figure comes out of the Nosferatu #2 pack from West wind. I like the classic look of the Nosferatu vampires, heck, the Nosferatu movie from 1922 still creeps me out, maybe because its black and white, not sure. So when I saw this figure in the EotD book, I had to have him for my Graf.

Count Von Something!

So there you go, some inspiration from a vacation trip with friends. There will be more EotD models coming soon as well as some terrain that I have been working on. I may be taking this game to Adepticon in 2014 as a multi-player game, I will know more about that next week.

TK

EotD on the Table!

So,

I was finally able to get Empire of the Dead onto the table today for a few friends that are very interested in the game since my last two posts. Anyhow I  figured it was a perfect day to have a few friends over and what a better time than to play EotD, plus I need to get the hang of the game since I will be running Demos in a few weeks at my local store.

So armed with the rulebook (sent to me free from the fine folks at West Wind for doing demos) and my huge collection of West Wind Miniatures (That I purchased on my own before EotD came out) and my huge terrain collection, I set up to do some demoing of the game.

I set up two small factions of about 95 points average each  (that is 4 models a side). I choose the Lycaon faction (Werewolves) and the Nosferatu Faction (Vampires). I choose to play the Fracas scenario and did a generic woods table with a ruin in the middle.

The Lycaon faction had a Beastlord, two Wolves and one Wolfskin armed with a wooden stake and two Handed Weapon. The Nosferatu had a Graf with a sword, Consort with two knives and a Bat Swarm. Oh, by the way, I did not take pictures of the first game, the pictures are from Mike & I's game.

Well in the first game, Jerry choose the Vamps and I took the Wolves. The Vamps beat the doggies back and got a win. Game two was with Mike and he took the doggies and I took the blood suckers, which the blood suckers won the game.

 The game took about 45 minutes or so and that was with us looking up some of the rules. Once again, if you are familiar with EotD predecessors (Mordheim, Necromunda, Legends and LotR) you will pick up the game rather quickly, both Jerry and Mike got it real quick.

So with the first demo games under my belt, now I just need to get to painting my figures. The good news is that three of my friends (Mike, Jerry and Rob who just watched) are interested in the game. So stay tuned folks, there is more EotD on the horizon!

TK

Empire of the Dead has Arrived!

Well, Empire of the Dead arrived here in Phoenix yesterday, which I was surprised that it only took 3 days to arrive from West Wind Productions.  If you are a fan of the Gothic Horror/Steam punk genre, than this game is going to be for you!

First off let me say that West Wind has done an awesome job on the book, they could have gone for a cheaper method of putting out this book, but they went for quality. This book will be around for a long time, the binding looks and feels very well done and I can say that this book will not fall apart after a few times opening it up like some other larger companies books! Page count comes in at 154 pages and are all full color!

The book is laid out well with with the first 21 pages being dedicated to the background of the world in 1888. Pages 22 - 53 are the game rules are are well laid out as well. I was able to figure out the rules rather quickly after only one read through. Pages 54 - 111 are how you build a faction and equip them. The rest of the book is dedicated to the campaign rules (which look strangely familiar, as much of the rules do). Also there are 3 pages of counters and templates (which can be downloaded from the West Wind Forums).

So, some of my friends have asked me why am I so excited about this game, well, first off I have been wanting to do some Gothic Horror gaming for a while. Secondly and more importantly the rules are very similar to a set of rules that I play and that I wrote. (Yes I am talking about LotR and LotHS) Yes folks, if you love LotR and the Legends rules, you are going to love these rules.

EotD uses a D10 instead of a D6 mechanic which is nice and gives a wider spread than a D6. The game uses 5 - 7 figures and plays on 4'x4' boards which is very similar to the Legends games. Another thing that Legends fans will notice is that the Initiative phase, each player rolls a D10 and the higher roll goes first, on a tie it goes to the player that did not have it last turn. And if the roll is tied, you roll again and one person is odd and the other is even. Sound familiar?One thing that EotD does that I could not do with LotHS, was have modifiers for shooting. There are target modifiers and cover modifiers, these are just a few things that make EotD different from the Legends rules.

So I could keep going on, but all I will say is if you love the genre and you love the Legends rules, than this game is for you! Go buy this game folks, you will not be disappointed! No folks, I am not on the West Wind payroll, I am just really excited about this game!!

TK

Empire of the Dead!

Okay,

It has been a while and I think I am coming out of my funk finally and one reason may be this new game I am going to talk about, West Wind Productions Empire of the Dead. You see I have been a fan of the Gothic Horror fan and I have been looking for a good set of rules. When I saw that West Wind released a Quick Start rules on their site, I downloaded them. They look really good and look like they follow a certain style of rules that I enjoy. Also the figures look awesome!

Anyway here is a description of the game taken from the West Wind site:

Taken from the West Wind site:

Empire of the Dead is a 28mm tabletop skirmish game for two or more players.

Set in a darkly Gothic Victorian Empire populated by Heroic
Gentlemen and Fiends of unmentionable evil.

Choose from 4 starter factions which can be expanded from a range of special character models.

Built in Campaign system gives each game its own unique flavour.


Welcome to the Empire of the Dead. It is 1888 and much of the world is in turmoil. The great discovery of the age, Infernium, has brought technological advancements barely dreamed of just a few years ago. Its discovery, however, has stirred the basest instincts of man and nature alike. The lines between right and wrong or good and evil have become blurred as factions battle not only for control of the streets but the very future of mankind.

From the forests of Eastern Europe to the rookeries of London, factions have come together in
their quest to defend the natural order of life or to simply achieve their own ends. When you step into the world of Empire of the Dead you enter a place where only your wits and tactical thinking offer hope of survival. As the leader of your Faction your task is to ensure that those who serve you survive whatever fate has to throw at them. In that way lies the route to your own advancement and enhanced power and influence. Your
position, though, requires you to also serve your own masters, the leaders of your clan, club or order. Only by doing that, however obscure their purpose may seem, can you hope to avoid the assassin’s knife or well placed bullet.

Whether your allegiances lie with the Holy Orders of the Church, the Lycaon and their dedication to the protection of the natural order, the ancient evil of the Nosferatu or the gentlemen of the Clubs; the world that you are entering conceals many dangers and challenges for the unwary. In the Empire of the Dead nothing is as it seems. Today’s allies may be tomorrow’s sworn enemies and even the local populace may turn at a moment’s notice from a placid flock to an angry mob. Fame, fortune and unbelievable power will find those with the cunning and tenacity to survive the fortunes of the fight, ignominy and death await the rest. From the polluted streets of the city’s rookeries to the calm tranquillity of the countryside, nowhere is immune from the intrigue of the Empire. So set aside all that you know, be afraid of every corner and remember that myth and legend are just a way to hide the true horrors of the world.

Needless to say, I will be getting this set of rules and busting out my Gothic Horror figures that I purchased a while ago. I also plan on running Demo games and have already started thinking of terrain for said such games. I have also started working on my friends to help out, we will see. but the good news is that you will be seeing more of this game here at Cursed Treasures.

Also you will be seeing more posts now that I am getting out of my funk (still playing my PS3 though!).

TK