Wednesday 25 November 2015

Frostgrave: Magical Creatures

Introduction

Once again, I've missed my weekend posting last Sunday.  Once again, I'll explain that this is because work and home life are getting on top of me and I'm having difficulty mustering enough enthusiasm and time to write articles (or indeed, to comment on other people's).  Still, my problems are insignificant when compared with what many people suffer.  Enough of that already!

In gaming news, the Frostgrave painting engine rolls on.  This time, I've got a couple of unusual creatures from Black Cat Bases to show you, so without any more rambling, here we go:

The Construct


First up is a "Book Golem"; a magically-animated humanoid constructed entirely from books and scrolls.  This was great fun to paint, as it involved some unusual research and detailing.  It would be an obvious form of construct for a wizard of the Sigilist speciality to construct.


I wonder if the type of tomes from which this creature is constructed have any bearing on its behaviour?  If, for example, the magician built his monster from old county record books, the golem might be really dull and boring and only interested in land ownership.  On the other hand, if the wizard slipped in a few of the more racy pulp novels then who knows what the book creature might do?  Probably best not to think about this too much...


In the picture above, Oscar the Thief has been manipulated into standing next to the monster to provide a size comparison.  I think it's fair to say that this golem is a large construct.  Indeed, I think that Oscar is about to catch up on the book learning that he missed in earlier life, all in one go!

At the time of writing, the book golem costs £4 and is available from Black Cat Bases.

The Owlbear


In the same order as the book golem, I also purchased an owlbear.  This is a very simple little single-piece model.  I painted it quite hurriedly, so I rate the result as "acceptable" rather than "outstanding".  At least it didn't take very long to complete!  I'll use it in Frostgrave as a regular bear, I think.


From the back, he (she?) could be mistaken for a straightforward bear.  However, in a city full of perilous magic it's not perhaps surprising that the poor creature has mutated.  I wonder if it was a deliberate act by a heartless wizard, or just one of those everyday magical accidents, though?  Was the animal targeted or merely unlucky?  Either way, it's now lost, confused and upset!


Oscar seems to have shaken off the book construct, but has come face to face with the owlbear.  As you can see, it's not the biggest monster around and any decent hero should be able to take it on single-handed.  I think that Oscar is outclassed, though!

The owlbear is available from Black Cat Bases for the small price of £3.  Incidentally, if anyone is looking for an alternative then Otherworld Miniatures do a couple of very nice owlbears but be warned - they're much more expensive than this one!

20 comments:

  1. Nice. I like that Golem, first time I ever see one and I won't see to the Public Library in the same way

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    1. Thanks, Cedric. Books can be dangerous things, you know!

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  2. Your book construct is a fantastic figure and you've painted it really, really well.

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    1. Thanks, Bryan. The owlbear is a bit ho-hum, but I was pleased with the way the book construct turned out.

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  3. I love that book golem, what a fabulous miniature, nicely painted too, I might add.

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    1. Thanks, Michael. It did work well, didn't it?

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  4. A Sigilist construct. I love it. I may have to get one.

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    1. Well, I'm not planning to collect themed constructs for all varieties of wizard (in each of small, medium and large sizes!), but this one does seem appropriate for a bookish magician :-) .

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  5. Brilliant job on the book Golem I really like all the different covers you've done on the individual books bringing it to life wonderfully! As for books I wonder if any are from an Encyclopaedia salesmen?

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    1. Thanks, Simon. It would be one way of getting rid of those old encyclopaedias, wouldn't it? Hmm, Issue 2 free with Issue 1; only 500 volumes to collect :-) ?

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  6. Wow, excellent. I hope that's a paper knife, Oscar's got.

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    1. Ha, a torch might do him more good, I think! Though who knows what magical protections against fire a book golem might have?

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  7. Love the Book Golem C6! You've done an excellent job on it too dude!

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    1. Thanks, Bob. He's definitely my favourite model that I've completed this month.

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  8. Very nice work on the Book Golem and Owlbear. :)

    I have always liked the Book Golem mini in particular. :)

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    1. Well, I don't think that the owlbear is anything special - either the sculpt or the painting - but I'm very pleased with the book golem. Thanks!

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  9. Another reason why books are better than Kindles etc - who would be frightened of a Wikipedia Golem, you could simply edit it away.

    I live the way you're thinking outside the box with these Frostgrave monsters.

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    1. Thanks, Steve. Some of my Frostgrave creatures will be as you might expect (my part-completed wolves are just wolf models), but I've already got ideas for an unusual pack of "wild dogs". It's a concept I'd like to pursue: anything that lives in or around the ruined city may be distorted in some unexpected way.

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  10. The book golem looks fantastic. Great job there Colgar. Equally nice work on the OwlBear's fur.

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    1. Thanks. The book golem was fun to paint and I'm quite pleased with the result. The owlbear is a bit "ho hum", I think.

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