Super Dungeon Explore: The Kodama

Introduction

I've finished off a number of models recently.  This has left me unsure which I should show in my Sunday post; should I tell you about my 7TV cameraman or my Frostgrave "blue" warband?  Eventually (and somewhat obviously, given the title of this article), I chose instead to display my Kodama warband for Super Dungeon Explore.

I'm really pleased with the way that my Kodama turned out; see what you think.

Spawn Points

All warbands in the Super Dungeon Explore game have either 1 or 2 spawn points.  These are the locations where replacement troops are placed, thus providing the heroes a near-endless supply of enemies.  For the Kodama (animated plants), the spawn point is called the Old Growth Hollow; they get 2 of these:

Old Growth Hollow (front)

Old Growth Hollow (back)

Now, I think that the Old Growth Hollow is one of the creepiest models in the game.  Not only does it look damp and decayed (those bracket fungi only grow on rotting wood), but it is surrounded by skulls and glowing green crystals.  There's definitely something not right here!

Minions

An SDE warband has (typically) 6 low-grade foot soldiers.  In the game, these are collectively called "minions".  For the Kodama warband, the minions are called "Mooks"; they look something like a very angry cabbage or cauliflower!

Mooks (front)

Mooks (rear)

 You can see some "work in progress" shots of my Mooks in the article I wrote recently on blending.  It might be interesting to compare these shots of the finished models with the incomplete versions in that post.

Elites

The Kodama are spoilt for choice when it comes to Elite warriors.  Many warbands (not all) have 2 types of elite, but the Kodama have 3.

Turniphead

First up are the Turnipheads.  These are best used as support troops; their medicinal radishes can be used to heal their friends.  They also have some ranged attacks, but they're not especially good at hand-to-hand combat.

Turniphead (front)

Turniphead (back)

Wisps

The second class of Elite model in a Kodama warband is the Wisp.  These are not plant-creatures at all, but rather are sylph-like, magical woodland creatures with the power to lead travellers astray.  Again, they don't do well in melee combat, but these spirits have magical abilities and can easily compel adventurers to stray into bramble thickets or into the reach of some more violent foe.

Wisps (front)

Wisps (back)

Sprout & King Sprout

Finally, a Kodama warband also has access to a Sprout (the little green guy in the pictures below).  Now the Sprout isn't particularly terrifying; it's not very good in hand-to-hand or ranged combat, it doesn't have any real magical powers and there's only 1 of it.  However, if it is destroyed or if it chooses to do so then it can shapeshift into King Sprout.

Sprout and King Sprout (front)

Sprout and King Sprout (rear)

  King Sprout is a terrifying monster whose tendrils & roots can reach quite some way; it is also large enough to block many passageways and thus force the adventurers into confronting it.  Indeed, King Sprout's only real disadvantage is that it cannot move, so the Sprout had better be in the right place when it shapeshifts else the heroes will just ignore it and go some other way!

Conclusion

The Kodama are an interesting bunch.  Most of their models don't have a lot of hitting power (though they often have the Virulent ability which gives them bonuses against a hero who is already poisoned).  However, their elite warriors have a lot of abilities that can be combined to produce some really interesting tactics.  An obvious example might be to block a passage or doorway with King Sprout, with a pair of Turnipheads behind to heal it every time it is injured.  Let's see what the heroes make of that!

Blending

Introduction

I don't often do "how to" articles; the Internet is awash with those already and there doesn't seem much need to add to the number.  However, just occasionally I come across something where I've used a simple technique and haven't seen anything describing it anywhere else.

This was the case for my recent post on painting horses for wargames, where nobody else appeared to have published a straightforward, step-by-step guide.  Mind you, I'm probably mistaken here: there are almost certainly such articles around - but I've not seen them.

With that in mind, here's my version of blending...

Colouration for Kodama Mooks

To illustrate this technique, I'm going to use a model from the Super Dungeon Explore range.  This is a Mook, from the plant-man Kodama warband that ships with The Forgotten King (SDE version 2 started set).  Here's a part-painted mook from my assembly line:

Mook with khaki base coat

Now, the colour on this model is definitely a bit on the bland side.  This plant-man warrior has been base-coated in khaki, but there is very little detail beyond that.

I want my mooks to look a little bit like a fancy cabbage, with some vivid colour in the leaves (especially towards the tips):

Fancy kale (image not my own)

Right, now that I've decided what I want, let's apply some colour to the tips of the leaves:

Mook with dark pink tips to the leaves

This doesn't look good, I think.  The colour transition from the dark pink to the dull green is too abrupt and unnatural - not that aggressive plant-men are necessarily "natural", but I think you know what I mean!

Blending

So, here's what I'll do: I'll create bands of colour between the pink and the khaki with different proportions of the 2 base colours:

4 zones in total should do.  At each end the colour will be 100% of one colour or the other.  The 2 "inner" zones will be mixes with different proportions of pink and khaki, so that we transition more gradually from one of the "primary" colours to the other.

Obviously you can have as many or as few transition shades as you desire.  The more you have, the more work you'll need to put into the model, but the colour shading will be finer...

First transition applied (2:1 pink/khaki)

Second transition applied (1:2 pink/khaki)

These models are still not completed (there's painting to add on the shield, eyes & base.  Additionally, I might give the entire miniature a thin, black was).  But does the leaf look better now?

Here is a group shot showing the full effect of the transition colours:

Stages of painting, from 100% khaki to 4-tone blending.

Conclusion

There's nothing particularly difficult or revolutionary in what I'm doing here.  For the record, this is technically "dry blending": I'm applying each colour separately and waiting for it to dry, rather than mixing the wet colours on the model.  However, even if it is simple to do, I think the result is a vast improvement over the original single or two-tone colour schemes.

These mooks won't win prizes at any modelling competition, I think.  But they'll do just fine as game pieces!