The Couple Next Door

Appearances are all too often deceptive. I wrote this about one of the previous books I read, but in "The Couple Next Door" this theme seems to be even more prevalent.

A young couple visits their next door neighbors for a late dinner. They decide to leave their infant daughter at home and they take a baby monitor with them. As the dinner prolongs, they take shifts in checking on the baby. Nothing unusual happens until they return home and realize that a serious crime has been committed.

As new facts are revealed in the investigations, surprising twists in the plot make the action more dramatic. New facts about the protagonists are revealed, and their motivations seem to start making sense only to lose it again after new details are revealed. It is a very well designed narrative. The moment everything begins to start making sense, a new dynamic is added that adds a new level of complexity. 

I found it hard to put it away as I was sucked into the story. It is very well written, often surprises the reader, and has one of the best final lines I've even seen in a novel.

An Audience With The Queen #2 The Gorar

Over hill, over dale, 

Thorough bush, thorough brier, 

Over park, over pale, 

Thorough flood, thorough fire, 

I do wander everywhere.

William Shakespeare " A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Titania's totem, the Gorar symbolizes the eternal circle of life and death. This is reflected in his rules as Gorar can bring back a fallen minion and then sacrifice itself. In order to do that he needs to be within 6' of the centre of the board. Gorar is fast and Unimpeded, so he should be able to get there without any trouble. However, keeping him alive can be problematic as he's got only 4 wounds. His offensive abilities have a rather low Ca of 4, so I don't think I will be using him much in game. Primordial Magic seems like a better choice. It's a shame as the miniature is really nice.

The Gorar comes on 40mm base and is a pretty large model. It's really well designed, as all the pieces fit together really well in a way that makes places where they're glued almost invisible after the assembly. I chose bright and vivid colors and decided on the color scheme as I was working on it. I wasn't trying to imitate any real snake, I just chose what I felt looked right.

Totem Titanii, Gorar, to symbol wiecznego cyklu życia i śmierci. Jego zasady odzwierciedlają tą zależność. Gorar może przywrócić do gry zabitego miniona, po czym sam się poświęca. Jednak żeby to zrobić, musi się znajdować w 6 calach od środka stołu. Gorar jest szybki i ma cechę Unimpeded, więc nie powinien mieć problemów z dostaniem się w to miejsce. Problemem może być utrzymanie go przy życiu - ma tylko 4 rany. Jego ofensywne umiejętności maja stosunkowo niską wartość Ca 4, a więc nie planuję używać do zbyt często w grze. Primordial Magic wydaje się być lepszym wyborem. A szkoda, bo figurka jest bardzo ładna.

Gorar ma podstawkę 40mm i jest dość dużym modelem. Jest naprawdę dobrze zaprojektowany, wszystkie części dobrze do siebie pasują, a miejsce w których są sklejone są prawie niewidoczne po złożeniu modelu. Wybrałem jasne kolory, a schemat kolorystyczny opracowałem w trakcie pracy. Nie wzorowałem się na żadnym prawdziwym gatunku węża, po prostu wybierałem to co mi się podobało.

Michael Jordan The Life

I've been a fan of NBA for many years but I followed the league most closely in the 90s. Times were different then and keeping up to date with current scores and tables was a lot of work. Access to the Internet was very limited and the speed of connection was really slow. Some random matches were re transmitted on public TV and I was able to check the scores by using teletext and reading "Magic Basketball", a magazine that appeared on a monthly basis. It all had a kind off magic feel to me then and even though I'm still keen on the NBA, I now maintain more distance to it and don't have the emotional connection I used to feel.

Michael Jordan was clearly the most prominent figure of that period. To me he was the god of basketball (even though I rooted, and still continue to do so, for Orlando Magic) and watching his actions on the court was always an amazing experience.

Now, many years later, I got a chance to read MJ's biography written by Roland Lazenby. My perception of Jordan hasn't changed after finishing it, but now I see him as a much more complex person who had to overcome many challenges (many of them self imposed) on his way to greatness.

The book begins with a very detailed description of Jordan's family background. It offered many interesting insights into his social background of that perios. However, it didn't really do much to present MJ himself and I found myself slogging through that part.

Once the story started dealing with his NBA career, I found it hard to stop. Learning about his difficult relations with teammates and opponents, his (sometimes unhealthy) ambition to be the best gave me a new, different perspective on many events. I was quite shocked when I learned how effective Jordan was at getting under people's skin. He had a natural talent for finding weak spots in opponent's psyche and exploring these. The author claims that Jordan's harsh words contributed to Muggsy Bogues's end of career as his confidence deteriorated along with skills after one harsh encounter with MJ. The same thing seems to have happened between his Airness and a very promising rookie in Washington Wizards – Kwame Brown. It is suggested in the book that Jordan destroyed him with his highly competitive approach to training and offered him only negative feedback. Gambling, use of alcohol, smoking cigars after matches and bullying other people were some of the most common aspects of Jordan's everyday life that I knew nothing about.

Yet despite these, Lazenby clearly admires MJ's relentless competitive spirit and his ambitious drive to be the best player in the history of the NBA. It affected his personal life on many levels and even today Jordan has both admirers and haters. However, to my mind, he still remains the best basketball player in history.

An Audience With The Queen #1

Weaving spiders, come not here; 

Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence! 

Beetles black, approach not near; 

Worm nor snail, do no offence.

William Shakespeare, "A Midsummer's Night Dream"

I've finally started working on the crew I ordered during Gencon. In fact, I will bo working on two simultaneously. You can expect more pictures and some thoughts on the minis, fluff, and their use in game. So far I've only managed to assemble them but I'm already impressed with the quality of these miniatures. Gorar will be first.
The theme of this crew is heavily influenced by William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. Names, presentation of nature, and Titania herself are some of the most obvious references I can think of off the top of my head.

W końcu zacząłem pracę nad jedyną zakupioną prze mnie podczas Genconu ekipą. A właściwie pracę nad dwiema ekipami, bo będę malował dwie równocześnie. Możecie się spodziewać przemyśleń o figurkach, ich historii, oraz o ich użyteczności w grze. Póki co tylko złożyłem ekipę, ale już jestem pod wrażeniem jakości tych figurek. Na początek pójdzie Gorar.
Klimat tej ekipy mocno nawiązuje do "Snu Nocy Letniej" Szekspira. Imiona, prezentacja Natury, sama Titania to tylko najbardziej oczywiste nawiązania do sztuki, które od razu przychodzą mi do głowy.

Austringers

I've already painted other versions of these models, including the old metal ones and my own Through the Breach coversions. Once again, Wyrd delivered and new plastic versions are a big improvement and have a lot of character to them. Attaching the birds was a bit challenging but not that bad as the pieces fit together really well. My only problem with them is their size as the crouching one is significantly bigger than the standing one. This looks particularly bad when you compare the size of their hands and heads.

I've written at length about how useful Austringers are in game in my previous post so I won't repeat myself here. For the time being I enjoy using my Neverborn in game too much but when I switch back to Guild, at least one of Austringers will probably be in most of my lists.

Miałem już okazję malować inne wersje tych modeli; stare metalowe i moje konwersje z zestawu Through the Breach. Po raz kolejny Wyrd dał radę, nowe wersje są dużo lepiej wykonane i mają więcej charakteru. Przyklejanie ptaków było małym wyzwaniem, ale bywało gorzej, zwłaszcza że części są dobrze dopasowane. Jedynym problemem pozostaje wciąż skala - kucający model jest znacznie większy od stojącego. Rzuca się to w oczy kiedy porównamy ich ramiona czy głowy.

Pisałem już wcześniej obszernie o tym jak bardzo Austringerzy mogą być pomocni  w grze, więc nie będę się powtarzał. Póki co zbyt dobrze się bawię używając Neverbornów, ale jak już kiedyś wrócę do Gildii, to z całą pewnością znajdę miejsce w większości list dla co najmniej jednego Austringera.

El Mayor

Francisco is a staple in many Guild lists. He can significantly buff an ally and dish out punishment whenneeded. Add to that a reasonable cost (even with his upgrades that are pretty much automatically taken with him), and you have you go-to henchman. 

I've painted both the old metal and the first plastic version of this character but this one has to be my favorite. Despite the static pose he still looks menacing and the level of detail is fantastic.

Francisco to stały element wielu gildiowych list. Może znacznie wzmocnić przyjazny model, albo też w razie potrzeby podziałać ofensywnie. Jeśli dodamy do tego rozsądny koszt (nawet wliczajac jego automatycznie dobierane upgrady), mamy henchmana, który często jest najbardziej oczywistym wyborem.

Malowałem już zarówno starą metalową jak i pierwszą plastikową wersję tej postaci, ale ta jest zdecydowanie moim faworytem. Pomimo statycznej pozy wciąż wygląda na niebezpiecznego typa, a poziom detali jest rewelacyjny.

Every Night I Burn

Iggy had an interesting (although a bit creepy) introductory story in one of M1E books. A twisted boy who sets an entire orphanage on fire is nothing pleasant for sure...

In game he is a Neverborn Enforcer. His main strength in offence comes from putting the Burning condition on other models, but there are also some nice tricks that attack opponent's WP. If he manages to get close (which isn't that easy as he's quite squishy), he can lower WP by -2, making it much easier to act for masters like Pandora or Dreamer. Setting Zoraida's Voodoo Doll on fire can potentially cause 12 points of damage (!). Iggy can also mess with activation order if he successfully used Mood Swing. I haven't tried him with my Dreamer yet but I can clearly see that he could work pretty well with Chompy version as there are already other elements (Web Markers, Daydreams) that lower Wp.

His Df is a nice 6 with -1 damage to Sh attacks, but you can't count on him surviving a strong attack. Iggy's Wk is a standard 5 with a Cg of 6. Overall, it seems like a solid option for a 5ss Enforcer.

Iggy miał ciekawą (chociaż wywoływała ciarki na plecach) historię wprowadzającą w jednym z pierwszoedycyjnych podręczników do Malifaux. Pokręcony dzieciak, który podpala cały sierociniec to na pewno nic przyjemnego...
W grze jest enforcerem do frakcji Neverborn. Jego główną siłą w ofensywie jest nakładanie Burning na inne modele, ale jest też kilka sztuczek do użycia przeciwko Wp przeciwników. Jeśli uda mu się podejść bliżej (co nie jest łatwe, bo jest dość miękki), może obniżyć Wp aż o 2, znacznie ułatwiając działania masterom takim jak Pandora czy Dreamer. Podpalenie laleczki Voodoo Zoraidy pozwala potencjalnie wbić aż 12 ran (!). Iggy może też mieszać w kolejności aktywacji modeli jesli uda mu się użyć umiejętności Mood Swing. Nie testowałem go jeszcze z moim Dreamerem ale sądzę, że może świetnie współgrać z wersją strzelającą tego mastera, gdzie znajdują się inne elementy (Web Markers, Daydreamy) obniżające Wp.
Jego Df to solidne 6 z -1 do ataków strzeleckich, ale raczej nie ma co liczyć na to, że przeżyje silniejszy atak. Iggy ma Wk 5 i Cg 6. Wydaje się być solidną opcją jak na enforcera o koszcie zaledwie 5ss.

The model is very well designed and all pieces fit perfectly. I didn't even need to use GS as there were no gaps left after assembling the miniature. Painting isn't really complex as I wanted his grayish clothes to look like something that a homeless street urchin. I kept the colors plain as I wanted to have more contrast by painting flames on his hands and red glow around his eyes.

Figurka jest świetnie zaprojektowana i wszystkie części idealnie do siebie pasują. Nie musiałem nawet używać GS, po sklejeniu całości nie było żadnych szpar do szpachlowania. Malowanie nie należy do skomplikowanych. Chciałem utrzymać prostą kolorystykę, tak żeby jego szarawe ubranie pasowało do bezdomnego dzieciaka (gorszego sortu ;) wałęsającego się po ulicach. Kolory są raczej bazowe, chciałem tym wzmocnić efekt kontrastu malując płomienie na dłoniach i czerwoną poświatę wokół oczu.

Sagabona kunjani wena

I've recently painted three nice Guild models and started working on another Neverborn crew but all will be shown here soon. For now I'm just chillin'