A Beginners Take on Malifaux

I just wanted to give a quick post with regards to the game of Malifaux I had yesterday.  Chris, a guy from my gaming club, wanted an introduction to Malifaux as he'd seen us play it but didn't really know much about it.  We played through about 5 turns just to get the hang of the mechanics and he left determined to buy a crew and play again.

What I wanted to post though was a link to his blog where he talks about his experiences of getting into Malifaux and the lack of help from Wyrd Miniatures website.  Whilst I got into the game through listening to The D6 Generations podcast review he went to Wyrds website as a first point of reference (as you would!) but didn't get the help he needed.

Read his blog here http://blog.cjsutherland.co.uk/archives/51

I'd love to hear your experiences of how you got started.

Sisters Of Battle!

Well I took a little time out of painting my Redchapel Gang while I decide on colour schemes so decided to paint up my Outcast models I won a while ago in an ebay auction but hadn't done anything with as another guy at our club bought the same crew as his first box set and I thought it only fair to let him play them. 

This was really to give me a chance to practice some brush techniques with the thought being maybe I'll sell the crew on ebay all painted or if it takes a while maybe just hang on to them to play later.

....and here it is.  I'm really pleased with how its come out.  I still have a little work on the water and to add some water effect resin to it but overall I think its the best I've painted to date.  Really managed to get the eyes right (first time too!) and get some good highlighting too.  Long may this new found skill continue!

Seamus is Coming!

Today I decided to take a little break from the terrain for a day and spend a little time on The Redchapel Gang.

I had already stuck them to the original bases and filled with green stuff (doh!) before Elazar offered to sell me some dockside bases he didn't need.  Of course being the magpie gamer I am I took them off his hands.  So my job today was to trya nd get the miniatures off the bases without snapping the tiny little ankles of some of these models. Easy huh?!?

What I did was soak the bases in boiled water which softened the green stuff enough to prise it out of the base and then I could pick it off.  I've cut away the metal tabs and pinned the feet which on these particular models is no mean feat either.  Anway here they are just pushed into place on their bases.  I'll be painting them separately but heres a first look for WIP shots. 

The bases are fantastic and really give the models something extra.  They can be bought from Kerr & King http://www.kerrandking.co.uk/ and replace the original bases completely so you could use these for corpse counters or such like.

The Streets of Malifaux - An Update

Well now I'm back at home I thought I'd try and progress my Malifaux board a bit.  Today I started work on the buildings to give the board some higher levels of play.

You start by attaching the 'anchors' to the board tile.  These can lie flat when not used or are used to hold the wall posts.



Then place on the wall posts.


Then build up the walls.  These are double thickness of card plus a strengthener on the top to stop it warping and to help support the floor tile above it.


Once they are in place this is how they start to look.  The walls lock into place and give the building a lot of strength.


This will have a floor tile on the top of it with railings around and a ramp leading up to it.  This part is going really quick and theres every chance I can get this completed this weekend.

Fingers crossed.

Puppet Wars is on the way!

So Puppet Wars looks like its lining up for a Gencon 2011 release with Wyrd's call for playtesters just having been announced on Wednesday.  It's no suprise that there has been a rush to volunteer for this (myself included!) which has meant that EricJ has decided to bring forward the closing date to this Sunday 20th February.

If you want to get involved you better be quick as the list is already longer than Wyrd expected and they are introducing a selection process which can be found here http://wyrd-games.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18582

Good luck getting selected and heres hoping this potential fantastic game lives up to our expectations!

Just as a teaser too heres the fantastic 'Hooded Rider' puppet.

A Miracle on Malifaux Streets : Part 2

“I know why you're here Seamus.  You didn’t honestly think that you are the only one who knows about it did you?”

Seamus couldn't believe what he was hearing.  He tried to process what Pandora was saying without physically showing any sign of weakness but it was an impossible thing for his mind to manage.

“Ah so you did?  Really Seamus I expected more from a man of your reputation”

He was starting to feel trapped and desperate now.  Where would he run? What could he do? How did she know? Who else knew?  He never usually reacted like this.  There was no situation that Silver Tongued Seamus couldn’t talk his way out of but this was different.  He could feel her getting inside his head, warping his mind and making him weak.  The feelings of fear and pity going round and round in his head and his strength deserting him.

Give up Seamus. Give up.  You’re no match for her.  Beg for a painless end!

He could hear the voices in his head taunting him.  He’d never given up on anything in his sordid life but it felt like the only option at this moment.  The more she spoke his name the louder the voices got and the more terrified he became, wondering what she had in store for him.  He’d heard the stories of men tearing each other apart in her presence and the desperation that she seemed to bring to her foes but nothing prepared him for this encounter.  Nothing could prepare him for what was to come.

“Can I have his hat?”

It was the boy.

“My friend would love a hat like that…. If I can find him” 

Seamus couldn't understand the bravado of the kid just walking around in his nightshirt, talking to complete strangers like he didn't have a care in the world and asking for his hat.  On any other day he’d have thrown the boy to the Belles but as he slumped to his knees, weak and powerless, he couldn't even muster a word.

“I like to play hide and seek here with him but I’ve been looking for hours and I can’t find him anywhere.  I bet if you gave me that hat he’d come out”

Pandora couldn't believe this kid.  Here she was with Seamus on his knees ready to fall and this brat wants his hat!

“Take it kid.  Seamus won’t be needing it for much longer will you Seamus?”

Give up Seamus. Give up.  You’re no match for her.  Beg for a painless end!

There they were again.  Stronger, more compelling with every chant of his name.

“Cheers lady!” chirped the kid picking up the hat from the road where it lay and giving it a quick rub with his blanket.  “Coppelius! COPPELIUS!” the boy sang.  “I’ve got something for you.  Come out come out wherever you are”

Coppelius?  No it couldn't be.  Seamus had heard the stories of Coppelius the same as everyone else but he’d never seen him.  He knew the Guild was looking for him and so the last place he ever expected to see him was in Malifaux town. 

Coppelius.  Even Pandora was shaken.  So much so that her hold over Seamus began to weaken.  This was going wrong.  That kid was going to mess this whole thing up.  She grabbed the boy by the arm of his nightshirt and dragged him to her.  She held him tight with a hand over his mouth to stop him yelling.

“No you don't little fella.  We don't need any company right now thanks”

The boy struggled, wriggling and kicking to get free but it was no use.  She had him held tight.  It was at just this moment that Seamus began to feel her grip on his mind weakening.  This was his chance to run!  As he began to pick himself up he glanced down the street where his Belles were.  Bloody fools he thought.  They were as vicious as they come but twice as stupid to boot.  If he moved now he could make a run for it.  He stood up and went to grab his hat from the boy.

“Mine I believe” he said grinning.  He wasn't grinning for long

Just as he turned to run he was stopped in his tracks by what he saw.  Pandora saw it too.  She was rocked so much by what she was seeing that she forgot about the boy and he sprung free.

“There you are Chompy!” the boy squealed excitedly.

Miracle on Malifaux Streets

Well here's my first attempt at writing some fluff for Malifaux.  Inspired by my friend James' story http://elazartheglorified.blogspot.com/2011/02/testing-testing-1.html and by the Aethervox "The Circus is Coming to Town" I thought I'd give it a go.  This is based upon the first game we intend to play at our gaming club on my new 'Streets of Malifaux' terrain.  I'd love to know what you think.

He knew the streets in this part of town were not the place to be at night.  They were a dangerous place, even for a man like him, but his mind was made up.  It was tonight or never.  Seamus kept to the shadows as he skulked through town, his girls in tow.  It wasn’t that they looked out of place; it was more that he didn't want to be seen. 

The seedy underbelly of Malifaux came to life at night and Seamus and his Rotten Belles were no exception.  Even though Seamus was the kind of person you’d cross the road to avoid there were some far more sinister creatures that inhabited the town now.  Since those smaller breaches had popped up the Guild couldn’t control the flow of ‘Immigrants’ into Malifaux.  Hell, they’d even been known to employ them from time to time but even the worst of worst looked both ways before crossing the road round here.  He’d come here to recover what was rightfully his and no Guild Enforcer or  Neverborn scum were going to stop him.

“Why are we hiding ourselves away like this?  These are our streets!” Sybelle moaned.

Seamus stopped, turned, glared at her and then gave her a smack across the face with the back of his hand.  “Don't ever question me!” he growled through gritted teeth.  “We want to take them by surprise not walk in singing Happy bloody Birthday”.  He brushed the side of her cold face where he’d punished her.  If she was alive she’d have bruised like a peach but as it was she hardly felt the impact.

The other girls knew better than to speak to Seamus like this but Sybelle had been used to handling strong men in her living days as a Madame and never worried about the repercussions.

“I was just saying, that was all” she hissed.

“Yeah, well just don’t OK.  You got that Pumpkin?” he smiled.

She hated being called that.  Seamus had found it funny that when he’d dug her up from the grave her wig had fallen back into the wooden casket exposing her large bald head.  She was never what you would call a looker when she was in her prime.  Some would say she’d been ‘tickled with the ugly stick’ others would say she’d been battered round the face with it.   “Bloody Hell!” he’d screamed “She looks just like a Halloween lantern!” and the name Pumpkin had stuck.

“Got it” she muttered under her breath.

As they walked through the streets towards the fountain where Seamus knew his ‘inheritance’ could be found he could feel eyes watching him.  At first he was sure it was just his uneasiness playing tricks on him but the longer it lasted the more he knew something was amiss.  Then he heard the voice.

“Hey Mister!  Have you seen my friends?”

Seamus kept walking.  What was a boy his age doing out this late at night anyway.  The last thing he needed was the Guild sniffing around for missing kids.

“Hey Mister!  I’m talking to you!”

Sybelle wanted to say something but then thought better of it.  The girls dragged themselves along behind not quite managing to keep pace all the time looking at the kid with the blanket.

“Hey you! Yeah you with the hat”

Seamus stopped.  He walked up to the boy, grabbed his blanket and threw it into the gutter.  “Get lost kid!  And keep outta my way if you know what’s good for ya”.

That was when he saw them.  In the shadows.  Behind the boy.  The eyes.  And the teeth.  It was hard to make out exactly what was the proud owner of them but he knew it wasn’t worth his trouble stick around and find out.

“C’mon girls” he said brashly trying to hide the way he was really feeling.  His head said run.  Leave the girls.  Plenty more where they came from.  But he knew he’d need them if he wanted to get the package from the bottom of the fountain.

He turned to walk away and immediately wished he ran when he had the chance.  There on the other side of the street was a little girl.  She couldn't have been more than 6 or 7 years old but there was something much more sinister about her.  Her eyes had a strange shape to them.  Not human looking, although that in itself wasn’t unusual for Malifaux.  It was just that they gave a much older appearance to her.  Whilst he was staring into her eyes he just caught a glint of light shining off something in her hand.  He couldn’t quite make out what it was but he knew it was time to move….. and fast.

“Going somewhere are we Seamus?”

Seamus spun his head so fast his hat fell to the ground.  It was at that very moment, when he saw Pandora standing there blocking his way out that he realised that only a miracle could help him now.

The Aethervox

I just got off a flight which I spent the entire time listening to a brand new Malifaux podcast which was recommended by Elazar The Glorified.

http://theaethervox.com/

Fantastic mix of fluff and chat all around Malifaux from gamers, much like myself, who are new to Malifaux and are enjoying the whole experience of the Malifaux world.

Check it out .... you wont be disapointed!  Their story "The Circus is Coming to Town!" (which can be read here http://wyrd-games.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18461 ) has given me loads of inspiration for a new game board and fluff of my own.  Love it guys - keep up the good work!

Bring on the Dancing Girls!

Well as Elazar so rightly mentioned in his comments I have to show the painted figures I have so far.

These were my models fresh out of the box and unpainted.

Colette Du Bois and the Showgirls - Arcanists


Seamus and the Redchapel Gang - Resurrectionists


and here are the first ones I have completed



The bases have been done since and I'll update once I have them handy for some photos.

..and a few close ups

 





More to follow once I get the brush out again.  I'd love to see your comments on what you think.

The Streets of Malifaux

I've recently started to build some terrain for our club games of Malifaux. As it's new to our club we currently trying to make do with old 40K and Fantasy scenery which was fine at first but we're a fussy lot!

I'll start off with the finished base board and then show you how I got there as it's easier to explain when you first see what I was trying to achieve.



This is using print off terrain from Worldworks Games www.worldworksgames.com/

I haven't made it the way Worldworks suggests on their site as it takes AGES to build!  I have precious little time in between having a family and working and I want to spend this playing Malifaux.  So heres what I came up with...

After spending a LONG time making about 6 tiles for the base layer and knowing I had to make about 48 including the second level buildings I decided there had to be a better way.

It came to me whilst out shopping with my wife that these would do the job nicely!



Of course they come in a pack of 8 and I need 9 for a 3'X3' board but £4 for enough to do a 4'x4' was fine.

I printed off the base design I needed



But instead of cutting the lines for making the foamboard tiles I just cut the 6"x6" design



Then taking one of the self adhesive tiles I fliped it over and scored it into 4 6"x6" squares



I could then just peel away one corner and stick down the tiles individually.



Stick all 4 designs on and you have 1 of 9 tiles completed!


If your interested in what I used to make the base level board drop me a comment and I can give you some advice as I spent way too much money getting it wrong before I got it right here.  I'm out of the country this week but hope to get the buildings, ramps and walls done sometime next week.  I'll update once I have something to show.

My Blogging Inspiration!

Just wanted to let you know about another couple of blogs that may interest you.

http://elazartheglorified.blogspot.com/  This is a gaming pal of mine and his painting skills speak for themselves!  Check out his models of 'The Dreamer and Teddy' - Amazing!

http://sixestohit.blogspot.com/  This is another gaming pal and the 3 of us regularly play Malifaux and got into the game together.  This blog is mainly about his other passion 'Flames of War' but I'm sure you'll see some Malifaux stuff in the near future (nudge nudge James!)

Malifaux??

Well it occured to me that you may not know what Malifaux is and lets face it - I didn't until 4 months ago!

Malifaux is a miniature skirmish game which is played with 32mm scale miniatures.  Its based in a steam punk/victorian horror/wild west setting where the town of Malifaux is inhabited by various weird (or should that be Wyrd?!) and wonderful characters from Zombie Hookers, to Bayou Gremlins to a little boy in a nightshirt (yes really!).

It's main point of difference from other miniature games such as Warmachine and 40K is that instead of using dice it uses a deck of cards.  This is a really interesting game mechanic which feels much more cinematic in play than a roll of the dice.

Soul Stones (hence the blogs name) are the comodity used in Malifaux to help you "cheat fate".

If you want to know more check out Wyrd Miniatures site http://wyrd-games.net/home.

"You Ain't From Round These Parts Are Ya Son?"

Well here it is .... my first blog!

After seeing the success of a couple of my gaming friends blogs I felt I had to put my work out there for the world to see too.

I'm relatively new to miniature gaming and painting having only been in the hobby for the last 18 months or so and have to admit I'm a bit of a magpie gamer.  However when I discovered 'Malifaux' from Wyrd Miniatures about 4 months ago http://wyrd-games.net/ something really clicked and I'm loving painting the miniatures and playing the game.

And thats where this blog comes in .... I'll be showing my work both painting miniatures and building terrain for playing, sharing the fluff I write to acompany my games and posting a few battle reports now and then.

Hope you enjoy whats to come and remember ...... Cheat your fate or loose your soul!  (as they say in Malifaux!)