The Alchemist of Old Dertflinghan

Alexandrei Movila was born in 1412 to a noble house less than 50 miles south of Dertflinghan. As the son of a local boyar he was trained as a knight and it was his father's intention to offer his son's service to the Lord of Derflinghan. However, before the young man had the chance to take the journey, his entire family was slain by a pack of hunting vampires and, for some reason, the vampire lord gave Alexandrei the dark gift. In almost 500 years, he has himself only passed the dark gift to one other, his manservant Draga who, before dying of old age, begged his master to make him immortal.


Both creatures now live deep within a network of catacombs underneath the overgrown rubble of Old Dertflinghan. Movila's dealings with men are simple - he hunts them for food but otherwise avoids their affairs. However, the rural folk of the Carpathians know him by many names, in spite of his seclusion.


The Alchemist of Old Dertflinghan
In local folklore, Movila is often referred to as the Alchemist of Old Dertflinghan. True alchemists, however, would call Movila's experimentations reverse alchemy for, in essence, he has already achieved the immortality they seek. Instead, he has spent nearly two centuries trying to find a way to revert to his mortal self. If that day ever comes, he hopes to escape his undead curse and to die naturally as a man.



The Waker of the Dead

For purely practical reasons, Movila turns many of his victims into ghouls by feeding them a small amount of his immortal blood. Although their company is nothing to be desired, ghouls make the perfect foot soldiers and guards of his domain. They skulk around the catacombs and the surrounding forests where they often stumble upon potential intruders.



The Night Hunter

Although Movila often depends on the loyal Draga to bring victims to him, he sometimes gets the urge hunt for himself. He is, after all, a vampire lord and the beasts of the Carpathian woods come at his beckoning.



The Man-Bat

On rare occasions, Movila is confronted by men who are made of sterner stuff than their fellows. When his opponent fails to cower before him and, moreover, stands firm to challenge him, the mighty vampire morphs his body into the shape of a bat-like beast. This form also makes it easy for him to traverse great distances in short periods of time, particularly when he wants to hunt far afield.



Painted By: JET (aka Jason)

Thoughts & Commentary

Although I've already painted a band of Romanian Vampires, I really wanted to field a Nosferatu warband as well. The expanded lists allow one to take a master and three lesser nosferatu for a total of four vampires. However, I wanted to keep the number of vampires low (at least initially) since I imagined a lone figure, skulking through the ages without companionship. Realistically, I'll likely paint up another couple of vampires just to give me the option of fielding more down the road.

These Westwind Gothic Horror models are just great in my opinion. I think it takes a real artistic skill as a sculptor to create a model so devoid of detail and yet busting at the seams with personality. The miniature I used for Movila has no bells or whistles but I find the simple sculpt and the menacing face so effective, not to mention fun and easy to paint.

This Gothic Horror project has really become my opus. I love it more and more every time I add to it and I still have ideas for the future. The irony is, one of the reasons I got into this genre was that only a handful of models were needed to play. I now have over 50 miniatures on my Horror shelf, not to mention a sizable collection of prefab and homemade terrain. Oh well, so much for constraint.

Thanks for reading,
JET

Enslaved Ghouls

Contrary to popular belief, it is fairly rare for a vampire to pass on the "dark gift" to his victims. Every time a new vampire is born, the vampire lord's hunting ground becomes a little more confined and his ability to remain inconspicuous becomes threatened. More often, victims who are not killed outright are given a small amount of the vampire's blood and are raised to a state somewhere between life and undeath.


These vile creatures sometimes hunt for human meat but more often live as scavengers near burial sites and crypts. They are known by many names - blood servant, vampiric thrall, corpse stealer, grave fiend - but most resort to the vulgar term ghoul.


Every "ghoul" is affected by a vampire's blood differently. Some, although monstrous, retain a shadow of their humanity while others quickly degenerate into slathering beasts. However, regardless of their condition, these creatures are true abominations of god's order and serve no purpose whatsoever in the grand scheme of things.

Painted By: Jason (aka JET)

Thoughts & Commentary:

I had fun selecting the models that I would use for this project. As you can plainly see, I made use of dry-brushing and inking on these miniatures - there''s only so much effort I'm willing to put into a painting a ghoul. The four models used, in order from the top of the post down are:

1. Westwind, Nosferatu blister pack. The knife hand is a plastic weapon swap.
2. Mantic, Undead Ghoul boxed set. Built straight from a plastic sprue.
3. Westwind, The Antagonists Vampire Counts/Slayers 1 blister pack. The head is a plastic Games Workshop zombie head.
4. Westwind, Vampires From Across Time blister pack. Straight from the pack.

I used the same bland color scheme on all of these because, as a group, I want them to stand out from the vampires they will be fighting alongside of. Using Tom Weiss's amended Nosferatu warband list, I created the maximum number of four ghouls and tried to vary their abilities and weapons using the options available. I look forward to trying them out soon, perhaps in a graveyard near you ;

Thanks for reading,
JET

Cattle

Under the shadow of the Carpathians there are many creatures who, night after night, hunt human prey and keep the region's rural occupants fearful of the night. However, there are some mundane creatures; simple beasts who man, in spite of his limitations, has managed to dominate and exploit for his own benefit.

The cow is one such animal. Villagers up and down the Carpathians expend great effort to raise and protect these natural sources of meat and milk from the area's many predators, both mortal and immortal.


Painted By: Jason (aka JET)

Thoughts & Commentary:

I bought these models from Dixon for use in our first Old West campaign a couple of years back. However, by the time I got around to painting them the campaign was nearing its end and so they sat unfinished in a drawer for two years.

One of my new initiatives for 2011 is to finish up all of my half-finished projects. To this end, the cows came out and, although they will find uses in future Old West campaigns, they will be used in our Gothic Horror games from this moment onwards as well.

As to painting, they were an EXTREME rush-job. After researching cattle breeds online for about 20 minutes yesterday I had a real moment of clarity. I realized that I was at an age and stage of life where I wasn't going to spend any considerable amount of my time left here on earth painting cow models - a guy has to know when to draw the line. With that bit of self-discovery in firmly place, I started dry-brushing like crazy, picked out a few details, and in less than an hour I was gluing down ground cover.

Thanks for reading,
JET

Workbench Update: Building Interiors Finished

After posting the interior tiles for my first rustic building last week, I did my best to crack on with it and am pleased to announce that I've finished the first batch of tiles. I now have both above and below ground tiles to correspond to the five rustic buildings that we use in so many of our Gothic Horror games. Use the key below to match each set of tiles with the corresponding building.


1. SIMPLE HUT

This simple dwelling consists of a door at one end, a hearth at the other, and a window on each side. Because it was so small I decided to make it a one-room cottage. The trapdoor reveals a ladder leading down to the cellar.

The cellar is a simple one-room affair as well that provides a sleeping area and a storage area.



2. TWO-ROOM COTTAGE

A slightly larger dwelling than the previous one. The owner has chosen to divide the above-ground space into two small rooms, one as a kitchen and the other as a bedroom. A simple wooden rail ensures that the occupant doesn't accidentally fall into the exposed staircase.


The staircase leads into a large one-room cellar that provides lots of storage space and, if necessary, extra sleeping space.



3. ONE-ROOM COTTAGE

With the same dimensions as the previous building, a one-room layout provides the inhabitants with a relatively large living space. As with the previous cottage, the entrance lies to the left of the fireplace (right where Ernst is standing)


A trip down the enclosed staircase leads to a modest bedroom. The door leads to a small storage area or root cellar.



4. RUSTIC CHURCH

The main door at the end of the building leads to the combined nave/sanctuary. As with many small village churches, it is a humble place of worship. There is a small porch and service entrance behind the chancel area.


The stair way leads down to the undercroft of the church while behind the half-wall a ladder leads up to...


...the tower. Although no Christian gentleman would dream of bringing a firearm into the house of God, with windows in three of its four walls, the tower makes an excellent position for a skilled rifleman.


The undercroft is divided into a small locked vestry (where the vestments and Eucharistic vessels are kept) and a small ad hoc living area for travelling members of the clergy.



5. LONGHOUSE

In many small villages, one building (other than the local church) stands out from its neighbours - the longhouse. Depending on the settlement, it may serve as a town hall, a meeting hall, a tavern, or an inn. In some cases, the basement houses the town's archives, important books, or holy relics. It isn't uncommon for the villagers' seeds and grain to be stored here as well, out of the reach of wild animals and dishonest townsfolk.


A winding stair leads down to the basement.


The reinforced door has multiple locks and stands between thieves and the town's most prized possessions. The keys are usually held by the town's elders.


In this example, I've laid out the largest room as a town archive, a prime objective for questing monster hunters.



What Next?

When I finished painting my Hungarian Monster Hunters a few weeks back, I wrote that I didn't plan on working on any more Gothic Horror projects for some time. As it turns out, I'm a liar. The truth of the matter is, Keir and I played a game when he was in town a few weekends back, and we ran into a situation we hadn't before - enemy models moving into the same building (in search of objectives) at the same time. It bugged me that we had no satisfactory means of resolving this type of occurrence and so, the tile idea was born.

Here's what's I'm thinking to "finish" this phase of the project:

1. More Furniture
   The Heroquest furniture I repainted a while back is a good start, but I'm certainly going to have to expand my collection. For the dwellings, I want to build or buy some beds, more tables, and perhaps some crates/barrels of supplies for the cellars. I would like to build a long table for the Longhouse and the Church will definitely need an altar, some pews, and I was thinking a font (with special rules for attaining free holy water during scenarios).
   
2. More Tiles
   I've already tiles for the three mausoleums, as well as some generic dungeon hallway and room tiles. This will allow us to lay out a variety of underground settings. In fact, I'm really looking forward to connecting some of the underground cellars to create a multi-layered table. I've also cut out tiles (four stories in fact) to represent the interior of the stone tower that is currently on the painting block.

Whether I buy or build the furniture remains to be seen. I may do both. Time will tell. If all goes according to plan, we'll be testing these interiors out this weekend. Until then...

Thanks for reading,
JET

The Von Krumm Expedition

The County of Saros lies on the northern Hungarian border and, with the capital of Krummstein nestled deeply amongst the alpine forests and snow-topped mountains, it is unsurprising that outsiders are rarely seen. The Von Krumm family has ruled from the imposing walls of Castle Krummstein for over 10 generations and the current ruler, the Count Konrad Von Krumm, does his best to rule justly over a people who are more rugged than the lands they occupy.

Like most ruling houses of Europe, the Count and his advisors spend much of their time engaged in a myriad of administrative tasks - tax-collecting, overseeing the provision of civil services to the people, and dispensing justice to the primarily rural population of the County. However, there is one charge that the Count and his family hold above all other stately responsibilities.

Almost 80 years ago, Konrad's grandfather founded the Order of the Lion, a monster-fighting fellowship of like-minded noblemen from the northern part of the country. All of the Von Krumm men are initiated into the Order during their adolescent years. The lower dungeons of Castle Krummstein house an impressive collection of tomes, scrolls, and artifacts which are all used to prepare the Order's members for their ongoing battle against the supernatural.

Both of the Count's sons, Helmut and Hector, are active members in the Order. In the Autumn of the previous year, the youngest son, Hector, left the Castle to pursue rumours of a vampire near the vicinity of Dertflinghan. Now that six months have passed with no word, the Count has decided to personally lead an expedition into Transylvania in search of his missing son.

The eldest son, Helmut, is a hunter of some renown and many members of the Order feel that he is a more savage warrior than his father. The photo below shows Helmut and his faithful hound Zeus just a week before their departure for Dertflinghan.


It goes without saying that the Von Krumms will not be making such dangerous journey alone. The Count may be a little impetuous, but he is no fool.


Lazlo the Wanderer & Captain Hatteras

Lazlo is a true renaissance man. Some of his past titles have included soldier, trader, seaman, schoolmaster, mercenary, and gentleman adventurer. Some years ago while exploring the interior of Africa, the Count became violently ill and was left for dead by his guides. Lazlo, who was working as a self-employed smuggler at the time, found him, nursed him back to health, and made sure that the Count made it safely to the nearest port. The Count was impressed by the stranger's bravery and resourcefulness and, by the time a ship with a berth was available, Lazlo had accepted the Count's handsome offer of employment and accompanied him back to Hungary. He has been a trusted member of both the Count's household and the Order for almost 10 years now.

During his life in Africa, Lazlo found himself in a violent disagreement with a pirate captain over a serving wench one evening. The disgruntled men chose to settle their differences with a knife fight. Considering Lazlo's skill with a blade, this proved to be a mistake for the pirate captain who lost by receiving the first cut. After a closer look at the prize wench, Lazlo agreed to let the losing pirate keep the woman and chose to take the man's monkey instead. The mischievousness primate, or Captain Hatteras as Lazlo calls him, has been with him ever since.


Dr. Franz Grunberg

After striking out for Dertflinghan, the Count's first stop was Dr. Grunberg's lunatic asylum. Some years back Dr. Grunberg used his cutting edge methods to treat the Count's older sister to great effect. Ever since her recovery, the Doctor and the Count have been close friends. They exchange correspondence regularly and, although not a member, Dr. Grunberg is very familiar with the work of the Order.


After telling the doctor the tale of Hector's disappearance, the Count requested the Dr's assistance in discovering the whereabouts of his missing son. Dr. Grunberg's only response was to pack his things and to prepare to depart.


Ernst Holdt

As the Doctor's trusted bodyguard and gamekeeper, Ernst goes where his master goes. Both his skills as a tracker and a marksman will certainly come in handy on this expedition.



Bjorn the Bold

Bjorn is a member of the elite Von Krumm Houseguard. He has distinguished himself in battle numerous times and, on one occassion, even saved the Countess's life by beating a would-be assassin to death with his bare hands. The Count has taken the man along as extra muscle.



Sister Basilla Benedicta

Although not a member of the expedition as such, Sister Benedicta is a member of the Order of the Lion's sister organization, the Sisters of Our Martyred Lady. The Count is aware that Sister Benedicta is somewhere in the area of Dertflinghan. He hopes to find her and to engage her assistance in case any of the restless dead are encountered during his mission.



Painted By: JET (aka Jason)
Thoughts & Commentary

Other than a few odds and ends, this installment of models marks the end of this phase of my Gothic Horror project. As per my calculations, I have completed 42 models, eight buildings, a set of dungeon tiles and furniture, forests, roads, hills, and numerous small terrain items to set the stage.

As to the warband list, here's how the model's shown above break down in game terms:

Count Konrad Von Krumm - Expedition Leader
Helmut Von Krumm - Slayer
Lazlo the Wanderer - Slayer
Dr. Franz Grunberg - Professor
Ernst Holdt - Expedition Member
Bjorn the Bold - Expedition Member
Dogs & Monkey - Hunting Hounds
Sister Benedicta - eventually an expedition member and sometimes a Female Victim

After painting Werewolves and Vampires, I knew that I just had to have a warband of Monster Hunters. Marc plays Dr. Frankenstein and His Creations, and I'm pretty sure that a couple of guys in the group will be painting up some Werewolves and Vampires in the future, so my hunters should have lots to keep them busy. Either way, they were fun to paint, so it's all good.

The one last substantial project I'm considering for my Gothic Horror collection is painting up a unit of henchmen representing the Von Krumm Houseguard. Time will tell.

Thanks for reading,
JET

The Old Woodsman

The Carpathian forests seem to stretch infinitely under the mountains' long shadows. Villagers and explorers alike look in awe at the vast canopy that disappears into an uncharted sprawl. More than one local has entered the woods in pursuit of a stray animal and, after finding the lost calf or lamb, realized their peril as their inferior sense of direction failed to guide them home.

However, there is one man who has no such fear of Eastern Europe's wild places. Known by most simply as the Old Woodsmen, this mysterious figure has become a legend in his own lifetime. He is a tracker without equal and a survivalist beyond compare. He can guide his allies to any destination through the dark forests and, when he wishes it, can disappear into the shadows without a trace.

There is much talk about the Old Woodsman around the hearths of cottages and inns alike. Some old-timers swear he can befriend the wild animals of the woods, even the savage Carpathian wolves who are known to attack humans as well as livestock.


Villagers up and down the valleys often toil away, unaware that a silent figure looks out from the woods.


Whether the Old Woodsmen is an agent of good or evil is unknown. However, if one can sift through the giant mound of rumor and local legend surrounding him and, in doing so, find the few grains of fact, one point becomes indisputable - he is a complex entity of the Carpathians and, regardless of his motives, it always pays to be his ally rather than his enemy.

Painted By: Jason (aka JET)

Thoughts & Commentary

It's been a rather long two-month stretch without painting a miniature so I figured that I would get back on track by painting a single model. This one jumped out at me as, in the Chaos in Carpathia rules, he can be fielded by my Werewolves or my soon-to-be painted European Monster Hunters.

I look forward to trying him out for a number of reasons. First of all, he has a fairly handy ranged attack which is something that is entirely absent from my Werewolf warband. Secondly, he comes with the Pathfinder skill which allows him to ignore difficult terrain, an almost unheard-of ability in Chaos in Carpathia. Finally, he has the unique ability Guide which grants one member of his warband a free move before the game begins.

I think it's fair to say that he'll be on the table during my next game.

Thanks for reading,
JET

Count Adolphus Von Brechtenstein and his Daughters

"The nosferatu do not die like the bee when he sting once. He is only stronger, and being stronger, have yet more power to work evil. This vampire which is amongst us is of himself so strong in person as twenty men, he is of cunning more than mortal, for his cunning be the growth of ages, he have still the aids of necromancy, which is, as his etymology imply, the divination by the dead, and all the dead that he can come nigh to are for him at command, he is brute, and more than brute, he is devil in callous, and the heart of him is not, he can, within his range, direct the elements, the storm, the fog, the thunder, he can command all the meaner things, the rat, and the owl, and the bat, the moth, and the fox, and the wolf, he can grow and become small, and he can at times vanish and come unknown." - Professor Abraham Van Helsing


Castle Brechtenstein is nestled deep within the canopy of the Carpathians, far from the sight or thoughts of the civilized world. The castle serves as a lair for a foul nosferatu who calls himself the Count Von Brechtenstein. Whether this night hunter actually bears the name with any legitimacy or is simply a bestial imposter who has claimed the crumbling keep as his own is anybody's guess. Either by chance or design, most of the villagers who occupy the forested valleys seem to live in relative safety under the looming threat of the castle. However, those who dare to find themselves outside of their hovels after dark often pay the ultimate price and are never seen or heard from again.


Dark Daughters

In perverse fashion, the Count has chosen children rather than men or women as recipients of his dark gift. The reasoning for this choice is a mystery to all but the Count, but one thing is certain, his "daughters" are far more dangerous and savage than their initial appearances might indicate. Many a villager who has investigated the cries of a distressed child from the darkness have met with an untimely and gory end.

Lyleth is the oldest of the Count's companions, and is undoubtedly his favourite. She prowls graveyards, feasting in the company of ghouls, and prefers to move about in the shape of a great bat.

Lucretia is the most bestial of the four and can often be found hunting in the forests and hills, preferring isolation when making her kills. When she is taken over by blood frenzy she morphs her body in to the form of a ravening beast.

Bella and Hester are the most recent members of the "family," and perhaps latent human memories are responsible for their inclination to prowling around human farms and villages.

As if these hellish fiends aren't terrifying enough, it is not uncommon for the Count and his companions to be accompanied by other evil creatures - ghouls, giant wolves, bats, and most horrible of all, enslaved humans who have fallen under the vampires' hypnotic control.


Painted By: JET (aka Jason)

Thoughts & Commentary

Soon after I decided to start Gothic Horror as a gaming genre, I stumbled upon Westwind's Gothic Horror miniature range, and more specifically, the Kindernacht blister pack. When I saw those child-like vampires I knew that I would have to paint them and use them. The Count himself is a model from one of Westwind's The Antagonists packs, blister packs that contain matched pairs of hunters and vampires. I have no idea what the model was intended for in the Vampire Wars game, but after ordering the pack blind and then seeing the model I knew it would be my head vampire.

Lucretia's beast form is, of course, one of my unused werewolf models. I painted the two models with the same colour scheme to help reinforce the fact that they are the same entity. Lyleth's giant bat form is a plastic D&D model that I repainted and based to match the rest of my Horror collection.

Next to the werewolf warband I've painted, these guys will be my other main Chaos in Carpathia warband. I look forward to giving Sir Thrustam and his companions even more to worry about as they make their way deeper into the Carpathian countryside.

Thanks for reading,
JET

The Mannleigh Expedition

The Mannleighs have always been an adventurous bunch.  For two centuries, Mannleigh Park has served as a staging point for countless exploratory and military expeditions.  Mannleigh men have followed her Majesty into every conflict in which the Empire has participated.  They have been to both Poles, have traversed the jungles of three continents, and have funded and partaken in more archaeological expeditions than perhaps any noble family in Britain.

A dark premonition of things to come.

However, it is the current occupant of the estate, Sir Thrustam Mannleigh, who has taken this adventure lust to a new height.  During a trading expedition to Punjab some years ago, Mannleigh found himself present during the excavation of an ancient crypt.  He encountered something that seemed to defy reason that night; something that he kept to himself until he returned home the following Winter.  When he was back on British soil, Sir Thrustam contacted his old Oxford chum, Dr. Richard Alcock, and summoned him to Mannleigh Park where an all night discussion ensued.

From that point onward, the two have put the legendary Mannleigh fortune to active use as they began an obsessive study of the unknown.  In the past few years, Mannleigh and Alcock (along with the fetching young grad student, Ms. Emma Poundwood) have followed the trail of the Sasquatch in northern Canada, helped to discover the long-lost mystery of Easter Island, and dealt with an unspeakable business in the South Pacific where poor Dick almost lost his life.

The Spring of 1892: Setting out on the Old West Road to Dertflinghan

The adventurous three (along with Mannleigh's faithful hound, Rutter) are about to embark upon an adventure into the Carpathian mountain range where their resourcefulness and fortitude will be tested like never before. 


Mannleigh's Companions:

Dick and Mannleigh attended the same college, rowed for Oxford, and played polo together in their younger years.  Their friendship has rekindled in the past few years thanks to their joint interest in the occult.  Dick was an army surgeon after college, and after six years of service in Asia, he retired from active duty and established a private practice in London.  With all of the travelling lately, it goes without saying that his medical partners are quite over-worked, trying to satisfy the needs of his neglected patients.

Ms. Emma Poundwood hails from America, where the Poundwood name is well-known in most respectable circles.  After the unfortunate death of her parents she was raised by her uncle, who in addition to allowing her to continue with her academics, took it upon himself to start training her in survival, woodcraft, and target-shooting.  Her interest in the occult led her to Alcock after she read his repudiated article, "Island Resurrectionists: The Lost Art of Zombification in Primitive Ritual Medicine."

Dick endeavors to bypass a sophisticated locking mechanism to a forgotten archive.

Ms. Poundwood deciphers dark age runes.

Painted By: Chris E

Thoughts & Commentary:

Along with the werewolf hunters Chris painted a little while ago, these models will complete his British/American Monster Hunter warband.  Naming innuendo aside, I think they are a competent-looking bunch.  Sir Thrustam is actually a Westwind Wulfenjager model, while Dick and Emma are hunters from Blue Moon Manufacturing's "I Had Such A Howling Good Time" boxed set.  For those who play Chaos in Carpathia, Sir Thrustam will be fielded as an Intrepid Leader, Richard Alcock as a Professor, and Emma Poundwood as an Adventurous Scholar.

It's difficult for me to be objective about such things, but I would venture to guess that Mannleigh and his companions will have their hands quite full in the near future.

Thanks for reading,
JET