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PS Serial – 02

July 23, 2019 12:06 am / Leave a Comment / ruined

The summer heat made the nighttime air thick and humid. It was yet another reason to quit this town. The streets weren’t deserted, but there weren’t many souls near the spot where she stood.

Razorvine coiled around a sign nailed above the frame of the door. It bore a crude depiction of a man’s body with arms and legs pulled off, splashes of red paint to simulate gore. In any other locale the sign would be tasteless, but it fit Curst perfectly.

Portnoy strolled out of the Quartered Man like a Dustman with a freshly-signed contract. He noticed her and flashed a crooked smile. Janna’s magic would have faded by now, but the thought was planted – now hormones and ego would take over.

“You said something about tasting your… peach?”

Revulsion crawled up her throat, but she forced her sultriest smile in response. As he approached, he seemed to take in her height for the first time. Janna was a tall one, and she relished how it threw men off their game. Portnoy couldn’t look down on her, at least not physically.

“I’m glad you came,” she lied. “It was a bit loud in there.”

“Loud? You should see my festhall back in Himinborg.” His former festhall, Janna mused.  He looked at their surroundings and back at her. “So, should we go back to your kip, or do you want me right here?”

Laughing softly, she took his right hand as if to lead him. With a practiced motion, she clasped a manacle to his wrist. Before he could react, she hooked his other arm and secured the other manacle. A short chain connected the two behind his back, with a length trailing off to the ground.

“What?” Portnoy exclaimed, realizing the error in his judgment. “Unhand me right now, you…”  His words trailed off as Janna kneed him in the stomach.  She seized him by the hair and looked in his eyes.

“The less you talk, the smoother this will go.” She reached for his purse and found it light. She expected as much. “Luckily, someone in Himinborg is paying well for you. Now here’s how this works…”

“Hey!,” a voice interrupted from the Quartered Man. One of Portnoy’s friends had stepped outside, the thick-necked one, probably wanting to spy on the action. Seeing his potential benefactor in chains, he stalked towards Janna with a menacing frown. She pushed the nobleman down against a  broken crate and stepped to face the man.

“Sorry, friend,” she said with mock sadness. “I don’t have time for you right now.”  He advanced and threw a punch, but Janna leaned back and let it go wide. Rapidly, she struck a few blows to his side. He wouldn’t be as easy as Portnoy. His meaty arm swung back and connected, sending her stumbling against a neighboring wall. She felt a sting on her cheek. That would swell later.

“Rotten bitch!” he yelled, reaching for her. She grabbed his left hand and twisted it sideways, causing him to snarl in pain. The palm of her other hand jammed into his throat, sending him backwards. Janna pushed to her feet.

The large man weighed his odds and drew a curved knife from his belt. A guy like him couldn’t honestly lose a fist fight, so he had to pull a blade. She should have taught him a messy lesson, but looking in the alley beyond him, she no longer saw Portnoy.

“Sil’makk Estus Thewan.”  Her words slid out, taking a life of their own. The large man’s eyes widened in confusion as his muscles seized up. He stood rigid, unable to move as she stepped before him.  She plucked the hooked blade from his hand and held it close to his face.

“I could bury this in your eye and there’s not a damned thing you could do about it.”  She sent the blade sailing over the roof of the Quartered Man. “Think on that next time.”  She ducked past him into the cluttered alley. There was no sign of the manacled nobleman.

“Shit.”

Posted in: Planescape / Tagged: Fiction, Planescape, Serial

PS Serial – 01

July 4, 2019 11:46 pm / Leave a Comment / ruined

The Quartered Man was an angry boil on the arse of the city of Curst. Sour ale and cheap pipe-weed smoke weren’t the worst of it – it was the clientele. Cutthroats and anarchists rubbed shoulders with deposed nobility, all complaining about their misfortunes. A small group of demons played dice in a corner, hissing at patrons who drew too near. The tavern didn’t even have music.

Janna felt ill-at-ease in the Quartered Man. It wasn’t that other patrons watched her – they watched everybody. Something about this place kindled distrust and paranoia in a berk’s heart.  No, her discomfort was more of a dreaded anticipation of the task before her.

A few tables down, she could hear a group of conspirators centered around a thin-haired man with stories to tell. He spoke of his former glories as a duke (“duck” was how the word sounded to Janna), and the seat of wealth he no longer had. A terrible betrayal at the hands of his cousin had led to his exile in this godforsaken city. And of course, there were riches to be had, if only he could recruit more honorable men to his cause. Honorable? Here?

She wasn’t eavesdropping, not really. The middle-aged man, Rickard Portnoy, had repeated his tale four or five times since she had been there. She could recite it for him. Hells, she could improve it for him if needed. At this rate, she was surprised he had five bashers steadily listening to him speak. 

Slowly exhaling the breath she had been holding, Janna looked down at the leathers she was wearing. Adjustments were needed. She fiddled with the cords along the front of her jacket, easing them to allow more neckline to show. Her neckline, and a little more. She tried not to imagine the disapproving look in her mother’s eyes, but failed. A means to an end, that’s all. She downed the last of the watery ale and rose to stand. 

From her pack, she pulled out a dark wooden lute. A few eyes watched her actions, but more turned to her when she plucked at a few strings. She walked by a few tables, asking “Care for a song?” The responses were predictable: open derision from most, while others turned their gaze away from her in silence. She made her way to Portnoy’s table. He was explaining how his only needed a force of two-or three hundred men for some easy work.

“Care for a song, milord?”  She smiled, looking across the seated men and women, ending her gaze on Portnoy himself. He wore fine clothing, but his tailored coat was stained and an errant thread poked out from his collar. His lip curled, followed by a dispassionate “No.”

The man to his right, a dark-skinned brute with long-tangled hair, looked her up and down with appraisal. “Lord Portnoy, maybe you’d rather she warm your bed?” She smiled, inwardly wanting to drive her knee into his face. Portnoy took her in as well, but his eyes lingered on her hair – clean-shaven on the sides and stained a shade of fiery orange.

“I don’t lay with low-born women.” This earned laughs from the sycophants around him, a heavyset woman included. Janna maintained her smiling demeanor while changing her tact.

“You never know how delicious the fruit,” she said, strumming a specific chord on her lute, “if you don’t have a taste.”  With her eyes focused on [Portnoy’s], she could feel the twist of magic.  There was a momentary connection, a hint of suggestion carefully woven into her words, and then it was done.

As the group pondered her quip, Janna turned and moved towards the back of the room. She made half-hearted offers of song as she passed other groups. A sodden drunk asked her to play, but she ignored him and casually moved to other tables. A few steps, past the pair of grey-skinned demons, and she was at a door to the outside. She glanced back and smiled. Lord Portnoy had risen and was following her path.

Posted in: Planescape / Tagged: Fiction, Planescape, Serial

Planescape Serial

July 4, 2019 11:34 pm / Leave a Comment / ruined

I’ve had that urge to write again. I need an outlet for creativity, and I’m in-between phases of painting miniatures. I’ve not run an RPG for over a year, and that’s weird for me – usually I can fill that creative void by planning adventures, writing up setting materials, etc.

So here I am. I’ve been going through a lot of Planescape material, both official published and from online resources, decades old (Mimir.net!) and new (Codex of the Infinite Planes by Dave Coulson), and it remains my favorite setting. So let’s give this a shot.

I’ll be posting small stories at a fairly frequent pace. We’ll see if I can keep up a respectable pace.

Posted in: Planescape / Tagged: Fiction, Planescape, Serial

Painting – Spring 2016

May 10, 2016 10:31 am / Leave a Comment / ruined

Painting efforts continued into Spring, working on more figures for Warmachine and Hordes. Both of the figures here are larger warbeasts, each standing about 70mm tall, about half the size of a can of Coke. The first is the Warpwolf from the Circle of Orboros.

Warpwolf01

I love how the colors turned out on the wolf. I looked over numerous images of Siberian Huskies, trying to get the facial fur right. I even gave his eyes a tint of blue.

Warpwolf02

This figure was part of the starter Battlebox for the faction. I have a female warlock and a pair of two-headed wolves to finish that group. May be a while before that happens.

Warpwolf04

Another warbeast is the Dire Troll from the Trollbloods faction. I don’t love the pics as much. It could be how much blue was used, or the contrast against the brownish background.

DireTroll01

This figure came with pieces for three distinctive versions (the Mauler, the Blitzer, and the Bomber). We magnetized the pieces and painted them all, allowing us to select which one to field in a battle. This is the Mauler.

DireTroll03

The Blitzer.

DireTroll06

Pyg Troll on the machine gun.

DireTroll04

The Bomber.

DireTroll02

And a fun Pyg Troll lighting fuses.

DireTroll05

I just finished up another model for the Legion of Everblight, which I’ll post soon. I have some minis from the game Blood Rage to work on, as well as a few more from the Toughest Girls of the Galaxy

Posted in: Uncategorized / Tagged: Hordes, miniature painting, Minis

Painting – Winter 2015

May 4, 2016 3:48 pm / Leave a Comment / ruined

I have painted some minis over the last six months, but I never posted them here. A familiar story, but in this case, I’m really confused on the best ways to display my work on social media.

Foremost, I have Facebook, but I recently created an Artwork page for myself (www.facebook.com/BrianMooneyArtwork). That’s cool, as I can focus on minis there, and not overwhelm family members with my weird/racy figures. BUT… if people didn’t Like the page when I first sent it out, then they usually won’t see any of my updates. I could look at the Boost your Post option, but I’m sure that involves money and I’m not trying to monetize the hobby (yet).

Aside from that, I have Pinterest and Google Plus. I’ve gotten numerous more likes on Google Plus when posting in the Miniatures category, but I’m still not accustomed to it. No Tumblr account yet, but maybe one day (when I figure out what Tumblr is really good for).

I have enough images to split into a few posts, so first I’ll hit that box I teased in the last post as well as some Raging Heroes. First up, the Tharn Bloodtrackers.

Bloodtracker01

I’m really pleased with how the colors turned out on this, especially the red.

Bloodtracker02

Bloodtracker04

Bloodtracker03

The downside for this was it was a whole unit. So the paint job applied to several:

BloodGroup

And I’ve finally gotten down to working on my Raging Heroes figures. Here’s One-Shot Blondie:

Blondie01

I went for urban camo on her cloak. I think it turned out decent.

Blondie02

And then there are the Lulus. Little orphan girls that follow and idolize Blondie. Here’s one (of six):

Lulu01

New post soon with a few I’ve painted in the Spring!

Posted in: Miniatures / Tagged: Hordes, miniature painting, Minis, Raging Heroes, TGG

Krojun-eats-what-he-kills

September 9, 2015 12:39 am / Leave a Comment / ruined

Yes, that’s the name of the guy. He’s a barbarian from the Pathfinder campaign I’ve been running for the last two years. Here’s the established picture of Krojun.

Krojun

Reaper has an extensive line of minis for Pathfinder, and he was one that I picked up specifically for the campaign.

Krojun01

The white tattoos were tough. Very detailed, plus not appearing too stark. I tried a glaze to mute them some, but it was too much. In the photos it could stand another one, but to the naked eye, I think they look pretty good.

Krojun02

I also tried my hand at NMM (non-metal metallics) on the hammer. It’s not perfect, but I’m pleased with the work so far.

I’m still in the assembly phase of the Bloodtrackers I teased last time. As with many things about miniatures, I dislike gluing things together. Really if all I had to do was paint, I’d be thrilled. =)

Posted in: Miniatures / Tagged: miniature painting, Minis, pathfinder

The Legion Returns

September 1, 2015 1:07 am / Leave a Comment / ruined

Even though I just posted a winged demon, I might as well do another. =)

Thagrosh06

This is the epic version of Thagrosh, Messiah of Everblight. He’s got a cool story – an ogrun corrupted by the dragon Everblight. He would go forth and help corrupt the elven Nyss, laying the seeds for the eventual Legion of Everblight.

Thagrosh04

He initially looked like a misshapen ogre (ogrun), but then his master sent him to kill Pyromalfc, another dragon. Thagrosh consumed his essence, resulting in the draconic form you see now.

Thagrosh03

I’ve wanted to paint this mini for a long time. It’s actually the second copy I’ve owned. The first, I let this punk at the game store take it to paint it for me, back when I was learning the craft. I paid him to paint it, never got it painted, and never got the mini back. Still burns me to think about it.

Thagrosh02

I’m very pleased with how it turned out. The wings, the base. All of it. I even got this cool effect to make the eyes glow. Paint the eyes solid white for shine, and then add layers of blue wash over them.

Thagrosh05

Next post: something a bit more human, hopefully.

Bloodtrackers00

Posted in: Miniatures / Tagged: Hordes, Legion of Everblight, miniature painting, Minis

Thirsty for more

August 7, 2015 4:52 am / Leave a Comment / ruined

I completed one of the miniature kits I’ve had for three years or so. This is the Warhammer Bloodthirster, one of the Greater Daemons of Khorne. Blood for the Blood God!

Bloodthirster01

I’m very pleased with the face and torso.

Bloodthirster02

Reds are a difficult thing to paint. You can’t lighten your colors with white, because it turns to pink. So the highlights use orange or yellows, while purple helps with the shading. Still, looking at his wings, I feel like I don’t use enough contrast.

Bloodthirster03

Once again, a larger mini that takes way too much time. I could easily spend a few more nights on his spines, creating a proper base, etc. But I’m ready to be done and move on to the next piece (whatever that may be).

Bloodthirster04

I have to debate on posting this one on Facebook. Most of my friends will think it awesome, but the moms and aunts will wrinkle their noses and pray for my soul. =)

Posted in: Miniatures / Tagged: Bloodthirster, Daemon, Khorne, miniature painting, Minis, Warhammer

Ia Ia !!

July 29, 2015 4:18 am / Leave a Comment / ruined

Cthulhu01

I’m finally back to painting, and so I might as well post a thing or two. This is the Cthulhu figure (can’t really call it a miniature) from Reaper Minis and their first Kickstarter. For ten dollars, who could resist the Lord of the Depths?

Cthulhu02

The figure is utterly huge. I thought I got a bit burnt out when painting the fire giant. That was nothing compared to this guy. The airbrush was a necessity. Without that, he’d still be Bones White.

Cthulhu03

I’m going to need to figure out a better method of photographing the larger minis, especially when I have something else coming next year.

Dagon-pic

Posted in: Miniatures, Uncategorized / Tagged: airbrush, Bones, Cthulhu, miniature painting, Minis

A Slight Return

February 10, 2015 9:01 pm / Leave a Comment / ruined

Back to the blog. I’ve been lax on updates – partially due to the problems I had with the front page of this WordPress site. That seems to be fixed now, so let’s start slowly – slow and sure.

The desire to paint is back. It could be time of year, or it could be I’ve recovered from commission-induced burnout. I had also gotten frustrated with the progress on my airbrush setup. I decided to use a CO2 tank, like what’s used for home-brewing beer. It’s quieter than using a compressor, but it was tricky to get everything together. As of last year, I had it blowing air, but couldn’t get it to shoot water/paint (noob mistake). So it was shelved… until now!

Airbrush01

I could have started with a throwaway mini, one of the Reaper Bones that I didn’t care about. But I know me – I have to enjoy the subject matter if I’m going to try something new and risk failure. So I grabbed the Cryx Witch Coven. I was playing with a violet/black fade, matching their current paint scheme. Only one pic taken for now, but more to come.

My Kickstarter rewards for Wrath of Kings arrived. I got a large number of minis for the Nasier faction. They’re tiny, delicate in some ways, but still look to be easier than the damned Malifaux minis I tried. (Stock images below – not my painting).

Nasier

Another thing that helped was obtaining some of the Painting Pyramid videos from James Wappel. His technique is vastly different from what I’ve learned so far, but fun to try. If nothing else, learning all of these approaches should make me a stronger painter.

Finally, I caved in and ordered some of the Toughest Girls of the Galaxy from Raging Heroes. I was sad to have missed the original Kickstarter for these, but not that they’re releasing some, I can buy a few here and there without feeling guilty for the price. Now I just have to wait for them to arrive state-side.

Jailbirds

So yeah, I’m back for the moment. If I persist with these updates, I might even publicly post about them.

Posted in: Miniatures / Tagged: airbrush, miniature painting, Minis, TGG

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