Doggerland Session 2:15 (The Moathouse Dungeon II)

The Moathouse – Part Six (15^th January 2014)

The Adventurers

Bow – Ranger

Hallan – Fighter (NPC’d)

Johan - Cleric

Paulix – Thief

Ulf – Fighter (NPC’d)

Vox – Magic User

Rest and Recuperation - Godsday 20^th Quattrober (Day 25) – late afternoon

The narrow beam of light from the thief’s hooded lantern only partially illuminated the narrow fissure ahead of the pair of intrepid explorers. The stone walls and rough-hewn columns of the chamber at the end of the claustrophobic tunnel bounced the lantern’s rays in all directions making strange shapes appear to jump out of the shadows at them.

Bow placed his lantern down to mark their exit from the dank catacombs just in case they needed to exit in a hurry; the rest of the party were ensconced within the secret passageway at the north end of the crypt to rest, heal up and regain their spells.

The ranger readied his bow as the duo stepped into the roughly-shaped chamber and Paulix shone his lantern around, expecting to encounter the snarling face of a ghoul at any moment. Fortunately there was no repeat encounter with any denizens of the charnel house and the two adventurers were able to search the chamber in safety. They spotted a pile of old cloth full of gnawed long bones and skulls in one corner, but decided to not approach any closer. They made a mental note to dig through the pile at a later time.

There was only one other exit from the chamber, and as the pair advanced towards it the light from their solitary lantern glinted on some metal objects partially buried within the dust on the ground. An arrow was shot at the small pile of gleaming objects as neither of the companions believed it could be set there as anything but a trap. The arrow zinged into the dirt and a handful of metal coins jumped into the air under the impact.

Not wanting to get too far separated from the rest of the party, the thief and ranger decided to retrace their footsteps and join their comrades for a few hours’ rest.

Gnolls (late evening)

Feeling refreshed from the healing and rest, the party emerged from their hide-away. Hallan and Ulf were given the task to block the entrance to the ghouls’ chamber with a few heavy stone sarcophagus lids. Meanwhile, Paulix and Bow scouted the corridors ahead, leap-frogging each other’s position through the zig-zagging passages until they came to a T-Junction. They awaited the arrival of the rest of the party and took stock of their situation.

To their right (southwards) was a set of damp steps carved into the stone floor. The beams from the lanterns could not reach the far end of the corridor which led down into the dankness below. To their right (northwards), the corridor stretched on for a goodly distance before ending with a wooden door. They could also just make out a side passage that led off eastwards about twenty feet before the door at the end of the main passageway.

Part of the Moathouse dungeon - Adapted and used without permission

After a brief discussion it was decided that the two scouts would investigate and report back whilst the rest of the party guarded the rear. Paulix ranged ahead of Bow by about twenty feet, using the pools of light from their lanterns to see their way. When Paulix reached the side corridor, he noticed that it led partially back on itself at a forty-five degree angle to the south-east. He shone his lantern at full beam down the corridor but could not make out the end in the gloom.

Paulix moved up to the door and listened whilst Bow guarded the mouth of the angled corridor. Paulix heard nothing at the door so lifted the latch and snuck through the small opening he had made. He had to pass along a small niche that was the same depth that the space the opening door would require to open into and then hugged the nearest wall of the chamber and advanced within. He noticed at the far western end of the room there was a dim glow of light emanating from around a corner. He headed towards it to find out what was there, but noticed that there were two more doors in niches on the southern wall that he entered from. He took out his mallet and iron spikes, covered the metal in swaddling cloth, and gently hammered home a spike beneath each door to stop them from being opened in a hurry.

He then noticed an open corridor in the wall opposite, but it was very dark and there seemed to be no movement from that direction. He advanced cautiously along the walls, keeping to the deepest shadows until he was able to see where the glow emanated from. He could just about make out the backs of a couple of large humanoid creatures with heads like dogs. He listened for a short while to ascertain their numbers and guessed that there may be at least half-a-dozen stationed there.

He silently made his way back to Bow and the pair of them reported back to the rest of the party. A brief discussion ensued and it was agreed that they would lay an ambush for the creatures in the hope that they could take them down quickly enough without incurring too many injuries.

Again Paulix and Bow advanced upon the position, leap-frogging each other until they got to the door again. Paulix advanced into the chamber, bow drawn, and Paulix lined up with Hallan to form the first line of defence just behind the door. Ulf and Johan formed the second line, whilst Vox kept an eye out down the angled corridor behind them just in case.

Paulix crept up to within a few yards of the gnolls and let loose with a shaft. It struck true and the target howled in pain and rage. Within seconds the gnolls gathered their weapons and charged their attacker. Paulix had a good start on them and had just enough time to look back at them from the entrance to the chamber. He noticed that there were nine gnolls chasing him. The warriors with axes charged directly after him whilst their leader appeared to give instructions for one warrior to peel off up the dark corridor to bring reinforcements and for the two archers in their midst to form ranks in a suitable position.

The gnolls were surprised by the rest of the party when they turned the corner and passed through the door. A desperate scuffle broke out. The gnolls had the upper hand to begin with and Hallan bore the brunt of the attack. However, Johan was on hand to heal him each time he took a big blow. Paulix and Ulf supported their comrades from the second row and Vox occasionally threw a flask of lighted oil at an opponent that showed too much willing. The tide slowly turned in favour of the party as the gnolls’ corpses began to pile up in the doorway, but the two with the bows firing from a distance made the going tough.

Just as the leader of the gnolls was cut down, a bark of defiance went up from within the room and a new horde of humanoids burst into the combat. This time, the lone gnoll scout was accompanied by half-a-dozen bugbears.

The party realised that the odds were now against them, so agreed to try to close the door and put some distance between themselves and their pursuers. Only one bugbear managed to get through the door, swinging its morning star in frenzy. Hallan and Bow put the creature down and then began to close the door in the face of the remaining enemy. It took a while, but slowly the superior numbers of the bugbears was outmatched by the superior strength of the two human warriors. Paulix used a hammer and spikes to stop the door from being opened again easily.

Rather than trying to force the door open, the frenzied bugbears bashed at it with their weapons in an attempt to smash it open. The party quickly ran back to the T-Junction where they devised an escape plan. They knew that they would not be able to out-run the bugbears due to the tight squeeze in the shaft beyond the crypt that would be their exit point, so they decided that they would have to set another ambush in the hope that they could reduce the numbers of their pursuers further.

A Second Ambush

Vox liberally splashed lantern oil over the floor before the entrance to their corridor and the warriors took up defensive positions again. They only had to wait a few minutes before the bugbears had smashed their way through the door and the sound of their baying pursuit ran shivers down their spines.

The bugbears rushed towards the party’s position and the oil had its desired effect on one of the beasts as it slid over and hurt itself. The others carried on regardless and battle was joined again.

This time it was a lot tougher than the fight against the gnolls and each injury took its toll. Hallan’s superior strength enabled him to cut down one of the beasts every few minutes but this then allowed for a volley of missile weapons to be fired through the combat as a gap temporarily opened up. However, the two gnoll archers were unable to get too many shots in like they had at the other end of the corridor which aided the party no end.

Just as Hallan and Bow were about to be overwhelmed (Johan’s healing spells were all used up by now), Vox lit a couple of lantern oil filled flasks and passed them forwards through the crush. The two fighters grabbed them and threw them at the oil covered floor which erupted in gouts of flame. This injured many of their assailants and halted their attack temporarily so that the second rank warriors in the party could now step to the fore thus relieving Hallan and Bow who were almost done for.

Ulf and Johan put up a stout fight and the combat continued. It was at this point that Vox was able to count the numbers. Two of the pursuers were missing. He called out that they had better get out of there fast as more reinforcements could be due at any time. The party fought a bitter retreat but a Magic Missile cast by Vox finally turned the tide by putting down the last of the two gnoll archers that gave the fighters the freedom to gang up on the last of the bugbears.

Paulix led the retreat and made sure that their escape route was clear. After he had gone, the rest of the party left the combat one-by-one as their opponents were defeated. Finally, the last of the bugbears fell and the companions looked themselves over. They were all still standing but all were covered in many severe cuts and bruises. Bow, not one to waste time or opportunity, took out his dagger and cut the purses from their assailants’ belts before bringing up the rear.

Return to Staneford

The party retraced their steps through the zig-zagging corridors back to the crypt. They quickly made their way through the secret door and closed it behind them. The journey up the shaft was very slow as Hallan could barely fit, but they made it out of the tight spot into the torture chamber above.

The two scouts spotted no-one about so hastened their companions across to the stone stairs whilst they torched what they could of the supplies removed from the two store rooms. Hallan swiftly removed the head of one of the bugbears for proof of their encounter with strange humanoids and tuke dit away in a large sack. The party swiftly advanced up into the actual moat house, where they rapidly made their way through the fortress to recover their prisoner before joining the road to Staneford.

It was still raining outside but at least there was no sign of pursuit. They had shaken off their attackers but were sure that they had stirred up the hornets’ nest. There would be repercussions.

Doggerand Session 2.14 (The Moathouse Dungeon)

The Moathouse – Part Five (8^th January 2014)

The Adventurers

Bow – Ranger

Hallan – Fighter

Johan - Cleric

Paulix – Thief

Ulf - Fighter

Vox – Magic User

Shelter from the Rain - Godsday 20^th Quattrober (Day 25) – mid-day

Ulf stopped his steady plod through the mud-blighted fenland path, blinked the rain from his eyes and re-adjusted the hood of his sodden cloak to cover his long blonde hair. He had been travelling for days and was cold, tired and hungry. He was sure that the village of Staneford was but a few hours walk hence, but he really wanted to get out of the deluge to dry out a little before continuing on and booking a room at the renowned Plough and Stars Inn. He could then look for adventure after a hot bath and a warm meal inside him.

Recovering from his reverie, he espied in the distance, through the trees, the grey, looming walls of an abandoned fortification. As he approached the walls he noticed that it had been severely damaged in the past and was most likely abandoned. That was until he spotted a shadowy figure that climbed up the scattered masonry and disappeared within the confines of one of the towers.

He held is spear tighter to his chest in readiness for ambush and looked for a way into the fortress. He only had to walk a few dozen yards before he spotted the fallen gate that covered the original drawbridge. The entrance appeared to be unguarded and the shelter the building offered enticed him to look closer.

Going Underground

The last remaining bandit was made comfortable and then questioned by Bow, the ranger. After his interrogation he was carried to the room that the party had made safe last time they were there in the moat house. He was administered some aid (his leg was set and bound, and then he was tied up securely) and then the door was close on him. The rest of the party readied themselves for the descent into the dungeon below when they heard sounds of movement from the courtyard outside. Hallan, Johan and Vox crept silently to the doors of the main hall and took a peek.

Ulf was seen to be muttering quietly to himself whilst trying to figure out what the pile of burnt and blackened bodies were doing just lying there in the courtyard. A slight movement caught his eye and he glanced up, spotting the three adventurers observing his movements. He lowered his spear and shield and announced he meant no harm; he was looking for somewhere to shelter from the rain before he made his way to Staneford and the adventures that could be had from there. The party saw that he presented them with no threat, so invited him in to share their meagre rations and brought him up to date with what they were up to. They mentioned that another sword would be most welcome in their quest below, and Ulf agreed to accompany them for a share of any treasure found.

The companions quickly readied their arms and after a quick discussion decided that they would return to the underground part of the lair via the secret door in the bandits’ black marble chamber. Now that the other bandit had been moved out of the room, no-one would know of this secret entrance other than the party.

Image Copyright TSR/WotC

Paulix flipped the catch and the secret door swung silently inwards. The party lit their lanterns and torches and proceeded down the steep stairwell in single file to the bottom. Bow listened at the next secret door and could hear a rough, guttural muttering from beyond. He motioned for the party to be silent and let Paulix pop the catch. As soon as the catch was triggered the guttural uttering stopped and the sound of movement within ceased. Bow shoved the door open and sprang into the chamber beyond. He was faced with two very large, hairy creatures clothed in scrappy leathers and wielding a morning star apiece. The monsters flew at Bow in a rage as soon as he burst into the room.

A heavy combat soon ensued, but the weight of numbers on the side of the party began to tell quite quickly as their multiple attacks soon reduced the two bugbears to one. The badly wounded second bugbear lowered his weapon and tried to beg for mercy but a new hatred formed deep within the ranger’s belly and he cut the beast down before it could react.

A quick search of the bodies revealed that they both owned a pouch of valuable coins. The pouches did not match the leathers that the beasts wore, and Bow deduced that these were some sort of payment for services rendered; how they would spend the coin was anyone’s guess.

A quick look into each of the adjoining rooms revealed that nothing had changed since their last visit. They opened the final door that they had spiked on their last visit and emerged back into the large chamber that they fought the horde of zombies in. The mouldering pile of half-burnt cadavers was still where they left it. The party split up to investigate the rest of the area. Vox stood on guard with his poled lantern and used the time to learn a spell. After searching through the cells that held the zombies and finding an impressive gemstone in a pouch hidden behind a loose stone Johan joined him.

Bow, Hallan and Ulf investigated the large pile of debris in the northernmost part of the chamber and were able to discover that the pile hid two doors. It took them quite a while to pull enough of the debris aside to reveal the two doors beyond. Hallan booted the top half of each of the doors asunder and Bow dropped into each room in turn, after lowering a lantern through the hole to see what they contained. Hallan and Ulf continued to pull the debris away from the doors whilst Bow inventoried the rooms. He discovered that they were well stocked store-rooms containing a multitude of well-made weaponry, freshly made leather armour and several barrels of food- and drink-stuffs; all still in excellent condition. They also found dozens of black capes with the golden eye of Zuggtmoy embroidered upon them. The three fighters proceeded to roll each of the barrels out of the rooms and also to stack the other items for ease of extraction when they brought back a mule and cart later on. Each party member grabbed two capes for future use, but only Bow put one on.

Paulix meanwhile, explored the torture chamber. Again he saw the implements of torture; racks, iron maidens, mangles and such-like. This time though he saw that some of the blood on the floor was fresher than it should have been. The cadavers and body parts still on the torture devices were dusty and obviously several years old, but the blood trail was fresher. He took his time looking for secret entrances but was stumped as he could find none. The blood spots made their way to a column in the middle of the room and just stopped.

Paulix called for his companions’ attention, and luckily it was at this time that the rest of the party were finishing up their respective tasks. He told them what he had found but all scratched their heads because no egress could be found from the room and therefore no further parts of the dungeon (that they assumed was larger from the clues they had gathered) could be explored. Ulf wondered if the blood trail could actually lead within the column, so he struck it with a large, heavy piece of wood. It boomed as though hollow. This encouraged Paulix to look closer and he noticed that the heavy strike had dislodged some dust; just enough to show him here the catch for the secret release mechanism was. Just as he popped the button, the party heard more guttural voices from the head of the main staircase that led down to the dungeon from the kitchen area.

Each warrior grabbed his weapons and rushed to the stone staircase. The cleric and mage moved up to support their companions whilst Paulix kept up his investigation of the secret way within the column.

As there was not much room at the bottom of the stairs, the battle raged fiercely, but only against one opponent at a time. The numbers of the party soon told again and the two patrolling bugbears were soon defeated, but not without a few scratches being dished out to a few of the party. Johan learned that his Command spell would not work on the bugbears as they did not speak Vannin!

A quick search of their pouches revealed another small sum of money, but nothing else worth salvaging. The party re-joined Paulix at the entrance to the column and he told them what he had discovered. The very narrow shaft descended about twenty feet and then the path headed eastwards along a very narrow corridor for a short distance. It then turned south for a further thirty to forty feet before ending at a blank wall. It was silent down there and very dark.

Both of the scouts decided that there must be another secret door at the end, so Paulix quickly descended the iron rungs to the bottom. The rest of the party followed in single file, Hallan took quite a while to get down as he only just had enough room to manoeuvre himself down the narrow confines of the shaft, and Bow brought up the rear. The catch on the shaft side of the secret door was marked with chalk (as were all other secret doors they had encountered so far) and then the door was closed behind them.

Ghouls in the Dark - late afternoon

Paulix made it to the end of the southward leading corridor first and searched for the catch to open the suspected secret door. He found it in no time, checked it for traps, marked it with chalk and popped the door open. The door only swung open about two feet before being stopped by obstacle on the other side. He reduced the hood on his lantern to a smaller size and squeezed himself through the gap after it. He stood upon a stone sarcophagus that was positioned within a small niche carved into a wall. He shone his lantern away from the back of the niche and followed the light into the main body of the chamber beyond, closely accompanied by Ulf, Johan and Hallan.

Just as Paulix jumped down from the sarcophagus, a great hissing sound erupted from close by and the pattering of bare feet on stone resounded around the large chamber. The charnel stench of foetid breath hit the companions like a wave of nausea and they were assailed by four creatures from their worst nightmares. Paulix and Ulf formed a small defensive wall to fight the creatures off, but just one strike paralysed Paulix where he stood. Johan, recognising the ghouls for what they were from the grimoire he had read back in High Beeches, called upon the power of Balder to aid him in his hour of need. Three of the creatures were driven back from the light given out by his holy symbol, but the fourth, obviously more cunning and evil than the rest was able to strike Ulf and paralyse him too.

Whilst Johan was concentrating on keeping the three ghouls at bay he was vulnerable to attack from the last one. However, Hallan was there to get in the way, albeit only temporarily before he too was stopped in his tracks by the vile paralysis that affected his two companions. Luckily he gave Bow and Vox just enough time to arrive on the scene and grab from Paulix’s pouch the Potion of Undead control. Vox swallowed it quickly and commanded the carrion eaters to kneel. The ghouls fell to their knees and Bow was able to dispatch the undead beasts with ease.

It was a few minutes before Paulix, Ulf and Hallan regained control of their limbs; the last few minutes of the combat were extremely scary as they could see what was going on but could do nothing about it. They rubbed life back into their arms and legs as the rest of the party explored the darkness of the noisome crypt. The burial chamber was huge and contained many dozens of niches, but not all contained a sarcophagus. The main room itself led off eastwards and then a corridor at the far end of the chamber seemed to head south again. One of the two southern niches in the main chamber did not contain a sarcophagus either but at the far end of it was a rough-hewn passageway that led off into the darkness beyond.

Doggerland Session 2.14a - a PBM Interlude

Over the Christmas period we took a break from the weekly gaming sessions due to the club closing for the festivities. However, to keep things moving I sent out a quick email to get the players' responses as to what they wanted to do next before heading down into the dungeon again. They decided that they wanted to question the injured bandit. Here is a summary of their 'question and answer' session...

1)      What’s downstairs?

a)      He has only been here a few days. He fell down the trapped rubble and he has not been able to do anything else since

b)      From forays by his fellow bandits, there are a few rooms below that have been looted and a pile of burnt zombie bodies. One door is jammed from the other side and two other doors are blocked by piles of debris that no-one can be bothered to move yet

c)      From furtive questioning - he is not aware of the secret door in the chamber in which he lies (neither were any of his compatriots from what you can make out) – so, he is only aware of one way down to the dungeon level

2)      Where are his bandit mates based?

a)      Everyone came up from Castleford; hired on by some members of the Iron Ring. No names were given but ours were taken, then everyone was transported up or down river by one of the two river pirate ships that operate in these waters to Nulb or other destinations unknown

b)      His base of operations is here and they were to await instructions on when to strike

3)      Who is running the outfit?

a)      No names were given. My direct report was the leader of this outfit. He has his own chain of command, but he did overhear a few names during his short wait for the ship and subsequent delivery into the hands of the next contact in Nulb

b)      His leader was part of another group of bandits not affiliated with the Temple that harried the caravans before he was enticed by the glory that would come with joining the effort for the release of the great Zuggtmoy

c)      The contacts within the pirate group are: Tolub and Grud Squinteye (deliver recruits to Skole, who in turn passes them onto the Temple representative Rentsch)

d)     The contacts in Nulb are: Skole (Boatmen’s Tavern) and Rentsch (Waterside Hostel) – the pirates and Temple people do not see eye-to-eye but tolerate each other due to mutual requirements

4)      What are the passwords, signals, call-signs that go along with the amulets?

a)      He does not know – he has been told he only needs the amulet to be recognised by fellow bandits doing the same job as him, but there is a further cadre that requires a certain type of cloak for recognition. This cadre is of a higher rank than him and more fully ingrained within the Temple hierarchy – the wearers of the cloaks are trusted more as they have proven themselves worthy (either by deeds or time served) to wear the cloak by reason of services rendered or by certain magiks if of a higher level still

5)      Why the grey ooze? Does he want to become a zombie?

a)      The grey ooze is part of the great plan by the demoness to convert those not willing to be followers voluntarily to become her minions none-the-less

b)      Those of us who have signed the pact are willing to give our afterlives in the service of one so great

6)      What traps/monsters are in the keep?

a)      Due to being injured he does not know anything other than what the others have told him – there are giant ticks breeding in the southern room of the east wing and a pack of giant rats have taken over the kitchen. A week or two back a band of adventurers wiped out the entire upper level, but strangely some of the corpses came back to life only to be butchered again

b)      They all keep hearing strange noises but nothing new seems to have appeared in the last few days. They have left the ticks alone as they lost a member of their band to them. It seems the previous group of bandits also lost a member of their party in the same room to a giant snake. From what he has heard there are loads of corpses of strange creatures in there, piled up by unknown hands

7)      Does he have a map or local knowledge of the area? Where is his base of operations?

a)      He doesn’t have a map but can give directions to Nulb, where he disembarked. It was a long walk south to get to the moat house but he has an idea how to pass through some of the fens without getting trapped in the bogs

b)      He was a bandit from the Dyvers area, by the great Silver Lake. Pickings were good but the prospect of serving Zuggtmoy was too great an opportunity to pass up. He joined the followers of the Temple with a few of his old band, but they were all sent off in different directions to aid the cause better

c)      The main area of operations nearby is based in Castleford – the main recruiting and delivery of fighters for the cause and supplies happens from there. There are more bandits in Nulb who go out raiding, and the Temple has followers in villages all around to spread the word, recruit new members, or generally keep an eye on the movements of the Thuringian elite in readiness for the return of the demoness

A Belated "Happy New Year"

Here's wishing all my readers a belated Happy New Year, and a heartfelt "Thank You" for continuing to read my ramblings. I have had quite a few issues with my broadband over the Christmas and New Year period, so I have been unable to update the blog as often as I wanted to over the holidays.

The blog has changed a lot since I started it a few years back. Initially it was there for me to post reminder pictures of figures I had just painted from my enormous lead mountain that had not really been touched in anywhere up to 30 years! It then went through a brief phase of writing up table-top battle reports and ideas I had about gaming, before slowly becoming an almost total write-up site for the RPGs I started playing in about two years ago when I joined my local club.

I suppose that all things change with time and blogs are no exception - they are reflections of our eclectic minds and ever changing hobby tastes. So, what does the future hold for Little Odo's Grand Days Out?

My gaming tally has gone from zero games per week back in 2009 when I first started the blog to once a week in 2013, and I am hoping that the upcoming year will get me back into table-top games to raise that figure further. I am also hoping to increase my painting output so that the lead and plastic piles further reduce, and I amass enough minis of a particular type/army that they can actually be played with.

The AD&D RPG I am currently running is taking up a lot of my hobby time with weekly prep work and adventure write-ups, but my stint as DM is comig to an end in March, when one of the other members of my gaming group will be taking over the mantle. I am thoroughly enjoying creating new situations for the players to interact within, but I am also hankering after a little bit more time to get on with other aspects of my hobby. Unfortunately I can't have it both ways but, luckily, at the moment the game running is the more enjoyable for me, so I am happy with the situation.

When my stint as DM comes to an end in March, I will try to get more painting and table-top gaming done. I have many ideas of what I want to achieve; these include...

• Finish off painting a couple of the Hordes of the Things armies that have been languishing on the shelves for a good long while, and get them clashing on the table-top

• Complete my Rohan and Easterling armies and get the LotR: Strategy Battle Game played a few times. Alex wants to use his Elf army soon, so I may start with Battle Companies to begin with and move up in scale from there

• Try to get another e:PBM game going - maybe a Dogerland III?

• Play in another RPG at the club

• Play in a sci-fi e:PBM run by one of my old gaming friends

• Finish painting my Roman army

So, these are some of my gaming resolutions for this year. They are not set in stone as I am sure I will start on something else that is just as exciting that I have just not dscovered yet.

Alex, being a young teenager now, has lost a lot of his gaming mojo. He has part-painted a few figures but has pretty much lost interest in most that the hobby has to offer. I think this is in part due to his age, school homework, his X-Box obsession, and the fact he has not seen me painting or tinkering with rulesets that much over the last year. He still regularly reads several hobby related blogs and forums, and gets his paints out on ocasion to put another colour onto whatever figures he has an idea in mind for at the time, but he han't finished anything this year. I had a chat with him about this the other day and he said he wanted to play some games with me using his LotR figures but he had lost interest in Warhammer. He even suggested selling of his 40K stuff, but I told him not to just yet as they would be worth a lot more in the future when the metal minis and other particular plastic sets are OOP. Hopefully he will get an interest back in them so that his efforts up until now are not wasted.

Last year was a bit of a slow year blogging wise. I managed more than one post per week but ideally I wanted to put up two or three posts per week; a weekly summary of what I had achieved hobby wise, a write-up of my weekly RPG session, and a table-top game or rules write-up once every couple of weeks. This year I hope to be closer to that target, but do not want it to be a chore. I am enjoying my hobby still, and even my wife is starting to ask a few questions about it now. I don't think I will have a convert in her, but at least my hours under candle light are not being looked at as wasted.