Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Hunting Horror

In addition to my backlog of Reaper Bones miniatures, I also have a sizable collection of figures from the Sandy Petersen's Cthulhu Mythos for Pathfinder Kickstarter. One of the more striking miniatures from that lot is the hunting horror, a Huge flying aberration.

I primed this figure with the gray Army Painter rattlecan primer, then broke out the airbrush to do a basecoat of Reaper Blood Red, following the illustration in the hardcover book. I used my Vallejo Umber Wash and then did some simple dry brushing for the highlights. It was a fairly simple paint, but the figure looks pretty decent. Although it already has a round 50mm base, I may still mount it on a 75mm Huge base more appropriate for its size.

The Pathfinder stats for this beast are pretty complicated, with numerous special abilities. I didn't try to simplify those too much for the 3.5e conversion presented below. For the 5e conversion, I dropped several ancillary abilities in keeping with Fifth Edition's design ethos, but this is still a pretty tough and complex monster design.

My only real complaint about this monster is that, at Challenge Rating 16, this is an upper echelon monster and it's hard to imagine encountering more than 2 or 3 at once—but I have a lot of these figures as part of the Kickstarter.

The following text is Open Game Content.

Hunting Horror

Flowing down directly from the sky, like black lightning, this wormlike creature appears before you, reeking of ancient rot. From between its armored plates seeps a grotesque mucus falling constantly like an unholy rain. Its many eyes stare at you with vile hatred.

Hunting horrors are very large, and their serpentine bodies act like tentacles to grip victims while their mouths grow impossibly wide to swallow foes whole. An individual hunting horror usually has a wingspan of 20+ feet, and an even longer body length. It weighs from 3000–6000 pounds, and could never fly if it was restricted to normal laws of physics.

Slimy Horror. Their flesh secretes a mucus so rapidly that it constantly drips off as if the hunting horror were falling apart. After sloughing off, the thick piles of mucus begin to harden, becoming like mud. It is possible to slowly plod through it, but not swim in it like water. The mucus begins to pile up during a fight, eventually covering the horror’s prey and holding them in place so they cannot escape when the horror swallows them whole.

Playing with their Food. Hunting horrors speak to their prey mentally. They send fantastically horrible images to the minds of those they are going to swallow.

Part of a Terrible Whole. Hunting horrors are all a branch of the same immense organism that spans great reaches of space. They are each the nerves and nerve endings of this being. This is how they can appear instantly and avoid sunlight. The creature as a whole is practically a Great Old One in terms of power.

3.5e

Hunting Horror CR 16

Always CE Huge aberration

Init +11; Senses scent, see in darkness; Listen +29, Spot +29

Languages Aklo; telepathy 300 ft.

Aura mucus (10 ft.)

Defense

AC 31, touch 15, flat-footed 24 (+7 Dex, +16 natural, –2 size)

hp 237 (19d8+152 HD); DR 10/—; fast healing 10

Fort +14, Ref +15, Will +19

Defensive Abilities amorphous; Immune cold, electricity, mind-affecting effects; SR 27

Weaknesses daylight powerlessness

Offense

Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft. (perfect)

Melee bite +26 (6d8+14), tail slap +24 (4d6+7)

Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. (30 ft. with tail slap)

Special Attacks constrict 4d6+14, improved grab, swallow whole, telepathic assault

Spell-Like Abilities (CL 15th)

At will—greater teleport (self only), plane shift (self only)

Statistics

Str 38, Dex 25, Con 27, Int 19, Wis 26, Cha 24

Base Atk +14; Grp +36

Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack, Snatch

Skills Knowledge (geography) +25, Knowledge (planes) +25, Listen +29, Move Silently +28, Spot +29, Survival +29 (+31 on other planes)

SQ shared consciousness

Ecology

Environment any

Organization solitary, pair, or pack (3–5)

Treasure none

Advancement 20–38 HD (Huge), 39–57 HD (Gargantuan)

Special Abilities

Amorphous (Ex) A hunting horror is not subject to critical hits. It cannot be flanked.

Constrict (Ex) A hunting horror deals an automatic 4d6+14 damage with a successful grapple check.

Daylight Powerlessness (Ex) A hunting horror is utterly powerless in natural sunlight (not merely a daylight spell) and flees from it.

Improved Grab (Ex) To use this ability, a hunting horror must hit an opponent of any size with a bite or tail slap attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can constrict or swallow the opponent.

Mucus (Su) A hunting horror’s “flesh” constantly weeps thick foul mucus, seemingly melting off its serpentine frame as swiftly as it rebuilds and restores its shape. When a hunting horror lands on a surface, the mucus swiftly spreads out in a ten-foot radius around the creature and hardens into a thick mud-like consistency. This area is treated as difficult terrain by all save hunting horrors. Each round a creature other than a hunting horror begins its turn within this area, it must make a successful DC 27 Reflex save or become entangled for as long as it remains within the area. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Shared Consciousness (Ex) All hunting horrors are branches of the same immense organism that has spread throughout several dimensions across the reaches of space, and anything one hunting horror experiences is experienced by all. When multiple hunting horrors are encountered, none of them are considered flat-footed unless all of them are.

Swallow Whole (Ex) A hunting horror can try to swallow a grabbed opponent of up to two sizes smaller by making a successful grapple check. The swallowed creature takes 4d6 points of bludgeoning damage and 4d6points of acid damage per round. A swallowed creature can cut its way out by using a light slashing or piercing weapon to deal 23 points of damage (AC 18). A hunting horror’s body constantly reforms and repairs itself. The hole created when a creature cuts its way out of a hunting horror instantly seals as soon as the escaping creature exits.

A Huge hunting horror can hold 2 Medium, 8 Small, 32 Tiny, or 128 Diminutive or smaller opponents.

Telepathic Assault (Su) As it attacks, a hunting horror bombards its prey’s consciousness with its mind, sending grisly and horrific images into the victim’s thoughts in an attempt to undermine the potential meal’s defenses and to flavor the flesh with the tang of fear and despair.

Whenever a hunting horror attacks a creature, regardless of whether the attack successfully hits or not, that creature must make a successful DC 26 Will save or be staggered for 1 round by despair and horror at the images projected by the hunting horror. An already staggered creature that fails this saving throw is also stunned for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting fear effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

5e

Hunting Horror
Huge aberration, chaotic evil
Armor Class 18 (natural)
Hit Points 195 (17d12 + 85)
Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
23 (+6)20 (+5)21 (+5)19 (+4)20 (+5)19 (+4)
Saving Throws Str +11, Con +10, Wis +10, Cha +9
Skills Perception +10
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
Damage Immunities cold, lightning, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, poisoned
Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 20
Languages Aklo, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)
Magic Resistance. The hunting horror has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Mucus. The ground in a 10-foot radius around the hunting horror is difficult terrain. Each creature that starts its turn in that area must succeed on a DC 10 Strength saving throw or have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of its next turn.
Sunlight Weakness. While in sunlight, the hunting horror has disadvantage on attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.
Actions
Multiattack. The hunting horror makes two attacks: one with its bite and one to constrict.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 20 (4d6 + 6) piercing damage plus plus 20 (4d6 + 6) psychic damage.
Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 10 ft., one Large or smaller creature. Hit: 20 (4d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 20 (4d6 + 6) slashing damage. The target is grappled (escape DC 19) if the hunting horror isn’t already constricting a creature, and the target is restrained until this grapple ends.
Swallow. The hunting horror makes one bite attack against a Medium or smaller target it is grappling. If the attack hits, the target is also swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the target is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the hunting horror, and it takes 21 (6d6) acid damage at the start of each of the hunting horror’s turns. A hunting horror can have only one creature swallowed at a time.

If the hunting horror takes 30 damage or more on a single turn from the swallowed creature, the hunting horror must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate the creature, which falls prone in a space within 10 feet of the hunting horror. If the hunting horror dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 15 feet of movement, exiting prone.
Teleport. The hunting horror magically teleports, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 120 feet to an unoccupied space it can see.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.

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Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Mashaaf, Great Old One

Although I am still very much a beginner with the airbrush, the tool has worked wonders in breaking up my miniature logjam. I had one big model left over from Reaper Miniatures Bones II: The Return Of Mr Bones! that had been haunting my painting queue since 2015: Mashaaf, the Great Old One. This is a massive, multipart figure sculpted by Kevin Williams. I had prepped it years ago for painting but failed my morale check every time I sat down to start work.

The airbrush, though, helped steel my resolve. I was also bolstered by a nice Build and Paint video by Michael Mordor. His YouTube channel has greatly helped me approach some of the larger and more complex models on my workbench. Michael has very mellow, encouraging demeanor, sort of like the Bob Ross of monster modeling. Michael makes you feel like no figure is too tough to tackle as long as you have a plan of attack. Although I am trying to learn how to use my new airbrush, I appreciate that Mordor seems to primarily use brushes on his models, so his videos would be a great resource for any beginner modeler.

I primed this model with Army Painter gray spray primer and then assembled most of the model. Overall, the old Bones material pieces fit together well enough, though I needed quite a bit of Green Stuff on the weird mouth wings. I then airbrushed Mashaaf with a basecoat of Army Painter Greenskin, followed by a wash of Army Painter Quickshade Strong Tone. This was my first time using Army Painter washes, and I have to say I really liked the overall effect. The product seemed to have better coverage and smoother effect than my Reaper or Vallejo washes, which seem to be a little more gritty. I also followed Mordor's general advice on highlighting with greens and yellow: I was skeptical about using a bright yellow highlight on such a dark base, but it worked really well.

Once the paints were dry, I varnished the model with Testor Dullcote, and used Vallejo gloss varnish on the mouth. I then mounted the figure on a Litko 152mm round model presentation base, suitable for a Colossal sized monster. Mashaaf is a very heavy model to hold in the hand, and combined with the Litko base, which is also heavy, feels like a real brick of plastic. In retrospect I might have done with a less substantial base like the Reaper 160mm Base Boss.

Overall, I was happy with how the model turned out, though I would have liked to have gotten a more dramatic glowing eye effect. (The Dullcote always seems to knock the glow down and I haven't figured out how to compensate.) This a great sculpt with a twisting, dynamic form: it really looks like Mashaaf has just burst out of the earth and is about to wreak havoc on some poor adventurers.

Mashaaf looks like some sort of Lovecraftian horror: though it's too small to be a Dhole, it might work as one of the Chthonians, a monster from Brian Lumley's 1975 novel The Burrowers Beneath. I swear there was a 3e monster that looked very much like Mashaaf, right down to the little scythe arms, but I can't put my hands on the illustration I'm thinking of. Third edition had many nasty, giant verminous monsters, including the Avolakia, Neothelid, Psurlon, and Ulgurstasta, and while Mashaaf could stand in for any of them, none of these quite fit the bill. (I think the model could probably fit on a Gargantuan, 125mm base.) There might be a closer match somewhere in the Age of Worms adventure path—I even think I got this figure specifically to use in that campaign, though it obviously never panned out.

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Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Trolls of the Great Dungeon

A gang of five troll models with one 28mm character figure.
Sir Will Garnfellow runs into the loathsome inhabitants of the Troll Warrens.

“Thin and rubbery, loathsome Trolls are able to regenerate…" —D&D Book II, Monster and Treasures (1974).

Trolls are one of my favorite D&D monsters, going all the way back to my first encounter with the Dungeon! board game. D&D trolls are terrifying creatures with three attacks, no fear of death, and their signature regeneration ability. Although I already have plenty of decent-looking pre-painted plastic miniatures of trolls, the trolls from the Reaper Bones 5: Escape from Pizza Dungeon Kickerstarter looked so good I couldn’t resist dropping them into my painting queue. Three of these trolls appeared in the Bones 5 core set, while a fourth was part of the Dungeon Dwellers expansion pack.

All four models appear to have been sculpted by Jason Wiebe, who did a very similar troll is part of the Trolls expansion pack for the earlier Reaper Bones 4: Mr. Bones EPIC Adventure Kickstarer. I painted all five of these models by first spraying them with Army Painter gray primer, then using the airbrush to base coat them with Army Painter Air Greenskin, which is a pretty bold shade of green. The paint goes on with a slight gloss and it made the models look like plastic toys. Fortunately, a Vallejo umber wash and some drybrushing helped reduce the plasticky look. I used brushes to get the smaller details and then hit all five models with Testor's Dullcote varnish.

Moor Troll (44121) by Jason Wiebe, from the Reaper Bones 4 Trolls expansion pack.

I now have a largish number of green trolls, but one of the nice things about 5e is that it makes it easier to throw larger numbers of monsters at PCs, which was a common peril in earlier editions. In 3e, in contrast, the maximum number of monsters of one type that could be reasonably used in an encounter was twelve or so. More monsters would be hard to run and would indicate that the power disparity between the PCs and monsters was so great that additional numbers wouldn’t result in a very challenging encounter. By flattening the power curve and simplifying monster design, 5e makes it much easier to throw large hordes of opponents against PCs, much like in earlier editions. (And coincidentally justifying the acquisition of yet more miniatures!)

For example, the “Stinking Caverns” encounter area from AD&D Module G3, Hall of the Fire Giant King (1978), consists of three interconnected caves. These areas have 13, 16, and 27 trolls each; the latter total includes a chieftain and his two lieutenants. Such a large encounter would be difficult to run in 1e, but would induce a Sanity check in 3e.

Reaper Bones 5 Loathsome Troll A (1104).
Reaper Bones 5 Loathsome Troll B (1105).
Reaper Bones 5 Loathsome Troll C (1106).
Reaper Bones 5 Dungeon Dwellers Expansion Troll (315).

All five trolls models are really nice sculpts in a variety of poses and were fun to paint. The two trolls with equipment have many fun small details. One has a witch’s cauldron for a helmet, a repurposed grate for a chestplate, and giant turtle shell as a shield. The other uses human-sized barrels for arm bracers, ropes for a belt, and a smaller turtle shell for a codpiece.

Although the appearance of many monsters have evolved greatly over the years, the troll has remained remarkably similar to the Dave Sutherland illustrations from the 1e Monster Manual (1977), which in turn recalls the vivid description in Poul Anderson’s 1961 fantasy novel Three Hearts and Three Lions:

The troll shambled closer. He was perhaps eight feet tall, perhaps more. His forward stoop, with arms dangling past thick claw-footed legs to the ground, made it hard to tell. The hairless green skin moved upon his body. His head was a gash of a mouth, a yard-long nose, and two eyes which were black pools, without pupil or white, eyes which drank the torchlight and never gave back a gleam

Although I like the thought of trolls, like sharks, having black eyes, like doll’s eyes, I found the miniatures weren’t really working without a little white dot in the eye sockets. It’s always amazing to me how much difference that one little touch can make.

Trolls in the Great Dungeon

Trolls have plagued the lands of the North for centuries. Scattered groups of trolls followed the dwarves and giants into the North from their origins in the Far Reaches. Once established they dispersed across the deep forests, bogs, and high mountains of the North, inevitably finding their way to the Great Dungeon.

The Trolls of the Warrens are a chaotic evil faction, a clan of loathsome, hateful giants, led by a great troll chieftainess. The Trolls are aligned with several different factions, including the Aintry Clan, the Plundering Giants, the Rapacious Gnolls, and the Ravenous Troglodytes. Their enemies include the Berserkers and Long Death Hobgoblins. Holdings include the Troll Warrens, their main lair on the 6th Level; the cave of their chieftainess on the 7th Level; and another outpost of the 7th Level.

The Trolls of the Warrens include a number of giant trolls, which appear to be the foul cross of a standard troll and a hill giant. These monsters appear much like green-skinned, pot-bellied hill giants with enormous black eyes.

The following text is Open Game Content.

Giant Troll

Giant Trolls, like their smaller cousins, have no fear of death: they launch themselves into combat without hesitation, flailing wildly at the closest opponent. Even when confronted with fire, they try to get around the flames and attack. Giant trolls usually fight to the death.

Giant Troll
Huge giant, chaotic evil
Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
Hit Points 138 (10d12 + 50)
Speed 40 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
20 (+5)11 (+0)20 (+5)6 (-2)9 (-1)7 (-2)
Skills Perception +3
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13
Languages Giant
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP)
Keen Smell. The giant troll has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.
Regeneration. The giant troll regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the giant troll takes acid or fire damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the giant troll’s next turn. The giant troll dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.
Actions
Multiattack. The giant troll makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 16 (3d6 + 5) slashing damage.
Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, range 60/240 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (3d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.

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Friday, May 12, 2023

Golems and Owlbears

The Bones 5: Escape from Pizza Dungeons Kickstarter from Reaper Miniatures included several nice sculpts using the Bones Black material. I was particularly looking forward to painting up a pair of new golem models that had been included in the Core Set. Although I already had a few stone golems, I wasn’t completely enamored with them—and I really didn’t have any clay golems. While I’m not certain who sculpted these figures, the stone golem closely resembles an earlier model (77171) credited to James Van Schaik, so perhaps he worked on both.

These golems were some of the first miniatures I used my new airbrush on because they seemed fairly simple. I primed both with the Army Painter spray primer, then used the airbrush to base coat the stone golem with Reaper MSP stone gray. For the clay golem I used a mix of Army Painter airbrush brown and red. The stone golem got a wash with Reaper stone wash, while I used the Vallejo umber wash on the clay golem. After drybrushing highlights on both, I hit the stone golem with Testor Dullcote and used Vallejo gloss varnish on the clay golem to give it a wet look. Overall, I was relatively happy with both.

The Bones 5 set also had a great owlbear figure by Bobby Jackson. Even though I already had a pretty awesome model sculpted by Jason Wiebe from an earlier Bones set, I really wanted to tackle this bad boy. I also primed this with Army Painter gray and then basecoated the model with Army Painter leather brown. I washed it with Vallejo umber and used drybrushing to bring out the highly detailed feathers and fur. In retrospect I wish I had used a higher contrast color scheme on this mini, but it still looks pretty good on the table.

What I like most about this figure is it successfully blends owl and bear components into a fearsome-looking hybrid, but also harkens back to the weird, chonky look of early owlbear illustrations. The Erol Otus owlbear from AD&D Rogue’s Gallery (1980) is a good example of this look, and calls back to David Sutherland’s illustration in the original AD&D Monster Manual., which depicts a creature that doesn’t much resemble either an owl or a bear.

A surprising amount of energy has been spent on trying to track down the origin of this curious creature. The artist Tony DiTerlizzi convincingly demonstrated in his post Owlbears, Rust Monsters and Bulettes, Oh My! that the Sutherland illustration used a Chinasaur toy as a reference. Over at En World Michael Tresca tried to track down the ultimate origin of this toy in his article The Plastic Ancestry of the Owlbear.

Peter Fitz, in his blog Shouting into the Void, has an interesting retrospective: Alas, Poor Owlbear, You Were Great Once. Fitz observes that owlbears in 1e AD&D were truly nasty: they would “attack prey on sight and will fight to the death.” Moreover, they had an iconic attack that got dropped in the transition from 2e to 3e: the dreaded owlbear hug. On a claw attack of 18 or more, “the owlbear has dragged the victim to itself; and the opponent will take an additional 2-16 hit points damage from the hug, that melee round and every melee round thereafter until the owlbear is killed.” Fitz’s post reminded me how truly nasty these monsters could be in earlier editions.

Instead of a hug, 3e gave owlbears the improved grab ability, which is similar in concept to the old owlbear hug but not nearly as dangerous, and the 5e designers dropped this ability altogether. I appreciate the attempt to simplify monster design, I really do—5e monsters are usually far easier for harried DMs to run than their earlier incarnations. But in some cases the 5e approach flattens the monsters until they sometimes just seem like bags of hit points differentiated only by paint job. This CR 3 creature works exactly like this other CR 3, except one is green and flies and one is orange and swims.

Fitz noted that he intended to revise the owlbear to bring back its iconic and interesting abilities, which seems like an excellent idea. To develop my own take on a retro-owl bear, I went back to Moldvay D&D as well as AD&D 1e for guidance. In D&D owlbears (or rather, “owl bears” show up on the both the Level 4–5 and the Level 6–7 Wandering Monster tables. In AD&D owlbears are on the Monster Level IV table, though their XP value (225 + 8/hp) would suggest the average specimen (421 XP) might work better on the Monster Level V table. As standard 5e owlbears are Challenge 3 monsters, I designed my souped-up version for Challenge 5.

The following text is Open Game Content.

Horrible Owlbear

Horrible owlbears are larger and even more vicious specimens of standard owlbears. Highly aggressive and voracious, horrible owlbears attack any living creatures they spy and once engaged will not relent until slain.

Horrible Owlbear
Large monstrosity, unaligned
Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
Hit Points 95 (10d10 + 40)
Speed 40 ft.
StrDexConIntWisCha
20 (+5)12 (+1)19 (+4)3 (-4)12 (+1)7 (-2)
Skills Perception +4
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Keen Sight and Smell. The horrible owlbear has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight or smell.
Owlbear Hug. If the horrible owlbear hits a creature with two claw attacks in the same turn, the target is grappled. The horrible owlbear has advantage on beak attacks against a creature it has grappled and may use a bonus action to inflict 14 (2d8 + 5) bludgeoning damage on the grappled creature.
Actions
Multiattack. The horrible owlbear makes three attacks: one with its beak and two with its claws.
Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d10 + 5) piercing damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 14 (2d8 + 5) slashing damage.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.

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Saturday, May 6, 2023

Demogorgon, Mandragoron, and More

The Twin Heads of Demogorgon

I finally finished painting the Gale Force Nine Demogorgon miniature, though “miniature” is hardly an appropriate descriptor for this gigantic model, which gives the Prince of Demons an appropriate heft amidst 28mm figures. This is an absolutely great sculpt by Charles Woods: from almost any angle, this thing looks fearsome.

The model is made out of resin, which is very different than the Reaper Bones PVC material I’ve primarily been working with. The resin is hard, brittle, and took a lot of washing to get clean. The nice thing about resin is it’s lightweight and retains excellent details with comparatively little flashing or mold lines. The bad thing is it’s fairly rigid, and if two connecting pieces don’t mesh perfectly it’s a lot of work to patch in some Green Stuff to fill the gaps.

Demogorgon in Profile View

I assembled everything according to the GF9 assembly guide and then addressed the gaps, of which there were several. In retrospect, it probably would have been easier to have begun priming and base coats before assembling anything, as several areas in this piece are hard to get at with a brush once all the pieces are in place.

I primed the whole piece using the Army Painter Uniform Gray spray-on primer. This is my go-to general primer. I then began the tedious base painting with a brush. The online painting guide makes an explicit pitch for using an airbrush on this model, and this mini definitely made me realize it was time to break down and get an airbrush rig. Demogorgon himself has a mostly dark green base coat, while the ruins he stands within have a black base coat. It was so hard to get a good, even coat – every time I’d put the brush down I would immediately see half a dozen tiny spots I had missed, particularly in the gaps between the scales and fur.

I did a few washes with Vallejo Umber Wash, but I am curious what using some of the Army Painter Strong Tone would have been like. I was a big fan of the Vallejo wash, but the Army Painter stuff seems to work better for me, particularly on larger models.

I then began the dry brushing and cleanup painting. Dry-brushing was fun: the model has tons of small details, particularly on the scales, and it felt very satisfying to see these details emerge. (I did burn through several brushes in the process.)

It felt like cleanup on this model took forever. I am altogether much too fussy for my relatively low skill level but I just can’t rest until I’ve knocked down all the blemishes I can find. I followed the GF9 painting guide for the most part, but didn’t want to try the fiery split chest effect.

Comparison of Demogrogon miniature against a 28mm figure

I had bought this model for the conclusion of my Out of the Abyss campaign, and was looking forward to dropping him on the board for the climactic battle. I got him close enough for this purpose, but unfortunately COVID prevented us from playing the finale out in person. Demogorgon got boxed up for months as I moved on to other projects.

Finally, the new airbrush inspired me to work through my backlog. I was too far along with this model to use the airbrush, but because the rest of my workflow was moving again I was able to return and finish out this model. I used some different glazes on the tentacles to help vary the green-and-brown color scheme, and then varnished everything with Testor’s Dullcote spray lacquer, my go-to varnish. I added some Vallejo gloss varnish to the teeth, mouth, and tentacles to give them a little slimy look.

Overall, I’m very happy with the results even though the process I took was much too long and laborious. It’s an absolutely great looking sculpt and I hope I did it some measure of justice.

Demogorgon in the Great Dungeon

Demogorgon

The Great Dungeon of the North calls out to the followers of many demon princes, offering lost treasures, magic, and dark secrets. What little is known of Demogorgon was carried out of the Distant West, where conjurers are said to have mastered the foul art of commanding and binding demons. There Demogorgon is widely considered to be, if not the supreme demon prince in the Abyss, certainly one of the most powerful. 

Several areas within the Great Dungeon are infected with a slowly-spreading demonic taint that steadily warps the affected areas with evil and chaos. In these infected sites gates to the Abyss spontaneously open and close like suppurating wounds, allowing demons to enter the Dungeon—and occasionally drawing the unwary into the Abyss that awaits beyond.

Several years ago the lesser demon lord Mandragoron, a valued servant of Demogorgon, disappeared on the deepest levels: he is rumored to have been swallowed up by the Great Dungeon. Today vassals of Demogorgon, commanded by a powerful demon queen, are said to have established a stronghold somewhere in the lowermost halls.

The image of Mandragoron below was generated using Dall-E 2. The following text is Open Game Content.

Mandragoron

Mandragoron, a giant baboon with raven wings

Mandragoron is a unique demon who, while not as powerful as one of the great princes of the Abyss, is nevertheless a terrible foe and justly loathed by the forces of good. He is allied with the mighty Demogorgon, the Prince of Demonium, and the two demons are sometimes said to be related, though the exact nature of this relationhip—sibling, spawn, or other—has never been established.

Mandragoron appears as a giant baboon with long yellow fangs and tattered raven wings, his fur and feathers filthy and patchy.

Mandragoron
Large fiend (demon), chaotic evil
Armor Class 20 (natural armor)
Hit Points 253 (22d10 + 132)
Speed 40 ft., fly 80 ft
StrDexConIntWisCha
23 (+6)14 (+2)23 (+6)17 (+3)15 (+2)19 (+4)
Saving Throws Dex +9, Con +13, Int +10
Skills Intimidation +11, Perception +9
Damage Resistances cold, fire, lightning
Damage Immunities poison; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing that is nonmagical
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned
Senses truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 19
Languages all, telepathy 120 ft.
Challenge 21 (33,000 XP)
Innate Spellcasting. Mandragoron’s spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 21). He can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:
At will: detect magic
3/day each: darkness, dispel magic, fear
1/day: teleport
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If Mandragoron fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Magic Resistance. Mandragoron has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
Magic Weapons. Mandragoron’s weapon attacks are magical.
Noxious. Mandragoron constantly sheds patches of filthy fur and feathers that crawl with abyssal vermin. Any living creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of Mandragoron must make a DC 21 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, the creature is poisoned until its next turn.
Actions
Multiattack. Mandragoron makes three attacks: one with his bite and two with his claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) piercing damage plus 11 (3d6) poison damage.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) slashing damage.
Legendary Actions
Mandragoron can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Mandragoron regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Bite Attack. Mandragoron makes a bite attack.
Detect. Mandragoron makes a Wisdom (Perception) check.
Wing Attack (Costs 2 Actions). Mandragoron beats his wings. Each creature within 15 feet of the demon must succeed on a DC 21 Dexterity saving throw or take 13 (2d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone. Mandragoron can then fly up to half his flying speed.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.

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