Star Hat Miniatures for DuckQuest Fantasy Role Playing Games

DuckQuest Fantasy Roleplay!

Time to explore Duckwyrld... where four valiant Heroes of Quackmoor have been summoned by Mandrake, founder of the Guild of Delvers, to do battle with the nefarious Mordux and his evil minions. Seated upon the legendary Throne of Bones, the power of the Duck Lord grows with each passing night. You must boldly descend into the darkest dungeons of Castle Greyduck, defeat the Champions of Chaos and end the wicked rule of Mordux!

What's this you ask? More ducks?! Yes!!

My latest range of miniatures will now have their very own game. 

A couple of years ago I sculpted my first duck knight, Sir Drake. That diminutive miniature took me on the journey of a lifetime. A noble crested duck (and the small party that followed him) brought me to the attention of duck-loving gamers around the world. In particular, legendary (Hall of Fame) game designer and artist, Jennell Jaquays. Together we worked on Quack Keep and the small party of ducks grew to a village of quacky characters, Reedy Bend. 

The Original Party of Five, Painted by Claire van der Goes.

Yes, you can paint and play with these miniatures in your own quest games (and especially with settings like Quack Keep!) but after multiple messages asking for more information about Duckwyrld, Quackmoorand Greyduck... I have brought a personal project to this campaign. 

Four Valiant Heroes of Quackmoor!

It's the thought that came with that original duck knight. What if the ducks of a fantasy world were the main characters? It's what made Quack Keep unique. I called the original party of five "Duck Quest". Like the nursery rhyme; five little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away. That's a quest, right? Unlike other games where ducks are relegated as side-kicks or comic relief, imagine they're the star players; the heroic explorers on an epic adventure. 

Champions of Castle Greyduck!

It's an idea that didn't go away. The more I looked around, the more I noticed that ducks got a raw deal. Something had to be done. So combining the need for ducks to be represented in a better light and a lifelong dream of writing my own fantasy heartbreaker RPG. I took the plunge and dived in! This is the cover to DuckQuest, with gratitude to Jon Hodgeson for his stunning illustration and Rom Brown (Whippersnapper Artworkz) for the brilliant logo design and layout.

Illustration by Jon Hodgeson. Logo and layout by Rom Brown.

 What will be beyond the cover? As much as we can pack into it! This is the opportunity to indulge in a world that takes nothing too seriously but delivers on high adventure and the occasional fowl pun.

But wait, there's more...

Magic Mushrooms!

Mercenaries!

Minions!

Crows!

Turtle Warriors!

So what are you waiting for? Come join in the DuckQuest!

Star Hat Miniatures Online Store

starhatminiatures.com

It's official! Star Hat Miniatures now has an Online Store!

There is a lot of celebrating going on here in Hobbiton. Please have a look and let your friends know.

Also, there is a new Kickstarter just around the corner...

Quack!

PTS 97-99 + Hero Quest + Space Crusade

A distinguished gentleman + Ducati.

At last, Painting Table Saturday episode 97 (98 and 99). It has been a month to remember, with struggles and triumphs. There hasn't been a lot of painting though!

As an ambassador for Blue September, I have been to various fundraising events as a speaker, mc or performing with my blues band. This year's campaign was amazing. I am always inspired by the people I meet during Blue September.

Marti Wong with Sagittarius. 

Yet another inspiration was seeing my friend Marti prepare for an art exhibition. It opens on the 1st of October and he was working long hours to make the deadline. Marti is a keen gamer (mainly Warhammer 40k) and a fine musician.

Marti's workbench.

His exhibition of metal sculptures is called Mythologica and is much like a D&D monster manual, with fantastic creatures. There is a centaur and a minotaur, even a dragon! Steel work is exhausting and I am sure October will include a well deserved rest.

Karl and I used to 'hurry up and wait'
on film sets back in the day. 

A first time life experience was the Crossfit Masters at Dynamite Onehunga. It was a day of personal bests! Mainly because I had never competed in anything like it. A day of unexpected pain and joy. An awesome event. The atmosphere was that of a music festival but with healthy food. I met a few old friends and made some new ones.

Training for the Crossfit Masters was made more difficult because I was also battling the flu. I'm not sure if I have ever been so sick for so long. This made my day job (teaching music) hard also. Around four weeks with three different phases of sickness. I felt for my family and many in the local community, as they came down with the flu too. I am happy to be in good health again!

After a great gig at MOTAT for the Distinguished Gentlemen's Ride I caught up with my cousin Aaron during his sound check at The Kings Arms, the last date of his Nation of the State Aotearoa Tour 2015. If you haven't heard of AHORIBUZZ then do a Google and get your freak on.

So what of my painting table? For the last few weeks it has mostly been gathering dust. This partial neglect hasn't been all bad. After all, it's not as though my life is lacking creative expression. I do enjoy the quiet peace that comes with painting though, so expect some photos for Painting Table 100.

However, it wouldn't be a Painting Table Saturday post without some miniatures to look at, so here are a few photos from the last few weeks. Oh, thanks also go to Lewis for the gift of Space Crusade. More miniatures to paint!

God bless you and have an awesome day!

#RPGaDAY - Day 7: Most Intellectual RPG

The curious beast that is #RPGaDAY continues...

DragonQuest TSR edition.

6th - Favourite RPG Never get to play?

Never is a strong word, considering anything is fair game on Monday nights. I've played all manner of RPGs, beginning in the 1980s. Back then it would probably be quicker to name the popular RPGs I didn't play. Fast forward a few decades and I'm still checking out games I've never played before. If something about a game really rocks my socks off, I add it to the house rules.

However, one of my favourite campaigns was one using DragonQuest (SPI). I should say 'is' not 'was'... as the GM takes long breaks between games, sometimes lasting years. The game system itself had it's kinks but don't they all? On an online forum I found a post about what one of the guys who designed Dragon Quest said about the game. Apparently he described it as, "Our cheap knockoff of AD&D that nobody bought, even though it was much better."*

Even if it's not an accurate quote, it sums up my feelings about RPGs in general. It had similarities to Chivalry and Sorcery and The Fantasy Trip (ancestor of GURPS), in the same way you find echoes of eloquent rules in all role playing games. I have a DragonQuest (3rd edition, though we mainly used 2nd edition) rulebook on my shelf but I doubt I'd run it as written. Some of the ideas are worth borrowing. Anyway, it's the people you play the game with that really matter. So, I wait for another opportunity to play Dragon Quest.

*Ironically perhaps, it was bought by TSR.

Art by William O'Conner

7th - Most “intellectual” RPG owned?

Considering I don't own every RPG I've ever played, this actually becomes an easier question to answer. Although the rules themselves are not overly complex, Ars Magica is certainly aimed at the more intellectual gamer - every player has a mage character of some sort! Well, they actually play a collection of characters, with the magus taking the central role. You want comprehensive rules for magic? This RPG has them in spades. 15 Arts: 5 Techniques and 10 Forms named with Latin verbs and nouns respectively, for both formulaic and spontaneous spell casting. Ars Magica is so much more than it's elegant magic system and a few elements of this RPG have made their way into D&D 5e. I own Ars Magica 3rd edition (published by White Wolf and later purchased briefly by Wizards of the Coast) but you can download the 5th edition (Atlas Games). It's well worth checking it out if you never have.

Thanks to writing this post I now realise the stunning artwork of William O'Conner. I love his illustrations in Ars Magica and have only now recognised he's the guy that has created the dragons (and more besides) all over D&D's latest editions. He's certainly had a great career!