Osprey Games – Warriors of Athena Quests
Welcome to the second part of the Warriors of Athena review. After taking a close look at the Warriors of Athena - Heroes book, we focus specifically on the book “Quests” today.
What is it about?
As the name already suggests, this book focuses primarily on developing the narrative of the setting for Warriors of Athena. While the first book focused on the heroes we play, this book highlights the heroes' journey. This takes the form of mini-campaigns, which are categorized into three parts. I will go into more detail about this below.
It should be noted that this book does not work without the Heroes core rulebook. The rules for Warriors of Athena are not included here, which gives this book the feel of an expansion.
First impression
Like Warriors of Athena Heroes, the book's design is very beautiful, but it also has the same weaknesses. Once again, I immediately noticed the wavy paper and a misalignment in the first binding of the book. From a printing perspective, I wondered whether some decisions had been made in favor of production costs. Binding at the spine is actually an expensive processing method and significantly higher quality than, for example, a book that is bound with glue. The cover, on the other hand, is made of carton with a glossy finish, whereas a matte finish would have made the book a little more durable.
Osprey Games – Warriors of Athena Heroes
Frostgrave, Stargrave, Oathmark and Rangers of Shadow Deep. All these games have one thing in common: Joe McCullough. Known for his focus on narrative-driven games, another game penned by him is being released, and once again, the partners for the release are Osprey, for the rulebooks, and Northstar Miniatures, for the corresponding game accessories.
What is it about?
It is a harsh, wild world, and the mythical monsters of ancient Greece have been unleashed. As if that weren't enough, bandit lords, sinister cults, and other evil forces are also wreaking havoc. In their desperation, the inhabitants of the various city-states pray to the gods. But mortals are only a means to an end for them. A tool for entertainment or pleasure, not worth further concern. Only Athena hears their pleas and decides to help the mortals. Her means of choice are the many illicit demigods who populate the world and have the power to rise up against evil. But she must carry out her mission in secret, for the other gods do not like it when their toys are tampered with. And so she quietly and inconspicuously leads the heroes to where they are most needed, so that their deeds may become legends.
In this book, players take on the role of one of these heroes and their companions to face unexpected adventures and challenges. Conveniently, however, you don't have to face the horrors of mystical Hellas alone—other players can also join your hero as demigods and take part in the battle between good and evil, humans and monsters.
Theban Hoplite Tutorial
It's been a while since I did a tutorial for my Corinthians. I admit, being the old geezer that I am, the tutorials mainly serve as a reminder to myself of how I painted a particular model. Since the Thebans received good feedback, I might paint more models for them in the future. Reason enough to create a little reminder...
Skin
Since these are figurespurely for playing, I put less effort into the layers this time than I did with the Corinthians. The base coat consisted of Kobold Skin (Army Painter), which was highlighted in a 1:3 ratio with Bonewhite (Vallejo Game Color). Then the entire surface was washed with Flesh Wash (Two Thin Coats). However, I added some red and additional Lahmian Medium to this, because Flesh Wash is more of a brown tone than a suitable wash for skin.
The previous color was used to accentuate some of the muscles and the hands. I added pure white to this mixture, which provided the final accent. You don't need to accentuate the feet, as they are usually not visible anyway.
Konflikt 47 – Autoblinda Captured Vehicle
Holey Kamoley, it's been a while since I sat down for K47. Luckily, when I looked at the army lists, I noticed that the Commonwealth has now integrated the royalist side of the Italians, which somehow makes sense to me in terms of fluff, since the equipment is mostly British anyway.
So I quickly checked what I had at home for Konflict 47, and apart from an officer's staff in Galahad armor to lead my troops, I have everything I need. Well... everything, if I make a few adjustments...
For example, I once managed to pick up this Italian Autoblinda at Ad Arma Con for ten bucks. Originally, I just wanted to use it to build some scenery, and I had to repair a few cracks, like this broken fender, but now the car is set to take the place of the Humvee in the army.
Deth Wizards – Origins of Givana Part 4
A few days into her 16th birthday, she had done it. Grandfather had given her precise instructions:
"Don't be fooled by his appearance, Givana. He may look like the skeletal remains of a human being, but the cursed one is much more than that. Unlike the other minions, he possesses a rudimentary intelligence. He was not a good person in life, and his malicious cunning ran so deep that it survived even death. If his bones are awakened, it takes a talented necromancer to keep him under control. That is why we call this type of awakened ‘the Wight’.
But once you have mastered the formulas and rituals, he is a capable servant. The residuals of his former wits also make him a suitable bodyguard.
“A bodyguard, Grandfather? Why do we need bodyguards?” asked Givana.
"Well, people are afraid of things they don't understand. You now belong to a small circle of initiates who understand that death is only one step on a long journey. But we have a task in this world. We keep a balance between the world of the dead and the world of the living. Those who are not initiated will not understand this and will seek to take our lives. So be careful when you talk to others. Never say a word about the path we walk."
Two more archers and the Wight, which I converted using various bits and pieces from my spare parts box, are finished. As mentioned, I tried my hand at the glowing effect in the eye sockets. Hmm, I'm not really satisfied with it, but I'll leave it as it is. Because every now and then I have to remind myself that a mistake is not necessarily a step backwards, but a basis on which to improve next time.
Deth Wizards – Origins of Givana Part 3
Givana was a natural talent, there was no doubt about that. Most students needed over a year to master a second shambler at the same time, while she had achieved three in half as long. If she continued to learn at such a rapid pace, he would soon have to find a better way to keep their lair hidden. Such talent always attracted unwanted attention in the life of a prospective necromancer.
Painting skeletons is quite enjoyable. Not only are they quick to paint, even if you put more effort into them, but they are also highly reusable. In my opinion, undead creatures are the generic villains that can be deployed in large numbers and slaughtered without hesitation for cinematic scenarios, without the need for an exciting backstory for each character.
Mortal Gods – Building a gaming table
Since it had been clear for a while that we wanted to do a Mortal Gods batrep, but I simply didn't have the skills to build a board myself in such a short time, I did the only logical thing in this situation: I asked a specialist!
Robert, alias Wolpertinger Miniatures, offered to build me a tabletop board on the first weekend of August. I must admit, I had my doubts as to whether this was even possible in such a short time, but Robert persisted, and so I made ample use of his expertise.
To call him skilled is an understatement, and he had already completed the structural framework for half of the board before I even arrived at his place on Friday. We ended up building the other half together.
Mortal Gods – Defenders of Plataiai
Now that the Thebans have been expanded for larger demo games as part of club presentations, it's the Plataians' turn today. These have now also reached their standard size of 300 points.
As before, the challenge was to design the two armies on an equal footing for demo games. While the Thebans had been given more of the same, I opted for a more defensive character for the Plataians due to their historical background.
The Plataians were enhanced with a hero and a few archers. The veteran archer was supposed to ensure that the Plataians could rather hold off, which underlined the overall concept.
Mortal Gods – Athenians
Athens. What do you immediately think of when you hear this name? The Parthenon? The goddess of wisdom and strategy from ancient greek mythology? Well, when you play Mortal Gods, you probably think of arrows. Many, many arrows…
Since I would like to use them, I treated myself with the additional card set of the Athenians from Footsore Miniatures and will take a closer look at it for you along the way.
The set is currently available for between €11 and €15, depending on the retailer, and comes with a booklet as well as the cards. The cards include the Athenian troop types, named heroes, new equipment cards and additional omen cards.
Mortal Gods – Army of Thebes
Who would have known? Originally I only wanted to paint a small group of Thebans for demo purposes, but after the “small” demo was so successful and a demo in full game size was also well received during my visit to the Rhein Main Tabletopclub e.V., I decided to bring both, the Thebans and the Plataians, to full size.
In fact, not much was missing from both armies, because I had already increased the size of both factions by another unit.
The former size of the army
The challenge was not only to make them visually fit into a theme, but also to make them fit into the game in such a way that they have their own character. In the case of the Thebans, a little more punch seemed like the right choice, so I added another troop of slingers, a veteran hoplite and a new model for the Lochagos. The original leader has moved into the role of a regular captain and, in the form of a Promachos, now represents the smaller of the two melee heroes.
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