On the Painting Desk: Finishing off the Tormentors of Telor's Queen?

 

Back to finish off the final miniatures from Spirit Queen's Torment and The Prophecy of Telor.  I finished off the Greenskins and the Undead.  However, that left the forces of Dread and the Abominations.  So about 7 guys.  However, the Dread Warriors, Gargoyle and Wizard I typically paint individually while the Abominations I batch.  That means these guys took a weekend to complete.  

First off, all these miniatures were all ready base-coated and ready to go.  Therefore, I decided to work on one of the Dread Warriors first.  I had the idea of a fallen former King's Guard knight who did not really even know he had fallen.  Therefore, he was not in typical Dread livery, but instead Paladin like Golden armor with a white cloak.  

Thankfully, I have a set of Metallic speedpaints, and one of the colors happens to be Golden Armor.  How nice.  I also wanted to use White for the cloak and Loincloth.  The hardest part was the shield, because I wanted to incorporate the Golden Armor but not the whole thing!  That would be too gaudy.  Therefore, I used Zealot Yellow as the other color.  Finally, I gave it a nice Light Tone wash and based the usual Heroquest way.  

Behold..... Sir Beauregard the Chosen!  Once and future champion of Kings!  I guess I see him a bit like Sir Ragnar but this guy did not make it back.  

As Sir Beauregard was drying I also worked on the Abominations.  I had to go remind myself how I painted them in the Core set and Kellar's Keep.  I used Plasmatic Bolt on their leg plates and tentacles with Abomination Green for the skin.  That was the bulk of these guys.  Their eyes are Zealot Yellow and their teeth and claws are Pallid Bone.  Their loincloths are Zealot Yellow, Crusader Skin, and Fire Giant Orange.  They got a Light Tone wash and based as normal.  

From there, I went back to my last Dread Warrior.  My Core set Dread Warriors were all painted in the colors of a different Chaos god.  You may know them as Khorne, Slaaneshi, Nurgle, and Tzeentch.  Well, I wanted to keep that theme and there was one Chaos God I had not painted.  You know him, you love him; of course I am talking about Malal!  The Chaos God opposed to the Chaos of the Chaos Gods.... or something.  There was a concept and business reason he never made it into the big Chaos Gods club.  

Anyway, one of the challenges of Malal was that his color scheme is not easy to paint!  It is a Black and White checked or Quartered pattern!  I had never done a quartered pattern before because they look like a right pain to paint!  However, with this guy I was going to try it!  I did not want Malal to be left out of the Dread Warrior club..... that would be bad luck! 

I used the Black I use for the base edge to draw a line down the center of the model's chest and helmet.  I made the right side arm and leg white, with the chest black.  The opposite colors on the other side.  I used Grim Black on the black side and a mix of pure white and Holy white on the white parts.  I did the same on the hilt of his sword, and even quartered the cloak.  The shield I followed the design but used Black and White mix.  When I was done, I gave the whole thing a Dark Tone wash this time and based per usual methods. 

That left the female Dread Wizard and her pet Gargoyle.  Again, I had to recall how I painted the last Gargoyle from the Core set.  I wanted that trad stone Gargoyle look.  I turned out really easy!  Runic Grey on claws, teeth, and horns.  Red on the eyes.  The rest was a watered down Dark Tone wash.  Easy-peasy.  

The Dread Wizard I wanted in Magic Blue and Yellow as those were the colors of Tzeentch.  However, I also wanted to add the jewelry in Prismatic Green for a Jade style effect.  I also used Aztec Gold for the metallics.  It is one of my favorite of the metallics as it has a slightly greenish hue.  I finished it up, gave it a dark wash and based as normal.  

With that, I had two of my Heroquest mini-boxed sets finished.  The only carry-over from 2025 is the Jungles of Delthrak now, and I have painted all the Heros and Merc critters from that all ready.  Still a big accomplishment as I am now above 80+ models painted for the year.  

That said, I think I am going to pivot and paint something different next.  I need a break from Heroquest for a bit. 

And here is all the blue-ish and Orange-ish plastic minis from the two sets all painted up.  

Until next time! 

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On The Painting Desk: Prophecy of Telor about the Spirit Queen's Torment

 

I finished off the Frozen Horror so it is time for me to move onto my next set of expansions for Heroquest.  This time, I am going to tackle the miniatures found in the two "smaller" expansions, Prophecy of Telor and Spirit Queen's Torment.  These boxed sets came with alternate sculpts of the main enemies and a new hero each.  I all ready painted the new Heroes at the end of 2025.  

You may recall that these alternate enemy sculpts were new orcs with Hammers, alternate Abomination, some new Gobbos, female zombies, female mummies, sword-and-board skeletons, dread warriors with swords, a female Dread Sorcerer, and an alternate Gargoyle.  These minis were all also cast in transparent plastic.  Prophecy of Telor was an orange-red color, while Spirit Queen's Torment is a bluish-green.  Therefore, I hemmed and hawed about what I wanted to do with them.  Ultimately, I decided to just paint them up like normal minis for the game.  I think they will be more versatile and likely to see the table that way.  

So, that means the first step was to go ahead and get them undercoated!  Will my usual methods work with these transparent plastic figures?  To save time, and kill the suspense; the answer is Yes.  Yes it does.  Here they are after being sprayed in Grey Seer from GW, washed with dark grey wash, and drybrushed with cheap acrylic white.    

For my first painting session, I decided to start by painting all the Undead at once.  It did not matter which expansion they came from, I was going to paint them all together for ease and unity.  I was all ready concerned about matching with my previous minis, so no need to make it worse by splitting these up into smaller batches.  

The mummies are always where I start because they are super easy and you can build momentum quickly.  I painted their eyes Blood Red, any exposed flesh Malignant Green, and then their hair Graveyard Grey.  Then, I hit them with a Dark Wash.  All Undead get a Dark Wash to make them extra scary looking! 

Next were the Zombies.  I painted them Malignant Green flesh and then gave them a Green Tone ink wash.  From there it was simple to paint their dresses, belts, hair and gear.  I kept their hair Graveyard Grey or uncolored and just based.  Then, they got their Dark Wash and basing done.  

Finally, I did the skeletons and for these ladies (You can't really tell with Skeletons, and since almost everything else is a female version these must be too right!) I decided to go off the reservation with my usual paint scheme.  I decided to use Wizard Orb in order try to get a faded Bronze look to some of their gear.  I also used Fire Giant Orange for a rusted look on the metals.  The bones were of course Pallid Bone.  I also used Talos Bronze, and Copper from my Metallic Speedpaint set.  The final metal color was Graveyard grey.  These ladies took the longest, but they came out very different from my usual batch of skeletons.  Not sure my experiment worked 100%, but I will take it.  I never go back and re-paint a painted model!  

   So, after a day of effort, here is where the Undead ended up..... ooooh, scary! 

With the Undead finished, it was time to turn to the Greenskins for this effort. I had 4 goblins and 4 Orcs, all in the same pose.  I batch painted the Gobbos together and then the Orcs together the following weekend.  However, I swear these Orc models are cursed.  When I painted them up for Keller's Keep you may recall that I accidentally spray primed them instead of sealing them?  Well, this time I painted them all using Orc skin as the flesh tone, not realizing until I was done with the models that the flesh tone was supposed to be Malignant Green like the Goblins!  Arrrgggghhh!  Therefore, I went back and reprimed the fleshy bitz and repainted them.  I do not think it turned out that great, but they will blend in a bit better with thier fellows now.  

The Goblin gear I kept mostly Magic Blue and Runic Grey to blend in with the OG Goblins.  Weapons were Pallid Bone, Runic Grey, and Graveyard Grey.  The other assorted straps was either Hardened Leather or Crusader Skin.  The Orcs were pretty much all wearing Graveyard Grey armor which makes it look fierce and iron-like.  I also used some Runic Grey, Pallid Bone, and Graveyard Grey on the hammer's to make them distinct weapons too.  Their tabards were Blood Red, Magic Blue, Zealot Yellow, and Fire Giant Orange to help me tell them apart on the table if I need too.  

That was two weekends of painting down, and a hefty chunk of the models for Spirit Queen's Torment and Prophecy of Telor done.  These took about two weeks, and my painting total for the year is now hovering around 75+ models and they are all for Heroquest!       

Next time, I will get those Abominations and the Dread forces painted from these two supplements.  Once those are done, I will be at a cross-roads.  Do I keep on going on Heroquest, do I switch over to Late Romans, or do I paint up my Travel Battle game as a break?  Keep tuning in to find out! 

Until next time! 

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Heroquest: Spirit Queen's Torment - Hasbro/Avalon Hill

 

I have been slowly purchasing and painting my way through all of Hasbro/Avalon Hills dungeon delving boardgame; Heroquest.  Faithful readers will know I have also been playing through a solo-campaign as well.  

Today, I will be looking at the small expansion Spirit Queen's Torment: 

Wow, take a look at that snazzy cover.  That is some impressive looking box art!  This is a Quest Pack similar in size to Kellar's Keep or Return of the Witchlord.  However, unlike those other packs I am pretty sure this is all new content!  It is not a reprint! 

This box comes with a few things.  The main draw is that it has a bunch of new miniatures, that are variant sculpts of some core monsters.  However, since they are all spirits they are cast in a transparent blue-green plastic.  There is also a few new cards, some ghostly looking combat dice, and a new Quest pack!  Of course, the big draw is a new Hero to add to your Hall of Heroes!   So, grab your broadsword, prepare Fires of Wrath, and let's delve into this Quest!  

Things I Liked

I was pretty excited for the variant sculpts in this package.  I like getting extra monsters and I liked that they look different from the original sets.  However, I was torn about how to paint them.  Should I just prime them and paint them up like regular versions of the OG models, or should I lean in and paint them all ghostly and spirit-like?  I am leaning towards just the regular look to boost my variety BUT I do like the idea of painting them all ghostly.  What do you think?  

You get variant sculpts of the skeleton, an Orc with a two-handed hammer, a female zombie, abominations, goblins, female mummies, a Dread Warrior, and a female Dread Sorcerer.  I like some of these variants more than others.  I really like the new Skeleton with sword and board and think those could make some excellent mini-boss minis for Return of the Witchlord.  The Orc with the two-handed Hammer is also super cool and full of character.  I am also a big fan of the Sword and Board Dread Warrior as he looks very dynamic.  The Female Dread Wizard is also super sweet!  The rest are fine, but do not stand-out beyond the OG enemies in the core box.      

I am always happy to add a new Hero to the mix.  I know some people give the Bard gak because he is an Orc and because he is a Bard, but I think the two combined really puts some people off.  Sure, I would have liked a more "traditional" Bard model too.  Those are available from Reaper and Wizkids if you want I guess.  

However, the bard makes a statement that not all Orcs fight for Zargon and are trying to sidestep that whole silly debate about inherently evil races in games.  A topic I have no interest in getting into either. 

If you look at the abilities of the Bard, he is an interesting cat.  First off, he has three spells that he can cast, a sleep spell, a boost spell, and a healing spell.  The main benefit of the Healing spell is that it impacts all the models within the room!  Statswise, he is no great shakes.  I would class him as an elf-alternate as he is not that tanky or that stabby.  It is his special abilities that set him apart from the other Hero concepts, and even those are a bit of existing spells slightly re-jigged for the Bard.  Many people overlook his Rapier though, which is two attack dice that can be used Diagonally.  This makes his a pretty powerful support unit.  I am glad to have a new Hero type.   

Things I Do Not Like

Let's talk a bit about the Quest.  Overall, I like the new Quest.  It takes the characters through a few different locations and has 12 new adventures.  Some of these take place in a sunken temple, which is a super cool idea!  However, the main challenge of fighting in water is quickly overcome; first by an enchantment and secondly by quickly finding magic items that remove the danger of underwater combat.  I am sad that they did not do more with this amazing concept.  

I also really like a concept in the final battle where you can either defeat the Spirit Queen in combat OR break the enchantment Zargon has over her.  Great idea.  However, in the end it doesn't really matter too much if you beat the Spirit Queen to death with a stick or help her break her brainwashing.  The result is the same game wise.  I think a greater reward for breaking the enchantment would be cooler, since that is a harder option and one that feels much more "heroic".  

This Quest also looks like it was written before the rules for Mind Points and Shock were formalized in other Quest Packs.  Therefore, there are some levels of the Quest with an emphasis on Mind Points being attacked and whittled away but it is never really clear what happens.  I think the assumption in this Quest is that 0 Mind points = Dead.  However, Shock rules from later Quest Packs just reduce a hero to 1 Attack, 2 Defense dice instead.  I think there maybe a level or two where only Mind Points are targeted so Zargon will have to decide if 0 Mind Points = Dead or just in Shock.  

Finally, there is a pair of "good" orc NPCs in the Quest.  One is a scout sent ahead and makes sense.  I mean not all Orcs are evil or work for Zargon.  This guy is just from an allied orc tribe or something.  However, the turncoat Orc guard is a tougher nut to crack.  At one point in a quest, you have to search  out this turncoat Orc to progress, but they are just another Orc. The Heroes might just kill them outright accidentally, and that leads the Quest into a bit of an odd place.  Plus, how many of the other Orcs you have slaughtered are actually decent folks just conscripted into Zargon's army?  Best not to dwell on it friend, because that way leads to insanity! 

Again, I am overall happy for the Quests and like what they have done with the story overall; but there are a few niggling details that keep getting in my way so I can not LOVE IT! 

I am pretty sure, this Quest Pack was designed to make use of the contents of the Core box and not add a lot of new stuff.  The new Magic cards are repeats of ones that are all ready available for the most part.  

Meh and Other Uncertainties    

The greenish- translucent dice are cool!  More dice are fun so each player can have their own set.  I think I have three sets now?  Core, First Light, and these?   I need two more sets.  I think the Prophecy of Telor has another set, but I do not recall more being in Frozen Horror or Jungles of Delthrak.  I am sure someone can correct me if I am wrong.  

I am not 100% sure where this fits in with the overall story line of Heroquest.  Should you play it after Kellar's Keep, Return of the Witchlord., and before Mage in the Mirror or Rise of the Dread Moon?  Where does Against the Ogres fit in?  I am not 100% sure but I am 100% sure that there are a lot of different opinions on the topic online.  I see a situation where after the Core set, the players have to choose between Kellar's Keep or Return of the Witchlord., then when they complete their choice get to choose between this and Prophecy of Telor, then go onto Mage, Ogre, or Frozen Horror.    

I am pretty confident, this quest was designed to make use of what was in the Core box and not expand too much from there.  In the Quest itself, it asks you to use Gargoyle or other Core models to represent things in the quest.  For example, the Spirit Queen is recommended to use a Gargoyle model.  However, this set has a really cool Female Dread Wizard that would be a great Model for the Spirit Queen!  In addition, there are not really any new magical items or board tiles.  For a small expansion that is fine, but definitely demonstrates why there are small and large expansions in this range.  

When I picked this up, I also got Rise of the Dread Moon so I am sure I will be reviewing that soon too.  Keep your eyes on this space for when that drops.  I will also probably have a post about painting the contents of this box up later next year too.  Once I decide how I want to paint them up that is.  

Until next time! 

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