Welcome to "Adventures in Lead", a blog dedicated to the hobby of miniature wargaming. The figures and terrain on this site are mainly for a campaign set in exotic "Indostan", a distant land bearing remarkable similarities to 18th century India during the Seven Years War. Bits and pieces from other projects may pop up here as well from time to time, including colonials, gladiators, pirates, dinosaur-hunting and even some RPG'ing.
The actual campaign journal and after action reports for the Indostan campaign can be found on their own blog - "Indostan: The Jewel in the Crown", the link to which is found by clicking the small image below-left.
If you do find anything remotely interesting on this blog please leave a comment, it's what keeps these sites going and their authors motivated - Thanks for looking.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Spotlight on "Publius Fabius Albinus"


I present to you Publius Fabius Albinus, the finder, played by Ray in our "The Legacy of Arrius Lurco" Cthulhu Invictus campaign. Ray wrote up Albinus' background and has a very interesting creative writing blog here - please go have a look. (Right click on the character sheet and select "Open Link in New Window" for a larger, more readable view.)
 
As is often the case in large empires the lowest quarters house the most ancient profession, Rome is no different; behind sprawling back alleys, in the most decayed, retched dens of injustice this trade prospers. In one such hole a Gaulish woman provides her earthy delights to a moderately wealthy Jewish tinker of religious artifacts.
The Jew, immediately feeling extreme loathing for himself and the woman, quickly leaves never to be seen again. Unknowingly, or perhaps uncaring, he leaves the woman with the early seeds of life in her womb, the very spark of life that will become Publius Fabius Albinus.
Born in Rome Fabius often found he was being dragged along behind his mother in search of new profit making schemes. Like a sponge he quickly began to understand the value of information, and not unlike a sponge in the myriad of bath houses of the empire he learnt much from the incessant chatter of his mothers clients.
Trying to raise him properly Fabius’ mother faced insurmountable odds in abject poverty, the kind of odds that not even the most uncared for slaves can imagine, but somehow she managed to shift the focus of her trade to the the more prosperous echelons of Roman society, often with Fabius in toe. In this fashion she was able to accumulate a small amount of wealth that would eventually drag them from the rudimentary hollow slab of stone they called home into the very tar-paper tenement that Fabius now resides.
The thought of having a roof over their heads lessened his mothers determination to rise above the throbbing scum of Rome, she quickly fell into a despondent haze and eventually gave up all hope. Fabius then 12 year old felt the darkness that was covering them and suffered many nights of worry. One such night he watched his mother fade into the shadows of the hall and out of his life forever.
Left only with his friends, the street urchins, a rat named Herman who he loved like a brother, and his newly (happily) married neighbors, Spumantius and Stella, he began to thrive and develop his own set of standards and life rules.
A shabby unshaven ruffian emerges from the shadows of the darkest hole in Rome's notorious underworld to join the adventure of a lifetime.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Colonial German Marines

Sometime in the near future, Christian and myself, are planning to put on a "Darkest Africa" skirmish spectacular. We have quite a few miniatures between us, both painted and bare metal, that should allow us to field about four factions.
We are going with a Native, Slave Trader, Ruga-Ruga and German faction at the time, with the option to expand those in the future. I will contribute to the Germans, Slave Traders and the Ruga-Ruga. A lot of my stuff is thankfully already painted (not by myself) but could do with a re-base.
Below is a small part of the German faction, including some marines, their sergeant and an envoy. Again most of these were painted by another but I have used Army Painter on them to try and unify their look with ones that I will need to paint. They have been re-based as well. The figures are all Copplestone, except the umbrella bearer, who I believe is from Foundry. (Click the image to enlarge)
The German Marines

Friday, September 21, 2012

Cork Walls - Painted

I've finally gotten around to posting some photos of the cork walls I started here, painted and finished. They have been painted in a similar way I do all my adobe stuff and blend nicely with my existing builds. I have quite a few more to texture and paint, but they are relatively quick and easy to do. They are also very cheap and simple to construct.
One small downside with them is that with my current terrain boards the walls sometimes don't sit flat enough, being displaced or raised by the larger pieces of sand and pebbles. This is only a slight issue though and something most wargamers live with. All in all I am very happy with the walls and know they will be very useful pieces. I do need to construct some form of firing step though, as the walls are just taller than a 28mm figure, as seen below.
(Click the images to enlarge)

Some of the painted cork walls laid out on the table.
An unknown figure I picked up from a swap meet, beside a wall.

Another figure, a sample from http://www.underbed.co.uk/

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Spotlight on "Decius Germanicus"


I present to you Decius Germanicus, the bodyguard, played by Big Dave in our "The Legacy of Arrius Lurco" Cthulhu Invictus campaign. (Right click on the character sheet and select "Open Link in New Window" for a larger, more readable view.)

Born somewhere in Germania Magna, Decius Germanicus was sold into slavery at a very young age and eventually brought to Rome. His large, strong frame and great stamina marked him as a farm laborer. His luck did change when he was purchased by the equestrian, Lucius Decius Caldus, who needed a replacement bearer for his litter, a job much less taxing than laboring. Although a kind dominus, Decius Caldus was a poor businessman and squandered his wealth often, leading him on occasion to money troubles.
On one such occasion a rival sent a thug to teach Decius Caldus a harsh lesson and tried to have the equestrian knifed while travelling to the baths. It was Germanicus who stood between the assailant and his master, getting viciously stabbed himself, yet saving his dominus from injury. Decius Caldus rewarded the brave young Germanicus by making him his personal bodyguard, a position that the German took very seriously. Germanicus proved a great choice for a protector, but in the end he could not save Decius Caldus from excess. The equestrian died of a heart attack after a particularly long bout of bingeing. Decius Germanicus was granted manumission, being decreed a freedman in the will of the late Lucius Decius Caldus. Unfortunately he was granted a pittance and although free, was much worse off. To survive, Germanicus fell in with the wrong crowd and came to the attention of Sextus Plinius Catonius, a moneylender of ill repute.
Plinius Catonius needed tough men like Germanicus to assist him during his business transactions. He took the German in, gave him food, a place to stay and introduced him to like minded companions. Germanicus has since remained in the employ of Plinius Catonius, working out of the Subura and watching for the many enemies that plague the money lender. On occasion he is lent to anyone who requires some cheap hired muscle or a protector.
Germanicus is tall, well muscled, and square of jaw, with a tanned complexion. He has the look of a wrestler about him, accredited to many hours in the gymnasium. He has adopted the Roman ways, wearing his hair short and is mostly clean shaven. He resides in a tiny loft room, which he shares with the rats and pigeons, in one of the countless shabby insulae of the Subara.

 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The Legacy of Arrius Lurco - RPG Session 5

The great man Arrius Lurco is dead and his body is finally laid to rest, but the adventure is just beginning. Things are starting to hot up for the investigators and the omens are bad, what with Pluto at the gates and propositions in graveyards - things are about to turn weird. Can the investigators press on against the forces of Eihort without a patron, can they survive another night in Fabius Albinus' tenement apartment? Can there be a game lurking somewhere amongst all the giggling. Unlikely.

No list of slighted parties this time around (we were on our best behavior), but if we have still somehow managed to offend someone please accept our humble apologies, no offense was intended.
Please note you can click on the link to stream the audio or right click to save it locally.

If you do download and listen we would love you to leave your comments below. Thanks and enjoy.





Previous session can be found here.