Cave trolls

Deep in the darkest, dankest caverns and caves, they live. Their eyes are almost useless after decades of darkness, their skin has almost calcified in the constant drip of minerals and lava sediments, their wiry bodies gangly and tough as old leather. They exist on the blind fish and crustacae that cling on to existence  in the cold, clammy pools of their subterranean homes. If a goblin or giant spider strays into their realm, it will provide them with food for a month.

And yet, the goblins do make their way into these perilous corners of their realm. The cave trolls are lumbering, almost blind and very dangerous, but this makes them ideal conscripts for the goblin armies. Prodded and goaded, they are pushed into the teeth of their enemies, blunting their defence, weakening their resolve, and possibly soiling their trousers…

It’s been a while since I posted, simply because I almost never paint minis now. However, I did recently feel the nostalgia and dug out these old stone trolls. From around 1992 when I first started Warhammer, though at the time I could not afford too many metals and my limited funds went toward my elves. Fast forward a couple of decades, I have been slowly scraping together a collection from that era. 

I have learnt more about painting, colours, ambience, etc since making the switch to canvas. And so these figures are slightly different stylistically than my other miniatures, though it’s subtle and maybe not that apparent on screen. Anyway, there’s a lot of basic dry brushing and glazing and not much else to be honest. In colour terms, the grey of stone and a pale flesh colour, with a cool red on the main facial features, to represent the effects of daylight on their light sensitive skin.

A little history lesson. The trolls were originally released as single piece models, these three in fact. Later they were released as two pieces (a separate head), presumably to allow variety for those building really big units? I prefer the single piece models, but I am happy to include a spare. 

As I said, I have been away from the world of minis for the past few years and, well, it sure has changed. So much more choice around, it’s quite mind boggling. I have been sorting through my collection, and hopefully I can get back into the hobby on a reduced scale. I have a small unit of orcs to paint next, see how that goes. It would be nice to build a force of orcs and goblins to take on my dwarfs…….

Dwarf Miners of Oakenheim

The wealth of Oakenheim was not in gold and gemstones, nor in iron or coal, but in salt. It has been used by dwarfs for thousands of years, for seasoning of course, but most importantly for food preservation. The dwarfs could not survive the bleak midwinter months if they relied on hunted game and foraged berries. It is the vast larder of salted (preserved) foodstuffs that gets them through the lean winter months. That, and copious barrels of beer. It was the discovery of salt deposits under the mountains that first led to the founding of the hold of Oakenheim, and transportation of the valuable commodity that enabled the kingdom to spread. Dwarf Miners are the bedrock of dwarf society.

This has been my main focus in the month of Decembeard, a unit of dwarf miners from around 1992. They are possibly the dwarfiest  dwarfs of this era. I think most people associate miners with coal or metals, I know I certainly did. But after a holiday in Krakow and a visit to the Mines of Moria, I discovered the significance of humble salt to human civilisation, and translated this into my Oakenheim history. Travel is a wonderful thing !

When I started to paint the minis I had very few choices to make. The mail shirts would be metal colours and the leather gloves would be browns and tans. The only thing to decide on was the beards. I thought white or grey would give the most contrast, and these three are probably my favourites of the unit. The dwarf in the centre of this trio is hands down the best sculpt in the unit in my eyes.

With the command group I wanted to add some variety of beard tones. I figured that the banner, horn, etc would draw the eye and thus the beard could take a slightly more background role. At some stage I might add a flag to the banner pole.

For completeness, the final pair of dwarfs from the unit. Nothing particularly spectacular, but sometimes the sum is greater than the parts.

With the gunners from the previous post, that’s my sum total of achievement for Decembeard, as far as the Dwarfs of Oakenheim are concerned. I am very happy with this result, painting has not come easy to me in the past few months and these were certainly completed much quicker than earlier units. The miners took around ten hours in total including prep, and I reckon that’s a very good result at just over an hour a figure. 

Stay tuned for the Twelve Days of Beardmas 🎅🏻

Dwarf Gunners of Oakenheim

A brace of dwarf gunners, hastily finished as part of Decembeard. These two are fairly muted in colour, I figure that they would spend much of their time hunting for game and would want to blend into a forest background. They are, of course, from the marauder miniatures range from around 1992, the year I started  in Warhammer. I have to say I am not that keen on the strange grin of the sniper dwarf.

And with those two added to the unit I now have five gunners ready for battle. That’s enough to make a unit for games of Erehwon, which has become my favourite way to play fantasy battles, on the very rare occasion I roll dice. Hopefully they will see some action over the midwinter break.

More goblin archers

Two more goblin archers added to the warband. Easing myself back into the painting habit, I found that taking a month off I had lost that familiarity with painting that regular practise brings. So I was a little tentative adding colours to these figures. Still, in the end, they turned out fine and it's good to get off the mark.

These are plastic night goblins by GW, from the now defunct night goblin boxset. They can be assembled in a number of ways and I chose to take advantage of the less common loading poses. I gave them red hoods to fit in with the theme of my warband, then added some checks for a little extra practise.

There's eight archers now, which is a decent size for a unit in most skirmish games. Looking at them in this group photo, I am not sure they fit well, even though I am a fan of diversity in my collection. I will add more eventually, probably at least another four of the plastic night goblins to make two units of six shooters which covers all the games I play. For the time being, they can be used in games of Erewhon, taking potshots at dwarfs no doubt.

Goblin archers

Goblins come in all shapes and sizes. Most are small creatures, but some survive the rigours of life to grow a little taller. Often the tallest are those that can keep themselves out of harm's way when a boss takes them into battle. These most cunning of goblins have realised that using a bow from afar is a much easier to way survive. Being bigger than most of their comrades, they find it easier to push the little runts into combat while they shoot (and snigger) from the rear.

A unit of archers join the warband. These are a mix of figures, the taller ones are GW from the 1980s. Strictly speaking they are orc archers, but I am taking a Tolkienesque view - orcs are just big goblins. The two shorter goblins came as part of a warband sold on a facebook group, I believe they were originally part of  the Hasslefree range. Despite the difference in aesthetic, I think all these were sculpted by Kev Adams, though I am no expert on this matter.

I bought the orcs on a whim, mostly because I liked the two long snouted figures, the squat faced a bit less so. Painting them was as I expected, the details and castings are quite crude and make painting more difficult. The two smaller figures were fine, though one has a fairly noticeable casting flaw in the quiver. Despite their shortcomings, they add a certain character to the warband.

The Erehwon warband is shaping up quite nicely now. There are two melee units, this missile unit and a couple of special units (the squigs), plus a shaman and his bodyguard. That's just about enough for a small skirmish. More are waiting to be painted, though I am starting to feel drawn to other subjects.

Squigs

Of all the many creatures living in the hidden and dark places of Nordverden, these beasts are the strangest. Practically blind, they rely on sharp hearing and a keen sense of smell to detect their prey, then simply gobble them up in one bite. The goblins learned long ago that these creatures and their ravenous appetite are to be avoided at all cost. Incredibly, a few crazy goblins actively seek them out, having discovered that the beasts' sensitive hearing makes them afraid of loud noises, they use makeshift instruments that gives them some rudimentary control. Such herders and their bizarre flock are highly prized by goblin generals for the destruction they can wreak on a battlefield. The fact that a handful of goblins may be eaten along the way is a price well worth paying. 

These are, of course, night goblin squigs and herders - at least that's what they were called in the days of Warhammer. The new(ish) plastic kits are very much in the tradition of the older metal figures. When they were released a couple of years ago, it was like travelling back to the early 90s. So while my goblin warband is predominantly metal, I am happy to include these newer plastics, which seem more Middlehammer to me than the original metals they were based on, if that makes sense.

On the painting, I knew I did not want the traditional orange, instead I went for the exact opposite with a bright blue skin. I started them with a neutral buff colour for their under bellies, then stippled on green and then blue. Then I dotted on random stripes and lines in various inks (blue, red, purple) before finally glazing with a very diluted blue/purple mix. The end result is a very vibrant blue green effect, which contrasts really well with the lips and gums. The beady little eyes were really easy to do - over a grey base I added a spot of black mixed with a gloss varnish. I am really happy with the way they turned out.

The herders are both playing makeshift musical instruments. The kit includes two options, one musician and one prodder. I hacked the latter body so I could use both sets of music makers. They need to make lots of noise to keep those hungry beasts on the move, a proddy stick just isn't going to have the same effect!

In game terms, there are stats for Gobble Dogs in the goblin warband which are uncannily close to the original squig herds. Funny that. In Dragon Rampant I could probably nominate them as berserk troops. I am unsure how they would be played in Saga, not sure they would fit into that game. If anybody has any ideas, let me know in the comments please.

Cave Bear

Cave bears are quite common in the mountains and forests around  the dwarf keep of Oakenheim. Down the years, dwarfs and bears have learned to respect and tolerate each other. Dwarf rangers in particular have fostered a mutual understanding. They leave out salted honey cakes and small bowls of beer for the beasts; in return the bears have an excellent sense of smell and will often roar a warning if goblins or wolves are in the vicinity. Sometimes, the bears will even appear during a battle, helping the dwarfs in their never ending struggle against the goblins and their horrible allies.

I picked up this bear model at a local show, I cannot remember the manufacturer but it seemed to be the right scale to fit into my collection. The sculpt is okay I guess, it looks reasonably like a bear, though I did have to remove a lot of flash and extensive mould lines. The pose is a bit strange, I think it would have been better rearing on hind legs and just looking down and forward at it's smaller foes. If I am honest, I cannot really recommend it, so it's just as well I cannot remember the manufacturer.

In gaming terms it will be particularly useful in games of Erehwon. Beasts and monsters can be included in most armies and there is already a profile for the cave bear, so I can just slot it into an army. Strictly speaking, any army can use any monster, but for me it seems most fitting in a dwarf force. I cannot imagine goblins and bears getting along at all - then again goblins don't really get along with any creatures, including themselves.

One other reason to buy the figure was as a present for my wife. It's her birthday and she is quite a fan of bears, usually the fluffy teddy bear type, but I am ever hopeful of bringing her over to the much cooler hobby of toy soldiers.

There's only one thing left to say. Happy Bear Day.

Return to Grimdal's Tomb part 2

A horn blast startled the rangers into readiness. They took up positions on the edge of the Oakenwood, peering across the dark glade. Slowly, their enemy hobbled into view. Zombies fell to the ground as crossbow bolts thudded into them. More zombies trailed alongside them, a wall of rotting flesh. Skeletons creaked forward, and wights seemingly floated across the ground, heading straight for the tomb. Behind them, the dark robed necromancer urged them on.

A cheer went up on the dwarf left flank, as slayers charged down from the foothills and made straight for the tomb. The dwarfs cheered even louder as a gyrocopter swept over the treetops. It flew straight over the zombie wall then a brief flash and an explosion rocked the night. Bones shattered and the necromancer stumbled to his knees, the whole Undead army faltered.

The dark robed figure gripped his staff and pulled himself up. Despite his wound, he was able to conjure a chill wind, the blast directed up into the sky at the hovering dwarf contraption. There was an audible crackling noise as the whole machine was covered in freezing ice crystals. The rotor stuttered, the pilot cried out and it careered to the ground. The foul undead creatures shambled forward once more.

Zombies were continually pierced by bolts and fell to the ground, but then rose again under the influence of foul magic. The slayers found their route to the tomb blocked by shambling corpse soldiers. Skeletons swarmed over the downed gyrocopter. Wights silently floated toward the tomb, just as the door creaked open. From that ancient portal, a hulking figure lumbered out, wading into the spectral warriors. The ogre hacked and slashed at the eerie robed figures, one dissipated to nothing as his cleaver struck, but their chill weapons pierced his flabby bulk. The ogre retreated back into the tomb, bellowing in rage. The wights hovered by the tomb door, awaiting a command.

The downed gyrocopter pilot furiously tapped on dials and hammered on levers with one hand, swinging his axe at the skeletons with his other. Somehow he had survived the short descent of his machine to the ground. Even more miraculously, with a juddering wheeze, it suddenly started back into life, the rotor spinning once more. The dwarf gyrocopter swayed back into the air again, skeletons scattered beneath it. With steely determination, the pilot aimed once more at the dark robed figure and tossed a bomb straight at him. The bomb rolled right up to the feet of the figure, then lay there. There was no flash, no explosion this time. The icy blast must have rendered the bomb useless!

Dwarf rangers finally threw down their crossbows and hefted their huge axes. They charged toward the zombies, determined to sweep them away and carve a route through to the dark robed necromancer. Slayers joined them. At the tomb door, there was a frightful noise, as a pack of gibbering, howling gobghouls emerged from the darkness and threw themselves at the wights. This attack was surprisingly vicious, the wights fell back under the onslaught of rusty blades and scabrous claws.

As the zombie lines thinned, the dwarfs crept ever closer to the necromancer and his depleted bodyguard. For the first time, he stepped back, hesitating. A glance over to the tomb told him that his wight servants had failed. A faint glow in the east heralded the new dawn. The darkness would soon be gone. The grating sound of a huge rock door closing signalled the end of the battle.

The robed figure took one last, wistful look at Grimdal's Tomb, then melted away once more. The foul undead plodded after him. As the pink tinge of dawn intensified, dazed dwarfs stumbled over corpses, discovering fallen comrades among the rotted dead. Many had given their lives to protect the ancient tomb, and yet had it all been for nothing? The sacred site had long ago been defiled and infested by other dark creatures. The survivors solemnly began the grim task of gathering their dead for the long trek back home.

Return to Grimdal's Tomb part 1

Long ago, there was a great battle at Grimdal's Tomb, between the dwarfs and a race of men, now long forgotten. The men came seeking dwarf treasure that was rumoured to lie in an ancient burial mound; the dwarfs came to protect their ancestor's resting place.

Grimdal's Tomb lies beyond the eastern fringes of the Oakenwood, roughly half way between Oakenheim and the abandoned hold of Helheim. As a sacred dwarf monument, it is not usually marked on maps, lest any treasure hunters or other undesirables should attempt to visit. Dwarfs far away from home, notably rangers and wandering slayers, often visit the site to pay their respects. It was during one such visit that they first discovered another at the site, a dark robed figure poking around under cover of the night sky, who melted away into the shadows when challenged. Alarmed at this intrusion, the dwarfs doubled their patrol of the area, and sure enough, a few nights later, the dark robed stranger was back, but this time he was not alone.

I first discovered Grimdal's Tomb back in 1992, in White Dwarf issue number 153. I had bought the magazine to further investigate the "new" Warhammer Fantasy Battle game - in reality it was the fourth edition, but it was all new to me as an occasional player of Heroquest.

Grimdal's Tomb was the setting for a battle report between Dwarfs and Bretonnians, with a slight twist. Both sides were trying to get into the tomb, thought neither knew that they would also have to contend with the tomb guardians - a troll and a handful of skeletons.

I adapted completely stole this idea for a battle, though I would be using the Erehwon rules. Dwarf rangers and slayers would join forces to face the intruders, with support from the newly painted gyrocopter. It was also a chance for me to play a first battle with the Undead in this system. A necromancer, leading two units of zombies, skeletons and wights, would be attempting to break into the tomb. And the tomb guardians? A hulking ogre and a pack of ghouls would randomly turn up to attack whichever unit was nearest to the tomb entrance.

As the gloom of night descended on the trees, the rangers settled in for a long wait. Accustomed to the darkness of their underground homes, they could easily see across the clearing to the stone monument of the sacred tomb. Hours ticked by, and it seemed that it would be another fruitless vigil, when a chill descended on the glade. Snorri drew his cloak around him, and lighting his pipe was surprised to see his breath in the night air. It was mid summer, yet suddenly as cold as a mountain peak. Furtive movement across the clearing caught his eye. He nudged his companion to be ready to give the signal. The dark robed intruder had returned to Grimdal's Tomb.

Cave Goblin Shaman

As their name suggests, cave goblins spend most of their time underground. As a result, they are a little different to other goblin folk. They tend to be smaller, paler and less well equipped, often with little more than a crude club and a set of filthy robes. However, they do have an affinity with the other creatures of the dank underworld realms, and will often drive these before them into battle. When a goblin warlord recruits the cave goblins into his warband, he does so expecting them to bring along trolls, spiders or other beasts from the dark caverns. The cave goblins also have a greater tendency to practise magic than their overground relatives, perhaps as a result of their diet of mind expanding fungi and hallucinogenic mushrooms.

This is the doom goblin shaman from Knightmare Games. This was one of the first models from that range that caught my eye. The fungi staff is just a brilliant touch. I changed the name from doom to cave to fit my own vision of goblins and how they live. I wanted to give them a pale skin, as I imagine their pigment would naturally fade after generations in the darkness. The red around the eyes could be due to the stress of controlling the magical forces in his mind, or maybe it's just a reaction to the hated daylight. It gives him a nicely manic appearance.

Here is the shaman with a small group of the black goblins, to illustrate the size difference. The bulk of the goblin force will be more like the cave goblin in size - smaller and runtier, as you would expect. Next in the queue, I could paint up a handful of old GW goblins I managed to collect over the past couple of years, but I do now have a preference for these Knightmare figures. I just have to get some more!

Sargob The Old

This is probably the oldest figure in my collection, certainly the oldest goblin. It's so old I cannot remember where it came from, possibly gifted to me by another player years ago when I was a club member. I painted it a few years ago, possibly about ten years back.

 Looking on the Stuff of Legends website, I have identified it as a Citadel C12 goblin, named Sargob, from around 1987. Judging by the style, I would guess it was sculpted by one of the Perry twins, he looks a bit too serious to have been sculpted by Kev Adams.

The first thing you might notice is the moustache, which is a bit strange on a goblin. The shield is a modern addition, a plastic from the chaos marauders set. I have recently rebased the figure from square to round, to better fit the new goblins warband I am building. All I had to do was paint the base and he fits right in.

Black Goblins

The Greater Goblins of the Black Vale, or Black Goblins as they are more commonly known, are the biggest of their kind. While most goblins are small, wretched, scrawny creatures, Black Goblins are much larger, some as tall as a dwarf. Consequently, they tend to be leaders, bodyguard or even warlords. They are the best armed of their kind, as they have the pick of  the loot from the battlefields, and steal arms and armour from their compatriots at will. Few goblin warbands go to battle without these bruisers leading the way.

These are the Black Goblins from Knightmare Games. When I first ordered the figures, I had no idea that they were such a large scale. I dreamt up the concept of them being the larger, elite troops of the race - not an original thought I admit, given the role of Black Orcs in Warhammer and black uruks in Lord of the Rings. You can see my first impressions of the models in this post.

I googled images of black orcs to get a few ideas for darker skinned goblins. However, I found it hard to break the mould and started with green skin tones, intending to shade them down quite darkly, but made a bit of a mess of it. I added too many different shades and it just did not turn out as I would have hoped. In future, I will stick to my tried and tested base coat and glazes routine. In the end, I decided to leave the skin and move on to other areas, see how it looked with all the other bits painted. It's often better to get an idea of the overall picture before obsessing on one little bit. With the rest of the colours on, the figures came together and they don't look too bad. I probably spent longer on touching up the skin than I would usually, lesson learned for next time.

The figures are not sold with shields or bases. I used my default system of two pence coins for the bases - they add a bit of weight and stability and are also magnetic. The shields are more of a problem, should I add some, and if yes, what should I use? In the meantime, they will just have to rely on their armour.

Flippin' eck....

.....these goblins are big guys. Yes, I did manage to fit in a pancake day pun.

These are black goblins from Knightmare Games, part of their Greenskin Wars range. I ordered them not realising they are bigger than your average goblin, but that's fine, I like size variation. As you can see, they are single piece metal sculpts, oozing with character and good levels of detail. The eyes have an iris and a pupil!

How big are they? Here's a comparison with a couple of plastic figures, a goblin and an orc. They tower over the little goblin, almost reaching the height and bulk of the orc. These are going to be the bruisers in my goblin force, either the bodyguard of the general or maybe an elite unit.

Just like their cousins the Black Orcs of the Warhammer world, or the black uruks of Tolkien's world, they are the biggest and toughest in the army. Conveniently, that suggests a palette to me - black skin with dark robes and armour. So here's a few examples of dark skinned orcs to act as inspiration.

March of the Goblins

Goblins have been a part of my wargaming history since the beginning. From my first few tentative games of Talisman and Heroquest, to full blown battles of Warhammer, they have always been around, as grunts to be killed, enemy to be defeated. When I bought my first set of Warhammer Fantasy Battle it contained dozens of single pose goblins, none of which interested me as a collecting or painting project. Years later I painted the night goblins of the Skull Pass boxset, more to provide cannon fodder for my dwarfs than anything. They have always been second best, on the periphery of my collection.

But that is about to change. Last year I spent a good deal of time reminiscing about those early days. I started to collect a few models from 1992, the first year of my personal involvement in Warhammer. They are not easy to come by - you might be lucky and find a few on various groups or ebay, but prices can be very expensive - my rose tinted specs have not blinded me enough to pay some of the ridiculous levels asked by some sellers. And then I found another way.

Knightmare Games have a range of metal goblins sculpted by Kev Adams, the sculptor of much of the early 90's goblins for Games Worshop. They should fit perfectly with the few figures I already have in my collection. At around three euros a figure they are still not a cheap option, and would be eye wateringly expensive if I was trying to collect the big regiments required by the old games. But I am building a force to use in Erehwon, and maybe Saga, so it's much easier on the wallet. I can buy about fifty or so figures and that's enough for a complete force, not a couple of regiments. So that's what I am doing. I have put in my first order and await delivery with keen anticipation.

And so begins the March of the Goblins.

First Game of Erehwon

The Dwarfs of Oakenheim have had many years of peace and prosperity, little bothered by outsiders. But recently, rangers have reported much more activity on the borders, with goblins from the Red Hills in the south being particularly bothersome. Hoping to squash any sneaky plans the greenskins might have, the dwarfs have despatched a small force from the nearest hold, to confront and warn off the intruders.

You might not realise it, but there is a new game system in town. Quietly launched by Warlord Games, Warlords of Erehwon is a game by Rick Priestley, author of the original Warhammer Fantasy Battle. If you have played Bolt Action or Battle of Antares, you will be familiar with the basic system. If you have no idea what these are, then you can get a rough idea of the new game from this youtube video, in which the basic mechanics are covered.

My own one paragraph description of the game is that it is a large skirmish/small warband game, playable on a dining room table, with forces of around six to ten units per side, units from three to ten figures in size, so about thirty to fifty figures to each warband. If you play Saga, it's a similar scale, but with a very different play style. Units are activated one by one in a random fashion, drawing dice or tokens from a bag to determine this. Each unit then makes a choice from six different activations (move, shoot, rally type actions), carries out that action, then another unit is randomly chosen to activate. Actions are resolved using 10 sided dice by referring to one of six stats, with low rolls being successes (so the ideal game if you always roll 1's). It's a fast moving game, both players randomly but constantly involved at all times - there's no snoozing while your opponent takes his half hour turn. The photo above shows roughly what to expect, with six units of stout dwarf warriors facing off against ten units of sneaky goblins (some of them have obviously sneaked out of frame, the little gits). The photo below shows roughly 800 points of dwarfs.

In this first, trial outing, the game was quite easy to pick up, the rules are pretty straight forward. It plays more like the old Warhammer Fantasy Battle than any other game I have tried (Saga, Rampant, etc), but with much smaller forces and far less fiddly rules. If you like the feel of  the old WHFB games, but have developed a liking for newer, slicker game systems, it is probably right up your street. Suffice to say that dwarfs, goblins, trolls, and ideas for terrain are now swirling around in my over excited mind. I reckon that this game, and possibly the upcoming Saga fantasy supplement, will herald a renaissance in fantasy gaming.

The dwarfs turned their back on the smouldering heaps of goblin corpses. Gently, reverently, they hoisted their dead companions on to the carefully prepared litters, and began the solemn march back to the hold. Dozens of goblins had been slaughtered in the battle, but there was little reason to celebrate. Six of their own kin had been lost, six new burial mounds would be constructed at the hold. Heads bowed, they started the long trek back home.

Dwarfs of Oakenheim

The dwarfs of Oakenheim have been roused from their winter slumber. Rangers patrolling the borders have reported worrying numbers of goblins gathering, not to mention rumours from the north of invading barbarians. Patrols have been doubled, plans have been made, reinforcements are on the way. In the meantime, the dwarfs of Oakenheim must rely on their resolve and their armour, to repel the interlopers as best they can.

As I mentioned in my last post, I am returning to the bearded ones. Not just painting them, but also some gaming. I have really missed fantasy wargaming in my hobby life. Warhammer was the start of everything for me and it gave me many, many years of pleasure, from playing with unpainted figures on the dining table with my brothers, to full on tournament battles. When the game met the sad fate it did, I had already drifted from it a little, but it was still a sad time to see the glory days ended. Since then I have enjoyed many a game system from varying periods and genres, but recently I have been reminiscing back to the old days. I have been plodding along, building up this dwarf force and an Undead collection, anticipating the release of the fantasy version of Saga some time this year. And then, out of the blue, almost from Nowhere, another option has become available. More on that soon.........