Convert or Be Darned to Heck #1: Back to the Base-ics

 

Difference. We cherish it. But just like playing one RPG doesn't make us sufficiently different - we've got to play different RPGs, and play them differently - sometimes garden-variety miniatures just seem too garden-variety, too vanilla, too much of some bland-meaning but inappropriate-sounding food metaphor. Just going ahead and painting the little guys is one good way to set yourself apart. (Remember: a well-painted figure or army is always a moral victory.) But a couple of relatively easy conversions or additions can jazz up a relatively ordinary mini even further.

Difference. We cherish it. But just like playing one RPG doesn't make us sufficiently different - we've got to play different RPGs, and play them differently - sometimes garden-variety miniatures just seem too garden-variety, too vanilla, too much of some bland-meaning but inappropriate-sounding food metaphor. Just going ahead and painting the little guys is one good way to set yourself apart. (Remember: a well-painted figure or army is always a moral victory.) But a couple of relatively easy conversions or additions can jazz up a relatively ordinary mini even further.

Basing is the easiest way to start. A lot of figures come with add-on plastic bases (as opposed to integral bases, which are cast along with the mini). These are the easiest to work with; in fact, it's almost necessary to do something with them since they're pretty stark on their own. The typical strategy is to paint them Goblin Green. And maybe add flock.

This usually sucks.

Here's the first rule of thumb: always paint all base elements. Because everything else on the mini is (ideally) painted to scale, items that aren't painted will actually look out-of-scale on the base if they aren't also painted. So if you base a mini on a real rock, you'll probably have to paint it to make it look like a real rock (ironically enough.) Just a little dry brush over flock in an appropriate color can spice it up.

If you're set on plain grass, a better way to handle it is to coat the base in liquid epoxy or white glue and put on a layer of fine-grain sand. Beach sand is quite good for this, as is any well-sifted sand. When the glue is dry, the base can be painted in a layer of thinned dark green paint, then worked up with progressively lighter dry brushes.

This technique also works reasonably well for similar surfaces. Sand can be handled by painting up to a beige or gray from a medium yellow-brown. Snow can be built up to near-white from a beige or off-white for reasonably fresh snow, light gray for dirty or old snow, or very light blue base for a sort of "fantasy snow" effect. Snow and sand are both tough to simulate since the grains need to just about disappear on the base. Extremely fine-grained sand is best for this. Some people have had luck with perishable white substances (baking soda and the like), but I've also heard horror stories. I don't want roaches defeating my white dragon.

But I still think this is too basic. (*rimshot*) Here's my theory: every base should tell a story. It should complement the miniature without distracting too much.

As such, all sorts of terrain possibilities exist. The average wargamer may feel a need to match the generic green flock basing on the generic green flock table, but putting a mini in an appropriate (or inappropriate) setting can look quite good.

The easiest modification is to toss on some rocks for a slightly different terrain feel. Again, this needs to be handled carefully to make it look good. Tacking down kitty litter or gravel after flocking is going to make it look like you've sprinkled some kitty litter or gravel on the base. As I mentioned above, paint is probably going to be necessary to keep the to-scale feel. Another consideration is placement.

As with any other representational artistic endeavor, taking a look at the world is quite helpful. A largish rock is probably going to be sunk into the ground a bit. It'll likely have a little greenery on it if it's in a moist place. Some smaller rocks and detritus will probably litter the out-of-the-way bits and crevices towards the bottom.

So say I've got the WotC Orc Trooper. He looks a bit like a sentry or scout to me, but also like a guard. I'd mount him on a rock to give a sense of height, prominence, and intimidation. And because I think it'd look cool. Because real rocks look good when they're painted, I'd find an appropriate piece of gravel or slate, something chunky enough to pick up paint but smooth enough to stand the figure on without his looking awkward. I'd dry-fit it to the base and set the miniature on top to make sure everything looked good: that he wasn't tipping over or standing in that drunken orc stance I've come to despise. I've actually got a supply of likely-looking rocks, which I'll freely admit on this forum since I'm sure people have done more oddly geekish things. (I'm sure I have.)

On to the assembly: I'd sink the rock into a bit of liquid epoxy on the base. Before the epoxy set, I'd tack on a few very small pieces of the same type of rock around the edges and sprinkle on some rough sand, then some finer sand. After that dried, I'd epoxy the miniature in place, trying to get a firm join without making things too sloppy.

After all the joins were dry, I'd prime the whole thing (see my priming article), paint the mini, then paint up the base in a series of varied browns or greens. Again, looking at real rocks provides a good model for how to paint the ones you've got.

Since I'm envisioning the rock as a usual sentry post, I wouldn't add on any moss. If it were a more out-of-the-way rock, I might glue on some fine-ground foam flock for lichens or moss, making sure to dry brush it a bit to make it look good.

The same technique should be used for any smaller rocks placed on a base, modified as space and time and appropriateness allow. The techniques are more or less the same for the ground cover I've mentioned above, giving you flat or rocky grassland, desert or snow. That's a pretty limited range for your figures, no? Next time we'll take a look at forest bases as well as some more exotic possibilities.

Well, I have always been one to believe that role-playing and miniatures should be seperated. Save them for your wargames.

I've heard this line of reasoning before -- like anything else, I figure people should do what works. :) I actually got into miniatures _via_ rpgs. My gaming buddies and I never really played any wargames, though we did buy some to get the figures. :) Minis are handy for situations where tactics and placement are important, and help set up things like line of fire. Also, I like having an approxmiation of what a character looks like, if only a rough one. I was never much good at 2D representation, so minis were the best way to get something that looked like my character.

What do folks think?

I also got into wargames after playing RPGs for a long time. I used to hate the idea of including minis in my RPGs but I have to say they work well for getting a feel about the character. Like Joel, I can't draw worth a damn, but I've actually become pretty decent at painting minis. I can't say that I can understand Forseille's position since our current RPGs evolved out of wargames.

Yes, wooz, RPG's did evolve out of war games. But they are role-playing games, designed to play a character, not fight a large scale battle. Again, save them for your war-games.

Humans evolved from monkeys...does that mean we still live in trees and fling crap at each other?

<<Humans evolved from monkeys...does that mean we still live in trees and fling crap at each other?>>

Actually, we've developed a highly complex network of powerful computers the world over in order to fling crap at each other. Some of us manage to get paid for it. 8)

I never once said that I play large scale battles when playing an RPG. Minis are wonderful ways to physically represent a character instead of a pen and paper drawing. They are also wonderful at reducing confusion on the parts of players during combat (let me be absolutely specific, we are speaking of small skirmishes, platoon or squad sized at best). If a player feels that his assumption of the ROLE can be helped by drawing a picture, what's the problem with using a mini in the same way. Nothing forces you to use them in a RPG, but I don't see any reason to take such a psuedo-elitist attitude about it.

As far as your reference to living in trees and throwing crap at each other, you obviously have never earned a living working as an educator, or been in a board meeting.

RPG Miniatures are useful in lots of tactical representations when you can't stand the confusion that the DM's chicken scratches bring. As rare as those RPG combat sitiations are.

I'm speaking literally here. By crap, I mean feces.

I realized that. It still doesn't change my comment. Since Homo Sapiens Sapiens has a better facility for abstract thought than lower primates, we are no longer constrained to throwing literal feces at one another.

homos, homos, and more homos. Who cares? This is a game website!

Nifty ideas, and I'll experiment with them when I paint my next minis, but I won't be using these ideas on any minis that I actually game with. Why? Because when I game, I tend to move the minis around a lot. That means I pick them up and put them down a lot. That means they get a lot of wear and tear. These are great ideas for static dioramas (that don't get picked up, rearranged, knocked over, spilled on, etc.) but I wouldn't want to game with and potentially wreck something that I put that much effort into.

I look forward to future columns in the series.

JKB

I sometimes do 'fancy bases on minis I game with - you just have to take into account that they're going to be picked up. No fancy stuff on the edges or sticking up too far. Static grass -under- the mini is usually safe. If the mini is on top of a pile of rocks (or something) it is usually fine. If I'm not sure if it'll be okay, I get someone to 'grab' the mini and see how they picked it up (same as you'd do if you did a weapon swap) Pick someone you game with who's clumsy - the guy who always breaks everything ;)

And a certain very popular RPG now has very clearly spelled out tactical rules that require either minis or some other sort of counter. At least they don't use facing yet... :P