Saturday 14 February 2015

SDE Monsters 02 - Kobolds 02

Kobolds in Super Dungeon Explore are numerous and come in a variety of types. This time I shall shine the spotlight on the Knuckleheads and Ironscales, both of whom are melee specialists.
Knuckleheads are Kobold Minions and the basic set comes with six of them. However, I'm only showing two of them - one red-skinned and one grey-skinned.
The Knuckleheads' strength lies in large, deadly mobs of its kin throwing themselves headlong into smaller bands of heroes. They use their small shields and iron helmets to take blows while frantically stabbing anything in reach with their crude weapons.
Knuckleheads are the basic rank and file soldiers of Kobold tribes. They have better stats than the rather poor Flingers and Gougers. They have an Attack value of 3 blue dice and an Armour value of 1 (note that is just a single value as opposed to a variable dice value).
The 3 blue Attack dice isn't too bad, but when coupled with their Mob ability, which can potentially raise that to 6 blue Attack dice, then you can see how fearsome they can be if allowed to gang up on an opponent. I've seen it happen and it didn't end well for the hapless Hero! The Mob ability is their one and only ability.
Ironscales are also Kobold Minions and are by far, the elite fighters of their tribes. The basic set comes with four Ironscale figures, but once again, I'm only showing two of them. Don't worry, I will be showing a group shot of all of my Kobolds next time.
The strongest and largest of their kind, the Ironscales are draped in heavy armour and fight from behind immovable heavy shields. Advancing with a rattling stomp, their kin swarm from behind their wall of protection to attack anyone foolish enough to stick around.
The Stats for an Ironscale are not too bad. They can perform two actions per turn, have an Armour value of 2 (this is a static value but see below) and an Attack stat of 1 blue die and 1 red die.
They come with two abilities - Mob, as per all other Kobolds, and Shieldwall. Shieldwall is an augment ability with a range of 1, meaning it affects the user and any friendly model in a square next to him. What it does is add +1 blue die to the target's Armour value. It's not much, to be honest, but it does offer better protection for the otherwise weak Kobolds.

16 comments:

  1. These Knuckleheads and Ironscales look rather fearsome Bryan, and the work you've done on their armour and tin hats looks great. I especially like the bone skulls on the larger shields. Is that from an illustration within the game rules or something you decided upon, as it works incredibly well - I'll be doing the same for mine anyway ;-) The only disappointing thing is I now have to wait a few more days for that all-important group shot to be posted :-)

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    1. Many thanks, Simon. I can't take credit for the shield design. They're copied from the Ironscales' stat card. The group shot of all my Kobolds will appear next time. Just wait until you see Rex!

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  2. These are fantastic I do love the look of these armoured Kobalds. The shields have come out nicely well done mate.

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    1. Thanks, Simon. See my reply to the other Simon above for more about the shields.

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  3. Nice - love the shiny helmets!

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    1. Thanks, Dean. The lighting from my angle-poise lights makes the armour look shinier than it is in real life. Still, I'm glad you like them.

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  4. I love Kololds. A wonderful low level monster that if played right can cause all sorts of worries! Great painting as usual and I look forward to the group shot.

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    1. Chris, you are spot on about the Kobolds causing lots of trouble IF used right. I do emphasise the IF because if used badly they end up being cannon fodder. The group shot will appear next post, I promise.

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  5. Lovely paint job Bryan! I really like the metallic shades you've painted them in. The Ironscales look like fearsome brutes and the wiggly swords look wicked sharp. As others have said the shields are terrific. Great job all round Dude!

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    1. Thanks, Bob. The Ironscales are fearsome little brutes. The armour bits were painted with the Foundry Gun Metal 104 triad of paints. It was the first time I used these colours and I'm very happy with the results.

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  6. Poor kobolds - they're really too weedy to be monsters and you just *know* that most of them are going to die!

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  7. Really adorable!!!

    Good paintjob (as always)

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    1. Thanks, Johnny. Adorable? I dunno. It's not how I'd describe them.

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  8. These Dungeon explore figs look great. Very well done on a totally different subject. I must commend you on your ability to stay on target. This is an impressive collection of a whole game done in a short period of time. Hope you are well, Bryan.

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    1. I have discovered that change is good, Roger. This new project has me very excited and enthusiastic. Painting this new range of figures was such a joy and a happy experience. Yes, I am well and I hope you're doing fine, my friend.

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