Saturday 27 September 2014

The Enemy Within Scenarios: Malmir


For some while I have wished to do something with my Enemy Within idea. I think I may have discussed these thoughts with some of you in the past but this is the first time I have actually written about them here on Realm of Chaos 80s.

The premise is simple. Make a scenario pack similar to Orc's Drift, McDeath and Terror of the Lichemaster but base it on the characters and events from the early parts of the Enemy Within campaign. In order to do this effectively, I am going to explore in detail the background and scenario contents behind these classic products, steal all the good ideas and bin the not so good ideas. Hopefully, I will be able to playtest my scenarios in a bit of detail before presenting them for a wider audience at the Oldhammer Weekend 2015. 

As part of this process, I have spent some time collecting the miniatures from the Shadows Over Bogenhafen and Death on the Reik sets. Have a look at my miniature wants page to see if you can help me source any of the remaining models. If possible, I really would like to run the campaign with the original figures but shall use appropriate proxies if this isn't achieveable. 

One thing I have been able to do is source all of the original models produced to represent the player characters. These will be the 'stars' of the scenarios. They have been undercoated for quite some time on my desk but I have yet to begin work on them as other projects have drawn my attentions. I have written about these figures in detail before and that full article can be found here if you are interested. 


I opted to paint Malmir first as it was he I played the last time I rolled dice in a game of WFRP. Having a quick read of his entry in the Enemy Within booklet he is described as wearing 'colourful travelling clothes' so I opted to splash a bit of colour about him. He is, after all, a wandering minstrel by trade and a bright, welcoming attire would no doubt aid him in his business. 


The miniature of Malmir doesn't look much like his image in the supplement, but that is true of many of the other miniatures too. Looking back, I feel that my painted interpretation has too light a hair do and I shall no doubt return to his locks at some time in the future to repaint them black. 

For now he will have to remain as he is shown here. 


As I often do, I had a quick Google search for inspiration before I started painting Malmir. I stumbled across and old illustration of a medieval minstrel who's clothing consisted of a red hood and green clothing. I stole this colour scheme but added the blue trousers to further brighten him up as his character description describes. I was particularly pleased with the brown leather here, as its a colour that I sometimes struggle to get right. Here it looks nice and dark, like its been well used. Malmir has a fairly large sword and is considerably more chunky than the other models in the set. I have always stated that I felt that this model was part of a separate range and was shoe horned in. Considering he is supposed to be a lithe elf, his model if far bulkier than the other male characters. In many ways, he looks similar to the later Marauder elves. 

One thing that is certain, to me anyway, is that there are very definite shades of one Elvis Presley about the model. The hair and the sideburns are a dead give away and the face has a certain 'King of Rock 'n' Roll' look to it. Turning the model over shows us why this theme was indulged so. He carries a mandolin alongside his bow.


All in all, a satisfying first result. In the coming weeks I hope to finish off the other five models in the group. Harbull will be next, so watch this space! 

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