Menalippe’s Bestiary – Nymphs

Note: This post contains photos of nude miniatures.  They aren’t Barbie doll naked, they are naked naked.

Nymphs are female nature deities found throughout the wilds of Talomir.  They are often the daughters of gods and mortals, but some were formed from nature herself.  Nymphs live in places of wonder: springs, caves, forest groves, and ocean grottos for example.  They are the guardians of such places for such places often have portals to other realms.  There are many of these places on Valkae.  Whenever the goddess goes hunting on Valkae, she is accompanied by an entourage of nymphs.

Though they are spirits who can take physical form, nymphs are not immortal.  Their lifespan is longer than a five hundred generations of humans.  They can be killed.  Most often it is not the sword that kills the nymph, but the destruction of their home.  Nymphs are fearsome and extremely beautiful.  They can stun with a glance.  Skilled with both bow and war club, nymphs are also high level casters of nature spells.

(Editor’s note:  I’m flattered and blushing at the thought of nymphs being extremely beautiful.  The Floozy’s late husband often called her a “nymph.”  Well… he actually used the word “nympho” – same thing, right?)

Nymph’s are not necessarily hostile.  Throughout the history of Talomir, great men and women were nursed and educated by nymphs.  Our own history, the history of the Amazon race, traces our origin to the three daughters of the horse lord chieftan, Arpoxais, and the nymph, Harmonia.  Nymphs have been known to take both men and women as mates.

Nymphs in Warrior Heroes

The easiest way to model nymphs as a race in Warrior Heroes: Legends is to merge most of the  racial attributes of a Petty Demon with most of the attributes of an Elf.  This would give the nymph the following attributes:

•  Exceptional Vision
• Magic Resistant
• Resilient
• Marksman*
• Rage*
• Quick Reflexes
• Stunning

*A figure can only have Marksman or Rage, not both.  If the figure’s primary weapon is a melee weapon, use Rage and if the figure’s primary weapon is a ranged weapon, use Marksman.

A Nymph is Man-size (M) and Young (Y).  They will either be Rep 6 or Rep 7.  On a roll of a d6 a nymph may be a caster (1-3) or a healer (4-6).

Foundry Nymphs

I’ve had these nymphs for a few years.  I bought them when FRP closed out their stock of Wargames Foundry miniatures.  They’ve languished in a shoebox for years while I decided what I wanted or could do with them.  The sculpts are beautiful, but over half of them are naked, embarrassingly naked. There are only a few poses I could use at a convention game.  They are no longer listed on the Wargames Foundry site, so I don’t know if you can still buy them through there.  They are listed on Kevin Adams’ site, Warmonger Miniatures.

A note on the painting.  I know that in most art Nymphs are painted as lily-white Caucasian girls.  But who lives and works in the out-of-doors has lily-white skin?  I made a choice to use darker skin tones for my nymphs.  Here’s my reasoning:

1. We live in a diverse world.  Since I run my games at conventions that feature Role Playing Games (RPGs) and board games as well as miniature games, there is a wider diversity in attendees.  As a woman, there is nothing more disappointing than playing a game where there are no female characters.  I believe it to be the same to play a game where there are no characters of color.
2. Years ago I read Pilgrim’s Regress by C.S. Lewis.  It may have been a product of his time, but C.S. Lewis’ character often fell into sin by being seduced by “brown girls.”  I guess at the time no one imagined a seductress as being white.  Indeed, there are several movies in the early careers of actors such as Hedy Lamarr, Myrna Loy, and Luise Rainer where they played “exotics,” women of vague racial backgrounds.  So, if nymphs are exceeding beautiful seductresses, then they are probably non-white.
3. Look, most of the world is non-white, why continue to perpetuate 19th century concepts of race in general and fantasy in particular?

I’m going to shut up now and post pictures of 28mm miniature nymphs.  Enjoy!

“I don’t know, but I’ve been told, a big legged woman ain’t got no soul.” – Led Zeppelin, “Black Dog”, 1974

About the figures: All of the nymphs are from Wargames Foundry.  The bugbear, owlbear, barbarian, demoness, and Menalippe are from Reaper Miniatures.