A Half-Orc and a Blue Demon

Lathula, Female Half-Orc Barbarian

During Orctober, I only painted one orc, well, half-orc. Wielding a double-handed great sword is Lathula from Reaper Miniatures. She’s not quite as green as other orcs and goblins I’ve painted. The reason for that is that I’m starting to integrate more of a Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian vibe into my games. While there are no orcs per se in Howard’s Hyboria, there are devolved or degenerate races of men who fit the description of orcs. Therefore, I’m going to start working for a human skin tone with a tint of green for my orcs. Lathula can be either a human barbarian as well as a half-orc, but this muscle mommy is taller than most 28mm human males.

A Brunnmigi

For the rest of this year and most of next year, my attention (as short as it is) will be on the 11th century. This includes both historical and fantasy gaming. The 11th century saw the invasion and conquest of England, by Vikings in 1015 and Normans in 1066. The century also saw the exploits and life of El Cid, the founding of the kingdom of Portugal and the first crusade.

While drafting a new campaign for WHAT set among the Northmen of Mirholme, I needed some big bad villains. Researching Norse mythology, I came across a monster one seldom sees on the tabletop – a brunnmigi. What is a brunnmigi, you may ask? It is a malicious spirit or demon who defiles water wells to bring on drought and disease by peeing in them. Cool, so what does it look like? Well, I’ve found that in most Norse mythology, monsters are often described as being “bear-like”. This one is sometimes called a “fox bear” and its color depends on the sky. If the sky is clear, a brunnmigi is blue; if the sky is overcast, it is gray; and if the creature is encountered at night, it is black.

For a short while, Reaper Miniatures produced a few miniatures for the Nemenara role playing game. The monsters are strange creatures, and I decided one of them, the Ravage Bear, would be a good Brunnmigi.