Annerios' Battlefield photos: Zombie Urban Map 04/09

[Annerios]

I spend most of my time on custom figures, so the majority of our maps are made on the fly or we use some of the great maps by
the talented map creators on this board.

My photo heavy battle reports are no longer accessible at HQ, but since people liked them I hope to do some for this site later during the year.
Eventually, I'll get around to some Landscape/Solidscape generated maps.

For now, here are some shots of a few of the many battlefields my troops have shed their miniature blood on:


http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Aliens_testing_%282%29.JPG

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Aliens_testing_%285%29.JPG

Back in the early days of just owning couple of Master sets. These were some of the early sessions testing the custom Alien units.
It is funny to see how small our game maps used to be and the placeholder trees before RTFF came out. :)


http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Structures.jpg

Experimenting with fort-like structures when RTFF first came out.


http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Flying_tests_2.jpg

Testing out prototype style snow and the early custom flying rules.


http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/The_protected_wellspring_%282%29.JPG

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/The_protected_wellspring_%283%29.JPG

Probably the coolest looking map my wife has made. She needs to do this one on a larger scale in Landscape.


http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/1000_point_armies_%2810%29.JPG

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/1000_point_armies_%284%29.JPG

A strange volcanic island map that was thrown together for 1000 point armies. It was supposed to be a castle structure that was destroyed
by volcanic forces. This place was deadly.

This was the first time we used the Hellboy custom figure
and the player using him had a lot of fun running all over the lava. In the close-up Mimring had just roasted a Roman, a Knight
and a tree that was replaced by the fire marker.


http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Battle_for_the_Wellspring%281%29.jpg

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Battle_for_the_Wellspring%282%29.JPG

This was the first map I did a long battle report for. It was the first time we used H_E_H's Harryhausen Figurehead and Nerak.
My wife built the wellspring and I built around it. This map was up at my house for a long time. It was so cool looking, no one really wanted to take it down.


http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Sudemas_arrival_%281%29.JPG

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Sudemas_arrival_%2821%29.JPG

The second map I did a long battle report for. This battle was a lot of fun and one of the first times I got to see Wave 4 figures in action.


http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Tower_test_map.jpg

This was a map built to test out rules for the MK tower and some destructible terrain rules (like bridges) we are working on.


http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Ruins_of_mining_town_%282%29.JPG

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Ruins_of_mining_town_%281%29.JPG

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Ruins_of_mining_town.jpg

This was the last map we played on. It was quite large and, sadly, I got my ass kicked on this map.
It was a timed scenario involving retrieving treasures from the map. I guess I was due for a beating after the thrashing
I gave my opponents in three siege scenarios we played on Teamski's fun Siege of Athkar Castle map.

[Agent Minivann]

I like those maps. I really like the last one. I know this has probably been covered before on HQ, but where did you get some of the "props", especially the wood bridge? I remember the 2nd battle report with the wave 4 figs. Nice work. I look forward to when the landscape versions hit the scene.

[Annerios]

I like those maps. I really like the last one. I know this has probably been covered before on HQ, but where did you get some of the "props", especially the wood bridge? I remember the 2nd battle report with the wave 4 figs. Nice work. I look forward to when the landscape versions hit the scene.

The wood bridge and 7-hex water tile in the wellspring are custom pieces
courtesy of Jtserick. Back on .NET he used to offer some custom acrylic
pieces for the the game.

Some of the other pieces (like fountains and columns) are from Mage Knight
accessory packs. They are nice, plastic, prepainted pieces you can usually
find cheap.

Most of the other bits are from toys or wargaming scenery bits I had from
other games.

[Velenne]

I also really like that last one. What were the rules of thats scenario?

[Annerios]

I also really like that last one. What were the rules of thats scenario?

It was a two player game. The premise was that a town had been sacked
and then a huge snowstorm blew in and the armies had to retreat.

A bunch of valuable magical stones were left behind (represented by the
glyphs of Brandar).

Some real glyphs (along with 6 Brandar glyphs) were placed face down on
the board (two inside the mine entrance). The only real glyph I
remember being used was the no-flying glyph, as it was important. We
use custom glyphs, so the others were probably some of those.

Players had 12 rounds to secure as many glyphs of Brandar as possible
before another massive snowstorm blew in. The Glyphs of Brandar could
be picked up by standing on them and then placed on a figure's card.
If a figure was killed, the glyphs were placed on the space they died on,
so others could pick them up.

Essentially, a scavenger hunt featuring angry people with weapons. :twisted:

As you can imagine, this battle featured fast units and flying units to reach
the mountainous areas.

[LilNewbie]

Awesome maps, Annerios! Thanks for reposting them. How did your Aliens fare in the game with their pictures?

Newb.

[SyvarrisX]

I really like the one witht he bridge in the last picture.

[Annerios]

Awesome maps, Annerios! Thanks for reposting them. How did your Aliens fare in the game with their pictures?

Newb.

Those were the early days when only Wave 1 was out. :D

They had to be tweaked. The acid blood was not right, they had some other
movement/deployment options instead of what they have now.

I think that many got shot down by ranged fire (which is the best way to deal
with them), but those vikings got slaughtered. There are not many figures
that have the possibility to take adjacent units out with them when they die.
These guys can and they are a bane to melee units. :twisted:

Those figures may need a revisit now that so many more official figures
have come out. Before, people were so scared of making anything that
seemed more powerful than wave 1 figures. Now the field is a bit more
open and we have more info to adjust point costs, etc.

[reapersaurus]

FANtastic pics, Annerios! Great job posting those - they really give a good impression of how non-official items can add to the visual appeal of HS.

I think that may just be the Dark World terrain piece, is that right?
If so, how did that one play? Any rules to use the doors or other aspects of that terrain piece? How did it fit on the map, etc?

These are really cool maps.
The one showing three different levels of water and outlying columns near the throne is a real beauty....

[Annerios]

I think that may just be the Dark World terrain piece, is that right?
If so, how did that one play? Any rules to use the doors or other aspects of that terrain piece? How did it fit on the map, etc?


Indeed! I plundered that Dark World game for pieces I could use. That is
the Dark World temple. I just painted it up to look more like the RTFF
pieces. It is hard to tell in the photos, but the doors were actually
replaced with stone pieces to show that the entrances were sealed up.

We had to be forgiving on certain aspects when using the temple.
It took some adjusting to make it fit on the board. We had some
truncated hexes, but if there was enough space to fit the figure, we
allowed it.

There are some tight spots for the HS figure bases and since Dark World
is not hex based, the square grid nature of the top of the temple was
different to move on. We allowed diagonal movement and the steps on
the top were so minute in height that we did not even count an extra
movement point for climbing those (only for the larger and more obvious
steps).

There was a 50 photo battle report on that map that is lost in limbo on
HQ. It is a shame you did not get to read it, because it featured the latest
version of Garet Jax. Garet and his teamate Morsbane were the only
survivors.

Even though I only observed and reported on that battle, it was fun.
I think it would look even better with a jungle themed board, though.
That temple looks more suited for a warmer climate.

http://upload4.postimage.org/224618/MVC_011F.jpg (http://upload4.postimage.org/224618/photo_hosting.html)
Dark World Reaper

[SyvarrisX]

I am going to try to make one of those bridges.

[Agent Minivann]

Not only do I like that map, I like that scenario a lot. You give a lot to tickle the creativity, Annerios.

[Annerios]

Here was my first test board to learn the castle rules:

A snowed in fort:

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/Snow_Fort.JPG

I only had access to some snow sets and custom made snow tiles along with two castles, so it was a limited build, but it was fun.

[Rhydderch]

Hrm. I seem to have missed this thread. It was a nice surprise to see all your old maps back up. I love the snow fort. Its quite artistic and I like how the sieging units are surrounding the castle. Also nice to see I am not the only one who plays on the carpet! I would guess that is only temporary though since you just moved.

Also what is the blue thing at the head of the lake on the map your wife made?

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/The_protected_wellspring_(3).JPG

I've tried to figure it out but I cannot tell. It is a little small in the picture and does not have too much contrast since its mostly uniform blue.

[Annerios]

Hrm. I seem to have missed this thread. It was a nice surprise to see all your old maps back up. I love the snow fort. Its quite artistic and I like how the sieging units are surrounding the castle. Also nice to see I am not the only one who plays on the carpet! I would guess that is only temporary though since you just moved.

Also what is the blue thing at the head of the lake on the map your wife made?

http://img.inkfrog.com/pix/Annerios/The_protected_wellspring_(3).JPG

I've tried to figure it out but I cannot tell. It is a little small in the picture and does not have too much contrast since its mostly uniform blue.

:lol: That is a Time Traveler sarcophagus from the Micronauts toy line. It was an innovaitive line of toys (and a great comic) that first came out in the mid to late 1970's. I've had it since I was a kid. My wife thought it would look cool in the Wellspring map.

That map is going to get revisited now that the castles are out. Her original concept was to have high walls all around it with walkways. Now she'll be able to make it correctly.

[LilNewbie]

Great maps and that Micronaut Sarcophagus brings back so many memories.

Newb.

[hextr1p]

I really like the inclusion of your snow tiles intermixed with the official snow tiles. The brown makes the snow look trodden and worn, adding a little more flavor to the look of an all snow map. Really makes it more of a 'frozen wasteland'.

Now what you need to do is mod some snow covered trees and add them to the mix! Perhaps taking out some of the smaller single hex glaciers to replace them with the trees.

Cool map, though.

[Annerios]

I really like the inclusion of your snow tiles intermixed with the official snow tiles. The brown makes the snow look trodden and worn, adding a little more flavor to the look of an all snow map. Really makes it more of a 'frozen wasteland'.

Now what you need to do is mod some snow covered trees and add them to the mix! Perhaps taking out some of the smaller single hex glaciers to replace them with the trees.

Cool map, though.

Yeah, there would have been snow covered trees on there if I could find my trees!

I am definitely making some of those. I liked the photos Truth and others have posted with the snowy trees. I am keeping my eye on some road sets that are slowly being marked down at a local Wal Mart so I can get them for this purpose. :lol:

I think the custom snow integrated nicely too. I knew it would not go to waste. We use it as the no penalty light snow and keep the all white for heavy snow.

[LilNewbie]

The custom snow looks like areas of heavy travel where the mud and snow have become mixed. Looks really cool.

Newb.

[Fsiv330]

nice maps

[Annerios]

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/AvP_%286_5%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/AvP_%287_5%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/AvP_%2812%29.JPG

One my latest battlefields set outside Valhalla. This one was used for testing Aliens and a Predator custom. I wanted to do a sci-fi map with no green or sand anywhere. It a geothermal research station on some forsaken planet.

There are lots of places to hide and small scenic bits here and there to make things interesting. Plus, a big Hexagon custom terrain piece that serves as one of the focal points.

I've had this one built for a couple of weeks and its being torn down soon, so I thought I'd document it. Check out the AvP thread if you are interested in a battle report:

http://heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=85&start=195

[heroscapewanabchamp]

Them are sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love the design of the boards, got to give you prop's.

[Hedge Knight]

Glorious, wonderful stuff. This is yet another thread packed with awesomeness that I haven't seen before. Glad you bumped it with your latest pics!

Do you have any problems counting movement on non-hex custom terrain? Seems like there could be challenges there.

Man, I'm jealous that your wife is into making maps. If Hedge Wife was down, that would rule.

Cheers!

[Annerios]

Glorious, wonderful stuff. This is yet another thread packed with awesomeness that I haven't seen before. Glad you bumped it with your latest pics!

Do you have any problems counting movement on non-hex custom terrain? Seems like there could be challenges there.

Man, I'm jealous that your wife is into making maps. If Hedge Wife was down, that would rule.

Cheers!

Thanks!

The custom terrain piece does have some delineation of where you can move due to the small clips that you use to put it together. You can't really see that in the photos, though. It does take a brief explanation, but it works ok. I gave +2 movement to any figure that moved on it exclusively.

It only becomes a little more interesting if someone decides to jump off it or climb it and you have to count the hexes. :D

[Annerios]

Here is my newest map for this week's gaming: ZOMBIE ISLAND

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/Zombie_Island.jpg

We'll be playing some Advanced Heroscape with civilian figures and boats.

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/Zombie_Island_%281%29.JPG
What the hell are those zombies doing near that mysterious idol?

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/Zombie_Island_%282%29.JPG
Not really the best time for a picnic!

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/Zombie_Island_%283%29.JPG
Instead of using boring old glyphs as search spots, small scenery pieces like crates, barrels, chests, etc will be in use.

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/Zombie_Island_%284%29.JPG
Where is my shotgun!?!

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/Zombie_Island_%285%29.JPG
Must reach the boat...to...escape...
I don't wanna be on the beach! No fun!

A big thanks to Lilnewbie for pointing out those Pirates of the Caribbean Megablok's boats. They really are very cool. Run out and buy some before they all vanish.

And a big thanks to Boom for reminding me about the palm trees with his very cool Battlefield Evolution terrain photos.

They provided the inspiration for this little creation.

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

You suck.
No really, I hate you.
You couldn't've moved to California? :lol:

Looks like you've unpacked just fine.

What a fun looking set-up.



What the hell are those zombies doing near that mysterious idol?


:rofl:

I was wondering the same thing!

[Annerios]

Looks like you've unpacked just fine.

What a fun looking set-up.



You know it, brother! I've got access to my toys and they are not going back in the box. :twisted:

The fun thing is that, to me, it still looks almost like official HS. I think the trees will look cool with the swamp terrain too.

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

I gotta get me some of those Mega Blocks boats!

[Annerios]

I gotta get me some of those Mega Blocks boats!

I'll have to post the rules I'll be trying for the boats. Rhydderch was following the discussion in the boat thread and he came up with some streamlined rules that make a lot of sense for the boats. I have a destructible object card for the boat too.

They sell the boats at Wal Mart for $5.88 and you can even combine them into a long boat to carry more troops.

I picked up the trees and rocks at Salvation Army type of store store for $1.08! I fastened the trees to the hexes with screws and painted them a dark brown. The rocks got a darker shade of gray to match the little rocks next to the tallest HS evergreen.

[deadeyedan42]

Satan would sell his soul to you for a chance to play on one of those maps!

Awsome job. :D

[Annerios]

Satan would sell his soul to you for a chance to play on one of those maps!

Awsome job. :D

:rofl:

Thanks! I try to keep things interesting.

[Taelord]

Those maps are really cool. I especially like the one with the real snow.

[monkeyfish]

Hey if it's Zombie Island, where's Scooby Doo? :joke:

[Taelord]

Wow. :jawdrop: I didn't see Zombie island or the Alien map. Those are fantastic.

[Annerios]

Hey if it's Zombie Island, where's Scooby Doo? :joke:

I'm sure those meddling kids and their dog were. . .lunch. :twisted:

[LilNewbie]

Awesome map, Annerios!!

Newb.

[Billtog]

Comment.

[jjrsportsfan]

I bought one of those boats, they're really helpful. Lol i love the map too.

[LilNewbie]

Not to change the subject but here are two zombies (actually one is a ghoul but close enough for government work) from the DDM Unhallowed set to add to your collection of undead, Annerios:

Strahd Zombie (44/60):
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/un_gallery/Strahd_Zombie.jpg
Those are her intestines and not an apron.

Gravetouched Ghoul (53/60):
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/un_gallery/Gravetouched_Ghoul.jpg
This is an excellent figure!

Both are common figures and can be fetched from secondary sources for decent prices.

Newb.

[Annerios]

Not to change the subject but here are two zombies (actually one is a ghoul but close enough for government work) from the DDM Unhallowed set to add to your collection of undead, Annerios:

Strahd Zombie (44/60):
Those are her intestines and not an apron.

Gravetouched Ghoul (53/60):
This is an excellent figure!

Both are common figures and can be fetched from secondary sources for decent prices.

Newb.

Thanks Newb!

Good to know that is not an apron. I like seeing more painted female zombies for the collection.

I think the Ghoul would have more fun eating the zombies, though. :twisted:

Now that the scale on the D&D figures has increased, it will be easier to integrate these figures with the HS stuff.

[heroscaper2.0]

Zombie Island is awesome! I can't wait to hear a scenario you cooked up for this one. Keep up the good work! :D

P.S. Do I see horrorclix figures?

[Annerios]

Zombie Island is awesome! I can't wait to hear a scenario you cooked up for this one. Keep up the good work! :D

P.S. Do I see horrorclix figures?

The scenario is loosely based on the Zombie Plague game.

We are going to have two groups, each led by an applicable HS hero (James Murphy is one, perhaps a custom for the other). The rest of the group (5 more figures each) will be civilians. These are low stat characters (lawyer, scientist, the kid, etc) with some interesting powers.

The goal will be to search as many of the 8 possible search spots on the map for supplies and then make it out to the boats to escape. Since the civilians often have an attack of 0, some of the supplies you can find will represent a ranged weapon that will give them and attack 1/range 4.

The zombies will be run neutrally to simply move and attack the nearest figure. We'll likely split the board in half and have each person move the zombies on each half, since there are 30 of them. We'll be using the official HS zombie stats the first time around.

The person with the most supplies and figures to make it off the board with a boat wins. You will need both boats for your whole group to escape, so I expect the carnage will not be limited to just killing zombies. :twisted:

http://static.flickr.com/29/61837391_3ec607c18f_o.jpg

There are a mix of HS, GW, Horrorclix and D&D zombies on the board. My one regret is that we'll have to play with those awful Horrorclix bases on the figures. I hate those things, but need to pick up more HS bases to re-base them.

[Homba]

Great stuff, love it.

[heroscapewanabchamp]

Great maps that is about the only way to put it.

[naps420]

Wow, that is an amazing map you have their. I love the way Zombie Island turned out and can just imagine how much fun it was to play....
:zombie: "Braiins"
Good thing you didn't add a house on that island, if you had, I'd most likely ask if the map was inspired by a cheesy zombie movie called House of the Dead :lol:
Anyway, great map! Also loved the other ones I was looking at while browsing your thread. Keep up the great work!

[Annerios]

Good thing you didn't add a house on that island, if you had, I'd most likely ask if the map was inspired by a cheesy zombie movie called House of the Dead :lol:

That movie was beyond awful; although, the video games were fun.

If anything, this map was inspired by Lucio Fulci's Zombie (which takes place on a tropical island).

http://www.guerrillapop.com/images/zombies.jpg

[Skeletor]

At least you are making good use of those Sucky ZoM :wink:



Seriously good job Annerios it is a pity you didn't move to cali. It is sad being the biggest Zombie fan I know. :(

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

http://www.guerrillapop.com/images/zombies.jpg[/quote]
8)

[Velenne]

I made a zombie island tonight to play with two friends. I'll post it later in my thread, but it was inspired by yours, Annerios.

Problem is, I only got the gist of your scenario so I had to go off that. The zombies slaughtered us!

[Annerios]

I made a zombie island tonight to play with two friends. I'll post it later in my thread, but it was inspired by yours, Annerios.

Problem is, I only got the gist of your scenario so I had to go off that. The zombies slaughtered us!

:lol:

Cool. I'd like to see it.

I think you have to be careful with how close the zombies start to the characters, because they can swarm quickly. I was considering making the sand take an extra movement point to move through to give the humans a place where they could maneuver better than the zombies, but I did not know if it was really needed.

I'll have to post the results of our game. The board is built, but the game has been delayed. We probably won't play until tomorrow night or this weekend. :cry:

[Annerios]

Here are some more Zombie Island photos and info.

We played a few variants on this battlefield. I tried a Soloscape game with a few heroes and a group of civilians that I put in with some basic AI type settings. The civilians would all move at the beginning of each round and their goal was to grab equipment and run to the boats. They could attack if they found one of the several gun glyphs in one of the 8 search spots on the board (the gun glyph grants a 1 attack/range 4 improvement to the civilian carrying it) or with melee attacks (when applicable). The civilians could not leave on the boat unless 3 of them (carrying 3 glyphs total) were on the boat, unless the total civilians on the map dropped to less than 3. At that point they could take off on the boat with just 1 or 2 figures.

The zombies just moved towards the closest target and attacked. Simple.

Strangely enough, in this game, the civilians almost made it off the island and the heroes all died. In the end, the zombies won. :twisted:

The next variant we tried was a 3 player game. 2 players, each with a human HS hero, leading a small group of civilians, but the special powers on their cards were in use (for good or bad). The civilians have very low points, so it ended up with each player having around 115 points worth of figures. The third player controlled 300 points worth of Zombies of Morindan.

In the first game, the players only managed to hang on to their badly wounded heroes, but survived the map, by killing all of the zombies!

In the second game, the players traded in a few civilians for some low cost humans like Eldgrim and Guilty (we stuck with only humans in these games to be faithful to the theme). This time, only the Father McPherson custom my brother in law was using managed to make it off the island, albeit with a few wounds. My wife got slaughtered when her James Murphy got a bit overconfident with his shotgun skills and tried to save some of his civilian buddies.

This map has been up for a few weeks and is about to be replaced. It was great fun to play on, though. I recommend trying some variation on this map for some fun gaming.

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/IMG_1595.JPG
The nun found a gun and she is determined to make it on the boat!

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/IMG_1599.JPG
They are everywhere. Run!

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/IMG_1601.JPG
Aim for the head.

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/IMG_1602.JPG
The scientist and the convict make a run for the boat.

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/IMG_1605.JPG
James Murphy is about to get hit with a 6-die attack roll!

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/IMG_1606.JPG
The civilians on the boat did not make it. . .

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/10013/IMG_1608.JPG
Nooooooo!

[LilNewbie]

Looks like a great game! Go Father McPherson!! ;)

Newb.

[Annerios]

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Battle_in_the_clouds_%281%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Battle_in_the_clouds_%282%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Battle_in_the_clouds_%283%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Battle_in_the_clouds_%284%29.JPG

Battle in the Clouds

MASTER GAME - Battle in the Clouds

Required sets: Master Set, Road to the Forgotten Forest, Fortress of the
Archkyrie

High in the southern mountains of Upper Bleakwoode lie the ruins of an ancient
kyrie library known as Viska's Keep. It was a great place of learning and a
storehouse of kyrie knowledge in Valhalla. The keep was unique, because it
was kept afloat in the sky by magical means. The bridge that connected
it to a nearby cliff and mountain road was retractable and, thus, the keep
could be turned into an isolated floating island when necessary. This
made it well protected from attacks by inhabitants of Valhalla that could not take flight.
Until the war for the Wellsprings, no army had dared to assail it.
At the height of its glory, it was a place for anyone with a thirst for knowledge, kyrie or
non-kyrie, to meet. In the beginning of the war for the Wellsprings,
Utgar staged a sneak attack on the keep with his minions. Utgar desired the
books, artifacts and especially the detailed maps made by kyrie cartographers of many
of the lands in Valhalla unfamiliar to him. When his airborne attack
on the keep was repelled, in anger and hatred he commanded a
sorcerer he had summoned from another world to destroy the keep.
The spell of destruction the sorcerer unleashed was so vast
that the conflagration destroyed him and most of Viska's Keep.
The magical energies the sorcerer unleashed swirl around the remaining
floating portions of the keep and no one has been able to approach it until
now.
As his visions of other worlds have become more focused, Utgar has seen
something that has rekindled his interest in Viska's Keep, or to be more
precise, the means of how it was kept afloat. Places like Laputa and
Krynn have entered his mind and the vision of flying mountain castles
to deploy his flying troops from have driven him to capture any kyries
that knew the history of Viska's Keep. Utgar now knows that a magic stone
is the engine that sustains even the scattered ruins afloat at this time. In his
dealings with Vydar and his underlings, he has learned that there may
be ways to propel such a behemoth floating castle. His scouts have kept
their eyes on the ever diminishing magical energies surrounding Viska's Keep
and the ruins may soon be accessible. Fortunately, Jandar's spies
have informed him of Utgar's plans and the race is on to capture
the magic stone located somewhere in the floating ruins of
Viska's Keep!

Goal: Search the ruins of Viska's Keep to find the magic stone that allows the
castle to stay afloat in the air and bring it back to the cliff within 12 rounds.
The first player to do this, wins.

Setup: You will need 6 Glyphs of Brandar for glyphs that represent a failed search,
1 Glyph of Rannveig to represent the magic stone (it does not negate flight
in this scenario) and 1 Glyph of Valda (move +2).

Take the 3 Glyphs of Brandar and the Glyph of Rannveig, mix them up and place
them in the 4 marked ? glyph positions at the far end of the map. Then, take the
Glyph of Valda and 3 Glyphs of Brandar and mix them up. Place them in the
4 marked ? glyph positions in the center of the map.

The revealed Glyph of Erland (Summoning ) is placed at the center
of the Keep.

2 Players: Each player drafts or brings a pre-made 550 point army. This scenario
can also be played with 4 players in two teams, but it was designed as a 2 player
scenario to emphasize urgency and faster moving gameplay.

Special Rules:

Players are not allowed to attack each other until the beginning of Round 2.
The armies are focused on the race ahead of them as they arrive and just made it up a
dangerous mountain path to reach the cliffside starting zones. They are not eager to
do battle on the cliff when their prize is almost within their grasp.

The blue spaces on the map are not water. They represent sky spaces
where only flying units, transports and units that are being carried may move.
(The water mats created by Teekay or Cavalier on www.heroscapers.com are
recommended for representing these large sky areas.)

Flyers Carrying

1 space flying figures can carry 1 adjacent medium or small non-flying
figure on sky spaces.

2 space flying figures can carry up to 2 adjacent medium or small non-flying
figures on sky spaces.

Flying figures carrying another figure may not attack, but the figure being carried can
attack during the own turn. Carried figures cannot move during their turn since
the flyers are providing their movement (unless they are choosing to
move away from the flyer onto a regular space).

If a flying figure carrying a non-flying figure over a sky space is destroyed and there
is no other flying figure adjacent to carry it, that carried figure is also destroyed.

Transports

3 space stone devices that have a move of 5. Transports may only be used by small
or medium humanoid figures. Figures on the transport give up their normal
movement and use the transport movement instead. They can still attack normally.
When a figure moves onto a transport for the first time, if it is not waiting for other
figures to board, it may immediately use the move of 5.

Transports may only occupy Sky spaces. When a transport is destroyed, the riding
figures are automatically destroyed unless they are adjacent to a flying figure.

The transport has a height of 3 hexes An adjacent figure on the same or higher level
as a boat may move onboard any space the transport.

The transport's interior railings have a height of 1, so you would need 2 moves to get
off the transport (1 to climb over and 1 to land on the adjacent hex).

Carrying the Magic Stone

When the magic stone (Glyph of Rannveig) is found, place the glyph under
the figure that discovered it and move it along with the figure on the battlefield.

Any non-flying figure carrying the magic stone gains the power to fly at a Move
of 4.

If the figure is destroyed, the glyph stays on the spot where it was destroyed. This
includes Sky spaces (it floats).

Landing on the revealed Glyph does not halt your movement. A figure may
move right over the magic stone (once it is revealed), pick it up and
continue moving without stopping.

Clouds

Clouds block Line of Sight, but can be moved through if you have enough movement
points. You cannot end a figure or transport's movement in a cloud.

The clouds in the Virtualscape map are represented by ice pieces for ease
of placement. Ideally, a 3D object (pillow stuffing or cotton work great)
should be used to represent the clouds.

Stone Disintegrators (optional)

Each player gets one 6-sided die that they can place on any unique hero's card.
Before moving, a player may roll the 6-sided die and place it face up on the bridge
or transport space they are on. At the end of each turn, lower the number on the die
by 1. When the number on the die would be lowered below 1, the transport or bridge
is destroyed and removed from the game board along with the 6-sided die. All
non-flying figures on the transport or bridge are automatically destroyed unless they are
adjacent to a flying figure able to carry them.

This option is for players that like to throw in even a bit more strategy into the
scenario, since using these items can completely destroy certain routes back
to the cliff!

Victory: Victory is achieved immediately by bringing the Glyph of Rannveig
to one of the green exit spaces marked on the battlefield within 12 rounds.
Upon landing on a green space, all of the floating keep ruins and transports collapse
into the valley below, automatically destroying any non-flying units not
adjacent to a flying unit that can carry them.

You may also win by destroying all of your opponent's figures on the battlefield.

If no player wins by end of the 12th Round, the player/team with the most
points wins the game. See Scoring in the Master Game Guide.

[markwars]

This is simply amazing! :shock:

Annerios you once again astound me. I can't wait to play this map....and by that I mean you better make that available to me soon. :P The scenario is awesome. The map is awesome. You've gotta get that in the downloads section.

[Syvarris the Ruler]

:jawdrop: :bowdown: That's amazing!

[Annerios]

This is simply amazing! :shock:

Annerios you once again astound me. I can't wait to play this map....and by that I mean you better make that available to me soon. :P The scenario is awesome. The map is awesome. You've gotta get that in the downloads section.

Better yet, you can come over and play on it! I have not even had a chance to play a game on it. I just built it after digging up my old notes from last Summer.

I have some of it in Virtualscape, but the map I built was a monstrosity the table would not contain. I had to whittle it down to something manageable that would work with the mat.

[markwars]

Sweet. :D Tell me when.

[Annerios]

Sweet. :D Tell me when.

PM sent.

[Uprising]

That's a very cool setup Annerios. 8)

[Fallen Templar]

Awesome Annerios :up: :up:

[Annerios]

I had a chance to play the Battle in the Clouds map over the weekend and we somehow managed to play without testing just about everything on the list!

My wife chose Braxas and 3 squads of Minions of Utgar. I chickened out from using non-flyers and went with 2 squads of Einar Imperium, the Empress and Nilfheim.

It was a close game that came to an end in Round 9 as a lucky imperium kyrie killed Braxas right as she was about to touch ground on the cliff side with the magic stone.

It was a close, nail biter of a game and moved quite quickly for such a large map. My wife thinks it is best suited for two players to keep the turns back and forth moving quickly and emphasize the race and urgency factors of the scenario.

[markwars]

Sorry I couldn't make it over Annerios. I hope to get another chance soon.

[Annerios]

Sorry I couldn't make it over Annerios. I hope to get another chance soon.

Don't worry, I'm not taking it down for a while. :D

Let me know when you can.

[Annerios]

Mrs. Annerios felt like building a map this weekend and created this earthquake ruins map (for lack of a better name):

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/earthquake_ruins_%281%29.PNG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/earthquake_ruins.png

The pieces laying in the water are intentional. The little bridge like battlement pieces at the top of the map can be crossed by non-flyers by rolling a 5 or higher on the D20.

[white_dragon_master]

Ooooh. I like this one. The concept behind is really cool. I see some Templar Knights in there. How did they play?

[Annerios]

Ooooh. I like this one. The concept behind is really cool. I see some Templar Knights in there. How did they play?

They did not see much action, since most of it took place on the huge ruined bridge on the top. This map really works best for flyers.

In one of the best moves of the game, Izamu managed to vanish when a Templar charged him, then rushed back the next turn to kill him! That ninja is more than 10 points worth of mayhem.

[lord kaige]

Wow, really nice maps. I wish I could make better maps. :(

[Annerios]

My first Marvel Map.

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Marvel.jpg

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Marvel_%285%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Marve_%2822%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Marvel_%283%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Marvel_%281%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Marvel_%2811%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Marvel_%2813%29.JPG

I put this map together to test out my industrial terrain and the Marvel Destructible Object rules listed here:

http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=9841

It is a prison break scenario with the villains trying to get their hands on Thanos, who is being kept (dormant) in a prison facility.

The game starts in the middle of the battle with the villains having already destroyed a lot of the conventional security forces and setting fire to part of this desert town in the process.

I also used civilians in this scenario with random directional movement determined by dice rolls. They are basically panicked and will move their full movement in the direction rolled and attack any villain in range (if possible). Their actions for a round were all handled after all players had completed turn 3 actions.

The civilians added some new wrinkles to the game, though:

Civilians could be carried or their movement controlled by any hero or villain adjacent to them.

If a hero carried a civilian to the edge of the battlefield or they ran off the battlefield themselves, they were out of the game.

If a villain was adjacent to a civilian, they could use them as a body shield to roll defense for non-adjacent attacks. It is not really in character for heroes to risk civilian casualties, so this helped the villains to keep those ranged attacks away and move in faster. Plus, it lead to more hand to hand combat.

If heroes or villains were adjacent to each other when adjacent to a civilian, the civilian was no longer under their control and free to move away without penalty (since at that point the hero and villain were usually duking it out).

After the civilians, Thanos got to roll the D20 to see if he would wake up in the prison. He would come back with only 1 Life and adjacent to the device keeping him restrained. After that, if he was killed, he followed his normal rejected by death rules.

The optional flying rules were also in use. That is why Iron Man is way up in the air in one photo.

The heroes won this battle but it was close. Thanos almost escaped, but in the end was beaten down by a fully enraged Hulk in the last turn of the game. No civilians were harmed and the helicopter pilot actually took a shot at Doom at point blank range and did not even scratch his armor. Puny mortal! :P

Two prison guards perished, along with Captain America, Iron man, Venom, Doctor Doom, Abomination, Red Skull and Thanos.

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Marvel_%2815%29.JPG

[Temprit]

That map is awesome. Sounds like it was a fun game. Good job.

[Argent]

:jawdrop: Very cool. Marvel really needs accessories like these to make it seems more like the comics in my opinion. Question tho. Where did the jail come from?

[Annerios]

Marvel really needs accessories like these to make it seems more like the comics in my opinion. Question tho. Where did the jail come from?

I'm with you on that. I hope they do make another small boxed set with the X-men and a bunch of objects.

The prison is from a Fisher Price kid's toy line, although it does not look like it. The prison gates work and it has a destructible wall on the side that Thanos smashed through (it had stats like the ruin) to get out of the prison without dealing with the gates. Although, Abomination was doing a good job of smashing those down until the Hulk and Iron Man pulverized him. :twisted:

[NecroBlade]

Awesome stuff, all of it. Where were those plastic tubes from again (I know there's a thread around here somewhere...)?

[Bloodthorn]

That map is SWEET! Love your creations man, keep 'em coming!

[Annerios]

Awesome stuff, all of it. Where were those plastic tubes from again (I know there's a thread around here somewhere...)?


http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=9960

and Codex issue #2 have more info. The company that sells them and gives out samples is JCDanczak:

http://www.jcdanczak.com/

[NecroBlade]

Thanks! Again, awesome stuff. That's how Marvel battlefields should look, not the 4-hex maps you can make with the master. :?

[miniandmee7]

:jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop:
All of those are awsome maps. The one "in the sky" was crazy.
I really like the snow castle. (by the way nice prototype snow)

[elf326]

:shock: This is one of the best threads i've ever seen. Are you ever going to do more of this stuff annerios? :pray:

[Annerios]

:shock: This is one of the best threads i've ever seen. Are you ever going to do more of this stuff annerios? :pray:

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/0/05/210px-V_taking_a_bow.jpg

Thank you.

Indeed, I will be adding more stuff in the future. I have some nice maps in the planning with extra scenic pieces. I really want those jungle trees!

[elf326]

:shock: This is one of the best threads i've ever seen. Are you ever going to do more of this stuff annerios? :pray:

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/0/05/210px-V_taking_a_bow.jpg

Thank you.

Indeed, I will be adding more stuff in the future. I have some nice maps in the planning with extra scenic pieces. I really want those jungle trees!
I can't wait :D ! My favorites are the Zombie Island and the Marvel scene. I'm doing a zombie island thing on national HS Day. It will have a small volcano. Any tips?

[Renquist]

Freaking awesome Annerios. You sir, are an inspiration.

[Dr. Weirdscaper]

:jawdrop: DAY-YUM!!! :jawdrop:

[elf326]

Annerios, you must teach us your masterful customization skills on everything.

And 1 other thing, Where'd you get those trees on zombie island? And that wooden bridge too?

[elf326]

I tried my own form of Zombie Island using 1 MS and 1 SOTM. The Zombies beat me. I might do a battle report somewhere. I'm doing a zombie Island Scenario for National Heroscape day with 2 MS and 1 Sotm probably. Any tips on making it perfect? The things that I found are that the map must be big, have fairly tough civillians, lots of objects to use, jungle trees, ruins, and lots of :zombie: :zombie: :zombie: :zombie:
:zombie: :zombie: :zombie: :zombie:
:zombie: :zombie: :zombie: :zombie:
I hope that National HS Day will look like this in my map:
:johnwoo: :zombie:
:johnwoo2: :zombie:

[Annerios]

I'm doing a zombie Island Scenario for National Heroscape day with 2 MS and 1 Sotm probably. Any tips on making it perfect?

I tried to add obstacles and some elevated areas to give the humans a chance against the zombie horde. You can't make too many elevations because it can become boring watching the zombies shuffle around with their slow movement.

Out of the 4 games we played on the Zombie Island map, I think the humans survived twice (although not many of them) and the zombies won twice. It seems easy at first because players have ranged attacks, but once to zombies close in, you are in trouble.

One tactic that paid off for many players was just running for it and chancing those disengagement swipes. More often than not, they survived and the zombies had to play catch up.

We had fun playing on the map and I'll probably make another one (or two islands linked by a bridge) now that I have a large water mat.

[Annerios]

Here is a quick urban map I threw together using one of Cavalier's excellent Lexan mats:

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Red_Blok_vs_Marro_%281%29.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/Red_Blok_vs_Marro.JPG

Some future Soviets fighting off an alien invasion by a familiar enemy.

[elf326]

:shock: Sweet! Cool billboard idea.

[Nadi]

I love the road lexan mats.

You think Hasbro would have done a little better of a job of actually trying to make some 'city' style terrain and roads in their set.

[LilNewbie]

Nice pics, Annerios!! The AT-43 Soviets are some of the coolest figures from that line (the Karman being the best, imo!) ;)

Newb.

[Annerios]

Nice pics, Annerios!! The AT-43 Soviets are some of the coolest figures from that line (the Karman being the best, imo!) ;)

Newb.

I really like the Red Blok figures too. It was the first set I purchased and I am surprised at how good the quality is. They cost a bit more than an HS pack, but the paint jobs are very clean.

I also picked up the White Star Troopers and they look great with the alternate "Sam Fisher" style headgear. It is neat how those figures twist at the waist, so you can change the poses a little.

I'm not too much into the more high tech looking figures, but those grungy, old looking Red Blok mechs are mighty tempting. :drool:

[LilNewbie]

LOL! Yeah...I picked up some of these:

http://www.rackham.fr/images/stories/AT-43/RB/RBTA01__01.jpg

and

http://www.rackham.fr/images/stories/AT-43/RB/RBC101__01.jpg

and a few trooper boxes.

They are very cool. A good mix of 50's Retro with Space Age Technology.

Newb.

[gibberish_47]

Wow, I have no idea how I missed this thread for so long. There is definitely some gorgeous stuff here. Keep 'em coming!

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

Another cool-looking setup, Annerios.
Never thought crushed cars could look so perfect.

[Annerios]

Never thought crushed cars could look so perfect.

They are so much fun to make. Where is that hammer? :twisted:

[Hex_Enduction_Hour]

Never thought crushed cars could look so perfect.

They are so much fun to make. Where is that hammer? :twisted:
I was thinking that same thought! They look like a great way to creatively vent!

[Annerios]

An old friend that has not played HS in a few years is coming by next weekend, so I set up a larger terrain map for gaming than usual:

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/IMG_1631.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/IMG_1630.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/IMG_1632.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/IMG_1635.JPG

http://www.heroscapers.com/oldgallery/albums/userpics/IMG_1637.JPG

I'm not sure what scenario we'll play, but I hope the battlefield is eye catching. Maybe the Kraken custom will see some action on this map!

[Cleon]

SWEET to the Pirate Battlefield!!!!!! Two thumbs up!! :up: :up:

[J-Unit94]

3 thumbs up!!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[hextr1p]

:shock:

Holy. Carp (fish pun intended). That set up is friggin' awesome!

So, where does the pirate ship come from? Also nice use of the Mage Knight tower.

A Kraken scenario would be brilliant. Wow... you'll need to post a battle report, even if only a short one, to let us know how the board and pirate ship plays!

[Jonathan]

Cool stuff, man - nice mix of terrain and great use of those Lexan Mats!

[NecroBlade]

Awesome! Cool custom stuff!

A Kraken scenario would be brilliant.As the creator, I think I must say...KRAKEN! KRAKEN! KRAKEN! :D

[nyys]

The tower looks like I belongs to HS, very nice transition. nyys wants to play... :cry:

[Annerios]

So, where does the pirate ship come from? Also nice use of the Mage Knight tower.


The pirate ship is just a Megabloks' Black Pearl ship from POTC. Stuff from the last film is on closeout at many stores. The Megablok ships do not have a million pieces like the Lego's and hold together well. I used some of those custom black tiles I got a while back and used them to lay out a floor of sorts inside the ship.

The ship has some neat details. The figurehead on the front of the ship actually looks like a kyrie, so it fits in well.

The MK tower is a little bit more detailed than the HS stuff, but it does look good with the HS terrain.

[Annerios]

I have some family coming over in a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd get some new maps built in preparation for some 'scaping.

http://www.heroscapers.com/community/gallery/files/3/1/jungle_map__1_original.jpg

A 3-player symmetrical jungle/bridge map. I'm pretty sure I had a map by Soul Shackle in mind when I was building this one. Although, he posts so many maps that every map built since he started posting may owe him a tip o' the hat. :lol:

http://www.heroscapers.com/community/gallery/files/3/1/jungle_map_original.jpg

A Predator on the hunt.

http://www.heroscapers.com/community/gallery/files/3/1/snow_map__1_original.jpg

A 3-player symmetrical snow map that was inspired by a map Rev Dyer made a while back. I thought the fort with 3 locked doors to force whomever wants the true height advantage with range to really have to fight for it (if you don't allow flying units) was a cool idea.

http://www.heroscapers.com/community/gallery/files/3/1/snow_map_original.jpg

Yes, the brown snow tiles are customs based on images of the original Hasbro snow terrain prototypes.

With any luck these will prove entertaining to battle on.

[Annerios]

I have not played HS in a while, but some family was over and asking to play. I put together a more customized map than usual for a break from the usual fantasy inspired maps HS is played on.

You can tell we've been playing too much Left4Dead and Fallout 3! :D

http://www.heroscapers.com/community/gallery/files/3/1/zombie_urban_board_original.jpg

http://www.heroscapers.com/community/gallery/files/3/1/zombie_urban_board__1_original.jpg

http://www.heroscapers.com/community/gallery/files/3/1/zombie_urban_board__2_original.jpg

http://www.heroscapers.com/community/gallery/files/3/1/zombie_urban_board__3_original.jpg

Surprisingly, despite the photos, none of the battles featured any zombies.
It was all robots, agents, monsters and Predators.

[Agent Minivann]

That is way cool. It makes me want to clean out all the Marvel sets at Walmart and touch up the ruins. I had to go through your custom figure and terrain thread (http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=336) again. Where is the courthouse from?

[Annerios]

That is way cool. It makes me want to clean out all the Marvel sets at Walmart and touch up the ruins. I had to go through your custom figure and terrain thread (http://www.heroscapers.com/community/showthread.php?t=336) again. Where is the courthouse from?

It is from a Megabloks Spider-Man 3: Sandman Bank Heist set.

[EternalThanos86]

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c142/flash_red/Heroscape%20Pics/watchmenreference.jpg

Great Watchmen reference! +rep

[Sokol]

Very nice, Annerios! I never considered using Marvel Heroscape in such a manner.

[Freezinpee]

your maps are incredible! i love your maps with castles incorperated in them. where did you get that black spider from?

[Annerios]

The black spider is from the first Wizkids Horrorclix set. You can find it cheap on e-Bay.