Statues

[Elayne]

Hey fellow CoCers !

While I'm waiting for some minis to be finished by your wonderful hands (commissioned them), I have a much more simple question / query to propose you.
I need minis that will look good as ... "statues" ... for a dungeon.

Indeed, I'm commissioning Manorhouse (see the Diorama subsection of CoC where I posted some pictures of Dioramas I already own) a 160x80cm dungeon (map is already done ) and, like the dungeon fanatic that I am, I've put quite a number of statues inside.
Statues that will have to be "found" and "bought".
Then Manorhouse himself will paint them, I guess.

The dungeon will be "fantasy" (classical D&D-esque), and I guess they'll be from 10 to 20 inside.
They don't need all to be different (quite the opposite, actually), and the scale can be 25-28mm up to a maximum of 40mm.
The sculpt, however, must be statuesque (that is, a mini of a crossbowman aiming at something is out of the question, if you know what I mean).

Any cool ideas ?

[sea.man]

I don`t know if it`s cool, but here are some older and smaller GW dragons:
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catal ... GameStyle=
and here are from reaper:
http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/Dragon/latest

My idea was to have some dragon themed dungeon

[mahon]

many Reaper miniatures have statis poses, like statues.

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Enigma miniatures and their range of smaller models might be cool.

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[Nameless]

are prices an issue here at all?
if yes, it would be good to find an old box with plastic GW minis, from times when they had only 1 sculpt in a box. Pretty static, pretty cheap. I think, that imperial halberdiers would make for nice statues.
if no - well, as Mahon said Reaper has pretty lot of sculpts you could use. get multiple copies of the same mini, or choose different mini for every statue, whatever suits you.
I think that I can recall few statue-type sculpts in Fenryll range.
I'll try to post some pics soon.

EDIT:
few examples, don't have time to browse whole ranges.
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[mahon]

oh yes, many Fenryll miniatures look like statues

[Elayne]

Thanks for the answers so far!!!

Well, I didn't think I'll had so many nice tips.
I didn't know about Fenryll minis!!!
You guys know a lot

All right, some answers:
a) while a "dragon statue" dungeon is cool, I don't think it can be done, due to space issues. Unless they're pretty "small" dragons (that is, like a 25-40 mm footman mini), they won't really fit. However, maybe 1 room could be nice with a "dragon" theme.
b) Fenryll: I found the website. They're french. And I am French (even though I live in Italy). I found out also that they sell a lot of other stuff for dungeons / rooms. That is very interesting. I'll speak to Manorhouse about it, since, while some things would fit very well, I have to understand also what can be done and what can't (basically, it should be a Manorhouse dungeon, not a Fenryll one ).
I know there isn't any problem with statues, since Manorhouse miniatures (40mm in the Mindstalker games) do not fit very well since they often have some "figthing pose".

Now, since you're all very nice and helping, I'll show you the map of the dungeon that will be made.

Top
[rimg]http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/7356 ... lta.th.jpg[/rimg]
[rimg]http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/3285 ... ssa.th.jpg[/rimg]
Bottom

So even though there are 2 images, they stick together as shown in this topic.
Some explanations:
In each image, you'll see:
- small squares (a grid in all the map). They represent squares of 1 inch wide (2,5cm), perfect for battle calculations. So a single image is 80x80cm (so the whole map is 160x80).
- a line that divides the image in 4 equal parts of 40x40. This is because the map is modular. Each 40x40 part is physically separated, and can thus be rotated to make another "dungeon map" by fitting to other modules. You'll see indeed that the TOP and BOTTOM of the actual dungeon map fit together nicely too. You'll see also that to allow the eye to catch more easily this 40x40 module, I did color in a grey/blue color the area nearby those lines, for a better differentiation.
- light brown/orange "big" lines: those are the walls. Walls seem thick (they are 3cm wide here), and that measurement is used to have some "breathing room" in constructing the diorama (walls will be maximum 3cm thick, and even if they are, they will have niches, openings, etc that will make them look less thick).
- blue (light): this represent water (dark, sewery water)
- some "black circles" that fit into a single square: those are the STATUES !!!
- there is a room filled with "orange stuff" on the walls. This is a librairy.
- any square filled with diagonal black lines is supposed to represent tombs and sarcofagus. When those areas are "boxed" with a thick black line, this represent some tables.

Some other stuff should be pretty self-explanatory, like braziers (center of the lower map), grids, prisons, etc.

So, some rooms (especially the lower map), I have already some ideas for them.
For other rooms, not really.

So my proposal is: why don't you help me figuring out some nice ideas for the statues/rooms of the dungeons ?
I don't mind NOT creating all the dungeon myself, and to have some rooms created, in concept, by some of you would be very nice, and I'm sure that it'd be cool even for you.
I thought about it, since you giving some ideas for statues means also you might have some nice ideas for thematic rooms (with or without statues).
Note that while the map can be changed (walls, I mean), I prefer not to, and just "fill in the rooms". For many reasons: modularity (small and big picture), personal use, the fact that the map is already worked on by the artist (not the interior of the rooms, just the walls), etc.

Any questions or comments ?

EDIT: forgot to add/answer:
Price isn't that much an issue, as long as the result is beautiful.
Bottom line: I'm already paying heaps of cash for this diorama. Minis will be a drop of water, compared to that. (ok, maybe NOT so slim of a drop, but you get the point)

[arctica]

Cool that's alot of work put into a game like this reminds me alot of heroquest. I love that the rooms are modular so that you can change the dungeon and gaming area to suit whatever comes your way.

[Nameless]

perhaps you could share your ideas with us before we put any proposals to the table? is it old, damaged dungeon infested with goblin tribe? old chaos temple? wizard's hideout? I think it would be reasonable to adjust to your vision, not create completely new ones

[Elayne]

Right.

Ok, so basically the dungeon idea that I had was a “classical” one that would fit many themes.

First of all, the 160x80 Dungeon fits perfectly under the other Diorama I had, the Necropolis.
[rimg]http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/9257 ... o1b.th.jpg[/rimg]
In this image, you see really 2 Dioramas.
From the bottom up you have “Cemetery+Church” (the Necropolis Diorama), and then the “Ruined Castle” (another Diorama).
So, the Necropolis Diorama is 160x80cm.
Same measurements as the Dungeon.
The Church (which isn’t small) in this Diorama can be taken out (lifted), allowing the spectator to look under it. There is indeed a “hole” that will allow the spectator, then, to see the “Dungeon” room under the church.
The Dungeon room that I’m speaking about you can see it on the map I posted.
It’s on the LOWER map, near the center (the room with the staircase and some tombs).
So this first (center) room is supposed to be some sort of catacombs, with old cleric tombs, quite dusty-like. (since it connects to the Church upstairs)

The general idea of the dungeon, then, is to make it look like a “den of evil”, but not everywhere.
My point is that the dungeon became the home of a Lich (and was modified to fit the theme), but that in the past, it was something else. This is why some rooms can look different. Also, if a room looks totally different, it can have a justification too, since the Lich could try to lure adventurers into thinking they are safe / the room is full of treasure / etc. while it is actually just a trap.
Bottom line: the feel of the dungeon should be fantasy, but besides that, we can do whatever we like much.

LOWER MAP
To explain some rooms I already created:
From the “center room / staircase”):
- there are doors that go south, into another room full of tombs. This room is more “important-looking”, with braziers, maybe a better clean look, and you see some “windows” on the side walls (glass colored panels).
- there are doors that go west, into a big corridor. This corridor reaches the side of the diorama, and is that big to allow a spectator to see the room under the church from the “entrance” (on the left/west side). The “yellow” area on the far left of the corridor is just some kind of floor decoration, to be invented.
- on the right/east wall, there is a secret door that reaches into the Library (wooden one).

On this “lower map”, the other rooms I have already invented are the bottom ones.
We have a big room with water:
This room has little stone platforms allowing adventurers to jump from one another, to reach a bigger platform (the doors of said platform, actually), which is prison-looking due to the fact that it hasn’t walls, but iron bars.
Inside this “prison room”, I was thinking of putting undead (skeleton archers ), who are also in the room farther north where you can see also a “dotted-line square”, which should represent a “teleport diagram” (that is, I plan to make a pentacle/symbol on the floor there to justify the fact that evil Lich can teleport there, and “unleash” the skeletons/undead against adventurers.
On the left, there is a door that leads to a small room where there are 2 tables and a small library. This is a small dissection lab of the lich (to create particular undeads).

Now, you’ll probably see that the whole area that includes the water, the undeads, and the pentacle room seems to be limited by some different wall colors. (2 lines, one violet, the other grey/brown)
This is because of the following facts:
- all the dungeon is built on a layer of material thick maybe 2 cm. To create the water, that will be on a lower level than the ground, we can’t do it on such a slim 2cm thickness, so what we’re doing is putting another layer of thickness here (another 2cm) so that we can then put the floor at 4cm, and the water at 2cm. So the whole area represents the area that is 4cm high (for the floor) and 2cm for the water.
You can see indeed that there are stairs leading to the area, which proves what I’m saying.
- the walls, in all the dungeon, are supposed to be 8cm high. Here, of course, due to the fact that the floor isn’t 2cm high, but 4cm, the walls will be 6cm. The walls modules that we will be using are also more “simple”, and will be plain stone walls (like typical dungeon walls) and not walls with arches, niches, etc.


UPPER MAP:
This part can change, room-wise.
As of now, you can see that there is a big center room, that fits the “church” theme.
I decided to make such a room to have also a “bigger” room that is cool for bigger scale combat, and lets spectators see also how a big room might look (instead of just small rooms).
There are 4 statues there, and many columns.
On the right/bottom side of the room, you see a prison. The walls are “simple”, as you may see.
On the left/bottom side of the room, you see a throne room. I didn’t plan for a king to be there, but a throne room always look cool, I guess, and Manorhouse has the “sculpt” for it.
What you see dividing the throne room from the rest of the room, to the left, isn’t an “odd-shaped wall”, but “arches”. So actually this line of “wall symbols” always represent a wall that can be walked through .
The rooms on the left/right center are yet to be invented.
The upper part of the map, with the water, is a little bit more clear in my head.
We have on the left a little stair leading to a stone platform which goes over the underground water/river, defended by 2 statues. On the other side, a room which I took from NeverWinter Nights (the PC game): basically someone who enters the room from the stairs, to the right, will have the irons bars close, sealing him inside this small prison, while monsters will shoot arrows from the outside.
The other rooms are to be invented.

EDIT:
to give more answers to the general theme:
Like I said, it should be a classical dungeon, to be used by a Lich.
However, the dungeon won't only serve this purpose (else it'd be pretty limited in scope and versatility).
I'll be using the Dungeon also in RPG tournaments.
The concept of the tournament is to have 2 teams of 2 players playing on half the dungeon (LOWER or UPPER image).
Example:
- on the LOWER map, the first team enters on the lower-left corner, while the second team enters on the lower-right corner.
The teams will then explore the dungeon, finding monsters / treasures, while the goal is to kill each other.
- on the UPPER map, same thing (yet to decide where to make the teams start)

[Elayne]

I've met and talked with Manorhouse.

He told me that he had a TONS of Fenryll miniatures of 10 years ago since they exchanged stuff between the two of them.
He gave me the WHOLE box of minis (1.000 minis more or less) telling me I can take whatever I want for FREE.
So this morning I looked through it, and found some 50 minis good for statues (no dragons, however ^^).

So we're all good.