Wyrd Chronicles - Ezine - Issue 06 (10233157) PDF

Contents
Malifaux 2nd Edition!
Painting Puppets
Short Story
Henchmen Advice
Strategy Tips
Web Comic
andres colinas (Order #10233157)
June 2013
Contents
Volume 6
Editor:
Contributors
David Hanold
Justin Gibbs
Mark Rodgers
Adrian Scott
Graeme Stevenson
Octavious Villar
Layout:
David Hanold
Graphic Design:
Contributing Artists:
Redd Cohen
Web Comic:
Paul Villar
Writers:
Melvin de Voor
Stephane Enjoralas
Hardy Fowler
Christophe Madaru
Pablo Quiligotti
Copyright Wyrd Miniatures, LLC
Caffeine for Blood
By: Justin Gibbs
Welcome to the sixth installment of the Wyrd Chronicles!

I was going to use this space to talk about all of the amazing content we have for you this month (and we
do, this months painting article is the best one I have ever read). But, I think we need to face the truth
here: you probably dont really care about this issue of the chronicles. Youre probably here to see if theres
anything interesting about Malifaux Second Edition (and there is).
At the time of this being written, it is Thursday May 30th at about 12:30pm and I havent slept in over
twenty-four hours. Mack and I pulled an all-nighter trying to get everything ready for the big release
tomorrow, and I am incredibly excited to see how all of you react to it. I think youll like it.
This forward was the last thing I had to do before I could get some rest, and Ive been wracking my brain
trying to come up with what to say here, so I finally settled on the truth. Im exhausted. Im done staring at
computer screens. Im pretty sure Ive had way too much caffeine. And I think it was all worth it.
The game you guys will get to start playing tomorrow will be amazing, and I am intensely proud to have
been a part of the process which created it. I am so incredibly lucky to have been able to work with the
other amazing designers here at Wyrd. The playtesters have been fantastic, despite all of the cruel and
unusual tests we have a habit of putting them through.
I know many of you are apprehensive about the new edition; and thats good. Thats because you love the
game as much as I do. But I just want to say, before you come to any conclusions, get the game on the table
a few times. We cant just pick out single rules and discuss them in a vacuum; they need to be played on
the table. And, once they are, I think youll love them.
Alright, time to sleep.
-Justin Gibbs
Formaldehyde Nights
It really was fascinating stuff.
McMourning wound up the contraption like a toddler
awaiting another Jack-In-The-Box explosion.
It didnt look like much to the casual observer: a
compact wooden box that was somewhere between
a bird house and a faceless carriage clock. The
brass winding handle on the back was the only real
indicator that it was neither.
By: Graeme Stevenson
jack-knifed, slumping back down to earth with all

the grace of a hundred and forty pounds of meat .
The heavy thud invoked another of the doctors fond
memories, this time of hooking little Waldo Tucket
out of the creek and bludgeoning him with a club.
Of course, it had started as a serious scientific
exercise. An electrical discharge into the correct
nerve cluster was the ideal tool to map the motor
functions of the human brain. Having a detailed
blueprint of these pathways would give the good
Doctor license to reach a new plateau of reanimation
to fine-tune his creations with grace and poise and
perhaps one day to reach a level of skill so profound
that it would rival genuine life.
It made a sound rather like grinding coffee as the

handle revolved. When he had wound it enough,
McMourning placed it back on the bench and lifted
the trailing rubber tube that spooled from the boxs
base like the tail of a wooden mouse. The far end
of the wire ended in a small copper loop and it was
on this innocuous shape that the coroners attention
was now fixed.
At least, that was until he inadvertently touched
two needles at the same time and the corpse farted
There was a corpse lying on the slab. This assumption loudly before executing a passable Louisiana twowas an easy one to reach, not only through the step. McMourning was lost.
pallor of said unfortunate, but also the fact that
the top of his skull sat upturned to one side like a He spent the next hour moving a peanut around
grisly bowl and his naked brain lay revealed for all the corpses face using only twitching muscles while
to see. McMourning had inserted a handful of long giggling hysterically. When the peanut shot up a
glinting needles deep into the wrinkled gray organ. nostril after a violent lip curl, he managed to rearrange the needles so that the corpse could play
He touched the copper circle to the end of the The Purple Hills of Guilderland on three fingers
nearest needle. There was a crackle and the Guild and one heel.
coroners spiky hair became perhaps a fraction yet
more erratic. As impressive a feat as this was, the This was followed by a medley of The Barmaids
box held further marvels.
Apple-Catchers, Blow that Bugle, Captain Dear
and Cant You Tell Im Smiling? The first pale
The corpses left eyelid and upper left lip began to fingers of dawn were touching the frosted mortuary
flutter rapidly. McMourning giggled at the faint window by the time McMourning had successfully
smacking of cold flesh, and momentarily reminisced maneuvered the corpse into unwrapping a cigarillo,
on the halcyon days of his childhood when he and placing it in the Doctors mouth and lighting it with
little Waldo Tucket would hook fish out of the creek a struck match.
and bludgeon them with a club.
It was the most fun hed had in ages. If only hed had
He touched another needle. The corpses right calf one as a child.
muscle and boot began to jitter, thumping and
drumming against the slab. The next needle made Sebastian finally ruined the moment, as he often
the fingers of the corpses left hand tick, tapping nails did, by coming in and standing morosely nearby.
against the marble. The next caused the muscles at There was a forlorn quality about his faithful
the base of the spine to convulse and the entire body morgue assistant that drained the sense of fun out
of any occasion. It was like being charged with an What, these?? McMourning looked down at the
ill puppy, albeit a sociopathic three-hundred pound jumble of body parts, astonished that anyone could
puppy devoid of any sense of pain or morality.
care. Dogsbodies and work-dodgers? Well, its not
like they were doing anything worthwhile, is it?
Well? McMourning snapped irritably.
Sebastian waited.
Sebastian waited.
Fine, the doctor sighed, clearly put out. I should
One might think you never wanted me to get any have known to expect apoplexy from an organization
enjoyment out of life, Sebastian. All work and no that bemoans the appropriation of a few surplus
play makes Jack a dull boy, you know.
mouth-breathers. Who is it one of the staffing
clerks? A departmental supervisor, perhaps?
Sebastian waited.
Sebastian waited.
McMourning sighed. Guild business is it? Well, I
suppose its overdue. One cant expect much time McMourning groaned. Its not a Guild Captain, is
for intellectual pursuits when theres menial labor to it?
be done. Heaven forbid I should take an hour or two
out of my endless day carving up the idiotic denizens Sebastian waited.
of this city who havent sense of self-preservation
enough not to step out in front of a speeding carriage The coroner groaned again. It is, isnt it? Its a
or eat a six-week old lamb chop to try and aspire bloody Guild Captain. I might have known. He
towards something actually worthwhile.
began picking up errant body parts and stuffing
them into a bag. Youd think hed have something
Sebastian waited.
better to do with his day than chase up this sort
of thing. What will we have next? The Governors
I mean, the coroner continued, by rights I shouldnt Secretary looking for a missing pencil?
even be here. My contractual obligation to the city
ends at six pm sharp and it must be after ten oclock After shoving a few more limbs into the bag,
at the very least. How they think they can get me to McMourning realized it was going to take a bit more
work at this late hour is beyond me.
effort to disguise his extra-curricular activities. He
dropped the bag and instead hauled a tarpaulin over
He folded his arms petulantly and at roughly the the whole pile; bodies, slab, contraption and all.
same time he noticed daylight streaming through
the mortuary window. He promptly unfolded them Thatll do, he mused. At least until I can get a
again. Oh I say, is it morning already?
moments peace to get rid of the bits.
Sebastian waited.
Sebastian waited.
The time is irrelevant, anyway, McMourning

scoffed. I am merely a humble employee. What
could I have done to warrant their concern?
Well, dont just stand there gawping, McMourning

barked. Bring him in!
Sebastian left.
He leaned against the dissection slab, behind
which was piled half a dozen semi-dismembered And not by the scruff of the neck like last time, the
guardsmen.
doctor shouted after the huge shape as it moved
through the ante-room to the hallway beyond.
Sebastian waited.
A little decorum, if you please. I am, after all, a
professional.
He smoothed down his hair, which proved to be a And most astonishing, all of them assigned to guard
futile gesture, and waited standing slightly self- the morgue level. Queer, eh?
consciously beside the irregular tarpaulin-covered
hump.
Ill say, McMourning said, noticing that dead
fingers were poking out under the tarpaulin edge.
A short, stout fellow wearing a guardsman outfit
with Captains pips and cap strode briskly into the Yes, quite the mystery, Captain Feckler said.
mortuary, trailed by the despondent Sebastian.
Quite, the doctor agreed. Have youany leads?
Dr. McMourning! the Captain gushed, snatching
the coroners hand and shaking it vigorously before Well, this is the cunning bit, the Captain said,
realizing the doctors gloves were smeared with gore absent-mindedly stroking his moustache and
and brain matter. His small eyes darted this way and getting bits of brain in it. Im mobilizing an entire
that for something to wipe his wet palm on before detachment of guardsmen. Were going to search the
discreetly tucking it behind his back and twitching building from top to toe. Leave no stone unturned,
his neat moustache.
as it were. If theres so much as a shred of evidence,
my men will find it.
And you are..? the doctor enquired, folding his
long rubberized fingers against his apron.
Oh, I dont doubt it, nodded McMourning, using a
toe to gently push the fingers back out of sight. And
Guild Captain Reginald Feckler, 18th Quadrant, when does this sleuthing start?
said the Captain, looking around at his mortuary
surroundings and taking in the steel gurneys with First thing tomorrow morning, the Captain said.
their toe-tagged passengers, the wall of formaldehyde
jars and tubing, glinting steel tools, and untidy piles I see.
of death certificates and related mortuary academia.
Dreadful business, eh?
Which reminds me dont suppose youve seen
anything unusual in the last few days?
McMourning was quite put out. I beg your pardon?
Unusual? McMourning cocked an eyebrow.
Eh? Feckler looked startled. Oh, heavens no not
you. Sterling work youre doing here for the Guild. I Funny noises, strange folk hanging around, that
mean the disappearances.
sort of thing, the Captain elaborated. Thought you
might have noticed something out of the ordinary,
McMourning spread his narrow frame slightly to seeing as the chaps all went missing in your neck of
block the irregular mound behind him.
the woods.
Disappearances? he enquired innocently.
Afraid not, the doctor apologized. Nothing to

report, here. In fact, you might say its been quiet as
the grave.
You mean you havent heard? Good lord, doctor,

dont they ever let you out of here? Feckler
exclaimed. Its all over the building. Six men! Six, The Captain guffawed, blowing a spot of brain from
mind you. Vanished.
his moustache onto McMournings apron. Oh yes,
very good.
Oh, really? McMourning attempted to feign
surprise.
The doctor flashed him a huge wolfish smile.
Although I confess that being so isolated down
Without a trace, the Captain continued. Six men here, my manners can get a little stiff.
in three nights. Astonishing, really. All of them on
guard duty. All of them vanishing while on patrol.
Captain Feckler slapped his thigh. I say, Dr.

McMourning, youre quite the card.
Sebastian looked at him.
McMourning threw a long comradely arm around

Well, I have a captive audience on which to sharpen the silent assistants shoulder and leaned close.
my wit, the doctor said. And I always knock em dead.
Ive had an idea, he said. Heres what were going
The Captain roared with laughter this time. Excellent to do
fellow! he spouted. Well, must be off, and all that.
Two hundred men wont organize themselves.
Yes, well good luck with that.
It was fully dark before McMourning was willing

As soon as the Guild Captain had left, McMourning to risk it, and even then he thought their odds were
ripped off the tarpaulin and looked down at the fifty-fifty at best.
mountain of dead flesh with concern.
He was hovering in the doorway that led out to the
Theres no way we can smuggle that lot out with mortuary courtyard, clad in a huge overcoat and
the hornets nest being stirred up by that buffoon wide-brimmed hat. He wasnt entirely sure why he
Feckler, he said.
was wearing such a clandestine outfit but it had
seemed to suit the flavor of their desperate endeavor.
Sebastian stood at his shoulder, his soft and slightly
uneven eyes on the mound of dead men.
A few minutes ago a squad of guardsmen had been
lashed across the courtyard by the tongue of their
Jump in any time, McMourning snapped barking Sergeant, but now it looked all clear.
sarcastically as the silence grew. No really Im all
ears for any cunning plan you might wish to share McMourning reached back over his shoulder and
thatd get us out of this mess.
made a beckoning gesture. On cue, six guardsmen
moved out of the darkness, tramping noisily and
in perfect albeit rather stiff synchronization. They
stopped just outside the door, swaying slightly.
Of course, I hold you responsible, the doctor
continued. You should have considered all Sebastian emerged behind them, still in his stained
eventualities of your actions, Sebastian. You will lab coat, his attention fixed on something held in
recall, Im sure, that the exact words I used were his huge hands.
Im bored bring me something to play with. I
never said anything about guardsmen.
It was a dark and cloudy night, which had been a
godsend as far as McMourning was concerned the
less light, the better. He had done what he could, but
it had been a rush job to get six bodies reassembled
Oh no you dont, McMourning warned him. Those and reanimated in ten hours. Everyone had two
big puppy-dog eyes dont hold any currency with arms and two legs, although he wouldnt have put
me these days. You cant wriggle your way out of any money on the fact that they all had their own
this one.
arms and legs.
The uniforms were in poor condition, too. Hed

cleaned them up and sewn them back together, but
Finally, the doctor sighed and grinned ruefully. You was under no illusion that theyd withstand anything
sly dog. You always know how to twist your Uncle more than a half-hearted inspection.
McMourning round your little finger. Very well, you
are forgiven.
Such slap-dash and hurried reanimation normally

only produced the lowest form of sentience; barely
mobile zombies did not make good guardsmen,
no matter what the Steamfitters Union said. Hed
solved that problem too, in a manner of speaking.
guardsmen standing casually around a sentry box

on the left hand side, smoking and chatting in the
cold evening air.
McMourning hadnt had sufficient time to reattach

all the wrist tendons and muscles, so each zombie
guardsman had his rifle lashed to his hands with
string and the weapons swung loosely back and
forth as they marched, looking more like majorettes
than soldiers.
Well, we can help, sir, the guardsman said, resting

his rifle against the sentry box.
The doctor sidled up to his morgue assistant as the

zombies marched up and stopped a short distance
A cluster of copper wires snaked from under the from the archway.
cap of each dead guardsman, twining together into
a leash that fed up to the wooden box in Sebastians Right, here we go, he muttered. Just keep them
grasp. The contraptions electrical current had moving, Sebastian. Ill do the talking.
proven strong enough to override the zombies
inherent and rather sloppy motor control, but as with Obediently, his orderly bent his head to the
the uniforms, the doctor would prefer not to have to contraption and its cluster of shiny screw heads.
put that to the test. At least this way he could be sure
they wouldnt attack the first living guardsman they McMourning hurried out in front of the dead
saw. Not that McMourning generally considered guardsman and through the gate.
this a problem, but it would make the current task
more difficult.
Good evening, gentlemen, he cried loudly, hoping
to draw their attention away from the rather
Hed only had time to place needles in a few brain shambolic squad marching up from the rear.
areas, but with luck that would be all they needed.
The guardsmen jumped as if shot and threw down
Right, its clear, he whispered. Lets go.
their cigarette butts, scrambling for their weapons
and trying to achieve some semblance of being
He went down the stairs and started across the attentive sentries.
courtyard. Sebastian looked down again at the
contraption, into which a number of carpentry nails Fear not, the doctor said. Its only me.
had been driven, each with copper wires wound
around its base. He began touching the copper loop When they saw it wasnt a superior officer, the
to alternate nail heads that had March Left and guardsmen relaxed.
March Right scrawled beside them in the doctors
spidery script.
Dr. McMourning? one of them asked, trying to
peer under the wide-brimmed hat. What are you
Immediately, the slouching zombies stiffened doing out here, sir?
and began to jerk forward like puppets, alternate
arms and legs pumping in rigid concert while the Im just borrowing a few of yourahassociates,
contraption buzzed. They tramped across the dark the doctor fumbled. Toto help me with some
courtyard in a fair approximation of living men.
erwith some heavy.er.lab equipment.
No! McMourning snapped rather more urgently

than he intended. No, you need to stay here. To
to keep the gate guarded. No, it is all under control.
You boys just stay where you are.
At the far end of the courtyard, McMourning

slowed. The stone walls yielded into a huge archway Well, if youre sure, sir.
that led out onto the street beyond. The archways
wrought iron gates were open, but there were four
Oh yes, the coroner nodded emphatically. Oh yes. McMourning raised a finger. I can explain
Quite sure.
Initiative, thats what, the Captain interrupted.
He could hear the tramping zombies behind him Initiative!
they had reached the archway and none of the
sentries had given them more than passing glance. Well, precisely, finished McMourning, confused.
McMourning felt a triumphant grin approaching.
They were going to get away with it.
Want to muck in and help find the culprit, eh,
McMourning? Feckler chuckled, rocking back on
Whats going on here? a brisk voice asked.
his heels. I like the cut of your jib, sir.
The sentries immediately snapped to attention, The diminutive Captain waved his swagger stick
rifles at their shoulders, eyes staring straight ahead. at the sentries, dismissing them back to their post,
then stepped up alongside the coroner.
McMourning wheeled around to find the black
beady eyes and shivering moustache of Captain I was just on my way home, but now that I see your
Feckler at his shoulder.
plan, Im rather inclined to come along, he said. Be
good sport to see if we can turn up that villain, eh?
Fortunately, Sebastian had already seen him emerge Get in ahead of the pack, as it were.
from the far side of the archway and had found
the nail head marked Attention. The zombie Oh, McMourning said, feeling his heart sink. Yes.
guardsmen went straight as pokers, humming like Fine sport.
taut cables as the electrical current shot through
them.
Jolly good. The Captain glanced around. So, what
was the plan? A patrol around the perimeter?
Good evening, Captain, McMourning said,
touching the brim of his floppy hat.
Something like that.
McMourning? That you under there? What the Right then, lets be at it! The Captain strode off
Devil are you doing out here at this hour?
along the outer wall of the mortuary, barking after
him Come on, you men!
Well, the doctor started. I
McMourning watched helplessly as Sebastian
The short Guild Captain noticed the six motionless steered the half-dozen marching zombies through
shapes standing like iron poles under the shadow of the archway and after the Guild Captain.
the archway.
It was going to be a long night.
I say, he said. Fine body of men you have there,
McMourning. Are those my boys?
In a manner of speaking, the doctor said. By some
stroke of a sympathetic fate, the zombie guardsmen
had stopped directly under the archway and the
street gas-lights left them as black outlines against
the courtyard stones.
The doctors hope that the Captain would get bored

after a few circuits of the mortuary was soon crushed
when the other man proposed they investigate the
buildings sub-basement and do a thorough job of
it. He seemed convinced that he was going to find
Six armed men and one doctor in a trench-coat something, and was clearly excited about the idea of
sneaking around the mortuary courtyard in the usurping his commanders larger investigation the
dead of night, said Feckler, stroking his moustache. next morning.
What to make of that, eh?
Cant wait to see old Montys face when I turn up

with the villain by the collar, he kept chuckling to
himself as they moved down yet another junk-filled
utility corridor. Every so often, the Captain would
poke at something with his swagger stick then move
on, satisfied that there were no lurking murderers
concealed beneath it.
They continued their patrol through the bowels of

the mortuary, passing rooms stacked with rusting
gurneys and steel cabinets, and cupboards filled
with stained linen and canvas. Everything down here
smelled faintly of death and mold McMourning
might have rather liked the place were he not in
such a fix at the time.
I say, he said after perhaps thirty minutes. Damn

fine discipline in your men, McMourning. Marched
all the way down here without a single mis-step.
And not a word said between them.
After a while, they arrived at an intersection and the

Captain paused to take stock. The zombies tramped
to a halt and Sebastian used the lull to wind up a
fresh charge for the contraption.
Oh yes, the doctor said. Theyre verywell

controlled.
What do you think, Captain? McMourning asked,

hoping the little man would finally admit defeat and
call it a night.
The Captain stopped to admire the rigid zombies,

their caps yanked down hard to keep their slack gray Well, this way here looks gloomier, Feckler said,
faces in shadow. He slapped the nearest one across indicating one corridor. Were I a fiendish murderer
the midriff with his swagger stick the zombie and assassin, I imagine thats the way Id have gone.
never reacted.
He removed his cap and rubbed at his bald pate
Whats your name, soldier?
while he deliberated.
The zombies jaw dropped open. Huuurrrrrrrrrrr.. Sebastian cranked the device too quickly and the
it wheezed.
zombies jolted.
Hurr, interjected McMourning
Scandinavian, I think.
quickly.
Its Brrrrrnnnn. one of them moaned as they lurched

for the Captains head.
Scandinavian, eh? The Captain eyed the rigid Whats that? The Captain swung around.
figure, nodding in approval. Any more at home like
you, soldier?
Panicking, Sebastian fumbled with the half-charged
contraption and the zombies all snapped into a rigid
Nuuuuuhhhhh.. the zombie said.
salute. The sixth zombies hand tore off at the wrist
and slapped Sebastian on the side of the head before
Pity, Captain Feckler sniffed. A couple more men dropping to the floor.
like you and wed have those dirty Resurrectionists
licked in no time.
Brains! McMourning shouted, trying to think fast.
Yes good work, men!
Lets press on , shall we, Captain? McMourning
said. Im as eager as you are to see Commander The little officer frowned, looking up at the coroner.
Montgomerys face when you capture the assassin.
What on earth are you talking about, doctor?
Fecklers eyes glinted and he set off at once.
The men, McMourning babbled, are suggesting
As soon as his back was turned, McMourning hissed thatthat no villainous assassin, no matter their
in Sebastians ear. Keep them out of the gas light or cunning, could out-fox the brains of an educated
well all be for the long drop in the morning I need man. A man such as yourself, Captain.
to figure out a way to get rid of this idiot.
10
Oh really? The little man beamed. Now, now, boys. another way?
Put those hands down. No need to salute every time
I address you.
Hmm. The Guard Captain twitched his moustache.
It is rather dark. Ill leave a note for Monty to send
Sebastian released the copper loop and the trembling men down here with lanterns in the morning.
zombies slumped with audible exhalations. When
no one was looking, he kicked the severed hand An excellent suggestion, Captain.
away into the darkness behind them. McMourning
had to wait until the Captain had turned back to his As the little man marched the other way,
deliberations before mopping at his brow nervously. McMourning leaned into Sebastians ear again.
This isnt working, he hissed to his assistant. Were
going to have to try something else. This old fool
will have us marching around these tunnels all
night.
Make sure youve cleared up down there by

morning, he said, following the order with a slap
across the back of his assistants head. And thats for
very nearly getting us into worse trouble. Keep your
hands to yourself, understand?
This way, I think, Feckler said, replacing his cap

and waving his swagger stick towards a black brick Sebastian nodded sheepishly.
tunnel.
Honestly, the doctor muttered as he set off after
McMourning had been hoping to avoid this area. Captain Feckler. As if I dont have enough problems
Down that tunnel was an iron trap-door that led already
directly to the sewer system. Any detective worth
his salt wouldnt be long in linking the large
Sebastian-sized footprints around the trap-door
mouth with the wheelbarrows, severed limbs and
bottles of necrotic fluid below. It was a long way McMourning was beginning to think there was
to the Quarantine Zone from here and these days no escape. It had been over an hour since he had
McMournings patience was limited. He found it prevented the Captain from finding their secret
easier to keep some fluid nearby for off-the-cuff sewer entrance and the zombie scrum had tried
experimentation.
twice more to crack open the guildsmans head like a
boiled egg. Only frantic winding on Sebastians part
Even Feckler couldnt be so dense as to miss the had sent enough current into the hungry zombies to
connection.
stiffen their limbs into immobility.
Oh, I dont know if thats such a good idea, Captain,
McMourning said. With no gas lanterns, a man
could easily trip. Id hate for anyone to fall and break
their neck.
Unbidden, Sebastian moved up behind the short
Captain and reached out with one giant paw.
Wear and tear was beginning to take its toll. Their

movements were more erratic now even under
direct control. McMourning knew their synapses
were starting to burn out and fairly soon they would
start breaking down completely.
There was a trail of fingers, ears and other nonessential protuberances littering the tunnels behind
NO! shrieked the doctor. Sebastian froze and them and the string securing their weapons was
Feckler looked bemused, oblivious to the squat coming loose. The one-handed zombie at the back
assistant behind him.
was dragging his rifle after him like a cavemans club
and something strange had happened to his neck.
Nono amount of consolation would assuage He marched forward as before, but with his head
my guilt if you were to come to harm, Captain, back and eyes staring up at the roof, jaw hanging
he continued awkwardly. Perhaps we should try open in apparent amazement at something unseen.
11
It wouldnt be long now before Feckler took stock of Like an insane cabaret act, the undead soldiers
his men and realized something was amiss.
barreled into the Chemical Room with limbs flailing
and swinging. The noise was terrific, between the
The doctor had started to reconsider getting smashing of breaking glass and hollow clamor of
Sebastian to snap the Guild Captains neck after all. nerveless limbs slamming into metal shelves.
It would probably cause infinitely more problems in
the long run, but at least it would get him out of his McMourning intercepted the running Guild
current predicament.
Captain, pinning him against the wall and putting
on his best earnest face. No sir! Its too dangerous!
He was about to give the word to his assistant when
they passed a heavy steel door bearing the plaque The crashing and smashing continued as the frantic
Chemical Room. McMourning stared at it for a zombies ricocheted around inside the Chemical
moment and then a mischievous grin crawled across Room.
his face. He had another idea
Fight, men! cried McMourning, waving a frantic
Get ready, he whispered to Sebastian. When I give signal at Sebastian. Fight the intruder!
the word, I want you to wind that contraption for all
youre worth.
Sebastian looked nonplussed, stabbing at random
nail heads while the contraption buzzed and sparked.
When the Guild Captain was a dozen paces ahead,
the coroner drew back the rusty bolt and kicked the Let me in there! protested the Captain, struggling
door open with all his strength. The boom of the manfully to escape the coroners grip. I must help
storage rooms door slamming against the inner wall my men!
filled the tunnel with a rumble like thunder.
The stench of formaldehyde was growing stronger
A cloud of formaldehyde fumes billowed out and as the whirling, jittering zombies smashed dozens,
he saw hundreds of glass jars on shelves stretching then hundreds of jars with their spasmodic dance
back into the darkness. It could work, he thought, macabre.
but timing was everything.
McMourning signaled again, but still Sebastian
Captain! Sebastian! he howled at the top of this voice didnt get it.
as Feckler spun around in surprise. In here! Hes in
here!
The doctor rolled his eyes in exasperation,
questioning his wisdom in keeping such an addled
The Captain waved his swagger stick overhead and specimen for an assistant.
began charging back down the tunnel. Have at him,
men! he roared. Dont let the villain escape!
Fight like the wind! he shouted, making a frantic
winding gesture.
Get in there! McMourning shouted, pointing at the
entrance to the Chemical Room with as much dramatic Sebastians expression cleared when the message
flair as he could summon. Double-time it, men!
finally sank home and he began twirling the
contraptions lever for all he was worth. His remaining
Sebastian began stabbing frantically at the hairs immediately went up like waving snakes with
contraption, tongue protruding with effort. the building static electricity. The sounds of carnage
The zombies lurched into action, performing a in the Chemical Room re-doubled as the zombies
staggering run as they advanced on their elusive went into fresh paroxysms from the increasing
quarrys hiding place. In his haste, Sebastian hit current, leaping and kicking in mindless abandon.
several incorrect nail heads and the zombie soldiers
began saluting and high-kicking as they rushed at Thats it, men! screeched the struggling Captain.
the doorway.
Youve got him on the ropes!
12
The mechanism started to buzz ominously and still Those brave lads, Feckler said, sniffing loudly. Got
Sebastian wound faster and faster, ignoring the the blasted villain even if it meant their own lives.
smoke that was billowing from between its wooden Thats true soldiering, McMourning.
seams.
It is indeed, sir, the coroner nodded solemnly.
With a violent bang, the winding handle sheared off
in Sebastians hand and a fat blue spark shot down The Captain drew himself to his full height and
the copper leash toward the Chemical Room.
puffed out his chest. Theyll be remembered. Ill
see to that. Theyll have a memorial. Ill have them
The formaldehyde-saturated air ignited instantly build it right in the mortuary courtyard.
and there was a titanic boom as the room exploded.
Sebastian was engulfed in a blue-green fireball and Im sure they would have liked that, sir.
both McMourning and Feckler were swatted off
their feet, skidding twenty yards back along the Give me their names, McMourning, Feckler said.
tunnel.
Ill remember them until my dying day.
It took a minute or so for the ringing in the doctors McMourning froze in the act of opening his mouth.
head to subside enough for him to consider getting Uh
to his feet. When he finally did, he found Captain
Feckler on his knees, coughing lustily through a Well, out with it, man, the Captain snapped.
singed moustache.
The doctors mind had blanked. In desperation, he
Sebastian was still standing where the fireball looked at his assistant.
had found him, apparently unharmed other than
thick black panda rings of soot on his face and a Sebastian? he asked.
smoldering lab coat. He blinked slowly.
The mortuary assistant frowned in thought.
Good grief, the Captain spluttered when he finally
got his breath back. The men!
They staggered to the doorway of the Chemical
Room, where the bricks were scorched black and
inky smoke was billowing from within. The Captain
made to step forward, but McMourning held his
arm.
By dawn, Feckler was already petitioning noisily to

have a statue erected in the center of the courtyard
and it wasnt long before the local media caught a
whiff.
Dont, sir, he said with an award-worthy The midday edition of the Malifaux Tattler wrote
performance of regret. Theythey couldnt have magnanimously about the worthy sacrifice of The
survived.
Selfless Six. This was followed by a less flattering
article published in the revolutionist circular, Voice
The Captain stared into the churning blackness, his from the Breach, which rather insensitively referred
eyes brimming.
to them as The Bakers Half-Dozen.
Stout fellows, he burbled. Theythey charged in
like true guildsmen.
But whatever ones political views, as the story

permeated through the city it was generally agreed
that the men were heroes and had made the ultimate
We should remember them with pride, sir, sacrifice to safeguard the people of Malifaux.
McMourning said, struggling to keep relief from Guardsmen on patrol duty stopped dodging spittle
spilling out all over his face. They accomplished and rotten fruit and began receiving congratulations
their mission.
and hearty hand-shakes for a job well done.
13
One small detail in this otherwise marvelous boost

for public relations and one that would take much
longer to be fully realized was that none of the
guardsman or officers at the mortuary, or indeed
anywhere else in Malifaux, could remember ever
having met Privates Odd, Bodd, Lumpy, Bumpy,
Dancer and Parts before their untimely deaths.
But it was a small point and life in Malifaux was full
of mysteries, like why the Guild coroner was in such
a bad mood and where his assistants black eye had
come from.
It was well into the afternoon before McMourning

stumbled back to the morgue, weary and foultempered. He had been forced to hold a poisonous
grimace alongside the grinning buffoon Feckler for
most of the day while a shouting rabble of reporters
popped trays of flash powder and took endless
photographic slides. It was a relief to finally return
to isolation.
explosion. There was a trail of body parts littering

the areas you patrolled with Captain Feckler last
night body parts marked with advanced decay.
Not the sort of detritus one expects to be left behind
by the robust Guild heroes described here in this
fine periodical. Lucius flipped another page.
Oh, perfectly reasonable explanation there,
McMourning said, slowly reaching for a scalpel on
the dissection table at his elbow. Without turning,
Lucius drew his sword-cane with a flash too quick
for the eye to follow and pinned the doctors hand
to the table. McMourning was so astonished that he
forgot to scream.
The Secretary carefully folded the Tattler with his
free hand, set it down and then turned to regard the
coroner, expressionless and unhurried.
Stranger still, he said in the same conversational
tone, was what my men found this morning
beneath a trap door leading into the sewers. Quite
the treasure trove - wheelbarrows, body parts, jars
of fluidand the most unique footprints.
Except he wasnt alone.
McMourning cursed Sebastian under his breath

and in response Lucius twisted his cane, turning
The Governors Secretary stood in the center of the the glittering blade between the doctors knuckles.
room with his back to McMourning, browsing a McMourning gritted his teeth against the fiery pain,
copy of the Malifaux Tattler.
hisses and giggles escaping him.
Quite an adventure last night, he said without Ooh yes, he winced. Pressure on the first and second
turning around.
metacarpal bonesnot enough toaaaahhto tear
the interossei muscles, butvery painful. Exquisite,
McMourning swallowed. Yes, yes it was. All part of Secretaryaaahhquite exquisite.
the job though. He stopped and tried to remember
how Feckler had described it. Initiative, and all Im glad you approve, the Secretary said. I trust
that.
you will behave yourself ?
Indeed. Lucius idly flipped the page of the paper,
his back still turned. Quite odd that none of the
senior Guild officers recognized any of the men that
died, though. And those names they have a certain
desperate quality about them, dont you think?
McMourning nodded and the sword-cane vanished

back into its scabbard as quickly as it had appeared.
The coroner examined his narrow wound, noting
the clean edges. That blade must have been as sharp
as his scalpel.
McMourning stumbled. WellIer
I have one thing in common with Feckler, Lucius

was saying. I appreciate yourinitiative. And I
think the Guild could use your talents in another
area.
I have a suspicion that the Selfless Six, continued

Lucius, ensuring that the Tattlers adopted moniker
was wet with sarcasm, were dead long before that
14
Erwhat? McMourning blinked.

A man of your specific talents is wasted here, doctor.
Surely, you see that. Imagine if you had the time and
the manpower to implement your skills beyond the
scrutiny and judgment of small minds, and with the
full support of the Guild. Imagine what you could
achieve with an unlimited budget and all the test
subjects you desired.
A tempting idea, Secretary, but I doubt my
proclivities would be received as warmly as you
profess.
You would be surprised, Lucius said. I employ
a number of like-minded men and they are well
paid for their discretion. And for those without it,
well, I am always deeply saddened when someone
in my employ fails to turn in a report because of
extenuating circumstances.
Ah! McMourning lighted up. Like having their
lips sewn shut!
Lucius faced him silently, the golden mask revealing
neither amusement nor revulsion. Im glad we
understand each other, doctor.
But what do you get out of all of this? McMourning
asked, massaging his skewered hand.
A favor. A favor only a man of your specific talents
and discretion could accomplish.
Oh? McMourning raised his eyebrows.
Lucius patiently watched him for a long moment,
then reached up and removed his mask with care.
McMournings eyes widened, and then a grin broke
out across his face. I can work with this
15
Professor Pontificates
By: Adrian Scott
Selling Your Soul

As you all know by now, Malifaux 2nd Edition (M2E)
is imminent! With the release at Gencon in August
and a public playtest underway (or at least about to
start), its an exciting time to be playing Malifaux.
Of course all this also means that writing a strategy
article for this issue has become a bit trickier. My
original plan and write something about Malifaux
1.5. But then again, why do that when I instead have
an opportunity to draw back the curtains on one of
the most exciting aspects of M2E? Im sure you can
guess which option won out!
of your soulstones (unless you were playing Colette,

dirty cheater that she is!). But in M2E there is no
longer any limit to the number of henchmen you can
take. Heck, you could even have a crew with nothing
but soulstone-burning henchmen on your side. The
general high cost of henchmen will probably make
that a rarity, but in any case, most crews will have
at least two soulstone users to compete for your
cache. Considering the concurrent drop in your
maximum soulstone cache to seven, it will be even
more important to prioritize your soulstones for
things that really matter. For instance, do you burn
When M2E is released, I suspect the community your last soulstones to save the henchman or master
will talk most about the new model rules and how whos about to die, or should you keep them for
the encounter system now works. They are, after all, some other use that may help earn you those victory
the shiniest and most interesting parts of the new points later on?
game! But in all honesty, I think the largest, most
fundamental change to the game is to how soulstones 3. A model can spend one soulstone during a duel
now work. So for this issue I thought Id take a bit of (simple or opposed), before cards are flipped, to
a detour from my usual tactics ramblings and talk add a positive twist to its flip.
about the future of soulstones, how they now work,
and how this will affect the game as a whole.
4. In addition, if the model defending in a duel uses
a soulstone to add a positive to its flip (as above),
Fortunately being on the early playtest has its perks. it also adds a negative twist to the opposing models
Not only do I have a copy of the soulstone rules as damage flip should that attack connect.
theyll likely be come August (listed below), but I
can also speak with some in-game experience on This is arguably the biggest change to how
the matter! As tends to happen in playtesting, rules soulstones work, possibly even the biggest change in
can change and combos can sometimes be missed, the game. In Malifaux 1.5, a model with the master
so I hope youll forgive me if I get anything wrong or henchman characteristic can usually burn a
when M2E is finally released!
soulstone to add another card to their dual total and
raise it well above what any opposing minion could
Rules for using Soulstones in Malifaux 2nd achieve. This meant they were almost untouchable
by minion models until they had exhausted their
Edition
supply of soulstones. However in M2E, the gap
between those models with soulstones, and those
1. The maximum for a crews Soulstone pool is 7.
without, has narrowed considerably. Not only do
2. Models that have the master or henchman you now commit to burning a soulstone before you
characteristic can use soulstones to bolster their flip for that initial duel, but the effect (a positive
flip) is much less powerful. Instead of generating
duels.
obscene totals for your duels, burning a soulstone
Aside from a slightly smaller soulstone cache, will now give you a better chance of flipping a high
nothing much has changed here, right? Well not card for your initial dual.
entirely. In Malifaux 1.5, you normally had just one,
maybe two models in your crew who could make use
16
A significant side effect of this is that now masters

and henchmen are as vulnerable to models with high
starting stats for their attacks as every other model.
So for instance, lets say your Defense 5 master was
attacked by a Combat 6 minion, and they flip a 13
for the duel. In such a case there is no longer any
way to avoid getting hit by that attack. Fortunately,
this disadvantage is reduced somewhat by another
feature of burning soulstones on the defense - the
negative twist to the opponents damage flip. Ive
always figured that if youre going to get hit by
your opponents attack, you might as well try your
best to make them hit on a negative to damage.
A negative flip prevents them from cheating and
improves the chances of only sustaining weak
damage. This approach still applies in M2E. So in
the right circumstances it will still be worth burning
a soulstone when defending against an attack, even
when your opponent is all but guaranteed to hit.
What is also worth noting is that effects that gave
a negative twist for certain duels (such as Zoraidas
Proper Manners, Pandoras Project Emotions spell
or even just sitting in soft cover) are no longer as
effective against masters and henchmen as they
once were. This is because such a model can just
burn a soulstone to give them a positive twist on the
attack (or defense), neutralizing the negative twist
from such effects and most importantly, enabling
you to cheat your initial flip as needed. So what this
means is that models that relied (and still rely) on
this as a way to avoid attacks must now be far more
careful around soulstone users!
not generally be worth the effort, but other triggers

definitely will be. In fact the mere ability to burn
a soulstone for a suit in duels will make certain
defensive triggers even more of a deterrent to your
opponents. For instance Lady Justices defensive
trigger (Riposte) is much scarier when you know
your opponent can burn a soulstone to get the
required suit and punish a model who misses her
in melee.
And before you freak out - yes, the make another
attack triggers have generally been changed to
prevent triggering yet more attacks off the first
trigger. So you can sleep well knowing that Lady
Justice isnt going to just be able to burn a few
soulstones to annihilate scores of models each turn
with half a dozen onslaught triggers!
6. A model can spend a soulstone to make a damage
prevention flip.
Yes, you can still use a soulstone to prevent damage.
This remains a useful as it is in Malifaux 1.5.
However I suspect it will see more action in M2E
since as above, you wont always be able to prevent
your soulstone users from getting hit by your
opponent like you can in Malifaux 1.5. Mitigating
the inevitable damage is thus much more useful
than it has been in before.
7. Players can spend a soulstone to reflip their card
during the initiative step.
While winning Initiative is still very useful in M2E,

5. A model can spend one soulstone before a duel to it will perhaps be a little less essential due to the fact
add a suit of their choice to their final dual total.
that players can now no longer activate more than
two models at a time with effects like Companion.
Those triggers and suit-dependent spells are So alpha-strikes arising from from Collodi-style,
looking much nicer now, arent they? This, more mass model activations will become a thing of
than anything else, will help reduce the reliance on the past. That said, I dont imagine people will be
getting certain cards in your hand to cast a given burning soulstones to reflip their initiative any less
spell or trigger. Summoning masters in particular frequently. As I said, winning initiative is still pretty
are going to love this - I know many Resurrectionist darn useful on those critical turns!
players who have agonized over not having a high
enough card of the right suit with which to summon 8. Players can spend a soulstone to draw and
their horde of nasty gribblies.
discard two extra cards at the start of the turn.
Activating triggers will also be much easier and by This is an option I really like and I suspect most
extension, much more useful. Burning a soulstone players will use this a lot in M2E. With soulstones
to trigger +1 damage from Critical Strike might the way they are now, the only way to guarantee that
17
your final duel total will be as high as possible is to

ensure you have a high enough card in your hand.
So during those critical turns in which victory may
hang in the balance, spending a single soulstone to
cycle an extra two cards should prove to be very
worth while.
Burning a soulstone to draw extra cards allows you

to improve the hand you start with. And if that
doesnt help, the ability to add positive flips or suits
to your starting duels can help get around having a
hand full of bad cards.
Overall then, Im very happy with how soulstones

9. Drain Souls and the Heal actions are gone.
are turning out for M2E and I think the changes will
be excellent for the health of the game. So as you get
I suspect everyone will be happy to see Drain Souls a chance to playtest the new game, I certainly hope
disappear. As flavorful as it might be (especially for youll appreciate the changes that have been made!
the less scrupulous Masters out there), in practice it
tended to become more of a way to abuse the game
rules and either easily achieve certain schemes (such
as Eye for an Eye) or deny your opponent their own
schemes (Grudge being the most common one).
The worst abuse of it was probably the Hamelin
list, where the player could sacrifice his own crew
of cheap stolen and rats to give Hamelin dozens of
soulstones and make him all but unkillable. Perhaps,
some time in the future, a less abusive version of
Drain Souls will one day make a return as part of a
new masters abilities. But for now, I doubt anyone
will mourn its loss.
-Adrian
In all my years of playing Malifaux, the (1) Heal

action to burn a soulstone and heal 1-3 wounds was
the one use of soulstones that I never, ever used.
Compared to making a damage prevention flip or
increasing your duel total, it never seemed worth
the action. So for better or worse its gone and to be
honest, I dont think Ill miss it.
The Last Word

In Malifaux 1.5, soulstones are mostly a way to
overpower your attack or defense flips, usually
bringing the totals to such dizzying heights as
to make it impossible to resist. This means that
soulstones become a kind of ablative armor for
masters and henchmen. Non-soulstone users had
little chance of taking down a soulstone user (or
resisting their attacks, for that matter), until you
had stripped your opponent of their cache.
In M2E, the role of Soulstones has changed
dramatically. Soulstones have now shifted toward
becoming a way to improve the reliability of your
models, mostly by reducing your reliance on having
a good hand with which to cheat the cards you need.
18
Painting Puppets
By: Name
By: Mark Rodgers
Introduction
When I first started painting, I wasnt magically able to
do complicated techniques and detailing. It took me a
lot of practice and I made a lot of mistakes (I still do,
in fact). I started out with simple paintjobs and built
my way up to the trickier stuff. With the rerelease of
Puppet Wars, Ive been given the chance to put together
something that covers the vague stages my painting
went through as I practiced more and more, and
hopefully show how little steps can dramatically change
your painting. There is, of course, nothing wrong with
painting more simply; the golden rule is that whatever
stage youre at, if youre happy with your paintjob then
its perfectly good! But if youre not, then read on Ive
tried to put a bunch of little useful tips and tricks in, as
well as a good helping of example pictures and painted
puppets.
As always, Ill be mostly using Vallejo Game Color, and
when I use a different make of paint Ill mention it. They
are my usual choice, but I suggest trying out different
makes and seeing which ones work best for you. Paint
type, just like brush type, color scheme and model
choice is a personal thing.
Cleanup
Obviously, the first thing to do is to get the puppets off
the sprue and cleaned up ready for painting. This is my
least favorite bit, but its important to do it properly and
not skip right to painting. Seams and mold lines can
ruin any paint job, so its worth taking a little time to
do this bit. Rusty Alyce has three pieces, two of which
are quite small. Cleaning the mold lines off small pieces
is much easier while theyre attached to the sprue, so
thats the first thing I did. Using an old knife blade
(brand new ones dont work as well, theyre too sharp),
I gently scraped at a 45 angle over the mold line until
it was smoothed out. I then used clippers (although
you can use a knife just as well) to remove the parts
from the sprue, leaving a few millimeters of the sprue
on the model (if you cut too close to the model part,
you can end up damaging it). Next I removed all the
larger pieces, again leaving a little bit of the sprue on
the model.
I cut off the little sprue remains using the knife and
then cleaned up all the larger parts the same way as
I did the smaller ones, scraping the mold lines away.
Be careful that you dont scrape away any details that
are supposed to be there though! I typically finish
cleaning parts by giving them a quick scrub with an
old toothbrush to get rid of any plastic flakes that
are caught on the model.
19
The next step is to assemble the model, which

always begins with a test fit of each part. As you can
see in the picture, Rusty Alyces hair doesnt quite sit
in place, so I scraped away a little bit of the back of
the hair piece where it meets the main body, testing
the fit and scraping again until I was happy with it.
A small dab of plastic glue is plenty; Im trying to
avoid it squeezing out of the seam between the parts,
as it clogs up the details if it gets on the surface. I
typically wait half a minute to let the glue start to
soften the plastic, then press the piece into position
carefully and leave it to set for five or ten minutes.
Once the glue has set fully, its time to sort out the
seams, which means messing with green stuff.
it matches up with the model and blends in nicely.

The two tools shown are my favorites, and the ones
I use for almost everything. I do have a fair number
of others, but these are the two I really couldnt do
without and would recommend.
Green Stuff
The first thing to do when seam filling is to mix
up the putty. This sounds obvious, but there are a
couple of things worth mentioning. Dont mix up a
lot, it gets difficult to work with after about thirty
minutes so only mix what you need and can use in
that time. Cut off a strip from the ribbon, making
sure you have roughly equal amounts of yellow and
blue. Make sure you cut away the middle section (if
you have the type that comes in separate tubes you
can skip that bit), as the two colors will have started
to cure where they touch. Mix it thoroughly between
your fingers; if you find any lumps then pull them And now, a quick note on lubricating your tools.
out and get rid of them, you need a smooth, single Green stuff is quite sticky, especially when you first
mix it. You can use water (or saliva, but licking
colored green blob.
green stuff isnt recommended really) to stop your
tools from sticking to the green stuff, but it tends
to go away quite quickly. That can be useful, but I
personally prefer baby oil as it works even better
and stays as a very thin film on the surface (it also
smells nice). The only downside is that you really
need to wash your models gently in soapy water
after you finish preparing them, although that is a
The usual way I fill seams is to start by rolling a thin good habit to get into anyway, as it cleans off any
line of putty and laying it along the seam. I then use dust and manufacturing residues on the surface.
my favorite sculpting tool to press the putty into the Once the putty is cured and the washing done and
gap and start to push the excess away to the sides. dried, its finally time to start priming!
Slowly I remove more and more putty, using the back
of the tool (shown in the picture) to gently scrape Priming
away the extra putty leaving only the bits filling
the seam behind. Once Ive got this down to the I typically spray models black, as I prefer that to
shape of the model, I then use a color shaper (also white. White undercoat is very useful when the
shown, white tips are very soft, black are stiffer and whole model will be in pale, bright colors, while
known as clay shapers) to smooth the putty so that black is good for a darker, richer feel. Grey is a good
20
compromise, but the choice of undercoat really

comes down to personal preference. Black is more
forgiving in many ways, as any bits you cant reach
with the brush are already shaded for you.
but they often wont do much to help beginners, so

unless youve reached a plateau in your painting, my
advice is dont bother with them (as proof of that, I
painted some of the gallery models with additives,
and some with just water. And the blending diagram
was done just using water, nothing fancy). Painting
isnt a matter of having a lot of stuff; its about
knowing exactly how what you have will behave,
and what you can make it do.
Basic Painting
Thinning Paint
Dont be tempted to keep spraying until the whole

model is fully covered with the undercoat, as thats
a really good way to clog up details. The spray is
just there to provide a key for other paint to stick
to. I personally spray models both horizontally and
then angled from above, but only until almost all
the plastic (or metal, resin, whatever the model is
made of ) has been touched by spray. I can usually
just see the color of the model material through the
spray coat when Im done. Once its sprayed, I let
it dry fully before brushing on a thinned coat of
Black which provides a proper undercoat without
covering up details. This has the added advantage
that the black is actual black, while spray blacks are
often a little chalky or grey.
Painting Kits
You can use a lot of different bits of kit and additives
for your paint to help you, but at its core painting
needs five things; paint, a brush, a model, water, and
patience. The only important thing I would suggest
is getting good quality brushes with nice sharp tips,
something like Kolinsky sable brush if you can afford
them (I usually use sizes 2, 1 and 0 Ill use the
largest brush I can for a task since it means less going
back to the palette, and having broader smoother
strokes). With decent brushes you can paint to a
very high standard without needing any extra kit,
but dont worry about buying top end brushes until
youve reached the limit of what you can do with
the ones you have. Paint additives and wet palettes
are good options for more experienced painters,
21
This can easily be overlooked, but using paint straight

from the pot is usually a bad plan. Generally, I thin
paint to the consistency of skimmed milk before I
use it, which might seem like Im making a lot more
work for myself. I kind of am, but its important to
use multiple thin coats rather than one thick one if
you want to keep the details on a model crisp, and
have a smooth surface to do things like blending
and freehand on. On the left of the picture you can
see some Vallejo game color Hexed Lichen that has
been used straight from the pot. You can paint like
this, but on smaller areas it isnt going to be easy to
get a smooth layer. Generally, I aim for somewhere
in the middle of this scale when Im painting, unless
I want the paint to behave differently. The second to
last purple square is about the same consistency as
a wash, and the final one is in fact about right for
a glaze, for something like object sourced lighting
(OSL). It barely colors the white, and on other colors
it would be near invisible, but thats the ideal if
you painted and blended everything with your paint
that thin, it would be super smooth (and take ages,
so there is a little bit of compromise here!).
Its also worth noting that if you put a blob on a

surface like I have underneath, it dries unevenly with
tide marks and splotches. Usually you get this effect
by having too much paint on your brush, which does
two things. Firstly, it makes it very hard to control
the paint as it touches the model. And secondly, it
ruins your brushes. When you load your brush, the
bottom quarter to a third of the bristles should look
like they are colored, rather than covered in paint.
Of course, too little paint just means it will dry in
the bristles and give you problems getting it onto
the model, so theres a happy middle ground to find.
In the picture, Ive started with a clean brush, added
too little paint, then roughly the right amount, then
massively overloaded it. If your brush looks like the
one on the right, its not going to end well
The Cherub
I began with simply painting up the cherub. The

first step was to get a good base color down, and as
I wouldnt be doing anything too complex with the
colors, it was better to lay all the colors down at once.
That way, there was no danger of me messing up a
finished area while painting a different one. Painting
each area separately is generally only necessary when
youre doing something that is likely to be messy and
get onto other areas. The body panels were painted
with several layers of either Squid Pink or Pale Flesh
to make sure I had smooth coverage. Being neat here
saves time later, but the edges would get neatened up
when I did the shading, so it wasnt absolutely vital. I
painted the wings and tuft of stuffing in Vallejo Model
Color Deck Tan, again in as many layers as it took to
get smooth coverage. The arms were painted in Leather
Brown. A 1:1 mix of VMC Black and Chainmail Silver
was painted onto the needle. A quick bit of Jade Green
22
for the button, and Khaki for the stitching, finished up

the base layers.
The highlights on the body and wings were done
using a mix of the original color and White in
a 3:1 ratio. The highlights for the wooden arms
were a 2:1 mix of Leather Brown and Bonewhite.
The stitches were done using pure Bonewhite. The
needle was highlighted with pure Chainmail Silver.
The highlights were painted a little bit away from
the edges on any area that pointed upward. This
gave a more rounded look to the panels, and a subtle
sense of light from above. I kept the highlights fairly
subtle as the depth would be added by the shading,
and very obvious highlights can be distracting.
The shading on the body and arms was done by using
a very diluted 1:1:1 mix of Black, Dark Fleshtone
and Gory Red. A little bit of washing up liquid can
help it behave as a wash, but only a tiny amount.
The way I tell if I have a good wash is to paint a
line across one of my fingerprints. If it barely colors
the surface, but fills the grooves in my skin, then
its pretty much spot on. A very dilute 1:1 mix of
Black and Night Blue was then used as a wash on the
stuffing, wings and metals.
The Convict Gunslinger
I began the convict gunslinger by painting Charred

Brown onto the stripes around his bottom section,
and then used Khaki for the raised stripes and half of
his face. The other half was painted with Bonewhite,
and the picture shows how rough the coverage
looked after one coat. Thats how thin paint should
be to get smooth coverage, but it will take a good
few coats to get a solid color. After getting the face
sorted, I used Blazing Orange for a prison jumpsuit

look, and VMC Deck Tan for the hair and stuffing.
Just like the cherub, the metals were painted in a
mix of Black and Chainmail Silver. The stitches and
button were then painted in Gory Red.
The highlights on the Bonewhite and Blazing
Orange sections were again 3:1 mixes of base color
and White. For the Charred Brown, I used a 3:1 mix
of the Brown and Bonewhite to keep it a warmer
brown, while the Khaki was highlighted in pure
Controlled Shading
Bonewhite. Again, like the cherub, the stuffing was
highlighted using pure White.
Washes provide quick and easy shading, but theres
very little control in them. To get a neater result,
The shading was very similar to the cherub, with a
its better to paint the shading in. The easiest way
1:1 mix of Black and Night Blue used as a wash on
to do this is to start your painting with the shade
the stuffing and metals. The rest of the gunslinger
color, and build up over it with your midtone and
was washed with a very soft wash of Charred Brown.
highlight.
Using different washes on different areas is better
than just painting one wash over every color, as it
gives you much more control over the way things The Silurid
look. This doesnt take too much effort as it often
means using two or three washes rather than one,
since some areas will want the same type of wash.
In this case, the clothing and face get warm brown
shading that matches the orange and cream look,
while the metals get a cold dark blue shade to
contrast with the warm body.
The silurid was done using this method, starting
with a basecoat of Charred Brown on the body. The
arms were painted in alternating stripes of Dark
Green and Jade Green, and the stitching and dorsal
fin were done in Khaki. The metalwork was painted
in a 2:2:1 mix of Black: Night Blue: Chainmail
Silver, before the tongue was painted Hexed Lichen
The bases were painted initially with a layer of 2:1 and a bit of Dark Green was used for the leak in the
Earth: Dark Fleshtone, then grain was painted on cauldron.
in a 1:1 mix of Charred Brown and Dark Fleshtone.
Because of the smaller size of the puppets, the grain The midtone painting was then done carefully,
should be larger than it would be for a Malifaux ensuring it only touched the sections I wanted to be
model. The final stage was a heavy wash of mixed lit. The body was painted with a 3:1 mix of Charred
Black and Gory Red, as shown in the picture, to Brown and Camouflage Green, and the dark bands on
darken the groove between planks and tie the grain the arms painted with a similar mix of Dark Green and
to the main color more. The trick here is to use a Camouflage Green. The brighter bands were painted
wet finger to wipe away a lot of the wash before it using a 3:1 mix of Jade Green and White. I added a
dries, giving the wood a slightly uneven coating. I little Squid Pink to Hexed Lichen for the tongue, then
also always paint the sides of my bases black when painted the stitching and fin with Bonewhite. The
Ive finished them, to neaten the edges and make metals were painted in a 1:1 mix of the previous metal
shade and Chainmail Silver. A touch of GW Scorpion
them less obvious.
Green made the leak stand out more.
23
The highlight layer began with the body, using a 2:1

mix of the midtone color and Camouflage Green.
Again, the same mix using Dark Green instead of
Charred Brown was used on the darker stripes,
while a 2:1 mix of the Jade Green midtone and White
was used to highlight the other stripes. Pure White
was used on the stitching and fin, pure Chainmail
Silver on the metals, and pure Squid Pink on the
tongue. A little dot of white on the leak was added
as a finishing touch.
and GW Blood Red on the hair, and a 1:1 mix of

Dark Fleshtone and Leather Brown on the clothing
and strap. A 2:1 mix of Night Blue and Bonewhite
went onto the shorts as a highlight, after which I
used a 1:1 mix of Charred Brown and Leather Brown
on the legs. I made sure to leave the grain pattern
unpainted at this point to make it stand out nicely.
The coat got a layer of pure Hexed Lichen, and then
I moved on to the metals. I mixed the original shade
tones with an equal amount of the metal (so Bright
Bronze into the goggle shade, and Chainmail Silver
in the knife and needle shade) and painted them
onto the upper surfaces of the metals, as if they
were catching the light. The stitching got the usual
layer of Bonewhite, as did the hair ties. I used GW
Blood Red on the top surfaces of the gun, and a bit
of Khaki on the cork.
The final stages of the ronin were quite quick. The
skin and wood were both finished with Khaki, while
the hair got a final layer of pure Blood Red. Both
metals were highlighted with small areas of pure
Chainmail Silver even brass often has such bright
whitish highlights, so its often best to have very
small silver highlights at the highest points. I added
more Bonewhite to the shorts color as a highlight,
and also used a little Bonewhite in Hexed Lichen as
a final highlight for the coat. The gun was finished
with Blazing Orange on the top area, and the
stitching had small areas of White painted onto it.
The Ronin
The ronins skin was painted in Leather Brown

to make her look different, while her shorts and
top were painted Night Blue and Dark Fleshtone
respectively. The goggle strap and her hair were
both also painted with Dark Fleshtone, the coat
in a 1:1 mix of Black and Hexed Lichen, and
once again the stitching (and hair ties) was done
in Khaki. Her legs and the knife handle were
basecoated Charred Brown, while a 1:1 mix of
Charred Brown and Bright Bronze were used on
the coat buckles and goggles. The rest of the metals
were painted in a 1:1 mix of Black and Chainmail
Silver. As a final touch, the gun was painted with
Gory Red, and the cork and string in Leather
Brown and Khaki respectively.
The midtone for the skin was a 2:1 mix of Leather
Brown and Khaki, painted in the center of the panels.
The hair was differentiated from the goggle strap
and her top by using a 1:1 mix of Dark Fleshtone
24
The wood on the bases was painted the same as

before, since as a flat surface, it didnt need any real
shading and the grain could only be painted at the
end. The cloth got a first layer of 2:1 Gory Red and
Black at the same time as the wood basecoat went

down. The grain was painted at the same time as
a layer of Gory Red on the fabric for the midtone.
When I did the wash, I also painted the highlight
on the fabric, using a 1:1 mix of GW Blood Red and
Gory Red.
Layering
skin was a 2:1 mix of Khaki and Bonewhite. I added

a little Bonewhite to the facemask too, not using
much as the large difference in brightness made any
addition of Bonewhite much more obvious. I added
some Deck Tan to the color used on the fur, as using
pure Deck Tan at this stage would have been quite
stark. A little Leather Brown was added to Dark
Fleshtone to paint the stitches and belt, again using
smaller contrasts than in the previous models. The
metal layer was mixed to make a 1:1 ratio of Charred
Brown to Glorious Gold and painted on the upper
surfaces and edges of the knives, and in the center of
the bell. As a final touch in this layer, the eyes were
highlighted in a mix of Gory Red and Blood Red,
and an equal mix of Khaki and Earth was painted
onto the tag.
The three layered approach looks good on smaller

areas, but because of the size of the area and abrupt
color changes on larger parts like the silurids
cauldron, it looks a little rough. The next step that
I took to improve my painting was to use slightly
thinner layers, but add in an extra one. This brings
each layer closer to the one before in color, so they
become harder to tell apart and give a smoother
The first real highlight layer was again the previous
look.
layer with a small amount of extra Bonewhite added,
in the case of the skin, clothing and facemask. The
The December Acolyte
eyes got a touch of pure Blood Red, while the fur
was highlighted with pure Deck Tan. The metalwork
was highlighted in Glorious Gold, with only a little
bit applied to the legs as they would be in shade.
Generally, the model should get brighter as you go
upwards, to provide a greater sense of height when
you look at it (especially when its on the tabletop).
The December Acolyte got this treatment, starting

by painting his face in Khaki and the facemask
in a 3:1 mix of Black and White. One half of his
coat was painted in a 3:1 mix of Night Blue and
Bonewhite, while the other was done in 3:1 GW
Ice Blue and Black. The fur trim was basecoated in
VMC Deck Tan with a tiny amount of Black and
Night Blue in it, before the strap and stitching were
painted with Dark Fleshtone. A 3:1 mix of Charred
Brown and Glorious Gold was used on the metal
areas, and then the buttons were painted in Gory
Red and the tag in Earth.
The second (and final) highlight was just like the

others for the clothing and facemask, using the
previous layer with more Bonewhite in it. The face
was pure Bonewhite this time, as was the last bit
of the tag. The fur got a final highlight with a 1:1
mix of Deck Tan and Bonewhite on the tips and top
sides of the areas (the underneath of the bottom
trim section didnt get anything this time round).
The legs got no highlight this time either, while the
rest of the metals were finished up with a 1:1 mix of
Chainmail Silver and Glorious Gold. Pure Leather
Brown completed the stitching and strap, and a mix
of Blazing Orange and Blood Red was used on the
button tops to complete the December Acolyte.
The next layer on both parts of the clothing was a

4:1 mix of the basecoat and Bonewhite, while the
25
The Executioner
to the rest of the model. I used the same colors for

the third layer as I did for the second, painting it
onto a slightly smaller area than the previous one to
thicken the color on the main area while leaving the
edges only one layer thick.
The fourth and fifth layers were done the same way,
using a mix of Bonewhite with a little Khaki in it
for the skin and a 1:1 mix of Deck Tan and White
for the clothing. More Bonewhite was added to the
hood and boot mixture to give a slightly paler grey,
and more Chainmail to the metals. Pure Blood Red
was used for the stitching and cables to brighten
them up more.
Layers six and seven were the last ones, which I
started by painting Bonewhite onto the skin in a thin
layer, then White with a little Deck Tan in it for the
clothing. The stitches and pipes were highlighted
in a Blazing Orange/Blood Red mixture before I
used pure Chainmail Silver on the metals. The hood
and boots got a final highlight mix with some more
Bonewhite in it to finish them off.
The executioner has large panels of flesh and cloth

all over his model, which can make a paintjob look
rougher just because of the size of the areas. In
order to avoid this, I decided to add more layers of
thinner paint. The overall number of colored layers
was the same as for the December Acolyte, but this
time the thinner paint meant I needed two coats to
get the same level of highlight. This may seem like
a waste of time initially, but the two coats are not
identical. Each coat will be slightly smaller than the
last, effectively making them all their own layer. So
rather than four layers, it will be seven half-layers, The bases this time were a little more advanced,
each of which allows some of the color underneath although the initial step was still the same basecoat
of 2:1 Earth and Dark Fleshtone. The thread was
through.
basecoated in 2:1 Khaki: Charred Brown, and then
The skin, once again, began as a layer of Khaki. The painted with a 1:1 mix of Bonewhite and Khaki. The
clothing was Deck Tan with a little Hexed Lichen grain began this time as a layer of Dark Fleshtone,
added in for shading, while the boots and hood with the next layer being Charred Brown to give the
were painted Black. A mix of Black and Night Blue grain a bit more detail and depth. The darker line
containing a little bit of Chainmail Silver was used to should sit to one side of each of the paler grain lines,
basecoat the metals, and then Gory Red was painted as this looks more natural. I also painted the thread
onto the stitching. The model is fairly simple, so I with Bonewhite at this point. The final stage was
could then move on to the next layer. I added a little again to wash the wood with a red/black mix, and to
Bonewhite to the Khaki, thinned it and painted use a thin layer of Dead White on the thread.
it onto the skin, then used thinned Deck Tan on
the clothing. The hood and boots were painted in
Black with a little Bonewhite added. I added a little
Chainmail Silver to the metal mixture and painted it
onto the claws and backpack, focusing on the upper
areas a little. At this point I also decided to swap the
piping from black to red, so used Gory Red followed
by a mix of Gory Red and Blood Red to catch it up
26
Blending
The Judge
While you can keep adding more and more layers,
making them thinner and closer in color to each
other, until you get a very smooth result, it is a lot of
work and it can be difficult to keep smooth and even.
I prefer to paint the midtone color first, and paint
the shade onto the model carefully. This means that
I have a smooth midtone already, without having to
paint one over the darker shadow, but it also gives
me a lot more control over the color and tone of
the shading. The layers at this point have become so The midtone on the Judge began as a layer of VMC
thin that it takes several to cover the previous color, Deck Tan on the coat, and panels of Leather Brown
and they lend themselves well to blending.
and Khaki for the skin. Because the Judge is a more
difficult model to reach all the areas on, I decided
to paint these first, and then paint the rest of him
Blending Process
afterward. Once the midtone layers were smooth,
I added a little Purple and Black to the Deck Tan,
thinned it down, and carefully glazed it into the
recesses, blending the edges as shown above. This
took several coats to get it built up enough for my
liking, and then I moved on to the face. I added
Dark Green and Black to the Leather Brown, mixed
Dark Fleshtone and Black to the Khaki, and glazed
There are numerous ways and techniques to blend in the shadows the same way I did for the cloak.
paints, and I make no claim to having the best After these bits were done, I used a thinner version
one (it works pretty well for me though). For a of the original midtone to smooth the transitions
good blend, you need a nice solid base color. No more and get the main color back over the majority
blend will look good if the base color isnt smooth of the area. I then added Bonewhite to the original
and constant. I start with a stripe of the color Im flesh colors, and White to the Deck Tan, using these
blending, where I want it to be strongest. While this new mixtures for two thin layers of highlight that
is still wet, I take a damp brush (either a different were blended into the midtone carefully, so I didnt
one, if youre into two-brush blending, or the same get them too close to the shading. More Bonewhite
one rinsed out quickly, if youre lazy like me) and was added to the flesh colors before the last two
paint a line of water up and down along the edge of highlight layers were painted on the flesh, and two
the color, overlapping the two partially, on a slight small layers of thinned White were laid onto the
angle to the original stripe. Be careful not to have cloak. While there are effectively seven layers to
too much water, remember this is a damp brush, not this, there are actually only four colors on each area.
one dipped in the pot and aimed at the model! This The paint is thin enough that each previous layer
draws the pigment from the original stripe out into shows through the current one a little, allowing the
the water, thinning it across the area. To extend the blends to look smoother.
blend (as this often has a sharp edge still) I rinse the
brush again, and do the same thing over the edge
of the first water line. I keep going like this until
the pigment edge isnt visible anymore. If it isnt as
dense a color as youd prefer, or you want to make
it longer, dont rush let it dry thoroughly before
doing another layer, or you can pull bits of the first
blend away and ruin the smooth change.
27
The second half of the judge began with a simple

Black/White mix on the sword blades, chains, and
legs, while a Gory Red and Charred Brown mix
was used to basecoat the brass areas such as the
sword hilts and goggles. The hair was painted with
P3 Rucksack Tan, and I used Hexed Lichen for
the buttons and face covering. Again, these took a
couple of coats to get smooth coverage on the model.
Everything except the hair was shaded with Black,
which was shaded with a 2:1 mix of Dark Fleshtone
and Hexed Lichen. The midtone was then painted
back in using the same colors except for the metals.
These had a little bit of either Chainmail Silver or
Glorious Gold added to the original midtone color,
which was blended onto the model like the other
layers. The brass sections were slowly worked up to
pure Glorious Gold, while the steel was brightened
up to Chainmail Silver. I added White to the Hexed
Lichen for the facemask and buttons, keeping it
quite a subtle change as white can easily overpower
the original color if youre not careful. The hair was
highlighted using progressively more Bonewhite,
until there was almost no Rucksack Tan in the
mixture.
As added extra details, I used Khaki, Bonewhite and
White to paint the stitches and White to sharply
highlight the glass lenses of the goggles.
28
Rusty Alyce
Rusty Alyce was painted the same way as the Judge,

with two sessions of painting and seven blended
layers. The under-layer of her face was basecoated
with Leather Brown, as were the wooden parts of
her legs, while the main face was done with Khaki.
Her jacket would be leather, so I began with Dark
Fleshtone. Her skirt was more complex because of
the pattern. I used Dark Green for the main squares,
and then painted the stripes in a mix of Dark
Green and Night Blue. The bits where the stripes
intersected then got a coat or two of Night Blue, to
take the green out of them. Shading was done across
all the areas except the Khaki face using a 1:1 mix of
Dark Fleshtone and Black. Since that was so much
paler, I used Dark Fleshtone with a little Night Blue
added to make it less brown. When I shaded the legs,
I also added in some thin vertical lines to represent
wood grain.
I carefully repainted the original colors to neaten the
shadows and smooth the transitions, before starting
with two layers of my first highlight colors. The
jacket highlight was a 1:1 mix of Dark Fleshtone and
Leather Brown, allowing a lot of the shade to remain
to darken the jacket and make it more like treated
leather. The face had a little Bleached Bone added
to both the Leather Brown and the Khaki, as did the
legs. The green and blue parts of the skirt were 2:1
mixes of the original colors and Camouflage Green
or Ice Blue respectively, while the turquoise stripes
were done in a mix of the two highlights. After two
layers of these, I added more Bonewhite to the face
colors to finish the highlights there. The jacket color
was now mostly Leather Brown, with only a little

Dark Fleshtone in it to avoid it becoming too bright.
The skirt was finished with Camouflage Green, Ice
Blue containing a tiny amount of Night Blue, and
a 1:1 mix of the two for the stripes. I painted these
layers onto the top edges of the pattern sections,
neatening their edges and making the whole skirt
look a bit tidier.
The second stage of Alyces paintjob began with me

basecoating her hair in Charred Brown, the brass
areas in a 1:1 mix of Gory Red and Charred Brown,
and the areas that would be steel in a 1:1 mix of
Night Blue and Black, with a little White added to
lighten it a touch. Her belt was painted Gory Red,
as were her lips. Everything was shaded using a
dilute Black, since the colors were dark and metals
especially need to be shaded to pure black to look
as effective as possible. The midtones were painted
back in carefully as usual, although the metals were
slightly adjusted. I added a little Chainmail Silver
to the steel midtone, and Bright Bronze to the brass
midtone. I didnt add much, just enough to start
introducing a faint metallic sheen to the paint.
The first highlight was again done in two layers,
with the metals having more of their respective
metallic paints added to them (Bright Bronze for
the arm, and Chainmail Silver for the pistol, gears
and belt). I added Bronze Fleshtone to the Gory
Red to highlight the belt, as it avoids the end result
looking pink. The Charred Brown of the hair had a
little Bonewhite added, and painted in careful lines
along the hair strands. This can be done faster by
having a small amount of paint on the brush, and
laying it flat against the model, moving the brush in

the direction of the strands to lay paint onto several
strands of hair at once, but it is neater and more
controllable to paint each one separately. After the
two layers of these colors, I then used pure Bright
Bronze and Chainmail Silver on the metals, and
added more Bonewhite to the hair mix. I also mixed
more Bronze Fleshtone to the red highlight and
layered that on carefully. These two layers completed
Rusty Alyce, except for one final touch. Just like the
Judge, I used Khaki, Bonewhite and White to detail
the few stitches that are on Alyces head and chest.
The paint colors for the base this time were the
same as before, which meant an Earth/Dark
Fleshtone mix, Dark Fleshtone, and Charred Brown.
The major difference here is that each strip of the
grain was blended at one side, towards the knots if
there are any or just all on the same side if there
arent. The Charred Brown was painted onto the
un-blended side and blended across the fleshtone
stripe. The button was painted with Dark Green,
and then blended to Jade Green via a 1:1 mixture of
the two. The wood again got a red and black wash
that was mostly wiped away.
Advanced Stuff Patterns and Tricks

To finish up the step by step section, I thought Id
add in a couple of more advanced things. These are
extra techniques that can really add something to
your painting, but they do take time and care.
29
it builds up smoothly and evenly. Once the midtone

was down and blended fully, it was time to shade.
I decided Misakis dress would look good faded from Once again, I used five different colors to ensure
green to blue, which is a bit fiddly as you have two the shading matched the midtone. On a fairly subtle
sets of color blending to deal with; one from blue to fade like this it isnt so important and you could
green, and one from shadow to highlight. The first probably use two or three, but its best to use one
step in the process is to basecoat the model with one for each midtone color you used. To keep things
of your colors. Its a quicker process if you basecoat consistent, I made a mix of Hexed Lichen and Black,
with the paler color, as youll need fewer layers as and added this to each of the midtone colors in the
you blend to the other color, but its smoother if you same proportions. This gave me five shades that
work from the darker to the paler color. It just means matched both each other, and the original colors. I
a lot more layers with each color to get a good blend used each shade on the same area the original color
covered; blending it at both ends to make sure the
and consistent color.
transition between shades was smooth. If you dont
blend the points where the two shades overlap, you
can end up with a sudden stark line at the join. The
process is the same for the midtones when they get
repainted, and again for the highlights. Blend each
section on every side, then move down to the next
one. For Misaki, I added a small drop of White to
the original five colors, thinned them heavily, and
laid them onto the appropriate areas in several very
thin coats. Then I went back to the top, added a little
more White to the blue highlight mix, and did the
whole thing over again. This gave me a nice subtle
transition from blue to green, but it can be done
from any color to any other color you just need to
use more stages for bigger changes.
Misaki
I started with a good solid basecoat of GW Ice Blue,

and then began to add small amounts of Jade Green
to it. Over the course of five layers, I worked my
way up to pure Jade Green, blending each layer into
the previous ones carefully. The position of each
layer is important, as you need to leave an area of
each color visible to get the fade looking consistent.
Since I was using five colors (including the two pure
ones at each end), I mentally split the model into
five sections and painted roughly to those. Each
layer goes right to the bottom of the dress, rather
than stopping where the next layer begins, so that
30
The Belle
important things are planning, and slowly working

your way to the end before deciding if it has worked
or not sometimes, you cant tell how it will work
out until you finish!
Basing
The belles parasol seemed like a good place to paint

some lacework, which I began by undercoating the
parasol with a mix of VMC Deck Tan and Black. Where
the dress would show through, I mixed in a little Squid
Pink (Id already decided she would have a pink dress)
to the grey and layered that on, while the hair area
had P3 Rucksack Tan added to it. This wont show up
much but it subtly helps make the lace look a bit more
see through. The first step was to choose a pattern and
rough it out on the parasol, using thinned Deck Tan
to get the rough shape sorted out. I did this section by
section, starting in the center and then moving out to
the solid panels, before finishing the edge areas. At this
point it looks very messy (not helped by the uneven
spokes of the parasol!) but its important to keep going
with stuff like this.
I then went back over the pattern with Deck Tan
more solidly, neatening and balancing it out as best
I could, before going over it with a first highlight
of Offwhite to start to detail it more. I finished the
highlights with pure White, and assessed where
I was up to. At this point it had some large grey
holes, so I decided to add in very thin lines across
those sections following the pattern. The end result
still looks a little scruffy, but a quick coat of Leather
Brown on the parasol spokes improves things a
lot. Thats why, with complex freehand, the most
31
Basing is something that you can go as simple or as

complicated as you like. A complex, heavily detailed
model looks nice on a fairly simple base as a rule,
and you should always try to avoid having the base
overshadow the model. But really, it all comes down
to personal preference. For the puppets, I wanted to
keep it fairly simple so chose to do wooden planks
to represent Zoraidas shack and match the board.
I added needles, thread, fabric pieces and buttons
to some of the bases for interest, but always kept it
fairly simple, in keeping with the models.
I started by pressing a big blob of greenstuff onto

the base, spreading it to the edges with my fingers,
then wetting it and pressing it upside down on my
desk to smooth it. The excess putty was then cut
away carefully with a wet knife blade, before the gap
between the planks was cut in using the blade side
of my sculpting tool. Once that cured, I added any
details I wanted to add (I sculpted them, but you can
of course use anything you have lying about). After
these cured too, I took a file and worked my way
round the edge of the base, neatening and smoothing
the edge I made when I cut away the excess.
Summary
Drilling out the base for the models pin begins

with, unsurprisingly, test fitting the model on the
base. When you decide where you want the hole to
be, the simplest way is to put a blob of paint on the
bottom of the pin, then press it into the right place
on the base. You can then drill where the blob of
paint transferred over, knowing youre drilling in
the right place. If the hole isnt quite big enough,
you can carefully twist a round file in the hole to
widen it, testing the fit every so often until the pin
fits snugly into the hole. You can do this before you
paint anything, like I have here, or after the model
and base are painted. You can also attach the base
before painting, or after. I usually mark out the base
before if its complicated or busy, but attach the
model to it at the end. This way I can get to all parts
of the model and the base easily, and not risk getting
paint from one on the other.
So, thats a brief run through of my painting from

where I began a good number of years ago, to
where I am now. Its all little changes each time,
the key is to practice and learn from everything
you do, keep on working at it until youre pleased
with what youve done. What other people think
of your results doesnt matter, if youre happy with
them. And, as someone once said to me, wing it -try
things out, mess it up sometimes, and get advice
and inspiration from anywhere you can find it.
Especially other painters in fact, I got the recipe
for the Razorspine Rattlers copper areas from Big
Ned on the Wyrd forums recently (and its now my
new favorite copper method). As always, feel free to
catch me on the forum (Mako) and ask me things,
or point and laugh. Either works!
-Mark
Click here to see images at

their original size.
32
Additional Finished Puppets Gallery
33
The Cards Above
By: Octavius Villar
A henchman s history and perspective on growing a Malifaux community

In the Beginning
For me, the journey began at the back of a hobby
shop in the warm and dusty Inland Empire. I arrived
as soon as the shop opened and greeted the owners
who kindly pointed me towards the tables I could
use for the day. I wasted no time breaking open a
rolling file-caddy full of Terraclips, re-assembling
the major pieces, and put down my demo crews
with a standing 8 x 11 sign that read Malifaux
demos here!
Sundays were my day to host Malifaux demos,
and Id see progressive waves of customers coming
in, however most of the customers came to play
collectible card games, while others came for RPGs.
There was a dedicated group of players that came
for the miniature wargames, but each of them came
to the shop with opponents and a game already in
mind. It didnt help that for the most part, they
wanted to keep to themselves.
Occasionally I could catch someone interested
between their matches, but that normally only
gave me fifteen minutes to try and show off some
of Malifauxs finer points. It went on this way for
months and I spent some of that time brushing
up on the rules and writing up different types of
events in hopes of one day having some folks to try
them out with. Things improved over time due to
some wise product placement from the supportive
owners. I was very lucky to catch walk-ins and
pique their curiosity for Malifaux, but this was only
one portion of our outreach- the in-store portion
of our overall strategy.
In-Store and Into Store Activities

I look at getting people interested in Malifaux
in terms of in-store and into store activities.
As I mentioned previously, the store owners I
was working with were great about helping move
product to a more visible area, allowing me to place
business cards and a holder in the shop, and placing
fliers and posting events on their store Facebook/
34
website. The strategies within the store include

keeping consistent about your hours and leaving
traces of your activity when you cant be in the
store. These can be cards, fliers, even offering to
leave painted crews on display at in the stores glass
cases. Another really effective tool weve used in
store is to bring a friend, or as many as possible,
into the store and play games. Folks in the game
store are typically there to play another game that
day with another group, but if they see two or more
people enjoying a game they havent tried yet, they
may want to take part. Perhaps not that day, but a
simple were here every Wednesday night to an
interested onlooker with only minutes to spare, may
yield a new Malifaux player with a little consistency.
In addition, sometimes we need to take a step outside
our local gaming store (LGS), and I mean directly
outside our LGS. There are potential new players in
the store, but over time you might find that the stores
traffic has slowed to a crawl, and youve already run
demos for every person who would give you the time
of day in the shop. Its at this point that you might
want to work on the into store activities, that is,
activities that help bring new people into your LGS.
These activities can range from increasing your own
accessibility online by creating or joining meetups, Facebook/Google+ groups, Youtube Channels,
websites, forums (dont forget to use the Wyrd
forums!), to things that can be done on the ground
level such as, attending conventions, placing postings
on campuses, or even hosting charity events. There
are many different means of trying to interest other
gamers towards Malifaux, and the only real limit
is your imagination and resources. For my group,
SoCal Malifaux, every activity included in this article
is something Ive tried, and while some of these
activities may not yield immediate rewards, I have
seen all of them at one point or another contribute
to making Malifaux a real presence here in Southern
California. Just remember that any activity designed
to draw more gamers either within or to your LGS
relies on your own consistency, accessibility, and
your presentation skills.
Presenting Yourself
Now, when you do finally have the attention of a
potential Malifaux fan, its time to run your demo!
Before youve even introduced yourself to your
audience, be aware that they are learning about
Malifaux and you before youve even opened your
mouth or extended your hand. Im talking about
your appearance and presentation skills. There
are some fairly standard appearance tips, such
as proper hygiene, attire, and language, but dont
forget attitude either! There are some non-verbal
ways to demonstrate attitude. Maintaining a high
level of energy and a positive attitude makes you
more inviting and approachable. Wyrd requires you
to own two fully painted demo crews in order to
become a henchman, so take some pride in your
work if you are painting these crews yourself, or
make an effort to acquire some nicely painted crews
if you are paying someone else to paint them. There
are a number of kits to help your presentation as
well such as nice looking terrain from Terraclips,
business cards, game reference sheets/cards, and
even things like club banners. These items let your
audience know that you are serious about promoting
this hobby and they offer another means of making
yourself available for Malifaux. You are a semiofficial representative of Wyrd, so remain courteous
at all times and dont badmouth other games or
companies. Finally, dont forget the black shirt! The
shirt is more than just a cool little bonus for signing
up to be a henchman, it serves as your uniform for
promoting Wyrd and it gives you a more official
appearance at your events. Take care of your shirt
and it will take care of you.
Second, have fun running your demo! Its been my

experience that people who sign up for a demo are
hoping to have some fun, as well as learn about that
Wyrd game with the card flipping and knife-wielding
babies, and theres no better testimonial about how
fun this game is than seeing that the volunteer that
might have run hundreds of demos in the past can
still have a lot of fun simply showing people how
to play their favorite game. People respond to your
energy and your fun, and your genuine ability to
enjoy yourself in a tutorial.
Finally, this is not a test! Obviously one of the goals
of the demo is to educate the attendee about how
Malifaux (or any of the other Wyrd games) is played,
but never let the minutia or complexity of rules
interactions cloud your attendees ability to enjoy the
game. In other words, dont interrupt the flow of
the demo to lawyer a hazy rule, dispute a millimeter
of range, or micro-manage your attendee. These
sorts of things can suck the joy out of discovering
a game, or they may even disenfranchise someone
from wanting to play games with you (and whatever
you do, dont interrupt another person running a
demo to perform these activities!) A demo is not a
lecture, and there is no test to pass at the end. In all
reality, the true purpose of a demo is to help your
attendee answer two questions:
Did I have fun during the demo? and Am I willing
to try this game again?
It isnt necessary for an attendee to be able to play a

full game of Malifaux without help from attending
your one demo, so dont pressure them to feel that
way. Sure there are certain things that the attendee
will want to have a basic understanding of (how to
Three Keys to Demos
conduct a duel, for example), but again, the demo is
Here are some things I try to keep in mind at all not a test.
times when I run a demo. First, the attendees time
is the only time you need to consider. You might feel Large-scale Henching
inclined to spend two hours showing them every
little nuance of your demo when they only had thrity Even though it was less than three years ago, the days
minutes to spare, or you may be looking to power of sitting at the back of a store with a five person
them through a fifteen minute thrill ride when your Malifaux club seems like a distant memory. My role
attendee is really hoping youd move slowly and as a henchman seems so different now. For example,
explain things clearly before moving on. Try to avoid tomorrow (as of the time of this writing) I will begin
both of these situations, again, consider the demo hosting Malifaux at WonderCon 2013 in Anaheim,
time to be your attendees time constraints or desires. CA. I will be joined by four other henchmen from
my club, SoCal Maliaux. I consider each of them to
35
be not just some of the most reliable people in the

club, but all good friends. With an estimated sixty
thousand people in attendance, we are expecting
some rather full shifts at the demo tables, as well
as hosting a team tournament for International
TableTop Day.
One of my added roles during all of this was to

serve as one of the clubs main coordinators.
Communication and accessibility are just as critical
to my job, as they are for a henchman, period. I
often field inquiries from store owners, convention
organizers, henchmen, prospective henchmen and
volunteers. The henchmen in my group look to
After some months of scheduling, planning, support one another by promoting each others
promoting, and keeping communication lines open, events and working as a team at these conventions. It
were down to the final touches. These include is often my job to handle the front-end coordination
printing out all of the packets, packing the trunk, with the convention organizer, enlist the volunteers,
and figuring out where to place the tables that will generate the schedule, and fill gaps or address issues
attract the most attention. WonderCon is one of as necessary.
eight conventions our club is hosting games at this
year, and we are expecting to make an appearance at SoCal Malifaux
larger shows.
At the store level, its more about providing support
for a network of stores and game clubs throughout
Southern California. There is a crew gaming at the
Game Empire on Monday nights in Pasadena, and
we are being asked to do a Monday night event in
Orange County. Twice a month, on Tuesdays, we film
our live show, SoCal Malifaux Live, on Google+. On
Wednesdays I can be found at my tiny local gaming
store, Comic Quest, which I am proud to say, is on
the verge of a major expansion. Thursdays is for
Mercenary Market in Costa Mesa, Emerald Knights
in Burbank, and Pair a Dice Games in Vista. Fridays
our region enjoys JJs Game Lounge in Chatsworth,
or Friday Night Dice in North LA. Most events, such
as a tournament or a 1-Day Achievement League
for stores, are saved for Saturday, because stores
usually see an influx of new players on Saturdays.
Sundays are busy at GMI Games and Collectibles in
Riverside, or At Ease in Poway. I am happily married
and gainfully employed, so I am neither expected
nor able to show up to every one of these events.
SoCal Malifaux is best regarded as a network versus

one large central body of gamers. It suits the sprawling
urban layout of Southern California itself. We have
dozens of shops and game clubs along with dozens
of conventions and meet-ups. Indeed, as opposed to
more remote regions where they may only have one
All of the efforts above are spearheaded by some or two places to game, Southern Californias issue is
incredibly talented and woefully under-recognized almost having too many opportunities and venues
henchmen and volunteers. These generous to find gaming. So, while our group is quite large, it
people share the same goals as myself- building can be difficult to meet all of the members by just
community. The founders of my club do their best going to only a few events or by staying within your
to help identify and encourage these people, while local region.
being honest about the amount of commitment and
sacrifice required of them.
36
Conclusion
Being a henchman for me has been one of the most
rewarding endeavors Ive undertaken in my twentytwo years of tabletop gaming. It has been one of the
toughest, thankless, expensive, and easily criticized
roles Ive ever filled. Yet, its also been one of the
things Ive loved the most about that miniature
tabletop hobby.
I had fun at your event. Im looking forward to
playing more games and attending your next event.
Ill try to get more friends to come too.
If you consider that statement to be the only profit
you need, then becoming a henchman could be a
lucrative endeavor for you. You see, the above
statement is the gold standard for being a successful
henchman. It doesnt matter if your gaming group
consists of four or four hundred members. If
someone walks up and thanks you for hosting
a fun event, youve made it! That is what being a
henchman is all about.
I believe that the goal for the henchman should
be to enhance peoples enjoyment of the game by
educating perspective players, hosting events, and
providing the outreach necessary for growing a local
community. Most of us join the henchmen program
because weve developed a deep appreciation for
Malifaux and other Wyrd Miniatures games. The
best part of the job is helping someone else take
that same journey as they come to enjoy the games
as much as we do and establishing incredible
friendships in the process.
To all my friends and anyone else who has taken
the black and honored their henchman position
with your tireless service, I salute you, and it is my
sincerest wish that your community recognizes all
the hard work you put into this. Dont forget to have
fun!
-Octavius
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/socalmalifaux/
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEbonstar
Website: http://socalmalifaux.com
37
A Gremlins Luck
38
By: Paul Villar
Now In Stores!
39
Questions About Second Edition

By now you have seen the beta test documents, and
you may have even listened to myself and Mack
drone on for hours about second edition on various
podcasts. Even so, there are a lot of questions
floating around, and I thought that it would be nice
to have a comprehensive article that went over the
changes we made for second edition, and why we
made them. If you run into people at your local
game store who are asking questions about it, I
would suggest directing them to this article. Lets
start with the most common question:
By: Justin Gibbs
still there, the alternating activation system, an

emphasis on resource management and focusing
on objectives. All of the things which gave Malifaux
its identity are still there. And when we did change
something major, we did our best to accomplish the
same dynamic, only with different mechanics.
I suppose before I delve deeper into this I should

talk a bit about basic game design. A dynamic is
the experience a player has (For Example: resource
management). A mechanic is the actual game
rule which forces the player to think about the
Why does Malifaux need a second edition?
dynamic (For Example: keeping track of a control
hand). By requiring players to keep track of cards
Eventually every miniatures game will need a new in their control hand, we are adding the dynamic
edition. There is only so much design space and so of resource management to our game. However, we
much (literal) shelf space in stores. Because miniature can accomplish that same dynamic with a different
games deal in physical products, they cannot be mechanic if we wanted to (like keeping track of
easily patched like a video game. The miniatures soulstones).
themselves represent a significant investment on
the part of our customers; in part monetarily, but In many places, the mechanics changed, but the
also in time and effort spent modeling and painting, dynamic stayed the same. Asymmetric strategies are
and we need to respect that. Due to this effort, we gone from the Standard Encounters section, however
cannot simply cycle out older models and make due to the increased importance of schemes, the
them obsolete like the aging sets of a collectible card Standard Encounters still have a heavy asymmetric
game. When Magic cards cycle out, there probably dynamic.
arent any upset customers who spent hours lovingly
painting their old cards. This means that, as time All of that out of the way, now to the actual question!
goes on, miniatures games become top heavy and, Why did we change as much as we did? Why didnt we
sooner or later, a system reboot is required.
just clean up 1.5 and send it out the door? Malifaux
1.5 needed a lot of work, and when you start making
Malifaux 1.5 has definitely reached this point. With changes (even the smallest tweaks) it is irresponsible
four rulebooks the game is daunting to get into for not to consider the sweeping effects those will have
new players. Years of complexity creep, errata, and on the game as a whole. Game systems are just that:
online rulings clutter many peoples understanding systems. And when you change one part of a system,
of the rules. Older models need to be brought up to you always need to start looking at the other parts.
par to compete with the more modern designs, and The majority of the changes arose from the one
a massive overhaul is necessary.
change almost all players agreed needed to happen:
the standardization of language and consolidation
Ok, I get all of that. The rules all need to be in one of abilities in a more easy to reference place (For
place and they need to be cleaned up, but why did Example: ending the Attack/attack conundrum,
you change so much?
the difference between dealing damage and dealing
wounds, and making abilities like Lifer easy to
I want to start off by saying that we didnt change find). The fact of the matter is that there is only so
nearly as much as many people seem to think. The much room to print abilities on a card and, while
core mechanics are still the same; cheating fate is remembering the difference between Attack and
40
attack was annoying, it saved us space. We essentially

had saved ourselves space on the cards by forcing our
maze of terminology to take up space in our players
brains. One of the major (and almost unanimously
popular) goals of second edition was to clarify that
terminology and make it more easily accessible. But
doing so required a totally different approach to
designing stat cards, which had sweeping effects on
the game.
those characters is also a major driving force of the

game. Upgrades allow a newer player to have a more
streamlined version of the character which is easier
to digest while learning the game; yet still allowing
veterans to build their characters up to the level of
complexity they are used to.
Upgrades also allow an element of customization

to the game which just didnt exist before. Mirror
matches between masters wont always look exactly
Aside from small tweaks that rippled out into major the same. Limited upgrades force hard decision
overhauls, there were also some changes which we points and allow one master to have more than one
knew would be major going in. A good example of playstyle.
this is the revision to how soulstones work which,
I have to admit, I was the major force behind. Finally, upgrades provide us with great design space
However, the soulstone system needed to be looked and an easy balancing point. As we go forward, if
at, and a second edition was pretty much our only we find that older models are lagging behind, we
opportunity to do so. But Ill get to soulstones in can release new upgrades for them. This level of
more detail in a minute.
balancing would not have been possible without
errata.
Finally, the most important point: I thoroughly
believe we have a better game now. I know many Why did you change the soulstone system?
people love 1.5, and I respect that; I am one of them.
But its easy to get caught up in the intricacies and The old soulstone system was a major cause of many
foibles of the old system and hold them up as the of the games balance issues. Because only masters
pillars of Malifaux. After all, these are things we have could use soulstones, and soulstones allowed
been playing with for years, and we have enjoyed masters to generate totals which non-soulstone users
them. If most players take a step back and examine couldnt possibly beat, it ballooned the importance
the things they miss with a critical eye, it raises the of the crews master.
question: Is this thing I miss a good mechanic, or
was I just used to it? I think that once you get second Now, the crews master should be important. It
edition on the table and play it a handful of times, should be the most important model on the table.
However, when certain masters can walk into the
you will see the value in it, and the necessity of it.
fray unscathed and take out minions left and right, it
Why is the upgrade system necessary?
leaves the masters who dont do that at a disadvantage.
Combat masters could take full advantage of the
The upgrade system was championed by Mack importance of soulstones by increasing their totals.
Martin, and it accomplishes a number of things very However, support masters who relied on minions
well. For starters, it neatly solves our card space to do their dirty work, had no such advantage,
issue which I was just talking about. Malifaux stat because the minions they relied on were no match
cards are already packed with text, and having to for the combat masters. This lead to many of the
spell out all of those rules was going to pack them classic imbalances in Malifaux (Somer, Ramos,
tighter. Having upgrades allowed us to have space etc). Of course, nothing is absolute and there are
on the cards to write rules with the level of clarity some very good support masters (Kirai). However,
Malifaux needed.
these support masters were designed after Wyrd
recognized the problem and compensated for it. The
Upgrades also add an element of optional complexity result was that support masters tended to end up
to the game. All too often new players are turned on one extreme or the other. Either they languished
off of Malifaux because of the complexity of the in closets as under-powered paper weights, or they
characters. However, the depth and richness of were over compensated and dominated the field.
41
Additionally, soulstones did two things to masters

that combined to create some very negative
experiences: they increased the importance of the
master exponentially, and they made the master
incredibly survivable. This lead to many top tier
games simply becoming a slow grind by trying to get
rid of the opponents soulstones. While this is a valid
tactic, attrition tends to be less fun than reliance on
tactical positioning. In Malifaux 1.5 you could tell
a good player by how she spent her soulstones, in
M2E you can tell a good player by how she positions
her models.
candy, models effectively were granted two attacks

on the charge. In fact, I remember trying to design
1.5 models which were melee oriented and, when I
gave them to the testers, they were confused why we
would ever write a melee model without extra AP:
and they were right to react that way.
Why did you change Charge? It seems too powerful

now.
Also keep in mind that nothing happens in a

vacuum. AP generating abilities have been greatly
reduced, and Charge ranges adjusted.
By simply allowing Charge to grant two attacks, we

took an ability which we had been previously forced
to hard code into every melee oriented model, and
made it a part of the basic action. Remember earlier
when I talked about the side effects of streamlining
the cards and needing more space? This is one of
This may be one of the more difficult learning them. However, it is a very positive change. It creates
curves for people coming straight from 1.5. You a much more elegant rule which accomplishes what
need to be much more careful with your master. we had already been doing for years. Sometimes
Expect your master to be a bit more vulnerable and working with hard restrictions actually gives you
position accordingly.
much better results, and this is one of them.
Most other miniatures games separate movement,

shooting, and close combat. This means that, even
if you move, it will not change how many attacks
you get (save a special rule, such as not being able
to move and shoot your mega death ray). Due to the
AP system in Malifaux, every AP you spend moving
is one you do not spend attacking.
This raised a rather large problem with the old
charge. A model could charge in and get a single
attack, but then the model that got charged would
activate and get two attacks. This gave the advantage
to the player who just stood there, and promoted
static play. When it comes to game mechanics, as a
designer, you want to be pushing the players towards
interaction, not making them avoid it.
Now, you have probably noticed by now that
Malifaux 1.5 didnt actually have this problem.
Charging was perfectly advantageous and Im sure
you did it all the time. However, thats because we
initially solved that problem by giving almost every
model which wanted to get into combat the Melee
Expert ability (or some other way to generate Melee
specific AP). Open your book (particularly book
2 since this is where we had learned our lesson)
and see how many combat models have some sort
of melee specific AP. By handing out extra AP like
42
Why did you change how encounters are set up? I

miss asymmetrical strategies, its what drew me to
Malifaux. And whats with the Scheme Pool?
We actually do still have asymmetric strategies in
the Story Encounters section, but I understand that
you are primarily concerned with the Standard
Encounters. This is one of those points I mentioned
earlier where we accomplished the same dynamic
with a different mechanic. Although the strategies
are all shared in the Standard Encounters, schemes
are worth more VP. This is important, because
schemes are inherently individual to a player. By
making schemes more important, we increase the
amount of asymmetric play.
As to why we didnt just go with asymmetric
strategies; it was due to balance. One strategy was
always going to be easier or harder, and balance is
very important. The only way to insure a balanced
experience in the encounters section is to make
sure that all players have equal access to the same
things. Because both players had equal access to the
schemes (even if they chose different ones) it was a
much more balanced way to keep asymmetric play
as an important aspect of the game.
We developed the Scheme Pool for two reasons. The

first was to force players to vary their playstyles a
little bit. We didnt want people to take the same
two schemes every single game. The most effective
way to make sure this happened (in casual play)was
to randomize the schemes. Additionally, with the
increase in the schemes VP and changes we made
to various schemes, taking unrevealed schemes
became a much more viable tactic (not on accident).
By limiting the potential schemes to five as opposed
to the full nineteen, it is possible to try to guess
which hidden scheme your opponent may have
taken.
determined, it can be repeated from game to game.

A 1.5 stat card may have had ten different actions on
it (this is just an example), but only one of them was
worth using. So, once players figured out which one,
they would use it over and over again. This created
an effective barrier to entry for new players as they
were forced to muddle through useless actions,
which did make the game more elite. I understand
some people enjoy this level of elitism, but ultimately
new players are necessary for the game.
This edition is not backwards compatible. The old

1.5 cards will not work in second edition. We will
be updating every models card to second edition.
What has not been released in the beta already will
be released in beta wave 2 starting in September or
October. When we release Colette and Kirais second
edition cards, you will see how they fit into the new
system. I think you will like them.
Many models in 1.5 had very complex stat cards that

required a specific sequence of actions to be used
every activation to be successful. However, once
that set of actions was figured out, it was repeated
every game. In second edition, we want players to
make hard choices every time they activate a model.
In many ways, Monopoly is a significantly more
complex game than Go. In Monopoly, every space
on the board has different rules. There are piles of
cards with text. Players need to understand the rules
for trading, and even need to work out percentages
on occasion. With Go, every space on the board
is the same and no two stones are different (save
color). Yet Go has significantly more tactical depth
than Monopoly, and I dont think anyone would
argue that point. Layers of rules and text do make
a game more difficult to understand, but they do
not necessarily add any interesting tactical decision
points.
In second edition, the goal is to design a model

with three or four different actions, all of which are
viable choices. This takes the skill away from the
Finally, we introduced scheme markers, which you ability to rules lawyer the best loophole, and instead
didnt ask about, but theyre a lot of fun and they places it on the ability to choose the best action for
really enhance the bluffing aspect of the game, the current circumstance (keeping in mind all three
which also helped lead to hidden schemes being or four choices are appealing). Ultimately it is much
taken more often.
more interesting to agonize between three good
actions, than to weed out the single worthwhile
How do these changes work with Colette/Kirai? action from a sea of vestigial text and use it over
Colette is very dependent on soulstones
and over again.
I dont like that you took out the complexity! Why

did you do that?
Well, most masters can have the same number of
abilities they had before if you give them upgrades.
Additionally, the game size has been increased to
accommodate you purchasing those upgrades so
youre not losing out on models when you do.
That said, there is significantly less text on second
edition stat cards than on 1.5 stat cards. However,
more text does not necessarily translate to a more
complex game; at least not more complex in a way
that improves the game. Having layers of rules,
exceptions, and loopholes does make the rules
more difficult to comprehend and the player who
can best lawyer through them has the advantage.
However, once the most advantageous path has been
43
If you are concerned with the reduced amount of

text on second edition cards, try getting the models
on the table and see how many difficult decisions
you have to make every turn. Take a step back and
ask yourself, Has the game actually lost anything?
Or am I just frustrated that my old set of actions
that I used every game might not work every time?
Am I concerned that the game has been designed

to appeal to the lowest common denominator, or
am I concerned that being able to understand the
rules is no longer an elite club? I cant answer these
questions for you, and I dont aim to; but I think
they should be asked.
With second edition, the goal has not been to
reduce complexity, but to reduce text and confusing
interactions while increasing tactical depth.
Ok, now on to the changes to my favorite master
Nope! Sorry, this article is already long
enough, and we didnt even cover all of the
core rule changes. By now I hope that I have
emphasized how changing one thing, changes
everything. Many of the changes to the models
were necessitated by the changing mechanics.
Others helped to rebalance models or bring them
more in line with their fluff. Others were just plain
cool.
Unfortunately, I couldnt possibly go over every
change to every model, but I hope that I have
emphasized the level of thought we put into
every single change, tweak, and revision. None of
this happened at random and we had amazingly
dedicated testers bending these designs every which
way for months. So, if you see a single change you
dont like or dont agree with, try to look at how it
fits into the game as a whole. Then try it out in a
game and see if you still feel the same way. And, if
you do, log on to the beta forum and let us know
about it! Thats what the public beta is for.
44
See you next time!!

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Contents

Malifaux 2nd Edition!

andres colinas (Order #10233157)

Copyright Wyrd Miniatures, LLC

Caffeine for Blood

By: Justin Gibbs

Welcome to the sixth installment of the Wyrd Chronicles!

andres colinas (Order #10233157)

Copyright Wyrd Miniatures, LLC

andres colinas (Order #10233157)

Copyright Wyrd Miniatures, LLC

By: Graeme Stevenson

jack-knifed, slumping back down to earth with all

It made a sound rather like grinding coffee as the

Copyright Wyrd Miniatures, LLC

The time is irrelevant, anyway, McMourning

Well, dont just stand there gawping, McMourning

andres colinas (Order #10233157)

Copyright Wyrd Miniatures, LLC

Afraid not, the doctor apologized. Nothing to

You mean you havent heard? Good lord, doctor,

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Captain Feckler slapped his thigh. I say, Dr.

Sebastian looked at him.

McMourning threw a long comradely arm around

It was fully dark before McMourning was willing

The uniforms were in poor condition, too. Hed

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Such slap-dash and hurried reanimation normally

guardsmen standing casually around a sentry box

McMourning hadnt had sufficient time to reattach

Well, we can help, sir, the guardsman said, resting

The doctor sidled up to his morgue assistant as the

No! McMourning snapped rather more urgently

At the far end of the courtyard, McMourning

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The doctors hope that the Captain would get bored

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Cant wait to see old Montys face when I turn up

They continued their patrol through the bowels of

I say, he said after perhaps thirty minutes. Damn

After a while, they arrived at an intersection and the

Oh yes, the doctor said. Theyre verywell

What do you think, Captain? McMourning asked,

The Captain stopped to admire the rigid zombies,

Its Brrrrrnnnn. one of them moaned as they lurched

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Make sure youve cleared up down there by

This way, I think, Feckler said, replacing his cap

Wear and tear was beginning to take its toll. Their

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By dawn, Feckler was already petitioning noisily to

But whatever ones political views, as the story

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One small detail in this otherwise marvelous boost

It was well into the afternoon before McMourning

explosion. There was a trail of body parts littering

Except he wasnt alone.

McMourning cursed Sebastian under his breath

McMourning nodded and the sword-cane vanished

McMourning stumbled. WellIer

I have one thing in common with Feckler, Lucius