Hrudinn

Roberto Chaudon, the amazing sculptor who works faster than many other fast things, has finished Hrudinn very early indeed! This means we can show you finished images of the mighty raven-giant for the Norse...

Of course, if you were unsure about the concept (and many of you were) you can now see the miniature in all its glory, finished and ready to go, six months early - and thus if the miniature has changed your mind, feel free to get hold of him as he'll still be available until the Norse ship!

Here's a scale shot, too, next to Galhwch Lladd Llaw the Pendyndraig, who is not small either (a human is roughly half his size):

Mneriiss, Harbinger of Khthon

Stéphane Simon's been beavering away on the first of the new Gorgonares, namely the musician - Mneriiis, Harbinger of Khthon! He's got a right grumpy expression!

The QuickStarter Rules

Unfortunately, there will be a further delay with the QuickStarter Rules. It is likely that the rules will not be downloadable until later on in June, perhaps even early July.

The reasons for this are quite simple - I'm not satisfied with a few aspects at the moment and a few other bits and pieces need nailing down. The meat (bulk?) of the rules are absolutely nailed down, it's just a few niggles that are niggling at me. Any changes made at the moment also alter profiles so they need revising, which is not a quick process.

Simply put, I don't want to unveil the rules until I'm ready; I am determined not to rush for the sake of it, because I really want these rules to work well... and also because I'm a perfectionist! Well, most of the time.

As well as that, next week I am on holiday (thanks to the school holidays being next week, so it's the only opportunity for me to take the kids away until August) and thus I don't want to be fretting about how the rules are being received whilst trying to relax!

So, guys and girls, whilst I know this is not ideal and you all want a go at Darklands, the best way to look at this is that when you receive the rules - I'm aiming for them to ship when the Angelcynn ship - you will have a better game system to play than you would if I unveiled them to you now. As well as that, it gives you time to get some miniatures assembled and perhaps even painted!

It may be that I can show you all a few snippets of the rules when I get back, we shall see, but for now - watch this space. It's annoying because I really want you all to get playing, but hey ho...

Shipping Update

We're shipping everything out as fast as we possibly can guys - some of you have already got your orders - but again, PLEASE be patient. We're getting there, based on the way we stated previously in date order, and we WILL get to your order soon if it hasn't been shipped yet.

Whilst I am on holiday

While I'm holiday, please direct any questions to Tim of course, but PLEASE bear in mind that he is up to his eyeballs in rubber and resin at the moment and he will only have so much time in a day to answer questions. He'll pop onto the Kickstarter comments page every day, but please don't worry if e-mails or questions aren't answered immediately.

Also, please bear in mind that it's me that does the website stuff and so any changes to orders, refunds or technical things will just have to wait until I get back (June 2nd). I'm still contactable during the week - I'm holidaying in the UK - but my kids need me more than you lot next week I'm afraid ;o)

Until then my friends, enjoy your Mierce Miniatures and spread the word!

Well guys and gals, we're shipping the first starter sets today - Brythoniaid Dyndraig, Fomoraic Tarvax and Ysian Ax-Drune, so watch out for the postman knocking on your door!

Remember, though, that now that they're being shipped we're going to stop you ordering those sets - as well as any associated miniatures and any other miniature that isn't a part of a forthcoming starter set - from Monday the 20th of May onwards on the Kickstarter category on our website.

What that means is that, if you want any of the existing miniatures from kindreds without a starter set (such as Krull or Ulmons) or want stuff from the forthcoming Brythoniaid/Albainn Fomoraic and Ysian/Vras miniatures at Kickstarter prices, you've got until midnight (GMT) tonight, Monday the 20th of May to order them!

Order any further Brythoniaid, Tarvax and Ax-Drunes miniatures now - because after today, you'll only be able to get them at RRP!

(Whilst the Srónax and Brute starter sets are not going to be shipped until later, we're still only giving you until the 20th of May to order them).

Angelcynn, Khthones and Norse miniatures will still be available at Kickstarter prices until the first day they are shipped.

Patience Please!

There is also a serious point to be made here - whilst we'll be sending the first orders today, PLEASE be patient. There is absolutely no point in asking us exactly when your orders will be sent, because we actually don't know off hand and to find out simply ensures packages are shipped later than necessary.

All we can say is - your orders will be sent soon, we'll get to them when we get to them, and keep watching your "My Orders" page!

Confirmation E-mails and Shipping E-mails

Please note, also, that we're having a little trouble with our e-mail handler right now. This will take time to investigate and fix, so please don't worry if you're not getting any. Again, check your My Orders page!

I think we can say safely that Jacques-Alexandre Gillois' work on Penda the Bloody-Handed is everything it promised to be. There aren't many words to describe such superlative sculpting, so here's some images instead...

Oh yes, and here's a lovely WIP shot of a very early Penda next to Kraan. He's not large, which means the detail you see here is nothing short of amazing!

Starter Set Ordering

As we've stated previously, we're shipping the first starter sets - Brythoniaid Dyndraig, Fomoraic Tarvax and Ysian Ax-Drune - next week! Which is nice.

However, now that they're being shipped we're going to stop you ordering those sets - as well as any associated miniatures and any other miniature that isn't a part of a forthcoming starter set - from Monday the 20th of May onwards on the Kickstarter category on our website.

What that means is that, if you want any of the existing miniatures from kindreds without a starter set (such as Krull or Ulmons) or want stuff from the forthcoming Brythoniaid/Albainn Fomoraic and Ysian/Vras miniatures at Kickstarter prices, you've got until Monday to order them!

(Whilst the Srónax and Brute starter sets are not going to be shipped until later, we're still only giving you until the 20th of May to order them).

Angelcynn, Khthones and Norse miniatures will still be available at Kickstarter prices until the first day they are shipped.

So if you want more stuff - get ordering this weekend, people!

Right then guys, it's time to update you all on our progress!

Shipping Dates

Firstly, shipping dates. There will be delays for certain starter sets I'm afraid, and for this we can only apologise and humbly ask for your forgiveness.

The simple reason for these delays is that there are only so many hours in a day; we are all working overtime to get several thousand miniatures cast up, cleaned and packed, and have been doing so for months. We're just incredibly busy and we hope that you all understand this. We're aware this is a disappointment for some, but we do ask you to be patient here - we're going just as fast as we can.

A run down on each starter set's shipping dates are shown below.

Brythoniaid Dyndraig, Fomoraic Tarvax and Ysian Ax-Drune first

We'll still be shipping some starter sets on Monday the 20th of May, however - the Brythoniaid Dyndraig, Fomoraic Tarvax and Ysian Ax-Drune sets - and shipments will continue throughout that week and no doubt the week after, as it is simply physically impossible for us to pack and ship everything on the 20th. For one thing, it wouldn't all fit on the mail van!

Note here that we'll be shipping everything on an earlier date basis - i.e., the backers that completed their Kickstarter pledge the earliest on our webstore will have their orders shipped first.

Fomoraic Srónax, Ysian Brute and Norse Troll in June

We provisionally aim to start shipping the Fomoraic Srónax and Ysian Brute starter sets on the 3rd of June, with the Norse Troll starter sets provisionally starting to ship on the 17th of June. This also enables us to ship Gríminn and possibly Hrudinn (see below) with the Norse sets, far earlier than was stated on the Kickstarter project.

Angelcynn Duguth in July

Angelcynn starter sets should be shipped in July, possibly earlier, although this does depend on when we receive Penda the Bloody-Handed on foot.

However, we will have Cynemon and Ceonwulf ready in time for the Angelcynn Starter Sets - here's some piccies of Wulfhere and Ceonwulf too, both sculpted by James van Schaik!

Khthones Gorgon in September

We do not anticipate any delays on this starter set. Stéphane Simon has already started the first Gorgonar - Mneriiss, Harbinger of Khthon - and Stéphane NGuyen has begun work on Ssibyros. I'm afraid Thomas David is unavailable to sculpt Ssibyros in time, but Stéphane NGuyen is more than capable of taking on the Gorgonarchon - his work on Hirakoth, if you haven't seen it, is stunning!

Torku, Bone-Aberrant

Speaking of Stéphane, we only received Torku last week and thus she will just not be ready in time to ship with either of the Ysian starter sets and it's probable she'll be sent in July (combined with other shipments where possible). Remember here that Torku was originally slated for a December release!

Stéphane NGuyen's work on Torku is absolutely amazing - she is, in our opinion, a superb sculpt with an incredible amount of detail and far better than the pictures of her suggest - and he's even managed to ensure her breasts are an extra component so that she will look great with or without them. (We prefer her with them, of course). It's worth stating here, too, that you're getting a fantastic deal with Torku, because she's far bigger than we originally envisaged and it's likely she'll be £50.00 RRP in the end - she sits on a 100mm base and is the same size as Ulmons! So if you do want to take advantage of this fantastic deal, please ensure you buy her now.

Other Miniatures

The other miniatures we have offered for this Kickstarter project will simply be shipped when we have stated, unless we have them earlier and they can be shipped together with something else. As always we will keep you updated and informed all the way down the line.

Beowa, Once-Thegn of Beornica (both forms) will be shipped with each starter set as promised, please note.

Just to confirm, Aradae Mawr will be shipped with the Brythoniaid starter sets.

Dice and Tokens

These will be shipped with each starter set as promised.

Hrudinn, Valhrafn

Roberto has begun work on Hrudinn, and as you can see, he's going to be awesome... and very large!

QuickStarter Rules

Finally, a word on the QuickStarter Rules. I'm afraid they simply won't be ready in print form on time; there are many reasons for this but as we try to be professional we won't state them here, in (web) print...!

However, the QuickStarter Rules should be available to download - in PDF form - by the 25th of May. We're delaying the download until then so that a) people can try the rules out when they receive their miniatures and not before and b) so that we can do a little extra playtesting with certain warriors, which never hurts.

Kindred Musters

As we've mentioned previously, the rules are separate to the kindred musters (showing individual warrior profiles), which were always going to be download only as a rulebook with the musters would be rather too fat for its own good.

Note that the kindred musters will be downloadable in starter set shipment order. In other words, on the 25th of May we'll be releasing the Brythoniaid/Albainn muster, the Fomoraic muster and the Ysian/Vras musters in full (along with Beowa and Urbad's profiles). Each muster will include profiles for every single warrior available to that kindred.

There are reasons for releasing the musters in a staggered manner, not the least of which is that we can playtest the later ones a little more, but mainly it's so that people play with the miniatures they have and not proxies. Darklands is much better with the right miniatures on the battlefield!

Musters for those kindreds that do not have a starter set, such as the Infernii, will be released in full in June.

It's Alive!

Please note, too, that the QuickStarter Rules (in PDF form) will be a "Living Rulebook" (as will the kindred musters) which will change as both our playtesting and your play experiences inform us. At the end of the day, there's only so many battles we can play ourselves - we have miniatures to produce too! - so this will be a crucial part of the eventual full rules.

These "living rules" will be updated as and when something needs changing. Effectively, you will be playtesting a form of the full rules, and ONLY you - we will have a playtest forum on our forums within which ONLY those that have taken part in this Kickstarter will be allowed to comment.

When the printed rules are available, which should be some time in June, we'll send them in a separate package although we'll try to combine them with other shipments where possible.

It's time for another WIP update people - the long-awaited first shots of Penda on foot, and Beowa in bear form, finished!

Penda the Bloody-Handed on foot

JAG's work, even at this early stage, is absolutely beautiful; it speaks for itself, really...

We're really excited about Penda - especially because of the sublime talent that is Jacques-Alexandre Gillois is sculpting him - and we can't wait to get our hairy hands on him!

Beowa, Once-Thegn of Beornica

Something we do have in our hairy hands is Beowa, in man form at least! Unfortunately, Benoît couldn't complete Beowa in bear form on time, so instead of pushing delivery dates back the awesome Stéphane Simon stepped in to finish him off, as it were. We couldn't be happier though, because Stéphane's done a superb job!

Firstly, here's the final shot of Benoît's man form Beowa:

Here's Stéphane's Beowa in bear form:

The "cut" shot is Beowa complete, of course, and you'll note a couple of changes from the WIP (namely his right hand and a couple of other issues).

Here's how big he is next to Beowa in human form:

We had some worries about how small his axe and pauldron would look in bear form, as both are simply taken from a cast of the human form and included with the bear form, but those worries have proved unfounded; one of the issues with any shapeshifter is what happens to his clothes and accoutrements after he's changed, but we reckon Beowa's turned out superbly.

A Word on... well, Words

The observant amongst you (hopefully all of you!) will have noticed that Beowa's title is slightly different. He's now "Once-Thegn of Beornica" and not "Once-Thegn of Northumbera". As is often the case, a little niggle in the head ensures that eventually, after a bit of research, you realise that a title's not quite right, and this has happened with Beowa.

Originally we called him "Once-Thegn of Northumbera", a play on "Northumber" (the land north of the River Humber) and "bera" (later Old English for bear). However, the names for both Northumbraland (the Christian realm) and Northumbera (the pagan realm) could be quite confusing and the land north of the Humber was only called such by the Christians; so we looked into what those realms were called previous to Northumbraland, namely Bernicia and Deira.

It just so happens that Bernicia was originally Beornica, and beorn is an old, old word for bear - it's a direct cognate of the still-used Norse word for bear, bjorn - that developed into "man", "hero" or "lord" eventually (remember Beorn from the Lord of the Rings, too). Thus, Beornica fits perfectly for those pagan dudes from the north. Deira, the other northern kingdom, which is now Yorkshire, comes from Déora... deer. I wonder what we could do with that... ;o)

That might be a bit boring for some but it's a perfect example of how the names within Darklands are arrived at and, of course, how much history there is underneath words - and how they can be stretched to fit Darklands. I'm constantly amazed by it, to be honest...!

As an aside, just last week Tim and I were at the Greendale Oak, a pub a couple of miles from us here at Mierce in Cuckney, that is next door to the flattened Cuckney Castle (now part of the grounds of Cuckney Church) - where around 300 bodies are buried in a mass grave that were found when the church grounds were being renovated in the fifties. Hatfield (Heathfield) is a place nearby, where the battle of Hatfield Chase was fought, and where it is believed King Edwin of Northumbria was killed by Penda and Cadwallon of Gwynedd. Edwinstowe - "Edwin's Resting Place" is a village nearby and where King Edwin's body was stored in secret before being taken back to Northumberland.

It's an amazing world, really.

Torku

Torku's done, also! Check out Stéphane Nguyen's final piccy:

Gotta love the boobies...