Miniature Monday: Vine Time!

Miniature Monday kicks off our 3DRPG week with some spooky Shadow Hands (and twisting vines) by Loot Studios. DM Ben has plans for these home-grown minis and thinks these grabby enemies deserve a spot in your printing queue!

For our regular readers, you know the gist. Our adventuring party is hot on the trail of the abducting Witch of Waterdeep. The game group has battled deep into The High Forest (where few have ever returned) and is now on her doorstep! Our necrotic Night Hag is throwing everything but the mimic kitchen sink to slow them down, but it looks like the big boss showdown is finally upon us!

DM Ben wants to overwhelm the party to ultimately reveal a big plot twist once the dust from the battle settles. That’s why he printed and painted these cool Shadow Hands miniatures from Loot Studios. These spooky shapeshifters are from the Curse of Torpor set. We think the vines are also from Loot Studios, but we just couldn’t confirm them in a timely manner.

Novice Painter DM Ben colored these resin prints himself using Army Painter Speedpaint and Fanatic paints. We are also really into clear bases, and these will be great on our earthy play mats and terrain. Colors were easy: Dark Wood Speedpaint layer, a Forest Sprite drybrush for the plants, and Fanatic Mocca Skin blended for the hands. Using the Arm’s Length rule, we’re thrilled with the final results. 😉

The goal is to overwhelm the players and knock them unconscious (unbeknownst to them) so they can be taken prisoner. After all, our Night Hag will never say no to new experimentation “volunteers.” Our players were able to sneak in a recent long rest, but DM Ben thinks he still has enough monster battle areas within her woodland cabin’s compound to wear them down. Sometimes, we don’t know how the dice will fall, so we like to do extra prep to extend critical plot hooks as needed (without it looking like things were made up on the fly).

These vine minis will be used for any battles taking place outside. And then our creepy Shadow Hands will arise from the darkness and come to her aid for any close combat confrontations. Our players will only learn after the fact that they probably underestimated our innocent old lady’s defenses and had no idea what a powerful villain she has become.

Regarding stats, we will use the DnD 5e Twig Blight numbers: AC 12, 26 HP, Att +4/2d6+2). The DnD 5e Shadow fits our eery bodyguard: AC 12, 32 HP, Multi-Att x3 +4/2d6+2), but we doubled the HP for our fourth level party of six. The Shadow’s damage resistances and strength drain will be the combat zingers, though.

DM Ben has a great opening description in mind here: The fallen souls of the captured kiddos will initially briefly rise above the ground and then transform into ferocious attacking hands (to get the party to join their collective). Scary stuff, right?!

Until next time!