Grenadier: Cleric

This is the Cleric from the Grenadier Wizards Box Set 2001. (The box insert showing what each mini is in the set was changed several times throughout the time this box set was sold new. Each update of the insert altered the names of some of the minis. The mini called “illusionist” in one insert might be called “necromancer” in another. So what they are called shouldn’t be taken seriously, as it wasn’t by Grenadier at the time. Would be nice to know what the sculptors thought they were making when they sculpted the originals!)

Clerics, in D&D, don’t usually get familiars, the way wizards do. So this guy must be special. The snake is clearly a cobra, given its flared out neck.

I painted him in the manner of a Catholic Cardinal. His beanie and robes fit that theme to a T, I think. I think a priest with at pet cobra is a bit on-the-nose in the priest-as-predator way.

Grenadier Action Art: Drider and Evil/Lawful Cleric

In D&D, dark elves (also called Drow) are evil, live miles beneath the surface of the earth, and worship Lolth, the demon queen of spiders. Those who displease Lolth she transforms into half-Drow/half-spiders. Thus the Drider. This unfortunate Drow was apparently merged with a tarantula for his offenses. I’ll spring him and his buddies on my group if I ever get to run them through the DQ portions of the GDQ series; Descent Into the Depths of the Earth, Vault of the Drow, and Queen of the Demonweb Pits.

He was missing his original right hand and crossbow, so my friend Mike (Mikemonaco.com) helped me find a replacement.

This cleric has some unusual styling. The helm and shield in particular, along with the bedsheet-like robe he is wearing over his mail armor. The wands and staffs of many of these early minis often didn’t have any particular design or motif, just weird lumps and twists, such as this one.

Zaccahrius, the Conniving Cleric

This Ral Partha mini is from around 1992.  It was part of the Barkan Seesholtz collection. I replaced the base with one I molded from green stuff. The mold was from a pack of bases, I can’t remember the brand to give them credit.

I wanted the runes on the floor to be glowing, but could not pull it off and just didn’t have the patience to try again after the first failure. Perhaps I’m a quitter, but I just had to get this guy off my table.

I like that I made him an older guy.  I could have accented his face a little more, but I like the pasty white flesh and white hair.

Communing Cleric

I remember this mini from when I was very young. I played D&D with my brother and his high school friends (I would have been about 10-12).   One of his friends had the Grenadier Specialists box set of minis. This cleric always caught my eye. It has an unusual pose, a snapshot of a warrior priest at a penitent moment. I always thought it was a female until a couple months ago when I was inherited the Specialists box set from a dear friend.

I used this as an opportunity to work on my NMM (Non-Metallic Metals) skills. I’m pretty happy with the breastplate. I’m ok with the helm and holy talisman, though I acknowledge that they could both be better.

Because I’m colorblind, the red robes were the most frustrating part. I knew how the colors ought to be mixed, and where they should be placed as I was layering them on. But because there isn’t any significant distinction between the red shades for me, I had no idea if I was getting them in the right places. I had no idea if I was glopping anything where it shouldn’t go, etc.

I wanted to keep the focus on the gold breastplate, so made a very simple base; a dark stone slab with edge highlighting as if to indicate the cleric’s space was holy or hallowed.