Elder Mok from Descent 2E (Oath of the Outcast)

It is often said that behind every great man stands a great woman. It should be just as often stated that behind every great warrior stands a great support character. While accolades seem to be preferentially heaped upon those with the strongest arms or the thickest armor, many campaigns would have failed in their infancy if not for the gifted strategist or the skilled healer who directed the party and mended their wounds. So it is with the final Hero from the Oath of the Outcast pack, Elder Mok.

“My message is not my own. Follow my instruction or fall where you stand… You’ve been warned.”

While he is a member of the Healer archetype, Elder Mok practices his craft in some unorthodox ways. With a moderately high health value and grey dice, this Orc is able to stand toe-to-toe with most enemies as well as many Warriors. His durability is greatly enhanced by his Hero Skill, which allows him to heal or recover fatigue when nearby Heroes do the same. This power has obvious synergistic effects with the abilities of the Healer classes, but is especially powerful with the basic skill of the Prophet Class. This comes as no surprise, as Elder Mok’s backstory centers around his being exiled due to the unpopular content of his signs and portents. His powers of prognostication are also demonstrated by his Heroic Feat, which allows him to select an Overlord card to be discarded. There have been many times when a single “Dash” or “Pit-Trap” card has spelled defeat for the Heroes, so one cannot ignore the strategic value of eliminating these unknown threats.

Gifted from birth by an unknown power, Mok has always been set apart. His impressive size and intellect gave him a distinct advantage on the battlefield and in the council tent, and he became an influential leader in his tribe early. He lost much of his favor, however, when he began to spread a message of peace and reconciliation. His message was despised and rejected, and Mok was cast out, but he still brings his words to any who will listen.

The miniature for this Hero is a somewhat mixed bag. While it is definitely among the largest of the early Hero sculpts, the preponderance of ropes, wraps, and hair guaranteed that there would be many mold lines and defects to complicate cleanup. Aves Apoxie Sculpt was used in several places to fill in gaps and smooth the winding bands on his staff. Unlike the previous characters I had painted, the reference art for Elder Mok was a bit difficult to emulate. The artwork is dominated by the magical emanations of his staff, which are completely absent on the miniature. Not only does this remove a lot of the atmosphere and impact of the piece, but it also eliminates the source of the backcast purple glow which is present in most of the reference’s palette. For instance, although the skin on his face is clearly green (like the other Orcs in Descent), the heavy object source lighting creates an orangish tone which just would not make sense with the miniature. My only choice was to reduce the OSL to what would be naturally possible given the pose of the miniature.

Despite these problems, I’m still pleased with the figure overall. The texture of his robes and the lighting effects on the staff help to make a simple sculpt stand out a bit, and the character himself is rather different from the other Heroes. And thus, the first Hero and Monster pack is now complete. Next on the horizon is the small box expansion Lair of the Wyrm!

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Cloak:
The entire cloak was base coated with VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822). The major volumes were then blocked in with VMC USA Olive Drab (70.889), lightened with VMC US Olive Drab (70.887) (Yes, there is a huge difference), and highlighted with Vallejo Panzer Aces Highlight Russian Tank Crew II (70.330). These same mixes were used for the straps attaching the skull to the shaft of his weapon.

Skin:
The flesh was base coated with VMC Gunship Green (70.895). This was initially lightened with the inclusion of an equal measure of VGC Elf Skintone (72.004), and then highlighted with VGC Wolf Grey (72.047).

Hair:
The hair was base coated with VMC Black (70.950). Individual strands were picked out with a 1:1 mix of Black and VGC Wolf Grey (72.047), blended down with slightly more Black, and highlighted with slightly more Wolf Grey.

Ropes:
The ropes around his waist were blocked in with VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822). The individual strands were then picked out with BMC German Camo Orange Ochre (70.824) and highlighted with VMC Buff (70.976).

Canteen:
His gourd canteen was base coated with VMC English Uniform (70.921), shaded with the inclusion of VMC German Camo Black Brown (70.822), and then highlighted with VMC Japan Uniform WWII (70.923). The leather bands were base coated with German Camo Black Brown, then picked out with a 1:1:1 mix of German Camo Black Brown, VMC Orange Brown (70.981), and VMC Wood Grain (70.828). This mix was lightened with additional Orange Brown followed by highlights with pure Orange Brown.

Drum:
The wooden areas of the drum were base coated with VMC Flat Earth (70.983), with the grain being lightened with mixes of Flat Earth and VMC Dark Sand (70.847), and highlighted with pure Dark Sand. A wash of VMC Smoke was then applied, followed by selective reapplication of the previous tones.
The skins of the drum were base coated with VMC Khaki (70.988), lightened with mixes of Khaki and VGC Bonewhite (72.034), then highlighted with pure Bonewhite. The purple designs were blocked in with a 1:1 mix of Bonewhite and Vallejo Fantasy Pro Violet Vamp (74.030). The darker spots were blocked in with pure Violet Vamp, dotted with the base mix, then toned down with a glaze of Bonewhite. Some scratches and edging were done with a 2:1 mix of Bonewhite and Violet Vamp.

Bones:
The staff and skull were base coated with VMC Khaki (70.988), lightened with mixes of Khaki and VGC Bonewhite (72.034), followed by pure Bonewhite. This was further lightened with the inclusion of VMC Ivory (70.918), and highlighted with pure Ivory.

Magical Glow:
The glowing orb within the skull’s mouth was blocked in with Schmincke Titanium White, which was left pure in the brightest spot. VMC Pink (70.958) was then glazed from that bright center outwards, being the most opaque around the edges where the ball meets the bones. These areas were then “darkened” further with the inclusion of Vallejo Fantasy Pro Witch Purple (74.028) followed by VFP Purple Hex (74.026). A slight object source lighting was applied to surrounding areas by mixing the Pink and Witch Purple into the basic tones of each area: VGC Bonewhite (72.034) for the bones and VMC US Olive Drab (70.887) for the wraps.
The same technique was used to paint his eyes, with VMC Gunship Green (70.895) being mixed with the Pink to create the OSL.