Aeon Trespass: Odyssey (ATO) by Lawnor

Here we go.  The final game piece from Wave 1.  Wave 2 is due later this year, but we all know kickstarters always suffer delays.  I think that’s 31 models and 12 plug and play parts finished.  I’m leaving Helios unpainted for now.  He has no in game use and is just an extra for painting.  They suggest using him as a first player token, but he’s way too tall and would get knocked over every time someone reaches across the table.  Plus, I don’t want someone constantly handling my paintwork.  It’ll chip and wear off quickly.  I’ve got models that need painting before they can be built and put on the table.  I’ll come back to Helios once they’re done, or if Helios gains some rules.

Purple Flesh
This scheme is looted and modified from Vallejo’s Non-Death Chaos set.  For some reason, theirs looks blue even though it’s painted using purple paints.  I swear they cheat.
Zenithal Preshade
Wash 2:1 VMC 72.048 Sombre Grey: VMC 72.016 Royal Purple (My zenithal blacks were too dominant, so I ended up applying something thicker than a wash to cover this up, and probably 2-3 coats.  Ideally, you want a smooth black to white transition before you begin, and then use a very thin wash over it to tint it.  I learned from doing this on the Harpy and applied a smoother zenithal prime, but I still didn’t thin my wash down far enough.  I’ll have to look for a smaller model to really experiment with this later, when I’m not pushing to Get Stuff Done.
Shade with Royal Purple
Highlight with base
Highlight with base with increasing amounts of VMC72.003 Pale Flesh

Feathers
Base with a single coat of thinned P3 Umbral Umber and mixing medium (Almost a wash this time.  Thinner than on earlier models) over a zenithal prime. I could see lots of the white showing through, but it was tinted brown.
Wash with Vallejo Black Ink thinned about 2:6 with Instar Water+. It’s like water, but better. Don’t ask me how. All I know is everyone swears they won’t go back to water after. Using water in a wash can lead to tide marks and I wanted to avoid that.
Drybrush with P3 Frostbite, and then selectively with White.
Mix up 2:3 glazes of  P3 Turquoise Ink and Water+, and Vallejo Violet Ink and Water+, keeping you 2:6 Black Ink mix to hand
Glaze on the colours where appropriate, allowing them to mix a little where they meet.  Apply another coat of the black ink wash anywhere not getting colour, again allowing transitions to blend.

Tentacles
Tentacle Flesh:
Base: P3 Troolblood Highlight, P3 Ryn Flesh & P3 Carnal Pink
Wash: Base +Traitor Green
Wash: Above+ Beaten Purple
Highlight: Ryn Flesh, Carnal Pink, and P3Menoth White Highlight

Blue Suckers: 
Base: VMC 70.866 Turquoise
Highlight middle with VMC 70.808 Blue Green
Highlight middle by adding more and more Reaper 09150 Bloodless Skin or any other off-white to the Blue Green

Teeth
Based with P3 Menoth White Base
Washed with GW Agrax Earthshade
Reclaimed with P3 Menoth White Base
Highlighted with P3 Menoth White Highlight

Human Flesh
Based with P3 Midlund Flesh
Highlighted with P3 Ryn Flesh

White Cloth
Base with Reaper 09149 Mouldy Skin
Highlight with P3 Morrow White (Or any pure white)
Wash with Reaper Mouldy Skin

Grey Stone
Base: VMC 70.869  Basalt Grey Airbrushed on for transition.  Do after flesh base colour but before detail so you can fix unwanted overspray
Drybrush: P3 Jack Bone, maybe even P3 Menoth White Base
Wash: GW Nuln Oil
Revisit drybrushing if desired

I deliberately did not paint the eyes.  I don’t think it has any we can see.  I suspect the human and animal parts are not real.  Some animals have fake eyes and faces on the decoration to scare off predators or distract prey.  I think that’s what’s going on here (I’ve not read it’s lore).  I think prey is supposed to be too busy making eye contact with one of those purple faces to not notice the lower wings and tentacles opening up to reveal a face with an octopus beak, or rows and rows of teeth that the tentacles lash out and pull you towards.

Once again, this guy comes with plug and play platforms.  See pics below bot with and without them.

The last 4 pics in the gallery show him with the modular parts detached, with the platforms on and some MCP models using them (They were the only models nearby), the art from his stat card (All darkness and shadows.  Moody and cool, but not super helpful for working out what’s what, or suggesting what colour anything is supposed to be), and a pic of a painted piece I think I got from their Facebook page?

ATO is returning to Kickstarter on 16th May 2023 for a second printing, if anyone is interested:

Just a reminder! Aeon Trespass: Odyssey returns to crowdfunding May 16th 2023! Mark your calendars! The campaign will encompass a second printing of the Core Game, its Expansions, all original add-ons, and much more!

There will be new add-ons (Obol dice for card haters ;p), as well as new gameplay content. As mentioned above, there are no major rules revisions planned, there is not much to fix or re-balance! We’ve made a hell of a robust game! If nothing changes, the few errata-ed game components will be simply offered to the original backers for free or bundled with something fun!

My plan is to play through the Prelude intro module over the 4 day Easter weekend so I can work out if I want to throw more money at this before the KS goes live, and decide if I want extra dice and perhaps the luxury tiles.  I need to finish the final 6 missions from Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion first.  Gonna try for that this weekend now I’m all done with this and it’s not freezing in my games room anymore (stupid winter, stupid UK government, and stupid corporate greed!)  There will be another KS later on for the Expandalone, ATO: The Twelve Sins of Herakles.

If you want to follow them on KS so you get notifications of these projects, the link is HERE.

I’ll be back on this project after Easter with some group shots of the minis, pics of the game in use, and my opinions on the Prelude module and the game.  I don’t plan on getting deep in to the game until Wave 2 is at least on the boats.  I don’t want to have months, perhaps years between cycles 3 and 4 as I’ll “lose my place” in the story, and forget how things work.  I also suspect there might be some elements yet to arrive that can be accessed during Cycles 1-3.  I wonder if this will be a game I’ll only want to play through once as it’s so narratively led so I may as well make sure I have all my content available so it’s not missed or wasted.  I do want to go back and play more Kingdom Death campaigns, but that’s far more sandboxy so it’s a different exprience.