Finally got around to finish paining the survivors.

Hi guys ! After too long of a time I finally finished the 3d board and phoenix. There you go :)

Finally wrapped up this miniature project. Huge thanks to my client for being incredibly patient and letting me work at my own pace. Really appreciate the trust and support. I hope you all enjoy the photos and the final result.

Added Red Withes to our GCE campaign and its going well so far. Had one survivor go into the fight with no armor since theu our Fist n Tooth lucky expert build. Wonder who it is?

Hey everyone! You might have seen some of my previous posts sharing our Kingdom Death: Monster campaign progress, along with some pretty photos of my painted minis. Today, I wanted to take a step back and share the story of how KDM completely reshaped my 23-year hobby journey and pushed me to start creating my own physical music project specifically for our game sessions.

1. A Lonely Hobby in the Middle of Nowhere

I am 30 years old, and I’ve been in the miniature hobby since I was about 7 or 8, when my uncle gifted me my very first set. I live in a town where wargames and tabletop hobbies are still virtually unknown. Growing up, I was heavily obsessed with cinema and filmmaking. In the early days, I didn't even paint—instead, I tried making stop-motion videos with unpainted miniatures. Needless to say, they looked terrible!

My very first paint job was a cheap local kit. My mother, who is into classical painting, painted it for me using oil paints directly onto the bare plastic without a primer. It took ages to dry, and the paint flaked off within days. Later, when the internet finally arrived in my home, I stumbled upon a few basic articles on painting. Equipped with hardware-store primer and industrial paint markers with metal mixing balls inside, I would crack the markers open and literally smear the paint onto the minis.

By age 12, I discovered Warhammer. Looking back, it’s crazy how cheap it used to be! However, since I could never find an opponent (and the rules felt overwhelmingly complex), I just kept painting, building terrain, and fantasizing about how cool it would be to actually play. I kept this loop going until I was 18. After that, I played a few local wargames with random people. Over time, I developed my own specific hobby culture: custom terrain, fully painted armies, and an absolute obsession with atmosphere. Today, I have my own house, an extensive collection of custom terrain, a dedicated game room with multiple tables, and experience in countless commercial and indie wargames. Ironically, I never truly got into Warhammer—it just kind of pushed me away.

2. Discovering KDM and Waiting for the "Stars to Align"

A couple of years after the first KDM Kickstarter, I stumbled upon the game. Back then, I was making very little money, so I had to make do with looking at cheap recasts. But I quickly realized that money wasn't the only obstacle. I simply didn't have the painting skills required to paint these gorgeous miniatures in a way that would make me proud. So, I shelved the idea until the stars aligned: until I had both the disposable income and the painting maturity.

I've been with my girlfriend since I was 20, and she has shared all of my hobbies to this day, including KDM. As my 30th birthday approached, we decided I was finally ready. We are doing well financially now, and while my painting isn't top-tier Golden Demon level, it has gained recognition (the developers of Eldfall Chronicles even used photos of my painted minis for their official website!). For a long time, I was deeply into the gritty Blanchetsu style, but games like Warcrow and Eldfall Chronicles forced me to learn cleaner techniques, true NMM, and OSL. Despite my decades in the hobby, I've only been painting NMM and OSL for a little over a year.

We ended up buying a pristine 1.5 Core Box. It was available locally, cost half the price of a new 1.6, and the components were completely untouched (I bought the 1.6 cards set right away). Before the box even arrived, I 3D-printed and painted every single piece of terrain needed for the core game. I tried printing the showdown board too, but burnt out and bought a neoprene mat instead (best decision ever).

With the first miniatures painted, I realized I wanted absolute, uncompromising immersion. I had always chased deep narrative and atmosphere in wargames by writing extensive house rules, but it never felt right. I didn't want to transition into TTRPGs either; playing RPGs with just two people isn't as fun, and I refuse to play online. I am a 100% analog guy—I need the visuals, the weight of the components, and the tactile feel.

We played our prologue lantern year on my 30th birthday. We made a ton of rules mistakes... but it felt like being struck by lightning. I realized right then and there that I don't need other wargames anymore (which is great, because I won't have any money left for them anyway, haha!).

3. Stripping the Collection and Chasing the Atmosphere

Following that revelation, I made a radical choice: I sold off almost all of my other wargaming armies and warbands. That money went straight into funding several major KDM expansions, including the recent Screaming God. However, we won't touch those until we've fully experienced the core box.

Because we both work long hours, we only play once a week. This schedule is actually perfect because it lets us stretch out the experience and savor the world. I only paint miniatures as they are about to appear in the campaign. KDM provides a strict monster schedule in the campaign log, so I usually start prepping and painting a new monster a week or two before we are scheduled to fight it.

After the prologue, I wanted to push the atmosphere even further. We started burning iron-and-ash scented incense and putting on thematic background music. But standard playlists quickly ended, or the algorithms would transition into songs that completely ruined the mood on the table.

Musically, I am a massive fan of Dungeon Synth and Nu-Metal (yes, quite a combination!). However, my only actual musical experience was playing the guitar. One day, I saw a documentary about the custom "horror sound machines" used by Hollywood sound designers, and I looked into Akira Yamaoka's work on Silent Hill (love this game whole life). I reached out to a musician friend for some basic advice on equipment, and that was enough to spark the fire. I am the kind of guy who doesn't watch video tutorials or guides—I love learning by doing, purely by intuition. Sometimes I do it wrong, sometimes I overcomplicate it, but I enjoy the raw process of figure out how things work—whether it’s KDM strategy, mini painting, or music production.

4. Building the "Coffin" and the Cassette Deal

I built my first small, makeshift acoustic noisebox, hooked it up to two pedals (a Zoom MS-70CDR and a cheap Chinese looper pedal), and we used it for a couple of games. The immersion was unbelievable. A week later, I went all in: I built a massive wooden "coffin" sound box, stretched heavy guitar strings and springs across it, bought a Korg Volca Keys synth, and a friend gifted me a horsehair-free bow.

I started recording and mixing dark ambient sound loops specifically designed to play infinitely without becoming annoying or repetitive, tailored to the specific phases of the game (the Settlement, the Hunt, and the Showdown).

To keep the project as analog as possible, I barely use a computer. The PC is strictly used to duplicate the finished sound loops so they can run endlessly. Every single bit of sound design, tone shaping, and effects processing is done directly on the physical hardware during the actual recording of the audio snippet. There are no software plugins or digital post-processing fixes here.

It worked beautifully. At the very least, we love it. There is definitely room to grow, and I already have massive plans to expand the setup, add new sound textures, and push the project further. But the craziest part? A local underground music label heard my tracks and reached out to me. After just two months of diving into this musical hobby, they offered me a physical cassette release deal! Receiving that kind of praise and motivation from an actual label was completely unexpected and deeply encouraging.

KDM is more than just a board game to us now; it has become the ultimate catalyst for everything I love about the creative hobby. I just wanted to share this journey with people who love this game as much as we do.

If you want to check out the gritty, anxious ambient tracks we use for our campaign, you can listen to my project Lanternborn here:

👉 Bandcamp: lanternborn.bandcamp.com/

Thanks for reading!

Took a break from commissions to paint up the female Deathking Armor model from Kingdom Death Monster! Trying to get better at NMM which was especially tricky when trying to keep the armor plates dark. Left the base blank for now because I realized I need basing bits that better fit the unique vibe of KDM; mud, grass and rocks don't feel right for this model. This is for my wife's endgame character in our People of the Dream Keeper campaign, Rem Chan lol. She actually hits like a truck and if she dies before we get to the finale, we might be cooked.

If you like what you see, feel free to check out my other minis!
https://www.instagram.com/bryce\_davila\_miniatures?igsh=a3pkZDU4Y3l0cHVz&igsi=a3pkZDU4Y3l0cHVz&utm\_source=qr

Its bigger than my photo setup.

https://thebaselair.com/projects/115738-dragon-king-kdm

My take on a classic KDM piece. Still a lot to learn. I went with a fairly non traditional color scheme just to try something different. all in all was very fun to paint!

Kingdom Death: Monster — Lantern Year 8

Before the inevitable and terrifying encounter with the Kingsman, we decided to go on one last hunt for a Level 1 Screaming Antelope. The goal was simple: stock up on resources to the brim and level up as much as possible.

Expedition Roster and Gear:

• Belle: Full White Lion Armor Set, two Beast Knuckles (crafted from Antelope bones), a Bone Dagger to complete the combo for +1 Movement, and Dried Acanthus.
• Wise: Rawhide Armor Set, King's Spear, Dried Acanthus, and Boss Mehndi.
• Millicent: Rawhide Armor Set, King's Spear (as a backup in case her main weapon breaks), Bone Axe, and a Frenzy Drink.
• Corin: Catgut Bow, Claw Arrow, a mix of Rawhide and White Lion armor pieces, a Skull Helm, and a Cat Eye Circlet.

Hunt Phase

The very first hunt event was a herd migration, which boldly pushed our prey a couple of spaces further away. But we weren't upset! We absolutely love the Hunt Phase in KDM with its atmosphere of uncertainty and constant choices—it feels like a real, dangerous journey, so we were more than happy to linger here a bit longer.

After that, events started pouring in like a waterfall:

1. The Statue: Millicent touched it and... turned to stone. However, the statue itself came to life, turning into a human! This newcomer specializes in Grand Weapons, and overall, he suits us perfectly. Well, except for his disorders: Binge Eating and Anxiety (literally me in real life). We named the poor guy Cayman. Only later did it hit me that we already have a survivor named Keiran. Apparently, Cayman is his brother or some detached fragment of insanity, because otherwise, what happened next is impossible to explain.
2. Mysterious Forge: A place where a lucky d10 roll could yield the legendary Muramasa. Corin was the first to try her luck. The result: +1 Courage and an arm that was nearly ripped off. Dried Acanthus saved the day (hopefully we played that right according to the rules).
3. Clumsy Cayman: Our rookie lagged behind the group, slipped, and went tumbling down a slope. The game then offered outcomes based on whether the character has Binge Eating and Anxiety. And he happened to have both! We were completely stunned by such a coincidence. In the end, Cayman found and ate a cockroach, gained Insanity, and ended up with a broken leg.
4. Overwhelming Darkness: Wise, being the most courageous of the bunch, successfully leveled up his Strength and stared into the eyes of a giant, hovering whale. (By the way, right at that moment, creaking sounds played in my music tracks, matching the sounds of these massive creatures perfectly—the immersion was 100%!). On their path through the darkness, the mother-daughter duo (Corin and Belle) lost their minds and caught the PTSD disorder. Cayman, on the other hand, almost kicked the bucket, but luckily the game gracefully allowed him to spend all his survival points to cheat death.
5. Rotting Carcass: Near the end, we stumbled upon the remains of a monster. Thanks to Wise's high Insight, we smeared ourselves with foul-smelling blood and set up a perfect ambush for the Antelope. We gathered resources and narrowly avoided running into a Level 2 White Lion—I’m always happy to see an upgraded old friend, but re-sorting the decks mid-game was the last thing I wanted to do.

Showdown Phase

The battle itself went surprisingly smoothly. We managed to harvest absolutely every Acanthus plant on the field, and the bush that the monster managed to devour didn't harm us since the beast was uninjured at the time. It feels like we have mentally and gear-wise outgrown the first tier of local monsters—everything felt very comfortable. Special props to Belle and her insane 5 attacks with the Beast Knuckles.

Settlement Phase

Upon returning to the camp, we were greeted by the Dentist—and now Wise sports some cool monster fangs. Right after that, the Hooded Knight paid us a visit and handed Wise the Twilight Sword. I have a bad feeling about this, but it looks like our shonen story finally has a proper main character.

Achievements and Crafting:

• Unlocked the Weapon Crafter location.
• Innovated Inner Lantern, which gave us the much-needed Dash ability. Just what we need before facing a Nemesis.
• Spending her remaining Endeavor points, Corin tried to scavenge some Scrap but only managed to pull a single unit. On the bright side, she leveled up her Courage nicely.
• Crafted a Counterweight Axe for Cayman, stocked up on a bit of Acanthus, and picked up a couple of extra gear pieces.

Now the plan is simple—paint the Kingsman miniature and prepare for battle (or death).

Impressions of the Music: The Lanternborn Project

I am proud to share the latest tracks from my musical project, Lanternborn. This time, I managed to crank up the grime, anxiety, and a sort of primal suspense in the sound design.

During playtests, these tracks looped for hours: they don't annoy you at all, they don't distract from tactics, and they blend seamlessly into the tabletop madness. You can check out the gritty ambient vibes and support the project here:

👉 Listen to Lanternborn on Bandcamp: lanternborn.bandcamp.com

This has been sitting, primed, in a box tucked deep into the void that is my backlog since I got it 2 years ago. Took the last few days to finally get it painted. My son met Poots at GenCon and it’s reignited his interest in the game. He wants to start a new campaign, and I wanted to have this painted so we can start using it for these new lantern years.

I’m happy with how it turned out, especially since I put it off for so long as it always felt like such an intimidating task to invest time into.

Feedback is always welcome!