I'm a real sucker for games whose vibe mixes grime and whimsy. Maybe that's why I can't stop staring at the crowdfunding page for The Muck, a tabletop miniature wargame featuring six amphibious adventurers in medieval garb. The details on these sculpts are utterly charming, from their teensy medieval caps to their naked froggy butts.
"Each frog was designed to fill a familiar role you might find in your favorite roleplaying or tabletop game", designer Cody Williams says. There's a roguish 'Soggy Fool' who, despite his garish, silly outfit, seems capable of sneaking up on enemies and slashing at them. We can see a tiny frog wizard on stilts among the roster, as well as a bulbous, grouchy-looking toad wielding a morningstar.
Some of the other frogs' roles are less obvious. Take, for example, the King. He's that tiny, naked, oddly bald-looking creature. His only purpose is to be picked up and used as a projectile weapon, thrown at enemies to dole out poison damage.
For The Muck, as you can see, is more than just minis - it comes with rules and scenarios. The accompanying zine is designed using rules from Forbidden Psalm, a miniatures game originally designed to be used alongside the gnarly, meat-grinder of a tabletop RPG, Mörk Borg.
Across three scenarios, your warband will attempt to cross a murky river populated by hostiles. As the Kickstarter page says: "The setting is spooky, the villains are inept, but the danger is real."
The zine on its own is available for $4, but you'll need to pay $45 for the sweet, slimy minis. There's also a $50 pledge that throws your froggy warband into a specially designed collector's box. Sadly, for Brits like me, these items only ship to the United States.
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