Ivan, the Vampire Wizard

The Man, the Myth, the (near) Legend

Of indeterminate age, Ivan the Vampire Wizard is a near - legend among the people of the land. he is rumoured to travel between his many properties (both known and secret) to avoid raids by vampire hunters, vengeance-seeking family members, and specialist lawyers seeking employment.

Ivan, the Vampire Wizard

What these do-gooders (for the most part...) do not realise is that Ivan leads a double life. Nominally a vampire of indeterminate age doing 'vampire things', Ivan has decided to buck the trend. In his fight against the great boredom of being immortal, he has adopted an alternative persona. He secretly dresses in bright colours and attempts to radiate positivity (at night, obvs). It must be said that the latter (often expressed as a forced smile and loudly explained positive slogan) is a terrifying sight to behold!

His greatest joy however is 'giving back to society'. 

Acknowledging that he and his family have prospered off the backs (and necks) of the broader body public, he finds particular joy in taking from the rich to give to the poor. Preferring not to be directly involved in violence ('How distasteful'), Ivan works through a series of (short-lived) henchmen, who he controls and directs through mental domination and persuasive words. 

Most recently, he has a clan of lizard men in his employ. He uses them to rob the wealthy and then sneak through the sewer system of large cities, distributing small bags of coin within poorhouses, orphanages, and retirement homes for tax collectors (he feels a pang of guilt that he has paid no taxes on any of his properties since his early years, when many of the collectors failed to return to their offices). In a nice touch (he thinks), each bag is embroidered with the initials 'I.V.' ('Ivan. Vampire'? 'Ivan the 5th'? Who knows!)

The clan also work as debt-collectors and personal bodyguards when Ivan attracts too much attention and do-gooders appear!

Ivan and henchmen. (A.I. used to remove 
blemishes in the image.)

Ivan and the clan (AI used to remove blemishes
on the image.)

Lizardman hammer wielder

Lizardman swordsman

Lizardman with axe and shield

Lizardman warband

About the models

Ivan, Vampire Wizard, is/ was part of the Reaper Minis 'Dark Heaven Legends' range, #02866. The scale looks to be around 25mm~28mm. 

I was looking for a vampire mini to use in League of Dungeoneers. After all, any good collection of fantasy miniatures needs at least one Vampire - they are the classic 'evil enemy' found across many fantasy settings. Even better, he is a wizard, which presumably makes him even more dangerous! I took a look at various painted examples on the internet, and although it would have been a more classic look to go with a black cloak and darker colours I liked a brighter look. I think all he needs now is some round sunglasses!s

The lizardmen are anonymous 3d prints that I bought from a Chinese discount goods site. Again about 25mm in scale, they will serve perfectly as stock reptilian foes for any party of dungeoneers seeking fame and fortune (or more likely - fortune and fame!). Lizardmen/ Saurians tend to turn up in dungeons, sewers, swamps and other damp places, and every fantasy setting seems to have lots of all three! 

The three basic sculpts shown (swordsman, hammer wielder, sword & board) make for some nice variety and one can imagine the better armed and armoured model as a leader or captain. Their scaly skin makes them a good candidate for using Citadel Contrast Paints, Vallejo Xpress, or any other 'speed paints'. 

I think they all look fine for the tabletop - but perhaps they are missing a little something?

Time to bust out that new pot of 'Blood for the Blood God' technical paint....