The bog slain are another monster from the Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary. These undead with skin the color of mud, have fallen victims to peat mosses and have arisen to take their vengeance against mankind. There are two options when looking for the bog slain.
The first, the three pack, comes with three bases. Of these, one of the bases is a highly detailed sculpted moss bass with a rounded hole in it. The creature’s hands are at the front of the base, as if it were preparing to pull itself out. Numerous vines and other bits are sculpted right into the base. The other bases are made of metal with diagonal slits in them. The first ‘figure’ if you will, is the head of a bog slain spewing forth its attack in a straight line of sculpted watery substance. The rounded peg at the back of the creature’s head fits into the detailed base with no problem.
Figure two, is a woman, rather large, at least 28mm in terms of scale. Her figure is emerging from the bog and the actual figure starts at about thigh level with a base on the figure, or mud. She is clawing her way upwards with both hands reaching for the sky. Her skeletal face has pinpricks that could be painted as either light or the center point of a sunken face. Her sculpted hair flows down into her clothes.
The third figure almost looks like a traditional ghoul holding a wooden club in his right hand and a clawed open hand for his left hand. His tongue juts out from his face just above his beard that flows to the back of the figure, but this bog slain has no top hair. The details in the cloths are well done with numerous rips and tears representing its decomposing state. In those rips, in places like the back, more details are evident as the undead’s spine and ribs are visible allowing the painter greater detail.
The second option is for a single bog slain. This is a three-piece set consisting of head, body, and base. The base is metal with a diagonal slit. The figure’s head is in the spitting position with a straight line of watery substance spewing forth form its maw. The back of the head has a rounded peg to place into the body, which is a great fit. Too often, especially with some of the smaller and more delicate figures, the slots that align a figure are not drilled deep enough in the initial creation forcing the buyer to widen and deepen the connections.
The main body of this figure is poorly done. It’s not that the details on the figure are lacking, it’s just the figure himself looks like he’s waving or just not involved in anything as opposed to matching the spitting head which indicates clearly some combat or other action going on. His left hand is raised and his right hand is tight to his body. His legs are slightly bowed and rest atop a sculpted detail of moss.
In terms of flash and flack, the figures almost all had some at the ends of their claws. For mold lines, in the first pack, on the figure with the club, when held in the light and viewing it from above, there is a mold line from the club-wielding arm to the skull. The others, perhaps because of the numerous vines and other details, appear to have no mold lines or are so minute, that only priming and painting would bring them out.
The figures would work well as their chosen purpose of unique monsters known as bog slain, but could also be used for ghouls, ghosts, or other undead whose corpses rose in the bog. The single figure is an odd pose and with the spitting bog water, not a good choice for a substitute monster while the three pack, thanks to it’s variety and better poses, has a better range of options for a fantasy or horror themed campaign.
