Under the Dice Fest 2026: Day 1

 

Day 1

The first weekend of October (Oct 2, 3, 4, 2026) marked the 3rd annual Under the Dice Fest and the 4th New England Mordheim Open (NEMO). I was fortunate to attend with my good friend Brad, who has been playing miniature-based wargames with my brothers and I for more than twenty years. I wasn't there to play Mordheim, or even play games at all. I wanted to capture what makes Under the Dice Fest so special (or any of the events Under the Dice/Hive Scum/New England War Council organize). This post will be about the first day of the event, Friday 3-Oct-2026, and will be followed by a series of other posts about the other days.

Brad and I drove north to Connecticut from the Maryland/Pennsylvania area the day before. We started the drive with Coke Zero, the only appropriate drink for an event associated with Hive Scum. But even that crisp and refreshing taste, devoid of calories, was not enough to keep us excited on that 7-hour drive.

This was the second year that Under the Dice fest was held at the Enfield Elks Lodge #2222 in Enfield, Connecticut. The event has grown in stature each year, though the Elks Lodge still feels like the right size to host the festivities without anyone ever feeling too cramped.

The downstairs portion of the Elks Lodge displayed the Rusted Demon painting competition entries, and tables were arranged for classes and events. The entrance was watched over by this charismatic goblin!

The Rusted Demon painting and converting competition was filled with amazing entries, like this wonderful grot tank by Christos @failnaut.

Ortlvar, Phil’s @bloodtrancefusion narrative gaming event:

This year, Phil @bloodtrancefusion wrote and ran his own event in a setting he has been formulating in his head for years. The event, called Ortlvar, took place in the frigid northern lands of Vasyakul. The cyclopean Drakhrog mountain range effectively cuts these northern lands off from the rest of civilization, so inhabitants rarely interact with other cultures. Just north of the mountain range is a boreal forest of coniferous trees known as the Tarskuwood, which eventually gives way to rolling grassland plains. Among these plains live the primary human inhabitants of Vasyakul: the Boeg. This hardened group of people live a bucolic lifestyle following vast herds of Topra, a woolly camel, across the steppe. 

For much of the year, Vasyakul is in the thrall of an oppressive winter, forcing most wildlife into hibernation, diapause, or brumation (depending on the species). When springtime finally arrives, the steppe transforms itself with a teeming influx of life. At the height of summer, the Boeg clans gather in the only permanent Boeg settlement, Skanehod, in the valley below the active volcano Aldvanyd. The volcano takes its name from the creator of the Boeg, and the creator of all warm-blooded animals, whom the Boeg believe is imprisoned beneath the volcano. This peaceful summer gathering is where many notable events occur, including the bestowing of Totem spirits upon the children. The Boeg believe all warm-blooded animals are kindred spirits, and children are assigned a spirit to look to for inspiration throughout their lives. It is believed that upon death, the individual finds a new life as their Totem spirit. Furthermore, when a warm-blooded creature is slain, it is thought to be reborn as a Boeg child, completing the Cycle of Embers. The most celebrated event that occurs during the summer gathering is a coming-of-age hunt known as the Ortlvar. Aspiring youths from different tribes are grouped together and sent out in hunting parties, each trying to return to Skanehod with a trophy that would confer the blessings of Aldvanyd. Each contestant wears a Talisman of their Totem spirit on the hunt, and they are encouraged to steal the Talismans from other contestants. The plains of Vasyakul are dangerous, and not everyone returns from the Ortlvar alive. Even if you do return alive, the Elder Shaman Council may not deem your trophy suitable. As such, many contestants have competed in multiple Ortlvars, each time hoping to bring honor to their clan's name.

For Phil’s event, each of the 9 participants built and painted a single model to be used as an Ortlvar contestant. The event was divided into three games, and players were placed in groups of three to secure glory for their clans. The games themselves were structured as Player versus Player versus the Environment.

Ortlvar, Game 1: The Hunt

For the first game, the three hunting parties met in the plains outside of Skanehod. Each group set out onto the plains to hunt stags and other wild creatures.

Tula the Twice Born, one of this year’s Ortlvar contestants, was created by Brian @Nemessos Miniatures. Tula was a mystery to the other clans and contestants gathered in Skanehold. Her talisman clearly delineated her as a member of the Owl clan, yet no one had seen her scarred, withered face before.

Each group of aspiring hunters based their excursions from their own yurt consisting of tanned animal skins and a thatched roof. 

The plains were bursting with life, from herds of elk to fearsome forest rhino.

Young, red-headed Wrudi (crafted by Andy "inspectorirate") bravely faces down an angry forest rhino with spear in hand. Wrudi is the youngest of his tribe to attend Ortlvar and was granted the Totem of Argyra the Eagle as a child.

A herd of elk hopes to find safety in the shelter of conifer trees.

Tula the Twice Born forages for flowers and herbs for use in the hunt.

A nameless member of the hyena cult (created by Enzo @lancebenchpress) charges into combat with Kellpi, a bog shaman from noisome mires of Mysgrod Marsh (created by Gray @agoodblt.blog). The hyena cult aspirant hopes to win glory in the Ortlvar and then be granted a name from his matriarchal clan. Kellpi is already engaged in battle with the spear-wielding Pada (created by Chris “Landlines”).

In an abandoned yurt, Wrudi finds a hunting horn on a dead body. Curious, Wrudi blows on the horn with all the might his lungs can muster. And after a long pause, he feels and hears the ground rumble with the arrival of a mighty creature, the arrival of…

… a mighty bull Mamut. The brutish and towering Cackling Durnog (with the blue loin cloth, created by Ben @thabenman) swings at the creature with his bone club. After a prolonged battle, the Mamut is brought down, the first significant trophy of the Ortlvar.

Ortlvar, Game 2: Into the Marshlands

At the conclusion of Game 1, Pada (created by Chris “Landlines”) used the power of divining chasing beads to guide the contestants south into the foreboding Marsh of Mysgrod, fed by the water of Lake Orrtag. Within the marsh, the Ortlvar participants come across another abandoned yurt, this one made of bones…

A great flightless Aldfowl directs its wrath at Roake (created by Robby @parti5t) when he gets too close to the forest line. Roarke was orphaned at a young age, his community savaged by the raiders and slavers of the islands of Hakkar. His life has been hard, surviving in harsh lands and planning and carrying out his own assaults on the Hakkar raiders. He carries urns filled with the ashes of his fallen comrades on his back, and in each hand he holds a wicked obsidian blade. He has found that rage can sustain him.

The abandoned hut is the home of Gorm the Bonelord, who has been swallowed by the matriarch of the Karkul, a giant breed of amphibians who spend much of their lifetime in the muck of the waterways of Vasyakul. Upon approach, the Karkul Matriarch begins to vomit forth a collection of animated skeletons. Tula the Twice Born confronts the matriarch, anointed with the blood of a white stag, and the animated dead shirk away. After a confrontation, the Matriarch finally spits out one final body before retreating into the murky depths. That final body is the still-breathing body of Gorm the Bonelord. Photograph taken by Enzo @lancebenchpress.

Gorm the Bonelord is an eccentric hermit who reanimates the dead with strange magicks. He calls the animated dead his sons. Recognizing that his saviors are competing in the Ortlvar, he suggests they join him on a quest to the Vokdrab Plateau to slay a terrible creature only he can track. Photograph taken by Phil @bloodtrancefusion.

Phil holds on for dear life as the crowd percolates around him and the speakers drown out his oration.

Ortlvar, Game 3: A killing cold

The Ortlvar participants follow Gorm the Bonelord into the Vokdrab Plateau in search of terrible beasts. Specifically, he hopes to confront the Thavlnok, a supernatural entity which he wishes to enact vengeance on. He claims that slaying the Thavlnok will provide a trophy the likes of which the Elder Shamans of Skanehod have never seen before (though he secretly knows that the creature will not leave a physical corpse when it leaves this mortal plane). 

The hyena cult aspirant (created by Enzo @lancebenchpress) cautiously approaches a mountain goat, only to be promptly rammed by the creature. He tumbles down the hill, grimacing in pain.

Two disinterested Mamuts wander around the plateau, only engaging the participants if provoked.

Each corner of the board is populated by some form of impressive beast.

Gorm the Bonelord and his many sons traverse the plateau, foraging herbs to help aid the participants. 

As the hyena cult aspirant is pursued by a trio of cave lions, he invokes the totem of the hyena and uses the ability “mocking laughter,” enraging the beasts. He cleverly pulls the lions towards a Mamut and their attention turns away from him.

One of the Mamut’s is forced out of its peaceful reveries by the hostility of a group of contestants. Even as he is knocked to the ground, Cackling Durnog (created by Ben @thabenman) laughs wildly as if he is having the time of his life.

Tula scales a steep hill in search of coalbloom and other medicinal herbs.

The landscape adopts an unearthly chill as a winter storm descends upon the hunters. Amidst the snowy squall, a gigantic creature appears snarling and angry. The Thavlnok arrives and makes short work of Gorm before turning towards the hunters. When the creature was eventually brought down by the hunters, the Thavlnok burst into plumes of snow, leaving nothing to demonstrate it had ever been there.

Aside from the Ortlvar games, there were lots of other fun happenings on Day 1 of Under the Dice Fest.

A narrative Flames of Orion event called Emperor of Sands took place, written and organized by  Andrew “Master Blaster” (Occidite Dominos Vestros). In this event, mech pilots vied for power on the desert world of Fhari. The event used a combination of traditional wargaming mechanics along with a choose-your-own-adventure style narrative packet to deepen the immersion. You can hear more about the event in an interview with Stefano @eldermoss3 on Dragged into Turbolasers Episode 136.

It would not be Under the Dice Fest without an impressive array of merch.

Brad and I played a quick game of Space Gits with Edan @edanlavie. Lots of dice stacking ensued and Edan managed to walk away victorious!

Tyler @billion_dollar_clown_farm demos his new miniature skirmish game, Monster Friends: Battle for New Florida! The game eschews the grim dark aesthetics so common in this community and replaces them with loveable cuteness. 

There was a raffle that featured a host of exciting prizes for a host of generous donors: The Crypt, Trench Crusade, Army Painter, Ranged Touch Podcast, Tabletop Battles, Get Haunted Industries, Arcane Sword Press, and Mike Levitt @mike.make.hobby donated an entire painted and converted Nurgle army!

It was a memorable first day of Under the Dice Fest! Look back in the future for coverage of the other days of the fest!

- Greg Wier (with Special thanks to Phil @bloodtrancefusion for assisting with writing about Ortlvar)