Waaaaaat?

Clearly I'm a failure at keeping up to date with blogs these days... lets see if I can do better this month. The office is slowly coming together. The woodwork is all done and most things are now in, but I'm still slowly sorting through all the rubbish that was in the old office and working out what the heck to do with it all. I suspect there will be a sale post sometime soon in case anyone is interested here.

In an attempt to focus, I've started to work through the backlog of things in the painting pile, commencing with what should have been a fairly straight forward task of painting up the whopping 4 minis in Gorechosen. Rather than the usual reads for Khorne, I decided to follow the example of someone on the main Age of Sigmar forum, (http://tga.community) and go for a yellow and black scheme instead. The pale skin tells of bloodletting rituals as devotion

Sadly I only managed to get through two before I got distracted again...

Sigmar's heroes

Not quite as gritty as Kelly's Heroes, but pretty close.

In an attempt to get a little bit further with the Warhammer Quest characters I took a crack at the Knight Azyros/Venator kit that came in the first Character expansion box as I'd really enjoyed painting up the Knight Questor. This kit comes with parts to make one of two characters... so with the spare parts in hand and one of the AoS monopose Prosecutors I managed to get both characters out of the one kit

After these two were done, I had to finish off the sprue by building two of the starter set Liberators as well, for no real reason. Unfortunately I've run out of clear bases for these guys, so I need to order some more before I go any further with these

Oh the Horror(s)!

In a weird twist on the usual one or two posts and then radio silence for months... I've actually got another update or two for you already lined up!

Rounding off the Horrors part of the Silver tower box set is the remaining Pink and four Blues.

The right hand one of these Pink Horrors you saw in the last update, but the left had one features a minor adjustment to his hand and tentacles to try and vary it slightly. I suspect some of the tweaks are too small to notice, even side by side... so I'm not entirely sure why I bothered! Still. Two Pinks now done. Like the last one, this was a series of pinky purple washes over a white undercoat with some green and purple inks over the top to give it some variation in tones and show the constantly evolving nature of the beast

The Blues were done in the same manner, but using a bright blue over the white instead. I still used purple washes in the shade and on some of the features to tie them into the Pink Horrors

I'm not 100% convinced that the yellow highlights from the flames work, but still. They are weird, magical creatures... so who knows how they react

Re-opening the Tower

As I mentioned on saturday, I have actually painted some stuff over the past few months... I've just been godawful at updating here. This next batch is the start of Silver Tower, the new Warhammer Quest edition.

I never got around to painting the free Sigmarite on WD, so as this was going to be my first dive into painting for the new Warhammer universe, what better figure to start with than the Sigmarite Questor. Rather than painting him in the studio gold scheme, I opted for a dark turquoise and silver. I really liking this colour scheme, so the other Sigmarite characters will end up with the same scheme.

As Silver Tower is Tzeentch based, what better place to start than with one of the Pink Horrors?! This was actually quite a simple one to do with a series of washes over a white undercoat. We will see if I can get a similar feel on the other one when I get around to it!

A new addition to the Horror theme are these little things. We all know that when you kill a Pink, it splits into two Blues... but magic is strong within the Tower, so killing a Blue splits it into two of these sets of things. They look like fire... so fire they became. It took a couple of attempts to get these right as they were too white the first time around, but this version captures the magical essence.

Questing ever onwards

This year has seen a lot of changes going on at GW HQ. Last year I'd pretty much decided not to buy from them again. This year they just keep on delivering great boxed games that harken back to the pieces of the universe that interested me most. First we had the Genestealer Cult making a comeback in Deathwatch:Overkill and now a version of Warhammer Quest is coming out. Granted, the new WQ is a far cry from the original, but it is a start and can be expanded upon easily enough with campaign books/boxes and digital content to add in campaign elements beyond the Silver Tower.

 Ever since I lost access to my original version of WQ I've been looking for a good alternative. Dungeon Saga was supposed to be that replacement, but for me it failed to deliver on a lot of what I was looking for. Sadly I already know that this is missing the same bits DS failed to live up to with the character advancement and more rpg-lite elements, but the random dungeon elements do (from the previews) seem to be a lot more cohesive and easier to build upon. Even if it turns out it isn't "the thing" it is another source to crib from if I ever get back to writing my own.

On the plus side, it has some wonderful models that look like they will be fun to paint. I've seen people complaining about the "cartoony" look of the new models though. Did they ever look at the old WQ figures?! I know which ones I prefer:

I do have to admit that I was one of those people that never gave Age of Sigmar a chance and wrote it off based on a few photos and a pang of loss at the universe that I'd grown up with, even though hadn't gamed in for years!. Shame on me. Some conversations with friends who hate started AoS and the release of Silver Tower has ignited an interest in what is actually happening in this new world. I'll probably have a read through some of the books over the coming months to see how I can twist Silver Tower into other settings.

The dungeons have a delivery

With another week until the painting competition starts I've been trying not to start work on any new figures... so some more furniture has been finished for Dungeon Saga. The next three photos do include the last set of stonework furniture as well, so that they show the complete group of each type for the DS project page. The originals are slightly darker. I must have used a different grey as the base... but variation is good.

 

And now we move onto the wooden items. There are still plenty of barrels and chests left to do.

Last time around I was asked for the brown recipe. I can't remember how I did the tables and bookshelves, but for these I used the following steps:

1) Undercoat in black
2) Heavy drybrush of Citadel Rhinox Hide
3) Drybrush the top half with Citadel Skavenblight Dinge
4) Drybrush the top quarter with Vallejo Neutral Grey
5) Paint on the metalwork using Citadel Boltgun Metal
6) Wash all over with Citadel Agrax Earthshade
7) Targetted second wash to the lower quarter with another layer of Agrax Earthshade
8) Rust spots added with ModelMates Rust effect.

The new Wargames Illustrated painting special  contains some really good step by step guides to different types of wood as well as a plethora of other interesting articles on painting covering things like faces, horses, fabrics, basing techniques and shields. It is well written with some nice, clear photos to show the steps. Highly recommended.

It's dead, but not quite

So, one of the updates this week was a batch of 16 skeletons of varying types for use in Warhammer Quest, Dungeon Saga and the various 7TV games. The first 13 are standard builds from the Vampire Count skeleton kit. They are very nice models, but rather bulky when compared to the other human models. There is no way one of these would fit inside the Empire state trooper models though.

The last three were built a couple of years back after a trip to GW HQ for a sculpting masterclass, but I never got around to painting them for one reason or another, so thanks to Curt for running the challenge to hep clear the backlog! The figures use parts from the Vampire skeleton kit, some Empire Greatsword bits and some greenstuff. These three will be higher level skeletons... be it sergeants, wights or something... else.

The Sculpting masterclass was run by some real legends... Aly Morrison, Trish Carden and Aragorn Marks. Aly and Trish are GW mainstays and should be familiar to many, Aragorn's name might not be so well known, but some of his models should be. Before joining GW he worked for Rackham, sculpting their Dirz line as well as freelancing for the likes of Sodapop and Privateer Press. It was a very entertaining day that taught us some useful skills. I really fail though as I've not really tried sculpting anything since. One day...

On the day we were given a built skeleton built in a similar manner to the ones I did above. We were then taught how to do cloth, fur, chainmail, scalemail and chains

The year before we'd done a masterclass with the 'Eavy Metal team. This is my model from that day. In both cases I can't bring myself to do anything else to the models for fear of messing them up. Plus they are good memories in their own right

Dungeons, no Dragons

 Earlier today Mantic released the Alpha rule set and three scenarios for their Dungeon Saga kickstarter. The campaign is slowly ticking over and slowly gaining backers and expanding in value.

To go with the alpha rules, Beasts of War have done a play through to demonstrate how things play and so far it's looking quite good, though so far it's not quite a replacement for Warhammer Quest as it needs a GM to play and there's no random dungeon mechanic. Both of these may be solved later in the campaign, but both are probably quite easy for the community to add in later if needs be.

Listening to the videos and game demo have sparked lots of ideas for my dungeon bits again, most of which I'm not going to talk about just yet as I've still got a bit of planning to do. And you know how my planning goes... it'll be months before anything actually happens ;)

A while back I managed to get some bits of my old Warhammer Quest set back off the friend who bought all my GW stuff when I had a fit of madness. While all the figures and boards were missing, the doorways came back. I decided to have a go with two of them in preparation for the ideas...

Goblin horde forms up

The painting challenge has given me the kick to get started on some other monsters for the Warhammer Quest project. There aren't enough of any one type to max out one type, but I quite fancied making up a number of different unit entries.

We have 8 spearmen

8 archers

 

Spearmen champion

A netter/clubber team

And a warlord

 

[Analogue] The Christmas wrapping starts here...

The painting challenge started with a bang and 20 points have now been claimed for these 4 mummies. Only another 580 points (or 116 more models this size) to reach my goal. Le sigh. As you probably recognise, these guys are from the original Heroquest box. After a bit of a cleanup and lots of hacking to remove the bases, they painted up very quickly... twice. The first time they got messed up by frosting on the varnish and the usual tricks didn't seem to work on repairing them. Ah well.

These will go nicely in the Warhammer Quest/HeroQuest/Advanced Heroquest rebuild project as well as working well with IHMN, Strange Aeons and Pulp Alley. Hows that for versatility?

The painting process is nice and simple.

They started with an all over coat of something light and creamy. Doesn't really matter what as any variation will work for dirty cotton rags. After that has dried do an all over wash of Devlan mud followed by a targeted wash of a dark brown in the really dark recesses. Once that has dried, go back and pick out some highlights on the rags with the original base coat.

The skin was a mix of flesh and a dark grey to give the desecated, mummified flesh colour as the mummies in the British museum are bordering on black thanks to the mummification process. This is washed with black and then highlighted with the original mix plus a little bit more flesh.

Last finishing touch is a very dark mossy green wash on some parts of the rags to give it that slimy, festering look. I was tempted to do some sandy weatherin powders on them too, but felt that would tie them too closely to a desert environment.

Bile Trolls

Here's another new monster for Warhammer Quest. It's from Warhammer Forge's Tamurkhan book and will make a nasty opponent, suitable for replacing normal Trolls in Chaos infested dungeons. You are unlikely to encounter these and normal trolls in the same area as no troll wants to become one of these, no matter how stupid.

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Bile Trolls

Photo Copyright Warhammer Forge

Trolls are never the easiest of beasts to confront, but when they become feared Bile Tolls they become even more dangerous.

Trolls have a natural tendency to consume anything they come across which, in the Cold Mires of the Troll Country, tend to be the result of the constant warring between the various Chaos hordes in the Northern Wastes. Most of the time this isn't a problem, but occasionally some really hungry trolls come across the remnants of some of Nurgle's worshipers. Once consumed, these corpses infect the trolls with Nurgle's Rot.

These creatures live in constant agony, hanging between life and death as their regeneration abilities battle with the plague that is consuming them.

Allegiance: Chaos (Nurgle), Monsters

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Armour	Dam	Gold
Bile Troll	6	2	6+	5	5	40	1	3	-	2D6	750

Special Rules: Fear 8; Vomit, Plague, Regenerate 1, Daemonic -1

Notes: I would suggest that these can be swapped in to replace normal trolls. The Plague addition isn't nice, but they don't regenerate as fast and don't hit quite as often.

Bile Tolls can be purchased from Forge World

WQ: Ork Idol

More Warhammer Quest goodies. This time it's the Ork Idol available at Forge World. I'd love this beastie... but he's rather pricy. Pretty, but pricy.

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Orcs are a highly superstitious lot and whenever they go to war, they build Idols to their gods Mork and Gork. As the Waaargh energies stir, these Idols occasionally take on a life of their own and become avatars of the gods, striding across the battlefields causing mayhem. It is not uncommon to find an Idol in Orc infested catacombs as they prepare for war.

Allegiance: Orcs, Monsters

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Armour	Dam	Gold
Small Orc Idol	5	4	-	8	6	60	2	3	4+	4D6	3500
Large Orc Idol	7	4	-	8	7	85	2	4	3+	5D6	5000

Special Rules
Small Rogue Idol: Large Monster, Terror 10, Ignore Blow 5+, Ignore Pain 8, Magic Resistance 5+,  Giant Attacks
Large Rogue Idol: Large Monster, Terror 10, Ignore Blow 4+, Ignore Pain 12, Magic Resistance 5+,  Giant Attacks

WQ: Wolf Rats

Some more Warhammer Quest critters for you

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Wolf Rats are found throughout the Skaven empire, but no-one, not even Clan Skyre, knows where they came from, or how they became such a bizzare, but stable-ish mutation. Some theorise that they are rats that have evolved from the ruins of Mordheim; tainted by the warpstone meteor that destroyed all other life in the area.
Their savage, fearless nature makes them the perfect hunting beast; unleashed in giant packs to hunt down those unlucky enough to have gained the ire of a skaven warlord they make short work of .

Allegiance: Skaven

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Armour	Dam	Gold
Wolf Rat	8	4	-	4	3	30	5	2	-	2D6	600

Special Rules: Ambush 5+, Frenzy 6+

GM Options
Wolf Rats are diverse and twisted creatures, prone to mutation and afflicted by their foul appetites. Any of the following upgrades may be applied to Wolf Rats
• Pox Feeders: Due to their diet of diseased carrion, Wolf Rats have Plague attacks.
•Warpstone Shard Teeth: Some Clan Skyre Warlocks augment their creatures’ fangs and claws with warpstone impregnated implants, giving the Wolf Rats +1S and Poison attacks
• Bloated Mutants: Many times the size of their kin, these are swollen brutes with a limitless hunger. The Wolf Rats gain +1 Toughness and lose -1 Initiative.

Forge World have specific models for the Wolf Rats. 

WQ: Basilisk

 Here's another Warhammer Quest creature for you to play around with.

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Basilisks are large, vicious creatures that are normally found in remote, inhospitable locations around the Old World. It’s rare to come across one and survive due to it’s various natural defenses; either it’s gaze kills you, or it’s poisonous mucus that it trails everywhere behind it.
Sometimes a rogue wizard will use a scroll of binding to command one; though how they then go about feeding something this deadly is a mystery.

Allegiance: Monster

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Dam	Armour	Gold
Basilisk	8	6	-	5	6 (14)	65	6	5	5D6	4+	5000

SPECIAL RULES
Scaly Skin (4+), Terror 10, Ignore Blow (3+), Ignore Pain (8), Large Monster,  Poison & Petrify.

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GM Notes: Forgeworld do a really nice Basilisk model, though it is going to dominate a quest room and just not fit in a normal square room. I’m sure there are others around the internet that are smaller. If you come across one, let me know and I’ll link it in.

WQ: Skin Wolves

Here is the start of my Warhammer Quest articles, in case they are of interest to anyone. These will slowly dribble out over time so you're not inundated with stuff. The Allegiance note that I've added is something I've been fiddling with to help create themed random dungeon tables. It's not yet ready for public consumption, but once I've got some gaming space back it's something I want to work on more. for now it's just a general indication of the types of groups that this creature would appear with.

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The Old World contains many twisted abominations, but few are quite as disturbing as those individuals afflicted with the Skin Wolves curse. Some say that it’s the result of a chaos mutation, while others claim that it is a curse bestowed upon an individual by a witch. The actual truth is unknown, but the affliction is invisible, lurking in the blood and sparked by dark rituals that transform the person into the beast.
When the curse is activated, the beast form brutally tears its way out of the human body, leaving tatters of skin and flesh over its form.  Once the battle has reached it’s climax and their hunger has been sated, the beast collapses into a quivering mass on the floor for the human form to crawl it’s way out of.
Viewing the process is horrific, so it is difficult to imagine someone willingly participating in the rituals unless they area already seriously deranged. This could go a long way to explaining why a high percentage of Skin Wolves worship one of the Chaos Gods; though it is not unheard of for Norse warriors and Vampire thralls also becoming Skin Wolves.

Allegiance: Chaos, Vampire Counts, Norse

	M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Armour	Dam	Gold
Skin Wolf	7	5	-	4	4	35	5	2	-	2D6	700
Grey Back	7	6	-	4	5	45	6	3	-	3D6	950

Special rules: Fear 6, Regeneration 1, Frenzy 5+, Dodge 5+.
GM OPTIONS
Skin Wolves may carry the favour of one of the Chaos gods. If they are being used by a GM as part of a Chaos campaign,  they can pick one of the following bonuses to show their allegiances.

Mark of Khorne:  The unit’s models gain +1 Strength.
Mark of Tzeentch: The unit’s Regeneration increases to (4+).
Mark of Nurgle: The unit’s attacks gain the Poisoned special rule.
Mark of Slaanesh: The unit’s models gain the Always Strikes First special rule.

If you want to give your players a bit of a surprise, and cause some lasting mental damage, you could always have them interrupt the transformation ceremony.

Prior to transformation use the stats profile of a base human (see Humans) and have them start to transform once the heroes are in the room. If a player witnesses the transformation from human to Skin Wolf, they will be subject to Terror, rather than Fear tests when facing the Skin Wolf.
To represent the lasting impact of witnessing this transition, mark this on the player’s sheet as they will be subject to Terror for all future Skin Wolf fights as well. Once they have killed 5 Skin Wolves, they will be reduced down to Fear as normal.

Warhammer Forge has some really nice Skin Wolf models.

Warhammer Quest flashbacks

A long time ago, in a garage far far away (well, about 30 miles) Games Workshop released the king of board games... Warhammer Quest. For those of you that don't remember, it was GW's RPG-lite system that allowed solo play with randomly generated dungeons or a full GM led system that allowed character evolution. It was our favourite game in the world. Then I made the mistake of selling it when I bought a house... this is an action that I've regretted ever since as  it's so expensive to find all the bits to rebuild the set. I tried Descent, but it didn't quite hit the right spot.

I eventually managed to get the books and cards back off the friend I'd sold it to, but he couldn't find the figures or boards... which made playing it a bit tricky. Roll forward to last week and some of my prayers were answered in the form of Warhammer Quest for the iPad! I've been playing this a *lot* since it's release and am loving every single moment of it. The developers have managed to capture and distil the essence down into this wonderful £2.99 app. I don't even care that there is already extra content to buy on day 1 as it seems to be a natural evolution of the core game... there is currently one missions download that doubles the size of the game with more quests and all the Skaven units to go up against instead of the rats/bats/spiders/goblins and Orcs that you get in the core game. In fact, I think I grabbed them all after finishing the first mission they had done such a great job. Hopefully they will bring in all the other characters and keep on adding the extra monsters and treasure. I'd like to get my Noble back on the road again.

This has inspired me to try revisiting my plan form last year to reconstruct a Warhammer Quest set with my own tiles... I may even have some of the new monsters that I wrote kicking around somewhere that I will try to upload.