Tale of Four Gamers Part 8: The Carrion Throng

For this month I decided to paint something a bit different and break up painting foot soldiers for a while. These models are great - although the undead birds all have the same basic body they are come with very different and marvellously sculpted heads to give them all a different feel.

I was missing a rider but luckily I was a backer in Diego Serrate's Pantheon of Chaos Kickstarter and the little hooded freebie dude with a scythe fits perfectly in both style and logistically - i.e he doesn't look too precarious sat on the back of his mount.

Enjoy!

Tale of Four Gamers Nerves of Lead Part 6 - The Black King : Laomann the Abominable

The Black King : Laomann the Abominable

"Let me tell you a story. In the days when Sigmar was the first Emperor, over in the mysterious and barbaric lands of Albion numerous tribes wandered its fertile and misty fens fighting for glory and territory. One of the most powerful tribes, the Dornacates, was ruled by the powerful and strong King Gildas who in turn had sired two heirs - the fair Elerig and the weak and consumptive Laomann.

As was tradition the eldest son, Elerig, was set to inherit the command of the tribe upon his father's death while the second son would be the head of its mystic order. The Dornacates fought often and valiantly to defend their women and the children and beat back many tribes of men as well as the fen dwelling one eyed demons who stole their women and slaughtered its men. 

As was tradition at the age of fourteen Laomann was sent out alone into the marshes for thirty days and thirty nights to experience the visions gifted by the spirits. No one truly knows what happened to him there. Legends later say he died and the God of Death Mortus showed him the afterlife. Others say he was seduced by the fen monsters into rites of arcane and forbidden lore. Whatever happened he came back changed and more attuned to the magical arts, displaying considerable power compared to the parlour tricks of the tribe's witch doctors.

Meanwhile his father had died from an infected wound and upon his return the brave Elerig took control of the tribe while Laomann took control of its mystical order. Elerig was loved by his people - while he went to battle when needed he was fair and just to his tribesman in peace and he ruled this way for a year. He had a child called Kadec by his beautiful wife and for a time life for the tribe was good.

However Elerig started to succumb to a rotting disease and within weeks the flesh was peeling from his bones and he was more skeleton than man. In his dying breath he proclaimed Kadec his heir and that his wife should supervise him until he came of age. 

But it was not to be - no sooner had he died then he rose again. An automaton driven by dark arts and with his treacherous brother powering him through dark arts, the baby was torn limb from limb before he crushed he took the head of his beloved wife into his grasp and crushed it.

Others rose from their slumber, decayed hands clawing the earth and pulling themselves up to rend the living. Hundreds of tribesmen and women died through cold hearted murder and betrayal before Laomann gathered them cowering in front of him and told them that they can serve him - either as the living or the dead. They chose the former.

And with that he forced them into never ending wars to conquer that blighted Isle - as his power spread the land wilted and the living suffered, died to be born anew in his absolute control.

Yet there were darker forces in Albion than even the Black King. The one eyed demons returned and through twisted magic and brutal force decimated the Abominable One's forces. 

He was left to flee with a small number of his tribesmen who motivated by brutal vengeance decided to bury him in a perverse mockery of their burial rites - alive and breathing.

Little did they know that the enchanted jewel in the Black King's crown was dowsed into dark necromantic magics and would sustain him beyond the rot that would decimate his mind and his body. As his sanity deteriorated and his skin fell from his bones he would find himself alone in his perpetual tomb and a skeletal husk of his former self - truly the King of Worms.

Those who punished him did have sense to avoid any burial grounds though and interred him high on a rocky mountain so his dark magic could not turn the living to his aid.

After many thousands of years fate turned it's fickle hand to the Black King once more when a band of exploring Norsca froze to death near his resting place. Cold dead fingers soon began the long process of releasing their master and Laomann the Abominable would turn his vengeful gaze on the world once more..." 

Undead General: Level 10 Liche with hand weapon and two level 1 scrolls - 190 points

Tale of Four Gamers Nerves of Lead Part 5

So we're officially now half way through this challenge. So far Steve, Matthew and I have been level pegging it with the challenge so far and painting the required amount each month with Adam sadly having only completed one month's worth so far.

 News on the grapevine is Matthew won't be completing his minis this month and Adam will (hurrah!) so still all to play for in my book...

So this month is more skelly warriors with swords and shields, nine in all which come to 99 points between them. The absolutely classic screaming skull catapult adds another 60 so this months total is 159 points.

Tale of Four Gamers : Nerves of Lead Part 3

For this month's entry I decided to bite the bullet and actually get a substantial number of troopers done in earnest. I just love skellies. I don't know why but they are simple to paint if unarmored and the old Citadel ones are some of the best.  But this little lot is a whole hotch potch.

I don't know where the clumsier sculpts are from. They are preslotta - I suspect they're Ral Partha. There's a citadel one on the end from the C18 range. The grave guard and drummer are pure Middlehammer Citadel while the guys at the back are actually Foundry (under the alias Casting Room miniatures) and so quite modern but with a definite old school vibe about them.

Here's a close up of the back row in case you want a closer look.

I really like these sculpts and so I think I'll get more of them. I love that they have sculpted expressions on what (should be) static skulls.

This lot come to 130 points. However I overcompensated in month 1 by painting 172 points so with the grand total so far of 452 points I am somehow still on target.

So what's next for December? Well there will probably be more boney offerings but of quite a different ilk... Stay tuned for more on that.

Tale of Four Gamers : Nerves of Lead Part 1

In time for this year's Bring Out Your Lead, four wise gamers decided to resurrect the Tale of Four Gamers challenge from yesteryear (now resurrected again as Tale of Four Warlords in the current White Dwarves).

The mission to paint 100 points of troops a month using the army lists from Third Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle, blog about it and then beat the snot out of each other in a 1000 point ruck. It seems they had a wonderful time of it. Orlygg's fantastic account of the battle is here.

I prodded a few others to continue this fine tradition for BOYL 2017 and so thantsants , Matthew, Adam and yours truly struck a deal to continue this fine tradition. Matthew had the idea to make it 150 points a month for 10 months.

Warlord Paul agreed to adjudicate and call us to his office if we didn't do what we promised.

And so we four struck out on our quest in September : well apart from Adam.

Adam left his painting to the last minute and then got too hungover to start it. But that's another story.

I chose the undead.  I have had an (un)healthy obsession with walking corpses since my formative years and this challenge gave me a chance to let it free.

The necromancer Neil L Far-Aged comes to 60 points, the four ghouls come to 32 points together and the mummy another 80 points making a grand total of 172 points!

The ghouls were lovely to paint and despite being from different ranges they look great together.

It's nearing mid-October and I'm yet to get painting on the next 150 points so I'd best get to it pronto!