Saturday Salvo! EC Daemon Prince and Update

 Welcome for a wee update!
 

I've not been as active on here as I'd have liked, but I have created an instagram page for another to follow whats going on. Death By Die on Instagram so give me a follow on there! You can also find Bamz Boyz on there too, my regular orky opponent who is also working on a nice looking Space Marine force. Expect more from us in the future!

 Currently I've slowly been getting backstory for D&D together, specifically the town Yartar from the Forbidden Realms. My party are currently on their way there so I need to know a little about it and what they'll find.

I've also been working on a Daemon Prince... 

Kitbashed from Sigvald and the wings of a large Crypt Ghoul he needs some more painting but he's getting there, looking forward to getting a force done!

This week has been Warhammer Fest week, theres been some great announcements and a mystery one coming later today, which may have already been announced by the time you read this. I feel some Old World will be shown off or Khan for Horus Heresy, but we shall see!

Among the highlights from WarhammerFest week for me were Gaunts Ghosts, this is what an Imperial Guard infantry box should look like, not a quick extra sprue to try and modernise an old old box. That was disappointing.

OH. MY. GOD. Well, a God at least. Kragnos, damn.

Sisters will soon be able to take a High Lord of Terra on the battlefield. I will be snapping one up, she looks amazing.

One of the funniest moments was seeing  a plastic Thunderhawk getting announced. For Aeronautica! It looks really good and it could be tempting to pick some models up as I love the more epic scale and they work size wise with Titanicus apparently.

Well, Zodgrod Wurtsnagga is back. And he looks pretty danm good! I'm really liking the Beastsnagga aesthetic and could be intrigued in yet another project to have lying around... feel my pain?
 

 Whats been your highlights from this weeks announcements and what are you all working on?

I'm hoping to get some bits finished soon to take some good pictures and get some more updates on here but til then, follow me and Bam on Instagram for more up to date hobbying!

 

 

D&D: Jaegers of Zielen. Homebrew 5E

Welcome to another post and this time its a little different... I'll be showing off some of my homebrew D&D content, the Jaegers of Zielen. This came about after chatting to a player who wanted to have a bit of a monster hunter feel but without being too 'The Witcher'. So I played around with some ideas and created the Jaegers of Zielen, a secretive organisation that operate around the Sowrd Coast (and sometimes beyond) under the guise of the Lords Alliance. I was a little hesitant to post this in case my players found something out I didn't want them to know yet but I think at this point most is common knowledge with them or its something that may have known out of game anyway.

Jaegers of Zielen.

Throughtout the history of Faerun many heroic deeds have been told by Bards, tales of slaying great beasts that threaten villages, songs sung of cults stopped by the actions of an adventuring party, but some go unnoticed by the larger world. The Jaegers of Zielen are an Order that was created by the Lords Alliance to undertake dangerous missions around the Sword Coast and sometimes beyond that are secretive or perhaps best not known to the general populace.

They are said to have been created by a Gold Dragon named Ornathex, and have existed for almost 300 years. Ornathex, who is the head of the Lords Alliance, needed undercover agents to infiltrate suspects of a cult, one of the suspects was a Harper. Unsure of how trustful the Harpers were, the dragon decided to create a small secretive order that would do deeds should a quiet approach be needed. His first recruit was a half orc ranger called Zielen. Zielen was known for his quiet approach to hunting a quarry, be they a beast, a criminal, or evidence regarding dangerous activities with which to incriminate suspects. Ornathex tasked him with recruiting a small number of operatives to infiltrate and watch not only the suspect in the Harpers but other suspects, and soon they had discovered Cult tendancies among those they watched. It turned out to be they were worshippers of Tiamat, and without anyone knowing all were assassinated before they gained much support.

Ornathex saw them as being a great asset going forward, and through his own wealth had a keep built in a secretive location said to be towards the top of a great mountain range. None who try to leave the keep have survived the great distance they have to travel, and the location is still shrouded in mystery. To start with, only orphans were recruited to the Jaegers, but after time anyone who could prove loyalty and showed great talent would be allowed to test to become a Jaeger. Those who fail are kept at the Keep, either serving those who bettered them in the tests, cultivating crops that fee the Jaegers or other more menial tasks. They are also trained to an extent, should the Keep ever be attacked it can be well defended from the Jaegers themselves and those who serve them.

The tests are a gruelling time for new recruits. Mountain top runs along snow capped mountains, climbing sheer cliff faces frought with danger, wild animals desperate for food in an inhospitable environment and the snow storms that frequent the area. Only several may attempt the initiation ritual, usually no more than 5 out of 8-10 will pass. Despite it being a harsh test only the absolute best of these orphans will advance and become initiates.

It was around 40 years after the founding that Zielen fell in battle. Jaegers had been tasked under the guise of Lords Alliance agents to help lead a military assault against an underground threat in Mirabar. Undead numbers surged to an epic number, several entrances to mines there fell to animated beings and large undead constructs before they were caved in to hold them off. The Jaegers proposed a frontal assault while they infiltrated to find the source of the undead. While a large battle erupted in a huge cavern, Zielen found a Necromancer overseeing the battle. He was able to get close enough to put a blade through the Necromancers skull, before a huge beast, flesh hanging from its body and part of its skull exposed, grabbed the Jaeger and ripped his heart out. Most of the undead force dropped, the magic once controlling them now dissipated with the death of their master, but the small number of creatures that had allied with the undead forces retreated into the depths. Zielens body was recovered, and the beast that killed him slayed by the remaining 3 Jaegers who had accompanied Zielen. While none would know of Zielens heroics, the Jaegers became known as the Jaegers of Zielen in his honour. Hid body was burnt in a pyre in the courtyard of the Keep, Ornathex himself setting the pyre alight.
Overtime the recruiting process included more tasks as well as the physical endurance tests established early on. Puzzles, war tactics, fights against other trainees all becoming part of the program. Once a recruit becomes an initiate, they now train for 5-6 years even more intensely than during the initiation rights. They build up a knowledge of certain environments, learn history of the world as well as their Orders deeds and how odds were overcame. They are taught to survive on the most basic of items and how different races might act or can be swayed to help them should they need allies. They learn of military tactics, how different forces around the Sword Coast may fight and can be used to their best against a variety of enemies. Weaknesses that different beasts may have and can be exploited be they dire bears or hydras, and which tools to use for each job.

The Jaegers are taught by four mentors, all of whom are great warriors in their own right and are sometimes called upon to go on operations around the Sword Coast. They are:

Bael the Bear is one of the first individuals trainess will meet as they undergo the Rites of Initiation. Named the 'Bear' on account of his often exposed hairy torso, Bael teaches recruits how they must be versatile in the field and is a master at melee combat. He once disdained ranged weaponry but has grown to appreciate its uses over his 120 or so years since coming to the Keep and becoming a Jaeger.

Menshu Togafoot, a middle aged halfling whose smile can disarm many before a shortsword is swung. Menshu is a master in enemy psychology, able to read body language by seeing patterns and twitches and calculate how an enemy will act often before the enemy knows themselves. He is also able to implant ideas into the minds of enemies through psychology, faking movements to raise an enemies guard before striking from a different position.

Klandora Trayvex is an elven ranger who specialises in the hunt. Her tracking skills and ability to lay traps are legendary amongst the Jaegers, and her ability with the bow and reading the body language of beasts and monsters has become a great resource of knowledge for aspirants. Many Jaegers life has been saved by her lessons on how to survive with little to nothing in wild environments by this friendly if often stern elf.

Groten is an orc whose stature is second only to the Grand Master. The dark skinned orc is a master tactician in the field of battle, and whose skill with unarmed combat a favoured lesson by many at the Jaegers Keep. Groten, while menacing to look at, is also one of the most friendly of the tutors. An advocate that 'a little fun in a lesson is good for the spirit' he is often the tutor that a lot of aspirants will go to if their spirit is low or an issue has arisen.

Grand Master Horun is a mysterious figure to all initiates at the Keep. He has a presence than none other at the Keep have, a stern look always upon his face, the Grand Master does not teach any aspirant. It is only when initiates become a Jaeger will they converse with the still quiet Horun. His skill at using monastic combat is legendary amongst the few that have seen him in combat and no Jaeger has ever landed a hit on him. Only a few have even come close, and those few have gone on to become sdome of the best hunters the Jaegers have had amongst their number. Standing around 7ft tall but whose dwarven appearence belies his speed and strength, the Grand Master operates often and is tasked with the most dangerous of missions. Jaegers will occasionally seek his wisdom when they cannot find answers or have question to things. It is quietly told that Ornathex, the Ancient Gold Dragon and head of the Lords Alliance once asked to spar with Horun and not even the great wyrm could land a hit upon the Grand Master.

And there we are! The class is based upon the fighter but with a little more specialisation and also a custom version of the 'Grit Point' system that suits their training a little. If theres interest I can try and present the first 6 levels of Jaeger for others to try but bear in mind its designed for a smaller sized party of no more than four, my group is of three and it seems reasonably well balanced thus far. Let me know your thoughts, theres always room for tweaking but I will be post more homebrew content in the future.

Orks Vs Adepta Sororitas

 Welcome! Myself and Bam got to play a game of 9th on the weekend so thought I'd post a little overview of it. We forgot a tonne of rules We aimed for 1000 points but ended up at 950 as Bam wasn't sure what else to use.

 We pulled out a mission from the Open War pack that said we had to go for obejectives and scored point for each objective we held at the end of our turns, and from the second turn we had to roll a d6 and remove that number objective. Being knobs we totally forgot that one. Should have kept it even more simple!

Heres deployment!

Basic army lists had Bam with the following:
2 units of Trukk Boyz, one had a warboss inside
2 units of 6 Bikers
20 grots
10 Stormboyz

I had:
2 Canoness
3 Battle Sisters Squads 2x 10 and one 9 Sister strong
Exorcist
Penitent Engine
Hospitaller
5 Repentia w/Superior
5 Seraphim

 I moved forward a little to get three onjectives, and whittled a couple of stormboyz down and took the one biker mob down by two bikes from the exorcists. Bam charged his stormboyz forward, I did overwatch and killed a couple more until just five remained. I could weather this attack!


Bam caused 11 wounds, here was my saving roll on a 3+....

I still roll pretty crap power armour saves then it seems! I did switch one fail out for a miracle dice to save three Sisters in total however....I failed the morale check and then proceeded to have the last few run away. Not good!

The Canoness armed with Benificence killed the Stormboys in revenge and I sent the Repentia forward into a trukk with seraphim closing behind to back up.

Meanwhile my centre started to crumble, Bikers came in and started to whittle down my squad of Sisters before the Penitent Engine swept in and... well did very little. My other Canoness and Hospitaller charged in to try and deal with them but wounding on 5's isn't good!  

 

Meanwhile Bam was feeling dejected after the Exorcist killed four bikers from his other squad so charged a trukk into the safety of combat for the central objective,



That kept the Sisters there tied up while the Warboss smashed the Pentient Engine with ease and the boys took the rest of the Sisters Squad down that was stuck against the Bikers.

 

 Everywhere else the Sisters fell until the battlefield belonged to the Orks. Repentia failed to blow up the trukk so the Boyz came out and wiped them out before the Seraphim managed to take several of the boyz down before they too were brought down. It was a bit of a blood bath! I did manage to kill some of the boyz in the middle with the Canoness but I failed too many armour saves to keep her going. 

If theres one thing we learned in this battle its that we need to remember things, perhaps make a cheat sheet of abilities but also mission objectives, because we forgot so much. I was Bloody Rose and forgot all my abilities, Bams Goffs remembered the '6's generate extra hits' and that was huge for him, turning average dice rolls into 'technically I made em all' rolls. I need to look at the rules for combat too, as allocating wounds and what can kill what we just played to what we felt made sense so I think before the next game watch some 'how to play' videos online!

We had fun though and thats the main, we're gonna try get a battle in every month if possible as we also play D&D and have a session in the next couple of weeks I'm getting prepped. We wanna try get some Necromunda in too at some point but its another ruleset to learn so sticking with 40k first seems to make sense. Bam's looking to add more Boyz to his force to have a couple of blobs, Sisters wise I'm unsure what I'll add as I want to get these painted first. I'm intrigued with the Sisters in big suits of armour, so will probably wait until then and if I don't fancy them another squad of Sisters and some Retributers might be in order, possibly another 5 Seraphim too as I liked their mobility. It doesn't help I have a few other things I want to do too, including a couple of kitbashed transports for other armies! 

 Coming up I'm going to talk about some homebrew D&D I've worked on, a secretive faction that are part of the Lords Alliance in the Forgotten Realms.... the Jaegers of Zielen. As as I was writing this an NPC miniature from Heroforge arrived so it has to happen!

 

What Sororitas and Ork tactics do you have? Wheres a good place to learn 40k rules and have you any youtube recommendations? Thanks for reading folks!

 

 

Saturday Salvo!

Saturday Salvo returns! Here I look at the Warhammer Preview from the 20th of March 2021. So what plastic creations are Games Workshop planning to release so that we may empty our wallets?

How about some old world familiar style miniatures updated for AOS?



Well the Blood Knights are back! The Soulblight are AoS equivilant of the old Vampire Counts army, and look like a very interesting force. I'm not likely to play Age of Sigmar, but invoking those warm nostalgic memories of WHF is a good way to get people more inclined to give it a go should there be some wavering on the fence about picking up AoS. Heres the older miniatures, that still look good to be fair. 

Ah, square bases. I feel like a teenager again. New Skeletons and zombies also incoming with a similar look to those in Cursed City, an upcoming Warhammer Quest game I am interested in, and these absolutely gorgeous Giant Fell Bats. I need some!

HELLO REDEMPTIONISTS!

Not gonna lie, I want a load of them. Bakcing up my Sisters of Battle with zealous fury, for Necromunda, make a missionary out of those bits too for the Sisters. 

That chainsaw with the exterminator flamer! I cannot wait to grab a box of these. I've got some Cawdor and Flagellants from the Fantasy range to kit bash and these will be awesome for that. Also coming is a new starter box game for Necromunda which looks interesting.

Looks like Orks are going even more feral with this tease of the 'Beast Snagga's'. I'm intrigued to see if these are going to be with the codex or a supplement, the latter will be disappointing but its new models at least. Can we get a new Squiggoth model please GeeDubs?

The Adepta Sororitas are also getting new releases as has been seen previously with the new battle suit but a new tank had also been teased. The community wanted the return of the Repressor... and we didn't get it. We got this.



Now I'm grateful for new models... but this disappoints me. Its a Space Marine Predator. It doesn't feel new or needed in the Sisters range. The heavy support slot already has Retributers and Exorcists competing to be included and now this? Hmm I just can't see myself caring about it. Something bigger with room for a small squad of Sisters I'd have preferred, like a mini Stormlord or... A REPRESSOR! But no, we have a Leman Russ/SM Predator love child that for me, doesn't really work. What do you think of it or on any of the new previews?

It'll be interesting to see what else is teased throughout the year, Angron or Fulgrim would be nice, Be'Lakor was a great show and we need more big scary looking models!

At the moment I've been doing a lot of D&D writing, painting some models ready for it but also painting up my Sisters force for a game thats happening soon! Most are at a very basic stage so don't expect too many pictures but I will be doing an update for a WIP it Wednesday blog post... which will be a new feature and a way to get me blogging more often again! Yep, hoping to get 2 regular posts out every week plus anything else that catches my eye. I've got the new Candlekeep Mysteries book for D&D 5e which I'll go into a little and also hopefully talk about some of my homebrew content.

Maybe a little preview of my own?.....



SISTERS! I've got 2 ten strong Battle Sister squads, 1 Penitent engine, 5 Seraphim, Repentia with Mistress, 2x Canoness, Hospitaller and Imagifier (from the Triumph kit)to get done. I've already got 10 Sisters and an Exorcist mostly painted so I'm around about 1000 points strong.

So whats everyone else been upto? What did you think of the previews? Let me know and see you all soon!

The Primogenitor Project

 

The skin at the ends of his mouth cracked a little as the Chief Apothecary allowed himself to smile. Despite the time and resources it had taken, the various samples and experiments that had gone wrong and then razed before new tests subjects could be found or taken, he had finally been successful with his latest endeavour. 'Cawl, I have to hand it to you' he muttered to himself as his latest works cleaned up the last of their kills. The pict display showed the Sergeant surveying the field, striding past the bodies of freshly killed guardsmen as the Tormentum, Bile's personal transport, began to slow down. Not for thousands of years had the Clonelord seen such perfection on the field of battle, perhaps even since the Great Crusades. The purple and gold armour was a bold choice but the Spider knew it would mock the 'Loyalists' when they were being destroyed by a Legion renewed. He stroked his chin gently..... 'Perfection Primogenitor... Perfection.'

 

 

The Tormentum had stopped beside a small pile of corpses, where 5 Marines stood patiently for their Chief Apothecary. Fabius strode down the ramp. his skin cloak swaying as he spun around to meet his 'children'. Sergeant Hodoxum stepped forward and nodded. "You have performed well. I almost feel proud of you my sons' Fabius said to the squad. "Chief Apothecary, minor injuries to two but no losses. Enemy has been wiped out in this sector and Squad Daylus is advancing upon another enemy position as we speak. They will hold it shortly' the Sergeant stated. "Good" Bile replied. "There is a laboratory somewhere and it is important to me that I discover why these fools are dying to defending its location". A guardsmen let out a whimper nearby, and tried to reach up the Sergeants leg. Hodoxum looked down almost in pity, before stamping on the troopers skull releasing a small spurt of blood and matter onto the floor. "Sergeant advance to assist Squad Daylus. Inform them to take any officers prisoner but eradicate any others." The Sergeant motioned at his squad to move out, the gleaming purple and gold armour shone resplendantly as Fabius smiled once more, impressed with his own ability to have enhanced Cawls work into these magnificent beings. 'I would like to thank Cawl personally' Fabius thought to himself as he stalked back up the ramp of the Tormentum, the pistons on the door hissing as it closed behind him. 'Now, what secrets does this world have for me....' 

 
The Clonelord Cometh.

Future project tease, more information coming soon,

Hive Guard Outriders and Chimera Crane Conversion

Welcome back! Its been a slightly productive time since I last posted, the cavalry bases I had worked on now have the bikes on top! Theres four with Escher heads and four with Orlock heads, I did consider using some of the gang arms but the mining suits look so good I thought I'd keep them to enhance the mining side of gangs.

 The bases needed a little work afterwards to get the bikes to sit on them and then I added some gravel just so it looked like the bases had been out in the open or on the edge of the Hive for a little while

 Most of the heads fit fairly well onto the bodies but I did add a little ball of green stuff to make sure they fit better.

 Some of the Escher hair styles needed a trim mind!

 I plan on getting these finished in the next couple of weeks, I've got a lot of ideas I'm thinking of not just for 40k/Necromunda but D&D and the mind is constantly battling on what to think about!

 I'm also tempted to get three more boxes at some point so I can have 20 bikers, the Quads I'll use as sentinals and may use the spare two as utility vehicles.

 Speaking of utility vehicles....

I've got the Chimera Crane done, added a couple of little bits and I'm happy with how it looks. Its a little rough, but thats not a bad thing as it fits in with the 'urban survival' theme with Necromunda and making use of what you find.

 I added some plasticard underneath the crane itself and completely flattened the top of the Chimera to get a better fit.

This can be used for Necromunda, to theme a 40k board too in an industrial zone or where many containers may lie like a ship yard or storage facility. 

Thats pretty much what I've been working on for the last few days as well as some D&D writing.... some backstory for gods of all things! Coming up I'll have some D&D themed posts and more updates on 40k and Necromunda projects. I may even get some photos from Bam to show his orks off and some backstory to our upcoming campaign, which may wait until 9th is out as the Crusade ideas sound quite interesting so we shall see!

What have you fellow humans been working on? How do you feel about 9th edition Warhammer 40,000?

Jackals, Chimera Crane and WIPs

Welcome back for another wee update, I've been building more than painting this week, and first up I've got some bases almost built ready for some Atalan Jackals. I'm making them neutral to use with my Hive Guard force either as rough riders or just using the Atalan Jackal rules. It doesn't help that I now want loads and to recreate the Rohan cresting the hill scene from Return of the King and have them crashing into Ork lines.... We shall see!

I picked up the Galvanic Servohauler a couple months ago wondering how I can adapt it to some Necromunda terrain but then saw a few people attach it to a Leman Russ chassis. 'Thats cool' I thought, but debated whether there was a better chassis. After wondering if the lower bases Chimera chassis would be better I got hold of one and made this. Still bits to finish off but I'm quite happy with how that looks!I've flattened the top of the chimera off and then mounted the crane section onto some plasticard. Its not glued to the circular railing and I'm unsure whether to. It'll be sturdier but might be nice to be able to turn it... we shall see!

 I have paitned a little, firstly this guy I based from a leftover Genestealer Cultist from the Goliath kit mixed with some Orlock parts. Its what I'll be using predominently for the Atalan Bikers so had a little mess around with a colour scheme for them. I've retained the Thunderhawk blue main colour but used white on some of the armour and red casing for the gun. I'm unsure whether to stick with this for the bikers though, and may reverse it so the armour is thunderhawk blue.

 Little more done to the Exorcist too, having done some work to the Organists/rocket launcher firer. Theres a weird surface inside the Exorcist and I'm unsure how to paing this when I get to it, I can't make out if its stone or like a sheet covering something and the photo on the GW website isn't that clear either.

I also picked some other bits up with the Chimera, more Armoured Containers to go along with the three I already have, plus some Genestealer Cult characters to convert for the Hive Guard and Necromunda.

I grabbed these from The Outpost and they were quickly at my door to quench my hobby needs! The Alpus is such a cool model, and I love how theres very little to mark her as a Genestealer cult model. Easier for me to convert! She'll be getting an Escher head, as will the femala Atalan model in the main kit. The Nexos I'll probably use as a Master of Ordnance and the Clamavus either as a Voxcaster or even a standard bearer, I'm unsure yet but just liked the model enough to get! Also, both can be used for Necromunda too which is even better! 

So thats what I've been upto this week, what about you lot? Share any pictures below or maybe I've  sparked some ideas off for your own conversions? Either way keep safe and keep hobbying!