Who holds the Devil, let him hold him well...

He hardly will be caught a second time...

And well might the Bishop of Keinetotehierstadt mark these words having foiled Baron Kraust in his latest evil machinations!

Clean Up in Eilnein

Ajax Van Ish met the piercing gaze of the Elven Sorceress with a hard stare of his own. The weariness of five days on the road was barely detectable in the Count's grim countenance as he thanked his new ally.

"Your assistance is greatly appreciated my Lady. The heretics we track are not far but travel in strength. If we are to rescue our countrymen, or avenge them... our best chance is to surprise them in the Woods of Eilnein."

"Our watchers have observed closely the progress of your enemy. Now that they have dared defile the sanctity of our domain we share a common foe. Their pestilence must not be allowed to corrupt this sacred realm."

Lenor Ambypure closed her eyes and shuddered at the thought of the presence of Nurgle's followers despoiling the woods. She rose from the table in one fluid motion and gestured towards the trees that surrounded the glade in which the small council of war had met,

"Count Van Ish, my Gladewatchers will direct your soldiers to a place of ambush. Together we will cleanse this stain from Eilnein."

In the gloom of the dawn, Man and Elf  crept stealthily to their positions. Harnesses were tightened, weapons checked and bow strings strung. The forest road lay still, a darkened artery upon which a terrible infection travelled inexorably on...

Welcome folks to another battle report - this time between a desperate Alliance of Men and Wood Elves and the dread forces of Nurgle that we played some weeks ago. This was also the first time I went down to my local gaming club, York Wargames Society - a great venue and friendly club that I hope to spend much more time at, real life permitting...

Gaj graced us with his convivial presence thanks to a business trip to York and Warlord Paul kindly stepped in as GM. Setting up was slightly unusual as Paul suggested I record my deployment on a sketch map to simulate my forces waiting in ambush. So it was left to Gaj to assemble his column of Chaotics and human prisoners on the road, nervously eyeing the trees!

The Nurgle column shambles along the forest road after a happy few week's of raiding and pillaging.

Ere, Gutrot - you 'eard them tales aven't you? It's always the buggerz at the back wot cops it furst...

Chaos Goblin warriors lead the order of march.. Behind them comes the heavy tread of a unit of Chaos Warriors, followed closely by their dread leader and his three pet Trolls. A unit of Chaos Goblin archers bickers ahead of the unfortunates that have been taken prisoner - best not to linger too long on their fate... The vanguard is led by the Chaos Dwarves and their infernal Bazuka while a second mob of Chaos Goblin archers brings up the rear.

Unseen eyes mark their progress and wait...

I know you can smell them already but wait till you see the reds of their eyes boys...

Druid Snart

 

A while back I entered several collections of miniatures into the monthly painting challenges that JustJohn has been running over on the Oldhammer forum.

 

To spare my blushes I'm not going to mention which months' challenges I entered them - suffice to say that the plan was to paint 20 strong unit of Norsemen, Druid Snart and the original King F'yar mounted on his Wyvern in time for the Bring Out Your Lead event down at Foundry we had at the end of the summer hols!

 

Anyhow, I'm afraid the Norsemen and F'yar still languish in base coat purgatory, but Snart got finished a while back.

 

Here are the pics I've been meaning to post up for some time now...

 

Only the villagers and the more expensive Orc and Dwarven personalities needed to complete the set now...

Brothers in (Four) Arms - Part 2

So we finally find ourselves back on the dingy little backwater that is Pelegosto Prime.

Apologies for the slightly longer than intended intermission - real life and all that...

We last saw our dastardly Pirate Captain Reade running into the first obstacles in his way, as he and his desperadoes attempt to track down the whereabouts of his Brother-in-Law, Black Bill - Part 1

We now pick up the action as Reade splits his party in reaction to the skirmish with the militia patrols on the right flank. A scurvy looking boarding party begin sneaking down the left flank, aiming to use the thick vegetation as cover.

Brothers in (Four) Arms

Well it's been a busy week or so in terms of getting games played and my Genestealer Cult got another outing last weekend when Warlord Paul came round for a game. After rejigging the original Imperial Rescue mission idea I'd had for the scenario, we had a great afternoon's gaming using the Rogue Trader Rules.

Here's the scenario -

A raid on the main settlement of Pelegosto Prime has gone dreadfully wrong. A seemingly low tech and backward planet in the Outer Rim, Pelegosto seemed ripe for the picking to the orbiting Pirate ship. With its largely peasant population, rural economy and small PDF garrison surely it would be a push-over...

The initial reconnaissance party managed to make planet-fall without being detected. Their reports indicated that there was loot to be had as the harvest had just been auctioned off and a large influx of currency was doing the rounds among the large landowners. A large forbidding fortress had been identified as the seat of Government and so possibly the planet's Mint. Orders were duly issued to investigate it.

What happened next was unclear. Upon entering the castle the reconnaissance party's reports became increasingly strange, telling of strange religious iconography, cowled figures leading large congregations in strange rituals and a fearful presence that gnawed at the edges of their minds. The last transmission was garbled and panicky. It spoke of claws and hypnotic eyes in the Dark. It spoke of the Great Father's love for his children...

After the screams had stopped leaving only the clicks and pops of subspace static coming over the ship's communicator, Dola sat back in her Captain's chair, fists and teeth clenched.

Her Son-in-Law quailed a little inside. He didn't like what he had heard over the radio - especially as the leader of the missing team was his Brother-in-Law. He could guess what was coming next...

"Get down there and if you know what's good for you, don't come back without my son!"

With a sigh, he motioned his band to the transports. He had a bad feeling about this drop.

A larger Pirate force has been dispatched to the surface with one objective:

• Locate and rescue the original Reconnaissance Team

Rise From Your Grave!

Trying to get back into the painting game after a bit of a drought! I've failed miserably at the last two Painting Challenges run by Just John on the Oldhammer forum so I figured it was time to pull my finger out!

Happily, half the reason for not painting much this past couple of months has been the amount of games I've played with actual people! This little lot I hope to have ready for Blog-Con in November - another great event being held at Foundry.

I suppose they'll be good for a bit of a Halloween theme too.

This chap, Tom Meier's superb Zombie Dragon, is one I'm really looking forward to - he needs a bit more filling with miliput yet and I'd love to find a rider for him one day - just like the one that featured in WD142.

What a Thing is an Orc?

As part of Erny's Orctober I thought I'd ramble on a bit about some of the many different flavours Orcs come in.

This does not pretend to be a comprehensive list, nor a definitive one. I intend it more as a trawl through some old favourites, curiosities and old hackneyed tropes.