Evening!
This time I promised to show you something that has (hopefully) upgraded my painting skills to a next level: a wet palette!
This here particular design I picked from one of my favourite Youtube channels, Tabletop Minions, where they show you how to make a very fast and very cheap wet palette. I had heard of these strange gadgets before, but this was the first time I actually built and tested one. My first wet palette was built about two weeks ago and it still stands on my desk keeping my two-week-old paints ready for use whenever I want. These things are amazing!
I know some people prefer pic&text tutorials over videos, so now I shall go on to explain how exactly did I construct my wet palettes. Of course, if you would prefer a video tutorial please click here to access the one from Tabletop Minions.
On to the tutorial!
Materials
Let us start off with the required materials. You're going to need some kind of a plastic container, some kitchen paper/household towel, a square piece of baking parchment and a glass of water.
The container/plastic box I bought from a local general goods store (5 boxes for 1€) and they're basically just shallow, air-tight sandwich boxes or frozen-berry containers or something along those lines. Make sure it has a lid on it!
The kitchen paper/household towel is just a paper towel or tissue, I don't think that needs any further explanation. Baking parchment is just the rustling and slick paper you put on your baking tray before you put cookies on it.
Water... you can get it from a tap (or a well for that matter), but regardless of where you get it you should make sure the water is cool rather than hot. I've heard that the paints don't like hot water too much!
First Step
Take out the container and make sure it's intact (one of mine got so badly damaged somewhere along the way home that I didn't dare use it) and that the lid sits tight. That's all there is to it at this point.
Second Step
Fold the kitchen paper square in half, then fold the half in half again so that its a quarter of the original size. This gives the paper the thickness it needs for its job. Then tuck it nicely into the plastic box, preferably so that the edges curve upwards a little bit (should be visible in the picture).
Third Step
Now place the baking parchment into the box, on top of the kitchen paper. The parchment doesn't have to be folded in any way, just cut out a square that matches the size of the box and the quartered kitchen paper. It is intentional that some of the kitchen paper shows from underneath the parchment (namely the curved-up edges in the second step) as it is required for the next step.
Fourth Step
This is the fun (and messy) part of this tutorial. Take the glass/cup/mug/jar of water and pour some into the box, right in the middle of the parchment. Then put down the glass/cup/mug/jar and pick up the plastic box. Now swirl the water around the box gently, so that it touches the edges of the kitchen paper that show from beneath the baking parchement. The paper will absorb the water and you will see how the paper and the parchment darken a bit as they get wet. Apply water as many times as you see fit, but when the parchment and the paper feel nice and moist you're right about there.
Finished!
There you are, a self-made wet palette! You can now close the lid tight and perhaps write something on it like "Wet Palette, *name* " so that nobody will think it's trash and throw it away.
The idea of the wet palette is to keep your paints available to you for a (considerably) longer period of time. When you start painting just open the lid, take some paint from a pot and put it on the palette, perhaps adding some water to thin it down. Unlike on any normal palette, the paint on the wet palette won't dry up in two minutes but will remain usable for a long time. Just close the lid when you're finished, and the next time you open it you can use the very same paints from the palette again!
How it functions is that the kitchen paper holds the water, providing moisture, while the baking parchment prevents the paper from absorbing the paints you put on the palette. The air-tight plastic box holds the moisture in, making sure the whole thing doesn't dry up. A lovely gadget, isn't it?
Thank you Tabletop Minions for showing me this path to enlightenment. I honestly do not know how I ever managed this far without a wet palette of my own!
Greetings!
It is time for my 9th Narrative Battle Report! This quite large battle continues the story of my Iron Company as they begin a huge coordinated counter-attack to reclaim lost lands from the greenskins. Without further introduction I'll show you the scenario we played:
As the Iron Company is waddling its way through the greenskin-infested lands they suddenly come face-to-face with Big Warboss Urgokh himself, along with his massive Waaagh! that has been mobilized to crush the intruding Duardin force!
In this homebrew scenario the main aim was to dominate the battleground and inflict damage on the enemy army. Victory Points were scored as follows:
+1 Victory Point for every destroyed enemy unit with 5+ models in it (or a single model with more than 10 Wounds)
+D3 Victory Points for slaying an enemy Hero with your own Hero
+3 Victory Points for controlling (having most models within 3" of) an objective marker at the end of the game
There were three objective markers on the table along the middle line: one amidst the rocks on the left, one in the ruins in the middle and one more in the forest on the right. As you can see, mere slaughter of the enemy troops will do the player little good as the objective markers are much more valuable -given that the player is in possession of any at the end of the match.
We also wanted to include a healthy bonus for daring to risk one's Heroes in the hack and slash of combat: thus killing an enemy Hero with one of your own had the chance to score more points than other destroyed units.
To represent the real size of the armies that clashed in this story each player could bring any destroyed non-hero/non-monster unit back into the game at the start of one's own movement phase, entering from the player's own table edge.
The battle lasted for six Battle Rounds or until the time ran out (we had a little over 3 hours to play the battle), whichever came first.
Now on to the narrative!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Like a worm of steel the dwarven columns slithered onto the sun-basked plateau from the cool shadows of a deep forest. Just this morning the Company's forward scouts had reported sightings of a large greenskin horde headed their way, supposedly to engage the dwarves in open battle. This was perfectly fine with Ungrim Ironhelm, the Commander of the Iron Company. Brushing his brilliant red beard with a gloved hand, the dwarven general assessed the soon-to-be battleground.
"Set up our artillery 'ere, behind this forest, and deploy our Thunderers in a thin line in front o' them. The Ironbreakers shall accompany me in the centre while the Warriors are split in between the two flanks," Ungrim spouted out, his lieutenants struggling to memorize the positions of their units as the general spoke.
"What about The Indomitable, m'lord?" asked Grumdin Splintershield, the Company Battle Standard Bearer.
Taking out his pipe to light it, Ironhelm stood silent for a time. What would he do with the Company's revered Steam Tank?
"Send it to the left," the general finally said, blowing out a cloud of smoke.
"I want it to maul the green savages with cannonfire while anchorin' the flank for me."
"Will be done, my liege!" Grumdin replied and the dwarven officers saluted as one before leaving to deliver the orders to their units.
Ungrim Ironhelm now stood alone in the sunshine, admiring the vista opening in front of him and sucking smoke from his pipe. There was a brief glint in the opposite side of the plateau, atop a steep hill in the distance.
"We're bein' watched..." the Commander mumbled to himself as he pondered the upcoming battle.
All across the green plateau, atop a small hill in the distance, a goblin lookout lowered its stolen spyglass.
"Dem stunties are here, I gotta tell boss!" it reasoned, almost falling over as it stumbled on its own legs in its hurry to get back to the safety of the mob.
Back at the greenskin horde that had come to a stop at the edge of the plateau the goblin made its way towards the commands screamed in a high-pitched voice. Finding Azgar Swiftgit, its boss, the goblin begun the long process of gathering up the courage to make its report.
The anger of the goblin warboss was palpable as he tried to explain the battleplan to his nose-picking underlings.
"Poisonbutt, ye take yer spideys over 'ere in da safety of da hill, while dis spearmob shall..." Azgar begun for the twelfth time while pointing his gnarled green finger at a map, but again he was cut short.
"What? Where? On da paper, boss?" asked the leader of the Spider Riders, completely dumbfounded.
"No! No! NO! Eeeaargh, ye idiots! Not on da paper but on da place that's drawn on da paper!" the warboss screamed, clawing his face in desperation.
"Oh now I sees it, boss!" the Spider leader's expression brightened. "I thinks it's a very sneaky plan, boss, but I still don't fink we all fit on dat small piece of paper..."
There was a swing of a rusty sword and the leader of the Spider Riders fell to the ground, holding the side of its bloody head. A green pointy ear rested on the ground next to it.
"I've got enuf of ye 'shroom-headed lackwits! Get on da field an' kill me some stunties!" Azgar raged, and the gits hurried to obey. As he was cleaning his sword on his cloak, the goblin lookout finally made its approach.
"Ehm, boss... I's got news from da field. Dem stunties are 'ere, all set up an' ready for a scrap," the goblin blurted out and ran away as soon as the sentence was finished.
" 'Ere already? Oh bugger, I's gotta tell Urgokh..." Azgar murmured and walked up to his white wolf. "Take me to da Big Boss!"
Big Bossy Warboss Urgokh, the indisputable leader of this greenskin horde, was directing his forces onto the plateau with kicks and curses. Accompanying him was the infamous orc warboss called Stuntiedoom, goading a mob of reckless Orc Boyz towards the grassfields and the supposed general direction of the opposition.
Amid all the roars and bellows and other loud noises the orcs were making, the goblin warboss that approached upon his white wolf was almost impossible to hear.
"Oi, Big Boss Warboss!", Azgar Swiftgit called out as his wolf came to a halt behind the two towering orc leaders.
"Wut is it, Swiftgit?", Urgokh demanded, shooting the goblin a murderous gaze.
"Dem stunties are 'ere! Right on da uvver side of da plain and all ready fer a..." Azgar never finished the sentence as his eyes locked on Stuntiedoom. "Wut is dat dim-witted squig-farmer doin' here!? He ain't no good to no-one, dat mockery of an orc!"
"Ya shuts up right now or I'll rip yer little 'ead right off!" Stuntiedoom roared back, furious at the arrogance of the goblin chief.
"Both of ya hold yer tongues now, we's got ourselves a good fight in our hands!" Urgokh interfered, his voice promising violence if the two underlings didn't quit their quarrels immediately.
"Azgar comes wiv me, and you Stuntiedoom... Do not fail me or I'll gut you like a squig!" he continued, pointing an enormous axe at the orc boss. "Now let's go kill us sum stunties!"
As soon as the greenskin horde came into sight, Iron Company sounded the advance. Banners fluttered in the summer breeze and warhorns sounded encouraging notes to the marching troops, at least on the duardin side of the battlefield. The green horde that billowed towards them was a cacophony of warcries, insults and maniacal laughter instead, a storm of violence drawing ever closer.
The battle started as a swift shadow glided across the grassy plain, heralding the coming of the first goblin Doom Diver! Before anyone managed to shout out a warning, the winged suicide-goblin crashed into the crews of the Iron Company's warmachines, flattening the entire crew of the Grudge Thrower in one go. Unperturbed by this unfortunate start, the Flame Cannon's crew moved to the vacant warmachine and prepared it for firing.
Steam Tank "The Indomitable" rolled its way to the top of the hill on the left flank, pressurizing its steam cannon. In the centre the line of Thunderers walked up to the small cluster of trees, priming their rifles, while the Ironbreakers formed a shieldwall to protect their lord.
Standing behind his Anvil of Doom, Runelord Snorri Greymane lifted his forgehammer and brought it down on the runic surface of the anvil. With an extended resonance and a flash of golden light, the suits of armour of the closest unit of Warriors, "The Gallant Guard", started to glow as the metals remembered the fires they were forged in and hardened themselves, ready to protect their wearers.
In the far right flank the other regiment of Warriors, "Ludsen's Lumberjacks", marched steadily towards the forest in front of them, determined to reach it before the oncoming Giant and the skulking Spider Riders.
Having finally loaded the Grudge Thrower, the duardin crewmen released the mechanism. Two rune-carved rocks the size of an ogre's head arced through the skies, both landing atop Big Bossy Warboss Urgokh. The first rock merely struck off the orc's battered pauldron, but the second one struck home. With a wet crunch, the right arm of the green general was dislocated and the bones in the shoulder shattered.
"Ya dead yet, boss?" asked Stuntiedoom, running past with a spiteful smile.
"Keep yer mouth shut, I ain't dead yet," Urgokh growled, picking himself off the ground.
"Push on wiv the attack, now I's got a score to settle..."
As the tide of green menace kept running towards the enemy lines, something stirred in the ground behind them. Soon a large hole emerged on the ground as the surface soil caved in, revealing a smiling dirty dwarven face.
"Ethred was right, lads! Here we are, right behind those cursed buggers!" the miner rejoiced, and soon a good number of dirty duardin miners crawled to the surface. Lastly they pulled a pony and a mining cart from the hole in the ground.
There was a thunderous boom as a volley of gunshots flew from the ranks of the Iron Company, scything down a good number of the running Black Orcs. The destruction was total when the Flame Cannon also let fly its deadly payload, drenching the monstrous orcs in liquid flame. Amidst the choking smoke and the stench of burning flesh the Black Orcs laid immovable, having been reduced to mere charred carcasses by the power of the dwarven machine of war.
Coughing the black smoke out of his lungs, Warboss Urgokh failed to notice the second set of rocks flung at him by the Grudge Thrower. With two heavy thumps the rocks pummeled into the orc general's chest, knocking him into the ground for good.
"Ya dead yet, boss?" Stuntiedoom hooted again on the run. This time, however, there was no answer. Before the aspiring orc leader had time for further celebration, though, a hollow boom echoed across the battlefield as a cannonball flew from the bowels of the Steam Tank "Indomitable". The immense power of the shot tore off a good chunk of Stuntiedoom's leg, felling him to his knees.
"Yyyeeeaaarrgghhh!" Stuntiedoom bellowed as he levered himself up from the ground to continue the charge. He wasn't going to give up that easily, especially now that the position of the Waaagh! leader was all free for taking.
Behind the advancing greenskins the duardin miners ran into the goblin-crewed Doom Diver Catapult, tossing blasting charges before engaging the terrified goblins in close combat. A chain of explosions erupted as the bombs went off, sending pieces of goblin-meat flying in every direction, but from the smoking craters a single form rose to oppose the miners: Ruglud the Orc Bully.
Trying to fend off the attackers with his crude whip and a choppa, Ruglud slashed left and right at anyone who dared come near. Despite his best efforts the dwarves were too many and soon a pickaxe buried itself in his lower back. The Bully's cries of agony rang in the warm air, marking the end of greenskin artillery support for this battle.
On the left flank the cluster of Night Goblins opened its ranks and revealed four maniacally spinning Fanatics that headed straight for the Steam Tank atop the nearby hill. The mob of orcs next to them crashed headlong into the Gallant Guard, waving crude choppas with wild abandon as they tried to pry open the dwarven shieldwall. Weathering the furious charge with minimal casualties, the Dwarf Warriors stroke back, breaking formation and spreading out to pull down their larger adversaries. Scores of orcs fell to the steady hack-and-slash of steel axes, the duardin reaping a bloody harvest as their enemies were struck down or driven from the field. Only the most berserk Orc Boyz yet remained, eluding death for now.
Commander Ungrim Ironhelm advanced towards the ruins with his bodyguard of Ironbreakers close at hand. Shouting out encouragements for his nearby troops, the dwarven general noticed the limping form of Stuntiedoom emerging from behind a crumbled brick wall.
"Circle around the ruins and take defensive positions to hold the centre, I'll deal with that hideous beast," Ungrim instructed his bodyguard, nodding towards the orc leader.
The line of Thunderers was beset by several threats as the Giant, the Spider Riders and Azgar Swiftgit were all charging towards them at alarming speed. With a steady voice the unit's leader ordered his Thunderers to take aim and fire, showering the rampaging Giant with a rain of lead. Roaring mightily as the shots sunk into its flesh, the huge monster raised its hand for protection and slowed down its pace.
Meanwhile the Spider Riders had closed in, however, and were now setting their vicious mounts upon the dwarves. Gun-butts and crooked spears whirled in the air as the two sides traded blows, and many fell. Poisonous spider fangs claimed the lives of many a Thunderer, but counter-blows and a few lucky shots saw to it that the goblins didn't emerge unscathed either.
In the far right Ludsen's Lumberjacks finally reached the forest in front of them, cramming in and securing easily defendable positions along the edge of the cluster of woods.
Behind the greenskins Ruglud the Bully was mutilated by multiple blows from pickaxes as the Miners swarmed over him. Before they had time to admire their effective work at eliminating the enemy warmachine something emerged from the forest behind them. The edge of the forest rang to the clatter of metal and furious warcries as a mob of Black Orcs rumbled onto the plateau, reinforcements from the rest of the Urgokh's Waaagh! that had not yet arrived to the site of battle.
Driven by the effects of a very potent mushroom-beer, the goblin Fanatics whirled their balls and chains in arcs of destruction before eventually colliding with the Indomitable. Ear-shattering bangs and clangs echoed from the hill as the Fanatics plunged into the steel bulk of the Steam Tank one by one, denting and battering its metal plating badly. Emboldened by this heroic act of their kin, the goblin spearmob charged up the hill to surround the tank. Poorly crafted spears scraped the metal surface of the Indomitable, leaving not even little marks despite the best efforts of the small malicious greenskins.
The Gallant Guard finished the few remaining orcs with grim determination, beating them to the bloodied grass field. In their death throes the Orc Boyz desperately fought back, taking a few incautious dwarves with them to their doom. Stuntiedoom cursed as he watched his mob die in the hands of the Iron Company. With his injured leg he couldn't make it in time to help his kin in their struggles and now he stood alone in the middle of the battleground, staring the general of the dwarves eye-to-eye.
On the right the green hammerblow struck home. Without the time to reload properly for a new volley, the Thunderers were decimated in swirling melee by three different enemies. The Giant sweeped across the dwarf lines with its huge club, sending the stunties flying in the air like ragdolls. Spiders crawled all over the Thunderers and their fangs sunk into exposed flesh, saturating it with deadly venom. Amidst all the confusion of this fight for survival, Azgar Swiftgit bounced back and forth atop his white wolf while slashing about him with his sword, severing arms and stabbing backs. Boldened by the presence of the Company's battle standard right behind them, held aloft by Grumdin Splintershield, the Thunderers held their ground and kept on fighting against the impossible odds.
In the back lines the newly arrived Black Orcs fell upon the Miners with apparent glee. Taken completely by surprise, the dwarves had no time to react and many got smashed to bloody pulp by the heavy axes and maces of the dark-skinned orcs before even lifting a pickaxe for defense.
On the left flank the goblins were piling on the Indomitable, hanging from its sides and gun-barrels and trying to pry open the top hatch with their spears to get their dirty little hands on the dwarf engineer that was managing the steel behemoth from the inside. The tank's steam cannon spewed out a canister shot, burning and shattering the nearby goblins with its power.
The Gallant Guard saw that their tank would soon be swarmed and took immediate action. Charging into the rear of the goblin spearmob driven by their hatred of these little savages, the warriors slaughtered their ancestral enemies without quarter. Such was the ferocity of their attack that they took not a single casualty in return!
Runelord Snorri Greymane brought his forgehammer down on his Anvil of Doom once again, this time resulting in a crackling bolt of lightning that flew from its glowing runes and arced towards the Giant. The painful roars of the monster echoed throughout the field as the lightning bolt burned its face to crisp, diverting it from smashing the Thunderers completely as its eyes were put out.
The Ironbreakers obeyed their master and hurried into the middle ruins, securing a good defensive position there while their master approached the wounded orc warboss. Striding determinedly towards Stuntiedoom, Commander Ungrim Ironhelm hefted his runic warhammer. Whispering promises of revenge to his prized weapon, the dwarven general caused his hammer to obtain a certain bluish glow as the runes forged upon its surface activated.
"This is the end of your bloody life, ya monster!" Ungrim taunted the limping warboss.
"Now ya shall pay for every single drop o' blood you have taken from my Iron Company. I offer the very best workin' conditions and dental care for those who follow me, and I won't have ya causing any kind o' trouble to my subordinates!"
Stuntiedoom started slowly limping towards the shouting dwarf with a wicked grin on his face.
"Well well, isn't it the big-hat-bossy-dwarf! I's gonna take yer shiny bosshat for meself to mark me new position as da warboss of dis here Waaagh!, so just try an' stop me!" the orc roared, lifting his brutal axe and surging forth.
Behind the battling armies the confrontation between the Miners and the Black Orcs continued. More and more dwarves were falling as the orcs chopped their way forward, shattering pickaxes and skulls with every strike. Prospector Ethred, the leader of the Miners, powered his steam drill and rammed it into the side of an unlucky Black Orc, causing blood and metal fragments to splash in every direction. If the immense power of the drill was enough to shatter bedrock, it sure as Sigmar was enough to punch a hole into an orc!
On the right the Thunderers refused to give up. More fell to the ground, twitching in violent spasms as spider venom coursed through their veins, but the three remaining dwarves fought on, un-spidering two goblins with point-blank shots. The Giant couldn't find any enemies to kick or squeeze or maul as the loss of eyesight hindered its combat abilities severely, and Azgar had to move away from the Thunderers to avoid getting stomped by the blind Giant.
Moving away from the combat did little good for the goblin chieftain, though. As soon as Azgar was clear of the furious Giant's shadow, another shadow descended upon him. Before even realizing what was happening, Swiftgit was thrown from his saddle as an accurate grudge-rock smashed his albino wolf from under him. Azgar rolled on the grass and lifted his gaze, his beady little eyes locking on his mount's red ones as the wolf struggled to get up, its back broken by the rock.
"Nooooooo! Me dear little wullof, NOOOOOO!" the goblin screamed, extending his hand towards his beloved beast. Just then another shadow fell, heralding the coming of the second projectile. The grudge-rock smashed right down on Azgar, leaving nothing but his extended hand visible to the uncaring outer world.
Upon the surface of the rock under which the goblin's grave was now located were the words "Azgar Swifgit, the Bane of Brokksson", etched in angered chisel-strikes. The grudge had been settled.
Stuntiedoom and Ungrim Ironhelm ran into each other, entering a mortal combat. Trying to keep his weight off his injured leg, the orc warboss hopped around trying to land a blow on the dwarf with his large two-handed choppa. Ungrim effortlessly dodged the clumsy blows, always stepping aside before the rusted axe came towards him.
Having thus drained the initial rage and stamina of his adversary, the dwarven general made a decisive counter-attack. Directing the next axe-swing to the side with his sturdy shield, Ungrim brought his long-handled warhammer down on the orc's arm in a brutal overhead blow. There was a wet smack and crunch as the bones in the greenskin's arm broke, the huge axe dropping from numb green fingers. The next hammerblow struck into Stuntiedoom's ribs, sending him sprawling to the ground.
"Thus have I, Ungrim Ironhelm, the Commander of the Iron Company, avenged those o' my subordinates that ya have put to eternal rest. The wergild is paid and the grudge settled!" Ungrim bellowed pompously, bringing his runic hammer down one final time, shattering the orc's skull.
All around the battlefield fighting started to abate. On the left flank the Gallant Guard advanced up the hill, fighting their way through the press of hooded goblins with axes swinging in the air. The little greenskins were scythed down like ripe wheat, their ranks falling into a mad panic as vengeful dwarves surrounded them. As the panicked goblins pressed against the hull of the Indomitable to escape the Dwarf Warriors, the tank started turning around in place, grinding hapless enemies under its weight. None of the hooded figures was left standing.
On the right the Thunderers held their line, managing to avoid the blind Giant's clumsy strikes and the fangs of the last remaining spider, except for one unfortunate dwarf on whom the Giant dropped its enormous club as it freed both its hands for searching the elusive enemy.
Back in the rear Ethred's Miners were finally surrounded and killed to the last dwarf. The Black Orcs surrounded their foe and closed in from all sides, their axes and clubs raising and falling, raising and falling, until no enemy remained to hack at.
On the far left flank, forgotten by friend and foe alike, Ludsen's Lumberjacks guarded the strategically important forest to ensure that the Iron Company remained in full control of the plateau.
Realizing that the battle was lost, the last Spider Rider ran into the forests, as did the Black Orcs, sliding back into the woods with angry growls and murderous eyes. The blinded Giant wandered off into the wilds, confused by the events of the day. The Iron Company let them all go, beginning to search the field for still usable weapons, armour and wounded comrades instead.
It was starting to rain. Ungrim Ironhelm cleaned his bloody hammer by wiping it on the grass while gazing around the corpse-strewn battleground. One of his lieutenants approached to make a casualty report.
"M'lord, the remaining savages are on full retreat. The bodies o' the foe are piled high, while ours are scant. All o' Ethred's Excavators were lost, but they managed to put out the greenskin artillery as was the plan. The Thunderers held their line against impossible odds but will be in dire need of reinforcing. I believe the Indomitable could do with some repairs, too," the dwarven officer reported.
"Aye, it was a great victory we won here today, and many grudges were settled. But there's still work to do and battles to win before all this is o'er," Ungrim Ironhelm mused, lifting his cleaned hammer against his shoulder.
"Let's get back to the others and make a camp. I wouldn't mind drinkin' an ale or twelve after this!"
As the two dwarves walked away the rain intensified. All around them the prone forms of slain orcs laid in heaps, covering the landscape. Rain drummed weakly upon the surface of battered helms, breastplates and pauldrons, slowly washing away stains of blood. Amidst the carcasses of his once-ferocious warriors laid the motionless body of Big Bossy Warboss Urgokh, laid low by rune-carved grudge-rocks. A particularly fat drop of water descended from the heavens, plummeting straight onto the orc general's dark green eyelid. For a moment nothing changed, but then suddenly the eye flew open.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At last, a victory for the Dwarves! Honestly speaking, these occasions have been rather rare. Of all my nine Narrative Battle Reports I've managed to come out on top only twice. But who cares! Its the story and the mutual fun that is the aim of this game, not winning at all costs.
This here battle was epic to behold on the tabletop, and the tide really swayed back and forth in the beginning before finally settling down in favor of the Iron Company. In the end I had 11 Victory Points against my opponent's 1 Victory Point, scored according to the scenario rules I introduced in the beginning of this post. Most of my points came from the two objectives (right flank forest and middle ruins) I controlled at the end of the match, but I also scored a nice batch of points by slaying Stuntiedoom with Ungrim.
We're looking to get two more games into our "Iron Company VS Waaagh! Urgokh" -storyline with my opponent before we wrap our little war to a conclusion and start inventing new stories for my Narrative Battle Reports to tell!
Next I'm going to show you a brand new thing I recently added to my painting repertoire that has upped my skills to a whole new level. I hope.
Until then!
Hi there folks!
Today I'm going to give you a breeze from the past! I recently acquired an old metal Mordheim model in a trade, and it's none other than the badass Witch Hunter Captain!
I simply love this model. Standing there in such a balanced and decisive pose, casually resting his broadsword against his shoulder while hanging a severed head by the hair. He also has this epic "streaming hair" effect as if he was standing in front of a giant fan!
His splendid longcoat and multiple layers of flamboyant clothing really strike him as a man of the Empire, as does the fact that he carries at least three different weapons. One can never be too cautious when the job description includes hunting down witches and mutants!
May I introduce you to Heinrich Krankengand, a merciless Witch Hunter! I apologize for the somewhat crappy quality of the pics, my table lamp did some strange tricks on the lens.
I gave his longcoat the colour of dark brown, which along with the black of his hair and trousers is supposed to make him look more sinister and ominous. His gloves and boots I decided to give a lighter colour to make them stand out, and his undershirt (along with the sleeves) was painted to represent "natural" or dirty white.
His vest or whatever piece of clothing he has in between the undershirt and the longcoat was given a nice red colour, mostly because I wanted something bright among all the dark and dirty.
His weapons are of the highest quality, of course, so they have lots of gold and rich purple on the hilts, as well as the tiny blue gems for decoration.
His backside. The hand that holds the severed head, the hangman's noose and the mysterious book are all nice details on the model's otherwise uninteresting back. I love how the hair of the head "flows" in between the Witch Hunter's gloved fingers, it looks so sturdy somehow... and grotesque. Ugh.
The hangman's noose is just badass. It seems to be yelling out "I see a witch, I kill the witch", and it's easy for me to imagine this guy executing any heretics right on the spot rather than waiting for some pesky trial (bah!).
The book this guy hangs from his belt is intriguing. I painted it black and made sure to give it shiny golden parts to make it look mysterious and valuable. Could it be a list of suspects and the accused? An impound grimoire? A book of Sigmarite prayers? A journal?
Had I written "Big Mamma's Cook Book" on the cover it wouldn't be half as interesting, now would it!
This here pic is better than the first ones. Here the colours look a bit richer and more like they do in real life. Notice the red lining on the boots and the golden lining on the red shirt. Looks expensive!
I searched out my Ulthuan Grey colour (it's rarely used) to add a spooky effect on the severed head: blank eyes! The intent was to have it look like the hapless victim's eyes rolled up as he was decapitated, making him look even more dead than severed heads usually do.
And the last picture. His ugly face is shown brilliantly here, those black eyebrows make him look quite angry!
I'm going to use this model as a Witch Hunter in my Empire army, and as the warscroll has the weapon options for a Blessed Rapier or a Silver Greatsword I wanted to make the model's broadsword represent these even somehow. In addition to the expensive-looking hilt, I painted the blade shiny and silvery to make it look more blessed or silvered.
Now Witch Hunter Heinrich Krankengang is ready to hunt some witches!
A new year, a new army!
In the past three months I've been forging together a brand new army: Warriors of Chaos! My current collection consists of only Order and Death factions, so this is a welcome change. I found a good deal on the web that got me a whole bunch of units for a very reasonable price, and although all the models had been pretty much assembled and basecoated it was still a golden deal!
Here's a group shot of the northern warriors I've finished thus far:
That's already 64 Wounds worth of models if my calculations are correct. Let me introduce this merry lot!
From left to right
Back Row: "Dolgeram's Doomriders" (Chaos Knights x3), "Aphophas Silvertongue" (Daemon Prince), "The Comet of Doom" (Chaos Chariot)
Middle Row: "Gulbrand's Warband" (Chaos Warriors x10), "Tyr's Fyrd" (Chaos Marauders x10)
Front Row: "Balfrik Steelshanks" (Champion with Battle Standard), "Izazel the Twisted" (Chaos Sorcerer Lord)
After a long and painful thought-process over the four gods of Chaos I finally settled on Tzeentch, mostly because I found a stunning paint scheme for my models! At first I was going for Slaanesh (as Khorne and Nurgle seem to mainstream for me) but when I spotted this selection of colours at Dice and Brush I was sold to Tzeentch... That blue theme just catches my eye more than any other, especially when applied to armour!
Here's the first model on which I practiced before starting on the rest of the army:
I really love that blue+purple+bone theme, especially with those bright highlights... Makes these otherwise dark-and-evil warriors look much nicer and happier!
I found the Chaos Warriors to be very enjoyable models to paint, as there are lots of plain areas like the cloak and the armour plates but also rough spots like the fur or the chainmail. I never got tired of painting these guys!
A few more Warriors from the "Gulbrand's Warband" unit. The weapon options here are various as the previous owner apparently switched many weapons and shields to those from a box of Zombies. I'm not sure where the shields are from, though, might be Orcs or Beastmen. In terms of gameplay I use them as having a pair of Chaos Handweapons.
All in all I don't find these hand replacements a bad thing as many of them are quite cool-looking. I think it's hilarious that one of them is armed with a severed leg!
I've got ten of these guys painted already, and a further 5 still waiting to be painted.
Gulbrand the Aspiring Champion, leader of the Warrior unit. Waving a big axe and dragging the torso of the former leader around seems to be enough of a recommendation to make you rise into a respected position in this society!
"The Comet of Change", one of the two chariots I got in the deal. I somehow like the sturdiness of this old model, and the overly-huge spikes also get me going. Those sickles on the wheels look nasty!
I'm planning to mount him on a base of some kind so I can texture it to match the rest of the army once I get to the basing phase. This model was pretty straightforward to paint, I did the horses, the charioteers and the chariot itself on their own and glued them together afterwards. I had a bit of trouble trying to fit these two huge armoured guys into the chariot, bu in the end they found their places with no further commotion.
Here are a few Marauders from the "Tyr's Fyrd" unit (a total of 10 painted, 6 waiting). I kept using the same limited palette to make my whole army unified, and I had to give these barbarians blonde hair as there were precious few other parts in them that I could paint with Screaming Skull. This didn't bother me at all as it just makes them look more "Scandinavian" and vikingy.
Painting the armoured parts blue was a real pain in the ass, as well as the shields. I have no idea why, I just hated it!
Instead the muscles were a pleasure to paint, as weird as that may sound... I enjoyed giving them a heavy wash and picking them out one by one to make them distinguishable.
Still, one must not think that I generally like to wash men and pick out their muscles, as this is not the case. Nice try, though.
Balfrik Steelshanks, the Champion with a Battle Standard! I did some minor conversions on this one, as he had a round wooden shield in the other hand and the banner in the other. I wanted him to carry a weapon, but still have something to represent his Chaos Runeshield -ability. So I ended up with an Ogre fist-weapon! This gave me the "shield" and the "weapon" parts I wanted in a compact package, as well as a nice detail: his weapon hand is mutated, having grown two times larger than its original size!
The banner took some time to do, and as I had already used the Tzeentch symbol on the shields and banner of the Chaos Warriors I needed something different on this one... So I ruthlessly copied the "Burning Eye" symbol from Dice and Brush!
It is one of the few freehand banner paintings I've ever done, but I'm happy with the result.
Meet Prince Aphophas Silvertongue! It took quite a lot of time and effort to get him to shape as I always found myself displeased by the result in the end. His chest and shoulders have been re-done quite a few times!
The story of this army is all about finding the right artifacts and performing a ritual to awaken Prince Aphophas, so he's quite an important character. This is why I took the time and patience to continue fixing him until I was satisfied.
Blue, gold, bone and strong highlights were the main features, but I also managed to get some purple on his malefic person (the cloth behind the chainmail) as well as red and orange by fitting them into his Daemonic Axe. Now he's ready to be summoned into the material realms by his devoted followers to wreak havoc!
Last but not least, Sorcerer Izazel the Twisted, leader of the warband! It is his sacred duty to direct the warband in its search of the artifacts and to summon their Daemon overlord from the Realm of Chaos to lead them in a glorious conquest!
Again I used the same palette as with the rest of the army, but used more purple than on any other model to make him stand out of the crowd. As if his badass lava base doesn't do that already.
I'm happy with how the staff and the eye-symbols look, but the horns and his own eyes are terrible, oh so terrible. I fixed both of these later on, yet I still have no pics to prove it. Some day I'll show you the fixed version of him!
I still have a small unit of Forsaken, another Chariot, 13 more Knights, 6 more Marauders, 5 more Warriors and a Chaos Lord to paint before I can add them to the army. There is much to be done, but the models I have ready thus far enabled me to already play a test game with them. Alas, the game was against my brother's brand new Stormcast Eternals and I took a sound beating despite all the preparations I made before the match...
Speaking of the pre-game preparations, I sacrificed my dog in the name of Tzeentch to lend some much-needed luck and surety to my dice rolls:
This proved to be quite effective, as my Knights and Warriors made 90% of their Save rolls (most of them requiring a 5+) during the match! I've never rolled that sweet! In the end I lost the match, yes, but it still doesn't take away the miracle of these save rolls.
Lord Tzeentch is a fickle master, though, and when Prince Aphophas was required to make 7 save rolls on a 3+ to avoid death, I rolled the following results: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 4.
There is a lot to be learned about the exact effects of pre-game sacrifices, and I only have three dogs left... We'll see where my research takes me before I run out of pets.
Until next time!
PS. In case someone didn't get it by now: my dog is still alive and in very good condition. I have committed no animal sacrifices and I still own four dogs. It was nice to make jokes with you.
Here we go, this blog's 8th Narrative Battle Report!
I promised you a unique scenario, and that's exactly what we had here. A sea battle!
Well, it might not be THAT unique now that I think of it, but it's not like you see many AoS sea battle reports out there.
So, here's our deployment:
The gaming surface was a sea, as well as three boats that were connected to each other by boarding planks.
In this scenario, two Duardin assault ships ambush an Orc supply vessel. The game lasts for 6 Battle Rounds or until one side gets wiped out. At the end of the game, the side with the most models aboard the Orc ship is declared victorious. Simple, isn't it?
It certainly was too simple for us, so we added a nice little extra rule: each turn models starting their movement phase on a boarding plank had a chance to slip and fall to their doom! We rolled a dice for each such model, and a roll of 1 took the model off the table. This did not affect models with the Hero keyword, though.
Let us carry on to the narrative!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The waters of Diamond Bay shimmered brightly in the sunlight, making it easy for Captain Garin Baragorsson to deduce the origin of the name. The two small ships under his command had been ordered here by the Iron Company to intercept greenskin supply vessels while the company itself advanced in the mainland, yet there had been no signs of any seaborne traffic in the past few days. Anchored side by side, the Dwarven ships swayed slowly in place, housing their crews that were either fishing on the gunwale or snoozing below-deck.
A lazy breeze swept over Garin as he stood at the prow of his ship, the wind rippling through his magnificent beard but carrying with it an urgent message. There was something disgusting, yet still so familiar, in the breeze. Garin frowned, trying to decide the meaning of the scent. It was...
Orc dung.
"All Dwarves on deck! Prepare for imminent boarding maneuver!" Captain Baragorsson bellowed at the top of his lungs, resulting in exploding action from the crewmen of his two vessels as they cast aside whatever they were doing to take up their wargear. He eyed the horizon, empty and calm as of yet, as his second-in-command emerged by his side.
"We under attack, my lord?" Yadri asked urgently, his axe unslung and ready for a fight.
"No, but I think the supply vessel we've been waitin' for has finally arrived," Garin replied, sniffing the air again.
"According to the stench it's an hour's sail, they're comin' straight at us."
"
Perfect, sire. I'll prepare my warriors for boarding," Yadri stated before bowing and vanishing below the deck.
Captain Baragorsson grabbed his runic warhammer and unhooked it from his belt. Lifting his shield from the gunwale shield rack and laying his horned helm upon his grey curls, the Dwarf noble was ready for war.
Soon the Duardin flotilla sighted the Orc ship. Rowing with all the strength of their race, the stunted warriors closed in with astonishing speed. As soon as the Orc captain realized it had sailed straight into a trap, it ordered the supply barge's greenskin crew to take up battle positions.
Coming from behind the enemy ship, the Dwarves split up and threw out their boarding planks, locking them firmly in place.
Enraged by this daring assault on his big boat and its cargo of fungus beer and scrap metal, Captin' Croll Rustaxe waved his sea-worn weapon in the air.
"Dem stunties are boordin' us! Take up yer choppas and chop 'em good!" Croll roared, dissatisfied by the speed with which his crew clambered up from the bowels of the ship. With all the haste they could manage, the Orcs flocked to the deck, ready to defend their precious cargo against the attackers. Especially the Captin's bodyguard, a group of nasty-looking Black Orcs, were more than happy to come across a little scrap on an otherwise boring sea trek!
Ignoring all the hassle on the enemy vessel, Captain Garin made one last check to see if his warriors were ready. They were.
Letting out a wordless warcry and gesturing with his hammer, Baragorsson led his kin in a thundering charge over the boarding plank.
On the larger of the Dwarf ships a boarding crew was already in full action. A heavily armoured wave of Ironbreakers swarmed the enemy stern, starting to form a shieldwall to secure a foothold on the greenskin barge before they could react.
To support the Ironbreakers' charge, a line of Thunderers opened fire over their ship's gunwale, pouring a rain of lead into the Black Orcs. No casualties were inflicted, though, as the combination of heavy Orc armour and the sturdy wooden frame of the ship absorbed the volley.
Following their captain the Dwarf Warriors charged headlong into the midst of the foe, engaging the Orc Boyz on the deck in a bloody swirl of close-quarters combat. The ferocity of the Duardin attack took the greenskins by surprise, and many fell to the bite of dwarf-forged steel, while the crude choppas of the Orcs found no weak joint in the enemy's armour.
Captain Baragorsson slammed in to the towering form of Captin' Croll, but instead of unbalancing his opponent the Dwarf noble managed to unbalance himself. The Orc was immovable!
Unimpressed by the challenge his adversary had offered thus far, Croll Rustaxe brought down his heavy fist on the Dwarf's helm, cracking a horn and laying his opponent low on the deck.
Before the Thunderers had a chance to fire another volley, a howling mob of Orcs rampaged across the boarding planks to assault their ship. A few hastily fired shots took down some of the boarders, but the inevitable fight saw casualties inflicted on both sides. Crudely crafted choppas rose and fell, carving a bloody path through the Dwarven vessel, while carefully placed blows from gun-butts sent roaring greenskins overboard into the sea.
The Ironbreakers at the stern of the enemy barge hadn't finished forming up their shieldwall as the Black Orcs descended upon them. Laying about them with huge axes and spiked maces, the greenskin elite managed to crack three gromril armours and send their broken wearers into the depths of the sea, while all they suffered in the process themselves was a few flesh wounds.
As the battle raged across the decks of the ships, the two Captains were still locked in a duel. Never letting his opponent rise back up from the deck, Croll swung his rusted axe downwards, crushing through shield, armour, flesh, bone, all.
After the initial puff of blood had settled, Captin' Rustaxe kicked his adversary's corpse into the sea.
"You's got no permishun to bleed on me deck, stuntie!" Croll roared after the body and turned to take in the situation on his big boat.
The Orcs were pressed hard. The Dwarf Warriors cut down Boyz one by one while advancing on the blood-slick deck, although now the greenskin resistance had begun to toughen: several Duardin Warriors laid among the slain bodies of their foes, their chainmails pierced by blows from heavy choppas.
Despite the casualties the Orcs fought on tirelessly, determined not to let their fungus beer and scrap metal fall into Dwarven hands!
In the Dwarven assault vessel the Thunderers were being decimated. Shots were fired point-blank and gun-butts whirled in the air, and many greenskins fell, but the ferocity of the Orcs far outweighed the skills of the Duardin. Soon only a weary knot of Thunderers stood back to back in the corner, surrounded by the enemy and their slain kin. There would be no mercy begged nor given.
The Ironbreakers finally locked their shields into a wall, starting to advance in unison while cutting down the foe. The Black Orcs grudgingly gave ground, feet by bloody feet, but despite all their rage and heavy weaponry were unable to land a single blow past the shields of the Dwarves. Many of the greenskin elite fell to the rhythmic beat of axes and hammers, while a shout of triumph rose from the lips of the Ironbreakers.
On the greenskin barge the Dwarf Warriors finished off the remaining Orcs on the deck, but before they could move to the stern to help the Ironbreakers they were set upon by howling Captin' Croll waving his rusted axe!
Gathering their courage, the Warriors formed up and surrounded the Orc Boss, ready to avenge their own Captain's demise.
They had no chance against the might of Rustaxe. Croll's weapon swung in wide red arcs, decapitating and dismembering multiple enemies with each stroke. Soon Dwarven corpses littered the deck, with many more sinking to the bottom of the sea as bleeding carcasses.
"WAAAAAAAGH!" Captin' let out his battle-lust into the skies, cherishing the bloodshed he had just committed.
"No stuntie's gonna take me big boss boat!"
The situation seemed dire for the Duardin. Of all their numbers from the combined crews of the two ships only a handful remained. A single Thunderer was fighting for his life against an Orc Boy, while the Ironbreakers still had their hands full with the last of the Black Orcs. To top it off, the captain of the greenskins was still alive and unscathed, having sent Captain Baragorsson to play with the fish along with his Warriors. No clear victor had yet emerged, but it was clear that whoever won would do so at a terrible cost...
Among the bodies of slain Orcs and Dwarves on the bloodied deck of the larger assault vessel, the leader of the Thunderers battled the remaining Orc.
Dodging a swing from the choppa, the Dwarf fired one of his dual pistols at the foe. Taking the shot into his squig-hide shield, the Orc pressed the attack, swinging left and right with its weapon to deny the Thunderer of any chance of reloading the gun.
At the stern of the greenskin barge the Ironbreakers were advancing, pushing the Orcs back towards the centre of the ship. The hulking Black Orcs noticed a gap in the Duardin shieldwall and struck for it, separating a shield arm from one careless warrior with a chop of a heavy axe.
Enraged by the loss of yet another of their number the Ironbreakers broke formation, swarming the Black Orcs and beating them to a bloody pulp with their hammers. It was then that Captin' Croll stormed across the ship, crushing into the Dwarves with the power of a rolling boulder! Seeking a revenge for their fallen captain and kin, the Ironbreakers surrounded the Orc Boss in order to drag him down and take the ship for themselves.
In the assault vessel the duel between a Dwarf and an Orc came to a gory conclusion. Firing his last remaining pistol shot only to have it sink into the foe's shield, the Thunderer had used up all his cards. Lunging at the Orc using his pistols as makeshift clubs, the Dwarf ran face-first into the Boy's descending choppa.
Despite all his might and fury, Croll Rustaxe couldn't break the enemy armour. His blows glanced off shields and pauldrons, while the Ironbreakers surronded him and battered from all sides with vengeful strikes. A hammer dislodged his kneecap and an axe cut deep into his flank, but all this only served to make the Captin' angrier...
Having emptied the enemy assault ship and lost his mob in the process, the lonely Orc Boy started back to the supply barge. The Captin' was fighting six foes at once, so the Orc headed towards the closest boarding plank and hurried to the stern of the barge to lend a hand.
All around the ships the sea was crimson and filled with floating bodies, while many more were on their way to the bottom, dragged by the weight of armour.
There was no help needed, though. Angrier than ever for the wounds he had suffered, the Rustaxe laid about him with wild abandon! A caved-in head, a severed arm, a decapitation... There was no end to the carnage he wrought. Soon all but the Ironbeard laid prone on the deck, dead or dying from the berserk fury of the Orc captain.
"You made a biggy mistake comin' to me ship, stuntie..." Croll growled, pointing a green finger at the last Dwarf.
"Yeah, beat it!" the Orc Boy joined in.
The Ironbeard's answer was a hammerblow at the Orc Boy's face, cracking it open in an explosion of gore.
"WAAAAAAGH!" Croll roared as the quickly closed in, swinging his axe at the impudent Dwarf. The Ironbreaker's corpse flew against the ship's gunwale before falling limply on the red deck. The last of the boarders had been slain.
Standing alone on a corpse-strewn deck, Captin' Croll considered his options. He now possessed three ships in total but had no crew left to sail them. He had no idea where he was or how long it would take to arrive at the horde's campsite... and he knew he was already late.
Letting out a frustrated growl, he dropped his rusted axe on the deck and started tying the vessels together with a length of rope. He would please the Big Bossy Warboss by delivering him three ships instead of one, along with a cargo of fungus beer, scrap metal and the latest addition: fresh meat.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That was an intense game!
Action-packed from start to finish, this scenario went straight into business. A close call as always, but I truly lament my ill luck with the Dwarf Lord's attack rolls. Absolutely none hit the mark! That Orc Boss managed to kill him off and took not even a scratch in return!
I believe my Lord's poor combat was the thing that lost the game for me. Had the enemy hero not been able to ravage through my ranks at full Wounds I'm sure I would've had a better chance. After all, he single-handedly slaughtered my remaining Ironbreakers and Warriors who could have won me the match.
Alas, it was not to be, but the game was still fun and thrilling to play! The scenario seemed quite well balanced although heroes are very powerful in such small games and the loss of yours early on will mostly decide your fate, unless you're blessed by the dice gods (which veeery few people seem to be).
Next I'll show you my brand new army that I forged together in secrecy during the past three months. Until then!
