The Ironfang Pirate Fleet: The Rotmoons - Ironjawz Spearhead, part 1

I had an idea today, that began when I was thinking about the December AoS Battlescroll adding Headstompa to the Megaboss profile. This small change to the rules triggered a series of thoughts that "unlocked" the option to use the Rotmoons in AoS Spearhead.

Since last month's preview, we know that the Ironjawz Spearhead being released in January 2025 will consist of a Megaboss, 10 Ardboys, 5 Brutes and 3 Weirdbrute Wrekkaz. When it was first announced I expected to use a mix of my other crews as the basis for mine, as the Rotmoons are missing a few models to be able to field a Spearhead picked exclusively from them.

One of those missing models is a Megaboss. I have an unbuilt Megaboss that I'd considered making in the Rotmoons' style, but previously I'd shied-away from doing this for story reasons: I wanted Kapitan daLeeva to remain in command of his ship, and adding a Megaboss to the crew would feel weird if he wasn't in charge. I also didn't want to "promote" daLeeva to Megaboss status, as I don't really enjoy using a Megaboss in Warcry.

But now they added Headstompa to the Megaboss profile, it seems possible, normal even, that a Megaboss can serve as a "junior officer" to other orruk heroes. 

So I've repurposed Ogdrog (one of the two Megabosses I made at the end of last year who, if I'm honest, was unlikely to ever see the tabletop) into a Headstompa in the Rotmoons. This means he can join a regiment without being it's leader in AoS. 

So Ogdrog will join the Elizabethan-styled pirates for some of their adventures. While he will count as the general in the Ironjawz Bigmob Spearhead rules, and daLeeva will only count as a Brute Boss on the tabletop, the Kapitan will remain the crew's leader in my narrative.

Kapitan daLeeva will be part of the Spearhead's Brutes unit with all the "Brute-sized models" that aren't in the Spearhead as his quarter-deck crew - El Doktoro the Weirdnob Shaman, Palmaz the Warchanter, Maximo the Brute, and Medrano - a new Brute, with a Gore-choppa, who I started building tonight.

This is a very long-winded way to say that, as a result of all this narrative-knot-unravelling, Ogdrog got a partial re-paint today, so he now has the black, red and yellow colour scheme of the Rotmoons.

I'll get a photo of the entire, expanded, crew of the Rotmoon as soon as the new Gore-choppa Brute is finished. 

The Rotmoons and the Starwood Compass - part 7, Delivery

After successfully stealing a sorcerous device from the grot Hopper Boss's encampment (and burning the camp and large portion of the forest surrounding it), the Rotmoons planned to use it to blow-up a ley line nexus. The nexus was guarded by The Gleaming Host - Sybarite mercenaries in the employ of the defenders of the Prime Dominion.

That night El Doktoro carefully divided up the component parts of the device and then combined each part with a generous measure of blackpowder, in an effort to create multiple "bombs" from the artefact.

Bortagno and a couple of the crew reconnoitred the ley line nexus - it seemed it was beneath a stone shrine or temple and its power was being syphoned into a brazier as a "sacred flame" - the Gleaming Host's employers were using the magical flames to empower weapons and armour. The Rotmoons were going to try and put a stop to that.

+++

All around them forest fires raged. None-the-less, the sounds of the battle taking place beyond the smoke and flames could still be plainly heard.

Despite using the noise and smoke to hide their presence, the Gleaming Host's sentinels soon spied the pirates and raised the alarm.

Once the gig was up, Deestro was the first to leap into action, just as a burning tree branch fell with a crash and hit Geedo.

Deestro charged a Painbringer and their swords clashed as the Slaanesh cultist counter attacked.

Kapitan daLeeva charged as well, to assist Percy Percy. The Kapitan hit hard, but his opponent seemed to be empowered by the wounds.

Deestro countered the Painbringer's attacks and took them down. The fires closed in - Bold Rikk, daLeeva and a Twinsoul were all scorched as they fought.

The Gleaming Host's leader, Ramael, joined battle against Dragante.

Percy Percy struck the final blow against the Painbringer.

The Slaangor, who'd been stalking Deestro, struck from the shadows and took him down. The bomb Deestro had been carrying slipped from his pack and rolled towards Bold Rikk.

So Bold Rikk scooped it up and sprinted toward the Shrine.

But a Twinsoul intercepted him and cut him down. The bomb once more bounced across the battlefield, just shy of its target.

The Kapitan seized the moment. He roared a triumphant battle cry and barrelled-in, snatched up the bomb with one hand, hurled it into the sacred flame brazier. He dived sideways into what little protection the nearby rocks could provide.

Less than a heartbeat passed. The sacred flame changed colour. Dazzling light lanced into the sky. The Shrine split in two. The magical power coursing through the ley lines beneath it erupted and turned the central stones molten, and the Shrine collapsed.

+++

The Kapitan pulled himself to his feet and looked around - the world was not silent but the only sound in it was like a huge echoing bell, so loud it was head-splitting.

Bortagno said something to him, but he couldn't make it out. Then the bell noise receded and other sounds slowly returned.

Motes of red hot stone fizzed and popped as they landed around him or bounced off his armour.

Bortagno offered him a bottle and said, "Kapitan, you will drink this, I think?"

+++

The Animosity VI UK Meet-up - Game 2

Opponent: Ed / Maps

Warband: Slaanesh Sybarites

Deployment: Stark Beginnings

Victory: Poison The Well

Twist: Flame Pockets

This was a fun game - and we both loved the emergent story that came from the combination of Battleplan cards and the counters that Ed had made.

Kapitan daLeeva's Doom Tally = 6

(Which is bad news for the ship...)

The Ravaged Coast, part 3

Far to the east of the Great Parch where the land meets the Ocean of Tears - lies the Ravaged Coast. This vast archipelago now lies crushed between the Great Parch and the emergent Gnaw, and it has quickly become a battleground of violent seas, sand-blasted atolls and Skaven-tainted ruins.

Whether it's in the remains of an Age of Myth city, deep in the forests of the Harrowmark, or the Vermindoom-wracked Ravaged Coast of Aqshy, one thing is always true: where-ever a number of orruk sky-ships regularly gather (to hide, to make repairs, to sell booty, to buy booze, or just for a brief respite from a storm), a small but busy sky-ship harbour will spring-up in no-time. The ramshackle improvised port will soon be "improved" with timber piers and jetties added to whatever buildings were already there, and a layer of detritus will gather beneath and around everything.

+++

+++

I've written in more detail about the whys and hows of building this scenery in the previous parts of this series, they can be found here: Part 1 and Part 2.

I spent a good deal of time thinking about what colour palette would work for the Dawnbringer ruins before I started painting them. I settled on making the metals verdigris copper, for a few reasons.

First, I just like seeing verdigris copper domes and roofs in real life.

Second, it will complement the teal I used for the worn paint on the wooden house.

Third, it will tie the new pieces visually with the older mausoleums, and other buildings, I've got in my collection, so I will be able to freely mix-and-match terrain components and still have coherent looking boards.

There are more parts on the way: the larger Dawnbringer ruin with added platforms in Part 1, and at least one other. Working on this project, even though it's been a very long and slow one, has given me ideas for more pieces.

The Ravaged Coast, part 2

Three grots lounged around the bottom of the crows nest while a fourth, called Fiddgit, took his turn on watch, on the step by the large brass telescope that was suspended by ropes from the mast.

He started as he suddenly spotted a distant ship lying in the roads outside the fogbank, he wondered why he hadn’t seen it approach? He grabbed the spyglass and turned it to the ship’s direction - he peered through it: it was the Ogresun… and it was hoisting a string of signal flags. The grot read the flags slowly and carefully, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth in concentration. The ship was asking for a pilot to navigate them into port.  

He jumped down from the step and pulled the cord that sent up an acknowledgement signal flag. He quickly relayed what was happening to the others and tagged-in one of the grots to take their turn on the telescope. No-one wanted to take their turn when it came to it, but they all knew only the one on duty had a chance of claiming the rewards for spotting ships.

Fiddgit slid down one of the ropes that braced the crows nest, into the fog below. He ran to the nearest tavern. There were no pilots to be found drinking there so he carried on along the quay. The next building that was likely to be fruitful was Gurdrog Gaff’s house, a wooden shack made mostly from shipwreck timbers (like nearly everything in Gallowmire).

The grot knocked on the door and let himself in, he breathlessly passed on the news of the ship; its name, location, and request to the orruk harbour pilot.

“Beg pardon sir, but Ogresun is waiting in the north-east roads, asking for a pilot!”

Gurdrog grunted, put on his hat, grabbed the bag from the back of his door and gave the grot a farthing. He closed his front door and climbed the stairway to his roof, where his sky-cutter was tied up. The grot squealed to himself and ran back to his post, but via the tavern to purchase a tot of rum on the way.

The wind was abeam but the ethertide was against him, so it took longer than normal for Gurdrog to sail out through the fog bank to the outer roads.

As he emerged from the fog he saw the Ogresun - a slab-sided and slow flying ship, heavily armed with lots of guns - including an Ironblaster cannon in the focsle.

He called out, “Ahoy Ogresun! Gallowmire pilot, asking permission to come aboard!”

“Took ya time didn’t you? Come up smartly now.” The call came back from the ship.

Gurgrog tied his cutter to the side of the ship and climbed up to the deck.

“Kaptain will want a discount cause ya late.” said Fishgutz, the deck-hand that met him there.

The pilot grunted at him but didn’t comment. His fee was between him and the ship’s master, not a swabbie.

+++

I've wanted to make rocky outcrops for a long time - I kept putting it off as I wasn't sure how to make them. But, after reading a few other people's articles about using cork bark to make cliffs, I decided to just give it a try anyway.

Sketchy ideas from the corners of my notebooks:

The first thing I needed was the wooden house to go on top, so I knew how big to make the flat area of the rocky "island".

I bought a Lake-town House kit (from GW's scenery range for The Hobbit), assembled it mostly straight-out-of-the-box and then added stairs from the Warcry bell-tower kit. To make it even more Warcry play-friendly I also added some of the Lake-town walkways (with old Fortified Manor joists to support them) and (an even older; Mordheim!) ladder to the roof, so the house isn't just a line-of-sight blocker.

I added a few other scenery bits-box extras too - a window frame, a lantern, etc. - to individualise it more. It's a really nice building kit, so I can see myself getting more at some point.

I've had some pink foam saved for making rocky outcrops for years and years and years (it has moved house with us three times, much to my wife's dismay). I started roughing out the shapes I would need. I will say that I wasted loads of (precious!) foam at this stage as I made all the chunks far too big considering they would be covered in thick pieces of cork bark! I ended up cutting off a lot more foam that I expected.

I bought a 500g box of cork bark from eBay for £8.50 (from a pet supplies store - it was intended for lizards or spiders!) and started experimenting with it.

And cutting off more pink foam...

I used PVA glue to attach he cork bark chunks, and elastic bands to hold them in place while the glue dried overnight. There is also a bamboo skewer that you can't see, impaling the pink foam diagonally from top to bottom! I sandwiched a torn bit of paper between the layers of pink foam, as in the past I found that foam doesn't stick well to foam but, with PVA on both sides, it sticks very well to paper.

I took this stage very slowly, over the course of several evenings, as the PVA glue wouldn't hold the cork in place on it's own and it would have fallen apart under it's own weight if I'd rushed it.

And I could only find two large elastic bands.

I kept putting the house in place so I could see how it was working, but it wasn't attached yet.

Viktor reminded me to add "rough hewn stone stairs" to the corner, just in time. I pulled off one of the pieces of cork bark while the glue was still wet and added some foam offcuts, carved into shape. I will add plasticard stone paving slabs to the steps later.

I started filling the gaps with pre-mixed Polyfilla by squirting it directly from the tube into the spaces between and behind the cork. I pushed small chips of cork and some Citadel Woods branches (that I'd saved when making the Hysh scenery I made a couple of years ago) into the Polyfilla in the gaps as I went along.

I was worried the branches wouldn't be attached strongly enough (they are really good at catching clothing during games!) so I dripped a little superglue onto spots where they touched the cork and sprinkled a small amount of baking powder onto the superglue while it was still wet - the combination sets like concrete!

More cork bark...

I began using smaller and smaller bits of cork bark, squeezing filler into the gaps between the larger bark chunks, then jamming in little chips of cork, and even smaller "crumbs" of cork, to fill and texture the spaces. I also played with the positions of some walkways (from the Lake-town House kit), to be added later.

Nearly there with construction. 

I added plasticard steps then sealed the remaining exposed foam with PVA glue and ripped up scrap paper, and more filler spread as thinly as I could get it. I sanded some bits down when it was dry.

I glued down the walkways with a generous amount of PVA glue and poured sand into the glue so the walkways looked like they had sunk into the ground a little.

I painted PVA glue thinly over the rest of the flat surfaces, and onto the top of the cork bark where it felt right, and sprinkled sand onto the wet glue. I did this on a tray so I could tip off the excess sand and pour it back into the tub.

It's ended up quiet a bit bigger than I imagined, and a hell of a lot heavier. I'm really pleased with in none-the-less.

On to paint next!