The Ogresuns in Animosity VII - part 6

The Ogresuns headed into a dangerous unstable rift to battle for the Power of the Ancients Wyrdtoof sensed within it. But could they wrest the keys to the Ohmlings from the clutches of Wolfram’s most persistent vampire; Tempest and his warband, the Gravehunters?

The orruk pirates moved towards the three objectives on high ground, swirling energy clouds; nexuses of power at the meeting-point of criss-crossing ley lines.

Wyrdtoof, Docker Goff, and Fishgutz climbed the steps up to the eastern nexus.

Snorg and Ghorg, the Kosargi Nightguard, moved to defend it. Smorg rampaged toward Fishgutz, who almost managed to dodge his heavy axe but was only caught by a glancing blow. Fishgutz launched an onslaught in reply, hacking at the lumbering undead oaf. Ghorg attacked Docker Goff.

Hurdygurdy started bellowing another of his horrible sea-shanties and hit the other Kosargi Nightguard, Ghorg, in time with the beat.

In the east, the undead minions closed-in from three sides; a pincer movement around the pirates.

Tempest landed lightly, and moved to take the western nexus,

He rushed up the steps and met Krashhart there - their huge maces clashed loudly together.

Krashhart barked a brief word of command and he, Bad Hook, and Dubloon Dregg ganged-up on Tempest, desperate to overpower the Vampire. Dubloon Dregg landed the last blow that took down Tempest!

Krashhart roared in triumph and turned to attack Bait, just as the Deadwalker clawed at him with sharp nails.

Wyrdtoof and Creeker traded blows - wyrdstaff for ethereal dagger - until the Dreadwarden fell back, but the gheist stayed on the eastern objective.

Hurdygurdy charged at Ghorg while Snorg and Fishgutz duelled

Ghorg ignored Hurgygurdy and attacked Docker Goff, who was in front of him and hitting back.

Snorg took down Fishgutz and lumbered onto the eastern nexus, Wyrdtoof hit the Fell Bat, Griffit. But did not take him down, so Griffit was still able to get to the centre objective.

Hurdygurdy charged and finally took down Ghorg, and Docker Goff managed to get closer to the nexus.

Creeker hit Wyrdtoof - he survived but he was gravely injured.

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Opponent: Henry

Warband: Soulblight Gravelords – The Grave Hunters

Deployment: Dangerous Rifts

Victory: Power of the Ancients

Twist: Rainstorm of Ghyran

The Ogresuns couldn't take the keys to the Ohmlings from the Gravehunters.

I hoped my last couple of activations might have shifted the outcome from 2:1 to 1:2, but it wasn’t the case. The Gravehunters held the centre and won the battle.

Result: LOSS

The Ogresuns in Animosity VII - part 5

In the stygian darkness, Wyrdtoof was distracted by the devices built into the horned skull atop his staff. He was trying to plot the pirates’ course through The Snarl but it wasn't easy. But he was wrestling with the calculations to account for the seemingly random nature of the fortress’ construction, and the aggressive fungal plants that seemed to be actively making his task harder.

He turned a brass dial on the outside of the aethergage, tightened a screw on the occultimeter, re-tied two knots in the red string, loosened a knot in the blue string, and pushed three sliders to their opposite positions.

When one of the deck-hands, Doubloon Dregg, accidentally bumped into him in the dark, he was about to launch into a colourful and scathing diatribe at the unfortunate orruk. He got less than a syllable out then stopped himself - he realised the jolt of his hand had turned the Bairdmeter off ... and suddenly all the other readings made sense!

So instead of lashing out at the deck-hand, he loudly thanked him. Dregg was confused, but he managed a self-conscious, toothy grin.

Wyrdtoof strode off in an unexpected direction, shouting “Now's the turn of the tide! We make way while the sun shines.”

The Ogresuns looked at each-other for a moment, then Krashhart shrugged and followed him. The others were right behind him.

"Sun? Which it ain't shining down here mate" muttered someone near the back.

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Churned Earth

The Ogresuns encountered Korzek Shadowkin and his warband of Chaos Legionnaires (allied to the March of Thunder): The Thousand Hands.

They met in a vast cave network that was infused with Death Magic. The thousands of skeletons buried beneath the cracked cave floors constantly grabbed at their feet and legs.

Half a dozen Glimmerings could be seen scattered across the chamber - the Ogresuns wanted them but the Legionnaires were enacting some kind of ritual.

As Hurdygurdy rushed forward and grabbed the closes Glimmering, Wyrdtoof's sorcery blasted a Hornshield.

But the Hornshield weathered the storm of green energy and charged Wyrdtoof.

A Hornhelm and another Hornshield rushed to help their companion, and they started hitting the shaman too.

Dubloon Dregg hurried to help as Badhook duelled with a Hornhelm, but Dregg was too late.

Krashhart slammed into a Hornhelm and crushed him against the side of the skull-carved stairs, with a sickening crunch.

Fishgutz howled as bony hands raked at his boots and legs.

When Krashhart rebounded, the Legionnaire slid down the wall, leaving a trail of gore behind.

Enraged, Korzek Shadowkin took his revenge on Hurdygurdy. The Glimmering that the Warchanter carried skittered down onto the ground as he fell.

Krashhart jumped down after the dropped Glimmering.

When a Fury joined the assault or Wyrdtoof, he was surrounded and finally overwhelmed.

As Krashhart called out orders to withdraw, Dubloon Dregg also fell. Krashhart ignored his own instructions; he rampaged into the Hornshield and took them down.

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Opponent: Joel (AKA Redmaw, AKA rapturousrex)

Deployment: Oblique Confrontation

Victory: Final Furore

Twist: Churned Earth

Despite taking down the same number of enemy fighters as Joel did, I didn’t score a single Wrath Point so I lost the game. Joel scored 3, by rotating his focus between my fighters and remembering which battlegroup they were it (Remembering? Is this some kind of sorcery? The worst part is that we even discussed how important it was to remember, before the game!)

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Grand Sacrifice

Wyrdtoof and the pirates found their way downward into a gloomy section of the underground fortress. The cavern was choked with broken altars and failing wards, lightning scarred the stones and had held the aggressive flora at bay.

There, they ran into Dolgul Ebonbaffla and the Shadowsplittaz - another band of Ironjawz, who were allied to the March of Thunder. The Shadowsplittaz had spotted that the Ogresuns had Glimmerings in their packs and were clearly out to rob them.

Immediately the two shamans, Ebonbaffla and Wyrdtoof, unleashed a tide of magical power at one-another.

Hurdygurdy started singing one of his horrible shanties - his voice echoed strangely in the deep dark. Krashhart took down the nearest Shadowsplittaz Ardboy, and knocked the Glimmering from his hands.

A Trogg lumbered forward and tried to block the Ogresuns path to a Glimmering, but Badhook stole it from under his nose.

The Shadowsplittaz' megaboss hook-punched Wyrdtoof with his off-hand, span the shaman round a full 360 and made his ears ring.

The megaboss watched Wyrdtoof wobble unsteadily for a moment then pushed him over dismissively.

Krashhart and the Trogg exchanged shockingly heavy blows, until finally Krashhart fell - what had seemed like a battle of attrition was not a balanced contest. The Trogg had been healing every wound that the orruk landed on him!

Fishgutz and Docker worked together to guard Hurdygurdy - they forced the megaboss backwards, away from their Warchanter, and with a flailing-cutlass-onslaught, Docker got in a very cheap shot, and took down the monstrous boss!

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Opponent: Julian (AKA Jam)

Deployment: Oblique Confrontation (again!)

Victory: A Grand Sacrifice

Twist: Warning Cry

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Necropolis Warcry Board, part 2

The second "block" of the Necropolis is painted. I'm still working on the third block - building them takes way longer than painting (even though that doesn't feel quick while I'm base-coating the metal parts!).

I'm really happy with how it looks already though.

I've also re-painted one of my old Harrowmark trees - the free-standing one that's on one of the 1990s 60mm Adeptus Titanicus bases, that are only 2mm thick.

I stuck with the same colours as the other pieces:

• Halfords grey primer (spray) undercoat; Luxion Purple Contrast on the sand and the tree with a coat of Basilicanum Grey Contrast over the tree bark; 
• a home-made green wash on the stone (a mix of blue-black ink, yellow ink, matt medium, and water, with a tiny amount of washing-up liquid); 
• a light purple wash into the corners - made of Magos Purple, Wraithbone and water - to match the lighter areas of the Spearhead Sand and Bone board; 
• a drybrush of Ushabti Bone over the sand;
• Ushabti Bone basecoat on the (single!) skull on the base;
• and finally, when everything is really dry, Magos Purple over the drybrushed sand, the skull, and some of the lighter areas (the Magos Purple/Wraithbone/water mix).

The Ogresuns in Animosity VII - part 4

The Ogresuns rushed through the battleground streets of 2nd House, weaving between streets, allies, canal bridges, and piazas. Avoiding the areas of the worst fighting, sometimes making their route much longer. They made it to the Nebularch Court but diverted a little to loot a nearby stronghouse.

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“Don’t step on da glyphs!” Wyrdtoof screeched, flailing his staff as the pavement rippled like water, engraved spirals glowing beneath their boots. “They’re thinkin’! You step on ‘em while they’re thinkin’ and they’ll bite yer future clean off!”

Kap’n Salty Ogbad didn’t pause. He stomped across the marble plaza, both pistols barking, scattering a clutch of Wolfram Arkanauts and some unfortunate git in silver armour and blue robes who had been chanting. Somewhere above, the celestite orbs rotated slowly - shifting alignment.

All around, the battle for Nebularch Court raged - Union hammers clashed against Wolfram gunwagons, while the March’s beasts slithered between domed manors, their claws dripping gore. Salty didn’t care, not really.

He had eyes only for the vault beneath the western dome, where Wyrdtoof claimed a stash of glimmerings was locked away - enchanted trinkets that could let them rewrite the outcome of one moment.

“You said dis place was a vault, Wyrdtoof,” Salty shouted, parrying a blade of burning script. “All I see is sparklin’ rocks an’ lads arguin’ over philosophy!”

“It’s a prophecy-bank!” Wyrdtoof hissed. “All da value’s in possibilities. They deposits possible futures!”

An explosion blasted a hole in the vault door.

“Well, my future’s looting it.”

He stormed in. The others followed. Outside, stars aligned. A moment later, they unaligned.

A death-knight from Wolfram roared skyward - falling in a sudden vortex of celestial gravity. Crystals screamed. A gondola sank. And somewhere deep beneath the Nebularch Court, the vaults’ layout… shifted.

The Ogresuns were inside and, whatever came next, they’d already made a withdrawal.

Necropolis Warcry Board, part 1

I've been working on a new set of Warcry scenery, on and off, for over a year: a Necropolis board. It's still nowhere near finished but I realised that I haven't shared even a single WIP photo of it.

At the moment there are only three parts built, out of the five or six I've planned for the set. But one is now painted (after a bit of a misstep and a partial re-undercoat), I think the sand colour looks close enough to the new purple-toned Spearhead board, and the stonework matches the objectives on it.

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Before undercoat this chunk of scenery looked like this:

The ingredients list:

• A block of pink foam forms the core
• Part of a Ruins of Dol Guldur kit forms one end
• Cut-down steps of a small dais from Shattered Stormvault scenery forms the other end
• Part of a mausoleum from the Garden of Morr / Corpsewrack Mausoleum set
• Half a small Ossiarch Bone-tithe Nexus column
• A brazier from the Shattered Stormvault scenery range
• The cracked flagstone pathways are made of 1.5mm plasticard, with the edges carved with a hobby knife

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There's another chunk waiting for paint (I added more flagstones, sanded and undercoated it since taking these photos).

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And a third chunk still in the assembly phase:

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I have plans for some much smaller scatter terrain for this set, like a dead tree and a statue, but I'll get these parts painted up first.