Further Adventures in The Scarlands - part 10, Against a Lee Shore

"Oh deck there!" called the lookout on the roof. "The ogors are here with a signal flag of truce!"

"Where away?" answered Krashhart in a voice loud enough to be heard in a storm. "And damn your eyes!" he muttered under his breath. He was annoyed his breakfast was being interrupted.

"Out of the trees to the east." came the reply through the open trapdoor.

Krashhart sighed and pulled his massive frame up the ladder with agility that still surprised the other orruks, even after all their time sailing together.

Cargo the Maneater was stood just beyond the range of a pistol shot. A gnoblar beside him waved a grubby white, pennant tied to a stick.

"Parley!" Cargo's voice boomed from below Brackenthorn Tower.

"You're lucky you seen your fair share of seas and skies, ogor!" Krashhart's raised his voice to match. "You know I'd not accept of a parley from any of your lubber mates!" A chorus of guttural laughter accompanied the dig, from the lookout and the other orruk pirates who had made their way up to see what was amiss. "But since you're a pirate too, so I'll listen. What it is that you want?"

"It's one of your deckhands, Captain! Sinka be his name. He drowned Skargat's favourite pet gnoblar, by the name Poka". said Cargo, with something like companionship in his manner.

"Well, yes I did! And right funny it was!" said Sinka as he pushed his way to the front. More laughter from the crew, though some seemed to be aimed at Sinka for taking pride at killing a mere gnoblar, all behind his back though so he didn't notice.

"Skargat wants him! Or we'll storm this tower of yours, Captain!" resumed Cargo.

"Ah! So, a score to settle we has?" said Krashhart with a toothy grin.

"Aye!" nodded Cargo.

"Well, Maneater, your mate Hrothgur showed his true colours last time we met: what with hitting poor Hook in his wounded guts, that weren't above board. So we wants him, or we'll storm your encampment! And don't forget we has this!" Krashhart held up the Gristle Grinder. The crew behind him rumbled their agreement.

"A stalemate, captain. What about sorting it the old way?" said Cargo with half a smile and a glint in his eye.

"A duel between the two of them?" said Krashhart, immediately warming to the idea and looking at Sinka to gauge his feeling on it. Sinka's mates slapped him on the back and shook his shoulders.

"Aye! But it wouldn't be fun if the rest of us couldn't join in, don't you think?" Cargo added.

"Arrr! We'll meet you at the north-west edge of Blubberfen, then! If it's there you and the other maggot-eaters hide now?"

"That's good with the Ironforged! We'll see you at sunset tonight!"

As the ogor turned and left the mood of the Swordfyshes was oddly flat. They tried to tell Sinka that he was going to smash Hrothgur, but none of them really believed it.

~ ⦽ ~

The Ironforged wanted revenge for Poka's death. Hook had a beef with Hrothgur for hitting him in his gutwound. It was inevitable the two warbands would meet again at some point. So rather than wait the warbands arranged a time and place to settle to quarrel.

The light of Hysh was already low in the sky when the first fighters of both crew spotted one-another. The orruks called out insults at the ogors as they tried to get the best positions for the coming scrap.

The ogors concentrated their number at the edge of a bog, sloshing through the stinking muddy waters. Small slimy creatures with many teeth attached themselves to their legs, but they didn't seem to notice.

Dakmeff crept off on his own, hoping to be able to pounce on on of the Ironforged unexpectedly.

Sinka looked through the stone arch at the advancing ogors. Flotsum and Battendown watched him, calling out encouragement.

Skargat arrived at the swampy battlefield, with Watcha in tow. He spotted Sinka and headed straight for him.

Krashhart, Hook and Flea started singing and drumming. Their crude shanty was intended to get the pirates into the right frame of mind.

The warbands clashed as twilight deepend, it got harder and harder to make out anyone further away than a few yards.

Flotsum and Battendown leapt into the path of Skargat, stopping him from getting to Sinka.

Mr Flea threw himself at Marg; one of the Gluttons, to make time for Krashhart and Hook to get into the fight.

Krashhart went straight for Hrothgur...

... the Gristle Grinder sparked a fizzed with power in his hands as they traded blows.

Barnacle Nog swatted a gnoblar and Mainstay jumped down from the rocks, into Growl the Glutton, trying to force himself between the ogor and Sinka.

Flotsum and Battendown both landed blows on the Tyrant, but he was so massive and tough he seemed to just shrug them off. But their job was to hold him up long enough for Krashhart to take down Hrothgur before one of the Ironforged took down Sinka.

Growl ignored Mainstay entirely, just pushed past him, and with a shocking display of brutality (that Mainstay couldn't help but admire) he smashed Sinka's head in!

Darkness fell and both warbands broke off the fight and withdrew: The terms of the parley had been met and they abided by the results.

~ ⦽ ~

As the Swordfyshes walked toward the edge of the forest, back to the tower, there was a strange sound echoing between the trees. It was something between singing, chanting and maybe... the calls of a seagull? The pirates all looked at one-another is slight disbelief - they recognised the noise: It was Old Mudgob, the ship's Weirdnob Shaman, returned from whatever strange pilgrimage, or vision-quest, or whatever, that he'd disappeared on many months before.

Dakmeff returned form exploring the woods empty handed, worried that he would be admonished. Hardly anyone even noticed he was back as they were so wrapped-up in greeting Old Mudgob, and trying to work out where he had been.

~ ⦽ ~

Deployment: Stand-off

Victory: Bloodmarked

Twist: Dusk

This felt like a very short game - in Round 1 we both just maneuvered for position. In Round 2 the action started and then Viktor won the game in the first activation of Round 3.

In the after-game sequence I rolled pretty badly: Sinka died of his injuries; Dakmeff explored the Gnarlwood but returned empty handed. It wasn't all bad though: Kaptain Battendown's recovered from his eye injury; and Hook, Dakmeff and Barnacle Nog each gained a point of Renown.

I spent some Glory to replace Sinka and to recruit my newly painted Weirdnob Shaman.

Dramatis Personae

The Swordfyshes

• Lord Krashhart - Warchanter Explorer
  Agile Warrior, 2 Renown, The Gristle Grinder (+3 Damage on Hits and Crits)
• Old Mudgob - Weirdnob Shaman
• Kaptain Battendown - Ardboy with a cloak and a squig-parrot
  2 Renown
• Lugger Dag - Brute, pair of Choppas (2 swords), red bandana.
• Sinka -Brute with blue bandana Dead!
• Hook - Brute with a hook hand
  2 Renown
• Flotsum - Brute, pair of Choppas (axe and sword), blue bandana
  Carnosaur Elixir (Consumable, 1 activation, Crits on 5+)
• Mr Flea - Ardboy Drummer
• Dakmeff - Ardboy with a barrel on his back
  1 Renown
• Barnacle Nog - Ardboy with a bag of bones
  3 Renown
• Mainstay - Ardboy with red shoulder-plate and bandana

Reputation: 4

Glory: 7

Quest Progress: Secure a Powerful Ally - completed!

New Quest: Treasures of Gorkamorka - Idol of Mork

Viktor's side of this tale is here. 

The Ironfang Pirate Fleet - The Swordfyshes, part 4

As I have mentioned previously, I have been enjoying playing Ironjawz in Warcry more than I expected. This led to me buying a second box of Brutes to add some different options to my crew. The first thing I made from the kit was Mudgob the Weirdnob Shaman. 

But I have also assembled and greenstuffed some more pirate Brutes with a selection of weapons and a few small conversions, mostly using the "wrong" arms for choppas, and adding piratical details like hats, beards and equipment. 

I missed off their shoulder armour, and trimmed off and cleaned up the shoulder-nubs that the armour plates are usually glued onto.

(I have to note that, as they are for Warcry, I haven't even tried to give them a "legal" combination of weapons for an AoS unit!)

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Lugger Dag, pair of Brute Choppas (2 swords), bandana:

Bulkhead Krug, Jagged Gore-Hacka, broad-brimmed hat, beard:

Yardarm Gark, pair of Brute Choppas (axe and sword), bandana:

Leeway Ruk, Jagged Gore-Hacka, bandana:

Further Adventures in The Scarlands - part 9, Sailing Against the Tide

"You did well lads; This be a fine pile of loot!" said Krashhart with a booming laugh that echoed between the trees.

The crew grinned at one-another and told their tales of the fights they had won to gather the piles of treasure they now lugged in heavy bags.

The sky darkened as the Swordfyshes made their way back through the forest toward Brackenthorn Tower, it looked like a big rainstorm was coming. The past two weeks had been dry and hot but it looked like that was about to change.

Their buoyant mood made them careless though - they didn't notice the gnoblars watching them from the bushes.

Sinka, Battendown and Barnacle Nog jumped as Skargat suddenly appeared on top of a rocky hill.

Krashhart, Mr Flea and Hook heard Cargo before they saw him. He was clearly very drunk and singing a loud and tuneless shanty.

Krashhart signalled Sinka and the cunning orruk took his Boyz under a stone archway, drawing the Tyrant away from the rest of the crew.

Rain started falling as Cargo slammed into Krashhart's mob. Flea was hit hard by his shoulder-barge.

But the orruks ducked under his clumsily swung cutlass and anchor. The Swordfyshes dodged away from him at speed. The gnoblars squeaked as the pirates bore down on them.

Barnacle Nog spotted an opening and broke away, heading for the rocky hill halfway between Sinka and Krashhart.

Mainstay was hit like a ton of bricks fell on him.

Then the skies really opened and torrential rains hammered the forest clearing.

Battendown, dakmeff and Flotsam arrived, a few minutes after the fight started.

Krashhart broke through the gnoblars and led the way toward safety.

Sinka was waylaid by Poka - a gnoblar with a makeshift spear. He swung his kutlass at the creature but slipped in the mud that the pouring rain had created.

The little git was shockingly good at taking advantage of his clumsiness - the crude spear-tip found its mark, painfully.

Sinka roared with annoyance and stamped the unfortunate Poka into the mud, drowning him in the slop.

Hook leapt up onto a rock and was surprised to see more gnoblars and an ogor Crusher waiting for him.

Cargo's drunkeness made him lash out randomly, but this time he stumbled backwards and caught the injured Mr Flea with a downswing the orruk drummer hadn't realised was coming. A big leather bag, full of coins, dropped onto the muddy forest floor.

Skargat rounded on Sinka as he was proccupied by squishing the unlucky gnoblar's lifeless body into the sodden ground. Sinka was sunk.

Battendown tried to pick up the bag of loot as Flotsum distracted Cargo by hooting and hollering as he sprinted past.

Hrothgur, the Crusher, barrelled into Hook and hit him hard in the belly. The orruk had still not recovered from the gut wound he had received a couple of weeks earlier and he blacked-out and folded.

Skargat the Tyrant floored Sinka with an almost disdainful swipe of his massive axe.

Cargo slowly realised what trick the orruks were attempting to pull and rounded on Battendown instead.

Gnoblars swarmed after Krashhart, he pushed one of them aside and kept going. Barnacle Nog appeared on the walkway behind Hrothgur, panting from his long run. He looked around in dismay at the unhappy situation he found.

dakmeff tried to sneak past the Tyrant, but Skargat spotted him.

And slammed into him.

"Come on ladz!" Krashhart yelled, "We can easily outrun this fleet of worm-eaten carracks. They're a deal too broad at the beam to overhaul us!"

He made a dash for it, and disappeared off into the woods. He was safe, and so was the bag of booty he carried.

Cargo seemed to sober-up a little and made Battendown pay for the hang-over that seemed to have immediately set in. The bag of treasure burst when it hit the ground - the coins scattered across the waterlogged forest floor.

The Maneater left the coins where they fell and set off after Flotsam.

Flotsum took stock: Hook's bag of coins lay ahead of him; the contents of Mr Flea's were scattered behind him; and two ogors were headed straight at him.

Meanwhile Krashhart wondered where the others had got to. He was sure they had been right behind him a moment or two ago...

Now it was just them left, with no loot in-hand and nowhere to run, Flotsum and Barnacle Nog realised the rest of the crew had been bashed and the treasure had been dropped when their mates fell.

They looked at each-other and shrugged. They both knew they only had one option left: The two of them legged-it!

The ogors watched them run while gnoblars scrambled to gather the remaining loot up.

~ ⦽ ~

While most of the crew were laid-up in camp with various injuries Barnacle Nog and Flotsum went exploring. Flotsum had been mightily pleased with himself when he returned to Brackenthorn Tower carrying a hideous grub, famed for its healing properties...

Until he opened the door and found Barnacle Nog presenting Krashhart with the fabled Gristle Grinder! When he realised no one cared about his Itxi Grub in the slightest he unceremoniously dumped it on the table.

~ ⦽ ~

Deployment: Battle Lines

Victory: The Delivery

Twist: Torrential Rain

This was another fantastic game - The story almost writes itself with games like this!

Viktor won the priority roll and chose to be the attacker (partly to slow my Quest!). The Deployment card was symmetrical but it suited the Victory card we drew next. He picked his board edge as the escape route - it was the only logical option! I considered splitting the treasure between my Hammer, Shield and Dagger but eventually picked to put them all with the boss, so I could try to use Waaagh! and launch the others across the board.

I tried to play all three groups like they had treasure, and it worked for a while. Viktor's Tyrant was isolated from the action to a certain extent, by taking out my Dagger on his own (but he did a very good job of that!).

Once the jig was up, I charged all of my Hammer to support the Shield as they rushed for the escape line. I hoped that if any of them fell I would be able to scoop up the loot with the second wave and still have a chance.

It almost worked! I got Krashhart and his stash of treasure to safety but only Flotsum was in a position to get to the edge in the final turn, and since there was no way (with only Barnacle Nog to help him) that I could stop at least one of the swarm of Gnoblars (and two ogors) from getting within an inch of him after his last move we called the game. The Ironforged won again.

Viktor's version of this adventure can be found here.

Dramatis Personae

The Swordfyshes

• Lord Krashhart - Warchanter Explorer
  Agile Warrior, 1 Renown, The Gristle Grinder (+3 Damage on Hits and Crits)
• Kaptain Battendown - Ardboy with a cloak and a squig-parrot
  2 Renown, Blind in one eye! (-1 Attacks!)
• Sinka - Brute with red bandana
  Concussion (-1 Ability Value)
  Itxi Grub (Consumable, bonus action. Heal D3 damage)
• Hook - Brute with a hook hand
  1 Renown
• Flotsum - Brute with blue bandana
  Carnosaur Elixir (Consumable, 1 activation, Crits on 5+)
• Mr Flea - Ardboy Drummer
• dakmeff - Ardboy with a barrel on his back
• Barnacle Nog - Ardboy with a bag of bones
  2 Renown
• Mainstay - Ardboy with red shoulder-plate and bandana

In the after-game sequence Battendown was Blinded in One Eye and Sinka lost a point of Renown; both from from injuries. The other casualties all recovered with no ill effects. Hook recovered from the Gut Wound he received in the last game but Sinka was still Concussed. Krashhart and Barnacle Nog both gained a point of Renown each. Flotsam was sent forth to explore the forest and found an Itxi Grub.

Quest Progress: Completed!
Barnacle Nog was also sent forth, to continue the search for the Treasures of Gorkamorka, and I rolled just high enough to complete the quest - Krashhart will now wield The Gristle Grinder, a fearsome weapon!

New Quest: Secure a Powerful Ally

Now I have a new Weirdnob Shaman I want to add him to the crew!

The Ironfang Pirate Fleet - The Swordfyshes, part 3 - Old Mudgob

"Mumbo jumbo!?" roared the meaty shaman, "I'll give ya a mumbo jumbo shot across your bows, you 'orrible lubber!"

The crew scattered in fear as the sky darkened and one of the clouds took on a distinctly foot-like shape...

+++

Old Mudgob - Weirdnob Shaman

Unusually big for a Weirdnob Shaman, Mudgob wore a massive broad-brimmed hat with a hatpin made from an orruk skull and teeth from some unnamed large beast. One of his big teeth was broken and he had a long grey beard. He usually carried a short sword, a flintlock pistol with ammunition, a leather pouch of money (and possibly other things...), and a rolled up map on his belt.

Mudgob was often left on board the ship with the anchor-watch as he was unpredictable and almost always incoherent as he tended to talk mostly in arcano-babble. But when he got an idea in his head to go somewhere or do something, the rest of the crew would get caught up in his excitement and happily follow along - it always led to adventure and fighting.

I've been enjoying playing Ironjawz in Warcry more than I expected. This led to buying a second box of Brutes to add some different options to my crew. The first thing I wanted to make from them was a Weirdnob Shaman.

The barefoot Brute with his armour plates left-off was a good start. He needed some greenstuff work to fill in the gaps on his chest and back, and I trimmed off the nubs on his upper arms, both these were needed to take account of where the armour should go. I also added a greenstuff broad-brimmed hat with a hatpin made from of the Ironjawz trophies in the Brute box (that can be optionally attached to shoulder armour).

The left arm I chose was from the "Brute with Jagged Gore-Hakka held one-handed" option, with an open empty hand. The right arm is from another Gore-Hakka pose but with a slight wrist-trim to fit the open right hand from the Brute Boss with Boss Choppa option. I considered giving him a shaman-y staff by using the handle of a Gore-Hakka but in the end I liked the idea of making a slightly differently equipped wizard, "casting a spell" rather than waving a stick.

I also added a flintlock pistol (from the old Kroot kit), a sheathed sword from the old Boar Boyz kit (not the Savage Orruks one), a small scroll (rolled up map!) from the skaven Plague Monks kit, and a pouch that comes in the Brutes kit.

The base is made from "wooden" bits from the Lake Town House (from The Hobbit range), and a Skaven (... um... catapult? lightning cannon? screaming bell? dunno) anyway a Skaven war machine kit, with greenstuff to fill gaps and create a pile of earth, once I PVA glued sand over it.

+++

I painted him in my usual style - zenithal base coat, dry-brush all over, Contrast, a mid-tone on skin areas then highlights on almost everything. The whole process only took two painting sessions - maybe 2 to 3 hours in total.

I hope to add him to my Warcry warband soon. I have also started building the other Brutes in the box, so they will follow soonish.