Vanguard Campaign: Preparing for round II

Greetings, Vanguardians!

Having finished games for round one, it is time to start preparing for round two. That means a little bit more work for me as I have to write all the factions into the story while also thinking about the logistics of the campaign.

First of all, I decided to place the campaign on an island to make sure all the factions had a credible way of running into each other and ending up in a fight. The first chapter of fluff that I wrote works to give even the good guys a reason to bash heads as politics trump philosophies. This is because I want to achieve a fluid pairing system that makes at least some sense to the players, provided that they end up reading the fluff.

Vanguard, in my view, is a game that simply screams for stories to be told, both on the level of the campaign and on the level of individual models. That is also why narratives, in my view, work so well to enhance the experience of players participating. For this round I printed out the map of the Isles and wrapped it in contact paper so that we can put some markings on it with whiteboard pens.

It's always tricky when you combine map elements to a miniature campaign, because while they do add a level of immersion, they also tend to distract players from the game itself. Some that I've played have attached way too much meaning to the overlay of a map campaign (such as granting very, very good bonuses for achieving something outside of the games themselves.

In my campaign I've decided to go for a lightweight map element that serves as a backstory while also functioning as pairing mechanic during game days.

Chapter II: Finding a footing

The wooded terrain of the Greensway Isle made it difficult to get a good view of the surrounding lands and so Sister Artemisia had spent the past days and nights running from hilltop to hilltop, scouting the lands.

The whole thing was a mess, and no mistake. What was supposed to be a clear cut retrieval mission had spiralled out of control faster than Sergeant Tiberian could scowl.

The Greensway Guard was apparently far more lax than their reputation called for, as they had kept to the larger towns. Also there seemed to be a lot of traffic on the roads, both local and traders from further off. The Bluecoats had been on the move constantly after their battles with the Salamanders and the Undead. Sergeant Tiberian had been searching for a safer base of operations, and apparently so had the other warbands Artemisia had found evidence of, for her scouting had revealed many campsites, strange caverns reeking of sulfur, necromantic circles and even some careless campfires in the night.

Sister Artemisia mounted the hill at an easy jog and stopped to scan the surroundings. All seemed quiet for miles and even the clash between the strange elven raiders and hulking men clad in steel she had witnessed had resulted in both parties heading away. She sprang down the hill, waving a hand in greeting as she came close to the ring of age old stony mounds. The sharp gleam of the setting sun on the crossbow bolt aimed her way faded as the man-at-arms on watch lowered his weapon.

The camp was busy with men and women packing and making ready for the march through the night to come. Father Urban, his white robes, worn over a heavy plate armor were  stained with blood. He was uttering a prayer of healing as he bathed the wounds of one unfortunate soldier who was due for a particularly unpleasant march with a heavy bandage across his chest. There were some unmarked graves that had been dug and filled since Artemisia had last seen the camp. She drew a deep breath and spat, clearing the dust from her throat. From a dozen paces away she noticed the stern countenance of Sergeant Tiberian as the officer was walking towards her. A few moments later they were bent over a creased and folded map of the Isles.

"What news?"

"The Greensway Guard is sleeping fat and content, and the locals aren't hastening to raise an alarm. There might be a lot of unusual activity going on here on Greensway as a rule, so maybe the past few days haven't been noteworthy enough to cause major concern. However, I did find signs of the other companies."

Artemisia leane

The Salamanders are moving inland here, along that river valley, while the necromancer we ran into seems to have gone underground, maybe literally, as the isle is riddled with caverns and mines.

Out presence, or something else, has drawn in Abyssals, while at least two other bands, some form of Elvish raiders and some humans, maybe servants of some dark gods. I saw them fight it out here and both parties left towards the Southern parts of the isle. I spotted some wrecked ships off the coast over here."

The sergeant studied the map, brows furrowed.

"We need to find out what's happening, while blinding the eyes of others prowling the isle, if we can. Rest here until moonrise and then seek out the enemy. Put an arrow through every messenger you come across and see what their missives say.

We'll be moving inland as well and once we have a better idea of what's going on, we'll start looking for the ship and the cargo."

The sergeant took a sharp look at Sister Artemisia, holding her gaze for a long moment before continuing.

"Do not get yourself killed. With your sister still recovering from her wounds, you are my eyes out in the field."

Sister Artemisia saluted the Sergeant and walked off. 

It was going to be a long night.

--

In the second round the companies will face each other seeking to recover vital plans, either those of their own company gone astray or those of another warband they seek to push out of balance. All are here to capture the cargo (despite knowing next to nothing of its exact nature), but each company needs to get their bearings before they can have any real chance of finding the cargo, let alone securing it.

In this second round, players will be marching their companies on the map and the pairings will be decided by whose path they cross first. The marching order is decided by campaign gold earned so far.

The points go up to 125 points, so the next games will be substantially more crowded and thus more fun.

The scenario?

Recover the plans, of course.

Cheers,

AoW

Multibasing - A quick tutorial

Multibasing 101 - A quick tutorial

Kings of War brings with it the possibility of multibasing your units. That means, in short, placing all the miniatures in the unit on a single base the size of the footprint of the unit. This is possible because units don't break down into smaller components during a game as casualties aren't removed and there is no Reform mechanic.

Basically multibasing is that simple. Take the models that the unit comprises of, glue them to one base and you're done.

There are, however, a few rules and points to take into consideration that I will deal with in this post, starting with things related to planning and continuing to execution.

1. MMC or PMC?

Multibased units don't have to include the exact number of models that is stated as the unit size, as the individual models don't have role as anything else than a part of the unit. This where the little diagram of Minimum Model Count and Preferred Model Count comes in (You can find it in the FAQ). Players going full model count are rare and most units tend to fill PMC instead.

Minimum Model Count means the absolute minimum of models you should put on the base to avoid confusion. Usually this is one model added to the model count of the next size down. Thus an infantry regiment's MMC would be 11 models, while it would be 21 models for a horde. Preferred Model Count, on the other hand, tends to be something along the lines of 16+ for an infantry regiment or 30+ for a horde.

When you're constructing your units you'll have to decide how many models you're going to fit on your bases. There is no rules-wise requirement for either in terms of game mechanics; in theory you could play with pieces of cardboard with labels on them. PMC tends to cost more as you need more of that precious plastic and it will take more time as well as you'll be painting more, while MMC sometimes leaves the base looking very, very thinly populated. This leads us to the next thing to consider:

2. Rule of Cool

Kings of War bends quite a bit when it comes to model selection for any given unit. Statlines can be explained by many combinations and thus there are multiple natural matches between miniature and unit entry. Some models are a lot larger than others, and thus there will be less of them on the base. One should be careful, however, not to allow artistic freedom to overcome clarity. Models should be appropriate and one should carefully weigh whether or not they are cutting back on models for economic rather than artistic reasons. These are of course my own thoughts and others may disagree.

I tend to favour a simple, hobby-friendly rule which goes as follows:

If it's cool, it's cool.

That goes to say if the unit looks cool, it's cool to field it, regardless of model count and other factors. One should, however, be careful not to mix Rule of Cool with Rule of Cheap, because while both are acceptable, they lead to pretty dingy looking armies if they're mixed up.

3. Think of the whole

If you go for a multibase, you should treat the unit as a whole that comprises of models on a base. This is a very different approach to individual basing, where the base is often just a backdrop for miniatures instead of constituting an important part of the miniature. When you're multibasing, however, your individual miniatures will be small compared to the base and typically will always be seen as part of the base. Thus, the base should be treated as something the miniature is a part of instead of being a stand to pose the miniature on.

What elements do you want on the base? How many miniatures will you use and how will the models be placed on the base? It's a whole different thing to make a flat, grassy field for a spear phalanx than to place models wading through a swamp, and that needs to be thought of beforehand. Especially height differences on the base, while super cool, are difficult to execute and need a lot of work to pull off.

Also take into consideration the amount of work you're willing to put into a multibase. If you're not careful, the base can take a whole lot of hours from hobby time you'd rather spend in another way. I'd suggest that if you don't want to spend a lot of time, then go simple. Trying flashy stuff in a hurry isn't really a formula for success.

4. Models as a part of a diorama

I think it's important to see the base as a distinctive place the models are located in and interact with. Your models will always be seen on that base and as such the base and the miniature must form a natural looking relationship.

Thus, when you're planning your bases, I think you should first look at the miniatures and see what kind of poses they naturally go into and form your plans for the base to accommodate those poses. If the models don't deal well with slopes, then use stairs or rocky, outcropping shelves to create height if you want it.

If the ground is swampy, the models should leave footprints and sink into the ground a bit. If there are barriers (like hedges) on the base, one shouldn't put models running into those just as one should avoid putting galloping horses with their tails touching a wall. These small things can turn otherwise sweet looking bases into slap-sticky comedy.

5. How I do it

I tend to finish the bases long before I finish the models that will be mounted on it. This is mainly because I usually assemble miniatures right before I start painting them and if I want my models to really interact with the bases, I need the base to be ready (to a point) before I can get to work on the models.

For an example of a relatively simple base I will use my Sisterhood Infantry that I did about a year ago. I started by making enough bases for a horde, since I knew that at some point I will paint them up to a horde (although I'm still at regiment painted). I went for two troops and a regiment on bases that will blend into each other when put together.

All my Sisterhood have a water element on their bases. I wanted to give the whole army's bases a cultivated look in the sense that the battle is being fought on the outskirts of a hamlet or a town. My Panther Lancers have irrigation channels and I decided to go for a little creek flowing through the town for my Infantry. Thus the bases have large paving stones with a channel flowing out of a sewer (the grates of which are on the bases of troops.

In order to make the whole deal work I had to construct the bases at the same time, even though I didn't have models for more than a regiment at this point.

After completing the troop bases I started to paint the models so that I could mount them on the base as soon as they were done to avoid storing them without a base while waiting for final basing. I painted the models in patches of three as I didn't have a whole lot of time to paint at one go and I wanted to feel like I'm getting something done. If I try to finish more than three models at a time, it always feels like things aren't going anywhere and I lose motivation. Thus I tend to paint in smaller batches. That's one point everyone has to find for themselves.

When multibasing I nowadays try my best to avoid overhang. This is because it's relatively easy to avoid when individual models aren't restricted by 20mm or 25mm squares, but can be placed freely within the 80mm by 40mm troop. Overhang tends to be very annoying when you're playing, and thus I spend some time planning my units in order to reduce overhang.

When making compound multibases that go together to form larger units one has to be particularly aware of overhang in multiple directions so that the units form up nicely. That's why the foremost troop in the image above is done front rank first and the rear troop has zero overhang to the front.

The flagstones are the plastic bases that come with Mantic models. They're really useful for creating steps and larger portions of worked stone on a base. For the water effect I used PVA that I let dry until it formed a thick film on top of it and then I drew stripes with a slightly sharpened stick to create a surface more akin flowing water. Then I painted it and finally added a glossy varnish on it. In the future I will look into using clear water effects, but for now my method works well enough.

The final part of the horde will be based on the bridge base, making a whole that breaks down into regiments and troops.

In short, my multibases are made in few steps:

1. Plan the base

2. Make the base

3. Paint the base

4. Paint miniatures

5. Glue miniatures

6. Tidy up

--

I'll make a few other tutorials on multibases for my Undead army, once I get the bases and the miniatures from the mail.

Feel free to comment and suggest other topics to cover!

Cheers,

AOW

Vanguard Campaign, Chapter I: An Ominous Landfall

The storm battered the ship, throwing it about like as if the heavy timbers were nought but sticks on the surf. The crack and boom of thunder had grown from an occasional flare into a near continuous roar and the flashing strikes illuminated the foaming seas in frozen images. Somewhere on the starboard side the lights of hamlets on the coast were winking in and out of view as the heaving waves surged and waned.

As far as seafaring races go, Salamanders were considered by many as equals of the elder race of Elves, while they themselves held a more professional view of ardent competitors, if not truly able to contest the fair folk's mastery of the seas. Captain Stha'k held herself in high esteem mostly based on the fact that the amount of people able to offer reasonable counsel in matters related to running a vessel on the Infant Sea had steadily grown increasingly meager. The storm itself posed little threat to either her reputation or ability to survive, but combined with the unfamiliar shores so close at hand the buffeting winds were enough cause to concern.

"Captain, we need to make landfall ere dawn. We can't dawdle here!"

The leader of the company that went for cargo on this journey lumbered up the steep steps of the aft deck. Stha'k disliked the commanding tone of the officer and turned to face the other lizard with a resigned sigh.

"I hear you, Battle-Captain, but with this storm bearing down on us, you might get a swifter landing than even your impatience calls for."
"Can you put us to shore here, or can't you? We can't be seen here come morning."
"Listen, I'm well aware of the situation and we'll..."

The captain's attempt to placate the Battle-Captain was cut short by a sickening lurch and a crackling groan of timbers smashed on stone. She was thrown off her feet and barely managed to grab a hold of a railing instead of being simply washed over it by the sudden rush of water over the deck.

"Reef! We've hit a reef!", the ship's mate's roar rang over the splintering noise.

--

The morning came as a pale gleaming of a watery sun reaching through an iron-grey cover of clouds. It lit the sad wreckage of the proud ship tumbled over across the sandy beach. A single bejeweled eye of the smashed apart figurehead stared up at the Battle-Captain from a pool of water left behind by the receding tide. He looked about and counted three others. More had escaped on the boats launched before the ship was beaten apart on the rocks, but now they were nowhere to be seen.

"What now, Battle-Captain?", a Prime growled as she stopped next to the officer. He shrugged and shook his tail to clear some clinging sand, then stood up straight and rolled his broad, scaled shoulders and answered:"Food, water. A defensible campsite."
"Yes, sir."

--

Today we managed to get our campaign off to a start of sorts. As we're all new to this, we've still got a lot to take in as we go from game to game. Thus our rosters weren't quite up to date and we're still kicking the whole thing into gear.

All together four games took place between the warbands that had managed to drag themselves up the beaches of Greensway Isle. First the Basileans skirmished with the Salamanders over some vital supplies they both need in order to replenish their empty stores.

Empty stomachs make little of political alliances.

Despite their valiant attempts to drive off the Salamanders from the caches of supplies they had spotted amidst a rocky highland, the Bluecoats (who, sharing the same fate of being marooned after the storm as their reptilian adversaries, still hadn't found Sergeant Tiberian or other members of their company) took a severe beating and were forced to withdraw into the coastal woodlands.

Meanwhile the Abyssals, whose attention had been drawn to Greensway as they sensed the tension of the coming power struggle, tore a rift into the fabric of reality as they attempted to send their infernal legions to wreck havoc on the Isles. Their plans went awry, however, as the gathering of arcane energies required to punch the portal through to Greensway attracted a host of Nightstalkers, whose numbers over-taxed the portal rift and scattered both forces all over Greensway Isles. A local Necromancer, much to his distress, found this out the hard way as he was replenishing the ranks of his undead minions at a farmstead that been mysteriously ransacked the previous night.

A bloody struggle ensued and in the end the Abyssals fled one way, while the nearly destroyed Necromancer fled the other. 

Later that day the scattered forces of all factions clashed with each other whenever they ran into bands of opposing warriors. Finally only the Salamanders were able to secure a proper foothold on the island.

--

We played two games each, so four games, all at 75pts to get new players started with the rules without overly many models on the field. Next round will be at around 125 points, so a little bit more blood to spill while the warbands each.

Next time I think I'll write a proper battle report.

Cheers,

AoW

Pale banners flutter, a cold wind blows...

Cold are hands and hearts and bones,
Deprived of slumber under stones.*

A frigid wind blew outside the blasted castle walls as Tomlin huddled closer to the fire, turning the roasting meat over the red embers. The shattered panes of the windows did little to keep the cold out and there were deep dunes of powdery snow where the scars of some terrible battle had battered ragged holes through the sturdy walls. The once elegant hall now seemed cavernous, the fire in the cracked hearth creating the tiniest of solaces from the cold and the looming shadows.

They had come here, Tomlin and his erratic master, just before the first snows had descended from the North. Now it was more than a month since that dark, ominous day that had followed an arduous month's travel from the gentler climes of the coastal duchies of the Infant Sea. 

The master, to whom Tomlin still had no other name, had spent the first week digging through the bones of the castle, while Tomlin had mostly hunted the scrawny rabbits that counted as game in the barren hills that surrounded the ruins of the castle. There had been woodlands in those hills once, before whatever it had been that brought low the castle. 

He had wandered the halls of the keep at first, marvelling at the ruined splendour and the military might of whatever folk had dwelt here, until the growing feeling of unease had curtailed his curiosity. There was a dark past buried in the ruins, and it did not sleep easy. There was an unnerving hiss to the wind in the darkened corridors that rose and rose the deeper one walked, until it was a ghastly keening, like pained wails echoing down the ruined halls. Tomlin had since only stayed in the outer hall, despite the bitter cold.

He knew his master now spent most of his time in a partly collapsed shrine in the inner courtyard of the castle. There he had collected a variety of oddities he'd discovered while exploring the castle. A shield hewn in two, a sword with its blade snapped and various other things, scorched bones and personal items. The shrine was perhaps the worst part of the keep in Tomlin's opinion, as despite being relatively well preserved and thus safe from the moaning breeze, there was a brooding silence there that was more ominous than the muted screams of the wind in other parts of the castle

Something slept there, and Tomlin did not want to disturb that rest.

--

I started my Undead force by converting some Wights.

The overall mythos of the undead in Mantica is pretty unique and very interesting (and more than a little disturbing when you really think about it). Most fantasy universes treat the undead as sort of automatons, basically rotting meat robots or, if they're more advanced, bone robots. In Mantica the Undead aren't simply automatons even if they are bound to the will of the Necromancer, their very souls are called back into their decayed corpses, to bear unwilling witness to whatever nightmarish things they are commanded to do.

The Wights, however, are an exception to this. They come back willingly, to exact vengeance on those who still dare to feel the warmth of day after they have slipped beyond such pleasures. This will to evil imbues them with supernatural strength and magnifies their malice and I wanted to capture this thoroughly unholy aspect of them.

What would be a more fitting model to base this ghastly vision than Mantic's angelic warriors, the Elohi? I kitbashed them with some bits from the Vanguard Kickstarter, and cut out some plasticard for the cloaks both to give the models a more dynamic look and to cover the wing mountings on their backs. Add a little battle damage and wear to the armor and it started to look pretty good in my view.

I like to work on plasticard for large pieces of cloth, as it, in my view, yields itself better than greenstuff to achieving the fluidity of fluttering cloth. It takes a bit of practice to get the folding process right, as it takes some really hot air to heat the plasticard to the point where it goes soft and that point is only a notch lower than the point when it starts catching fire, which I typically do not want. At any rate, my banners and cloaks are made from plasticard, cut to shape and folded and refolded and re-refolded after heating.

For this army I wanted to make the most of the opportunities presented by multibasing. The overall theme is a ruined castle on a cold winter, so I would be using snow flock for the first time. To achieve my goal in making the bases look as much a part of the unit as the miniatures, I set some guidelines for myself to follow:

1. Ground is rarely even, so my bases can't be, either.

This means both height and angle. If everything is in right angles, it will start looking off very quickly. Even muddied ground has hills and is often sloping in some direction. This means using wood filler to add shapes to the base so that it looks more natural. Also works great for making snow drifts!

2. The miniatures have to interact with the base.

That means a model descending a staircase needs to be positioned so that it looks like its walking down (feet angled right, center of mass slightly forward, etc), they have to leave footprints in snow and so on. Planning is key here, and making sure I look at the miniatures before I make the base, but also that the base has to be made to nearly complete before I can start assembling miniatures. It wouldn't be far off the mark to say that the miniatures should be made to fit the base if you want them to look natural, not the other way around

3. Avoid overhang.

With individually based minis it's normal to have some overhang as the models, especially those more dynamically posed, tend to reach over the base. With multibasing this isn't really necessary, and for ease in gaming I'm going to try making units that actually fit on their base. That also puts the emphasis on planning and positioning, because I also want to make my units look full.

4. All materials need to be painted.

Some people just chug a rock on a base as it is, but to me this looks very much off. Natural textures don't mix well with painted stuff, and can actually break the sense of immersion quite easily. Thus I tend to rather find something that looks like stone than actual stone as actual stone has a) the wrong grain size and looks off and b) makes paint look more painty and less an artistic impression of what things look like.

A few things I noted as I worked on the snow flock were firstly that it needs a blueish color under it in order to look snowy white and secondly that it needs something under it to give it the heft that snow drifts often have. Snow tends to clump and build up in places instead of forming an even cover (unless there's a lot of it), so that on a windy courtyard you would probably have some deep banks of snow instead of a little snow sprinkled evenly. Fresh snow in subzero temperatures is like very, very fine sand and it forms dunes and gets blow across surfaces, so to make it look realistic I felt like I needed to make it puffy. Snow flock on glue doesn't really do "puffy", so I used wood filler to give the drifts the feel I wanted them to have.

I found a nice tutorial for making icicles out of the clear plastic stems of flight stands and it really worked admirably: just hold the stem over a candle with two pliers and slowly stretch it until it gets really thin. Works like magic.

Also a very nice use for the plastic bases one gets with Mantic miniatures is to use them as stone slabs on bases. They make sturdy walls and stairs as they can be securely glued with plastic glue.

---

Tomlin disliked his daily trek through the ruined castle immensely, yet the Master was paying him handsomely to keep him fed while he did whatever crazy people do in derelict castles. The gold was barely enough to make Tomlin heed to his daily task, but, as every day before this one, Tomlin once again made his way reluctantly to the shrine.

He clawed at the shrine's door and managed to drag it open, sweeping aside the drift of snow the howling wind had piled against the battered door. Once inside, Tomlin pulled the heavy door closed behind him and stamped his feet.

Casting back his hood he looked about the round chamber. Here the windows were intact enough to keep the wind out, but there were powdery snowflakes suspended in a slow dance in the air by silent drafts. There were old tombs in the floor, marked by massive slabs of black marble, set in an almost full circle, broken only by the shorts steps opposite the door Tomlin had just entered by. The steps went down ten long steps until they ended in two stony doors inscribed with some arcane runes.

"Master?", Tomlin called out in a hoarse whisper that echoed in the cold chamber.
"Over here, lad. What have you got for me today?"

The man was huddled in heavy cloaks in one of the four alcoves that ringed the chamber. He had a large, leather bound book whose covers were deeply stained and scored in his lap and half a dozen candles illuminating his bent form as he pored over the pages of the old tome.

"Just a rabbit, sir."
"Splendid, just leave it there and go."

Tomlin was more than happy to oblige him, casting one final look about the room.

There was an old, faded banner strewn across the center of the room, while broken down sets of armor had been lain on the tombstones. An aged helm, it's once bright crimson crest faded to pale shades shades, had been placed in front of the stone doors barring the way down the wide stairs.

"Master?"

The was a moment of silence, conveying annoyance with Tomlin's continued interference. And then, a resigned sigh:"Yes, Tomlin?"
"How long will we be staying here?"
"Not much longer, I'm sure. I'll come and meet you tonight, we'll talk then and make our plans."

The master made a dismissive motion with a thin, claw-like hand extending from the folds of his cloak. Tomlin hurried off into the gathering dark.

I want my undead to look like they're unreal, ghosts clad in ancient armor. For my Wights I used the Elohi swords and gave them a green ghostly flame look, a little darker than the shade I gave to other non-metal parts of the models. I think it can pretty plausibly count for CS (3), with the "fluff" of it being that the blade doesn't really exist at all, but it cleaves through the spirit of other beings with deadly ease. The most difficult part of the whole project was to get the Elohi models to walk down stairs, but luckily I've practiced heat bending restic enough that I managed to pull it off to my satisfaction.

This is where restic, despite its shortcomings, really shows it's excellence as a material for conversions. It's hard enough to hold crisp detail and to withstand some working (such as drilling for pinning, sawing off bits etc), while the heat bending really creates immense opportunities for re-positioning and re-posing miniatures. Most other forms of plastic (and metal) are very limited in terms of how much you can actually work on the pose the miniature comes in, while with these Wights I took them from a wide, defensive stance to a lot more dynamic walking pose with relative ease. If you've ever tried to re-position the foot of a hard plastic miniature so that it contacts the ground in a more natural angle, you know how much of a chore that can be. Most miniatures simply cannot be bent that way. With restic it takes ten seconds. If there's a call for it, I could do a post about repositioning restic with hot water.

For the whole army I am going to go with a relatively common metal & ghosts-look, meaning that everything aside from the metal armor and weapons will be, as a rule, painted a green hued grey. The armor of all units will be dark bronze in color, with some cloaks, plumes and banners painted a faded purple to give the army a little more variety to its look.

The scheme is super quick to paint as it relies heavily on washes and drybrushed metals for highlights.
--

The hour was late, very late, and Tomlin was worried.

He paced back and forth in the hall where he had slept these previous weeks, blade in hand, peering out of the two doorways. The vaulted hallways were dark and empty. The wind had died down soon after Tomlin left his master and now a brooding silence held the castle ruins in its grasp.

He decided, after a long debate with himself, to go and talk with his master. Just to check if everything was in order, Tomlin told himself. 

The castle was even more eerie with the moaning wind gone, and Tomlin walked briskly, looking neither left nor right. The walls seemed to close in behind him, an icy tomb of a fortress, the dead lords of which did not wish his presence. What people had lived here, and why did they leave behind such a malicious presence? Tomlin tried to avert his thoughts and lifted his lantern higher, trudging on.

At last he came to the tumbled remains of the inner courtyard, and laid eyes on the shrine again. He hurried forth and drew open the door. It opened without so much as a creak. Tomlin sneaked in and closed the door.

His master was standing in the middle of the room, holding the tome in front of him and muttering to himself, apparently completely oblivious to Tomlin's entry. There were candles placed in a wide circle around the shrine, their flames standing still in the quiet, surrounding dark. Something in the odd scene made Tomlin hold his breath.

"Yes, yes, it's all here.

Your valiance, your virtue.
Strong you were, in life.
A sword against the taint that seeks to wash over the world.

Admirable qualities, all,
yes, very admirable,
But also fooolish.

You were valiant,
yet not impervious.
You were virtuous,
yet not incorruptible.

You took more to your graves than virtue."

The old man flipped through the pages of the tome, searching, searching. Suddenly he cried out, his voice rising:

"Here it is!

Your valiance was your undoing,
and your virtue did not save you or those you sought to protect.
You failed,
Your order failed,
And now your rest is troubled.

Guilt I sense,
and regret, yes.
Two sides of a heavy cloak you could not shed,
When you went beyond.

These are the hooks with which I will fish you out from the river of death.

Deep have you sunk,
yet long is my reach.

By Oskan I call thee, Knights of yore,
come, come!
By Garkhan I call thee, O fallen Lords!
Come, come!"

Tomlin pressed his hands over his ears, but the voice pierced him regardless. There was a faint green glow, growing, rising from beneath the tombstones on the floor.

"I bind you by the Lies of the Father,
Rise!

I bind you by the Fall of the Son,
Rise!

From Durunjak's cold gates I release thee,
Rise!"

And rise they did.

I wanted my Wights to have a feel akin to Tolkien's Barrow-wights, envious of the living and somehow repulsive, while also having an aura of terror similar to the ring wraiths. Thus, mine are clad in decayed armor to give shape to their nothingness, wielding blades that are, more than actual blades of steel, the memory of  blades they once swung in life, tempered by the cold deeps of death and woken to ghostly flames by the sheer hate of their masters.

For the non-ghostly fabrics I did a three shade purple from dark to light. This, however, lead to too bright a color, so I gave the fabrics a blue wash, followed by a light grey drybrush for highlights and a faded look, and then a final white highlight for edges and to add a little texture.

In the end I'm fairly happy with how the Wights turned out, and now I'm eagerly awaiting my order from Mantic so that I can get to work on the rest of my army.

--

Behind Tomlin the ruined castle was bathed in an unholy glow as ghostly towers rose above their tumbled down foundations, their former glory transmuted into menacing forms by unholy incantations. The sound of a mighty host assembling echoed from the surrounding hills.

A pale, torn banner could be seen, flying high above the towers. Upon it was a single, white rune.

Tomlin kicked his steed and hurried down the unbroken snow that covered the road.

Kings of War army exposition I: Basileans

Greetings,

in this post I will present my Basilean army thoroughly unit by unit as well as give a brief depiction of the process of building this army.

My first ever army for a miniature wargame was High Elves for GeeDubs' 6th Edition Warhammer. That army never took flight with all the missteps of inexperience and lack of motivation. I swapped to Lizardmen and then to Orcs and Goblins and KoW caught me some five years into collecting my Orcs. I ported my Orcs into KoW relatively quickly and painted a few units more, but I started to get the feeling that what I reeeaally wanted to do was to build an army that would be Kings of War through and through and after years spent on lizards and greenskins, the idea of a cohesive, well-ordered army felt like a veeeeery alluring idea. Thus, I settled on Basileans.

I liked the feel of the army, with fast elite units and the knight-in-a-shining-armor aesthetic, which is very different from both Lizards and Orcs. Basileans are the Good guy humans, deeply religious and the heir presumptive to the vacant throne of Primovantor, the fallen human empire. They combine the Byzantine Empire with the Vatican at the height of papal power and I found this alluring not because I would be religious myself but because the "flaw" of being too good is kind of cool. They are not the heroes the humans of Mantica deserve, not perhaps even the heroes they need right now, but they're the only heroes they've got.

Mantic has done a good job with the fluff of Basilea and their holier-than-thou politics bring an interesting story element to the game, making it a little more "real" than it would be were it just a 'purely' good army.

For me the fluff and the story of an army is important, both on a general level and on the scale of the units that I field and so I tend to delve into the fluff quite a bit. The mythos behind Basilea is deeply connected with the Shining Ones; the distorted beings that survived the shattering of the Fenulian Mirror (an Elven artifact). They're not exactly good as we might understand it, they're not the altruistic, benevolent overseers of the world, but rather incomplete halves of a broken apart whole and as such their view of what "good" is, is more moralistic and bound to form over function. But they're the best the world of Mantica has left. Again, not the gods they'd deserve, but the ones they have to make do with.

It is with their help that the armies of Basilea keep at bay all sorts of devilries from demons to orcs to the undead and it is in their name that the forces of Basilea enforce the laws of the shining ones over the rest of the Successor Kingdoms whenever they can. The other human nations despise Basileans lording over them, envy their growing strength and rarely dare to turn their backs to the Hegemon's orders.

This might, this power barely (if at all) concealed was what I wanted to capture with my army. I wanted it to be a human army, not just Elohi and Phoenixes. I wanted to show the might of Men and this is what I came up with.


Grand army of the Exarch

Given over to the command of High Paladin Belisarian Artaxos, the Grand Army is the iron fist with which the Hegemony secures its interests. Protecting the Northern borders of the Hegemony, the army has spent years fighting in the name of the Shining Ones, tempered by strife and death. It takes a strong foe indeed to stand up to the might of men when their hand is further strengthened by the might of the Elohi and the twin Phoenixes, Aethon and Caladrius.

At a comfortable threethousand-and-something points, I am far from calling the army "done", but perhaps done enough for me to pick up other projects alongside it. Started in late 2016, it took around a year to reach 1500 points painted and about as much to get over 3k. The first half was way more active as that was when I painted up most of the infantry and knights and thus the "other 1500" points was much less intensive painting-wise, although I had some immense fun modelling stuff.

Order of Justice Ascendant - Paladin Knights & Footguard

It is the rolling thunder and the snapping of banners, drowned by the roar "Shining Ones will it!" that has won the field in many a battle. Few are able to stand against the determined might of these holy warriors, schooled in both the sword and the quill to make men that are unconquerable by greed, hate or blade.

The look and feel of Mantic's paladins is spot on for what I want them to be; knights with a clear "fantasy" feel to them without being over done as miniatures. The models, although requiring some cleaning and hot water treatment are pretty crisp in detail without being overly busy and the mixture of cloth, plate armor and decorative detail is just what I was looking for.

Game-wise these guys are often the workhorse (pun intended) of my army. They punch hard, take a lot to bring down with their high Nerve, Iron Resolve and Def 5+. Speed 8 isn't a flyer, but it's enough to make it difficult to hid from them. My favourite size for Basilean knights is troop, mostly because it's very, very versatile. Ignore it and it gets a flank and suddenly it's a regiment, while taking it out will take more than just light shooting. Regiments are probably better, but the troops are just cool. That's why I based mine on troop bases so that the horde breaks down to regiments the regiments into troops.

Implacable as the dawn, the Footguard dismount to fight side by side with the Men-at-arms. Neither immortal as the Elohi that soar above the battlefield, nor blessed with inhuman strength, the Order of Justice Ascendant stands as a guardian in a deepening night, a beacon of example to show others that willingness to sacrifice is the key to victory.

There's just something cool about on foot knights, isn't there? I like the models, although I haven't had a lot of opportunities to field the unit yet. Many people seem sold on them, so they have to pretty good, right? Personally I just think they're cool miniatures with the plate armor and the robes. And the prayer books on chains on all of them are a nice touch. I could see them being useful both as troops and regiments, as infantry troops are, in some builds, good for table control behind the main line.

Sisters of the Priory of St. Artemisia - Sisterhood infantry and Panther Lancers

The Priory of St. Artemisia is a remote bastion of the faithful, deep in the craggy woodlands of the Northern Provinces. The sisters keep a close watch on everything that goes for miles around their sanctuary and often accompany the Exarch's army as both outriders and infantry in the strength of the Exarch's lines. Shunning the flails seen on the warriors of other sisterhoods, the Sisters of the Priory of St. Artemisia march to war with heavy blades or ride far ahead of the army astride panthers wielding long-bladed spears.

I like the sisterhood in terms of the feel of the models. They're lightly armored and their clothing looks practical, which is, sadly, rare when it comes to females of a fantasy range. There's nothing wrong with emphasizing gendered body types in my view, like giving some extra bust because the miniatures are really small and if you want to make an emphatically feminine miniature you're bound to have to exaggerate a bit. However, call me a progressive idiot, but I kind of dislike the chainmail bikini-look most fantasy miniatures have when the sculptors want to make them look like women.

--

Taking a brief break here to explain my opinion on this:

Fantasy can be fantasy, and in fantasy games it's okay for a person to run off into combat stark naked. It's also okay to for said warrior to have breasts and other typically feminine body parts and to show them bared on the miniature. However, it's always nice when a company manages to make female warriors that look reasonable in terms of gear.

Reasonable gear, in my personal opinion, includes things like:

- armor on torso, especially the soft parts like stomach that's usually one of the favourite parts of murderous enemies to target
- clothing that protects wearer from elements such as temperature below modern day room temperature and rainfall
- shoes that can be worn when travelling on a downward slope steeper than 10 degrees or other non-completely flat and hard surfaces
- plate armor that does not have dual convex portions on it to guide glancing arrows, bullets or blades inwards to the middle of the chest of the wearer

---

I & II Cohorts, I Crossbow Regiment and the Arbalest Auxiliaries

The Hegemony's Finest, the Men-at-arms form the backbone of the Exarch's Army. Through drilling and the leadership of both the High Paladin and the religious orders fighting side by side with them these soldiers are the shield that keeps the forces of Evil at bay. It is by their blood and sacrifice that the lands of other's are kept safe. "Faith and Honor" rings out their battle cry as spears descend into a wall of blades.

One of the main things with making a human army for me was the idea of making an orderly army. An army that looks drilled and disciplined and that starts with rank upon rank of infantry. For my Men-at-arms I went with Mantic's ill-reputed 2013 hard plastics in a "hold my beer"-sort of a stunt. I figured that any yokel can whip up decent armies with miniatures that exceed their skills as a painter, so I decided to challenge myself with a kit I knew was going to be difficult. Turns out, on table top the lads look just fine.

Men-at-arms fill the role of anvils in the Basilean army and they excel at it. Good Nerve backed by copious Inspiring and Iron Resolve means that trying to grind a path through a horde of phalanx infantry will usually take too long. Throw in a Banechant or the Brew of Strength and suddenly the spears become an anvil that punches back. The only problem is that these guys aren't cheap as they pay premium for their improved capabilities when compared to their KoM counterparts.

Many people seem to be of the opinion that Basileans don't really shoot and I think they're half-way right. The shooters in the army aren't top-notch in terms of their ability to deal damage, but they're decent choices nonetheless. The Crossbowmen are good because they're not very expensive and because they're surprisingly difficult to budge. Def 4+ and good Nerve means that they're a little different from your usual shooty unit.

It is, however, the Heavy Arbalests where Basileans really shine in my opinion. Sure, it's basically a slightly tougher Ballista from KoM, but the difference in Nerve and Iron Resolve again means that these aren't as easy to remove as one might think, and if you really look at them, they're decent engines. Only 65 points, high Piercing, good range and good Blast! all mean that lining two of these down a clear portion of the battlefield is actually a real danger. The units work, in my view, both as deterrents and as psychological threats in the sense that when you have these covering a part of the field, your opponent has to form an answer to the question "What if those two get good hits?".

Many people get stuck with their average damage, which is around one damage a turn (on average), when the reality is that most opponents really feel pressured when they have to choose to ignore them. That's when mistakes get made.



The Mighty Birds of Flame, Aethon and Caladrius.

The teeming masses of the enemy mill and crash against the lines of the Men-at-arms, almost boiling over the thin, blue line. Then comes the sound of mighty wing beating, and a blaze of destruction rises amidst the lines of the enemy, a pillar of fire rising in the wake of the Phoenixes gliding low over the enemy. A cry rises, first one and then answered by the other, rising from a low roar to a piercing screech that bursts ear drums.

It is many a soldier in the Exarch's Army that has been called back from the gates of death by the gentle touch of Caladrius's wing and many a broken body has been mended by the fierce fire that burns in the heart of Aethon, the Bird of Fire.

To me the Phoenixes are the ultimate symbols of hope in a broken world, a promise of things to come and a solace from a rising tide of darkness and horror. I wanted to capture the duality of fire and healing in the models, and thus one is calling up flames to devour the enemy while the other will (once I finish the base) be more of a benevolent creature.

I really like the Phoenix on the field, as it is an immense support that can, as a last ditch effort, deal some damage in combat too. There's something almost unfair in pairing them up to bring Paladin Knights back to life from the brink of death.

Angels of Retribution and Apollyon, the Angel of Destruction

Diving down from Mount Kolosu, the Elohi are the armored heralds of the Shining Ones. Where some fly on white wings as messengers of hope, the Angels of Retribution strike down from stormy clouds on dark grey wings as champions of furious vengeance. The soldiers in the Exarch's  army offer these beings no prayers, for they know that it is unwise to draw their attention. Strange and violent fates are bestowed to those who dare to deal with these angelic avengers and so a cheering roar on the battlefield is the preferred mode of worship.

The din of battle subsides and an eerie, otherworldly silence falls, muffling even the screams of the dying. Suddenly a heavenly flame leaps forth from the darkened skies, shaped like a mighty blade cleaving and the red-glaring rays of sunlight punch through the stormy clouds, bathing the golden figure with a bloody light. 

Alas that these days should be yours, O unhappy foe, for Apollyon has come.

The end is here.

---

More to come!

Vanguard Warband: Sergeant Tiberian's Bluecoats

Greetings!

In this post I will quickly go through a part of my warband for the upcoming campaign that I am running. The previous post laid out some backstory for the campaign and gave a short introduction to the Greensway Isles (a location completely fabricated by yours truly) and now it's time to introduce some of the warriors accompanying the rather somber veteran sergeant that the Hegemony is sending to retrieve the stolen cargo (whatever it may be).

Veteran Sergeant Cassius Tiberian

Stone-faced and utterly dedicated to carrying out his orders, Sergeant Tiberian is not a man one would describe as the most compassionate of believers. Although highly religious, as is common among the low-born of the City of the Golden Horn, Tiberian's approach to life is nonetheless pragmatic and matter-of-fact. These qualities make him a man often called in to clean up the messes of those higher up. If the Hegemon needs sergeant Tiberian's blade in the sewers under a brothel in order to extricate a certain bishop's personal relics from said establishment, Cassius Tiberian shall be the last to ask why.

Brother Marcus, Paladin Defender

A sworn brother of the Sacred Silence, Brother Marcus is a stoic veteran of the recent wars against the marauding abyssals. Rumor has it that he was captured momentarily by the devils and that his tongue was cut out before he could escape. No one knows whether the rumor holds true, or if the Brother holds silent of his own volition.

Veteran Sister Drusilia

Quick to laugh and naturally gregarious, Sister Drusilia has been with the Bluecoats since she was released from the priory of the Modest Maiden after being taken to task for muttering profanities during prayer for the 38th time. Regardless of her foul mouth, her forthright manner has pried many secrets from loose tongues and won the Bluecoats out of almost as many a trouble as her flail has.

Sisters Artemisia and Actaena

Though the youngest of the Bluecoats, the twin sisters have earned their keep as tireless scouts, often ranging ahead without rest while the rest of the company is marching up behind. Despite their young age they recoil from no danger and they both bear an impressive array of battle scars, worn with the pride of young warriors.

Mistfang

Trusted companion to the twin hunters, Mistfang is a ferocious beast indeed. Neither eager to please nor patient, she is not the easiest of creatures to deal with for the other members of the company, but her sharp senses and claws have earned her the respect of the others. Once a battle is joined, Mistfang's feline instincts often drive her to protect even the less-esteemed members of the company.

Scipio, Gaius and Titus

It is not always easy to appreciate the honor of being chosen to serve in the Bluecoats, as the missions tend towards the more peculiar (which is to say deadly) type. The Hegemon's Finest, however, are always at the disposal of a Veteran Sergeant in need. Thus it is that these brave warriors find themselves on the rain-washed docks, boarding a vessel in the early-morning gloom. Join the Army, they said...

---

More additions to come!

Kings of War: Vanguard - A story driven campaing

Brewing trouble

The heavy rain outside had faltered to a spattering of drops, cast about by the gusting winds and the hour was either very early or very, very late.

For Aldovius it was the latter and he suppressed a yawn as he twisted the elegant goblet in his hand, sending the crimson fluid within spiraling in lazy swirls. The evening had been one of negotiations masked as merry-making and the night had been more of the same, only with less of the mask and more of the actual business. It was a mare’s nest, and he was the one chosen to set it straight.

Aldovius looked up from the dark lacquered wood of the sturdy table in front of him when he heard the knock on the twin doors of his private chambers. Two sharp blows, too indiscreet to be servants, too inelegantly obvious to be any of his well-mannered associates.

“Enter”, his voice was a smoky rasp, burned with drink and loud conversation.

The doors parted and closed again, admitting a man of perhaps two score years, bearing both the armor and the colors of a Basilean veteran sergeant. He moved with the easy gait of a man-at-arms and his grey eyes showed neither the gleam of greed nor the vacuity of faith as he met Aldovious’s tired gaze. Aldovius supressed a shudder.

He hated soldiers.

“Good day, Lord Trader”, the man spoke as he crossed the room to the table. Aldovius grunted a response and motioned him towards a chair.

“Thank you for the kindness, Lord Trader, but the Lauds are not yet over and this night’s watch must stand. I am sure you understand.”

Aldovius shrugged, neither understanding nor caring to be enlightened, and pushed a goblet towards the man across the table. Foolishness, all of this. Had the ship taken by the pirates not carried a shipment for his Holiness the Hegemon of Basilea, he could have avoided this inconvenience altogether. The armies and the navies of the Hegemon were excellent at keeping the seas open to trade but the soldiers themselves were often stiffnecked and always a chore to work with. Too many questions, too many rules and far too many interruptions to trade.

The man took the cup with the barest of inclinations of his head and took a sip. “So, Lord Trader, might I enquire as to why I am here and why my company is hurried to the docks at this early hour?”

“I requested the aid of the Holy Armies because of a… complication regarding a certain shipment entrusted to our House. The Shimmering Pearl, the ship carrying valuable cargo for His Holiness was captured off the Greensway Isles and is now, presumably, held somewhere on the coast of the isles. The cargo must be returned and as it is of military importance, your involvement is required by contract.”

“Greensway, you say? That’s a seclusionist area.”

Ah, seclusionists. The nice word these Hegemony bastards use for the lands that would rather govern themselves. Aldovius shrugged in a display of indifference, a gesture met with furrowing brows on behalf of the Basilean soldier.

“So what is this cargo we are looking for? I presume you are well acquainted with the rates we charge for salvage operations and the consequences of our taking a hand in your business.”

Indeed he was. If these holier-than-thou thugs managed to secure the cargo, Aldovius would be practically done for as a Trade. The contract terms would see to that. He also knew that if he did not abide to the contract with the Hegemony and involve them in their missing shipment, he would, instead, be done for as a living person through ways that made his bowels turn to water.

“Yes, yes of course. The cargo is rather... private. So much so, in fact, that I myself am unaware of the precise nature of this delivery. All I can say is that it was… substantial.”

“Any contacts, friendly ports or so?”
“As you said, the isles are fiercely independent so I’m afraid I cannot help you with those.”

The soldier gave him a flat look.

“So a hostile area, with a mystery cargo missing. You know this will cut severely into your rates, Lord Trader.”

“Of course, of course. I have arranged for your passage to the isles aboard a trustworthy fellow, Baines by name. He says his crew is ready to sail.”

The soldier did not bow as he turned and left.

Aldovius took a heavy, inelegant swig from the elegant cup, draining the fine vintage. He gulped it down, paying little heed to the exquisite aromas. The contract had seemed too good to be true, and it was looking like indeed it had been and that was precisely why he had spent much of the previous evening and the entire night buying the services of every last adventurer, would-be hero and sinister thug he could scrape from this barrel bottom of a port. If it so happened that the cargo was returned by a bunch of corsairing adventurers before the Basileans could secure it, Aldovius could dismiss the whole business.

He would not give these pious tyrants the pleasure of seeing his house brought under the Hegemon’s light and that was why, at that very moment, other ships were already en route and well under way towards the Isles.

The die had been cast and now all he could do was wait and see how they’d fall.

A slow realization smoothed the lines on Aldovius’s face in the silence of the room. There was, in fact, something he could do.

He could drink, heavily, while he waited.

The chink of the charafe on the cup was soothing.

Aldovius closed his eyes listened to the rain.

--

Greensway Isles are two lush island surrounded by a veritable archipelago of lesser domains. They are both ruled over by the Duchess of Greensway, who is in turn ruled over by the trader council, at least in practice if not in name.

The isles, once a part of gentle highlands near the glory of Primovantor, are now a rich holding in deed, grown fat by both trade and industry. Ore from the steep mountain ridges of Greensway Isle is smelted and refined and worked into bright steel blades or sturdy armor and the vineyards yield excellent vintages almost as a rule. Many ships put into port at Trader's Town to fill their holds despite the pirate threat of the unclaimed seas surrounding Greensway.

The traders have done little to discourage the pirates, trusting their that their profits will flow fatter if they don't bother their trading partners with inconvenient taxes that would be required to fit and maintain a navy. Some say the traders themselves are responsible for the acts of piracy, for the prizes claimed are often of the rarest quality.

The Isles are also home to a myriad of old ruins, ancient vaults and standing stones of mystical powers and the island folk are used to strange occurrences. Ghosts and fey lights are seen sometimes, as well as the occasional goblin tribe that comes down from the mountains. Unlike the overlooked pirates, the Traders have long since armed a sturdy militia to take in hand the oddities of the islands as well as dampening the eagerness of the Hegemony of Basilea to consolidate its hold on the Isles.

---

I'm throwing together a Vanguard campaing here in Finland and I aim to use this blog to shape out the stories of the warbands. Perhaps I'll even have the luxury of entertaining a guest writer!

Stay tuned!

AoW