CXXXVIII. Abhorrant Ghoul Queen's Court: Abhorrant Ghoul Queen

Queen Ligia the Ever-living, leader of my FEC warband and sovereign of the Ghoul city-state of Folda.

I. BACKGROUND

 

"In the midst of this pit of monsters sits the Abhorrant Ghoul King upon a throne of mortal remains. Tall and powerful, everything about the king screams that he is a bestial predator, from his lithe, corded muscles to the dark hunger in his inhuman gaze. However, this is not what the king and his followers see. To the king, he sits upon a gilt throne in a great hall...."

 W:AoS Death Battletome: Flesh-eater Courts

So, like all the rest of the lot, the ruler of a Flesh-eater Court shares in the delusion of grandeur while in fact being a blood-sucking fiend. 

"Within the madness of a Flesh-eater Court, each has their role. The king is lord and master of all, standing at the head of the hierarchy. Sometimes, he might create other abhorrants to share in this glory, though they usually remain subservient to the king’s desires. (...) For example, the Giblet Prince is the heir apparent and closest to his king. The Offal Queen oversees the blood-nurseries, caring for the newest of the brood, and making sure they feed regularly on the red bounty their father provides."

W:AoS Death Battletome: Flesh-eater Courts

Oh, I see... I guess my ghoul realm is strangely progressive then...

II. OFFICIAL MODEL

What were vampires of Strigoi bloodline in the Old World became Abhorrant Ghoul Kings in AoS. This model comes only as part of Terrorgeist/Zombie Dragon plastic kit. It's roughly human-sized.

Source: games-workshop.com

III. WHAT I DID, HOW, AND WHY

First of all, I wanted to have a female vampire rather than a male one. There are GW lady vampires, but if you look at the available miniatures, they all follow the same pattern: that of a deadly, classy seductress. That's not the archetype I'm looking for here. To match my interpretation of FEC lore, my ruler needed to be both ferocious and regal - a beast draped in tattered finery. 

I liked the pose and crookedness of the body of the Techpriest Dominus model, and I'd been looking for an excuse to use it for a conversion since its release. The initial concept had Ligia wear a huge ruff and fancier attire. This got scrapped in favour of a more battle-ready look. I replaced the ruff with furs, which are still a fancy accessory. The elegant cane that supports her crooked frame remained as another symbol of her high status. There is not too much bling (there could be more, actually), but she does wear a lot of rings. The polished war horn on her hip is a tool for summoning and commanding her loyal troops. She does not look like she is bursting with muscle, but remember that under that tattered dress is a leering undead monster towering over even the tallest a human.

Bits list: Techpriest Dominus body and cane arm, Belisarius Cawl left arm, Daemonette head, tail and horn from Space Wolves, bits of chainmail from an Ogre Irongut gutplate. The rest is putty.

Hybrid of Milliput and Green Stuff proved great for sculpting chainmail and fur.

I actually began the conversion late June, and back then it was headed in a different direction. I didn't like how it was turning out and it frustrated me, so I put her away in the box reserved for projects that frustrate me. Only this week I picked her up again, cut off all the putty and started over. This time it worked!

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I believe now I have enough models for a small playable warband. Neat. Before continuing with various courtiers I'll do another batch of common ghouls. Conversion ideas have spawned in the interim. 

CXXXVI. Black Phillip

I'll be roleplaying a witch character in a Pathfinder adventure soon, so I thought I'd convert and paint miniature representations of her and her goat familiar. I'm still searching for a suitable witch (if you know of any interesting female witch minis, or something that could be converted into a middle-aged witch, I'm open to suggestions). I had material for the goat at home, so I got to work. 

"Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"

It used to be a plastic toy. Came in the same bag of farm animals that serve as leg donors for my misshapen deer. It doesn't scale well with 28-30mm figures, being way larger than a goat should be. However, for use in an RPG its actual size is of little importance, and I can get even away with using it as a Minor Demon in Frostgrave. I did try to find a goat miniature that would actually be to scale, but unfortunately none of the sculpts I came across caught my eye.

There was plenty to do. First, I cut out a section of its body, since it looked too long. I replaced its poor wobbly horns with a proper pair from plastic Beastmen. Most time went on sculpting all the shaggy fur. Since this goat is a buck I added the appropriate parts of anatomy.

Black Phillip and Zora the Hag. Here it's visible how huge the beast actually is.

The inspiration for even picking a goat for my character's familiar came from The Witch (2015), a beautifully atmospheric, slow-burn period horror piece directed by Robert Eggers. Of course, the film in turn drew its inspiration from folklore... Anyway, there is a goat in the film, named Black Phillip, who plays a part in the supernatural events plaguing his owners - an unfortunate puritan family. If you like the kind of horror that doesn't rely on abundance of jump-scares or gratuitous gore, I heartily recommend this film.

CXXXII. Abhorrant Ghoul Queen's Court: Crypt Horrors

A new Crypt Horror joins the court. Janos the Cannibal was a knight errant, on an important mission to slay and devour ungodly followers of Chaos. Sorin the Vigilant, his new brother in arms, sees his purpose in guarding the Queen's person and possessions.

Sorin the Vigilant, Ghoul Queen's knight.

I. BACKGROUND

"Crypt Horrors were once ghouls who have been fed vampire blood by their Abhorrant Ghoul King, and as a result, have been given a larger, stronger form by the power of dark sorcery. In the depths of their delusion, Crypt Horrors believe themselves to be heroic knights charging into battle clad in shining plate."

W:AoS Death Battletome: Flesh-eater Courts

The Horrors are the kingdom's elite soldiers; they see themselves as noble knights. They have regenerative powers and are fond of trophies and tokens from their ruler.

II. OFFICIAL MODELS

 

Source: games-workshop.com

Cypt Flayers kit from GW. This kit has three figures inside, each of which can be assembled as any of five (!) different types of creature: Crypt Horrors, Crypt Flayers, Crypt Haunter Courtiers, Crypt Infernal Courtiers and Vargheists. The design they went for is obviously a huge, ripped version of Ghouls, which makes sense. Like all models in the faction, they look feral and are represented in a dynamic pose. I must say that only the running one has nice flow in it, the other two poses are somewhat stiff.

III. WHAT I DID, HOW, AND WHY

 

I, too, aimed to make the Horrors a larger and more imposing version of Ghouls. Instead of going the route of six-packs and giant biceps, I opted for a heavier body type. Their higher status grants them larger share of flesh to gorge on, so obesity is definitely not out of place here. To reflect their delusion of being knights, they wear scraps of armour and are armed with scavenged weapons and shields - same as my Ghouls.

The body I used for Sorin was from my least favourite Blightking in the kit - the one with a bell in his hollow gut and a very unappealing walking pose. I cut the legs and repositioned them into something more satisfactory.

Blightkings are fantastic conversion material. In this case, their corroded, piecemeal armour and huge gut made them perfect body donors. The part that worried me when making Sorin was the head. I needed to make it fit with both the Ghouls and the already finished Horror Janos, who predated this project and whose head came from a Tomb Banshee. The issue is that Goblins my Ghouls are made of have larger heads than the Banshee. They all need to look like a part of the same family, so I searched the Hobbit Goblin sprue for ones with the smallest faces. There were several candidates, and I picked the one I thought most fitting. I cut off the face and transplanted it on the Blightking, and then built a bald head around it with green stuff. I'm very happy with the result.

Sorin the Vigilant and Janos the Cannibal, Crypt Horrors.

And again, a group shot of everything so far:

CXXX. Abhorrant Ghoul Queen's Court: Ghouls

"Hidden among the ruins of the Mortal Realms thrive the Flesh-eater Courts. Trapped within a horrific delusion, convinced that their cannibalistic feasts are splendid and grandiose visions of nobility, these courts of madness are each presided over by a malevolent and predatory Abhorrant Ghoul King. Beneath him, Mordants pick at decaying meat, snarling and spitting in guttural growls. Crypt Horrors and Haunters skulk in the shadows as deathless guardians, ready to claim entire corpses as their own."

 Inspiration struck, compelling me to start another AoS28 warband. This time it's my take on Flesh-eater Courts.

One thing that I like about the official Flesh-eater models is that they have a strong visual theme kept across the entire range. However, they sadly feel bland and underwhelming. When I look at them I don't get inspired to pick one up and paint it. They could have had the background showing on the models more, because the back story has tons of potential. But that would mean they could not simply repack the kits from old Vampire Counts, so I understand why... Anyways, I was struck with an urge to try my hand at redesigning the faction. I shall do that. And as it happens, I shall do it without using any models from the Flesh-eater Courts range of miniatures.

Warbands of a dozen or so models are my favourite format. Large enough so I can get my idea across, and small enough that I don't get bored with repetition. Converting and painting 60 Ghouls is not an appealing idea. In fact, it's an appalling one. Due to the limited number of units available for this faction I will probably end up making at least one example of each (except probably the Terrorgheist and Zombie Dragon). If nothing else, they will serve as monsters for Frostgrave, and some of them might even wind up crossing over into the Gardens setting some day. 

I already have ideas and bits for most of the models. I will reveal them as I go along, just to keep things interesting.

First up, the lowly foot soldiers of the ghoul kingdoms: the Crypt Ghouls.

I. BACKGROUND

"Ghoul is a word known in almost every corner of the Mortal Realms. These are the vile creatures who make up the majority of an Abhorrant Ghoul King’s seething armies, and they have an appetite for flesh that is both repulsive and insatiable. (...) They believe themselves to be stout foot soldiers of the king’s court or keen-eyed scouts ranging ahead of his armies. In truth, they are a cannibal horde of naked and hungry monsters."

W:AoS Death Battletome: Flesh-eater Courts

Basically, ragged, depraved cannibal humans that reject reality and substitute it with their own. The Ghouls believe they are their king's loyal soldiers and servants. They make the lowest stratum of their society.

II. OFFICIAL MODELS

 

Cypt Ghouls kit from GW. I'm really not a fan; I don't like the bent pose of their bodies and absolutely hate the heads. That's pretty much all they are composed of, so it made more sense to use a completely unrelated kit than to try and fix these. That doesn't mean I think they are useless in general; I've seen people do lovely INQ28 creatures with the bits, and I myself have a pile of Ghoul hands in my bits box.

The Ghouls are the cheapest unit type in the faction. They are human-sized and typically come in large numbers (there are twenty in the box).

Source: games-workshop.com

III. WHAT I DID, HOW, AND WHY

Goblins from The Hobbit game can pass for ghouls even without converting. These: LINK, by Old Fogey, are a fine example of that. What I wanted to do is add pieces of scavenged armour and rusting weapons, to reflect their inner delusion on the outside. They needed to be a grotesque parody of their glorious self-image. I gave one of them a ragged banner (yes, I'm aware they do not have a standard bearer option in the game). First draft had them wearing helmets, but I dropped  the idea. I might still make a helmeted one in the next batch to try it out, though.

I combined Goblins with bits from various Warhammer kits. Some were quite simple, others involved more elaborate puttywork. I think I achieved the rag-tag look, while still having a dose of uniformity.

 

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And these are the Ghouls with Janos the Cannibal. He was made before I conceived the idea for this warband, but is a perfect example of where I'll be going with my Crypt Horrors, and even his backstory fits. So I simply joined him to the crew (he'll just need a new shield). More about Crypt Horrors when Janos gets a friend or two.

CXXIII. Cult of Vvolos: An Enemy of the Cult

Janos the Cannibal, a ghoulish knight from a rival undead-ruled kingdom. On orders from his king, he roams the land on a quest to eliminate acolytes of the Daemon Vvolos. The king considers potential spreading of the chaotic cult into his own kingdom a threat. Janos is a ruthless slayer with particular hate for Chaos. He does not need the cultists alive, in fact he makes sure the ones he catches are thoroughly obliterated - by devouring their bodies. He has been questing for years now, and his trophy collection as well as his ever growing girth testify to his skill at his job. Yellow-robed acolytes tell terrifying tales of their brothers being caught and eaten alive by this monstrosity. Janos' Chaos-tainted diet is not without effect on his body, however, as visible from his tumorous sword hand. What if he ultimately ends up turning into what he despises?  

The shield design comes from the same Ian Miller piece as the shield on the skeleton Kettelhelm from earlier.

Janos the Cannibal is my entry for The Eclipse contest over at Ex Profundis. Well, it's more like a community challenge than a competition, really. I'm looking forward to seeing other people's witch hunters.

Janos is based on a Blightking, with a Banshee head and bits from a variety of other kits.

Painting WIP.

Painting WIP.

I'll build a warband around this character eventually. For now I have ideas for his steed (which he's become too corpulent to ride) and a skeletal squire. Maybe even a cart bearing his collection of trophies taken from all the slain cultists...

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AGRAM ARENA SUMMER TOURNAMENT

Registrations are open for my club's annual summer tournament in July. Like every year, I'll be there since I am attending the Black Queen painting competition and the Malifaux tournament. Here's the official announcement:

Dear friends!

It is time for another (15th annual) Agram Arena Summer Tournament!

We are well in the second decade of organizing Arena events and this year's Agram Arena Summer is going to be held over a record three weekends:

08.07.2017. International Star Wars X-Wing Tournament
15-16.07.2017. International 40K Tournamenty + Hobby and miniature painting competition Black Queen!
22-23.07.2017. International Malifaux Tournament + demo/open gaming (22.7. Infinity & LOTR/Hobbit SBG and 23.7. Flames of War & Warmachine)

Location: MS "Cvjetni trg", Miskecov prolaz 3, Zagreb, Croatia.

Entry: FREE!

Refreshing drinks for all players will be free during the tournaments.

Accommodation for Saturday night is also free for the 1st-time-comers (read more in the rules)! Everyone else can be booked for the price of 13€ for the nights 8/9.7., 15/16.7 and 22/23.7, and 18€ for every other night you might need. The Hostel is in the centre of the city, with parking ensured and only 5 minutes walk from the venue.
Lunch is available at the price of 75 Kn (around 10 Euro) for both days (= 5 Euro/day)!

Check out the tournament rules & other info:
http://www.ums-agram.hr/app/webroot/dok ... AS2017.pdf

Official languages of the tournament will be English and Croatian!

Registration starts with the date of this announcement and ends on:
Star Wars X-Wing - 7th of JUNE
40K - 14th of JUNE
Black Queen - 14th of JUNE (not neccessary unless you need accommodation - see the rulespack)
Malifaux - 20th of JUNE
Demo Games / Open Play - 20th of JUNE (not neccessary unless you need accommodation - see the rulespack)
(you can find guidelines on registration in the rules (check out the above link))!

After these dates, players will be still able to register for the event but UMS "Agram" won't be able to make reservations for the accommodation

If you need any other information please contact us at [email protected] or GSM +385 91 9122048

Note:
After the end of the registrations of each respective event (June 7th for X-Wing, June 14th for 40k and BQ and June 20th for Malifaux) it is no longer possible to cancel your accommodation and you will be billed for the accommodation at full price (18€ per night regardless of any discounts you might be elligable for). Also, the room assignements will be done once the registrations are final as we are not a tourist agency.

CXXII. The Cult of Vvolos: Cultists

A new update on Iulia Docta-Sophosse's warband.

Dacre, Carteret and Maubenc, cultists of Vvolos.

Cultists have the mark of Vvolos branded on the backs of their shaved heads.Whereas higher ranking acolytes wear yellow, ones of lower status dress in dark-coloured robes.

Skaven Plague Monks were my base for these guys. This required removing the traces of Skavenness - head, tail, fur, feet. Same as with my conversion of Skrolk into a necromancer.

The two male heads are from Mantic Ghouls and the female one is from a Daemonette. I used green stuff and Milliput to rebuild the parts damaged during deratization.

*   *   *

With the cultist trio completed I now have my entire starting warband of 10, ready to set off into the wilderness in search of treasure.

My next step on this project will be an adversary for Iulia's band. There is an AoS28 competition running at the moment, called The Eclipse. The topic is "witch hunter", but taken in a very broad sense. So my plan is to make a questing death knight from a rival necromantic kingdom, whose mission is to find and eradicate followers of the daemon Vvolos. This witch hunter knight will probably get a small retinue of his own eventually.

CXIX. The Cult of Vvolos: Iulia Docta-Sophosse

We got to the warband's leader, the necromancer Iulia Docta-Sophosse herself.

Iulia Docta-Sophosse and Ikorid the Apprentice.

When designing the look of Iulia, I wanted her and Ikorid to share certain visual cues. They are a wizard and her apprentice, and the idea was that this relationship should be immediately apparent. I went with robed figures for both, but the wizard needed to look more impressive. That's why she has bigger, branchier horns and more clutter on her staff. She also happens to be physically larger. The robes are both yellow, but the wizard's has a patterned trim. The same pattern can be seen on the rondel hanging from Ikorid's horn - it's present but much less prominent. I toyed with the idea to give Ikorid a small book but I found there was not enough space for it on the miniature. Adding it would actually take away from its effectiveness. Therefore I decided it was better to leave it out.

Iulia is a humpbacked hag of unknown age. In the hierarchy of the Cult she does not rank too high. Her band of undead minions is small and her House not very influential. However, she harbours an ambition become a member of the council that rules the kingdom. Vvolos demands gold and souls as sacrifice. Like many other necromancers, Iulia sets off on expeditions of looting and raiding to procure what her daemonic patron wants. But she also seeks knowledge for herself, and prestige and wealth that come with success.

Iulia hopes her expeditions will help her advance through the ranks of the Cult of Vvolos, all the way to the top. Her apprentice seems to be plotting something. Nothing out of the ordinary in that society; it does not worry her. But it might soon be time to get rid of him and find a fresh one again... 

The open spell-tome offered chance for freehand, even though it ended up partially obscured by the antlers. I put a devil on one page and illuminated text on the other.

 

Since I started from a metal Lord Skrolk, I had a lot of cutting and filing to do. The rat face, feet and tail had to go. I also got rid of the censer from the staff and a few minor details here and there. 

When I got rid of all the unwanted metal I had to resculpt some things. Since it was mostly robes I could do most of it with Milliput. I put a plastic bell where the censer used to be.

Finally, I added Blightking antlers on the head and then coated the whole figure with watered-down liquid green stuff to even out the texture.

*   *   *

I'm a big fan of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. Just last week I finished writing a paper about it for one of my classes. Researching and writing about it made me appreciate the novel even more, but it was a pretty stressful process. I decided to celebrate its completion with a quick and relaxed paintjob inspired by the book.

"A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen. Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog." 

 (The Hound of the Baskervilles by A.C. Doyle, Chapter 14)

This is Bargest. He is a large, black, reanimated dog; a fitting pet for a necromancer. To make the beast even more frightening, Iulia treats its mouth and eyes with a luminous preparation of phosphorus that gives it the appearance of a phantom hell hound. The model is a Canine Remains from first edition era of Malifaux. No converting was needed. I simulated a phosphorescent substance on his eyes and mouth. I hope the effect is at least somewhat visible in these photos.

*   *   * 

 

I'm coming quite close to completing this warband. Since I intend to use it for a future Frostgrave campaign I'm making more models than necessary to start, so that I can have later hires ready for use when the time comes to expand. This is the starting warband I have in mind:

• Wizard (Summoner)
• Apprentice
• 3 Thugs
• 2 Archers
• Man at Arms
• Crossbowman
• Hound
• + an Imp and a Minor Demon because my Wizard can summon them with spells.

What I have so far are the Wizard (Iulia), Apprentice (Ikorid), the Archers (Albrecht and Ieronymus), Man at Arms (Kettelhelm), Crossbowman (Wilhelm), Hound (Bargest) and a summonable Imp (Okko). I just need another demon and three lowly Thugs to have my starting 10 crewmen + 2 summonables.

As you've seen I already have a Knight, Templar and Barbarian for later in the campaign. I'm planning to add a couple more characters to that at some point.

For the roles of Thugs I'll cast a trio of low-ranking cultists of Vvolos. Skaven Plague Monks will do great as conversion material. I found them on ebay for a really affordable price and they arrived recently. They are currently waiting for their turn under the knife and green stuff in the company of a future Ranger.

The warband's background and the setting are gradually getting fleshed out as I go along. I'm revealing bit by bit as things fall into place in my head. I'll probably go back later and write it as a short text for the warband's own page on the blog.