Assassinorum: The Renegades

It took me more than a year, as I dabbed into so many other projects, but finally I've finished painting the Renegades from Assassinorum: Execution Force. I decided to paint them in a colour scheme matching the Cult of Divine Illumination, a Delaque Gang/Astra Militarum force I've painted a while ago. The idea is to use the two forces as a single army of Chaos Cultists.

 

Marduk the Fatebender

Nobody really knows from which chapter the vile sorcerer known as Marduk the Fatebender hails from. Some in the Inquisition says he once was Epistolary Mordechai of the Executioners Chapter, recorded as missing in action during the Badad Wars. Others maintain he was a Blood Raven librarian that turned his back on his chapter during the Second Aurelian Crusade. What is sure is that Marduk will stop at nothing in his quest to piece together the lore and artefacts that will allow him to cross the Crystal Labyrinth, reach the Impossible Fortress and learn the secrets of true power from the voice of his master, Tzeentch itself.

The Loreseekers

Raised on Byzanthia II, these cultists were once the guards of the Sanctum Sapientia, a cathedral built during the Scouring to seal away the essence of the Lord of Change Aran'khilan the Wisperer. When Marduk's forces attacked the Sanctum and freed the daemon, the men fell to its maddening influence and ever since have joined Marduk's warband in the search for forbidden knowledge.

 The Cultists were the only models on which I did some conversions, so that they are slightly more flexible when playing 40k. I gave a shotgun and flamer, fished from my bitsbox, to two of them. Some cutting and shaving of plastic, a piece of wire and a little greenstuff and I was sorted.

The Fatebender's Heralds

The Heralds are utterly loyal to their master. Whether they hail from the same chapter or from another Renegade factions that joined him recognising his greatness in the eyes of Tzeentch, is unknown, but under Marduk's leadership they have scoured countless seats of knowledge across the Imperium.

I have some unassembled Space Marines ad all the leftover bits from the Terminator Lord sprue, so, at some point in the future I'll kit-bash another six Renegade Space Marines to have a proper congregation of servants of Tzeentch.

The Lost Tablet of Phos Campaign: Game 1

The Lost Tablet of Phos

Deep into the Sands of Revelation laid Phos. In all the Realms, no city was as blessed with wisdom and knowledge, as the Hyerophantis Order toiled in its granite temple and recorded the knowledge glimpsed from the light of Hysh on stone tables. The city was first lost to Nagash’s armies and then pillaged by the roaming hordes of Chaos. Yet, it is said that one last Tablet is still hidden in the sand swept ruins of Phos, one that holds secrets so powerful they could turn the tide of the Season of War. It is Skargat’s Ironforged Ogors that the Gilded Hand Elders have entrusted with retrieving the Lost Tablet. With it, the Gilded Hand’s Free Companies will have the power to retake the lost Venythian outposts from any interloper, or so it is believed.

The Obelisk's Secrets

"Get movin' you scum!" bellowed Skargat, bashing his axe flat on the neck of the nearest Ogor. "The hoomies said something about reading some stuff on the Obelisk of Tahaluk. The sooner we get there, the sooner we'll get some new pieces of iron for our collection!"

Shaking his head, Steve 'Seagull' sneaked away to find a high spot from where to survey the ruins. He couldn't understand why the Elders had assigned him to Skargat's expedition and he made no effort to hide his dislike for the ogors.

"Chief! Over there! Orruks!" shouted Kamog "And it's really good steel they wear!"

"And they're headed for the Obelisk...good, we'll also get a few extra suits of armour! Charge lads!"

As the Ironforged rushed forward, the flashy orruks spread wide to encircle the ogors.

From his hiding place, Steve rained arrows in the melee, while Skargat and his lads bashed and cut left and right. The orruks couldn't stand the Ironforged stamped and where soon sent realing from where they add come.

From the distance, Steve spied the orruk shaman intent on studying the Obelisk's inscriptions and then running away laughing gutturally. The Ironforged held the battle field, but maybe they had been to late?

The Muster begins

Venythia and the Gilded Hand Free Companies
(You can find WIP shots of my army on Tales of Sigmar)

The city of Venythia was founded on the mouth of the Adamantine River at the bottom of the Glittering Gulf in Chamon. A few miles off the Glittering Gulf, past the Silverflow Straits, the Waterway, a massive Realmgate connected Venythia with the other Realms. During the Age of Myth, the city was ruled by a merchant guild known as the Gilded Hand traded goods from all over Chamon for the most exotic spices and tissues from all around the Realms. In their forays across the Realms, the Gilded Hand explorers always made sure they had an escort of seasoned mercenaries. Well trained and equipped, the Free Companies of the Gilded Hand were the pride of Venythia.

Gudrun's Grudgbreaker - Duardin Privateer

Yet, as the first Great Waaagh! approached the city, the Free Companies were sorely pressed and Venythia looked set to fall to Gorkamorka’s rampaging hordes. Then came Marcus the Gold Wizard and his companions, Aethlis the Archmage and Karadrin the Runelord. Marcus offered to turn Venythia into a most impregnable fortress. In return, he asked, the Gilded Hand would name them Guild Elders. The voices of some merchants, jealous of their positions, were quickly silenced by the more practical among them. The newly appointed Elders immediately set to work. As Aethlis called on his elemental powers to uproot the city seven districts and turn each of them into an islet, Marcus transmuted the walls of the buildings into shining steel while Karadrin hammered runes of protection on his anvil. In a matter of hours, and just before Gorkamorka’s hordes reached it, Venythia was a lagoon city of rune-encrusted steel. Orruks, grots and ogors, on their improvised rafters crashed on its walls for days, but with no success and finally moved on, looking for easier prey.

The Kitchen Crew

In the following years, Marcus, always supported by Aethlis and Karadrin turned the Gilded Hand into a council of alchemists and made the position of Elders hereditary. The trading vessels and Free Companies of Venythia found a new purpose, as they were used by the alchemist of the Gilded Hand in their never ending quest for knowledge and ingredients for their craft. From the Shimmerwood in Ghyran, to Okkam’s Reach in Shysh, to the Blasted Plains in Aqshy and in many more places, Venythian outposts were guarded by duardin, aelfs, humans, and at times the occasional ogors and orruks, all on the Guilded Hand’s payroll. When the Age of Chaos came, the Gilded Hand Elders, by now the descendants of Marcus and his companions, recalled all their emissaries to their fortresses on the lagoon of Venythia. When Sigmar retreated to Azyr, the Elders saw the God-King’s decision as a betrayal and ever since distrusted any who pleaded their allegiance to the Heldenhammer. Yet, faithful Sigmarites remained in the city and some even fought in the Venythian armies.

The Faithfuls, Church of Sigmar's Retribution Militia

The Penitent Brotherhood

The Free Companies kept Venythia safe from the ravages of Chaos and refugees from all the Realms have flocked there, eager to join the mercenary regiments or founding their own to fight against Chaos. As the Storm of Sigmar broke, the Gilded Hand Elders saw an opportunity to reclaim their vast network of outposts. Various Free Companies have already braved the crossing of the Waterway, and as rumours of a vast offensive on Ghyran spread, more mercenary regiments are being mustered. The Free Companies will fight anyone who stands in the way of Order and reason. Perhaps they won’t fight for Sigmar, but surely for the glory of Venythia and the gold it brings.

Skargat's Ironforged Ogors

Welcome to my War Room

Chronicles of a hobby butterfly

There is no point denying it, I am a hobby butterfly. Put it very simply, I can't focus on long term projects and constantly move from one thing to another. If nothing else, I'm obsessed only with Games Workshop games, which saves me from the headaches of moving between too many settings and rule sets.

Hero Quest was the first ever GW game I sat my eyes upon, on a now distant Christmas night in 1989. The year after Space Crusade found its way under the Christmas tree and from that moment on I was hooked. To be honest, I couldn't fully enjoy the modelling and painting side of the hobby until many years later, when I was finally able to get a house big enough to have a dedicated hobby room. This blog will be the story of what happens in that room.
So, as a welcome to you my dear reader, I'll take you through a tour of what I have started to affectionately call the War Room.

First of all, the work station. They are not in the picture, but the two bottom drawers are full of bits. Well, what do you expect after 27 years in the hobby?

And then, the gaming table! Here with ruined buildings, hills and forests that a bunch of friends have built over time. That's a 2x1.2 metres board, so slightly bigger than the average 6x4 board.

The good thing is, the board is made of four sections, so it can be split into two smaller tables. The sci-fi terrains are for games of Necromunda and while I love them, I haven't made them, but a gaming buddy needed to clear his hobby den, so they found a house at mines.

I also have another two boards. One was built by my group of gaming buddies to play Mordheim. Before the End Times it was known as Vercuso, a port town on the Sartosan coast, and you can find plenty of battle reports set in it on Flame On and on Tom's Boring Mordheim. In the Age of Sigmar, the town is known as Duskheaven in Shysh, and it already saw some violent clashes between my armies and Warboss Kurgan's Ironfang Orruk Fleet.

And then, there's the only board I have done completely by myself. The ruins of Phos a once majestic seat of knowledge in Hysh.

Warboss Kurgan and me have just started a mini-campaign in Phos. It will be our own prologue to the coming Season of War, so be prepared to see some battle reports.

What else can you expect? Well, it all depends on what models and ideas catch my attention. For now I'm going through the content of Assassinorum: Execution Force. Then I have Silver Tower waiting for me. And there are also the always expanding Free Companies of the Gilded Hand. I've blogged about this mercenary army on Tales of Sigmar, so head over there if you can't wait for my next post here!