The Synod WiP- Ready for Colors

So the flying wizard heads are constructed and on their base. Here are some pics of the pre-primed figure.

The clear goop on the wires is some Spectra Paint Clear Effects stuff that I like to use for filling gaps, building up bases and wherever else I need something bulked-up filled-in or weird-looking.

The green wire is much thicker, I think it's floral wire of some kind. The coppery wire is from a spool of metal "thread" that's very useful in making Egyptian-style fake beards.


Now for the primed-black-then-whitened-up figure.

Now to painting!

Oops, almost forgot the mandatory pic for Alex. ;)

WIP Flying Wizard Skulls- The Synod

I’ve had this idea for a very long time- a bunch of flying mummy heads. There was a Hellboy story (and part of one of the animated films) that had a bunch of ghosts whose heads would leave their bodies at night and they would fly around causing trouble- that probably helped spark this idea. They were originally called ‘the braintrust’ and were meant to be a part of the Undead Shefdu’s Recondite Cabal. Their story then was that Shefdu had the heads of several prominent dead people gathered from around Ægyptus. He then had the Necromancers perform some horrible reanimation spell so that he could draw upon the heads’ experiences and talents for the greater glory of the Eater of the Dead. I still might do something along those lines but more of a flock of angry mummy heads that just chomp on people like flying piranha.

 

More recently I came back to actually planning how to do a miniature of ‘the braintrust’ and realized that fewer heads would be better in both look and construction. Since 3 is a magic number I decided to go with that. The name had to be changed so a thesaurus search brought me to ‘Synod.’ It sounds cool and it sort of fits.

The fluff changed to make the heads those of three powerful wizards who gave their lives casting an incredibly powerful spell to stop some horrible ancient evil thing from doing something terribly nasty—I’ll flesh it out more at a later date. The spell consumed all but their skulls and they were buried together in a big fancy tomb in Ankhara. This is where it gets murky, I’m thinking that they should be good undead brought back to help fight the Eater and other foes of Ægyptus by some Anubi meddling with dark lore that was stolen from a Tethru library of forbidden knowledge.

I found some cheap head bits (plastic GW because I really don’t want to cut up some nice Crocodile Games figs for this even though it’ll be awesome) that well matched my sketch. Now all that’s left is to make them fly with magical wisps of wire. I’m going to use the Sherden shield from Alex Bates’ Forge of Ice on the base to help cover up the wires and make the whole thing look better.

Traveller's Luminaries July Reinforcements Pictures

From left to right: Young Wenenut, The Swift One (Asar Champion); Sakaris, the Lion of Memphis (ToTanem Champion); and, The Chariot of Pedjet (Sebeki Chariot)

Stickbeast Finished!

It looks a little bit like a really weird pretzel, I know. But he's done and ready to taunt people as a ferocious monster- or tasty salty treat...

Mr. Salty- I mean the Stickbeast, accosting a Nekharu standard bearer...

And the obligatory picture of a monster with the 'Priest of Aten Revealed' miniature to drive Alex crazy with jealosy...

070511 Recruit/Capture the Witch Battle Report

This was a very fun game. The scenario was for the Chaos warband to recruit the witch to their side and the Order warband to capture the witch. The final version of the scenario has been submitted to the Campaign Team. And it's a bit different than this version of the scenario, but this was still pretty fun without all the wiz-bang changes. These pictures are not with an excellent camera, just a crappy old cellphone camera, sorry for the lack of quality...

Part of Carlos' Typhon Chaos Warband. Only 1 elephant this time and no assassin because the assassin is morally reprehensible. You can see the Witch in the rock formation at the bottom right of the picture...

Most of the Traveller's Luminaries arrayed for battle...

The new Sebeki chariot in the Luminaries closes in on the Typhon and Asar units...

The Typhon Harbinger's chariot is countercharged (I should've SET for charge, dammit!) and destroyed by the Bes Spearmen led by the ToTanem champion, Sakaris the Lion of Memphis (ahhh, THAT's why they charged instead of set- because the fluff says Sakaris is an attacker-type ToTanem)...

A view of the battle from a different angle at the start of turn 3 or 4. The Sebeki chariot zipped past the Asar unit but didn't actually hurt the guy they hit- now they're getting ready to swing around and do some damage. The Typhon warband's 3 20-man units are taking up positions to set in for the long-haul while the Luminaries' ToTanem unit (enhanced with Land's Favor) continue their stalwart march into the midst of the enemy...

On the Luminaries' right flank, the Typhon Harbinger and Charioteer engage the Bes Spearmen as the Sebeki unit prepares to reform and join the tough fight to come. Unfortunately their reform turned out to be wasted when the Harbinger teleported away to recruit the Witch! Meanwhile, Menthu (the Apis/not Beloved of Sobek) and Shefdu's chariot remain close, likely planning some sort of one-two punch against the Typhon elephant before it gets a chance to cause any havoc...

In the center of the battlefield the Typhon unit is held up a bit by the Wind's Howl spell. Also, the ToTanem unit charges into combat with the massive Khemru unit...

The Totanem unit has fled! But the Asar heroine, Wenenut and the Bes hero Iodah are holding up two units on their own. The Typon Harbinger is busy recruiting the Witch to his cause as Menthu is wounded by fire from the Typhon Archers on the hill...

At the Luminaries' rear the Tethru Swordmasters, having provided some useful bowfire in the earlier turns, prepare to deal with the Asar unit as it draws closer. They draw their doouble-handed swords and focus their Ka. Meanwhile, the Luminaries' Mistress of Words, Young Seshat, has moved up closer to the main fighting to see if she can do anything to help the cause...

The Typhon elephant has changed course in an attempt to go after the Sebeki chariot (although the chariot turned back towards the center of the battle instead of heading after the Typhon archers). Menthu the Apis (not-Beloved of Sobek) managed to catch the elephant from behind and do some damage. In the bottom right of the picture, Shefdu Sootootma has dismounted his chariot to head after the Typhon Harbinger and the Witch...

PROVOCATION! Shefdu engages the Typhon Harbinger as the battle rages around them. Unfortunately I forgot that one of the Ka powers Carlos rolled was Strength of Set- had I remembered that I would have cast Fiery Aspect before rushing into the Provocation. In the background, Iodah is surrounded by the evil Khemru, but he fights on with great vigor. He does much more damage to the Khemru unit than they do to him...

The Swordmasters of Hoethet clash with the Asar unit, to the Asar's surprise. They are WARRIOR-scribes, after all, not simple scribes as most opponents seem to think...

The Sebeki chariot makes it into the fray, charging into the Typhon unit. As the Bes hero, Iodah, continues to whittle away the massive Khemru unit...

The newly recruited Witch turns his magic against the oncoming Sebeki unit. He casts Insidious Dementia on them, causing the Sebeki to fight amongst themselves (losing one of their own) and putting them into disorder...

Shefdu's chariot joins the fray by charging into the Khemru unit's flank. Meanwhile the Provocation continues with Shefdu hanging on by a thread (Strength of Set causes 2 wounds instead of 1 for each hit you take, so Shefdu's getting 2 for 1 in this fight!)...

The action was pretty fast at this point. The main thing was that Shefdu fell in the Provocation but only 1 unit routed because of the loss of their Harbinger. Since it was turn 9 (of a 10 turn limit) I realized that there was nobody free or close enough to get to the Witch in time to capture him, so I conceded.

For what looked like a bloody battle there were relatively few casualties. Most of my losses were characters with only a few warriors lost. Carlos lost more models overall, so I take pride in killing more than he did. It would be nice to allow the Witch to become a permanent addition to the recruiting warband but I doubt the Campaign Team would allow that in a normal non-convention game, so he was worth 2 Renown instead.

July Reinforcements for the Traveller's Luminaries

Reinforcements this time took the form of die rolls. We shall let Shefdu explain who he pulled from the scrolls:

The Chariot of Pedjet (Sebeki Chariot)

The Sebeki Charioteer Pedjet, along with his driver Skedj, are best known for their wild ride to Crocodiliopolis to secure reinforcements for the beleaguered defenders of a frontier outpost. But their exploits did not start or end there. They were often in the warband of Hashmet the Golden Maw as he travelled the Nile in search of the stolen daughters of the Nomarch of Crocodiliopolis. Their prowess on the battlefield was matched by their prowess on the chariot-racing circuit...

Young Wenenut, The Swift One (Asar Champion)

Since I had her chariot, it only seemed fair to bring Young Wenenut into the Luminaries. The lovely hare-headed future Harbinger of Isis and Thoth was a fixture in Kimshet the Learned's warband for many years before she became a Harbinger. Her dual-sword fighting style and speed on the battlefield are welcome additions...

Sakaris, the Lion of Memphis (ToTanem Champion)

The ToTanem are usually thought of as a defensive people, yet Sakaris is an example of their capability to go on the attack with ferocity. He was ruthless in defense of caravans from Memphis to other cities of Ægyptus and beyond. While the rest of the caravan guards would form up defensive lines to ward off attackers, Sakaris would often charge out on his own into the midst of the brigands. His battle cry was said to resemble that of an angry lion, thus he eventually became known as the Lion of Memphis and was made Captain of the City Guard for a time...

Pictures coming soon...

Pictures of the Traveller's Luminaries Warband

It's about time!

The full warband...

Swordmasters of Hoethet Thatched Roof School and Young Seshat and Sefkhet Aabut...

The Council of Minch and Iodah....

Kortosis' Corps and Artifex Kortosis...

The Sons of Hesthuti and Menthu Hathorhotep...

"Wenenut's Pride" with Shefdu Sootootma aboard...

The Luminaries' characters (left to right): Iodah, Bes Hero; Young Seshat, Tethru Mistress of Words; Menthu Hathorhotep, (not-Beloved of Sobek) Apis son of the Godess hathor; Shefdu Sootootma, Tethru Harbinger- 'The Scroll Traveller;' Sefkhet Aabut 'The Polemicist,' Tethru Heroine; and, Kortosis the Impregnable, ToTanem Artifex...

Alternate luminaries group shot...