Galdo The Exile

Hi!

Ive just finished a couple of new characters for the Axeblade Campaign:

Galdo the Exile and Grigor the Squire

Galdo is an exiled Knight of the Eternal Light. In his youth he was disgraced for killing a fellow knight and exiled into the Axeblades. He took his faithful squire Grigor with him and has spent the last thirty years roaming the Axeblades attempting to atone for his crime.

He has joined a Dwarven supply convoy part of the way as rumours have surfaced of the long forgotten temple of Arizhiva, the Angry God and is hoping to find it and finally end his long exile.

I've also started work on some other bits and pieces which will get photographed as soon as possible!

All the best!

Goblin Re-enforcements: Wartowers

Hi!

Well I've placed a small order for a couple of Lesser Goblin Wartowers from SCOTIA GRENDEL:

Lesser Goblin Wartowers

I will be converting them rather heavily into Goblin Wartowers which will in turn add some much needed muscle for my Goblin Warband.

As the background I have been developing has leaned more towards the Native American look, I will be making them into nomadic transports of a sort. The howdah will be replaced with a somewhat different platform sporting a couple of Braves apiece. I may even be tempted to sculpt them up a bit to turn them into either Spiny Devils, Rivetbacks or Firebelly.

These hybrid Carnosaurs are found throughout the High Mesa and Western edge of the Endless Plains and have been tamed by several tribes of the Goblin Nations. They form the basis for the Goblins nomadic lifestyle and transport the Goblins tents and supplies as well as their heaviest warbeasts.

I also plan on sculpting an entirely new Warbeast in 28mm scale as I want to have a bash at sculpting something large and impressive to act as a centrepiece for my Goblin force!

Speaking of which I think I am going to have to re-evaluate my current collection as the figures I have don't really match the background as they are too heavily armoured. I don't think theres actually any figures out there currently available which fit the bill so I may have to sculpt them myself! If so I think there will be some 15mm scale versions of them too!

All the best!

Goblins in Aeroth

The Free Goblin nations of Aeroth are descendants of the Goblins who fled the shores of the Cold Sea far to the East of the Endless Plains when the Orcish Horde enslaved their kin. These tribes now eke out a living amongst the desolate foothills of the Axeblade Mountains.

The Cold Sea

These Goblins are a wild and hardy breed who regularly raid the herds of the Great Orc Khans for food, mounts and fun. They will also free any Goblins they find from their Orcish overseers. The free tribes see these downtrodden wretches as distant relatives and will actively recruit them into the tribe which helps keep their gene pool diverse.

The constant raiding enrages the Orcs who see the Goblins as property at best and vermin more often than not. Many punitive expeditions have been sent to find any Goblin encampments and wipe them out. To combat this some tribes have taken to a nomadic life, following herds of the lizardlike Megadons. Others live in cunningly constructed villages built high on cliffs out of the reach of their enemies.

The Edge of the High Mesa

Ruin of the Goblin Settlement at Ul Ygoth-Vaah

Unfortunately these tribes have come into conflict with the other inhabitants of the region, namely the Dwarves of Kareth Dull and the Barbarian tribes. Determined to survive at all costs the Goblin Chieftains have taken to capturing and training all manner of strange creatures to bolster their fighters.

The leaders of the Goblin tribes are the Chieftains. At one time Chieftains were elected by the elders of the tribe but following the Death this has changed. Now to become a Chieftain, a Goblin Brave must pass many physical trials in order to prove their worthiness as leader of the tribe.

A leader who is brave, cunning, able to lead raids with panache and hunt successfully is now seen as of prime importance. The Death has been hard on the Goblin nations and food has become ever more difficult to get hold of and their hunting grounds have been encroached on by both the Orcs and the Dwarves.

Although the Chieftain is nominally the leader of the tribe, they defer to the tribes Shaman. These wizened creatures are the true guiding force behind the tribes. Within their dark sweat lodges the Shamans commune with all manner of spirits and can wield amazing powers in battle and only the most foolish Chieftain would ignore the advice of the tribes Shaman.

The bulk of any Goblin force will be made up of braves. Although individually quite fearless, they are no match for the sheer size and strength of most opponents so prefer to attack from range using shortbows before closing to finish off the survivors.

Goblin Brave

Most tribes will also field large numbers of Carnodons, sleek killing machines which are well suited to both open plains and uneven ground. These Goblins will use either shortbows or spears and are the tribes shocktroops.

Carnodon

Some Goblins join warrior lodges and become Headhunters. These crazed individuals will hurl themselves into combat with anything believing that their names will live on in glory if they die and taking heads to mount above their lodge if they live.

Headhunter Lodge Banner

Nearly all Goblins will bedeck themselves in warpaint before battle with the colour and patterning reflecting their tribe and status. Many also wear feathers in their hair with the patterns and quantity showing their deeds.

Cunning Fox, the Chieftain of the Tribe of the Heights, gazed down towards the canyons floor. From his vantage point he could see the Orcish column wending its way along amongst the rocky dry riverbed which formed the canyon floor.

Riven Tongues, the tribes Shaman had been right. His spirit vision had shown the route of the Orcs march and the most auspicious time to spring the ambush was close. Hidden along the rim of the canyon Goblin braves waited, their short bows ready and flint tipped and poisoned arrows notched waiting for the signal to attack.

Far below the one of the Orcish warbeasts bellowed, as if sensing something was amiss. With a piercing howl the Goblin Chieftain fired his own bow, aiming at the rearmost Orcish Carnosaur rider. The arrow flew true and embedded itself in the Orcs neck pitching him off the beasts back. All down the canyon barbed arrows flew from the ambushers peppering the Orcish column.

Many fell clutching at the shafts as they died but at least one of the Orcish leaders saw the danger.

Roaring at his underlings and using one particularly unfortunate minion as a shield, the great beast began forming his remaining troops into a shieldwall and backing them down the canyon towards freedom.

Taking careful aim Cunning Fox once again let fly an arrow, striking the Khan in the eye, killing him where he stood.

Seeing their leader fall the remaining Orcs broke and ran but there would be no escape for them. Cunning Fox grinned tightly as he signalled down towards the canyons mouth. More Braves appeared to block its entrance, this time mounted on brutally sleek Carnodons and hurled themselves on the fleeing Orcs.

"Today we shall eat well and gained much prestige amongst the other Tribes!" murmured Cunning Fox as he hopped over the boulder he had been lurking behind and descended the canyon face to help finish off the surviving Orcs and claim his loot as is right as Chieftain.

Eye Of Gorath!

Hi!

I have recently sent out a call for images of painted Leviathan stuff and have received this rather snazzy version of the Eye of Gorath:

Eye of Gorath painted by Braxandur's Girlfriend!

I really like the skin tone on him and despite the fact he's not quite finished yet, he's already looking menacing!

If you have any painted Leviathan stuff please feel free to contact me here and i will post pictures on my blog!

All the best!

Campaign Terrain!

Hi!

I've been busily working away getting some new terrain elements for the upcoming campaign!

First up theres the Tarn of Gorm:

Orcs Discover the Tarn of Gorm

The Tarn

It was constructed by building up a layer of sculpey in a rough ring on a baking tray then adding more sculpey rocks and cooking it. It was then glued onto some thin plasticard, flocked and painted. I added a layer of PVA glue to give it a bit of a sheen as well and am quite pleased with the results!

Next up theres the mysterious ruined village:

Boar Company Dwarves explore some ruins of a long forgotten village high in the Axeblades

Flint explores the interior of one of the ruins

They were constructed by making lots of little blobs of sculpey and forming some little ring ruins from them!

Finally I have been sculpting lots of bits and bobs and have almost finished the Dwarven supply caravan!

Pack Yaks

The one on the right still needs his packs adding but they will make a rather nice objective in upcoming battles! I also have a herder finished who just needs basing and painting and a couple of special characters are nearly complete too and will be getting photographed as soon as possible too!

All the best!

Leviathan Skirmish

Hi!

While I've been enjoying sculpting and painting my own figures, I find myself wondering why I haven't actually played using the rules from the Leviathan rulebook, the reason I started this whole project in the first place!

Leviathan!

The rules themselves are rather nice and simple and the armies all have a different flavour to them rather than being carbon copies of traditional fantasy, usually Tolkienesque races but still I find myself entering the fourth year of my Leviathan project without having actually played it!

I think the problem is that of scale. To play a decent game of Leviathan one needs at least an 8x4 foot board, lots of terrain and models. I don't have the space or budget to really do it justice. I moved into 15mm scale to cut down on costs and space but still haven't got round to playing a full game.

Another issue I've had with Leviathan is its incompleteness. It needs the Earthpower supplement to cover magic, flyers and siege warfare but it never got released. The main rulebook could also do with having been playtested a bit more thoroughly as theres several bits and bobs that have been left out or poorly explained which can make attempts to play it a bit of an adventure. Each time I start playing it I find something else that needs explaining!

I've spent quite a bit of time collecting all the errata and begun work on Earthpower but want to be able to play with a reasonable number of figures in a limited space.

One of Leviathans strengths is the sheer size of the models and I want to be able to field some of them!

Orc Necrosaur

Lesser Goblin Wartower

Therefore I've decided to write a skirmish game set in Aeroth using the Leviathan rules as a basis. I want to be able to use both my 15mm and 28mm scale figures and where possible keep to the spirit of the warped lands of Aeroth and the incredible forces that fight to conquer it.

15mm Scale Orcs

28mm Scale Goblins

The basic idea is to field 10-15 infantry or cavalry with a couple of warbeasts or war engines with an emphasis on converting and scratch building. I also plan on posting my progress here along with the draft version of the rules as I develop them!

I have really enjoyed playing Song Of Blades and I suspect it has a lot to do with the sheer simplicity of the game and the ability to create warbands from any figures you have in your collection!

I think that I am going to incorporate some of these principles into the skirmish version of Leviathan!

All the best!

Forlorn Hope Games

Hi!

I recently ran out of green stuff and decided to have a peruse online to find a company to order replacements from as my usual source was out of stock. After a little rummaging I found FORLORN HOPE GAMES and ordered a couple of packs of greenstuff and some new static grass.

The order arrived very quickly (especially as the postage was free) and I must admit I am very impressed. I think I have found a new source for materials too as they stock Gale Force Nine scenic bits and bobs as well as a load of miniatures!

All the best!