Da Black Fire Boyz

They're veterans of Sigmar alone knows how many skirmishes against the forces of Averland for control of the Black Fire Pass. Hulking greenskins, their low cunning has somehow granted them a glimmering of insight - their own howling mobs having broken and been repulsed by the Imperial pike formations over and over again, these orcs have begun to crudely imitate a pike block themselves. They've also begun dressing in uniforms stripped from Averland's casualties; it remains hotly debated whether this is a simple case of imitation, or if the orcs are dressing in these uniforms as an act of psychological warfare.

 

As a corollary to the Old World Army Challenge, a bunch of us in the OWAC Facebook group did a 10-figure side challenge this year from October 15th through December 15th. I took the opportunity to paint ten of the Mercenary Orc Spearmen I'd primed for this past OWAC but hadn't gotten around to during the Challenge. These figures are from Warmonger Miniatures. 

I'd specified in the fluff I'd written about the WHFB Orc and Goblin army I painted for the OWAC that they originated in the Black Fire Pass of the Old World, linking the Imperial Province of Averland to Tilea, the remaining Dwarf strongholds, and the Border Princes. Averland is my favorite province of the Empire in Warhammer (and a good buddy of mine has been talking about building an old school Averland army for a while now), so my Orc army is peppered with little nods to the province - a dead Averlander under a troll's foot, another in the chuck wagon awaiting his turn in the stew pot, etc. 

It was a no-brainer, then, to paint these Landsknecht-style orcs in Averland's colors of yellow and black, and Da Black Fire Boyz were born. Red sashes and feathers provide a unifying third color across the figures.

The standard bearer was originally a halberdier; I cut away his weapon, drilled out his hand and inserted a 4" steel pike from North Star Military Figures to serve as a banner pole. I considered a lot of different designs for the obnoxiously-large banner (2.5" square) including a traditional "Evil Sunz" design, and a very-ambitious "Gork and Mork breaking the two-tailed comet of Sigmar like a Thanksgiving wishbone" idea. Ultimately I traced a heraldic boar head on to both sides of the banner and painted it in the yellow-black-red scheme and I think that worked out best. 

The bugler is also converted; he was originally holding a musket in his right hand, which I trimmed away, drilled out and replaced with a plastic spear I had laying around from I think Fire Forge Games. 

Galactic Heroes: "Labor Negotiations"

 On the planet Krankor IV, a toxic industrial hellworld, exposure to the planet's radioactive reserve of Nydynium has caused most of the (slave miner) population to develop horrible mutations. When planetary governor Baron Hadimir Vlarkonnen decides to personally inspect a minor outpost, a band of rebel ex-miners decide it's a perfect opportunity to kidnap the Baron and "negotiate" better rights for the populace. 

THE CREWS:

 

LURSA'S RAIDERS (Crew Trait: Ranger)

• Lursa (Leader; Encouraging, Impervious, Deadeye; Mutations: Life Leech), armed with a Blaster Pistol
• B'etor (Specialist; Killer, Deft; Mutations: Extra Arms), armed with Pistols
• The Maw (Regular; Bloodthirsty; Mutations: Gaping Maw), armed with an Autorifle and Chainsword
• Torso Jones (Regular; Thundering Charge; Mutations: Iron Hide), armed with a Blaster Rifle and Buzzsaw-Axe
• Manta Claws (Regular; Steady; Mutations: Fangs and Claws), armed with a Blaster Rifle

 

THE BARON'S ENTOURAGE (Crew Trait: Deadeye)

• Administrix Mugo Citlax (Leader; Slippery, Smart, Amphibious), armed with an Electro-Mace
• X-10-1 (Specialist; Ranged Fighter, Soulless), armed with an Autorifle
• Butch (Regular; Coolheaded), armed with an Autorifle
• Coop (Regular; Deft), armed with an Autorifle
• Moe (Regular; Killer), armed with an Autorifle

Special: Baron Hadimir Vlarkonnen (D8s for all rolls, Dodge), Unarmed 

The Baron's Entourage started play in the middle of the table, with Lursa's Raiders entering from a randomly-determined corner. If the Baron's entourage could escort the Baron to the landing pad and call the orbiting shuttle, it would be a win for the Baron; if Lursa could stop the Baron from going off-table, it would be a win for her and her rebel band.

Things got off to an explosive start; advancing towards the rebels, X-10-1 was charged by the Maw and promptly swallowed whole! The rest of the entourage had to save versus Shock, with almost the entire crew taking Shock tokens at the sight of the Baron's assassin droid-bodyguard being swallowed whole by this fang-faced mutant. 

Things looked like they'd end poorly for the governor, as the Maw and Torso Jones tore through his security team. Baron Vlarkonnen himself panicked and almost ran off the opposite table edge from the waiting landing pad before rallying and, with three Shock tokens on him, activating on a Queen of Spades card that removed all three of them. Newly invigorated, the Baron rejoined his administrative assistant Citlax and made his way towards the landing pad, ducking into a grove of purple flora to avoid being shot at.

With the three-armed B'etor guarding the entrance to the landing pad and Torso Jones and the Maw advancing on their position, Baron Vlarkonnen made a mad dash for the door and knocked B'etor flat with one punch from a beefy, ring-bedecked hand. Administrix Citlax was taken out the Maw and a well-aimed blaster shot from Lursa, while the Baron narrowly avoided a blaster shot from Manta Claws before making his way up the elevator to the waiting shuttle. The Baron has escaped, leaving Lursa's raiders to lick their wounds and await retaliation.

I don't have a ship model currently. Pretend it's cloaked.

This was a great game of Galactic Heroes and one that I think shows off one of the primary appeals of the game; with the card-based activation system and certain cards having special effects tied to them (such as the Queen of Spades allowing the Baron to shed a LOT of Shock tokens that were weighing him down), even when it seems like the game's a foregone conclusion - it isn't. I was fully expecting Lursa and her gang to corner the Baron on the far corner of the table from where he needed to be; instead, he made it to safety while sacrificing all of his underlings in the process, like any good self-serving galactic autocrat would.

So funny story. I had everything I needed ready to play this game last night, I unrolled my battle mat on the table, put that first piece of terrain down...and the power went out! High winds knocked out the power and took down a number of trees around our apartment complex, and we were without power for 13 hours. This evening, once my wife and I had taken care of replacing the contents of our refrigerator and the domestic stuff, I started to set up the table again. "You're tempting fate," she told me. "If the power goes out again because you started setting up a game, don't say I didn't tell you."

Lursa's Raiders

Here we have a merry band of Chaos Cultists/Mutants from Diehard Miniatures, from their most recent Kickstarter. These will be a gang for games of Fistful of Lead using the scifi (Galactic Heroes) rules or the Post-Apocalyptic (Wasteland Warriors) variant.

Lursa and her sister B'etor, the brains behind this operation

The Maw, always hungry for violence

Manta Claws, ready in a pinch

Torso Jones, looking to get ahead

Fistful of Lead: "The Low Crusade"

 Since it's not a proper American Thanksgiving without a game, I got out some figures and laid down some terrain, and treated myself to a solo game yesterday of Wiley Games' Fistful of Lead, using their new Fantasy rules combined with their Galactic Heroes supplement. One of the best parts of FFoL is the ability to comfortably bend genres like this.

After their ship crashes on a Medieval Fantasy world, Guzbag’s Space Orks need to collect as much spilled fuel (represented by five objective markers spaced around the table) as possible. The Wizard Lutholio, witnessing the crash from his tower, quickly showed up with a retinue to claim as much of this mysterious glowing substance as he can. 

 

Any figure can claim an objective by moving into contact with it and succeeding on a regular Task roll; once claimed it needs to be moved off the table to secure it. Figures carrying objectives off-table stay off table for one full turn before being able to return. 

The Wizard Lutholio was supported by a bannerman, a couple of regular soldiers (one with a zweihander, two with swords and shields), as well as a rabble of halfling archers pressed into service. Guzbag had a heavy gunner and four regular troopers with SMGs.  

 

Lutholio made an early grab at two objective tokens, using the spell "Light Footed" to send one of his soldiers racing towards the further token, while Guzbag's forces moved towards the center of the board before beginning to spread out.

Before long, Guzbag aimed his blaster pistol at Lutholio and pulled the trigger - click! Rolling a 1, he went Out of Ammo. Lutholio responded by raising his hands and weaving the magic to throw a Fireball at Guzbag and a couple nearby goons and - Misfire! Lutholio rolled a 1 as well, singing his beard and eyebrows. As the two leaders stared each other down from opposite sides of the fountain, the Ork heavy gunner raised his machine-gun and opened fire on Lutholio, gunning the wizard down without mercy. 

I thought this might be it for the Medieval Fantasy side, but they rallied admirably and actually overwhelmed Guzbag's forces. The game ended with only one Ork alive but off-table securing an objective token, and two human regulars and two halflings still alive. The human with the zweihander was personally responsible for the deaths of three Orks, including Guzbag, and the halflings at least wounded three of the Orks. All in all, three out of the five objective tokens were scored by the Medieval Fantasy side, making it a resounding win for them. 

Tales of Horror: Blood of the Legion

 My painting has been a bit spotty since the end of the OWAC, and I am spending a fair amount of time prepping miniatures for next year's Army Challenge. But I have gotten a bit done, and today I treated myself to a solo game using Wiley Games' "Fistful of Lead" skirmish system, specifically their "Tales of Horror" supplement. 

There are things lurking in the dark corners of the Earth too foul for even the hardened men of the French Foreign Legion to handle; Major LeDuc leads a hand-picked team of Legionary monster slayers to to mete out Honour et Fidelitie to the creatures that lurk in the shadows. 

Though LeDuc and his men were too late to prevent the cruel vampire Baron Ferenczy and his coven from locating and retrieving the Golden Idol of Ish-Kabibble from its resting place beneath a ruined keep in the Algerian desert, they have committed themselves to making sure Ferenczy does not bring the Idol (and with it, chaos and horror) to the cities of Europe. Aided by a trio of archaeologists, LeDuc and his men take up positions around the old keep and ready themselves for nightfall...

Hunters:

• Major LeDuc (Leader; Veteran, Encouraging, Swordsman, Tough as Nails, armed with a sword and pistol)
•  Ibrahim (Specialist; Ranged Fighter, Sniper, armed with a rifle and equipped with Blessed Bullets)
• Rokoff the Russian Bear (Regular; Brawler, armed with a two-handed axe)
• Barker the Scout (Regular; Ranger, armed with a shotgun)
• Beni (Regular; Slippery, armed with dynamite)
• The Archaeologists (Grunts; Smart, armed with pistols)
  

 

figures by Pulp Figures

figures by Copplestone Castings

 

Vampires:

• Baron Ferenczy (Leader; Veteran, Fearsome Presence, Cold-Blooded, Cause Fear, Great Strength, Fang and Claw, Fast) 
• Nadja (Acolyte; Stealthy, Mesmerize, Great Strength, Fang and Claw, Fast)
• Karl (Fledgling; Leaper, Great Strength, Fang and Claw, Fast, Bloodlust)
• Anna (Fledgling; Flurry of Blows, Great Strength, Fang and Claw, Fast, Bloodlust)
• Jackals (Horde; Dodge) 

 

figures by Reaper Miniatures

The table was set up, with the vampires deploying in the ruined keep at the center of one side of the board, and the hunters scattered through the ruined village, though none within 12" of the vampires' deployment. 

 

I won't go into detail about the game, since I completely whiffed it - I missed a prominent note in the "Tales of Horror" book about vampires being immune to regular bullets, and thus the game was over in two rounds. Oops. I'll have to set back up and run through it again later this week.

OWAC Finished

 It was a long road, but a rewarding one - I finished an entire 1250-pt Orc army (more or less) for WHFB 3rd edition between January 1st and June 30th. All total, it came to 45 Orcs, 15 Goblins, 6 Hobgoblins, 4 Snotlings, 4 Trolls, 3 Warboars, 2 carts and 1 catapult. 

Now to start getting ready for next year.

OWAC Update!

 Realized I haven't posted anything here in a hot minute! Most of my painting has been taken up by the Old World Army Challenge, with March being my third "Rank and File" month and April my "Wild Card." Here's what I've done over the past two months: