Rohan Update

It's been a little time since I last updated this, so I figured I do a progress update for the Rohirrim. Whilst not the only thing I've been working on (due to my concurrent Mordor army), progress has been slow. I vastly prefer the building and converting side of things over painting, but I do like to see the finished things assembled and painted. 

(The Army List for the above can be found in this post)

First thing I did were the King's Huntsman and the Outriders. This allowed me to practice my rusty skills a little, and I experimented with injected some extra red into the colour scheme. I knew I wanted the helmet tassels to be red, so it would help to tie to the scheme together to have some more. A red tint to the leathers seemed a good idea. The Huntsman lacks this red, though I may go back and redo the underclothes to be red rather than green to tie him to his unit.

For the cloaks I went back to one of my favourite ways to paint a weathered green, which I got from my first ever copy of White Dwarf (Issue 291). A Tale of Good and Evil documented the simultaneous building of Gondor and Mordor forces by a couple of writers, and the scheme was used for the Rangers of Ithilien. Using the then new Catachan Green paint (now renamed to Castellan Green), with highlight using mixes of Graveyard Earth (Steel Legion Drab) and Bleached Bone (Ushabti Bone). I've used the scheme multiple times for Rangers and Rohirrim, so bringing it back for Rohan's scouts made sense.

Next up was the four Riders. I wanted to clearly separate them colour-wise from the Outriders, to ensure the latter stood out, so here I tried an idea I'd seen on another blog. Instead of painting green, paint grey and stain green. After a big of experimentation, I went for a light grey, stained it with Agrax Earthshade, then with Biel-tan Green. This did tend to be a touch light and a bit too clean for me, so I did end up bringing the Castellan Green back as a drybrush. When I do Riders again, I will likely look at using a darker grey base. as currently I'm using a fairly light Administratum Grey. I do want to test a grey-brown like Steel Legion Drab instead however.

So Theoden and the Royal Guard are all that's left to go. I'll be looking to use a more royal green for the Guard's cloaks, though there should likely be some weathering done using Castellan Green to subtly tie them to other two cloak types. 

To make the Royal Guard a little bit more special, I've also converted two of the horses. For MESBG, there are only two official horse poses for your rank and file troops. They come in two halves that can be swapped, so that's technically four poses, but for an all-Cavalry army as Rohan tends to be, despite the hero horses, you will end up with a tonne of similarly posed horses before long. To help alleviate this, I chopped and swapped the heads of the two basic horses. It required a touch of green-stuff, but it helps diversify the force a little more than simply painting will.

The Future!

So naturally I've already started thinking about future expansions. The easiest addition will be another three Outriders, maxing out the Huntman's Warband. I painted a fourth archer alongside the other three, so grabbing a pack of the official metal models will be the simplest addition.

The astute amongst you will notice I've mentioned Deorwine's shield a few times, as the basis for those held by my Royal Guard, so I will be adding him in too as a third warband. This will almost definitely require more Royal Guard, but I like them a lot as a unit, so that's not a bother.

Finally, I recently picked up this particular Royal Guard model, whose long spear lends itself far too well to holding a banner. Theoden has been riding too long without being heralded, so he'll get that in the expansion to help those charges hit home.

Hopefully won't take too long. Of course, I still need to finish up Mordor too!

Alenostr - Journey in Worldbuilding Part One

Alenostr is my original setting I built for D&D. It was built from an initial source of inspiration that combined three things; Final Fantasy 8's SeeD Gardens, Skyrim's general landscapes and feel, and aspects of Ogres and the world from one of the Dragonlance spin-off books, The Messenger. There's possibly some Game of Thrones in here too, with the Undead that show up. From all of this it became an ice-and-snowbound continent in the southern hemisphere, populated by Ogres, Dwarves and Humans, with Elven Enclaves from across the seas, Goblin Tribes living under the rule of the Ogres, and smaller colonies of Gnomes and Halflings mixed in for good measure. Orcs also feature heavily, as a powerful lost civilisation that once ruled a large portion of the continent, and the cycle of the rise and fall of empires has seen the Dwarves recently lose their own, overthrown by the Ogres, once vassals of the Dwarves but stirred to action by the mysterious Ogress known as the Enchantress.

It is a deeply magical land. Some areas have a noticeable aura of magical energies, sometimes manifesting into crystalline chunks known as Magicite. The forests of the region hold many magical creatures, as well as a high number of Dryads and other nature spirits that call to Elf and Druid alike, but are threatened by an ancient Witch and a coven of Vampires. The two are antithesis too the other almost.

Undead creatures stalk the underground areas heavily, many gathered around a Necropolis buried within a swamp near the borders of The Vale. Such is the regularity of spirits manifesting in the region, three Elven brothers set up a school each to train and equip a force of Paladins known as the Urdjan Knights to combat the more dangerous spirits and lay to rest those that are lost.

More mundane affairs also keep tension high in the region. The new Ogre Empire seeks to destroy the Vale to complete their conquest of the old Dwarven Lands. The Dwarven Remnant themselves are on a constant war footing, and their Ironclads regularly see combat with Ogre Galleons in Whitefish Bay. The Vademorian Empire and Odagard stand in an flimsy cease-fire presided over by the Elves. The barbarian Human Tribes of the North West raid both The Vale and Odagard looking for resources unavailable on the tundra of their homelands. Human and Halforc Steppe Tribes similarly assail Vademor from the North.

Above it all the Gods of Dwarf and Ogre drive their subjects forwards, and the Orc Gods of old are stirring once more. Darker, more primordial forces lurk at the edges of it all.

*** *** *** *** ***

Story-fied Dream I Had One Time

"A few nights ago I had this really vivid dream that did the unusual thing of sticking around in my memory. The whole thing was ridiculously intriguing. I wish I could paint a picture of what I saw, but I'll use words instead..."

I had this dream about 18 months ago now, and it's something I'd really like to work into a novel or D&D campaign someday. 

Enjoy!

*** *** *** *** ***

I lowered myself down the rope onto the small rowboat, sitting down opposite the prisoner. He didn't react, or move at all, and just watched me blankly, cradling a bowl of food in his hands. It was a simple meal, baked fish and dried biscuit, what was left of a meal being prepared in the galley when we took the ship.

Incidentally, the Captain had found the prisoner alongside it. He had been the ship's cook, evidenced by the filthy linen apron he still wore.

I didn't like the Captain. He had spotted the small merchant vessel in the distance and moved to intercept it under the cover of night. His ship, supposedly a pilfered naval frigate was more than a match and we outnumbered them three to one. It could've been a simple robbery, but now a dozen innocent men lay bleeding out on the decks just so the Captain become a Commodore.

When the cook had been tossed out onto the deck, I had jumped in a made a case for his life before he could be skewered. There was a small island nearby, he could be dropped off and perhaps rescued later by another merchant ship.

The Captain's cruelty knew no bounds however, and he broke the Cook's leg with a vicious stomp. The snapping sound made my teeth grind even as the Cook screamed. Then, his bloodlust seemingly sated for now, the Captain ordered a dinghy lowered into the water so I could transport the prisoner to the island.

It was easy to see his intent, both ships would be underway before I was even halfway. The Captain had enough of me, I questioned his orders too much, and often deliberately complied in a fashion that ignored the intent but not the word. This was fine with me though, it was time I moved on anyway.

The Cook was then unceremoniously dropped into the dinghy, further breaking his leg so that bone now protruded through skin and muscle and cloth. He wouldn't survive the island now.

With one final glance up at the ship, the Captain standing there with a smug smirk on his face, I took the oars and began to row away. The crew jeered and whistled, but I ignored them and the Cook just wept.

I would have to take him with me I realised. Although he wouldn't be able to go the whole way, it would improve his odds. Time was funny in that place.

The island came into view shortly, and in the dark I could see a small layer of morning mist beginning to grow on the western shore. It was just what I needed, so I steered the boat towards it. As the mist slowly enveloped us, I locked the oars and allowed the small boat to float with the tides. The Cook stared at me confusedly, so I gave him a wry smile and closed my eyes.

I could not explain how it worked, a moment of thought, or meditation, or prayer perhaps, but the mist swirled over us and we moved between one place and the next in a heartbeat.

We were no longer in the open ocean but instead a canal, straight as an arrow and reaching out forward and back as far as the eye could see. Cushioned between red-and-grey brick walls, the water was clear black, making it impossible to see the bottom and instead reflecting the mist around us in a perfect mirror. It perfect width for our dinghy, and even at full extension the oars would not catch on the walls, but then it always was. Dinghy or yacht or cruise ship, no matter the vessel, the canal would accommodate it perfectly.

It was the sky that took my breath away though. The mist pervaded everywhere, never revealing the path more than one hundred strides away. It was not any mere mist however, the silvery-grey lines were there of course, but mixed in with greens and blues and purples. Endlessly swirling, endlessly dancing, the palette reflecting a lighter version of Van Gogh's night sky combined with the Aurora Borealis. Stars moved through it all, carried on the currents, twinkling beautifully in silvers and golds. I fancied they chased each other through the beautiful chaos.

Soon, I heard an engine, and glanced at the road beside the canal. It was time to leave. I stood, and the cook looked worried.

"Good luck," I said, sincerely. "In time, you might find your way out, or find a friend who can show you. You'll be safe until then."

Before he could answer, I leaped ashore. He stammered but was soon too far away to hear. I didn't lie to him, he wouldn't die here. Years could pass with it only being a few minutes from his perspective, and sooner or later he'd be free. I could've freed him myself, but I only had payment for one.

Pausing, I reached out a hand and beckoned one of the stars. It floated down serenely, alighting on my hand gently, a wisp of light no larger than a fingernail. I thought of my destination and it took off again, floating several steps ahead of me.

The engine I heard finally approached, and an open-topped bus came into view. I jumped aboard as it passed, the passengers to in awe to notice one extra. The wisp moved to stay in front of me.

I travelled this way for some time, alighting at certain junctions as the wisp moved to follow a different path from my vehicle. The bus became a horse and wagon, which in turn became an 40's era automobile, then the trailer of an AI-driven HGV.

My journey came to an end at what looked to be a simple tollgate. I paused there for a moment, glancing back through mists I'd come through. Already it just looked like a simple gravel path, no sign of any vehicle or even the canal I'd entered on. I'd been at this spot so many times, leaving behind one world and entering another.It was rare the gravity of it hit me. Wherever I'd been, whatever connections I made, they would all just be memories now. It was near impossible to follow the paths back to a place you wanted to go, only the tollbooth was a constant, and that was merely to guarantee my safety.

This last world had been less than agreeable, but I'd still made friends. I'd never see them again. Them and several hundred others, lost to the mists. Worse, there were worlds out there with people I loved, not least of which was home... wherever that was.

It didn't take a hundred worlds to feel small and alone. Took barely even a dozen. How long would it take to start forgetting faces or voices? Already I wonder how much I remember is mere idealisation. Too perfect versions of people I miss the most, all the edges filed off to give me that extra bump of hope to keep going and maybe see them again. I could stop, of course. Choose a world and settle down, but it never felt quite right. Could be my attachment to Home, to people I've not seen in years, to love that might only exist in my own heart...

It was times like this that you realise how quiet the world is. There was nothing but the sound of my own breath, not even an echo.

Eventually, I turned back to the tollbooth.Within sat a robed and hooded figure with skeletal hands. He, or she, was nearly eight feet tall, and held out a hand to me wordlessly. I placed in it a single copper piece, perfectly made, and left The Road. Onto the next great adventure.

The Second Royal Guard

Let me preface this one by saying I'm by no means an expert and the images below should clarify that. Before this week I haven't even worked with Green Stuff for around 6-7 years and I was no master sculptor back then either! This all takes a lot of time, patience and a steady hand. Good tools and a good work area help, but practice makes perfect and there are plenty of tutorials online!

I was happy enough with the first Royal Guard that I figured I go a little bit more in-depth with the second here, as my method differs from the inspiration as mentioned in the previous blog. As I'm looking for variety in my Royal Guard, I went with this Rider next:

A lot less preparation work went into this one. The previous rider saw me remove the upper arms entirely, as well as the shield boss, and bow and quiver from the riders back. This time I kept the rider's arms, and merely shaved down the shoulders a little.

Step one was simple, as the rider's helmet lacked a crest, I added one with green stuff. The main difficulty here was shaping it and keeping it flush with the centreline of the helmet. An alternative method would be to simply precut a piece and glue it once hardened.

Then I added the collar. A simple semi-circle from shoulder-to-shoulder, which I then pressed a couple of lines into for the detail.

Pauldrons were next. For these I took a wedge-shape of greenstuff, thinner at the bottom, and applied it to the rider's shoulder. Then I pressed into it to create the separation of the plates, and pressed in the edges. The previous model I did each plate individually, but this was much quicker and less fiddly.

Once the pauldrons were done, I added a small circle of greenstuff to each end of the collar, overlapping slightly with the top plate, to represent the cloak clasps. 

Onto the back next. Step one was simply repairing the damage to the back where the bow and quiver used to be. I didn't go too crazy with the folds, just ensuring that they followed the sweep of the existing cloak. Then, I took a triangle of greenstuff to create the hood, pushing the ends over the shoulders to meet the clasps. A line was also scored in to show the trim.

A smaller square was added next, pushed up to the rim of the helmet, then dotted to give the appearance of chainmail.

Finally, the horsehair plume was added over all of this. A simple teardrop shape of greenstuff that I drew lines into slowly to give the appearance of flowing strands. This can be awkward to do and I'm not happy with this one as it's easily the worst plume I've done on the models so far, so it may get redone.

And that's it!

After this it's a simple matter of attaching the spear arm and a press-molded shield. I've done very simple and amateurish green-stuff molding here, so I'd recommend checking Youtube for proper tutorials from actual experts if you want to do the same.

My D&D Characters in MESBG

Even as a kid I wanted to see the Heroes of my own imagination represented on the Tabletop. I remember making my own "Fellowship" that included a couple of Dunedain and some Dwarves and an Elf (no Hobbits though), they all followed in the trail of the real Fellowship, fighting through Moria and eventually heading up north to Mirkwood and entering the Defence against Sauron's assaults there and at Erebor. When I started playing MESBG, it seemed only natural I would give them their own statlines so I could include them on the tabletop.

Those characters are lost to time, but as I read through the new rulebook I realised I could do the same against for my D&D characters when I read the entry for the spell Nature's Wrath.

The statlines below were designed to be reasonable, and create mid-tier Heroes. They won't be fighting off the likes of Aragorn or Sauron, but they can stand alongside the calibur of Eomer and Lurtz and hold their own. The points values were decided using the chart for determining your Battle Company's Rating from the Battle Companies book, with minor adjustments to balance against existing Heroes (for example, that chart would have Axel cost the same as Gimli, despite being statted slightly weaker).

To actually be used in a game, they should be considered as part of the Wanderers in the Wild list.

So without further ado!

Conversions - Royal Guard and Outriders

 

Rohan Royal Guard and Outriders are metal models, which translates to them being fairly pricey. Whilst I will be purchasing a few just to own the official models, for variety and to save my wallet a little, I wanted to convert my own. With the models included in the starter box, and another sprue each of Warriors and Riders I'd ordered, I would have more than enough spares.

The idea was helped along by HobbyMachine's own conversions (found here), so I used their process as the basis for my own.

This Rider here has the closest armour and helmet to the Royal Guard.

All he is missing is the hood and collar, the shoulder pauldrons, detail on the arm guards, helmet plume and shield. I took to him with the clippers, shaving back the cloaked shoulders, and also removing the bow and quiver from his back, as Royal Guard do not get bows.

Then it was time to apply greenstuff to add in the missing details. I did this in several sessions, to avoid smooshing previous work and build up in places where details sit on top of each other. Considering I haven't worked with Greenstuff in a good few years, it's not the worst thing I've ever done and hopefully the paint job will help it look the way it should.

              

My one problem is the shields. As I don't yet have any of the official models, I used the next best thing and tried to cast my own from Deorwine's shield. My inexperience with casting ended up with this rather large and bulky shield, evidently Deorwine is a slightly different scale.

I'll have to give this another go, but it might have to wait until I can get some of the metal Royal Guard. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thankfully, the Outriders are much more forgiving, a simple plume on the helmet will do the trick, as I'm not trying to emulate their fancy helmets. I'll be painting them differently to help them stand out as "not-Warriors".

Until next time!

EDIT:

I think the biggest issue with the shields is thus:

A standard Rider's shield is on the left. The one I used for the casting is on the right, and the size is incredibly apparent.