Getting the band together

The band made history when they became the first non-Orcs to perform at the Waaaghken festival

It is all but guaranteed that any civilised settlement will possess within its boundaries at least one tavern, hostel or other such communal centre. These are places for locals and travellers to gather, drink and, of course, sing.

Many inns will allow - encourage, even - skilled bards and minstrels to entertain the patrons. Happy customers spend more freely and if the musician is even halfway competent then the least they can expect in return is food and lodgings for the night.

Of course, in an age in which news travels swiftly only for those with coin to tempt it, most folk rely on the accumulated knowledge of history to guide their decisions and give them hope in lean times. The "oral tradition" scholars call it, but this diminishes the spiritual depth of joining one's voice to a choir which stretches back generations and keeps fresh the wisdom earned by those who are long since departed.

On occasion, talented individuals will group together in performing troupes, roaming the lands seeking fame and, more than this, fortune.

Such a band emerged from the foothills of Jeldenburg and has since proven worthy of a mention in the chronicles of the Tallowlands...

 Founding members

Anbeth Willowbrook

A daughter of the Oakleafen, Willowbrook is an accompanist par excellence. Had she been born to human or dwarfen parents her talents would almost certainly have been lauded and nurtured. However, the wood elves are a more self-centred folk and respect only the virtuoso and the soloist. Therefore her sympathetic and collective approach was sneered at and considered somewhat inferior.

After a time, Willowbrook came to realise that she would never find musical fulfillment within the boughs of Oakhall and undertook to depart the forest, never to return until her music was considered fit for the halls of lords and nobles.

This happened within a week.

After leaving Oakhall, she travelled west towards Jeldenburg. On her first night in human lands she arrived at the town of Yuldpass where, purely by chance, she met Horst vander Jeld, royal minstrel to the Demiprince Arnhuus. He invited her to join him in performing at the tavern that evening; after the opening, unrehearsed song he insisted that she perform with his troupe at the palace the following evening.

Despite being a little suspicious she agreed and was stunned to discover how highly humans valued her skill at weaving rhythms for the other musicians to work with. She remained in residence at the palace for a number of weeks - unsure of whether she could really return return to Oakhall so soon, or if she even wanted to - until one day she met Helen Highwater and chose to join her in the wandering life.

It is unclear whether Anbeth is her true name or a pseudonym to help her avoid the stigma of association with the belligerent Oakleafen when in human lands.

 

Helen Highwater

A gnome from the near East, Highwater travelled the Jeldenburg circuit for some time before her meeting with Anbeth Willowbrook. Despite her stature she has a strong and charming voice which, coupled with her easy humour and excellent sense of timing, makes her an ideal frontwoman for the band.

She is not the most capable lyrist, but in truth she plays it only to help her stay in tune when the crowd gets rowdy.

 Tomlin Picc

Picc was only supposed to be passing through Jeldenburg when he heard that Willowbrook and Highwater were looking for musicians to join their group. He had seen Highwater performing two nights previously and been impressed, so sought them out.

 

His playstyle is heavier than the classical tradition would dictate, partly as a result of spending considerable time playing with a dwarfen troupe from the hold of Kanderbad - in order to keep up with the horns he learned to modulate his own volume and use the echoes inherent in dwarfhall acoustics to boost his sound when playing melody.

 

It is a point of some interest that he is one of the few humans to have had his playing recorded. Recording music, as everyone knows, requires vast magical resources (not only for the recording, but also the listening) and in practice is available only to a few extremely wealthy dwarfs.  During his time in Kanderbad he worked on a few sessions for the legendary Pol Makka when he was recording the groundbreaking Band on the Rune.

 

 

 

 

 Rei Barleysheaf

Last of the founding members to join, Barleysheaf was heard by Willowbrook playing flute while she waited for a stagecoach out of town. Her ethereal manner of playing provides a new dimension for the band and allows them to explore some less boisterous musical avenues.

Joining the band represented a significant upturn in her professional fortunes - the stagecoach she was waiting for was to take her home, having run out of money. This was partly due to her having adopted the stage name Rei Gunne, which left audiences and critics baffled. Since joining the band, however, she has flourished and her distinctive manner of playing is now recognisable across the lands.

Inexplicably popular with male crowds.

 

Later members

 

Rhuston Va

An ex-rogue, his thieving days came to an abrupt halt when he was struck by a runaway cart while crossing the road ("I used to be an adventurer, but then I took a barrow to the knee"). In need of alternative work, he discovered that dextrous fingers were well employed in playing the mandolin.

Confident by nature, he is an excellent sidekick to the egregious Helen Highwater and a well-matched foil for the more understated Anbeth Willowbrook.

His signature style is to play using the neck of a glass bottle or an appropriately-sized bone from a vanquished foe (or, more likely, last night's chicken dinner). This is a technique he first encountered during the band's brief but eventful stay with Clan Morris.

As an aside, this model was an early attempt at using the grisaille method of painting.

Profile: Alaster of Meici’s Trail

The fall of the Sinian Empire saw many denizens of the southern reaches escape across the border into the Southern Fiefdoms. Most fled only when the tides of catastrophe broke on their doorsteps, hurriedly leaving their homes behind, carrying the few possessions they could snatch up in haste.

A lucky few left sooner, either through canny foresight or pure coincidence. Among their number was Alaster. A professional lockpick by trade, by sheer fortune he was abroad working on behalf of the Locksmiths' Guild when his homeland was laid to waste. As news of the unfolding disaster reached the Southern Fiefdoms it became clear that he had no hope of returning. Like many others at that time he joined Meici's Trail, the vast refugee caravan which wound through the towns and villages between the dark fief of Wallovia and the sea.

Leaving the Trail after a dispute, Alaster determined to rebuild his life. He travelled west towards Narya in the hopes of resuming his association with the Guild. En route he encountered an old contact who hired him - along with an eclectic band of rogues and wanderers - to perform a dangerous but lucrative job.

Discovering that his skills were well suited to the adventuring life, Alaster soon warmed to life on the road with his new companions. As well as being a lockpick by trade - and an extremely good one at that - he quickly learned to shoot with some aptitude and became integral to his group's successes.

In the course of his roaming Alaster has reacquainted himself with the Guild, who are themselves very keen to retain him as an affiliated professional.

Most recently, he has been seen putting to sea with an elf, a dwarf and a...nother elf. It is rumoured that they are hunting a kraken, although their possible reasons for wishing to do so are, to most people, entirely unfathomable.

 Heroes of the Goretide

Now, a blood cult of mighty warriors wouldn't really be complete without at least a few... mighty warriors, would it?

A barbarian horde wouldn't really be a compelte without adequate representation of the whole community. After all, history is full of badass warrior women, and as "Khorne cares not from where the blood flows", I'm sure theres no care given as to the gender of whomever shed it either. Unfortunately the range of Bloodbound warriors is a little short of female representation. 

Happily the Stormcast range is ripe for pilfering. Thanks to my local Warhammer store having a birthday, and the manager being a jolly decent chap, I managed to get my hands on just the right model... and heavily converted it to suit my purposes. 

meet Annie Kuhlsdaughter, Exalted Deathbringer of the Goretide

A mighty warrior maiden of the Tallowlands Goiretide, Annie such a ferocious and formiddable opponent that she is rumoured to be the daughter of the legendary hero Korghos Khul. This is a possibility, Korghos Khul was in the Tallowlands the season that Roralarach shared the sky with Lady Lisu turning the sky pink as The Lady's protection countered The Rage of Roralarach. On this rare occurrence it is possible for those who were under the thrall of the goretide to be subverted by Shala, the goddess of fertility, not for nothing is the rare event known as The moons of Lust. No one has been able to varify Annie's parentage, but the title has stuck and she seems to be doing a good job of living up to it.   
 

 modelling notes: Yet again I dug into the citadel skulls set for basing details, as you've no doubt noticed I've done with most of my heroes, after making a nice flat topped slate rock out of milliput. I then removed the cloak, loincloth, spaulders, and stomcast details from Larissa Shadowstalker, and replaced her spear tip with the most appropriate daemon blade from the fantastic selection in the wrathmonger/skullreaper set, and replaced her stormcast back symbol with a nice rack of skulls, again from the skullreaper set. All that was left was some greenstuff detailing on the armour plates to bring it into line with the other bloodbound heroes. 

I decided that painting her with a bare midriff, rather than a full torso sculpted breastpalte, would not only give her a badass set of abs that the most elite crossfitter would be jealous of, but, it'd be much more in keeping with the barbarian feel of the other semi-naked bloodbound heroes. 

Her Impaling Spear is magnetised at the wrist, because it'd have such a minimal chance of surviving a trip...anywhere... if that flimsy piece of plastic was glued at such a tangental angle to the rest of the model. it also means that it just pops off if it gets caught on anything, rather than breaking.   

 Heroes of the Goretide

You have a flag to follow, you have a spiritual leader to excite your devotees and rouse them into a frenzy, so how do you control and guide these frothing loonies if they start running in the wrong direction?

With a multi chorded whip of course!

enter Flengnir the Herdsman, Bloodstoker of the Goretide. 

This one is just a great model. He's fat and he's nasty, briutal and mutillated, there to flog your own  troops as much as the enemy, the fantasy equivalent of a Commissar... with a really sadistic twist. 

I love this model, and following suggestions to fully embrace the dabbled with Norse theme, I went with the bright blond hair, which was quite enjoyable to do. 

I've not yet fielded this chap in Age of Sigmar, because I'm still working on a Skulltake Battalion for him to lead, but the other bloodstoker I painted (who ended up pale and ginger) was a lot of fun to play in both Silver Tower and Gorechosen. 

 Heroes of the Goretide

What does any community, or cult, need? 

A spiritual leader, A mighty priest. 

Father Torpal, Slaughterpriest, Spiritual leader of the Goretide.

Having painted both slaughterpriest variants for my Gorechosen set, I decided that I wanted a slight variation, to enhance the model with a feel of more wizdom, more menace, more power... I also had a spare head from the aspiring deathbringer with impaling spear, and I've always been a fan of Rob Zombie I figured that the Hellbilly leading my rampaging horde of frothing maniacs down from the hills would be a fitting tribute. it just took a bit of trimming and a few whisps of greenstuff hair and the work was done. 

In painting this I was, again, playing with the skin technique and vibrant red effects. It needed a bit of a contrast and I felt the grey hair would add a touch of authority and wisdom to the model. The eyes are deliberately white (again as a tribute to the Hellbilly Deluxe cover) because they give the impression of a trance or ritual as he communes with his god offering up the sacrifice he's just made, with his blood drenched wrath hammer, in the hopes of a boon.

Profile: ‘Ardnog Squigtamer

 

"An DIS little squiggy goes RARRGNASHCHOMPBLARRRRG all da way 'ome."

Hailing from the Grotonnian satellite township of Gnashville, Squigtamer is a rare example of a genuine goblin success story. He made his fortune as a highly successful squig trainer, with some dozens of champion gnasher squigs emerging from his stables. Having amassed significant wealth on the face-eating circuit* he came to the attention of the king of Grotonnia and now oversees the royal stable on those occasions when the king does not like, trust or remember the name of the official Royal Squig-herd.

His days as an active trainer are largely behind him and the majority of his time is now dedicated to his popular Gnashcar team.

A point of some interest to scholars of Grotonnian lore - all two of them - is that the word 'Nog' is in fact dwarfish and has no roots in any branch of the goblin language. Such nomenclature is highly unusual in goblin society and considering the historic animosity between goblins and dwarfs is normally intended as an insult. In this instance it is unclear which party is expected to take the most offence.

*The famed Orc face-eating contests require a constant supply of squigs. Enterprising goblin hustlers will sometimes challenge Orcs to eat their squigs, on the basis that if the squig wins then the goblin gets to keep all the deceased Orc's possessions. Such goblins have an extremely short life expectancy, but those who survive invariably become exceptionally rich.

Faction: House Oakleaf

Lady Amberjill

An old noble house from the south-western reaches of Acheall*, whose groves encircle the largest frith-geard in all the Elven lands. Despite the harmony of their homeland, the Aclēafen are highly militarised and more aggressive than many of their neighbours. While long-established trade routes with human settlements (most notably Jeldenburg and Mirrorkeep) have maintained the House’s coffers even when other elves saw their resources dwindle, the Aclēafen have little fondness for humans, dwarves, or even many other elves, and have historically been swift to capitalise on any weakness shown by peoples whose lands border their own.

When the Felltide struck Acheall, the Aclēafen were the first House to send assistance to the northern boughs. Although they remain disliked by many of the wood-elf nations, it has never been denied that their unflinching defence was most likely what saved Acheall from being entirely destroyed before outside aid belatedly arrived.

Magic permeates much of the Aclēafen land (although this is not unusual around Acheall) and many faerie-dells and feysprings can be found in their territory. Whilst technically outside of the elven military structure, and strictly speaking not subjects of the Lord or Lady of the House, the spellweavers of the land are bound closely to the House through ancient pacts of protection and will not hesitate to fight alongside the House’s soldiers to protect their lands.

The current highborn is Lady Amberjill Vala Aclēafen.

*Which many of the peasant races know as "Oakhall".

Profile: Da Green Night Gobbo

                                                 

Nominally second in command to the Questin' Grot, the Green Night Gobbo is something of a loose cannon even by Grotonnian standards. Rarely expected - or even wanted - within the halls of Grotonnia's king, he wanders the surrounding region looking for easy plunder and unsuspecting victims.

Although he is at best an occasional presence in the armies of Grotonnia, he has an almost supernatural ability to arrive on the battlefield, unlooked-for and unheralded, a hero emerging from the mist, just as the fight is going really well. This unearthly sense of timing has earned him many descriptions in the tongue of the Underland - "myffic"*, "effeereul"**, and "annanigma"*** to list but three.

He has a nose for loot and on many occasion the Questin' Grot - sick of having his boots stolen or his codpiece pilfered - will convince the king to feed him to the squigs, only for the Green Night Gobbo to show up at that very moment bearing a new shiny bauble as a gift and weasel his way back into royal favour. Such an uncanny talent for self-preservation means he is most often known as "git"****.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*tr: "Git"

**tr: "Git"

***tr: "Git" 

****tr: "One of questionable personal and moral qualities"

Eyes of the Five?

Eyes of the Nine and AOS

And so wearily Nathaniel began his journey North.  Although the council never implicated him for anything wrong they had their suspicions and he couldn't risk continuing to base his now hampered operations in Alba Mesa.  And so he trekked North, past the Tolerance of Crows and into Chrysalis, the haven in the Charred Lands that he would make.  He was soon joined by his band of misfits and the retained services of a Gaunt Summoner.  

Binding those small ones was beneath him, he would leave it to the Summoner, he needed all of his focus on his big project and on carefully assembled contracts and bindings with the clever ones.

I really like the idea of a Tzeentch force in AOS, it appeals to my sense of efficiency as the PCRC tend to vary in enthusiasm between 40k and everything else so I reckon this significantly increases the probability of playing my army in whatever system they are excited by.

Eyes of the Nine* increases that efficiency further as it will play in AOS Tzeentch and Warhammer Underworld (Shadespire) which means my one army now covers three different systems.

*Are 4/5 of them missing?

The Watchers of the Ninefold Pact

The Watchers of the Ninefold Pact

Within the South Eastern Borders of the charred lands is a region called Chrysalis.  In this region is many things that normal regions contain, towns, castles, wildlife and some day to day life.  None of it should be there though because this region is in the Charred Lands.

At the magical center of this region is a tower, whose exact location seems to change from time to time.  This glimmering tower and its surrounding land appear as a beautiful place surrounded by a verdant garden and a town.  It is the home of the watchers of the Nine fold pact*, a sect of Jethelech whose followers truly believe that they are draining him of power.  Their goal is to push back and reclaim the charred lands from the taint of death.

Is Chrysalis easy to access?  Some who seek to find it never do despite its location on the border.  Others, perhaps by intent, find it easily, almost accidently as it is possible to get to it somehow without seemingly crossing the Tolerance of Crows.  It is said to be a beautiful and seductive place and even a reasonable place to do business.

The Watchers are led by the enigmatic Nathaniel Hultz, a man who rejected the shackles and strictures of the governing wizards of Alba Mesa and some say from the celestial council itself.  A man who believes himself to be the saviour of the Charred Lands.  A man for whom the ends justify the means.

If you are unlucky enough to go looking for trouble here you might run into Shanduko, a Lord of Change who appears in many forms (battle form below).  He fights only as a last resort, he will first give you an offer that you cannot refuse.  Shankduko seems to be bound to Hultz although it is not known whether this is by force or through a deal.

*Rumour has it that the Sigmarian cult of the Celestial pact is somehow linked to them although no evidence has emerged that was not circumstantial.

The Adventures of Nathaniel Hultz: Part IX

The Ends Justify the Means

The battle had not gone well. To see a force of chaos this large so far South of the Charred Lands was unexpected - they may be here for a purpose.  Were we their purpose?  Or had we been opportunistically attacked?

The 'Emperor Karl Franz'*, the Cosmic Smite was badly damaged, lying on its side, on top of one of its mechanical horses.  The Lord of Change that had attacked them lay dead, finally dismembered by Holgars axe, Holgar, injured lying close by.  The rest of the battle continued to rage with the sounds of the copper cavalry clashing with distant horrors in and among the smoke of battle.

I had just finished despatching one of the bird mutants that had somehow got onto the carriage when suddenly from out of the smoke came another Lord of Change and I realised that I had run out of options.  It changed direction and came towards us, staff raised it started casting a spell.  I had about 30 seconds to turn the tide of battle.  Time for Plan B, a plan I had never intended on using.

I wiped the blood off my hands and then I wrenched globes off of the 'Cosmic Smite' until there were 9 left and then I stood in the middle, pulled out my tattered copy of the Doctrines of the Purple Hand' and said those 9 unholy words which caused the greater daemon to freeze.  I then uttered the 9 commanding words in the common tongue: 'Stop.  Go home, stay there until I summon you'.  The Jethelech Daemon melted away and I could feel the tide of battle turning, I was fizzing with blue and purple magic.

'What have you done...'.  coughed Holgar, spitting up blood.

Oh no, Holgar was conscious, he had seen it.  What was I to do?  'Holgar, old friend, I had no choice, please forgive me'.  '

'You always have a choice Nathaniel'.  Holgar coughed again. 'A noble death is better than this, remember whose side you are on'.

'I am truly sorry Holgar'

'If you are sorry then you will confess to the council as soon as we get back, there may be a way back'

'I can control it Holgar, I saved us, doesn't that matter?'

'Give me the book Nathaniel'

It was then that I made my fateful decision.  It wasn't meant to be this way, I was a force for good and giving this up now would not help anyone. It would not help my people or the Tallowlands.

'Give me the book Nathaniel'

I picked up one of the dismembered talons from the dead Lord of change and walked over to Holgar, I pulled him close to me and I wept as I plunged the talon into the wound in Holgars back, cradling him as he died, a look of shock and terror on his face.  I knew that his principles would trump our friendship and it could be no other way.  I would have to deal with the guilt later.

When the others arrived I explained what had happened.  Holgar had valiantly given his life and killed the Lord of Change, turning the tide of battle, Holgar would be a hero, celebrated in song.

That night and the next 8 nights I dreamed of nothing but the laughter and cackling of daemons.  The others would never know of the sacrifices I had to make to keep them safe but my plan would proceed unabated.  There was a way of cleansing at least a part of the Charred Lands and I would be its master.

*Some people mistakenly call this a Hurricanum but what do they know, Sigmar told us what it was called centuries ago and we definitely accurately recorded what he said.

Profile: The Unslumbering

For over three hundred years the folk of south-western Rhô have told legends of a lizard-warrior who stalks the land ceaselessly, never sleeping, searching for something hidden or lost in ages past. Some claim that it has appeared suddenly to aid them against bandit attacks on journeys through remote places. Others swear that it can be seen skulking around unremarkable hillside caves and inland gorges.

Records show that these stories began at the same time that a lizard-noble from a distant land arrived in Rhô. Its purpose was never revealed, but it carried many titles and honorifics - Watcher of the Sun and Moon, Star-sentinel and Unslumbering One to name but a few. When - or even if - it ever left Rhô is unknown.

To those in its homeland, it is known as Sleepless Insi'atl.

The Emperors Lost Mines - Recovery?

The Emperors Lost Mines - A Roleplaying Adventure

The Emperors Mines had been lost to time, the forges and production lines silent and buried.  Is it possible that their secrets would ever see Sigmars or anyone else's light again?

The PCRC decided that as an alternative to meeting up during the COVID lockdown we could engage in a number of other things we really wanted to do but had not got around to. namely:

• Fleshing out the Tallowlands a bit more
• Roleplaying
• Getting Excited about Age of Sigmar

In other posts Apologist has gone into detail on other aspects of this but here, well here is the story of the PCRCs foray into the Tallowlands as a party of Adventurers, using the D&D 5e rules to give us some structure.

We have had a ball so far, one of their quests involved rescuing a town near Narya:

from the clutches of an evil wizard, based in the dungeons of the local manor house:

The party itself consists of:

• Wutroth - A wandering Dwarf from the North West with a typical rich dawi outlook on life.
• Torquil - A human folk hero and swashbuckling rogue whose only weakness is a mirror.
• Lackjon - An Idoneth Aelf who is on a journey of self discovery as much as he is there to help his friends
• Balthazer - A Lumineth / High Elf Wizard
• Xali-Qhops - A 1 year old Lizardperson from a distant realm adventuring for posteriority, to discover the meaning of the twin tailed comet
• Oriorin - A Paladin who is devoted to Alarielle and to nature as much as he is to his friends.
• Alaster - A mysterious human Lockpick and rogue from the Sinian Empire before its fall

I am hoping that the PCRC edit this post and/or post their own updates on the adventures of their characters!

They were brought together by their Dawi friend Gun-dren who has caught wind of the Emperors lost mines.  After foiling an ambush and rescuing Sildar (who wishes to bring order to the town), they finally discovered the location of Krag-maw castle, the old ruling center of the vassal fief, from an old witch hunter, Josef. 

Josef was a mysterious man who seemed to know an awful lot about the Sinian Empire at its peak and even some of the characters visiting him.  He showed a keen ability to dispatch the undead with his gleaming antique pistols.

Josef shown here in his official capacity of a Sinian Empire With Hunter.  

That position no longer officially exists since the Empire fell.  Thanks to Apologist for the pic.

The group now seem to be hard on the trail of the mines and of those that are intervening to stop their quest...