Stabbin' and such: Triumphant at Last! 2/9/17

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job on the drop pods, Firepower.

[Flint13]

Oh lovely!

 

As much of a paint in the ass as they must have been, the effort really paid off.

[Kontakt]

We were promised " a few italicized paragraphs."  I hope I do not wait in vain 

[Firepower]

Oh lovely!

 

As much of a paint in the ass as they must have been, the effort really paid off.

 

I don't know whether to applaud or paddle you for that pun.  Then again, paddlin' is sort of a very loud, painful applause...

 

 

 

We were promised " a few italicized paragraphs."  I hope I do not wait in vain 

 

Happy now?

Edited June 1, 2016 by Firepower

[Kontakt]

 

 

Happy now?

 

Better than I could have ever hoped :)

[Firepower]

You must have very low expectations :lol:

[Firepower]

Pride is an insidious poison. Our sacred fraternity is evidence, a wrath and vengeance eternal born from the betrayal of a single soul, consumed by this prime sin.

But it is a pride I feel now, throughout our most sacred ceremony. A Champion, chosen by the Emperor from his Throne, radiant with holy majesty and clad in the ebony armor of our founder from the final days of the Heresy. The first Imperial Fist to stand singularly in the Emperor's sight, in the first holy raiment turned from gold to black. And in his hands, cleaving the whispers of the Crusade to come, the jet marble blade of Sigismund.

And it is held by a brother whom once served as my pupil. It is this hubris I struggle to scour as I observe his first moments as Emperor's Champion. Yet something fouler and all the more impure grasps for my attention. Sorrow. Unforgivable, to look upon this majesty, a blessing from the Emperor himself, with anything but the pious solemnity I enviously see in my fellow Chaplains in this moment.

In the silence of the sacred armory, my brother is at war. He is assailed by demons, the impure and the foul, slashing and cutting and roaring spite and rage to an enemy only he can see. Blade work I've never taught him, never even seen, vanquishes foe after foe burned into his mind's eye as he travails battlefields of ancient years, and the battlefields to come.

To be touched by the divine is to surrender yourself. A painful bargain, one any of our brotherhood would accept without hesitation, but even as I watched my student's face disappear behind the obsidian helm I could see the anguish in his expression. He ceased to exist the moment he was chosen, hollowed out and filled with a fragment of unfathomable holy power. He will die in this blessed task, destined to die apart from his brotherhood, as something...other. He lives in another world now. The war in his eyes is one none of us can come to in his aid. We can only protect him in this world, shepherding him to his charge, one duel at a time until he finally falls.

He is no longer one of us. He is a vessel, a living reliquary gifted by our Emperor in this time of need. To look upon him that one final time before he became Champion, to see no vestigial trace of the warrior I trained in his haunted gaze, was an agony I am ashamed to recognize.

When his duel ends, his blow has yet to fall. He stops stock still, sword raised, flinching back as if struck. He does not breathe, his hearts stop in his chest, and for a moment of sickening silence, feels the death that is soon to claim him.

The blade is lowered, smoothly circling down until the tip rests against the pale marble floor, his chained wrists resting on the cross guard as he looks to us one by one. I cannot be sure if he even sees us. He has seen the war to come, he has already fought every duel, every skirmish and answered every challenge, and tasted the blow that would end him. There is nothing left now but to help him to his fate.

'For the Emperor,' he says, and how I loathe to hear his voice so sure and reverent, when I am choking down the pain of my paltry loss.

'Know no pity,' I reply.

'Suffer no remorse,' my brothers intone.

'There is no fear,' he answers.

What do the dead need of fear, I think to myself.

'Name yourself, warrior!' I shout the words, the first of his challenges to come. His hands raise, resting against the pommel of his blade over his chest, and he honors us all with a salute.

'I am Sebazdian, Emperor's Champion.'

This fella's been sitting on my desk like 75% finished for way, way too long. As things finally begin to move forward on my assembly line again, it was time to get myself in order and complete him.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Firepower

[Aegir_Einarsson]

How you made tabards

[Firepower]

The tabards are based a medium brown, and the edges are highlighted by progressively lighter shades painted on in quick, horizontal thin lines.

[Firepower]

I don't normally do WIP photos, but it's been an ongoing theme with the dreads, so:

Progress, one clunky, heavy step at a time. Airbrushing the Hurricanes right now, since I didn't have them in the assembly line originally.

Stumbling my way through weathering the black bits. It was easy on the arms because I just had to make the scratches directional along the arms as they would happen with the punching.

Edited August 2, 2017 by Firepower

[Marshal Mattias]

Fantastic bit of background there, an angle on the champion I have never considered. The painting speaks for itself as always ;)

[Metic]

Looking good Brother.

[Firepower]

Fantastic bit of background there, an angle on the champion I have never considered.

 

In most ethos, experiences of speaking or being touched by the divine is not a pleasant thing.  Getting mind blasted by incomparable, incomprehensible power, even with benevolent intent, is rough on mortal minds.  There is a particularly beautiful bit in the Bhagavad Gita about staring into the infinite that has always stuck with me.

 

It seemed only natural to me that an Emperor's Champion would suffer the same way.

 

Anyhow, thanks for the praise.  Gotta keep this brush moving before my enthusiasm wanes again :P

[Blender]

I like it! 

[Brother Talarian]

Very nice work... can't say much else! I'll probably post back some other time with loads of questions ;)

[Honda]

You don't post your stuff enough. Those arms are magnificent. I really like the weathering, you've hit that sweet spot where they look used, but not overly worn.

 

Very impressive.

[Firepower]

I don't post much because I don't do much.  I haven't picked up a brush in almost a year.

 

I've always been a fits-and-starts painter.  Normally it takes events for me to bust out brushes.  Peer pressure and banners are good motivators

 

Speaking of...hm...there's still time to do a Knightfall for 2017.  *plots and plans (and looks for someone with rudimentary photoshop skills)*

Edited August 3, 2017 by Firepower

[Honda]

Peer pressure and banners are good motivators

 

 

PUT THE BRUSH IN YOUR HAND AND PAINT!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You asked for that.

[TheOneTrueZon]

 

Speaking of...hm...there's still time to do a Knightfall for 2017.  *plots and plans (and looks for someone with rudimentary photoshop skills)*

 

 

::Raises hand::

[Firepower]

Played a game today.  Didn't go well.

 

3 Pods, 2 with melee Crusaders and an Champion, 1 Pod with 2 plasma MSU's, LRC with big squad and Helbrecht, 2 Vindicators, 3 Bikes, Bike Marshal.

 

Opponent- 4 Cataphracti melee squads, 1 shooty Termi squad, 2 Termi Chaplains, Lysander, 2 Contemptors, two little shooty squads.

 

I get first turn, hold back my pods, move just enough to shoot with my Vindis.

 

His turn, deep strikes everything he can...makes the charge on every single one of them.

 

I deep strike...Champ and both squads fail their charges.  

 

There was a lot of attrition, but basically those opening charges/failed charges decided the game.

 

To be sporting my opponent charged a lone Termi Chaplain at the Champion...and beat him into the dirt.

 

Soooo maybe I should find room for my 5 Terminators in my list.  The shooty squads accomplished next to nothing...hmmm

 

I was annoyed by how the dice were treating me, but the really annoying part was that I chose to play the GW manager.  Understandably, he has to stop every 6 minutes to help a customer.  5 and a half hours got us to the bottom of turn 3.

 

On the bright side, it was Big Guns Never Tire, and the LRC and vindis held 3 of 4 objectives by then.  On the down side, the LRC was trapped in melee by turn 1, with Lysander repeatedly charging and knocking dents in it.  I need to learn how to screen

 

MVP was definitely the Bike Marshal, of all things.  He accomplished with a bike and a relic blade what the Emperor's Champion was supposed to do, and more.  Slaughtered a Cataphract squad on his own before charging Lysander with his last remaining wound to try and scratch the paint off his yellow butt.  That 9" re-roll bubble with the helmet on a bike is great, as I hoped, because you can zip to whatever tanks need to make their shots really count.

Edited August 5, 2017 by Firepower

[Honda]

I deep strike...Champ and both squads fail their charges.  

 

There was a lot of attrition, but basically those opening charges/failed charges decided the game.

 

Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eat you. It happens.

 

I am assuming you used your re-rolls on your charges?

[Firepower]

Yes. 

[Golf33]

Deep strike charging is always going to be a very high risk tactic. Even with our CT and a CP reroll in hand in case one die rolls high, the chances are only about 55% in favour. Sounds like in this game, your opponent got the 55 and you got left with the 45 :-(

[Aegir_Einarsson]

1. What was loadout of marshall on bike?

2. As I understand that you controlled 3/4 objectives did you win?

[Firepower]

The Marshal just replaced his Boltgun with a Relic Blade, and wore the Templar relic.  Cheap, efficient, and surprisingly mean.

 

I didn't win because the game had to end early.  I had stuff to do yesterday, and didn't think one game would take so long.  But even if it hadn't, there was little to no chance of holding those objectives another 2 turns.

 

At any rate, I largely demanded that I use pods simply because after spending 100+ hours painting them, I still hadn't put them on the table yet (after 8th took away my Ironclad bomb plans as well!).  So now I can look at building a list with a bit more sense to it.  I really want to underline just how useful it is to put our helmet on a Bike character, so he'll be staying.  Maybe a second, weaker one, Helbrecht with his big blob or some Termies...and for God's sake something to keep that damn LRC from getting charged!

 

Vindicators used to make it a tough call for an opponent in picking a target.  Now that the LRC is the beast it should always have been, and Vindicators are generally speaking less of a threat, it isn't even a question as to which one is the imminent target priority.

Edited August 5, 2017 by Firepower