Nox Saeva Vociferatius - Nightlords at Their Most Primal

[Flint13]

Good Morning All!

 

This will be my ongoing Nightlords blog where I work on my chosen legion both pre and post heresy, post fluffy stories for my warband and pics of my work so that you may yell encouraging things at it and hopefully get into a few interesting discussions over the Nightlords' background and psychology.

 

I'm sure updates will be hilariously random, so I'm looking forward to plenty of interesting conversation to keep things entertaining for all involved. I have had a hard time keeping myself motivated to complete anything serious (I started playing nightlords the *day* 3rd edition came out, if that is any clue) so I am hoping that the awesome community here at the 'ol BnC will keep me going.

 

Fluff writing and (hopefully) pic posting to commence shortly!

 

Pre-warning, I am prone to ramble when I get a good thought going. I expect the text walls of this thread to become legend.

[Noctus Cornix]

We're waiting. ;)

[deathspectersgt7]

And waiting

[Flint13]

Good things come to those who wait! It may be a little while yet, I just wanted to get this started now so I had a concrete base to build on. Just to make sure the motivation stays, you know?

So, until my camera decides to begin working (and I absolutely refuse to upload cellphone pics) I thought I would discuss a little of the philosophy that makes my tiny slice of the nightlords legion a little different.

Nightlords were my 4th 40k army behind eldar, space wolves and salamanders, but they are the only ones I have stuck with through since the days of 3rd ed when I started. I loved Lord of the Night back in the day, and like many of the Nightlords' fans out there, I devoured anything A D-B even had a minor hand in. I still have a 500 point black templar army glaring imperiously at my Nightlords overtop of my painting desk because of him.

However, unlike a lot of the Nightlords folks out there, I found myself really drawn to some of the background work Mr. D-B put into his trilogy. First and foremost in my mind is Hound, Octavia's faithful little shotgun-toting bodyguard. He mentions several things about his past that absolutely fascinated me. He came from a small tribe of hill-dwelling, nomadic people and at somepoint, he killed a krag cougar (the animal mascot of the Atramentar).

I know a few fans really disliked that bit of Nostramo's "new" history, citing the fact that Nostromo is an industrial hiveworld, with no place for mountains or indiginous felid megafauna. But Armageddon is a huge part of the 40k mythos, and it is dotted with jungles rife with opportunity for fun stories and whatnot. Same thing here in my mind. There is apparently a decent sized population of Nostramans living in the hills in the barren wastes outside of the primary nostromo hives, much like the hill tribes of my old favorites, the Salamanders. This population of overlooked nostromans are just waiting for someone to bring a bit more depth to them. I aim to do so.

So it is with this in mind, that I begin working on my background and history of the 28th company of the Nightlords Legiones Astartes, Saeva Nocte.

[deathspectersgt7]

Got my attention.

[DarkVen]

Feral night lords? Sounds interesting.

[Wicced]

now i'm intrigued...

[ghosty]

Well, consider this thread tagged for future viewing.

[Xin Ceithan]

I 'll be keeping my strained eyes on this. ...

[RolandTHTG]

Definitely interested in seeing what you produce

[Flint13]

Haha, awesome, Hi Ven! I was hoping you'd stop by.

 

-People who inspired me to start my Nightlords and/or who's work I aspire to (in no specific order):

1.) A D-B 

2.) *DarkVen*

3.) Hellchyld

4.) Dan the Daemon

5.) *Wicced*

6.) *Tanith Ghost*

7.) Knightmare

8.) Caldaron

9.) Brother Nihm

10) Kol_Saresk

11.) Brovatar

12.) Doghouse

13.) Brother Heinrich

14.) Noctus Cornix

 

That's three down so far, and I have yet to post any pics. Thanks guys! I can only imagine what type of helpful/hilarious things I get when a few images go up. 

 

Also, thanks for bearing with me in these troubled camara-less times. While I realize a plog with no pics three posts in may be some sort of sad record, please take solace in the the fact that I should have a few up today, or at the very latest tomorrow morning. On the (optimistic) menu should be my legion praetor, my divination librarian and my terminator sorceror-warlord for 40k.

 

That being said, one last fluff interjection for the interested.

 

The final push to get me started on this little project was (unsurprisingly) something A D-B wrote. Oddly enough, however, not in a novel but in a post here on the BnC. I believe it was in a thread for legion characteristics, but it was explaining the differences between the Spacewolves and the World Eaters. While they are both vicious close quarters fighters, there is a bond to the Spacewolves that is rare even in the brotherhood rife legions. If you were to fall in battle alongside the Spacewolves, they would fight all the harder to bring you to safety, because you are pack. The World Eaters would never notice that you have even fallen. This is idea that I wanted to go for with the 28th company, and is really the only thing I miss from trading in the pelts and wolftail talismans of the wolves to stand in midnight clad. When literally the entire galaxy is against you (even others of your own legion) it's good to have a brother at your back who is every bit as vicious and capable as you are. If I could sum up what I'm shooting for, its that iconic statement from Talos near the end of Void Stalker. "I'm going after her, she killed my brothers." The Nightlords of the 28th have grown up on the krags of Nostramo, under siege from the cities who want to mine the resources of the hills, the dangerous deathworld fauna, and even the planet itself. It's this tribal bond that they bring to the legion.

 

Lastly, I don't want anyone to leave with wrong idea to their character. They are every bit the sons of Curze that the other companies of the legion are, with all the viciousness, terrorist tactics and inherent "evil" that entails. I just like to think of them as the lawful evil of Talos, as opposed the nuetral evil of Cyrion or the (pre-Void Stalker) chaotic evil of Uzas.

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT- *OMG* Almost forgot Doghouse!

[Flint13]

And the moment you all (half a dozen) have been waiting for! Let's hope I spent enough time studying the Pic Posting Help Sticky!

HA! SUCCESS!

Well guys, it's been a bit of a wait but here is the Praetor of my Nightlords legion, Sar-keth the Bladeborn. He's maybe 90% finished at the moment. I can see a few places I need touch ups and a bit of extra highlights.

Here's the back. My Nightlords take great pride in the hunting of krag cougars, so I'm going to be trying my hand at various trophies and other fun bits. Coming from playing Fantasy Beastmen, fur is something I can green-stuff at least moderately well. That one tiny bit of naked greenstuff under his pauldron is going to bug the heck out of me though.

And last angle. I really wanted to convey the feeling of an armored predator lunging towards his next victim, and I think I have done so passably here. He began life with a pair of assault marine legs, but I just couldn't get the feeling of motion I was looking for. So I hacked apart a kneeling pair of MKII legs and positioned them thusly. At first I didn't really like the MKII armor for a praetor, but now that I see it, I kind of enjoy the feeling of antiquity it conveys. Now I see his artificer armor is an older suit of plate which has been well cared for in the Legion armory.

Well that's it for now, I'll get my Librarian and 40k sorcerer up soonish. Please feel free to yell helpful things at me. I'm still very much learning, both pics and painting.

[Brother Ambroz]

My vision of my warband is alot similar to your own and I like where this is heading. My warband's leader actually turned into a lion-like daemon prince. I'm glad we inspired you. What sort of bits are you planning to use to make them look primal? I'd like to hear some of your modeling plans/ideas and looking forward to some pictures.

Edit: Once I finish my post you post a picture...go figure. He looks pretty good. Might want a couple highlights on his red wing part of his legion shoulderpad. Could we get a couple more pictures though?

Edit #2: Ah see the 2nd picture. Looks great, although I think the cloak could use a few more highlights too. Very striking pose though, you definitely achieved the predator feeling. Oh and where's the lightning?

[deathspectersgt7]

Well done consider me subscribed.Everything looks great to me alittle more high light on the fur . seen the 90% finished was going to say lightning also

[Flint13]

@Tanith - Hi, You're another one on the list! Your Tempest hounds are definitely a motivating factor. I may have *ahem* pilfered an idea or two from them ^_^ see if my 40k sorceror looks familiar at all when I get him posted.

 

@Deathjspectre - Thanks! I am hard at work even now getting that fur all sorted out. And of course I won't forget the lightning!

 

A queary to those present. I am thinking of extending the fur pelt to the front of his right shoulder (his sword arm) and down a bit across his chest to give that wide open space on the front of the MKII suit something to occupy it. Maybe I could even sculpt another paw there. I'm trying to think of what ratio fur/blue armor/lightning would look both awesome and not too busy. Opinions?

[deathspectersgt7]

On the right between neck and pad  w/claw just above waist.

[Wicced]

interesting start brother!

i gotta agree with Tanith Ghost on the highlights on shoulder and cloak, but as you said he ain't finished yet.

conversionwise i really like the shield, might have to steal that

and of course i'm glad my little group of nostraman fearmongers helped inspiring you to join our legion

as for the added fur questiion, i think you should keep him the way he his, he might look too busy with it (hope i'm making sense here)

and the mk3 breastplate is a nice canvas for some lightning... just my two flayed skulls

[Noctus Cornix]

This is not a bad start, if I do say so myself. Your modeling came out pretty well. While I feel the pose is spot on, the armour doesn't lend to that same feel of an armoured predator. It makes the atmosphere of the character.... Somewhat muddled down if you will. Perhaps try you hand at painting a skeletal rictus or bestial maw upon the faceplate. I think that would add alot of depth to the work.

 

The painting is also a good start. I would recommend maybe looking in to highlighting prominent points of the armour to help the blue pop out as well as define the outline of the body. As it stands the lack of highlight and the camera brightness makes it somewhat difficult to get a good look at parts of the body (mainly the helmet)

 

Hope I'm not sounding too harsh though, I really like where you're going with this and I am eager to see you work.

 

Fluff-wise, I like the direction you're taking with this. To be fair, its certainly something I would have never thought of but perhaps that's because we're each attracted to different aspects of the legion. You are more interested in the cracked and broken nobility of the legion while I simply revel in the depravity and barbarism of a legion comprised of butchers and serial killers.

 

Both are equally viable, and both are cool in my book.

 

Good luck.

[Kol Saresk]

Wow. I'm honored that I'm considered an inspiration.

 

Hmm, I think I like this start. It's nice to see when people see some small piece of fluff and decide to explore it. Interesting to see just how far people can take it and do on their own with something so small.

 

Very curious as where you will be going. Will you be giving them a sort of tribal look or perhaps just giving them an animalistic appearance? Just looking at the one model, I could perhaps see where you could go either way, perhaps even one or two more different ways.

 

Oh, and consider this followed. ;)

[Flint13]

Wow, thanks guys! That gives me a lot to think about. Also, four down!

@Wicced - Yep, the Screams of Dispair really do the legion justice. The shield is one of the bunch from the VC skeleton box set. The black knight shields are very Nightlordsy as well, but were just a bit too big for this one. I was looking for more of a combat shield than a storm shield.

@Noctis - *sigh* Ok, time for a confession. I don't understand highlighting large open areas other than a really awkward type of layering. Right now my praetor is painted 1.) Khantor blue 2.)Badab black 3.) Kantor blue 4.) drakenhoff nightshade. I really wanted to go for something different besides the cliche' edge highlight GW seems to love for everything power-armored. However I can't ever seem to get the transition just right, so my highlight color ends up looking like a blob of lighter color in the center of his armor plate. That didn't seem harsh at all. The only way I improve is criticism!

As for the fluff, I love to write, so I will be planning on spilling huge text walls with utter abandon in the near future. I started out an English major, so tons of words come naturally. Then again, I'm now finishing my master's in exercise physiology, with a minor in russian language and culture.... so maybe that should tell me something

@ Kol - Heck yeah, you're an inspiration. Admittedly I just found your plog last night, but we for totes seem to have a lot of the same ideas for fluff purposes. You seem to get pretty into the background and story of the 40k mythos, and whenever I've seen your posts on different topics, they are always well thought out and a contribute plenty of helpful insights. Plus you gave me my signature. I feel like having an awesome sig is some sort of forum right of passage, so thanks for that.

As for a look for my nightlords, I plan to (hopefully) pull off a bit of both. I really want to convey the culture of my slice of the legion as tribal hunters, brothers who grew up tracking and fighting together. Besides, if an old, un-augmented example of the hill people can shotgun a daemon of the warp in the face (one who just dented the bulkhead wall with Uzas btw...) imagine what an Astartes of the same mold could do.

From a modeling standpoint, I want them to exhibit plenty of little talismans, pelts and trinkets. I am hoping the vastly different color scheme and plenty of good terror markings will keep them from looking like dark blue space wolves.

Thanks again for the help so far. I should have my converted WiP sorceror and librarian up by tomorrow!

[Kol Saresk]

Thank you for the compliments. :D The fluff was the outlet through which I discovered the 40k universe so I admit, it tends to pull my interest more than the modeling, although I am trying to get back into that aspect.

 

I look forward to seeing how it all turns out.

[Flint13]

BAM!

Terminator Sorceror. This is Averuktian Verrain, V'rukt Witcheater to his legion (when he can't hear them properly...), formerly of the 28th Company's Librarius. He is a Terran born biomancer origionally sent to keep "those damn savages" in line. Along with his terran terminator bodyguard, they have become the draconian overseers of the 28th.

Several things fluff-wise. I wanted to set him far apart visually from the rest of the 28th, even before the paint goes on. I was hoping to illustrate how, while still a Nightlord, he is an outsider to the Saeva Nocte and doesn't share in their close-nit brotherhood. This is a brutal Terran who has been tearing the hearts and brains out of enemy (and occasionally allied) psykers to improve his own abilities for ten thousand years. I also wanted to include a bit of the Norse-ness of the Vlka in the titles of my characters, fleshing out that tribal feeling. I imagine the Nightlords of the 28th speaking in hushed whispers around the arming chamber of V'rukt Witcheater, and the last eldar psyling he tore apart and devoured while it still screamed.

One thing I'm starting to notice, is that the Lord Zhufor head from forgeworld is a *hella* popular conversion for Nightlords terminators. I pilfered the idea from Brovatar along with the Chiropteran crest/ears, and it looks amazing even before painting. Honestly, from looking around nightlords' forums and plogs on the net, I think this guy's head has ended up painted midnight and gold more often than his intended red and brass!

Anywho, feel free to yell helpful things. I always love reading comments.

[deathspectersgt7]

BAM! is right .

[Wicced]

nice looking witchkin brother!

 

i'd like to see a closer picture of his legs, because it looks like some of the khorne iconography is still there (on the hip plates for example) and psykers shouldn't wear the skull lords heraldy ;)

 

p.s.: i only noticed  becaused i've been removing the same heraldry over the last weeks from my own zhufor to turn him into a counts as abbadon...

[DarkVen]

Finally magaged to read previous posts.

 

with a minor in russian language and culture....

I will watch very closely if you want to add something russian into your night lords. 

About miniatures and painting:

Painting - if you want to deviate from standard 'extreme-highlightings' for power armor, it's your choice and right, but, obviously, extreme highlights represent patch of reflected light on the armor. I.e. it makes miniature look a bit more realistic.

Another advice, try to paint the colors more smooth. The mantle of the Bladeborn looks just like some chaotic smears now, for example. Same with his armor. Try to make so that the color will be flat.

 

For conversions, I like them.