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Survivors of Istvaan: Raven Guard vs. Death Guard

BrotherCaptainArkhan

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disease

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Holy hell.

There is no afterlife brother, we make our own fate.

That guy with the boarding shield rocks! The whole party looks awesome. Can't wait to see the loyalist survivors.

Keep up the good work!

Both Arkhan and I have been working on other projects, but I can assure you that the Loyalists will be gaining re-enforcement soon. As for the guy with the shield, I've got a bit of fluff to follow

I don't know whether the colours have been washed out a little by the photo's but personally I would like the Raven Guard to be more black than grey. Just my 2p worth.

My Camera is not that good; Arkhan's takes nicer photos (I hope to get him to photograph my pieces) so colour is a little off. Brother Gorsk's leg and backpack appear very black to me though, unless you are referring to the dead guy on the apothecary's base? In which case, that's no Raven Guard, it's a long dead Salamander who has been crushed under fallen masonry. :)

I think its a Salamander in the group shot.

Very beautifully dirtily done smile.png

Indeed, dead sallie on the base. Thanks!

very nice brothers very nice indeedwub.png

Oh my. Those Death Guard are amazing. The way you have painted them is just perfect.

Those DG are amazing, both in painting and posing. Definitely going to keep an eye on this. Keep up the good work.

diseasethumbsup.gif thumbsup.gif !!!

Love 'em! The guy with the faulty backpack is a really unique idea.

Love the poisonous spider-vibe the Apothecary gives off with all the arms, too. smile.png

amazing way you give details to eachof the legionaries, small details like those are what really bring the models to life!laugh.png

Thanks Guys, I live to serve. I have to say, doing the Raven Guard symbol on Gorsk's leg has put me off freehand forever - I can't tell you how frustrating it was to look passable given the curvature of the leg and the MarkII's interlocking plates.

These guys are full of character and so well painted. My favorite is the autocannon Legionary and his missing finger bit of fluff.

Thank you, I did spend quite a long time on them - my other projects definitely aren't painted to quite the same degree. The missing finger was actually unintentional! Karkhull originally had a pointing hand as if directing where he wanted the battle to go ( his 2.IC status coming through) but whilst painting, I dropped the mini and he landed finger fist on to the floor and I was unable to find the missing digit. Wasn't comfortable sculpting a new finger, but I was quite happy to keep him as indicating with his fist, much like how the British Army are taught to point at things. However, whilst correct from a military viewpoint, Arkhan mentioned it looked like Karkhull was making a 'bro-fist'. What was seen could not be unseen, so I came up with the missing finger as a logical work around. :D

  • 2 weeks later...
BrotherCaptainArkhan Venerable Brother

BrotherCaptainArkhan

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Battle-Brother Tarsul Ashina, [company unknown], [cadre unknown] XIX Legiones Astartes [Raven Guard]

 

He'd never liked Maeric.

 

In life, his battle-brother had been stern, silent, possessed of that immaculate attention to detail all Lycaeans were - possessed, too, of that judgmental veneer, that wordless sense of superiority he and the others exuded over Ashina and the rest of his kin. Maddening. All the worse for Ashina's inability to provoke Maeric's ire even once in return - even in the sparring cages, when Ashina sent his battle-brother to the deck for the seventh time in as many rounds, Maeric's mouth bloody, his nose broken - even then the Lycaean bastard hadn't seemed to show more than mild discontent. He'd shown no anger, no frustration - merely rose silently for another round. Maddening.

 

And now he was dead. The Night Lord who'd gutted him with a chain-glaive five feet long had laughed as he'd done it, drawing a tortured scream from Maeric's lips even as the Raven Guard's viscera spewed out over the Nostraman's gauntlets. For that, Ashina was a little jealous - Maeric's killer had succeeded in drawing far more emotion from Maeric in his final moments than Ashina had ever managed in over a century of brotherhood.

 

Ashina dislodged a remnant of the Night Lord's flesh from his claws with a gentle flick of his wrist. Something small and white clinked down on the dust beneath, and he stooped to pick it up, idly cradling the object in his deactivated gauntlet. A piece of the Nostraman's vertebrae, by the looks of it. With the same bored inattention with which he'd picked it up, Ashina dropped the chunk of bone into one of the pouches around his belt. He'd etch trophy-runes into it later, if he remembered.

 

No, he'd never liked Maeric. Arrogant Lycaean bastard. But he'd avenged him nonetheless. The Night Lord hadn't died well. Until the final moments of his own life, he'd held out against screaming or crying out as Maeric had done - but in the end he'd broken. In the end the screams had been loud enough Ashina had had to depart his kill early to avoid detection by the wandering Iron Warrior patrols, before he could finish extracting his foe's spinal column. He'd had to settle for making a blood eagle from the Nostraman's ribcage, stretching the bones back and peeling out the lungs to form crude wings, just like Hrolf had shown him.

 

Hrolf. Now there was a warrior he'd felt true kinship with. Another Terran like himself, another son of the Throneworld who'd survived the Primarch's purge of their kind. A shame he'd died before he could draw blood, killed by shrapnel two days ago when the Iron Warriors had blasted their transport from the sky and killed the rest of his squad.

 

Not many of us left now, Ashina thought to himself. Just a few of us left in this Legion of arrogant, judgmental Lycaean paleskins.

 

He noticed proximity runes flash into life in his helm feed. He shook himself free of the reverie, checking the Night Lord's trophy bone was securely stashed away in his belt. Three proximity markers, fifty metres out and closing. Energy signatures checked out for Astartes power armour.

 

From his perch atop the burning wreckage of the Night Lords Rhino, Ashina unfolded silently, rising like a nocturnal bird awakening for the hunt. With a grin hidden by his ash-stained faceplate, he cycled the jets on his jump pack, feeling the powerful hum of the turbines start to build as his armour's machine spirit scented enemies on the wind.

 

No. Maeric had been a bastard. Just like every other Lycaean in this Legion which no longer had a place for Ashina, or his Terran kin. But he'd been his brother, his and for that, he'd make a dozen Night Lords scream out their last breaths in agony just to settle the blood-debt.

 

Still smiling as the first of the Night Lords entered the narrow gorge where the Rhino wreck smouldered, Ashina kicked away from his perch as his jump pack's turbines roared into life, hurling him into the air. His claws unsheathed themselves from his gauntlets as he soared, the energy fields whip-cracking into life.

 

Maeric would be avenged. And by this day's end, he'd have three more trophy-bones to add to his hunter's tally, three more bones into which he'd scratch trophy-runes to appease the carrion-spirits...

 

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/P1020658_zpscbf44603.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/P1020659_zpsa1210215.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/P1020657_zps37dcc3d0.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/P1020660_zps036bcad9.jpg

 

 

+++++++++++

 

Apologies for the radio silence so far, gents. Disease has been exemplary in progressing with this project and with the quality of work put out. My Ravens have some serious ground to catch up on - we must be further scattered across Istvaan than previously thought if it's taking us this long to muster. ;)

 

I'm interested to pursue the Terran Raven Guard theme a little further - Ashina will not be alone long. I'd like to explore in future updates the tension between Terran and Lycaean Raven Guard as they find each other scattered across the killing fields and attempt to regroup. I imagine there would be a very real sense of mistrust between the Primarch's chosen sons and those he (literally) disowned...

Argent aquila Venerable Brother

Argent aquila

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very nice!

only slight issue i have is the fact that he had twin lightning claws, and a dagger, how's he going to take them off if he needed the dagger?tongue.png

still, great story and excellent painting, especially on the exhaust glow!

EDIT:: I can't spell

BrotherCaptainArkhan Venerable Brother

BrotherCaptainArkhan

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Thanks for the kind words, guys. I have to be honest, I think I dropped the ball painting-wise with Ashina, especially after the great success that was Tökke (the pilot). I'll likely come back to him to tidy him up slightly and reupdate with photos. For now I have to decide what the other 2/3 initial survivors will look like and get them assembled. This is what happens when you paint whilst shattered, ha.

 

KBA, your text crit skills must be on overdrive :) I wasn't conscious of a Tzeentch/Nurgle binary, enlighten me?

KBA Veteran

KBA

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Maeric would be avenged. And by this day's end, he'd have three more trophy-bones to add to his hunter's tally, three more bones into which he'd scratch trophy-runes to appease the carrion-spirits...

 

 

I may be reading too much into the Terran Asiatic rituals you're injecting, but that sounds a hell of a lot like Tzeentch. Carrion-spirits -- has me thinking of the Dornian Heresy, where the RG fall to Tzeentch, and Corax is played by a Raven in his mind's eye, that is actually Tzeentch. Not sure if that direction is/was intended. Reading into it again, and specifically defining carrion, maybe those pagan rituals your RG does actually appeases Nurgle:

 

Carrion: noun

1.
dead and putrefying flesh.
2.
rottenness; anything vile.

 

 

Really interesting, even if coincidental.

BrotherCaptainArkhan Venerable Brother

BrotherCaptainArkhan

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Maeric would be avenged. And by this day's end, he'd have three more trophy-bones to add to his hunter's tally, three more bones into which he'd scratch trophy-runes to appease the carrion-spirits...

 

 

I may be reading too much into the Terran Asiatic rituals you're injecting, but that sounds a hell of a lot like Tzeentch. Carrion-spirits -- has me thinking of the Dornian Heresy, where the RG fall to Tzeentch, and Corax is played by a Raven in his mind's eye, that is actually Tzeentch. Not sure if that direction is/was intended. Reading into it again, and specifically defining carrion, maybe those pagan rituals your RG does actually appeases Nurgle:

 

Carrion: noun

1.
dead and putrefying flesh.
2.
rottenness; anything vile.

 

 

Really interesting, even if coincidental.

 

 

Point well made sir! Entirely coincidental (or was it...) No, it was coincidental. ;) I haven't read the Dornian Heresy (shock horror) - will remedy that at some point.

BrotherCaptainArkhan Venerable Brother

BrotherCaptainArkhan

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Brothers and sisters,

 

Short update from the front. My Deep Cut Studio (http://www.deepcutstudio.com/) terrain mat arrived a few days ago and today it received its baptism by fire in the form of a Killzone: Survival game between myself and Disease. 200pts each, KZ rules, minimal houseruling. Although the Dark Furies of the Raven Guard indisputably determined the outcomes of both games, I think we both had a blast and once we've both made some adjustments to our lists I think we'll quickly find Killzone (and similar skirmish rulesets) quickly eclipsing our regular 40k games.

 

Here are some action shots. Forgive the fact that there're some non-30k minis in a couple pics, including some proto-Sons of Tyr (from all the way back in 2011) - they were proxying a Chooser of the Slain (Dark Fury leader), Mor Deythan and Destroyer marine respectively. Also forgive the fact that this isn't a full report - I didn't take as many pictures as I'd have liked, especially on the right flank where most of my force was represented by proxy units. This is a taster of what's to come in future updates as I bring my Ravens to a level of completion matching Disease's.

 

Army lists:

 

Raven Guard -

 

1x Chooser of the Slain (Brother-Captain Alaric Tyr, VII Co.) (Veteran Group Leader)

1x Dark Fury (Battle-Brother Tarsul Ashina, Company Unknown)

1x Mor Deythan (Name Unknown, Company Unknown)

2x Legion Tactical Marines (Battle-Brothers Kalev Ashan and Esric Tokke, III Co., VII Co.)

1x Legion Destroyer Marine (Battle-Brother Dagaric Vas, IV Co.)

 

Death Guard -

 

1x Tactical Sergeant (Brother-Apothecary Kyphas Sadira, III Co.) (Veteran Group Leader)

1x Legion Heavy Support Marine (Name Unknown, III Co.)

1x Legion Assault Marine (Name Unknown, III Co.)

4x Legion Tactical Marines (Names Unknown, III Co.)

 

 Primary Objective: Withdrawal

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0542_zps05e33be0.jpg

 

I deployed first, choosing to place my Dark Fury and Chooser of the Slain out of LOS of enemy fire in the ruins in the bottom left. The primary mission objective in Withdrawal is to end the game with half or more of your force in the opponent's deployment zone. Disease split his force in half, placing his autocannon gunner on my left flank, with line of sight to most of the board - an excellent firing position that would cause me headaches throughout the game. Seeing the threat posed by the Raven Guard jump infantry, he supported his autocannon marine with his lone assault marine, hoping to hold off the Ravens long enough to pick them off with autocannon fire.

 

I infiltrated the rest of my force in the ruins mid-board on the right flank - the Raven Guard Legion traits are incredibly useful in small games such as these, allowing me to basically redeploy my entire force (barring jump units) to pounce on weak spots in the enemy deployment.

 

http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/Mjolnir771/media/IMAG0547_zps71c88603.jpg.html

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0553_zpsf2a6627f.jpg

 

Ashina made it over the ruins into the Death Guard lines whilst the battle raged on the right flank - the Ravens had scored a couple lucky kills early on in the battle on the right, whilst on the left the autocannon Marine continued to rain death on the Raven Guard as they advanced. Unfortunately, there's something to be said for the Dark Furies earning their name - once they make it within clawing range, they exemplify the dark side of the Raven Guard and their Xeric roots. Ashina went to work in brutal fashion on the left flank...

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0556_zpsd9fb3bfa.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0560_zps4d9d4c46.jpg

 

Firepower vs Ferocity:

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0561_zpsafcc9f8f.jpg

(credit: Disease)

 

...and a taster from game 2, in which the Death Guard managed to kill most of the Raven Guard force before the Chooser of the Slain went over 9000 and took out 5 of the 7 Death Guard in play on his own:

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0562_zps489eb774.jpg

 

Hope you enjoyed the pics. The gaming mat was a blast to play on and the KZ rules are great fun. Next time we play, the Ravens will be fully modelled - no more proxies - and I'll make a proper blow-by-blow account of the battle as it rages.

BrotherCaptainArkhan Venerable Brother

BrotherCaptainArkhan

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Today's game must have really hit something in the 'inspiration' section of my grey matter, because pretty much as soon as I got home I started working on the pathfinder for the Raven Guard - a Mor Deythan, a Legion shadowmaster, one of the few Lycaeans who was honoured to have lived alongside Corax himself in the mines of Deliverance.

 

Now, acting as second-in-command to this band of tattered survivors, he uses the same skills he honed as a child in Deliverance's mines to evade his slaver overlords to guide his brothers safely across Istvaan's ash dunes, avoiding the eyes of the Trator Legions' huntsmen.

 

At the moment I'm currently undecided as to whether his free hand should be posed - as shown - as if he's directing his battle-brothers to halt suddenly, aware of an impending threat; or if I should swap it for a hand wielding a combat knife pommel up. I like this, at the minute, because it adds a bit more character than simply wielding a combat knife does. It also ties into the idea that the Mor Deythan would be crucial to the survival of their battle-brothers, using their superior escape and evasion skills to keep their brothers from harm's way.

 

Any thoughts?

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0563_zps9341cfae.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0564_zpsf32d9fce.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0565_zpsefefae00.jpg

 

I also couldn't resist building a member of another band of Istvaan survivors - another one of the Shattered Legions! If/when me and Disease expand the Survivors of Istvaan log to include other Legions, you can count on a number of the Iron Tenth joining the Ravens in the escape from Istvaan...

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0566_zps27cc2e57.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0567_zpsd78538c1.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0568_zpsaa13fcbf.jpg

 

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0569_zps04511d72.jpg

ephrael Venerable Brother

ephrael

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I love the look of the RG with his hand open and possibly directing his squad via hand signal. The only thing I would suggest would be to cut his forearm below the elbow and rotate it so that the back of his left hand is aligned with the little extended piece of the armor that usually covers the back of the hand. I hope that made sense to you and I can provide a picture if it doesn't.

 

The more I read about these small "skirmish" sized games of HH and 40K the more I want to try a few myself. Your enthusiasm for these smaller games has inspired me to get some of the guys in my gaming club to try this with me asap.

jpwyrm Veteran

jpwyrm

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Cool models, both of them! I would stick with the open hand too for the Mor Deythan, I think it adds more atmosphere to the model and the group as a whole. There is plenty of opportunity to get more aggressive poses with the other members of your team.
BrotherCaptainArkhan Venerable Brother

BrotherCaptainArkhan

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Cheers for the kind words, guys. I definitely agree that the open hand is a more characterful option. This guy's been finished - still thinking up a name and fluff for him, but in the meantime I've started work on the next Mor Deythan and some gaming counters. Check 'em out after the break...

very nice!

only slight issue i have is the fact that he had twin lightning claws, and a dagger, how's he going to take them off if he needed the dagger?tongue.png

still, great story and excellent painting, especially on the exhaust glow!

EDIT:: I can't spell

Missed this earlier, sorry dude. I knew someone would call me up for this - I made a conscious decision to give him a second (well, I suppose a third really) melee weapon, because I figured in the event of one of the lightning claws going defunct, he could detach the claw's gauntlet from his armour and use the combat knife instead. A back-up weapon, basically. No such thing as too many back-ups.

Tokke his aid bag looks great where is it from

Cheers brother. It's from the Catachan command sprue, I believe.

I love the look of the RG with his hand open and possibly directing his squad via hand signal. The only thing I would suggest would be to cut his forearm below the elbow and rotate it so that the back of his left hand is aligned with the little extended piece of the armor that usually covers the back of the hand. I hope that made sense to you and I can provide a picture if it doesn't.

The more I read about these small "skirmish" sized games of HH and 40K the more I want to try a few myself. Your enthusiasm for these smaller games has inspired me to get some of the guys in my gaming club to try this with me asap.

Thanks for the feedback. I agree with you that it'd make more sense to adjust the bracer on the armour to line up with the hand, but I may have to cry off on that one - it doesn't particularly jar with me as-is, in that I don't feel it looks obviously unnatural.

Try out Killzone. Or at the very least, Heralds of Ruin, although Killzone is more of a complete game in its own right and (I feel, at least) better balanced and more interesting - the individual model upgrades available offer far more opportunities for customisation and translation of fluff into gameplay than any other fanmade skirmish ruleset I've seen.

On to new stuff: Mor Deythan #1 has received a cloak, courtesy of the very excellent tutorial by Brother-Chaplain Kage. It's still WIP and will receive some bullet holes and (probably) mild reshaping, but for now I'm quite pleased with it.

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0577_zpse927130c.jpg

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0578_zpsdfd22d84.jpg

Mor Deythan #2 currently exists in the form of a pair of kneeling mk.II legs (thanks Kromlech!) and a base, but you'll be more interested in his weapon - an advanced bolter prototype with silencer and hybrid sight. I'm just missing the reflex sight on the front, should arrive from Anvil Industry tomorrow. Any thoughts so far welcome!

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0576_zps013272b8.jpg

And finally, I finished two Fury of the Legion counters. I basically just went with ammo clips and bolt shells (plasticard and resin clippings) scattered over Istvaanian terrain. Very easy to do, took about 10mins in total. Sorry the pic's a bit crap, but they'll be more interesting to look at once they're painted anyway.

http://i1269.photobucket.com/albums/jj598/Mjolnir771/IMAG0581_zps37505130.jpg

Until the next update...

Arkhan

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