The Penitent Plog

[Firedrake Cordova]

Good luck - I hope you meet your deadline!  

[ThePenitentOne]

So I still haven't finished those Kabalites, though I have been working on them and I expect to finish the in April.

 

But I'm reporting in on purchases: I was it Sir Games-A-Lot in Barrie again over the Easter weekend and picked up both of the Vigilus campaign books, ensuring that I have the Armies of Faith and Chaos Undivided rules- 9th resources would just be horribly incomplete without that.

 

Today, I also picked up my Custodes dex, which might be my last 9th dex. I'm still considering Orks and Votann- I'm nowhere near ready to start building armies for them, but if I ever do, chances are the 9th rules will still be my faves, so I'm going to need them.

 

Anyway, not much to report I'm afraid- no shiny photos yet.

[ThePenitentOne]

Hello 2024. It's me again. It's been a long time, and 2023 wasn't a very strong hobby year for me. I had high hopes.

 

I had a pledge for 12 Months of Hobby, and I made a pledge for Call to Arms, and they both withered. That doesn't mean I didn't put in some work- 10 Kabalites and 22 Sisters are close. I could finish all 32 in a week if I push. That still isn't going to happen for a bit- a bit busy at work right now... But that should pass soon, and once I get painting, it's going to happen fast. Which is good, because I've joined a slow grow 40k League and a Kill Team League.

 

The 40k League has started; it's 500 points, and there's no pressure to paint- just encouragement. I haven't decided yet what to play yet. My first choice would actually be to play my First Crusade army. The 22 Sisters are the core of the force. Here's the list:

 

Cannoness                50

Litanies of the Faith  25

Hospitaler                 35

10 Battle Sisters       100

 

Palatine                      50

10 Dominions           120

Immolator                 115

 

Total                           495

 

Problem with that is that I'm intimidated by vehicles, and I won't get an Immo finished in time to play the first month's game. So I came up with an alternative. It's a bit of a risk- including Imperial Agents is not optimal; Agents don't have an army rule that does anything other than allow them to be included, they can't us any of the Sisters' detachment rules, and they don't have any detachment rules of their own.

 

But I'm a believer in theme and rule of cool, so here it is:

 

Inquisitor                     55

Vigilant Squad           105

 

Cannoness                  50

Litanies of the Faith    25

Battle Sisters             100 

 

Palatine                       50

Blade of St. Ellynor      15

Battle Sisters               100

 

Total                            500

 

In order to do this, I'll have to build the Arbites Models.

 

My other option is to run my Drukhari. This would also require a bit of work, and I'd actually need to play in order to figure out the Wyches- two teams of five Wyches with nothing fight over a single complete set of Wych weapons hidden in the Arena. The MVP for each team will also be promoted to Hekatrix of their Cult. In the second round, both teams will compete to achieve the highest kill tally against a pack of Khymerae pups. In the final round, the newly crowned Hekatrices go one on one in Arena full of traps for the title of Succubus. The overall winners will also receive enough recruits to grow to a full unit of 10.

 

Until I get that done, the following list can't be played:

 

Archon                              75

Labyrinthine Cunning       30

10 Kabalites                     110

 

Succubus                           50

10 Wyches                         90

 

Haemonculus                    60

The Art of Pain                  25

5 Wracks                           60

 

Total                                 500

 

To play the Arena Game, literally all I need to do is build two more Arena Towers with doors and a removable roof- I have a prototype that I built for a sump scenery challenge already. I'd have to paint all three. I could do that in a day, so it it isn't an obstacle. I think I'm going to aim to schedule my League Game for Thursday, Jan 25. Anyway, I'm glad to have the "first post back" behind me. Hopefully I get another one up with some pics by the end of the week.

[Firedrake Cordova]

Having an Inquisitor lead a small force of Sisters of Battle does indeed seem in line with the background  

 

With regard to the Immolator, does it need to be finished, or could you get away with base coating it, and finishing it later? I'm thinking that Imperium vehicles are mostly flat surfaces so are best sprayed (rather than brush-painted), which might may be a fairly "easy win"?

[ThePenitentOne]

I might give that a try. I do like building the models, and a black basecoat goes a long way on an Order of Our Martyred Lady tank.

 

The way the Dominion unit breaks down is that the ones who ride the Immo ride with the Palatine; they are all "home-worlders" - they were born on Orison's Wake, and they trained together. The other five, which includes the superior, are off-worlders, and they are connected to the Inquisition.

 

So if I fielded the list with the Immo, it's true to my initial vision for the narrative- half of the Doms have been informed of their increasing responsibilities to the Ordo Hereticus, but the Inquisitor who will eventually direct their efforts won't show up until the Sisters have identified a threat worthy of the Inquisition. I could have the Inquisitor show up with his Vigilant Squad as part of the first escalation (250 points).

 

If I run the Inquisitor list in my first game, it's like I'm skipping the "discovery mission" which was always supposed to set the whole Inquisition story Arc in motion. It would still be fun, but I might regret not playing the full story arc.

[ThePenitentOne]

Wow. It's been more than a year since I posted here! I haven't been idle, I just... Haven't FINISHED anything yet!

 

So let me tell you where I'm at: I have a trail of incomplete challenges behind me, and many are near completion:

 

     1. A Canoness, a Palatine, 10 x Dominions, 10 x Battle Sisters- I think originally pledged for a Call to Arms                                                        22 Models

     2. A Priest, a Saint Potentia, 10 x Novitiates, 5 x Death Cult Assassins (Including one Knosso Prond)- originally pledged for Iron Gauntlet       17 Models 

     3.  10 x Kabalites originally pledged for  a 12 Month Challenge                                                                                                                            10 Models

     4.  A Genestealer Patriarch originally pledged for A Bug's Life                                                                                                                                 1 Model

 

So 50 models to testify to my shame, and it's been a long time since I've worked on ANY of them. I also have some Drukhari models built and basecoated that were never pledged, so they impart a lesser degree of shame: A massive Court of the Archon- A Lhymaean and her pet Medusa, a pair of Sslyth loyal to the Archon and four Ur-ghuls to be gifted to the Archon by a Corsair Felarch.

 

But here's what I've been up to lately:

 

Haemonculus and Wracks

 

 

 





 
 

 

 

Aeldari Crusade:

 

 

 

 









 
 

 

 

So this Crusade is small- I do have more models, and even some assembled and basecoated; they just aren't close enough to entering the narrative that I want to show them off yet. The Farseer here is Mhyralith the Dreamer; he has only recently stepped into the role of the Farseer, but he's spent more than a century as a Warlock. The vision that catapulted him into rebirth as a Farseer was that a Corsair woman had stolen a stealth ship from Asdrubael Vect himself- a ship that could change the fate of the Aeldari race.

 

And Mhyralith has vowed to find it.

 

He knows that he must gather an Aspect Host, but upon his Craftworld, there exist only Aspect Shrines of the Dire Avengers and Howling Banshees. However, a unit of well travelled Rangers have recently arrived as guest of the Craftworld, and they have heard rumours of a Striking Scorpion Aspect Shine located on a corrupted Maiden World, and they have offered to guide Mhyralith and his Aspect Warrior bodyguard.

 

So in game terms, what's going on here is that the Banshees and the Avengers can be fielded as Crusade units, but all ten of them are members of a Blades of Khaine Kill Team roster... And the ten Striking Scorpions they seek will join both the Crusade and the Kill Team Roster. It'll be a while before this Crusade launches though: it is my intent to launch the Drukhari Crusade before Canada Day, July 1 and the GSC and Sisters Crusades over the summer, so the Craftword narrative may be a fall project.

 

 

 

Edited May 25 by ThePenitentOne

[ThePenitentOne]

I'm actually on track!

 

I finished all the highlights on my Wych Cult Arena- they look sloppy, and they'll need touch ups- but I'm not fussing on getting the arena perfect- I needed it good enough to fight a battle this today, and that's where it is. The light green, edge-highlighted hex columns almost make it look like Necron terrain. My painting table is 2' x 4' and I set up all the pieces I had in a board shape for the first arena fight- it looked pretty decent, presenting 3 different levels and it pretty much completely covered the table I had. I would have taken pictures, but didn't want the messy-house background creeping in. 

 

I could have done the battle today, which was the goal. But I've decided not to, because I think I can do a better job if I give myself til Sunday. The board, and all its combat essential models are painted, but some of the narrative dramatis personae that I wanted as spectators aren't finished yet, and there is no seating for the Arena. If I played now, I would I'd have to ignore the impacts the battle has on the growth of my Cult(s), because I want the game that helps shape their growth to be captured for the batrep, and I want the Dramatis Personae there for the film.

 

To complicate matters, I've been invited to participate in a Boarding Action League at my store, and I want to give it a shot; it starts Monday June 7, though I don't have to play on that day. Putting together a Boarding Action army forces me to advance my storyline a bit: I hadn't given much thought to anything beyond the Arena Fight because those battles need to be fought in order to paint playable Wych units. Pulling in other units like Wracks and Mandrakes advances my storyline. Here's my list: 

 

Archon Sykil Draeven- Finished

10 x Kabalites - Torsos mostly finished, heads and arms base coated on sprue

 

Haemonculus- Fully assembled and base coated

5 x Wracks- Fully assembled and based

 

5x Resin Mandrakes- still in the box

 

Succubus- TBD

Wyches: I have ten basic wyches painted as two different teams of five. These will become full units after my Arena fight, but that battle will determine who gets wych weapons, who becomes a Hekatrix and who becomes the Succubus.

 

These models are my priorities, and as many of them as possible MUST be finished by Monday. In the original campaign framework, I had time to introduce my Mandrakes when Draeven captured his first Shadow District... which was going to be a random territory roll, so it could have happened at any time. But now, they will be fighting with him in his first battle. Similarly, I was going make Draeven's access to aircraft contingent upon relationship building with Corsairs, which Draeven would meet once he captured a Docks territory... But now Draeven is fighting aboard voidcraft as a way of accumulating resources, so he's already working with Corsairs. And finally, my Haemonculus was not supposed to have Wracks yet: the narrative is that he manufactures them from the dead, and since no one has died he shouldn't have any Wracks.

 

I had always intended to start Draeven with an Arena territory- Mesmoria's Alpha Floor- it is the Arena I've just finished painting. Mesmoria is a massive arena- it also has a Beta and a Delta floor, but neither of these are operational as they have not yet been recovered. The new narrative has caused me to add two more territories to Draeven's list of Pre-owned Territories. He now ALSO has control of the Netherweir, a Shadow District that is located above Mesmoria's Beta Floor, and Bleakharbour, a Dock located at the top of the Spire that holds Mesmoria's Delta Floor.

 

For the Arena fight, my Lhamaean and her pet Medusa and the five member team of Wyches she is sponsoring, will arrive at Bleakharbour in the company of a Cosair Felarch; they'll have to make their way down to the Delta Floor through unclaimed and contested territory, and then make their way to the adjacent Alpha floor for the match. It is here that they will barter with Draeven- the Felarch will dock a small Fleet at Bleakharbour for Draven's use, if Draeven agrees to fight Boarding Actions on the Corsairs' behalf, and the Lhamaean and her Medusa will join Draeven's court in exchange for control over the toxin distilleries he reclaims. The Mandrakes will Shadow travel to the fight from Netherweir, and the Haemonculus and his 5-wrack bodyguard will arrive directly at the Alpha Floor through the webway gate back to Commorragh proper. 

 

I've figured out the layout for all the territories In the Splinter Realm (there are 72 in total, corresponding to the tables in the Crusade section of the Dex, though some have been renamed). The Realm consists of a spire 16 territories tall; this is surrounded by ten other spires coiled in a spiral around the central spire. The tallest of these spires is ten territories tall, and each subsequent spire in the spiral is one territory shorter until the final territory, The Alpha Floor of Mesmoria, which serves as the most common portal into the Realm. There is one territory located beneath the Alpha Floor, which is a Haemonculus Oubliette.

 

Anyway, a bunch of conceptual stuff with no real pictures, but more is coming.