The last three named WHFB Skaven miniatures

[Ed: This was originally going to be published a lot sooner in early April, but due to the fairly recent anouncement of several AoS ranges retiring (including several classic Skaven miniatures), I’ve decided to postpone this post until things were clearer after the dust settled from the news].

This week ends on an era of one of my second least favourite material in the hobby (though poorly made resin miniatures takes the top spot), one which I grew up collecting here and there in the early days before sticking mostly to plastic kits. Metal miniatures are great to hold and display, but were a pain to glue up, paint and play on the tabletop. The second iteration of the Dark Elves War Hydra metal model is an example of a beatifully master crafted sculpt that was a pain to glue!

Games Workshop used to produce many metal kits, right up until the early 2010’s when Finecast would take over for time, a short time at least until plastic was the norm of any unit type (apart from FW resin for specialist kits).

However, the Old World has brought a resurgent of metal miniatures old and new back into the hobby. Though it’s debateable on whether they are a permanent product or likely to be replaced by a new plastic version down the road if Old World is still popular.

After hearing rumours about AoS 4th edition back in November last year, I had a feeling that I needed to scoop up the remaining named Skaven character miniatures from GW before they vanish forever. I got Skweel Gnawtooth (metal) and Lord Skrolk (Finecast) last year, though I left Ikit Klaw for a later time. 

Recently, I went to Warhammer World to get myself an Arch Warlock, or in WHFB terms, Ikit klaw. One of the few miniatures left in metal that didn’t get a Finecast upgrade.

This miniature marks a bittersweet point for me. On the one hand, I have one of the last few remaining named Skaven characters that was still in production, before Warhammer Community announced the retirment of the metal and Finecast Skaven miniatures. In fact, Ikit Klaw was a last of its kind of metal miniature along with Tretch Craventail as solo blistas, before Finecast updated  several metal sculpts into crisper resin miniatures.

On the other hand, this last miniature ends my metal miniature collection from GW. With AoS 4th ed on the way that will replace all the old kits for new plastic versions, it was inevitable that the metal miniatures were going to be extinct. This process was nearly a decade in the making as GW has slowly replaced WHFB of old into the AoS plastic only miniatures of today.

Unfortunatley, Queek Headtaker, Tretch Craventail, Spinetail, Plaguelord Nurglitch and Throt the Unclean were long ago discontinued from the range.

I doubt I’ll get anything from the Old World, it dosn’t grab my WHFB nostalgia as much as I thought it would. More like an “IP Copyright set era” that has none of the characters and vast historical eras to visit that WHFB had. Even just on the miniatures alone, I don’t feel the need to get anything.

As for what I’m going to do with these old Skaven miniatures, I’ll be using them in my homebrew WHQ games. In fact, I’ve made unique character cards for most of the named Skaven characters with unique abilities and gear.

I thought I’d get this post out now before it gets forgotten in draft limbo. I’m still in the process of writting my ABC Warriors: Increase the Peace starter boxset review. It’s a big post that’s on the way to being finished (hopefully) by the end of April/early May time. 😅

Until next time,

34th Tribe

Coming soon…

In the not too distant future, war robots fought for mankinds war against each other. Whilst the generals took their seats in safety down below, the robots however became the bodies sent to the meat grinder.

These soldiers were known as the ABC Warriors of the West, and the Eastern opposition, the Volgans.

MKIII Prototype Hammerstein

Review coming soon for my thoughts on Warlord Games “ABC Warriors- Increase the Peace” starter set.

I’ll be showing off my completed NMM painted miniatures (yes, I have indeed gone the deep end and used no metalic paints for this wargame!), what my thoughts are on the Warlord+ resin sculpts, the basic premise of this games setting, the rules from a casual perspective, how creative it is and other stuff on top of that.

For over a decade I’ve always wanted an ABC Warriors miniatures wargame. Now it is a reality thanks to Warlord Games and Rebellion/2,000ad partnership to create a miniatures range with a universal rules set.

But is it worth it? Stick around and find out as I go into the review on if it’s worth getting into.

-34th Tribe

[Note: This is not a sponsership review and I brought the starter set for myself, this is based on my own opinions as a fan of ABC Warriors]

Large Terrain Board Project – WIP part 10

I was going to start this post with, “there’s a light at the end of the tunnel now folks”, but that would imply that the end would be better than the journey. I have to say, like with life, the journey is much more fun. So, I’ll say that the journey is still going for […]

Large Terrain Board Project – WIP part 10

IRO once again crrating nightmare landscapes for fun wargaming. Impressive work on the board!. 😀

The 34th Vault opens again (March Edition)

Lately I’ve been busy with life and doing some hobbying here and there. I’ve not had a chance to sit down and write some blog posts.

I’d like to share some thoughts about whats been going on with my hobby of late.

TAKING A BREAK FROM F:WW

This part will be very negative, and I’ve put it first since I wanted to get it out of the way before I continue on with the positive stuff. This had been a fustration of mine for nearly three months. I felt the need to finally explain what it is, what I feel about it and what I want to do going forwards. The F:WW community will hate me for sure, the forums will likely hate me too and Modiphius, well, I guess I’m not their problem.

One subject that’s been on my mind of late is the whole issue around the changes introduced in Fallout:Wasteland Warfare Wave 9. Since December last year, Modiphius made a blog post apologising for the confusion caused by the major rules change in Wave 9 Nuka World expasion book (that essentially had an errata atttached), they promised that by early Febuary they were going to release the revised versions of all existing unit cards on the Modiphius F:WW downloads page and on the app. With the errata update posted as a free download.

However, to say that this was an oversight on their part is not true. They were pushing Wave 9 (primarily a Nuka World expansion) as the must have expansion for all Fallout Wasteland Warfare fans on their reveal live stream last year. Then in the live stream, John (was project manager) said to Ben (now project manager) that he should probably update all the unit cards to reflect the errata change (which at that point we had no idea what the changes were). They added the changes knowing that it was unrealistic getting it out, and updating all of the card in a timely manner.

Since then, the official app now reflects the revised armour rules change, as non creature and Robot units have ‘-‘ armour (some with exceptions). As for downloads, I checked late Feb and early March, but I didn’t see any changes in the Modiphius F:WW downloads page when looking at the unit pdf and revised pdf documents. It might have been updated by now.

All in all, I’m burnt out from the Wave 9 errata problem and how it was managed. Yes, they fixed their mistake, but like wise for people like me who brought a few of the Wave cards and printed the free unit PDF in colour, it just feels like a waste of money and effort. Personally for me, the baked in armour profiles represented the units basic and average armour protection (like the Veteran NCR Ranger’s armour value represents the armour that unit commonly wears in the NCR Faction). The problem wasn’t the armour value, it’s the way clothing and armour cards were designed as upgrades that weren’t used often.

As far as I can see, this situation has made me cautious of Modiphius as a company in terms of its ethical buissness practice. Who’s to say there won’t be another major errata change with special rules, movement or major design change to how cards work on one aspect of a unit card? How can I care about future expansions when all that money I’ve invested into my models with units cards are wasted due to an errata change. Now you could say I don’t need to and just keep playing my cards as is, sure. But then if I want more FNV factions from future wave releases, they will all be in the new format for armour rules. Just get armour cards? Sure, but then that’s more work calculating it, then adding more unessasary cards on an already crowded table. See what I mean? It’s just immersion sake for more hassle with a clunky change.

An entirely new edition rulebook with updated and revised rules would have been much better. At least that will be a more convincing argument to me, and I wouldn’t feel as bad for what I’ve paid for in the cards needed for my miniatures.

F:WW has a clunky ruleset, designed with some thought in mind, but has been slowly gone worse by later waves for new symbols out of the blue (a free errata would’ve solved that), poorly written card rules and possibly a much needed revised rulebook to have a one source place for the rules.

As much as I feel let down by Modiphius, ultimately it’s up to the community to decide where they want to go. For me, I will not be purchasing anymore expansion content nor rules relating to the game past wave 8. However, I will still be supporting Modiphius with their model range. However, I will not be prioritising F:WW as much as I used to, as I’m taking a break to work on other projects. Wargaming will still be ongoing, it’s just a matter of finding time to play games due to amount of organising cards, points, writing notes and setting up games for a narrative ruleset that gets incredibly clunky and tedious over time for an ongoing campagin.

As for my fan made rules project on the Modiphius Forums, Iv’e decided to retire from making anymore fan rules content. Which sadly means that there will no longer be a consistent bi monthly homebrew rules thread from me, nor anymore fan made rules content on the Modiphius Forums since it’s pretty much empty.

Also, I’ve noticed in the Modiphius website blog posts for Fallout Friday, that they don’t mention the forums anymore, just discord and Facebook. So I guess the Modiphus Forums is officially dead for support.

I should imagine I’ll be blacklisted by Modiphius. Though, I needed to express my fustration with the whole wave 9 debate (old news I know).

Positive side concerning Modiphius miniatures from Skyrim…

Finally, I’ve got an upcoming post on my painting project for Elder Scrolls: Call to Arms. Originally, I’d gotten both Imperial and Stormcloak plastic starter set miniatures for someone, however, they didn’t want them. So, I now have two boxsets that needed working on, not what had in mind, but I have an idea…

BATTLETECH

Progress is going well with Battletech now that I’ve played some 1vAI games for Alpha Strike. I’ve also read all of the main rules from AGoAC for Classic Battletech.

WARHAMMER AOS QUEST

About one more game left before I’m done with the first story arc for WHQ set in Anvilgard. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get gaming soon and finish the arc. This series will be less heavy on the lore and more of balance of post gameplay look back and lore. Since its not as long as a WHQ Cursed City adventure, I can be as creative with this story.

As for the Ulfenkarn adventure, that should be up on the blog soon. My plan was to make each post a story mixed with a post gameplay lookback and some lore added. However, since not a lot of people read long-form content on my blog, nor have the time to invest in reading it and the lore within, I’ve had to re-evaluate how to approach this series. I may just cut out the diary format and try something more digestable.

GORKAMORKA

Imperial Rebel Ork is probably reading this right now, as I predict he’ll be thinking “yes mate! Your finally embracing the git within you! Vrum vruuuumm Waaaagh!”.

I have decided to dig out my Ork collection and finally do something with it. Inspired by Gorkamorka, using the unit profiles from 8th Ed Orks and additional units from da old green book edition. I’ve made a deck of two identical sets to play Orks in Skirmish scale.

This is Gorkamorka, with a bit of old and new into something not quite polished, but an attempt Gork or Mork would be proud of!

I’ve just about made cards for nearly every model I own, with a possible future expansion of gubbinz reward deck, Weirdboy Psyker deck and my dream deck, the Green Gitz Encounter (think event deck, but bonkers!).

Unlike F:WW and WHQ, I’ve made this fan made version more simpler by making unit cards with all available weapon options, unit stats on the front, and special rules, options including points on the back of each card. This way, there aren’t ten or so cards to deal with, for a 100 Teeth (Pts) game, I’ve made a mob list which includes: a Nob, Shoota (as driver), Spanner and a basic Trukk. That’s four cards in total to start with. No fuss flipping through books, just easily accessible cards that can be played as a basic introduction unit profile, which will then gain positive or negative modifiers during the campaign with gubbin cards, though there shouldn’t be too many to keep track of.

Oh, and did I mention that you can add more unit types from the Ork factions. Not just the original seven unit types for Orks! After playing several games and earning Teef, you could even add a Deff Dread to your mob!

Unfortunatley, these cards will not be for public use nor can I show what they look like. As much as I would like to share them for use in your own games of Ork Vs Ork action, I know IRO would’ve craved for such a thing, GW will probably be not too pleased..

However, at least my Orks won’t be gathering dust anymore in a storage box.

I could even make an Imperial Guard faction too, same process with some tweaking to make it compatible in the game. Praetorians vs Orks, I thought I heard that from somewhere before from a “Glazers Creek”…

ABC WARRIORS

Last but not least, there’s finally an official ABC Warriors miniatures game by Warlord Games, something that I’ve been wanting since way back in 2013. I can finally recreate the battles like the Third Volgan War of 1999, the Fourth Volgan War, Peacekeeping of Mars, Nemesis the Warlock Brittania Arc, the Black Hole saga and so on. Heck, ABC Warriors vs apes and space cowboys…

I took the plunge despite my hesitancey with the starter set, with not many miniatures and a big scenary set for a big asking price tag. However, I knew such things were not a longevity due to it being an IP rights agreement deal, rather than a compamy owned IP. I went for it knowing that at least I can have the miniatures now, rather than regreting not getting them once they are gone for good.

An example of this being Strontium Dog miniatures game, which used to have miniatures for sale, but now only has the rulebook and tokens for sale. Unless it gers a re-release, I doubt it will come back for the cross compatible marketing point like with other 2,000AD IP for Warlord Games (Sláine, Judge Dredd and ABC Warriors are cross compatible games with the same rules).

Once I’ve read the rules and how the units work, I can easily make fan rules for factions that aren’t going to recive any support in the game. Like the Brittania, Mars inhabitants, human soldiers from both sides of the Volgan War and possibly Bill Savage himself. Savage with just a shotgun vs the Volgan Empire 👌.

I’m looking into doing a dedicated review post on the ABC Warriors starter set after getting some other projects posted first.

Anyways, I think that’s all I want to say for now. There might be a post or two up this month, or possibly in April.

Until next time,

34th Tribe

Starting Battletech (Alpha Strike)

A few years ago, roughly around the time when Warhammer+ was online, and how it subsequently got a lot of flak by the community over the termination of some fan made film projects based on the Warhammer IP. I read a lot of comments about this game called Battletech.

Battletech? I’ve heard of Robotech, but never Battletech before. So I did some research and found Tex Talks Battletech from the Black Pants Legion YouTube channel. Since then, I’ve been watching multiple videos of the Battletech universe and working out just what Battletech is.

It’s one one thing to get acquainted with the basics, but entirely a process of understanding the settings themes, tone and concepts. Whilst Warhammer 40k is a vast universe with a wealth of lore and fiction, by which you can work out what it’s themes, tone and concepts are. Battletech by its inception has been an ongoing story for nearly 40 years. Even for someone like me who is used to such settings like WHFB, 40k, AoS and the Halo universe, I did find Battletech was a much more complex universe to understand.

A Year of Mechs (Mostly)

Fast forward to the latter half of December 2023, I got myself two boxsets of Battletech including AGoAC and Clan Invasion. After some years of thinking on whether or not to invest in Battletech as another hobby setting.

My Warhammer Army project days are done, and my current ongoing Warhammer Quest RPG fan project has more than enough miniatures to play several quests with a range of Heroes and Enemy AI factions.

As for Fallout Wasteland Warfare, I’ve done enough fan work to create many narrative campaigns with a structure that creates many different outcomes and an RPG system in place for progression. Though until Modiphius can get around to getting a second NV wave release, I’ve not gotten many miniatures for FWW of late apart from the plastic T-45 Power Armour set. Some day I’ll actually get around to getting the Securitrons, NCR Command and The Burnt Man.

What’s made my lack of getting my FWW stuff is due to Modiphius’s recent decision to basically screw the game with a major change to unit armour values. I’ll save the rant in its own post, but to the point, all my cards are now useless going forwards if I want to use future NV factions. I’m not wasting anymore ink for printing cards I already have just to have the 0 armour value. I’m baffled by the logic, for example, that a Veteran Ranger has an armour value of 0. Surely the inbuilt armour value represented the Ranger Riot Gear?

Plans

Since I’m going with the Alpha Strike rules system, I’ll only need the cards, miniatures and the book (currently a difficult task to find in stock). I won’t need to invest a ton of money into it as once I have the essential content, it’s just a case of getting the 3d printed miniatures. I can’t even get the official miniatures I need from Catalyst Games Lab stock in the UK, that and the price. Getting the Mechs individually for £5-£7 from Etsy is just easier for me to pick and mix what I need, rather than having a set of five that I only need two miniatures of.

I’ve tried to see if anyone in a local club has a BT community, but sadly there wasn’t any currently. So I’ve been using a fan made AI system, which is a great set of rules that acts logically based on a 2D6 or D6 roll on a lower or higher option outcome.

Out of the boxsets, I’ve split AGoAC into two factions, Liao 1st Dragoons and Mkinnon’s Raiders. As for Clan Invasion, I went for Clan Dimomd Shark Gamma Galaxy. Currently, I’ve got the AS cards that were included for both boxsets, as well as a few printed cards for Elementals. I’ve also recently got a deck of Inner Sphere cards which will serve as my main source of rules for my factions.

My plans going forwards with my Battletech Alpha strike project are:

• Clans Alpha Strike cards
• Add mechs to current factions (here and there)
• Search for old book references (FASA physical copy preferably)
• Work towards creating an ongoing map campaign

Battletech is a 40 year old franchise that has a lot of optional rules and fan made content. Even the old FASA era books are “freely” available to read as online resources. It makes it easier for me to just use these sources to play a campaign, rather than making my own fan made rules from scratch like I’ve done with Fallout Wasteland Warfare fan work.

For now, I’ll be playing several Alpha Strike games to get used to the rules. I’ve played three or four games now, so it’s starting to make sense now.

Until next time,

-34th Tribe

Anvilgard Project: A Warhammer Quest

On 31st May 2023, I made a blog post about getting back into tabletop wargaming, specifically in relation to Warhammer AoS as a solo gaming experience. Much time has passed since that post’s publication. Since then, my goals have mostly stayed on track, but changes had been made from testing ideas into practice as well as going from Warscrolls to Warcry cards.

I did eventually start playing a proper full Warhammer Quest: Cursed City campaign (with some modifications using the Peter Cooper fan rules and some alterations I’ve included), a total of several games as part of the first chapter in a campaign series. This proved to be much more fast paced, fun and most of all, a much more interesting experience that I want to continue playing until all my heroes either succeed or die trying to save Ulfenkarn.

However, only the first part in the series was published on the blog back in November last year. It did prove to be a nightmare getting it written up, and I hope to get the rest written and published within this year (and possibly start getting game played chapter 2!).

What I mainly wanted to talk about was my ongoing project with the Civil War of Anvilgard. Unlike Cursed City, this project has been built based on information spanning a few source material books including the Battletome: Cities of Sigmar (2nd ed), Battletome Daughters of Khaine (2nd ed), Broken Realms: Morathi and Warhammer: Age of Sigmar Soulbound – Shadows in the Mist.

The book contains a wealth of information not found in the Cities of Sigmar Battletomes.

Shadows in the Mist is an expansion to the RPG line that covers an event before the Fall of Anvilgard timeline, when a another climactic event nearly destroyed the city. The expansion covers much more information on the city that the mainline AoS source books lacked. These include a map of the city, the locations within, what the economy is like, what are its most iconic locations are, what trade does it offer and who the factions are within the city.

Not only that, but there’s also an expansive area to explore in the Charrwind Coast, including a Seraphon Temple, a mansion that never decays and an island full of Ghouls who have a Corpse fleet of ships that hunt down other ships for meat. Yeah, it’s quite an imaginative source book!

The source book is the last piece to this nearly year long project. Already, I’ve got my primary source file for the rules getting made. This includes a map (similar to how my fan made F:WW map campaign rules work), an activation roll page for Effect, Event and Encounter outcome for each journey and Enemy Encounter roll chart (includes Anvilgard defence, Blackscale Coil, The Cult of Nurgle, Skaven, Flesh-Eater Courts, Gloomspite Gitz, Fyreslayers, Sylvaneth and Stormcast Eternals).

Currently I’m planning to finish the basic core structure for playing WHQ in Anvilgard. I can then play one off quests (usually five to six game long) just to get some established characters in the city before I then have to work on making quests based on the Shadows in the Mist, Fall of Anvilgard and Har Kuron Era. Those three are mega campagin storyline that will need a lot of time and effort to transfer into WHQ rules. I’m currently making a reference page for Shadows in the Mist that outlines all the quests, enemy factions that are encountered in each quest, allied units who will support the heroes on their journey and how many parts each quest contain. This will be greatly beneficial for organising and planning those games. When I eventually start converting SITM campaign to WHQ, I’ll need to consider how it will work as either a light RPG dice based system or just a mission based campaign.

I’ve also been trying different map tile layouts for varied gaming opportunities. This one was made as tight city of death style encounter area. Four heroes vs a horde of skaven, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide!

Will this all be published as a free download? Sadly no, this is just my personal project for my own solo gaming experience. Due to the fact that this is a GW IP, I’m not too keen on getting a infringement notice for distributing content for free.

I can post the stories made from this fan made project, so long as its just the narrative context and not how to make this yourself.

If it was a F:WW fan project, I would have posted it on the Modiphius Forums, since there’s a place for sharing fan made rules. But with GW, there’s no chance.

My only suggestion for you if you want to play something like this officially, is to get Warhammer Quest: Cursed City and print out the free PDF Warcry faction cards to use as the unit cards in game (some rules modificationis are needed) . You can then homebrew your own games with a vast array of content at your disposal!

Back to the topic. So what’s the current goal for the project? Well I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve got the basic core content written, printed and edited in preparation for many games for many years of content. It takes years just to even get going (All the way back in May last year!), but its nearly done for non-major story campaigns.

I’ve got most of my miniatures painted and ready for gaming, although I have several models needing a new coat off paint for improvements. Newer additional miniatures will come in time to build up factions for gaming options, though I’m alright with what I currently have available.

• Finish writing the core structure rules for WHQ games taking place in Anvilgard
• Play one off games to build up the heroes and villans of Anvilgard.
• At some point getting around to create Shadows in the Mist as a WHQ solo campaign.

That’s all for now. I’ll be posting an update once I’ve got everything ready for the first campaign game for this project.

Until next time,

-34th Tribe

My final post of 2023

I’m back once more after a brief hiatus sorting out a ton of stuff good and bad.

This year’s has been something for sure, from doing more outside of WordPress to primarily being just a WordPress content creator (as well as my fan made projects over on the Modiphius Forums). That came from the realisation of the sad fact that not everyone is 100% being honest in support my projects and me as a hobbyist looking for like minded hobbyist in the wider community.

Looking back now, I’m glad I chose to move on and commit to WordPress from time to time. I don’t need 100+ people, I don’t need a self indulged masses of cult like worshipers, and certainly don’t need a influncer status to be someone. I’m happy with my passion projects of creating narrative stories and campaign wargames for myself. Sure, motivation can be a Slog at times, especially with the way I go about making content and the amount of time to write a post. But, in the long term, its content that can be looked back on rather than a 1 minute wonder.

Since posting more on WordPress, I’ve felt that at least some sanity has returned to me after months of unsurity and unfufilmemt. It’s been a big difference compared to what I was like earlier this year.

As for the Modiphius Forums however, that’s more than lost it’s appeal. It had a low community engagement when I started there, but it seems to be stagnating each year. My recent fan made projects have failed to make any impact on the community, despite me being the only hombrew rules making user currently posting fan made content. It gets views above 400+ on average, but comments on support or anyone actually using it in their games are less common. It’s been over a year since I’ve been on the forums, and I’ve put my personal time and effort into producing free fan made content for others to enjoy. I can’t continue forever without support and at least some recognition for my efforts (if it’s earnt on content that is to the community a positive or negative reception). Thankfully the stuff I do is for my self interest, so it at has a use for me.

As harsh as that sounds, I’ve experienced the sad truth of what would happen when I put my time in for a community effort, only to get no recognition for my efforts whilst social climbers get the reward.

Back to the subject. Truth is, I think the FWW Forums hasn’t got much life left for the FWW community. All that’s on the forum nowadays is “when Battlemode will be updated” or “when will the next wave release be announced?”.

I’ve been posting fan content on the forum for over a year now, my highest rated post being the fan made Map Campaign expansion rules for FWW at 1.6k (last I checked).

I have two fan made works in the editing phase for release on the forums late December or early January covering weather and environment special rules and a small expansion covering the RPG aspects of Fallout 3. Depending on how received they’ll be will determine whether or not I should continue with Modiphius Forums.

In lighter news, I’m happy to announce that my many years of hard work collecting and painting my AoS collection will finally be used for my solo RPG gaming nights. I’m at the point where I have enough miniatures to start playing games more regularly. On top of that, my backlog of miniatures is slowly dropping as I’m getting through each unit. These were old miniatures that needed a paint strip and a new coat of paint. So far I’ve gotten through many old Dark Elves, Chaos Warriors, Dryads, Hero miniatures and even the old metal Hydra model!

For blogging the narrative stories, I will be making the posts a little bit shorter as to get content out without long breaks. The Cursed City series was delayed due to the time it took getting the post written and the bug with WP where long form posts get slower as you type.

As for what 2024 will bring, I will be hard at work getting my AoS RPG campagin series set in Anvilgard in motion. Already I’ve posted a hint of what the story might be on my blog page.

Despite my views on the recent nightmare with Modiphius on their decision to put core rules revision in the Nuka World expansion, rather than as a seperate free ruled update, I’m still continuing with FWW. Right now I’m in a group at a local gaming club which will hopefully be playing FWW for years to come.

Interestingly enough, I’ve not been to a local wargaming club since 2015-2016. I’ve not even interacted with like minded hobbyists In person or established any friendships before. So next year will be a big difference in my life as I start to establish a social circle again.

As for what will be on the blog next year, it’s whatever I feel like putting up. Im treating WordPress like a hobby rather than a dedicated schedule. You can expect at least three to four posts a month, or in special cases more if I can get some posts on a schedule for a particular series for a season.

That’s it for 2023. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and reading my blog this year. Getting back to posting has brought me back into a positive frame of mind for the tabletop hobby.

I hope you have great Christmas, stay safe, eat your greens and remember that although Christmas ain’t like your childhood years, you can always rely on Die Hard on the telly and being around family to remind you of being alive and surrounded by those you love and despise! 😀

Get the cheese, put the goggled on, strap your belts, set the your clocks for inevitable and say hello to 2024.

-34th Tribe

Warhammer Quest – Cursed City: Ulfenkarn in Peril – Chapter 1, Part 1

Mournstar, 9th of Ossithym, UIP. 106

Captain Urilof decided now was the time to launch our first operation to slow the enemy down, and start our long planned strike back at Radukar and his lieutenants. Before, we just played the long game of small tasks, observing enemy occupations, delivering messages to surviving groups of the Folly Rifts at selective points for quick exchanges, and collecting supplies like food and essential needs.

This was now our opportunity to start causing real damage to our ruthless Overlords. For too long we have been hiding in the shadows beyond reality as those we couldn’t save were suffering under the daily grind of oppression from the Soulblight Gravelords. It pains me to not take my righteous fury on the undead that harms the citizens of Mournhold…or now as it goes by, Ulfenkarn.

The Captain assures me that the time will come when my blade will be needed to strike one of Radukar’s lieutenants. Though how can a mere group of four unlikely heroes, even those surviving groups, can take the Undead down?

It’s for the best that I leave such questions behind and focus on our objective, lest I lose my sanity with the monumental reality that I could die and be raised back from the dead like the rest…

– Mavelin

◇◇◇

Mournstar, 9th, Ossithym, UIP. 106

I see the old dog has finally unleashed us to our first mission. I almost thought we’d rot in that realm of Shadows, forever licking our wounds from losing the city. Finally, I can start using my magic after so long of limiting my offensive spell casting on the dead. Now to begin our claim back of the city and re-establish Mournhold for the future.

– M

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[Vaguely written date]

Umgi told me to stop drinking and get my axe out. I told him to bugger off…but….he said there’s gold involved. That sounded like a food weal to meee…….

– Zrrarg Knorri the Disgraced

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Dralston Bhork doesn’t write many journals or letters, though it was known that he was eager to hunt down the minions of Radukar for a proper good scrap.

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WHQ CC Game 1- Barracks level 0

Our heroes arrived at one of the many old barracks of Ulfenkarn, which once housed the Militia guard of the City. Now little more than haunted coffins of the dead sentinels that patrol this place.

As they leave the Rift of Folly from its dreary haze, they set off to take down the as many officers and masters of the barracks.

Round 1
• [3x Rat swarm/2x Ulfenwatch]
• Duardin killed a unit of 2 Ulfenwatch
• Sorceress casted a spell, Strength loss on Ulfenwatch
• Event roll 9.
• 2 quest progress
• Ogor caught in trap and resolved, got 1 realmstone card

All was going to plan, and everyone was still alive. Dralston was chuffed when he found a Realmstone in an old chest. But the dead are still an ever present threat…

Round 2
• [3x Ulfenwatch/1x Halgrim/3x Ulfenwatch/2x Zombies/1x Gorslav]
• Sorceress kills Halgrim
• Runeson out of action
• Rat swarm killed by Ogor
• Event roll 12.
• 4 quest progress

It was unfortunate then that Zrrarg was drunk enough to be hit unconscious by a squad of Ulfenwatch. They cackled their jawbone as they took their spears up in a mocking celebration of defeating a foe. Meanwhile, Gorslav and his Zombies entered the conflict to stop these intruders.

Then the skeletal master of the Ulfenwatch, Watch Captain Halgrim, came to resolve this anarchy as he marched towards his first opponent. He would claim their corpses as an offering to Radukar foe the glory of the Vyrkos Dynasty. In an instant, he was blasted into a hellish misma of Ulgu magic. He was little more than a wisp that escaped back towards safety.

Round 3
• [1x Korsagi]
• Ogor killed Ulfenwatch (champion)
• Ogor got skeleton key
• General killed Gorslav
• General killed Ulfenwatch champion though unit remains
• General kills last zombie
• General gets 1 Realmstone card
• Event roll 6. Crisis Victims of the Time (op 2) 1 inspiration to Sorceress

Mavelin finally took her long repressed rage out as she swiftly fought against the Ulfenwatch. Clashing blade to blade in a flurry of strikes from her axe. Her companion, Dralston Bhork, decapitated the leader of the Ulfenwatch squad. Once she took down the last of the skeleton minions, she came face to face with Gorslav and his zombie minons. The abominatiom gravekeeper smiled his rotten gums in a flash of brown-black teeth, sensing an opportunity to collect another living soul ready to be buried in his grave garden. The battle was long fought, but the ultimate winner would be Mavelin as she severed the Undead gravekeeper in two. His essence wisped away back into safety. Mavelin felt that this was far from the last she’ll meet Gorslav again…

Round 4
• [3x Bat Swarm/3x Corpse Rat Swarm]
• Ogor killed Bat swarm
• Event roll 10. Duardin returns

For a warrior of Grimnir, Zrrarg Knorri is not so easily defeated. He was very, very mad for his earlier defeat. The drink was fading and his berserker rage was flaring. He got up and started his mad charge towards battle.

Round 5
• [X3 Zombies]
• End Event roll 10. (-1 Fear token)

With several tallys of slain officers, the group decided now was the time to leave. They all fled back into the Realm of Folly before they attracted too much unwanted attention from thr more fiercer elements of Ulfenkarn. Victory had been achieved this day, and it showed as fear in the living population was lower than ever. The hearts of the freedom fighters was stronger than ever before, but Radukar still has a greater influence of the city to control…

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Tombstar, 10th Ossithym UIP. 106

We’ve made progress which far exceeded my expectations as a seasoned Captain of the Mournhold City Guard. Not only did we slay two of Radukar’s lieutenants, Halgrim and Gorslav, but we’ve also managed to take down several undead officers by the blade.

Hope is spreading in Ulfenkarn. I’ve heard several reports that the living are hopeful, knowing now that the undead can be stopped. We are making progress that can mean the difference between saving the city or die in misery from not fighting back. I belive that the day will come when Radukar is slain, and the reformation of Mournhold as a City of the God King will usher in a new golden age of prosperity.

But I digress. We are far from done. The battle is won, but the war rages on. I just hope Mavelin will live long enough to survive this dark age.

-Urilof

End of part 1

Them Red’s are coming…

What if there were miniatures of the Chinese Remnants from Fallout 3 (and Anchorage DLC) as well as parts from Fallout 4 and Fallout 76?

Vermillion Miniatures did a wave release of unofficial Fallout miniatures based on the theme of ‘The Red Menace’. Making several model types available as STL downloads or for physical prints by licensed sellers. These miniatures have the option for stars or no stars on the model, and the option for human or ghoul versions of that miniature type.

I got three miniatures from this wave (not cheap, but very much nearly perfect sculpts by seller) of Ghoul Captain, Ghoul Trooper and Red Shift power armour. It’s worth noting that these are not 100% replicas of the official designs from the games, but slightly altered designs that spiritualy pay homage to its visual inspiration sources.

When I saw these miniatures on etsy, I knew I needed to get my hands on some of them. I’ve always considered the Chinese Remnants to be a missed opportunity to be the main antagonists of Fallout 3, as they were fairly unknown as an organisation post nuclear war. They could’ve been a much more compelling faction who had a completely different philosophy and ideology compared to the BoS and Enclave. So getting these miniatures offered a great opportunity to plan an eventual Fallout 3 campaign (by 2028 at this rate of campaigns and miniatures to work on!).

Below are my edited photos of these miniatures.

Glowing One Captain.

Ghoul Trooper, colour scheme inspired by uniforms of Private rank Chinese soldiers in the Korean War.

Red Shift Power Armour.

Currently there’s no official rules for using these units, so I’ll need to create some unofficial cards for use in F:WW. Though once I’ve got a few more miniatures for this faction I’ll start making the cards as a cohesive rules.

That’s all for today…until they come out of the sewers to fight a war that ended over 200 years ago…

-34th Tribe

Warhammer Quest – Cursed City: Ulfenkarn in Peril part 0

This adventure will deviate from what the original boxed game established for playing WHQ: Cursed City. The events that take place in this campaign run parallel with those Heroes on the Adamant, however, the campaign features new heroes who have different means of accessing travel around Ulfenkarn.

It is assumed that those of the Adamant are currently taking part in the action somewhere else in the city, far from our group going by the name of ‘Mournhold Survivors’.

Before we get into who each of out heroes are, we need to understand where they were during the events of Radukars takeover of the city, what time frame the events take place and how our adventures can travel such distances without such transportation like the Adamant airship.

The Wolf of Ulfenkarn (100 years after the Realmgate Wars, c. The Necroquake)

It is estimated that (each Realm has its own time zone and cycle of days that pass) from the start of the Age of Sigmar and soon after the Realmgate Wars, was roughly 100 years before Nagash tried and failed to harness the very powers of Shyish in his great sorcery. We can assume that generations had come and go since Radukar “saved” the city of Mournhold during the Age of Chaos. When the Necroquake sent deathly shockwaves across Shyish and all the other Realms, Radukar the Wolf seized the opportunity to finally take the city from within.

Age of Blood (Roughly 5 to 9 years of Radukars tyranny over the city)

Dates for how long Radukar had rules the city are few and far between. Based on the only survivor of Mournholds military, Emeldra Braskov, I’d assume some time has passed since her entire army was wiped out.

Ulfenkarn in Peril (current events) This is where the story takes place as our heroes begin their journey into the Cursed City of Ulfenkarn.

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The Rift of Folly

When Radukar was (begrudgingly) given a seat in the conclave of Mournhold by its ruling council of the three noble Azyrite families, the Collegiate of the House of Shadows feared that one day this beast of a man would destroy this city from within. So it was that the wizards of the order conceved of a plan that would be a gambit both physically and mentally. They created a spell that could open a small rift into a pocket dimension that could keep a regiment in a safe zone. It can only be accessed by wizards who weild the sorceries of Ulgu. It can even open up to new locations in safe distance of the target, should a group need to travel towards a specific target.

In a sense, should the end of days come to Mournhold, a wizard could cast The Rift of Folly, and take themselves and any companions inside the Rift for as much time as they need. This may sound like a very useful spell that could be used with great effect by any tactician. However, folly is its name, and folly by its nature.

The wizard who casts this spell will enter a state of despair as they stay in this realm. They will eventually lose all hope of living as by each hour, the shadows surrounding this bubble realm mock the caster like court jesters. Cackling and swirling around the poor soul until the wizard gives up and ends their torment. If this happens, the true effect of the Rift of Folly takes effect, as the protective enchantments by the wizard fails, and the shadow gheists swarm into the living souls trapped in this realm. They wear the skin of these unfortunates, and escape into reality where they cause great mischief and misdeeds.

It is for this reason that each pocket group consists of two wizards, and they cannot take part in any of the adventures due to how few of them who know this spell are left. At most, there’s only six groups, originally there were twelve, but sadly, their fates are unknown…

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The Adventurers

The group of heroes from this adventure are part of Captain Urilof’s rebellion skirmish force. Before the fall of Mournhold, these individuals were secretly spied upon by the Captain’s spies. He and the Collegiate of Shadows had made the pact of contingents for a worse case senario should Radukar The Wolf finally take over the city.

When that worse case senario came to being, these heroes were offered salvation by the shadowy robed agents. Some needed some persuasion out of ignorance or distrust. In any case, these heroes were taken into the pocket dimension of the Rift of Folly.

This group are part of Captain Urilof’s HQ of the Mournhold Survivors. Command group includes the Captain, Collegiate Battlemage Falfnir, Aprentice Sorceress Janolver, Anverkal the Priest of Sigmar, Welvon the Blacksmith and “Gloggy” Patrik the Surgeon.

Only eight heroes are part of this group, all varying in backgrounds and races of the Realms.

Mavelin

As one of the few mortal human warriors in the group, Mavelin is a skilled fighter of double-handed combat who wields the ‘Axe of Gaunt’. Fostered by Urilof as a young girl, she was taught how to fight and command by her foster fathers wise experience as a Captain of one of Mournholds military company.

He heritage is much to be speculated, for she appears fair and regal for such a warrioress. Rumours are that her essence is that of an Azyrite, and could possibly be a discarded child or a carefully hidden plot for line of succession of one of the three great families of Mournhold.

Mavelin not only seeks to topple Radukar the Wolf, but to also find out the fate of her half sister, Karlania.

Zrrarg Knorri

An exile of his kin in the fiery mountains far far away from the misery and plight ridden city of Ulfenkarn. Zrrarg is a Runeson, sent to atone for his crime of being too incompetent and foolish to let a Skaven Clan infiltrate the Ur-Gold cargo from a recent campaign. Banished from his home, he seeks to return someday with a worthy prize to bring back as proof of his deeds. Unfortunately his arrogance and pride was crushed for his banishment, and became consumed by drinking copious amounts of ale.

Although he is a drunken fool, he is still a dangerous berserker who could leap into action with great strength, even without a fresh rune that he has long been waiting to recive.

Twakt and Fawker

These two mysterious jesters seem to feel no despair nor sadness of the plight in Ulfenkarn. They revel in causing mischief and havoc to the forces of the Wolf, synchronising a performance of foolery and daring combat.

It is rumoured that these two fools are in fact survivors of a lost Rift of Folly group, who’s bodies are but flesh suites of the insidious nightmares that wear them to walk in the material realm. If it is true, then their aims are for the benefit of the Mournhold Survivors. At least for now…

Dralston Bhork

A Maneater mercenary from the Realm of Ghur, Dralston seeks to earn a worthy reputation to become a leader of a mercenary guild of his own. To earn such a reputation to build his new business, he must slay a worthy foe as a treasure boast to prove his might. Any of Radukars closest allies, or the Wolf himself, would suffice such a boastful trophy.

Kerlinith Ghel

Once, Kerlinith was part of the Collegiate of Shadows before being kicked out into exile for crossing the “boundaries” of the order. Although the surviving wizards loath her and mistrust her, they weren’t foolish enough to leave her to her fate in Ulfenkarn.

Her goals are as mysterious as herself, for very few know her in Ulfenkarn, those alive that knew her know that she seeks a far higher goal than just simply toppling the savage beast Radukar, Radukar. That goal however, may be death of Mournhold of old for good…

Morrik ‘The Veil Weaver’

An Aelven Assassin who once took offers from both Radukar and the Azyrite families who once ruled the city, he would be made redundant when Radukar terrorised the city under his new dictatorship. Now unemployed, he joined the Mournhold Survivors as he had a susoision that they’ll need a master of blades like himself to take down priority targets.

For an optimistic and cheery individual, one wonders how he lives on a daily business of taking the lives of others for pay. Then again, to have been offered work by your previous employer who now rules the city, stranger things can happen…

Battlemage Wenviera of the College of Shadows

One of the last surviving members of a Rift of Folly group, after their realm was infiltrated by diseased civilians rescued by the adventure party. She escaped within an inch of her life as the diseased outbreak infected everyone including the caster of the realm rift. The last she saw of them was when she opened the doorway out, only for her partner wizard to seal the doorway shut permanently.

Alone, Wenviera had to survive the ever present dangers of the Cursed City in all its corrupted forms. She was rescued by the Mournhold Survivors when they found her being surrounded by Ulfenwatch, exhausted and on the verge of giving up hope.

Now, she vows to help her allies to defeat Radukar and restore the city back to its rightful rulers. The horrors she had endured will not repeat again whilst she can still call upon the Winds of Ulgu.

Sequitor Heinzer Val Kryptus of the Hyshsun Stormhost

After a fatal clash of blades in a Shyish Underworld of Hallost, as the Hyshsun Stormhost battled against a Vyrkos Dynasty Battle Fortress. During this confrontation, a Vampire by the name of Ghivenst Marrow opened a gateway to escape the carnage as he turned his back on his master. The Sequitor seized the opportunity to race after this coward and smite him down with his Azyr blessed war mace. Unfortunately, he was dragged across a one way journey towards Ulfenkarn.

As the sole Stormcast in this group, Heinzer is a valued member who could turn the tide of battle. He is not as active as the rest save only for crucial missions for foes of greater power. Unbeknownst to his companions, the effects of reforging at this point have turned him slowly into a preserved mummy encased in Sigmarite armour. He will one day eventually lose himself as his mind degrades into a vessel of a shambling dead man.

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Now that the groundwork of our heroes is done, the story can now begin! After much delaying over this post editing it for publishing, I can now tell the first chapter of my playthrough if the Ulfenkarn in Peril Quest.

Until next time,

34th Tribe