Warcry!

New from Games Workshop we have the entirely playable yet unremarkable Warcry! Set in the Age of Sigmar, rival bands of chaos worshipers compete for renown. There is essentially one warband for each of the mortal realms; we have yet to see one for the realm of fire or the realm of heavens but I guess they will turn up? 

Stunning models

Games Workshop have really excelled themselves with the Warcry! sculpts. Reminiscent of Malifaux in their intricacy yet not as fiddly. Each of the six available so far are unique and characterful. Not sort of variations on a theme characterful but embracing their own style and inspirations. They also inspire greater variety and character, I have already seen the Corvus Cabal painted up as Parrot masks and sailors slops to create a piratical theme.

Whatever your style there will likely be something to work with. At first glance I was impressed but uninspired. Looking at the actual models changed that and I fell in love with the Splintered Fang.

The Splintered Fang

Hailing from the realm of life, the Splintered Fang are all about poisons and snakes. That's pretty epic in itself. There are so many snakes with beautiful colours to draw inspiration from. That alone isn't enough to draw me in.

Their aesthetic though. Oh my. Imagine a group of Greek Warriors fell into a Conan story as the villains then wound up battling in the Colosseum. Corinthian helms, scaled armour, mighty thews, Hellenistic styling, the trident and net of the Retiarius. Snakes abound and ornate weaponry speaks of the strange rituals of a serpent cult. Utterly, utterly beautiful.

A bit of conversion work

Out of the box there is a good variety of model options. I didn't want a variety, I wanted to stick to a theme. Exploring the idea of ritualised, gladiatorial combat I wanted a focus on shields and spears. My main battle line would be a Retiarius flanked by Hoplomaci.

The secondary line of juves couldn't take spears so I kept the theme with shields. This would mean sacrificing offensive capability for an increase in resilience, tactically questionable but a theme is a theme.

Bringing up the rear we have Snekboi who has a huge snek and throws darts at people. Alongside him we also have a slither of snakes, a little stabby dude and Mr. Big 'n' Stabby. I'd like to make Mr. Big 'n' Stabby fit the theme more but this model was just beautiful as is. I did stick one of the big snakes from Snekboi on his base though, then used blue stuff to copy the slither of snakes for Snekboi's base.

Next steps

I need to get these painted. My initial thought is to go for Bronze weapons, throw on a little verdigris, blend into the poison vials and snakes in green. When it comes to skin tones I'm in two minds about what to do. On one hand I want to evoke the wide range of Mediterranean skin, on the other hand doing them all as marble statues animated by veins of poison would look stunning if I can pull it off.

Regardless, if you need me I'll be looking at pictures of snakes.

Retroreview E2 - Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

A Marxist Allegory

What is Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay? To the untrained eye it may appear a roleplaying game in the Old World. Nothing could be closer to the truth but look deeper. Within that truth is a hidden allegory. Coded within the pages of our favourite disaster simulator is pure Marxist propaganda.

For those who seize the means of character generation and define their own destiny; WHFRP is a chance to explore with choice and freedom a world of deprivation and horror. Never play with those kinds of entitled bourgeois gamers. Let the dice decide your fate and witness the full horrors of class based society and dead end careers.

Unlike Dungeons and Dragons wherein the gentrification of the adventuring class is laid bare; WHFRP doesn't shy away from placing the noble Elf scholar alongside the diseased and mutated Gong farmer. Whilst Call of Cthulhu allows players to slowly unfold the creeping horror around them; WHFRP considers such mind warping terrors mere background noise. Just like Capitalism. 

Our heroes assemble...

If you are lucky your career roll may throw up something with prospects like Rat Catcher or Pit Fighter. Oh the lucky git who starts with ranged weaponry in the form of a decent sling and rats for sustenance. Should that Rat Catcher survive the perils of the world to advance then a strong constitution, weapon skills and a eye for deadly traps will reflect their journey. Given the chance, a promising future as a Grave Robber for you and your Small yet vicious dog can be yours.

Unfortunately you rolled Scholar. You'll die within five minutes after being assaulted by a gang of rats, some drunk at the tavern will nick your 5D6 gold crowns and if you somehow live long enough for your knowledge of plants to be useful... the only career prospects involved customer service or going into increasingly dangerous places.

Maybe Jim will roll bet... oh great. He rolled a fucking Hypnotist. Of course he did. We are so screwed.

A Game, An experience

So what wonderful things will we be doing? Maybe when we've found a wizard to apprentice one of our number we can hurl fireballs? I mean we'd have to find a way to carry sulphur without stinking first. At this stage we also have a general Labourer following us around because that's what Emma rolled. I only mention our Labourer friend because some guy at the Tavern nicked my Gold Crowns; now Bob the Labourer is lording it over us with his packed lunch, prick.

Anyway there are rumours of strange goings on at the mill. We are wholly unqualified to investigate. We are wholly unqualified to do anything so we try anyway. A evening of asking around and I've misplaced my quill, some guy in the tavern has nicked the Hypnotist's silver charm and the packed lunch has been eaten. We are also led to believe strange lights inhabit the mill at midnight. It can't be any more dangerous than being in town.

To get to the mill without being seen we send the Labourer up a wall with a rope. The Labourer is by far our most skilled companion with the legendary 'scale sheer surfaces'. The Labourer should also have 'Consume Alcohol' but Emma never revealed how badly she rolled in character generation. Our drunk Labourer falls into the Reik and is never seen again. The splash alerts the lone Footpad standing guard, who proceeds to slit the throat of Jim's hypnotist whilst I leg it. Adventure Success! 1/3 survival rate!

In Summary

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay is one of the finest games ever written. Forget heroics, forget grand schemes and grander conspiracies. Grab some friends, grab some dice and spend an evening bouncing from one pathetic disaster to the next. Should you survive long enough to make a second session who knows what tragedy awaits? Fucking brilliant.

Rating

A resounding D4 Pots and Pans, D6 x 100 Pins, 3D6 small knives and D6 reels of coloured ribbon.

Praetogryns

A wonderful friend was having a clear out and kindly sent me some Warhammer Ogres. Seizing the opportunity I sliced the bodies up, added some plasticard spacers, abbreviated the bellies and threw some Ogryn bitz at what remained. 

That was ages ago. I now have two weeks away from my hobby space. Fortunately these were in a handy box along with my sculpting tools. Time for the 42nd Desert Grox to get their auxiliary support finished.