Alternate Armies: Fir Bolg

I frequent the Oldhammer Forums soaking in the old Citadel goodness and posting pics of my "little mans". Out of the blue I received a PM from fellow forumite LeadAsbestos asking if I would like to paint some minis in return for some 1980's Lord of the Rings lead. I agreed to paint some Fir Bolg as the chance to stock up on minis without delving into Ebay was appealing. These ugly bastards are Alternate Armies sculpts. Their rough charm grew on me and by the end of the project it was sad to see them go.

The models have a Celtic/Aztec vibe which had me try my hand at painting woad. All those swirls and whorls annoyed me and I went with Woodland Indian war paint about mid way through the project.

Test model

All fifteen Fir Bolg prior to their flight to the USA.

The Enemy Within - Death on the Reik part 5

Grissenwald. Home town of Etelka Herzan, known witch and consort of chaos.

Here's a link to part 4 of our groups Death on the Reik play through. 

We left the protagonists in Kemperbad where they had encouraged the local independence movement in reaction to a pro mutant Imperial proclamation. After stirring the pot they planned to head south to Grissenwald in search of the witch, Etelka Herzan. The hero Herdan had also won a pit fight tournament becoming the Champion of Kemperbad.

Heroes present were Walter the halfling agitator, Esmerelda the Shallyan initiate, Solomon the halfling smuggler, Joten the dwarven veteran and Herdan the vampire hunter.

Key points from part 5

• 2:40 Herdan woke from a long night celebrating his win in the pit fights. A patch of hair on the back of his head was missing. He feared voodoo in his future.
• 4:25 Esmerelda was presented with a conundrum while fulfilling her Shallyan initiation at the Kemperbad temple. During her nightly vigil she was visited by a woman about to give birth. Helping as best she could she had the misfortune of delivering a mutant child. She surrendered the babe to the Shallyan priestesses to do what they though best. Shirking responsibility ensured Esmerelda's conscience remained clear.
• 13:35 Crime lord Luigi offered Solomon a job smuggling stolen Kislevian silver. Solomon turned him down as the goods were too bulky for him to manage without owning his own boat. 
• 20:05 Taking a river barge south to Grissenwald the group were hailed by a river patrol. The river wardens warned the heroes to steer clear of the plague struck, cursed town of Wittgendorf along with its castle. The river patrol showed the group a mutant corpse they had fished from the river close to the wretched town. It was an unsettling sight as the tentacle covered corpse had been badly tortured.
• 44:45 The group arrived in Grissenwald. While at a local tavern they were accosted by two drunken dwarves who proceeded to hurl abuse at the halflings. "Bake us a cake ya wee pansies!" was their general line of insult. They could not be talked down, not even the offer of free beer could placate them. A fight broke out. The drunks were soundly thrashed and once the watch arrived, were thrown into a cell.

  

  Dwarves can be pricks sometimes.

• 63:05 Discussions with the locals discovered that the Dwarf mine in the Black Peaks had been purchased by Etelka, the witch they sought. The dwarves now lived in a shanty town Khazad Slumbol and caused grief for the good people of Grissenwald. The locals blamed the dwarves for everything including recent attacks on farmsteads. All this despite having no proof whatsoever.
• 66:40 A beer map of the farms surrounding the nearby Black Peaks was scrawled across a tavern table and the party determined the farm most likely to be struck next. The raiders were due to attack that night.

  

  Gorim Greathammer - gold obsessed drunkard and leader of the dwarves.

• 72:00 The party paid a visit to Gorim, leader of the dwarves of Khazad Slumbol. Jotun encouraged them to regain the trust of the locals by heading out to defend the farms from attack. He called on dwarven pride and Gorim responded well. The dwarves headed out with purpose, they had nothing left to lose.
• 79:30 The dwarves headed to a farm that could potentially have been attacked while the heroes manned the defenses of another. They planned as best they could, organising buckets to fight fires and determined the best vantage points for the coming onslaught.

  

  Crooked Maw goblins. Poor bastards never stood a chance.

• 86:50 Just past the witching hour a half dozen goblins mounted on wolves charged the farm house. They hurled burning torches at the buildings but what little fire they caused was swiftly extinguished by the halfling bucket brigade. Wolves leaped the farm fence and surrounded Herdan and Joten in the yard. A group of goblins broke down the farm house door but were met by a wall of pitchforks and spears wielded by determined farmers. Despite being horribly outnumbered the warriors held their ground, Jotun in particular seemed impervious to damage in his plate mail. Together Joten and Herdan slew enough goblins to cause a rout. More goblins were slain as they attempted to flee. The farm house was saved.
• 131:20 Becoming the Champion of Kemperbad had done wonders for Joten's confidence. Thanks to the assistance of his wing man Walter he won the affections of the farmers daughter.
• 136:10 Late the following morning the group met up with Gorim and his dwarves. The stout folk became furious when they learned that there were goblins in their mines. They marched with the heroes to Etelka's tower.
• 137:45 On the approach to the mine the group came across an injured dwarf prospector surrounded by goblin bodies. It was Shane's second character Magnus, who joined the party in the assault on Etelka's tower.

The Enemy Within - Death on the Reik - part 4

Could one of our heroes become the Kemperbad Champion?

Here's a link to part 4 of our groups Death on the Reik play through. 

We left the protagonists on the Reik's bank a few days from Altdorf having slain a vampire that had terrorised the region. They had booked passage on a swift sail boat to Kemperbad.

The PC's are Walter the halfling raconteur, Esmerelda the reluctant hedge mage, Solomon the halfling smuggler, Joten the dwarf sewerjack and Herdan the odorous gravewarden.

Key Points in part 4

• 5:50 Esmerelda attempted to improvise a poultice for Joten. The vampire they had encountered last session had heavily wounded the dwarf. An expedition to the road was arranged in the hope of locating poultice friendly horse dung.

  

  Cameo appearance by Ernst

• 11:15 While searching the roadside for horse manure a Four Seasons coach rattled past. Leaning from the coach to get a better look at the group was the suspicious and incompetent physicians student Ernst. The group had shared a coach with the odd gent way back in their first misadventure.
• 19:15 While stopping at the small town of Deisdorf, Walter arranged to perform that night at a parochial and exclusive Reiklander inn known as The Good Table. (Inn randomly generated thanks to this most excellent generator). Both Walter and the inn's bouncer complemented each other on their hats feathers for, as all right thinking men know, 'A mans worth shall be judged by the length of his feather.' 
• 24:15 Esmerelda's sixth sense let her know something was amiss. Her attention was drawn to a scuffle at the entrance of The Good Table where two scruffy looking men were refused entry. Their garish purple garments did not meet the inns strict dress code. Esmerelda's sixth sense coupled with the colour purple set alarm bells ringing.

  

  Worst cultists ever?

• 32:45 An awkward conversation was struck up with the scruffy out of towners. They were invited to watch Walter's performance, an offer they accepted only to become the punchline of his routine. They are labelled 'worst cultists ever' for their implausible cover story; they claimed to be labourers and crop pickers when their fine dress told a different story.

  

  Could Kemperbad be the first town to rebel against Imperial rule?

• 47:45 Arriving at the cliff side town of Kemperbad the group find a cluster of townsfolk around a message board. The mob are agitated at an Imperial edict announcing that there are no such things as mutants and all those afflicted should be treated with the same respect as any other citizen of the Empire.



The Imperial edict that turned Kemperbad into a powder keg.

• 54:47 The group head to the local Temple of Sigmar to offload the dark necromantic items they had seized from beneath last sessions signal tower. There they met the hellfire and brimstone priest Father Eckhart who was incensed at the edict. They learn the town is seething with rebellion.

  

  Count Otto Boorman, not Von Schnitzel

• 66:45 Reikland troops clearing the streets for the passage of an important noble set-off a near riot as Herdan leaps to the conclusion that the escorted noble is non other than Von Schnitzel the author of the mutant loving edict. Walter used his public speaking to attribute blame for the edict from Von Schnitzel to the Emperor which somewhat diffused the situation. As it transpired the beleaguered noble was not Von Schnitzel, but instead the Imperial Plenipotentiary, Count Otto Boorman. Otto offered the services of his personal doctor to attend to the heavily wounded Joten as well as a dinner invitation to the well spoken Walter as thanks for his rescue from the mob.

  

  Cat fan Dr Maximillian

• 86:45 Otto's Dr the spindly cat fancier Maximillian attended to Joten's wounds using fancy Elven herbs. They worked splendidly and Joten was ready for action after a good long nap.

  

  Luigi Belladona will make you an offer you can't refuse

• 92:15 Solomon contacted Luigi Belladona, local crime lord and owner of the Cat and Fiddle Inn. He delivered a sealed box and in doing so repaid his debt to the thieves of Bogenhafen. Luigi appraised the group's warriors and offered to sponsor them in the upcoming pit fights. He assured the naive Herdan that the fights were safe and 'above board.' 
• 107:30 Esmerelda completed her Shallyan initiation by serving 2 days and 1 night attending the sick and injured in the Temple courtyard. During her time she broke her oath of silence twice but was not heard by the priestesses. 
• 110:10 Walter attended a spartan dinner with the rulers of Kemperbad as a guest of Count Otto. During the meal he swayed the council towards rebellion, encouraging them to flout the Imperial edict. That night anti Imperial feeling ran strong and several Reiklander businesses were burned. There was talk of rebellion and Kemperbad asserting its independence.

  

  What's your game Kastor?

• 122:45 Herdan was accosted by a flustered looking man with a purple feather in his hat. The stranger insisted Herdan was Kastor and that his 'imbecile' act wasn't fooling anyone. He added that Herdan was supposed to deliver his windfall to the inner circle in Middenheim. Herdan got understandably annoyed and the belligerent cultist hurried off.
• 128:15 A pit fighting tournament was held at the Cosy Snug inn, a seedy tavern in the wrong part of town. A troupe of warrior women drawn from across the Old World added to the novelty of the tournament. Joten was defeated by a warrior woman and former milkmaid Grechen. Herdan emerged the surprise winner and was hailed Champion of Kemperbad. He won fame and no small amount of fortune having backed himself to win at long odds from the beginning. In addition Herdan nearly scored the affections of Isla, an Ulrican warrior woman from Middenheim, who he faced in the final round and who he defeated with the Peoples Elbow. Alas he does not win her affections despite the best efforts of his wingman Walter.