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Gothicwaltz

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  1. Gothicwaltz
    Introduction:
    Airships are a lifelong fascination of mine, but I was still sore over losing the Old World when Kharadron Overlords was first released and I couldn’t find it in myself to jump aboard. Since then, my ire has lessened and I bought into Hedonites a bit, but didn’t like them as much as I thought I would. Specifically, I had a hard time getting behind the immortal daemons narratively. I was actually going to get into 40k Adeptus Mechanicus, until my wife expressed the desire to finish building her Daughters of Khaine and field them; and it turns out she also wanted my Hedonites. I first looked at Cities of Sigmar, since I already had a small collection of Aelves, but people kept recommending Kharadron Overlords. 
    I sat down with the battletome and rose up afterward a Kharadron Overlord player. That being said, I have a personal guideline for fielding my version of the army: no Arkanaut Company unless absolutely necessary. I may change my opinion on that in the future, but for now Arkanaut Companies are a tax I would prefer to avoid, especially since they’re absent from the Aether War and the Start Collecting! Boxes. This restriction means that my armies will revolve around the Grundstok Escort Wing and Intrepid Prospectors (while it lasts) battalions, as well as leaning into choices that open alternative battleline units.
    Alternative Battleline:
    Endrinmaster with Dirigible Suit (EDS) as Warlord: Endrinriggers and Skywardens
    EDS is a beast and widely regarded as a must-take. In 1k games, the current tier for my household, Intrepid Prospectors leave little room for flexibility, but enough points for a Gunhauler with Compartments to ferry around a unit of five Thunderers. Until I get an Arkanaut Ironclad, EDS as Warlord is the standard. Let’s not forget the usefulness of Endrinriggers in a vessel heavy army.
    Barak-Nor: Grundstok Thunderers
    Thunderers are troops to have stowed in any sky-worthy vessel, and sit five-a-piece in the SC! boxes. Lacking room for an Aetheric Navigator, Barak-Nor will also let my EDS cope to some degree with my wife’s myriad spellcasters.
    Barak-Urbaz: Gundstok Gunhaulers
    Gunhauler battleline and an avoidable artifact/trait tax make this barak quite appealing to me, but until I can produce the aforementioned Aetheric Navigator and Arkanaut Ironclad I’ll have to throw in with Barak-Nor.
    Barak-Zilfin: Arkanaut Frigate
    This barak has many interesting abilities, and an avoidable command trait, but Frigates as battleline isn’t one of them in my opinion. There is a place for the Frigate, but since I’m not using Arkanaut Company, its usefulness diminishes. It is likely that I will, someday, purchase a couple along with those erstwhile Arkanauts, but for now Zilfin isn’t on the short list.
  2. Gothicwaltz
    This is a list of the models and bits I'll need for creating my Hosts of Slaanesh army and how far along they are, so I have it all in one place. So far it's only a list of things I plan to buy in the near future.
    Italic ~ Item ordered
    Bold ~ Item acquired
    Phase 1
    Chaos Sorcerer Lord on Chaos Steed Assembled
    Herald of Slaanesh (mounted) (2) Assembled
    ~60 x 35 mm base (Alien Invasion)
    Herald of Slaanesh Assembled
    ~25 mm base (Alien Invasion)
    Daemonettes (10) Assembled
    Phase 2
    Infernal Enrapturess (Wrath and Rapture)
    ~60 x 35 mm base (Alien Invasion)
    Daemonettes (10) Assembled
    Seekers (5) (Wrath and Rapture)
    ~60 x 35 mm base (5) (Alien Invasion)
    Fiends of Slaanesh (3) (Wrath and Rapture)
    ~75 x 40 mm base (3) (Alien Invasion)
    Phase 3
    Lord of Slaanesh on Daemonic Mount
    ~Dreadlord (Black Dragon)
    ~60 mm 
    Hellstriders (10)
    ~Drakespawn Knights (10) (Drakespawn Knights x2)
    ~Steeds of Slaanesh (10) (Seeker Chariot) Assembly
    ~Hellstrider whips and standard (Hellstriders)
    ~60 x 35 mm
    Phase 3
    Daemonettes (10) (Any)
    ~25 mm base (10) (Alien Invasion)
    Fiends of Slaanesh (3) (Wrath and Rapture)
    ~75 x 40 mm base (3) (Alien Invasion)
    Keeper of Secrets
    ~60 mm base (Alien Invasion)
    Phase 6
    Slaanesh Sorcerer (Mounted and on Foot)
    ~Sorcerer (???)
    ~Mounted Sorcerer (???)
    ~Slaanesh Mount (Seeker Chariot?)
  3. Gothicwaltz

    Straddling the Divide

    By Gothicwaltz,

    I made the trip to my local game store this weekend to pick up my wife's Daughters of Khaine battleforce, and my Wrath and Rapture box. Pleasantly, the Lord of Slaanesh on Daemonic Mount I ordered was also waiting. Once I got home I promptly opened the Lord kit and started prepping it for assembly, blithely ignoring Wrath and Rapture until I had reached the point where the Lord required conversion elements I did not have on hand. Oh Thanharath, someday your raiding band of daemonic pirates will ply the seas and coasts, someday.
    I finally committed to a basing scheme for my mortals and daemons, the pirate themed mortals will all be based in the wood plank theme, while the wholly daemonic models will use the alien invasion bases. This will allow my daemonic host to straddle AOS and 40K without looking like they should be in one game or the other. I expect the Emperor's Children codex to drop sooner or later, and that's something I'm very interested in.

    Back to Wrath and Rapture, the Fiends and Infernal Enrapturess impress, and with the reinforcements from the box I'll be able to start playing 500+ point games this week. It's been a few years since I last played any unit oriented tabletop and I'm anxious to see my "ladies" cavort across the battlefield.
  4. Gothicwaltz

    Walk into the Sea

    By Gothicwaltz,

    Recently I found myself in a bit of a predicament, a pirate themed predicament. I have an abiding love for dark elf corsairs and found my dedication to Slaanesh wavering as I read through the Idoneth battletome and Scourge Privateer rules. I wanted pirates, coastlines, ships, and ports. The advice given to me was “just make your Slaanesh army pirate themed.” And that’s what I did, but it took me a day or two to reconcile the two together. Admittedly, it’s not too far off from the original pleasure cult concept, but breaking down the original material did take some mental effort, like breaking cement to pour a new foundation.
    Nagh Kython Khyrkanashaith ~ Pale Serpent Cult of Pleasure
    Thanharath, the Lord of Slaanesh’s new name, roughly means “subtle/hidden ambition,” something that an “exile” aelf mother might realistically name her child, especially if he was a ****** of nobility. Along that vein, I imagine Thanharath taking to the sea with the scourge privateers to earn gold and glory, and a measure of freedom from his mother’s expectations.
    During the course of his voyaging about Ulgu, pillaging the forces opposed to Order and capturing great beasts, Thanharath’s moral character is tested by an encounter with a seeker host on the hunt for Slaanesh. The daemonettes are routed, but he and his crewmates are hard pressed to let the memory of it alone. Sensing an opportunity, a herald within the shattered host tracks the privateers back to their home port, infiltrating the community as aelven refugees lost in Ulgu’s mists.
    After a short time, and several ventures upon the shadow sea, the privateers return home to find the port covered in strange fog and eerily silent. A desperate cry from the captain as his head in bound up in the Talunhook of an Idoneth soulrender signals the ambush. The privateers fight desperately against the sea aelves, making bloody progress out of the docks and into the streets. The Slaaneshi herald, under the assumed name of Fiannagh, guides the besieged crew into a fortified house where the last of the port’s populace wait for the next attack. Privately, Fiannagh reveals herself, and his bound mother, to Thanharath, and offers to drive off the Idoneth if he will embrace the worship of Slaanesh and complete the ritual that will summon their salvation.
    With a shrug, Thanharath sacrifices his mother to Slaanesh. The Idoneth raiders are ill prepared for the daemonic forces that spill from the fortified house, and their bodies line the streets as the enchanted mist rolls back out to sea.
    Conversion plans:
    Thanharath Serpentsworn ~ Lord of Slaanesh on Daemonic Mount
    The model will use the mounted Lord of Slaanesh as a base, but replace the torso, arms, and legs with corsair parts, especially the corsair champion head with the serpent motif. The shield will be replaced with a drakespawn knight shield bearing another serpent. I plan to use wood plank basing for this and the rest of the army.
    Elthyirah Blisscutter and the Kython Khalirii ~ Hellstriders
    Slaanesh mounts, drakespawn rider legs and shields with serpent icons, spears, hellstrider standard, and corsair bodies, arms, heads and trumpet. Elthyirah will be given the hellstrider champion claw spear and a daemonette head to show the extent of her corruption and devotion.
    Fiannagh’s Host ~ Herald of Slaanesh and Daemonettes of Slaanesh
    Herald mounted on a steed of Slaanesh, using bits from the seeker chariot kit, and daemonette kit. Paint scheme for Slaanesh daemons will reference salt water crabs and other sea creatures to tie in with the corsair theme of the army. Not much conversion needed, they already have claw hands.
    ---
    That fills out my first 500 points, and allows me to drop the black dragon kit from my earlier plans. I just need to get a box of corsairs, two drakespawn knight boxes, and the mounted Lord of Slaanesh box to finish out (excluding extra bits and bases). To lead into the next 500 points, I may just do a simple doomfire warlock conversion for my mounted chaos sorcerer, and there’s Wrath and Rapture on the horizon.
  5. Gothicwaltz
    The only Slaves of Chaos options that elicit my interest are the Lord of Slaanesh on Daemonic Mount (LoSDM) and Hellstriders. However, as much as I enjoy the decadent greco-roman motifs, the old Norscan influence is prevalent, and does not appeal to my tastes. Men are not the only race to fall prey to the Dark Prince's machinations, He has a long and sordid history with the Aelves, and old lore states that of all the Chaos Gods, Slaanesh was the most pervasive in their culture. With Morathi now firmly set against She Who Thirsts, the old aelven pleasure cults are lost to history... Leaving room for new cults to form, no longer tainted by Shadow Queen's fickle leadership. The hedonistic spirit of the Druchii lives on, set loose upon the unsuspecting realms!
    Malcontented with the imposed conservatism over Ulgu's common populace, Lystroth eagerly joined the slaughter of Karond Drannach as a Seeker Host of Slaanesh savaged the city, penetrating toward its namesake tower. His blade tore into the throat of a boorish neighbor, spraying red across the rode. He watched the blood twist through the cobblestones, pulsing his hand against the head of hair still clutched between his fingers. After moments, or hours, a great call undulated through the streets, Lystroth's gaze rose to the burning tower and the victorious, glistening host parading back down the the Witch's Road. He felt the blade slip from his palm, and into the sheath. His legs stepped behind the corpse, his arms heaved his neighbor into the oncoming revel, and he could not find the will to take command of himself until the daemon chariot coursed by and sent gore splattering into the air. Blinking through the mess, he caught the gaze of the daemoness standing atop the chariot's dais for an instant, before the crack of her whip hurled him into darkness.
    He woke to a city in mourning and turmoil, it brought a smile to his face.
    ---
    Nagh Kheitain Khyrkanashaith (Pale Soul-Eater Cult of Pleasure)
    Lystroth Serpentsworn (LoSDM)
    After the siege of Karond Drannach, Lystroth was shortly found by its architect, the sorceress Lesith as she searched the city for others that had fallen to She Who Thirsts. Despite her wiles and magics, the cultists would not be swayed by 'the Usurper' to blindly obey, but instead gathered around Lystroth who urged the cult to quit tiresome Karond Drannach and hunt across the realm for greater pleasures. Following his lead, the cult sacked the tower's armory, stables, and pillaged corpse, then quit the city with their stolen horses and blood crusted arms.
    Nagh Kheitain's leader should be fairly simple to sort out by combining the LoSDM kit with a Black Dragon or Drakespawn rider. For all of the helmeted aelves in the cult, I am considering the removal of the standard helm ornaments for slaanesh icons, or just smoothing them out and painting the symbols on later.
    Lesith the Usurper (Chaos Sorcerer on Steed)
    Seductive, but lacking in sorceress power, Lesith turned to Chaos to revenge her lack on the others in her coven. The daemon siege culminated with the destruction of her peers and coven master, and her entire retinue. Intent on restoring her power base, she ventured out to bring the budding followers of Slaanesh into her personal garden, but Slaanesh's favor protected them from her iron grasp. As her deeds became known to the cult, she was named 'the Usurper' to remind followers of her treacherous nature, but as the harbinger of their new freedom she welcomed as their priestess and spiritual adviser.
    Currently, the only mounted Sorceress figure is in the Black Dragon kit, that with a Dark Steed from a Scourgerunner Chariot should be perfect.
    Vebha Blisscutter and Nagh Kheitain Khalirii (Hellstriders)
    Garbed in the blasphemed armor of their murdered suppressors, astride daemonic mounts, the Nagh Kheitain Khalirii case down their prey with wild abandon. Led by the insatiable Vebha, desperately loyal to Lystroth's perverse crusade, these riders gladly offer the souls of their victims to She Who Thirsts and luxuriate in His blessings.
    Using the arms and mounts from the Hellstriders kit with Drakespawn riders should make for an impressive themed unit. Vebha might only need a sorceress head on a rider body, or perhaps another Black Dragon sorceress, a decision best left until the models are in hand for conversion.  
    ---
    This set-up will be nearly twice as expensive as not doing a Cult of Pleasure army, but I think there's a lot of potential and I'm enjoying the narrative. I'll likely only dip into this a little bit, until I have my copy of Wrath and Rapture. But first, I need to get a box of Daemonettes and some paints so I can ease back into the hobby!
    Let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions!
     
     
  6. Gothicwaltz
    I don't play Warhammer to be competitive, I play to experience the world and its lore, I like to flesh out my armies and give them narrative. At this point I am, creatively and pragmatically, starting from scratch, striving toward the first benchmark of 500 points (1 hero and 2 battleline units). To move forward, I must consider the nature of the story I want to tell, and the game-play I want to experience (and keep in mind that HoS is yet to receive its battletome). 
    As I enjoy a narrative with a upward trajectory, and because the Lord of Slaanesh on Daemonic Mount (name forthcoming) has the only instance of chaos armor I don't loathe, and wouldn't a big unit of Hellstriders look great alongside him, I'm going to take the mortal aspiring to daemonhood angle. Maybe someday I'll get a Sorcerer Lord on Daemonic Mount, one can certainly dream.

    With our dashing villain and his five companions finding favor from Slaanesh (or similar) in the form of their daemonic steads, he receives visions that inspire him to hunt for the Dark Prince's prison, gathering more followers as he chases whispers in the realm of Ulgu. His adventures in the shadow realm inspire five more Hellstriders to join his revel, and attract the eye of a Herald of Slaanesh, and her cabal of daemonette servants. 
    Hellstrider Host (500/500)
    Hosts of Slannesh: Seekers
    Lord of Slaanesh on Daemonic Mount
    10 Hellstriders (Clawspear + Shield)
    Herald of Slaanesh
    10 Daemonettes
    Which is about $150 off the GW webstore. With that finally in hand, I can start putting some money away for this little project and give some personality to the Lord and Herald. 
     
  7. Gothicwaltz

    Desire Made Manifest

    By Gothicwaltz,

    With the mortal portion of my warband on hold, and there is a possibility of getting new models for them soon anyway, the daemons of Slaanesh take center stage. I find myself in a bit of a quagmire for character ideas, as while Lystroth, and his cohort, can indefinitely crusade for glory and power, coming into conflict with all manner of internal and external opposition, daemons are more like forces of nature and make for better antagonists than they do protagonists. You could certainly propose that the different hosts of Slaanesh indicate otherwise, but the daemons of these hosts are still only acting within the parameters of their creation. This fact is something that's kept me away from playing daemons for a long time, actually. 
    There are two ways to circumvent this narrative issue, as far as I can see: an exterior antagonist or conflict within to Nagh Kheitain Khyrkanashaith. Lacking a creative partner in his endeavor, though my wife will be playing Daughters of Khaine, I will need to create my own exterior antagonists. I'm not entirely opposed to doing that, but that takes the locus of the army's narrative away from the army itself. Instead, I will aim to make the daemonic heroes in the army foils to the mortal heroes, as well as a gauge of their favor with Slaanesh. While daemons are individuals, they are still an extension of their creator's will and aspect. 
    In modeling terms, my wife purchased a box of Daemonettes for my birthday, and I'm about halfway through it. I paid particular attention to the Alluress, emphasizing her female side and using perspective to foreshorten and obscure her claw and face when looking straight at her. I noticed that the command models, as presented in the material, favor more hair and a humanoid body, where the lesser daemonettes have lack hair and are more monstrous, and took it for my own. Once I get onto painting, I'm going to also keep to the "official" look, save for shifting it a bit more toward purple and fleshy pink.
    Next up will be a short story further detailing my theoretical mortal heroes, and their first gift from She Who Thirsts.
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