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Melcavuk

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  1. Melcavuk
    Today a friend and I headed off to warhammer world to test out my initial rules for the Ironweld Arsenal, it was my first proper chance to test the army outside of crude number crafting and math hammering in a vacuum to look at how it could perform in a realworld (fantasy world) scenario. With my opponent new to the freshly released Flesheater Courts it was the ideal opportunity to test the strength of the tome against a modern, competitive and decent build Battletome with each force deploying a variety of units without angling to tournament or overly competitive builds.
    To begin with here is my army list, comprised of literally what I have assembled thus far:
    My opponent ran a variety of lists throughout the day, mostly centred around 2 blocks of 20 man Ghouls, a pair of Ghoul Kings (terrorgeist and zombie dragon respectively) and an Arch Regent. In various builds there were either Horrors or Flayers in the list, and often it involved summoning in a Vargulf Courtier.
    GAME 1 - 
    In the first game three objectives were deployed on the battlefield, one to the centre and one in each of the deployment zone. In fluff this was little more than a border skirmish as the Weld began to encroach onto the barren lands ravaged by the Courts and provided a good framework for us to test our initial forces out without heavy objectives weighig over us. 

    Having lost both the deployment roll and moved into taking the first turn I had little to do other than inch up the battlefield, utterly failing with the long rifles both on the Steam Tank and Master of Shot (A pattern throughout the day, neither did a thing across 18 turns in 4 games). With my turn over the flesh eaters tore across the battlefield, out of range to charge but able to deal a good number of mortal wounds from both the flayers and the terrorgeists to punish the low  bravery of my Weld Guard and Labourers.
    With the tides of Ghouls now supported by advancing horrors I commited far too much of my force to blocking down his larger units, committing firepower to levelling some horrors and ghouls but struggling with his multiple saves (Armour, Unnatural resilience (spell), bonus death save)), as I lacked mortal wound output it really began to show here, with the Rifles hitting and wounding on 4's a mere quarter actually delivered wounds with my opponent able to wittle down 200 points of shooting down to a mere one or two damage I began to feel that perhaps I had made mistakes in the unit design.
    The Weld Phalanx ability to inflict defensive mortal wounds on an enemy proved effective not only in wounding those who approached but in deterring later charges. Only having 10 of them limited their ability to form a proper defensive line and I believe that in larger numbers they might prove an effective deterrent to oncoming enemies. When committed to melee however their low number of attacks were poorly placed against this particular foe but would have been better served against less resilient opponents.
    Highlights of the game for me came by way of the Lancers and Ironsworn Templar delivering a fatal blow to his Zombie Dragon, combining the two on the charge allowed me to deal a high amount of quality damage that did something to mitigate my lack of mortal wound output.
    At the end of the game i had a mere 3 models remaining and my foe was at 1400 points left.
    Learnings:
    - The Midnight Aspirant command ability became a crutch in a game it was poorly placed, there is no outlasting Flesheaters in combat, allowing myself extra saves cannot compete with summoning, revivival, and triple save units.
    - I forgot to use the command ability from the Master of Shot to increase the to hit and wound for riflemen units, in later games I would come to appreciate the ability of it.
    - In the entire game I forgot the plentiful cache rule on my Cogfort allowing me to attempt to shoot an embarked unit in the hero phase, whilst only a 5+ chance this combied with the above command ability would have dramatically increased damage output.
    GAME 2
    After the first game we broke for lunch allowing us a chance to chat over what had gone well and what needed to change, the concensus was largely that the Riflemen were a poor mans Handgunners, a 4+ 4+ is simply not in the same ballpark as the handgunners units, and at a cost of 100 points per 10 it is a poor points efficiency. Going forward we trialed them as a 4+ 3+ with the to wound stat matching other gunpowder units now to see if this brings their points costs back into effective levels.
    Here in the second game we moved into a relic mission, it was a good way of drawing both armies into a bitter fight at the centre of the board and allowed a game the focused on my opponents desire to move his army forward rather than baby sitting a central objective. Again I lost pretty much every priority roll throughout the game, however this time he opted to take the first turn in order to summon in flayers and a vargulf in close proximity to my starting army followed by moving and advancing the rest of the force up the field. Doing so left his army strung out in three stages, with the flayers and vargulf far in advance, the two behemoths sat in the midfield and in the rears all of his ghouls and the archregent.
    In my first turn this allowed me to approach his piecemeal army as a series of targets of opportunity, having split my riflemen down to two units of ten for the course of the game and managing a hero phase set of shots with one from the Cogfort I levelled the flayers to a single model. Combining fire from the riflemen, helblaster and the lancers into the zombie dragon I dropped it to half wounds before sending the Ironsworn templar in to valiantly impale the now wounded beast and end the combat in the turn it began
    Losing yet another priority roll allowed his horrors and terrogeist to impale into the Phalanx, destroying the fragile ten man wall in a single combat phase whilst his ghouls encircled the Ironsworn Templar. On the far side my lancers could finish off the final member of the flayer unit and I directed the Ironduke, Aspirants and all of my handgunners into the Terrorgeist in an impressive hail of fire that made it fragile to the charge of the Ironduke.
    Ending my turn both behemoths were dead (or redead in the case of the zombie dragon, his knights all fallen and with just ghouls and an archregent in play he conceeded the game
    Learnings:
    The Ironweld are lacking the sheer speed of the courts, but their defensive mortal wound output and short range firepower are strong deterrents to oncoming forces. Poor dicerolls on my part made both the Ironduke and Master of Shot questionable in terms of damage output however the command ability on the Master of Shot was an invaluable asset.
    The Ironsworn Templar command ability better suits a generic faction command ability, removing it from the warscroll and adjusting points accordingly may see him fall better in line with his potential.
    The Midnight Aspirant is fun, but not game swinging, her command ability would be better served against foes that could be outlasted or with larger Weld Guard units to benefit, still she really added alot of personality to the game so I enjoyed her.
    Labourers are made of tissue paper, suitable really but their handful of damage output was a nice boost to what essentially came as ablative wounds for the Volley gun.
    NEVER FORGET TO REPAIR, with half the army Cogwork and between my Command Trait and the Aspirant I could of healed two units a turn but got over excited and often forgot, same with healing the Ironduke by a wound a turn.
  2. Melcavuk
    As i wait to playtest the first iterations of the rules for my Ironweld Expansion I have been adding some borrowed Sigmar artwork to the cover and updating all warscrolls to version 2.0
    Battletome(March).pdf
    Full version PDF (warning many blank pages as I fill out lore)
     
    Cover and Warscrolls

















  3. Melcavuk
    The humble Steamtank has been a staple of the Ironweld since the inception of Age of Sigmar and a beautiful model in the Empire range in the world that was, it was only fitting then that when I came to revise the Ironweld into a new iteration that it found only only one new warscroll but three to reflect the myriad of designs that Ironweld Arsenal can mount on such a reliable workhorse of an engine. One thing I wanted to emphasis in the lore was how vital the fleets of Steamtanks (Now referred to a Coghaulers) were in the expansion of the early Ironweld, reliable and secure they can traverse landscapes hostile to the traditional horse and carts, moreover their ironhide shells can repel the weaponry of marauding tribes making them ideal escorts and transports for the arsenal of the Ironweld cities.
    With that in mind I translated the original Steamtank warscroll into the standard chassis dubbed the Coghauler Bombard, known for its lethal array of weaponry able to rain death down on a foe even as its behemoth weight hurtles towards them.

     
    With the initial Warscroll translating across well, as Ironsworn knights in their giant steeds riding across the battlefield it was time to determine how the Ironweld view and approach magic. From the outset I had been against them wielding magic itself as I do not believe every faction should cover every facet, indeed it would be far more in their nature to try and bring order to the unruly magicks that ravage the realms. With some feedback I was presented with the idea of the Reality Anchor, formed of harvested Realmstone kept in constant motion by the Coghaulers Steamengine it is able to produce localised stabilising effects much like proximity to the centre of a realm, despised by the college arcane for its obsene effect on those who seek to harness magic nearby it has been known to inflict agonising pain, even death to those who try and break through its arcane interference.
    Able to dispell a single spell a turn as though it were a wizard it is perhaps the secondary ability of the Anchor that is most potent, it creates a double layered aura to impede spell casters, with the outer ring providing a small debuff to casting with the inner ring far more lethal.

    Next, it was time to look at who leads the Cogstables into battle, not content to ride in some mere Coghauler each Iron Duke customises their own Coghauler to present their own unique take on their destructive potential, from the volcanic arsenals of Esoteris to the fletchette cannonade of Morghast each weapon is unique only sharing the desire to shoot more than their less noble kin. The Ironduke provides a fantastic centre piece for a Coghauler centric army, not only keeping to the theme but increasing the mobility of nearby Cogwork units (extending not only to Coghaulers but also Cogstriders and Ironsworn Templars)

    As the Ironduke is a character we can look into the Command Traits available, however first as his Coghauler is a mount it can take an Artificer Cogwork, the Ironweld variant of mount traits for their elaborate designs. Key to keeping him alive for prolonged periods on the battlefield perhaps the most immediately useful comes by way of the Ironbark Bulwark, able to ignore the first point of rend for lightweight attacks.

    And to ensure his own Coghauler and those around him keep going making his Command Trait the Artisan Engineer allows him to repair a single Cogwork unit a turn as though he were an Engineer!

    Here we would now have a fleet of Coghaulers speeding down the battlefield with their Ironduke at the helm steering them into a headlong charge at the enemy, able to make makeshift repairs to the fleet whilst his own robust Coghauler deflects feeble blows away. When themeing your army to Coghaulers one house in particular leaps out, the House of Rok are the original innovators of the Coghaulers of the Realms, still utilising the same core chassis as when first concieved their own Cogfleet is perhaps the longest serving and most reliable in all the Weld. 
    Those playing as House Rok halve the damage taken on their Coghaulers when consulting the damage table, working at near optimal capacity even as parts begin to chip away.
     

  4. Melcavuk
    With Artillery and Phalanx looked at I felt it was time to see how the diminuative Pressure rifle wielding Weld Riflemen could perform with the interplay of various abilities within the battletome. Their initial statline whilst reasonable is in many cases risking being outclassed by the cheaper Freeguild Handgunners, however it is the strength of the army as a whole that boosts the Riflemen into the lead. 

     
    -Starting from their own warscroll each Rifleman (barring the apprentice) produced a single shot that hits on a 4+ and wounds on a 4+ (that'd 9 shots at 100 points, 19 at 200 and so forth)
    - At 10 inches or under the strength of the pressure rifle is optimal, adding one to wound rolls making it a 3+ to wound
    - If unharassed by an enemy unit the Pressure rifles may reroll 1's to hit.
    - When entirely stationary and in sufficient numbers and 6's to hit produce 2 hits instead of one.

    So optimally the unit should be immobile, targetting a unit within 10 inches and over 10 models in the Rifles unit (Hit on 4's rerolling 1's, 6's produce two hits, Wound on 3's)

    Adding in the Master of Shot, unlike the Gunmaster this model has no longer got the Engineer keyword, instead he focuses on boosting the attacks of nearby ranged Weld Guard units. In a more limited fashion than the Freeguild general his bonus only applies in the shooting phase, however with the ability to pick upto three Weld Rifles units his boost is nothing to sniff at.
    Adding 1 to hit and wound rolls moves out optimal shooting scenario to:
    Hitting on 3's (rerolling 1s), Hits of an unmodified 6 produce 2 hits, Wounding on 2's

    By tailoring our Cogfort before the game to benefit shooting units we can look at embarking the Weld Rifles onto the Cogfort, this way one unit per turn can potentially shoot in the Hero Phase aswell as the Shooting phase doubling their damage output for that turn.
     
    And since no House values shooting more than Oran, having Oran Ironsworn nearby means if your rifles get locked down into combat they can both retreat and shoot within the same turn.
     
    Thanks for reading!
    Ricki
  5. Melcavuk
    When desinging the rules for the Ironweld Phalanx I wanted them to feel different to your traditional Freeguild with Halberds, they are more robust and advanced but benefit far less in big units as they spend less time in trained military drills than their Freeguild variants instead relying on exquisite advancements in warfare to keep them safe on the battlefield.
    For an army centred largely around shooting I didnt want the Phalanx to suddenly be combat monsters, they are a defensive melee unit that thematically forms a living wall between the oncoming enemy forces and the gunlines of the weld, for this reason they are best when stationary and being charged (as opposed to charging themselves). Adding in the Anchor the Long Lines rule allowed me to reflect the sheer lethality of flinging yourself into an organised line of Weld Phalanx, able to deter oncoming foes from risking themselves in the combat and encourging an enemy to use weaker units to absorb the halberds of the Phalanx. 
    One of the most common comments I have recieved is that a 4+ save would better reflect their role, however there are a number of factors interplaying within the tome that turns the 5+ save they currently possess into sheer brutal resilience.
    To start:
    Weldguard Phalanx naturally reroll ones to save from their Cogplate, however they can boost this to an impressive reroll of all saves if they remain stationary and lock their gears in place. A 5+ rerolling all saves is better than 4+ against rend - and only slightly worse against rend of -1

     
    But then we can look at how the tome has elements to boost that save, with synergy at the heart of the Weld we can look at possibly my favourite of the noble houses the City of Midnight who employ extensive Cogwork augements to their populace, this grants them a resilience beyond that of mortal men. With a friendly Ironsworn unit nearby the Weld Guard can benefit from their Heraldry.

    And with a Hero nearby more trained in the Military drills of the Weld they can be boosted yet further, able to form a tight knit line of Cogplate to deflect even the most savage of attacks.

    The end result of combining these factors is a resilient Phalanx unit comprised of:
    4+ Armour Save, Rerolling all failed save
    6+ to ignore wounds or mortal wounds inflicted.
  6. Melcavuk
    In my expansion of the Ironweld Arsenal it was important to me that everything seemed like a symbiotic melding of man and machine, each warscroll able to benefit from those around them and thus making no one more important than any others. In having modelled my Helblaster it gave me an opportunity to see how the new rules I had written could interplay to turn a good artillery piece into a great heart of an army.
    So first we have the new warscroll, gone are the seperate crew that always got sniped out replaced with a combined warscroll and single base. Then to ensure viability long term on the battlefield we have the rule to replenish crew from nearby labourer units, utilising the Ironwelds training on artillery to sacrafice models in other units to keep the artillery piece firing longer

    Next we have the Cogsmith, in a faction absent of priests or wizards it is the engineers of the Ironweld that provide most of the buffs to nearby units, in this case he has both the passive buff from his Engineer keyword allowing the Helblaster to reroll number of shots, but also his own rule allowing friendly Ironweld within range to always pass a save on a 6+. His Cogwork maintenance ability does not work on the artillery but is always useful to have nearby to repair Cogwork units.

    As our Cogsmith is a character, and an important one ensuring the backlines are constantly firing we can give him a Masterwork Design artefact, to properly boost the artillery and stop pesky foes from hiding behind cover equipping him with masterwork telescopic lenses to spy foes behind any cover he can really enhance the damage output

    And finally, as artillery is the very heart of the Ironweld we have a Battalion that brings everything together, from the ENGINEER through to the labourers to provide a screen and wound pool for the artillery crews right down to the artillery themselves.

     
    C&C welcome as always
  7. Melcavuk
    For anyone whose been keeping an eye on the Ironweld Arsenal fantome project, or avid fans of big guns in the Age of Sigmar we've put together the version one allegiance abilities, warscrolls, batallion and playtesting points lists for the Ironweld Arsenal. Below are our initial outlays and abilities for the faction that we'd love feedback and critique on aswell as any ideas that fresh eyes can bring to the concepts. These are the gameplay mechanics of the Ironweld, though feel free to check out thread in the main forum for the Narrative elements or my twitter feed @rlrsmith88 
    If anyone has the models to playtest/proxy out games I've love to see photos and know the results, what needs tweaking or refining aswell as what works particularly well on the field of battle.
    Collated PDF: IronweldmechanicsV1.0.pdf
    So here we have Allegiance Abilities:
    Warscrolls - 
    HEROES
    BATTLELINE
    OTHER
    BEHEMOTH
    ARTILLERY
    BATTALIONS
    POINTS COSTS

  8. Melcavuk
    As some of you may know I've been at this for a fairly long time now, converting and making news things is the main lure of the hobby for me and I'll fit games in around that. However there are times that I get stuck in the void between projects where I am starved of inspiration and desperately need something to spark off a chain of ideas that can form the basis for my themes. To do this I often start trawling around various blogs and websites in search of something that clicks into place, or wander the exhibit hall at warhammer world searching for a model, component or bit of scenery that I can build my own ideas around. I'm glad to say that this works 99% of the time, and since I have for years been an inspiration leech off of others works I figured its about time to pay some of that back into the community.
    Below are most of my conversions for the last two years, I've left off the Suneaters as they can be found in the rest of this blog, and the latest Idoneth because I have a live thread in the painting and modelling section for them. This isnt me saying "I'm so good at this, you must learn from me", its my way of paying back all those who have inspired me throughout the years that hopefully anyone searching for a glimmer of inspiration can see some of my old works and make a newer, better and more cohesive idea based off of them.
    I have explored maaaaaany army in the last two years, in part due to the rich tapestry that is the potential of age of sigmar and in part because my partner is overly supportive of my hobbies, I tend to avoid chaos as I like it more as a taint on an otherwise differently inclined faction rather than a thing as a whole but otherwise have explored most races (barring dwarves, cant get behind converting them for some reason).
    So thanks for reading, and feel free to browse what is a massive photo dump to follow, feel free to ask any questions and I hope if you're seeking inspiration there's something there to spark it.























































  9. Melcavuk
    Trying to pick a base model for my next Sigmar conversion. When looking at models to use as the basis for my Weld Guard (5up save infantry with either rifle or pike) I have three options for base models all of which speak to me for different reasons and I need help deciding:
     
    The classic Ironsides, a nostalgic empire I look but unfortunately this could make them easily confused with Freeguild. A natural fantasy choice but nothing intrinsically Ironweld about their look
     

     
    The long coat, to me these would look like career soldiers. Formal in their guild colours but distinguished from the militia. Always been a fan of long coats. Needs a weapon swap and would have Empire Outrider heads.

     
     
    or the Steam Punk, correlates nicely with the steam engines and Templar armour but even with a head and weapon swap they’re very tech. Stylistically probably the most Ironweld but I’m already getting flakk that the Ironsworn is too 40k

  10. Melcavuk
    Since I'm still playing around with Warscrolls the concept of building the models is playing on my mind a little bit, I'm pretty happy with my concept for the labourer centric units so have moved on to considering the Phalanx and Ironsworn Units. Below are my current ideas on units and their composite parts:
    Weld Arbalesters/Riflemen - 
    Bodies/Legs - Necromunda Cawdor
    Heads - Human, Bare (currently looking at Van Saar head upgrade kit)
    Weapons - Crossbows from the Empire Crossbowmen kit, Rifles from the same kit of the Skitarii Range Rifles.
    Additionals - Power/Shot pouches made from greenstuff, more ornate heads for the Quartermaster and Master of Shot (thinking forgeworld Ironsiders heads)
    Weld Phalanx/Other - 
    Bodies/Legs - Militarum Tempestus Scions (if considering armoured look, Cawdor if focusing on the more Labourer aspect)
    Heads - Nuln Ironsiders
    Weapons - 1.5mm brass rod cut to 7cm lengths as pikes, the Van Saar energy shields with the hole replaced with a duardin icon and painted to become a far more primitive shield instead.
    Additionals - Open to suggestions.
    Ironsworn Templars - 
    Chassis - Starting with the Forgeworld Ironcircle model as a base, bore a column vertically down the front of the model to craft an alcove for the pilot, removing the neckpiece in the process. Within this cavity mount the pilot (Captain from empire Steam Tank kit), using greenstuff to sculpt the crude leather straps of a harness.
    Pilots arms should stick out horizontally, disappearing into the chassis frame to control the suits arms with legs strapped and supported by metallic pedals below.
    Power source - Do not add the top armour to the chassis, instead utilising the steam engine from the Empire Steamtank kit, cut the barrel in half and mount over the top of the chassis forming a rudimentary top piece.
    Armour - Leaving the shield and shoulder pads off of the Ironcircle, take the rear wheel frames from the Steamtank, cutting each in half until you have 4 semi circles of banded wood. Attach two of these to each of the shoulder frame mounts to make crude wooden armour panelling over the shoulder.
    Weaponry - Angling the hammer to be held in two hands (as the shield will not be attached), replace the hammer head with a suitably Age of Sigmar weapon of your choice. Alternative weaponry build takes the Steam Cannon from the Steam Tank Turret, mounting it on the haft of the Ironcircle hammer and running hoses (made from greenstuff) to the steam engine on the armours back, this gives the suit a short range steam belcher.
  11. Melcavuk
    Approaching the redesign of a faction is a challenging concept, typically GW do the models first and that allows the rules designers to know the constraints of the faction and can build the battletome around a set list of models that are coming soon. This allows a structure that when approaching rules first can... lack, where anything is possible it mistakenly leads to the idea that EVERYTHING is possible, so breaking down the unit options as follows here is what I currently see us as having:
    Duardin Engineer (Existing Model)
    Gunmaster (Existing Model)
    HERO A (Monsterous, built as secondary option to a different kit)
    HERO B (Cavalry or flier)

    BATTLELINE
    Riflemen/Arbalesters (Dual Kit, Battleline if Ironweld) - Working in well with the Gunmasters,
    Phalanx/Something (Dual Kit) - Here I'm considering factoring in the Cog soldier aspect, potentially functioning better when in the presence of an engineer essentially having the Duardin Engineer acting as a buff hero for the Cog aspects of the army. It would rob the labourer aspect of a second unit to benefit from faction specific buffs.
    OTHER
    Ironsworn Templar (Also Builds Paladins Hero) - Non-Monster heavy hitter unit, monsterous infantry.
    Ironsworn Fusiliers/Lancers - Fast Moving Cavalry
    Gyrocopter/Bomber (Existing Kit)
    ARTILLERY
    Helstom/Helblaster (Existing Kit)
    Duardin Cannon (Existing Kit)
    BEHEMOTH
    Steamtank (Needs a new kit, likely a dual kit. My theory was an Iron Dragon rocket spitting tank, Steel behemoth labourer carrier)
    Taking that as a base it means that new kits wise it would be:
    Weld Riflemen (Dual Kit)
    Weld Phalanx (Dual Kit)
    Ironsworn Templar (Dual Kits)
    Ironsworn Fusiliers (Dual Kit)
    Hero B Clam Pack
    Monster/Tank something kit.
    Now thats already something thats rivalling the bigger releases, so I'd say at this stage to add a unit we'd need to remove one of my unit suggestions at each time (barring hero B which I have left spare currently). I think the best plan is add a unit, remove a unit policy (unless anyone can make a convincing counter arguement there
     
    When approaching unit design I would go with the following criteria:
    Does it fit the theme? 
    Does it fill a tactical void in the army? (Not every army needs to fill every void but the army should be competitive based on its own roster)
    Does it bring synergy (Part of why I strive to add the Labourer keyword to Weld guard is to have interplay between them and the artillery in the faction, it gives a synergistic link. And just as artillery benefits from them, they benefit from Ironsworn nearby to inspire them. The benefits cascade down from having a mixed list.
    Is it needed? (As above, not every faction needs to fill every niche, not everyone needs a monster or magic etc unless it forms a cohesive part of the army, theme and roster)
    Is it something better provided by allies? (pretty self explanatory)
    So what is the theme?
    My suggestion is below, but this is simply my suggestion, it is entirely possible that my own interpretation is wrong or needs refining but here's where collaborative debate can help really hammer down the heart of the question "Who are the Ironweld?"
    Industry Driven Humans and Duardin surviving a magical world through innovation and strength of arms.
  12. Melcavuk
    Looking for idea on the development of the Ironsworn Templars (aiming to make a unit version (Templars) and a character version (Paladin) with the latter able to buff the former Significantly, and both able to inspire the Labourers)
    War beyond the walls of Azyr, to the little people far below the gaze of the Gods and Titans that seek to claim the realm of their own, is a bloody and often short lived affair. Those who have not earned the favour of the God King are not spared the bloody butchery that make up the myriad of battlefields the realms over, from the tortured wastelands of the Great Parch to the body strewn marshes on the approach to the Black Pyramid of Shyish. To the nobility of the Ironweld, whose souls are far from the perfection sought by Sigmar to make up his great hosts, the disfavour they have been shown is insult unanswered, perhaps they have spent far too long in the company of the Duardin Artisans but such nobilty know all too well how to hold a grudge.
    Denied the preservation of eternal service in the hosts of the Stormcast the Ironweld have sought new ways of prolonging their lives, replacing limbs lost in battle with finely tuned prosthetics, some even go so far as to say that the Matriachs of the noble houses have found ways to live far beyond the years of mortal men and women. It is this very determination to endure inspite of the arrogance of gods that drives the true heart of the Ironweld onwards, their cannonades become the roar of their choir celestial, their steel behemoths are the wings upon which their empire soars, and on the backs of their labourers they will be raised aloft that they might stand amongst Gods and Titans to claim their place within the Realms.
    Yet in truth all of this would not be possible without the aid of a God, Grimnir the Master Smith has long since been the benefactor of the hosts of the Ironweld, teaching his craft first to the Duardin artisans of Azyr, and through them the heart of the Ironweld has spread to man and dwarf alike. The greatest pupils of the Duardin artisans became the first families of the noble houses, the five pillars of the Ironweld Arsenals combining their family estates into the first factory city of the Ironweld, and through the generations it is these families who have been responsible for the myriad of weaponry that marks the Ironweld Arsenal as the true heart of the empire.
     
    The Ironsworn Templars - 
    Even the true heroes of the Ironweld, the children of the noble houses are not spares the miseries of the Battlefield. War is the very heart of commerce for the Ironweld Arsenal, any child expected to rise through the ranks that they might one day steer the fate of the factory empires must understand the visceral nature of War in a manner that only those who have served the host could.
    Should these young nobles be wounded in battle no expense is spared to restore them to fighting fit, eschewing medicine for masterwork engineering it is far quicker to sever a damaged limb and replace with a metallic replacement to return them to the front lines instead of waiting for healing to eventually take hold. Yet there are those whose injuries could baffle even the artisan engineers of the Weld, and it is these souls who qualify for the growing ranks of Ironsworn Templars.
    New, innovative and brutally effective the Templars have only recently marched forth from the crawling factory city of Oran, heavy lumbering suits of armour thrice the height of any soldier in the weld. The beaten steel plating built around a harness augmented with newest hydraulic innovations, they are the  glorious knights of the new generations of Weld Nobility. They carry with them enormous zweihander blades augmented with oil belching hoses that they might be ignited in the midsts of battle, able to cleave into even the most monsterous or magical of foes with disturbing potency.
    Those soldiers whose injuries have moved them beyond the fields of battle can still serve the Weld from within the Ironsworn Templar armour, burning metal rivets driven through broken limbs to adhere them to the beaten steel harness. Torn wounds cauterised by the searing heat of the suits furnace that they might never tear open again, the very internment is a life of constant agony and yet they are revered amongst the armies of the Weld, a living embodiment of sacrafice in the name of the Ironweld. For the labourers to see such icons of war marching alongside them sparks inspiration beyond measure, that the nobility might bleed amongst commoners is a unity beyond measure.
    Monsterous Infantry (6 wounds, 3+ save, slow movement)
    Special Rules - 
    Icons of War - Friendly LABOURER units may reroll failed Battleshock tests whilst they can draw line of sight to any IRONSWORN units from your army. 
    Incendiary Arsenal - able to deal mortal wounds but risk taking mortal wounds themselves each time the blades are ignited.
     
    C&C welcome as always
  13. Melcavuk
    Like many others since the inception of Age of Sigmar I have been waiting to see how the normal men and women of the Realms come to be represented, from the citizens of Azyr to the settlers who go on to form Freecities and the refugees trailing in a never ending stream back towards the Golden city as the tides of chaos, death and destruction ravage the Realmscape around them. As I wasnt a fantasy player before Age of Sigmar became a thing i had no pre-existing loyalties to the factions of old, no fond memories of Empire and Brettonians to niggle at the back of my mind when imagining the shapings of the armies of Man to come in the later Age of Sigmar lore.
    One of the most interesting elements to me was the seperation of the Ironweld Arsenal, a faction comprised of the heavy artillery and siege engines of old accompanies by engineers and the potential this could open up in terms of how the faction would grow, expand and become a unique force on the battlefields of Sigmar. The concept of soot drenched, smoke belching armies chewing their way through the battlefield, a vertiable force of the industry of man that held little reverance to the will of Gods and Daemons, who trusted in the strength of their own steel and heat of the flames of the furnace. 
    So the theme:
    To my mind the Gunnery Schools of the Ironweld are an empire unto themselves, their vast factory complexes as much cities in their own right seperated into the Nobility of the schools of Engineers down to the peasantry of the labourers. The noble houses each vying for status as the lead with an ever expanding array of contraptions and staggering arsenal of weaponry defining which holds the seat of power and becomes the Guild Patriarch, in this way the constant competition drives them ever onwards, never once allowing themselves to simply sit idle whilst others seize power around them.
    The Weld revere Grimnir not as a god but as the peak of Artisans of his craft, a true genius in the refinement of the very art of war. It is his very skill in ever labour that the Duardin and Men of the Weld have come to revere, seeking ever to improve their craft that they might create a weapon worthy of the Duardian Mastersmiths attentions.
    The peasants are a dour class, functional clothing long since having been stained a shadowed black by the coal that has become a key pillar of their daily existance, the volatile nature of the machinery often claiming the lives of dozens in the name of progress. Those who are not killed are often maimed, their severed limbs replaced with crude beaten metal replicas strictly functional and given none of the workmanship of the Weld's true arsenal. In times of war these peasantry march alongside the armies of the weld, wielding roughly forged metal bucklers alongside black power or bladed weapons to protect the Guilds arsenals.
    The Nobility are a breed apart, each marches to war with their own personal armoury from their families artificer forges. From smog belching metal steeds and ornate battle tanks to the lumbering battle armour of the Ironsworn Templars the very act of war is as much a way of advertising their own Guilds wares to would be buyers from both sides of the battle. Those unfortunate enough to be injured are often adorned with complex and beautifully refined enhancements to further embellish the legends of their own noble house.
    Battleline Concepts:

    Weld Arbalesters 
    Though lacking the status and wealth to carry true weapons of the Weld, the Arbalesters march to war equipped with blackpowder laced bolts and heavy crossbows, able to launch volleys of devastating explosives down the field. Lacking in the accuracy and refinement of the Nobilities weapons these soldiers exist as much to sow panic in an enemies ranks.
    Weld Riflemen
    The simplest of black powder weaponry are common place in the mighty forge cities of the Ironweld, those tasked with guarding the vast complexes carry with them longrifles to pick out targets at range. Though simple in design they are suitably devastating in a volley to deter would be thieves and spies from their charge.
    Weld Phalanx
    Marching to war with heavy plated metal shields and long lances the ranks of the Weld Phalanx form a bulwark of expendable labourers to deter would be chargers against the lines of the Ironweld. A wall of men and metal form a thorny barricade to protect the true wealth of the Ironwelds Armies.



  14. Melcavuk
    Frankly Ironweld would not be Ironweld without artillery pieces, it is the very heart of their faction and sadly of late their artllery has been left to rot due to the ability to shoot the crew out from behind the warmachine leaving players with simply useless cannons unable to be crewed on the battlefield. There was no need to tweak the lore behind these warmachines as each is a defined and well known part of the arsenal and thus my aim was merely to bring them more in line with modern War Machine scrolls and answer that age old question "Why dont other soldiers crew them when the crew die?"
    Well now they do, every labourer in the Ironweld has basic experience of manning the guns, it is the very heart of their existance, they help to manufacturer, maintain and fire these devastating machines of war and understand that the cost of the artillery far outweighs the cost of a labourer. As such the artillery pieces can now "heal" using labourers from units nearby, who drop their current weaponry to frantically maintain the artillery when ordered to do so.
    This is simply the first interplay with the LABOURER keyword added to the Weld Guard, they form the backbone of the force so that the Nobility can fullfill their own agendas. Having a good number of Labourers in your force not only lends weight of numbers and attacks but ensures that your heavy hitters are kept in the battle for longer.



  15. Melcavuk
    Working out a 1000 point list to test out the battletome when built, also looking for anyone willing to do games at Warhammer World to help test and shape the Battletome as it develops.
    Stormtitan Venomtongue Shaman (Infamy: The Red Mist) - Stumpstave.
    The Redmist infamy (-1 to hit in shooting phase) helps offset his origin flaw (enemies reroll 1's to hit when shooting him), this gives me the chance to make a more noble stormy looking Gargant and combine it with bits from the Archanok kit to make a spiderlike shaman to reflect the fact he is venomtongue. His ability allows friendly gargants to use their least wounded profile 
    Bogdrinker Battleborn (Infamy: Of Ghyran) - Drakecleaver and Gargant Buckler
    By running Bogdrinkers as battleline the pair can cover a larger distance with their Bravery debuff, and with the Infamy of Ghyran this gargant will keep healing until he is put down fully. By using a Gargant buckler he is more resilient in close combat (able to save even the most rending of blows). 
    Bogdrinker Battleborn - Massive Club
    Since friendly non-bogdrinker models suffer the bravery debuff from this marshladen Gargants it made sense for both battleborn to be Bogdrinkers, taking the massive club for this one means that when the Venomtongue casts his spell I have the highest chance of triggering those mortal wounds with 3D6 attacks from this model.!
    Rockhewn Longarm - Gargant Bombard
    Slow but resilient (Halving enemy damage characteristics) the Rockhewn made the most sense to become the Longarm of my host, the range of the cannon offsets his slow movement well and he can sit on an objective long enough to deter enemies.
    Ikar Bezerker Longstrider - Gargant Impaler
    Hitting like a steamtrain and outflanking this Gargant should harass the enemy Monsters, combining his native tusked Ikar origins every 6 to hit with the massive spear generates another attack offsetting is low attack numbers (4 damage a piece though!), and the ability to come on from any table edge means he has a degree of tactical flexibility
     
    So as to the challenge, once the 5 Gargants in this list are built I'd appreciate anyone willing to bring a balanced 1k list to Warhammer world to help clash with the gargants and balance out the fledgling battle tome!

  16. Melcavuk
    What good would an army of unique giants each carving out their own legend be if they had no personality, not unique tales to tell.
    So when fielding an army of Titans using the battletome I felt it was important every unit be treated like a character, with a name befitting the legend they would be known for, as these are Giants however the names would be incomprehensible for mortal kind whose small ears could not hope to comprehend a Gargant name, and their tiny mouths incapable of producing the noises needed to prounounce it anyway,
    So the Gargant name generator allows you to produce the names that mortal men know each Gargant by, defined by their Origins and Specialities to produce personalised names.
     

  17. Melcavuk
    OK, with the three provisional scrolls done for the army what I am in desperate need of now is some players to go through the various combinations on the warscrolls to see if there is any broken, over or underpowered, obvious or useless choices i have included in order to be refined. There are a number of typos I have spotted which i can go through an edit but I tend to find players have the best insight into what might result in broken combinations.
    So you might be thinking that with just 3 warscrolls the faction cannot have that many combinations to assess, but as I'm a weird one we now have 135 possible combinations of Warscroll, Origin, Speciality and Weapons. Now that is army variety
    So if anyone has a chance to read my Gargant builder, build you ideal Gargant with what is on show and see if there is any broken combinations I would be immensely greatful. We have the Overlord (Hero), Shaman (Wizard), and Gargant (everything else) scrolls, along with clarification of what each Origin and Speciality means for the warscroll.
    Thanks to anyone and everyone who reads this and moreso for those willing to give it a go!
     





  18. Melcavuk
    As of late I have been working on a Gargant centric army list Battletome, something that brings not only a low model count to the table but the ability to convert unique characterful models for every entry in the list. To do this I have taken the unique approach of multi stage customisation on each warscroll however in order to make sure it is understandable I'd appreciate if people could read through a feedback on what I have so far (This is the basic Gargant scroll, there will be different ones for characters. I havent worked out the ranged weapon list yet)




     
  19. Melcavuk
    "We tended to you when no God heeded your call nor sought your bended knee, we lifted your wounded high above the clouds that they might look upon heaven eternally, It was we who waged war on death long before any of you had looked upon his face. We elevated you then, and we do so now."
    Mender Envoy
     
    Since I currently lack the funds to build or convert I spend my downtime musing on factional concepts for the Age of Sigmar, some good some... probably best not to dwell on  Anyway for the last few days the latest concept rattling around in my head is the Menders Conformation, a strange and sinister looking faction that cares for life above all else (though what form that life takes is of little consequence). The Menders have been around since time long forgotten, before gods set to seizing up souls like jealous children seizing away their toys, before the tide of chaos began to swarm across the realms, in times of dire need whilst never sought or called for the Menders descended from the Peaks of Ghyran with their unsettling machinery, setting to task over the fallen soldiers of the field. Those who could be repaired on the field suffer the attentions of the Mender attendants (also known as stitchers), their wounds sewn up crudely, broken or wounded limbs cleaved from flesh, damaged organs ripped from flesh and replaced by unknowable concoctions before being sealed over by crude leather stitching. The fatally wounded were instead gathered up by the mechanical harvesters, dropped into glass sphereical biospheres amidsts a bubbling concoction to preserve them before disappearing once more to the peaks of Ghyran, those who have been taken are never seen from again.
     
    "By the decree of the High Marshall the conclave of the Menders are hence for barred from the boundries of Hammerhal under the crimes of interference with the divine plan of Sigmar, interference with the burial rituals of the Cult of Azyr, Kidnapping, Necromancy and refusing the summons of the Azyrian High Courts."
    Hammerhal Herald
     
    Who are they:
    Menders are humanoid looking creatures clad in tattered robes and sinister masks that hide their true nature, many believe them to be men and women who escaped high to the peaks of Ghyran and found new purpose in the Realm of Life Abundant. The Menders are philisophically opposed to Death in all forms, they have been known to mutilate those injured on the field of battle beyond recognition if it means depriving nagash of a single soul or body to raise. Unusually for those native to Ghyran they have escaped Alarielles opposition to technology by residing high up in the peaks of the floating mountains beyond her gaze, descending upon bizarre arachnic looking metal constructs to harvest upon the field of battle and employ their perculiar talents.
    Why do they fight:
    Menders are seemingly harvesting to a plan, the swathes of wounded they take back to the peaks has raised dramatically in the modern age, whats more they have begun to reap even healthy organs from the wounded on the field of battle so long as doing so doesnt damage the host beyond repair. This all lends credence to the belief that they are picking to a very specific order, building beyond the sight of even gods in the peaks of Ghyran, if true what horrors could await are as of yet unknown,
    How do they fight:
    Menders employ crude hordes of "Repaired" soliders to reap upon the field of battle as Stitchers alongside rapidly striking cavalry and crude mechanical constructs, whilst many of the outriders move beyond the bulk of the host they are slow encroaching force that reaps from their enemies to restore their numbers. Their attendants seek out the wounded in order to bolster their own abilities
  20. Melcavuk
    When allies fled left Chaos to roam,
    and evil pillages farm and home.
    When cries of aid met deafened ears,
    our people suffered dire years.
    'Twas then when our need was most,
    when hounded by the endless host.
    Our forebears sought to hide below,
    Through paths they could not truly know.
    'Neath darkest hold and hidden forts,
    through halls of stone that came to naught.
    Past seams of golds and jewels of wonder,
    lies the darkness of the Under.
    Vast halls echo empty across the Realms, a mere relic of times long since passed where stories are still told of vast carriages of gold that left the mountains to flourishing civilisations of Man and Aelf. The oldest still remember the days of the Duardin might across every realm, vast bastions of strength and wealth that formed the bulwark against the tides of Chaos in the early days of invasion that Sigmar might pull back all those unable to defend themselves behind the walls of Azyr. These mighty halls became islands of civilisation in a sea of chaos and death, and for a time their great stone walls repelled all who sought to pillage those that lay within. Yet as months dragged on to years the duardin within began to realise their part in Sigmars great plan, with his gates now sealed they had simply been discarded, a neccessary loss in a war that was only in its opening days. 
    In Ghyran the besieged Duardin of the Mender Conformation turned to their ancient crafts to tunnel beyond their isolation, with chaos on all sides they began to dig deep through the realmplate. So dire was their need that vast seams of gold and jewels were ignored, every man woman and child wielding pick for every moment of their waking life. As supplies began to run low, the hope of ever emerging from the great work began to dwindle, yet seemingly failure encroached on their task the mountains rewarded the perseverance. The Menders emerged in the darkness beneath the realmplate, a vast and empty madness that even the stars dare not stare upon shielded from the light of Hysh by the vast realm of Ghyran above this desolate landscape stretched seemingly endlessly onwards as little reward for a lifetime of labour.
    The only life that flourished in this deep and unrelenting emptiness came at the Hub, a massive mountainous spire jutting down from the Realmplate above, here seems of the Realm stones that invigorated the lands above allowed some small trace of green and life by way of a nourishing fungus to perservere even in the Under. The Menders set to task building their new home here hidden from the realm above, the Hub becoming a network of vast new holds as they sought to cultivate the fungus to feed what remained of their populace and for a time they were sated.
    In time the Menders sought to revisit the vast network that has lead them from their holds above, finding that years spent staring into the vast emptiness of the Under has robbed them of any joys the gold and jewels once bestowed. Yet deep within their heart the Duardin greed still lingered, hungering for something they could as of yet not truly understand, they turned their hands to task and made the seams of metal into a vast array of tunnelling machinery to widen the chasms through which they had made their escape. It was only as they emerged, the searing sun now offensive to their very eyes and bleached skin, turning their gaze to the changed world around them that they truly understood that which they craved. In a world where wealth was in an abundance it had lost all value, the only thing of true value was life itself, it was a currency without comparison and valued beyond even the rarest of jewels.
    The Menders looked upon the realms abandoned by Sigmar, upon those who had been felled on the field of battle and tried to save the wounded that were not beyond their talents. Those who could not be saved on the field of battle were instead taken to the vast depths below that they might be worked on hidden from the eyes of the Hosts of Chaos.
     
    Key Characteristics:
    Pressure Suits
    Sunshield visors
    Medical Gear
    Axes for amputation instead of Mining Picks
    Mechanical Arachnid mining constructs
     
  21. Melcavuk
    Here's the first map to be put into the Suneaters Battletome, now two Ages out of date but here is one region of Ghur during an Order occupation of previously Ogor territory designed to be displayed over a two page spread in the Battletome. In the centre we see the first tendrils of the Firestorm that accompanied the Suneaters rebirth along with the blasted deserts from which he emerged. 
    I will also be printing myself some warscroll cards this evening so here is the warscroll for every Suneater unit reduced to A5 size for handy use in games!
     



















  22. Melcavuk
    Fleshed out the two timeline pages within the Battletome with a brief history of major moments in the legend that is the Suneaters. Various parts of the tome will examine major and minor events in more details but for now this charts the way from first inception all the way through to them becoming a major force ready to burn every city that falls within the path of their migrations.
     


  23. Melcavuk
    A little work done on revising the Suneater batallions, I feel I could do with two more in order to fully fill out the quota within the tome as 2 of the current ones are mixed destruction Batallions with a central theme of Suneaters.

     
    Currently thinking of the following thematic compositions for one of the last two but in terms of rules to fill them out I'm open to suggestions:
    TRUE SONS OF THE SUNEATER
    There are Ogors, especially amongst the older members of the tribes that grow to resent the power the Gothi have garnered through their manipulations of the Suneaters blessings, these embittered beings go to excessive lengths to prove their devotion to a god that would sooner heed the word of a Gothi priest than the prayer of true Ogor Kin. In battle they are visceral, savage beyond compare as they swear to carve their name into the very legends of their kind or die before kneeling to the grots of the migrations.
    Exalted Volsungr
    2 x Fyreborn Slayer Units
    0-4 OGOR units
     
     
  24. Melcavuk
    I've spent alot of time going back and forth as to whether introducing Subfactions to the Suneaters would fit my theme or not, as each of the migrations tailors to their Volsungr its entirely possible for them to change modus operandi as soon as they change leadership. However I eventually resolved that those within said migration would likely fall into similar patterns of behaviour (its what they were raised with after all) which allowed me to create the key, most reknowned and named migrations of the Suneaters.
    What I havent done however is key it to paint scheme, there is even a disclaimer when picking your Migration that you can paint however you want:
     
     







  25. Melcavuk
    Here's the current quota of Warscrolls from the Suneaters battletome, I keep deivising new unit concepts but that this point feel I have hit capacity on number of scrolls in a reasonable faction in AOS. If anything I may end up dropping scrolls to replace them with new ones if any are found to lack the right feel for the army
     










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