28mm Modern/Sci-Fi Medium Duty Truck Conversion

This is a conversion Adeptus-B made a number of years ago for a Dark Heresy encounter.

It is primarily made from the back half of an Ork War Trakk and the cab of an Imperial Guard Sentinel.

Dark Heresy Cadre of Acolytes mk 4

It has been over 5 years since the last showcase of my Dark Heresy group. The previous post can be found here. Quite a bit has changed since then with only one model making it through to this iteration. Most characters have a new version of their figure, plus we lost 2 players and gained another. We also added an NPC as well as a veritable zoo of servitors and familiars.

Here is the entire group. The PCs are on the lower level and their followers are on the upper level. The two servitors (top left) are sporting new(ish)ly converted guns that will appear in a future post. All figures painted by me unless otherwise noted.

The PCs (from left to right):

• Nickodemus (Imperial Psyker) - Individual showcase post.
• Cordelius (Imperial Guard) - Individual showcase post.
• Venris (Cleric) - Individual showcase post.
• Rel (Scum) - Individual WIP post.
• Kaarl (Tech-Priest) - Individual showcase post.

The followers (from left to right):

• Servitor (team owned) with grenade launcher.
• Longinous (NPC) ex pirate hired by group. Painted by Adeptus-B
• Servitor (Venris) with heavy stubber.
• Cyber-Hound (Cordelius) standard build.
• Skull Servitor (Cordelius) mono-tast medicae-skull.
• Blaze Wing (Nickodemus) familiar based on a large flying creature stats.
• Grynax (Nickodemus) psychically bonded xenos feline.

Arvus Ligher, team transport.

Warmachine Cryx Surprise!

An early Birthday gift?

Adeptus-B surprised me with a small gift last Saturday... A Warmachine Cryx Stalker Bonejack!

It was used, but unpainted and in good shape. The figure was broken off is't base, which was OK as I was going to re-base it anyway!

I grabbed one of my resin 'swamp' bases and experimented with some positions. Nothing looked good. I realized it was how the legs were positioned. So I broke off three of the legs. First, I re-attached the front left leg as if it was raised, about to pierce an enemy.

Then I fiddled with the rear legs. I tried about every position and angle, but still nothing look right. Then I accidentally held up a leg backwards and... That I liked!

Warmachine Khador Color Test

Today we have a guest author...

Hey- Adeptus-B here. I've been curious to ‘dip my feet’ into Privateer Press’ Warmachine skirmish game for some time now, but I never quite worked up the resolve to make the investment. I love the Warjack miniatures, and the combat system sounds fun, but whenever I've had enough ‘mad money’ to sink into a Starter Set (Khador immediately caught my eye), I always found something else that I wanted just a little bit more…

Until now. My favorite local game store is going out of business (r.i.p. Bridgetown), and all of their inventory is on clearance. I was trying to talk myself into taking the plunge with a Khador Starter Set (a Warcaster and two Heavy Warjacks), when I noticed that they still had a ‘Two-Player Battle Box’ available- with the same figs as the Khador Starter, plus a squad of 5 Shocktroopers, a Warmachine Prime Mk II rulebook, and a whole Protectorate of Menoth force (a Warcaster, 2 Heavy Warjacks, 1 Light Warjack, and 5 Cinerators!), plus dice and other odds and ends. Since the clearance price was just over the normal price for the much smaller Starter Set, I decided to take the plunge.

Since Zorcon already has a Cryx Starter Set (a gift from Leartes), I have a future opponent waiting in the wings, and don’t need the Menoth force from the Battle Box. I plan on selling them on Ebay (making the clearance Battle Box an even better buy); Zorcon suggested keeping some of the Cinerator figs to use in our Dark Heresy campaign. They look very cool, but they absolutely tower over GW figs (even Space Marines), so that’s not really an option.

The plastic these figures are made from is not the standard ‘model kit’ plastic that I’m used to (styrene, I think?). It’s much denser- almost the consistency of resin. This gives them impressive weight, but they require super glue to assemble rather than model glue. Since super glue is much more brittle than model glue (which actually ‘melts’ styrene together), I’ll have to be very careful handling these figures- I already snapped an arm off my prototype once so far.

I assembled the Juggernaut first. The figure went together smoothly, but I had a lot of trouble removing the mold lines. Many of them are quite poorly placed, making them difficult to trim or file off- especially around the ‘boiler’ on the back. I added some ‘battle damage’ to the assembled figure with the edge of a file, based on the cover painting of the Battle Box. In hindsight, I wish I would have also added some divets with a drill, representing ballistic impacts.

I shied away from the ‘traditional’ Khador color scheme (red-on-red-on-red), opting instead for a simple camouflage effect that plays up the pseudo-Soviet elements of Khador culture, with red used only for markings. The paint job is pretty straight-forward: primed black, then a dry-brush of gunmetal on the ‘worky-bits'. I then painted the armor plates Scorched Brown (yes, I still use early Citadel Colour terminology), and gave them a heavy dry-brush of Graveyard Earth. I applied a thinned-down wash of Scorched Brown over that, then blended (not my strength) back with more Graveyard Earth. I added a ‘cut’ highlight along the sharp edges, made from a 50/50 mix of Graveyard Earth and Bleached Bone. The ‘snow’ patches were painted in Space Wolf Grey, with white layered on top. I painted the boiler and some parts that were neither gears nor armor with Tinbitz followed by Dwarf Bronze. I added some silver accents to the remaining gunmetal areas, and carefully added silver into the ‘battle damage’ scratches. Since the Juggernaut’s Ice Axe is supposed to generate cold (physics be damned!) I decided to attempt a frost effect on the blade, to distinguish it from the Destroyer’s more conventional Executioner Axe. I stippled a semi-random pattern on the Ice Axe blade with Ice Blue (naturally!), then layered white over that. Finally, I tried to match the base colors to Zorcon’s ‘field’ table. I usually avoid adding flock or static grass to the bases of my figures, but since I added a splattered mud effect to my Warjack’s feet, they needed a dash of green on the base to stand out. Since ‘facing’ has important ramifications in the game mechanics, the rulebook suggests painting indicator marks on the rim of the base. I couldn't find a single example of anyone actually doing this, but, what the heck, I decided to use this as an excuse to add a bit more Khador red to the miniature.

I’m pretty satisfied with the results. I don’t plan on making any big changes to this color scheme on my Destroyer (or any other Khador Warjacks I may pick up in the future). Next up will be a test Shocktrooper. I’m leaning toward a bronze-heavy color scheme.

Now I just have to goad Zorcon into painting his Cryx, and I may actually be ready to play my first game before the year ends…

Deathwatch Miniatures Gallery

My friend and game master of our Dark Heresy and Deathwatch campaigns, Adeptus-B took pictures of some of our terrain and figures yesterday. Most of the models are his creations, but a few of my figures and terrain pieces make an appearance.

Here is his post:

I have a new-ish camera that I've been meaning to play with, so I decided to take some pictures of my Deathwatch Kill-Team (codename: Blackthorn!). The camera has no manual focus, only auto-focus, so I wasn't able to get any clear pics of individual figures (-since the camera, in its wisdom, usually chooses to focus on some random background element rather than what I'm trying to photograph). So, this batch of pics will be group shots demonstrating a variety of my terrain collection.

(Click here to see the rest of the article)

Imperial Guard Squad

As a Birthday gift last May, Adeptus-B gave my son a 5-man squad of IG. They are 2-piece models GW released around 3e (I think). My son absolutely loved them! 

Note: The following pics were taken with my phone.

For Christmas, Adeptus-B gave Deathbot another 5-man squad. But this time it had all the trappings to complete a full squad.

A close up to show off the detail he put in for a 10 year old! What an awesome friend!!

The squad in all its glory with a bonus pile of sandbags!

These have already debuted in a 40K game (with a borrowed HQ) as an allied detachment. Looks like we have the start to Deathbot's third army!!

My Deathwatch Kill Team

Here is a couple of group shots of our Deathwatch Kill Team. 

We are one player short of a 10-man squad. Although we have played with the entire team, that is highly unusual. (I probably said in another post) our Deathwatch campaign is secondary our Dark Heresy Campaign. If we don't have enough to play DH, then we pull out DW. This means that almost every time we play Deathwatch, we have a different mix of players.

The models were painted by Adeptus-B (5),  myself (3), and another friend (1). They are all accurate to chapter and specialty (except for a White Scar Tactical Marine standing in for a a Space Wolf Tactical), and equipment.

I have previous posts showcasing many of the figures individually, but thought it would be nice to include a pic of a "full deployment!"

Crate 'n Barrel

We use a lot of small terrain pieces in Necromunda and Dark Heresy. These are my Sci-Fi/Modern containers.

These are made from various plastic, resin, and wooden pieces from Games Workshop, Forge World, Armor Cast, a craft store, and various other sources--For example, there is a piece cut off a Star Wars Miniatures Hailfire Droid.

Most of the "bundles" or piles of containers are individual pieces glued together and then glued to a plasticard base. The plasticard was then carefully trimmed to the shape of the footprint or the pieces. However, I originally had the plasticard base cut to rectangles, but I found that to unwieldy in play.

The two large cylinders in the back are wooden rings with 40mm bases glued to the top and bottom.

These tanks are made of pieces from a Pegasus Chem-Plant kit. I wanted some additional stand alone larger container pieces. The one on the left tank is on top of a 25mm GW round base, the middle one is on a medicine bottle cap, and the right one is on a small washer.

They are unique enough to be objective markers, but I intended them for general terrain.

Speaking of objective markers! The bottom row are my Necromunda objective markers. The are assorted resin and plastic bitz from Games Workshop, Forge World, and Armor Cast. They are on 20mm square bases that were simply painted my "Necromunda Terrain Blue".

The top two rows were made by Adeptus-B and we typically use them for "blip" markers, but they can be used for objective markers too! They are numbered 1-8 on the bottom. I flipped one over as an example, but the numbers are yellow, so I'm not sure you can see it.

Deathwatch Character Showcase - Salamander Apothecary

Here is a quickie post on behalf of Adeptus-B. 

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Our trusty medic is a beautiful model! Adeptus-B did a solid representation of a Salamander marine dispatched to the Deathwatch.

The shoulder chapter icon is hand painted.

Deathwatch Campaign Journal - Part 1, Welcome to Threnos

Here is the first installment of our Deathwatch campaign. I am posting this on behalf of Adeptus-B

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My Deathwatch campaign is set in the Calixis Sector rather than the Jericho Reach (I also GM Dark Heresy, and didn't want to have to keep track of two radically different settings simultaneously). This is the introduction I used to establish the setting- after playing it out with the 'core' group of players in the first session, I have emailed this description to subsequent players who have joined our group after the initial launch to bring them 'up to speed'. I hope other GMs may find something in this that they find useful...

You have been recommended for service in the Deathwatch by one of your Chapter’s Chaplains, due to your evident zeal in combating xenos. You have undergone a series of trials that have proven your worth to the elite alien-fighting organization and been accepted into their exclusive ranks, to serve in a beleaguered Watch post on the outskirts of Segmentum Obscurus.

It’s been a voyage of several months, requiring transfers between a series of voidships until you finally reach the edge of Imperial space: the Calixis Sector. You await the arrival of the ship that will carry you on the final leg of your journey at an Imperial Navy substation orbiting a grimy planet called Fenksworld. Other Astartes from a variety of Chapters also await the transport; undoubtedly these are warriors who will be spilling their blood alongside you in your service to the Deathwatch.

After a few days an ominous black Hunter-class destroyer docks at the substation, and you are summoned aboard. As serfs carry your gear to your quarters, you and the other Astartes are directed to the ship’s chapel. There, you are met by a like number of Marines standing at attention; their armour gleams as if recently repainted in their Chapter colours, and each holds a stylized silver shoulder plate in their hands. One by one, these Battle-Brothers step forward and ask each of your group in turn to place a hand on the shoulder plate’s skull-and-crossbones icon and recite the Oath of Binding, the pledge of loyalty to the Deathwatch and the vow to keep its secrets. This ritual complete, the Space Marines mustering out of Deathwatch service hand off their shoulder plates to their replacements and take their leave.

As the destroyer pulls away from the orbital facility and enters the warp, a staff of armourers aboard ship begins the process of modifying your armour, lacquering it Deathwatch black and adding the silver shoulder plate, electroplating the left arm to match. As this painstaking procedure is being undertaken, you and your Battle-Brothers begin undergoing rounds of hypno-indoctrination in the secrets and tactics of the Deathwatch.

Six months go by as the destroyer plies the warp, although temporal distortion makes it seem as though only a few weeks have passed. Finally, claxons sound to indicate that the ship is transitioning back into realspace. Plasma engines rumble for several hours as the destroyer approaches its destination; during this time, your keen hearing the faint, static-filled sounds of Imperial hymns emanating from vox speakers throughout the ship…

Eventually the unmistakable sounds of docking resound through the vessel, letting you know you have finally reached your destination: Watch Fortress Threnos.

You and your new comrades assemble in the destroyer’s primary airlock, clad in power armour newly bedecked with the iconography of the Deathwatch. As you snap to attention, the airlock door hisses open, revealing a large hanger bay beyond. Within the hanger stand one hundred Chapter Serfs in precise rows, clad in somber robes. As one, the serfs drop to a kneeling position, leaving a single figure standing erect in the hanger. He is a fellow Space Marine, clad in Deathwatch colours and bearing the rank insignia of a Captain. His right shoulder plate displays the symbol of his parent Chapter: the mysterious Dark Angels. He is helmetless, revealing a face that has been horrendously scarred: large areas of flesh have been dissolved down to bare skull. The bone has also been damaged, as attested to by the extensive metal reinforcements embedded into areas of exposed skull. One eye was clearly beyond saving, and has been replaced with a glaring red cybernetic implant. The captain stands silent, clearly awaiting a salute; when it is given he quickly returns it an addresses your group: “Welcome to the Deathwatch, Battle-Brothers,” he growls in a rasping voice, as damaged as his visage. “I’m Captain Korvus. I’ll be overseeing your training. You’ve received preliminary implantation of basic Deathwatch protocols during your voyage- now we will begin implementing that knowledge in the live-fire arenas. But first, the Watch Commander has requested your presence in the Chamber of Vigilance. The serfs will attend to your possessions.”

The Captain leads you through a twisting labyrinth of corridors within the orbiting Watch Fortress, passing a number of serfs, scribes, and technicians along the way, all of whom bow reverently in your presence. After several minutes of walking you arrive at a large arched door of adamantine, its surface inscribed with hundreds of names. “Battle-Brothers who have fallen in service of the Calixis Sector Deathwatch since its founding two thousand years ago,” explains Captain Korvus as he enters his authorization code to open the door. Just before the two halves of the great door hiss open, you notice that there is room for more names to be added to this roll call of the dead, and you can’t help but wonder- will yours be among them…?

The Chamber of Vigilance is a large octagonal room with a cathedral ceiling. Monitors line almost every wall, interspersed with stout support columns sculpted to resemble heroes of the Angevin Crusade. A circular table stands unoccupied in the center of the room. Other than the integral servitors monitoring the data flashing across the many vid-screens, the only one in the Chamber is a Space Marine clad in elaborate Artificer armour, the Deathwatch black accented with numerous silver flourishes. He turns as you enter, hands clasped behind his back, and you see than his face is weathered and lined, but strong. He has long white hair and sharp green eyes; the plate on his right shoulder indicates that he hails from the famed Ultramarines.

“Welcome to Watch Fortress Threnos, sons of the Emperor. I am Commander Ramius, senior officer of the Calixian Deathwatch- a position I have had the honour to hold for four centuries now. Here you will receive specialized training in how best to combat the xeno menace that threatens the Imperium on all sides. And worry not- your tour in the Deathwatch will be no mere academic exercise: you will be afforded a wealth of opportunities to practice what you have learned by smiting the enemies of Mankind, honing your skills while earning honour for yourself and your Chapter.

“The enemies of the Emperor are many and varied here on the very edge of Imperial space. Calixis is a young sector by Imperial standards; it’s been a mere two millennia since the Angevin Crusade brought the Emperor’s light to this benighted region, and there are many indigenous species ripe for extermination. Aboriginal Enoulians, scavenging Morgauth, and sinister Draethi will all be targets of your wrath. Many of the well-known xeno threats that span the galaxy are found here as well: savage Ork warbands and piratical Eldar Kabals also menace the Calixis Sector. And then there are the Q'orl, the Verminthiculians, the mystery of the Maggot Men...

“And our commitment extends beyond the sector border as well- the Calixian Deathwatch is pledged to support the war-torn Spinward Front and the settlement of the Koronus Expanse." As the Watch Commander speaks, a series of star charts flash across the Chamber's largest pictscreen, revealing the daunting size of the watch Fortress' jurisdiction.

“Unfortunately, not all of our enemies are aliens: trade in forbidden xeno artifacts and technology- dubbed the ‘Cold Trade’ by the criminal underground- flourishes within the sector, bringing us into frequent conflict with humans who have betrayed their duty to the Emperor for monetary gain. This disgraceful lust for the tools of damnation dictates the placement of this very Watch Fortress.” Commander Ramius touches a button on a control console, calling up an image of a charred, lifeless planet surface. “This is the world below us, the former capitol of the Chaos-worshiping Yu’Vath empire which ruled this region of space before being cast down by the Angevin Crusade. Orbital bombardment at the climax of the Crusade scoured the planet’s surface, but untold leagues of tunnels still exist deep underground. Adeptus Mechanicus explorator teams are excavating these tunnels and destroying the blasphemous artifacts discovered therein, but they have barely made a dent in the hidden secrets left behind by the Yu’Vath. Hence, Watch Fortress Threnos must remain ever vigilant against those traitors to the Emperor who would plunder the hidden mysteries far below, without regard to the evils they may unleash.

“All these threats and more the Calixian Deathwatch must be prepared to stand against. But first: you must be weary from your long voyage. Undoubtedly you are eager to exercise your battle skills. Captain Korvus can arrange a live-fire exercise in one of the station’s battle arenas.”

-And from there, we ran a few 'training sessions' in the Watch Fortress' combat arenas, with the newly-formed Killteam taking on waves of Combat Servitors (both individual Astartes-grade servitors [based on the stats from the DW Rulebook], and Hordes of 'commercial-grade' gun servitors [from the Dark Heresy Rulebook] armed with twin-linked autoguns with Manstopper rounds); ostensibly intended to get the recruits adjusted to working with their new brethren, these sessions really served the practical purpose of giving everyone (players and GM) an idea of what constitutes a 'legitimate threat' to a mighty Deathwatch Space Marine, before we began playing real missions.

The Krr'Gaal

Adeptus-B just won a a 'design-a-new-xeno' contest put on by The WH40KRP fansite Dark Reign! Below is his entry. Way to go Adeptus-B!

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THE KRR’GAAL
(Verminthiculius Belli)

Of all the noxious xenomorphs inhabiting what was once known as Dread Calix, none were more feared by early Imperial explorers than the infamous Yu’Vath. Compounding the sin of their very existence, in a galaxy rightfully belonging to the Sons of Terra, was the Yu’Vath’s unashamed worship of the Ruinous Powers. Advanced science and unspeakable sorcery combined to earn the Yu’Vath the status of Xenos Extremis in the eyes of the Inquisition. So serious was the threat posed by the Chaos-worshipping aliens that the placement of the home world of the Storm Wardens Space Marine Chapter was calculated specifically to serve as a bulwark against expansion by the Yu’Vath into Imperial territory.

The Yu’Vath must have realized that war with the encroaching Imperium was inevitable, and they prepared accordingly. In particular, they knew from their previous skirmishes with the Strom Wardens that they would need a weapon to counter the might of the Astartes. Toward that end, the Yu’Vath bent their blasphemous science to the task of genetically engineering lower animals into shock troops of unprecedented ferocity: bestial abominations that would come to be known as the Krr’Gaal.

When Lord Angevin launched his blessed Crusade to bring the Light of the Emperor to the benighted realm that would one day become the Calixis Sector, the Yu’Vath unleashed their genetically manipulated warriors. Imperial front-line troops reported contacts with great, hairy monstrosities wielding terrible warp-powered weapons, which tore through the ranks of Guardsmen with abandon. Allied Space Marines were deployed to counter this new threat, and they found themselves facing opponents truly worthy of their divine wrath. Inhumanly strong, seemingly immune to pain, and utterly fearless, these ferocious creatures proved to be a major stumbling block for the forces of the Crusade, requiring a massive commitment of resources- in both manpower and material- to overcome.

As the Crusade ground on, Imperial forces made a chilling discovery: the Yu’Vath had designed their customized shock troops to reproduce at an accelerated rate, replacing their battlefield losses almost as fast as they were incurred. Based on this discovery, the Magos Biologis studying the creatures on behalf of the Imperium dubbed the new xenos ‘Verminthiculius Belli’- war vermin. Although it was later learned that the creatures called themselves Krr’Gaal (undoubtedly a corruption of the actual name used for them by their Yu’Vath masters which is now lost to history), most Imperial leaders continue to refer to the hairy berserkers as Verminthiculians- partly as a ploy to bolster their troops’ morale by equating their enemy to mere vermin, and partly so as not to sully their tongues with the vile language of an accursed xeno-breed.

PHYSIOLOGY

Upon seeing a Krr’Gaal for the first time, one might assume that their appearance had been calculated specifically to intimidate opponents- and one would not be far wrong. An adult Krr’Gaal stands nearly three meters tall on its hind legs, with a barrel chest, massively muscled arms, and an elongated snout filled with long, needle-sharp teeth. The leathery skin of these creatures is blue-black, with most of their head and upper body covered with a thick rust-red mane.

There is very little difference between the sexes. Females are slightly larger than males, while males tend to have longer dew-claws on their hind legs. Both sexes have rows of nipples hidden within their manes and share breast-feeding responsibilities; their nipples produce protein-rich blood rather than milk to nourish their rapidly-growing offspring. A newborn Krr’Gaal reaches physical adulthood in just over one standard Imperial year.

Rapid growth is not the only trait which was clearly engineered by the Yu’Vath to enhance their servants’ performance on the battlefield. For instance, the Krr’Gaal’s thick hair secretes an oily substance which acts as a natural flame retardant- a trait highly unlikely to evolve naturally. Also, Krr’Gaal have elaborately hinged hips, which allow them to either walk bipedally, or to drop to all fours in order to gain the benefit of quadrupedal movement.

The Krr’Gaal have also been endowed with certain ingrained instincts that enhance their function as self-replicating warriors. These programmed instincts are not nearly as elaborate as the genetically engineered knowledge and culture of the Orks, but it is more than sufficient to ensure that these barbaric creatures excel in the arts of war, granting them an uncanny knack for wielding nearly any weapon they come across, and an innate grasp of battlefield tactics. More importantly (from their masters’ point of view), they have been bred with a natural eagerness to follow orders from those they perceive as their superiors.

CULTURE

With the fall of their thrice-damned masters, the Yu’Vath, those Krr’Gaal that survived the Angevin Crusade organized into tribal warbands. Having no innate interest in holding territory has resulted in the Krr’Gaal leading a nomadic existence by default. They have no real technology of their own, which has led to them seeking employment as mercenaries in order to acquire what they cannot produce themselves. They are not picky about who they work for: decadent Imperial nobles, Dark Eldar Archons, criminal syndicates, space pirates and- especially- Chaos reavers- all recognize the value of these fearless berserkers.

Interstellar transportation is almost always included in the asking price for the Krr’Gaal’s services, with the Krr’Gaal frequently negotiating to be taken to a wilderness planet after their term of service is complete. There, they create primitive camps and breed and birth their young; pick-up a year or two later at the same location is also arranged, usually involving a second tour of service by the newly-enlarged clan.

Some Krr’Gaal warbands enter into long-term partnerships with groups whose interests in battle and looting mirror those of the Krr’Gaal. This arrangement benefits both parties: the Krr’Gaal enjoy the benefits of access to voidfaring ships, and their allies’ activities are enhanced by the presence of a group of hairy giants wreaking havoc on the battlefront.

There are also instances of Krr'Gaal warbands seizing spacefaring vessels and using them to engage in raids against Imperial shipping. Since the barbaric xenos have no worthwhile understanding of how voidships operate, they enslave the existing crew, and get them to do the bidding of their new masters with threats of slow, gruesome deaths if they disobey. It speaks volumes of how intimidating an angry Krr'Gaal can be that their unwilling crew usually obey...

The Krr’Gaal continue to revere their long-dead masters, and have produced something of a makeshift religion that revolves around the supposed return of the Yu’Vath. Stories of their progenitors are handed down from generation to generation, and the Krr’Gaal attempt to duplicate their former masters’ warpcraft with ham-handed recreations of Chaos rituals, based on inaccurate descriptions passed down via verbal tradition. These rituals invariably fail to attract the attention of the Ruinous Powers- not only because they are performed incorrectly, but because the bestial Krr’Gaal, wrought from lower animals, do not have true souls with which to tempt warp entities. This fact is not known to the Krr’Gaal themselves, of course, and they would certainly not be pleased to learn the truth…

Devices created by their progenitors are viewed as sacred artifacts by the Krr’Gaal. In particular, the weapons created by the Yu’Vath for their elite shock troops- great polearms with a vibrating mono-edged halberd head at one end and a warp-focusing crystal set into the opposite end- are valued above all else by the modern Krr’Gaal. These artifacts, called chaak’thuul by the Krr’Gaal or ‘warp-pikes’ by members of the Ordo Xenos, serve as both melee and ranged weapons: the massive halberd head can cleave even Astartes armour, while the prism end can emit an arc of focused warp energy. Krr’Gaal will go to nearly any lengths to recover one of these ancestral objects, and a would-be employer who includes one procured from the Cold Trade as part of their payment will almost certainly be able to command a long term of service from a grateful tribe of Krr’Gaal.

(The following statistics were created for use with Deathwatch campaigns which use the Calixis Sector as an alternate setting; they would also be appropriate for Rogue Trader and high-Rank Dark Heresy games.)

KRR’GAAL (ELITE)

WS:50 BS:25 S:(10)55 T:65 Ag:40 Int:20 Per:(8)45 WP:35 Fel:15

MOVEMENT: 5/10/15/30

WOUNDS: 30

SKILLS: Awareness (Per), Climb (S), Intimidate (S), Lore: Forbidden (Warp) (Int), Navigation: Surface (Int) +20, Shadowing (Ag), Speak Language: Debased Yu’Vath; 50% chance of Low Gothic, 25% chance of Kroot (Int), Silent Move (Ag), Survival (Int) +20, Swim (S), Tactics: Assault Doctrine, Recon and Stealth (Int) +10, Tracking (Int) +20.

TALENTS: Ambidextrous, Autosanguine, Berserk Charge, Basic Weapon Training (Universal), Counter-Attack, Disturbing Voice, Exotic Weapon Training (Warp-Pike), Fearless, Hard Target, Heightened Senses (Smell), Iron Jaw, Jaded, Light Sleeper, Melee Weapon Training (Universal), Resistance (Poison, Psychic Powers), Wall Of Steel.

TRAITS: Fear 1 (Disturbing), Flame Resistant*, Multimodal**, Natural Armour (3), Natural Weapons (Teeth), Size (Hulking), Unnatural Strength (x2), Unnatural Perception (x2).

*FLAME RESISTANT: This creature is treated as having Unnatural Toughness (x2) vs. damage inflicted by weapons with the Flame quality; tests made to resist catching on fire are made using the creatures’ (Unnatural, in this instance) Toughness rather than Agility.

**MULTIMODAL: If this creature’s hands are free, it may choose to move on all fours, gaining the benefit of the Quadruped Trait (doubling Agility Bonus for purposes of calculating Movement). It requires a Half Action to change from bipedal to quadrupedal or vice versa.

ARMOUR: None (3 All; Primitive)

WEAPONS: As provided by employer, or ancestral Warp-Pike:

Warp-Pike (Prism)- Class: Exotic (Basic), Range: 50m, RoF: 1, Dmg: 2d10, Pen: 0, Clip: Unlimited*, Rld: -, Special: Warp Weapon.

*This weapon draws power directly from the warp and cannot run out of ammunition; if a ‘jam’ result is rolled, it loses power for 1d10 rounds.

Warp-Pike (Blade)- Class: Exotic (Melee), Dmg: 1d10+18 (SB included), Pen: 4, Special: Balanced, Razor-Sharp.

GEAR: Leather pouch containing 1d5 days’ rations (usually in the form of dried meat), 2d10 coins, 1d5 knives of varying sizes, 5% chance of a Yu’Vath fetish item.

THREAT RATING: Xenos Moderatus

ADVENTURE SEED: Interrogation of a group of recently captured space pirates revealed that they were en route to a pre-arraigned pick-up of a tribe of Verminthiculians from an isolated Frontier World, who have just gone through a two-year breeding cycle. The Ordo Xenos was promptly informed…

The inspiration for these aliens came from a tiny fragment on page 258 of the Dark Heresy Rulebook- a tantalizing reference to ‘-Verminthiculians, wild mercenaries and reavers.’ After checking with Lexicanum to confirm that this was the only appearance of the name ‘Verminthicuculians’ in the 40Kverse, I decided to try adapting them for my campaign, but struggled with how to reconcile the root word ‘vermin’ in their name with the implication that they are clearly supposed to be daunting opponents. The breakthrough came when I realized that ‘Verminthiculian’ was clearly the Imperial name for the species, rather than what they called themselves- and thus the Krr’Gaal were born.

I find trying to ‘fill in the blanks’ created by the many oblique references scattered throughout the books to be one of the most challenging aspects of GMing aWH40KRP campaign. I hope my take on these xenos proves useful to some of my fellow Game Masters.

I use miniatures for most of the combats in my campaign; I was able to create a single prototype Krr’Gaal figure in time for the contest deadline. The basic figure is a Chaos Warhound, with the waist cut apart and repositioned to make a biped. The front legs were cut away and replaced with Ork arms, with hairy shoulders made from ‘green stuff’ used to mask the joints. I plan to make a number of others, including a quadruped and at least one wielding an Imperial weapon- I’ll probably use a plastic Necromunda Goliath arm for that.

Deathwatch Character Showcase - Dark Angels Tactical Marine

Real quick post today. Here is one of our Deathwatch characters painted by Adeptus-B. This is a Dark Angels Tactical Marine.

The player that plays this character also plays an techpriest in out Dark Heresy campaign. It is a great change of pace and he is often the squad leader and is more front and center versus a mostly support roll.

Dark Heresy Encounters - Showcase

I am posting these images on behalf of Adeptus-B. 

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Below is a quick photobomb of some minis Adeptus-B did for our Dark Heresy campaign.

Religious toys from a gumball machine

These four figures were originally little toys that Adeptus-B added Imperial bitz to turning them into statues. He did a great job--These look impressive in person!

Warp Spawn

A big warp beastie we had to fight--Don't recall if we ever figured out what it was. I believe all the bitz are from the Chaos Spawn sprue.

Warp Spiders

No conversions here, just repurposed Goblin Spider Riders. We had to fight a number of these things, but never more than two at a time!! :D

Flying Face Eaters

These warp creatures were made from paper and bitz from a craft store. It was a shock when he pulled these things out! They all have the underside "mouth" detail.

Zombified IG/Ship Crew

Finally, here is a small horde of zombies... with some IG bitz here and there.

Thanks for looking. More to come soon!

Happy New Year!!!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We made it through the holiday in spite of a severe respiratory virus, second degree acid burn, and a minor financial shortfall--Fortunately we buy gifts for our son throughout the year, so Santa's reputation is still in good form!

Everything is slowly getting better in time for the new year. I wish you all a very Happy New Year and an amazing 2013!

There is a little game related material to share as well. Our game master, Adeptus-B has been busy the last few weeks. He created a water board and some stone "islands" for our next Dark Heresy mission.

The Vermilion Codex

Hey- Adeptus-B here. Zorcon has been making references to our Dark Heresy campaign in this blog for some time now. The following is a journal of the campaign- it was originally posted on the FFG Forums, but I've always wanted to go back and include some pictures, so I'm re-posing the 'fancy' version here. 'The Vermilion Codex' is the name of a volume of forbidden lore that lies at the heart of many of the Acolytes adventures. This introductory scenario, which sets down the premise, is titled:

DH assumes that the player characters start out as currently employed agents of an Inquisitor. However, as a fan of 'caper' movies, I've always liked the part where the team of specialists is initially recruited, so I thought it would be fun to try something similar in DH- starting the campaign with the player character's first meeting with their prospective patron. This was fairly risky- there was always a possibility that the recruitment mission would be a failure, or the PCs simply wouldn't come together at the right time to form a party. I tried to allow for enough failsafes to channel things in the right direction if the scenario went off the rails, but you can't allow for every possibility. Still, being a glutton for punishment, I blundered forward...

I didn't assign dates to the events depicted here until after the party had officially formed; I had to keep the timing flexible to ensure that everyone ended up at the right place at the right time...

The PCs names are bolded the first time they appear. Text in [brackets] contain information relevant to the storyline that was unknown to the PCs at the time.

The would-be Inquisitorial Acolytes

301.815.M41. The Inquisitorial Black Ship Nicodemus arrives in orbit of the grimy hive-dominated industrial planet of Fenksworld, to take custody of their current batch of identified psykers, in accordance with Imperial law. The capital hive-city of Nova Castillian is abuzz about the ominous visitor which has arrived nearly a month ahead of schedule.

302.815.M41. [Inquisitor Aurellius Montag of the Ordo Hereticus, travelling on board the Nicodemus fulfilling some bureaucratic obligations to his Ordo, has dinner with his old friend Provost Severis, head of the Nova Castillian Arbites precinct. After dinner, Severus asks Montag for his opinions about a possible Conspiracy that his Arbites have uncovered...]

303.815.M41. Venris, a young noble-born cleric in the service of Nova Castillian's Crown District Cathedral, encounters his down-and-out cousin Pietro after his daily services. When Venris inquires about his disheveled appearance, Peitro tells him that he has fallen in with a very dangerous crowd and become addicted to the drug Obscura. His new 'friends' were using him to make contacts with members of Fenksworld's upper class society, but his drug addiction got out of hand and, now that he is of no more use to them, Pietro is convinced that they will try to 'eliminate' him. Venris agrees to help his cousin and takes him in.

Kaarl, a disciple of the Machine God, begins a gruelling 72-hour workshift deep in the Bowels, the lowest functioning district of Nova Castillian, bordering the abandoned Underhive.


304.815.M41. [While Venris is away at services, Pietro breaks under his withdrawal symptoms and disappears.]

In the Adminisratum Annex of Nova Castillion, an adept named Denathor, newly promoted to Munitorium Quastor, spots a discrepancy on a weapon shipment invoice; being naturally paranoid, he investigates, dragging the signatory of the invoice, Sub-Quastor Akton, to the hanger where the shipment is staged. Denathor checks several of the cases of lasguns, and finds nothing amis. When he begins to pry the lid off of the case with the anomalous tracking number, however, he discovers that the case is filled with scrap metal. In a panic, Akton draws a concealed laspistol. This leads to a near-fatal shoot-out, in which Akton reveals that he is stealing lasguns on behalf of parties unknown; Denathor barely survives, while Akton is killed by a mysterious cloaked figure who promptly disappears- apparently after checking the contents of the case himself.


Arbites Trooper Alaric, on patrol in the Administratum Annex, receives a call about a disturbance at a Munitoruim shipping hanger. Upon arriving at the scene of the firefight, he arrests Denathor; he finds no sign of a 'cloaked figure'. Alaric takes Denathor to his Pricinct and, after Denathor recieves some medical attention, he is brought to an interrogation room. While interrogating Denathor, Alaric's investigation is abruptly taken over by Captain Clovix, an Arbites officer who would normally have no jurisdiction over this particular crime.

Capt. Clovix subjects Denathor to a long and repetitve interrogation; not getting the information he was looking for, Clovix sends Denathor to a holding cell to try again the next day.


Later, back at his desk, Alaric receives a secret communication, apparently from an Inquisitor, ordering him to release Denathor and enter a judgement of 'self-defense' -Clovix having not submitted the paperwork necessary to formally take over the investigation.

Returning to his small hab-unit, Denathor is contacted by the cloaked figure- Inquisition Interrogator Sebastian Rao- who enlists his aid in investigating the missing lasguns.


Down in the rough Hive-Bowels neighborhood of Z-Town, streetwise scummer Varn, fallen on hard times, swallows his pride and seeks employment with local crimelord Grim Largo at his public headquarters, a dive bar called The Spigot, so named for the huge industrial spiggot used as a makeshift buttress on the sagging front wall. Varn uses his drinking buddies within the Hammerjacks gang- who frequently work as hired muscle for Largo- as references.

305.815.M41. After services, Venris is contacted by some low-hive Enforcers, who ask him to identify the body of a murder victim who they believe to be his cousin Pietro.


Capt. Clovix, discovering that 'his' prisoner has been released, chews out Alaric, but can take no official action against him since Clovix never filed the necessary paperwork.

Denathor, recuperating form the previous days' injuries at his hab-unit, receives a servitor-delivered batch of Munitorium shipment logs, courtesy of Interrogator Rao. He settles in for a long day of searching for discrepancies similar to the one that alerted him to the missing lasguns.

When his references check out, Varn is hired by Grim Largo as a secondary driver on a mysterious shipment down into the Lower Bowels, a mission led by Largo's tech-savvy second-in-command, Dullos. After a long drive down to a dark and disused section of the Bowels boardering the Underhive, it is revealed that stolen lasguns are being traded to some offworld smugglers for a supply of the illegal narcotic Obscura. However, since the smugglers know that this will be the last in a series of exchanges, and having heard that Largo is understaffed due to a gang war between the Hammerjacks and the Screaming Skulls, the smugglers decide to betray Grim Largo; they try to kill his men and take the lasguns. Most of Largo's men are wiped out, but Dullos dives into a vehicle and flees; Varn manages to jump into the back. As they narrowly escape from the ambush [unaware that a tracking device has been attached to the vehicle by a hidden figure], shotgun blasts ring out followed by the [apparent] war-cry of the Screaming Skulls. The smugglers flee with most of the lasguns.

Offworld smugglers exchange stolen lasguns in the Underhive

Kaarl, investigating a strange power fluctuation [caused by Dullos overriding a security program to facilitate the rendezvous], comes upon the shoot-out between the smugglers and Largo's men. He is surprised by a hulking 'jungle fighter'-type Guard veteran who identifies himself as Sgt. Thrane, an agent of an Inquisitor [it was he who imitated the Screaming Skulls war-cry to scare off the smugglers]. Kaarl tries to close a hatchway to trap the smugglers, but the hatch closes too slowly and the smugglers get away. After staging the crime scene to look like a Screaming Skulls gang clash [Thrane had a 'run-in' with some Skulls on the way to the rendezvous], and hiding the few remaining lasguns, he takes down Kaarl's cognomen information and tells him that his boss will be in touch.

Sgt. Thrane contacts Kaarl, as Varn flees from the smugglers

Venris arrives at the seedy Bowels-level Enforcer precinct house [at the entrance to Z-Town] to identify his cousin's body and arrange for it to be sent uphive. The enforcers have clearly done little by way of investigating Pietro's death. When he leaves the precinct house, Venris doesn't notice that his servitor-cab is being followed by a battered old limousine; on a deserted stretch of the Arteria, the limousine forces the servitor-cab off the road. Two hulking heavies with guns get out and haul Venris into the limousine. After a short drive, he is dragged into a seedy pub with an enormous industrial spigot buttressing the front wall. Inside, he is taken to an overweight man [Largo] at a private table who asks him why he is snooping after a junkie. Venris says that "he confessed some very disturbing things to me...". Largo is surprised by his honesty and orders his men to take Venris out and 'dispose' of him.

Quintilla, a void-born woman who apprenticed in the art of assassination with a zealous Death Cult, but was expelled from their ranks, wanders the hive Bowels semi-lost, looking for sinners to punish in the name of the Emperor but finding few 'worthy' of her attention. She comes upon some likely candidates roughly dragging a man in the robes of a Ministorium cleric out of a seedy tavern. After a short but heated battle, she and Venris dispatch the thugs, then wipe out Largo's bodyguards inside The Spigot. Largo flees in panic out the back door from what he assumes to be a deliberate assassination attempt. Venris and Quintilla poke around the Spigot trying (unsuccessfully) to get some information, when the Enforcers arrive on the scene. Quintilla is nearly killed, but Venris repays her rescue buy convincing the Enforcers that they are innocent victims who acted in self-defense; confused and scared, the rookie Enforcer shoos them out the back door.

Dullos, driving like a madman, with Varn holding on for dear life, arrives at The Spigot; rounding the corner to the back alley, he slams head-on into Largo's fleeing limousine, sending Varn flying. Dullos jumps into Largo's vehicle and they flee, leaving the injured Varn behind.

Venris and Quintilla, walking down the alley from The Spigot, come upon Varn. Assuming that he may know something useful about the people responsible for his cousin's death, Venris offers to help Varn out. He flags down a servitor-cab and puts Varn and Quintilla up in a rented mid-hive hab unit for the night, then returns to his quarters in the Cathedral.

[As a squad of Enforcers try to make sense of the shootout at The Spigot, a shadowy figure, having tracked Dullos' vehicle to the alleyway, contacts a distant ally via encrypted microbead. He tells him to search servitor-cab records for three people matching the description of the suspects seen fleeing The Spigot; upon finding the address of the cab's destination he orders the information deleted before anyone else finds it...]

Introducing Adeptus-B

Canals and city "blocks" made by Adeptus-B

I would like to introduce you all to Adeptus-B. I met him while we were both working at Dark Horse Comics as Color Separators. About 2 years after I left the company, I asked Adeptus-B and another former Dark Horse co-worker to join a new D&D campaign I was starting. Well, over 12 years later, they are still in my gaming group... and not tiered of me yet!

Adeptus-B is currently running our Dark Heresy and Deathwatch campaigns, he is my Necromunda opponent, a fantastic figure painter/converter, and is prolific at making really cool terrain!

[edit] I found this post as a draft, and do not know why I never posted it! Sorry Adeptus-B for missing your introduction!!

I will leave the rest in Adeptus-B's hands.

My Dark Heresy Cadre of Acolytes mk 3

(click to enlarge image)

Well, it's time to update our group glamor photo. The last incarnation of our group can be found here. Hmack has completed his mk 2 version of his character, and we have added a new player.

We have just completed rank 5 and will gain our first advances from rank 6 at the end of our next session in 2 weeks. Here is the breakdown of our group:

• Denathor (Adept) - WH40K IG Master of Ordinance by Zorcon
• Venris (Cleric) - Converted Necromunda Redemptionist Leader by Zorcon 
• Kaarl (Tech-Priest) - Custom figure by Adeptus-B
• Quintillia (Assassin) - Converted Warmachine Eiryss, Angel of Retribution by Hmack
• Nickodemous (Imperial Psyker) - Converted Dark Age Bane Leader by Zorcon
• Rel (Scum)  - Converted Dark Age Forsaken Coil by Zorcon
• Skull Servitor - Skull Servitor by Zorcon

(click to enlarge image)

Future upgrades: I *still* have a Techpriest Enginseer ready to paint for the mk 2 Tech-Priest, but the player has yet to take any mechadendrite advancements!! Plus, I discovered he wont be sporting an Omnisian Axe or a manipulator, so this guy will need to be modified after the player makes his final choices. I am also getting very antsy to make a mk 3 version of my character, but will wait until I get a force sword and better armor.

My Dark Heresy Cadre of Acolytes mk 2

Here is the group as it was originally formed. We have since lost 2 players due to scheduling conflicts. We will probably reach rank 5 in 2 session.

• Denathor (Adept) - WH40K IG Master of Ordinance by Zorcon
• Venris (Cleric) - Converted Necromunda Redemptionist Leader by Zorcon 
• Kaarl (Tech-Priest) - Custom figure by Adeptus-B
• Quintillia (Assassin) - Warmachine Captain Kara Sloan by Hmack
• Nickodemous (Imperial Psyker) - Converted Dark Age Bane Leader by Zorcon
• Skull Servitor - Skull Servitor by Zorcon

Next upgrades: I have a Techpriest Enginseer ready to paint for the mk 2 Tech-Priest, but the player has yet to take a servo-arm advancement!! Hmack  is already looking for a mk 3 assassin.

Back on the Bench

Well, 2010 was quite a year! Know one had any idea how long my recovery would take-- but I wont rehash everything here (I'll have links to the posts discussing it at the bottom of this post). I've got a lot to share, so I expect this is going to be a monster post.

The only gaming I have gotten in over the last year is a handful of sessions of Dark Heresy (run by Adeptus-B).  I am playing a Psyker and our group is a few hundred XP into our 4th rank. There are 5 players left after 2 had previously dropped out of the campaign. We play about once a month. Here are a few highlighted encounters.

On a forge world, an abandoned platform about a mile off shore. 
We land in an Aquillia Lander to assault the heretics.

(click on image to enlarge)

On a feral world, we set up an ambush in order to capture the
leader of a small group of poachers. I started a detailed
description of the encounter in this post: Ambush!
(click on image to enlarge)

On a frontier world, we approach a disabled wagon on the side
of the road -- as expected, it was an ambush!
(click on image to enlarge)

 

On the modeling front, I started about 1-2 weeks ago putting in some quantifiable time on the work bench. Nothing really to completion yet... its all WiP. Even more than ever, I have a very short attention span-- I'll paint a mini for a few minutes, then grab a different mini to pin on a arm and hand, then dig through a bitz boxes looking for the right piece for something else, then I'll go back to the original mini and add a little more paint. (all this in between repairing my son's toys and organizing the garage!! :) )

The first images are for a squad of Rough Riders. These were in my "to do" pile for a few years, but Adeptus-B recently asked if I had any cowboys on horses for a future encounter-- this was the best I could come up with. Although, I decided to equip them as a unit of Rough Riders rather than random cowboys... which makes them a little less fitting as cowboys. The reason for that decision is that I would love to complete an IG army representing a small out-world "last stand" planetary defense (ie hodge-podge army).

Rogue Trader era Rough Riders as given to me by Laertes.
(click on image to enlarge)

After some minor conversion work (arm and weapon swaps),
and adding 2 Rogue Trader era IG jet bike riders to horses.
(click on image to enlarge)

In a previous post, I have mentioned my small Adeptus Arbites force here: Adeptus Arbites. I managed to mostly complete one of the counts-as rhinos. Again, this was a request from Adeptus-B for use in Dark Heresy. I still plan on adding badging, some recently acquired eBay bitz, and possibly adjusting the placement of the brush guard.

A Dollar Tree toy with some bitz and paint.
(click on image to enlarge)

I have worked on some minis specifically for our Dark Heresy campaign as well-- Version 2.0 for our adept and my character, and a servo-skull. Nothing of note on the servo-skull, but on the two player character minis, this will be the first time I have temporarily mounted the models on something to make handling easier. I will also be attempting Ron's (from FTW) technique of painting "inside out".

This one is essentially done-- just need to spray with matte clear
cote and then gloss the metal bitz.
(click on image to enlarge)

Our group's psyker mk II (a Dark Age Forsaken Leader) and
adept mk II (a Games Workshop Master of Ordinance)
(click image to enlarge)

Well, I think that covers most of it. I did score some OOP Space Fleet minis on ebay to add to my Battlefleet Gothic fleets, but I'll cover that in a later post.

If you want to read more about what Ive gone through, Ive mentioned it in these posts: Going on Hiatus, Back on my Feet... Sort of, Recovery Round 3, and Still Here!