A break in the fighting.

Hello,

Alas no updates of late, between having the boys home for the summer hols and work for other people, ones eye has moved away from all things Drakwald...

But fear not reinforcements have arrived to quell the beasts of the forest....

First up my general and BSB assembled today, during a peaceful break.

A few of the guys and gals (yes thats right ladies!) at my local store, well I say a few there are now 22 of us O.o Have all started new fantasy armies and are running a tale of many gamers. This requires some character to each force, and with the Drakwald theme already established allows me to go that little bit OOT :D

So for my first 500 points I have

lvl 2 wizard
24 Halberdiers
10 huntsmen
and the "ex-wife"

And as we're adding character to all our units, some background for you. I may have gone a little ott with this so please bear with me!

High magister Adelbern, of the Amber order,

Named the noble (Adel) Bear (bern)

keeper of the amulet of the Ungeheuer

Commissioned by the Lord Schwarzhelm to command a Drakwald purgation expedition. To achieve this he was given command of:

-The 27th Reikland halberdiers - the "Ortsfest Mauer"

-A conscripted free company from Biendorf the "Biendorf irregulars"

and given imperial warrant to recruit further forces on the march north.

Special rule: Alpha male

Adelbern is at home in the wild places of the world, he moves with the confidence of an apex predator, even the fiercest beasts give him a wide berth.

Any 'beast', as defined by the "Wildheart" lore attribute for the lore of Beasts, that wishes to allocate its attack(s) against Adelbern, must pass a leadership test on their own, unmodified leadership. If the test is failed their strikes against him are resolved at WS1.

27th Reikland halberdiers - the "Ortsfest Mauer".

Hailing from the Imperial town of OsBurg, south west of Altdorf and on the road to Axe bite pass the men of the 27^th are well used to fighting the Empire's many enemies that press its borders. The regiment gained its nickname fighting the Snotflinger tribe of Goblins has they attempted to force a road through the pass. Heavily outnumbered the men of the 27^th held their ground for six hours while mercenary troops of lesser calibre fled the field. When reinforcements finally arrived under the command of general Otto Von Krieglits, he found that the 27^th still held the position they where assigned, having taken not a single step back and before them a mound of dead goblins and their beasts stood as high as a good defensive wall. One of the general's honour guard chuckled and exclaimed “Ortsfest Mauer!” and the name has stuck ever since.

Now fighting the beasts of the deep forest rather than goblins the 27^th still hasn't taken a single step backwards cementing their title 'Ortsfest Mauer', the unmovable wall.

The Biendorf irregulars.

The men of the irregulars take their name from the valley in which the villages of the levy reside. The men of the Biendorf valley make up a portion of the 27^th Reikland and in times of great need the men of the valley march out to support their kin in the professional soldiery. The irregulars watch the flanks of 27^th has a father watches over his sons, this is often literally true and even those of the 27^th not from the valley are heartened by the fierce defence of the units blind spots.

Gunnery sergeant Dieter Faust – master of the Hellblaster volley gun “The Ex-wife”

Hailing from Nuln, Dieter joined the Imperial gunnery school when a master engineer, Hans Bauer, noticed his aptitude for math as a young Dieter hustled tourists with rigged games in a market square close to the school. Ever a maverick, Bauer defended his choice of student and the boy was taught to work Bauer's field artillery pieces. Being a maverick Bauer's machines where often the most spectacularly destructive of any built in the gunnery school's forges, unfortunately often to themselves as much as the enemy.

After years of training and experience in the field Dieter was promoted to command a gunnery crew and a newly forged gun with which to work. At the battle of Furtzhausen the gun was christened in blood, stalling an Orc advance but maiming a gunner in the process, true to form Bauer's guns where devastating, the gunner later died of his injuries. After the battle Dieter named the gun “The Ex-wife” in honour of a fiery red head named Elsa whom he had married when young. Each time he returned from campaign he found a little more of her fire directed at him, until finally a flaming argument had blown up, ending the 'happy' marriage.

For anyone that speaks German, some of the meanings for my names may seem odd, but I've based them on Germanic translations rather than the modern German.

Now as a reward for anyone thats stomached all that text some pictures!

First up a nearly completed "Ex-wife"

And finally a new addition, the beginnings of a great cannon. Still lots to do before its ready to be painted but that means its still the perfect time to make any changes.

And so we come to the end of another merry trip into the deepest Drakwald. Thank you all for reading (lots of text this time out) and I wish you happy gaming!

Stu