More Mean Greens

So Cardiff & Comic Con is done and dusted for another year. It was great to see so many old faces and catch up, but also to meet lots of new people. The word of Age of Savagery has spread like wildfire through the con, so we are still getting submissions for stories being emailed to to us at ageofsavagery@deadstarpublishing.co.uk so if you know a writer of artist looking to break into the indy publishing game, let us know.

Now back to the main reason for this blog post... more sculpting. The Troll was a lot of fun to work on purely because of the size of the brute, but it's nice to get back to basics sometimes. So, for your approval, here are the WIP for 4 Xbox inspired adventures. Fictional cookie to anyone who can guess where the inspiration has come from.

What's That Coming Over the Hill?

It's Cardiff Film and Comic Con, people!!!! Once the big two day event signaling the end of the summer has come around, not a moment too soon. We had grand ambitions for this show (Kev at Deadstar and I), but Alas the Fates were against us.

Not to worry though. We will still be there raising the hype for Age of Savagery and even opening up the doors to more submissions! So for those interested in submitting, or if you have any other questions drop an email to us here: ageofsavagery@deadstarpublishing.co.uk

Of course, if you are coming to CFCC this weekend, then pop by the Deadstar Publishing table and have a chat! While you're there pick up some cool reading material, not just from me, but also some other great artists and writers.

For now, I'll leave everyone with a sneaky preview of the awesome cover art we got from John Johnston and Danny Weston. (cheers boys)

After the Hobbit (part3)

Once again Rob and I return to the battlefields to play the third chapter of Balin's expedition to retake the Dwarf Hold of Moria. For a more in depth account of the previous battles PART1 and PART2 are worth a read, but right now we continue the tale...

Following on from last time, Balin has laid claim to the Kingdom of Moria, though the efforts have cost him dearly. Many Dwarfs have been slain to claim Balin his Kingship, at the hands of Goblins, Trolls and an absurd amount of luck on my part. Rob will no doubt call me out on this every time we play, but with some of the dice I've been chucking out, I'm due to get hit by traffic! That said, onto Game 3!

The Mirrormere

Balin had taken an excursion from the from Moria's depths to star out at the Mirrormere, like Durin before him. This proved folly on his part, based around the far side of the lake and having to brave a narrow stream to reach the gate, perfect for a Goblin ambush.

The Dwarf were caught off guard. Seeing the Goblins massing across the stream, Balin ordered his warriors back to the safety of East Gate, but it was going to be a slog.

With his force bogged down by the river crossing, Balin and Ori were forced to hold the beach head to allow their fellows to cross. This delay would cost them however. Smelling blood in the water (almost literally) The Goblin Shaman whipped his minions into a frenzy and ordered the charge. It would be a challenge to reach East Gate.

Despite stubborn temperament, the Dwarfs were undone by their heavy gear. The nimble goblins had caught the larger part of the Dwarf forces halfway across the river and had taken to drowning them in the shallows. The Goblins were not the only horrors to assail the Dwarfs. Once again the evil critters had brought along a Troll to truly re-establish themselves. The huge brute knocked Dwarf Warriors flying and began rampaging across the river, wading through water, blood and bodies with equal measure.

Balin and Ori held as best they could, but the Goblins were too many. Their comrades were being cut down by the shear savagery on display by the Goblins. Taking matters into his own hands, Balin saught to break the Goblins by slaying their master. Spying the Shaman through the swarm, Balin issued a challenge that the Shaman was too battle crazed to refuse.

The Goblin Shaman proved more of a challenge than Balin expected. The nimble creater survived on luck longer than thought possible, but Durin's Axe proved the better in the end. Too little too late however as Balin turned to hear the roar of the Troll. The beast was almost breathing down his neck!

Ori threw himself into the Troll, crying for Balin to flee. East Gate was within site, only a few Goblins stood between the Dwarfs and safety. Balin surveyed the battle as Ori stood against the Troll. It was a bleak setting. Dwarf dead were everywhere, but they were not on display for long as the Goblins began to swarm.

Ori's duel against the Troll saw the Dwarf beaten back towards East Gate. Balin was embroiled against the Goblins guarding the Gate. Looking back to see if Balin had made it to safety, Ori was caught by the Troll's backhand. Ori was sent flying across the battle leaving Balin alone and unaided against the horde.

This was it, the final push. Balin was inches away from safety, but the Troll and the Goblin horde were closing the noose. It looked like it was all over...

A Dwarfish battle-cry echoed across the scrum of Goblin thugs. Balin looked on in disbelief. Ori was alive! Charging the Goblin mob, the youg Dwarf sought the rejoin his Lord. If the two were to perish, then it would be fighting together. Balin, put everything he had into trying to save himself and his battle brother.

Both were so close to the gate now, but no matter how many goblins they fought back it seemed the tide never ceased. A surge of Goblin warriors rose up and obscured Ori from Balin. When the tide receded Ori was gone. Once more Balin Heard the bellow of the Troll and knew his Friend was dead....

Balin, Lord of Moria, fell soon after

"So... He is Dead Then.."

This was a brutal game for Rob. His dice not only abandoned him, I think they fled the country under an assumed name. At the end, I had lost SIX models, Rob was wiped off the board. Rob would be taking no additional Dwarfs to the next game, which is a pity, because he is going to get all the help he can get in the fourth and final chapter of Balin's Quest.

Mordheim: Shadow Lore (part1)

So I promised some Mordheim coverage and though it won't be as in-depth as previous campaign posts I will try to cover the highlights. Before we get to the good stuff, let's meet the contenders that showed up to the first night.

These happy faces have already been seen on this blog, but as a quick recap, here's my Warband the Familly Van Strabb.

Next up is Keron's Marienburgers. Bunch of rich kids with too much black powder if you ask me.

Also wandering into the City of the Damned is my old sparring partner Joe and his Reiklanders.

I was unable to get a group photo of these guys at the time. Also floating about somewhere is a forth competitor, Chris and his Undead Warband.

Onto the highlights! Joe and I squared off first. A chance encounter within the ruins forced me to play quite sneaky this time. The Reiklanders had a huge numbers advantage on the Cult as well as longbows so for the first few turns the cult were hugging cover and shadows.

Once the Reiklanders got close enough though, things changed drastically as Gribble began to tear through Reiklanders like paper. One of the Cult's spearmen also got a lucky strike: skewering the Reiklander Captain, killing him outright leaving them leaderless.

Picking himself up from the loss of his Captain, Joe sought to take his anger out on Keron's Marienbergers in an ambush. All started out well with the majority of the Marienbergers elsewhere in the Ruins leaving three loan mercenaries to fend for themselves for a few turns.

Things didn't go as planned for the Reiklanders as they went from attacker to defender in almost no time. The timely arrival of the Marienburger's main force met the Reiklanders in the wider street by the tower and proved that sometimes quality is better than quantity.

Them's the Breaks

So, as some of you are aware, the last few months I've been working on an anthology of comics and short stories to be published in print at the end of the month. It has been a hell of a road and the work that has been turned in has been glorious. We've had submissions from brand new up and coming artists through to tried and tested comic creation veteran teams. But as good as the work was from everyone, the fates (or the printers) were against us in the end. Computer deaths and technical difficulties galour saw us holding off printing for too long and in the end the printers let us down.

We wanted a BIG release for the Age of Savagery and we still do. I have never been one to give up easily and though it hurt me to do it, it was agreed that the release date would be postponed until March next year. Yes, that seems excessive, but with the summer gone and most of the major Comic Cons either wrapped up or sold out, it was decided we would plan ahead.

Now, this affords two advantages. first, it gives us in editing a chance to put some more layers of polish on the final publication. The second (and the bit I'm actually excited about) is we have a chance to add more content. More art, more stories, more crazy barbarian goodness! I've been doodling additional illustrations for a few days now to act as filler, but now I've got the time to add a whole new story to the mix. I need time to write it, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

So with that in mind, THE BRIEF still stands, but with a new deadline taken up to December 20th.
Anybody with a story to tell or looking for chance to break into the indy comics game, contact the AoS team at ageofsavagery@deadstarpublishing.co.uk

Illustration by Kat Wilson

Gribble Unbound!

So me and my local gaming buddies are heading back to playing some Mordheim this week. It's been a while since we played, but it was always fun to see what Heroes and Villains rose to infamy by the campaigns end. This time around we're using a slightly altered post-battle sequence. Inspired by the rule used in Shadow War, we thought we'd see how the changes worked out under campaign conditions and go from there.

But this post isn't about dry un-tested rules, It's about gribbely monsters and mad men! Onto the Possessed Showcase!

My new Magisteress for the Cult stands out from the crowd. The Story behind this gang, is She is the Beautiful yet cunning matriarch of a lesser noble family. Her prides and ambitions leading to a cult of illegitimate children, enthralled admirers and unsavory consorts. Along with a touch of black magic and human sacrifices, She has remained physically youthful and is constantly one step ahead of the witch hunters.

The rest of the Gang represent her offspring, manipulated lovers and devoted servants. Some kept as members of the rotten house hold, others cast out into the world to infiltrate other noble families or gain positions of influence to further the Magisteress' schemes. Here in Mordheim, they are just soldiers and mad men.

Some members of the gang are worse off than just mad, as the City of Mordheim provides the means for Deamon summoning. Once the sorcery is cast, the family gains new members and powers from beyond the realms of mortals.

Well the Campaign kicks offthis week so I'll be giving a short write up when it's all over. If the altered Campaign rules work out then I'll post them up here as well for anyone else to ty our. Until then...

FEAR THE WRATH OF GRIBBLE!!!!!