Hey all !
Once again, the champions of Law are today's topic ! After having used them for Mordheim and Frostgrave, I've decided to go a little bigger and try Dragon Rampant !
Let's face it, this force started almost like a joke with a single model but I've grown so fond of them and have kept adding it new models so I need a plan now !
Upgrading the force from a single model to a skirmish force then to a full grown army seems an achievement in itself so I'd like to put borders to this to make this an enjoyable process till the end rather than stopping because I'm bored.
So here's what I've planned, let's have a look at what we already have !
The dragon : 10pts
Here's the dragon master's dragon I've painted earlier, I'm not going to look very far and will just use him as hinted in the rules so he'll just be an ancient Dragon (greater warbeast with fire and flying) for 10 points.
The demon of Solkan : 10 pts
Nothing complicated here either, this one will be a Big Ol' demon (Greater warbeast with fear and flying) for 10 points too.
The wizard ! : 5 pts
Now we've already spent a lot of point on big scary things, let's try and be a little more reasonable now. Here's the wizard and his apprentice. For gaming and aesthetic reason, I think I'll build them a scenic base to make them look more impressive and I'll let some space to place a dice to record strength point as welll. To keep ooint rather low, I've decided I'll use theLight foot troop + wizardling combo to represent this odd couple.
The Elite champions : 6 pts
The elite foot troup will be embodied by those big guys in heavy armour which seems quite fitting. Since I only have 4 of them, I need to paint another 2 to have 6 like teh number of strength points they have.
Heavyfoot troops : 4 pts
The heavy foot troops will be represented by those quite heavily armoured guys but not as heavy as the ones above. The unit is 12 strength points strong and I only have 6 models but since I don't intend to add any more to it, I'll just count 2 SP per model as welcomed by the rules (reduced models units).
Light foot troops : 3 pts
Now here's an interesting unit, it's been a long time since I first wanted to paint those guys. They're knights of the cleansing flame from Jes Goodwin and they just happen to be one of the very rare "official" lawful models. they just had to be in here ! with their light armour and spears they were just the perfect models to represent this unit. I just had to trade the spares away and rebase them and here's a bunch that's moved a few places up the paint queue.
Bellicose troops : 4 pts
To finish all this, I first considered having a few nordic berzerks in the army, I already had the fanatic dwarf but there was place for more in such an army. Norses have the right look I'm aiming for and painted in the same scheme as the others they'll be perfect to represent this peculiar type of troop !
So here we are, that's 42 points for this army which is not bad to pick from I guess ! I've gathered all the models so far even if I still miss one norse...
That also means 26 models to paint which is far from unachievable to get a playable army I suppose.
Now let's take a look at how this all fit in one foam tray...
It almost looks like I intended all of this in the first place doesn't it ? Yeah I know.
What about this little blank space ? Oh, I guess I could fill this one up with one last project before calling it done. Just what on earth could I add... Of course I do have an idea but if you ever feel like offering ideas or trying a guess, be my guest !
This is such a fantastic project and a truly flexible force - Mordheim, Frostgrave, Dragon Rampant and even Realms of Chaos Warbands are all within your grasp. Not to mention in my opinion, this is the pinnacle of collecting, painting, modelling and figure selection. Simply my favourite project of yours.
ReplyDeleteHexes allow ranking too so Warhammer is still not to write off !
DeleteThanks for the kind words Jon, it's truly been a great force to come back to and seeing how it's being appreciated is very rewarding !
A war machine!
ReplyDeleteAnyway this is gonna be some crazy looking army. Very original, one of the few that count a lot to inspire people. You may even be published in White Dwarf !... If we were in another timeframe ;)
Published in WD, imagine that !
DeleteWarmachine you say ? Hadn't thought about that but that would be fun to imagine one that would fit the theme for sure !
good choice mate.
ReplyDeleteDragon Rampant is a great little 'bring and bash' rule set and with reduced model units you could h=just field what you have already painted.
That said I really want to see the rest of those miniatures painted up!
The Knights of the cleansing flame have been on my to-do list for a while, I just love that Lovecraftian background linked with the red redemptionists so I'm glad I was able to find them a place. They'll be done before 2017, that's for sure.
DeleteHope to be able to show those guys in real next Boyl maybe !
Excellent work! I too find having a gaming context helps me build and paint a group of (relatively) cohesive models into a force for a range of games. Your group looks stunning and fit well into the Dragon Rampart system; I love yor choices of models. Have you looked at Songs of Blades and heroes too or using a different range of fantasy figures?
ReplyDeleteI've heard very good things about SoBH but I've never played myself nope. I agree, a few constraints do help to think a bit clearer. I like to know where I'm roughly headed with still some room for improvisation !
DeleteCheers !
Looking forward to seeing more of this most excellent project!
ReplyDeleteYou definitely will, I've kept some room for surprises too !
DeleteYes, that's why we love Dragon Rampant. Bashing away with the minis and the fluff we like. And the rules are fun too. :--)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to make lists for my earlier armies, the prospect of making new lists with my brettonians or chaos armies seems fun. ^^
DeleteWas gonna ask about the hexes ^^ but see where you're going with it. This is an excellent warband/army, just excellent.
ReplyDeleteHexes are the future !
DeleteThanks a lot !
Very cool JB, and very inspirational too! I love this project :-) Oh, and that space in the case? How about a warbanner/totem for displaying the heads (or momento of your choosing) of your lawfully defeted enemies? Or a food wagon for dragon snacks :-)
ReplyDeleteCheers mate !
DeleteI hadn't thought of an altar of Law but it makes perfect sense ! Damn, now I'm gonna need another tray...
Great idea for Dragon Rampant: they'll be a fantastic looking force when they're done.
ReplyDeleteYep, there's a good load to paint still but that's achievable. I'm eager to see the fully painted force !
DeleteSeeing how humbly this started, it just keeps getting better and better! A textbook of example of small cause having and great consequences, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI'm not particularly familiar with Dragon Rampant (may grab the rules at some point) but, even if this was "just" an evolving modelling project to look cool on the shelf, it would be worthy of notice for sheer originality of concept and skill of execution. You, sir, are an inspiration to many! ;-)
Dragon rampant is a genric system, meaning you have about 4 entries for each category of unit (riders, foot troops, shooting troops and monsters), that enables to represent any given unit by the type and number of models you see fit so that you don't really care about special rules and combos (you can't make any) but need to focus on a narration and the gig strokes of the games. Quite the opposite of some other games.
DeleteGiven how this project has organically grown, I thought it ws right to set a limit before making it becoming a habit or something. Having a force campatible with as many games is a defniite bonus and that means they'll continue to live their story on the tabletop.
Thanks a lot Miguel !
Woot knights of the cleansing flames ! I loved those models back in the day. I saw them painted once in bright yellowish colors and I also find their story very inspiring in an old warhammeresque way. Chronus did even make an apparition in my WFRPG campaign !
ReplyDeleteSeeing these come to life under your brush will be awesome. I still haven't laid my eyes on Dragon Rampant rules but this sur is on my to do list since, as you point, it focuses so much on narration.
I first wanted to paint them red and white for a templar look but now the colour schem is all set. i'll just have to find a way to make variations on the spearmen to keep some fun.
DeleteThanks a lot mec.
Trully awesome project , since the very first one , the colours , the theme , the miniature selection...pure gold here! (no pun intended)
ReplyDeleteCheers amigo,
DeleteThere's no big risk taken in selecting Goodwin models from the start, he's proven to be a very pleasant sculptor to work from.
Its is immediately obvious to me that you should add another six heavy foot models. Keep things consistent.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing that is useful in many DR scenarios and can add a lot of charatcer to the force is some sort of baggage train for convoy scenarios.
DR uses three in games usually, but if you made one of them an artillery piece as suggested above then you would kill two birds with one stone.
A fantastic project. Setting a definable goal is a good thing, but it shouldnt shackle creativity if you have another great idea.
As for how the models look, you know that I am a huge fan of these guys.
Well done.
Damn, I was hoping the voice of reason would stay away. I first wante dto do 6 Bellicose only but realised it was lame, then the idea of doing the same for the Heavy troop struck. You're right, i'll just let myself gather the models slowly to make it right. Baggage trains bits with possibly an altar or something would be great, I'm not ticking those off.
DeleteThanks, the support for this project has made it even more rewarding.
DeleteSome sort of "Artillery Piece of LAW" could be fun and make it something on wheels and it becomes baggage train too.
The 12 x Heavy Foot just makes sense with human sized models really. You would have come to that conclusion yourself eventually I reckon.
I had come to this conclusion but was just trying to look away ! ^^
DeleteAn altar woudl be fun but as far as artillery would go, I'm not sure what I could do, perhaps, a canon/ballista shooting massive arrows of law cast in bronze or something (it has to be something OTT, a mere catapult wouldn't be enough I reckon.
Such a wonderfully versatile group you've amassed there JB. The dragon rider really trumps it for me. As I've said before having him on foot and mounted really tops it off. Figure selection at its best here too. Outstanding!
ReplyDeleteJes Goodwin and Nick Bibby did the hard part for me ! I'm really looking forward to clearing my desk and getting on th eKnights of the Cleansing flame.
DeleteThey won't be much of a surprise as the colours and style are set and the models are known but at least there wil be a well photographed version of them on Hexes !
Cheers.
Je rejoins les commentaires sur les 12 Heavyfoot troops: les modèles de Jes Goodwin, plus on a (peint), mieux c'est :) Bravo pour le projet, c'est vraiment agréable de le voir doucement prendre de l'ampleur...
ReplyDeleteHonnêtement je vais pas me faire prier pour peindre 6 guerriers de Goodwin, faut juste que je trouve les bons ;)
Deletemerci en tout cas, face à qqun qui fait de si belle armée. ^^
You have a painting style that is very pleasing to the eye. Love those wings and for all your minis, the clothing and skin tone work is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, I'm not a great technician so I aim at a nice readable result. ^^
Delete