Over a year ago I started work on the Stormcast Eternals from the Shadespire base set of models. As background the game is a fun little game from Games Workshop. I’m not into the full deck building aspect of it to get to a competitive level but it does work for casual games we have played. I was tempted by the low model count and the ease of play. The models generally are really nice as well – a weakness of mine… So with friends this is a fun little game from GW – and I hear for those of the very competitive nature it works well.
Initially I made good progress painting these models but overall I was not happy with the final results. After putting these to one side for a while I decided that I needed to get these finished and so here they are.
I’m still not really happy with these models but as you can see they are ‘ok’. I’m just not really loving them, or my end result. They are better painted than not but for some reason I just don’t like the models and especially the end results my painting has produced. The details on some of the model is also not crisp. Some people love the clip together of these models but it did not seem to work for me. Maybe I got some less than perfect examples I don’t know. One change I made was that I painted the helmets a more bone colour which helped to an extent in my view, but it still does not really work for me. Maybe I’m just not a Stormcast Eternals type of guy…However, they are done now, which is the main thing.
As much as anything else I have plans to use these for games other than Shadespire/Nighvault. After all, a small self contained set of models with a background are perfect for games like Pulp Alley or such things as Thud and Blunder (which is just released and I have yet to really read)! The Shadespire/Nightvault setting seems very ‘pulpy’ to me anyway so why not! After all if the same small groups are constantly fighting each other it has to be pulpy as otherwise there would be deaths. The background copied here seems perfect for a fantasy pulp setting:
Shadespire was once a city of wonder and magic, a mercantile metropolis rising from the unforgiving earth of the Realm of Death. Countless races dwelt within its walls, together creating artefacts of astonishing beauty and power. The city’s most treasured secret was the process of refining shadeglass, a miraculous substance that could store the spiritual essence of the dead for eternity. In this way, the ruling Katophranes of Shadespire lived on after death, their wisdom stored within the depths of ornate mirrors, flowing glass fountains, crystal looking‐stones and other marvels. This defiance enraged Nagash, Lord of Undeath, who sought to punish the occupants of the city for denying him his rightful tithe of souls.
Yet to simply destroy the city and drag its inhabitants to the Underworlds seemed to Nagash an insufficient punishment. Instead, the Great Necromancer wove a ritual that drew upon the mysterious powers of the city’s shadeglass constructions, siphoning away the light and glory of Shadespire and creating a twisted reflection of its former splendour. Shadespire was trapped halfway between Ulgu – Realm of Shadows – and Hysh – Realm of Light. Bound within this dark reflection, refracted between these two diametrically opposed realms, the souls of the fallen could never escape the Mirrored City and make the journey to the Underworlds. None within its walls would be granted the release of death. Nagash would forever deny them that gift.
The Mirrored City of Shadespire is a nightmare plane of illusions and madness, an ever-changing labyrinth of endless stairs, cramped streets and soaring archways. The original city is drained of all colour and life, and for thousands of years, it has rested as a foreboding ruin. Those unfortunate, brave, or foolhardy adventurers that set foot within its walls are drawn through the veil between realms and trapped within the Mirrored City. For such wayward souls, all hope seems lost. Yet there are those who will not accept their fate without a fight.
For more than a thousand years the shadow-cloaked ruins of Shadespire lay dormant, a malevolent scar in the centre of the vast Desert of Bones. During much of that time there were few fresh victims of the city’s terrible curse. Travellers seldom ventured across the deadly, parching wastes to reach the city, as often warded away by the lethal storms that wracked its bone-dust dunes as by the dark stories that had sprung up around the place. Yet some were brave or foolish enough to stray within the borders of the cursed city, and those fortunate few who returned brought back priceless treasures and forbidden knowledge, as well as rumours of haunted mirrors, nightmarish illusions and other strange tales.
Some of those now trapped in Shadespire are noble souls, determined to end the curse and deny their fate. Others are savage brutes, for whom an endless cycle of violence is its own reward. There are avaricious looters, frenzied barbarians and sages whose desire for knowledge has led them down dark paths. These disparate souls will clash together as each attempts to escape damnation, and the haunted streets of Shadespire will run red with blood.
So for Pulp Alley rules, I have created the following league (note the characters are shown from left to right). Their background fluff – again taken straight from GW is below. These guys are ‘reanimated’ heroes of a god and so don’t have a great amount of personality. Combat specialists focused on the mission is what they all they are about.
” The warriors under the command of Liberator-Prime Severin Steelheart were part of a detachment sent to investigate potential cures for the curse that robs them of their humanity with each reforging. Disaster befell them, however, and now they are trapped, separated from their kin, with only the whispers of the dead to guide them home…”
So, these are created using the standard league, but adding the Armoured optional item. For the leagues they get 10 slots and I used the following for these: 2 x sidekick (6), Company of heroes (2), Animals (2). Note, the Animals reflects the fact that none of these models have a ranged weapon, but gives them a bonus for that fact. It is a common item if using Pulp Alley for fantasy genre from what I can see. I decided not to use the fantasy option of having an extra ability for each model.
Severvin Steelheart (leader)
Brawl 4d10 , Shoot – , Dodge 3d10 , Might 3d10 , Finesse 3d8 , Cunning 3d10 ,
Health d10
Abilities: Animal (in the stats above), Armoured (+1d bonus on all health rolls), Tactician, Inspiring
Obryn the Bold (sidekick)
Brawl 3d8 , Shoot – , Dodge 3d8 , Might 3d8 , Finesse 3d8 , Cunning 2d6 ,
Health d10
Abilities: Animal (in the stats above), Armoured (+1d bonus on all health rolls), Brute
Angharad BrightShield (sidekick)
Brawl 3d8 , Shoot – , Dodge 3d8 , Might 2d6 , Finesse 3d8 , Cunning 3d8 ,
Health d10
Abilities: Animal (in the stats above), Armoured (+1d bonus on all health rolls), Moxie
So there we are. Pulp Alley are just going into their second edition – there is a kickstarter for that now, but it is a minor update as I understand it not a major rework like some rules. For rules such as Thud and blunder I need to work out the different stats for them, but that will be another time…
Adventures in painting miniatures 