Unleash the Kraken

Another double-update of Skull and Shackles information and Privateer Press painting/modeling.

Skull and Shackles

Prior posts have detailed the monsters that the Imperial Navy of Cheliax has been breeding to help take care of their "pirate problem." This time I'm showing one of the largest horrors sighted beside the Chelish ships as they war along the coasts. 

How do the kids say it? Ah, yes: "Release the Kraken"

A few survivors from the scuttled ship The Windlass made their way to the taverns of Port Peril to recount a horrifying tale. A Chelish warship started tailing their ship, and as it closed the distance suddenly a woman appeared on the deck of the ship in a crackle of arcane energy. She shouted something in the Chelish tongue and before anyone could react a sinister rumble shook the ship. Before they knew it, an enormous Kraken-like beast had burst its way through the hull and was roiling about on the deck. Taking water and losing crew to both the beast's horrible maw and the Chelish spellcasters magical barrage, the ship was thrown into disarray and was unable to mount any defense against the ballistae of the opposing warship. 

The sea hungers

The survivors managed to get to one of their longboats, rowing furiously to reach the coastline before the forces of Cheliax turned their sights to those that fled. One man, a scarred individual who others at the taverns called Surly Pete, shuddered as he described the noise of the battle: "the beast was deadly silent itself, I only heard the crack of timbers as it smashed its way around the ship... and the screams of men falling silent as they were swallowed by its hideous maw." The scuttlebutt around Port Peril is that the Chelish Navy might be planning a broader action against the free pirate fleets, as each encounter with them seems to add new monstrosities and capabilities to their forces.

The Tricorne and Parrot method of model conversion

Privateer Press

On the wargaming side, this is the amazing Throne of Everblight model for my Legion of Everblight army. Keeping with the pirate theme, I wanted to adjust the look of the model somewhat. I focused in on the ship deck basing, and decided to do a swap of the top portion of the model (normally it is a metal and stone platform on the top of the model. I'm really pleased with how the Throne of Everblight conversion turned out, honestly. Especially the base (prior under construction shots can be seen at the bottom of this post). 

Under construction

I wanted to have the model positioned as if it clawed its way out of the deck of a ship, so that meant broken decking and water underneath. I initially thought about painting a below-deck scene using perspective lines, but then I realized that would be pure insanity and decided to do a water effect with gloss varnish instead. I think it turned out reasonably well, tho I still have not affixed it to the base as I'm trying to decide exactly how to do so. And I cannot skip mentioning my favorite part: the little wine bottle rolling on the base to give a sense of disruption from the creature's arrival.

Party foul!

As for the game, I fielded it for the first time on Sunday in a 25 game against the Convergence of Cyriss. The Throne of Everblight performed admirably, doing exactly what it should do--scaring my opponent into focusing on it and letting my other heavy hitter warbeasts reach their lines without any damage. While I eventually lost the Throne, it was a superstar of destroying infantry (Convergence of Cyriss Eradicators), a light warjack (Galvanizer), and managing to down all of the three attunement servitors that were flitting about with it's free magic spells in two consecutive rounds (each turn it kills a model, it gets to cast a spell for free with Battle Wizard). Got one servitor with a Frostbite spray, and two with a single Spine Burst shot. That's a tiny thing, but shows just how valuable the Battle Wizard ability can be. Instead of spending other activations to take out the minor annoyances, the Throne of Everblight can snipe some supporting pieces while taking out other more threatening concerns in melee. 

Legion of Everblight

Models Painted: 7

Points Painted: 34

Warlocks Painted: 1

The Imperial Navy of Cheliax: Fiendish Might

Skull and Shackles

North of Port Peril and the Shackles region lies an enormous whirling hurricane in perpetual motion called the Eye of Abendego, and just north of that is the Arch of Aroden a thin passage to what is known as the Inner Sea. Commanding the Inner Sea, and now turning their eyes outside to the Arcadian Ocean (where the pirates of the Shackles ply their trade) is the grand nation of Cheliax. A lawful evil society based around devil worship, the Chelish field fleets of naval vessels to support their control of the Arch of Aroden and gain influence and control of the greater ocean. For more information on the nation of Cheliax in the Pathfinder world, check here.

Essential to our purposes in the Skull and Shackles campaign is that the Imperial Navy of Cheliax are the primary formal navy and pirate hunters of the region and the campaign. More worrysome to aspiring pirates is the sheer might of the Chelish forces. Their ships of the line include the Chelish Man-o'war, a massive three-decked vessel that normally is fitted with 20 ballistae per side and huge catapults on both the fore- and aftcastle. As if that is not bad enough, the current Vice-Admiral of Chelish forces who has been tasked with the elimination of piracy in the Shackles is the infamous Delthretta Pavane, a deeply cursed woman whose raw savagery is augmented from a most dire pact with some devilish force. Vice-Admiral Pavane has been equipping her naval crews with not only the normally-sturdy Chelish Marines, but with strange devil-bred hellspawn made from the unholy matings between devils and sea beasts: sharks, sea monsters, and worse.

Behold, the Scythean!

For instance, the most recent reports from a few sailors who managed to survive their ship being wrecked by a Chelish attack talk of a large beast which was driven onto their decks by its Chelish Marine handlers. The strange beast seemed to be a cross between a devil and a plesiosaur, and tore into the pirate crew with unmatched savagery. This corresponds to similar stories of small two-legged shark creatures that were delivered by strange agents on floating rafts to assail other ships north of the Eye of Abendigo. For now, while the massive hurricane continues its whorl, hopefully the Imperial might of Cheliax and their devil-bred ocean beasts is held in check.

The regions of Golarion that are primarily involved

Privateer Press

So while in the Pathfinder campaign, the models will represent the devil-bred forces of the Chelish navy, they're the Legion of Everblight in Privateer Press' twin games Hordes and Warmachine. The painted model, the Scythean, is the first heavy warbeast that I've painted for my force. I like the way the color scheme worked out on the model with a lot more area. The prior ones, the Shredders I posted about first in this post, had only smaller areas that were in the red-to-orange spectrum. I really like the way it came out in the larger model.

Side and back view

The Scythean is a seriously nasty foe in combat, with brutal attacks and the ability to punish large groups--it has a chain attack ability that goes off if it hits with both of its initial attacks. While I have plans on doing a Ravagore and a Carnivean to give some depth of options for my force, I decided to paint up the Scythean first. The reason: simplicity. I'm still learning the game, and the beauty of the Scythean is that it's just a face-wrecking melee critter. Plus, I'm saving the complex tech for my next addition: the Throne of Everblight

Awww Mikey, give us a little lickery-kiss

It's still being assembled, because the kit is HUGE. But I wanted to do a Throne as it's honestly the model that inspired my vision for this force. I pictured a massive beast that burst up from below-decks in a ship due to the commands of a master sorceress. Normally, the Throne has kind of a parapet at the top. I changed it up, with some Sculpey and bits from other models, plus ample numbers of the coffee stir sticks I am using for decking, to look as if it burst up from below decks.

It came from below!

That shot of the full model gives a good sense of my intentions. I still have work to do on it, such as finishing the tentacles, adding the pirate details to the sorceress on the deck, and putting on the broken and splintered deck from the base (which I am going to at least try to paint a recessed image underneath... we'll see how good my painting skills are). But I'm really pleased with the progress thus far. I love the look of the piece for Privateer Press--let alone what sort of horror it will be for the Pathfinder gaming table in my Skull and Shackles game!

Legion of Everblight

Models Painted: 4

Points Painted: 15

Warlocks Painted: 0