A while back our group got into Warmachine (temporarily, as it turned out). I was going through my small Cygnar force, looking to sell them on eBay, when an intriguing possibility occurred to me. Using the figures from the Black 13th Gun Mage Strike Team and Cylena Raefyll & Nyss Hunters, I came up with a new team for IHMN.
The story I came up with is convoluted, as mine tend to be (!), but involves the fascinating subject of Tibetan arms and Buddhist culture, and is underlain by a burning desire by the Company for vengeance and justice.
I at first thought the Nyss Hunters were on the large side, but compared to my Artizan figures just back from being painted at Pictors Studio, they are not too different (if slightly larger) while actually the Gun Mage team is slightly undersized. I don't see why that should cause any problems.
I would appreciate advice about whether to repaint Tenzin and her warriors with authentic flesh colors rather than Nyss Hunter Blue, and whether to include their irises in their eyes. Perhaps their five years of monastical study deep in the Himalayas has had the effect of turning their skin blue, and whiting out their iris. Or not.
I am not a big fan of Warmachine, it turns out: it is everything that IHMN is not: the blogs are totally dedicated to producing the perfect force for tournament play, and story elements are ignored. Privateer churns out figure after figure, so the eager player can perfect his "unbeatable force." Indeed, the force I own was put together after reading the blogs for the ideal units, Warjacks, Warcasters, mercenaries, and Solos. No room for imagination or creativity. Plus the figures, while quite nice, are truly a pain to put together.
Anyway, here's the finished pdf:
http://wrgmr.com/blackwood.pdf
(http://wrgmr.com/images/blackwoods.jpg)
The figures:
(http://wrgmr.com/images/blackwoods1.jpg)
Barnabas, Tenzin, Benjamin, Bethany
(http://wrgmr.com/images/blackwoods2.jpg)
The Archers ('phong skyen pa)
(http://wrgmr.com/images/blackwoods3.jpg)
The Soldiers (dmag rgod po) [I could find no Tibetan words for Swordsman]
The general information about Tibetan arms and armor terminology, including the Likir Monastery and the guardian deities, was from the excellent Warriors of the Himalayas, Donald J. LaRocca, published by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It contains wonderful photos of Tibetan arms and armor from collections all over the world. I obtained it via inter-library loan.