The Black Order - All Things End

[Knight-Captain Tyr]

Hi all,

As I mentioned in my introduction post, I'm still a little stunned I never knew about this forum until very recently. It is an amazing resource. I've never seen so many projects in one place that made me alternate between "Why didn't I think of that" and "How do I do that?". I am very glad to have found it and a little overwhelmed by all the awesome.

I really got into fantasy with the advent of the computer games Myth: The Fallen Lords and Myth II: Soulblighter, both RTS games from Bungie (yes, that Bungie) back in the early 90s as a small child. The dark, grim fantasy world of Myth set the tone for what I wanted out of a fantasy universe and few things since then managed to scratch that itch. I always had a soft spot for the legends and cultural influences from which Myth drew its inspiration and studied Norse and wider Germanic pagan cultures, languages and mythologies at university, which led me to get back into miniature wargaming through some friends on the course. For the last few years I've been involved in Warhammer 40,000 and the Horus Heresy expansion (Sons of Tyr homebrew Chapter and XIII Legion Ultramarines respectively), but in 2017 decided to jump head first into fantasy and make the kind of low-fantasy, grimdark army of doomed men I'd always wanted.

But I didn't really have any idea where to start - except I knew I what I wanted the army to look like. It had to be tied to no game system in particular (although Kings of War is most popular between London and Prague, my two places of work), I wanted an army with a strong theme and identity, and yet capable of being slipped into a multitude of different systems and backgrounds without jarring too much.

Thus the Black Order was born.

A ragged army of conscripted peasants, grizzled men-at-arms, military order knights and hedge-knights turned reiver, I figured that the Black Order would be the remnant of a feudal-era kingdom long since torn apart by internecine war, natural disasters and cataclysms of other sorts. A military order attempting to unify shattered elements of a kingdom's army and its serfs would fast become a military dictatorship, enforcing its power through displays of strength and rigorous discipline, and so I didn't want these to be good-guy crusading paladins but violent, hardened knights whose honour is secondary to survival and who would be out-and-out mercenaries if not for a few remaining shreds of pride.

They're also visually fairly similar to Teutonic Order, and should I ever have occasion to slip into historicals, it's likely that's what they'd be used as. Possibly during the campaigns against the pagans in northern Europe. However, they wouldn't be perfectly historical.

Without further ado - I wrote up a brief intro to the Black Order and the universe in which I imagine them.

__________________________________________________

The birds, as ever, were the first to flee.

Those who survived said later that the forests had fallen silent first. On the first day the skies were clear and empty, with no bird visible to the eye nor able to be heard; their absence was noted by the woodsmen as an omen of the greatest ill. They said later that by the fourth day after the birds departed, the great woodlands of the Kingdom - once home to all the game and wild beasts known to Man - were as somnolent as the grave.

On the seventh day after the forests fell silent the earth itself split apart.



Great fissures yawned wide in the ground, swallowing men and livestock whole; entire villages and towns were utterly obliterated, the dwellings of commonfolk and nobles alike either sucked into the ravenous earth, or collapsed where they stood, burying their inhabitants alive. 

The greatest of the Kingdom's fortresses, once bulwarks against the Dark, fared no better. The pride of the old King's Order, its inviolate and implacable citadels, were shattered and ground to dust as the earth itself moaned and shuddered, heaving whole armies into the dark depths beneath the world.

In the days and weeks that followed, there would be survivors who emerged from the rubble and tortured earth to discover a world turned upside down. The devastation of the old Kingdom had been absolute, and the struggle for survival in its aftermath was bitter and desperate, as the lakes and rivers ran dry and the once-rich forests yielded little in the way of sustenance. Many of those who survived the cataclysm lived only to die mere months later to starvation and thirst.



And yet for those who lived, having survived the destruction of the world as they knew it, the greatest trial was yet to come.

On the hundredth day after the skies fell silent, the crows returned to the forests of the Kingdom. And as the cries of carrion-birds echoed once more through the desolate woodlands and shattered plains where cities and towns had once stood, the shadow of the Dark fell upon the lands of the Order once more.

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The Yursgrad Militia



The town of Yursgrad was one of the few northern border towns not directly affected by the natural disaster which shattered the Kingdom's fiefdoms. Never the most populous of the Order's recruiting grounds, the Yursgrad levy nonetheless had a reputation for producing hardy woodsmen and sturdy workers. In the days following the devastation of the Kingdom, and the reformation of its shattered armies from which the Black Order rose, the men of Yursgrad formed the backbone of the Black Order's manpower.



Tostig and Morcar, Sergeants of Infantry, lead the Yursgrad militia in defense of their town

[Knight-Captain Tyr]

An army shot from September 2017 - back then the Order was pretty infantry-heavy and relied on its lighter-armoured cavalry with only a single unit of knights (top right) and one unit of hedge knights/Abyssal Hunt (top left). I was still finding my feet with the Brotherhood list in Kings of War, sounding out what worked and what didn't, etc.

Rounding out the rest of the force: two ballistae, a horde of Villein Spearmen, a regiment of Villein Bowmen with crossbows (represented by the Heart-Seeking Chant artifact), two troops of regular Villein Bowmen and finally a troop of Villein Reconnoiterers to serve as chaff and scouts. Knight-Lieutenant Gaheris (Exemplar Adjutant on foot) and Knight-Captain Tyr (Exemplar of the Brotherhood/Exemplar Forsaker depending on the base used) led the force. Loot counters (bottom right) and Disordered counters (bottom left) were really fun to make.

Quite a lot has been added since then - a comparison shot is in the works I think. I'll upload fluff and more pics in due course.

[fred]

Welcome.

A good looking army, a mix of Fireforge and Perry I think?

Are you using the Kingdoms of Men list for KoW?

[Ethelred the Almost Ready]

Nice army and background story.  I'm glad you have found us.

[commissarmoody]

Very cool and thanks for Sharing.
Myth was a pretty fun game if memory serves, it really punished you when you screwed up.

[Sunjester]

A very nice looking army and a great background idea. I look forward to seeing more.

[tancrede]

Very good work on the background, sir.
And your army is very nicely painted. Can we have more pics, please ?

[tomrommel1]

nice

[white knight]

Looking excellent, background, minis and painting!

[Knight-Captain Tyr]

Thanks, guys! Still amazed by this forum. I'll get over it soon haha.

Myth was a really great game. Still playable on modern PCs even nearly 25 years after it was first released, the community released the most recent patch in Feb 2018. Not bad going!

Welcome.

A good looking army, a mix of Fireforge and Perry I think?

Are you using the Kingdoms of Men list for KoW?

Yes, a mix of Fireforge and Perry primarily, but branching out into Conquest Games, Gripping Beast, Black Tree Design, Mierce and Otherworld Miniatures as well. There's the odd GW bit scattered around too.

As far as KoW goes, these guys are Brotherhood through and through. The Kingdoms of Men list is cool, I might try it out at some point but I started with Brotherhood and feel that represents the 'soul' of the army better.

More pics incoming:

___________________________



Those of Yursgrad's sons who did not have the brawn or constitution for the shieldwall were put to use in the second wave of the Black Order's vanguard, forming part of the troop known informally - within their own ranks, if not elsewhere - as the Claws of Yursgrad. Many of the Yursgrad militia had served as huntsmen during peacetime, and their skill with crossbow developed into a rightly feared asset of the Order during its march north.



Ermanaric, Sergeant of Archers, directs the withering fire of the Order's arbalestiers from an entrenched position.

[Knight-Captain Tyr]

Those sons of Yursgrad who came from mercantile families, or whose fathers had proven themselves in battle to the Order, were grouped in units of outriders, light cavalry units which would scout ahead of the Order's vanguard, riding for days at a time to root out the most fell of the Order's enemies. After the collapse of the Kingdom and the rise of the Dark, many of the Black Order's outriders became adept at fighting the night-horrors and demonic entities that plagued the lands around Yursgrad, frequently riding alongside Order knights in far-ranging Great Hunts of otherworldly beasts terrorizing the northern forests.



Those who survived the Great Hunts were proven warriors and great assets to the Black Order. It was not uncommon for such survivors to be elevated from yeomanry to the ranks of knighthood, many choosing to return to the Great Hunts as anointed knights of the Black Order itself.

[Gibby]

Brilliant thread! I am very keen on narrative-heavy forces and games and I really like what you've done. Welcome to the forum!

As it happens, Myth and Myth 2 are my favourite games ever. Myth 2: Soulblighter has never not been installed on my PC, even after all these years. Got all the Project Magma patches and lots of the community add-ons too. The engine really stands the test of time, with lovely sprites in a capable 3D physics engine, really helps with the mods that feature muskets, cannons etc, as well as the well realised medieval/fantasy combat of the base game. Ah, Myth.

Again, great thread :-)

[Mason]

Brilliant thread! I am very keen on narrative-heavy forces and games and I really like what you've done. Welcome to the forum!

Gotta agree with Gibby.
A top thread with wonderful eye candy and background.
Love everything about it.
 

And a top way to introduce yourself.
You will be e great addition to the forum if this is what you are going to post.
Welcome aboard!
 

[Schrumpfkopf]

There's many god things here. I really like your background story, and the minis look stunning.
Welcome to the forum indeed!

[Knight-Captain Tyr]

Thank you gents! Honoured to receive such praise. Really surprised, but grateful. I'll enjoy my time here for sure.

Brilliant thread! I am very keen on narrative-heavy forces and games and I really like what you've done. Welcome to the forum!

As it happens, Myth and Myth 2 are my favourite games ever. Myth 2: Soulblighter has never not been installed on my PC, even after all these years. Got all the Project Magma patches and lots of the community add-ons too. The engine really stands the test of time, with lovely sprites in a capable 3D physics engine, really helps with the mods that feature muskets, cannons etc, as well as the well realised medieval/fantasy combat of the base game. Ah, Myth.

Again, great thread :-)

It really is a great game. I'm replaying it now for the first time in...10-12 years? Amazed how well it holds up. I can't think of anything from that era that would fare so well.