Some miniatures for Song of Blades and Heroes (undead warband for Mordheim)

[Hobgoblin]

Yes, both SOBH and ASOBH are terrific games. ASOBH probably tends towards a game with fewer figures per side and more abilities for each, and has reactions to break up the turn sequence even more.

The rules are very simple, but the long list of traits and the online warband builder mean that you can stat up whatever models you have as you envisage them - and you can achieve a huge amount of variety even though the game uses just two stats.

One thing to note is that games are often decided by morale - so routing rather than death tends to be the deciding factor. Also, leaders are very important for lower-quality troops (orcs and the like). I like this very much - ASOBH is the perfect game to simulate this kind of thing:

"But even as they retreated, and before Pippin and Merry had reached the stair outside, a huge orc-chieftain, almost man-high, clad in black mail from head to foot, leaped into the chamber; behind him his followers clustered in the doorway. His broad flat face was swart, his eyes were like coals, and his tongue was red; he wielded a great spear. With a thrust of his huge hide shield he turned Boromir’s sword and bore him backwards, throwing him to the ground. Diving under Aragorn’s blow with the speed of a striking snake he charged into the Company and thrust with his spear straight at Frodo. The blow caught him on the right side, and Frodo was hurled against the wall and pinned. Sam, with a cry, hacked at the spear-shaft, and it broke. But even as the orc flung down the truncheon and swept out his scimitar, Andúril came down upon his helm. There was a flash like flame and the helm burst asunder. The orc fell with cloven head. His followers fled howling, as Boromir and Aragorn sprang at them."

In ASOBH terms, that's a couple of successful attacks (Knockdown and Out of Action) by an orc leader with the Combat Master and Dashing traits, followed a failed activation roll for the followers, a Gruesome Kill by Aragorn and a failed cascading morale check by the surviving orcs.

Avoid too many high powered figures as these tend to be very hard to kill and the game becomes a bit dull.

Interesting. Oddly, one of the things I've found about SOBH is that powerful figures are quite risky, because outnumbering and concentrated fire mean that a few weaklings can take down a stronger character quite easily. A C6 Dragon surrounded by five C2 kobolds will fight on equal terms ....

[Hobgoblin]

Here's another member of the chaos horde - an old Runequest Sraim. I have a brace of them, but the other is based up for skirmish - I think he features in the background earlier in this thread. I've often thought that the same body with a prettier head would make a great late-stage Zarozinia.

Again, this is a super-quick paintjob - no fussing over details, just some suitably lurid colours to add to the chaotic nature of the ensemble.

[LeadAsbestos]

You must have an amazing stockpile! I've been after one of the sraim forever, and you have a brace of them!

[fred]

Interesting. Oddly, one of the things I've found about SOBH is that powerful figures are quite risky, because outnumbering and concentrated fire mean that a few weaklings can take down a stronger character quite easily. A C6 Dragon surrounded by five C2 kobolds will fight on equal terms ....

Yes. Sorry I wasn't too clear, I meant don't make both sides just a few high powered creatures.

The outnumbering and Leader rules mean hordes can be quite effective.

[Hobgoblin]

Yes. Sorry I wasn't too clear, I meant don't make both sides just a few high powered creatures.

The outnumbering and Leader rules mean hordes can be quite effective.

Ah - I see what you mean. Yes, two characters with very high Q and C is equivalent (nay, almost identical!) to two blades elements battling it out in HOTT - not much chance of a kill.

LeadAsbestos - if I ever find a third ...   The round-based one is a key NPC for a "megadungeon" I made for TOBH - and the players have yet to encounter him, alas!

I do recall seeing the Sraim crop up in eBay job lots quite a bit.

[Hobgoblin]

I've made some progress with the HOTT hordes. Here are a few more chaos hordelings - with many more there or thereabouts.

These are all really quick paintjobs: the question I've asked myself for this exercise is "Would you rather paint them well and never get them to the table, or rush through them and have a full complement of horde elements ready for gaming?". The latter wins.

I'm keen to have a sprinkling of normal, if unhappy-looking, humans among the beastmen and things: I want the sense of there being a continuum between men, beastmen, beasts and worse.

[Hobgoblin]

And one more: the old Ral Partha Grendel. I suspect he's the source of the "Spiked Troll" profile in early Warhammer.

Not very flattering photos, taken at twilight. Oh well ...

[Little Odo]

I like it - very nicely painted. The only other one of these I ever saw was way back when I was about aged 10 and the paint job was not a lot to write home about. You have done him/it? justice.

[Dr. Kevin Moon III esq.]

Love the figures for the horde base! Looking forward to seeing a few bases together.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks!

The horde is growing ...

[Severian]

Great stuff - properly horde-like. They do indeed give off an air of general blank-eyed misery, which seems right for the context.

Grendel is excellently done (although I have no idea why RP gave him spikes....)

[beefcake]

I love that Grendel mini and your paint job is excellent. Is it back in production with ironwind or RPE or is this an old mini?

[Hobgoblin]

I got it second hand in the 1980s. It's a great figure, though not much like Grendel (what little we glimpse of him in the poem). You can't imagine this creature using a bag or glove, and he's not anthropomorphic enough: the poem's Grendel is famously human-like in various ways. I think Tom Meier's Fantasy Tribe trolls are much closer to the mark.

Still, he's a great beastie. No idea whether he's still available from Iron Wind or RPE. He should be!

[Hobgoblin]

And here's another: the Trish Morrison bird man. This figure - a variant of the more celebrated mantis man - is a bit crude in some ways. But it exemplifies everything that was so good about the Morrison chaos beastmen:the wretchedness, the diversity of animal sources and the sheer bizarreness. Midway through painting, it struck me that what I thought was just a crude hand was actually a birdlike claw that perhaps should have been the same yellow as the feet. Ah well - onwards!

[randycarter]

Your work on medieval iconography si turning out very well: it almost remind me of Bosch! Great work, can't wait to see the army based!