Sin City Dispatch #9

Hey everyone, welcome to issue number 9 of the Dispatch!

In this issue we are going to continue our look at my growing 'stealer cult army list. First up, we will had back to the Workbench to take a look at how to make your own Broodlord. It's amazing what you can do with plastics nowadays... Then, we are going to stay at the Bench to take a look at our growing rustic outpost. After all, you can't have a cult without some place for them to plot their devious little plans, right? Of course not! So sit down and strap in because we are about to hit the ground running!

From the Workbench
"Growing" Your Own Broodlord

In keeping with the 'stealer cult theme, I have decided to use a Broodlord for my HQ choice. Coming with his own retinue of 'stealers and looking like some kind of advanced evolution of the 'stealer, he is perfect for the role. As an added plus, there is already a model out there for him so I could just pick up the model, stick it together, and BAM! instant Broodlord. That's what I could do, but I decided to try to make my own instead.

For the most part, this is actually pretty easy to do. I am basing mine on a regular Warrior equipped with the rending claws and the smaller scything talons. While this makes most of the model a very simple build, it does leave him without a head. The regular warrior head just does not look right, so I had to start digging around for something a little different. I also want to give my Broodlord the feeder tendrils biomorph, so I had to make sure that it was something that I could add some tentacles to. I considered using one of the old Ravener heads, but it just didn't quite look right. In the end I decided to use a head from one of the old metal Warriors that I have lying around. This head was large enough so that it looked right on the body and adding tentacles should be an easy enough thing to do.

Unfortunately planning is as far as I managed to get with this model. Once I get past the holidays and the sixteen straight days that I am working, I plan to finish up this model so that I can get him on the table ASAP. That means that you can expect more on this critter soon, along with pictures of the WIP and the finished model as well.

From the Workbench
Home, Home on the Range...

One of the things that I am really excited about with this project is having the terrain follow the same theme as the army. Over the years I have found that a lot of my army concepts tend to be very story driven, which is kind of hard to do with the Tyranids. They come, overrun the planet, eat everything in sight, and then move on. How's that for a deep plot line? By doing a Genestealer cult, the whole story concept becomes much more accessible again as there is some kind of depth to the army. Instead of being about a massive feeding machine sweeping across the galaxy, this list can have some personalities in it. Sure they are all the same as far as stats, but at least now I can add a little somthing to their background.

This also figures into the terrain that I am building. Secrecy is vital for a new cult as it grows in strength. Their numbers start small, but gradually increase as they bring more people "into the fold". To really focus on this need for isolation, I am building something reminiscent of a small old Western town. Nothing more than a whistle stop for most travelers, this makes it the ideal location for the cult to "recruit" new members who then travel on and spread the "good word".

The first step was to decide what type of buildings I should concentrate on. To get some ideas, I took a look at the Whitewash City website. Creators of PDF Western scenery, they have several different sets available so that you can easily create a towns of various sizes. While I am not going to use any of their buildings (I have never been able to get those paper models to work for me...) it does give me a good idea what I should include in my town.

The first building was originally supposed to be part of my Ork settlement but it was easy enough to change gears halfway through.

This combination generator/mechanic shop is a vital part of any frontier community. While I imagine that most of the buildings would probably have their own power sources, a larger facility like this one is key to the long term survival of the town. As for the in game mechanics, it is considered impassable terrain since most of the building would be taken up by the generators.

The next piece of terrain just seems to fit in naturally with the concept of a Western town but then again I am from Nevada, the one state where prostitution is legal in most of the counties. Yes, that's right, this one is a brothel.

It only seems fitting to have this in a frontier town and it really fits in with the idea of the cult as well. What easier way to lure in travelers before introducing them to the darkest secrets of the cult and truly opening their eyes. Unlike the generator, I actually made this building so that it can be opened up as you can see here.

Though there are currently no interior features other than a staircase, I wanted to leave this piece so that I can add more details later. This also makes the piece much more versatile it can easily be used in a more detailed skirmish game such as Necromunda or Rezolution.

The next piece actually can have a few different uses in a game.

Affectionately known as "the water shed", this building represents the entrance to an underground water storage facility. We are talking dark corridors lined with pipes dripping condensation and large storage tanks, something which could add an interesting element to the game. As this is the most logical place for most of the 'stealers to be located most of the time, this opens up the possibility of a Space Hulk style game as the enemy goes through the underground maze hunting down the 'stealers and ultimately the patriarch (aka the Broodlord).

The last piece of terrain that I have in progress is actually from the latest version of Confrontation and is used as an objective in most of the scenarios from the new starter released earlier in the year.

I wanted to have someplace like this in the town to represent somewhere that small numbers of "converts" could be introduced into the cult during official ceremonies. No real effect on the game beyond blocking line of sight but still seems like a nice little addition to the scenery.

The Parting Shot...

That about wraps it up for this issue. As I mentioned earlier, I am currently working a lot of hours which is cutting into any time that I would normally have available. Still, I am going to try to squeeze in some hobby time when I can so hopefully I can get some more stuff done so that I will have something to talk about in the next Dispatch. With that, I am going to go pass out but until next time, may all of your dice come up Dragons!