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| The Enchanter Orrick Vos and his retinue as they enter the outskirts of the Frozen City. |
As the snow begins to melt across the windswept tundra, a new set of wizards begin to arrive at Frostgrave. The motivations for such folk vary greatly, and many are in it entirely for profit. Some, however, come with high-minded ideals they wish to realize amidst the snowy ruins of the City Under Ice. Such is the case with the Enchanter, Orrick Vos.
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| The Enchanter Orrick Vos and his apprentice, Eddard. |
Vos is an alchemical scientist from what seems to be another world entirely, and as such his past is shrouded in total mystery. He is an accomplished metalsmith and engineer, and has constructed a prosthetic leg that moves as naturally as the original appendage. It is also known that he is the only master smith known to be able to create the strange metal that he calls 'verite'. Verite is an alloy of adamantium and orichalcum, somehow forged under a focused beam of light cast by a large, pure emerald. With Vos's arcane knowledge, the already powerful metal is enhanced and given anomalous magical properties.
These are two Reaper Bones models I just couldn't resist using for wizard & apprentice. The wrenches are hand weapons, and the fists are double-handed weapons. It will pay to max out Fight quickly in the campaign.
I actually painted the two of these straight onto the model without a basecoat after experimenting with several of my paints and getting mixed results. From now on, if I'm not basecoating with an Army Painter spray or some Krylon flat primer I'll be brushing on a thinned basecoat without any primer at all. They are pretty ugly until you get going along, but there's little that can be done with some Bones models. For instance, poor Eddard's face is permanently disfigured by a less than optimal cast. I couldn't find a head that looked proportionate on that body, so I gave him a serious face condition and just kept it.
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| Captain Vaekold Inubrium. |
Vos's original clan of wizards laughed at his discovery, as few of them knew much of forging metals. He consulted with dwarfs of all ilk, on his world and many others. He challenged their mithrils with his verite, and traded secrets with them. One of these dwarven masters was actually intrigued by the strange properties of the metal, and argued that his clan should jump on the knowledge that Vos offered. The clan, to their credit, listened to his words and took an interest in the new material.
After an extended stay, the clans relented. The hold of Tarz-Ariz'kagaz embraced the techniques Vos demonstrated after witnessing the strength, durability and some other anomalous properties of the magical metal during a surprise attack by stone giants deep within the hold. When one of the constructs Vos's apprentice had built saved the High Warsmith of the hold from being smashed by a giants' hammer, the clans saw firsthand what could be done with verite. The clan had little mithril anyway...but no other clans had the secret of verite.
Much debate among the thanes, engineers and smiths of Tarz-Ariz'kagaz ensued. Mithril might indeed be stronger under normal circumstances, but verite had other properties that could be exploited. Vos and his team demonstrated many of the devices he had built using verite in ways that enhanced the basic functions in unexpected ways. The clans of the hold decided that since this was indeed a thing, they should capitalize before someone else does.
The Enchanter gained much on that day, including a new follower - the dwarven engineer Vaekold Inubrium. He represents the hold as he travels with Vos to new realms in search of the resources to create more verite. He also performs many tests on both verite and mithral, along with any other materials he comes in contact with. In Frostgrave, he finds that the battlefield situations here generate spectacular amounts of data.
This model is a Mage-Knight miniature I plundered called 'Steam Tinker'. I had always thought about messing around with Mage-Knight models, and this warband is mostly the end result of the thought that something cool could be done with Mage-Knight models...no offense to anyone who likes Mage-Knight. I'll play with you...but I think I've killed most of the ones I bought. Actually maybe there are more. The 'verite' effect on this model is created by laying a basecoat of GW Calthan Brown, followed by a full layer of GW Shining Gold on top of that. Then I applied Army Painter Green Tone to the gold areas, and highlighted with Chainmail.
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| Sword Golems, aka Medium Constructs. |
The so-called 'Sword Golems' are Vos's front line soldiers. These constructs are built mostly by Inubrium and Eddard, and are considered by Vos to be their ongoing educational project. The outer shell and core inner workings of these golems are made of treated verite, and the Enchanter's instruction is quite effective. These metal wonders of magical science are as strong as seasoned soldiers, and their deadly blades prove too fast for many foes.
These models are Mage-Knight models called 'Whirling Golems'. All I really had to do was apply Army Painter Green Tone and highlight, though I did do a little correcting here and there. In general though, I really didn't want to spend too much time on these.
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| Ruthless Mercenary Musketeers. |
The only other living followers of Vos, the mysterious gunmen known only as 'the Musketeers' use weapons incorporating verite features to great effect. Guns are not widely known in the lands of Frostgrave, but from where these folk originate they are common. Vos regularly gifts them with new verite accoutrements, such as armored plates and lined cloaks. Well-equipped and highly motivated, these cutthroats kill whatever Vos tells them to kill.
These models are Seth Alkot, Monster Hunter and Lazar Grigzov, Khadoran Rifleman from the Iron Kingdoms miniatures line. There are a lot of models from that line I like, and it's what got me into Warmachine to begin with - specifically, these figures. They went unpainted for a long time, but I unearthed them while sifting through old stuff right after reading Spellcaster #1. They fit with the steampunk aesthetic of the Enchanter warband perfectly, since such is the setting they hail from.
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| Verite Golem 'The Matron' aka Large Construct. |
One of Vos's masterworks, the large verite golem known as 'the Matron' is an evolution of Vos's theories utilized in the construction of the sword golems. Lithe and fast but durable and strong, the Matron is armed with huge verite blade and an eternal torch. It is Vos's prize creation, showcasing many of his most guarded designs and utilizing many secrets of the verite it is made of.
Another Mage-Knight miniature, this one is called 'Battle Maiden'. This one actually came missing it's weapon, so I found one leftover from a Scyrah myrmidon. Other than that, all I really did was add a little paint to neaten up the edges of the factory paint job (bleh) and add a few details. After that, all I needed was the Army Painter Green Tone, since this model was mostly gold already like the Whirling Golems that became my sword golems.
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| Verite Golem 'Crasher' aka Large Construct. |
When things get real in the ruins of the Frozen City, Crasher is Vos's answer to most physical threats. The savage golem is built around a steamcore engine similar to the one that powers Vos's own prosthetic suit and personal weaponry. Armed with a deadly scything arm and a massive verite-core mace, this thing uses its' size as a primary weapon.
Anooooother Mage-Knight model, this one is actually converted and painted more than the others. It's a Steam Golem that's been repainted in the 'verite' scheme, obviously. I also added a Chaos Space Marine arm, a Chaos Defiler's skull faceplate. I repositioned the legs because they looked silly and had a weird bent to them. I believe the mace is from a Privateer Mercenary Heavy Warjack kit.
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| The Enchanter Orrick Vos and his warband split into teams to take on the enemy and plunder the secrets of Frostgrave! |
Vos's recent travels have given him insight that seems to point to Frostgrave as a likely source of new information on verite. He must know what the ancients here knew about what he thought was a totally new material he had discovered. He has reason to believe his verite is different from what was produced here, and he means to prove its' superiority. Vaekold also believes this, and the team sets out into the City Under Ice to vindicate themselves and secure a place in legend.
