Slow Grow Campaign

[Abarnes]

Hey Guys,

New to the forums here, but I've been around fantasy for a few years now and a couple of friends and I have been super bummed with the release of AoS so to get our WHFB mojo going again we have decided to run a slow grow campaign. We are notoriously slack when it comes to making an effort (at least I am) so we thought we could do this to starting painting and playing again.

What we are looking for is any ideas an hints as we have never done this before and we are not very experienced players.

What we have decided on is to start with 6 months and see how we go and if we are enjoying it will will continue or start another campaign with different armies.

The plan so far....

For the first 2 months we will be painting our first 500 points and we will be coming up with our own back stories for our armies. We will also be refining the overall plan of how we are going to run this thing.

Every month after that we will have a 250 point increase.

Rules wise we will be playing pre ET 8th as that is currently what appeals to us the most.

To give the campaign a 3rd dimension and taking from the Black Sun boys we have decided to add relics into the game. Each round there will be relics up for grabs (and ways to lose them) and we have decided to make the winner the one with the most relics at the end. This way it allows us to add scenarios/objectives, and modify things on the way to keep the campaign close. If someone is streaming out in front we will make it hard for them to get relics and easier for them to lose them, we are just 3 mates and we are not competitive 6 dice monkey's so its all for the spirit of the game. In the end we will buy the winner a nice little prize though!

Armies..
Dark Elves - Me
Vampire Counts
Dwarves

[Amboadine]

Hello and welcome to the forum. Campaign sounds like a good idea, hoping to see your progress reported here.

[Abarnes]

To really get into the theme of things, we've all come up with some fluff for our armies, and for those who are members of WGAU, we've started a campaign thread @ http://www.wargamerau.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=181260 enjoy:

As the waves broke across the deck of the Revenant, Valekil’s mind wandered, recalling times of hardship and struggle. Karond Kar was a ruthless city, especially for a prisoner, but killing one’s own father came with a steep price, and Valekil relished in the death and chaos that surrounded him. As a child, Valekil’s father did all he could to destroy the young elf, near killing him on more than one occasion, but this only fueled a rage that soon would be all but unstoppable, leading to the mutilation and murder of his father.

While serving time, Valekil caught the eye of a fleetmaster, his thirst for chaos and blood showed great potential, and his almost ruthless disregard for his own health could prove beneficial if molded and warped to serve his will. After ripping the arms from a guard, it was decided. Purchased from the Prison, Valekil, now a slave, was set on a path towards greatness and there wasn’t a soul that could stop him. Now a slave, a deckhand, Valekil was granted the chance to use his gift, his thirst for blood, to kill for a purpose, to hone his skills and earn his freedom.

Years past, and now Valekil commanded his own fleet, his former master (now a Dreadlord) had granted him freedom and his ship following their most prosperous year of raiding, and his own ascendance to greatness. Valekil commanded a merciless host, but for now however Valekil must wait, sitting as his right hand was a blood crazed sorceress, Xasti, and she was tasked with capturing his first toy, a Kharibdyss. Her sheer will for destruction and chaos matched none but his own, and she was excited to bring Valekil such a gift, the more powerful he became the more she reaped in return.

Valekil’s mind was at ease, the fresh steak on his plate brought back memories, a menacing grin spread across his face as he recalled the taste of his worthless father. But a Fleetmaster’s task is never completed, there is no limit to glory or plunder.

[Abarnes]

Ok, first little update:

I've slowly been collecting some DE's and was planning on creating a 2500 point list, so this is just what i needed to get off my ass and paint! Like Rob and Sharmos i started with a 1500 point list for the campaign, focusing on a theme more so than trying to make something OP, i then just went through and removed things to make the smaller lists, making my way backwards (1250-1000-750-500) and came up with this simple little 500 point list to build on:

15 Corsairs extra HW

1 Sorceress lvl2 (aka Xasti)

10 Executioners

5 Dark Riders R/Crossbows

My 750 point list gets a little silly, so tag along to see how this pans out!

So far i have almost all the models i need for this list, and went a little crazy the other night and painted my executioners, this block of 10 stays more or less the same right through the campaign, so though it was a good place to start. I did forget to take progression shots, but here this is what i have come up with:







Certainly not a profesional paint job, and im still undecided on how im going to base the army, but im pretty happy with how they have come up, next up will be the Corsiars!

[Amboadine]

Not a bad job at all. Looking forward to seeing the Corsairs.

[Abarnes]

So a little bit going on the last week or so, started to paint again to try and get it all done well before we kick off at the end of November. I test painted a corsair, around 4 or 5 times.... but i think I've come up with something i like, i also received the rest of the models i needed in the post so everything is now built and base coated.

Through the week i also ordered Sarissa Precision bases and movement trays, so hopefully they show up in time to get things done.

Here is a quick photo of the corsairs I've started, and some photos of the Kharibdyss i painted not too long ago in prep for this army, still some work to do on the rocks etc, and haven't touched the handlers, but i have till the end of Dec to get this guy finished. The corsairs still have a lot to go, and i may even change a few things, and will most definitely go back to touch them up a few times, but its a good start.

[Malys the younger]

It looks like your force is off to a good start. Is that your test corsair on the far right side? If so I think your corsairs are going to look sharp.

How did you paint your kharibdyss? Mine is still hanging around with a coat of primer on it because I can't figure out how I want to get started on it...

[Abarnes]

It looks like your force is off to a good start. Is that your test corsair on the far right side? If so I think your corsairs are going to look sharp.

How did you paint your kharibdyss? Mine is still hanging around with a coat of primer on it because I can't figure out how I want to get started on it...

Yeah the Corsair on the right is the test model, as you can see is till have a bit to touch up on him, but I'm sure as i go through 20 models i'll get it all refined. As for the Kharibdyss, it was a lot easier than i thought, was really just a base coat top and bottom with 2 different blues, and dark blue wash on top, and a white dry, while the underbelly had a lighter blue dry, then white on top (more or less), then just a matter of touching things up. I used a spare neck / head to test paint, and yeah just kinda went for it which is basically how all my painting goes (i generally have no idea what I'm doing)

*EDIT* I think i may have actually used grey on the back before a dark blue wash, it was painted a while ago so cant remember exactly.

[Amboadine]

Colours of the kbeast look great. Good choices.

[Abarnes]

OK, little update from the weekend:

Had nothing to do again, so decided to get the corsairs together and have a crack at painting them. I was pretty happy with my test model so had a plan on how i was going to get the unit done fairly quickly and jumped right in. Took a little longer than i expected, but managed to get 20 done

I've also ordered Sarissa Precision bases and movement trays (may have mentioned this before) so I'm not worried about basing at this stage, i'll start to test base some old GW bases over the next week or so to see how things turn out. I'm also waiting on my sorceress to arrive, ordered from AoW about a month ago (probably longer) and their service has been crazy slow, not sure i'll order from them again, took 10 days to ship after payment, and no tracking on the item . But hey, all i have left to paint are some Dark Riders and the Sorc. when she arrives and im well on my way So here are some photos of the "finished" Corsairs:

[Amboadine]

Quite a contrast with the lighter blue. Are you planning any freehand for the standard?

[Abarnes]

Quite a contrast with the lighter blue. Are you planning any freehand for the standard?

Yeah, I think once I've based the models the light blue wont look too out of place, on the black bases it really stands out in the photo's. Im not sure what to do with the army standards, i've never been good enough to freehand anything really detailed, but i'll give something a crack after practicing a LOT on a spare banner

[Abarnes]

Hey all!

So my Sarissa Precision bases arrived yesterday, so i went ahead and test based one of the 80mm round bases im going to use for my bolt throwers, then thought i pay as well test paint a bolt thrower to see how things will look, and ended up with this:

'

Im actually pretty happy with it, the base has come up with some nice contrast, while keeping to a baron rocky scape, and should highlight the lighter colours and the blue in the units. If anyone following along has any tips, ideas, feedback i'd love to hear it!

[tmokbel1965]

Wow mate! All of these are totally awesome! What type of paint are you using? Acrylic?

[Amboadine]

Nice job on the BT. Base looks good too.

[Abarnes]

Thanks guys

Im just using standard GW paints and washes etc. The base is done using Army Painter basing gravel, rocks, and tufts. I've just finished basing the corsairs and some of the movement trays, I've also just undercoated my sorceress, which arrived recently. Hopefully i can get some hobby in tomorrow and get some photos up