Path of Biomancy

1. Oops

So since my last post I’ve had a big dose of hobby block. Whej it happens I don’t force it on myself so I rode it out. Painted a wordbearers oblitertor for an army I’ll probably never use on the table ? and waited patiently.

And huzzah!

Back to working on repainting my old resin drones ?

And made myself a little retinue for my assassin. He’ll be flanked by vanguards, cunningly disguised as drones ? and  a weapons cache for tier 2 combat and potentially tier 1 tactical retinue. ?

Looking forward beyond the models I’m working on, I’m looking at what I have built and how I want this to progress as a larger force. This is definitely the force I’m looking at having fully painted in the next few months…

The Spires – 1975/1250
Spire path

Pheromancer [120]: Long Lineage, Degenerative Aura, Avatar Projection, Induced Vigor
– Brute Drones (3) [180]
– Force-Grown Drones (4) [130]: Catabolic Node

Biomancer [175]: Tier 3, Tier 2, Tier 1, Fleshcarver, Cloned Redundancy, Essence Transfer
– Force-Grown Drones (8) [230]: Pheromonic Node
– Abomination (1) [145]

Mimetic Assassin [155]: Tier 2, Tier 1, Overkill, Heightened Reflexes
– Force-Grown Drones (5) [180]: Catabolic Node, Pheromonic Node

High Clone Executor [180]: Tier 1, Tier 3, Tier 2, Marksmanship, Fury, Fire and Advance, Biotic Hive
– Vanguard Clones (4) [255]: Assault Preceptor, Standard Bearer
– Marksman Clones (4) [225]: Standard Bearer

Characters: 4
Light Regiments: 3
Medium Regiments: 3
Heavy Regiments: 1
—–
https://armybuilder.para-bellum.com/lists/0e245606-0220-4e1a-b0f8-8e5a2fd33d11

It’s quite killy and very healy. The ability to suck wounds from the worthless drones and pass them onto clones is priceless. Even more so when the biomancer can immediately heal his own unit with a second draw event, having done so ?

After that, I’m going to work on another project until Prowlers and Incarnate Sentinals get released to flesh out the warbands I already have ?

So my milestone 4 is an odd one. It’s going to be adding another 9 stands of force grown drones. Alot to paint? Maybe, but I have 6 stands painted in this scheme but with iridescent chitin. So that should be relatively quick to repaint ? 3 new ones in the mail and catabolic nodes on preorder ?

Why? Well it opens up alot more options with FGDs being a mainstay regiment for most characters.

I can go with 2 massive blocks and loads of healing or MSU suicide bombs.

Although moving forwards I like the idea of giving some drones to my assassin, converting some sword and crossbow pistol wielding retinue models by kitbashing the vanguard infiltrators which leaves my vanguards clones free to be a mainstay for an executor and some marksman clones in the future.

But first… more of this kind of thing

Ölla’ka’ayr The Twisted, Broken Pheromancer of the Kchoat’lis Underhive, 6th of his Lineage, Elder of his name, The Faceless.

True to his names Ölla’k, 6th of the A’ayr lineage is broken, faceless and considered deranged by the Directorate.

But his twisted mind is not what concerned them enough to send an Mimic to visit where he rested in the suspension of a hibernation vat… No. This was more a symptom of that visit.

The real reason for such a “diplomatic political move” was fear… or respect or both. For Ölla’k had lived longer than any by his name. His experience birthed talents of Pheromonic command which exceeded all his peers across all Spires known to Kchoat’lis, The Hive Spire.

The fears which crept into the highest echelons of The Spire were that, despite his apparent loyalty, Ölla’k’s abilities could cause an Underspire uprising like no other. That he could have the full force of the Underhive whipped into a frenzy at the flick of his wrist. 

Unusually, the Directorate Lords fully agreed. Ölla’ka’ayr, Elder of His Lineage, 6th of His Name must expire.

Whilst The Elder rested in rejuvenating tonics concocted by centuries of alchemical research, the Mimetic Assassin transformed from the visage of a servant drone, into a whirling, stabbing, frenzied monstrosity in the blink of an eye.

Ölla’k’s retainers stood and watched with dull eyes made lethargic by the Assassins Phermonal secretions. 

The dervish bit and clawed deep into the first limbs it reached, his legs. Then climbing his torso as a climber digs ice picks into a sheer ice face, tearing great gouges of flesh until it was able to plunge both bladed hands into his face.

Everything stopped moving in an instant.  The fluids of the hibernation vat, now thick with blood, settled to an erie stillness. The tides of blood and tonic that spilt across the floor ceased to sway.

The Assassin slid from the vat like a shadow and melted into the chamber’s doorway. 

Silence. 

Stillness.

The Directorate made their play perfectly. Only they could not confirm their kill. Every envoy, messenger or spy sent to find word on Ölla’ka’ayr’s status never returned.

They didn’t return because Ölla’k was still alive by the skin of his teeth (which he no longer possessed). Before the Assassins blades could fully penetrate his skull, Ölla’k was able to enact a self preservation protocol within the vat, bringing the Mimic killer under his command.

It stood watch over him for weeks, killing all who entered his chamber and dragging their carcasses into the rejuvenating fluids of the hibernation vat.

Finally word reached the Directorate of Ölla’ka’ayr’s status… from his own lips (hypothetically speaking as Ölla’k no longer possessed lips of which to speak).

Into the Summons Chamber strode Ölla’k on the back of a grand arachnoidal construct, for he had no legs and spoke through a mask of twisted bone, for he had no face…

…to apologise for his absence.

He iterated reports of the Underspire’s biomass holdings, creature stock, turnover and projected productivity like nothing had ever occurred. 

He then turned and returned to his duties within the Underspire.

To this day, The Directorate are even more so split between his apparent loyalty and destructive potential…

Ölla’ka’ayr The Twisted, Broken Pheromancer of the Kchoat’lis Underspire, 6th of his Lineage, Elder of his name, The Faceless must expire but by which means is still a matter of highly secretive debate.

If they truly knew the extent of the unbridled, broiling hatred he held for the Directorate. How much he would fantasise about their bitter, twisted ends… they would act sooner… because when the time is right, the Kchoat’lis Underhive will rise.

The question is; when?

“Where did you hear that name boy?

Kchoat’lis? I’ve not heard that word since I were just a boy. My grandfather liked to scare us with silly stories.

Kchoat’lis was first named when the Old Dominion was young. A name, a word that has survived the ravages of time in stories used to terrify hardened soldiers about the camp fire.

Tales tell of the Kchoat’lis beetles. Predatory insects, the size of men that swarm and consume as locust! From the great Hive Spire.

Sure, there were truths to the tale. Half truths and exaggerations.

The Kchoat’lis Hive Spire stands high upon the mountains of the dying lands. No man alive claimed to have travelled there but it is clearly visible from the North Dominion. In the evenings twighlight, huge clouds of creatures… surely bats or swallows in migration, could be seen billowing like plumes of smoke in the far distance.

During The Fall, it was said that The Hive erupted like a Hornets nest kicked by a fool!

My old man swore that the tales were true. That our ancestors who crossed the wastelands not only fled the devastation but also from great swarm of Kchoat’lis. Some the size of men but others like towering monsters!

Hahahaha! Shit myself have you boyyo? Bwahahaha! The look in your eyes boy!”

The Spire Lords of Kchoat’lis are true indeed. As are the huge insect that inhabit the region but the size of a man, they are not. Maybe a small dog at the largest! Their citadel, seated high in the Dying Land’s mountains survived The Great Dragon War and lay dormant for millennia. For the mountains were rich in biomass. Thousands of tonnes of insect biomass. The stock was rich, strong and responsive to Phermonal command, leaving few reasons to meddle in the world of men that had developed around them.

Until the cataclysm. The realm of men had brought a destructive force upon Éä. The Hive responded just like the old tales tell… swarms of man size creatures. Man shaped insects with dagger like claws. Drones wrapped in chitinous armour with claw like blades, flooded the lands and defended The Hive with ravenous instincts.

Worse of all was that the aftermath of The Fall was suffered by the delicate balance of life around The Hive. A winter eternal. In just 5 spawning cycles, most of the insects of Kchoat’lis were all but extinct.

The realms of men, through their ignorance, through their arrogance, had cost the Kchoat’lis Lords greatly.

A price man would suffer as long as the world must suffer man!

Ölla’ka’ayr The Twisted, Broken Pheromancer of the Kchoat’lis Underspire, 6th of his Lineage, Elder of his name, The Faceless.

#milestone3 of my #Pathofconquest is done.

Love love love this mini.

And a sample army list from my #pathofconquest army as painted so far…

The Spires – 1400/1400
Spire path

Biomancer [215]: Select as Warlord, Tier 1, Tier 3, Tier 2, Fleshcarver, Cloned Redundancy, Essence Transfer, Harvest Essence
– Force-Grown Drones (5) [155]: Pheromonic Node
– Abomination (1) [145]

Mimetic Assassin [140]: Disorienting Strikes, Venom, Heightened Reflexes
– Vanguard Clones (4) [255]: Assault Preceptor, Standard Bearer

Pheromancer [110]: Avatar Projection, Induced Vigor, Accelerated Hibernation
– Brute Drones (5) [300]
– Force-Grown Drones (3) [80]

Characters: 3
Light Regiments: 2
Medium Regiments: 2
Heavy Regiments: 1
—–
https://armybuilder.para-bellum.com/lists/0e245606-0220-4e1a-b0f8-8e5a2fd33d11

As awful a picture as it is I wanted to include it demonstrate how I’ve been achieving the flesh on my Spires.

It’s really simply an even base coat of Army Painter necrotic flesh. A bright light green, then given an ink wash with a very red fleshtone. In this case Reikland flesh from citadel. This wash is so red that I wouldn’t normally use it for actual human flesh but it works well here with the basecoat to make a pallid tone that doesn’t look dead and lifeless ?

Once this is dry I’ll go back in with the same flesh wash to target areas that need a touch more shade ? and that’s the skin done and dusted.

Oops

Oops again

Triple oops

??

Finished my Brute Drones and man is it tooooo windy to even prime their boss right now. I’m lucky enough to have a covered outdoor area to spray so when the rain comes in I can still spray but even that’s not possible tonight. Oh well, another day maybe.

It did give me the time be able to put some effort into my bases and stands.

Made some good progress but the force worth of stands/bases is about half done. That was a nice-to-do as it isn’t a big priority for me bit it is christmas after all so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow ?

So my #pathofconquest #milestone2 got thrown into utter chaos last month when I got trapped in Norway and since trying trying catch up, I’ve only fallen further behind due to family commitments over the holiday period yet BEHOLD! progress has been made ?

Firstly, I launched paint at my vanguards to get them finished with an assault preceptor. These are both some if my favourite models and they always perform in game. These 4 stands pump out 36 attacks when they all get to swing and with evade 2, they stand a chance against the heaviest hitters.

Sadly, the executor and marksmen have taken a back seat for now, making way for a mimetic assassin. The ultimate killing machine.

I love this model but the game didn’t. That is until the 1.03 updates making it impossible for characters to indefinitely hide in regiments and quite I’m bored of being terrified if everyone’s characters ? so now I have a scary ass assassin with evade 5 (heightened reflexes) and lethal strikes (venom) who strikes blows before the enemy (quicksilver strikes) and makes them appear for fight like an amateur at -1 clash when they do (disorienting strikes). The access to 2 mutations makes the Mimetic Assassins really versatile and there are many many builds that work ?