The Ritual - Rise of Bastion Quol - Campaign Game 6

As Grey Seer Xylo, took the Artefact from the Assassin, he smiled, "You have done what two claw packs failed to do, All of clan Mkrytus owes you thanks."

"Save your thanks, the horse lords where not dissuaded by the ambush. Fresh horses are riding hard to stop us."

"Then we should prepare a welcome for them, strike from the shadows, take out their spell weavers." Turning from the assassin Xylo climbs the sacrifice site, "Soon the Messiah shall be with us." Tied on top the Damsel, captured from the Bretonians, barely struggls in her bonds, tortured over many day, runes of power craved into her flesh, she will be the conduit for the ritual the power of Ghur will be drawn through her and used to open the way between the realms. With the Artefact in  Zukor's hand the final piece needed for the ritual was in place. 

"Soon the Messiah shall walk this Realm, and a new dawn of rise over Ghur, Bastion Quol will Rise and the Skaven Empire shall reign supreme over Ghur.

Final game in the 6 game campaign Sean and I have been playing, it's been a lot of fun to play these linked games. Making up and adjusting the story as we win and lose.

Deployment

Bretonian - on the far hill, Bretonian lord on Pegasus, 5 Grail Knights, a mounted Damsel. In the tower is a Trebuchet. Centre field are 15 knights of the realm, a Paladin Standard bearer, a Damsel on foot in the ruins. A Pegasus Lord on the occulum. On the near flank, 10 men at arms, and 5 knights of the realm.

Skaven - Hidden in the far wood is a rattling gun. Guarding the ritual site is 30 stormvermin, along side them is a Screaming bell. In front are three Stormfiends armed with ranged weapons, supported by a warplock engineer and a Arch Warplock. In the near wood a pack of 6 Rat ogors are herded by pack-master and a Poison wind mortar bunkers behind them. Hidden off the field are 5 Gutter runners and tunnelling below are 3 Stormfiends armed with melee weapons and tunnelling equipment.

Captured damsel is tied up in the centre of the sacrificial sight, her power will be syphoned to empower the ritual.

Brettonian turn 1
Blessings of the lady are certain the realm knights, the general uses inspiring presence on them. Trebuchet releases it's payload but over shoots and only crushes 2 vermin.

Cavalry canters forward, Grail knights charge and root out the Rattling gun from the woods, Pegasus mounted lord, swoops into the Rat Ogors. The weapon team is run down but the Rat Ogors are tough and manage to wound him in return.
Skaven turn 1
The Ritual begins in earnest then the Bretonians appear. I use my triumph re-roll to maximise the beginning total. Grey seer inspires the Stormvermin. then casts mystic shield on the Rat Ogors, The bell rings and the unholy discordant sound damages the bells scaffold. Arch warlock and his apprentice blast out at the Grail knights and Pegasus Lord. Pack-masters herd their charges into the fray.

Stormfiends tunnel up and charge the first thing they see, which happens to be the General of the Bretonian army the Pegasus Lord.

Gutter runners slink onto the field and loose their sling shot at the Damsel. Scoring one wound on her.

Stormfiends charge the General Pegasus Lord and drag him from the sky before he can escape them.

Ranged Fiends, start jogging at the grail knights guns opening fire as they pick up speed, the warp lead, fire and gas, explode around the grail but they weather the storm only for the fiends to charge into the depleted knights. The herded fiends make short work of the grail knights, by one survives,.... barely.

The Rat Ogors, drag a pegasus from the air for a quick snack.

Bretonian turn 2
Knights of the realm ser a break in the Skaven defence that has opened up and shoot for the middle. Paladin flank charges the Rat Ogors as the smaller unit of Realm Knights charges from the front.
In the back field the third Bretonian Lord on Pegasus swoops down on the gutter runners killing a pair of them.

Pack master is caught with his pants down in the center and the realm knight thread the needle through the gap towards him. Miraculously the packmaster survives the charge!

The realm knights bounce off the mystic shielded Rogors, in return 4 are killed and the Paladin wounded.
Skaven turn 2
The ritual continues to go well.
Warplocks blast out with warp lighting. Grey seer inspires the vermin and casts mystic shield on himself. The bell rings out a wall of sound that inspires skaven units to hit more.
The pack-master who miraculously survived the cavalry charge retreats to behind the Fiends. Grey seer Calls for the vermin to charge the knights but too late realises the Stormvermin have been befuddled by the ritual site. Seeing the Grey seer charging out on his own, the Stormfiends charge into the same combat blasting away with shot, fire and gas, knight die in the hail of death, followed up by the massive bodies slamming into the flank of the Lance.

The other group of Fiends attack the Damsel, Gutter runners continue to fight the third Bretonian lord on pegasus. Another of their number in taken down.

Damsel lashes out at the attackers and wounds one of them. In return the Fiends make short work of the Damsel, but such a small snack hardly satisfies them.

Poison Wind arcs over and explodes in knightly ranks, Spikes and wheel, impale and roll over horses while fiends club riders from the saddle. the centre knightly charge has been crushed between the 2 attackers.

On the left the Rat Ogors tear apart the last realm knight, but the paladin hold fast and fights of the mutant rats

Skaven turn 3
Mortar team hidden in the back left woods, adjusts it's aim to hit the men at arms that have been slowly heading up the flank, On target, but the men have fought skaven before and they mostly manage to hold their breath until the gas dissipates.

Arch warlong and his appretice scurry back to ensure the ritual continues, so close to completeion now the stormvermin close ranks around the ritual site.

Rattling cannon shoots at the paladin that has held up the rat orgors so long.

With the flanking paladin, dead the remaining ogors tear apart the last realm knight and feast on the horse flesh.

Realm knights lash out in their death throes and slay the wounded fiend,

Tunneller fiends continue the romp along the flank assaulting the tower the trebuchet has bunkered in, Smashing into the walls the siege engine is toppled from the battlements.

The last of the Realm knights are destroyed and routed from the centre field.

Bretonia turn 3
Green Knight arrives he is declared as the second general, if he can reach the ritual site he can smash and end the ritual.

But in front of him awaits the stormvermin, last hope if he can fly into the centre if he can charge over the guard.

He can't manage to fly over, so he tries to hack his way through the gaurd.

He kills one, But the storm vermin use their campaign inspiration and are ensorcelled by the terrain, Eight of them pile into combat, Out numbering the foe, and suitably buffed they make short work of the Green Knight.

The Ritual completes! 
The fabric of the realm is torn open, a gnaw whole to the realm of ruin is created and through it steps the Verminking and Thanquol. 

A new age as begun in the realm of Ghur, Bastion Quol has risen, dawn of the skaven Empire has started.

All Hail the Vermin king, All hail the Messiah Thanquol.

Great game! I had been rolling well for the ritual total, it was on to 18 of 20, So i feel Sean was forced into sending in the green knight a little early when he could have used the few other bits he had left to draw out some of the vermin from around the ritual site, but as it was on the verge of completing it, which forced his hand into attempting to smash the ritual, but luck was not with him. And with the death of the Bretonnia's second General, the Skaven win the game.

VerminKing - painted

After months of twiddling my thumbs, I finally started painting this this four armed monstrosity.

I though and postponed this paint job for a while, I was super proud of the conversion work on this model, so wanted a paint job to match.

I have been looking at a lot of Circle of Orborus models recently so i was inspired to use the green with gold trim prevalent on those models.

The Orb has been gloss varnish to make it look shiny and glass like.

I am very happy with the paint job i did i put a lot of work on getting to be one of the highest standard models I have ever painted, took a while to achieve but the results i feel are well worth it.

Took a few photo's with Thanquol on big BR, these two are my latest works and even between them i feeli made alot of leaps in skill.

Right to left, shows the order in which these centre piece models have been painted, I feel the paint jobs have improved as I have paint these three.

Below is a fluff story i wrote for the campaign I have been involved it, it shows how i invision these center piece models interact with my army.
The realm of chaos, is not united. The four great chaos god's, have each carved the own realms, their borders shift with the waxing and waning of each god's triumphs and failures.
The realm of Ruin undermines and spans all of the chaos Realm as the great horned Rat, seeks to undermine the rule of the chaos god's and usurp their positions.

In the Realm of Ruin, the Verminlords, demons of the Great horned Rat. Direct the skaven race. Managing, leading and Guiding the children of the horned rat as they seek to further the goal of their deity.

The Vermin King Screech watches his favourite protege, use the Scrying Orb. Thanquol tittered gleefully, in the green glow.

In the realm of the Great horned rat, the chief of the shadow council and his protege plot and scheme.
As the Warren that was, died. The Verminking and Thanquol, were not idle, together they cast many rituals to save the useful part of the Skaven race.
Many clans where thrown into the 9 realms at the destruction of the Warren that was. Seeds thrown into the wind so that Skaven. Could spread and multiple across all realms.
During the age of myth they hid tunneled and multiplied, and waited for the time of their accession, the age of chaos came and they emerged staking their claims. And plotting for domination.

In the Realm of Ruin the Vermin King and Thanquol watched through the scrying orb.

They watched Ghur, the realm of beast was different. The Gnaw holes could not find Ghur, some force protected it, but his favourite experiment was there and they thrived, well if he couldn't gnaw in, they would gnaw out.
He nudged, urged and cajoled. Remembering the glory of a united skaven from the dying days of Warren that was. Vermin king encouraged this clan to weed out it's infractious elements, a fostered a clan that would work as one. And as before when Skaven stop in-fighting they made progress to there masters aims.

The Vermin King watched, and waited for the ritual. He watched his favourite experiment, Clan Mkrytus.

The ritual would open the gnaw hole between the Realms, between Ghur and Ruin

Vermin King and his favourite protege, Thanquol, who Clan Mkrytus call Messiah. Could step through and all of Ghur, in it's time locked state could be their Warren.