#ironskull

[paint-pot-pete]

Another fun comparison post from when I started painting to now using Ironskull’s Boyz that I painted last month 😁

Really happy with my progress on these; the 2019 attempt was good for the time but it lacks the detailing, shading and more interesting use of colour that I’ve since adopted 😊

What do you think?

[supercomputer-lizard]

Iron Warrior oc poll

Context: Made in my English class as the teacher told us to make a character for either an existing piece of media or our own made up one

Zherel Ironskull:

Zherel Ironskull is an Iron Warrior created using the daemonculaba, but before that he was a random guy. A forgettable teenager in a forgettable village on a forgettable planet that was occupied by the Iron Warriors. He was taken to the daemonculaba and turned into a space marine. Then he joined a warband known as the Claws of Steel with a few others, the warband was lead by one of few Iron Warriors that betrayed the Imperium and wasn’t an ass. He mentored the new guys, before being killed by Zherel while sleeping, who promptly took place as the leader. I should mention that he uses a lighting claw, which also has a flamer on it, on his left arm and a one handed power sword in his right. He also took the old leaders helmet and put it on his chest plate as a trophy and his armor is like a mix of normal space marine armor and terminator armor. He would then spend time fighting people, expanded the Claws of Steel and sort of became like an arms dealer to other warbands. But other than that, he was some special weapons to himself as well.

Cool Weapons:

Khornate missiles: basically a missile that has several Bloodletters trapped in small metal boxes in it, then drop the missile on your enemies and watch the daemons come out. The missile is large than a space marine and contains 14 Bloodletters

that’s it, I don’t have any more about this guy or any weapons

[gayandbasic]

THATS MY BIMBO IN THE TOP RIGHT!! my baby girl Raz 🥹

A new month starts tomorrow, and that means it's prime time to become one of my little corruptlings and get rewards of your amazing characters or fanart! Here's some rewards from this month! - not my characters but I do love them!

[trollbite]

Here's my entry for the Miniature Painting Open 2023 by Cult of Paint. It's a slightly converted Bonekutta from Ironskull's Boyz.

[babybluesquid]

Session 9, An Offensive Delivery

Our Players this Week:

Hog 112, they/them, Weapon Thaumaturge, skirmisher warforged, the leader of the inquisitives agency and founding member, tends toward practicality and following a command structure.

Vestige, they/them, Bones Oracle, warforged placed into a human body, a healer and the agency’s fleshborn face, remains on the periphery with an individualistic streak.

Strategy, it/its, Empiricist Investigator, officer warforged, an old model who’s seen much action and uses the tactics they learned back during the war now under Sharn.

Samanta, she/they, Swashbuckler Fencer, skirmisher warforged, a spotter during the war who turned to spying for one of Sharn’s criminal families before joining the inquisitives agency.

Mage, they/them, Universalist Wizard, living wand warforged, a young forged who was built after the Mourning, looking to find their place in the world.

——————

Remarkably, all the sleuths are still alive and the arsonists are defeated. Strategy sets to picking over the field. The enemy was a shifter, a dwarf two humans, a goblin archer, and the corpses seem to be a dwarf and a goblin as well. It collects a finger from one of the no longer immolating corpses, then locates six obsidian stones. Two were lodged in the foreheads of the corpses and they’re burning to the touch. The remaining were on the persons of the four arsonists and they whisper. The archer hasn’t got a stone on them. Looking through the arsonists’ bag of holding, it finds a severed goblin arm. Disturbing. Some arguing ensues over what to do with the bodies. They can’t be left, seeing as the arsonists use the dead as weapons. They resolve to collect them all up and take them to the Blackened Book, using Halt’s authority to bring them to the upper city.

The party splits up to complete the tasks. Hog goes to give Rattle Row a look over, it’s safe. Strategy, Mage, Shot, Halt, Ironskull, and Fredrick head to the drop off the corpses. Strategy warns the Blackened Boo to dispose of them, they’re dangerous even in death. Halt asks it for the obsidian stones for investigation, and it hands over one of each variety. The coppers have to return to work, but Shot opts to stick around till she can find her still missing friend.

Samanta and Vestige carry the prisoner arsonist back to the agency. Ventra’s there in the entryway, chatting up that changeling reporter Vil. Their eyes flit down to the unconscious woman Vestige and Samanta are carrying. “Inquisitive business,” Vestige says to preempt the question. “Will you be available for interview soon then?” They ask. “No, this’ll keep is quite busy.” The two forged carry the arsonist into the interrogation room and tie her up to a chair. She wakes. Eyes wild, she thrashes against the bonds, not giving up until the point of exhaustion. Vestige opts to give her the night to think things over before the interrogation. The others head back and set to repairing each other. Vestige sleeps. They dream.

Morning, Vestige reports to Hog 112’s office, “good morning.” “Good morning,” Hog replies. “You almost died in that fight there. How are you doing?” “Well, I’m not dead.” “True.” “You alright?” Hog asks. “I’ve had another vision,” Vestige reports. “I sense it’s not the happy kind.” “I don’t get happy visions.” “Ah, what was it about?” “I saw the figure made of shadows again. This time its quarry was Shadowblack. The setting was more familiar. I saw the Red Hammer. And then a celestial being with a flaming sword.” Hog muses on that, “well, this can’t have been something that really happened. Have you been able to talk to Shadowblack recently?” “No. He’s been missing.” “Were you worried before this?” Vestige’s reply carries anger, “I do suspect he’s dead now.”

That hangs a bit, Hog asks, “well, dead of what? Who would have any reason to kill Shadowblack? I mean, that was a strange fellow, but it just doesn’t make any sense to me.” “Sometimes going after our connections,” Vestige surmises, “first Clever, now Shadowblack. I’m thinking we’ve got ourselves a powerful enemy. Doesn’t seem to be Jack-in-Irons though.” “We’re under siege and we don’t know it.” “Seems to be so.” “Whoever it is, why would they come after us?” Vestige sighs, “I’m thinking we’re looking into something we shouldn’t.” “Yeah but what’ve Clever and Shadowblack got to do with it?” Hog’s frustration grows, “it’s not like Shadowblack knows anything about what we’re doing in here.”

“Well,” Vestige admits, “when I was looking into Shadowblack, trying to find him again, I met a forged who said that Shadowblack knows Aggregate.” “Aggregate, that’s that Blade, isn’t it?” “Seems so.” “Well, Aggregate sounded to me just like some kinda homicidal gangster. I dunno what that one could possibly have to do with some force of shadow,” Hog grasps for some understanding of the vision, coming up with nothing, “all kinds of strange things happening in this city recently.” “I don’t rightly know why my visions are filled with a shadowy figure,” Vestige agrees, “but I think that I oughta figure out who they are and put a stop to them.” “When we wrap up this case, we’re gonna look for them. You really think someone got to Clever?” “I think so. Don’t see any other reason I’d have a vision about her.”

Knocking. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three again. It’s Jhaala’s pattern. “Well, nothing’s ever final till we find the body,” Hog says before going to their office door. It is indeed Jhaala, holding a box. “Someone’s sent us a box,” she reports. “Who?” Jhaala shrugs, nonchalant, “I don’t know, but it’s not a blast disc. Ventra performed detect magic on it. It’s clean.” “Should be safe then.” Hog takes it over to their desk and opens it up. They freeze. Then shudder. Inside is Clever’s head. There’s a note. “Tip for inquisitives,” it reads, “don’t snoop in on people who hire assassins - Slick.” Hog exclaims, “what scheme of Khyber is this?!” Then shuts the box. “Slick?!” The name’s familiar. That criminal from the papers. “Slick?! Well somebody’s getting their guts yanked out! Right Vestige, let’s go tell the troops!” Vestige nods affirmation and goes to gather the sleuths.

Hog’s still shaking when the group’s arrayed before them, but their voice is clear and commanding, “alright soldiers, Clever’s dead. We get her head in a box and somebody’s gonna pay for it. At the moment it’s looking like that Blade Aggregate’s at the center of all this, and it looks like they’re two steps ahead of us. From now on, we need to be careful cause it looks like they’re after our contacts. In this investigation, secrecy and care are the name of the game. When we find out who’s behind this, they’re gonna wish they went to Khyber.”

The hush wears off Strategy first, “from now on, we should stick together on our missions. If they’re coming after our contacts, they may come after us. They are waiting for an opportunity.” “If so, we might be able to turn it around on them,” Hog says. “I agree,” Vestige adds, “no more wandering off alone. That’s when Clever got picked off.” “Who’ll interrogate the prisoner?” Strategy asks. Vestige touches their dagger, “I’d like to take a crack at her.” “Strategy,” Hog says, “you go inspect Clever’s head.” “Alright,” it replies then turns to Vestige, handing them the arsonists’ bag of holding, “here’s the burning stone. If the cultist doesn’t talk, you can use it on her. The cultists might not enjoy being burned as much as they like setting fires. Mage and I can investigate the head.” “Mage is still a customer,” Vestige points out. Mage pipes up then, “I don’t mind.” “Besides,” Hog adds, “if Mage leaves now, they might end up a head in a box.” “Lovely,” they reply.

Vestige and Samanta go to the holding cell. The arsonist is there, awake and still but her eyes are still wild. Vestige approaches, arms cross, “you were gonna go burn down Rattle Row, huh.” No response. “That was stupid, that’s our territory,” Vestige continues, “you’re one of Jack-in-Irons’ fellows, right?” Still nothing. “What locations are you going after next?” When she’s still quiet, Vestige draws their dagger, “look, we killed your friends, and we won’t care much if we kill ya too.” Finally, she speaks, “pain cannot touch me now.” “I kinda doubt that. Your friends did die screaming. Why don’t we give it a try, huh?” The woman tilts her chin up and stares, “death will simply join me with the fire as I am joined now. It is no change in conditions.”

At that, Vestige cannot help but smile beneath their mask, “oh, well I’m sorry but you’re not gonna join the fire when I kill you. See, my magic’s from Dolurrh and if my touch kills you, that’s where you’ll go, same as any other person. Whatever little connection you’ve drawn with Khyber, it won’t be able to draw you in.” Her eyes widen, then narrow, “even that be the case, I will not betray the conflagration.” “We already know who your master is, and we already know where your base is. No reason to keep your mouth shut anymore. I’m thinking your little operation won’t last the week. Now, where are you gonna target next?” The woman grins, “attack’s commencing today, soon. Find out.” Vestige pulls off their mask, glaring at her hatefully. They call upon their will, reach out, and grasp her soul. They wrench it free. She dies. Samanta stares down at the dead arsonist, “better that you did it instead of I, less messy.” Vestige nods, replacing their mask, “let’s get this cleaned up.”

Meanwhile, Strategy’s investigating Clever’s head. There’s no damage done to it, well, aside from the fact that it’s now separated from her body. The cut’s relatively clean, but doesn’t match the Jack-in-Irons victims. Some other tool was used. It also can’t determine the time of death for sure. Vestige approaches to return the burning stone then. “Did she talk?” It asks them. “She said there’s gonna be another attack today,” Vestige reports, “but possessed little regard for her life so she didn’t say where.” “Did you kill her already?” “Yeah.” Strategy’s unbothered, “well, you need to get rid of the body.” Vestige nods.

Strategy proceeds to inspect the goblin arm from the arsonists’ bag of holding. This limb was removed with Jack-in-Irons’ typical precision. It then determines from the finger it took off the fire corpse that the bodies were perpetually burning, but not consumed by the flame. It seems the obsidian was the source of the fire and the force which animated the body. Thus, remove the stone, deanimate the corpse. Strategy alerts Hog to its findings and then the sleuths go to dump the arsonist’s body and the goblin arm in a lava pool to destroy the evidence.

Once again, it’s come to a race against the arsonists. With the Old Spook blocking their hideout, the sleuths gotta stop the ghost first. Hog 112 figures that burying Fenwell’s family proper will weaken the ghost enough to exorcize it without a fight. Mage and Vestige head to the necropolis to find a priest. They find Jaki, a halfling priest of Boldrei who agrees to help with the burial after Vestige impresses its importance upon him. Strategy and Samanta go back to Markden Fenwell’s house to search for anything else that might help. They find another child skeleton. Hog goes the the Circle of Seven to learn the occult rites necessary to convince the ghost to leave. The party reconvenes and brings the bones to Jaki to be interred in the City of the Dead.

Fallen, Markden’s territory. Hog begins to lay out the sigils and ritual components in the street. Vestige stands in front of them. The others hide behind corners and down alleys, weapons drawn and ready for if that Old Spook goes hostile. Markden appears. The air is still and cold.

Vestige approaches, “Markden Fenwell, priest of Boldrei, your family is in Dolurrh. It’s time for you to rest.” The ghost breathes out his response, “I can’t.” “We’ve laid your family’s bones to rest in the city of the dead,” they tell him. “And yet the Sovereigns didn’t stop the fall from taking them from me.” Seeing Vestige failing to talk to ghost down, Hog hurries to complete the ritual. They begin to chant in the secret words. The ghost begins to fade. Then remanifests! His connection seems tenuous, but Marken won’t be going down to rest without a fight. Hog drops their chant to shout, “your Sovereigns may not want you, but they’re gonna get you all the same!”

The inquisitives emerge from hiding, bringing weapons and spells against the ghost. To little effect! Hog makes a quick determination, “the energy of life will hurt it!” Their attacks slash through its form but it reincorporates with little damage. Marken target Vestige in particular, sending a confusing assault against their mind. Then, he punches Hog through, knocking them inactive. The rest hurry to attack, but most weapons phase right through it. They’re powerless to stop the Old Spook from also knocking out Shot. Strategy focuses, aims its war rod, and fires. The hit is direct. Markden Fenwell dissipates to nothing. Shaken by the encounter, it hurries to repair Hog. Vestige tends to Shot. Then, it’s on to take down the arsonists.

——————

Notables:

Vil, they/them, a changeling reporter who’s sticking their nose into the HF&A after Hog killed that werewolf. Hopefully they leave well enough alone.

[marzacklannen-blog]

Second version of Snurre, now with more lava.

My first attempt at lava and while it needs work, I was happy so far.

[ntaifitness]

Awesome #Kettlebell Designs: #Ironskulls are totally badass and these are a bit unique from the other #kettlebell designs on the list. #gym #fitness #ntaifitness https://www.fitness-china.com/kettlebell

[resenhasdemarte]

Review no canal e fotos no blog! Marvel Legends Abomination Wave captain America Civil War Scarlet Witch 😉🎥😎📽😃🎬😊🎞 #marvellegends #ironskull #redskull #caveiravermelha #capitaoamerica #captainameica #marvelcomics #marveluniverse #marvel #captainamerica #capitaoamerica #actionfigures #figurasdeacao #figuras #toy #toys #boneco #action #steverogers #superherois #hero #heroi #heroes #superheroes #nerd #geek #cactionfigure #actionfigurephotography #actionfigurecollection #actionfigurereview https://www.instagram.com/p/CCWY8qkANJl/?igshid=7e5chogke47b

[therandomeye]

.. . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . #toyphoto #toycrewbuddies #toygroup_alliance #toyartistry #toyunion #toyphoto #toyphotography #toyplanet #toyplanet #toyboners #marvellegends #picoftheday #photooftheday #photography #toydiscovery #toyartistry_and_beyond #toyartistry_elite #toycrewbuddiesusa #toyphotooftheday #toystagram #toys4life #toycommunity #toysaremydrug #redskull #ragnarok #gladiatorhulk #captainamerica #onslaught #xforce #hydra #redskull #ironskull

[paint-pot-pete]

Propa dakka! 😜

Really happy with how this excellent Ork warband turned out 😁 led by Gurzag Ironskull, Basha, Hakka and Bonekutta make up the fantastically named Ironskull’s Boyz 🤣

Attempted some more line work on these that I normally do (I think it worked best on the black) and I’m really happy with how they look overall 😊

[dom-miguels-miniatures]

Bonekutta

Ironskull's Boyz

Warhammer Underworlds

Season 1

Shadespire

[evenmorestress]

The Decepticon Fam

Brakeneck Minor was raised by Decepticons when a scientist named Flintlock kidnapped her as an extremely young new spark. After the cons rightfully went “wtf Flintlock- Kidnapping an orphan isn’t the same as adoption!!”, she was handed off to a Decepticon squadron stationed at the energon production colony of Axilon.

Unaware of what Brakeneck’s Autobot given name was, they called her “Sterling” or (most commonly) by the nickname “Little Scraplet”.

The Fam:

Behemoth, the squad’s leader, became her adoptive grandsire. Ironskull took on role of weird uncle. Convoy is a vehicon who became big bro. And Thermal turned into her pseudo Aunt, and low key one of the only fembot role models around. She isn’t that great of a role model.

(the height chart is a wip)

Thermal is owned by @gigantoops who I designed her for, the rest are my concepts/designs

Some descriptions for my boys (will have gigs write one later for Thermal)

Behemoth: A mech who fought in the Great War, he is old enough to know what life was like before Megatron rose up. He knows of the injustice and pain that befell warframes- and beast alts. He’s old, vicious, but holds a fairly solid moral core at spark.

Ironskull: In comparison to Behemoth, he is more what the Autobots would consider a classical Decepticon. Violent, angry, and often short tempered. He acts as the Axilon squad’s heavy artillery and is more than willing to bust some Autobot helms. He’s actually pretty bored playing colony babysitter, especially now that the little Scraplet isn’t around. 

Convoy: A vehicon, which are the closest Decepticons have to civilian frames, Convoy became a member of the defensive squad after they dug him out of a mine destroyed by an Autobot attack. They grew fond of the guy’s bold sass and took him under their wing. Turns out he was a clever and talented addition to the team... he can also make DANG GOOD snacks.

[medivouk]

Mastering Ironskulls Boyz: Part 2.

Mastering Ironskulls Boyz: Part 2.

Welcome back! In part 2, the plan is to quickly go over the strengths and weaknesses of the Ironskull’s Boys ready for building power and objective decks. I have previously said that I’m looking at the warband as a brute force, attrition based warband. I think they have some real efficacy in that area. Da Gud: The Boss!Gurzag is one of the biggest strengths of Ironskull’s boys, as he is an…

[babybluesquid]

Session 8, Of Ghostly Realizations

Our Players this Week:

Hog 112, they/them, Weapon Thaumaturge, skirmisher warforged, the leader of the inquisitives agency and founding member, tends toward practicality and following a command structure.

Vestige, they/them, Bones Oracle, warforged placed into a human body, a healer and the agency’s fleshborn face, remains on the periphery with an individualistic streak.

Strategy, it/its, Empiricist Investigator, officer warforged, an old model who’s seen much action and uses the tactics they learned back during the war now under Sharn.

Samanta, she/they, Swashbuckler Fencer, skirmisher warforged, a spotter during the war who turned to spying for one of Sharn’s criminal families before joining the inquisitives agency.

Mage, they/them, Universalist Wizard, living wand warforged, a young forged who was built after the Mourning, looking to find their place in the world.

——————

At that point, Samanta’s returned. She reports no new information on Clever’s whereabouts, it really does seem she’s up and vanished. The party gets her up to speed on the hideout in Fallen, and Hog elects to take her with to scout ahead for the base. As the two approach probable base in sight, the sense of unease grows. A figure flickers in and out of sight, right on the edges of Hog’s vision. They strain for a closer look, realizing the figure’s semi-transparent. A ghost. As they assess, they come to the conclusion that it’s the ghost of a Vassal priest, probably dead in Crystalfall. The thing’s got a sense of betrayal and resentment to it, and it’s powerful. Hog relays the information to Samanta, and the two speculate some about its nature and what they can do to get past. They don’t know enough, as Hog points out “every ghost is different, they’re just like us living folk, except driven by darker motives.” So they opt to return and see what Strategy makes of it.

Mage’s curious, how do the arsonists go about getting past the ghost? Strategy suggests they know a path to avoid it, perhaps the ghost travels along a set route. Perhaps Vestige can try taking to the spirit. They confirm they could try. Barring that, destroying the ghost is also an option, but might alert the arsonists to the party’s presence. Much debate ensues. Ironskull thinks it’s unfeasible to cover all the arsonists’ potential routes, the district’s too big and complicated. Halt agrees, they oughta wait on Rattle Row for the arsonists to come to them. Hog’s not convinced, they want to stop the arsonists before they ever enter the Cogs, so they send Samanta back out to search for a route around the ghost. There doesn’t seem to be one, as the ruins here are piled with large slabs of glass. Strategy thinks it’d be best to look for records, determine who the ghost might be. Hog agrees and sends Mage with it. They and Vestige go out into the district to ask locals about the haunt. The watchmen stay behind in case the arsonists make a move.

Unsurprisingly, the locals want nothing to do with Hog and Vestige. The most of them stay out of sight, and those who do get approached leave real quick when they start getting questioned about the ghost. Their luck reverses, though, when they come across a warforged. The fella’s a tall scout, wearing a green cloak and holding a crossbow. “Greetings, what brings you to this ruin?” “We’re on an investigation,” Hog explains, “we’re looking into some paranormal activity around here.” She’s amused, “you’d have to be a bit more specific than that, my brother. What in particular? There’s a lot of weird things that happen in this district.” “We’re looking into a phantom, a ghost that’s haunting nearby the glass slabs, where the tower fell. It seemed like the ghost of a priest. Have you heard any stories of something like that?”

“I have,” the forged responds, “people here just call it the Old Spook. They’re not sure of its name anymore. There’s maybe two more ghosts that are more dangerous than it. It laments its feelings of abandonment and betrayal by the Host and attacks people that come across it.” Vestige cuts it, “how do the locals go about avoiding it?” “It is not wandering, it’s bound to its location, so people just stay away from it mainly.” “Hm,” Hog remarks, “a priest scorned by his gods, huh?”

“I looking for something as well,” they say, “someone’s gone missing out of Highwalls. Kidnapping I think, Alamanno Corner, a young man, dwarven, was a Cyran veteran.” This piques Hog’s interest, “was there a fire?” “There was a fire,” he confirms. “Hm, well, I suppose I’ve given the game away. We’re looking into someone else as well. We’re looking into fires that have been happening across the city, certainly the same forces that took your friend.” “When did this guy go missing?” Vestige asks. “About a week ago. I tracked the trail that I could find back to Fallen.” “So did we,” Hog says. The forged reaches into his cloak pocket and retrieves a small obsidian stone, “and I found this at the scene. It seems to be some sort of magic.” “Is it whispering?” Hog asks. “No, why would it be?” “Alright, so I think it’s safe, Vestige. You mind if we take that?” The forged hands it over.

Vestige takes that as permission to explain things, “this group of arsonists we’ve been tracking for a while. Started out about a month ago, following the disappearance of one Tristano d’Cannith in a fire. It seems to us that this Tristano has been the source of all these arsons. Some kinda-” “Demonic influence,” Hog supplies. “Yeah.” The forged takes a second to process, “that’s certainly interesting, anyways, who are you all? I haven’t seen you. I am Shot.” Hog replies, “we’re inquisitives from Blackbones, I don’t suppose you’ve heard of us but we’re the best the Cogs has got, not that it’s much of a competition.” Hog hands over one of the HF&A business cards to Shot. “My boss there is Hog 112, and I’m Vestige.”

Shot reads the card, “alright, well. I think the kidnappers are inhabiting that building past the Old Spook. I haven’t seen em leave, though.” “We came to exactly the same conclusion,” Hog says. Vestige asks, “how do you suppose the arsonists got past the Old Spook?” Shot grasps for an answer, “there’s sometimes some kinda warding sigils or rites you an do to prevent ghosts from attacking, could be something like that.” Hog nods, “they might be using some kinda twisted demonic protection magic.” “That’s possible certainly.” “It seems that none of us have seen these arsonists actually enter or leave.” “Do you have any leads on them?” She asks. “As a matter of fact,” Hog 112 says, “we do. We’re looking into it. We think they’re gonna attack tonight and we’re hoping to, well-” “Intercept them before they get the chance,” Vestige finishes. Thinking like an inquisitive themselves, Shot thinks aloud, “that’s a strong lead. We might even be able to interrogate one of them in that case.” “And hopefully by the end of this, we can destroy their entire cell, root them out from the entire city for good,” Hog says, “listen, I think we might be able to work together on this.”

“I do think so,” she says. “Be better to join forces than keep working alone. Each of us has gotten quite far, but we’ve come to a bit of a wall with this spirit, haven’t we?” “It seems that we have. It would be possible to battle it with so many people but it’s still very powerful so I not quite sure how good of an idea that would be without preparations in place.” “I have some magics which might be able to help,” Vestige offers. “That’s good.”

“Shot, could you tell me, what did you do during the war?” Hog asks, curious about this forged’s seeming expertise in investigation and the supernatural, “what was your place in your unit?” “I was part of the Cyran Rangers,” he explains, “part of expeditionary forces. I was assigned to the southern fronts, mostly around the time when the elves and the goblins betrayed the Crown and we had to try to regain the territories that they took.” “I was in the Hags’ War,” Hog says, “Breland’s own unfortunate piece of business.” Shot seems kinda amused at that, “that’s a way of describing the whole war, one might say.” Vestige agrees, “I saw various fronts. It was the same all round.” “Horror show through and through,” they say, “we try and protect our people best we can now.” Hog though, disagrees, “the same on all fronts? Well they say the Cyrans at least fought with honor for the most part.” Vestige makes a single derisive sound. Shot replies, “it took two years into the war before the illusion of honor was dispelled, and that was long before there were any forged.” “Hm,” Hog does not say more about it.

Meanwhile, Strategy and Mage head up to the archives of the Church of the Sovereign Host. The records are extensive, but narrowed down to those who died in Crystalfall the two seem to find a match. One Markden Fenwell, a human who’d moved down to Godsgate to build the community there. He’d been a priest of the whole Host, though with a particular focus on Boldrei. He’d lived down there with his wife and four children. They all died when the crustal tower fell. Curiously, the man’s old address isn’t the same place the ghost’s currently set up haunt.

The party reconvenes in Fallen and information is traded. Strategy wants to check out Fenwell’s address. Hog points out his house may well be under a hundred feet of rubble, but it’s worth a shot. Speaking of a shot, Shot thinks they’ll be able to locate the address. “You’re not from this district,” Hog comments more than asks. “No,” she replies, “but I’ve been looking around here for a few days.” “You looked into the ghost yourself?” “Yes, I now know what the locals know.” “You seem to be a thorough investigator.” Great luck, the location isn’t buried under a hundred feet of rubble. There is a single massive piece of glass which has crashed through the building’s center though. Inside, the second floor’s been smashed into the first. Shards of glass and personal effects litter the floor, though it seems this place was picked over ages ago and everything valuable was spirited away.

It also seems no one bothered to lay the inhabitants to rest. There’s bones strewn about, human, at least three skeletons’ worth. Some are crushed underneath the massive glass slab which tore the home asunder. Strategy searches for anything that may be of use in putting Markden Fenwell to rest, but no such luck. Interring the bones may help, but there’s little time left in the day, and more pressing matters approaching. An ambush of the arsonists is in order.

Samanta’s able to find a suitable location along the likely trail the arsonists use. It’s not fully ideal, but it’s the best place, with hiding spots on all four sides of a stretch of road. Samanta and Shot stand in the first hiding place, Hog and Vestige on one side behind a wall, the guards on the other inside a ruined building, Mage and Strategy at the far end of the road.

The group approaches. There’s four carrying torches, plus one with a crossbow. They’ve got that crazed look in their eyes, suggesting the madness of Khyber. They walk right down the street, then stop. The first has caught sight of Strategy. The goblin archer raises their crossbow. Samanta runs out and attacks! They drop the crossbow and draw a club. The battle is on.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to try,” Vestige remarks, before concentrating. They extend their will to Dolurrh, reaching in a bit deeper, finding something and grasping onto it, pulling it back with them. The ghost of a gnoll with a scimitar materializes between the cultists. Vestige grins. Meanwhile, Strategy’s studying the enemy. “Watch out for their torches!” It warns as the others move in to attack. Mage stays back and fires on one arsonist, trapping them within sticky filaments. The cultist struggles to remove them, then opens a bag they’re carrying. They turn it over and two figures spill out.

Burning bodies. One’s small, the other’s a bit larger, maybe dwarf sized. The two rise. One forms a ball of fire in its hand and throws it at Mage. Their clothes catch on fire. Hog thinks quick, realizing water would be most effective in battling these infernal beings. They reach into their bags and find no water. Rooting around, they find a small badge expressing support for the fire department. That’ll have to serve. Hog hops over the wall, taking a crossbow shot at one of the burning corpses. In response, an arsonist and one of the corpses both surround them and attack. The immolating body screams! Hog, Samanta, and Ironskull are all struck by fear. Ironskull’s able to shake it off, but Hog and Samanta burst into flames in the wood beneath their armor plates. Hog’s rendered inactive.

Ironskull kills an arsonist with the punch of an integrated dagger. Though flaming, Samanta presses on and runs another through, killing them. She advances on the pair of enemies by Hog. Vestige meanwhile extends their will to Hog, willing them to live. It works, and they come aware of the world once again. Strategy looks around for something, anything to douse the flames. They find a wet blanket among the refuse. It smells of rot and waste, but there’s no time. It throws it over Mage, smothering the fire. They raise their wand and send an arc of electricity lancing through the two corpses.

One arsonist it lit up standing beside the flaming corpse. They die with eerie calm. The other thing of flame screams, but Halt and Mage are spared due to determination and the power of a wet blanket alike. Hog stands and focuses through the badge of the fire department, clocking the fire corpse. The thing retaliates with a punch of its own, knocking Hog back out. Samanta hurries to douse the flames on them with her cloak, then administers a C1.

Seeing the tide of battle turning, the final living arsonist starts to run. Vestige tracks their flight, making sure they don’t leave their sight. They fire off a spell to assault the guy’s mind. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to fell them.

Strategy devises the best plan of attack. They aim their battle rod, then fire at one of the immolated corpses’ heads. It explodes with force, knocking loose a piece of obsidian. It falls to the ground, deanimated, blood and ash spilling from its body. “Let’s finish this up quickly!” It says, firing a blast of force through the other thing’s abdomen. Mage runs up and throws the wet blanket over the remaining corpse. It’s stunned, then shakes the blanket off and lands an uppercut on them which clocks them out immediately. Hog raises their sword and attacks. The flaming corpse yells. Hog’s rendered inoperable yet again. It punches Vestige’s ghost, which dissipates back to Dolurrh.

Samanta drags Hog out of the thing’s reach, then stabs it through. It’s not quite dead. Halt runs in then, stabbing it through the chest. Finally, the thing drops, smoldering still but inanimate. “You tend to them!” Vestige yells. They run off after the fleeing arsonist, sending another mental assault against them. They drop to the ground midstep. The others hurriedly douse the flames threatening to burn Hog and Mage to death, then set about repairing them.

——————

Notables:

Shot, all/any pronouns, a Cyran forged who’s looking for their friend, Alamanno Corner, who disappeared in a matter quite similar to Tristano d’Cannith.

Markden Fenwell, Old Spook, he/him, the ghost of a priest of the Host who died in Crystalfall. Very dangerous, the sleuths oughta find a way to put him to rest so he stops terrorizing Fallen.

[classicsinga]

Ironskull Biker Gang

One of the survival calls in Saints Row: The Third has you fight a gang of bikers at the gas station next to Zimos’ place after they call you out.

I wanted to expand on this in my universe and give the gang a name, territory, and a reason why they attack you.

The name was easy since it’s basically the canon name the bikers in the game have on their jackets.

Their territory is the southern part of New Colvin, specifially the south of Espina and a small portion of Camano Place, mainly this road here which has a bunch of vehicle related shops on it which are their businesses and source of income, as well as a Rusty’s Needle to tattoo the gang.

The gas station where they fight you right across from Zimos’ place.

A bunch of these Auto Repair shops.

Their main hideout is this warehouse complex next to the dock at the border of Espina and Camano Place.

This is the dock at their hideout, they use it to import vehicles, parts and weapons.

A Rim Jobs and another gas station are just a short distance down the road of that hideout.

Now the reason why they attack you is related to the car wash posts I’ve made over the last few days. Those weren’t merely eye candy but a build up for this headcanon.

The bikers basically feel threatened by the Saints’ presence on their territory and taking away customers with the carwash and other services they offer there to attract clients.

[marzacklannen-blog]

Snurre! This is the standard version of Snurre, or at least the one I call Snurre. Yes, I’m old.