Chariots of Fire - A Chaos army, with a twist

[Corai]

Rhupert Fleischer was not a young man. Nor by any stretch of the imagination could he be called imposing. Not physically at least. He was barely over five and a half feet high, and his exquisitely tailored jerkin struggled against the strain of his middle age spread. And yet, as he waddled along the cobbled streets of Alberhaafen’s smithy district, he knew he was untouchable. The wad of paper folded in his pocket went some way towards ensuring that. But not half as much as the two wax seal halves which still adorned either end of it, the sigil of the Imperial college of engineering clearly stamped in the ruddy substance. He walked the streets of this wholly unremarkable town in the middle of nowhere as an emissary of the College.

The gunsmith factories built in Alberhaafen in the last few years had put the little hamlet on the map. Now it was an up and coming fringe town, soon it would be a centre of industry, just like the countless other fringe towns across the length and breadth of The Empire who worked night and day to equip the brave soldiers of Karl Franz’s legions. But Alberhaafen had missed its last two quotas of handguns. And now an emissary of the Imperial College of Engineering stalked its streets. And now, Rhupert thought to himself, there would be hell to pay.

*   *   *

He rounded a corner and finally came upon the vast iron shod doors of one of the factories’ entrances. Smoke still belched from stacks on the roofs. There was no doubt that the furnaces inside were still burning, but Rhupert’s check sheet confirmed this building hadn’t seen any guns issue forth in a long time. His meaty knuckles rapped thrice on the door but there was no response. Finally giving in to frustration, the engineering emissary put his shoulder into it and forced the door open enough to slide his aging frame through.

Rhupert was an engineer born and bread. Even when he had been elevated to his own lofty position within the college he had never been too far from the furnaces and forges of the workshops. The fire was in his blood, they used to say. He never felt winters chill as long as a workshop blazed nearby. The factory contained more furnaces, boilers and forges than Rhupert had ever seen in one place. And he had never been so cold in all his life.

‘Rhupert. I’d hoped they’d send you’ the man before him was almost the comical opposite of Rhupert, tall, slight and whip thin. Soot coated his face, giving way only to two perfect circles of clean skin where his goggles had rested over eyes. Even over the din of the factory, the voice was familiar.

‘Julius Denisof. What are you doing here?’

‘What must be done old friend. To protect us all.’

Rhupert steeled himself to argue with his oldest friend when Julius held up a soot stained hand for silence, or what passed for it in an Old World factory.
‘Come Rhupert, let us talk like gentlemen in a more fitting environment.’

*   *   *   *   *

Julius Denisof had been a master engineer within the Imperial College of Engineering. His work to recreate the engine of Leonardo Miragliano’s legendary Steam tanks was the talk of students even today. He had come so close to unlocking one of the greatest secrets in Imperial engineering. It was even rumoured that he would be elevated one day to Supreme Patriarch within the college. A pious Sigmarite beloved by the church and the state, Julius Denisof’s star was well and truly rising. But then, like its twin taled cousin which heralded the coming of his Lord Sigmar, Julius’ star came crashing to earth. What really happened, few alive can say. The cover up was itself the stuff of legends. It’s rumoured that, increasingly frustrated that he was unable to unlock Miragliano’s secrets, Julius turned to forbidden knowledge. In the space of an evening he was expelled from the College, stripped of his assets and condemned to death by the Witch Hunters of Sigmar. Ever the engineer, Julius had stolen one of the Mechanical horses he had been dissecting with a class that very morning, and escaped into the night. Rhupert had not seen him since that night.

‘What are you doing here Julian? We all thought you were dead.’ The little office did little to stifle the noise of the workshops, but at least they were able to converse without raised voices.

‘As I said, old friend, I am doing what needs to be done. I do Sigmar’s work’ As he mentioned the name of his personal deity, Julius produced a pendant concealed in his robes, a token of Sigmar; The twin-taled comet. Only it wasn’t quite right. one of the tales was longer than the other and both curved upright. The comet itself had been replaced by a cog or gear design, eight raised ridges and depressed valleys denoting it’s iconic form.

‘You have commandeered this facility when the emperor commands it is needed for other work. What could possibly be so important? I ought to turn you in myself.’

‘What’s so important you say? My life’s work old friend’ His eyes lit up like a childs, a beaming grin splitting his sooty face ‘I’ve done it. I’ve unlocked the secret of the engine’

Rhupert was incredulous. All the colour drained from his cheeks. His voice was little more than a whisper ‘That’s impossible. It…it cannot be done. Nobody understands how to…’

‘I do. Even at the College I was years away from unlocking even the slightest secret of his genius, but now, it is at my fingertips’

‘How? How could you make such leaps?’

‘Divine intervention. Sigmar himself answered my prayers. He spoke to me in a dream, guided me. Told me of the change I would undergo. His protection has shielded me from his misguided witch hunters. They cannot find me. It is only because I willed it that you managed to stumble upon my operation’

‘Why?’

‘Why? Rhupert you are my oldest friend. I knew eventually they would send someone to investigate the drop off in activity here. It took but the slightest bit of bribery and politicking to get you assigned to Emissary for the Western reaches. Sigmar guided me, showed me exactly where to scheme, to act, to earn you your current station in life so that so many years later you would come willingly to me. To join me in his glorious crusade.’

‘What crusade? The Emperor has decreed no such-‘

‘Hell and damnation with the decrees of their false emperor’ Rhupert had never seen such fire in his friend before. Not in all their long years together had rage and fervour gripped him as now ‘The line is broken Rhupert. The false government of the Runefangs serve no purpose and son those relic blades will be a broken as the ideals they stand for.’

‘This…this is heresy! This is madness’

‘Madness, Rhupert? This is Change, and in our little Empire, it is long overdue’

‘You would overthrow the Emperor with a handful of gunsmiths?

‘Come with me Rhupert. I had hoped my word alone would be enough to show you what must be done. But if it is further explanation you need, then you shall have it. We will bring order to the Empire’

Without turning to see if the Engineering Emissary was following him, Julius strode from the office.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

The Back door from the office opened out to a large yard, presumably for the horse drawn weapons trains to load up and haul the freshly smithed handguns to the front lines, where they were so desperately needed. Now it housed dozens of contraptions which Rhupert could only liken to stripped down versions of the legendary Steam Tanks. Blue smoke puffed from their stacks as the engines idled. Behind the ranks and files of steam machines, an ever larger bulk was draped in tarpaulin, the dirty cloth making it’s shape largely indistinguishable.

‘My gods. You’ve done it’
 
‘Aye, I’ve done it. The chassis are lighter of course, but more sprightly for it. we couldn’t get the heavy gauge cannon here in secret, they will be acquired at later date. And this is not it. Sigmar has many others like me, chosen to be his voices here in the Old World. In the east my allies make way for a tide of blue skinned monsters from the mountains. We shall strike here from the west. Franz cannot fight on two fronts whilst still protecting all the other borders of the Empire from petty raids and squabbles with its neighbours. Altdorf will burn beneath my boot. And from the ashes shall arise a new Empire shaped in the true image of Lord Sigmar’

‘No Julius. You cannot be allowed to do this. I will not be party to such heresy’ Rhupert’s fingers groped around in his pockets. They brushed past the decree from the College, it felt so feeble and powerless now. All he had was a small, single shot pistol he carried mostly for show. As he drew it from his pocket Rhupert whispered a prayer to any god who would listen that he had not forgotten to reload it.

‘Rhupert-‘ Julius looked genuinely hurt. He believed so passionately he was right, he couldn’t see how another rational man like Rhupert could not see it to. He opened his mouth to finish the sentence, but the booming report of Julius’ pistol ensured he never finished it.

The ball shaped bullet vomited forth from the barrel in a plume of smoke, brilliant white against the azure of Julius’ steam engines. It was a perfect shot and would have taken Julius through the heart, had it not been stopped by the incandescent wall of yellow fire which sprang up to block its path.

There was real madness in Julius’ eyes as he strode through the fire, licks of it catching on his coat and hair. He lifted his own pistol. Leering faces and cog-runed symbols decorated the weapon, ending in a horrific daemon’s maw where the barrel should have been.

‘Sigmar protects’ Whispered Rhupert, forming the sign of the hammer across his chest.

‘Indeed he does old friend’ Blue fire leapt from the barrel of the pistol and Rhupert felt a hard, wet pain in his stomach. He tried to speak but only blood bubbled forth, and the world went sideways as he keeled over, leaking over the cobblestones.

Rhupert strolled over to the gaggle of engineers and cultist who had gathered at the sound of the first gunshot.

‘It is time. Ready the men. We go to war.’

‘And your mount sire?’

‘Of course’

Without another word the cultists scrabbled over the tarpaulin, heaving it aside to reveal the gears, plates, smoke stacks and boilers beneath, intertwined with infinite complexity. Rhupert climbed into the saddle and pulled his goggles into place. He spared his oldest friend, dying on the floor, one last glance before driving his mount airborne bellowing at the top of his lungs ‘Death to the False Emperor’.

The last thing Rhupert Fleischer saw in this world was Julius Denisof, his oldest friend, taking to the skies atop a clockwork dragon.



okay, so some of you may have ntoiced I've got quite a few gnoblogs on the go at the moment. The Cygnar yelow boys are good and finished (no time to paint any more and I love the army make up opportunities that I have already) and there's only 4 outstanding Circle orboros models to paint. My Harlies are being put on hold for the forseeabel future while I get on with at least 1500 points of Steampunk space marines (if not a whole company) and I stil want to add some stuff to the change eaters (3 more yhetees, a ghark ironskin and skrag the slaughterer conversion/counts as, and a new tryant with lioght up parts) but I think I may be abel to squeeze a very small project in between.


There's a mighty Empires campaign coming up at the club and I fancied taking part, but want to try something a bit differant to ogres for a change (played with them pretty muchconsistantly for a year). I've got so much going on right now that I realy don't have time to convert and paint a whole new 2000 point army. Not a normal one anyway. I've wanted to have a go at fielding the 5/6 model Tzeentch army ever since I read about it around a year ago. IIRC it's something along the lines of a lord on dragon, two exalted champs in chariots, a third chariot and one or two shaggoths. Surely I'd be able to find the time to paint 5 models? Right? Well maybe, we'll see.

Continuing my love of all things steamy (that's boiled water, not the other kind of steamy...although I'm far from against that either ) I thought about steam powered chariots invented by a crazy imperial engineer driven tothe brink by Tzeentch and manipulated into serving the same masterplan as the church of the broken sword and the Change Eaters.

Chariots will be steam tanks with no roofs or guns and a wizard on board (not sure what I'll do for the actual crewman but I'm toying with having a necron warrior conversion with a big key in his back being actually part (no hand or feet) of the STank). The dragon will be some crazy mess of gears and metal plates, like Ghark 'ironskins iron Rhimox, but with wings and two heads . I'm really not sure how to approach the Shaggoths. I'm not sure if having two more steam powered bit automotons would overpower the theme a litte. I'm still debating leaving these out and replacing them with a unit of chosen chaos knights (riding single wheeled bikes like the one in Steamboy using a skaven doomwheel as the basis) and some warhounds (inquisitor scale enforcer dogs with more gears, a smokestack and a key).

Obviously this is still all in the embrionic stages of the army (no list yet!) and I'm still doing some costings to see iof I can afford the amount of steam tanks I'll need to pull it off! Any feedback aprpeciated though
Thanks
Corai

[Gorg skullcrush]

I can't wait to see this get underway. Great to come back after a long time to none other than the great corai starting a new blog. i dunno bout the steamtanks though. im sure you can make it look amazing but i dunno i cant really picture it. I would like to see normal chariots pimped out steampunk style. Either way i cant wait to see this progress.
cheers,Gorg

[Lexy]

Rhupert strolled over to the gaggle of engineers and cultist who had gathered at the sound of the first gunshot.

‘It is time. Ready the men. We go to war.’

Is this correct, I had the feeling Julius should be strolling there.

I love the story by the way

Personally I think that the knights are too much,
The shaggoths you can just give them one mechanical arm or something,
Another Gnoblog to check out.....

[Corai]

Rhupert strolled over to the gaggle of engineers and cultist who had gathered at the sound of the first gunshot.

‘It is time. Ready the men. We go to war.’

Is this correct, I had the feeling Julius should be strolling there.

whoops! Thanks for pointing that out Lexy

Thanks
Corai

[bas_2312]

That's a great story! I've always loved the idea of a corrupted Empire army, and an army of mechanical contraptions would be even more awesome!

If you will be using a unit of Chosen Knights, you should try to build corrupted Clockwork horses for them. If I were you I'd try to keep the warriors in your army as Empire-y as you can, and show their devotion to Chaos by the corrupted machines they have build. Maybe you could use a combination of Skaven and Empire technology for this, giving your engineers mechanical bodyparts that replace the weak flesh..

Now get to work, can't wait to see what your models will look like!

[ikim]

Corai... what is this... your 5th... 6th gnoblog?


if it is going to half as good as the others, it is going to be a good one, none-the-less.


cheers

[Corai]

Corai... what is this... your 5th... 6th gnoblog?

6th... I think

thanks
Corai

[Reg06]

Rhupert-‘ Julius looked genuinely hurt. He believed so passionately he was right, he couldn’t see how another rational man like Rhupert could not see it to. He opened his mouth to finish the sentence, but the booming report of Julius’ pistol ensured he never finished it.

I've found another. I don't think Rhupert is supposed to be shooting Julius with Julius's gun.
Good stuff, and get to work on this "army". Keep the Shaggoths. Anything less isn't worth it.

[Visquaz]

Wow! Your background story is really impressive as well as truly inspiring!

I can see it all before me and I have no doubt you can pull this of and make it really astonishing.

lots of plasticard cogs to make I guess, maybe you can use some Lego cogs as well. 

[Corai]

Rhupert-‘ Julius looked genuinely hurt. He believed so passionately he was right, he couldn’t see how another rational man like Rhupert could not see it to. He opened his mouth to finish the sentence, but the booming report of Julius’ pistol ensured he never finished it.

I've found another. I don't think Rhupert is supposed to be shooting Julius with Julius's gun.
Good stuff, and get to work on this "army". Keep the Shaggoths. Anything less isn't worth it.

That's what I get for writing something after midnight onm a work night. That or all this chaos stuff is finally getting to me

thanks
Corai

[Corai]

Righto, list time methinks:

Lord of Chaos         
-Mark of Tzeentch      
-Dragon         
-Staff of change      
-Golden Eye of Tzeentch    
-Shield            
-Great Weapon      
      814

Julius himself atop a clockwork/steampowered/mechanical dragon. Not sure how I'll go about this but its looking like I'll need to scratchbuild the whole thing using plasticard and brass rod. I'm thinking I'll go for the GW classic rearing up dragon pose as it wil help identify my creation with what it's supposed to be and also unburdens me from having to make the bucket of bolts look like it will fly! I've not decided whether to make it 2 headed or not. I'd don't know if the two breath attacks require a differant point of origin to be legal. The great weapon (as with all the characters) is in there becasue I had points tospare and gives me an alterntaive to the hand weapon when I need some enemy chariots busting open

Exalted Champion      
-Mark of Tzeentch      
-Power Familiar      
-Great Weapon      
-Shield            
      226

Riding one of the chariots. I'm thinking a cross between an engineer and a wizard, with maybe a little warrior priest thrown in for good measure. Probably lots of use of the new wizard sprues I've been dying to use

Exalted Champion      
-Mark of Tzeentch      
-Dispel Scroll         
-Dispel Scroll         
-Great Weapon      
-Shield            
      226

Chariot            
-Mark of Tzeentch      
      140   

Chariot            
-Mark of Tzeentch   
      140   

Chariot            
-Mark of Tzeentch      
      140   

As mentioned, made using the steamtank (if I can find 3 cheap enough!)without the roof o cannons added and with a crew member (porbably an engineer of some variety) added in to pilot it

Dragon Ogre Shaggoth   
-Additional Hand weapon   
      301
No idea what I'm going to do with this yet! I don't want the army to look too overtly chaos and I can't see a fluff reason for Julius to build something that resembles an enemy beast (the dragon being an affectation copying Karl Franz's mode of transportation). I'm thinking maybe a powerlifter/penetant engine/battlesuit mesh which has four legs. Not sure f this will be enough to scream shaggoth at my opponent though.
            

total 1987

Thanks
Corai

[Reg06]

A good looking list, just crazy enough to work. No MoT on the Shaggoth? I don't want to mess with the list too much, but if you drop a chariot (you'll still be at 12 pd) you can afford the MoT on the Shaggoth (lvl 2 wizard giant/dragon thing. Two terror causing wizards that are beasts in combat) and a spawn (a rickety contraption, Julius's first attempt at engineering?). And the spawn can't be insta-splatted.

[Lexy]

No Reg, the mark thingy only for DOS characters.
So he can't take a mark for this one.

I think to represent the shaggoth, you'll have to model the mechanical shaggoth as a real life shaggoth.
Or els you'll be saying: "No, no, it's not a giant, it's a shaggoth..."

[Corai]

A good looking list, just crazy enough to work. No MoT on the Shaggoth? I don't want to mess with the list too much, but if you drop a chariot (you'll still be at 12 pd) you can afford the MoT on the Shaggoth (lvl 2 wizard giant/dragon thing. Two terror causing wizards that are beasts in combat) and a spawn (a rickety contraption, Julius's first attempt at engineering?). And the spawn can't be insta-splatted.

much as I'd love to, the mark makes the shaggoth a lord IIRC so I couldn't take it with the dragon rider

Thanks
Corai

[Reg06]

Characters only, oh well. That's what BoC players get for having a great model with stats that just aren't up to par.

[Visquaz]

Well, maybe you could make the shaggoth into some sort of giant fork-lift (needed for maintenance of the great clockwork dragon). Driven by a crazy engineer of course and topped of with some ornamental shaggothy/dragony skull just to make it clear it's not a giant 

Could be four-legged or use a combination of legs and wheels, steam powered and uttely crazy.

[Corai]

had a bit of a win at the casino last night (following a massacre in my favour with my circle orboros against a friends khador at the club the same night) and am now going to pick up the 3 steam tanks I need to make the base of the army tomorrow. As I said, there's a mighty empires campaign starting at the club and it looks like the first games might be next sunday so I'm aiming to get a playable 1K army (the three chariots basically, qwith an extra character in one) asap and wil expand on it with the other two models in the coming weeks

Thakns
Corai

[Boss_Salvage]

had a bit of a win at the casino last night ... and am now going to pick up the 3 steam tanks I need to make the base of the army tomorrow

Ha!  Nice work!

Good luck on the cheesefest list, all that steam power does sound quite cool.  The steam battlesuit shaggoth should be good fun particularly, however it turns out.

And this does remind me that I kinda want to make that 1000 point 3 Chariots of Tz Doom list when the HE cat chariots come out ... But we'll see if I can resist

- Salvage

[Wildcard]

Corai - jus tto let you know your "opponents" are getting ready too - I've posted a project gnoblar mayhem thread in teh cauldron to get the team together!

[Arante]

Just a thought, But It would look cool if the dragon was in the new High ELf Dragon pose, with the Champ standing on the head pointing, with a scroll/wrench in the other hand
Can't wait to see the army.

-Arante

[Corai]

Corai - jus tto let you know your "opponents" are getting ready too - I've posted a project gnoblar mayhem thread in teh cauldron to get the team together!

oh it's on

Bit of bad luck, the GW was sold out of Steamtanks so I had to put a mailorder in...which were also out! The postage will be free but not sure when they'll arrive (I ordered 3 of the Implacable Steam engine variants so I'll have the crew I need too). I gues it's time to get working on the dragon then. Expect some concept sketches soonish

thanks
Corai

[Corai]

All across the field battle raged. Earth was churned beneath the iron shod wheels of steam-chariots and soaked with the blood of men. Flames of iridescent colours licked out from fingertips and staffs just as the booming reports of cannon returned the tide of death. Yet in the centre of the field there was a most odd phenomenon. Silence.

Men and machines formed a circle, all thoughts of killing each other forgotten as they stared at the two figures at its centre. Two generals, their mounts discarded stood opposite one another. One a staunch follower of Sigmar, and the other a loyal son of the Empire.

‘You can’t be serious’ Captain Richter Husken. Master of the Reiskguard, answerable only to Kurt Hellborg, the Reiksmarshall himself, stood proud, the midday sun glinting from his polished plate. His voice was booming, his manner bombastic. Here, clearly, was a man accustomed to having others follow his orders. His opponents defiance made his moustache twitch.

‘You don’t know me very well Captain Husken, I am always serious’ Julius Denisof spat the words from his soot stained mouth. No armour adorned his bony form, no weapons hung from his belt. And yet Julius could feel the Captain’s fear at the edge of his perception.

‘You’re actions here will not go unpunished heretic. May Sigmar strike you down for your arrogance’

‘Hubris is not my failing captain. Sigmar has blessed me with foresight. I am his puppet and am blessed with the knowledge that everything I do is for the greater glory of him and his Empire’

Husken was dumbfounded. The heresies he had heard spew from the engineers mouth were unthinkable. That Sigmar would choose him as an emissary of death for the Empire. Madness. ‘We are at war, man. There are no troops to spare to fight off internal politics. Surrender now or you will be the doom of the empire’

‘Then so be it’

‘You would let the Empire burn?’

Julius took a step forward and lowered his voice accordingly. A barely visible glint lit up his eyes. ‘Captain Husken, if my god commands it, I would let the galaxy burn’

Without warning Julius’ fist drew back. It lit up with ochre flames and in less than a second, he drove it through Husken’s laurel-wreathed helm, and into his head.

Thanks
Corai

[Kyte]

A 2000pts list consisting of 5 models sounds like a dream! Especially as chariots can be scratch-built! I might do a list like yours, Corai!

Thanks

 - Kyte

[BigD]

An interesting idea to make an army like that. Like your fluff as well. I'll definately be keeping an eye on this gnoblog to see how this turns out!

BigD

[Corai]

okay, impatient of waiting for the team tanks to arrive I've put in  an order for a witchunters penmitant engine and an extra set of legs for it which I will use to build the shaggoth (plus some spare parts from the steamtank/empire sprues etc...when they finally arrive). I did consider scratchbuilding aclockwork shaggoth but deciceded I'd rather keep this for the dragon to make it more unique (and cheap out on the shaggoth to speed up production of this army even more!)

thanks
Corai