Tuesday, 4 June 2019

Creating a Burrows & Badgers Warband: Part 1 - Written Stuff

So while I have plenty of ideas for Warbands, I thought I might focus on making one first and talking about some of the ideas behind the creation of it.

Obviously it all starts off by picking animals from the list of beasts. I did this in three steps, the first being to check out the range of miniatures from the official website, looking at what ones I really liked, but also seeing what classifications they were (a.k.a Small, Medium etc.) so I could cross reference them with the chart in the book.

Secondly, I went over some of my own characters to see if they would work as characters in the game, choosing both a Bat (My female Bat character Miranda. I left Bartholomew to lead the defense of the burrow while they were on missions) and a Squirrel (An OC of mine who is an Albino Squirrel who lost his left hand and it is replaced with a hook). I also had names of characters I liked from cartoons and stuff, I felt that they wouldn't fit into this Warband (though expect some to show up in future ones). As such, in situations like this I tend to research baby names & meanings to give a list of usable names that I would like to use.

Finally, I go through the process of buying gear and mixing and matching various options until I find ones that fit enough that I feel confident I could enjoy playing as. It is during this point that I ensure they all have names and a brief history, that their allegiance has been picked and there is background to flesh out the Warband.

As such, here is what I have decided to start off with (I have begun painting some miniatures and am just waiting for the second set to arrive to finish it off):

Brianna (Hedgehog - Leader)
- Gear: One-Handed Weapon, Heavy Armour of Shielding +1 & Light Shield
- Skill (For being Leader): Born in Harness. Stat Boost (For being Leader): Block

Ghost (Squirrel - Second)
- Gear: 2x One-Handed Weapon, Camouflage Cloak
- Skill (For being Second): Born Survivor (though I may change it to Enduring, not sure yet)

Miranda (Bat)
- Gear: Mage's Focus
- Spell: Lightning (Nature)

Ginnette (Hedgehog)
- Gear: One-Handed Weapon
- Spell: Van Rubal's Acceleration
- Special Item: Relic

Gurumarra (Platypus)
- Gear: One-Handed Weapon, Throwing Knives, Camouflage Cloak

Emrick (Mouse)
- Gear: One-Handed Weapon, Bow, Light Armor

Allegiance: Freebeasts (Bonus items - Mortal Poison worth 6p (stored for later use), Relic and magical item: Heavy Armor of Shielding +1)
Starting Den: Abandoned Burrow
Remaining Coin: 29p

Now this is still open to change, but overall I feel this is what I am happy to at least start on. They would be part of a mixed bag of civilians who have fled into the forests and have found an abandoned burrow and from there have set up their little village. While some stay behind to deal with local threats, others join the adventuring force to help obtain things that the village doesn't have and to help it grow.

Brianna and Ginnette are sisters and while Brianna is a stone wall warrior who leads the group, Ginnette is more then happy to let her sister lead, preferring not to have such a huge responsibility on her shoulders (though supports her sister as best she can). Emrick is a plucky young mouse who has spent much of his life watching over the forests and feels he is now ready to adventure out of his grounds. Miranda joins to help aid the group, but also to help bring a positive mood to the group (her husband had to stay behind in order to help keep their friends safe). Gurumarra is from beyond the seas and had escape his captors who took him from his home, while Ghost's own story is just as sad, but he is cunning and ready to strike from the shadows.

While there is a lot more to it then that, this was just meant to give a basic idea on the characters and I'll expand more of their stories once their models are finished and ready to go.

So that was the first part of the creating of my Warband. The next part (when it's done) will be the painting and having them ready to play. I may do a third one based on playing them, but I can't promise that, so it will simply be set as a possible extra down the road. While it does look daunting at first, it's actually quite fun to put together, so much so that I already have a few other Warband lists made and I may get around to doing them later this year.

I do recommend checking out the miniature range (see link at top of this article) and seeing if any grab you. Even if you don't decide to give the game a shot, you might still find something enjoyable to paint.

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