Your Daily Dose of Grimdark: Dan's Sylvanian Empire

[Saul Tarvitz]

Rugby? Is that the children's game I hear so much about? Now that football season is over I'll have to look it up sometime

I'll have you know the rugby is a man's game good sir! It is similar to American football, except there's no armour worn and the game doesn't stop every so often. Well it does, but everyone gets into a scrum and starts trying to push the opposition's faces into the mud. The Six Nations is underway currently and well worth a watch if you can.

I really like the idea of having the scattered trees and fences etc. That, along with the muted pallette you're talking about for the bases, should make it look like they're advancing through deepest darkest Sylvania.

I know its early days yet, but have you given any thought to character background?

[Lord Dan]

I once saw a game of Rugby between an English Rugby team and an American Football team. The American team left the pitch after just a few minutes, they couldn't keep up.

That's because we're too fat.

Looking forward to seeing this plog develop. Often wondered about Sylvanian 'survivors' and reconquest efforts myself.

Thank a lot. I'll post some pictures of the first swordsmen unit tonight.

I'll have you know the rugby is a man's game good sir! It is similar to American football, except there's no armour worn and the game doesn't stop every so often. Well it does, but everyone gets into a scrum and starts trying to push the opposition's faces into the mud. The Six Nations is underway currently and well worth a watch if you can.

I was just joking with my wife about the occasional football vs. rugby banter on these forums, and she confessed that she has always wanted to watch rugby (actually she said she has always wanted to play rugby, though she far too petite for that, and will have to settle for watching). Do they stream game vidoes on that site?

I'm sure answer to this question will be completely unbiased and void of emotion, but who are we rooting for?

I really like the idea of having the scattered trees and fences etc. That, along with the muted pallette you're talking about for the bases, should make it look like they're advancing through deepest darkest Sylvania.

I know its early days yet, but have you given any thought to character background?

Yeah, I'm pretty excited to get some paint on them and see if they look as spooky as I hope they will. So far I've been using woodland scenics trees and scratch built fences, but I think I'll get some GW fences and trees to add that fantasy feel that will be difficult to achieve otherwise.

As far as background I've been giving it a lot of thought. I don't want this to be a "vampire hunter" army, but I do want to incorporate a lot of the themes and motiffs you might find in such a force (holy books, neck armor, garlic, etc.). As such I don't want the characters to be vampire hunters, just pissed off people who grew up in Sylvania and know a trick or two for dealing with the undead. I'll let you know where this takes me.

[Still Standing]

You're rooting for England, clearly. You can watch the highlights on that website. HERE is the link. Remember, with Rugby, you're not watching a set of prelearned "plays" (is that the right word?) as is the case with American Football. Anything you see on the pitch is from the players!

[Saul Tarvitz]

What Still Standing means is that you should be rooting for Scotland as the English and Irish are a bunch of posh boys, the Welsh are hampered by players who are more concerned about the celebrity lifestyle than the game, the Italians are dancers and the French are, well, French. Scotland do have tendency to play far too defensively, then to lob the ball right up the field, but that's neither here nor there.

I reckon your wife should give touch-rugby a go - no contact tackles so less opportunity for broken limbs. Its great fun and good exercise too, plus you're less likely to injure yourself if you just get stuck in rather than being overcautious.


Anyway, sorry for derailing your topic with all this talk of rugby, back on topic.


I like the idea of combining GW scenery with non-GW. Like you said it'll help bring in that fantasy edge that the army might struggle with otherwise. Beyond being in a vampire haunted wasteladn that is. Having them as tough locals makes sense, perhaps a village that has seceded from the control of one of the von Carsteins and is striking out to free other villages?

[Lord Dan]

You're rooting for England, clearly. You can watch the highlights on that website. HERE is the link. Remember, with Rugby, you're not watching a set of prelearned "plays" (is that the right word?) as is the case with American Football. Anything you see on the pitch is from the players!

Plays is the correct word, though I can't imagine a game similar to football without the structure provided by plays. It must be chaos. What is the "pitch" exactly? Is it just the field, or is it specific part of the field (like the pitcher's mound in baseball, or the endzone in football)?

What Still Standing means is that you should be rooting for Scotland as the English and Irish are a bunch of posh boys, the Welsh are hampered by players who are more concerned about the celebrity lifestyle than the game, the Italians are dancers and the French are, well, French. Scotland do have tendency to play far too defensively, then to lob the ball right up the field, but that's neither here nor there.

I reckon your wife should give touch-rugby a go - no contact tackles so less opportunity for broken limbs. Its great fun and good exercise too, plus you're less likely to injure yourself if you just get stuck in rather than being overcautious.


Anyway, sorry for derailing your topic with all this talk of rugby, back on topic.


I like the idea of combining GW scenery with non-GW. Like you said it'll help bring in that fantasy edge that the army might struggle with otherwise. Beyond being in a vampire haunted wasteladn that is. Having them as tough locals makes sense, perhaps a village that has seceded from the control of one of the von Carsteins and is striking out to free other villages?

Scotland's playing style sounds a lot like my football team, the Philadelphia Eagles. The old: "Okay, running plays are getting us nowhere. Throw the ball as far as you can and we'll see how many people we can get downfield in time" mentality has served us well for years.

Touch rugby sounds like a blast. The trick will be finding other players in my area. I'm not totally convinced that too many of my fellow southerners have heard of rugby, or even the United Kingdom. Or Europe. Really anything north or east of Virginia is a grey area.

I like your idea lot, and I'll be running with it. I really enjoy the idea of this angry mob of Sylvanians over-running the weak defenses of the Stirland "garrisons" that guard their larger towns and beating up Vampires wherever they find them. They just need a metal theme song.

In planning news me general will be based on the guy on the left:

He reminds me of the brother in Van Helsing that gets turned into a werewolf. He'll be sans-crotch armor and with more neck armor, and a hat of some kind (I'll probably end up swapping the head entirely). He just needs to be a bit grittier and look, overall, like less of a pansy.

And here are my updates. Bear in mind that almost every model in this unit is a heavy WIP. First, a shot of what'd you'd see advancing towards you across the field:

[Lord Dan]

(Picture Limit)

A side view:


You've already met most of the front rank, so let's meet their support team:

While from this angle it may look like a scarecrow, the guy on the left is actually vaulting over the fence. I regret not getting a better shot of him, but he's absurdly WIP and it's probably for the best. That's supposed to be a garlic necklace on the guy to his right, which I'm hoping will be more obvious with paint. While it's not all that apparent from the models so far, the unit is going to appear to be fighting the zombies popping out of the ground around them, which is a theme I'm going to keep up throughout the army.

And here's a shot of one of the unit fillers:


This will be my last update for a few days, as my wife and I are going to Panama City for the weekend. When I return on Monday, however, I have a nice order from Hoard o' Bitz waiting for me.

Have a great weekend!

[Saul Tarvitz]

Wouldn't be too difficult to set up a touch-rugby game, or even a proper one at that. You'd be able to do it with as few as eight people I reckon, max. 30 a game. Might be able to found a new SW Georgian tradition.

The unit is looking good so far, so once it's completed its going to look cracking. Nice to see so much character in the unit already especially if they're still heavily wip. As for a metal theme may I suggest 'Baying of the Hounds' by Opeth and 'Native Land' by Korpiklaani?

Enjoy your weekend, you off to Florida or Panamá?

[eldargal]

I like the unit. I like your choice of duellist for general as well, its one of my favourite models. Shame if you lost the codpiece though, its such a nic touch. Shaded properly it looks like a smiley face, which amuses me.

[amijp]

the Welsh are hampered by players who are more concerned about the celebrity lifestyle than the game

Dan, I would tell you to root for Wales mate, but Saul has hit the nail on the head here, the Welsh players are getting more and more like profesional footballers (soccer players ) every day...
If we could just knuckle down, concentrate on the game and play the quick ball/free flow rugby that we love, the Welsh team would honestly batter all comers, but I digress...

I really enjoy American Football, which I try to catch as often as I can, which is difficult here, as without Sky tv, games are only shown during the early hours of Sunday and Monday mornings.
Whilst I admire the big hits, breath taking passes and crazy solo runs (accompanied by awesome blocking) that you see in the NFL, I find rugby a much more interesting game as a good game of rugby is much quicker, free flowing, and often a lot more inventive than an American Football game. Players rely on their own skill and quick thinking to take charge of a situation, rather than relying on pre set plays.
You really ought to check a game out for yourself

But I must apologise, and get back on track - great log so far, very inspiring and inventive, I myself started a Sylvanian Empire army a few years ago, using the black, purple and a touch of red colour scheme White Dwarf showcased, I never got far though!
The milita unit is coming on great, fantastic conversions and the bases are awesome at capturing the Sylvanian feel, this army as a whole will be a classic, I'm sure of it. Keep it up.

Sorry for the essay!

[Brother Alexos]

I suggest you have at least one or two smallish units of State Troops that still look like they have a uniform, it would be a great kind of anchor to a ramshackle looking army.

[thenamelessdead]

Really cool idea for an army. I've tried to visualise it myself but I don't think I've ever seen anyone actually build it. There was a Tale of Four Gamers series in WD a few years ago (probably around 2003/4) where one bloke decided to build a Stirland army. Some similar ideas would apply to a Sylvanian force I'd have thought.

In terms of rules I'm not sure if I'm repeating or correcting here, but the Storm of Chaos Sylvanian levy are actually skeletons and zombies. The better Sylvanian list would be from the 6th edition VC book, which had a von Carstein list at the back and that emphasises that the levy are alive! It was basically the basic Empire troops (Free Companies, Crossbowmen etc) forming the core units and dire wolves, wights, vampires etc comprising the meaty elements of the army. It was one of those flavoursome army list that GW used to like putting together.

[Lord Dan]

Woah, lots to respond to.

Wouldn't be too difficult to set up a touch-rugby game, or even a proper one at that. You'd be able to do it with as few as eight people I reckon, max. 30 a game. Might be able to found a new SW Georgian tradition.

The unit is looking good so far, so once it's completed its going to look cracking. Nice to see so much character in the unit already especially if they're still heavily wip. As for a metal theme may I suggest 'Baying of the Hounds' by Opeth and 'Native Land' by Korpiklaani?

Enjoy your weekend, you off to Florida or Panamá?

I listened to both songs and admit I found them terrifying, which is perfect. Can you think of any that are all instrumental? Back when I was frequenting tournaments I had this clip of a bunch of zombies groaning that I would play when one of my zombie units did something amazing. I'm hoping to find an awesome clip that I can play when one of my Sylvanian units similarly (and of course metaphorically) kicks one of my opponent's units in the head.

It was Panama City Florida, and it was awesome (one of the benefits of living this far south is the close proximity to the beach).

I like the unit. I like your choice of duellist for general as well, its one of my favourite models. Shame if you lost the codpiece though, its such a nic touch. Shaded properly it looks like a smiley face, which amuses me.

Truthfully I'm a bit intimidated by the codpiece, simply because I have a very dark highlighting style that I fear might make the guy's crotch stand out. We'll have to see.

Dan, I would tell you to root for Wales mate, but Saul has hit the nail on the head here, the Welsh players are getting more and more like profesional footballers (soccer players ) every day...
If we could just knuckle down, concentrate on the game and play the quick ball/free flow rugby that we love, the Welsh team would honestly batter all comers, but I digress...

I really enjoy American Football, which I try to catch as often as I can, which is difficult here, as without Sky tv, games are only shown during the early hours of Sunday and Monday mornings.
Whilst I admire the big hits, breath taking passes and crazy solo runs (accompanied by awesome blocking) that you see in the NFL, I find rugby a much more interesting game as a good game of rugby is much quicker, free flowing, and often a lot more inventive than an American Football game. Players rely on their own skill and quick thinking to take charge of a situation, rather than relying on pre set plays.
You really ought to check a game out for yourself

Really it sounds like a blast, and given the fact that our next NFL season might not happen if the player's association doesn't sign some paperwork soon it might be time for my family to find another sport to get into.

But I must apologise, and get back on track - great log so far, very inspiring and inventive, I myself started a Sylvanian Empire army a few years ago, using the black, purple and a touch of red colour scheme White Dwarf showcased, I never got far though!
The milita unit is coming on great, fantastic conversions and the bases are awesome at capturing the Sylvanian feel, this army as a whole will be a classic, I'm sure of it. Keep it up.

Sorry for the essay!

I'm still unsure about the red. I was thinking of doing black, purple, and bits of light grey. I really don't want there to be too much color in this army, and I never felt that red and purple went together too well (much in the way that blue and green really don't look good together).
Thanks! As you'll note below the bases still have work to be done (GW trees are on the way!), but otherwise the models for the first swordsmen unit are in place and ready for green stuff.

I suggest you have at least one or two smallish units of State Troops that still look like they have a uniform, it would be a great kind of anchor to a ramshackle looking army.

I've been debating that idea, though I run into two problems:
1) The army is supposed to represent a bunch of peasants and vampire war veterans who want their land back, not a formalized fighting force. While adding state troops could easily be written into the army background ("the professional soldiers are from sylvania and have defected from their stirland patrol units") I fear adding them would detract from the feel of the army. I want someone to be able to look at this force across the table and immediately think: "Oh, Sylvanian army. Cool"
2) What models do I use? I'm avoiding fluffy sleeves because I don't feel that Sylvanians would find them efficient, and the 7th ed state troops models are just...awful.

I'm hoping with a coherent color scheme and limited pallete I should be able to keep a somewhat uniform appearance to the army. If after two units I'm proven wrong, you're free to tell me "I told you so".

Really cool idea for an army. I've tried to visualise it myself but I don't think I've ever seen anyone actually build it. There was a Tale of Four Gamers series in WD a few years ago (probably around 2003/4) where one bloke decided to build a Stirland army. Some similar ideas would apply to a Sylvanian force I'd have thought.

In terms of rules I'm not sure if I'm repeating or correcting here, but the Storm of Chaos Sylvanian levy are actually skeletons and zombies. The better Sylvanian list would be from the 6th edition VC book, which had a von Carstein list at the back and that emphasises that the levy are alive! It was basically the basic Empire troops (Free Companies, Crossbowmen etc) forming the core units and dire wolves, wights, vampires etc comprising the meaty elements of the army. It was one of those flavoursome army list that GW used to like putting together.

I remember the list you're talking about from the 6th edition book. Absolutely dreadful in game if I recall, but a lot of fun to play with and against. Truthfully I'm hoping to do the same thing with this army using the 7th edition Empire rulebook- I want my opponents to fight an army that both looks cool and full of hilarious (usually inefficient) units and items that they rarely get to see.

"Dan, why is your general in a unit of 30 militia...with a command group?"
"Never you mind! He's about to lay down the LAW!!! Sword of Fate: ACTIVAAAAAAATTTTTEEEEE!!!"
"...you seriously took the Sword of Fate?"
"Indeed I did. Unfortunately, as you might recall, I nominated the dragon across the field as its intended victim, so against your exhalted hero it's actually just a magic weapon with no bonuses. So, what's your guy have for initiative? Three? Four?"
"Six."
"Well, then it's a good thing he brought his light armor with him today...."

[Lord Dan]

And how about a long overdue update? First, the unit of swordsmen with all members present. Still TONS of green stuff work to do, so go easy on me:

[Lord Dan]

And some more. A close up of the still WIP "Vaulten":


My light wizard. He's actually done, I just need to give him a simple green bath and do some work on the base. And yes, he will be wearing the Armor of Tarnus:


My sniper engineer. Still waiting on a file for the legs and he needs some GS. Not sure what I'm going to do to de-modernize the gun:


I apologize for the picture quality, but my lamp died and I'm in a bit of a rush. I try a bit harder once I get some paint on them.

[mdiscala]

Not sure what I'm going to do to de-modernize the gun:

Skillful application of gears?

[Saul Tarvitz]

Gears and cogs sound like the way to go to 'Fantasy' him up a bit.

The unit so far is looking rather cool, you've got a nice balance between rabble and soldiers going on there and the little tableux in it really help define the setting of the army.

As for scary instrumental metal stuff I'll have to have a think on that.

[Gargobot]

Great regiment with some very cool mini dioramas -now get to painting.
I'm with mdiscala on the de-modernizing of the gun.

[spetswalshe]

Brilliant stuff here, looking forward to seeing some painted up.

I find the most important thing to remember about rugby is that, because it is an English game, if England loses we can just say the other team aren't doing it properly. This also works with cricket and electricity.

[Arduhn]

Good stuff Dan! I just realized I forgot to send you those pieces

I'll get them in the mail as soon as I can. If you could just send me a pm with your current address. I think I have it, but just to be sure.

[Lord Dan]

Skillful application of gears?

I need to find some gears, then.

Gears and cogs sound like the way to go to 'Fantasy' him up a bit.

The unit so far is looking rather cool, you've got a nice balance between rabble and soldiers going on there and the little tableux in it really help define the setting of the army.

As for scary instrumental metal stuff I'll have to have a think on that.

I'm actually debating the unit as it is. I fear that I may have rushed things a bit, as I admittedly raided my bitz box and cobbled together all the models I had to make a unit. I really want to stay away from state troops, poofy sleeves, and chainmail and stick to the grimmer late 18th century feel of the militia kit. I'll find a way to work some huntsmen in, too.

I'm also not happy with the wooden fence and general lack of gravestones, so I got this:
Gothic Graveyard Mold

Should frighten things up a bit.

Regardless I'm going to be reworking the unit a bit and take my time to ensure the army looks the way I want, not settle for how I can make it look with the models I have available to me.

Great regiment with some very cool mini dioramas -now get to painting.
I'm with mdiscala on the de-modernizing of the gun.

Danke, Jens. Painting will be a while coming, simply because I'm having so much fun playing with green stuff right now. On that note I'm looking for a company that makes a decent 3-color progression for purple so I can keep my mixing to a minimum. I checked P3's line and didn't see much - does Vallejo or Reaper make anything?

Brilliant stuff here, looking forward to seeing some painted up.

I find the most important thing to remember about rugby is that, because it is an English game, if England loses we can just say the other team aren't doing it properly. This also works with cricket and electricity.

Thanks!

I wish I could do the same thing with football, however our fans are pretty crazy. It's just not worth it.

Good stuff Dan! I just realized I forgot to send you those pieces

I'll get them in the mail as soon as I can. If you could just send me a pm with your current address. I think I have it, but just to be sure.

Thanks Michael. Where have you been? I saw you updated your plog as well, which was refreshing!