Mordheim 2019: Into the Zone

The City of the Damned.

We are excited to announce that Alexander Winberg (of the excellent Echoes of Imperium blog), invited us to take part in an event to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mordheim, Games Workshop’s Old World skirmish game! More than probably any of GW’s other games, Mordheim really delves into the dystopian horror elements that lurk within most of their settings, bipedal rats, ambulatory fish, shambling skeletons, religious zealots, and rotting tenements. Being 20 years since the game was released, the Mordheim event is also set 20 years further in the timeline, Imperial Calendar 2019. While Alex defined the basic motivations behind the major factions, Tears of Envy, another extremely talented hobbyist involved in the event (who made Mordheim 2019’s excellent logo, which is on each of the pictures included on this post!), had the fantastic idea of looking at the city of Mordheim through the lens of the Strugatsky brothers’ Roadside Picnic/Stalker. This science fiction classic explores the aftermath of an extraterrestrial visitation. Despite the alien visitors abrupt departure, their presence irrevocably and mysteriously changed the environment where they visited. These “Zones” were eventually cordoned off from the wider world to be studied. Could the meteorite that hit Mordheim have a similar effect, and what would happen to the city after being poisoned by this wyrdstone for 20 years? How would its inhabitants and the city itself be affected and corrupted? And what sort of adventurers would risk their lives to find fortune by venturing into the City of the Damned? This concept really captured our imaginations, leading us to start experimenting with different warband designs, which we wanted to share some of our early work in progress.

Bladegheist Revenants models were used to convert these spectral undead.

The Revenant masks were replaced with regular skulls to make them look more like tradition skeletons.

One of the most iconic and memorable elements of Roadside Picnic are the enigmatic Anomalies that are found within the Zone, odd and often dangerous phenomena/entities that seem to defy Newtonian physics. Bug traps are invisible spots that exhibit extremely strong gravity, able to crush anything that walks into it, or propel it into the air. Hell slimes are caustic colloidal gases that transform most of what it touches into more of the slime. The book is filled with many of these enigmatic entities, and I thought it would be interesting to explore the notion that prolonged exposure to wyrdstone has warped many of the undead into creatures resembling some of these Anomalies. What had once been physical beings, moldering bones and rotting corpses, have slowly lost their corporeal forms and now interact with the living inhabitants of the city in curious ways.

Like the Anomalies in Roadside Picnic, I did not want the undead to have obvious weapons.

I used small pieces plastic card to create the stakes and nails piercing the undead’s limbs and skull.

While I am still conceptualizing and considering ways to make some of these ideas into models, the new Nighthaunt models from Age of Sigmar seemed like an ideal place to start. They are a nice combination of classic skeleton and ghost/wraith elements, which fits with the idea of undead losing their hold on the physical realm. I decided to get a box of Bladegheist Revenants to start experimenting with, since I think they are one of the best looking Nighthaunt units. I really like their incredibly long limbs, thinking they impart an unsettling air to the models. To make the models appear more like spectral skeletons, I replaced the Revenant iron masks with skulls. I also removed the models’ swords, feeling that these tortured entities would have no use or motivation to wield physical weapons. To convey the torment of their existence, I decided to cover the models’ hands, arms, and skulls with nails. These were primarily constructed with tiny rods of plastic card, each between 0.4-0.5mm in diameter.

I am uncertain of how I want to paint these first few models.

At the moment, I am not sure if these spectral skeletons are finished. I am pretty happy with how they look so far, but as I experiment with other designs for the warband, more ideas may emerge that shape them. Any input or suggestions would be appreciated! Expect to see more posts in the future as this warband and others progress.

- Eric Wier