Adepticon 2024: a recap

It has now been a few weeks since we returned from our first Adepticon, and although we released a podcast of interviews we did while there, we wanted to share some photos from our time there! We met so many wonderful people and got to reacquaint with old friends. It was an amazing time; I hope these photos can capture some of the magic of it!

Thursday

Adepticon 2024 begins at the Chicago airport, where Eli (left; @redwetskeleton) and Jonny (middle bottom; @witchhammerstudio) picked us up!

We stopped by our Airbnb rental before going to the convention, and Eli paged through one of the Necromunda books, preparing for a few days of gaming.

The first thing we did upon arriving at the convention center was find Hive Scum’s Grimdark hallway!

Jonny (@witchhammerstudio) assembles his SAMMAHS2 “MALEBOLGE“ board, ready for games in the coming days.

Friday

Before returning to the convention on Friday, Eli and Greg talked a little about their hopes for the next few days. Check out the latest episode of Dragged into Turbolasers for this and many other recorded conversations!

Martin McCoy had a stand promoting his upcoming pen-and-paper RPG Mosscairn, set in a feudalistic world populated by humanoid animal creatures and elder spirits of the forest. He had a wide array of prints of his artwork for the project, really demonstrating the beauty and horror of the setting.

A stunning diorama was created for Mosscairn by Mike DeBolt (@gundamofficialhobby) and Yasashii Kyojin Studio, showcasing some animal knights fighting against enraged forest spirits!

A noble kingfisher readies their crossbow…

To repel some enraged forest spirits!

Greg and Adam chat with Trent Holbrook (@miscast.co) about the miniature hobby!

We got to see Trent’s mecha Gengar, which he created for Bill Ward’s (@berserkerwrks) mech combat game, MEK28. Glorious indeed.

Julian (@eelheelstudio) from Eel Heel Studio created this wonderful Vastarian warband featuring a floating grub-like creature that brings to mind images of David Lynch’s ill-fated Dune film!

Attitude and style are a way of life for Adam and Mike DeBolt (@gundamofficialhobby).

The Golden Demon trophies are lined up with the Slayer Sword, ready to help celebrate some of the best painters in the world.

A beautifully painted female Space Marine by Zambies (@zambiesdecays). It received a Notable Entry card for its stellar painting.

A stunning piece painted by Richard Gray (@daemonrich).

An underhive merc painted by Shaun (@particulate_x) celebrating the Hive Scum way of life!

Adam and Mark (@moshartz) try out Duncan Rhodes' line of paint, Two Thin Coats. The paints function well even if you don’t thin them!

Hobbyists assemble in the Grimdark hallway to convert models that would eventually be put to the test at the Meat Grinder! For those unaware, the Meat Grinder is a game of arena combat where each contestant enters a model and they fight until one is left standing. The loser’s miniature gets ground into plastic fragments in an actual meat grinder! This is a game which the podcast Anonymous Tabletop has brought to Adepticon for a number of years, but one which really captured peoples’ imagination in 2023.

Witty (@wittlegoblin) painted this model, from her game Night Thirst, for the Meat Grinder!

People assemble to test their mettle at the Meat Grinder.

The arena for the Meat Grinder.

The infamous grinder, intent on bringing more miniatures to their doom.

Trent and Elle Graves (@elle_graves) square off against each other in a game of MEK28.

The dust settles and Elle’s ambulatory chapel stands victorious over Trent’s daemonic toad.

There was a large Terminator statue in one of the main halls in the convention center. But what is that in its fist?

It is a copy of Dellon Myette’s (@whitetigertablecraft) swamp skirmish game Cauldron, published by Hill Giant Games.

Jackson (@hollowbodies__13) made his way all the way from Australia to reach Adepticon. He brought along a selection of candy to share, including the chocolate frog Freddo. We have it on good authority that Freddo is a corporate shill.

As Friday stretched into Saturday, we set up Totally Not Panicking’s Vastarian boards to play a scenario where four cults ambushed an armored transport carrying warded psykers.

Special Operations Unit Mitsukurina and a group of Adeptus Arbites attempt to transport a group of psykers, across the blasted wastes of a former Vastarian sea, to a secure holding location before they can be conveyed to the Black Ships. Although this transportation is being conducted in an unmarked Chronos-pattern Ironcrawler, retrofitted with psychic dampeners, various religious cults have learned of its purpose and are intent on raiding the convoy to obtain the powerful psykers for their own fanatical ends.

The Children of the EverFlesh converge on the stalled Arbites convoy. On their floating shrine, the EverAltar, they maintain a proliferating sample of ancient Terran flesh. Those of the faith consume the Everflesh to get closer to enlightenment and are rewarded with strange abilities and increased metabolism and growth. Halberd held aloft, Highest and Growing leads the expedition, eager to find more subjects to feed the Everflesh and grow their congregation.

The Blessed Procession of Abdubel the Redeemed works their way through the rubble, intent on inflicting righteous pain on all those that do not follow their hallowed path. Flesh is a prison. It harbors thy sins.

The Cult of the Marrow King sets its sights on the armored transport. There are many whose skin needs to be stripped from muscle and bone. The Emperor’s embrace is waiting.

From left to right: Shane (@7he_blindman), Adam, Martin (@martin.mccoy.art), and Jonny (@witchhammerstudio) settle the fate of some unfortunates on Vastarian.

A cultist of the Marrow King throws themselves at a chem-enhanced specialist from the mysterious YOD death cults. The flesh of the shackled psykers would not be deprived from Locus Mon, their Living Saint!

Every pilgrim shall bear the weight of sin for all to see.

Abdubel the Redeemed, blessed Saint of the Penitents' Crippled Path, activates his chain axe, ready to obliterate the blasphemous pluripotent Everflesh.

Locus Mon, the Living Saint of the Marrow King, focuses its psychic tendrils into the delicate mechanisms of the Ironcrawler, overheating its containment cells and disengaging its locks, allowing the trapped psykers to escape.

Although the other psykers destined for the Black Ships perished amidst the chaos in the red wastes, Locus Mon was able to abscond with the last battered unfortunate soul.

We finally got the opportunity to meet the sculpting legend Valbjorn!

We had the wonderful opportunity to interview Adam Loper of Tabletop Minions!

When in Chicago, it is only right to get a bottle of Malört!

Saturday

We interviewed Trent Holbrook (@miscast.co) and Bill (@berserkerwrks) for Dragged into Turbolasers!

Afterwards we celebrated by introducing Trent and Bill to the iconically bad tasting Malört.

Cody (@magos_buer), creator of the Gelida setting, sets up a few boards to showcase miniatures from the various events, and let people play games on the frozen deathworld.

One of Vince’s (@dark_tech_) mechs, cockpit glowing a chilly blue, turns to face a monstrosity of flesh and metal created by Matt (@totally_not_panicking).

In honor of Gelida coming to Adepticon, Matt (@totally_not_panicking) brought one of the mechs he created for the setting.

It was great to see one of our old conversions we donated to the Gelida project in its painted form!

Mark (@moshartz) and Martin (@martin.mccoy.art) chat about the hobby and Chicago’s specialty, Malört.

Mark’s (@moshartz) amazing vampire warband for Mordheim!

Eric got the opportunity to meet Scott (Miniac) as well as hang out with his old friend Eric (Eric's Hobby Workshop).

There are an increasing number of Indie 28 games, but this one was designed at Adepticon, Bird Magic 28, by Martin McCoy. You can play it right now! And we recommend you do!

A small group of models Vince (@dark_tech_) recently created or repurposed for Vastarian!

One of many battles fought in a series of narrative-focused campaign incorporating games of Flames of Orion and Forbidden Psalm: the Last War, hosted by Steve (@sovthofheaven) and Adam (@doom_and_apathy).

The Flames of Orion World Champion trophy. To everyone’s dismay, in the hustle and bustle of the convention, the Championship never happened.

A flock of clockwork winged hunters (@dark_tech_) alight from the skies of SAMMAHS2 “MALEBOLGE,“ searching for useful things to scavenge.

A band of ash waste veterans (@tony_block84) moves cautiously through the floating rock spires of SAMMAHS2.

A Corpus Oblation, clad in a black armored body glove with the blood red pauldron of the Kaelmn house, vaults from crag to crag.

A Black Shields of the Veruvian mining guild (@ecclesiarchy) scans the dilapidated wreckage of SAMMAHS2 for potential targets.

A group of Inq28 legends crowd around the SAMMAHS2 board. From left to right: Adam, Eli (@redwetskeleton), Vince (@dark_tech_), Jonny (@witchhammerstudio), Nate (@tony_block84), and TJ (@ecclesiarchy).

Penitents of the Crippled Path (@redwetskeleton) drag themselves up the crumbling towers, using chains dangling from the flocking clockwork hunters.

An aerial mine floats ominously in the air above the combatants. Any minor collisions with the mine could result in a catastrophic explosion.

The floating mine detonates, causing half of the board to fall into oblivion—this picture shows where part of the terrain was removed due to the detonation. The majority of Eli’s warband fell to their deaths, with only his leader, Abdubel the Redeemed, transferring their consciousness into the single mutant that jumped to safety.

Survivors of the mine detonation pick themselves up and admire the carnage.

A degenerate mutant watches the chaotic spectacle of battle. Unbeknownst to the mutant, in mere moments it's consciousness would become enveloped by Abdubel the Redeemed, and it would ascend to its final form: the hyperorganism, the Algonquin. Easy come. Easy go.

- Eric Wier