Skip to main content

Dwarf Army Project: Barak Thingaz - The Forest Gate

Barak Thingaz (The Forest Gate in Khazalid) is a fortress built south of the Black Mountains and Karak Hirn, in the land of the border princes. For dwarfs, it is a very strange place. Many aspects of dwarfen life and culture that do not normally mix can be found to inhabit this holdfast. In the first place, the fort is not built into a mountain - it is built around a stone tower in the middle of a dark forest, with stout palisade walls of massive timbers. Dwarfs are not normally known as forest creatures, but these dwarfs have found some advantages to living away from the mountains.

The hold was founded and is currently led by an engineer named Ogam Oathkeeper, who was forced out of Karak Hirn for his dangerous engineering experiments. The king of that hold feared Ogam would explode the entire mountain on accident and exiled him to practice his engineering away from the ancient dwarf lands. Around his engineering workshop a variety of industries sprang up. A distillery and brewery were created as the hold was next to a clear mountain stream. Being on the road from the black mountains to Barak Varr, the hold had easy access to shipping and markets in the border princes. Those human kingdoms were happy to pay for dwarven engineering and alcohol, and to have such strong and stout neighbors guarding the northern roads and forests.

The hold is protected by a network of dwarf Rangers who scout the forests and monitor the roads, killing any goblins or beastmen they find roaming the woods. The first and most well regarded of these ranger units are Kiril’s Crossbows, led by Kiril Hammerhand – a former miner and tunnel fighter who followed Ogam upon his exile. The hold also contains a shrine to Grimnir (as well as Grungni and Valaya, of course). Many slayers visit this shrine before making their pilgrimage out into the woods to hunt trolls, for the area is known for an abundance of river, stone, and swamp trolls. Compared to any of major Karaks and holds, Barak Thingaz is relatively small. However, compared to other surface settlements, Barak Thingaz is one of the larger settlements in the region. Dwarfs from the rest of the known world look a little sideways at the dwarfs who choose to live under the sun. Their colours are red, white, and gold, and they often use the sigils of tankards and anvils to display their primary industries.

#####

This is the start of the lore for my army, which will continue to grow as I play games and spend time thinking about things. I’m starting a very simple 3-game ladder campaign with a friend this weekend, and the results of those games will probably have a lot of impact on how Barak Thingaz and Ogam are developed. We will be fighting against a host of Bretonnians, who – I assume – have been travelling around the Border Princes as if they own the place. 

 
 
Some inspiration from Adrian Smith, the master of dwarf art.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Miniature Makers: A (not at all) Definitive List

For nearly 20 years, I have been captivated by the miniature hobby. For most of that time, the only company I was truly aware of, was Games Workshop. The giant in the room, GW certainly has an impressive range of sculpts and a strong design vision. In the last few years, I have become aware of a wide range of other companies, brands, and sculptors, who have their own unique visions about what miniatures are. This will be a living list of the miniature manufacturers that have been recommended to me, or that I have purchased from. It is a very diverse list. Some manufacturers focus on their own proprietary games, and some just sell bits. I have not ordered from all of these companies, so your mileage may vary!!! If there is a company that you love, and it is not listed here, drop me a line and I will add it to the list. Pictured above - https://www.blacksunminiatures.co.uk/product/guardian/   * - Companies with a star were suggested by hobbyists on Reddit and throughout the community. Th
Post a Comment
Read more

Rangers of Shadowdeep - Scenario 1: Ableheim

This is the first scenario I created for my Red Brothers campaign, and I had a blast creating and playing it. Since playing it I have made a few tweaks, and I'm sure you will have some creative tweaks as well! I love playing with randomized mechanics, especially when I am trying to create a narratively driven game. Setup: Ableheim is a town that houses corruption and cult activity, the warband has been sent to investigate and destroy any corruption they find. A mob gathers to watch the warband, getting increasingly agitated. Victory:  - Find and destroy the corruption; - Exit the table through the starting path Mechanics: Houses When a character investigates a house, roll a D6; If a 6 is rolled, that house contains the corruption. If no 6 is rolled, the corruption is in the last house. If a D6 roll fails, add +1 to the mob counter. When the corruption is found place 1 cultist, 1 cultist archer, and 1 demon in the house (or near it). Mob The mob consists of 3 villagers/militia model
Post a Comment
Read more

Stargrave Loot Tokens

 I thought I would show off my Stargrave loot tokens. They are pretty simple, but I'm really happy with them. I followed the same method I used for my Frostgrave tokens, but I put a bit more effort into the data loot. Both sets were made from spare/old 40k bits. These data loot were made with bits of foam-core, foam insulation, a toothpick and some old eldar bits. The screen are just craft foam that I painted green, and then mixed that green with white to do the screen details. These terminals look good on the field! The physical loot tokens are super-duper simple. I probably could have put some more effort in here, but I wanted to get playing! These are just 3 pieces of 40k bits stuck to a base. Nothing fancy! I glued on some plastic plants that looked a little bit sci-fi to me.
Post a Comment
Read more