Sunday, January 22, 2017

Starting a new unit: the Watch

It's been one year since I've initiated this Empire army project and so far, I haven't painted any mandatory troops. It was time to fix that :)

The Helblitzen (or halberdiers) will represent the honourable members of the Guild of Lamplighters and Watchmen. In other words, the Watch...

Excerpts from Mad Alfred's sourcebook:
The main objectives for the Guild of Lamplighters and Watchmen are to: (1) ensure that all street lamps in the town are lit within one hour of sunset and extinguished at dawn; (2) call out the hours of the night and the state of their patrol (“one o’clock and all is well”); and (3) take into custody or spot fine anyone disturbing the public peace. Several patrols of five to eight men are assigned to the solidly-built Watch barracks located in each district. 
[...] Like many of the large towns and cities in the Empire, Pfeildorf is divided into separate administrative districts, within which are smaller neighbourhoods. The frequency of Watch patrols vary by district with the most regular occurring in the Alderhorst district. The number of patrols lessen the further away a district is from the hill though the number of Watch in a patrol increases. Watch patrols consist of two to six men led by a Sergeant.
So, the idea is to build a regiment gathering patrols of the different districts of the town, each one having its own particularities and coats of arms.

Source: Mad Alfred's sourcebook on http://www.madalfred.com/
  • Alderhost is the oldest and most affluent district, hosting Castle Alderhost (1 on the map), the residence of the Grand Baroness Toppenheimer;
  • Sölhaffen and Reikhafen are the busiest areas in Pfeildorf, with docks along the River Söll and the Upper Reik;
  • The Neusüdentor is a new district, with many craftsmen, families, and small shops; here, watch patrols are often augmented by members of the militia hired by the Hall of Guilds (7);
  • The Mórrsfeld district is dominated by St. Quintus Prison (22); members of the Watch include here Warden Ludolf Bosch, and Theboald Grimm, Chief interrogator and Torturer of St. Quintus;
  • and finally Schwarzwache is a poor and sinister district, said to be haunted.

I'll start with the Mórrsfeld district and St. Quintus Prison.

The warden is a MM62 citizen (CZ13), slightly converted with the addition of a bunch of keys for the jails. I'm still unsure about the Chief interrogator and torturer, but I have already prepared the Executioner: a hooded ogre from the MM42 range :)


10 comments:

  1. Awesome! I really like the depth of detail that you've put into the background.

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  2. Great ideas, in looking forward to seeing where this goes! :)

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  3. Well, thanks. Conversions (at least mine) are never easy to paint, the sculpting job being poor with many defaults to hide :p

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  4. Love the keys, which are a great addition to the character, and well executed.

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  5. Well, thanks! I'm afraid the keys are quite big, we'll see the result once painted.

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  6. Conversions réussies! :)
    Tu l'as toppée où ta pâte? Pas facile à trouver cette couleur...

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    Replies
    1. Pfiou ! ça remonte à loin cet achat, c'était l'époque des grands projets "Golden Demon" avec Haekel. Starplayer si j'ai bonne mémoire.

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