Monday, 30 May 2016

Finding Abdul Goldberg. Part 2

"They say a man cannot change, I don't think 'They' have ever met the Dark Eldar."
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                        Dusk III Hadith

“You are looking for Abdul Goldberg, are you sure?
The man you describe is dead, at least the man you are looking for doesn’t exist any more.
There is someone who answers to the name of Abdul Goldberg, but he is now a very different man and is not one for unannounced social calls. You better be sure he wants to see you"

  Unnamed trader. 
                                                                                       Bastion City, Sub-sector Capital .Dust IV


Abdul Goldberg was once minor player who skipped between law and the crime cartels of the Ochre Cloud sub sector. Abdul would dabble in anything that would turn him a quick profit and had gained a reputation for fast talking, gambling, card sharking, data-kidnapping, ship jacking as well as trading in rare items both sides of Administratum and Ministorum law.

This all changed when his ship was captured and boarded by Dark Eldar raiders. 
Aboard the torture rooms of the Anticipation of Sorrow, Abdul bore witness to the slow death of each of his crew and though when they turned to him his rage fuelled his freedom and taking advantage of a respite he killed his guard and escaped.
Abdul fled aboard one of his ships shuttles and crash landed on Dusk III
Barely alive from his ordeals and the crash, he was rescued by Shia-Torah colonists who had settled on the planet to revive the old ways
The Dark Eldar were no strangers to Dust III and would use it as a source of slaves and amusement. Abdul saw the threat as a way to repay his benefactors and he used his contacts and what favours and blackmail he had left to supply the colony with arms to defend themselves and prepare for the next raid.
Sure enough the Dark Eldar struck, but this time they were faced with equal fury and were destroyed.
Hailing him as their Mahdi, their saviour, Abdul found himself a cause, their harsh ways finding a perfect blade for his desire for revenge.

Abdul resumed his place in sector society, and now stands as a rising player in his own right, backed by his ever growing base on Dusk III, Abdul has built a strong trading network, dealing in Spice, Weapons as well as hiring out his forces.
Abdul has sworn revenge on all Dark Eldar and has placed a large bounty on the Anticipation of Sorrow and its master.

Abdul wears mesh armour crafted from armour stolen from the Dark Eldar as well as a mask to hide his injuries.
               





Creating Abdul  and the back story has been a great challenge and has inspired me to plan a nomad band for Abdul around some Tallarn Desert Raiders.
                                                                                                                                                   

Sunday, 29 May 2016

Finding Abdul Goldberg. Part 1

The more I game the more i have found myself moving back to the games that first drew me to wargaming such as Rogue Trader, less massed battles but more stylish warbands and intense skirmishes that carry with them a narrative beyond win or lose.

Facebook has been a great resource, both in finding other sites to inspire but also FB groups like the Oldhammer, The Emporium of Rogue dreams and the Bazaar of Crooked Wonder.
The Emporium is currently (until the end of the month) a competition to bring life to Abdul Goldberg, a character briefly mentioned in the Rogue Trader plot generator.
The challenge is to fill in the backstory and create a figure to match.
My initial thoughts went to the Dune Universe created by Frank Herbert (an essential read) and found an old chaos marauder which i had earmarked for an Arabian themed war band for Frostgrave. 


Switching him over to a Hexbase which i use for all my RT figures, i them removed his blades and replaced them with Bolt Pistols and set to work with some bits and greenstuff. I had also decided on trying to reduce his chainmail look and was not that fond of the chainmail feet so added some boots.



The boots are the most complicated Greenstuff i have done to date and happy with their final look, i also added a little sandworm at his feet in keeping with the Dune inspiration.
Next onto the painting and building his life...