Expedition to Hearthspire: A Dwarven Warband

At Little Wars this year, I stumbled across an old-school miniatures treasure trove: a bag of 50+ Ral Partha dwarves sculptured by Bob Olley and Tom Meier, carefully primed and based, clearly somebody's long-abandoned fantasy army project. The sculpts are old but full of charm ... and they're remarkably well proportioned. I mean, these dwarves have knees, ferchrissakes! I got the bag for $20 and immediately set about painting up a skirmish squad for our fantasy campaign.

Here's a bit of fluff, which helps situate my little group in Qaarra, our campaign world. They're based in Stonehill, a dwarven city on the west coast of Qaarra. I rather like the idea of a dwarven city that's not a subterranean labyrinth.

As chaos grips the lands of Qaarra, the fallen king of Stonehill has returned to the ancient dwarven fastness. Brynwulf, exiled lo these long years for a tragedy suffered in the past, once again strides the echoing halls of Stonehill -- but not for long. The fallen king, who still wields the shattered sword Khafnzel, has returned to muster a band of warriors to seek out the fabled mountain bastion known as Hearthspire. 

In this redoubt, sealed by arcane runes for thousands of years, rumors persist of a source of magic that might ward off the coming doom. Brynwulf and his mage Rykker, together with a band of brave dwarven warriors, have set off across the wilderlands on an expedition to find Hearthspire -- and salvation for Stonehill and all of Qaarra itself.

Brynwulf, Hurskegr and Rykker
Brynwulf himself is actually the "Fallen King" model from the Stonehaven Dwarven Adventurers Kickstarter, which I backed last year. You can see him in the center of the photo above. He is joined on his quest by Hurskegr, a human thane from the city-state of Vildeburg (the largest city in Qaarra). Hurskegr was always gripped by wanderlust, and his duties as third son of a prominent prince of Vildeburg have left him with few duties and fewer opportunities for the future. As such, he is left to win fame and fortune with sword and shield. The third leader of the expedition is Rykker, a journeyman wizard who has convinced the leaders of Stonehill that Hearthspire may hold the clues to the doom that threatens Qaarra. (Hurskegr is a "mounted thane" from Alternative Armies.)

Sigismund Breakspear, Derico the Anvil, and Odric Hammerfall
These three warriors form the core of the expedition's fighting force. Armed and equipped in the traditional dwarven manner, Sigismund, Derico and Odric can be expected to hold the line in combat.

Rolf the Bear, Skolling the Forge-Captain, and Bjorn Thunderstone
As captain of the expedition, Skolling is responsible for overseeing the dwarven warriors in battle. He also commands Rolf, the great mountain bear that has pledged his support to the dwarves' cause. Rolf is a fearsome fighter and will defend his dwarven friends with savage brutality. Finally, Bjorn Thunderstone has proven himself an able archer and scout. (Rolf is a repainted Heroclix figure.)

Even though I'm just getting around to posting about this warband, they've already hit the battlefield -- and suffered a tragedy. A dwarven warrior named Vylmar fell in combat, but the leaders in Stonehill sent his brother Derico to take his place in the expedition. So, Derico is a relative newcomer to this warband.

We're playing our campaign again this week -- stay tuned for a battle report!

-- Patrick, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member