Introducing the Wendigo Cabal (and Reign in Hell terrain)

 

    My Wendigo Cabal, with minis from a variety of sources, showing my front line & 'linebackers'

Although I have posted a few times on here about our games using the Reign in Hell skirmish miniatures rules, I have yet to do a dedicated post featuring my warband, or "cabal" as they are called under these rules. As you may remember, I decided to do a force with a Native American mythological theme. All of the creatures (or demons) are from the stories and tales of various tribes. For example, their name comes from their leader, a Wendigo, which comes from the Ojibwe word for the malevolent, flesh-eating creature roaming the forests. I have to admit that part of the reason I chose this theme was because I could use my already-painted Splintered Light Miniatures anthropomorphic animals as "Skinwalkers." The fewer new figures I have to paint up, the faster I can get my own force onto the tabletop. So, here is my introduction to my Cabal!

    My cabal leader, a Wendigo, from Native American mythology is a 3D print from Thingiverse

First up, is the leader himself - the Wendigo. This figure is huge and imposing, which is what I wanted my "demon lord" to be. It is a 3D print available on Thingverse. My friend Joe printed it up for me. I really like the pose -- especially the gaunt and almost skeletal aspect of the body. I painted its skin up suitably corpse-like, a pasty pale flesh covered in dark tattoos. His black, dead eyes and purple tongue give him a lurid, evil look. Of course, the bleeding hunk of raw flesh he is carrying doesn't hurt his terrifying aspect. In game terms, I use him as a Zealot leader of the Empty faction. Empty cabals are attempting to destroy Hell and return to Earth. I figured that made sense for Native American spirits trapped in the West's view of the spirit world. I tend to use him as a "linebacker" in the game -- rushing in to finish off enemy demons that have been engaged and wounded by his minions.

    My Devout (2nd in command) is a modified djinni I never painted from my old role-playing days

The leader's second in command in the game is called a Devout. I chose to portray mine as a Skadegamutc, which comes from Wabanaki legend. It is the spirit of a dead magician that refuses to stay dead and comes out at night to slay and feed upon the living. For this figure, I dug deep into my unpainted lead drawer and found an old, old Djinni. I modified him by putting deer antlers on his head and using green stuff to create the pelt of the deer on his shoulders and back. The deer head came from an Iron Wind Metals deer. I was really pleased with how the green stuff worked out -- my first time using it! I covered his skin in tattoos and gave him copper jewelry. In game terms, he's my assassin. I use his teleporting ability to have him materialize next to a wounded enemy demon and finish it off. I am sure he's killed more enemy figures in my games of Reign in Hell than most of the other demons combined.

    Skinwalker Bears from Splintered Light Miniatures' anthropomorphic animals form my battle line

My battle line of the Wendigo Cabal begins with my three Skinwalker bears. Skinwalkers are from Navajo legend and are witches who can assume the bodies of animals and walk around in them. There's a line from a Robert Mirabal song that says something to the effect that they appear as coyotes, wolves, etc., but walk around upright like men. That's a perfect description of the Splintered Light Miniatures line. I have painted  up quite a few figures from these lines but they seem to get little use nowadays. So, I jumped at the chance to use them in this game. In game terms, my Skinwalker Bears are Armored Demons. They have great defensive abilities, plus can absorb a lot of damage. Together with the Wolverines below, they are supposed to engage the enemy demons, stop their attacks, inflict some damage, and then let the Wendigo or Skadegamutc finish the enemies off.

    My Wolverine Skinwalkers from Splintered Light Miniatures masquerading as Corpulent Demons

I use my Wolverine Skinwalkers as Corpulent Demons in rules terms. Not that these wolverines are fat, but rather their ferocity and "never-say-die" attitude fits well with their very high Life stat. Corpulent demons can not only take a lot of damage, they regenerate some back every time they activate. I think that fits with the fiery animal's demeanor. And yes, I realize that if Skinwalkers are Navajo spirits, that wolverines don't live in the desert southwest. But hey! They were the next biggest Splintered Light miniatures I had. All of the raccoons, coyotes, etc., were significantly smaller than standard 28mm miniatures. 

    Great Horned Owl skinwalker, a prepainted figure from Hobby Lobby

I went back and forth what to use as a Mephit for my Native American cabal. These are the weakest of the Lesser Demons, and usually are limited to hit and run attacks using their speed and flying ability. They don't hit very hard and can't take much damage. Their best use is to move quickly to seize objectives in scenarios, or to pick off those badly wounded demons with only one or two Life left. My first thought was to use the Kanontsistóntie from Iroquois legends. These are flying heads, ravenous spirit creatures with insatiable hunger. There is an awesome miniature created by Flint and Feather of one of these, but I didn't want to pay the steep price. One of the Kanontsistóntie is in a box of four mythical creates for $49. Then I thought about creating my own, but couldn't find a head that I liked. So, I ended up going to the Skinwalker route and purchased a prepainted Great Horned Owl from Hobby Lobby. It is a bit larger than I wanted it to be (and a bit more expensive), but solved my problems quickly. I based it up on a stone outcropping and was done!

    Uktena, the Horned Serpent of Cherokee legends will make an appearance in my Wendigo cabal

Next up to see the table is Uktena, the great horned serpent of Cherokee legend. It is described as dragon like, which meant that his Jabberwocky miniature that has sat unpainted in my collection for years would be a reasonably good fit. I gave him green scales and then did a dark wash on him to make the scales stand out even more. I will be using Uktena as a Spined Demon if I play him as a Lesser Demon, or a Serpent Knight if I use him as a Greater Demon. He will become linebacker #3 to rush in and take advantage of the chaos created by the skinwalker bears and wolverines. A Spined Demon has an effective charge, so hopefully he will be able to finish off demons wounded by my Armored and Corpulent Demons.

I also have another of the Hobby Lobby prepainteds to use eventually, a giant Sasquatch miniature. I will hold off, though, until the Wendigo Cabal has enough experience that I can buy either a Greater or Superior Demon for him. The figure is too big to be a lesser demon, though I did buy a Yeti miniature at the Guardtower East during our last Saga Game Day. Maybe he'll make an appearance as the one remaining Lesser Demon I haven't fielded, a Slaughter Fiend. Who knows? 

    Six underworld-style terrain pieces for use with Reign in Hell games, each measuring 3"-4" across

I also decided to make up some quick terrain for Reign in Hell because my Saga pieces are too much bigger than the suggested size, in my opinion. They recommend 3-4" across, while most of mine are a minimum of 6". I cut up some styrene into irregular shapes of that size. I then glued down some of the plaster cavern pieces that my friend Tim P had cast up for me 2-3 years back. I thought they looked perfect for underworld type terrain, and glued a couple to each base. I added it some larger tallus stones, and then slopped on a 50/50 mix of brown paint and white glue. I poured fine brown ballast from Woodland Scenics across it. 

    One of the lava streams spilling from the pool at the base of the cavern piece

I decided that I wanted to have glowing streams or pools of lava on the bases. I thought they would add the perfect accent to the terrain pieces and make them even more Hellish. To create the lava streams, I used a thick craft knife to scrape away the glued-down ballast down to the surface of the styrene, in the shape of a winding stream or pool. A couple of the cavern pieces seemed to have pools at their bottom, so I would carve a stream spilling forth from those, too. 

    Red reflections cast by the glowing lava onto the rock faces were my final touch on these pieces

Next, I spray painted each base with Krylon Black matte paint. I let it dry again, then followed up by coating the cavern pieces and tallus with a 50/50 mix of black paint and water. This made sure they were a solid black. The next step was dry brushing. I first dry brushed the cavern pieces a dark gray and then again with lighter gray highlights. I did the lava with a dull red base, followed by a dull orange, then bright orange with yellow spots. I really like the way it came out and especially how it contrasts with the dark gray and black rocks. As a final touch, I painted a dull red reflection on the rocks near the lava. For as little effort as they took, I think they turned out really nice!