Unit Focus: 120th/121st Scout Infantry

Information

Army: Dread Dwarven Host
Unit Type: Scout/Light Infantry
Miniatures:

120th Scout Infantry

• 4x Custom miniatures, Heroforge, "Undead Dwarven Scouts 2,7,8,9" (3D Print)
• 3x Undead Bears, Cast n Play (3D Print)
• 1x Undead Bear, Wilds of Wintertide, EC3D (3D Print)

121st Scout Infantry

• 4x Custom miniatures, Heroforge, "Undead Dwarven Scouts 10,11,12,13" (3D Print)
• 3x Zombie Bears, Forged Path Miniatures (3D Print)
• 1x Dragon Cursed Bear, Flesh of Gods Miniatures (3D Print)

Lore

In the deep crevasses of the mystic mountain forests of Hegh Badur, the tales of the Dhenbadihr echo with a resonance of adventure and an undercurrent of melancholy. The "Strange Ones" as they were fondly remembered, forged their own destiny amidst the sprawling terrains and perilous peaks. Once forsaking the stereotypically compact and staunchly insular dwarvish clan life, they embraced a free-spirited existence, intertwining their fates with the enigmatic and lush woods.

Oh, how they wandered! Embarking upon untold adventures, guiding wandering souls through the labyrinthine mountain passes, and assuming the role of nimble scouts for armies that dared to traverse the unyielding landscape. The Dhenbadihr, though choosing solitude, were never truly alone. Their famed ursine companions, the war bears, infamous for their ferocity and unyielding loyalty, were both mounts and guardians in their solitary journeyings.

But death, as it always does, carved out a new destiny for the Dhenbadihr. Their eternal spirits, now shackled to the whims of the malevolent dwarven liche king, Zur Nargrim, serve in an unyielding war against the pulse of life itself. Whereas once they silently tread through serene snowy passes and dense forests, they now tread upon the ash and bone of desolated battlefields.

In life, they were wanderers; in death, they wander still, albeit in a profoundly darker form. Where they once guided, now they scout for the liche king's forces while on campaign, probing defenses and vulnerabilities ahead of the dread host, ensuring no surprises thwart the inexorable advance of Zur's undying legions.

On the battlefield, Zur typically fields the Dhenbadihr as skirmishers, where they, alongside their deathly war bears, screen the main body of the undead dwarven army. Their smoothbores, once defenders of the vulnerable, now unleash death upon those who dare stand against the will of Zur Nargrim. Their war bears, once noble companions, now maul with a ferocity borne of the abyss.

As they unleash fire and fury upon the living, it is perhaps the melancholy of their lost freedom that truly haunts the Dhenbadihr. No longer do they revel in the quietude of the mountain wind or find solace amidst the towering pines. Their eternity is one of conflict, stripped of the serenity that once defined their existence.

The Dhenbadihr, even in the abyss of their unending servitude, whisper to us the tales of lifetimes long gone and futures that could have been.

120th Scout Infantry (WIP)

The vivid imagery of Norse-style dwarves, stalwart and undeterred, traversing northern expanses alongside their imposing ursine allies has always captured my imagination. There's an inherent and irresistible charm to the aesthetic of dwarven cavalry, particularly when the sturdy warriors are mounted on powerful bears, embodying both strength and unspoken tales of adventures in the rugged countryside. My admiration for this theme, despite not actually playing dwarves in my gaming endeavors, eventually birthed a desire to curate my own undead dwarven bear cavalry once the miniature market began to flourish with undead dwarven figures.

However, a hitch in my grand plan soon became evident: the scarce availability of undead bear miniatures suitable for cavalry conversion. Over the years, only a handful of companies produced undead bear figures, and while 3D printing technology broadened the options, many models were depicted rearing on hind legs—unsuitable for cavalry but intriguing in their own right. This presented a challenge, but also sparked a creative idea. What if these bipedal, undead bears could be repurposed? Could they not too find a place within my burgeoning undead dwarven army?

Inspiration struck with clarity and purpose: transform these bears and their dwarf companions into skirmish infantry, a tactical and innovative use of the available resources. A visit to Hero Forge enabled the creation of custom skeletal dwarf rangers, ensuring a coherent and thematic match with the undead bears. Now, structured under the Piquet rules and mounted two figures to a stand (one dwarf and one bear), they've become a significant presence on my battlefield as undead dwarven scouts, seamlessly integrating into the Dread Host as screening skirmish infantry. A challenge that initially threatened my undead army concept ultimately led to the formation of two units (eight stands) of uniquely tailored, undead dwarven skirmish infantry, showcasing that, sometimes, constraints can truly breed creativity.

Piquet Information

Basing: 4 stands, 2 figures to a stand. (Standard light infantry/skirmish.)

Infantry Type: Native

Equipment: No armor (+0), arquebus (+1), may be equipped with throwing axe for melee (+1). 

Abilities: May take "Native Mobility" ability (x2 cost). May take "+1 melee" to represent bears (x2 cost)

Recent KS acquisitions

I've been steadily accumulating figures that I've funded through Kickstarter. I don't have all of them in hand, much less assembled and painted but I figure I'll list some here for reference:


Halfling Skeleton Cavalry by John McMannis
Sculptor: Bob Olley


John strikes again, adding yet another set of Halfling undead to the market. This time they are Halfling skeletons mounted on skeletal war pigs! I backed at the Calvary Horde level, so I shall be getting one ten figure set of cavalry with hand weapons and one set of cavalry with bows.



Halfling Skeleton Army Halberds and War Machine Crew by John McMannis
Sculptor: Bob Olley


The latest in John's series of Halfling skeleton Kickstarters, this got me one 12 man unit of halberdiers and ten individual crew for war machines (tailored for one catapult, one ballista and one cannon).

So with John's previous Kickstarters, I've got four units of undead Halfling melee troops (one hand weapon, one spear, one halberd and one assorted from other companies), one unit of missile troops, two units of cavalry (one melee weapons, one bows), three war machines and a variety of characters. Quite a nice little force of undead Halflings! And add to that...

Dead Gnomes Rising by Old School Miniatures

Wow. Just...wow. Skeleton gnomes. Will they be useful in combat? Who knows? But I'll throw them in there with the Halflings.

Ancient Grudges: Bonefields by Macrocosm Miniatures

Now these will be a nice addition to my growing undead Dwarf and Orc/Goblin armies. This KS funded a whole set of game rules and new line of miniatures. Don't need the game, but I backed this at the "Undead Horde" level, giving me 15 separate units of undead Dwarves or Goblins. In addition, I purchased a number of add ons.

Undead Orc Skeleton Warriors and Cavalry by John McMannis

Sculptor: Bob Olley

John took a day off from imagining skeletal Halflings in order to have these produced. More troops for my undead Orc/Goblin army!



Two Recent Acquisitions

I just recently snagged two old out of print figures from ebay.  I’m pretty sure I actually have these two figures.  My problem is I don’t have a database of what I have and my memory is fallible.  In some sense, I’m hoping to use this blog as a visual reference for myself.  In the case of these two models, I figure you can never have enough anyway.

First up is a zombie gnoll, from the now defunct Chainmail Miniatures line.

When they had the license for D&D, Chainmail put out a nice series of undead figures that were especially useful to fill out non-human races.  You don’t see many examples of non-human undead, which is a shame, since I believe that the best part about playing the Skeleton Legion is that you get to kill your foe and then make him rise up and fight for you against his former comrades!  Therefore, I’m of the opinion that every model released should have an undead equivalent. If I ever get adept at sculpting, high on my priority list would be a set of skeletal High Elf eagle riders.  One can dream.

In any case Chainmail made some nice undead meta-races like dwarves, orcs, and troglodytes (lizard men.)  I believe this is the only example of an undead gnoll ever produced.  So I can either collect enough to create a full unit (12 figs) or slip them into my Skeletal Chaos Legion as beastmen or weres.

Due to its unique nature, it gets past my “nothing but bone” rule.  As do a number of particular monsters such as dragons or trolls.  But that’s pretty much it. Strictly speaking, this is not actually a zombie gnoll.  It's a construct, specifically, a flesh golem.  Ergo, the four arms and two heads stitched together onto the model.  Of course, it could also be interpreted as an undead creature of chaos.

Chainmail miniatures were multi-part and unfortunately very fiddly.  But I think that can be overcome now that I use green stuff as bonding agent rather than just super-glue.

Next up is a figure from way, WAY back.  A Citadel miniature from before they had slottabases!  And before GW was the marketing steamroller it is today.

This is a skeletal samurai that I will incorporate into my Skeletal Medieval Samurai brigade.  Mostly made up of Clan War/Legend of the Five Rings samurai figs, but also a sprinkling from other companies; Grenadier, Ral Partha, Citadel.  I’m always on the lookout on ebay for that old Grenadier skeletal samurai command blister from the early 80’s (Fantasy Lords #173.)  It is one of the few blisters (maybe even the last) I do not own from Grenadier.  Also, I’m always on the lookout for the “Lost Moto” blister of samurai cavalry for L5R (#13-121.)   I have one blister, but that’s only 2 figs and not enough for a full unit of cav (8.)  Therefore, I am relegated to using them as brigade commanders.  Valiant has begun re-releasing the Clan War figs, but sadly, no Lost Moto yet.