Necromantic Horror – Shambling Undead – Tomb Kings
This was a labor of love and kitbashing, converting, and lots of epoxy putty! You can see the whole journey of creating this team in this series of articles detailing the process from conception to construction and finally painting and adding some final details and other commentary.
The ‘Raising the Dead’ Series showcasing the team’s WIP.
Painting, Strats, Final Touches:
Part 5 Part 6 Part 7
If you want to see a few more pictures, take a look at this gallery with a plethora of images.
Immersion & Lore for the Triple Undead Team.
It all starts with the coach, or in this case, necromancer! There would be no proper undead or necromantic horror team without someone or something to breathe un-life into them and give them purpose and direction.
Grand Necromancer:
Rickon ‘Bones’ Jones Junior
Assistant Coach: Lurch ‘Lowlier’
Humble Beginnings
Traditionally the ways of necromancy are born from dark magic, which gathers like pools in places of sorrow, suffering, death, destruction, and ruin. One such place being a bloodbowl pitch as any coach worth their salt can attest to. But not blood bowl pitches where glory holds sway alongside exciting losses and the ups and downs, but those which have fallen into depravity and see their home teams beaten time and time again.
Well our coach actually began their (bloodbowl) days as a lowly thrall named ‘Rickon’ during the Vampire Team’s Vendetta’s Deliverance era, until they became the first player in the league to die at the hands of a Khemri Skeleton named Tatenen’d. The casualty (On a foul, well done.) was so rough and gruesome that the skeleton decided to take off half of poor Rickon’s face and wear it as a trophy in memory. The other half was left in a heap off to the side of the pitch next to the rest of the rotting caracasses and grass clippings and various refuse that a vampire manor produces.
Now we must take a look into the history vampire team after that first season.
In season one of the TOLL, the Vampire Team known then as ‘Vendetta’s Deliverance’ played a dramatic season which saw them at the top of the pack, but the following season after they the permanent death of one of their former stars, Count Smackula, they undertook dark rituals to bring back their former star with reasonable success for the second season, but it was a ritual with great risks and many of the former star vampires left the Vale of Dead Trees before it took place. After the ritual went through, a great necromantic energy flowed through the Vale and the Vampires were forced to relocate to Tollheim, along with a signature cough as a side effect of the ritual leaving them all with lips stained with black and red ichor.
Rare Opportunity
During the block that took his life, Rickon was incidentally infused with Khemri Necromantic energy, although not enough to raise him on the spot, it was enough to keep him just barely sentient and cognizant of his surroundings. What is more is that that energy was stored inside of his bones and remained there. The half of his face (An eyeball, an ear, most of a cheek with some mouth and scalp for good measure) riding on the skeleton began to see the inner workings of the team and how the coach kept his players under thrall. Practitioners of necromantic magic seemed almost to glow slightly to him. Likewise, finally not under the whips and suffering the bites and violence of his previous vampire masters, he could watch them more carefully from comfortable position in the corpse pile outside the manor.
It was during the conclusion of the Vampire ritual to bring back Count Smackula that he found himself also raised from the dead and with almost a year of experiences watching how both the Vampires and the Khemri maintained their hold and control over the undead as well as how to conjure more of them and befriend and gain the trust of the fell creatures of the old world he began to make a plan to rise to greater heights than his previous Vampiric Masters on the Pitch, who were then still riding high the waves of victory after the conclusion of season one. Finally being able to use his own limbs and move freely including moving his neck, he took stock of his situation and realized through his pale wafer thin layer of remaining skin that his bones were glowing.
Pursuit of Power & Allies
As it turns out, despite having glowing bones, being little more than a humble dessicated corpse missing half a face doesn’t make for a particularly effective necromancer so going was slow at the start. And besides the few dead corpses laying around there wasn’t much to go off of. But slowly his memories came back to him and he remembered the name of his family, Jones. Rickon Jones. And he wasn’t the first of his name either, he had a father long ago (A naval war veteran with extensive expertise using the harpoon and spear from what he could recall) with the same name and he knew he was a Junior. Thus Rickon Jones Junior was raised from the dead proper, although half of his face was still somewhere in the dry and hot lands of the dead.
Exploring the abandoned Vampire Manor in the Vale of Dead Trees he gained knowledge, and supplies, and strategy on how to move forward and gain mastery of his craft. After much practice, he eventually was able to raise one of his previous team-mates from the very same pile he had laid in for an entire season, Lurch. Thus their friendship began anew and without chains binding them. Lurch ‘Lowlier’ as Rickon began to call him due to his bottom half being pulverized to dust by an ork attack, honored in this issue of state of the league. Still, crawling with undead resilience and using a nearby rusty blade as a makeshift staff he can get around well enough and together they began to plan the team. Lurch as well began to glow after a short while just like his mentor. By then the second season of the TOLL had begun and the Tollheim Ichor Coughers had managed a draw against humans. Pathetic showing. This emboldened the coach and his assistant as they traveled towards the lands of death where Rickon Jones’ eyeball still remained and remained ever watchful if not filled with a new glowing passion.
Gaining a Following
The journey to the south was a long one and first they ended up going to the Loren Forest where the wood elves frollicked about. This reminded Rickon that there were a few dead blood bowlers from his season were after reading the state of the league and decided to pick them up for the ride. It had been a while, but any zombie was a good one. Thus after some minimal displeasure from the locals which was dealt with accordingly, Kuu & Souta, both given the surname of Kimokukazefuu in honor of their previous allegiances and keeping their original numbers as well, shambled behind their new master as they continued down south towards the land of the dead. They ended up picking up two more elves, one from the elf union and eventually a dark elf too on their journey. And another zombie on top of it while passing near the zombie swamps which was thought to be out of commission, but just needed a little encouragement (and some supplementary parts) to get back on their feet. With this the base of the team was set. Of course the zombies too began to glow where their inner light exposed to the surface, although it wasn’t much more than a dull purple which contrasted to the brilliant yellowish white of the coaches. This was interesting to both of the Rickon and Lurch.
The going was long continuing south, but between the Cities of Remas and Luccini there was a place of great darkness where a terrible battle took place, and coincidentally also at that place of the terrible battle (Between raiding Corsairs and Human Defenders), a makeshift bloodbowl pitch was prepared. On this pitch during the nights when the moon was full, the ghosts, ghouls, and other night creatures come out to play without having to abide by more boring rules (no eating opponent flesh, drinking their life essence, etc.) of the living.
The march of Coach Rickon Jones Jr. had him pass by this very pitch on such a night and it was a sight to behold. Wolves, ghouls, wraiths, zombies, skeletons, wights, and even a stray mummy or two. It was a beautiful thing. But, there were no coaches and this was just pick up undead blood bowl. Rickon saw a chance and began to get to work his magic.
Birth of the Glowbone Gang
The evening went well and with a wall of glowing zombies with bloodbowl experience behind him, and his trusty luminous assistant coach Lurch at his side, he made a good showing of it. The zombies all went out as journeymen for either team and showed their resilience (They lasted the game) and following orders and taking coaching well made them stand out compared to the other bags of bones and fleshsacks shambling around the pitch. Of course, they were also shining with a light from beyond the grave as well which helped attract attention. The more prominent players saw that this skeleton meant business and wanted to hear more.
Some were excited to hear the stories of the Tochigi Legends League and proper league play instead of just pick up action. Some were interested to hear tales about the vampire lords and Khemri Tomb kings and wanting to meet them on the pitch. Others just wanted their bones to glow because functioning in the dark was aggravating sometimes and having that kind of illumination was not only pragmatic, but stylish as well. There was much grunting, growling, low moaning, and laughter which was a mix of all three of those. By the end of it the gang had given coach the nickname ‘Bones’ and ‘Bones Jones Junior’ had a nice ring to it and it stuck.
Thus began the process of organizing the players into a proper team and started training right then and there. After the dust settled and the rest of the would be’s were turned away (For now…) Head Necromancer & Coach Bones Jones Jr. and his faithful friend and assistant coach Lurch Lowlier came out with enough players to enter into the Tochigi Legends league’s third season.
But what of the missing half of a face? What of seeing the Khemri Tomb Kings in the Lands of the Dead? Well it seems that part of the story will have to wait… if only for a time. The call to the pitch came and the Glowbone Gang have answered! TO GLORY!
栃木伝説リーグ 