Warhammer 40K Webcomic

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Author's Notes:

I got the idea for this silly, gender-bender story while rummaging through my miniature collection in preparation for the Chaos Cultists Pass in Review post.

I thought:  What would be the "worst" that could happen to a bunch of evil, vengeful fighters?

While their fate may not be as horrible as their previous lot in the "...grim darkness of the far future..." the story was fun to write.

As to the "behind the scenes" of this webcomic's imagery:

About half of the female figures were from an older line of D&D Miniatures from Wizards of the Coast.  The other half, including the male bartender were another set of pre-painted figures that I can't remember who manufactured them.  Googling the images hasn't helped.

I was also frustrated at attempting to find the source of the "Inquisitor Faustina" images.  I downloaded it from Tumblr years ago, but am unable to relocate it, even when I typed-in the HTML, my search came up with zilch.

Here's what I can tell you about the other products used during the creation of Suitable Servants--

--The badlands scenery is a terrarium backdrop I purchased from PetSmart.
--The ground is represented by Cigar Box Battle Store's Arid Lands Terrain Mat.
--The mysterious Chaos Temple is the Altar of Evil by Pegasus Hobbies, I purchased years ago.

The planet Kalf does exist in the WH40K 'verse.  It's listed as a frontier world in the Calixis Sector that can be found on the inside cover of  Fantasy Flight Games "Only War" WH40K RPG (2012).

A more readable map can be found on the WH40K Fandom Wiki:

I picked this location for a few reasons.  First, the idea of a frontier world brings to mind a planet that's not the usual toxic waste dump, war-torn hell that WH40K games and stories take place on.  Second it's one of the border worlds, so it's close enough to main fighting that was portrayed in Fantasy Flight Games' (FFG) Only War series, without being on the front lines.  But at the same time, close enough for raids and incursions by xenos and heretics.  Finally, it's location fits in with both FFG's WH40K RPG and WH40k/Wrath & Glory's Imperium Nihilus or the Age of the Dark Imperium.

I hope you enjoyed Suitable Servants along with the background material that went into creating it.

Thanks!

Chaos Cultists Pass In Review

When it comes to miniature wargaming; ever since I joined the military, I've felt compelled to collect multiple factions of miniatures.  I have my own World War II and Modern Micro Armor, consisting of vehicles from nearly all sides.

I've done this because I'd often be located in an area with few gamers and it would be up to me to provide both of the opposing factions' figures.

I'm no longer "globetrotting," but I work a rotating shift. Which means more often than not, I'm a "no-show" for scheduled gaming events.  I also like to concoct webcomics based on miniature gaming.  So I like to have an opposing faction on-hand for a photo-shoot, or even the rare game.

This has bled over into my Warhammer 40K collection.  The bulk of my figures and vehicles come from the ranks (upon ranks, upon...) of the Astra Militarum--the common foot-soldiers of The Imperium of Man.

But for the past couple of years, every time I purchased stuff at a game store, usually The Game Matrix, I'd pick up a small, 5-figure box of easy-build Chaos Cultists...

...until I had a total of 7 boxes/35 figures.  The box's content description lists the typical weaponry carried by the cultists.

A few months ago, I assembled the figures, then I sent the whole kit & kaboodle to Dan, my go-to guy for painting WH40K figures and vehicles.  When I got them back last month, I painted and flocked the bases.

I divided my Chaos Cannon Fodder into three groups differentiated by their bases.  One group of 10, are mounted on green, grassy bases.  The second group of 10 are on ash-grey bases, while the last group of 15 are on tan/brown sandy bases, with the darker brown-based figures forming a "command" group of sorts.

The next 11 pictures are a sample of one finished, 5-figure box, which I'll assume is a fire team or half squad.

A fire team of Chaos Cultists on patrol in the wilderness:

The first figure, I assume could be a team leader, or at least a close-combat specialist brandishing an auto pistol and morning star:

A side-view of Figure 1:

The second leader/close-combat figure is similarly armed with an auto pistol and flail:

A side view of the flail-bearer:

The third figure is cloaked and lugging an autogun of some sort:

A side view of the cloaked figure:

Because this figure leans so far forward, it was the most "tippy" of all the Chaos Cultists.  To resolve the tipping issue and to add more weight to the light plastic figures, I super-glued washers to the bottom of each base, then painted over each one.


The fourth figure is also a rifleman carrying what's generically described as an autogun:

The rifleman's side profile:

The last figure is another riflemen with a bayonet fixed to his autogun:

The bayonet-armed rifleman's side profile:

The remaining 30 figures were painted-up by Dan in a similar fashion.  No two look exactly alike.

Here's the entire 5-man "brown" command squad, and 10-man tan rifle squad:

My fully-mustered Chaos Cultist force looks something like this on the battlefield:

One of the main reasons I chose to collect the Astra Militarum is because the figures have a generic enough look I can utilize them in other sci-fi game settings.  Like US Colonial Marines in the Alien vs. Predator 'verse.

I can also use these Chaos Cultists as mutant soldiers in various post-apocalyptic/sci-fi horror settings.

Getting back to the grim darkness of WH40K, I couldn't find any printed game statistics for a mob of Chaos Cultists.

However, I found a few on-line sources.

For anyone still playing previous editions of WH40K, there's--

--Dark Future Games' 100-point Chaos Cultist force w/stats (2012), and

--Frontline Gaming's Chaos Cultist review (2017).

And for 8th Edition players, Creative Twilight brings the cultists up-do-date.

I certainly don't have enough cultists for a full WH40K Chaos force.

But I figure it will be enough as a mob of minions to throw at a Kill Team, or player characters in a session of Wrath & Glory.