u/Fancy_Sun_1585

just seems a little weird for orruks, kruel boyz, sylvaneth, etc using them.

I’m a life long 40K fan, but geeyat dayum AOS sculpts generally blow 40K sculpts out of the water.

like a mediocre AoS sculpt is on par with 40k’s best sculpts.

some how stormcast has some gorgeous models that are better space marines than actual space marines…but their line infantry just looks like a depressing space marine knock offs lol

but the celestant prime is a better sanguinor than the sanguinor.

prosecutors with some new heads are beautiful sanguinary guard.

lord relictor? gorgeous chaplain

Tornus the redeemed? better sanguinor than the sanguinor.

onus cryptborn? torso and head beautiful for a chaplain

new Seraphon? beautiful

even factions I don’t have any interest in at all have amazing sculpts in them. kruel boyz? 0 interest but they look good.

FEC? as a stand alone not my cup of tea, but most of the sculpts are fantastic.

House Eadlemann

The Old World

The Barony of House Eadlemann

House Eadlemann is an old but relatively minor noble family of Talabecland. Their lands lie in the northeastern reaches of the province near the borders of Ostland, Ostermark, and Kislev, a rugged frontier where Beastmen, Greenskins, marauders, and worse are constant threats. Though never wealthy or politically influential, the family earned a reputation over generations as dependable frontier lords who valued duty above prestige.

The seat of House Eadlemann is a fortified manor overlooking the surrounding villages and farmland. The ancient Castle Hochblick, however, has never belonged to the family. It has always been the ancestral fortress of the Order of the Knights of the Glittering River.

The barony consists primarily of three settlements:

* **Eadlenfurt**, the principal village with roughly five hundred inhabitants.
* **Mittertal**, a farming village of approximately one hundred and fifty souls.
* **Fischendorf**, a small fishing hamlet of around fifty people.

The Eadlemanns are particularly renowned for breeding exceptional warhorses. These mounts are prized throughout Talabecland and have long supplied the Knights of the Glittering River.

---

Castle Hochblick

Castle Hochblick once stood among the greatest fortresses of the knightly order. Centuries of decline, war, and neglect reduced it to a shadow of its former glory.

The Order of the Knights of the Glittering River now occupies only the restored inner portions of the fortress, including a defensible keep, chapel, barracks, and a handful of towers. Vast sections of the original castle have collapsed or been reclaimed by the surrounding forest. Ancient halls lie abandoned beneath tangled roots, forgotten towers overlook empty courtyards, and entire wings have disappeared into darkness.

Though diminished, the order remains proud, serving as guardians of the northern frontier.

---

The Order of the Knights of the Glittering River

Once a renowned knightly brotherhood, the Order of the Knights of the Glittering River has greatly declined by the Age of Three Emperors.

Under the leadership of Grandmaster Taalmann, the order numbers approximately one hundred knights, including several mounted upon mighty Demigryphs. The order continues to receive its horses from House Eadlemann, preserving a friendship between the two institutions that stretches back centuries.

Although no longer a major political force, the order remains respected for its courage and steadfast defense of the Empire.

---
The Monastery of Sigmar

Within the barony stands a modest monastery dedicated to Sigmar.

It is led by Warrior Priest Ebert Kreutzer and houses several warrior priests, a number of initiates, and dozens of lay brothers who maintain the monastery's lands and provide aid to surrounding communities.

Both Ebert and Baron Franz are unusual within Talabecland, openly venerating Sigmar despite living under rulers who increasingly favor the worship of Taal.

---

Baron Franz Eadlemann

Franz Eadlemann inherited the barony after his father chose to pass over his eldest son.

Unlike his brother, Franz embraced the burdens of leadership. He became a diligent ruler who spent his life strengthening the defenses of the frontier and improving the lives of his people.

Under Franz's leadership, the barony maintains:

* Fifteen Greatswords serving as household guards.
* Twenty Handgunners.
* Two Great Cannons.
* One Helblaster Volley Gun.
* Twenty Halberdiers and twenty Swordsmen supplied by the Elector Count.
* A corps of Pistoliers recruited from local families wealthy enough to provide their own horse, armor, and equipment.
* A militia capable of mustering between fifty and one hundred volunteers.

Combined with the knightly order and other retainers, the barony can field roughly three hundred to four hundred fighting men during times of war.

Franz is respected by his subjects as a fair and capable lord who never sought glory beyond fulfilling his obligations.

---

Albrecht Eadlemann

Albrecht was the eldest son of House Eadlemann.

As a young nobleman he earned a reputation as a layabout, a gambler, and a reckless playboy. His father came to believe that Albrecht lacked the discipline required to govern the frontier. Rather than allowing the eldest son to inherit, he named Franz as his successor.

Albrecht regarded this as both a personal betrayal and an illegal usurpation of his birthright.

In his mind, the laws of inheritance had been broken.

His younger brother had stolen what was rightfully his.

As bitterness consumed him, Albrecht traveled to Sylvania.

There he willingly accepted the Blood Kiss, seeking the strength and immortality necessary to reclaim his inheritance.

He did not become a vampire because he desired blood.

He became a vampire because he believed only eternal power could correct what he saw as his father's greatest injustice.

After returning, Albrecht secretly took residence within the abandoned portions of Castle Hochblick.

The active fortress remained under the control of the Knights of the Glittering River, but the vast ancient ruins belonged to no one.

There he established his hidden court.

Skeleton servants maintained forgotten halls.

Dire wolves prowled ruined courtyards.

Fell bats nested within broken towers.

The spectral animals whispered about by local peasants were, in truth, Albrecht's servants watching every road, village, and forest within the barony.

Through them he always knew what transpired within the lands he still considered his own.

---

Brother Against Brother

Albrecht repeatedly sought to overthrow Franz.

He raised the dead of the barony to march beneath his banner, believing that even in death the people rightfully belonged to House Eadlemann.

Yet despite centuries of conflict, Albrecht never allowed another to destroy the lands.

He slew Beastmen.

He hunted Greenskins.

He destroyed bandits.

He drove away rival vampires.

He would gladly kill Franz with his own hand.

He would never allow anyone else to do so.

Nor would he tolerate the destruction of the lands he still regarded as his inheritance.

To Albrecht, every village remained his village.

Every farmer remained his subject.

Every road remained his responsibility.

His quarrel was with Franz alone.

Even Franz gradually came to understand this terrible contradiction.

His brother had become a monster.

Yet that monster still possessed the twisted instincts of a noble lord.

---

The End Times

As the world collapsed beneath Chaos, Albrecht finally understood that his centuries-long struggle had become meaningless.

There would soon be no barony to reclaim.

No inheritance to recover.

No Empire to save.

Determined that House Eadlemann would not vanish with the Old World, Albrecht sought out the last surviving descendant of Franz's bloodline, a distant grandnephew separated from him by countless generations.

He offered the young man a choice.

Die with the world.

Or ensure that House Eadlemann survived it.

The young noble accepted.

Albrecht bestowed the Blood Kiss upon him only moments before the world was consumed.

The Old World died.

But House Eadlemann endured.

---

Age of Sigmar

The Crimson Baron

In the Mortal Realms, Albrecht eventually emerged within Shyish.

Everything he had sought to reclaim was gone.

The manor.

The villages.

The forests.

The Empire.

Even Franz.

For centuries he wandered.

Then he reached a revelation.

The land had died.

The barony had not.

A barony was never merely fields and stone.

It was a lord.

His people.

His laws.

His duty.

If those things survived, then the barony survived.

From that day forward Albrecht ceased trying to reclaim the Old World.

Instead he began building a new one.

He became known throughout Shyish as **Albrecht Eadlemann, the Crimson Baron**.

---

The Reclaimed

Those who enter Albrecht's service become known simply as **The Reclaimed**.

Some are living settlers seeking protection.

Some are skeleton warriors raised from forgotten graves.

Some are ancient wights who swear fealty.

Others are vampires judged worthy of immortality.

To Albrecht, all are subjects of House Eadlemann.

Birth matters less than loyalty.

Any who swear themselves to the barony become Reclaimed.

His creed is simple.

**The Barony Never Dies.**

---

The Barony Reborn

Unlike many Soulblight kingdoms, Albrecht's realm is orderly.

Villages flourish beneath undead protection.

Roads remain patrolled.

Trade is encouraged.

Taxes are collected.

Justice is administered without favoritism.

Living mortals work the fields.

Skeletons stand watch upon the walls.

Barrow Knights patrol the roads.

The dead and living alike have duties.

The people do not love their immortal lord.

Many fear him.

Yet few can deny that his lands are safer than many neighboring realms.

---

Feeding

Albrecht has fully accepted what he has become.

He no longer pretends to be human.

He also refuses to become a beast.

Prisoners taken in war are considered spoils to be distributed according to the needs of the realm.

Those found guilty of capital crimes likewise forfeit not only their lives but their blood.

These captives sustain Albrecht, his grandnephew, and the few vampires who serve beneath him.

To Albrecht, this is no cruelty.

It is simply another duty of rulership.

Officers, knights, or heroes who distinguish themselves through exceptional courage may receive another fate.

Albrecht sometimes offers them immortality.

The greatest become vampires.

Others rise again as honored Wight Lords or Barrow Knights, continuing to serve with the same discipline they displayed in life.

---

The Court

Albrecht's court remains remarkably small.

He sees vampirism as a privilege earned through unwavering discipline rather than a gift to be bestowed freely.

His grandnephew serves as his closest advisor and heir, often riding at the head of the barony's armies while Albrecht governs from his castle.

---

The Realm

The armies of the Crimson Baron consist primarily of disciplined undead rather than shambling hordes.

Ranks of Deathrattle Skeletons march beneath crimson and yellow banners recalling the colors of Talabecland.

Barrow Guard serve as his household retainers.

Barrow Knights ride as the noble cavalry of the realm.

Dire Wolves patrol forests and borders.

Fell Bats serve as scouts and messengers.

Vargheists are unleashed only during the direst wars.

Albrecht views them not as nobles but as tragic creatures who surrendered completely to their curse.

They are treated no differently than his wolves or bats.

Dangerous beasts to be controlled and directed.

---

Hatred of the Flesh-eater Courts

Few enemies earn Albrecht's contempt as completely as the Flesh-eater Courts.

To him they represent everything a vampire should never become.

A ruler who cannot master his hunger is unworthy of command.

The Flesh-eater Courts consume the very people they should govern.

They destroy what they ought to preserve.

Albrecht considers them failures of both nobility and vampirism.

Whenever possible, he wages relentless war against them, seeking to exterminate every last one.

---

Neferata

Albrecht traces his lineage directly to Neferata, who granted him the Blood Kiss during the Old World.

He has never forgotten this debt.

As a baron, Albrecht has never objected to serving a rightful sovereign.

He willingly offers fealty to Neferata, recognizing her as his queen.

She, in turn, values him as an unusually dependable vassal.

He pays his obligations.

Answers her summons.

Maintains order within his lands.

Never schemes against her.

There is only one matter upon which Neferata must tread carefully.

Albrecht will obey nearly any command.

He will not willingly sacrifice the safety or future of his barony.

For he believes one truth above all others.

**The Barony Never Dies.**

my fiance likes to get our cheese from Whole Foods because that’s where we get like 80%+ of our groceries, but the sliced American cheese they sell never peels easily. it always gets stuck to another piece and gets torn.

this drives me crazy, and it often happens in the exact same place in the stack with every slice.

like it pisses me off to no end when I’m hangry.

am I crazy to be annoyed and angry that I can’t just have a full slice of cheese when I make a sandwich? is that just a little too autistic, or do yall get it?

a strix. in Ancient Greek, and Roman mythology a strix was an owl that feasted on the blood and flesh of infants/babies, so there’s the tie in with vampires and why I think it could fit in.

to the specifics of the sculpt/model design.

a medium sized monster, 2-3x the size of varghiests.

an undead owl, partially skeletal partially feathered.

the front of the head bare skull, top and back feathered, with the ‘horns’ of the great horned owl. big empty eye sockets. part of the wings, torso, and legs likewise partially covered in feathers.

could be a mount, or a stand alone monster.

what do yall think?

i painted the fur rhinox hide, but im not sure what color I should drybrush to highlight it. Ushabti bone for the bones, and darkoath flesh for the flesh.

a lighter brown, or a grey?

maybe a dark blue?

long time 40k guy, played WHFB back in the day.

id like to find a game thats designed around a roughly 2 hour play time.

not a fan of historicals, i like creating my own lore/fluff for my armies and painting them how i want to, so sci-fi or fantasy with established lore that’s well thought out and interesting is preferred.

ive considered trench crusade but it didnt quite get me.

i like some of the models from marcher, but again, didnt quite get me.

i forget uncle atom’s game and have considered it, but never looked too deeply.

so hit me with what you got, links to lore appreciated.

gothic or victorian aesthetics preferred.

I’m not a huge fan of the mounted eight king/lord model fromGW, any good proxies? preferably with a big ass sword or poleaxe/halberd style weapon?

40K combat patrols tend to have a very wild variance in nominal points values.

does spearhead have this same problem, or are they relatively blanmaxed? (like 99 points or less variance between boxes?)

with the next edition looking likely next year, what would you like to see our blood suckers get? what do you realistically think they’ll get?

House Eadlemann

The Old World

The Barony of House Eadlemann

House Eadlemann is an old but relatively minor noble family of Talabecland. Their lands lie in the northeastern reaches of the province near the borders of Ostland, Ostermark, and Kislev, a rugged frontier where Beastmen, Greenskins, marauders, and worse are constant threats. Though never wealthy or politically influential, the family earned a reputation over generations as dependable frontier lords who valued duty above prestige.

The seat of House Eadlemann is a fortified manor overlooking the surrounding villages and farmland. The ancient Castle Hochblick, however, has never belonged to the family. It has always been the ancestral fortress of the Order of the Knights of the Glittering River.

The barony consists primarily of three settlements:

* **Eadlenfurt**, the principal village with roughly five hundred inhabitants.
* **Mittertal**, a farming village of approximately one hundred and fifty souls.
* **Fischendorf**, a small fishing hamlet of around fifty people.

The Eadlemanns are particularly renowned for breeding exceptional warhorses. These mounts are prized throughout Talabecland and have long supplied the Knights of the Glittering River.

---

Castle Hochblick

Castle Hochblick once stood among the greatest fortresses of the knightly order. Centuries of decline, war, and neglect reduced it to a shadow of its former glory.

The Order of the Knights of the Glittering River now occupies only the restored inner portions of the fortress, including a defensible keep, chapel, barracks, and a handful of towers. Vast sections of the original castle have collapsed or been reclaimed by the surrounding forest. Ancient halls lie abandoned beneath tangled roots, forgotten towers overlook empty courtyards, and entire wings have disappeared into darkness.

Though diminished, the order remains proud, serving as guardians of the northern frontier.

---

The Order of the Knights of the Glittering River

Once a renowned knightly brotherhood, the Order of the Knights of the Glittering River has greatly declined by the Age of Three Emperors.

Under the leadership of Grandmaster Taalmann, the order numbers approximately one hundred knights, including several mounted upon mighty Demigryphs. The order continues to receive its horses from House Eadlemann, preserving a friendship between the two institutions that stretches back centuries.

Although no longer a major political force, the order remains respected for its courage and steadfast defense of the Empire.

---

The Monastery of Sigmar

Within the barony stands a modest monastery dedicated to Sigmar.

It is led by Warrior Priest Ebert Kreutzer and houses several warrior priests, a number of initiates, and dozens of lay brothers who maintain the monastery's lands and provide aid to surrounding communities.

Both Ebert and Baron Franz are unusual within Talabecland, openly venerating Sigmar despite living under rulers who increasingly favor the worship of Taal.

---

Baron Franz Eadlemann

Franz Eadlemann inherited the barony after his father chose to pass over his eldest son.

Unlike his brother, Franz embraced the burdens of leadership. He became a diligent ruler who spent his life strengthening the defenses of the frontier and improving the lives of his people.

Under Franz's leadership, the barony maintains:

* Fifteen Greatswords serving as household guards.
* Twenty Handgunners.
* Two Great Cannons.
* One Helblaster Volley Gun.
* Twenty Halberdiers and twenty Swordsmen supplied by the Elector Count.
* A corps of Pistoliers recruited from local families wealthy enough to provide their own horse, armor, and equipment.
* A militia capable of mustering between fifty and one hundred volunteers.

Combined with the knightly order and other retainers, the barony can field roughly three hundred to four hundred fighting men during times of war.

Franz is respected by his subjects as a fair and capable lord who never sought glory beyond fulfilling his obligations.

---

Albrecht Eadlemann

Albrecht was the eldest son of House Eadlemann.

As a young nobleman he earned a reputation as a layabout, a gambler, and a reckless playboy. His father came to believe that Albrecht lacked the discipline required to govern the frontier. Rather than allowing the eldest son to inherit, he named Franz as his successor.

Albrecht regarded this as both a personal betrayal and an illegal usurpation of his birthright.

In his mind, the laws of inheritance had been broken.

His younger brother had stolen what was rightfully his.

As bitterness consumed him, Albrecht traveled to Sylvania.

There he willingly accepted the Blood Kiss, seeking the strength and immortality necessary to reclaim his inheritance.

He did not become a vampire because he desired blood.

He became a vampire because he believed only eternal power could correct what he saw as his father's greatest injustice.

After returning, Albrecht secretly took residence within the abandoned portions of Castle Hochblick.

The active fortress remained under the control of the Knights of the Glittering River, but the vast ancient ruins belonged to no one.

There he established his hidden court.

Skeleton servants maintained forgotten halls.

Dire wolves prowled ruined courtyards.

Fell bats nested within broken towers.

The spectral animals whispered about by local peasants were, in truth, Albrecht's servants watching every road, village, and forest within the barony.

Through them he always knew what transpired within the lands he still considered his own.

---

Brother Against Brother

Albrecht repeatedly sought to overthrow Franz.

He raised the dead of the barony to march beneath his banner, believing that even in death the people rightfully belonged to House Eadlemann.

Yet despite centuries of conflict, Albrecht never allowed another to destroy the lands.

He slew Beastmen.

He hunted Greenskins.

He destroyed bandits.

He drove away rival vampires.

He would gladly kill Franz with his own hand.

He would never allow anyone else to do so.

Nor would he tolerate the destruction of the lands he still regarded as his inheritance.

To Albrecht, every village remained his village.

Every farmer remained his subject.

Every road remained his responsibility.

His quarrel was with Franz alone.

Even Franz gradually came to understand this terrible contradiction.

His brother had become a monster.

Yet that monster still possessed the twisted instincts of a noble lord.

---

The End Times

As the world collapsed beneath Chaos, Albrecht finally understood that his centuries-long struggle had become meaningless.

There would soon be no barony to reclaim.

No inheritance to recover.

No Empire to save.

Determined that House Eadlemann would not vanish with the Old World, Albrecht sought out the last surviving descendant of Franz's bloodline, a distant grandnephew separated from him by countless generations.

He offered the young man a choice.

Die with the world.

Or ensure that House Eadlemann survived it.

The young noble accepted.

Albrecht bestowed the Blood Kiss upon him only moments before the world was consumed.

The Old World died.

But House Eadlemann endured.

---

Age of Sigmar

The Crimson Baron

In the Mortal Realms, Albrecht eventually emerged within Shyish.

Everything he had sought to reclaim was gone.

The manor.

The villages.

The forests.

The Empire.

Even Franz.

For centuries he wandered.

Then he reached a revelation.

The land had died.

The barony had not.

A barony was never merely fields and stone.

It was a lord.

His people.

His laws.

His duty.

If those things survived, then the barony survived.

From that day forward Albrecht ceased trying to reclaim the Old World.

Instead he began building a new one.

He became known throughout Shyish as **Albrecht Eadlemann, the Crimson Baron**.

---
The Reclaimed

Those who enter Albrecht's service become known simply as **The Reclaimed**.

Some are living settlers seeking protection.

Some are skeleton warriors raised from forgotten graves.

Some are ancient wights who swear fealty.

Others are vampires judged worthy of immortality.

To Albrecht, all are subjects of House Eadlemann.

Birth matters less than loyalty.

Any who swear themselves to the barony become Reclaimed.

His creed is simple.

**The Barony Never Dies.**

---

The Barony Reborn

Unlike many Soulblight kingdoms, Albrecht's realm is orderly.

Villages flourish beneath undead protection.

Roads remain patrolled.

Trade is encouraged.

Taxes are collected.

Justice is administered without favoritism.

Living mortals work the fields.

Skeletons stand watch upon the walls.

Barrow Knights patrol the roads.

The dead and living alike have duties.

The people do not love their immortal lord.

Many fear him.

Yet few can deny that his lands are safer than many neighboring realms.

---

Feeding

Albrecht has fully accepted what he has become.

He no longer pretends to be human.

He also refuses to become a beast.

Prisoners taken in war are considered spoils to be distributed according to the needs of the realm.

Those found guilty of capital crimes likewise forfeit not only their lives but their blood.

These captives sustain Albrecht, his grandnephew, and the few vampires who serve beneath him.

To Albrecht, this is no cruelty.

It is simply another duty of rulership.

Officers, knights, or heroes who distinguish themselves through exceptional courage may receive another fate.

Albrecht sometimes offers them immortality.

The greatest become vampires.

Others rise again as honored Wight Lords or Barrow Knights, continuing to serve with the same discipline they displayed in life.

---

The Court

Albrecht's court remains remarkably small.

He sees vampirism as a privilege earned through unwavering discipline rather than a gift to be bestowed freely.

His grandnephew serves as his closest advisor and heir, often riding at the head of the barony's armies while Albrecht governs from his castle.

---

The Realm

The armies of the Crimson Baron consist primarily of disciplined undead rather than shambling hordes.

Ranks of Deathrattle Skeletons march beneath crimson and yellow banners recalling the colors of Talabecland.

Barrow Guard serve as his household retainers.

Barrow Knights ride as the noble cavalry of the realm.

Dire Wolves patrol forests and borders.

Fell Bats serve as scouts and messengers.

Vargheists are unleashed only during the direst wars.

Albrecht views them not as nobles but as tragic creatures who surrendered completely to their curse.

They are treated no differently than his wolves or bats.

Dangerous beasts to be controlled and directed.

---

Hatred of the Flesh-eater Courts

Few enemies earn Albrecht's contempt as completely as the Flesh-eater Courts.

To him they represent everything a vampire should never become.

A ruler who cannot master his hunger is unworthy of command.

The Flesh-eater Courts consume the very people they should govern.

They destroy what they ought to preserve.

Albrecht considers them failures of both nobility and vampirism.

Whenever possible, he wages relentless war against them, seeking to exterminate every last one.

---

Neferata

Albrecht traces his lineage directly to Neferata, who granted him the Blood Kiss during the Old World.

He has never forgotten this debt.

As a baron, Albrecht has never objected to serving a rightful sovereign.

He willingly offers fealty to Neferata, recognizing her as his queen.

She, in turn, values him as an unusually dependable vassal.

He pays his obligations.

Answers her summons.

Maintains order within his lands.

Never schemes against her.

There is only one matter upon which Neferata must tread carefully.

Albrecht will obey nearly any command.

He will not willingly sacrifice the safety or future of his barony.

For he believes one truth above all others.

His barony will never die.

so i am new to collecting gravelords, but something I noticed is that there’s seemingly nearly as much werewolf representation as vampire. it’s like 4 characters, direwolves, and a wolf in the Askurgen trueblades. (a little more so if we include ratman as well…he seems closer to the wolves than the other vampires in terms of his model to me.)

im concerned about spending hundreds of dollars to collect an undead vampire army, just to have it shift further ‘left’(?) towards more wolfiness next year (im assuming this game is on a 3 year edition churn like 40K). especially with another faction that’s also an undead vampire army.

SBLG and FEC seem to be cannablizing each other’s sales both being vampire based factions.