Monday 16 March 2015

SDE Monsters 07 - Bone Heads and Dread Knights

Today I'm reviewing two more types of skeletons from the SDE Von Drakk Manor expansion set - Bone Heads and Dread Knights.
Bone Heads make up the ranks of Von Drakk's and the Dark Consul's undead legions. Drawn from the lucky few Rattle Bones who survive their first engagement with heroic adventurers, they are clad in the rusty and battered armour of those who have fallen before them, to hopefully survive their second.
Bone Heads are Undead Skeleton Minions with very average stats, 1 Wound and 1 Action per Turn. They have an Armour stat of 1. This is a fixed value. Their Attack stat of 3 blue dice is above average.
They have only one Ability, which is Bone Pile. When this model is destroyed leave a Bone Pile counter in the same square it occupied. This counter is ignored for purposes of Movement and Line of Sight. A model may spend 2 points of Movement to stomp on a Bone Pile's counter to remove it from play.
Bone Heads have no Special Abilities or Special Attacks.
In life Dread Knights were vaunted warriors, serving their lords with steadfast devotion. Their loyalty continues even into death and they remain highly prized as some of the Dark Consul's deadliest minions.
Dread Knights are Undead Skeleton Minions and are considered the elite of the skeleton warriors. They cost 2 Skulls to spawn, have 2 Hearts and 2 Actions per Turn. They have an Armour stat of 1 and an Attack stat of 1 blue die and 1 red die.
They have two Abilities - Bone Pile (see above) and Cold. Any Wound caused by the Dread Knight also inflicts Cold. A model suffering from Cold discards the highest result rolled anytime it makes a roll using the Dexterity attribute.
Dread Knights have one Special Attack, Cursed Blade, which costs 2 Actions to use. It grants a +1 red die to hit and in addition to causing 1 Wound it inflicts Fragile on the target model. A model suffering Fragile discards the highest result rolled anytime it makes a  roll using its Armour attribute.
I like these figures a lot. I've always been a fan of skeleton warriors. The rust effect on their armour and swords was achieved by a heavy wash of Citadel Seraphim Sepia. The Bone Heads are the most numerous of the skeletons in this set, with a total of six. There are only two Dread Knights in the set. All of my skeletons in SDE have glowing green eyes to indicate that some supernatural power is animating them.

18 comments:

  1. Nicely painted Bryan. Your dirty/rusty effect is great. I almost like the Dreadknights.

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    1. Be careful, Bob. Almost liking is very close to liking, LOL! :)

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  2. Very cool looking Miniatures Bryan, painted very well, me likes these.

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  3. the painting on all these SDE figures has been wonderful. You can tell you enjoyed doing them.

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    1. Thanks, Chris. Yes, I did enjoy painting them.

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  4. Another great set, and looking very well aged.

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    1. Thanks, Carl. The rust effect certainly helped to age them. I definitely did not want them looking bright and shiny.

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  5. Fantastic looking warriors and knights Bryan .The armour looks suitably aged well done :)

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    1. They have turned out better than I could have imagined, Simon. Thanks for the compliments.

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  6. Splendid stuff my friend, absolutely first rate. Your rusty armour effect really works well, though for me the stand out thing, though simply done, has to be the eyes. I can imagine them glaring out from across the dungeon. My fingers are crossed for a reasonably priced set being at Salute ;-)

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    1. Simon, I'm not sure if you'll be able to get this set at Salute but I can tell you that it will be re-released later this year. RRP will be roughly £45.00. I have seen copies of it selling for about £120.00 on e-Bay, which is just ridiculous. Also, be aware that The Forgotten King expansion goes on sale at the end of this month and that features a LOT of changes to the way the game is played. It actually comes with four books - three rulebooks and a book of background fluff. The new version of Von Drakk Manor will be fully compatible with TFK. I'll be able to tell you a lot more about TFK and the changes to the game once I receive my copy, which I have pre-ordered.

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    2. Thanks Bryan. I may hold fire then as I haven't seen VDM for less than £100 anywhere. I look forward to your update Ref TFK :-)

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    3. It would make sense to wait, Simon. There are big changes afoot with SDE.

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  7. Oh, those are really cute, especially the little ones!

    Why are we still waiting for a proper large battle report, though? :)

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    1. Thanks, Mathyoo. I didn't want to do a batrep until I'd reviewed most of the figures. Believe me, it is on my to do list.

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  8. What a lot of nasties! Are there multiple poses for the bone heads, or have you converted some? They look similar but not identical.

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    1. A good question, Hugh. The Bone Heads are made up of two different sculpts with three of each. It adds variety to their poses.

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