6mm Dollar Store Finds & 2mm Cities

Here are some more photos of what I've been up to. First we have four scenic pieces I found in the pet supply section of a Dollar store (Pound store for my UK friends):


Most of these will be for 6mm, but I think the bridge/tower combo might be better as 2mm, or could be used for both. The bit under the bridge is kinda dumb, to lay down a river beneath it will mean the river goes up and down a hump. I'm also thinking I should buy a second Aztec temple and spray paint it a sandy colour to use for 10mm Africa. I may even just do it for this one - since I don't have a single Aztec or Aztec-like fantasy culture in my plans! (well, maybe Warhammer's lizardmen)


Based on an idea I saw on The Miniatures Page, I've started putting together some 6mm sci-fi city buildings from cheap trophy stands available from a local craft superstore (Michael's). I've glued the matching pieces together, I just have to sand them, then glue them together as towers. I noticed last night the craft store has different shapes available now, but I'll wait for their next 25% off everything coupon before I buy more.


I'm also working on some 2mm cities to use either as representational scenics for Aeronef (based on CDs) or as edge-of-the-table pieces for Land Ironclads, Kull, Imaro, and my 18th/19th century historical projects. The latter aren't meant to be fought on, rather as the obejctive behind a defender.  I'm basing them on 2 12"x6" flooring tiles, and they're meant to be a bit closer to true 2mm scale than those on the CDs, which will be more like 0.5mm.

For the CD-cities, I'm doing several for my take on Victorian Venus (basically Space 1889's Mars), Ottoman-esque, and a generally European city or two (should work for North America as well). I may do an Aeronef NY, but bigger and on a tile, using my mini Statue of Liberty. For the bigger 2mm cities, I'm doing a bigger version of a Venuvian city, Victorian Mars (Wells' idea of Mars), a general European one, 18th century India, Valusia (Kull), one of the Giant-Kings' cities (also Kull), and an African-esque city (Imaro).

Then as a special project, I'm doing a "New London", aka Sky City, for Aeronef. Here are some early shots of the basics. Each CD is supported on a heavy bolt, glued to the cap of a toothpaste tube (Sensodyne makes great caps for 2mm scenics), which in turn is glued to the centre of the CD. The three CD's were then joined with popsicle/craft sticks underneath, which will be painted as monstrous girders.


One CD will be the industrical area, one the rich/administrative area with parks and the like, and the other the main city. I have anchors planned, as well as bridges, a telegraph line cable, aeronef docking and repair stations, factories, skyscrapers, etc.

In my universe, it will roam the Atlantic, as sort of a floating place of business for the British Empire (also a backup capital, if the Germans/French/Russians/Turks invade England!).  To defend itself, I'll be picking up some British turrets from Brigade this summer.

My Only Wish Is To See Far Acheron Again (with apologies to Jim Morrison)

...well, actually I wouldn't like to see Acheron again, but Valusia would be a trip. However, since I'm still in the middle of a bunch of terrain pieces, today sees my notes on Acheron go up.

Acheron is the remaining lands of the Old Race (aka Giant-Kings), who once ruled all of Thuria and have "100,000 years of history". The Old Race are long-lived wizards, with demon-tainted blood that gives them claim to be descendents of Set, the Serpent-Lord. They worship the rest of the Old Ones as well, and do so differently than their human subjects, on more of a personal relationship. However, their worship and black sorcery does require human blood and/or sacrifice to work (Note: this is all fiction, in case that wasn't clear).

Humans are their subjects and slaves, and have been since the beginning of time. The original humans they encountered (not the modern Thurians) at the dawn of time worshipped the Great Serpent (aka the Serpent That Speaks - not Set), and the humans have since merged the two religions and the Giant-Kings haven't really noticed. The humans under their rule also worship the Giant-Kings as blessed by Set. Despite being near-gods, the Giant-Kings haven't avoided getting jiggy with their subject women, resulting in hybrids identifiable by their height and pale complection, and talent with dark arts.

The human and hybrid populations grow much faster than the Giant-Kings and do much of the land's grunt work, leaving the Giant-Kings to rule, practice their dark arts, and lord around as living gods. The Lost Lands that separate Acheron from the Seven Empires (and anywhere else of note) have helped the Giant-Kings slip into myth and legend, but these myths and legends are still active and still plotting. They have spies and agents in Valusia (e.g. Guron, high priest of the God of the Black Shadow) and elsewhere, with the aim of regaining their former glory. The current ruler is King Ahotep.

Their capitol city is Luxor, on the Sea of Snakes. Additional cities are Sabatea, Erkulum, and Qarnak. The main river in the country is the Nilus, which later becomes the Styx, post-cataclysm. Their architecture is monolithic, some of the Hyborean Age colossal pyramids of Stygia are theirs. In most cities their architecture is sort of a suped-up real world Egyptian - stepped pyramidal apartment complexes for temples and the middle class. The poor live in block hovels, the true elites live in single pyramids. In other cities, their architecture is Petra-like, built into the sides of cliffs and hills. Generally their buildings are of black stone, but others are sandstone in colour, and all have towers or spires of a dark purple.

Their military has an Assyrian and Hittite flavour, with elite units of four-horse chariots, followed by spear-wielding cavalry, supported by mounted archers. On foot they have light, regular, and heavy spearmen, the first two being from the city levies. They also have light and regular foot bowmen, and the levies also raise slingers. The foot elite are the guardsmen of the king, armed with sword and carrying a shield.

***

In other news...last night was spent wrestling with polyfill, today I've been spray painting some other pieces and am about to go for a re-match with the polyfill. Had some good news this evening - today was a provincial holiday butI forgot that means the post office (federal) was still at work - so when I opened my front door to take out the recycling, what should I find but my order of pre-painted plastic miniatures (from the D&D line). So a future post will be on those - Kull and Conan and various friends and enemies.

Mysterious Thule (not that Thule, you cultists!)

This is the Thule of the Thurian Age, a mysterious land in the northwestern tip of the continent. We don't know much about it from the source material (they fight cave-savages and snow apes, and have fabulous ice caves), so I've had a freer hand making things up.

The residents of Thule are a generally dark-haired, Viking-like race, with an architecture of stupas (domed brick/stone buildings), and nothing larger than a town - and only one of those, the capitol of Skalauk. Otherwise it's comprised of villages with a temple, tombs of past village chiefs and storehouses all of stone/brick; everything else in the village is of timber. The political structure is feudal, with small armies and no national leader.

Militarily, they sure look impressive - the elite warriors are armoured with plate cuirasses and helmets, and armed with swords. They ride in chariots or war-sleds pulled by domesticated polar bears (smaller than our modern polar bears) or reindeer. Some also ride reindeer, and the real heavies of the Thurian Age are their Imperial Mammoths. Run of the mill warriors of Thule are armed as axemen, spearmen, or bowmen.

Thule was up next for my tour of the Thurian Age as I've been busy basing some units with a snowy theme. I've been taking pics along the way, but have one more step to do before I post anything. Otherwise I'm in the midst of a bunch of other terrain bits - snake statue, dragon statue, sphinx, Splintered Lands house, tower, ship and castle.

Valusia In All Her Remaining Splendor

Well, so what do we know about the rest of Valusia?

She's an ancient land by time of Kull, sophisticated and wealthy but also decadent and stifling in its antiquity. With thousands of kings (apparently no ruling queens) in her past, the country is pushing 20,000 years of history (I set it around 22K). Its origins have been lost to history, although we do know its ancestors came from the east and warred with the serpent-men who rule the Seven Empires area after they had previously thrown off the yoke of the Giant-Kings.

By the time of Kull, Valusia is starting to fade, although in that way nations have of fading without really realizing it, with everyone in denial - eating, drinking, and being merry, and not noticing the barbarians at the gate (although in certain circles they do make snide comments about the one on the throne). Besides the barbarians at the gate (a small colony of Atlanteans on the coast), there is also a colony of Picts in Valusia on the border with Farsun, the Picts now having been allies of Valusia for a thousand years. Prior to that the Picts were also raiders on the coast.

The analogue I like to use to get a feel for Valusia is India, with ages sitting upon ages, grandiose architecture, and a history that goes back into legend.

Culturally we know the Valusians make use of slaves and have gladiatorial contests, eventually the gladiators can earn their freedom. They use dungeons for prisons (as opposed to labour camps, I suppose), and face bandits in the hills and mountains. The capitol is also called Valusia, a.k.a. the City of Wonders, a.k.a. the Crystal City of Valusia. Valusia itself is also known as the Land of Enchantment.

The Valusians seem to worship the mainstream world gods, but do allow the worship of Set (one of the Old Ones) to occur, at the Temple of the Serpent in the cities, but these are carefully monitored (at least under Kull) to make sure there isn't any crossover with the Great Serpent (the Serpent That Speaks, god of the serpent-men). It appears the Valusians have lost all real-world connection to the Giant-Kings, so they wouldn't be aware Set's temples could be a vector for intrigue coming from Acheron. Similarly, in a remote Valusian mountain city lies the Temple of Everlasting Darkness, dedicated to the God of the Black Shadow (another Old One), formerly governed by Guron. There's also a temple to the Great Scorpion there (you'll just have to read the stories for more on that).

Administratively (as lousy as that word is to describe the fantastic kingdom of Valusia), Valusia is broken into baronies, which can be used interchangeably with the term provinces. Technically though there are only two provinces, the large jurisdictions around the cities of Kamula and Valusia. Other cities have smaller jurisdictions around them that they oversee, mainly in terms of food production, which gives a bit of independence to all cities relative to the baronies they're found in. The Pictish colony is also a self-governed jurisdiction, appointing its own ruler.

The baronies are hereditary, passing from father to son (again, no female nobles seem to rule). Cities are ruled by a count, officially appointed by the king, but by tradition these are hereditary positions too.

Here's my list of the baronies, their capitols, and any notes on them. Those in italics are canon or pseudo-canon (for some reason in some editions of the stories names were changed from the originals - I've used the originals, but kept a couple of cool ones). The rest are made up by me for gaming purposes. The format for the list is "Barony - Capitol (notes)".

• Blaal - Blaal (also contains the city of Karaban and the Forbidden Swamp)
• Northern Shore - Mikkar
• North Marches - Northam (also has the Skull of Silence)
• Varana - Varana (also has the village of Hawks)
• Nabar - Zarawar
• Legan - Rowanbor
• Urungal - Urungal
• Strathspey - Strathspey
• Kachvar - Btoleny
• Alnakata - Kolderkon (also has the Tomb of King Kalenius, and Kolderkon is based on the RPG city of Ptolus)
• Yonla - Yonla
• Juven - Juven (also the Lake of Visions)
• Sylvilia - Wood
• Baradusa - Baradusa
• Yultana - Fanara
• Kartu - Komahar (also the Temple of Everlasting Darkness)
• Pictish Colony - Gat-nir
• Province of Kamula - Kamula
• Province of Valusia - City of Wonders (also the Forbidden Lake)

More to come, but now I'm off to do some painting...

The Armies of Valusia

So this will be my first nuts-and-bolts piece on the Thurian Age as I've interpreted it. I'll try to explicitly point out what I've made up out of thin air, the rest is either canon or extrapolations from canon. Probably much of this will depend on at least a basic familiarity with Robert E. Howard's tales of Kull of Atlantis, so this would be a good time to prompt those of you who haven't read Kull to do so. Now!

To begin with, however, while Commoria has been Valusia's hereditary and frequent enemy, of late under Kull Valusia has been at war on other fronts. Shortly after becoming king, Kull destroyed the Triple Federation of Farsun, Zarfhaana, and Verulia (the latter being my own assessment - it explains some of Verulia's interest in intriguing in Valusia). Kull also led his army into Grondar, deposing the sorcerers/demons who ruled there and installing a king, albeit one with ties to Valusia that come to haunt him later. Along with Commoria, Valusia has also had frequently nasty contact with Atlantean raiders, up to 500 in number coming ashore along the coast. Presumably similar in style to Viking raids on the British Isles in the late Dark Ages.

Valusia has two strands to its military. First there is the Royal Army, with significant mercenary contingents, under the direct command of the King and headquartered in Valusia (the city). The second strand is the Great Army, which is paid for by the state (out of state revenue/taxes) and under the overall command of a general. It is broken down into regional and local elements that are stationed across the nation. The Great Army also has a significant mercenary component, but this is less varied than the Royal Army, or at least the Royal Army as established by Kull.

The influx of mercenaries arises from Valusia's aged, decadent state - the citizens have it pretty good and aren't interested in a life in the legions. There are obvious modern parallels, as well as reflections in the later days of the Roman Empire.

Mercenaries are from the Pictish Isles, Lemuria, Atlantis, Kaa-U, Mu, and the hills of the east. All of these types are in the Royal Army; only Lemurians, Atlanteans, Mu-ians, and hillmen will be found in the Great Army. Generals and lower leaders will also often be from the mercenary ranks.

There are no feudal levies, or any feudal system at all, in Valusia. The barons are allowed their own small forces, essentially bodyguards, which keeps them from waging overt civil war or attempting a coup. As long as the Royal Army and the Great Army are loyal, the king will remain in power; and I'm not too sure if the king would need both to remain loyal either.

Native Valusia troops form the heavy and medium cavalry, the Red Slayers and Red Guards, bowmen from the mountains, and heavy and light footmen.

A breakdown of the troop types found in Valusia would therefore look like this:

• Pictish light foot (curved swords)
• Pictish javelinmen
• Mu-ian heavy swordsmen
• Atlantean spearmen
• Kaa-U short spearmen
• Lemurian bowmen
• Valusian bowmen (tall mountain men)
• Valusian heavy spearmen (spear + shield)
• Valusian light footmen (sword + shield)
• Allied Pictish warbands (horse archers with curved swords)
• Black Squadrons (elite)
• Black Legion (elite foot - say spear + shield)
• Red Slayers (elite of the elite lancers)
• Red Guard (king's bodyguard, subset of the Red Slayers)

I am working on the Royal Army to start with for my miniatures project, and so far for numbers I'm looking at:

• 2 x 500 Pictish horse archers (allied warbands)
• 2 x 1000 Lemurian bowmen
• 1 x 500 Red Slayers
• 1 x 100 Red Guard (either as a leader unit with Kull, or added to the Red Slayers)

(obviously this needs to be continued, but the total will come out to something around 10,000 soldiers - not the wild numbers usually seen in fantasy, but I've read my Hans Delbruck and I'm trying to find a middle ground)

Next up for the Thurian Age will be more on the rest of Valusia.

The Thurian Age Part I - An Introduction to My Take On It

Robert E. Howard is one of my favourite authors, from his well-known Conan to one-off adventure and horror stories ("Pigeons From Hell" is one of the creepiest stories I've ever read). I haven't read many of his western or oriental stories, or any of his boxing stories, I'm kind of saving those to work through at a leisurely pace. It's like Marx Brothers movies - as great as each one is to see new, it also means one less that will be new to see, and eventually you reach the end of the line and there ain't no more.

Anyway, my favourite Howard character is Kull. Solomon Kane follows closely behind, but that's another topic for another day. As mentioned, I plan to do some gaming in Kull's Thurian Age, mainly in miniature now, but I had originally started together putting together notes for RPG'ing the Thurian Age.

The background material I've compiled is running at almost 50 pages to date, and I'll post bits and pieces of interest here. I want to be clear though that this is my expansion on the Thurian Age, not a scholarly examination of the works meant to be taken as gospel. To game in this age I've needed to know information never remotely covered in the canon, so I've extrapolated as needed and as best fits my feeling for the age.

My primary sources are the stories themselves, but where I agree with them I've incorporated ideas from Dale Rippke's "Hyborian Heresies" book, some of the chat on the Conan forums (we seem to agree that the ecology was probably more ice age-like), and the finished texts from the Lancer edition of "King Kull". I recently acquired the first volume of the reprinted 1970's Kull comics, and while a lot of it is kind of 70's goofy, there are some ideas I will use, but my early readings suggest not much. I do like how they conceived the walls of the City of Wonder though.

One of my first divergences from common thought is Kull's appearance. I've never really liked him as a near-clone of Conan, and he gets a bit Prince Valiant-ish in the comics (never mind the Speedos he's wearing). As a king, I picture him in his late 30's, early 40's, pretty grizzled, maybe a bit Kirk Douglas-ish (but with those iron-thews Kull and Conan shared). He certainly doesn't have long hair, which just seems impractical.

Since I can't draw for love nor money, I found this online superhero/rpg character creator called Hero Machine 2.5, which lets us bad drawers at least do a rough impression of a character. So I pieced this together for King Kull:
Not perfect, but it fits my general idea of him. He's geared up for battle here, and skipped the scarlet and purple robes, the silver cloaks, and his crown of red-gold. He has kept his pirate earring though.

Oh, and on the subject of tigers...although I've pictured a typical modern Asian tiger here, albeit in odd colours, to me the real tigers of Atlantis were saber-toothed tigers. More on that when I do a piece on the fauna of Thuria.

So onto my mapping project...

I liked the 1970's map by Tim Kirk, even though parts were wrong (lots of discussion on the Conan forums about Thurian Age maps, for those interested). The "Hyborian Heresies" also give a good overview of where the major continents and places are in the world. So working from those basics, I've used a simple hexmapping program to start making my own game-ready maps of the Thurian Age. The Kirk map was my original basis, I gridded it up and re-drew it in the software as best can be done with hexes, and then I started moving to new territories adjacent to the original map.

So here's my map of the main Thurian continent, showing the Seven Empires (including individual baronies of Valusia). Each hex is 36 miles across, 30 miles up-down. Clicking on the map will bring up a much better view.

Directly to the east lies more of the...Eastern Empires, as well as Khari and Lemuria:

Couple of comments for anyone who studies these in detail:

• If you're fitting these together, there's a one hex column overlap between the two maps;
• The red lines are national or provincial (in Valusia only) borders, however, some borders are defined by rivers, so if a red border suddenly ends, assume the river continues it;
• The Eastern Empires are actually three empires of nine nations total (3, 1, and 5);
• Lacking a better/cooler name, I like Dale Rippke's idea that Acheron could well have been the name of the land of the Giant-Kings.

I've gotten most of the map of the lands immediately south of the Seven Empires done, including Kaa-U and the rest of (old) Acheron.

More on the nations and armies of the Thurian Age in future posts.