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Raumm, Early of Hell -- heroic-sized 15mm fantasy
The savage Northmen of the upper coasts had long worshipped a cruel, devious demon who overturns and changes world affairs to suit some devious demonic purpose. Scratching out a living, raiding by sea, taking slaves and skulls, they wished for this "great earle" to make an appearance and grant them dominion over the world. For centuries they beseeched him to appear, until finally he took notice.
Boiling up out of a fiussure in the earth came first not the demon himself, but a Great Red Dragon, the likes of which had not been seen in the world for many a century. It quickly surveyed the ragtag band of outcasts and renegades who had been praying at the fissure, ate those who did not fit into Raumm's plan, and gathered the rest. Raumm then appeared himself, radiating dark glory, conferring great power onto those remaining, the first of many pawns in his game. He commanded the Northmen to quickly gather their confederates, the greatest warriors and raiders, and to march on Azerbai, the great capital of Lyrium, the mighty kingdom to the south of the Northmen's domains. Then the dragon grabbed a servant girl, and the two great beasts flew south in a gust of superheated air and flame.
Many Northmen heeded the call, including some of the most prominent of all the warriors, for they had heard it told that the "God Raumm" -- whose symbol was the crow they bore of their shields -- had at last appeared, and each saw himself a king with wealth and privilege. They found no opposition in Lyrium at all except the occasional unit of soldiers dead on the ground. Arriving at Azerbai, these brutal northmen found the gate that had so long prevented their entry was wide open, awaiting them ….
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THE GREAT RED DRAGON
Raumm, Earl of Hell, commands thirty legions. Greatest and most terrible of Raumm's lieutenants was the Great Red Dragon, who remained in Lyrium throughout, commanding Raumm's legions in the long absences of the great demon earl. This cunning creature was a great tactician, cynical manipulator and, on the battlefield, a veritable living engine of destruction.
This model is pewter with resin wings. It is provided with a small Y-shaped base --the large round base shown in the image is not included. The knight figurine in the image is shown for scale only and is not included. HotT gamers note that the dragon fits on a 40mm by 60mm rectangular base. The dragon requires a little modeling skill with mixed-media models to construct.
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THE GOR
Raumm, Earl of Hell, commands thirty legions. The most numerous of these by far are the GOR, a wandering myriad of mercenary gremlins. Raumm's agents hired this force, partly to deny its hire to his enemies, but mostly to bulk up his own forces, as the pugnacious GOR are in vast numbers..
The Gremlins were redesignated the GOR (Gremlins of Raumm) and given eagle-headed banners. They happily took the new banners and, although they did not worship the horrible demon who had hired them, they had no issue with being called the GOR as long as they were regularly paid! They were.
GOR are very slightly smaller that humans, but not by much -- appearing to be short men rather than inhumanly small. They manufacture and universally wear a thin plate armour which they like the appearance of and makes them feel protected, but it is in fact not much better protection than say a chainmail shirt and light helmet. Their infantry, the most numerous of the GOR soldiery, form large blocks of archers protected to the front by spearmen who shield the archers from enemy shooting and use their spears to ward off enemy mounted or flyers. On the flanks of these big blocks, impetuous, brave young GOR males form small detachments of swordsmen to protect the flanks, or if the occasion arises, to outflank the enemy themselves.
Mixed in with the infantry are the robed GOR sorcerers. Each has a cauldron from which fireballs can be drawn and cast at considerable distance, greatly aiding the massed archery tactic of the infantry blocks.
On the wings of the army are GOR mounted archers riding Be-ogs, often supported by GOR with spears, all riding in open order, scouting or outflanking. Sometimes spear riders have armoured Be-ogs and fight in close formation. The decisive offensive arm of the GOR army are the chained cataphracts, spear GOR on armoured Be-ogs which have been chained together, and immediately behind them mounted archers. These roll forward, supported by their intrinsic archery, striking the enemy hard and fighting stubbornly until he is overthrown.
Since all the GOR move as a massive tribe, the females, young and elderly all are in the force as well, typically waiting with the baggage, but it's not at all unusual to see them form up in mobs behind the armoured and disciplined ranks of the GOR units, fighting with soup ladles, rocks, sticks, or whatever else is at hand. These put up much more resistance than human noncombatants, and on at least one occasion the irascibility of the GOR noncombatants held off an otherwise victorious enemy force long enough for the broken GOR regiments to reform, and attack the enemy in the rear, winning the day.
Design notes: The GOR are about 15mm to eye. The GOR force structure was patterned on the Han Chinese army. The chained cataphracts are designed so that three spearmen with armoured Be-ogs chained together should be able to fit on a 40x40 base to double as Han Chinese heavy chariots, with two mounted archers set further back on the base in between the spearmen to the front. Horse archers and other light or medium cavalry in the Han army can be doubled by the GOR riding on unarmoured Be-ogs, two or three to a base. GOR sorcerers are meant to double as Han artillery! Naturally you can use the models however you like, but that was the army design philosophy. The little horns on the GOR helmets have a thin bit of flash in order to permit them to cast in. It can be left on and painted black, or easily removed with an Xacto knife.
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DEMONS OF RAUMM
Raumm, Earl of Hell, commands thirty legions. His most powerful and terrifying forces are demonic.
Demons of Raumm.The chief legion under Raumm's command was the Demons of Raumm, tall creatures having the appearance of humanoid eagles. They were terrible beyond compare with their demon blades, fencing with incredible skill and strength, the demons themselves completely silent and impassive as they fought, which was utterly unnerving. Each unit was accompanied by a flaming banner from which the sorcerous standardbearer was able to shoot crackling bolts of energy at enemy units, turning the unfortunate victim in its ranks into an insane flaming creature like a fire elemental. The Trumpet of Raumm carried by the musician blasted a shriek few humans could endure, and could be used as a deadly weapon in close combat.
The Beast Bokkor. Demons have only very limited power unless they have equal degrees of hatred and cunning, for all the hatred in Hell is of no use unless the demon has the cunning to manipulate, deceive and possess. After all, they are only intruders in the sphere of the living.
One such demon who lacked any subtlety whatsoever was The Beast Bokkor, who, for failing Shaitan countless times on countless dark tasks, was imprisoned for an eon under the ice of the frozen lake Kocytus, so as not to disrupt affairs in Hades. And so it was when Raumm took command of a great kingdom in the realm of man and surveyed events. He soon learned that a mangy homicidal boar, grown to simply incredible size, was loose upon the land, and had killed and eaten several pilgrims. And at last a task arose that seamlessly fit the temperament of the Beast Rokkor. The Beast Rokkor, summoned from the ice by Raumm, soon located and possessed the body of this gigantic, dimwitted boar. On the battlefield this beast is an indestructible battering ram, sending rank after rank of the best armoured foes flying through the air as it plows through enemy regiments, seeking the enemy commander in chief, as suits Raumm’s plan.
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THE NORTHMEN
Other than the terrifying demons of Raumm, his most powerful legions are the Armoured Northmen of Raumm. These sadistic, semi-barbarous sea raiders have always worshipped him, for aeons displaying crows on their shields and flags. At the time of Raumm's seizure of the great kingdom of Lyrium, at his beckoning thousands of Northmen descended on that kingdom in a sort of black pilgrimage, seeking supernatural power and glory. The weak were tossed into the furnace of Hell, often incinerated and devoured by the Great Red Dragon — Raumm’s surrogate on this plane of existence. The strong found their own abilities enhanced even further, and traded in their crude chainmail hauberks, bearded axes and round plank shields for vastly stronger and more powerful equipment, manufactured in the sophisticated arsenals of Lyrium, ensorcelled with dark power by demons lurking in the forges.
The terrifying Armoured Northmen of Raumm are more powerful than even the seven foot tall Cultist Brutes, their rivals for power in Raumm’s tumultuous kingdom. They are powerfully imbued with hellish power, and some say their armour has become their skin, melded to their very flesh. They occupy the center of the battlefield, advancing slowly, cutting down all opposition, never faltering, never breaking formation, almost impossible to kill ....
The two sets of Armoured Northmen of Raumm warriors are shown mixed together in the images for the codes. One set has three poses of swordsmen and three poses of axemen, the other set had three poses with maces and three with warhammers.
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CULTIST BRUTES OF RAUMM
After Raumm, Earl of Hell, and his marshal, the Great Red Dragon, killed and ate the wise old king of the ancient, powerful kingdom of Lyrium, Raumm turned the young bride of this elderly monarch to his ways, to the dark side, to his malevolent service. This tall, shy, bookish beauty transformed immediately, now greedy, temperamental, and imbued by Raumm with immense magical power. Standing six feet tall herself, with a mane of raven hair, she set about raising a legion of huge muscular men, taller even than herself, from thugs, bullies and ruffians throughout the known world. Promised power and the opportunity to dominate others, they flocked to her service. None are allowed any hair, this being the queen’s prerogative alone. They are called the queen’s ravagers or, more often, the Brutes of Raumm, for they quickly took to worshipping the demonic earl who wildly spun the Wheel of Fortuna everywhere he went. Once street toughs, they are now a palace elite.
Most Brute Mobs are armed with swords, axes, maces and warhammers, and kept in some semblance of order by their commanders. The truly criminally insane -- the Berserkers -- are revered above all and provided with enormous battle axes to scythe down the enemy before themselves being killed. On the flanks ride the fast-moving Brute Raiders on horseback. Commanding all, the Witch Queen of Azerbai is carried forth by Brutes on a palanquin, casting bolts of blue fire into the enemy ranks. Around her sometimes stands a close-order phalanx of Brutes possessing that rarest of skills, for them anyway -- a measure of stoic discipline.
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