Sir_Godspeed 263 Report post Posted January 18 I wonder how the sable riders avoid getting poked by their mounts' horns if they rear their heads. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soltakss 1,954 Report post Posted January 18 4 hours ago, Sir_Godspeed said: I wonder how the sable riders avoid getting poked by their mounts' horns if they rear their heads. Training Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M Helsdon 1,439 Report post Posted January 18 Rider next... Regarding Sables - I suspect either the riders put corks or similar on the tips or trim them... 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atgxtg 708 Report post Posted January 18 22 minutes ago, M Helsdon said: What the *%@# is that thing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M Helsdon 1,439 Report post Posted January 18 (edited) 36 minutes ago, Atgxtg said: What the *%@# is that thing? He's a Black Horse of Ethilrist's Black Horse Troop. [Using description in latest RQ Bestiary.] Edited January 18 by M Helsdon 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
womble 189 Report post Posted January 18 1 hour ago, M Helsdon said: He's a Black Horse of Ethilrist's Black Horse Troop. [Using description in latest RQ Bestiary.] Entirely congruent with the illustration in the Sourcebook, p209, if you're looking for further 'source' material  I recognised it immediately! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atgxtg 708 Report post Posted January 19 It's scary.😵 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 157 Report post Posted January 19 46 minutes ago, Atgxtg said: It's scary.😵 As it should be ... 😉 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atgxtg 708 Report post Posted January 19 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Oracle said: As it should be ... 😉 Why can't demonic flesh eating horses from the underworld look cute and cuddly?😉 Little Shop of Horrors meets Mister Ed: "Feed me, Wilbur!" Edited January 19 by Atgxtg 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 157 Report post Posted January 19 6 hours ago, Atgxtg said: Why can't demonic flesh eating horses from the underworld look cute and cuddly?😉 Little Shop of Horrors meets Mister Ed: "Feed me, Wilbur!" You're a mean guy ... 😎 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joerg 1,752 Report post Posted January 19 11 hours ago, M Helsdon said: Rider next... Regarding Sables - I suspect either the riders put corks or similar on the tips or trim them... Very nice. There are numerous manifestations of Darkness ór Hell that might be added to individualize the "horses", and possibly wafts of Darkness emanating from them and alternating between other features and more horse-like ones. I wonder whether you have taken the "fight like cats with bite and claw" a bit too literal with the feet. Cats' feet are part of the "spring" mechanism that is the entire feline body, The text says they have fierce claws like a cat instead of hoves. Making them cat-pawed is perhaps a bit too cute. I wouldn't have them walk on the soles behind the claws like cats do. but rather sort of "knuckle" on the claws, leaving three-clawed knuckle imprints with two claws more mobile and not used to push the beast from the ground but to hook and rake opponents. Given their role as mounts, I don't think that diokos horses use the "rake victim with back claws while rolling on the ground" style much if at all. Pouncing a prey is somewhat hard with those stilt legs that makes them horse-like in appearance, too. Do these horses wear their eternal snarl, showing the entirety of their impressive fangs with their double-scissor-like dentition that may cause wounds similar to a raptor's beak, or do they have retractable lips that allow them to cover some of it under normal conditions?  We know that these horses are carnivorous, and I guess that humanoids or similar ground-dwelling primates would be part of their natural prey, along with herd beasts like sheep. Not sure about how they would hunt larger herd beasts like cattle or bigger antelopes. Their attacks would probably still resemble those of rearing stallions, but with sharp raking claws rather than just blunt hooves, and the claws on the hind legs usable only on downed prey/foes. Diokos demons don't trample, they tear up. They probably hunt in packs, using coordinated chases to isolate prey, take it down, then tear it up in a spectacular and grisly way, not bothering to kill the prey when they tear out flesh and juicy innards. The remains of their feasts aren't tidy at all, and probably provide a good meal for whichever scavengers go after the carrion, but only when the black horses are safely away. Being underworld creatures, they probably feast on the fear and pain of their prey almost as much as on the bodily substance.  When they have riders, the riders get to use lances and possibly missile weapons to increase the reach of the demon, and otherwise protect the neck, back and flanks of the team with hand weapons and shields as used by western mounted forces. On the battlefield, they may reduce their feeding frenzy to taking coup, a nice mouthful of enemy flesh (whether mount or humanoid) en passant, mutilating whichever downed meat there is with their claws. Getting them to act as disciplined cavalry force is a proof of the extraordinary leadership abilities Ethilrist possesses, but having learned the efficiency of these, the diokos demons have adopted them, battling with their more bestial instincts on an individual base. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M Helsdon 1,439 Report post Posted January 19 (edited) 13 hours ago, Joerg said: I wonder whether you have taken the "fight like cats with bite and claw" a bit too literal with the feet. Cats' feet are part of the "spring" mechanism that is the entire feline body, The text says they have fierce claws like a cat instead of hoves. Making them cat-pawed is perhaps a bit too cute. I wouldn't have them walk on the soles behind the claws like cats do. but rather sort of "knuckle" on the claws, leaving three-clawed knuckle imprints with two claws more mobile and not used to push the beast from the ground but to hook and rake opponents. Given their role as mounts, I don't think that diokos horses use the "rake victim with back claws while rolling on the ground" style much if at all. Pouncing a prey is somewhat hard with those stilt legs that makes them horse-like in appearance, too. The main 'design' thought was that lions and horses are, in Glorantha, I believe, Solar animals, and that if a horse were to become a carnivore it would develop some leonine attributes. The alternative, which I tried, was that the Black Horses in Hell 'devolved' towards their hippogriff ancestor, but eagle's feet didn't look very good on an animal that cannot fly. The image has been 'liked' by Jeff and Steve Perrin made a positive comment, so if this were entirely wrong, I'd have expected those gentlemen to correct me. Whilst the original is pen-and-ink, I could have changed the feet. [In addition to the illustrations in the Guide and Sourcebook, another design inspiration was Charles Stross' short novel Equoid which features  carnivorous 'unicorns'.  13 hours ago, Joerg said: Do these horses wear their eternal snarl, showing the entirety of their impressive fangs with their double-scissor-like dentition that may cause wounds similar to a raptor's beak, or do they have retractable lips that allow them to cover some of it under normal conditions? I don't know. Why don't you get closer to their enclosure? Don't mind the barrier... Just don't get too close... [Screams, chomping sounds.] Oh dear, call Health & Safety. We've had another accident.   Edited January 19 by M Helsdon 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M Helsdon 1,439 Report post Posted January 19 Another inspiration was a Mesopotamian lamassu (variety with a lion's body). 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Atgxtg 708 Report post Posted January 19 8 hours ago, Oracle said: You're a mean guy ... 😎 The odd thing is that the (original) film and TV series were from the same time, yet the two styles/genres clash greatly. So it easy to visualize what the two would would be like if combined, and yet oh so wrong. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Byll 170 Report post Posted January 20 On 18 January 2019 at 1:45 PM, Sir_Godspeed said: I wonder how the sable riders avoid getting poked by their mounts' horns if they rear their heads. It's all in the neck action. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M Helsdon 1,439 Report post Posted January 20 (edited) Horse and rider. Not quite finished - generated to check relative sizes and position. Black Horses are larger than ordinary horses... Size comparison check as well. [This is an image size reduced version so a bit fuzzy.] Hmm. Think I need to angle the girth strap forwards. Â Edited January 20 by M Helsdon 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir_Godspeed 263 Report post Posted January 21 On 1/18/2019 at 9:32 PM, M Helsdon said: Regarding Sables - I suspect either the riders put corks or similar on the tips or trim them...  Makes sense. That being said, I suspect a RW culture would probably remove the horns entirely, as many cattle breeders have, as they don't really contribute much. Then again, they might've kept them if, say, removing the horns disrupted the mating process or something. In Glorantha, I suspect the rationale for keeping them would just be "that's how it's always been", followed by "something something myths". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sir_Godspeed 263 Report post Posted January 21 Just a quick sidenote - is it true what I've heard that most of the Black Horse Troop riders end up as food/victims of their own infernal horse after a while? I think I remember reading that somewhere, as a sort of "terrible price" for being a rider or something. Might be fan material. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M Helsdon 1,439 Report post Posted January 21 And... 'finished'. 8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M Helsdon 1,439 Report post Posted January 23 (edited) Today, I have a mystery. Over the last two days, have drawn two sketches; one mostly worked (below, though it requires a little more digital modification) and the other did not, and will have to be redrawn. Both used this crosshatching technique using a 0.05mm pen, both on the same paper, but when scanned one looks mostly okay, and the other is an awful mess. [With the one below, I messed up the shield and had to redraw it, and then mate it digitally; I find drawing an aspis shield very tricky even using French Curves...] Edited January 23 by M Helsdon 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M Helsdon 1,439 Report post Posted January 25 Not many more to do... Chapter Number of sketches Additional sketches required Introduction 0 0 Fundamentals of Warfare 4 1-2 Arms and Armor 10 1-2 Regional Warfare 20 1 The Battlefield 16 0 Transport and Mobility 0 0 Fortifications and Siege Warfare 1 0 Arcane Warfare  3 0 Gods of War 0 0 Armies of Central Genertela 0 0 Hero Wars Army Lists 49 miniatures  Appendices 0 0 The question will then be - do I continue? Many units in the Army List not yet illustrated, but information about many is slim to none... 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
soltakss 1,954 Report post Posted January 25 21 minutes ago, M Helsdon said: The question will then be - do I continue? YES! 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brootse 44 Report post Posted January 25 18 minutes ago, soltakss said: YES! Â Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Darvall 9 Report post Posted January 26 11 hours ago, soltakss said: YES! Â Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Runeblogger 200 Report post Posted January 26 18 hours ago, soltakss said: YES! Of course. But please tell us, who is the skull guy standing next to the centurion? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
