2206 - This Week in Hobby
Wrapping up the Alabastrine Candle, literally throwing dice, and heckin' good doggos
Worldbuilding for the Alabastrine Candle, Part 4
We've talked about the who, the what, and the where of the Alabastrine Candle. A small Order from a little-known backwater where miracles are about to happen. There's one last bit to consider: how to paint the models.
The Adepta Sororitas are sometimes called the gun nuns, for good reason. Their default color palettes match common religious motifs. Lots of black, white, and red. The Order of the Sacred Rose puts white front and center, then accents with black and red. A stylized rose symbol is often painted low on any capes or robes.
Picking a color scheme is always a challenge in two parts. The first, to pick colors that would look good together. The second, to pick colors I won't hate painting. White is a notoriously painful color scheme to get right. Advances in painting technology have made some shades of white easier than others. Citadel's contrast range has Apothecary White, which isn't actually a white paint. It's the correct shades for a white undercoat.
Another concern is that I want my armies to look distinct from each other. I don't want to use the same colors over and over again. We haven't talked about my other armies much (I promise, we will!) but they're in the back of my mind.
Step one, what are the primary colors implied by the lore? The Sisters are likely to want to wear their faith on their literal sleeve. The Alabastrine Candle itself implies white, from the stone, and yellow from the flame. The Obsidian Sepulcher implies black. This is almost, but not quite, the colors of the Order of the Sacred Rose, their parent Order.
I have one other army that uses white as a primary color: The Ghostwolf. There are some open questions about The Ghostwolf. (Really, a lot of questions, many of them by design.) In this case I mean questions about how to paint them. I'm currently trending blue-grey, red, or black as their accenting colors. That won't conflict with the Sisters.
Step two, which colors go where? One idea would be to mimic a candle with yellow at the top of the mini, white through the body, and black on the accents. It could work, but it'd be a little too on-the-nose. Another way to lead with the candle is to think about the proportion of white to yellow. The bulk of a candle is the wax, not the flame, so the bulk of the models should be white.
White with black accents is the default color scheme for the Order of the Sacred Rose. The Alabastrine Candle only recently split off in the last few decades. In that time they likely would have made only slight adjustments to their raiment. All-white armor. Cloth that's black on the outside and yellow within.
Step three, what about iconography? As painted by 'Eavy Metal the Sisters usually have their Order visible somewhere. I'll be honest, I'm nowhere near the level of talent needed to freehand a candle icon. I do have access to a color laser printer, and it's possible to print decals. I'm one commissioned candle SVG away from being able to make as many of them as I need. Likely in yellow, to help tie the colors together.
Imagine a Sister, proud, white ceramite gleaming in the sun. Vestments fluttering in the wind, alternating black and yellow as the fabric curls. Defiant in the face of insurmountable odds. Sure in her faith that the Emperor will guide and protect. A group of her fellow sisters approach from behind. They gaze out over a sea of the enemy. Their work begins.
Did you enjoy this exploration of the Order of the Alabastrine Candle? Next week I start talking about something near and dear to my heart. You won't want to miss it.
Shiny Trash (New Releases)
Games Workshop
Eldritch Omens arrives! Perceive 15 all-new sculpts for the Chaos Space Marines and Aeldari forces. The only thing in the box that isn't new and exclusive is a Forgefiend. As usual, the box will be up for preorder this Saturday.
TTRPGs
Grok?! reminds me more of a community theater improv group than a traditional RPG. With a 24-page full-color booklet, this system focuses on the ways players can change the world. Failure isn't punished thanks to "no, but..." mechanics on failed rolls. Better successes lead to "yes, and..." rewards.
Just look at Heckin' Good Doggos. Look at it! Become the goodest guys, gals, and non-binary pals. Sniff your way through the neighborhood, solving mysteries, making friends. Banishing ancient spirits. Scavenging archeotech. You know. Dog stuff.
Throw some dice. Literally. One More Quest is a dexterity RPG with a core mechanic of throwing dice at a target. Oh and sometimes you have to throw them in very specific ways. And did I mention "throwing" in this context means actually throwing?
Programming Notes
I'm still considering changing the publishing date to Tuesday or Wednesday. Monday will conflict with other obligations sooner or later. I want to make sure the information in the newsletter is fresh, and keep a schedule that PAX won't make me break.
In Other News
Zine Month launches in a few days. I'm excited to dig into what's on offer to find the choicest morsels of TTRPG content to bring to you, my local reader.