Haralamb Gudvanger

A converted Nurgle Lord from Games Workshop painted in October 2016.

I invented this character back when I did my zombie ogre crypt horrors, I needed some guy who stitched them together - so I looked up a name and bought a Nurgle Lord mini for him. At first, he was just a weird, mutated necromancer, but then got into a much more important character, with unique properties and introducing yet another faction into my story. I got to like him very much, that's why I really did my best on the mini and drew that little comic for him.

As for the model - conversion can be seen here - he became a collector of hands, gathering them and using for some unholy purpose. I tried my best while painting and I'm still very satisfied with him - I finally learned the true value of strong contrasts. I also tried to make a puddle on the base, using Vallejo Still Water, but it didn't turn out that good. I had to use about 20 layers - and the middle part is still concave... Ghoul-gnoblars were a late addition, as I got those guys from the Ironguts set. Those merry companions of his fill the base and frame the flesh-stitcher nicely - I will make a whole unit of those later.

Being faced with an impending Chaos incursion on Varsavia, von Greifens needed some way to tip the scale on their favor. One possibility was to force their enemies through the Bog - a giant swamp that since time immemorial resisted any attempts to map or civilize it - rarely anyone makes out of it alive, even less make it out sane. But before throwing Chaos marauders into it, Sorin was sent to gather some intelligence about it. The vampire found himself surrounded by thick fog and attacked by bizarre creatures. Not so easily fooled, he managed to locate the dilapidated stone building in the center, hiding enormous underground labyrinth of passages and rooms. After fighting his way through it, he was approached by the master of the place. A strange, corpulent creature, surrounding himself with severed hands and deformed servants - he called himself Haralamb Gudvanger. The vampire, normally very confident in his abilities, found himself confused and completely unable to assess his opponent. Before the situation could escalate into something unpredictable, the creature said that he’s impressed with the vampire reaching so far into its lair and offered a deal - a cooperation to further both parties goals. Gudvanger wanted to communicate with the rest of the world and use the influence vampires got in the land - and in return, he will help them fight off the barbarians. That meant giving them some of his undead creations - for he was a necromantic master of fleshcrafting. Gudvanger’s monsters were certainly helpful, but their master was way too enigmatic to be simply accepted as an ally - only time will tell how this cooperation will turn out.

And the miniature itself: