Gudvanger's Homunculi

Back when I was working on Haralamb Gudvanger I added two small 'helpers' on his base to improve the composition a bit and make the base seem less empty. They were made out of some random gnoblars with ghoul heads - and they worked surprisingly well! I thought to myself back then that I could make a whole unit of them, a whole gang of little nice helpers of that pleasant character.

Years later I actually bought some gnoblars and even later than that I finally managed to finish painting them! Gathering some extras from the Ogre kits, bits collections and an actually bought unit, I gathered 30 of them and used almost all of my ghoul heads on them. Beyond that, no conversions were made, so I didn't bother with posting the WIP version.

I went through them a bit rougher and faster than I do on my heroes, but those little buggers still took more time than I expected! During the painting process, they were quite colorful (which worried me a bit) but after several layers of grime, they achieved a proper look. Perhaps even too much - they blend together as a monochrome mass, but I think I can live with that - and I'll leave the judgment to you readers.

Despite the irritating process of painting such a (relatively) big unit, I am pretty happy with them - they kinda look like the creepy 'little men' from the forest - just as it was intended for them.

Anyone unfortunate getting lost in the Black Bog - or foolish enough to wander there of their own volition, will find themselves carefully observed by little men, the homunculi of the foul Flesh-stitcher Haralamb Gudvanger. Created through unclear means and materials, they are his loyal and very nasty servants. They study the newcomers from afar, judging if their body parts or equipment could be useful to their master. If not, the little constructs will try to lead them out of the bog - not without playing some mean tricks on them before, of course. If yes, then the homunculi will torment them for an extended amount of time time, leading through the treacherous bog, before finally descending upon them to literally hack them down to pieces. Besides having sheer numbers, they are also surprisingly strong for their size - they have tricked thus many foolhardy adventurers. Still, they are cowardly by nature and prefer to dispatch intruders by leading them into other, much more dangerous creatures living in the Bog.

First, the whole nasty mass:

And then the individuals (most of them) - they may be small and disposable, but they have enough character to warrant showing them a little more up-close.