Blood Bowl Markers - 'Infected Pallid Ale' Kegs

Continuing the streak for my beloved Blood Bowl Team: the Putrid Punters! Thematically related to the previous entry, the Horticulturist, here I am with some tasty, healthy and organic beer.

There is a generic upgrade for every team, the "Bloodweiser Kegs/Babes" which are supposed to reinvigorate the players after they are knocked out - and having some neat marker for those is easy enough. Still, for my Punters, I wanted something special, something that would fit well their alternative take on biology. I had this giant bell laying around and it was a perfect use for it. The second one took some more thinking, but I think it's not worse - a walking gland full of beer, which could be distributed through a fleshy tube - a more organic approach. Both were based on 40K poxwalkers - those small guys are perfect for generic Nurgle dudes. WIP post can be found HERE.

The painting was even better than converting in my opinion. First, there was this giant bell and metal is always welcome. Secondly, the sacs showing between the fleshy bits on the right one were supposed to look half-transparent, showing some contents inside - I never painted something like this, which is also nice. Thirdly, after all was painted I had to do all the water effects, with a large amount of resin in the bell and even more beady foam - also lots of fun. I'm quite satisfied with those.

Another note - I painted many nurgly and undead pieces in my hobby career, with its fair amount of gore and unsavory details, but in my opinion, the "walking keg" is my most disgusting miniature by far.

Edit: Forgot to mention, but this another entry for the small challenge "If not minis, then what?", so about what would you be doing if not hobbying. If I had this crazy amount of time, I would definitely try brewing my own beer. Perhaps more palatable to humans that this thing here.

While most Blood Bowl players and fans love to drink copious amounts of Bloodweiser, the Putrid Punters are beer snobs who bring their own hand-crafted kegs to every party, dismissing famous brand as watered-down parody of real beer. Created in their microbrewery by good Mr.Rotlaug, the Infected Pallid Alle (I.P.A.) is their beverage of choice - with just the right amount of foul bitterness mixed with tangy aftertaste of decay. They bring it to matches either in giant bells or drink it straight from the tap. Only with this behind the sidelines they can be expected to get up from knockouts more often.

Blood Bowl Nurgle Staff - Mr. Rotlaug the Horticulturist

It seems there will be quite a streak of Blood Bowl staff right now - and it's all for the smelly Putrid Punters of Nurgle!

After the Head Coach it's time for the Horticulturist. He's basically a wizard addition for the team, but the whole idea od a nurgly gardener with his free-range bio-vegetables was sweet and I had lots of fun putting this little "almost-a-diorama" together. The WIP post can be found HERE.

Festus was used as a base, because he's basically that as he already is. Still, that wasn't enough, so I have him a snazzy hat, a shovel, lots of healthy produce and a referee to taste his refreshments. He's supposed to be also a beer brewer for my team, so I wanted to put some foam on the guy tasting the brew - a new challenge for me. I made it with small glass beads mixed with gloss varnish and some pale green paint. Does it look okay?

Mr. Rotlaug here is also my answer to yet another challenge amongst polish bloggers, this time it's "If not minis, then what?", as a question what would one be doing if not wasting time and money on this hobby. I live in a modern (poorly lit) apartment, so no farming for me, but I do enjoy my houseplants and would probably work on them a little bit more if not painting minis. Close enough for the topic IMHO!

Every self-respecting Blood Bowl player knows that proper diet and good nutrition are the keys to success on the pitch - and Nurgle players are no different. Pedantic about the quality of their veggies, they often keep a small garden with only the best organic, bio, fair-trade and free-range greens for their high nutritional needs. Those who want to be even more serious about it employ a professional, a horticulturist - and the good Mr. Rotlaug is the one working currently with the Punters. While quite peculiar and difficult to understand (thick dialect developed in Averland), he’s nonetheless extremely knowledgeable and his veggies are truly exemplary. They are so good, actually, that they can be deployed on the pitch as a weapon - being so healthy, they are actually disgusting and distracting to other players that grew up on Big Moot Sandwiches and Orca-Cola - even causing stomach difficulties! Thus, the Punters rely on Mr. Rotlaug every time when they want to make a point of their exceptionally healthy diet and crush their weaker, poorly-fed opponents.

Blood Bowl Nurgle Staff - Marggh Mawgino the Head Coach

After a really long break, here I am again with some content for my beloved Blood Bowl team, the Putrid Punters!

This time it's the head coach, a character that gives you such a rarely used advantage, he's practically useless... but he's still an important person and a great modelling opportunity. As I mentioned in the WIP post, an ogre's body was the core idea for this conversion, all to make him this absolute unit of a coach. It works, he's towering over all his players!

I had to remind myself how to paint this yellow skin, but painting him was an overall pleasant experience. I have some other small things for this band planned, so this was a good warmup.

Through all the years and many time jumps, the Putrid Punters relied on their ancient and trusted coach Oughustus. Unfortunately, the stationary life of a coach made him susceptible to growing greater and more glorious with every season, until he became simply too big to fit in the time portal. Instead, he was consumed by the warp, never to be seen again. Some journalists argue that he ascended to daemonhood, watching the Punters from the comfort of Grandfather Nurgle’s garden. Hard pressed, the team pitched in and recruited a relatively new, fresh and fit head coach Marggh Mawgino. While he’s not as experienced as his predecessor, he knows much more theory and the modern take on Blood Bowl - so maybe together with his ancient, veteran players, they’ll be able to compensate for each other’s weaknesses and achieve something passable.

Blood Bowl Nurgle Staff - Infectius the Plague Doctor

Now this model was actually painted before my hiatus - and even photographed, but I just couldn't go through yet another round of editing. So, using my new setup, I retook the photos and here he is, sorry for the delay.

The colors were chosen to fit my Putrid Punters, with the notable exception for the white cloak. I painted it this way to make him look just a tiny bit more like your usual doctor. Just in case his helpful nurse, a sign, a doctor's bag weren't enough of a clue. Now he can join the team as the first proper member of the staff - first one of the many more to come!

The WIP for him can be found HERE.

Even if you are not interested in Blood Bowl, Blood Bowl may be interested in you! Such is the life of poor Infectius, a quiet, nerdy boy who always had a passion for all things biological. That evolved later into devoting himself to Nurgle and studying all his diseases and peculiar physiology of his beloved creatures. He would spend the rest of his days cooped up in his laboratory if not a recruitment organized by one of the high-ranking daemons. He wanted to create a guild of Plague Doctors, as a Nurglite alternative to Blood Bowl apothecaries. Being too timid and awkward to refuse, Infectius went with the daemon - and unfortunately for him - proved himself to be an exemplary doctor, being able to patch up even the weirdest of bodies and injuries. Then he got together with the Putrid Punters and the rest is history. The jocks from the team still occasionally make fun of him, but at least they respect him as the last chance to get back, should their regenerative powers fail them. And Infectius, while stressed and anxious most of the time, can at least find some meaning and purpose in his difficult task, which also involves endlessly learning new things about Grandfather Nurgle and his devotees.

Blood Bowl Markers - Pleasant Buzzbugs

Once again I'm here with a small project that's actually painted - re-roll markers for my Nurgle team.

While absolutely anything can be used for this purpose, my Putrid Punters are now a very long-term idea when I want to have anything for them that fits the theme, so all the staff, star players, scenery, up to the whole stadium at some point. That's why I wanted those little bugs to serve as markers and they will deplete as I use them up - I don't expect to have more that 4 re-rolls for them anyway.

Eyestinger Swarms from Kill Team: Rogue Trader box were perfect for this role - small, characterful and fitting (despite coming from WH40K). I converted them just a little bit - some details on the bases to replace those overly science-fiction ones. I am actually surprised how well those orange wings turned out with the yellowish-greenish tones I used for their skin, I have to consider using one of the bigger winged models for something! Maybe a cameraman...

Every time a Nurgle team trains, they sweat a lot. And I mean, a lot! The peculiar fragrance this creates attracts certain insects, that the Punters came to call them “pleasant buzzbugs”. They swarm up around the stadium during those preparatory sessions and often stick around for the match itself too. The buzzing noise they create is very pleasant (hence the name!) to the followers of Nurgle, filling them with confidence about themselves and their good god. This means that the more bugs, the better they are prepared to play! Still, should they run out of favor of Grandfather Nurgle during the play, the bugs will lose their interest and fly away - giving the opposing team a signal that maybe the rotting ones are finally running out of steam!

Blood Bowl Nurgle Extras - The Pimplettes

I guess it's time to post something else than the neverending posts about weird beastmen, something painted would be good - so here are the Cavorting Nurglings, an unique small inducement available to the Nurgle Teams in Blood Bowl. I have a pile of primed minis ready to be painted and I chose those guys here as a nice start of going through it.

Unexpectedly, they weren't as nice as I wanted - quite a lot of detail and a lot of different skinshades. Still, they were a nice change of pace and a pleasant return to the Putrid Punters project.

The WIP post is HERE - I took a normal Nurgling base from GW and Bloodbowlified them a bit - added a ball-eating one, some helmets, a hotdog, etc. Their pose was perfect to write the team name on their backs.

Sloth the Sloth is legendarily shy and his handlers have tried out many different ways of encouraging him to actually move onto the pitch and play. One of those was getting a small bunch of Nurglings to throw him as snacks - which seemed to work for a few matches. Until that is, they bought a particularly feisty batch of them. When they saw the beast approaching them, they quickly cut their ropes and ran in all directions, causing all kinds of chaos and mischief. Sloth the Sloth followed them all around the stadium, trashing few stands and causing several fatalities, not bothering to play at all. The Punters lost that one match, but the surviving fans loved the spectacle and the team actually rose in the popularity rankings! The cheeky Nurglings got employed instead of being punished and they formed a merry band called "The Pimplettes" and their presence always rouses the audience to do their best. One or two still gets eaten by Sloth the Sloth occasionally, but it's all in good fun.

Blood Bowl Horticulturalist of Nurgle - WIP

The third character that I kitbashed for my Nurgle Blood Bowl team as a member of the staff, we've had a doctor, the coach - so now there comes the wizard!

Just like Dark Elves and Chaos Chosen before, Nurgle also got their own specific wizard - he's called a Horticulturalist and he's themed heavily around plants and farming. I looked through the range of fantasy minis and I found good old Festus to be the best match for such a character. Still, there was a lot of converting to be done - and now I can say he definitely earns his own post here, it's not that much of a padding as before.

I cut off his staff to turn it into a shovel, he got himself a straw hat, the box on his back is filled with some extra veggies, there are 2 toothy plants behind him on the base, as well as maggots, a buried head and more veggies. Besides that, the poor sod he gives his drink to, he got converted too, so now he has proper pants and a baseball cap - I intend to paint him as a referee.

This one should be fun to paint.

Blood Bowl Star Player - Bilerot Vomitflesh

With this guy, it's finally time to close the drawn-out project of Nurgle Star Players for Bloodbowl (WIP post HERE). After Tolly Glocklinger, Guffle Pusmaw and Bulla Shardhorn I have Bilerot Vomitflesh, a hardy citizen of the Empire turned into a mighty Nurgle Bloater.

He's rather simple on the pitch (just a strong, reliable guy, no gimmicks) and the painting was also simple - just following the same color scheme as earlier with the Putrid Punters. I really like how his pose turned out - he looks really sporty, not just a WFB warrior with weapons clipped off - so the final effect is still quite pleasing to me.

After their first won match in this new season, the Putrid Punters went to a bar to celebrate their unexpected victory. Unfortunately, the Nurgle table (current regulations require bars to separate it from the rest of the interior) was already taken by a single bloater. Not knowing the current scene very well, the Punters didn’t recognize the star Bilerot Vomitsflesh and got into an argument, demanding him to move away as if he was just another random chump. Bilerot, a bit insecure about being the least known Nurgle star, became extra angry - a fierce fight ensued. After the dust settled, amongst the rubbles of the bar, with no winner in sight, both parties were forced to pay for the damages and help with the repairs. The whole experience allowed the Punters to weirdly bond with Bilerot - they cleared up the misunderstandings and praised each other’s hardiness in the brawl. In the end, the star left his agent’s scrying number, telling them to give him a call if they want to play Blood Bowl one day together.

Blood Bowl Nurgle Head Coach - WIP

As you could see with the Plague Doctor already, I couldn't leave my beloved Putrid Punters alone when other teams were getting staff members - so now I'm back with that topic, bringing you a WIP version of my properly massive Head Coach for those diseased and disgusting.

I had plans for this mini for a very long time now, but just about the only thing I was sure was using an ogre's body - the rest was being invented as I was going. This naturally proved to be problematic, as I was really unsure of several design alleys that I wandered into... Still, he is as he is - almost completely covered with greenstuff, becoming almost a humanoid version of my Rotspawn, especially with that big tentacle! To give him some Roman elements, tying with the loose theme of the team, he has a laurel on his cap and a piece of cloth vaguely reminiscing a toga. It's all only superficial because he's a 'modern' character just barely trying to fit in his ancient team somehow.

I can also admit that this is the first project (or a phase of one) that I did in its entirety after getting into the "hiatus", rather than just continuing it from the olden times when I had plenty of time for hobbying.

Blood Bowl Star Player - Bulla Shardhorn

Neglected for a long time, the Nurgle Star Players (WIP post HERE) are back - this time, after vaguely human Tolly Glocklinger and Guffle Pusmaw, it's time for a crazy mutated Pestigor, Bulla Shardhorn. He's the one that comes with half of the possible mutation upgrades, being just a step from turning into a spawn.

When I was doing my standard Pestigors I dismissed the one sculpt provided in the official GW box and converted ones designed for an unaligned Chaos Team. When it came to Bulla, though, it was just perfect, with two alternative heads, lots of horns, and an uncommon pose. I crammed both heads there, added some extra arms, spikes, and quite a lot of branches - doubling as Nurgle-themed horns. The final effect is messy and difficult to read, but I think it fits this particular player.

Bulla Shardhorn, as probably the best known Pestigor in the Blood Bowl business gets invited often to hold speeches, training courses and coaching sessions for other players. Not many stars enjoy doing this, but Bulla really hates it - but the things we do for fame, right? Every time he tries to find another beastman to "translate" his incoherent ramblings. The "assistant" can improvise whatever they want and Bulla will still get praised for his "unique and chaotic" wisdom. Last time it was Mu'mulgor who was helping the star and he did so well, Bulla decided to help his team, the Putrid Punters, at a discount one time. They will use it surely!

Blood Bowl Match Report 2: "Was it all worth it?"

After a long break, it's time for another Match Report. The game was played not that long after the first one, but it took me quite some time to edit the photos and write proper texts. The photos themselves should be a bit better, because I redid them comfortably after the match, allowing for some better lighting and overall setup. There are also some overlays to show certain actions, making the whole thing perhaps a bit clearer. Also, following a comment from Reddit, I added rosters before the report, showing exactly who is playing with who. I hope it's all worth it!

It was a rematch, so the teams are the same as before, only with some extra fun inducements.

The first team, the sturdy Putrid Punters, coached by me, showing up with 12 players: 4 Bloaters, 4 Pestigors, 2 Rotters, a Rotspawn and a Star Player. 50% of the team is sporting at least ST4. (Click the image for better resolution.)

And the second team, the vicious Dreadspear Dragons, showing up with 13 players - 2 Blitzers, 2 Witch Elves, 2 Runners, 1 Assassin, 5 Linemen and a Star Player. Quite unusual for elves to outnumber their opponents! They are, the same as before, coached by my wife.

After the vicious clash from before, the Putrid Punters asked for a rematch - and the Dreadspears Dragons, being who they are, agreed wholeheartedly. The whole thing became quite well known in the local media, so even sponsors appeared, ready to pay something extra for an endorsement - which allowed both teams to employ some star players, raising the stakes just a little bit higher.

Just like before, the Nurgle's favored won the initial coin toss and decided to kick to the elves first. The Druchii chose to set the faster and more experienced pro, Roxanna in the back, to let her quickly and comfortably react to the ball.

After the whistle, the bloodthirsty elves attacked as fast as ever - with the witch Danerys scoring a beautiful opener by knocking down the nimble Pestigor Toandoro. The Punters' reaction inflicted only symbolic damage and failed to halt their enemies' momentum - so the Elves rushed once again, with Assassin Ezion managing to skilfully stab the only agile player on the Nurgle's side. Ted 'the Great' fell down injured on the pitch, his rotten endurance failing as always - with the Plague Doctor commenting that he won't be able to play for a long time after this. That's it for his greatness for now.

On the other side of the pitch, the mighty captain of the elves challenged Best'tigor. While the Blitzer was skillful, he couldn't fell down his foul opponent - so the mighty Pestigor almost immediately counterattacked, taking Raines on his horns, raising him up for everyone to see - and then throwing him down forcefully on the ground! The crowd went crazy! In this situation, no amount of extra armor could help the elf - he got brutally injured and quickly stretchered off from the pitch!

While the players were dishing it out, the Dragons decided to push through along the flank, where Danerys already softened the defense. With the help of her new teammates, Roxanna Darknail finally entered the fray with the ball in her hand. The Punters rushed her just like halflings rushing the buffet tables during the break!

The Nurgle's finest tried their best, they punched and whacked, but they couldn't stop the tricky ball holder once and for all, only pushing her around a bit. In fact, Roxanna needed only a second long lapse in their attention to break free - she leaped high above the fleshy wall of her enemies, landed gracefully and effortlessly ran towards the endzone, showing everyone what does it mean to be pro at Blood Bowl!

It took a moment for everyone to gather their jaws after that spectacle - but it was enough for her - Roxanna was already beyond the Punters' reach and the touchdown was inevitable. Still, they could try to inflict some damage while they could! Mi Kharnn noticed that while the foul witch Danerys was helping the star, she positioned herself dangerously close to the edge of the field. He bellowed a disturbing, gurgling roar and charged at her with his full speed. Nimble as she may be, she couldn't resist that attack and was pushed off - after which the rabid fans took care that she won't be going back on the pitch very soon!

Elves got their first touchdown, but they paid for it dearly - both Blitzers were heavily injured and many more were knocked out.

Next drive, this time the Punters are on the offense. Elves didn't have their kicking specialist Gamorys, so their aim wasn't that good - and the ball landed very close to the line of scrimmage, allowing the beastmen to react quickly, form a cage and move it methodically forward, determined to run the Druchii over with their hooves.

Pestigors found themselves influenced both by the pressure of the time running out and by their own excitement, rushing forward just a little too fast - especially the overly confident, fame-hungry Mu'Mulgor. This allowed to elves to block the exposed beastman and crush their hopes of scoring before the half-time whistle.

In the second half Punters were ready for some real offensive - not only elves were weakened after earlier clashes, but the rotten ones could finally draw from the changing rooms their secret (literally!) weapon - Tolly Glocklinger, the bell-flinging star players, ready to crush some skulls. With the sponsor's help, the Punters even secured some extra funds for the referee who may be displeased with Tolly's game style. Now the game can properly start!

Attack! The ball landed on the right flank for the Punters and that's where Pestigors rushes. Tolly made good use of his bell, throwing poor Gamorys to the ground like a ragdoll (she didn't sustain any lasting injury though) and Sloth the Sloth almost ran to get himself glued to the small group of elves to the left.

Reacting quick, Dark Elves decided to defend actively (as they tend to do!) and attacked the flank, anticipating the oncoming beastmen. Amongst all the Druchii, it was the runner Dunkles that managed to inflict the most damage - well, together with the Witch Yennefrys who managed to get back onto the pitch.

But that was just a ruse on the Pestigors' behalf, as only after a short run along their right flank, they turned and ran towards the left flank - choosing to push their cage along that edge of the field. Slower players were already waiting there for their faster teammates (it's as if they planned that!) and together they created a formidable and smelly defensive formation.

Spinning and whirling with his bell, Tolly finally noticed Roxanna Darknail amongst the crowd of elves. She called him a "pretty flower" once and he never, ever forgave that heinous defamation - so he immediately wobbled in her direction to crush the puny elf once and for all. Roxanna faced worse opponents in her career, so she was ready to dance and skip around him, denying him the opportunity to crush someone less agile than her - infuriating and embarrassing the opposing star was just a nice bonus.

While the stars were at their star business, the game was on in the background. The cage formed by the followers of Nurgle was solid and elves weren't sure how to approach it and dismantle it effectively - that is, all of them but Yennefrys, who knew this game better than her mates (or was just more insane!) and charged one of the cage's corners. Unnaturally strong, she was used to much weaker resistance on her opponents' parts - so she was mildly surprised when Rotticus, captain of the Punters, stopped her attack. Surprise quickly turned into anger, which allowed her to rush forward once more, throwing herself at the Bloater. All that came out of it, though, was that they got tangled and both fell to the ground...

The captain was on the ground, but the rest of the Punters were able to distance themselves from the cursed Witch and run forward - this time a little more conservatively than in the first half.

Unfortunately for them, getting away from a Witch Elf or Har Ganeth is not that easy - Yennefrys noticed that her quarry was getting away, so she quickly jumped up and ran forward to mess with the Punters' plans.

Behind the cage, there was a player trudging along - Bloater Globbmax, barely keeping up, his mind clouded through all the years. He didn't completely understand what was going on around, but when he noticed a fast-moving black and purple object, he knew that it wasn't one of his team-mates - so led by his instincts, he swung at the witch with his horrifying arm. She dodged it in time, avoiding any damage, but because of that, she lost sight of the ball-carrying goat Mu'mulgor. The pestigors would love to stall, but in the face of that dangerous witch - and seeing that Roxanna was also getting close - decided to use that moment of opportunity. The beastman slipped between his mates and ran towards the Endzone, scoring the Punter's first Touchdown since the last time-jump.

There was still time left - so elves reorganized their team and moved on with their offensive - they won't allow for the match to end with a draw! Yennefrys set herself right next to Rotticus - to properly finish their last fight. Now, she knew what to expect and she managed to send the enemy captain to the ground stunned. Sneaky Ezion managed to do the same to Bleggharius.

On the back, Roxanna quickly got the ball and passed it to Helles, who run quickly to the flank (as elves tend to do!), determined to get that one more Touchdown before the final whistle.

Elves clumped together while executing their strategy - it was a perfect opportunity for Sloth the Sloth to slither between them and stop them in their tracks. Mi Kharnn explained this plan to the snuggly Beast of Nurgle, but he only got stressed with the amount of responsibility and hid his face in his paws, embarrassed and shy.

The last standing elves fought bravely and hacked away a corridor, wide enough for Helles to run through and forward towards the Endzone.

Alone on the enemy's territory - that was a dangerous decision on the Runner's part. Pestigor Mu'mulgor, watching the whole situation, decided to stop basing the other Runner, Dunkles and charged the ball-carrier. Helles was a professional player, though - so keeping his nerves at bay, he quickly passed the ball to the other Runner before the fists, hooves and horns of the Pestigor fell down upon him.

Dunkles, carrying the responsibility of the whole match upon his shoulders, stuck his tongue out to the Pestigor basing him, ran away from his tackle zone and ran towards the Endzone, giving everything he had to go those few extra steps. He understood the risk - especially remembering poor Rales who was trying so hard to run away from Sloth the Sloth, that he fell down and got himself severely injured - but he did it nonetheless - managing to score the second Touchdown for his team just before the whistle, leaving the whole chaos well behind him.

After the match, both coaches were asking themselves the same question - was it all worth it? The Putrid Punters were wondering if their focus to mangle the elves and indulging their need for destruction was worth losing the match - while the Dreadspear Dragons were wondering if winning was worth the crippling losses to their own team and if it will affect the upcoming games. Finally, both teams were questioning themselves if all the big money spent on the stars was worth it - they either stole the glory from the standard players or were focusing on fruitless battles between them.

Judges and observes decided that Sirius was the elves MVP of the game, granting the award for "quick thinking and good team coordination on the pitch which allowed for his team's splendid victory" - literally the same reason as during the previous game, as some reporters noticed - is there some dishonesty amongst the jury? From the Puters' side, they chose Bob the Immortal, the brave Rotter - for "utter dedication to the game and readiness to help his mates without looking for personal glory". Those knowing Bob were left wondering if that was ironic or not.

(We use the rules where MVPs are awarded completely random.)

FINAL RESULT:

Yes, I know, I need to paint the balls... But I did more overlays and redid the photos comfortably after the match (an idea presented by Ana from Gardens of Hecate), getting much better quality of the pictures, so I think there's still some improvement.

It's hard to find enough time for a game these days, so I'm not sure when the next report is going to appear. When it does, it will surely be with different teams, it's time for a change here.

Blood Bowl Nurgle Plague Doctor - WIP

Usually, I refrain from posting similar things two weeks in a row (WIP staff for Blood Bowl again!), but I had this guy laying around almost finished for a very long time now and in the time of the current pandemic, there was no better time to finish him and post him - a Plague Doctor!

He serves basically the same function as an apothecary for Nurgle teams, allowing to re-roll a Regeneration roll, giving some extra protection to the players one would want to keep alive/in the game. Unfortunately, he cannot be rostered and needs to be bought as an inducement. Still, I hope he will help the Putrid Punters sometimes!

The base model used for this was an old Nurgle Sorcerer. While removing his face and giving him a beaky bask was easy, I wasn't sure what to do with his staff - that's good for a wizard, but not really for a doctor! In the end, I decided to turn it into a sign - on which I will later paint a red cross or something like 'DOCTOR IS IN'. Then, because he still wasn't very medical, I gave him a bigger base and decided to litter it with some extras to make it more convincing. The first one was a doctor bag - which, fitting for a nurgly practitioner, is filled with worms, body parts and similar fun. The second one was a nurse - because every doctor needs one - happy Nurgling is working here in that role. I gave him a nurse's hat and a syringe - now they are a team ready to help!

Blood Bowl Nurgle Extras - WIP

Well, the Nurgle train never stops - I have the Star Players, now it's time for even more! As I mentioned in the post about Anirion the Weather Mage, I love Blood Bowl for all kinds of accessories and extras that exist in the game - staff, cheerleaders, markers, etc. You don't really need them represented as models - but you can - and that's what I did for my beloved Nurgle team, the Putrid Punters!

First ones up are my own interpretation of 'Bloodweiser Kegs / Babes' - a relatively cheap upgrade which allows your players to get up more easily after getting knocked out - fluff-wise by giving them copious amounts of beer. While dwarves, humans, goblins, orcs may all be satisfied with the usual stuff, I thought that Nurgle players would have more sophisticated tastes - so I converted them a special brew. The idea came to me when I was organizing my bits and I noticed this big bell from the skaven kit - which would actually quite well for my Putrid Punters, considering Nurgle's fondness for those instruments. I bought some Poxwalkers from WH40K and paired one of them with the bell as the first 'keg'. Seeing as you can have up to 2 kegs in a game, I took another Poxwalker and turned him into a living, walking keg of beer - full of delicious Nurgly goodness - which he can easily share with the tube he holds in his hand.

I call it the Infected Pallid Ale - or IPA.

The next ones are Cavorting Nurglings, a Nurgle-exclusive upgrade that rouses the fans on the stadium to cheer a little bit more and support their team a little bit better.

This was a simple thing - I bought a single base of AoS/WH40K Nurglings and bloodbowlified them a bit - an extra BB Nurgling in the front, a football helmet, a foam hand and a hotdog with a worm inside, all good fun.

Getting even smaller and even less essential to the game - re-roll markers! While absolutely anything can be used to mark the number of available re-rolls on the board, sooner or later, I want everything used by the Punters to be personal and fit their theme - including those markers.

For this I used Eyestinger Swarms from Kill Team: Rogue Trader box and converted them a bit to fit Blood Bowl better - so the corpses/body parts on the bases use BB bits and there is a small sculpted, deflated ball there.

Finally, there are two other markers that come with every BB team from GW nowadays, a 'hand' and a coin - which I use for marking score and turns. The hand is barely touched, I just added there some tentacles to make the little base a bit more crowded.

On the coin, I used some extra greenstuff to turn the flat Nurgle sigil into much more pronounced eyes - which will mimic the Punters' own logo. I actually sculpted the hole of the iris and the pupils there - which I will later fill with transparent resin. I am curious if this 3d approach to eyes will work on this scale. Time will tell.

That's it for now - but I had lots of fun with all the Nurgliness here, so expect much, more for the Punters.

Blood Bowl Star Player - Guffle Pusmaw

After my favorite Tolly Glocklinger, it was time to slowly go through the rest of the kitbashed Nurgle Star Players - and today it's Guffle's turn.

Just as with the rest of this set of stars, Guffle's color scheme matches my Putrid Punters team - with nice yellowish flesh, dark/black armor and green clothes. He can be induced only by Nurgle teams, so there's really no need to consider any alternatives.

One thing special on this one was his Monstrous Mouth of course - a great focal point and a chance to paint some nicely disgusting details. When I finished painting him, feeling as if he's lacking something, I decided to once again try doing some slime strands out of UHU glue - last time I used it on zombie spider's guts, 2 years ago. I struggle a bit with this technique, but it still adds some special quality to this most famous of the Nurgle stars.

Now I only have to find some use for him on the pitch! He may be an exceptional catcher, but there are no good throwers on a Nurgle team! Other than the chaos-affiliated thrower star Lewdgrim Whiparm, I am left only with my rather unlucky rotter Ted as the agile one...

Atypical for a Nurgle Player, the agility-based playstyle of Guffle Pusmaw secured him a spot amongst one of the best-known stars of contemporary Blood Bowl. With fame like that, he was well over the budget of disoriented and disorganized Putrid Punters. That was until one of the Bloaters, Globbmax, managed to reach one of his clouded memories and remembered that he helped the previous coach depositing some of their money in a bank - before the last warp-displacement - and now, decades later, with all the accumulated interest, it was a small fortune. After a small meeting, they decided to indeed induce Guffle himself in their next match - if not to use his talents, then at least use some of his reputation to raise their own status and maybe even rise as something more than a gimmick team in the eyes of the fans and sponsors.

Blood Bowl Star Player - Tolly Glocklinger

First post since moving back to Poland, after five years in Germany! Thankfully I prepared a small backlog to secure regular postings here during this chaotic period.

Regardless, it's time for the Nurgle Star Players for Blood Bowl - I converted/kitbashed 4 of them some time ago (you can see the WIPs HERE) and now they are getting painted. I did good Tolly first because I really liked how he turned out and because I wanted to use him in the game as soon as possible! He is a rather cheap Star Player with a 'Ball and Chain' skill, allowing him to really smash around his opponents around (with some extra randomness involved). The use of such weapons is disallowed, so one has to add some bribes for the referees to his cost to really get the most out of him.

The color scheme was chosen to fit my Putrid Punters team - so yellowish flesh, dark/black armor, and green clothes, with all the extra slime and blood that comes with Nurgle. I could exercise the last part here a little more because of Tolly's choice of the chain for his weapon.

Tolly’s story as a circus strongman and a musician turned into a Blood Bowl star is well known in the current Blood Bowl world. Even Putrid Punters remember the powerful player from before their last warp-jump. They always thought of him fondly because of his background - back in their early days, ‘Blood Bowl and circuses’ was a well-known phrase describing the folk’s important needs! Now, when the rematch with the Dreadspear Dragons was drawing near, the Punters’ coach started thinking about employing Tolly for a match or two, hoping the star could be interested in listening to the tales about ancient circuses and arenas (besides the usual monetary encouragement of course).

Also, trying to create something for the little competition on Carpe Noctem, I sculpted a Santa hat for him, so he can be jolly and jingle his bells around, fitting with the current season.

Blood Bowl Match Report 1: "Around Elves, Watch Yourselves!"

Now that the Putrid Punters are finished, I decided to test them out on the pitch against the Dreadspear Dragons coached by my wife. Being so happy with my rotten bloodbowlers, I decided to take some photos and actually try doing a Match Report here. We'll see how it'll work out and if it's worth the effort - so please share your thoughts and criticism about my take on this. Now, without the further ado:

After a memorable match when the greenskins from The Badlands Badbuttz crushed and destroyed the Dark Elves from the Dreadspear Dragons, fans were itching to see their rematch - to see if extra sacrifices to Khaine would help the Druchii this time. Unfortunately, the orcs got into an internal disagreement which ended in the hospitalization of half their team, leaving them unable to play. Still, their stadium was ready, the elves were ready, the fans were ready - you couldn't just cancel everything! Thankfully, the followers of Nurgle from the Putrid Punters, who recently managed to get their whole team back together, were ready to step in and play their first match since the last warp-time-jump.

The Punters won the initial coin toss and decided to use the ages-old trick of allowing the elves to attack first, score quickly and turning the tables on them later. Favorites of the Plague God set themselves up in a tight wall formation, while the Druchii opted for an adaptive, loose set up.

The referee whistled and the ball went off! Deadly quick elves moved instantly - and as if guided by Khaine and Nuffle themselves - attacked mercilessly! The dauntless Gerwant, famed monster-slayer, even managed to strike down the opposing captain. That assault would mangle any lesser being beyond any help, but Nurgle's blessings are more potent than that - and Rotticus Pax managed to regenerate his wounds. Still, he was forced to watch the rest of the drive from behind the sidelines!

The bloated Punters were slower to react, but they still decided to respond in kind. Sloth the Sloth, the enormous, yet friendly Rotspawn of Nurgle - who was itching for some action already - was unleashed upon the elves. Unfortunately, when it really came to it, shyness overcame him and he curled up embarrassed. Kind Ted applied some affectionate gestures to the back-spikes to assure him of being a good boy, but the poor Rotspawn still refused to go. Well, some players do have problems with their team spirit!

Impatient and irritated by the tardiness on the line of scrimmage, Toandoro rushed from behind and gored the witch Yeneffrys with his horns. Even as strong as she was, she couldn't withstand that assault.

And so the game turned into a slugfest, with the Punters really dedicated to grinding their agile opponents down. Still, the Druchii are not known for playing around (unlike some other elves!) and they focused on organizing themselves around the ball and preparing the offensive.

Even the shadowy Assassin Ezion moved into the fray, managing to plunge his dagger underneath Putronious' helmet. 'Nothing personal' heard the Bloater while he was falling down, clutching his neck, trying to hold all the blood and pus spilling from the wound.

The nimble Runner Helles took the risk of grabbing the ball as rushed through the opening prepared by his teammates. Unfortunately for him, he was so focused on holding on to the ball, passing his enemies and looking intimidating, he didn't notice the two-headed Mi Kharnn rushing straight at him.

The fragile runner didn't hope to keep standing after that charge, but he kept his nerves about and managed to quickly pass the ball to his team-mate, Witch Elf Danerys - who, thanks to Nuffle, managed to catch it despite the distracting buzzing of the insects and vomit-inducing smell of Putronius' spilled blood.

Determined as ever, Danerys clutched the ball tighter and charged at the Pestigor who caused this whole situation. With a swift kick, she sent him to the ground and then - still full of energy - rushed forward towards the end-zone, faster than ever, leaving her opponents in the dust.

The remaining Punters could only watch from afar at the whole development. It was all part of their strategy, but they still got frustrated - so they ganged around the other Witch and stomped hard on her while she was down. They didn't inflict any lasting injuries, though - and to make it worse for them, the ungracious Rotter Bob, kicking the elf long after his teammates stopped, got noticed by the referee and immediately set off the pitch!

The drive ended - naturally - with Danerys effortlessly strutting to the end-zone and scoring a Touchdown for the Dragons. Now it was time for the Punters to attack. Both teams set up their players in a deep formation to react more easily to whatever will unravel after the kick-off.

This time, the Punters' onslaught was severe, with elves flying left and right. Even Sloth the Sloth managed to join in on the fun! After clearing the line of scrimmage, the three-armed Mu'mulgor picked up the ball ran forward, with his teammates immediately forming a disgusting, yet resilient cage around him. Now they were ready to run through their opponents like a plague does through a tightly-packed city.

Like angry, purple hornets, the elves from the back quickly shifted to the side, forming a nasty obstacle course for their rotting opponents. While they were busy dishing it out, Ezion the Assassin approached Sloth the Sloth. The Rotspawn thought that the elf was a new friend to cuddle with, but instead, he attacked the beast with a dagger. Once again, the blade struck true, piercing a particularly important and sensitive boil. Sloth the Sloth squeaked loudly and fell to the ground - the wound was so severe, he had to be transported off the pitch! What's worse for the Punters, he was so sad at that 'terrible betrayal by a good friend' that his regeneration didn't activate in time to make him Blood Bowl-ready during this match.

Ezion waved his cape menacingly.

Seeing their beloved mascot moved to the dugout made the Punters' hearts waver. Still, they fought valiantly through the intrusive elves, breaking many noses, ears and one leg, but they couldn't break through completely. The Druchii played as if possessed, their moves effective and well-planned - they pressed the Pestigors against the sidelines and forced them into a mistake, which sent the ball behind the elf-wall. In a situation like that, in the last minutes of the first half, the Punters were unable to score the much-needed equalizer and resorted to good old violence. Then the referee's whistle sounded and the players ran off to the locker rooms.

The first half left the followers of Nurgle severely weakened - now, only 8 of them stood on the pitch. With the three-armed Mu'mulgor removed by the elves, the Punters had to relegate Ted the Great to handle the ball - while agile, he slower than a beastman. Better that than trying to push a Bloater to the end zone!

Elves set themselves in a careful defensive formation far from the line of scrimmage.

The Dragons lost their skilled kicker in the previous half, so they had to rely on Nuffle's favor when starting the drive. That was a foolish hope, for the ball landed close to Ted, allowing the Punters to quickly and easily form a secure cage. When the captain Rotticus saw that this was taken care of, he relaxed and moved to the fun part - attacking! Poor Tyrres never really liked the Line-of-scrimmage-duty he had to endure from time to time.

Striking the iron while it's hot, Globbmax continued with the offensive, blitzing along the left flank. 'THAT'S FOR PUTRONIUS!' he gurgled, barely intelligible, before swinging his disgusting arm-club at Ezion. The assassin flew high and fell stunned on the ground, blissfully unaware of his surroundings for a time. It was a mighty blow, but the elf would live to stab another day.

Still, the Nurgle team's optimism wouldn't last - the elves were many and they were vicious! The cage was trudging along the edge, but the Druchii were putting hard pressure on it, slowly dismantling it and getting it loose. Smelly players on the other side tried to tie as many elves as they could, but they knew how to fight, not like the pansies they were used to.

Rotticus Pax alone was having a time of his life blocking, tackling and bashing together with three Dark Elves - until he overdid his attack on the Runner Dunkles. Unable to regain his balance after swinging his claw, he fell to the ground together with the elf, where they continued to fight some more. This kerfuffle left the Bloater stunned - and the Runner left the pitch on a stretcher.

Finally, the Elves managed to break the cage into pieces - with the Witch Elf Yenefrys leading the charge, in an unholy rage, wanting to wipe the smug grin off Ted's face.

Ted usually grossly overestimates his skills - but truth to be told, he is a damned good Rotter. Still, in the face of an unnaturally strong Witch Elf determined to take the ball from you, 'damned good' is not enough. After a barrage of blows, Yenefrys sent him to the ground - but the ball fell outside the bounds. It was thrown in towards the middle of the pitch, far from the action so far.

It was pretty late and the Nurgle players knew that they wouldn't be able to score - they were too slow, too few - unlike the elves! All the rotting players that were still on the pitch focused themselves and ran towards the ball - not to grab it, but to bait the Dragons to come and get it. The Druchii knew well that it was a trap, but they didn't care anymore - they also ran towards the middle for some scrap.

With the dreaded Witch Elf gone, Ted the Great stood up and also ran to get in on the action. Then he fell on his face while doing that. Then he stood up again and creeped behind Ezion, trying to out-sneak the sneakster. Sadly for him, his attack was thwarted by the Assassin when he decided to wave his cape menacingly (he does that often) - poor Ted got tangled up in it and once again fell on the ground. The journalists would have a field day with him, calling him 'Ted the Okay' for some time after such an excellent performance.

Both teams spent the last moments of the match trying to grind themselves down around the ball. Whatever blessings Khaine provided to the determined elves were spent at this point, because the Punters sent many of them off the pitch. Well, only the Bloaters that is, the ancient warriors were just about the only Nurgle-loyal players still standing after the Druchii onslaught. Then, without reaching anything else, the referee sounded his whistle and the match was over, just like that - with the Dreadspear Dragons winning with a single Touchdown.

That signal also woke up Putronius from blocking-and-punching trance - only now he stopped to observe his surroundings - and only now he saw that the ball was so close to him the whole time! Confused for a bit, he remembered what kind of game he played and that someone should throw it somewhere or whatever.

Putronius' surprise was even bigger when he was slowly trudging towards the locker rooms and the assistants stopped him to inform him that he was chosen as the MVP of the match. Puzzled, he was brought to the center for a commemorative warp-photo - where the moderator announced that he won the award for 'exceptional perseverance in the face of difficulties and perfect execution of the game plan". The MVP from the Dragons' team was Sirius - awarded for "quick thinking and good team coordination on the pitch which allowed for his team's splendid victory". Sadly, he was still knocked out cold after an unlucky encounter with Sloth the Sloth in the first half and wasn't able to really strike a pose for the photo.

(We use the rules where MVPs are awarded completely random.)

FINAL RESULT:

We were expecting the Nurgle team to just stomp on the poor elves, but it seems they turned the tables on them! It was a pleasurable match and preparing this report scratched my writing itch a little more than the minimal snippets of backstory for the minis. As I mentioned above, feel free to share your thoughts and comments! One thing I know already, I should paint the damn balls!