Natives for Inquisitor Cynole

Most forces in the game are being supplied by the players themselves. The only major player controlled force I’m supplying are these feral world natives. I thought about these for a long time before buying the models. The temple itself has an Aztec vibe, so initially I thought along those lines, but it seemed a bit clichéd, so I looked further afield. It proved really difficult. I didn’t want anything too historically recognisable, I wanted them to look a bit barbaric/uncivilised, so definitely no armour, boots, or other sophisticated manufactured items. I looked through a lot of tribal ranges – e.g. Darkest Africa, but a lot of those were very African. Classical period stuff tends to be too recognisable (and too much armour), vikings look too much like vikings, etc. etc. In the end I went for these Black Tree Design picts. They have very anonymous tunics and cloaks, not much equipment and nothing particular recognisable.

Feral world natives

I wanted them to have a strong tribal feel, so I’ve used these random striped patterns in a limited palette of reds, black and a warm yellow. The shields are all in black and yellow with variations on circles, arrows and lightning. I’ve done their short swords in bronze, to highlight their lack of metals.

I struggled with the skin tone for some time. Initially when I was thinking along Aztec lines, I imagined a reddish brown colour, but I wanted something a bit more alien and imaginative. I tried lots of different colours: white, blue, purple, grey, red, but most looked either too ‘dead’ or too artificial or just a bit close to normal Earth humans. In the end I plumped for blue, which contrasts nicely with the clothing. Facial hair is a pale blonde. Rather pleasingly this is the exact skin and hair of Rogue Trooper, which is always a great old school reference.

These two are a bit rough and ready when viewed close up, but they look OK on the table. I’m aiming for this level on the first pass, and then if I have time I’ll tart them up a bit more.