Of Legendary Nippon - Wood Elves blog (input requested)

[Asurion Whitestar]

Good morrow fellow Asur and other mortal beings.
So I've had this idea for a while now (about a decade), about the far off lands of the east. Not much is mentioned in the Army Books and Rule Books at all (from all editions), save the mention of serpentine dragons, rare spices, rival military hierarchy, warrior monks, samurai, monkey warriors and that the Skaven clan Eshin learnt ninjutsu in Nippon.

The furthest I got was to get a forest dragon, albeit not the one I wanted as it's the new/current version covered with sprites. My plan was to axe the wings and add some Fu Manchu whiskers to it, paint it gold as the Chinese/Cathay focal piece.

I digress, this leads me to my concept and current plan. I backed the Wrath of Kings Kickstarter and with the houses of Shael Han, Nasier and Goretsi, it sparked an invigorating new muse for the East, particularly Nippon.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/co ... h-of-kings

As there are no Army Books for any civilisations east of the Ogres, I wondered what army would suit them best, as to what they could actually be, what army rules would they use. They have skilled warriors, an innate spiritual and magical connection to nature, summoned or otherwise supernatural creatures resembling demons and spirits of the Japanese culture and oriental dragons. Model wise it is a wide array of elite (looking) infantry, monstrous infantry and beasts, monsters and a slew of characters mostly infantry.

Wood Elves are the best choice as they meet all criteria for both style and models. So, without further ado, I present the list of my Nippon Army. It's copied from a list builder, the quantities before each are for the amount of models I have (or rather will have when I receive the models), the names in (brackets) next to the model/unit names are what they are, most are simply common knowledge or common info, the names in these [brackets] are the models I plan to use, first the house (if the house isn't Shael Han) then the model.
Some of you may notice some familiar names taken from pop culture and famous Japanese heroes, namely champions and a hero. ;J


Army

Shogun [Winterhawk]
= Glade Lord
Royal Priest/Priestess [Shield of Taelfon, Deathbloom, Nasier/Alayna Heska, Himiko from Studio Mcvey]
= Spellweaver

Daimyo [Dragon Legion Keeper]
= Glade Captain
Priest/Priestess [same as Royal]
= Spellsinger
Shadow Kyoshi [Madam Mui]
= Shadowdancer
Miyamoto
= Waystalker
Kurozome (Sakura Spirit) [Drycha]
= Branchwraith

40 Dragon Guard [Dragon Legionnaires]
+ Dragon Warden
= Eternal Guard
60+ House Guard [Goritsi/Blood Dancers]
+ Lord's Bowman
= Glade Guard
45 Kodama (Tree Spirits/Japanese Dryads) [Dryads]
+ Nynja
= Dryads

25 Samurai [Nasier/Ashmen]
+ Yoshimitsu
= Wildwood Rangers
60 Kabuki Warriors (Kabuki is the stylised dramatic performance stage show) [Iron Lotus Warriors]
+ Kyoshi
= Wardancers
30+ Kyudo Scouts (Kyudo is the art of archery) [Same as House Guard]
+ Master Scout
= Deepwood Scouts
18 Oni (Ogre/Demon) [The Wrath]
+ Oni Elder
= Tree Kin
10 Priestesses of the Byakko (Byakko - White Tiger) [Mantic Panther Riders with some work to the panthers to make them tigers]
+ Handmaiden of the Byakko
= Sisters of the Thorn
Kirin Riders (Kirin are the Japanese Unicorn, they have cloven hooves and sometimes have a dragon/tiger head, sometimes not, sometimes they have dragon antlers) [maybe the new Wild Riders/Sisters of the Thorn]
+ Kirin Master
= Wild Riders
Tengu Riders/Tengu (avian-esk spirits of the forest)
+ Daitengu
= Warhawk Riders

Ronin (masterless samurai)
+ Keanu
= Waywatchers

2 Ushioni (Bull Demon) [Nasier/Rathor]
= Great Eagles
2 Shinryū (Spirit Dragon) [Fulung Devourer]
= Treemen

Wood Elves


My story for them includes the world roots, yin and yang high and dark magic, rich spiritual culture. Deeply connected to the spirit realm which runs parallel to their own, and overlaps within the dense forests within their province, the spirit realm homes the spirits and beings of their religion, like the different specie of Oni, the most common of the spirits being Kodama and larger much more powerful creatures like the Shinryū.

The Nippon in my envision are technologically advanced far beyond the humans of the Empire and quite possibly a match if not superior to that of the Dwarves. Think occult steampunk but fitting in the warhammer world. They would use this knowledge and technology to help the spirits and demons of the other realm remain corporeal for long periods of time without having to bathe within the magical energies of their mother dimension, in part it would bind them to this dimension, making them mortal, even after being fatally wounded they would remain instead of evaporating back to their own realm. Many would even live out their lives among the mortals of Nippon, some marrying and procreating with some more interesting and enlightened individuals during times of peace.

The Demons (Oni) of Nippon, along with the Spirits of the forest are inherently fickle beings, but the more time they spend in purely corporeal form within the physical dimension, the more their natures settle.

So, after all this relative drivel, what do you ladies and gents think.
Is it a plausible idea?
Have I covered all possible fluff points for the models fitting in with the warhammer world?
Have I overstepped the technological limitations within the warhammer world?
Or anything else?

[Domine Nox]

I really like it, except 1 thing, which might be just me. I feel like you need something other than Ronin to represent Way Watchers. Yes Ronin use bows as they are Samurai, but that's just it, they are Samurai (albeit masterless ones). And I feel Way Watchers merit a greater emphasis on their archery. Sadly I have no counter suggestion at this time, but I will gladly do some research and see if I can present a valid possible replacement, but I wanted to comment now because I think your idea is brilliant, and I look forward to seeing you put this together.

[Asurion Whitestar]

Thanks DN :3, I really appreciate your input, and I'm glad you like the concept.

The truth is I feel the same way, I like the idea of Ronin more than I do Samurai, but I can't offer a separate spot for them. I did think of simply calling the scouts "Scouts" and therefore leaving the Kyudo open to the Waywatchers...?

Perhaps if I gave the Ronin title to a unit of Rangers or Wardancers that would sate my Ronin lust..? ;3

But back onto the Waywatchers, I'm still not even sure what models I can use. Nothing really strikes me as Waywatchy enough, you know..?
I threw around a lot of ideas with ninjas, they were Wardancers and Waywatchers, but I don't have any suitable models for them. To be honest I really only need ten of them (Waywatchers of course), as my lists won't and don't include a lot, not more than ten anyway, at least not at the moment.

Thanks in advance for looking for ideas for them.

I do like the look and idea of some Metal Gear-esk Ninja, with hair in the wind without hoods.


For colours I think red is a safe and secure bet. The Oni and half-breeds will be red, as will most heraldry include some red. Along with white and black, I'm not sure what other colours to use.
Any ideas?
My bro gave me a lot of his spare dryads which he picked up recently, they still need a little work but are tabletop standard and are mostly red with pale and dark shading with green washes (I think), I'll get some pics uploaded in a few hours.

[Domine Nox]

Ninjas would be great for Way Watchers. They just have really awesome throwing knives and blow guns that give them 30" range. Massive lung power! The rest is very ninja. Could also make them like Monk Disciples of Yi (from chinese mythos). If you want a more archery focus on the unit.

Possible Models?



Ronin would be great WWR it would explain why they get bonuses when faced with fear, they are trying to die with honor to account for their failures after all.

[Galharen]

Those models above are damn amazing!

Btw - I really like your Samurai theme, I can't wait untill I see some of your works with that project

[Asurion Whitestar]

Those models above are damn amazing!

Btw - I really like your Samurai theme, I can't wait untill I see some of your works with that project

Thank you Galharen, and wow those models are amazing, and cheaper than I thought.
I few models from that range would work great, namely the Brothers, Monks and Oiran as well as Yamikizo, possibly just as unit fillers save for the Archers, they would add a lot of flavour to the army.
The possibilities I'm seeing with the four elements of the Avatar within these models are great, I could even stretch it to the five elements of eastern ideology.

@ DN; I'm now thinking of removing the Samurai from office and the Ronin taking their original place as Rangers. It made more sense then and more sense now, especially as someone has pointed it out also. Thank you.
Then all I need to do is add a couple of boxes to get to 47, so I can have a hoard. :3

[Domine Nox]

You must make this happen and catalog the process. When there was that fan made Nippon Army book I started on the idea of making a Nippon army, but side tracked it to finish out my High Elves, and then took on WoC and now Wood Elves. But you have come up with a brilliant counts as idea. You must see this through!

[Asurion Whitestar]

Just keep on my case about it...... :3

I've wanted to fulfil this idea and army for yonks now, and it seems I finally have the means to do so.

I'll catalogue all the stages well, life permitting. From their arrival to construction and then to painting etc.
The only things I have now are the Panther Knights. Which I may or may not use at all.
I've recently been busy with some long overdue commission work for Ele, just waiting for things to set, arrive, etc.

[LordAnubis]

You may find that Malifaux models look odd by comparison - they are taller than GW models and considerably skinnier, or at least their new plastics are. Personally, I also find them incredibly fiddly to assemble. You may already be aware of this, but I'd definitely either find a comparison shot online or buy a single box first to be sure that they fit what you want in terms of scale and proportion.

Anyway, this is looking to be a very interesting project, so I'm intending to keep reading it as you progress and I'm looking forward to see how you put these ideas into practice. I'll try and reply again later, to actually comment on what you've presented so far.

[Asurion Whitestar]

Thanks LordAnubis, I did actually check the scale and found out exactly what you said. Fortunately the WoK models are also in the same scale so I'm sure they'll work well.

I'm a relative expert when it comes to assembly but thanks for giving me the heads up. :3