From model to character - a philosophy of character design

[Precinct Omega]

Now here's a tricky one. I'm always going on about models for Inquisitor (because you can't play the game without them!) and I thought I should show that I'm not all mouth and no trousers.

But there's a dedicated modelling board elsewhere in the forum. So do I post pics of my models here where the interested people are most likely to actually see them, or do I post them in the modelling forum where they will drop out of sight in forty-eight hours or less with most actual INQ players never having laid eyes on them?

Answer: I make this post about more than the models.

It has long been my philosophy that the model comes first. As said, you can play a game without a detailed character sheet (albeit a rather dull one), but you can have the coolest character ever designed and - without a model - your efforts are worthless. So I have long espoused the idea that one builds and paints the model first and allows the character to flow naturally out of that process. After all, you can always change a character sheet with a few strokes of the pen, but changing your model is a bit more complicated!

Those who are interested can find my entire gallery here. However, the model we're discussing in this thread is this one:



Holy white metal, Batman! That's not a GW model!

Correct, it is, in fact, a DeAgostini pewter model released with some magazine or other that I picked up on eBay. It's a Ringwraith, of course. But it's 54mm and I thought it was cool enough to buy. It came "hand painted" from some Taiwanese sweatshop, so I stripped it off ready for repainting.

At this stage, I had no idea what it would turn out to be. I wanted to convert it, but didn't know what would be best or how to go about it. So, rather perversely, I decided to paint it first. Painting a model is a great way to learn its proportions and to become intimate with the full surface, thus learning the ins and outs of its structure.

I painted it Scab Red with a Berol Carmine ink wash, mainly because I had "Redemptionist" in mind (having been inspired by Miner's awesome Redmptionist conversions for Necromunda over on the SG forum). However, once that was done I went digging into my bits box to see what inspired me and lo and behold, inspiration came in the form of a skull, a couple of mechadendrites and a daemonsword:

He would become a Dark Mechanicus!

I already have a large collection of Adeptus Mechanicus models who are beginning to acquire their own distinct histories and personalities, so it seemed perfect to build a nemesis for their leader, the Explorator, Icabod Coda.

A bit of greenstuff, pinning and superglue later:



But that isn't the end. The model is, of course, only half-done (if that) and the character is nothing more than a vague archetype in my head. As I develop the concept further, I will post up more here to keep you up to date.

Regards,

R.

[Cheredanine]

Please tell me this is your entry for the inq comp, please please please mate,

As a post/concept I like the plan, it will be very usefull for gamers.

My own twist- I tend to look through books/films for inspiration which produces a concept, at that point I will start looking for models or more likely conversion/sculpting I can do, I use the gaps when GS is drying to create the character on paper, based on the model.

Nice work mate, but I dont like the mini, I would give my right hand for that wood elf you got, but this one does nothing for me

[Precinct Omega]

Please tell me this is your entry for the inq comp, please please please mate

You wish. My comp entry is MUCH better than this. And finished. Two weeks ago.

R.

[Cheredanine]

Ho hum, mine went in this morning, since Exterminatus is hacked (be worth talking to Hard Aun who dealt with a lot of it when we got hacked mate), here is my preview in response to your own there mate



I suppose we will have to wait months to find the outcome

[Precinct Omega]

Anyway, on we go.

More painting yesterday night and some good results. Having decided that he was a Dark Mechanicus, I had to wrack my brains for some idea of what he might look like colour-wise. I finally decided that - whilst he has strayed terribly from the path of the Omnissiah, by experimenting with Warp-fusion technology (i.e. daemonweapons) and Abominable Intelligence - he nevertheless, somewhere in his twisted neural pathways, believes he is in the right.

So he has retained the deep red robes of the Adeptus Mechanicus, AND the distinctive cog-pattern. However, this has been merged with various runic symbols of power.

You should just be able to make them out in this picture, running the length of his cowl to the floor.

I wanted to break up the sea of red somewhat, though. And as I wanted to establish a thematic connection to my other AdMech characters - to indicate that he was once one of them but has strayed - I decided on giving him Codex Grey sleeves.

This is important to his character: he comes from the same Forgeworld as Icabod Coda and his crew (Archimedes) and perhaps he was once a tutor or mentor of Coda himself, setting up the potential for good, tension-filled dialogue.

But the grey was rather... well, dull. I toyed with the idea of giving him red cuffs, but the texture on the sleeves meant that that didn't really stand out very well, so I pondered what other colours were associated with the AdMech - and then it hit me: the black-and-yellow warning stripes!

In out reality they are a practical, utilitarian warning of danger. But in the 40kverse, I imagined that they had come to mean the other way around: a runic-style motif that conveys dangerous properties on those items to which it is applied! And from this I concluded that my Antimagos was a deadly hand-to-hand fighter, skilled in a form of duelling unique to the AdMech and, even then, spoken of only in whispers. Coupled with his daemonsword, that would make him a deadly opponent in the melee!

So, he starts to take shape:

And he has acquired a name: Magos Ghuul, whose followers know him as the Techlord, but whose enemies refer to him only as The Antimagos...

More to come.

R.

[Cheredanine]

Now that is looking good, it is far better than I first imagined, I wasnt a fan of the original model and I dont like the magos sword as a rule, but this is working well PO mate, have to say the robes look more pink than red but that could be my computer

[Precinct Omega]

Scab Red highlighted with a Scab Red/Elf Flesh mix - yes, they do look a bit pink, there's no denying it. But it's not like it's some girly candycane pink. I'm slowly deepening the colour in the folds by mixing Blood Red, Scab Red and a Vermillion ink. But right now, my focus is on getting the sword fixed properly (at the moment it's just slotted onto a pin - I want to build a tendril from the sword that runs up his sleeve).

R.

[Cheredanine]

will wait impatiently for next installment

[Precinct Omega]

Some larger pics now...



You can see the metal tendrils running from the sword up his sleeve now. His fighting style not only makes use of his obvious weapon, but also the digital pistols built into his bionic hands (he has digital needler, inferno pistol and hand flamer - the first two in his left hand, the third in his right) and his mechadendrites (as you can now see, I've attached the tools to the ends of the mechadendrites).



This shot gives a good idea of his colour, as well as giving you a bit of an idea of where the mechadendrites emerge from beneath his robes. I've resculpted the robes around the exit-points, but it's hard to see the effect from this angle.



Here's a shot with the flash to show the detail on the side of his cowl as well as the fact that I've put his mechadendrite tools on magnets. To reflect his tools, I've also given his a "plasma cutter" - a variant plasma pistol that can also count as a powersword (c.f. Ork Burna).

Thus the character emerges: a fallen master, pursuing and pursued by former pupils. He clings to his belief in his own rectitude, as seen in the colour of his robes, but his corruption is visible to everyone but himself (the sword is obvious, but also the twisted posture, the apparently-elongated cranium and the general sinister air of the model contribute). Physically frail (basic S and T are below 5, but preternaturally swift thanks both to his bionic enhancements (many) and his association with power from the Warp, he is deadly up close. To deal with his enemies at a distance he will, no doubt, surround himself with weak-willed and easily-led followers: mercenaries, primitives and twisted servitors made from the remains of the former. I can even see him having one or two followers from the Adeptus - nervous, twitchy types frightened of being seen in his company but envious of his immense knowledge and power...

Now, you'll note that - other than his forgeworld of origin - I've not really laid out any of his "history" and I don't intend to. By building and painting the model I've got an idea of who the character is, his motivations and his context without needing to know especially how it was that he got to this point. He is ready to take his place on the table (more or less - there are a few bits that still need painting and he's going to get a 40mm base).

His past will be dictated by his future, if you like. I will play a lot of games with this character, some of which will be set in the "present" and some in the "past" - often, I won't know which is the case until after the game and I try to put it into some context. Either way, the objectives, locations, interactions and outcomes of the scenarios will tell us more about who he is and why he has become the way he has.

But now I need to work on his stats. Because whilst a model doesn't need a history, it does need a character sheet. We already have some idea of his equipment. We know he's a master fighter with multiple bionic enhancements, mechadendrites and exotic items. So I see him having roughly the following sort of lay-down:

WS  BS   S   T   I  Wp  Sg  Nv  Ld  Speed
80+ 60  40  40  70  80  90  60  70     5

Let's look at this stat-line in detail. Weapon skill has already been discussed. His style, in my imagination, is based on incredibly precise and economical use of movement. So he will dodge a blow by fractions of a millimetre, or strike an opponent with exactly the amount of force required to cause damage etc. To my mind, therefore, his skill would be about as high as it was possible for someone of his nature to be. Stats >90 tend to be entering the "superhuman" zone, so something in the region of 81-89 seems about right.

Ballistically, he enjoys the benefits of his electronic brain and centuries of experience, but otherwise he doesn't favour ranged weapons, only really using those that he has about his person at close range. To give him a BS in the 40-50 range would make him "average" - but he DOES have centuries of experience and a bionic brain, so a little boost into the 60s seems appropriate.

Strength and Toughness are important for this character. His advanced bionic arms give him a combat/lifting strength of 140, but I count that differently to his physical strength when it comes to things like Knockback. He really is pretty frail - his organic parts are ancient and even his bionic parts are incredibly delicate. So this is represented with a lower-than-average S and T. Conflated with the fact that he doesn't wear any armour, he is immensely vulnerable. This seems to conflict with his personality, so he's going to need a force field of some sort...

Initiative is closely related to his WS in my mind. He is ancient and frail but very quick - like that little old man who turns out to be a ninja master. But I didn't want to put him in Eldar or Assassin territory. So he has to be Speed 5, meaning an Initiative of at least 70. This will probably go up somewhat, but certainly no more than 79.

Willpower - a tricky one. He's not psychic and has no psychic abilities, but I wanted it to be clear that anyone who tries to take him on psychically will be confronted with a serious tough nut. Ghuul has stared into the Abyss too many times not to have both naturally strong mental defences, plus layers of psybernetic enhancements to protect his most valuable asset: his mind. Hence, a high Wp.

Sagacity - Easy choice. He is the Techlord: the Antimagos. His on-board database is massive and his experience almost unparalleled outside Mars. A 90+ Sg is a no-brainer (pun intended)!

Nerve - I was torn on this one. Would he be this clinical, detached tech-priest, or something more human? I ultimately decided that Ghuul would not want to tamper with his own brilliance too much, so something like the Rite of Pure Thought would be anathema to him, leaving him with a healthy respect for his own skin. So his Nerve will be above-average, but not amazing. Looking back, though, he might well benefit from the "I have stared into the Abyss" Navigator Ability.

Leadership - He will easily lead his intellectual inferiors, but isn't about to march a regiment of soldiers into the jaws of Hell. So a strong Ld of 70ish seems about right. Absolutely no more than 75. And he'll probably get the Leader ability, too.

More to follow.

R.

[Lucy]

OK, so a model gives you something to base your idea's around, but even you have to addmit that just feilding a tech marine isn't very appealing. your ring wraith was an awesome model by itself yet you felt the need to follow your first inklings of charidter to a modification.

I suppose what I'm trying to get at here is that Modeling to a charicter development is a valid way of making a charicter. that even someone as asthetically driven as you goes through the creative process of making a charicter, but you use bit's and models as a way of fleshing out your ideas.
But this is not the only way, just as Tao is not the only Phillosophy.