Presented by Wyrd

Miniatures to suppliment
the Malifaux game setting
and as a resource for
miniature hobby fanatics

A Special Halloween
Edition
New Story Encounters for an all new
Malifaux experience
Learn more about the characters
presented in the Malifaux game
book

In-Depth Hobby Tutorials:

- Basework
- Painting
- Terrain

Masters Note - 3

Contents
Volume 3

Wyrd Chronicles v3

Til Gran Kythera Dow - 5

By Nicholas Volker

Dear Kristen - 10
By Nicholas Volker

The Hollow Marsh Gala - 14

By Nicholas Volker

Ask Wyrd - 22
Wyrd Miniatures - A Sneak Preview - 24
Malifaux for Halloween - 27
Malifaux Strategies by Drew Littell

Wyrd at Gencon - 30
My Bishops On Fire - 32
A Painting and Converting Article by Jessica Rich

A Bayou Tree - 41
A Terrain Article by Ambrose Coddington

Featuring Your Artwork - 47

Contributors
Editors:
Eric Johns
Casey Jones
Contributing Artists:
Stephen Enjorlas
Melvin DeVoor
Kan-J
Kate Laird
Pablo Quiligotti
Laura Ruggeri

Design By:
Eric Johns
Cover Image By:
Kate Laird
Writers:
Ambrose Coddington
Drew Littell
Jessica Rich
Nicholas Volker

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

Masters Note
Whereve you been?
What?
I havent seen you in a while.
Are you serious?
Uh.. yes?
Did you see the game?
The what?
The game. The game! You know, Malifaux. Ive been a little busy.
You couldve called.
Thats right. Its here. With its 212 pages of shiny black. Along with the pretty cards. It was released just before Gen Con
in August. And you might have heard that we dont have any product to go with it. Well, its not true. I mean, it was true,
but its not true now. We have plenty of metal for everyone, and were moving on with our release schedule. Its been a
busy year, and were really excited about everything we accomplished. In case you havent heard..
We went to Origins and Gen Con this year. Thanks to everyone who came to the booth at both shows. There was a big
turnout at Gen Con, and it was great to talk to you and hear feedback on the minis and the game. We owe a lot of gratitude
to Table Top Gamers for showcasing the game and teaching it to everyone who walked in. TTGamers oered space for
the rst Malifaux tournament, and we also had our rst coloring contest.
Also, Malifaux miniatures were featured in the Aces Speed Paint competition. Tom Schadle (a frequent Wyrd featured
painter) and Eric both participated. The ten gures sold as a group at the Gen Con Auction to raise money for the Indiana
Math and Science Academy.
That auction got us excited about using our hobbies and games to make a dierence. So we followed up and Eric painted
the rst available Copycat Killer for the Brew City Gamers auction for the Milwaukee Branch of the Susan G. Komen Breast
Cancer Foundation.
... thats the rundown. But I know you want to know more about whats coming. So if thats your biggest desire, check
out this issues Ask Wyrd. Weve also had a lot of requests about the backstory. Basically, you want more of it, so were
including more ction from the world of Malifaux to help set the stage for your skirmishes. Not enough for you? Were
also giving you more game support with additional story encounters, miniatures, and stats. You might want to check them
out because their spooky themes will be a lot better for trick-or-treating than you going out to the bar in your Spiderman
Underoos.
Were also continuing to support our painters and hobbyists with a detailed article on
modifying a great Wyrd sculpt and creating terrain pieces.
Hopefully, thatll be enough for now, and well get started on the next round.

Casey
3

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

Til Gran Kythera Dow

By Nicholas Volker

"Speak the words, "Til Gran Kythera Dow," and the

eye of death will open.
"Travel east with the hum of the Breach at your back,
on the longest night of the year, toward the red star
on the horizon. On the sixth day in the bayou, for it
shall take you at least six days, turn your eyes to the
horizon, and mind the rising sun. It will show you the
silhouette of the place. You will know it by its scale
and by the shadow it casts. It will be large to rival
anything man has made but of sharp and angular
shape for which nature is clearly not responsible. It
will have spires, six or seven, I cannot remember
which, like ngers reaching out from the water.
"To me it was like the Roman Colosseum or
Stonehenge, a great temple, but it was none of
these. You will see that it is a machine of tremendous
magnitude and overwhelming complexity. It is
comprised not of brick and mortar but of gears and
levers nested together in a way contradictory to
geometry. Much of the structure is submerged,
especially the center portion which in this text I call
"The Foyer." These gears, these mechanical parts
have succumbed to the caustic waters of the bayou,

their teeth corroded and their orbits decayed. This

is of no concern to The Device. The Temple Device
works.
"What I saw that day makes me question my sanity.
It would be far more comforting if I had imagined
what I saw. I remember the sound of Professor
Heilin's cry, how it was a sound not of pain but of
fright. I remember how I turned and looked up at
him where he stood high amongst the great pillars
of the ruins. He called out a phrase. I can only
assume that he had somehow deciphered the
phonetics from the markings that decorated the
column. He called out these words, these terrible
words and the ruins moved.
"The pillars lurched and pushed out away from the
center of the site. Below, in The Foyer, the water
churned as mechanisms beneath the surface spun
to life. The water took on an unnatural appearance,
black like ink. Professor Heilin tumbled down from
where he stood and his body splashed into the water
below. I watched helplessly as he was taken up by a
sudden current and swept away toward the center
of the ruin, where his body was consumed by the
churning water, pulled beneath, and no part of him
was seen again.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
"It is not his death that haunts me. It is his words,
the jarring syllables that he called out. The ruins
answered his words and swallowed him up.
"Speak the words, "Til Gran Kythera Dow," and the
jaws of hell will open."
Phillip Tombers, graduate student of archaeology,
put his journal down and crawled up into his meager
cot. The words he had written echoed in his mind.
For many weeks those words have dominated his
thoughts. In the thick volume of his journal, he had
described the events of that day dozens of times. Its
pages were lled with drawings and descriptions of
the giant mechanism and its parts, its cogs decorated
with strange spidery script where they were not
destroyed by centuries of corrosion. He is the only
man to survive the research expedition into the
south bayou. Excluding the research lead, Professor
Heilin, who died at the site, each of his companions
fell sick with a fever only a few days after returning
to Malifaux. The fever destroyed their minds, and in
their t of death, they would mutter the word
"Kythera" and gasp for breath as if strangled around
their throats. These are the rumors Phillip heard
from the guards outside his cell. Only Phillip survived
but in the custody of the Guild sanitarium.

Phillip tugged at the blanket on his bunk, pulling it

up over him as a chill lled his tiny cell. Looking up
at the small window, a gap in the wall the size of a
single brick, he was confused to see a waft of snow
sweep in. His confusion elevated as the head of a cat
poked through the hole and blinked its eyes down at
him. The cat leapt from window and landed
gracefully beside him before leaping again to sit at
his feet and look up at him. Phillip was still and did
not act particularly alarmed at his curious visitor. He
had expected his descent into madness to begin
several days ago. He had even quickly attributed his
chill to the onset of a fever.
"Are you Phillip Tombers?" A voice spoke to ll the
conned space. Phillip mistook it as the voice of the
cat.
"Well, that seals it, doesn't it? Talking cats? That's
textbook crazy," Phillip responded.
"Stand away from the wall, Phillip Tombers." the
voice spoke again.
"Wait, what?" Phillip began to realize that the voice
came from beyond his window, that it belonged to
someone on the outside. He stood up from his bunk
and took a step backward to press his back against
the iron door of his cell. His eyes grew wide as a ash
of frost formed upon the wall across from him. The
frost grew and the chill in the cell asserted itself
further. Ice formed in the mortar between the bricks
and like a wedge driven between them, the wall split
and bricks began to tumble free. The ice projected
outwards and curled in on itself, crushing the bricks
into powder. As the wall fell away, Phillip was startled
to see the ice form the appearance of a st that
belonged to an icy titan that towered over the ruin
it had made.
The giant, composed entirely of animate ice, lowered
itself down to one knee to widen the opening.
Fearless, the cat hopped out through the hole in the
wall and between the legs of the ice golem. Phillip,
instead, was frozen with fear at the sight of the
creature, but a voice shook him from his paralysis.
Standing next to the creature, a slender woman in a
long coat and fur hat beckoned to him.
"Come with me, Phillip Tombers. We're leaving this
place."

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
Behind her, the narrow streets had been covered
with a thick layer of snow. Overhead, the eye of a
furious storm swirled, sending down a stream of cold
and snow. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to
the blinding white, and he shielded his face with his
arm as he climbed free of his prison. Together with
the woman, the cat, and her golem, Phillip rushed
out into the snow. Her hair was black like night and
her esh as pale as the snow packed underfoot. Her
long, stockinged legs navigated the snowy landscape
eortlessly as her long coat swirled around them. He
called out to her.
"Who are you? Where are we going? What about
the Guild?" He craned his head over his shoulder to
glance at the sanitarium. He was surprised to see
how much distance they had managed in such a brief
sprint and suddenly became aware of how fast his
heart was racing and the adrenaline coursing in his
veins. He saw guards stumble out of the opening in
the wall, and one pointed after him and shouted.
"My name is Rasputina," the woman responded.
"You are Phillip Tombers. You will take me to the
Kythera Ruins Site."
Stunned at this declaration, Phillip tripped and
tumbled through the snow, falling out on his back.
His head spun with dizziness as it knocked against
the cobbles hidden by the snow, and looking up at
the swirling sky, he was struck with a bout of vertigo.
He struggled to collect his senses as the angry clouds
spun overhead. Slowly, he lifted his arm and pointed
into the sky. Rasputina took hold of his arm to tug
him back to his feet, but seeing the fear grow on
Phillip's face, she turned her eyes up into the sky.
A black shape quickly grew, hurtling down towards
the ground like a meteor. Great wings stretched out
from the creature as it spun toward earth and as it
shot down toward them it let out a terrible roar, the
sound distinct even over the rush of swirling wind.
Rasputina temporarily forgot her ward and stood up
straight, standing her ground against the monster
that sped toward her. The impact was deafening.
Stepping in quickly, Rasputina's golem intercepted
the hell-spawned creature. The force of its descent
threw the pair of titans into a nearby building,
smashing through the wall so that the oor above
them caved in on top.

Raising her arm, Rasputina took hold of the wind and

sent a steam of snow to ll the ruined building with
a heavy drift to make any possible exit dicult.
"We'll be gone before that thing climbs out of there,"
she called out loudly to her charge. She spun on her
heels to locate him and there he still lay where he
had fallen. Standing over him, however, was the
feminine equivalent of the creature that had fallen
from the sky. Where that beast was made of strength
and brawn and rage, this creature was built of
subtlety, guile, and deceit. She seemed immune to
the frigid cold, dressed as she was in a leather corset
and tall thigh-high boots and standing stoically over
the frightened man at her feet. By the unnatural
green tint of her esh, it was clear she was no
human. She held a sword against her shoulder.
"Stand away from him!" Rasputina commanded and
her voice was empowered by the might of the north
wind, a booming echo between the towering
buildings overhead.
Without even looking up, the corseted woman let
her blade drop, spearing the man through his belly
to pin him to the ground. Phillip called out with a cry
of pain, and his hands shot up to grip the blade that
held him. Rasputina reacted instantly, lashing out
with a blast of frigid wind. The blast picked the
woman up and threw her against a lamp post,
bending the iron post over. Rasputina rushed over to
take her place, standing over the body of Phillip. His
struggles had already ended. He was dead. There
was only fury in Rasputina's eyes.
"Why did you kill this man?" Rasputina demanded.
"To make you suer," the woman responded frankly.
"The suering will be yours." Rasputina's
temperament became cool and detached but her
fury churned above her as the storm overhead
rumbled with angry thunder. With a simple gesture
of her hand, the chill wind shot out of the sky,
slashing at the corseted woman like a scythe. Moving
with inhuman agility, the woman leaped up and shot
into the air. Reaching out, she took hold of the very
fabric of reality and drew it around her like a cloak,
her body vanishing from sight. Existence, temporarily
distorted, stretched like it were elastic and bounced
back into shape with a ripple, like a drop of water
falling into a pond. The cloak of illusion hid her from

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
Rasputina's wrath, but her voice still taunted her.
"I didn't expect a woman when I saw the storm. I
came to kill a monster, big eyes, mouth full of
knives, you know the type?" The woman's voice
reverberated around Rasputina so that she couldn't
determine its source.
Rasputina was silent for a moment and then
exploded into laughter, "Oh, I can't believe this.
She's here to kill you, December? You have some
explaining to do. A jilted lover?"
There was silence and then: "What!? Who are you
talking to?" The invisible woman's voice seethed
with sudden anger, "He IS here!" And then with a
squeal of rage, "I'LL KILL YOU!"
The corseted woman suddenly reappeared, hurtling
down toward Rasputina, her heavy blade held
overhead. Stepping deftly to the side, Rasputina
dodged the attack, the blade falling powerfully
against the street so that the snow was blown away
and the cobbles beneath shattered, broken. With a
swirl of wind, snow surrounded the woman,
blinding her. Mad with fury, she lashed out again
and again but it was Rasputina's turn to play cat and
mouse, sheltered by her curtain of snow.
"You can never hide, never escape! You will die! I
will have your head!" The woman cried out with a
shrill scream.
"The monster you seek, his specter haunts this city.
You can kill me, but how can you kill a specter!?"
Rasputina called out over the roar of the winter
wind. "You cannot kill the winter, Lilith!"
To the corseted woman, being named justied her
rage. There was no way for Rasputina to know her
name unless she was being coached. The object of
her fury was present, of this Lilith was now keenly
certain. She had come to investigate the storm. Its
terrible swirling eye was a memory out of the
distant past. In being named, it conrmed her worst
fears, that her ancient enemy had somehow
survived his death. The manner of his survival,
however, seemed to be rather intangible. In naming
her, Rasputina had also revealed her location to
Lilith, her voice a beacon in the storm.

With a swift lunge, Lilith's blade pierced the veil of

swirling snow, its razor edge cutting across the esh
of Rasputina's thigh. The Ice-Witch fell to her knees,
clutching her wound. The laceration festered
quickly, turning purple and putrid, a product of the
envenomed edge. Lilith smelled blood and hefted up
her sword to deliver the nal strike.
"This is it! Time to die!"
A loud crash exploded nearby and the giant ice
golem lunged forward, grabbing the comparatively
tiny Lilith from the sky before her strike could land.
Furious at being denied, she turned her blade
against the elemental, cleanly severing his hand
from his arm. Free from its grip, she lunged forward,
again, bringing the full weight of the blade down on
the creature. The collision was ear-splitting, a sound
to shatter glass and the golem exploded into a
shower of glittering crystals raining down all around,
completely obliterated. Her distraction quickly
dispatched, she turned quickly to nd her true prey,
but Rasputina's blizzard had hidden her from sight,
again.
That blizzard proved little defense as overhead great
wings beat at the sky, temporarily banishing the
snowy veil with a gust of wind. Lilith's demon
consort howled and dove, its talons unfurled for its
attack. The creature slammed into Rasputina and
the two barreled through the snow, end over end
until the beast perched over the body of its kill.
Rasputina proved she was made of tougher stock
than her slender frame would suggest and met her
attacker's eyes with her frigid gaze. Reaching up, her
tiny hand pressed in against the beast's giant arm
which instantly curled in pain before it was frozen
sti by her touch. The beast howled in pain but with
a strike of her other hand, the beast's arm shattered
like glass, disintegrated from the shoulder down. It
toppled over, rolling into the snow, clutching at the
jagged stump at its shoulder. Rasputina stood,
dusted herself o and faced o against her rival.
Lilith fumed.
"Rasputina, halt! By order of the Guild, you are
under arrest!" Only one hundred yards down the
street, a pair of men stood. The rst, whose voice
boomed with authority, leveled his pistol at the
witch. His other hand held his worn hat to his head
as the wind whipped at his faded poncho. Beside the

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
witch-hunter stood a wiry, nervous looking man
who hopped back and forth from one foot to the
other. This man struck a match against his chin and
set it to the fuse of his dynamite. Rearing back, his
long arm set the explosive ying an impressive
distance, the stick landing in a snow drift between
the two women.

"Thanks, Loco." The deputy narrowed his eyes as his

ngers moved over a bulge in the victim's coat.
Reaching inside, he drew out a thick, leather bound
journal. Worked into the leather on the cover were
written the words, "The Philosophy of Uncertainty."
He returned the volume to the pocket of the coat
and turned his head up to look at his partner.

The two women glanced at each other and then at

the snow where the stick had disappeared,
uncertain whether it had doused the spark.
Rasputina's companion, the tiny cat, leaped up onto
her shoulder. Both women seemed to come to the
same conclusion, not to chance it. Both turned and
ran.

"Make yourself useful. Help me carry this body back

to the asylum."

Lilith called over her shoulder, "Don't die until I kill

you!"
Only an explosion answered her. The dynamite
detonated with a thunderous blast that shook the
ground beneath them like a god stepping down
from the sky. The street shattered, falling away into
the deep sewer beneath it. The ancient construction
succumbed to its age and more of the ground fell
into the pit opening beneath it. A tall building
lurched violently and the oors above crashed down
onto those below, the whole building imploding, a
giant cloud of debris shooting up into the sky like a
geyser. The two men watched, fascinated, as the
earth swallowed up the building. When the dust
began to settle, one of them spoke.
"Damn it, Loco. I'm never taking you into the eld,
again. Are you going to dig their bodies out of that?"
The deputy holstered his revolver and moved to
where a man's body lay in the snow. Kneeling down,
he touched his ngers against the corpse's wound.
"It's Phil, from the nut-house," oered Loco.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

Dear Kristen
By Nicholas Volker

Dearest Kristen,
I am writing you in hopes that my words nd you
well. You and our daughter are constantly in my
thoughts, and a day doesnt go by that I dont pine
for your touch and bemoan the circumstances that
separate us. Though the distance that separates us
is a trial for me, I am thankful that you are not here
to witness this place. The birth of Madelynn was
more of a blessing than I could have ever realized.
That her birth prevented you from joining me in this
nightmare city, I will forever be indebted to her.
Enclosed in this envelope, I hope you nd nine
hundred dollars and that it buys you and our
daughter the comforts that you deserve.
Here, in Malifaux, the comforts are sparse, though I
havent much to complain about. Those nding
employ with the Guild enjoy much more habitable
lodging than those that must nance themselves.
There is a baker just down the road from me who
makes a quite edible cinnamon bread. I must be one
of his more frequent customers because he is always
stacking additional sweets into my sack, free of
charge. I may be a plumper man when you see me
next.
If I stay within the neighborhoods where paving
stones comprise the streets, I can almost convince
myself that this is a proper city. Unfortunately, my
investigations take me far outside this cloistered
space to witness the true reality of this place. This
truly is the frontier, no matter that the gargoyles
hanging over the heart of the city might try to
convince me of civilization.
I apologize in advance for what I am about to write.
If your constitution is lacking, then I invite you to
stop reading, now. For my sanity, however, I am
compelled to write, for I have no other condant in
which to entrust my private horrors. As you know,
the Guild contracted my services to investigate the
murders of four of their ocers. Between the wire
message and the ride by rail, it was a full 48 hours
after the crime that I arrived.

10

The crime scene had not been touched in that time,

and natural biology had taken place on the victims,
lling the room with the noxious smell of decay and
a swarm of unidentiable insects. It was dicult to
identify how many victims succumbed in the room,
as their various bits were strewn haphazardly about
in piles of assorted viscera. The violence that took
place there was beyond anything I was capable of
imagining. Should I be able to strike that scene from
my memory, I would be a very lucky man. I am
skeptical, however, that I would ever be able to
forget such a carnal image.
I am fortunate that I was not required to endure that
room long. A brief search uncovered a pile of
documents, which I discovered to be a mining
contract with the local union and an agenda for
contract negotiations. There were some curious
marks raked into the oor boards, here and there,
and my initial instinct was that some rampaging
beast had ambushed these men in their oces. With
no signs of forced entry, though, I am forced to
consider such a gruesome event was the result of a
labor dispute gone badly.
In those portions of the documents which were not
stained with blood, I was able to extract the name
of Phillip Knowles. By the description of the agenda,
it was apparent that Mr. Knowles was expected to be
present at the negotiations. That he survived is
testament that he did not attend. I found Mr.
Knowles to be an incredibly nervous and paranoid
individual. That he served as a deputy for the Guild
was a distressing thought. The story he told me
convinced me he came about his paranoia by good
reason. I do not pity the man, consumed in fear as
he is. His cowardice and more, his cruelty, have
earned him the shadows that haunt him.
His tale concerns another, a Mr. Howard Langston.
Mr. Langston was foreman of the Delta Seven mining
site, one of the most vigorously mined veins in that
area. According to Mr. Knowles, production at the
Delta Seven site had been in continuous decline for
several months. He and his associates were
dispatched to the site in order to discern the cause
of these delays.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
My particular expertise lay far outside the concerns
of minerals and soils and excavation, and I dont
pretend to understand the situation Mr. Langston
explained to Mr. Knowles and his associates.
Evidently there was a signicant fracture within the
earth that further excavation threatened to upset.
The result, should the fracture move, would be a
cave-in and potential loss of life. In an eort to
prevent such an accident, production was slowed so
that additional reinforcements might be built into
the shaft to safeguard the miners working there.

Two other men rushed the toughened miner and

blows rained down on his head and shoulders. For
their eorts, one man had both of his arms broken,
a hand crushed in Langstons grip. The other
received a broken leg as he was hoisted o the
ground and thrown against a nearby mining car.
Knowles described no malice in the man's counter
attack, just erce assurance that such transgressions
would not be tolerated. He was astounded by
Langston's strength and the way he tossed the men
aside like ragdolls he'd become bored with.

Mr. Knowless associates were not pleased by this

explanation and pressed that production resume at
full capacity, regardless of any perceived danger.
That Mr. Langston was a member of the labor class
precluded any kind of intelligent opinion in their
eyes. Further, they felt that the life insurance policy
provided by the union contract was more than
enough compensation for any resulting accident.

Knowles' superior ocer, a man by the name of

Doolan, escalated the encounter. He drew his
rearm and shot Langston in the hip. As strong as
the man was, the large caliber weapon destroyed the
joint above his leg, and he fell to the ground. Eager
to avenge their injuries, all ve men (yes, Knowles
admitted he joined in) began to brutally club and
beat Langston with the butts of their guns and a
couple axe-handles they had found at the site. By
Knowles description, there wasn't a part of
Langston's body that wasn't purple and broken. His
blood bubbled out of the wound in his hip and the
thirsty ground drank it up.

Langston listened quietly. Knowles described an

eerie stoicism on his face even as he and his
associates began to shout and threaten the man.
Langston endured these threats silently and without
reaction. When the Guild ocials tired of their
tirade, Langston calmly told them that he needed to
return to work and that he wished that they have a
pleasant day. He then turned his back on them and
started back toward the worksite.
Knowles and his associates numbered ve men. The
odds of ve against one is enough to put bravery into
almost anyone. Langston was a large man, fully six
and a half feet tall and close to three hundred
pounds of muscle rened by hard labor in the mines.
It would take those kinds of odds to even consider
starting a scue with the man. When one of the
Guild men struck Langston across the back with a
loose rail timber, it burst into splinters across his
granite shoulders, barely fazing the even-tempered
man.
Langston proved that those odds were not sucient
and that every man has a limit to what he will
endure. Knowles described the scene in intricate
detail, how Langston spun with a quick motion and
caught his attacker by the throat, how one blow from
his knotted st struck the Guild man unconscious,
and how he crumpled to the ground like a sack of
potatoes.

11

Still, the Guild goons were not satised. With all the
terrible things I have seen in this line of work, I
cannot understand the wickedness men are capable
of. This place, this City, it seems to nurture that
wickedness. It's as if murder is in the air and infects
the men who live here, lling them with a lust for his
neighbor's blood. In all the world, there is no place
more in need of law than Malifaux, law to keep men
civil and decent and safe. But here, the Guild is no
law. These men, they dragged Langston's
unconscious body through the dirt and laid him
across the railroad tracks. They left him to die.
After hearing that from Knowles, I'm certain you can
understand my surprise when he told me that
Langston still lived. Not only that, but the man had
returned to his duties as foreman of the Delta Seven
site. This is only two weeks after the events Knowles
related to me. To me, it seemed that Knowles
paranoia had inspired some unreasonable dread that
the man he'd wronged would be strong enough or
healthy enough to exact vengeance. So it was that
Knowles' fear was justied and, despite my
skepticism, astoundingly correct.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
It is a short ride by rail from the City's center to the
derelict station that serves the Delta Seven site. I
used the time aboard the train to review my notes
and the interview with Knowles that I had
transcribed. I found myself rereading the man's
description of the brutal beating he had participated
in, my mind struggling with an image of a person
who might have sustained such injuries. With such
a brief period to recover, the man must still be
dressed in bandages and casts and delirious with
drugs to kill his pains.
Of course, the train does not pull right up to the
mouth of the mine shaft, and it was a long walk
before I started to see signs of the operation. There
was a beaten path where wagons traveled, carrying
the loads of precious Soulstones that were the
miners' bounty. Eventually I could see movement
around the site and a large plume of black smoke
that issued from some piece of mechanical
equipment. It was this piece of equipment that kept
my eye as I continued onward toward the site. It
moved back and forth along a set of tracks, pushing
carts from the mine and to the wagons to be
unloaded. It wasn't dependent on the tracks as it
would depart from them at short intervals, attending
to other chores I couldn't decipher from my distant
vantage. I was confused by its manner. I was not
familiar with a machine that moved so... organically.
So curious was I in regards to the machine that when
I nally arrived at the site, I asked the workers there
about it immediately, instead of inquiring into
Langston's whereabouts. To my surprise, the
gentleman who indulged my question responded
simply, "Oh, that's Hank." I didn't understand the
response. But with further questions, the worker
explained that Howard "Hank" Langston and the
machine were one and the same. I still didn't
understand, even after several questions, and took
the man to mean that Langston was operating the
machine in question.
Another gentleman appeared, one dressed nely in
a long coat and spectacles. I would later discover the
man is Doctor Ramos, an inuential, if roguish,
industrialist. He had apparently overheard my
inquiry, and putting his arm over my shoulder, he led
me away from the group of workers I had been
speaking to. The man inquired conversationally into
my business at the mining site and seemed quite

12

interested when I told him I was investigating a

murder. He inquired further, and I told him that I was
looking for a man known as Hank Langston.
I was distracted by my conversation with Ramos and
had temporarily put aside my curiosity into the
strange mechanical device until I heard the shrill
whistle of steam being vented. Lifting my eyes, I saw
the most amazing and terrifying thing I'd ever
witnessed. During our conversation, we had moved
closer to the machine so that when I looked upon it,
again, I was only two hundred meters or so from it.
Just as the worker had said, the machine was Hank,
or at least part of it was.
The mechanical portion of the creature (and I call it
a creature because it was no simple machine and if
it were once a man, it was no longer) had the
manner of a spider, going about on four large and
articulated legs. Those legs moved with a careful and
measured grace, navigating the job site much as a
spider might navigate its web. Where the spider's
body would be, however, there was the torso of a
man, instead. A muscled stomach transitioned
abruptly out of the mechanical conveyance that
served surrogate for its legs. It was a solid trunk for
broad shoulders and enormous arms.
As I marveled at the creature, Ramos nonchalantly
called out to it, calling it Hank. The creature turned
its stoic eyes toward us, and never have I seen such
a hard-nosed face. It was only at that point that I
nally conceded the creature's identity to be
Langston. The expression on the creature's face was
just as Knowles had described it, personifying an
even-tempered demeanor. It rose up on its great
steel legs and eortlessly strode toward us. The
creature towered over us, and behind it, I could hear
its steam engine bubbling quietly and another
whistle of steam.
Ramos asked for Hank to give a report on the day's
productivity and Hank instantly began to list a
detailed account of how many cars had been loaded
and when. My attention couldn't be bothered with
such mundane details when such an awe-inspiring
sight stood before me. The creature was gigantic,
and perched upon its huge spidery legs; it was much
taller than the six-foot-six that Hank reportedly stood
before his accident. Those legs were a marvel in the
way they moved and were articulated by steam

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driven pistons. Their power was obvious. As Hank
reported the site's happenings, he idly prodded at a
stone with his pointed talon, splitting it eortlessly,
and scratched a mark into the dry earth.
That mark triggered a realization, and it must have
shown on my face because Ramos quickly dismissed
Hank and drew me away from where the giant was
working. That mark Hank left in the earth was the
same mark raked into the oorboards of the Guild
oces. Hank was there. He killed those men. In that
moment I knew that to be fact. I'm certain that you
had come to the same conclusion, my dear Kristen.
Ramos coldly explained the events of weeks prior
but his account was redundant. I knew what had
happened. There was silence between us for several
moments, each of us waiting for what must happen
next. It was clear to me that Ramos intended to
convince me to conceal my ndings and just as

condent as I was in his intentions, I was dedicated

in completing my duty. It was then that we heard a
sound and we turned to see that Hank had called a
man back from the mine. This man jogged the short
distance across the work-site, and Hank reached out
with his iron claw to hand the man a hard hat. Hank
gave the worker a brief warning about working
without his safety gear and sent him back o.
This creature, this man, had suered an incredible
trauma, became this amazing monster but was still
capable of humanity. He retained the trust and
respect of his fellow laborers. Ramos explained to
me greater crimes perpetrated by the Guild, crimes,
he claimed, that necessitated violence such as that I
had investigated. He went on to detail his conviction
that the minerals mined here were the right of the
laborers who mined it and not of the corrupt
interests of the Guild. He didn't need to explain any
further; nothing he had to say had any sway over my
sense of justice.
Justice serves to protect the innocent - that has
always been my creed. Ramos is no innocent, not in
the least. The Guild, too, has proven its guilt through
the testimony of one its own. No, neither side of this
conict is innocent but I believe there was a time
when Hank was. Hank suered, and I wouldn't be
the instrument of his further grief, an instrument of
the Guild which had provoked his descent into
Ramos' own brand of organized crime and
corruption.
Nevertheless, Ramos wouldn't let me leave without
accepting his generous gift of nine hundred dollars.
I sent that ahead to you and hope that it reaches you
and our daughter safely. I will be delayed a few more
days as I give my report before the GovernorGeneral. Despite the mire of politics here, there was
nothing sinister about those mens' deaths. An
unexpected attack by a wild animal, that's an act of
God.
Yours forever,
James McCoy

13

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

The Hollow Marsh Gala

By Nicholas Volker

You are listening to KMAL, 417.2 megahertz on your

wireless dial. I am Fredrick Grogstien, aethercasting
live from the Hollow Marsh Pumping Station, the site
of tonight's gala event. Malifaux and Earthside elite
will gather here, in mere moments, to dedicate this
new facility. Tonight we will hear from several
speakers including the Governor General, himself.
Many expect he will laud the new facility for opening
up some forty square kilometers of previously
unminable land and eliminating the ooding hazard
at a half dozen currently operating sites.
It is also expected that the Governor General will
publicly recognize the architect of the Hollow Marsh
Facility, Doctor Victor Ramos. Ramos has enjoyed a
huge surge of popularity with the labor class for his
eorts to increase miners' safety. Use of his
Mechanical Canary at the Gamma Six site has seen
the casualty rate there fall seventy percent. For his
eorts, he has recently been re-elected as president
of the Miners and Steamtters Union, and his
revolutionary ideas have done much to remove the
Dead-Man-Walking stigma of the miners' profession.
Ahh, I'm uncertain if you can hear, but behind me
the Hollister's Automata Orchestra has begun to
warm up. The facility's observation deck has been
richly decorated for tonight's event. It enjoys a
pleasant view across the glassy outflow lagoon.
Later, this deck will see Malifaux's social elite along
with earthside's most inuential soulstone
speculators dancing and celebrating. Union
representatives will share drink with Guild ocials,
coming together with the best interests of Malifaux's
miners in mind. Oh! The rst of the guests are
arriving. Quite a treat. Madam Malaveau, Neo-ArtNouveau Impressionist, and her husband have just
arrived. She is breathtaking in her Dame Gwenyfar
gown...
The signal faded briey as often happens as a result
of the volatile Malifaux weather. Beneath the
buzzing radio, the two employees of Mademoiselle
Coco's Boutique sat huddled together. The two
women shivered in each others arms and stared

14

fearfully at the barred door nearby. From their hiding

spot in the stockroom of the boutique they could
hear movement in the showroom beyond. The
radio's buzzing intensied and Fredricks voice was
reduced to unintelligible clicks. With the sudden
buzz came a sudden heavy footfall, outside. The
women gasped as another stomp shook the lights in
their xtures. The booming footsteps approached
and each step the giant made caused the lights to
icker and the door to rattle in its frame. The women
held their breath, certain that the monster outside
the door had become aware of their presence.
There was silence. Nothing moved. The only clue
that time had not stopped completely was the
rapidly drumming heartbeats of the two terried
women. The silence was short-lived and broken by a
sudden boom. The door split down the middle and
the women cried out, their lungs bursting with a
shrill scream. That scream persisted in a horrible
chorus as the door was shook again and again by
repeated strikes. The timber that barred the door
was unable to withstand the violence, bowing and
cracking.
Light from beyond the door ltered through the
splintered wood and horrible iron talons tore away
the ruined planks. In the space between the broken
slats, the maddened face of a young woman
appeared. Her grin was wide and toothy as a
Cheshire cat. Her eyes were like empty pools,
completely dilated with her obvious insanity. Her
breath beat quickly in her chest, escaping from her
lips in a mad laugh with each sharp exhale. Just as
soon as the screaming women caught sight of those
crazy eyes, a giant revolver replaced her face.
The girl's nger twitched, and the gun lurched with
an ear-splitting bang. She howled with mad glee and
quickly emptied her revolver of its rounds, the
weapon ring wildly into the stockroom. Empty, her
nger continued to click the trigger, her appetite for
violence unsatised by just six bullets.
The two women turned to look at each other, certain
that they must be ghosts. Somehow, though, they
had been spared, and their screams transitioned

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
abruptly into silent shock. The radio above them,
however, did not survive the encounter, its ruined
transistors scattered throughout the room. The
women lifted their eyes to look at the girl who
leaned through the wrecked door. She blinked and
glanced down at them, as if just realizing they were
there. The girl's breathing had slowed, recovering
from her t of madness.
She whispered, "That buzzing was driving me
crazy..."
The women did not seem comforted by this
explanation.
The girl bent down and picked up a pair of pumps
she had dropped by her feet. Looking at the women,
again, she asked casually, "Can I get the bag that
goes with these shoes?"
Behind her came the low and gru sound of an
elderly gentleman's voice, "Alyce, come along, we
are going to be late to the gala."
Alyce frowned slightly and called out, "Yes,
Leveticus, just a moment." She kicked down what
remained of the door and waved hello to the clerks
with her mechanical arm. The arm didn't seem well
maintained, and at the gesture, it gave an eerie
squeaking sound that somehow suggested its
desire for something more sanguine than oil.
Knocking over a few boxes, Alyce found the
bag she wanted and hurried back out into
the showroom where her escort was
patiently waiting.

15

She had selected one of Mademoiselle Coco's most

extravagant gowns. It was a dark ruddy color that
contrasted sharply with the girl's pale skin and had
semi-precious stones sewn into the lacy hem.
Leveticus thought it must be fate that such a
sophisticated gown was found in this tiny backwater
boutique and one that t her slender adolescent
gure. He had to admit to himself that the gown had
its charm and what he thought was a fool's errand
had turned up a surprising treasure. Alyce made
note of the look on Leveticus' face as he measured
her up in her gown, and she smiled a crooked smile.
She pinched his arm and whispered.
"Come along, we are going to be late to the gala."
There is a train that passes west out of Malifaux and
into the foothills. It makes the trip four times a day,
once for the start of each of the two miners' twelve
hour shifts, another at mid-morning, and once more
at mid-afternoon. For workers traveling to more
distant sites, wagons are used to reach those remote
locations. For Leveticus and Alyce, however, their
benefactor had arranged other transportation. The
driver of their coach did not seem aected by the
sound of gunblasts heard previously and maintained
a quiet and professional demeanor as he opened the
carriage door. He addressed them both as Lord and
Lady, even oering Alyce a hand to climb
inside. He was thankful that he was spared
the touch of her mechanical hand, but his
face did not betray his relief in that small
comfort.

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The driver knew who his clients were: contract
murderers. Rusty Alyce's erratic demeanor had
earned a modest reputation in Malifaux and some
saloon rumors purported that her mechanical arm
had a mind and temperament all its own. Some of
the more creative stories even have Alyce arguing
with her arm at times. As deadly as Alyce might be,
however, hired guns are twelve for ten cents in
Malifaux. It is Leveticus' skills that put the pair into
a whole other pay scale. Men cannot count on death
to save them from him.
To pass the time on the journey, Alyce toyed with
her revolver, turning out the cylinder of her weapon
and clapping it closed over and over. With each click
of the closing cylinder, Leveticus gave her an
annoyed glance, but the girl didn't seem to get the
message. Reaching over, he trapped her hand
against the weapon with his own.

modern engineering. Each of the six giant steam

engines was equipped with towering smoke stacks
and steam vents. Each of the stacks were adorned
by six statuesque saints perched atop curling clouds,
each attributed with a dierent virtue and each
watching over the facility from above. Beneath them
were the enormous pump wheels, which then stood
still, but would soon drive the great pistons that
would pump water from distant mines. These
wheels were arrayed in a half circle around the
observation deck from which workers would be able
to monitor the workings of the engines below.
Opposite the wheels, across the deck, was the
lagoon. The waters, here, were peaceful and serene
but would churn when the pumps were activated
and poured out into it.

"Stop that. Put that away. Will that even t in the

bag you picked out?"
Alyce responded with a frown but demonstrated the
bag's utility by stung her oversized revolver into
it. Inside was a mess of rounds she'd poured into it.
"Now, I want you to remember to be calm. I would
prefer not to have any collateral casualties, tonight.
We're only after one mark." Leveticus narrowed his
brow, "And remember not to shoot him in the
head."
Alyce grinned at that last warning and nodded her
head, "Right, of course, no headshots."
"Also, I want you to remember your manners,
tonight. There will be many inuential people at this
gala. If we don't maintain a courtly presence, we'll
stick out, and we may alert our mark. Understand?"
Alyce nodded again. "I know, Leveticus. I've been
reading that book you gave me, 'A Young Woman's
Reader.'" The girl turned to look out the window of
the coach. The Hollow Marsh Pumping Station rose
into view, "Oh, look, I didn't realize it'd be such a
lovely place!"
For a facility with such a humble purpose as
pumping water out of mines, the Hollow Marsh
Pumping Station was a grandiose monument to

16

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The Hollow Marsh Facility would also serve as the
new oces of the Miners and Steamtters Union
and employ a dozen laborers itself. Already several
ancillary buildings had been constructed nearby to
serve the workforce here, a trading post, tavern, and
ubiquitous brothel. These were the rst of many and
represented the seed of a town that would grow in
service of this facility.
The coach driver drew at the reins of his horse, and
the coach rolled to a stop. Leveticus exited and
turned to help Alyce from the carriage. A man in a
tuxedo approached them and asked for their
invitation, which Leveticus produced from inside his
jacket. The gentleman turned and read from the
card, announcing the couple.
"Introducing Professor Trelway of the New
Amsterdam Academy of Metallurgists and his
daughter, Linda Trelway, chapter member of Kappa
Delta."
Alyce tugged lightly on Leveticus' sleeve and grinned
up at him, whispering softly, "Daughter, is it?"
Leveticus didn't look amused and responded,
"Remember your reader, Linda."
The two ascended the long staircase that led up to
the observation deck. It was already crowded with
debutantes and dignitaries, each chatting with
another while the tightly buttoned wait sta toured
the crowd with plates of appetizers and glasses of
champagne held aloft. To a man situated high above
the crowd, they looked like ants stirring in their nest.
Poised upon Saint Genevieve's head, atop one of the
station's smoke stacks, an assassin crouched. His
black attire hid him from their sight, but his looking
glass allowed him to pick out his quarry from the
crowd. His eye focused on the platform erected on
the lagoon side of the observation deck, the
platform where the gala VIPs sat and discussed what
must be very important matters.
He recognized the Governor General and a Guild
deputy at that table, and he recognized Ramos and
his associate, the Vice President of the labor union,
a man called Duncan McSweeny. The assassin put
aside his looking glass and began to unpack his tools.
His was a weapon several weeks in the making,
designed particularly for this job. Four iron tubes

17

were loaded with four paper and gunpowder

rockets, devices similar to reworks that might be
employed for celebration. These were designed with
lethal intent with deadly payloads. A trigger
mechanism on the underside of the tubes
articulated a series of int and steel devices
connected to each of the rockets' fuses so that they
might be red individually. Atop the iron tubes, the
assassin mounted his looking glass and sighted down
length of it, focusing on Ramos, again.
While the assassin had worked, Ramos had been
delivering his speech. The man was known for ery
and moving rhetoric. He was as skillful with words
as he was with turbine and cog. His powerful oratory
worked its magic on the gathered socialites, tonight,
and on Alyce in particular. Hugging close to
Leveticus' side, she gazed up at the man at the
podium. The particular items he spoke of, miners'
rights, the responsibility of industry, these things
didn't mean much to Alyce, but she admired the
obvious passion that possessed Ramos. Such passion
is an admirable and attractive quality.
Ramos spoke, and without aid of any articial device,
his voice was clearly and unmistakably heard by all
men and women present. "This facility represents
our triumph over one of Malifaux's demons. Never
again will a ooded shaft make one of Malifaux's
wives a widow. Our men will no longer fear the
temperamental Malifaux sky and its threat of rain.
Each of these men deserves nothing less than to
return to their wives and children each night and live
to be old men. I will not rest until that simple ideal
is guaranteed to each man who mines in Malifaux.
You, who will return earthside in the morning, take
my words with you: The greatest resource of
Malifaux is not its soulstone but the strength and
spirit of its people!"
Immediately at the conclusion of Ramos' speech, the
Hollister's Automata Orchestra jumped into song.
Emboldened by Ramos' oratory, the debutantes
paired o with their escorts and began the night of
drinking and dancing. They would return home and
tell of a magical night in exotic Malifaux and of the
ery Ramos who could enchant the devil, himself. As
Ramos came down from the platform, Alyce broke
from Leveticus' side. The old man reached out for
her and even gave chase after her, but mishandling
his cane, he missed the chance to catch her. She

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
rushed to the foot of the platform, her deep red
gown sweeping around her feet.

waiting for the ending of the song so that they might

part and he could take her to his side, again.

Alyce remembered the passages from A Young

Woman's Reader that dealt with this particular
situation. Though the Reader cautioned that such
forward actions were only proper in a small handful
of situations, Alyce could clearly visualize the
cartoon girl in its pages performing her curtsy and
stating coyly, "It is a night made for dancing, is it
not?"

The nal notes of the song did come, and with them,
Alyce woke from her dreaming. Her iron hand once
again answered her command, and she curled her
ngers into the lapel of Ramos' suit. Despite Ramos's
strength, he couldn't ght the pull of that mechanical
arm. She pulled him down and rose up on her toes
to kiss him. All around the guests gasped at what
they saw and whispered amongst themselves, asking
questions: Who is that girl? Who is Ramos kissing?
Isn't she a bit young for him?

Ramos stopped short on that nal stair, clearly given

pause by the girl's sudden appearance. However the
cogs of propriety had already begun to spin and he
was motivated by their weighty turn to answer in
kind, "Indeed it is, miss. Perhaps you will grant me
the enviable privilege of a dance?
Alyce only answered with a curtsy and took Ramos'
outstretched hand. He drew her into his arms and
the two of them joined the swirling procession of
dancers as they revolved around the observation
deck like gears in a grand machine. Though gray had
crept into Ramos' hair, Alyce was surprised at the
strength in Ramos' arms and the stately grace in his
movements. The song of the mechanical orchestra
faded from its boisterous, celebratory notes into a
gentle waltz. All around, dancers drew their partners
closer and Alyce quickly found herself in Ramos'
embrace.
Ramos wasn't quite as enchanted. Her mechanical
hand seemed to take the opportunity to act of its
own accord as its owner was distracted by her rst
dance. Her iron talons walked up along his shoulder
toward his neck, and several times throughout the
song, Ramos had to lift his hand from Alyce's waist
to replace her errant hand on his arm. The odd
demeanor of his dancing partner and the activities
of her autonomous hand inspired a cautious
curiosity in Ramos that prevented him from sharing
Alyce's starry-eyed experience.
Leveticus was livid. His narrowed eyes marked the
placement of Ramos' hands on Alyce's body and the
scandalous distance between them. His teeth
ground against each other and every muscle in his
body wound tight with anger. Jealousy took hold of
him, and it took every ounce of his strength to resist
that demon's whispers. Instead, he stood still,

18

Leveticus' rage could not abide this trespass, and he

rushed toward the two of them, calling out with
some garbled curse. His cane struck the tiled oor as
he pushed against one of the guests, and the old
man spilled out onto the oor. The crowd parted,
forming a circle around the three of them. There was
gasping and pointing and more whispers as the
crowd looked upon the spectacle before them. And
it was then that the assassin struck.
With a pull of his trigger, there was a sudden are as
his rocket was loosed. The projectile made a loud
whistling sound as it sped down toward the crowd.
None of the guests seemed to hear it, all of them too
preoccupied with the scene unfolding before them.
No one seemed to notice except for one. With swift
motion, Alyce drew her revolver from her handbag
and pointed it up at the sky. The shocked crowd
quickly turned into a frightened crowd at the sudden
appearance of the weapon and several screams
sounded out.
Alyce's eyes took on that maddened gleam, and her
smile widened into that terrible, toothy grin. "There
you are! I've been waiting for you!"
Her revolver barked, and the descending projectile
exploded overhead. Its payload of tiny needles
rained over the crowd but because of Alyce's shot,
Ramos, Leveticus, and she were spared. Wherever a
needle struck, the victim's wound bubbled up with
sickly green puss and it was quickly apparent that the
quills were poisoned. Though the wounds might
appear terrible, few of the guests were in any real
danger. Those visitors staying at the Governor
General's mansion had already received the antidote
to the poison. Only those individuals representing

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
the Union, those people who had not already
supped with the Governor had anything to worry
about. In the morning, it would appear as if some
terrorist had struck, and it would be ne justication
to increase security at the pumping station, Guild
security. Those that survived would praise the
Governor's doctor for the miracles he performed.
With three quick ares, the assassins three
remaining rockets leapt down at the crowd. Alyce
red into the sky, again, but this time her target was
the man, not his munitions. The sound of her rounds
ricocheting o the smoke-stack was barely audible
over the sound of the screaming crowd. Ramos
dipped down and slung an arm beneath Leveticus'
shoulder, hauling him to his feet. Together, they dove
under the VIP platform for cover. The platform
shielded the two men from the salvo of rockets and
when the explosions had passed, Leveticus pulled
himself out from under it and called after his
associate.
"Don't shoot him in the head!"
Overhead, there was another are, but this wasn't a
weapon. Strapped to the assassin's back was
another rocket, and this one carried him up o the
smokestack and out toward the east, in the direction
of Ridley Station. Alyce raced after him and reached
into her handbag, pulling out a handful of rounds.
She mashed her stful of ammunition against the
cylinder of her weapon and three of the chambers
were lled, the rest of the rounds spilling out onto
the ground. She lifted her weapon and red wildly.
With the devil's own luck, one of those rounds struck
true and the assassin's rocket was hit. The ruined
missile spun him in the air, and then, with a sputter,
sent him hurtling to the ground like a meteor.
A re rose from the brush, marking the crash site.
Alyce, after kicking o her pumps and fueled by her
lust for violence, quickly arrived. She swept the area
with her revolver, ring indiscriminately into the
shadows cast by the re before the weapon was
knocked from her grasp by an attack from her side.
She couldn't see the man, his image cast in
silhouette by the light of the re, but he wielded a
polished blade that shone brightly with that same
light. He lashed out at her with that sword, cutting a
wide swath in her skirts, and again, sparks ying as
it struck her false limb.

19

The man looked at Alyce and he did not see fear in

those wide eyes. He saw the re burn in them, and
he saw certain madness there. It was the kind of
madness that knew no reason, no fear of death. It
was the kind of madness that knows only the object
of its obsession, knows only the murder it yearns to
make. Looking into her eyes, the assassin felt an
unfamiliar fear grip him and felt Alyce begin to press
the attack. The gears of her mechanical arm groaned
in their rusty orbits, squealing as she lashed out
again and again. Her cruel talons raked at his esh
and sought his throat.
His sword caught in her ngers and with close of her
st, the blade snapped. With another quick motion,
her ngers swept across his neck, tearing out his
throat. It is a merciful thing that his cries and his life
were silenced. Alyce's hunger was not sated by that
brief melee, and in the ickering light of brush re,
she knelt beside him and drew from his body what
satisfaction she could. When Ramos and Leveticus
nally caught up to her, there was very little left of
the man but gore. Alyce's pale skin was bathed in
crimson red to match her gown, thick on her as if
she'd swam in it.
"I see you've remembered one lesson, tonight."
Leveticus said coldly as he reached down to pick up
the assassin's head which was still intact. He held it
up, his ngers curled into the dead man's hair.
"Do your work on it, Leveticus. We will meet like
planned," Ramos said. "Take the carriage. Deputies
will be here any moment."
Leveticus nodded his head. Alyce stood and backed
away from the corpse. The re had spread and
moved to engulf her plaything. Wiping the blood
from her face, she attempted a smile at her escort.
He didn't seem pleased.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
Leveticus opened the door and let his benefactor
into his lab. All about the chamber was collected a
curious collection of devices. Each one sparked or
spun in its own unique way, and arcs of lightning
ashed through a network of electrodes arrayed
overhead. The walls were lled with banks of heavy
switches that operated the arcane equipment. In the
center of the workspace, Ramos recognized the
assassin's head mounted on a pike. Cables poured
out of his severed neck and wound across the oor
to a control panel.

"McSweeny's life? I was hoping for something a bit

more sophisticated than murder for our next job but
I suppose it can't be helped," Leveticus replied.
The two of them discussed business for a while
longer and coins traded hands as a new contract was
forged. Leveticus watched as Ramos left his lab and
the image of him kissing Alyce ashed into his
memory. His brow furled and his distaste for the man
intensied. In the morning, he decided, he would
inquire with the Guild xer about any available work.

"I've already taken the liberty of performing an initial

interrogation. As you suspected, he was hired by the
Governor General," Leveticus explained.
"Where is Alyce?" Ramos asked in response.
Leveticus narrowed his eyes. "I've sent her on an
errand, why do you ask?"
"That girl is a devil. If I meet her again it will be too
soon. Take care with her, Leveticus."
"I'll keep that in mind." Leveticus threw
one of the great switches and a buzz of
electricity sounded but with little other
eect. "Ask your questions."
Ramos drew up a seat and sat across from the
disembodied head. Leaning in close, he gazed
curiously at what was left of the man who'd tried to
kill him the night before. "What did the Governor
General hope to achieve by killing me?"
In immediate response, a bellows supplied wind to
the dead man's voice. His mouth jerked with
uncertain reanimation. "To gain control of the
Union."
"That's impossible, the Union would live on. They
would elect another of their kind," Ramos pressed.
"Your man, McSweeny," the corpse voice breathed
quietly. Both living men listened closely, "He's a Guild
Man."
Ramos lifted his hand and motioned to
Leveticus to switch o the device. He
turned in his chair and faced the other man, "So, do
you want the contract?"

20

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Henchmen

Wanted...

Wyrd Chronicles v3

Ask Wyrd
Is Wyrd Chronicles ever going to have a
regular release schedule?
Were working on making the Chronicles more
regular. I believe we now have a plan to make that
happen, so if everything goes as scheduled, youll be
seeing another one in 4 months.

When's the next Iron Painter?

Well be clashing brushes shortly after the Rotten
Harvest is completed on Halloween. Keep an eye out
for it. Well make big announcements, dont worry!

What are Wyrds future plans? Are there

any other game ideas in the works?
We have a lot of plans. In fact, we have probably
thought up more games than well ever be able to
get to. Our rst goal is to continue with Malifaux
support and releases. Along those lines, were also
going to be making additional games set in the
Malifaux world, which will be distinct games but
have connections to the original skirmish game. I am
going to keep it vague like that for now, as I dont
want to make any promises too early! We also have
ideas that are completely separate from Malifaux as
well, but I think those are further down the line, as
developing a whole new game context is a time
consuming task!

How often will you release new models?

And will they be in the form of new
factions or extending current factions?
Now that weve caught up from the rush following
the game release, we have a schedule set for
monthly releases. Our rst goal is to nish releasing
all the models presented in the Malifaux rulebook,
which we expect to take the next 7-8 months. Once
those releases are out, we will start by expanding on
current factions, while the option of additional
factions remains a possibility for the future.

22

How many books do you plan on

making? Will you be doing any "codex"
style, faction-specic books to expand
on each faction?
At the moment we have an outline for 3 expansions
to the basic Malifaux game, each of which will bring
additional aspects to the game and setting. These
books will focus on presenting new rules or
expanding on existing rules and also include a lineup
of new models for each faction. So we hope to be
able to grow each faction simultaneously and avoid
the faction power unbalance codex style expansions
tend to bring.

When will we see the next book?

We hope to keep the wait time for the next Malifaux
book release at under a year. We really want to keep
providing players with new ways to enjoy the game.

But I want more now?

You can expect minor rules supplements to show up
in the Wyrd Chronicles, or even special online
releases. Youll get some new strategies, schemes,
and even playable miniatures.

Nathan mentioned that you were

already working on the next book, any
teasers as to what might be in it?
Check the rulebook, page 20. It hints at some of
what you can expect in the next 2 Malifaux
expansions. Also, you will see a handful of new
masters along with new choices to expand the
inuence of the masters included in the rst book.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
How will you make new models enticing
without the "codex creep" that other
games have demonstrated, while
keeping old models pertinent?
The way we plan to keep power creep to a minimum
is by making new models who arent better at the
same old tactics and abilities already in the book but
who have abilities which make them powerful in
other ways. Think how Pandora kills you by crushing
your spirit (you know you cried like a baby) while
Lady Justice kicks your booty with swords, big
swords, big fast swords. Yee-haw! Were nding that
the diceless Malifaux system has many unexplored
ways to make a model powerful without simply
giving it a bigger gun (or teddy bear).

Are we going to see the key characters

continue to evolve, become wiser or
more experienced?
I think that in a character-driven game, it would be
dicult to rationalize not giving a lot of attention to
the growth of the core characters of the game. In
fact, the box on Page 20 lists 2 ways in which the
current masters will grow and evolve in their powers.
They are both a bit dierent from what you might
expect, but they are ideas which we are really
excited about.

Any chance of seeing some larger scale

(40-54mm) collectors type pieces or
even some busts joining the range?

Any plans for more Malifaux ction, like

novels?

I would say theres a good chance of it, but its not

on the immediate schedule.

Well regularly provide ction in the Wyrd Chronicles

and future rulebooks and sometimes, in online
features, but currently, no novels are in the works.

How do you develop your concepts?

Are there any plans for game

accessories? What about terrain?
We have plans for a complete line of Malifaux game
accessories. We anticipate over the next 6 months
producing counters, tokens, and other play aids
which will allow everyone to easily keep track of
everything in the game. Terrain is a dierent story,
however, and a signicant undertaking. I expect it is
something well explore, but right now, we dont
have plans to start producing and selling terrain.
There is only so much we can take on at once!

Is Wyrd going to continue making

random side miniatures that are not
part of Malifaux? (e.g. Dire Mushrooms)
Yes, of course we are! However, I think youll nd
that these models arent just random side
miniatures; we do have a plan for them down the
road.

It starts with a lot of brainstorming! But once we

gure out themes we want to explore for models,
we then do research on them. Weve found the more
background we borrow from real life, the more
interesting and complete the models seem, both in
u and rules. This next book is no dierent, and
were already researching new models from many
dierent backgrounds because we think truth is
better than ction!

Are any of the Wyrd minis based on

relatives or friends of the sta?
Yes, there are, but we cant tell you in case those
people read this and gure it out

Who would win in a ght, Nathan or Eric?

Nathan is bigger and meaner, but Eric has more
manipulative ways of making Nathan cry.

Do you guys know how awesome this

stu is?
Nope! Tell us again!

23

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

Wyrd
Miniatures
A Sneak Preview

A Sneak Preview

!
r
e
b
m
e
v
o
N
n
i
e
l
b
a
l
i
Ava

24

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

Bete Noire

!
n
o
o
S
g
n
i
Com
Ronin

Young
Nephilim

25

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

Mindless
Zombies

The Hanged

Teddy

26

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

Malifaux
For Halloween

For Halloween

By Drew Littell

This is the rst of many story encounters created for the Malifaux Skirmish Game. These can be used in place
of the standard Ecounter selection, replacing the Strategies options listed there. You may decide to select
schemes as normal, or leave the outcome of the encouter completely up to the story encounter. These 3 story
encounters also oer a complete tournament experience as well.
Enjoy!

Story Encounter 1: Trick or

Treat!
Place 4 Building House terrain pieces in the center of
the table in a box formation (see diagram). Models
may attempt to perform an Interact (1) Trick or Treat
Action while in base contact with a building.
(1) Trick or Treat!: Flip a card (not cheatable) o the
top of your Deck.

When playing this Strategy, we recommend either

the players or tournament organizer have a supply
of candy on hand. Players may turn in their candy
counters after the game to receive that many pieces
of real candy.
Diagram 1: House Set up: Place 4 houses on the
board around the center as shown below. There
should be at least 4 inches between the houses.

Black Joker: Mean old neighbor lady! Interacting

model receives Paralyzed.
1-6: Trick!: Interacting model suers 1 Wd.
7-13: Treat!: Interacting model receives 1 Candy
token.
Red Joker: Impressive Costume! Interacting
model receives 2 Candy tokens and is healed
2 Wd.
You may not (1) Trick or Treat with the same building
house more than once per turn. You may not (1) Trick
or Treat again with a building house again until you have
interacted with each of the other building houses on the
table.
Each crew is trying to collect as many Candy tokens as
possible during the course of the game. As soon as a
model receives a Candy token, place it to that players
side of the table. If a model is killed, sacriced, or
otherwise removed from the game it has no impact on
the Candy tokens collected to that point.
4 VP for The player with the most Candy tokens.
2 VP if a player has at least 2 Candy tokens at the
end of the game

27

Special Occurrence for Round 1:

All Hallows Eve!: This occurrence is in eect for the
entire game. Dusk settles with an eerie pallor across
the landscape of Malifaux, chilling mortals to the
bone.
Line of Sight is limited to 8 for all models. All models
(living, undead & construct) receive 1 WP.
Any models Falling Back are removed as casualties
at the End Closing Phase and replaced with Mindless
Zombies.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
Story Encounter 2: Mad Dash
to the Pumpkin Patch!
Place a 6" by 4" Pumpkin Patch piece of terrainin the
center of the table and 10 Pumpkin Tokens are
placed on it. Models may perform an Interact (1)
Pumpkin Pick Action when in base contact with a
Pumpkin token to pick it up. A model may not carry
more than one Pumpkin token at a time. Dropping
a Pumpkin token has no AP cost.
Any movement other than a Wk by a model carrying
a Pumpkin token will cause the model to drop the
Pumpkin token where they began that movement.
Any out of activation movement (Lure, Carry, etc.)
will cause a model to drop any Pumpkin tokens
where they began that movement.
The goal is to get as many Pumpkins to your own
Deployment Zone as possible.
4VP to the player with the most Pumpkin tokens in
their Deployment Zone at the end of the game.

Special Occurrence for Round 2:

Bloody Harvest!: This occurrence is in eect for the
entire game. These pumpkins are not your normal,
everyday pumpkins. They are a risky crop to collect!
At the Start Closing Phase the last player to activate
a model ips a card:
If the ip is the Black Joker or 1-5 all carried
pumpkins attack their carriers! Any model carrying
a Pumpkin token suer an unmodied damage ip
of 1/2/3, and drop the pumpkin they are carrying.
Living models killed in this fashion become Pumpkin
Zombies (use Mindless Zombies for rules with the
following exceptions). Pumpkin Zombies cannot be
controlled by any model and are immune to Last
Rites. Pumpkin Zombies do not act as Corpse
Counters but when killed do leave Corpse Counters.

2VP to any player with the least 1 Pumpkin token in

their Deployment Zone receives 2 VP.

28

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
Story Encounter 3: Night of
the Living Impaired!
The Old OMalley Farmhouse seems to be the only
safe place during this outbreak of Living Impairment.
Too bad your opponent has the same idea. Will you
be the Boss up there?
Place a 12 by 12 Farmhouse Ht 5 terrain feature in
the center of the table. the Farmhouse should have
2 points of entry per side. All entryways begin the
game open.
4VP if a player is the only only one to have any
friendly models inside the Farmhouse at the end of
the game.
2VP if a player has the most friendly models inside
the Farmhouse at the end of the game
A model may Shore Up an entry point by
performing a (1) Shore Up action. That will make a
barrier of Hardness 3 Breakable Terrain over the
entry point (doorway, window, etc.).

This Strategy will last 8 rounds as opposed to the normal

6 before the rst ending ip is performed. If a player's
models are completely eliminated, that player gains
control of all Hallows Eve Living Impaired. The Hallows
Eve Living Impaired controller spawns 4 Hallows Eve
Living Impaired models during the End Closing Phase
step and the player with models remaining from their
original crew spawns none. Hallows Eve Living Impaired
models are no longer aected by Mindless or Neutral.
Hallows Eve Living Impaired models do not count
towards VPs.
Hold Out and Breakthrough may not be chosen as
Schemes for this round.

Special Occurrence for Round 3:

The Dead Walk!: At the start of the Start Closing Phase
of each round, beginning with the last player to activate
a model, each player must place 2 Living Impaired
models on the table. Players may place a Living Impaired
anywhere on the table, but no closer than 5 from any
non-Living Impaired model. Living Impaired models may
not be placed inside the Farmhouse. The Living Impaired
automatically makes one melee Strike against any
Shored Up entry points at the end of an Action in which
they moved within melee range of the entry point.
This occurrence is in eect for the entire game.

HAllows Eve Living Impaired

30mm Base

Large Hand Weapon

Undead
Wk/Cg
3/-

- Minion

Ht
2

Wp
5

Ca
2

Df
3

Rg
Cb
Dg

Wd
4

Talents:

Chomp
Rg
Cb
Dg

y2
4
1/2/3

Scenario
y1
5C
1/2/2

Triggers

Abilities
Hard to Wound 1
Mindless: This model is uncontrolled and does not activate as normal
during the turn. Players, in activation order, activate and control 1
Living Impaired at the end of the Activation Phase. Move the Hallows
Eve Living Impaired its Wk towards the closest model within LoS or
towards the closest entry point of the Farmhouse. If the Living
Impaired ends its move with a model or Shored Up entry point in
melee range, or already has a model or entry point in melee range it
makes one of its melee Strikes against the model or entry point. This
strike cannot be Cheated. Continue activating Hallows Eve Living
Impaired until all have activated. This model will not attack other
Hallows Eve Living Impaired.
Neutral: This model does not belong to a Crew

Cb(C) Hook and Drag: Models

damaged by a Large Hand Weapon
Strike and not killed may be pushed 1
directly towards this model. If the
target model ends that push within
range of Chomp, this model
immediately performs a Chomp Strike
against target model.
Cb(C) Infectious: If this model kills a
living or Undead model with a Chomp
Strike, the killed model is replaced by a
number of Living Impaired models
equal to the defenders base size
instead of any other counters.

Slow to Die

29

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

Wyrd
Miniatures
At Gencon
At Gencon

Yes, the booth was too large to t in just one photograph

The Inaugural Malifaux Tournament

the
s to or
k
n
ha
sf
ial T
mer
Spec Top Ga
e
Tabl ng!
ti
Hos

Winners
Champion: Kevin Tyska (Zoraida)
2nd Place: Derick Rodriguez (Viktoria)
3rd Place (tie): Anthony Pazera (Lilith)
3rd Place (tie): Richard Standeter (Lady Justice)
Best Painted Crew: Victor Szafranski (Ramos)

Coloring Book Contest

Malifaux Voodoo Doll
Coloring Book

Winner
Chad Obenaeur
Coloring Marcus

30

Aces Charity Speed Painting

10 Top Painters
10 Malifaux Miniatures
Auctioned for the
Benet of The Indiana
Math And Science
Academy

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s
a
s
p
u
o
r
O p e n t ao l G
!
6
s
a
l
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Wyrd Chronicles v3

My
Bishops
on
Fire
Converting and Painting

Converting and Painting

By Jessica Rich

I was rst approached to do this project several

months ago, and as painters tend to do, I just let it
sit on the table untouched. I was actually afraid to
start this piece. I knew that it would require me to
mutilate a perfectly ne Bishop model, then rebuild
him into a demonic re beast. Then, along came the
Iron Painter Category "Quest for Fire" nally, inspiration!
The Wyrd Flame Base & Accessories pack is
extremely versatile. Lots of ames to work with, a
spiy base insert and a little re imp to boot. In this
article I'll show you how to turn your already rockin'
Bishop model into a fearsome miniature with just a
couple pieces from the Flame pack. I'll also cover
some OSL techniques, since a model on re that
doesn't convey light isn't very ery at all.
Components
Bishop
Flame Accessories
Graveyard Accessories
Twig or Small Branch
Wisteria
Mini Dowel
Small Sheet of Balsa Wood
Vallejo Pumice Texture
Vallejo Basing Texture
Resin
Green Stu

tree to be high enough to avoid Bishop's head and to

be stable enough to hold some weight.
I chose a roadside setting for this piece, with a signpost
pointing the way to trouble. To construct the tree, I
drilled holes along the length of a twig (I prefer a still
living twig - they allow more exibility when pinning),
then placed bits of dried wisteria in the holes to make
branches. Plucking o all the little owers from the
wisteria before placing them on the twig helps prevent
you from yanking out your "branches". Just touch a bit
of superglue to the connecting points, and ta-da!, a
relatively good scale version of a dead tree.
The signpost is constructed with the small piece of sheet
balsa and a tiny dowel carved to a point with a craft
knife. I drilled a hole using my pin vise into both the
balsa and dowel, then connected them with a small
piece of copper rod and a touch of super glue.
I didn't want to go overboard with ground litter or
rubble since the majority of the base would be in
"shadow". I spread some Vallejo Pumice Texture on my
50mm base, building up the back, then placed a few
slate pebbles into the wet texture to break it up a little.
I then inserted the tree trunk and signpost to make
holes for them. Once the texture was dry, I thought it
needed a little more rubble, so I scattered some sand
around the slate bits; I also added a bit of basing texture
at the bottom of the tree to widen its base.
I was happy with how it looked, so I moved along to the
Bishop conversion next.

Tools
Craft Knife
File
Clippers
Copper Rod
Super Glue
Sculpting Tool
Pin Vise with .79mm bit
The Base
I usually dont build bases until I've done signicant work
on the model, but for this piece I need the base
completed before I start the model because I want the

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Bishop Conversion
To begin this conversion, I needed to completely
remove Bishops head, as well as his hair. I achieved
this by clipping the largest chunks away, then ling
o the rest. Be very careful to maintain as much of
the original models sculpting as possible to save you
time with green stu later. At this point, I also drilled
a couple of holes with my pin vise where the ame
head will go. Since I didnt know what positioning I
would ultimately want, I gave myself some options.

At this point, Bishops almost ready to paint. Before

I primed Bishop, I rst led the bottoms of his boots
at and ran a copper pin up his right leg, so that I
could attach him to the base later on, and placed
him on a corked base to paint.

Painting Bishop

After cleaning Bishops body, I cleaned the

accessories. I used the aming skull for Bishops
head and a single curved ame for his arm.

Before I began painting, I primed Bishop, the base,

and the signpost with white primer. I chose white so
that the brightest parts of the model that would be
shown as lit or on re would be vibrant. Before I
begin detailing the colors I use, its important for me
to note that I paint using very thin coats. Almost all
colors are thinned to 3 parts water and 1 part paint,
allowing the paint to be pulled along the model
and preventing pooling. It also means the layers of
color will have smooth transitions.
The rst parts painted are ames, which set the
mood for the entire piece. I began with a basecoat
of 1:1 GWFP Tausept Ochre and GW Skull White.
This is the brightest part of the ame, and the entire
skull and hand ame are coated.

Next, I drilled holes - in the back of the aming skull,

the bottom of the ame, and in Bishops hand. I cut
small bits of copper rod, inserted them into the head
and ame, then placed them on Bishops body.
Next, I used green stu to sculpt his chest back, as
well as touch up some roughly led parts.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
Flames progressively get darker at the tips, so my
highlights are going to go in reverse on these
parts. The next layer added is GWFP Macharius Solar
Orange, keeping in mind the 3:1 water to paint ratio.
Three layers are painted, starting about 1/3 of the
way up each ame and going closer to the tips with
each layer.

Now, Im ready to paint his face. For a quick

reference, I looked up pictures of a Marvel Comics
character that shall not be named but should be
obvious. I was torn whether I should add OSL to his
skull or not. I was right in the assumption that his
face is not lit by OSL.

The next layer I added is GWFP Mechrite Red,

leaving some of the orange uncovered. This is done
with 2 coats.

Now the ames are beginning to pop. Just one nal

highlight to go. The nal mix is 1:1 GWFP Mechrite
Red and GW Chaos Black, which is added to the tips
of the ames.

34

To paint the skull, I start with a coat of P3 Jack Bone

and wash the outer edges using GW Chaos Black.

If you hit the teeth with the black wash, no worries.

Just touch them up with some of the P3 Jack Bone.
I then decided to give his eyes a small glow. This was
done by coating the interior with a 1:1 GWFP
Macharius Solar Orange-GWFP Mechrite Red mix.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
I lay down the Shadow Mix on the parts of Bishop
Ive determined to be darker. I gently coated the
raised areas, then went back to the recesses and
applied a second coat. His esh still shows through,
but now has the blue tinge of shadow.

Now that I have the re bits done, its time to move

on to his esh. The rst layer of color to go on is a
1:1 GWFP Tallarn Flesh-GWFP Cathan Brown mix.
Keeping my paint so thin means he needs 3 coats.
For the parts of his esh that the ames light, I
added GW Skull white gradually to the esh
basecoat, bringing up the highlights. This was done
in 5 coats, each one getting a little more white added
to the mix, and moving to the high points in the lit
areas.

The next layer added is an important one because it

will lay the groudwork of where the light will fall.
Before you add any shadow or highlights to an OSL
piece, look at it from directly above the ames. Any
parts of the model you can see should be touched
by the light, and the rest will fall in shadow (with the
exception, of course, being the parts directly below
the ame).
My mix for shadows on this piece is as follows: 1:1
GWFP Necron Abyss-GW Chaos Black. This is then
mixed in a 1:4 ratio with water, making it thinner
than my usual paint. Both colors in the mix are highly
pigmented and will pool easily if not heavily diluted.
Ill refer to this from now on as my Shadow Mix. Im
going to use this mix a lot.

35

After the white coat, I mix a 1:1 GWFP MachariusOrange P3 Cygnus Yellow and dilute it 1:4 with
water. I then lightly wash over the white areas of the
chest and arms to create the illusion of a yellow
glow. 2 layers were applied.
This technique is a form of underpainting. Its not
one that Ill use again on this model, but was

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
necessary for his esh. If I had mixed the highlight
colors to the peach of the esh, Id have ended up
with a very gaudy day-glo eect that I didnt want.

Now I make my highlight color which is a 1:1 mix of GW

Macharius Solar Orange and P3 Cygnus Yellow. Ill refer
to that mix as my Highlight Mix from here on.

Im going to move on to his pants and shirt now. I

chose them to do next because they are expansive
enough for me to use as a roadmap for the rest of
the lighting eects on the model.

I add the Highlight Mix to the pants basecolor a little

at a time and bring it up to almost pure Highlight
Mix, allowing the original pants color to show
through at the edges.

I began with a basecoat of GW Scorched Brown.

Now that I have a good roadmap of where light falls

on this piece, the rest of the piece moves quickly.
I basecoat Bishops strapping with GWFP Adeptus
Battlegrey.
Next, I painted my Shadow Mix to the areas Ive
determined to be unlit when looking at the model
from above. Also in this picture you see that Ive
picked out the upppermost parts of the pants with
a 2:1 GWFP Calthan Brown-GW Scorched brown
mix. This is most apparent from behind.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
Then, I follow the same location of shadows on the
back and highlights on the front. Paint the Shadow
Mix on your darkened areas, and add the Highlight
Mix with the strap basecoat a little at a time, like the
pants, to the bright parts of the straps. I also touched
the top parts of the straps in shadow with a 2:1
GWFP Adeptus Battlegrey-GW Skull White mix.

After that, I added my Shadow Mix to undiluted P3

Pig Iron Base and painted this on the areas in
shadow. I also made a 1:1 mix of the basecolor and
GW Mithril Silver and painted the lit area with this.

To give the lit areas a little more warmth, I painted

a thin layer (3:1 water-paint) of P3 Cygnus Yellow. I
then did the same with P3 Khador Red Base. While
only his boots are depicted here, the same
treatment was given to his shoulderpad.
Bishops boots are painted using the same colors as
his straps.

Next, I move on to the metallics. I dont dilute my

metallic paints as heavily as others. Just a 1:1 paint
to water mix, so that the metallic akes will still bind
to the model. I began with a basecoat of P3 Pig Iron
Base.

37

All thats left on Bishop is his belt buckle, and that is

painted with P3 Blighted Gold, touched with a small
amount of the P3 Cygnus Yellow wash.
Before I begin painting the base, I seal Bishop with 2
coats of Testors DullCoat and touch up the metallics
with a layer of GW Ardcoat Gloss. Ill need to handle
him a couple of times, and I dont want any paint
chipping.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
Painting the Base
I began by basecoating the ground rubble with GW
Chaos Black and the tree with a 3:1 mix of GW
Scorched Brown and GW Chaos Black. I then drilled
a small hole in the base where Bishop would sit and
placed the model on the base. Hes not glued on at
this point still a bit of work to do before that.

Next is the signpost.

Figure 1: I painted a 3:1 mix of water and GW
Scorched Brown to the entire signpost.
Figure 2: I painted a 1:1 mix of water and GW
Scorched Brown in the natural wood grain of the
balsa. Ive also painted my Shadow Mix to the back
of the signpost.
Figure 3: I painted the MALIFAUX logo and distance
on the sign and painted the Shadow Mix to the
bottom front of the sign.
Figure 4: I painted the Highlight Mix to the top and
front of the sign, and darkened the parts painted
with the Shadow Mix.

With Bishop placed, I can see where light will hit the
tree branches. I removed Bishop from the base and
began highlighting the tree.
I rst added a coat of 1:1 GW Scorched Brown and
GWFP Calthan Brown to the parts that would be
brightest. I then began adding my Highlight Mix,
gradually bringing it up to almost pure Highlight Mix.

I then placed Bishop back on the base and marked

out using P3 Cygnus Yellow where light would hit the
ground, though any light color that would show over
the base color would work. Ive used a piece of
copper rod to draw straight lines from the re to
where it would hit the ground.
I removed Bishop from the base and drybrushed on
the ground colors. For the road, I started with a layer
of GWFP Calthan Brown, then added layers of GWFP
Tausept Ochre and a 1:1 GWFP Tausept Ochre-GW
Skull White. The grass was rst drybrushed with
GWFP Orkhide Shade, then GWFP Tausept Ochre,
and nally GW Skull White. After drybrushing is
nished, I soften the edges using the GW Wash
Asurmen Blue.
The pebbles are painted with a basecoat of GWFP
Adeptus Battlegrey, and will be given the same light
treatment using my Highlight and Shadow Mixes.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

To cast light on the vulture feathers, I used my

Highlight Mix, undiluted, and gently drybrushed the
lit areas.
Bishop is placed on the base yet again, this time with
an assembled and primed Graveyard Accessories
Vulture glued to the tree. Bishops there just to make
sure I know where the light will fall on the vulture.

The vulture feathers and beak are basecoated with

GWFP Adeptus Battlegrey, the neck and claws with
a very thin coat of GWFP Tallarn Flesh. I then washed
the feathers with my Shadow Mix on the back and
on the left wing front. To pick out some of the
feathers, I lightly drybrush the back and front with a
1:1 mix of GWFP Adeptus Battlegrey and GWFP
Astronomicon Grey.

39

I then used my Shadow Mix to pick out the details

on the vultures beak and claws. I also used a light
wash of GW Asurmen Blue wash and GW Leviathan
Purple wash to pick out feather details in the front
and back. The vulture tongue and eyes are painted
with GWFP Mechrite Red.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
After the vulture was nished, I painted the rim of
the 50mm base with black and sprayed the base with
2 coats of Testors DullCote.
Now its time to put Bishop on the base for good. I
used a little Vallejo Pumice Texture on the edges of
the feet to ll any uneven gaps. I also applied some
super glue to the center of his feet and the pin.

40

I left a couple of small recesses in the pumice texture

when I rst started the base, and I now wash those
with my Highlight Mix and ll them with 2 part
epoxy resin. Once thats dry, Im all done.
Thank you!
Jessica Rich

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

By Ambrose Coddington

A Bayou
Tree
Terrain
Terrain

With the recent release of the Malifaux rulebook, I

gured it was time to start creating terrain to make
the game more fun to play. I settled on making a
giant tree, something that might be found in the
swamps where Zoraida, the Hag, resides.
Materials
Two gauges of wire - diameters 1/16 1/32
Sculpey (Or another polymer clay)
Clump Foliage Flock (I used Woodland Scenics)
Green Poly Fiber (Woodland Scenics)
Fine Green Flock
Medium Green Flock
Milliput (Super Fine works best)
Yellow Horse Hair (Woodland Scenics)
Medium Talus (Woodland Scenics)
Acrylic Paint
(I use Artist Paint that comes in tubes. Black,
Burnt Umber, Umber, White, Cadmium
Green, Emerald)
Super Glue
Wood glue
White Glue (PVA)
1/8 hard board
Wax paper
Tools
Wire Cutters
Two Sets of Pliers
Sculpting Tools
Airbrush
Cheap Paintbrushes
Scroll Saw
Disk Sander
Kitchen Oven
Disposable Plastic Tub

41

Creating the Tree Armature

Begin by deciding on the number of primary
branches you want for the tree. In this case, I settled
on ten. Cut that number of pieces of the heavier
gauge wire to a length of about 18.
Twist the primary wires together to begin forming
the basic structure for the tree (the combined wires
will make up the trunk). It is ne to begin with three
or four wires and add more as you work up the tree.
I also nd that if you twist the wires into something
that resembles roots, it will give the tree stability .

Cut a piece of the smaller gauge wire to about 30

and double it up repeatedly until you get a length of
about 7. Cut all of the loops on one end, and wrap
the resulting bundle around one of the primary
branches. Repeat this step with the smaller wire until
the tree resembles what you want.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
In some spots, you may choose to make lengths of
the smaller gauge wire that are about 8 and twist
them into additional branches.

Bulking the Tree Trunk

Begin by choosing one of the outermost branches.
Roll a sausage of Sculpey about the length of the
branch.

Place the Sculpey along one side of the wire and

begin working it around the wire.

42

It may take a few passes, but you are aiming to cover

the wires completely.

Continue working from the outermost branches

towards the main trunk. This will give you something
to hold on to. Finish by bulking out the main trunk
and adding in some protrusions where you intend to
add roots.

Next, use a sculpting tool to score in a bark pattern,

again, working from the outermost branches all the
way down to the base of the trunk. Finish by baking
the tree, according to the clays specications.

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Styling the Trunk
To paint the trunk, use a cheap brush and lay down
a base coat of black mixed with a small amount of
burnt umber and green. Brighten the color by adding
more burnt umber and green. Once the base coat is
dry, drybrush a few highlights of black, umber,
cadmium green, and white mixed in about equal
measures.

Allow the moss clumps to dry for a day, then take a

pair of scissors and cut them o of the wooden
dowel as close to the dowel as you can get.

To create the Spanish moss, begin by stretching

clumps of poly ber into 3 x 1 pieces. Try to get
most of the bers running in the same direction.

Add super glue to the top edge of the moss clump

and press the clump onto a horizontal section of tree
branch. Repeat for all of the pieces you made or until
the tree looks how you want it to.
To add foliage to the tree, glue small pieces of clump
ock onto the exposed wires. This is a time
consuming process, so be patient. The more
meticulous you are, the more natural the tree will
look.
Stretch each clump evenly over a small dowel. Add
a bead of super glue along the top to secure the
clump in place. Water down some wood glue in a 1:1
ratio of water to glue. Dip your ngers in the glue
mixture, then in some medium ock. Massage the
mix into the bottom of the poly ber clumps,
stretching the clump as you do so.

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
Cut the hard board and bevel the edge.

Next, mix some Milliput, and use it to mount the tree

to the base. You may choose to glue the tree down
in this step instead of using the Milliput, but Milliput
will provide a stronger bond since the base of the
tree is uneven.

Creating the Base

Set the tree on a piece of hard board and trace a
circle around the trees footprint. This is where you
will make a decision about whether you want a large
area terrain piece or a single element terrain piece.
For this project, I chose to go with area terrain as the
tree is quite large.

Once the Milliput is dry, use a cutting tool (I used the

exible shaft of a Dremel) to cut o the protruding
wire root pieces. Use more Milliput to sculpt tree
roots on the base. I added a few rocks and some
other root details to the base. Apply a base coat to

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Wyrd Chronicles v3
the base in a mix of 75% burnt umber, 5% black, 5%
emerald, and 5% white.

Use watered down wood glue to apply ne ock and

talus over the entire base.

Use a pair of pliers and super glue to apply horse hair

clumps to the base in various places. Also glue some
medium ock to the base in various places around
the base. Then, add some dark green static grass to
the top of the base. Glue yellow static grass into the
recesses of the roots and scatter some more around
the base.
Once everything is dry, darken the piece by using the
airbrush to spray black over everything. Focus your
paint on the yellow ock, the base of the horse hair
clumps, any wires that you may have missed while
adding the clump ock, and the places where the
Spanish moss attaches to the tree branches.
Thank You!

While the base is drying, place several drops of white

glue on a piece of wax paper. Press small clumps of
horse hair into the glue drops. Once the glue dries,
remove the horse hair clumps from the wax paper
and cut the horse hair pieces in half.

45

Ambrose Coddington

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

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Wyrd Chronicles v3

Featuring
Your Artwork

Your Artwork
Radovan
Rybovic
(Dark Tower)

Ian Hemmings

Pete Blum
(Peterdita)

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yr
rd
dM
Mi
in
ni
ia
at
tu
ur
re
es
s,
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LL
LC
C2
20
00
05
5-2
20
00
09
9

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