Thursday 19 January 2012

Runequest - Broo.

Broos, otherwise know as 'Goatkin' or 'Beastmen'.

These are creatures of Chaos, twisted hybrids of men and beasts. They are the Beastmen of legend and engage in the foulest practices, worshiping the 'Unholy Trio' - Ragnaglar, the Mad God, Malia, the Goddess of Disease and Thed, the Goddess of Rape.

Mongoose Broo.

Most often they are human bodied and 'goat' headed, they are tied irrevocably with the Rune of Chaos. They are known to indulge in atrocities and foul practices and carry with them numerous loathsome diseases that they themselves are immune to. It is hard to say anything positive about broos. They have none of the savage nobility of Trolls and their personal habits are despicable. It is unlikely that anyone would have anything but antagonistic dealings with them.
Early Citadel Broo Boxed Set.

They will occasionally hire out for pay and carry various weaponry and armour, usually cuirbolli, spears and swords but will use whatever they can steal or capture from raids. They are seldom seen near settled lands unless it is to raid and pillage, but are as common as nomads in Prax, even more so in the Wastelands. Often feared, folk may even treat with them rather than fight if they think they can.

Citadel Compendium Broo.

On sighting men, broos typically either flee or attack based on their estimate of the opposition, though they may well taunt and posture at a distance to prove their courage to companions. When raiding, the broo rely on stealthy ambush, covered by darkness or undergrowth.

Armorcast / Lance & Laser Broo.

Several miniatures manufacturers have produced Broos or Beastmen over the years with Citadel's Runequest range from the early 80's being the most obvious. A few boxed sets were released, including 'Attack of the Broo', 'Broo' and 'Broo 2'. They also sneaked a couple in the 'Beastmen' set. This excellent range was later added to with several blister packs. In the mid 80's, presumably due to the licence running out, the Citadel Broo morphed into 'C27 Chaos Beastmen' as seen in the Second Citadel Journel of 1985. The Beastmen were slowly adopted as an offshoot chaos army and this has developed over time including an appearance in the 'Flames of Empire' Mordheim supplement. The current Games Workshop Cloven Ones / Beastmen range is quite broad and they even have their own army book!

Later Games Workshop Beastmen.

According to the Warhammer Fantasy world the Beastmen race (also known as the Children of Chaos) are a race of humanoid monsters. A fusion of animal and man that invaded the world when the old ones opened the warp gate at the far north of the world: their bodies are tough strong frames layered in knots of muscle. The tangled fur of Beastmen are matted with dried blood, filth, dirt and dung that nest countless varieties of ticks and fleas: as a result of this, Beastman live in a state of countless agitation and rage always seethes in the heart of every Beastman. Ram-like horns emerge from their goat-like heads (However Ungor Beastmen only have small stubs of horns), their mouths are chasms of sharp rotted teeth for tearing flesh and the feet of all Beastmen are cloven hoofed. The very stench of any Beastman is enough to make even seasoned warriors gag; their brays of bloodlust and the gleam of malice in their dark animalistic eyes can unsettle even the staunchest of troops.
All Beastmen are spiteful and mean-spirited creatures that revel in bloodshed and chaos and loathe order and the very concept of civilisation in all its forms. Beastmen are not creatures of nature for there is nothing natural about their existence. The Herdstones and rituals of the Beastmen corrupt the very essence of nature itself: it is for this reason Beastmen are especially loathed by the Wood Elves of Athel Loren who the Beastmen have been fighting a long gruelling secret war with for centuries.
For the purposes of Warhammer Fantasy Battle they are subdivided into various levels reflecting their appearance, prowess and ability in battle.
  • Beastlords are the largest and most brutal they command the beast herds.
  • Wargors are second in command to Beastlords.
  • Bray Shamans are the spiritual leaders and advisors to the herd leaders. They are also powerful spellcasters.
  • Bestigors are the most heavily armed and armoured Beastmen and rate as elite units.
  • Centigors have the upper body of a Beastman and the four-legged lower body of an oxen.
  • Gors and Ungors make up the majority of the infantry units or "Beastherds." The Ungors, however, due to their more human appearance (in comparison to other Beastmen) and smaller horns, are on the bottom of the herd hierarchy.

A mixed warband of Broos.

Armorcast took on the old Lance & Laser Heroquest range and this too contains some decent Broo minis, some with the usual Goatkin look and a couple with a slightly more bestial countenance. In 2006 Mongoose took over the Runquest line and released several books and supplements and also produced their own small line of Runequest miniatures to support the RPG during their period of MRQI and MRQII. Among the figures on offer were a decent set of traditional 'goat' headed Broo rabble.

Foundry Beastmen.

More recently, Wargames Foundry have started releasing their own Beastmen range with several packs of 'Brutes' and 'Younglings' available. These are definately in the GW mould (excuse the pun) but have some great looking figures to boost any Broo warband!

Figures are a mix of Games Workshop, Mongoose and Citadel.

Tuesday 10 January 2012