+ inload: Omu +

The Omu Conflict

Backwater. Wilderness space. Unimportant.

And then suddenly, a warzone.

The Dream of Isor, history of the Seventh Age expansion of the Isorian Senetax

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Omu. The few records of the world were little more than legends of the 5th Age, when it had supposedly been the centre of a petty Empire belonging to a non-human species cryptically named the Inheritors, or the Lend-Duçn. Little besides remained – and thus it was to remain after the collapse. Seemingly undisturbed for the entirety of the Sixth Age, when its Gate re-opened, this backwater found itself becoming a new front in the ongoing conflict between the Concord Combined Command and the Isorian Senetax.

The Gate opened peculiarly closely to the lone planet of the system – some 3 SAU; barely a few light minutes of travel for Seventh Age military craft. This left the world in imminent and immediate danger of ground invasion, with fleet pickets all but useless. Indeed – the war for the world was characterised by repeated waves of invasion and counter-invasion.

Why, and how, the Gate and world came to be so close was a mystery that was only to be revealed after the opposing sides had become embroiled in a grinding and bitter war for supremacy – and the answers made it clear that far from being undisturbed during the 6th Age, it had been the fulcrum of an event that would characterise this entire front of the war.

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Planet Omu

A large rocky planet, some twice the size of Lost Earth and with concomitant mass, Omu orbitted a blazingly bright star that had battered its thick ionsphere for aeons. Sheltered by the same atmospheric umbrella, life had sprung in its deep and brackish seas many millennia hence – likely before the rise of man and the First Age.

+ C3 Strike Troops march through one of the equatorial desert structures. +

When the Concord Expeditionary Force arrived to stake a claim to the planet in the mid-14th Century of the Seventh Age, they found a world more not merely habitable, but positively pleasant. Granted, the extreme poles were hostile, and a broad band of desert on either side of the equator made overland travel between hemispheres difficult, but the remainder of world was covered in numerous temperate biomes ranging from cloudforest to rolling plains.

They found not only virgin land, however. In the depths of the desert, they stumbled upon ruins, well-preserved by the aridity and heat. Clearly of non-human origin, a number of the extensive ruins had troubling signs of more recent occupation and adaptation to accommodate species of a very different stature...

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+ Isorian 8854th Kleisoura – Karbas' Huntsmen +

+ Fellow PCRCer Lucifer216 asked if any of us had plans for the Christmas break. I – boldly or foolishly – declared that I'd get all my Antares stuff painted and table-ready. It's a doable project, I think... and the last thing I want is another side project that lingers in the cupboard of opportunity. Apart from anything else, it'd be great to have at least one setting for which all my models are painted! +

+ Isorian Senatex Phase Squad – the basic infantry +

+ Pictured here are the latest additions to the force that I've been building up over the past couple of inloads [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]. Above are a new Isorian Phase Squad. These are mostly from the short-lived variant sculpts that aren't readily available through retail – presumaby something to do with SKUs. Happily, while reporting a missing bit to the Warlord team, I enquired about them. Cutting a long story short, I ended up with the little pile of cool bits you can see here! +

+ The poses are more dynamic than the standard box, so I'll have a nice variety. Duplication is always a risk with metal figures, but these double the available poses. I can't imagine needing many more Phase Troopers... right? +

+ Tsan Ra Phase Squad +

+ The Senatex is an equal opportunities employer, and these eight-limbed aliens readily serve alongside their human allies. One thing I rather like about this is that whoever wrote the army list resisted the urge to make the aliens inherently better than humans. Sure, stat-wise they're a hint tougher and considerably stronger, but that's rather balanced out by the disadvantages incurred by being 'Large' in-game. +

+ Quite refreshing to have options that are just that: I don't feel I'm making a 'wrong choice' by taking Phase Squads from either species. +

+ X-howitzer+

+ A big ol' artillery piece – bought in the sale, and indirectly (ho ho) the reason I got the other bits. As noted in my Tsan Ra building notes linked above, I suggested that you check all the parts are present. Alas, that was prompted by this kit, which was missing half the base. I didn't want to mention it there, because it's a bit mean to complain without giving the company a chance to make things right – and they certainly did! The salesperson I contacted was hugely helpful, responding first thing on a Saturday, helping me to find the running Isorian sculpts above, and sending along a couple of extra figures along with the free replacement part. Three mechadendrites up for the customer service. +

+ The kit is my first experience with Warlord resin; and aside from the misstep on the initial packing, it's pretty positive. The detail's nice and crisp, warping minor, and 

+ Plasma light support team +

+ This is a light piece of field support; equivalent to a modern machine gun team, I guess. I really like the crew sculpts – it's cool to have so many unique poses for the gunners across the various artillery pieces. +

+ Tzimisk Karbas +

+ And finally the freebies. I was miffed when I first opened the parcel, as I thought the 'sergeant' figure had been supplied instead of the running one above – then I realised that I'd been sent both 'sergeant' sculpts; along with a free extra Plasm Lance-wielding gunner. Lovely stuff! Since I have one of the same officers already, I converted this one slightly with a different head and new arm. +

+ Anyway, wish me luck on my mission to paint the army up and get to exploring Omu – hoping to get the first figures finished while the undercoat dries on these ones. If you'd like to get involved with Omu – whether writing, painting along, or anything else, you'd be most welcome! Whack a note up on the Facebook group [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] +

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