Vastarian: the Aeris Sanctus saint

After long breathless hours, the spiritual leaders of the Aeris Sanctus reached a conclusion for the Ravachol conundrum: while it is a noble goal to strip Vastarian of the psykic pall engulfing it, such a task is not for fallible mortals; it is a task for the omniscient Emperor. Taking matters into their own hands will only cause more ruin. What is needed is faith, faith that He will intervene as breath draws short.

"O Emperor, whose breath fills the void,

In the thin air of Vastarian, we stand before thee,

Each breath a testament to our faith, each gasp a hymn of devotion.

Grant us strength amidst the winds,

As we face the trials of this smothering world.

May every breath be a communion with thy divine essence,

A reminder of thy eternal presence in the air we breathe.

Guide us, O Emperor, through the turbulent currents of fate,

As we journey to the high-altitude shrines, seeking thy favor.

In the relentless winds, we find thy whispers,

In the scarce air, we find thy challenge.

Bless us with thy grace, O Emperor, as we endure,

For in the struggle for each breath, we find our purpose,

And in our unwavering faith, we find salvation.

In nomine Imperator, amen."

Vastarian Contest Winners

The wait is finally over, roughly three months since submissions were due, we are ready to reveal which of the Vastarian Cults created for our contest are the winners! It was a difficult decision to say the least, with over 30 entries (see Entries 1, 2, 3, 4), each an amazing creative expression, pushing the Vastarian setting, and Warhammer 40k as a whole, forward in new directions! Below are our selected favorite cults along with some honorable mentions!

Vastarian Contest - Entries Part 4

Below are the fourth and final set of entries in our Vastarian contest!

Vastarian: Child of Vastarian

Inquisitor Lucrezia Beltano and acolyte Severine of the Ordo Sanctorum.

Over the last month or two, we have been sharing all of the wonderful Vastarian Cults (Entries 1, 2, 3) that were created for our Vastarian Contest. While we still have one more upcoming post with the last few entries, we wanted to create a post showing a unique entry into the contest, one that didn’t involve a cult, but instead two Inquisitors embroiled in a conflict surrounding a powerful newly emerged psyker from the Cathedral World of Vastarian. This psyker, the “Child of Vastarian,” and associated characters were created by Moritz Schuessler (Herr.sobek). With this post, we wanted to showcase his creation via two stories from the perspective of two inquisitors: Lucrezia Beltano and Aesa Valerian.

Vastarian Contest - Entries Part 3

Entries Part 3

Below are the third set of ten entries in our Vastarian contest!

Vastarian Contest - Entries Part 2

Entries Part 2

Below are the second set of ten entries in our Vastarian contest! See Part 1 here!

Vastarian Contest - Entries Part 1

Entries Part 1

Below are the first ten entries in our Vastarian contest!

Vastarian: Contest Update

“Blessed is the mind too small for doubt.”

We are excited to say that our Vastarian Open Invitation contest recently came to end, and it was incredibly successful! All told, we received 32 entries, all imaginative explorations into what life might be like on a Cathedral world. We are currently reviewing all the entries carefully, reading their lore and poring over the amazing photos. We want to give all the entries the attention they deserve, and therefore still need a few weeks to review them all. With that said, we want to start sharing the entries with all of you, so over the next week or two, we are going to be posting all of the entries on our blog, complete with all of the photos and background! We hope you are as excited as we are about them all!

Vastarian: Contest ending this month!

Transfiguration's gonna come for me at last.

It has been just about two months since we unveiled our Vastarian Open Invitation contest, asking people to create a Vastarian Cult! Since that time, there has been a huge amount of interest in the setting, with people writing lore and building models. We wanted to showcase a little of it and remind people that they still have until the end of March to submit something of their own to the contest!

Kingdom Death: What will elevate the Showdown phase, and a Contest!

The Night is Dark and full of Terrors.

In my last Kingdom Death post, I suggested that the Showdown phase (where you fight the monsters) felt a little pedestrian.  After some additional reflection, I think that some of this dullness might come from the initial monsters the game sets up against. They are all creatures that function upon instinct alone, and don't base their actions on some higher intelligence. Presently, I have fought against the White Lion and the Screaming Antelope.  And as horrifying as the antelope is due to the gaping maw on its belly, it is still just a beast, driven by base instincts rather than a malevolent intelligence.  The hulking armored Butcher, on the other hand, is actually a person, with their own motivations, which got twisted with cowardice and rage.  Now they stalk the nightmare realms of Kingdom Death murdering other humans, and stretching their faces over their fallen lanterns.  I am hopeful that the cold, calculating menace of such a being will add the tension and motivation into the battles of Kingdom Death.  And honestly, it was weird knights like the Butcher that originally attracted me to Kingdom Death in the first place, not the lions, scantily clad survivors, and certainly not the pin-ups.  With that in mind, I began to assemble the humanoid monsters that were included in Kingdom Death: Monster.  I wanted to use this post as an opportunity to show off some of these figures; and to celebrate these excellent models, I would like to hold a contest.  My Survivor Kickstarter pledge gave me a few extra Kings Men models, and I want to give some out.  Leave a comment below, and on November 15, I will randomly pick two winners and send them anywhere in the world!