The Real Ghoul King (a.k.a. "Move Over, Dirty Frank")

In my last post, I mentioned that I was looking to build a small force of allies for the Choleric Order of the Yellow Bile. Well, progress on that has been rapid, mainly thanks to finally finding a model I've been after for some time...

The main delay has been in not knowing what model I was actually looking for. I had an ideal, but just couldn't find it. I love the concept of GW's Strigoi vampires. The ancient, bestial, savage ghoul kings were the best addition to the Vampire Counts canon in my mind. I had a 6th edition (I think) Strigoi force with Heresy Miniatures ghouls (might be a little NSFW) and cossacks and gypsies from West Wind's Vampire Wars line as my Strigany. I have, however, always preferred the concept to the official models - back then, I used a Heresy model as my vampire, but that was still a bit of a far cry from what I really wanted. Fast-forward to 2019, and I stumbled across a model from the Conan boardgame. It was exactly what I wanted in my Strigoi - imposing, feral, powerful - and I snapped one up on eBay as soon as I could.

So, with the ideal model finally in hand, I dove into painting and fitting it into my own little setting.

I wanted to ensure that the allied force led by this ghoul king both stood out from, and sat well next to the existing cult figures. To this end, I started with the same kind of skin tone I used for the Wretches (here and here) and Dirty Frank, but then highlighted up to a more pale tone (which is better in person than in my photos). The end result is pretty much what I hoped for - he's a nice balance between the Wretches and the original members of the cult, the Poxwalkers.

(L-R) Human, Poxwalker, Ghoul King, Dirty Frank.

He's a big lad, but still a good bit shorter than Dirty Frank - perfect for leading his own mob without stealing focus from the Choleric Order's star players. Speaking of his mob, I'll be adding some ghouls to his retinue, as well as a human necromancer looking to learn from his monstrous patron.

This does, however, mean that the Wretches are no longer really the "ghoulish troglodytes" I originally described them as, nor can Dirty Frank really continue to claim to be a "ghoul king". I shall be reworking their descriptions in due course...

The Choleric Order of the Yellow Bile...

• 10 Poxwalkers – pestilence-ridden demons
• 5 Plaguetouched – half-demonic berserkers
• Dirty Frank – blind troglodyte king
• 20 Wretches (here and here) – pitiful troglodytes
• 2 Cult Magisters – corrupt priests
• 5 Hunters – scouts and saboteurs
• 9 Templars – the cult militant

...and friends...

• Ghoul King – bloodthirsty savage

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