U'Bhadi
I had been looking for ideas for new, different, warriors to add to my fantasy
project. In our “world” of Morval Earth the closest we have to Tolkien’s Harad
is an area called Harachan. It is a sort of mix of Harad and The Black Kingdoms
of the Conan stories .
Then I was impressed by Wilgut Spleen’s
interpretation of the u’Bhadi
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=133598.msg1696347#msg1696347
Not wishing to copy these exactly though I did like the idea of warpaint rather
than a literal description of physical features. I did a search on the
internet and found an illustration by Angus McBride that I liked. Now this was
something that I had been looking for.
"Gothmog the lieutenant of Morgul had flung them into the fray; Easterlings with axes, and Variags of Khand, Southrons in scarlet, and out of Far black men like half-trolls with white eyes and red tongues."
Most of my Middle Earth Far Harad, Morval Earth Harachan and Hyborean
Black Kingdoms’ armies are light infantry as they are composed of Foundry
Darkest Africa and other similar ranges. So these chaps would make a welcome
and powerful addition!
So looking through my piles of figures yielded nothing
until I came across a box of Combat Hex figures from way back that the kids have
left behind. The Orcs and Uruk Hai were big enough to "like half-trolls" and
so received head swops, sculpting, new shields and some repainting which
resulted in:-
Converted figure with Perry plastic Mahdist for size
The U’Bhadi
tribesmen live in the wild area where the forest becomes desert in the deep
south of Far Harachan. They are a violent people, huge and strong. They have
been known to rip their enemies apart with their bare hands giving rise the
rumour that they are half troll - half human hybrids.
As such they are sought after as mercenary warriors.
They are not known for their intelligence and seem to
communicate in a hybrid dialect of Nwana and Kharsh. Their armour and weapons
are forged iron and hide shields are painted with patches of blood. In battle
they carry vicious long swords with a spiked blade and paint their faces with a
white band across the eyes and red on their mouths and lower jaws.
Intriguingly, nobody has seen an U’Bhadi female.
They venerate the Nasrvrock and often decorate their homes and weaponry
with the neck feathers of this giant raptor.
A Nasrvrock resembles a twisted combination of
humanoid and vulture with dark green plumage that feeds on the carcasses of dead
elephants.
A typical specimen is eight to twelve feet in height.
They enjoy killing and are usually encountered as a
solitary creature or a mated pair.
They mate for life.
Nasrvrocks fight in melee using their vicious beaks,
front claws, and also their rear talons. The screech of a Nasrvrock can briefly
stun its victims.
Nasrvrocks inhabit caves in mountains on the margins
where the verdant grasslands and forests meet the deserts of Far Harachan.