Battle Yak Sketchbook | Harrowhaunt Fryghtmares (Patreon)

Whenever I develop a Battle Pack theme, I always have many more ideas than I could possibly produce in a single month, and so I hold back some designs with the intent of having them be a part of future releases. In fact this month's Battle Pack, Sharkzerkers 2: Second Wave, represents one example of that very idea, a second release to an existing theme that adds new miniatures and new sculpts to expand the concept further.

The Battle Yak Sketchbook shows off designs and sketches for miniatures that haven't been a part of their initial theme release, but are waiting in the wings to take shape at a future date. Past posts have shown glimpses of the Primal Heart Eldarch and Blightergast Reanimators (which will have new releases of their own coming very soon). For this post, I have designs to share from a more recent faction, the Harrowhaunt Fryghtmares, showing some of the horrifying new units that will appear one day. Enjoy!

Reworked Farmhands

When the raiding parties of the Harrowhaunt descend upon some hapless settlement and slaughter the populace, they unerringly seek out certain craven and cowardly individuals and seek to manipulate them with dark promises of mercy, allowing them to live in exchange for leading the Harrowhaunt to any hiding places or safe-houses that survivors may be sheltering in. Should the unlucky souls surrender to their fear and sell out their own people to save themselves, they find that the Harrowhaunt are true to their word - they will spare the lives of the wretched.

But these craven worms soon find themselves wishing for death, as the cruel magic of the Harrowhaunt distorts and mutilates them into hideous monstrous pariahs, the Reworked Farmhands. Parodies of their former selves unnaturally fused with slaughtered livestock, their limbs and heads merged with the features of swine, jackasses, and poultry, they serve the Harrowhaunt further as slaves, shambling into battle in great suffering packs mewling in animal-noise misery. All they can hope for now is that the enemy slays them and puts an end to their torment.

Oogiemen

The Oogiemen are creatures formed in the image of a common childhood story monster, a haunter of dreams and stealer of children. The magic of the Harrowhaunt brings such nightmares to hideous life, animating the stitched-together sackcloth bodies of these lumpish horrors. Their bloated forms ripple and squirm as they lumber into combat, and if their sackcloth flesh is damaged they split open and disgorge huge swarming masses of cockroaches, spiders, and centipedes, all made monstrously large and hungry for the soft flesh of the living. If the foe is not drowned in this tide of swarming, biting vermin, they are cut apart for the hooked hands of the Oogiemen, or battered down by their swinging limbs.

Hexwracked Spellcrow

The Hexcackle Coven of witches are the dark shepherds of the Harrowhaunt, guiding the magics that animate the lesser horrors in their rampages. The Coven is larger and more widespread than any civil authority truly appreciates, and brings together many new students and recruits every year to train in secret places and refine their magical art. Hexcackle witches-in-training are often given one of the Harrowhaunt's living scarecrows to test their powers upon, the animated scarecrow happily dancing and capering amidst the training fields while young witches hurl their unrefined spellcraft at it.

Over time, these target dummies soak up great amounts of ambient magical energy, absorbing poorly-cast hexes and misfired spells, and if they are not immolated or blasted apart or folded into some alternate dimension, they can become dangerously magically reactive, eventually requiring more senior witches to subdue and contain. Eventually a senior Hexcackle hag seized upon the idea of preserving these overly-magical scarecrows as potential weapons, and since then many such Hexwracked Spellcrows have been used as chaotic magical bombs by the Harrowhaunt. Spewing random and unfocused magical energy, the Spellcrows are hurled haphazardly towards more resistant enemy formations, the chaotic magical energies unleashing a deluge of effects from fireballs and lightning bolts to polymorphic curses and itchy-groin hexes.

Screecher

Occasionally, some determined effort will be made to root out the Harrowhaunt and their Hexcackle mistresses, with great armies being raised and sent out into the dark countryside, razing and witch-hunting with ruthless determination. In such cases, the Hexcackle call upon the dark source of their magical power, tapping into a primal darkness beyond the understanding of mortals. Such rituals will call forth the most pure expression of the Harrowhaunt's dark power, the terrifying Screecher.

Like some giant humanoid crow, the Screecher is a creature of magic and fear made flesh, projecting an aura of terror that will cause even the most stalwart soul to quiver like a frightened child. Even if the foe should stand their ground, the creature's physical strength is monumental, capable of ripping a man in two with a single swipe of its talons or breaking bones with a beat of its terrible wings. Worse still, the creature's flesh and blood is like darkness itself, healing almost instantly from the most grievous of wounds, regenerating and renewing itself as long as there is fear in the heart of its victims. When the cry of the Screecher sounds in the dead of night, all who hear it know that an avatar of fear walks the mortal world, and the sun will not rise until it has feasted on its fill of terror and death.

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And those are only a few of the Harrowhaunt creatures waiting in the wings to be realized! One day I'll show off designs for more monsters like the Candeljack, the Prized Hogs, the Hanging Tree, and a happy little fellow by the name of Unlucky Chucky...

But for now, I hope you've enjoyed this sneak peek at the future of the Harrowhaunt Fryghtmares. You can get the current Harrowhaunt line of miniatures at the Battle Yak Miniatures online store, as well as all previous releases. Currently the Blightergast Reanimators, another spooky crew that was released last May, are on sale for 50% off with the discount code GASTLY!

Drop by the Official Battle Yak Discord to see the latest news and sales and chat with the community about  what kinds of projects you'd like to see next! You can also follow  Battle Yak Miniatures on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!