The residents of Fairharbour were alarmed when the dark shadow appeared in the bay. Moreso when the fish began to float to the surface, their mangled forms twisted by growths and lesions. The smart villagers began to run then, but the backwater town was not known for producing geniuses. When the towering bulk of Lord Orificeus finally waded out of the bay, a cruel smile playing on his lips, it was already too late.

Who are the Sons of Slimeharbour?

Randall Gubbins was a simple farmer, who toiled daily in the fields surrounding Fairharbour growing turnips and potatoes. When Randall fell sick with a virulent wasting disease his fields fell fallow, and his crop went unharvested to rot in the ground. Surrounded within and without by decay Randall had delirious visions of his fields transformed into bountiful wilds where bulbous trees sprouted juicy, exotic fruits and filled the air with sweet, enticing scents. Brought to the brink of madness by fever Randall uttered prayers to himself for days that his visions would come true. Unfortunately for his neighbours his prayers were answered.

Lord Orificeus, one of Nurgle’s favoured grandchildren, was dispatched to Fairharbour immediately to ensure Randall’s conversion and make his dream a reality. The Great Unclean One sowed his fields with blessed seed, and fertilized it with the bodies of Randall’s neighbours. As the Feculent Gnarlmaws bloomed, Randall was carried from his sickbed by a frolicking crowd of Nurglings who bore him to the feet of Orificeus’ bulbous mass. He was christened there and then in a pool of vomit and bile and given a new name: Rancel Ganglion, Shepard of Nurgle.

Rancel, his mind now permanently changed by the virulent, magical fever that Nurgle bestowed upon him, took charge of efforts to transform the remnants of his village into a more pleasing state. Fairharbour became Slimeharbour, named for the choking, thick mucus of the giant, mutated Hagfish that spawned in the wake of Orificeus’ coming. Those of his neighbours who accepted Nurgle’s gifts became the first 15 members of Rancel’s flock. The rest were given to the nurglings.

Path to Glory

Nurgle was my first army in AoS back when I started playing in 2018. However, I still have a lot of work to do to finish them off so I’ll be using Path to Glory as an excuse to paint up the rest of my Rotbringers. I’m starting with a neat little 1k list, made up of what I already had painted and adding onto that as we go.

My stronghold, obviously, is Slimeharbour: the ruined fishing village turned nightmare pus factory. It is located in the territory of Saltmarsh, which has been transformed by Orificeus’ arrival into Wild Lands. This allows me to include 1 more monster in my army, but that doesn’t matter right now because I only have 1 monster in my list. I can definitely see myself taking another monster later on though, and its thematically appropriate. I considered making Saltmarsh a Small Settlement, which would have allowed me to reinforce a unit 1 more time. However the changes to coherency in AoS3 make me hesitant to do that with Putrid Blightkings, and in low point games I think I will benefit from the flexibility of 3 small units rather than 1 giant ball of death. As for my first quest, The Sons of Slimeharbour are on the hunt for a sacred relic of Nurgle. Lord Orificeus has given many gifts in his short time in Slimeharbour – now it’s time that Rancel repaid his debt by finding him a worthy tribute. The infamous Witherstave should do…

What’s next?

The first thing I’ll be painting up for this army (after Rancel) is another 5 Putrid Blightkings, bringing me to a nice even 20 in Rancel’s growing flock of converts. Afterwards I think it will be time to add another type of unit to the roster, perhaps a Lord of Afflictions to buff the Blightking’s attacks or a pair of Pusgoyle Blightlords to zip about the battlefield capturing objectives. Otherwise, the transformation of Slimeharbour bay into a green, thick ooze will certainly have attracted the attention of the Admiral of the Slime Fleet: Gutrot Spume.