Conversions: what makes a Sorcerer?

[Indefragable]

Hi all,

 

From a modelling perspective, what elements does a Chaos Sorcerer need to have? On the Loyalist side the rule of thumb tends to be psychic hood. Obviously rule of cool apply as well as "well, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck..." but the short version is "if the model has a pyschic hood, it's a LIbrarian.

 

Especially when you think about less warpy Chaos factions like Night Lords, Alpha Legion, Iron Warriors, etc... what elements must a Sorceror have?

 

 

Say you convert three models: a Chaos Lord, a Sorcerer, and an Exalted Champion....what elements do each "need" to stand apart from each other?

[Gederas]

Chaos Lord: The most ornate armour and weapons. Most likely a bit "bigger" than the other models depending.

Exalted Champion: A 'less extreme' version of the Chaos Lord.

Sorcerer: Uhhh...... I'd say robes, ornate gear, maybe a staff (or sword/axe with a longer handle), warp-y effects (fire, stuff like that)

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

Lord: Lots of gear, greater size and/or commanding position on elaborate base, big horns/helmet decorations, elaborate iconography, brighter metallics

Exalted Champion: Size, aggressive/advancing pose (perhaps a taunt like pointing, beckoning, or thumbs-down), prominent display of melee weapons, fresh blood, or severed heads

Sorcerer: Books, scrolls, familiars, extra eyes, "spell effects" in hands, extreme eye glow, runes on weapons, cloak/robes/tabard also with runes, elaborate staff

[Mekhitar]

One of the (many) Sorcerer heads is a must for me - or robes + hood. I also paint my force weapons up differently from ordinary power weapons. I prefer a cape or robes on the body, but I do have a jump pack night Lords Sorcerer without (using the old pewter Night Lords bat wing style jet pack).

 

For my Lords, I go all out on the bling - mark-specific shoulder pads, the biggest and beastliest helm in the bitz box, wargear prominently displayed, and a cape. I also invert the color scheme on my “elite” models to make them stand out, so the lord gets this treatment too.

 

For my EC, he is just a normal marine with a little more bling. In this case, I converted him from a Dark Vengeance aspiring champion, so he stands out from my rank and file marines thanks to the mutated armor and cape.

[Panzer]

Honestly apart from weapon choices they all could look the same just fine. However giving a Sorcerer some more unique bitz like books, robes, etc and painting his force weapons differently than your power weapons would go a long way to identify him as a Sorcerer instead of a Lord.

[Pearson73]

I'd certainly expect more esoteric/occult gear on a sorceror - censers, tomes of spells, fetishes, sigils and reliquaries, etc.

 

As others have said, I see Lords as bigger, more bullish individuals, dominating their warbands physically and leading through bloody example, where, stereotypically, a sorceror's power will be less physical and more from their psychic might and the horror of the warp. In mortals, this could be represented by the sorceror being less physically impressive than the Lord, though I feel all Astartes are pretty well built.

[WarriorFish]

You can do whatever you want really, but something to help them stand out from each other is good though just from a table top point of view (for you and opponents). I've used the GK psychic hood for my Sorcerer, along with a GK sword painted different to power weapons. My TDA Sorcerer has some scroll and pieces from the Thousand Sons Scarab Occult, along with some robe/cloth that goes a long way to looking more Sorcerery.

 

An Exalted Champion would sit between an Aspiring Champion and Chaos Lord in the pecking order, so the fanciness of his armour and equipment could reflect that to make him easily look more unique (but not too unique, don't want the ire of the Lord :P ).

 

Ultimately what works for your army and their lore is best, just that for Chaos that usually means more difference and options ;)

[micahwc]

For my Alpha Legion, the majority of the basic grunts where snap fit loyalists with minor conversions. The characters were all made from MK3 Burning of Prospero marines. More ornate armor of an older style. Besides that, the only real way to tell them apart is wargear. They all have gold trim on their armor, as opposed to silver like most of the rest of the army.

 

I also did a squad of chosen with the MK3 marines, the leader of the squad got gold trim.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

If you look at the three generic metal sorcerers and the finecast generic sorcerer, they are all wearing a robe and have a large headress integrated into their helmets.

[GreaterChickenofTzeentch]

The Aspiring Champion fig from DV is basically the Exalted Champion, since Aspiring Champs are not independent models, but simple gear upgrades, really. Using that particular model definitely makes an EC noticeable.

[dark_elf]

For me, alot of it comes down to the weapon. By that I mean force weapon vs power weapons. This is a small difference but there is a difference in the way power weapons look compares to its force weapon counterpart.

 

For example a force sword has a different look to a power sword. So for my sorcerer I ensure that I have a force weapon to help distinguish him from other characters.

 

The other thing to add is a small familiar. I think that's adds to differentiate the model from the other lords / characters.

 

Other stuff on my sorcerer are as suggested by the the good patrons of BnC.

[Slan Drakkos]

The thing about making an army is that you should make it yours and yours alone. Do sorcerers tend to have magic books, little daemonic familiars, and maybe some glowing bits that show their psychic powers? Yeah, but do you have to model all sorcerer's that way? No. A sorcerer can range from the fully immersed in knowledge ones (like that nerd, Ahriman), to simply using sorcery as a way to obtain more power or help their cause.

 

You could make a sorcerer a bit more waped than the rest of your army (because of what they commune/deal with on a daily basis). If you go that way, give them some bits from the chaos chosen kit.

 

They could be a using their powers to augment themselves. In that scenario, maybe you could paint parts of their armor as if it's emitting an unnatural glow.

 

You could always go with the classic bookworm sorcerer and give them a book in addition to the rest of their layout.

[Beachymike123]

I'd agree with many of the points above, especially Slan Drakkos. All of my Sorcerors are converted and none of them look alike. I have Slaanesh and Tzeentch marked ones, and I intend to have a Nurgle themed one once I get back into the swing of things. Below are my casters in all their glory (Slaanesh is the dark red one, Tzeentch one is on the bike, my Iron Warrior Sorceror and Renegade Pyromancer before the disciplines were taken away):

Hope this helps :)