Giant Mech Death Battles
The Lord President’s Solar Empire lies in tatters, resistance to the enforcers of her brief rule has exploded in the years since her death and her living successors cannot even command the loyalty of their own troops. The age of great wars and vast battles in the void is over. Now is a time of pirates, petty warlords and mercenaries, a time of desperate battle in the claustrophobic ruins of abandoned space colonies, a time of limited resources, but limitless ambition, now is the time of the Contraventor.
What is a Contraventor?
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Some 100 years ago, a technology was developed that would change warfare forever: The Ent. Initially referred to as AEVs, or Armoured Entry Vehicles, Ents were initially no more than armoured space suits, designed for boarding actions to break the deadlock of space combat. However, as warships grew larger and more well defended, Ents too grew in size, armour and armament until towering beasts some 15 metres tall became the norm. As Humanity’s various wars raged on, the greatest of these pilots became known as Contraventors, aces who became more myth than mortal.
With the near-complete collapse of any traditional government or military command structure that followed the Lord President’s untimely demise, the only ones who could command even a small force were the inhumanly charismatic, intelligent, or just lucky. The Contraventors then, were well positioned to take centre-stage. That most of these figures were deranged lunatics driven to any number of psychoses by years of constant war was of little consequence to the starry-eyed conscripts who followed them to death or glory. Over time, strict military organisation gave way to bizarre cults, feudal courts and pirate crews, shaped by the twisted vision of those who knew only war.
Yes, but what is CONTRAVENTOR?
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CONTRAVENTOR is a miniature wargame, currently in the early stages of playtesting in which Squadrons of Ents do battle in the claustrophobic battlefields of abandoned space stations and empty cities. It is focused heavily on Manoeuvring, Positioning and heavily customisable units, so that no two Squadrons will look the same. More details on the game and setting will have to wait until the release of the rulebook, but to give some guidelines for modelling, we can reveal the following details:
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- CONTRAVENTOR uses a rough 1/100 scale when it comes to it’s miniatures, we won’t be going around measuring your Ent’s entry hatches to check it complies, but it’s worth keeping in mind!
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- Though the exact possible sizes of Squadrons are still being determined, they will number no more than 10 models.
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- Ents come in three sizes, Small, Medium and Large, and must all be based on square bases, Small Ents must be based on 40mm bases, Medium Ents on 80mm bases, and Large Ents on 120mm bases(Note, finding square bases in these sizes, especially the larger two, can be rather difficult, so we recommend making your own out of whatever you have lying around!)
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- In terms of the actual size of the miniatures, as long as they fit on the base and don’t look comically small(No putting a mini that could easily fit on a Small base on a Large!) you have pretty much total freedom.
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- There are no aliens! This setting encompasses only the solar system and is populated exclusively by humans.
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- The vast majority, if not all of the battles fought by Ents take place in areas without Oxygen, so exposed pilots are probably unwise, this is less of a hard rule and more of a suggestion, but if you do want the pilot(or pilots) of your Ent to be visible, they should definitely be wearing a helmet.
That’s all well and good but, what should they look like?
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As with most indie wargames, CONTRAVENTOR is miniature-agnostic, meaning really it’s up to you. Personally, I was primarily inspired by a vague mixture of Universal Century Gundam and the Inq28 aesthetic. The setting is hardly a cheerful one, but Contraventor’s should be larger than life personalities, ace pilots, ostentatious pirates and lunatic cultists, so bright colours and bizarre heraldry has as much a place here as corroded metal and chipped paint. As for what to build your Ents with, we highly encourage you to pick up whatever you have lying around, and just mash it together until you have a vaguely robotic shape. A half finished army of Space Marines? Ideal! Planes, Ships and Tanks in various scales? Perfect! Even just a pile of plastic rubbish can be turned into an imposing weapon of war with a bit of creative thinking. If nothing in your pile of shame really catches your eye, then I would highly recommend looking into some Gunpla kits, they make the perfect base for conversions, especially for the larger Ents in your force, both their 30 Minute Missions and High Grade ranges are perfect for CONTRAVENTOR, as well as being affordable and easy to build.
What now?
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If you’ve read this entire article then I’d dearly hope that I’ve caught your imagination, at least a little anyway. If so, then get building! The main reason we started this project was to see what the collective imaginations of this wonderful community could come up with in the confines of the little world we’re making. In future months we’re hoping to have more details about the setting, the game, and eventually a playtest version of the rules so you can play out your very own battles and campaigns, so if you’d like to stay updated on all those sorts of things, follow me on Instagram @farawaydot and be sure to post whatever you build with the hashtag #contraventor
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Godspeed pilots!