Matt Black Data #4 - Immortan Ork

Immortan Ork: 

30 miles south of the ruins in the wastelands of the hell zone lies a settlement built around what appears to be a old world aquifer. The leader of this settlement is a old mutated Trog known as Immortan Ork. The Trog has survived here for a long time. He was here even when the Hellzone was too toxic for anything else to live.

He and his Warboys terrorise the wastelands to the south of the ruins in souped up vehicles.

Immortan Ork would contest the Matt Black Trog's position in the city ruins but his Warboys are deeply superstitious of the ruins and cannot be coaxed or bullied to go more than a mile into the old mega city. 

The chances are that it would be suicide to contest the Matt Black Trog as his Trogs outnumber the Warboys. 

Immortan Ork is a based on a current 40K Ork Nob with a heavy amount of customisation. The mask was made to look more Orky than the Mad Max Fury Road character. The Warboys are GW Gorkamorka Digganobs painted in a Warboy style.

Matt Black Data #3 Headshot Armaments

Headshot Armaments:

Hailing from the Liberty City Ruins, Headshot Armaments started making pipe rifles which they traded with locals. They moved into repairing weapons and moved into weapon building. The company also specialises in munitions manufacture.

The company hires Stalker bands or organises missions to find old pre end weapons and equipment. They then refurbish them and trade them on. As a result the company found itself attracting raiders after free weapons. This has lead them to equip and arm their employees. 

Heeding the call Headshot Armaments moved to the ruins of Matt Black City. Looking around the company decided that the township of Wastetopia would be a good place to set up. Added security provided by the Warlord and his Wasteocrates is an attraction. Plus the Warlord demands reasonable tribute of one decent weapon  or armour a month and a weekly tribute of ammunition. 

The Warlord likes the Headshot being set up in Wastetopia as it will attract traders and a weapons manufacturer would be handy in an assault on the town.

The minis are a mix of old 40K RT Squat, Plastic Space Marine conversion and Space Lords figures. This faction will be growing with time. 

Matt Black Datat #2 Squat Bikers.

Squat Bikers.

These Squats are not from the usual settlement of Govin but are freelance gang of engineers.

They roam from settlement to settlement trading their skills for supplies. This gang is well armed and can take on anything that decides to mess with them. There settlement in the ruins is called Hammer town. 

The figures are old 40K Rogue Trader Squat bikers/Engineers guild. 

Matt Black Data Report #1.

These are some of the data items sent to Utopia High Command by the Expedition team currently setting up in the ruins of Matt Black City.

Halfpintskis:

These stable mutations have been spotted out in the ruins. They appear to be tribal versions of those guarded by Brittannia's Black Daggers company. It is thought that they may be decendants of the people who lived in this city before the end.

They live in the rubble zones of the city and raid for food. However they can be easily won over by gifting or tradeing for food.

The Halfpintskis live in rubble caverns beneath the ruins in a settlement they call "Halfpintington". These mutants are known to help those lost or in trouble near their settlement. However do not cross them as they are well armed and can be aggressive.

I bought these minis as a impulse buy many years ago (because you have to have tribal machine gun toting hobbits! ) and now I can't recall the manufacturer.

Matt Black City Report 16 - Questions

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 06070117

Day 16- Questions

We had some good news from Utopia today. It appears that the PSI signal from the Tomb is weakening. The city is hardly effected now. If current predictions of the signal decay are correct it will only effect the ruins of Matt Black City within 18 months. It makes us think that this is some sort of gathering or summoning call. But why?

As we predicted the Utopia High Command is interested by the anomolous activity and ordered a drone fly past to collect more data. To our surprise the anomalies had moved a few hundred meters towards the centre of the ruins. After collecting more data we conducted a sweep of the ruins and discovered yet more anomolies further towards the centre of the city. Some are singular and others grouped together. The anomolie placement and pattern seems to get more concentrated further towards the centre of the city. Curiously these anomlies do not appear in or around Trog City.

One fear I had was that this was some sort of Trog weapon or possibly a side effect of a Trog experiment. Their Meks are famous for trying to make new weapons and teleporters. Often they tinker with things they do not understand. The Meks are also famous for accidentally making a weapon when the original design was something more functional like a tin opener or plumbing. It is possible a Trog Psyker could be behind this using a PSI amplifier of some kind.

As a precaution I asked Magistrate Monk if she could pick up anything from the anomalies. What she "read" was disturbing. The anomalies are generated by a powerful Psyker or possibly some sort of Entity and they are used as defence mechanisms by it. The random outer single anomolies we have observed are uncontrolled side effects.

Pushing Monk further to find who or what the Psyker is, she confirmed that this is not a Trog but is unsure if it is a human. More disturbing is that the Psyker is also located in the Tomb or tomb complex.

Monk was too tired to continue as her gift often leaves her exhausted. It does leave us with more questions than answers. Is the PSI signal that brought us here linked to the Psyker? To my mind if it is powerful enough to generate anomolies in the laws of physics then they could easily generate the PSI signal.

How is the Matt Black Trog and the Trog's linked to this? Are they summoned as some sort of guards? Why has "it" summoned everyone to the ruins of the capitol? Or was that a side effect of calling the Trogs? Did the Trogs terraform the captiol for themselves or for everyone? Who and what is the Psyker? Is it human or some unknown entity?

There has been some wild speculation between us that this could possibly be the Matt Black God. But he died long ago and as far as history recalls our planet's founder had no psychic abilites. Can the machines that kept him alive still be working?

Legend has it a cleaner accidentally unplugged his life support to run a vacuum cleaner. Did the Trogs revive a long dead corpse? If so, how?

So many questions. The longer we are here the more questions this place generates. I guess we cannot know more until Monk recovers.

If the anomolie fields are a defence mechansim (from who and what? Another question!) then if we can by pass them we may find a way to the Tomb and possibly the rogue Psyker.

Matt Black City Report 15 - Troubling news.

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 05070117

Day 15- Troubling news

We have news from Utopia about some of the radio signals we have intercepted. Decoding them points to two corporations from Utopia being present here.

It appears that the Krom Corporation has sent a detachment to the ruins. Probably to find a way to turn the PSI signal and tomb into some sort of profit. The corporation's troops are well equipped and aggressive. We are beyond Utopia's jurisdiction and our laws will mean nothing, making us fair game. We shall have to treat them with care.

The Brittainna corporation is the other Utopia force here. Again they are well equipped and have access to power armour.

More concerning news is that when the Magistrates called upon the Brittanna Corporate block it was empty. Cleared out. The corporation had used the chaos of the riots to leave Utopia.

50 years ago Utopia took in survivors of the destruction of Brittainna bunker city. They formed a corporation, employing people in the block and thrived. They traded with Brittainna' s remaining wasteland colonies and produced arms which they traded across the wastes. Many weapons also turned up illegally in the hands of Utopia criminals but no evdience was discovered incriminating the Corporation. Brittannia became rich very fast.

For the last 10 years they have taken Utopia's technologies and secretly built a new city of their own. This city lies somwhere near their "New Shires" colony which is overseen by Lord Blackdaggar.

Speaking of Blackdaggar, we have received call signs of his company in the ruins too. Unlike their Brittainna brethren these troops habe gained experience defending the colony from wastelander hordes. We must be wary.

Lord Blackdagger 

Blackdagger's company 

Blackdagger's company 

At least the empty block will be of use in helping ease the overcrowding Utopia suffers. No doubt more news of Brittainna and their will filter through to us as Utopia gathers intelligence and attempts diplomacy. Or finds useful spies.

Scanning the radio waves we keep hearing of a settlement called "Wastetopia". Apparently they kicked K2I out of their township. There seems to have been a battle and K2I had sent in a platoon of 40. Just how large is the Corporation? Most wasteland cities struggle to raise this kind of manpower. Some reports speak of a Warbot being feilded against the Corporation. Magistrate Black seemed to find that news amusing bit then he has no love for K2I. We will have to find out more about Wastetopia.

Matt Black City Report 14 - Strange Events

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 04070117

Day 14 - Strange events

Last night we noticed on a drone feed what appeared to be a small campfire few miles out from our location. When taking a closer look the fire vanished. The drone could not pick up activity or movement in the area other than a small heat patch where the fire was seen. A mutated beast was moving towards where the fire had been spotted. As it walked across the heat patch a flame suddenly erupted out of thin air incinerating the beast. It lasted only a couple of seconds and left only ashes.

Shocked by this we swung the drone further out we noticed some distance way a blue light. Thinking that a camp or vehicle was there we moved the drone towards it, promising to revisit the sight of the fire later. As the drone approached the light we noticed faint blue sparks dancing around a spot. Nothing indicates a power source near there. They seem to be generated in thin air.

What is odd is the drone picked up all manner of strange readings from both these sites. Gravitational, increased background static and more. Radiation seemed to peak a little too. Magistrate Warren thinks that these are some sort of anmoloies in the laws of physics. The how and why we cannot determine at this time. As we do not want to risk losing another drone with a closer swoop we will map them and send the data home. When we get a chance we will send a team to investigate them further. No doubt the science teams will have questions. These ruins get stranger and more hazardous by the day.

The only other thing worthy of note is that again we are seeing some fluidity in the camps out in the ruins. One day they are there, the next gone. Where are they migrating too? Surely not Trog Town??

Matt Black City Report 13 - Vikings???

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo.
Date 03070117

Day 13 - Vikings ??

Still acting on the Intel from the character known as the Wanderer we sent the drones to the location of the raider camp.

It is circled on the map in red with our position marked in blue.

The drone images show a typically equipped raider band. Much of their equipment seems to be old but functional.

The Vikings gang are from various sources. Most are converted in some way.

By cross referencing our data we can see that these Raider bandits hail from the northern parts of the Brittainna wastes. They call themselves The Vikings but have little to do with the ancient Earth warriors other than raiding.

This band is from areas near the Blasted Ruins and we thought many settlements around those parts had been over run long ago by the mutant armies from the ruins. If they survived then this band will certainly be battle hardened.

Magistrate Black thinks we should hire Claw Company to take them out. The thought of hiring criminals irks me even if it is to deal with bandits. We will wait for instructions from High Command.

Matt Black City Report 12 - Claw Company

Journal of Senior Mag Stevo

Date 02070117

Day 12 Claw Company


After the Intel from the Wanderer that one of neighbours may be the infamous Claw Company we decided to use the drones to take a closer look.

There location is here on the map circled in green. Our location is the one circled in blue. Claw Company base is 11 miles away.

 The images show a well equipped and armed group of around 12 warriors and what looks like a old combat droid. We have confirmed that they wear the claw co markings. This band will certainly be well trained veterans. They are certainly a threat to our security.

The figures are EM4 Combat Zone plastics featuring a few conversions. 

These mercenaries spotted our drone and shot it down.

Claw Company are renowned for having few morals and kill for fun. They have been known to turn for better wages or even turn on their employers.

The presence of these cold hearted murderers burns into every law man sense we have. I had to fight every impulse to go and deliver justice to these criminals for hire.

Magistrate Black thinks we should hire them to take out local threats or even to go up against the Trogs. Then we can deal with them. I do not want to act as there is only four of us and it contravenes our orders.

Magistrate Monk pointed out that destroying our drone could be classed as a crime or even a act of war if we needed a reason to act.

Claw Company is planned to be replaced at some point in the future. 

Wasteland Wondering - a change of direction.

Hello and welcome back to another Wasteland Wondering.

Like real wasteland wandering you sometimes encounter things that cause you to change path. Things like radiation pools, a horde of hungry rad ghouls, angry super mutants, Jedwood or a thousand other possible wasteland horrors. So a change in course is required. Or more likely in my case just stopping, pointing in a random direction and yelling "THAT WAY!".

Many of my recent posts have been setting the scene for the Matt black city setting. They have been following the trails of the Utopia city expedition and has been great for setting the scene. I have a few extra posts drafted but I have found that the path has changed.

There was recent finds of two factions I had stored in a separate location to the rest of my collection. That is now 80 factions. I never realised my 28mm collection was that large.

I am now ready to start taking pictures and writing the background fluff. What is going to be fun is each faction has now got a new settlement in the Matt Black City ruins. Some are outposts, trading posts, colonies or a new settlement. I will have to dream up new settlement names.

There is another issue of me mixing some factions together. When I was reviewing the lists it dawned on me that some factions such as traders would be based or operate in another settlement. That would offer a customer base and some security.

On top of this, I am planning on retiring a couple of factions or combining them. This means that the draft Life in Matt Black City posts will need rewriting as they feature some of these factions. I best get the renforcements to the Utopia forces.

In addition to Trog Town, the major factions will operate townships with trading posts in the ruins of the planetary capital. Brittannia, Liberty City, Wasteocrates, Great Lakes, Greasy Poon, Nu Sodom and a few others will offer trade, law and a few other comforts of civilisation. I hope to run two of these as largely anarchic townships where anything can be sold an bought. The plan is that these will attract all manner of trouble.

Historic faction feuds may also be rekindled such as the war between Liberty City and Nu Sodom.

Hobby wise I have gotten a few figures finished ready to pose for pictures and fluff writing. A couple of factions are ready to be fielded too. Things are ticking along slowly on that front.

Thanks for reading and stay safe out there.