BigBadToyStore have opened pre-orders of a shared exclusive from Boss Fight Studio, which is the Vitruvian H.A.C.K.S. Red Knight and Hobgoblin Figures.
The General Bah-sak Red Knight is priced at $34.99, and the B’an Ran Shi Hobgoblin is $27.99. Both figures are expected to ship in Q3, 2021, and you can pre-order yours now by clicking HERE!
The Knights of Asperity are wraiths possessing the ability to wield incredible power but lack corporeal form. Consequently, their ability to affect the physical realm is limited unless they find suitable host bodies as a means of channelling their vast energies. General Bah-sak and his outriders represent the vanguard of the larger Asperity army, scouting ahead to find humans and elves to use as hosts. They run down potential victims using their armored, magically infused steeds, never resting for a moment when the hunt is on.
The outriders build intricate cairns and raise earthworks on sites where particularly successful outings have taken place, giving praise to some entity to whom they owe homage for the success of the hunt.
Discovering the identity of this being may yield clues to what exactly the Knights of Asperity seek and, once their goal is known, that may tell the world exactly how to stop them.
Temporal Log
Initially it was thought that General Bah-sak was the leader of the Knights of Asperity. His actions on the battlefield later led us to surmise that this was not the case, he acts independently to the main force, forging ahead and attending to his own tasks, paying little attention to those not under his direct command. In recent times, there has been a trend in the victims captured by his group, those with latent magical abilities of some kind; mages, psychics, and seers, have been targeted. The Asperity wraiths gain increased powers when taking possession of those with such talents as a magical user, even an untrained one, has enhanced energy direction skills.
Residing in swamps, fens, and bogs, the B’an Ran Shi are carnivorous goblins with an insatiable desire for meat. They travel from their homes in the wetlands in packs ranging in size from twenty to fifty. The hobgoblins attack farms and homesteads raiding cattle, pigs, and horses, and then return to their habitats to feast. On those occasions when they cannot find livestock, they will kidnap humans, elves, and even Orcs. Their spiked tails and fingernails are coated with a poison that paralyzes but keeps prey alive for days so that the flesh is fresh when it is time to eat.
B’an Ran Shi are more numerous on the rugged and marshy west coast of the continent, though bands have spread elsewhere. The Knights of Accord are currently organizing an expedition to chase off a nest of them who occupy the Bog of Booragh. This bog, which lies approximately three hundred miles from Castle Accord, is a waypoint on the trail to the elven city of Leaf. The trail skirts the fringes of this bog and since the hobgoblins moved in there have been numerous reports of travelers going missing.
Temporal Log (Extract from the files of Doctor Arune Brahmachari, Vitruvian Medical Officer and Biologist.)
I have completed the autopsy of the hobgoblin which was killed by Leonidas when it breached our perimeter security. The spines of the B’an Ran Shi are coated with a form of Tetrodotoxin. This potent neurotoxin is not produced by the goblin itself; it lacks the necessary glands. Rather, it must have been extracted from another creature and painted on prior to battle. This indicates an unexpected level of intelligence and forward planning. I surmise that a species of toad native to the hobgoblin’s swamp habitat is the true source. A deep scratch from a tail spike delivers sufficient dosage to cause almost complete paralysis to an adult human in under a minute.