2300 Heroforge Character

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Tanstaaflian Militiaman
Battle of Thunder Valley
Thunder Valley, Equitorial River, Tanstaafl, Aurore
June 2300

Militiaman Thomas Suarez of the 13th Militia Company, Tanstaafl Militia in action against Kaefer Horde Eta.
His equipment is the standard Tanstaaflian militia hodgepodge of variously sourced gear liberally mixed with civilian personal property. His clothing is entirely civilian private purchase: a grey flannel work shirt over denim jeans with a leather work belt and high-topped boots.
His helmet is French in origin, the Casque du Combat-2245, while his rigid chest armor/ammo carrier is Manchurian war surplus booty captured in the Central Asian War. His pack is military surplus from Texan sources.
He is armed with a privately owned FC-70 hunting rifle with an after-market scope and a homemade silencer. This is augmented by a militia-issue Traylor M-57 pistol.
The Battle of Thunder Valley was an engagement where the Tanstaafl Free Legion mercenaries and local militiamen trapped almost an entire Horde [defined as 2000+ invididual] of Kaefers in a branch of La Gouffre just as the tide was coming in. The Horde [named 'Eta' as it was the 7th Horde sized grouping faced by the TFL] was a combination of three Bands grouping from the French colony to the North and remnants of the Tanstaafl bands in the South. These units had been heavily attrited in personnel, but were still well equipped, with several Bugbuses, Crawlers, and 4 Deathsleds. Hedged in by demolitions teams and what little rocket artillery the Legion was able to bring to bear, no Kaefer vehicles survived the inundation. Command cohesion among the Bands and Horde was completely broken and what few individuals escaped did so as individuals.
Two motorized TFL Ramrod platoons and the 13th Militia Company remained in the area for two additional months hunting individual Kaefer before the area was declared secure.

[Note: This description is from the 'Kaefer Dawn' scenario, with inspiration from GDW's 'Aurore Sourcebook'. The 13th Militia Company is fictional, but plausible to the setting. The results of the Battle of Thunder Valley scenario was the GDW canon ending at one point. It is up to Colin as to how he wants to portray it going forward.]

 

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French Legion Etrangere Officer,
Patrol Operations
Near Lumiere d'Aube, Aurore, Eta Bootis
April 2300

Sous-Lieutenant Adewale leads a foot patrol from the 13th DBLE searching for Kaefer Snapfire missile fields on Aurore. She is the company executive officer for 2 Cie/13DBLE and leads two sections, a 'half-company' in Legion parlance, on the patrol.
Armed with the French FAM-90 Gauss assault rifle and a PM-87 pistol, she is seen here considering a map update from a drone flying about a kilometer ahead of her demi-companie.
As her command is approaching the Hotback zone they are wearing reduced armor, only the the standard bleu Imperiale TC-2292 inertial fatigues and the Cuirass du Combat-2290. As the lieutenant previously found an Auroran landcrab crawling up her leg, she has chosen to wear her armored greaves as well. While she is not wearing any rank insignia, she does wear her battered officer's kepi noir with the single nouille [slang: 'noodle'] of her rank decorating the crown edge.
The correspondent who took the photo reports that SLt Adewale had told her troops,
"You are the Legion. If the Hotback doesn't get you, then the Kaefers will get you. If the Kaefers don't get you, then *I* will get you. I don't know which is worse."

 

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Warrant Officer, 1st Bn., The Black Watch
Staff Duties, Service Dress
Aliceport, Beowulf, Queen Alice's Star
March, 2300

WO2 Siobahn Patel receives bad news on her Linkphone while taking the battalion mascot out for a walk as a documentarian records the day.
As dignitaries are expected later that day, she has worn the full kilt and Balmoral of the regiment with sporran and dirk.
Patel describes herself as a 'natural-born Jill' of the regiment, born and schooled in Aberdeen. She can 'talk Jock' with the best of them, but when being interviewed her U of Edinburgh diction and accent come to the fore. This is her third Colonial posting, and she says she's pitched the idea of retiring to Beowulf to her family. Discussions are ongoing.
1 Battalion's mascot is a NeoFox by name of 'Reggie'. He is an almost one-of-a-kind animal in that the troops themselves took up a collection to raise the almost 50 thousand pound Sterling cost to have him custom bred. The troops then held a lottery which chose the battalion member the Neo would be imprinted with. Then-Sergeant Patel won. This meant that she'd stay with the battalion for remainder of her career, so she would 'cap-off' at WO2, a sacrifice she was originally leery to make. As her relationship with Reggie developed, however, she says it was the best luck of the draw that ever happened to her.
'Sergeant Reginald Fox' is himself quite the character, as 'Scotty a jock' as you're ever going to meet. He is as proud of his battalion as they are of him. It has become tradition that tufts of his hair taken during his monthly grooming sessions are saved and given as mementos for members of battalion who transfer, retire, or die whilst on service with the unit. This custom began six years ago when a training accident killed one officer and two other ranks that were especially dear to Reggie. At the memorial, and of his own volition, he pulled tufts of his own fur out to send to the families.

Design notes: I got this as close as I could within the confines of the HF program. There aren't many plastic mini companies out there that will let you 3d print an accurate regimental tartan In addition, the Glengarry is not yet available so I had to go with a Balmoral.
I presume that with the expansion into space and the need to garrison colonial possessions that storied British regiments like the Glosters and Black Watch would regain their independent identities as the British Army expanded again. IM2300, a British Army regiment is two active duty battalions and an reinforced company 'depot' that acts as the regimental training and 'gatekeeper'. It is where the regimental band is located, as well as where soldiers coming or leaving the regiment are processed.

 

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Officer in Zero-G
Aboard DSKM frigate Brandenburg
In orbit above Neubayern
February 2300

Kapitan-Leutnant Dieter Schneider, DKSM, leaps from the spin-hab access tube to a hatchway in zero-G aboard his ship Brandenburg. The ship is in workup trials and has just completed a shakedown cruise from Tirane to the extensive yards in the Neubayern system, where any deficiencies will be addressed and repaired.
The bridge has reported that the Hafen-Kommodore [shipyard commodore] is inbound on a shuttle and KLt Schneider just has time to get his 'Raumerjacke' ['Spacer Jacket', the Stern Kriegsmarine 'reefer jacket' variant] from his cabin, which he has buttoned this over his duty shipsuit. He's also grabbed his Schirmmütze [service cap] with white commanding officer cover. He's now leaping from the spin-habitat access tube to a hatchway leading to the ship airlock.
Frigates are small vessels, and every possible space in the ship is used for storage. The two crates below the Kaleut are color coded as 'inert dry goods' which do not require special storage or handling [security precautions, refrigeration, HAZMAT precautions etc.] and have been stowed in the accessway as the crates are easily avoidable in zero-G. The lights on top of the lid show that the contents are magnatized to the deck and the contents are unopened.

Design notes:
I have decided that the officer's service uniform for the Deutsches Stern-Kriegsmarine is black with a naval cut but platinum metal embellishments instead of Naval gold. The service has kept the German naval tradition of the ship or base commander wearing a white cover on their service cap. However, the German Star Navy does not use naval cuff rings to identify officer rank, choosing instead the ubiquitous German shoulder strap 'pips and wreaths' in platinum.
Obviously, the HF program doesn't allow me to put many of these details on the figure.
A Bavarian study found that black shipsuits tended to depress crewmen on long cruises, so the new united German service has ordered shipsuits in a blue-grey color they have named 'Schiffblau', or 'ship blue'. Officers wear white cuffs on the shipsuit to be easily identifiable from behind. 'Why shouldn't they', say the experienced Stern-Maates [lower Petty Officers], 'Officers don't get dirty anyway'. Vessel commanders have white cuffs and collars on their shipsuit, seen peeking from KLt Schneider's spacer-jacket.

 

[ottarrus]

So, is anyone entertained by any of these?
If so, I'll keep trying to work the HF program. If not, then I'll stop spamming.
Let me know.

 

[NOLATrav]

Although I’m not playing 2300, I’m enjoying your builds and backstories. Great NPCs for any Traveller game

 

[ignus1213]

Keep it up, I am definitely entertained!

I don't have any experience at all with the Heroforge program but I imagine you are limited to their design options but is it possible to do Kaefers?? It would be great to see Kaefers in miniature form.

 

[ottarrus]

Keep it up, I am definitely entertained!

I don't have any experience at all with the Heroforge program but I imagine you are limited to their design options but is it possible to do Kaefers?? It would be great to see Kaefers in miniature form.

Yes, HF is pretty limited in the choices available. Nevertheless, with some creativity you can come up with pretty interesting stuff.
And there is NO way to assemble a 2300AD alien, but I was able to put together a Traveller OTU Droyne Sport and a K'Kree. Aslan and Vargr are pretty easy [cat- and dog/wolf-people are in the HF program]. And, naturally, I have no hope of ever getting a Hiver built! As for Kaefer, the closest you'll be able to get would be a turtle shell and spider head... not really satisfactory.

 

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Vehicle Crewman
11th ACR, US Army
Ft. Patton, Ellis, AC+48 1595-89
May 2300

Cpl. Dewayne Watkins of the 11th Armored Cavalry begins post-exercise maintenance on his M-9 Hovertank after troop's return to the motor pool from Exercise Certain Thunder. He is clad in the standard US Army flame-retardant inertial coverall with a semi-rigid vest on his torso. His helmet is the M-87 combat vehicle helmet with it's rigid faceplate removed. Otherwise, he wears private purchase work gloves and boots that are sealed against Ellis' microfine dust.

Designer's Notes:
First off this is an minor homage to a fellow tanker, Spc. Dewayne Blue, who taught me most of the useful tricks of Abrams maintenance back in the day. His favorite quote was from a Kurtis Blow record: 'It's mind over matter thang; You don' mind cuz it don' matter.'
2300 AD is set 300 years, an apocalypse and a Second Civil War away from where I sit at my computer in the United States of 2022. I cannot imagine the US Army not having a green uniform, but I'm also well aware that just 150 years ago a soldier on the Great Plains couldn't imagine an American Army not wearing Indigo ['Navy'] Blue. To put point on it, 'time changes things'. Still the practicality of an Earth-tone uniform over a color that clashes with the general terrain one is serving on is obvious.
With that being the case, I've given Watkins a 'sand-green' coverall and a 'general service green' vest, pauldrons and helmet.

 

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Militia Sentry
Xiaguang
Han Shan [Cold Mountain] Delta Pavonis
JAN 2300

Kao Mai Lung stands her watch on the wall separating the colonial city of Xiaguang from the 'demons' of the lower elevations. Han Shan's atmosphere contains very high levels of oxygen and therefore firearms are completely unsafe to operate. This meshes well with Manchurian sensibilities regarding the private ownership of weaponry. Nevertheless, the unique animal life of the world is dangerous enough that bulwark walls and sentries for them are a necessity not a luxury. Without both Han Shan would quickly become non-viable. Since firearms are out of the question the colonists have turned to the martial arts to keep their families safe. Each community keeps an armory of armor and weaponry that is quite medieval in nature and all colonists are trained in its use. Everyone takes a shift on guard duty and an adolescent is not considered an adult until they are trained well enough to take their first shift.

Designer's Notes:
Obviously, I could not impose a mail screen over the sentry's helmet. She is bundled up against the cold and wears reinforced boots to protect against screw-worms. She's armed with a zhang dao glaive to cut 'blinds' out of the sky and a sword for anything closer. I gave the armor a high-vis International Orange helmet and chest stripe so that sentries can easily spot if a comrade is down.

 

[Bryn the 2300AD guy]

I presume that with the expansion into space and the need to garrison colonial possessions that storied British regiments like the Glosters and Black Watch would regain their independent identities as the British Army expanded again. IM2300, a British Army regiment is two active duty battalions and an reinforced company 'depot' that acts as the regimental training and 'gatekeeper'. It is where the regimental band is located, as well as where soldiers coming or leaving the regiment are processed.

In the etranger-verse, 2 BW is an armoured infantry battalion of 3rd Armoured Brigade, whereas 1 BW is a light battalion stationed on the frontier.

The British Army in 2300 AD

 

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In the etranger-verse, 2 BW is an armoured infantry battalion of 3rd Armoured Brigade, whereas 1 BW is a light battalion stationed on the frontier.

The British Army in 2300 AD

A simple enough change to make.
Glad you like the work. Of all these attempts, the most 'so-so' one is WO Patel. It's completely unreasonable to expect a 3d printed figure to get anything like tartan sett on a figure, but you notice it. 'Suspension of disbelief' and all that...

 

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Deck Roughneck
Chemical Harvesting Station
Leeuwenhoek Ocean
Kimanjano, Kimanjano
March 2300

Renee Desjardins is the Chef de pont [Deck Chief] the Station de recolte de produits chimiques #255 [Chemical Harvesting Station 255] in the Northern latitudes of the Leewenhoek Ocean on Kimanjano. She wears a high-visibility heated protective suit in case she either falls overboard or is struck by a wave.
The seas of Kimanjano are a chemist's dream, a seething gelatin of compounds, acids, proteins and chemical structures that nearly meet the definition of 'life form'. These compounds are universally deadly to human life through a variety of very unpleasant processes... chemical burns and anaphylactic shock mostly... but they are highly valuable to France's chemical industry. Because of this, and frankly the smell, it is customary for those working the decks of the harvesting ships and stations to wear full-body protective gear, including emergency air supplies.

Designer's Notes:
Not much to say here. I put her in a high visibility protective not-quite-vacc-suit with a chemical mask, goggles and hood.

 

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Resistance Fighter
The Destruction of 'Uberfällgruppe Jot' [Hunting Party J']
Ruins of Nordhausen
Dünkelheim, DM+36 2393


Klaus Kropinski is resistance fighter with Bundesgouverneur Schmidt's Kampfgruppe Dora on Dünkelheim during the Kaefer Occupation.
He is armed for with a surplus SG-77 Assault Rifle, wears a militia-issue vest/ammo pouch system and is otherwise clad in civilian clothing.

Designer notes:
HF has just released a bullpup configured rifle that looks VERY much like the SG-77's artwork, so I thought I'd assemble a figure for it.
This is pretty standard otherwise, blue denims, tough working boots, a khaki/sand colored shirt and a wide brimmed hat against the sun. Skin tone is balanced to be 'tanned but burning'.

 

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Drachenzahntruppe
Deutsches Bundeswehr
LkPzGr 23, Luftkissenpanzer Division Lehr
Battle of Arras, Somme Front
16 August 2293

Hauptgefreiter Gerda Volkmann supports her squad with GrW-12 fire as her company flanks a hardened French position during the War of German Reunification. She is clad in full Drachenzahntruppen armor with climate controlled inertial under suit and is equipped with the Granatenwerfer-12 support grenade launcher.
Volkmann is now a Feldwebel serving with PzGr Rgt 18 and stationed at Lindemann Kaserne on the German Continent, BCV. She is no longer with 'der Drache', as the weight of the armor puts enough stress on the soldier's joints [especially the hips and knees] that only a rare few ever exceed 4 years service in the branch. However, that 4 years service provides enough experience that line infantry companies are very glad to have Drache veterans in their NCO positions.

 

[Jame Rowe]

I have a number of 2300ad characters. If I can figure out how to make Heroforge do color, I'll post them.

 

[ottarrus]

I have a number of 2300ad characters. If I can figure out how to make Heroforge do color, I'll post them.

On the HF page, look down the left hand task bar and you'll the Color button.
If you want a screen shot of your hero, bring the hero up and look at the top menu task bar. Cursor over where you see the character's name and it'll give you a Screenshot option. That provides the best detail of the fig.

 

[Jame Rowe]

Rogue/MMA celebrity
Travelling Circuit
Montana, Argentina colony

Imelda Liwanag prepares for an underground MMA match on Montana. This luchadora, originally from the Luzon City colony on Epsilon Indi, grew up in a middle class neighborhood but developed several underworld connections early. After a run-in with the law, her lawyer (a Nigerian from the Life Foundation colony named Olibisi Muyiwa) suggested that she get off-world.
She did so, and got involved with the MMA circuit and its seedy underside as well, gaining a hand razors implant.
Now that she's hit the big 30, she's thinking of travelling without relying on her underworld connections. She does keep in touch with her lawyer friend occasionally.

 

[Jame Rowe]

Gabonese Broker
Libreville, Gabon, Earth
10th February 2300

Jean Bekale is a fixer - a legitimate merchant with underworld connections - who grew up in the slums of Libreville and managed to sweet talk his way into a brokerage firm headquartered in France.
He has done pretty well for himself, and has been working to improve the lot of the poorest level of Gabonese, and now all French, society; this does require finding creative ways through the law. He has developed a few contacts, notably including an Ally in the local government named Francoise Aubert.
He frequently travels with two bodyguards, one from Libreville (who is a former member of a gang which idolizes Japanese samurai) and an Azanian from the colony of Kimanjano.

Here we see Jean making a deal with someone.