January 15, 2026.
There is only one profile for the Sphinx utopia for Confrontation: The Clairvoyant. It is a construct in the same vein as those of the Cynwalls.
I wanted to imagine what this army might look like and create playable profiles, as I had already done for the Akkyshans.
The biggest challenge will be to make this army neither too strong nor too weak, but capable of delivering a hefty blow to Acheron's army, while still allowing evil to gain the upper hand, because it is evil after all, and no one is immune. It's a bit like the relationship between light and shadow: light generates shadows, but the reverse is not true. So, we have some scant information about this people scattered throughout the Rackham writings.
Let's try to summarize it all:
. A handful of Ishim'Re survived thanks to the mercy of the Heols, the gods of light. The survivors chose to keep the secrets of the gods and science. To honor this oath, the Ishim'Re waged war on the Ophidians, heirs of the destructive god Vortiris. The final battle took place where the city of Cadwallon stands today.
. In the early hours of Rag'narok, the Cynwälls discovered one of Utopia's great workshops. The Aurean phalanxes awaken and fight the Darkness for the first time since the Age of Battles. The return of the Sphinx is now only a matter of time.
. Utopia, as it currently exists, is all that remains, and just as we try to depict what the Elemental Kingdoms or the Unfinished Kingdoms might be like, we try to imagine what Utopia is like, when it might return. The Ishim Re took the beating of their lives when Vile Tis defeated Aar Tholt and the latter fled! The entire empire collapsed at that moment. It was even after this that Syharhalna became a desert.
. The survivors of the Ishim Re therefore founded a new government with new objectives and called themselves Utopia of the Sphinx.
. While they were rebuilding in Cadwallon, the Ophidians descended upon them. Having been spared from the Ishim Re-Wolfen war, the Ophidians were able to land in force... and massacre what remained of the Utopia forces, forcing them to flee...
. Ancient manuscripts tell the stories of two civilizations, the Utopia of the Sphinx and the Ophidian Alliance, which could have conquered Aarklash had they not destroyed each other. The stories describe the Sphinx as enigmatic warriors equipped with strange and terrifying weapons of war. Some claim that the Sphinx are now messengers of the gods of Light...
. The Ishim'Re are an ancient people with extraordinary scientific and magical knowledge. But they hide a terrible secret: they know that the myths of the continent's peoples are in fact traces of the ancient Rag'narok! While other peoples emerged after the Age of Battles, the ancient god of the Ishim'Re disappeared, leaving behind a new order. While others fought to conquer Aarklash, the Ishim'Re set out to conquer other worlds: the elemental kingdoms. The ages passed, and Rag'narok swept over Aarklash once again. Once again, the Sphinx is there to protect Creation from the madness of the gods.
Timeline:
- The Age of the Gods Destruction of the Ishim Empire.
- 0 The Sphinx Utopia swears allegiance to the Heols.
- 255 Battle of Kadwayn, the future Cadwallon. The Ishim'Re go into exile in the elemental kingdoms.
- 1008 Cynwäll Mehöl establishes contact with a child from the Utopia of the Sphinx.
Well, with all that, we need to create a sort of specification for what the Sphinx army should be and what type of troops it should contain, as well as the artistic direction to be followed.
From all the images I could find on the Sphinxes, a dozen at most, the artistic direction would be a mix of Griffin, Cynwall, and Egyptian.
So, it's decided, for me, this army will be Egyptian-inspired, living in the desert, so it will need technology to survive, which explains the need for Constructs and Artifacts that are both magical and technological. Egypt has several gods associated with animals, so there could be several factions with an emblem or leader (see all troops in a faction) related to each animal. Don't forget the alliance with dragons such as the Cynwalls.
Divine caste idea:
Jackal Knight (god Anubis).
. Knight of the Falcon/Horus (deity Horus).
. Knight of the Scarab (deity Khepri).
. Knight of the Lionesses (female deity Sekhmet).
. Knight of the Crocodile (deity Sobek).
2 possibilities: elves in animal armour or animal constructs.
Possible army skills (max 2): Sacred Weapon, Light of Ishim'Re (to be created), Fine Blade, Possessed (link to constructs?).
Usable skills: Additional Limb, Immunity/Toxic, Rapidity, Reflexes, Leap, Ambidextrous, Consciousness, Scout, Dodge, Cure/X, Wild/X, Harassment, Rampart/X, Assault Fire.
Strong characteristics: INI, ATT, STR.
Average Characteristics: RES, DEF
Weak Characteristics: DIS.
Primary Magic: Light, Earth. For adepts/masters: solaris, ..., ...
Secondary Magic: Air, Fire, Water (water is rare in the desert, so there is little affinity).
Forbidden Magic: Darkness.
Paths of Magic: Air/Typhonism. Light/Hermeticism, Solaris. Earth/Telluric. Fire/Theurgy.
Staff: Yes.
Magic Level: Medium/Strong.
God: Ishim'Re.
Abilities: Shared Consciousness (if construct within 15cm = shared lines of sight and spells can be cast from the miniature), Bane/Ophidian.
So much for ideas, I've created 83 profiles and so far I've created 5 lists of 200 to 400 AP. I still need to print miniatures for these profiles, then test them in several games.
To be continued...