Draugr

If you played Skyrim, or in the less likely event that you are a scholar of Scandanavian lore, then Draugr will need no introduction. They are undead creatures from Norse/Icelandic mythology, guarding their treasures and/or tombs. More information can be found on wikipedia.

I loved Skyrim when it was first released, for so many reasons - Norse mythology, viking runic aesthetics, a dark and "real" palette. Delving into dungeons and fighting against skeletons and draugr was one of many highlights, hardly surprising given my many years of collecting and playing Undead armies.

If you are a Tolkien fan, you will know that the Undead play a part in the written work, even if the film trilogy omits much of this. The hobbits have many adventures on the road before they reach the inn at Bree, including an encounter with a barrow wight in a foggy tomb on the downs.

If you are a Warhammer fan, then some of this will sound vaguely familiar. Wights were, at one time, a unit in the Undead army. When this army was split into two books, the Vampire Counts army list gained Wights as characters and a pseudo-wight unit now known as grave guard. There's so much from folklore and mythology that ends up in fantasy gaming like this, I think this is one reason why I was drawn to it in the first instance.

All of this came to light when I was researching possible alternatives for grave guard in my Vampire Counts army. I quite like the old version metals, but not the newer plastics, though I do prefer the material plastic when I build units. I eventually found what I was looking for in the plastic Lord of the Rings range and will be working on them in the near future. The dead are rising once more........