The Wargamer

Epic Eldar pt.2: Epic 40,000

2012-01-11T01:50:00.000-08:00

Now we get to Epic 40,000. Epic 40,000 (E40k) has more flexible lists, but they suffer from their own eccentricities. Having to perfectly balance out your "Main Force" with your "Support" can lead to some translation issues between the systems; not to mention the 181kg gorilla in the room: that this edition of Epic is based off of Warhammer 40,000 2nd edition armies. Ah, the nostalgia.

Let's give this a shot, and see how we can move between the systems. My goals are to use every model in my Epic Armageddon (EA) army and to build up to 2000pts. 2000pts is the 4000pts of E40k. I base this off of the fuzzy recollections I have from the time, and the fact that I clearly remember E40k veteran's nights being 1750pts at my local Games Workshop. Those games were meant to be finished in 75'. My logic may not be sound, but it's mine, dammit!

Anyway, I'm going to build detachments (E40k terminology for formations) by mimicking the formations I built in the last post, and see where it takes me. Here's hoping we even get to 2000pts...

Detachment 1: Ciridan's Warhost (all cool players named their detachments in E40k!)
Type: Eldar Warhost (you'll see this type a lot... There wasn't a lot of different Eldar detachment types)
Commander: Warp Spider Exarch Ciridan (HQ) (counts as a squad in the main force if not chosen from the commander section, like a Farseer might)
Main Force:
+ Warp Spider Exarch (1 Unit) - 40
+ Warp Spider Squad (1 Unit) - 14
+ Warp Spider Squad (1 Unit) - 14
+ Warp Spider Squad (1 Unit) - 14
Detachment Support:
+ Warp Spider Squad (1 Unit) - 14
+ Warp Spider Squad (1 Unit) - 14
+ Warp Spider Squad (1 Unit) - 14
+ Warp Spider Squad (1 Unit) - 14
(one of the nice things about Eldar Warhosts is that they often duplicate units between Main and Support sections, therefore mitigating the fact that they don't have very many variations on detachment types)
Total Points: 138
Morale Value: 3 (total points ÷ 50 (rounding up) = your morale value. This is subtracted from your army's combined morale when the detachment is reduced to half strength or less. When your morale reached 0, you lose. This was a really cool mechanic that I'm totally going to rip-off for my game)
Half Strength: 4

Detachment 2: Haelin's Warhost
Type: Eldar Warhost
Commander: Howling Banshee Exarch Haelin (HQ)
Main Force:
+ Howling Banshee Exarch (1 Unit) - 36
+ Howling Banshee in Wave Serpent (1 Unit + Transport) - 39
+ Howling Banshee in Wave Serpent (1 Unit + Transport) - 39
+ Howling Banshee (1 Unit) - 10
Detachment Support:
+ Striking Scorpion in Wave Serpent (1 Unit + Transport) - 39
+ Striking Scorpion in Wave Serpent (1 Unit + Transport) - 39
+ Striking Scorpion (1 Unit) - 10
+ Striking Scorpion (1 Unit) - 10
Total Points: 222
Morale Value: 5
Half Strength: 6

(An open letter to E40k players: I know there were technically no units in E40k that were called "Striking Scorpions" or "Howling Banshees" even though there were models made for them. They just counted as "Aspect Warriors" along with any other W40k Aspect Warrior that wasn't a Warp Spider, Swooping Hawk, or Dark Reaper. I'm nothing if not thematic)

Detachment 3: Duridain's Warhost
Type: Eldar Warhost
Psyker: Farseer Duridain (HQ) - 50
Main Force:
+ Guardian Squad (2 Units) - 16
+ Guardian Squad (2 Units) - 16
+ Scouts Squad (2 Units) - 20
Detachment Support:
+ Dreadnoughts (2 Units) - 56
+ Dreadnoughts (1 Unit) - 28
+ Support Platform Battery (3 Units) - 45
Total Points: 231
Morale Value: 5
Half Strength: 7

Detachment 4: Galadhran's Warhost
Type: Eldar Warhost
Psyker: Farseer Galadhran (HQ) - 50
Main Force:
+ Guardian Squad (2 Units) - 16
+ Guardian Squad (2 Units) - 16
+ Scouts Squad (2 Units) - 20
Detachment Support:
+ Dreadnoughts (2 Units) - 56
+ Dreadnoughts (1 Unit) - 28
+ Support Platform Battery (3 Units) - 45
Total Points: 231
Morale Value: 5
Half Strength: 7

Detachment 5: Wind Riders of Vihain
Type: Eldar Warhost
Commander: Guardian Jetbike Vihain (HQ)
Main Force:
+ Guardian Jetbike Squad (1 Unit, HQ) - 40
+ Guardian Jetbike Squad (1 Unit) - 15
+ Guardian Jetbike Squad (1 Unit) - 15
Detachment Support:
+ Vyper Jetbike Squadron (1 Unit) - 22
+ Vyper Jetbike Squadron (1 Unit) - 22
+ Vyper Jetbike Squadron (1 Unit) - 22
Total Points: 136
Morale Value: 3
Half Strength: 3

Detachment 6: Yael's Spear
Type: Eldar Warhost
Commander: Falcon Yael (HQ)
Main Force:
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit, HQ) - 54
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit) - 29
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit) - 29
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit) - 29
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit) - 29
Detachment Support:
+ Night Spinner (1 Unit) - 41
+ Night Spinner (1 Unit) - 41
+ Night Spinner (1 Unit) - 41
+ Fire Prism (1 Unit) - 35
Total Points: 328
Morale Value: 7
Half Strength: 5

Detachment 7: Saine's Spear
Type: Eldar Warhost
Commander: Falcon Saine (HQ)
Main Force:
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit, HQ) - 54
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit) - 29
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit) - 29
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit) - 29
+ Falcon Grav-Tank (1 Unit) - 29
Detachment Support:
+ Night Spinner (1 Unit) - 41
+ Night Spinner (1 Unit) - 41
+ Night Spinner (1 Unit) - 41
+ Fire Prism (1 Unit) - 35
+ Fire Prism (1 Unit) - 35
Total Points: 363
Morale Value: 8
Half Strength: 5

Detachment 8: Khaine's Vengeance
Type: Eldar Titan
Commander: N/A
War Engines:
+ Phantom Titan - 380
Total Points: 380
Morale Value: 8
Half Strength: 4 (Damage Capacity (wounds))

Detachment 9: Khaine's Lightning
Type: Eldar Fleet
Commander: Night Wing Interceptor (HQ)
Main Force:
+ Night Wing Interceptor (1 Unit, HQ) - 65
+ Night Wing Interceptor (1 Unit) - 40
+ Night Wing Interceptor (1 Unit) - 40
Total Points: 145
Morale Value: 3
Half Strength: 2

Detachment 10: Avatar of the Bloody-Handed God
Type: Eldar Commander
Commander: Avatar - 40
Main Force:
N/A
Total Points: 40
Morale Value: 1
Half Strength: 1

Total Army Points: 2214
Total Morale: 48 (higher than 2214 ÷ 50 (rounding up) because we rounded up in all those detachments)

Woah! Looks like we blew 2000pts away! We'll have to get rid of something so that we aren't accused of cheating (who's "we?"). If I needed to take this to a 2000pt tournament tomorrow, I'd drop Khaine's Lightning, take out one Falcon (probably a proxied Firestorm tank (see comments below)) from Yael's Spear, drop a Dreadnought from Galadhran's Warhost, and drop a Support Platform from Duridain's Warhost. This would bring it to 1997pts (hey! The year E40k came out!), and bring the morale to 44.

So let's take a look and see how this fares: Detachments being big or small had little effect (that is to say: you could have your detachments be big or small and offer your opponent no tactical advantage or hindrance). Bigger detachments took longer to reduce to half strength, but when you did, it was worth a lot of morale (and there's fewer of them). Smaller detachments were easier to "break" but were worth less morale. I'd say that this army has smaller to mid-sized detachments which might not be that great for Eldar because of their special rule called Dying Race. It stated that not only do Eldar detachments suffer Morale loss as normal, but they lose an additional d3 morale if their detachments are wiped out! By Isha, that's terrible.

You'll also notice that I included too many Falcon Grav-Tanks than I had in my EA list and included no Firestorm tanks. This is because there were no such things as Firestorm tanks in E40k. I figure I'll just use them as Falcons and if anyone complains I'll drive a Wailing Doom spear through their black heart. You'll also notice that units designated "HQ" are an extra 25pts more than other units of their type. In E40k if you didn't choose a unit from the "Commander" section of the detachment data-sheet, you had to designate a unit from your Main force as a commander, and stick an extra 25pts on it.

Another inconsistency is the Wave Serpents. Now, Aspect Warriors can only be purchased in 1 squad increments, and that squad can have a Wave Serpent upgrade, but you cannot share upgrades. I forget how stuff like this worked back then, but Wave Serpents have Transport (2) meaning they can transport two units. I reckon there shouldn't be a problem in starting the game with the other squads filling-in the remaining spots. After all, they can jump into other people's transports later on in the game by sacrificing 5cm of movement from both the transport and the unit hitching a lift.

Notice also how some of the names are different. Those of you that were around for this will know what they are, but Scouts are Rangers, Dreadnoughts are Wraithlords, and Support Platforms are Heavy Weapons Platforms.

Whew! I'm bushed. It's 1:30am where I am right now as I type these words. Still, it's been fun taking this trip down memory lane. As I explained two posts ago, Epic 40,000 was my first intro into the small-scale miniatures gaming universe, and I haven't looked back. I used to bemoan E40k for its simplicity once I found EA but now I've come to appreciate what it tried to do with small-scale miniatures gaming. And as you've all seen, it's not that hard to take your collections from EA and throw them into the whirling maelstrom of firepower values, and morale tracking that was Epic 40,000.

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Epic Eldar pt.1: Epic Armageddon

2012-01-10T22:48:00.000-08:00

Following on yesterday's diatribe I'm going to both demonstrate how flexible it is to go between Epic 40,000 and Epic Armageddon in terms of army construction. Now, normally I would do such a thing using an army as flexible as Space Marines are, but instead I'm going to try my hand at the Eldar.

The Eldar have always been my favorite Warhammer 40,000 race, mostly 'cause I'm obsessed with elves, but also because they're sleek, aloof, and tied historically and mortally to Slaanesh (my favorite Chaos god). I've always wanted to do an Eldar army for Epic, but I've always painted my Epic armies "on the quick," and so haven't had time to dedicate to an army as time-consuming to paint as Eldar. Compared to Space Marines, which consist of a base coat, dry brush, wash, and details, the Eldar are a bit more varied in paint scheme.

So here we go! Let's start with an army list, and let's start with the version of Epic with the strictest army construction: Epic Armageddon (EA)...

In Epic Armageddon there are no generic armies. That is to say, that there's no "Eldar," "Imperial Guard," or "Chaos Space Marine" lists. Instead, there's "Biel-Tan Craftworld Eldar," and "Armageddon Steel Legion Imperial Guard," or "Black Legion Chaos Space Marines." I have some gripes with this, but Jervis Johnson stated in the FAQ at the end of the rulebook that he did this intentionally so as to keep the door open to new lists. I can respect that. So, I'm going to make a "Biel-Tan" Eldar list from the "Epic Swordwind" book even though I'll be painting my models red and black (and no, they won't be Saim-Hann. It's not my fault that GW already took all the good color schemes for Eldar and gave them names).

Starting off, I know I want to make a 4000pt army. I'd never want to play EA at less than 3000pts just because 3000 lets you comfortably fit a medium Titan or two small ones. 4000pts is great because it's 3000, but more!

First let's choose a commander: Avatar. BAM! He's free, so that's an easy choice. Let's also take a Wraithgate because at 50pts it's great to have one of your objectives spew out Guardians and not have them suffer the enemy's firepower whilst they're hoofin' it up the battlefield to get within firefight range.

Speaking of Guardians, let's take two formations of them because two is better than one, and Guardians should come in numbers. For simplicity's sake, I'm going to arm them exactly the same because I pretty much have those figures handy and redundancy's not a bad thing with something as basic as Guardian Formations. They'll each be made up of a Farseer, commanding four Guardian stands, supported by three Heavy Weapon Platforms (the macro-weapon D-Cannons are cool too but they're more points and worse in firefights, which is where we want those Guardians to be... I'm sure we'll find some macro-weapons somewhere), and three Wraithlords. Wraithguard would be sweet to take, but I only have two stands and I don't want to buy another Eldar Warhost box because I'd only use the Wraithguard out of it. For now, at least, we'll let the Wraithguard stay on the Craftworld. I opted for 3 Heavy Weapon Platforms instead of two because they come three to a blister pack. I'm sure I'll regret this later on and wish I only took two Platforms and left an extra Guardian squad in each formation, but the beauty of free Heavy Weapons Platforms is that I can swap them out and in as I see fit before a game (I also own tons of Guardian stands for this purpose).

Onto the cool stuff, the Aspect Warriors. I have quite a few stands of each of the plastic Aspect Warriors so let's take two formations (having tons of Craftworld Hosts is never a bad thing as they allow you to take three support Troupes each!), one will have jump packs and the other will have Wave Serpents. The jump pack one will consist of a Warp Spider Exarch with seven more Warp Spider stands. This way, all the stands will have similar movement types and won't slow each other down when they swoop across the board. I was thinking of taking half the formation as Swooping Hawks but their movement is a little different, and I didn't want one half of the formation moving one way and the other half moving another way. It'll just get awkward during the all-important parts of the battle where maneuvering is key.

The other Aspect Warrior formation I want is full of Striking Scorpions and Howling Banshees (with an Exarch) 'cause these are my favorite Aspect Warriors and they're pretty good in close combat. In order to get them up the field and have my army keep its speed, I'm going to stick them in four Wave Serpents (secret: Forge World's Wave Serpents are cheaper than Citadel's... Shh!). Easy!

Now for the fun stuff: Troupes and Titans! So that I'm not caught without air support I'm going to take some Nightwing Interceptors (I like the look of the Citadel ones better than the Forge World ones, but with the FW ones I could also use them in Aeronautica Imperialis). For mecha power I'm going to take a Phantom Titan, for no other reason than it's cool and I love the model!

Bah! Enough exclamation marks!

For troupes, I want to get use out of some of the extra models I have kicking around so let's go with a Ranger Troupe and a Windrider Troupe (with three Vypers for out-of-firefight firepower) right off the bat. Falcons are great all-round vehicles so let's take two troupes of them with maxed-out Firestorms. I might be overly paranoid about enemy aircraft, but the beauty of Firestorms is that they're alright against tanks and infantry and they're free. Plus, Falcons are bought in packs of three. Fire Prisms are one of the best Eldar formations, because they can attack anything in the game (infantry, vehicles, and air) and they're no slouches at any of it. Their AA is the worst of the three, but 5+ isn't that bad a score in EA and their "Lance" weapon ability means that Land Raiders don't get to re-roll their saves. Unfortunately they're relatively expensive at 250pts a formation so let's just take one. Besides I want to take two troupes of Night Spinners because I love Blast Points (BP) and Disrupt is great for working on those Space Marine formations or breaking any other formation in the game.

Here's what this all looks like:
+WRAITHGATE [50]
+AVATAR [0]
+ASPECT WARRIOR WARHOST [325]
8 Warp Spider, Exarch
+ASPECT WARRIOR WARHOST [525]
4 Striking Scorpion, 4 Howling Banshee, 4 Wave Serpent, Exarch
+GUARDIAN WARHOST [325]
Farseer, 4 Guardians, 3 Heavy Weapon Platform, Wraithlords
+GUARDIAN WARHOST [325]
Farseer, 4 Guardians, 3 Heavy Weapon Platform, Wraithlords
+RANGER TROUPE [100]
4 Ranger
+FALCON TROUPE [250]
3 Falcon, 2 Fire Storm
+FALCON TROUPE [250]
3 Falcon, 2 Fire Storm
+WINDRIDER TROUPE [200]
3 Jetbike, 3 Vyper
+NIGHT SPINNER TROUPE [175]
3 Night Spinners
+NIGHT SPINNER TROUPE [175]
3 Night Spinners
+FIRE PRISM TROUPE [250]
3 Fire Prisms
+NIGHTWINGS [300]
3 Nightwing Interceptors
+PHANTOM TITAN [750]
[This is copied from Epic ArmyForge, so any formatting errors aren't my fault!]

NOTE: Because Blogger has copy+pasting issues when you're copying text with something with a colored background, I'm going to make a new post for part 2 of this article. Otherwise the rest of the article will be typed like this, with an off-color background to the text. Irritating, I know...

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Who are you and what have you done with Carmin?

2012-01-09T16:57:00.000-08:00

Yes my fellow gamers, we are a capricious bunch. Where once we sit and goop over the latest edition of a game or the latest supplement, we now gnash our teeth and cry out against the hubris, and sheer trash, that we now believe it to be. While I may not have been as dramatic as that, I was not (am still not) immune to the effects of an ever-varying gaming appetite.

So where does that leave us?
As of late, my gaming interests have been rather uncharacteristic; I'm falling for things that at one point didn't even draw my eye. Imagine the surprise of the friends in my gaming group when they came over to my house for Monday-night gaming and found me either in possession of, or blabbing on about...

Space Wolves:
This shouldn't have been that big of a shock. I mean, I used to have a Space Wolf army in high school, and I'm a huge nerd for vikings, and things that are dwarf-y (with the removal of "Squats" and the limbo of "Demiurg," Space Wolves are the closest thing 40k has to Dwarfs).

So where does that leave us? Well, now I'm doing a Space Wolf 40k army in anticipation of the new edition that's due out this year. But of course, I can't just do a Space Wolf army in 28mm, I need to do a Space Wolf army in 6mm too, so that they match!

Which brings us to...

EPIC:
Ah, the Epic system; the best four editions (and 6 different game boxes) of a game system ever written in the history of gaming. I can only hope to reach this games foot in the giant game design monument. My love for this game began with Epic 40,000 in 1997, and reached its apex in 2004-2006 with Epic Armageddon before it lost regular support from Games Workshop/Specialist Games. Hell, I even dabbled with NetEpic and Adeptus Titanicus.

For years, Epic Armageddon has been my favorite version; it's a great mixture of the simplistic and clean design of Epic 40,000, and the detail and character of Space Marine/Titan Legions (not to mention EA has full-color books). However, I've always lamented its "incompleteness." It's missing (at least) two armies! Chaos and Tyranids were never really given any official update, and now the Tyranid models aren't even available for purchase.

It's in this desperation that I turned to NetEpic, and found that the system is good for about seven games. For my eighth game I demand something that's better written, and isn't just Warhammer 40,000 2nd edition at 1/5th the size.

This is where we get into the modern day, where I've gone back and looked at Epic 40,000 and come to the conclusion that where I once found a sterile and flavorless rules system, I now see as a very workable, playable, and enjoyable system. The army lists are flexible as they could ever be, the combats aren't mired down by special abilities, or special rules; everything just works.

So where does that leave us? Or, me, rather... Well, EA is still my favorite edition, but I'm going to put Epic 40,000 a hair's width behind it. If 40k is the zoomed-in game, and Epic 40,000 is the zoomed-out game, then EA is the game you play one mouse-wheel click before you get to Epic 40,000 (using a Google® Maps metaphor, for those who don't use computers (or metaphors)). I'd love to give Epic 40,000 another shot (or ten), but gamers are notoriously committed individuals who have no problem dividing their time and money amongst multiple games, but not across multiple editions.

Which brings us to...

The Great D&D/Pathfinder Wars of the 21st Century:
If ever there's been a greater waste of words, time, and vocal chord vibrations I've yet to see it. They're both great games. That's why, starting Sunday the 8th of January in the year of our LORD, two-thousand and twelve, I hereby remove myself from this fighting!

Hypocritically, however. While I was not on the front lines of this fight, I definitely took sides (D&D4). I hated, above all else, the smugness and condescension that Pathfinder players poured upon me at my local games shop. I never once heard a D&D4 player make fun of Pathfinder (except me), but the verbal bombardments thrown upon D&D4 players by Pathfinder players placed many a Blast Marker on their detachment (Epic 40,000 joke).

Bah! See; I'm doing it again. This won't be easy.

So where does that leave us? I'm giving Pathfinder an honest shake. I've heard nothing but good things about the Pathfinder Beginner Box (notably from Penny Arcade, and this guy). I'm going to pick it up (and probably the Core Rulebook, and most likely the Inner Sea World Guide because it has an American-style country in there and I'm nothing if not an Ameriphile), and I'm going to run it as a one-off (or hopefully a campaign) with my group in mid-April (the next available free gaming break in our schedule). This does not mean that it's replacing D&D4 as my favorite of the d20 systems; I am more than capable of enjoying, playing, and thinking highly of more than one gaming system.

And yes, I realize that this announcement was made this morning. More on that later this week (I promise).

Which, not so eloquently (at all), brings us to...

Blood Bowl:
What's this? Two Jervis Johnson-designed games in this list? 'Tis true, folks, I'm gettin' in to Blood Bowl. Now, I've never mentioned this game on this blog because up until recently, I never liked this game. I found it too frustrating, too goofy, and too board game-ish to settle my hungry, miniatures game, stomach. However, I've been slinging boardgames for four years now, and in that time my appreciation for boardgames has increased exponentially, to a point where it rivals my love of miniatures and role-playing games. I now see the merits to mixing miniatures gaming and board gaming, and applaud Mr. Jervis Johnson for his original, and quite brilliant, idea.

As for the goofiness, and the frustration: c'mon, Carmin; You love goofiness! That's not a valid excuse. NEXT!

Ah, the frustration of the game. The start and stop nature, which is aggravated when one with the limp wrist-ed rolling such as myself meets a game where you end your turn the minute a die-roll is failed. This might still be a bugbear when I get back into the game, but I'm determined to meet this fact with grace when it arises.

So where does that leave us? It leaves me with a Chaos Dwarf Blood Bowl team sitting on my paint bench. I must admit, however, that this change of opinion leaves even myself perplexed. All the other examples I once played and enjoyed immensely. Epic 40,000 is where I first started playing huge-battle games, and D&D3.x was the era I played the most role playing games in. Space Wolves I commanded to much success in the early-2000s but Blood Bowl I probably enjoyed only as long as it took to paint the plastic humans in the box. I guess this can be traced back to my love of Chaos Dwarfs and the recent release of Tamurkhan.

I've been really enjoying Warhammer Fantasy since the release of 8th edition, and when Warhammer Forge released a supplement that dealt with Chaos (and Chaos Dwarfs, at that) I needed it. I used to have a Chaos Dwarf army and have never stopped loving those evil little bastards. So with Tamurkhan bringing Chaos Dwarfs back to my attention, and the mumblings of a Blood Bowl league starting, I figure: "What do I have to lose (besides the ~$75 I spent on a Chaos Dwarf Blood Bowl team)?"

So there! You can all see how utterly mad I am, and how these four contradictions to my previous gaming habits might be noteworthy (and a sign of the end times). I hope you enjoyed reading a, rather long, post that has only to do with my moods and not even any concrete gaming content. I have a ton of projects on the go right now (when do I not?) and I'm even gearing-up for Privateer Press' Lock and Load 2012, so you can be sure that 2011 will pale in comparison to the content of 2012. Thanks for reading!

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News From the Front

2012-01-07T01:22:00.001-08:00

Still alive. December's been mad, what with the Christmas rush, and now I'm trying to get back on schedule (but it's hard).

There have been some developments in my Epic gaming, as well in my decision for what army to bring to this year's Lock and Load.

Talk to ya next week!

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V20

2011-11-17T18:41:00.001-08:00

Vampire: the Masquerade burst onto the scene in 1991. I was 5 years old, and much too young to appreciate it.

When I first began gaming in '95, I had toyed around with Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition but never "met" Vampire until D&D3 came out and I started going to game shops instead of Games Workshops or the library for my gaming. That's when I first saw White Wolf's games, and I was not impressed.

You see, at the time I was a little different than I am today. I was still a nice, and smart kid, but things that were outside the box were strange to me, and I was also the type of kid who jumped to conclusions before looking, and Vampire was "weird and gothy." I'm sure 14-year-old Carmin and 25-year-old Carmin would have some laughs if they met now.

Suffice it to say, I've never played Vampire: the Masquerade.

Fast forward to 2008, and I had already been working in an independent games shop for two years. After two years of seeing Vampire: the Requiem sitting on the role play shelf, I finally decided to take the plunge and I bought the World of Darkness (WoD or nWoD (new World of Darkness)) rulebook and the Vampire: the Requiem (VtR) add-on. I was hooked from the first chapter.

What I love about Vampire is the overwrought grimness of the whole setting, and the unapologetic intelligence with which the staff at White Wolf write. Every book they produce opens with a story, or set of stories before the credits and printing information are even displayed. VtR was also the first time I've seen (in writing) a games designer suggest a rule as opposed to offer an official ruling. Sure AD&D2 had optional rules in the blue boxes, but they were always add-ons or replacements for the basic mechanics, never was an entire mechanic merely a suggestion. To the mind of a role player who came to his formative years during the late-'90s/early-new millennium this was revolutionary.

During the beginning of 2011 I hadn't paid much attention to the White Wolf website, so one day in May I decided to pop-by the new re-vamped (har-de-har-har) website and take a look at what was new (especially because I had heard that they were moving to a digital-first model of distribution. More on that in a later post). I saw an ad for the 20th anniversary of Vampire: the Masquerade (VtM, which is part of the classic World of Darkness (cWoD)). I was curious; here was the father to VtR, and though the two games share only superficial details, I wanted to see where my favorite RPG had come from. Though it was $100. I wavered for a month, but finally decided to buy it. I just received it today. Let's take a look shall we?

Now, before you express shock at the fact that a book I ordered in June finally arrived, take note that White Wolf only printed these books in September/October, and they were taking order for the whole summer as a "print on demand" sort of deal.

Here's the book:

That's a leatherette cover with the ankh of the Camarilla on the front.

Here's a shot of the inside:

The book is full-color, and 520 pages long. It's got silver gilded edges that are mirror-like, and it's got two (that's right, TWO) cloth bookmarks.

Now here's what the book isn't: It's not a re-do of the game. It still has the old clans, the old mechanics, and the old storyline. The wonky die-rolling system of a combination of a die-pool and a variable target number is still there, and all the clan weaknesses and benefits are there as well. However, it's meta-plot neutral, which means that it doesn't further the meta-plot from VtM Revised (3rd edition), and is, therefore, compatible with wherever you decided to situate your campaign. There's still the Camarilla and the Sabbat, and the Anarchs, but it doesn't force the plot down your throat.

The folks at White Wolf describe it (in their typical style, that I love) almost as a love letter to the old game that everyone loved. Their target audience was those those that played and loved the old edition, and this book is a celebration of that game. In fact, it's all you ever need to play VtM.

So why do I have it? Well, like I said, I love Vampire, and want to take part in all aspects of Vampire. I want to use the book for ideas, or perhaps even to play the old game. I also mentioned that it's all one would need to play VtM, therefore it seems like a good place to go from for a person like myself who is interested in the old Vampire system, but doesn't want to collect the hundreds of old books, or pdfs.

What started out as a "love letter" is becoming a saga, as White Wolf is releasing a bunch of products set in the classic World of Darkness (cWoD) under the "Onyx Path" line. These books will be new productions of the old systems (Vampire: the Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Mage: the Ascension, Changeling: the Lost, etc.) along with new supplements. They just released a 50-something-page adventure that's a loose continuation of the old book "Ashes to Ashes," called "Dust to Dust." The next book to be released for the Onyx Path is the V20 Companion (a book of "hacks" for V20). Similar things will be in development for all the cWoD games.

So, what do I think of this book? I love it! It's fascinating to look at where my favorite game came from, and satisfying knowing that what I bought was not a shard of a larger work, but almost like an omnibus. If I really wanted, I could go back and collect all the old books, but I don't have to. My enjoyment of this work of art can stand alone. And a work of art it is. Some art is re-hashed from the old supplements and core books, but because it's an homage to the old system this isn't a problem. New art by Tim Bradstreet are very impressive.

My complaints with the book, stem with some faults in the printing. There's a magenta line running horizontally in the Clan Giovanni section. It's not enough to ruin the book, but it shouldn't be there. Also, the book is bowing:

I'm going to try and put some heavier books on top of it for a couple of days, but I don't think that will actually do anything.

Was it worth the $100 I paid for it? Yes. Barely. Would it be worth the $100 if one was a fan of VtM from the beginning, and got huge play out of it in the '90s? Very much so. However, this thing was a limited run, and if you didn't order it before the end of the summer, you're shit outta luck. White Wolf is going to put the thing on print on demand through One Book Shelf soon, but right now you can purchase the pdf. From what I hear the book will either be in one volume in black and white, or two volumes in full color. I suggest you pick it up.

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P.S. As a bit of a housekeeping note, you'll notice that I tagged this as both "Vampire the Masquerade," and "V20." From now on, things that do not pertain to the V20 or Onyx Path will be labelled as "Vampire the Masquerade," while things that pertain mostly to V20 will be labelled as such. Expect to see much more "V20" labels than "Vampire the Masquerade" labels, as I'll be collecting just the V20 books.

Sick Day

2011-11-16T14:48:00.001-08:00

Calling in sick today. Gonna get some hobby work done. Right now I'm waiting for some paint to dry on my daemons. I also hope to do some work on a Kings of War review I'm working on, as well as maybe some work on that D&D Essentials review I talked about in the last post. Or I might even start work on a D&D campaign I've been working on.

The possibilities are endless!

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Monster Vault Review

2011-11-15T21:20:00.001-08:00

I'd like to write a full review of the Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition Essentials line of products soon, but my cup already runneth over. Suffice it to say, for now, that Essentials gets two thumbs up from myself. More glowing would be to say that not only do I love it, but it's my preferred way to play D&D4. Now that's a loaded statement.

However, today we'll concern ourselves with the D&D Essentials Monster Vault by Wizards of the Coast (or as I like to call it: "The best value for your gaming dollar on the RPG shelf").

Let's start off by showing you how many tokens you get in it:

Yes! That is a lot of tokens. And it's just the small ones.

Here are the big ones:

It may not look like a lot, but that's a 21.6cm X 28.6cm X 4.75cm box!

To give you a better idea, here are the frames that the tokens came from:

That's 2cm! (or ¾" for those of you that insist on using the Imperial system)

Now I know what you're thinking: "Pfft! I scoff! Miniature figurines are better than tokens, my good man!" While you are correct, beggars can't be choosers, and I like my non-randomized tokens very much, thank you! Besides, Reaper's Asylum imprint is doing a heck of a job in that department. Double besides, there's 320 tokens in the Monster Vault.

Now on to the material itself: As you'll read in my (glowing) Essentials review later on, the monsters presented in this book (10cm less wide than C5 format; 320 pages; softcover; full-color) are fully-compatible with your hardcover books. In fact, it's worth getting for someone who already has all the Monster Manuals (3 at the time of writing) because most of the monsters in here are new. Of course some are repeated, but you must remember that this is also meant to double as a player's first monster book. Some monsters are too iconic to not be reprinted.

Let's use a few examples: The oft-used Kobold (we get it, WotC, you like the kobold. D&D players the world over must've exterminated this species by now). In the Monster Manual we have a level 1 minion (Kobold Minion), a level 1 skirmisher (Kobold Skirmisher), a level 1 Artillery (Kobold Slinger), a level 2 soldier (Kobold Dragonshield), and a level 3 artillery (leader) (Kobold Wyrmpriest). In the Monster Vault out of the four Kobold entries there, only the Slinger and Dragonshield are repeated. The book adds two new Kobolds: the Tunneler (level 1 minion skirmisher), and the Quickblade (level 1 skirmisher). Orc-wise we get 7 new orcs that aren't in the Monster Manual!

Finally, one thing that I think Wizards of the Coast also has right is the amount of modules they're producing again (I just wish they kept up the "letter-number" trend). This one comes with a level-4 adventure entitled Cairn of the Winter King™ along with a double-sided, color, poster map of two of the large encounters in the adventure. I haven't had a chance to look over the adventure (because my DM ran a couple of elements from it, so I was told explicitly not to look at it), but I've played in a couple of the encounters and I can say that they're good. They didn't feel unbalanced, or too easy.

Overall, a good product, and well worth the $34 (Canadian) I paid for it. Like I said earlier, you'd be hard-pressed to find an item on your shop's RPG shelf that's as good a value as this. Outside of the other Essentials stuff, my next pick for value would have to go to any White Wolf product ($30 hardcover books? Yes please!), or Green Ronin's Dragon Age RPG.

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Hobby Health Day

2011-11-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

So when I worked at Games Workshop all the staff loved "Hobby Health Days." These were days when we could work on our own projects at work (provided we hit the previous month's targets). Now you may think that not normally being allowed to work on your own stuff at a games shop is pretty draconian, but it got really busy there, and there were some Hobby Health Days that I didn't even take part in because I had other shit to do.

So today I have a day off, and the Mhorgoth Rising boxed set, and a ton of Flames of War Americans I need painting, so let's take today to do that. Put on the pot o' coffee, 'ma! I'ma paintin' figgurs!

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P.S. I'll have some stuff for you, gentle readers, tonight.

Whatcha Playin', Rabbit?

2011-10-06T02:27:00.000-07:00

So today I had a couple games (tell us more!):

I owed a friend a game of Warhammer 40,000, much against my will. Not, of course, because of my friend (in fact were it not for him, I probably wouldn't have had a good time at all), but because I'm at odds with the game at the moment. For now, I'm content to not play the game until a new edition (which hopefully won't be that far off).

I also had a game of Dark Age. I'm play testing some stuff for the game, and while I'm not allowed to talk about what that stuff is, I can say that the game is so dialed, and entertaining, I can hardly tell that the play testing is akin to work (which, for anyone who's never play tested something, it kinda is).

I have a couple articles in the pipeline, that I hope to be able to do some justice to next week: One is an editorial on Warhammer 40,000 (I need to articulate my thoughts some more); another is a piece on Heavy Gear Blitz (followed by some project logs); a piece on Vampire: the Masquerade's 20th anniversary; an editorial on White Wolf's move to a "digital-first" format for publication; and of course, some Dark Age stuff (maybe a review).

That's a lot, no? Yes, not "no!"

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Flaming Wars

2011-09-23T13:10:00.001-07:00

So I've been away for a while, but the gaming has not stopped. Oh no, nothing could be further from the truth. To say otherwise would be heresy (of the highest order).

What I wanted to touch upon was my impressions of Flames of War. I've never played Flames of War before Wednesday, despite my working in a shop that carries it for five years. This is quite unlike me, as I'm often head-first into a game before anyone else. I don't have any reason for not getting into it sooner; the simple fact is that I didn't. But now I did. So now we have this post:

A friend and I played a 1000pt Late War game with myself using an American Rifle Company, and him using a German Grenadierkompanie (complete with looted Sherman). Between the both of us we have an accumulated Flames of War (FoW) playtime of 0 hours, so we enlisted a friend of ours to sit there and teach us how to play.

There were surprisingly few bumps. Assaults took me by surprise in their deadliness; leaving you no saving throws, and let's not get too into defensive fire or I'll slip back into my PTSD. Suffice it to say a platoon of infantry who are dug-in should not fix bayonets and charge two Grenadier platoons (no matter how low their strength). Another thing that I found hard to manage was the placement of the stands. Stands block line of sight (LoS) to other stands, so yeah...

Overall, the game was great! At one point I referred to it as "40k that works." It's very 40k-ish in its structure: Movement phase, Shooting Phase, an Assault Phase wherein you get to make another charge move to get into base contact, and so forth. This is a tried and tested turn structure if not a little boring. It also uses d6s which can be described in a similar way. What I enjoyed about the system was the back and forth nature of the combat resolution: Roll to hit, roll to save, if the target's in hard cover and fails its save the firer rolls a Firepower check to take it out. Usually I prefer the last word (er - roll) to go to the defender (like the armor saves in Warhammer/40k) but this kept both players attentions at the table and not just as spectators. The fact that the roll to hits depends not on the firer's accuracy, but on the defender's ability to not get shot. Rather unique.

The game just flowed better than 40k and feels as though the units fit perfectly into the game as opposed to finding an awkward place to stick this unit or that. I will say that the game has a lot of rules, and that our first game took three hours. I'm sure that the more we get a handle on the rules, the faster things will go, and thankfully we didn't use anything too complex. However, I can see myself getting into a game with someone who breaks out something strange and we have to sit around while we figure out how to do a bombing run or something... Planes are another story that I'm staying the hell away from right now.

The game is great! If you've ever wanted to play a WWII game but you've been intimidated by the sheer amount of differing rules sets and miniatures, and scales, and blah, blah, then give this game a shot. I'm pretty keen on getting some new platoons and fleshing out my company, and getting some more games under my belt.

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Dark Age Apocalypse!

2011-08-13T00:46:00.000-07:00

Just got my sticky mitts on a copy of the Core Rules for Dark Age Apocalypse! I'll be posting a review on it next week when I've read it.

As for this blog, my involvement has been sparse. I've been thinking some things over, and I'm going to get back into it, this time with a less strict schedule. I never followed my Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule much, so this time I'm just going to make an effort to publish something twice a week, whenever I've worked on something.

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And Here. We. Go.

2011-06-17T01:06:00.000-07:00

Alright folks! It's 1:07am and I have to be up at 5:00am to catch my train. Follow my Twitter feed for infos on tha gamings (hopefully there will be Wi-Fi), and see you on Wednesday.

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WARMACHINE Tournament Journal: Part 4

2011-06-14T03:09:00.000-07:00

So looks like I dropped the ball on this whole "Tournament Report" thing. It's such a shame, too because I've always wanted to chronicle my preparations for a tournament from start to finish. Next time I have to be more on top of posting. I know I say that all the time, but if I stop saying it, then you know I've given up entirely.

Anyway, things are progressing at a frantic pace here. Today I only left the house for a few hours to meet a friend for lunch, the rest of the time I spent painting. I finished five solos/warcasters. Tuesday is going to be the big one. Ideally I'd like to paint 10 Mage Hunters, 1 Mage Hunter Commander, 10 Dawnguard Sentinels, 1 Chimera, 1 Griffon, and 1 Wreck Marker. That's a tall order, even with my easy paint scheme. If I can do this, I'm set!

There's so much for me to report on! White Wolf's pre-orders for the 20th anniversary of Vampire: the Masquerade (of all things), my new obsession with Heavy Gear, Citadel Finecast, etc., etc. This will, unfortunately, all have to wait until next week when I return from Lock and Load in Seattle.

Speaking of which, I will try and be consistent with Tweets! That's right, I have a twitter account. The problem is that it will cost me dearly via roaming fees if I use 3G in the States, so I might have to sync up my phone with Twitter (something I wanted to avoid, because I'm a paranoid loon, and don't want a lot of my info getting out there). That way they'll just ding me on the 75¢ text fees.

In any event, you can view my Twitter feed here.

That's it for today. Check in on Wednesday with a report, then Friday I'll be off, so you'll have to check my Twitter feed after that.

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And We're Back

2011-05-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

Whew! I'm back. I don't know why you all put up with me sometimes.

My trip south of the border was great! Went to Portland, went to Seattle, went to a lot of brewpubs (largest concentration of 'em in Portland), and bought some sweet stuff at Powell's City of Books (Including a German Rolemaster supplement that I had to get shipped 'cause it's an international order and you can't do those in-store).

I acquired the 2nd printing of the VOID 1.1 rulebook (the first time they reference it being "1.1"), I also got my mitts on the Warhammer 4th edition Battle Magic supplement, the Warhammer 5th edition Battles Book, a copy of the MERP 2nd edition collector's rulebook (in great condition), and a damaged copy of Ratspike (John Blanche is one of my favorite artists of all time) ALL WITHOUT SALES TAX!

Alright, back to the grind. I've got some stuff to talk about this week and next, and we're gonna begin tomorrow (Wednesday, fools) with an update on my WARMACHINE tournament preparedness, and a word or two about a sweet game of Warhammer I played with my friends (aww!). On Friday I'll have some words about the Citadel Finecast stuff that may or may not surprise you (depending on what you think of me).

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Gone Fishin'

2011-05-14T01:02:00.000-07:00

Okay! I live.

Yet I'll be departing for the land of grunge and Fraser for eight days starting Monday. I'll be back posting on the 1st of June. I'll have some more WARMACHINE Tournament articles, some painting log pics, and something to say about Rolemaster and Middle-Earth Role Play.

See you Space Cowboy!

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WARMACHINE Tournament Journal: Part 3

2011-04-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

So now I've stated my intention to enter this tournament, and I've described briefly (and not very thoroughly) the nature of the Master's Tournament; what I will attend to now is my army list: The Retribution of Scyrah.

As regular readers of this blog can attest, I love elves. Therefore it was a no-brainer that when Privateer Press unleashed the Iosans onto the Iron Kingdoms I'd take up their quest to rid the world of human wizards. As soon as the army was released I knew it would be my new favorite faction. The models look cool, the Mymidons look cool (keep your damn Gundam/Tau comments to yourselves, dammit!), and the backstory is rad as well.

So for the tournament I'm called upon to make three 50-point lists each with a different warcaster. To begin I think I'll draw from my existing collection of models for this faction:
+ Chimera
+ Griffon
+ Phoenix
+ Discordia
+ Manticore
+ Full unit of Mage Hunters (with UA)
+ Full unit of Dawnguard Invictors (with UA)
+ Ghost Sniper
+ House Shyeel Magister
+ Nayl
+ Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios (No Quarter exclusive, thankyouverymuch!)
+ Arcanist
+ Mage Hunter Assassin
+ Dahlia Hallyr and Skarath
+ Kaylissa
+ Dawnlord Vyros
+ Garryth

What a list! So now I need to make three lists out of that. Well, primarily out of that; I'm not opposed to adding and subtracting things from that list.

How about this for starters:
+Kaylissa
++ Chimera
++ Griffon
++ Manticore
+Dahlia Hallyr
++Skarath
+ 10 Dawnguard Invictors
++ Invictor Officer & Standard
+ 10 Mage Hunter Strike Force
++ Mage Hunter Commander
+ Arcanist
+ House Shyeel Magister
+Mage Hunter Assassin
+ Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios

That brings us to 57pts before Kaylissa's bonus.

I've always liked Kaylissa's huge amount of focus she brings, and her feat. She's my main caster for sure, and I'll probably use this list as my fall-back dependable list. The Manticore can pack a punch with its multiple shots and its high armor (especially for the points cost), and the Griffon is also nothing to sneeze at, what with its shield, reach and ability to add to its movement with focus. The Chimera, I've always liked because of a sneaky little plan I have (which actually doesn't come into play as much as you'd think) which involves the Chimera getting into combat with a medium-based figure and using its ability at the beginning of the following turn to move to the target's rear and make back attacks!

Mage Hunters I love, but have always had gripes about the lack of a combined range attack. However, I can't complain a lot about being able to shoot through stuff and ignoring all sorts of focus-based buffs on my target. They're squishy but they are pretty stealthy and can get where I wanted to be thanks to pathfinder and advance deploy.

I'm thinking for my 2nd list I'll use Garryth as my main caster and throw either the Griffon or the Chimera in with the Invictors to be marshaled. I'm not too keen on either, as they both make use of focus pretty well, but I'm leaning towards the Griffon as it would still allow me to do my sneaky tactic with the Chimera.

I don't know what I'll do with my third caster, but I'm tempted to get some House Shyeel Battle Mages and take Rahn as my main caster. I love his eight focus, but I'm not convinced by the Battle Mages… I could always opt for another unit of Mage Hunters as redundancies are always a good thing to have in case something backfires. I've always been temped by Houseguard units but I don't know if I can paint enough of them in time for the tournament.

The key (I figure) to understanding the Retribution and using them well is to get comfortable with the fact that they're going to be outnumbered. It's a sad fact of life, that I need to maximize the opportunities I'm given and try and avoid being surrounded. Before you mention it, spreading out isn't a good idea either; it can lead to the loss of flanks super-quickly as the unit that was dutifully guarding your right flank got eaten by some dumb Skorne elephant-beast, or crushed by some Khadorian brute!

This is my initial list. I'm going to paint it and play a whack-ton of games with it, weighing any advice given me with things I learn from my games in order to hone the list. After I'm relatively comfortable with what I have I'll begin to sub out some 'casters here and there.

This is what I have for now. I have a pretty good spread of opponents over most of the factions (Cryx and Protectorate will be hard to scrounge up), so I'll let you know what's up with my gaming. Of course, any advice you folks have for me will go a long way as well!

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P.S. I'm not too worried about anyone seeing my list in advance before the tournament. In fact, if you recognize me by what list I have on here at the tourney, say "hi!" It's good to know that my ramblings aren't just sailing into the void.

WARMACHINE Tournament Journal: Part 2

2011-04-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

So I've been prepping for the tournament at Lock and Load, and part of that prep is to know what the hell I'll be walking in to. To begin, I looked up the rules for the Steamroller Tournament, and man is it intimidating.

Thirty-four pages of rules on a tournament? Interesting. I feel that I need to give as much attention to this document as I do to the other forcebooks. In all seriousness, it is a little daunting the amount of work that goes into a tournament. For instance, the tournament demands three army lists (each with a different caster) and they specify what kind of appendix list they'll use by stating that it will be "divide and conquer." Well, let's take a look at what that means:

"Divide and Conquer – The TO will announce the expected number of rounds to be played at the beginning of the tournament. Divide the number of rounds to be played by the required number of lists for each player. The result (rounded down) is the number of times each list must be played during the tournament. Such events should also use the X-Round Event variant, so players know the number of rounds they have to use each list.

For example, if a tournament requires that each player brings two army lists and has four rounds, then each player would have to play each list twice (4 divided by 2). In this variant a player must inform the opponent if he has no choice of which warcaster or warlock he must play prior to the match." (Steam Roller 2011, pg. 29)

As you can see, I'll need the practice. Now why do I find this strange? Well, I've never been involved in a tournament that tries to balance out the odds so much. Now this is a good thing, and fits in with Privateer's ethos of creating balanced games that award the highest skill but it does feel a bit like I'm preparing for something that's way over my head.

On the other side of the coin, Games Workshop tournaments that I've been to have been very straightforward: Warhammer 40,000 tournament. 1500pts. These are the lists you can choose from. No special characters. No Forge World. Here's the scenarios we'll be playing. Go.

Now, again, don't get me wrong, I relish the chance to compete in the Master's Tournament at Lock and Load, and I think such a detailed tournament document is fully in line with Privateer Press' style. It just means that I'll have to work harder to prep for this tournament than I've ever had to before.

Friday I'll go into my initial lists for the tournament. I'll need three of 'em, and with three different casters. Here's hoping I can get all this done by June.

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WARMACHINE Tournament Journal: Part 1

2011-04-04T00:15:00.000-07:00

It all began on Friday, when I woke up early to register for events on the Lock and Load website. I noticed that after I had selected all I wanted to do, I still had a five-hour block on the Friday to fill. "Not a problem," I thought, "I'll just spend that time shopping or gaming at the open gaming area." Then it hit me: enter the tournament.

I had been hesitant to entering a WARMACHINE or HORDES tournament because I never thought myself good enough to even bother. After all, there are people out there who play every week, and know the combos in and out, and could probably wipe the tables with the remains of my pride and my models all the while laughing and moving on to the next opponent; another of his ilk. They will slap each other on the backs at the sight of my emotional de-pantsing and get to the sort of gaming of a calibre beyond my sight.

But I had been playing for just as long as anybody when it came to WARMACHINE. And besides, it's free. If I lose, I've still had some games. It's time to push the envelope.

So here begins my Tournament Journal, something I've wanted to do on this blog for a long time. It just so happens that most tournaments in the world are on weekends, and those are the days when I work. So what will be the makeup of this ongoing journal? It will chronicle the building, painting, and testing of the army I will bring to the tournament. It will also chronicle the re-building, extra painting, and further testing of that army as I refine its make-up and structure. It will take you on a journey from the beginnings of a tournament army, to its conclusion at the tournament, itself.

My army of choice: The Retribution of Scyrah. It's no secret that I love elves, and elves with giant robots, in one of my favorite miniatures games is a no-brainer. This is but an intro to what I hope to be an insightful and interesting set of articles on tournament gaming.

Stay tuned! Wednesday and Friday will reveal the particulars of the tournament and the army.

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Slow Goin'

2011-03-29T00:52:00.000-07:00

Hobbying is still happening; everything's going at a steady pace. I've just been taking some time off of the blog for no other reason than for a chance to get my gaming affairs in order. It's been very hectic with my projects and my plans, and I needed to step back and dabble here and there to get my grounding. Too many games have popped up, and too many plans have been changed, and I don't want this blog to be a chaotic mish-mash of my fly-by-night gaming desires.

I'm not planning anything extraordinary, just a return to normalcy after this week's done. Get ready for the beginning of a clearer era of posting on Monday, April 4th.

How fitting that my 100th post is about my problems with regular posting.

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And the result is:

2011-03-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

Cross-Post from TTGN Talk.

*sigh*

It is with a heavy heart, and claw-like painting hand, that I admit defeat in this challenge. The answer as to why is simple: I got cocky. I leapt out the gate and got the infantry finished, then sat on my laurels for awhile and worked on some Junkers for Urban War. The completion of these Junkers caused me to sit harder on my laurels, until a mad rush to get the vehicles finished, which yielded no completion on that front.

I'm still going to finish these guys (and post the results here), but as for this contest: I'm out.

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P.S. I'll post pictures soon. My models are just in two different places based on their completeness.

Just another Manic Monday

2011-02-28T15:37:00.000-08:00

Nothing new today, folks. It looks like I wont be finishing that TTGN builder after all, but I'll make sure the army is finished before moving on.

In other news, I'm beginning a Rogue Trader RPG campaign over the Internet with a couple friends, and I'm beginning a Deathwatch (in person) campaign today. I've been prepping all day and thus haven't had much time for an update.

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TTGN's Old Project Challenge Update

2011-02-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

So, all the way back in November I decided I'd join this over at the Tabletop Gaming News forums. It sounded easy enough: Finish a project you had laying around, and take three months doing it, starting in December and finishing at the end of February. Easy enough for someone who isn't a lazy git.

Well, lazy's probably not the best adjective for this git; I did start rather quickly out the gate. The only problem with starting quickly out the gate is that you must have dillagence to keep on track. Perhaps I'm just a dilligenceless git.

I began with this:

And now, I just have the Infantry painted, the vehicles base coated, and the titan untouched.

And that's where I got stuck. See, I finished my infantry very quickly and even managed to get into some of the rhinos before I decided to take a break. After all, I still had about two months and was on a painting spree; I could afford some R&R.

That's where the Urban War Junkers came in; and the test figure for my VOR: the Maelstrom Union army; and the test figure for my Warhammer 40,000 Dark Eldar; and the test figure for my Warmachine Retribution army, etc. At least I got a painted Urban War force out of the delay.

Now it's Friday and I have four days left in the challenge. Normally this would be no problem, as I'd be able to hermit myself in my house and paint until my hand formed a permanent claw from the strain, but my girlfriend is in town.

Now I know what you're saying, and you're wrong. She's very supportive of my hobby, and I always roll my eyes at the endless list of domestic excuses people roll out when it comes to their lack of effort on their hobby. Some of them are understandable, but wives/husbands/boyfriends/girlfriends should let you have some time to yourself for your personal growth, and children sleep; so there should be plenty of time to get some work done (besides, kids make great base-coaters!).

The problem lies in that I'll want to spend most of my time with her when I'm not at work, and she comes all the way over from Victoria to see me (a 6-hour trek by public transit) for a weekend. I think that's a worthy excuse to not get some painting done. We'll see, though. She's a TA at her university and needs to get some marking/homework done, so I may be able to sit across the room at my painting table and still be company for her.

I'll fill you in on Monday regarding my progress and we'll know for sure by Wednesday's post whether I've succeeded in this challenge or not. Regardless of the outcome I've done a heck of a lot of work on this army and even managed to squeeze another project in there. I'll continue to work on the army after the challenge is done, and hopefully take no longer than another week on it. After that, I think I'm going to work on my Craftworld Eldar for Warhammer 40,000 or possibly my Warmachine Retribution of Scyrah.

In the future I'll also have some big project logs regarding the process of building armies from scratch. I think the candidates will be Dark Eldar for Warhammer 40,000; Orcs & Goblins for Warhammer; and my American Infantry Company for Flames of War. Though, of course, these won't be all at once, or even one after the other. These are just the ones I have planned. The project logs will chronicle my army creating process from start to finish, and even showcase some games goin' on. So far on this blog I think I've only tackled projects that I've had laying around.

Have a good weekend!

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Urban War

2011-02-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

Back in the early new millennium (2000-2003) miniatures games were seeing a pretty big resurgence. While favorites of mine like Warzone, and Chronopia were gone; games like VOR, Void, Chainmail, and Dark Age were making their way on the scene. With the exception of VOR (that came later) I played all these, and loved 'em. While my appreciation for Dark Age grew exponentially later on, at the time my favorites were Void and Chainmail.

Void was a game that took the Games Workshop game systems as a basis, and tweaked them somewhat to integrate alternative activation and range bands. I had a Syntha army and was working my way towards a Junkers force when i-Kore crashed. Thankfully, the ever persistent John Robertson and John Grant (of Warzone 2nd edition and Chronopia fame) reformed the company into the strangely-named Urban Mammoth, and retooled the Void universe into Urban War.

Now while I loved Void, I didn't much care for the universe behind it. One of its selling-points was the super-clean hard sci-fi that it presented, but for myself I was into the dark and gritty. I loved (and still do) the Games Workshop universes because of their grim and gothic styling and while the Void system was stellar, I thought the universe was too clean. Urban War kept that hard sci-fi edge but matured it to include imagery that better reflected the grittiness of urban combat. While these new models and the new art turned some of the old guard off, it made me take a second look at a universe I thought too sterile for my enjoyment.

Urban War is a skirmish game done by Urban Mammoth, a games company based out of Scotland. In it, you re-enact combats between forces of around 7-15 models a side. If you want larger conflicts Urban War has a sister game called Metropolis, which is a squad-based game utilizing ~40 models a side. The game has seven factions vying for control of the continent-sized city of Iskandria (on the planet Kyklops): the Junkers (Roman-esque penal legions); the Gladiators (an army of escaped gladiatorial slaves); the Syntha (an army of insidious androids, and cyborgs); VASA (a UN force based off Soviet imagery); the Triads (an army of yakuza gangsters); the Viridians (American-style army and environmental preservationists); and the Koralon (amphibious aliens that assimilate anyone).

Giving orders to my Junker Legionaries.

The points values and profiles are the same in both Urban War and Metropolis which is awesome, as it makes Urban War (UW) the perfect spring-board into Metropolis (Metro). At the beginning of an UW game you give your individual models orders, which not only tell you when they activate but which list of actions they can choose from. The Lock-Fire order will allow you to take more careful shots, but will restrict your movement, while the Snap-Fire order will allow you to move to your heart's content, but severely hinder your shooting.

The game also has an additional mechanic and characteristic that I've never seen in another game, called Calibre (CAL). A model's CAL can go from 0-3 and sometimes 4 with the special characters. CAL allows you to do a myriad of thing, from move faster, to avoid being hit, to taking additional actions. It represents the experience your soldiers acquire thus making them better fighters. While I'll let you in on my misgivings of this mechanic later, I think this is a great way to show experience beyond just increasing the statistics of your fighters like in Necromunda or GorkaMorka.

Gladiators moving up the field.

Other than CAL and the orders, the rest of the game works almost exactly like the old Void system. It's a d10 system using inches that utilizes charts to determine if you hit or damage your enemy. The charts are all reminiscent of the Warhammer/40,000 systems so if you know those it will just take you a little while to convert the d6 mechanic over to the d10 before you're comfortable. To hit you compare your Shooting characteristic (SH) on a table to see the d10 score you need to hit, then you roll damage which is a cross-reference between your weapons Strength and your target's Defence. There are no armor saves like in the Warhammer/40,000 systems mostly because with the probability spread with a d10 as opposed to a d6 you need less rolls to get an even flow.

Metropolis is my favorite of the three systems (UW, Void, and Metro) because I've always been a bigger fan of squad-based games than skirmish games (with the obvious exceptions of GorkaMorka and Chainmail). It doesn't have as detailed an order system, nor does CAL have as many applications as in UW, and this leads to a faster-flowing game which is a virtue when you're pushing 40 models around a tabletop. Metro also uses to greater effect these walkers called CLAUs (Capital Light Armo(u)red Units). CLAUs are also in an expansion to UW called CLAU-Team Actions but the use of them in such small games requires some jigging around of army construction. CLAUs give the game a bigger punch, as there aren't really vehicles to speak of in either UW or Metro. Therefore these big machines act as the heavy units you normally see being taken up by transports or assault tanks.

Now as much as I love these games I do have some misgivings. First of all, I think it's both great and not-so-great that they take a huge cue from the GW systems. While I have no problem with the charts used in Warhammer/40,000, it would've been nice if the games used their own systems. My one critique of the original Void (beyond the clean background) was that it seemed at times like Warhammer 40,000 with alternate activation. But like I said, I also think this is really nice because it's familiar, and it works.

I would also like a little clean-up of the orders and the CAL systems. I find the order system really unique and interesting, but it does feel a little clunky. I mean, a few of the orders allow the same things to happen but with different modifiers. I found myself having to look at the actions charts again and again even though I just got through giving the same order to a previous unit, in order to see just what Snap-fire did. I also found the same confusion with the CAL mechanic. CAL lets you do different things depending of what order you're on, and whether you're being shot at or shooting, or moving, or whatever! I think in terms of my CAL critique, a unifying of the rule would go a long way to making it less confusing. I have no doubt that after a few more games I'll have CAL and the orders under my belt, but for the early games it's a steeper than normal learning curve (though nowhere near as steep as Warmachine/Hordes. At least in those games the mechanics are the same throughout).

I've also noticed how hard it is to get into close combat, even when I played my Junkers against my friends Gladiators. Both the Junkers and the Gladiators are close-range troops, and the basic soldiers are equipped nearly the same. Not one close combat ensued in our game. We walked or ran to about 12" from each other then fired our shotguns until things died. Now granted, when setting up the table we put some weird terrain in the middle which we thought blocked line of sight when we were looming above them from our godly positions over the tabletop, but from a model's eye view we found that they did very little to obscure someone on the other side of it. I'm sure that had we put some more restrictive terrain in the middle our game would've danced to another tune.

All-in-all UW, and Metro are great games and more than worthy successors to the Void throne. I anticipate that any future games I have with these systems will be more than worth my time and effort. Hell, I can even see these games working their way into my top 10! And that's saying a lot.

Around April 2011, Urban Mammoth is coming out with a 2nd edition to Urban War which will come in a handy A5-sized paperback with full-color content (and hopefully some model pictures, which are sadly absent from both the UW and Metro rulebooks). And later this year, they're even announcing a 6mm wargame that will take place in the UW/Metro universe but back in the days of Void (so only the four galactic empires (Junkers, VASA, Syntha and Viridia) will be represented) called Age of Tyrants. Keep an eye out for this stuff. I know I will.

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Warmaster Ancients Report

2011-02-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

So last Sunday (not yesterday), I had the pleasure of playing Warmaster Ancients for the first time. In fact, it was the first time I've played Warmaster in any capacity outside of a demo game at my local Games Workshop way back in 2000 or 2001 when the game came out.

This battle was between myself playing Imperial Romans and my friend playing Britons. We decided to build our forces around 1,000pts because after that we just start doubling up on some choices we've already made. For instance, in my 1,000pt army I have four Legionaries, three auxiliaries, three archers, one scorpion, two heavy cavalry, one legate, and one commander with portents. If we were playing 2,000pts, I would just probably double everything I have. 1,500pts would probably be fun to play, as I'd add some more cavalry and some skirmishers (just to see what I could do with them), but 1,000 seemed to give us everything we wanted without becoming redundant.

We decided also to forgo the 10mm scale that Warmaster is usually played with, mostly because 10mm models aren't readily available to our local games shop (just because of the distributors they deal with), but 15mm was in abundance. Both my opponent and I built our armies using Corvus Belli's 15mm ancients range. We, of course, had to decide on a coherent basing scheme, for while we both had to use Warmaster's 40mmX20mm bases, we didn't want to have one person stick two models on a stand and another four. For regular infantry we decided on three to a stand, skirmishers two, and cavalry two (except for command stands which are 3). God help us if we come across skirmishing cavalry. We might have to put one horsey on a 40x20mm base.

Sorry for the blur. Cellphone pic.

This was also the first time I've ever played a historical wargame, so it was neat that it was done so with a ruleset that comes from a games company and designer that I'm comfortable with (Games Workshop and Rick Priestly). Rick Priestly's rules always emphasize ease of play and fun over any sort of accuracy or detail. So to a guy whose historical knowledge tends to fuzz-out any further back than 1900, I'm appreciative of the fact that I'm not bombarded by detail pertaining to the correct size of pilum and how this works in miniature.

Alright, so now that I've got the setup underway, how did the game go? Fantastically! Of course, like any ancient conflict, this was fueled by ample beer at the table, and keeping with our casual nature, we decided to play until one army loses half its units, causing it to break. Once that was decided, we set up our figures one unit at a time 90cm away from each other and rolled to see who went first.

Right off the bat, you have to make choices in Warmaster: which units to activate first is a common decision in wargames, but Warmaster throws an additional curve ball at you by forcing you to decide which commander to command those units with first. I immediately worried that I didn't have enough commanders to effectively command. After all, once my legate was finished ordering things, I'd only have a commander left! This also forced me to keep my forces together, which isn't a bad thing, but limited my mobility somewhat. Thankfully, the Roman command is well regarded, and so command 8 and command 9 are easy to roll under on 2d6. My troops moved rather well, and once we hit the enemy I saw that the Roman's success was not limited just to command.

Romans have a rule called Legion which gives the stands at the forefront a support bonus, in addition to the stands behind them (but only on the first round of combat). Combined with my 5+ armor save, I was starting combats pretty well off. Of course, my opponent not having as high a command as myself didn't help matters in his favor, as his troops had a hard time maneuvering into position.

While the Romans are pretty bad-ass, they lack numbers (I made the joke that they're the Space Marines of Ancients gaming, which I'm sure would cause the bearded legions of historical gamers to spasm). My opponent had me outnumbered almost two-to-one, but with commands of 6 or 7, there were stands that literally didn't move the entire game.

All-in-all it was a great game, and a great system. Being the fantasy fanatic that I am, I'm already looking at Warmaster Fantasy, or the Battle of Five Armies (both of which use the same ruleset), but I'm in no position to start any more projects just yet. However, this experience has awakened a desire to play more historical conflicts, so long as the rulesets remain as accessible. I'm already planning on getting my Flames of War Americans done up before autumn this year, but Rick Priestly's latest offerings (Black Powder, and the forthcoming Hail Caesar from Warlord Games) also have me dreaming of recreating past conflicts instead of making up new ones. I'd totally replicate my Imperial Roman Warmaster Ancients army in 28mm with Hail Caesar, or do a Napoleonic Prussian force, or even a Union American Civil War army using Black Powder. Again, these are dreams, and I'm not ready to make them a reality. Unfortunately 2011 looks already to be booked.

So, before signing off, I should say what my opponent and I concluded about our Warmaster Ancients experience. #1: I need to finish painting my goddamn army; #2: We need to give the rulebook another read; #3: Maybe one less beer each next time; #4: I need to finish painting my goddamn army; #5: What a great system!

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WOAH!

2011-02-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

So I missed Monday's post, yes. Mondays are a bit weird for me, as I tend to make up for all the sleep I don't get on the weekend and then gaming happens with friends. I usually do the posts the night before, but Sunday was Warmaster Ancients gaming and then I went out. Tuesday, I went to a metal concert and didn't have enough time to write anything.

Now, I'm off to Victoria until Friday. This is okay, as there isn't much hobbying happening at the moment. I totally slacked off last week when it came to painting my Epic figures, and this week is a write-off as well. I'm worried that I'll have to double-up my painting time in the one week I'll have left to finish them for the Tabletop Gaming News Old Project Challenge.

Here's what you can look forward to next week:
Warmaster Ancients report (half battle report, half review)
Urban War report (same deal as above)
Epic painting log

That should be a good week. See you Monday!

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Top 5 Roleplaying Games: The (new) World of Darkness

2011-02-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

An unlikely contender, I have to admit. For years, the World of Darkness, and Vampire: the Masquerade specifically, have been the butt of many of my gamer jokes. It has always had a reputation of being pretentious and overwrought, and maybe a little creepy. After all, shouldn't gaming be fun? Why should I sit at a table with four people I used to be comfortable imagining we're elves with? I say used to because there's something that dies in the fragile eco-system that is role-play when you're confronted with a morally grey encounter with a vampiric prostitute and a drunken changeling logger...

How, fucking, wrong I was.

Now, in the title I delineated that this is the new World of Darkness; this is because there was an old one before it. The Internet has distinguished these two by calling the current offering from White Wolf Publishing the NWoD, and the older one the OWoD. What's the difference? I don't really know. I never played the OWoD. But here's what I do know, thanks to the Internet:

The OWoD contained the following games: Vampire: the Masquerade; Werewolf: the Apocalypse; Mage: the Ascension; Wraith: the Oblivion; Changeling: the Dreaming; Kindred of the East (a V:tM spin-off); Hunter: the Reckoning; Mummy: the Resurrection; Demon: the Fallen; and Orpheus. Many of the games had some spin-offs like a Vampire game that took place in the same universe but in the Dark Ages, or a Werewolf game that took place in the Victorian era, etc.

Characteristics of these older games and settings were that they all had, what was called a, meta-plot. The meta-plots of the various games were all story lines that ran through the various games. in Mage: the Ascension (M:tA) for instance there was a technocratic group of people who were trying to take over the world, or in Vampire: the Masquerade (V:tM) there were two organizations: one called the Sabbat, and the other known as the Camarilla. They fought a bunch. One common thread in all their meta-plots was that the universe was going to end. In fact, one of the last products released for all the games was a book that dealt with how to bring your games to an end. For good.

The NWoD did away with these meta-plots and these apocalypses, and instead presented the worlds as a toolbox (or sandbox as they call it). This means that they present you with the way things are in this world and let you have it. They don't tell you about key organizations or players, just that there are these types of creatures and there are those types of creatures, now have at it. I think this is the reason I fell in love with this game in the first place. It's so freeing as a GM (or Storyteller as they call it), to be able to create my own affairs within the framework of the world. Like someone who heard rock and roll for the first time in the '50s my world was shaken when I saw the phrase "you might want to do this" in the rulebook. They might as well have said "or whatever" after a key part of a mechanic. I never had more fun crafting a campaign.

There, of course, were some rules differences but I can't rightly explain them, as I've never even cracked an OWoD book beyond the opening chapters of the V:tM rulebook. What I want to get at with the meat of this article is the NWoD currently supported by White Wolf Publishing.

The system is intuitive and fantastic. You have a characteristic, or a power, or a skill that is measured by a number of dots (•) that go from • to •••••. In order to succeed at an action you find the characteristic and the skill/power/trait that go together with the action you want to attempt. Then you roll your number of •s in d10s. You need 8s, 9s, or 0s to succeed with 0s giving you additional rolls. If you roll at least one of these numbers, you've succeeded. If you roll more, then you succeed harder. If you roll none, then you fail. Easy.

Combat is simplified as well. A couple of the gamers in my group who have played the OWoD have had some complaints about the combat system but I really like it. Let's say you want to shoot a guy. You'd roll your Dexterity characteristic and your Firearms skill together in d10s. Let's say my Dex is ••• and my firearms is ••. I now have five dice. If I were throwing something at him, or punching him the guy would subtract his Defence characteristic from my dice pool, but I'm shooting him so he doesn't (it's hard to dodge bullets). Instead he's got a Kevlar vest which takes 2 away from any firearms dice pool. I now roll 3d10 and look for 8s, 9s, and 0s. I roll an 8 and a 0. I pick up the 0 and re-roll it giving me a 3. I still hit twice with the 8 and the original 0 so I do two points of lethal (as opposed to bashing or aggravated) damage, and we see if the guy dies.

Beyond that each of the settings has their own special rules on how to use powers, or create supernatural characters, but I'm not going to focus much more on the rules because the game itself likes to put story before rules anyway, so let's move on.

Mage, whatever. This leads to a nicer cohesion between the various supernatural beings in the setting and can even allow for your group to contain a Vampire, a Werewolf, a Mage, and a Changeling, though this isn't very common, and all those groups have very good reasons for never wanting to hang out with each other at all.

So what is the World of Darkness? Well, it's our world, but darker. Despair runs thicker through the streets, over which loom gargoyles and other forms of Gothic architecture. Cities are more corrupt, crime and violence is everywhere, and law enforcement and heroes are few. This world is inhabited by dangerous things that lurk at the edge of light: Vampires, Werewolves, Spirits, demons, ghosts; and these dangerous things are the people you play.

Of course the game is as depressing, or as evil as you want. In my last (and first) Vampire: the Requiem (V:tR) campaign there was a creepy Nosferatu Vampire, striding the alleyways next to an amoral Kindred (Vampire) who seeks only knowledge, a lone wolf criminal, and a wealthy eccentric who was on a mission to find the killers of his father and a missing girl from his past. They actually banded together and chose the lesser of two evils threatening Vancouver.

After I really got into these games I began to see past what some people would consider pretension and overwrought drama of these games and see a very well-constructed platform from which to launch adventures taking place in the modern age (or in the past, as the Requiem for Rome book allows you to do). Not only was I intrigued by being allowed to play "serious" games in modern times, but I really liked the story emphasis that seems to seep from even the character sheets. I've played through Vampire: the Requiem, but next up a friend of mine will be running a Changeling: the Lost (C:tL) game also set in Vancouver, and just after the events of the Vampire campaign. It's a brilliant sense of continuity, and I relish the thought of being able to play on the other side of the Storyteller's screen. This is definitely one of my favorites and I can't wait to revisit the dark streets of the World of Darkness again, and hopefully regularly.

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Urban War Army Builder Part 2

2011-02-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Now here's something interesting. Instead of posting erratically with up to a month in between posts, I post out of my new schedule a full day after a regularly-scheduled post! I amaze myself.

Yes, it's true. The first finished army of 2011! My Urban War Junkers. Bask in their red glory.

So there you have it! The first three pictures are of my 160pt Urban War force, and the last picture is of the whole squad (plus a Flame Thrower guy who goes in another squad and an extra guy) which will form the basis of my Metropolis force. I'm very excited, and I hope I get a game in either this week or next. For my 300pt force I'm adding two Sandrunners, an Exo-Suit, and a Lictor.

You'll also notice that there's some Epic Blood Angels' Rhinos in the background. They are but one color away from being finished, and then no marine shall have to hoof-it! I'm well on track with my Epic painting, but I can't relent. I need to get them done by the end of the month. Not only for the contest I'm in, but in order to keep to my (already jam-packed schedule).

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Hump Day Update (but not in the way you're thinking)

2011-02-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

So nothing terribly exciting; just an update.

I'm hoping to finish my Urban War Junkers by the end of the week (for realz!), and get a game in next week. Though, I'm off in Victoria again next week so it might be the week after that. Man! Months are short!

However, I will have a Warmaster Ancients game this Sunday. I'll provide a full report for Monday's post, however it will be woefully devoid of pictures, for my models are, sadly, still unpainted. I've tried to make a larger effort to play with painted figures this year, but my formidable opponent really wanted to get a game in soon, so I relented. It will be 1,000 points using army lists form the Warmaster Ancients rulebook. I'll be using my Imperial Romans and he'll be using his Britons (most of which are naked models, tee-hee!). We broke with the Warmaster tradition of 10mm models and opted for 15mm models based three to a stand, mainly because 15mm ancient models are easier for us to get a hold of.

In other news: Epic fever still has a grip on my group. I'm definitely going to be finished my Epic Blood Angels by the end of this month, giving me 6,000 points of space marines painted (my other 3,000 points is in Dark Angels). A friend of mine is putting together a Baneblade-heavy Imperial Guard list and another friend is doing a White Scars list. To top off the Epic madness, I've received from another friend a rather large collection of plastic Epic Squats! My god! These would be the first Squat models I've ever owned in any capacity. I'm giddy with joy! I went through them this night and I have a lot of figures in those two, tiny, boxes. Unfortunately the metal bits are hard to come by, but I'll keep my eyes open. Though as it stands now, I'm sure I'll have enough plastic figures to do 4,000 points easy.

Probably by Friday I'll have a Junker update as well as the final installment of my series on the Top 5 Roleplaying Games. Next month I'll begin my next series on the Top 10 Miniatures Games.

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Top 5 Role-playing Games: Dungeons & Dragons

2011-02-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Note: The quality of this article is not up to my usual standard. While I don't like churning out schlock, I did on this occasion for the sake of beginning a regular schedule of posting I've been meaning to do for a long time. Paradoxically, I decided to publish a sub-par article for my own good. At the very least I'll get back on a regimen.

The reason for this sloppy posting is the heaviness in my heart for a friend who passed away February 1st, 2011. Not at all to turn this tragedy towards myself, but I just couldn't muster up the energy to give 100% on this article. Though we weren't terribly close, I've had nothing but great interactions with this man, and I'll miss his presence in the gaming community.
Adrian Nelson was not only a fellow Vancouver gamer, but a kind and fun person who succumbed to health problems too soon. A gamer, actor, and Viking enthusiast, he will be missed by everyone in the Lower Mainland who pushes 10mm fantasy and historical soldiers around on the tabletop. My condolences go out to those who knew him better, and to his family.

Now here’s a classic. If you’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) before, then you’ve definitely heard of it. It was the first role-playing game and it’s still as great today as it was 35 years ago. Currently the game is in its 4^th edition, and while it’s drawn a lot of controversy I do believe that it’s the best game to bear the D&D logo.

I began my foray into D&D during the mid-90s during its 2^nd edition. Back then it was called Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2^nd Edition (AD&D2E) and it was done by a man named David “Zeb” Cook, who, as far as I know, isn’t doing any games design these days. The game represented mystery to me. I had always heard of this game, but I had never played it, and wanted to see if it was as dangerous and Satanic as the public made it out to be. It wasn’t, of course, but it was very mysterious, and seemed endless in its possibilities.

You see, the D&D books presented no particular world; it was all just generic fantasy art, and concepts. Sure they had settings like Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, and Dark Sun, but the idea behind D&D is that the game is a toolkit that you can use to create your own fantasy world.

Without getting too much into the mechanics of the various editions (they’re all similar in many regards, and I’m not familiar with the earliest editions of D&D), I’ll explain how the game works: It uses all of the basic polyhedral dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and the ubiquitous d20). One would roll a d20 to resolve most actions, trying their best to roll as high as you could (though low rolls were sometimes desirable in the earlier editions). In D&D4 you roll a d20 and add any modifiers based on your skills, then compare to a certain defensive number of your target, or to a number set by your Dungeon Master (DM) in the case of skill checks. Then on a successful attack, you’d roll your damage dice (each weapon or attack possessed a different die).

After AD&D2E Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), the owning company of D&D went bankrupt. The reason cited for this is that they overextended their novel publishing arm and during a year of very bad sales, were forced to refund the book chains the money paid for the books. Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the makers of Magic: the Gathering, bought TSR’s stuff for $1,000,000 (all of this info is courtesy of the D&D coffee table book). WotC had the foresight to keep D&D alive, despite dwindling sales of RPGs at this time (mid-to-late-90s), and in doing so save an industry.

In this gamer’s humble opinion, the d20 license saved role-playing. Many have claimed that it created a homogenous industry, but I think that’s ascribing the d20 system to the natural decline of many role-playing games at the time. In 2000, WotC re-did D&D for the 3^rd edition. They dropped the “Advanced” off the title, and made the rules free for any developer to use and create their own games (called the Open Gaming License (OGL). This was the shot in the arm that created many games companies that are around today, gave us some great titles, and gave some older titles a second life. Games like Deadlands, and Cyberpunk saw reprints in d20 form, while games like WarCraft, or Conan: the Barbarian saw pen-and-paper versions for the first time. Now many games companies have sprung back from the days when everything used the D&D3 rules, and the license is not as common as it was ten years ago, but the industry is healthier because of it, and now many other companies aren’t afraid of opening their doors to other publishers to use their mechanics (Savage Worlds, FATE, etc).

In 2008 the D&D3 system had grown too big and unwieldy. What was once a clear and concise game had its boundaries blurred, so that wizards and fighters were little different than each other. What the industry needed was a shot in the arm again, and in order to break away from the homogeneity that it helped create, D&D4 was established. D&D4 is a more dynamic and cinematic game system. It definitely takes some cues from the video gaming industry, which is reaching Hollywood-ish proportions. In a form of true reciprocity, D&D borrowed from the very industry that borrowed from it. As a result D&D4 just has more for you to do! There are more options during character creation, and combats are more dynamic, with more movement, and more description. No longer do you sit there and stab the Gnoll with your sword; instead you’re taunting that Gnoll so that its attacks are directed away from your friends, whose attacks are bolstered by your other companions, all so the rogue in your party can slash at the Gnolls legs, not only causing damage, but hamstringing the poor creature as well.

Now, of course this game is critiqued as being too much like a Massively-Multiplayer Online RPG (MMORPG, or just MMO). But as I stated before, it’s only borrowing from something that it helped create. D&D is growing, and it needs to. Sure RPGs are not in the danger they were in ’97, but that’s not to say that the industry is invincible. Companies like Fantasy Flight Games are creating RPGs that are hybrids with other forms of gaming (Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 3^rd edition), while the “Indie” role-playing market (which celebrates more esoteric game mechanics) is rather big and desired by many role-players. And if I may be so bold, I believe that D&D4 is more faithful to the original D&D than the previous two editions, which tended to bleed the various player classes into one another. In this edition, a rogue is a rogue, and a wizard is a wizard, and there’s no mistaking a cleric for a druid, or a barbarian for a fighter. Each has their own roles that they play within the party, and help to create these great synergies, which make playing this classic game all the more exciting.

In short, D&D is one of my favorite role-playing games of all time. While the newest edition is my favorite, the previous games each had their charm, and I had fun playing the previous two editions that I had. After all, I wouldn’t have played them for the twelve years before D&D4 that I had if I didn’t like them.

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Urban War Army Builder

2011-01-18T01:47:00.000-08:00

Alright, so four of us in my game group decided to work on some Urban War forces from Urban Mammoth.

I'm doing the Junkers
Another is doing Gladiators
The third is doing Viridians
And the fourth is working on Syntha

So far we've all got our figures, and two of us have our rulebooks, and two of us have started painting. Here are the photos:

Syntha

From Urban War Builder Campaign

Here's a Gladiator test figure

From Urban War Builder Campaign

Here are some of my Junkers:
The Test Figure

From Urban War Builder Campaign

My incomplete squad

From Urban War Builder Campaign

The Viridian player hasn't completed any figures yet.

Stay tuned for more on this exciting challenge! This week I'm going to Victoria, BC to visit my girlfriend, where I will paint my Epic Blood Angels while she's at school, and hopefully finish a vast majority (if not all) of my infantry. Next week I'll work on my Urban War figures some more, and bother the other two contestants in order to get some work and/or photos from them. Also, I got the rest of my VOR Union army in the mail today. They're all there, and they look like really good sculpts! Great quality and tons of venting, which leads me to believe that these were recent castings.

Anyway, I'll work on the VOR figures some more soon, and let the blog know about it ASAP.

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An Update

2011-01-14T00:29:00.000-08:00

Yes the "Whatcha workin' on?" widget at the bottom of the right column (right above the tags) is correct; I am currently working on all of that. And I'm sick. Hoorah!

I promised myself that I wouldn't get distracted by the next shiny object™ while working on my Dark Eldar. Well, it turns out I've been distracted by four older shiny objects.

Yes, I've been caught up in VOR fever, ever since the Kickstarter Project was announced. I have a Union army on the way, and one squad base-coated (see last post). I've also been caught up in Epic fever (more like a disease that stays with me always), and am working away at a Blood Angels army. I've been very slow in getting those pictures up. I think I'll just wait 'till the whole project's done, then snap some shots.

Finally two 28mm games that are separated by circumstance: Warzone and Urban War. I'm in an Urban War builder campaign with some friends. I'll post some pictures of my Junkers soon, I've just been waiting for the rest of my friends to catch up with me. I'm pretty quick with my figures, and since I only have seven of them in my 160pt. force, I shouldn't take too long with them. Warzone, on the other hand I've decided to spring on my boss as a challenge. When I got home and wrote up a 500pt. 2nd edition list, I noticed that I actually need to paint 16 models! Not a huge number by any means, but when you have four other projects on the go, it's a little much. Thankfully I don't think we're in a rush to get some games in. Warzone is in my top 3 TTG list, but really this game we have tentatively scheduled is a placeholder for Dark Age, which is taking its sweet time getting their book(s) out. Of course, we'll play 2nd edition Warzone, it being my favorite. I'll post more about it as it happens.

All-in-all, I'm busy. But there's a light at the end of the tunnel. My Urban War shouldn't take too long to paint, and seeing as I'm in a paint challenge on Tabletop Gaming News' forums with my Epic figures, those should be done by the end of February. I still have a ways to go on them, but I can pull it off. That should take some heat off me and hopefully no new shiny objects™ will jump out at me.

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P.S. Plans for the coming week: I'm going to write installment 4 of the Top 5 Role-Playing Games segment; I'll get some Junker photos up; and I'm going to Victoria to visit the girlfriend and work on some Epic figures while she's at school.

Test Figure for a VOR: the Maelstrom Army

2011-01-07T03:49:00.000-08:00

Cross-posted from the VOR: the Maelstrom 2.0 forums. I don't know why some of the text is highlighted a whitish-grey. I've tried to fix it a million times, and it seems that every time I hit "publish post" some new line of text is highlighted. Really sorry for the inconvenience. If I figure something out I'll implement it.

"Oh. Kay.

I did some painting this week on a test figure, which is a Union sergeant. Before I paint an army, or embark on a project of that magnitude, I find that it helps if I work on a figure to completion to see if the colors work well together or if there's any pitfalls to painting those figures. So far, I've not had to do any major re-calibrations of paint schemes in my time, but a test figure helps me work out any kinks along the way.

Some minor details may change, but here's the test figure. The only things not finished on him is the base (I'm gonna put some static grass on him), and the green fatigues are only base-coated. The reason for this is that I used the P3 paint Ordic Olive and I don't actually own any of the recommended highlight colors (Moldy Ochre, and Sulfuric Yellow). This should be remedied by next Wednesday, but in the mean time I think I'll just go ahead and finish it tomorrow with what I have on hand (I think with a total of five different paint lines, I'm sure I'll find something to substitute). With some more work I might even enter this into the paint competition on the forums here.

The paint scheme is taken as best I could from the Matt Wilson cover art of the Union forcebook. I'm a big fan not only of Matt Wilson, but of that piece of art as well.

Before I get to the breakdown, know that when I highlight I generally mix in the highlighted color into the previous color or color mixture. For example when I highlight a dark red, I'll mix in a medium red; paint it on, then mix in a light red into that mixture, then paint that on as the final highlight. I tend not to just paint a lighter color over top.

+The fatigues are Ordic Olive (P3).

+The metallics are Shadowed Steel (Reaper Master Series (RMS)), followed by a wash of Badab Black (Citadel). I'm actually gonna do some highlights later with Honed Steel(RMS), then perhaps Polished Silver (RMS) if it's not too bright.

+The blacks are Thamar Black (P3), then some Coal Black (P3) mixed in for a highlight, then finally some Menoth White Base (P3) mixed in for the final highlight.

+The browns are Bootstrap Leather (P3) with a Devlan Mud (Citadel) wash. This might become a Calthan Brown (Citadel) with a Dheneb Stone (Citadel) highlight, then a Devlan Mud (Citadel) wash.

+The little bedroll on his back was just Thornwood Green (P3). I'll probably just highlight it later. I don't imagine I'll wash it. It might end up too dark.

+His skin was Idrian Flesh (P3), then Khardic Flesh (P3), then Midlund Flesh (P3), then finally Ryn Flesh (P3). Doing faces and skin is my favorite part of a figure, and it's something I think I'm pretty good at. I've tried washing skin and haven't found a wash or an ink that I like for flesh. They often end up just darkening it more than I'd like. The fact that I start with something dark like Idrian Flesh and then paint right over top of it with the base skin color I want (like Khardic Flesh) gives it that definition without darkening the whole thing.

+Finally the base is (aptly enough) Battlefield Brown (P3) with a Gun Corps Brown (P3) highlight drybrushed right over top (no mixing), and finally a Rucksack Tan (P3) done with the same method as the last highlight. The rocks are Greatcoat Grey (P3) with a Morrow White (P3) highlight that had some of the base color mixed into it. Green static grass will get added when the model's 100% done.

+I've gotten into the habit of painting the rims of my bases black (Thamar Black (P3)). My boss isn't that keen on it, but I like the way it looks. It makes the figure look less like he's on a mound of dirt/grass/rubble/etc. and more like the base is just there because he can't realistically stand on the tabletop. It's hard to explain my aesthetic rationale behind it. Hopefully you understand.

Sorry for the crummy photography. I have a cheap-o camera that doesn't do macro very well at all. These two are the best of 20 photos. Seriously. Hopefully you get the drift. I had tons of fun painting this fig, and can't wait to get to the rest of the army (when it arrives from IWM)."

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Top 5 Role-playing Games: Savage Worlds

2011-01-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

For the third entry in this series (again, this goes in no particular order), we have Savage Worlds: a game I was, at first, hesitant to play.

Savage Worlds is an open-source Role-playing game (which means that it's a set of rules you can use with any setting) produced by Pinnacle Entertainment Group and Studio 2. When this was first brought up as a game idea, our group had just finished playing Dark Heresy. This would've been when Dark Heresy was first released, and Savage Worlds (SW) would've been a huge departure from our safe haven of gaming that included only Dungeons & Dragons and the Warhammer/40K gaming system(s). I was hesitant not only because it was different (my gaming pioneer spirit was somewhat limited then), but because it seemed too simple. Now I know that's where its beauty lies.

We're three sessions into our SW gaming right now, and this game easily squeezes into my top 5 gaming list. Its simplicity does nothing to limit its entertainment or depth, and is indeed the only way that SW can integrate so many different genres and worlds under its banner.

Savage Worlds is a role-playing system that mixes roleplaying with miniatures gaming. If I'm permitted to blow your minds, I'll suggest that SW makes as entertaining a miniatures game as it does a role-playing game. The system uses all of the standard polyhedral dice save the d20 (we've seen enough of that one!), and uses them in conjunction with the French deck playing cards (something I generally hate) to resolve all uncertainties in the game.

All your vital statistics and skills are represented not by numbers but by dice. For instance my current character (a Duwamish marksman who went AWOL during the First World War) has the following attributes: agility (d8); smarts (d6); strength (d4); spirit (d6); and vigor (d8), while for skills he has a d10 in shooting, but only a d4 in fighting, and so on.

When rolling to do something you roll the die that the skill uses (or if you're rolling a straight attribute roll, you would roll the die associated with the attribute), plus a d6. The extra d6 is something that player characters (PCs) get as well as some non-player characters (NPCs). If you get this extra d6 you're considered a Wild Card (even NPCs can be wild cards). Anyway, roll your skill/attribute die plus the d6 and choose the highest roll. If you roll the maximum allowed on a die (the number next to the "d") you get to roll again and add the value to that die roll so long as you keep rolling maxes. If the highest roll is greater than 4 (the Target Number (TN)), you succeed. If you beat the TN by another 4 you get a "raise" (get the poker terminology yet?) which is like a level of success in the Warhammer 40,000 RPG.

Damage is as simple as rolling the damage value of your weapon and applying it to the target's toughness and armor combination. If it beats it, he/she/it's stunned, if it beats it again he/she/it's wounded once. You get three wounds before you're incapacitated, and it's game over, rover. Each wound level (-1, -2, and -3) reduced every roll by that number. Oh! Before I forget, it's also important to know that most modifiers to rolls come in the -/+2 value. This will reduce or increase your roll not the TN, which remains always at 4.

That easy. Now the poker terminology comes from the fact that this game is a modified version of the old Deadlands RPG which was done by this very same game company during the '90s. Deadlands is still around and is the flagship setting for SW (which is, itself, open-source and can be used for any setting you can dream of). Deadlands is the wild west gone mad: undead, native magic-users, crazy Victorian inventions, and a never-ending civil war that turns the western genre on its head. I'd love to run this game sometime.

Currently we're playing in a "pulp" setting: 1936 America. One character is a more hard-boiled Indiana Jones, another is a 1930s Iron Man, and the third just got back from a gaming break for the holidays and will be "rolling-up" a character tonight. We're playing adventures from the first Daring Tales of Adventure compendium, and having a blast. So far, there have been no rules disputes, and if there's any rules questions, the answers are easily found in the book.

Savage Worlds is meant to be used with miniatures (a standard in RPGing these days if you ask me), and breaks from the standard grid-mat trend and introduces inches and terrain (something that convinces me this would be great to play a miniatures game with). You can use a grid mat if you like (I prefer hexes), and we use an abstract tabletop (we use miniatures, and terrain but don't measure anything and just use the figures for visual aids), but the rules take into account tabletop features.

Now while this game is fantastic, if you're looking for something deeper you might want to try Rolemaster, or its sci-fi sister Spacemaster. Savage Worlds is a light game, but my opinion on RPGs is that all rulesets are combat systems, and the role-playing and the depth are left to the Game Master and the group. If you want to figure out how much damage was done to an NPCs arm, and what kind of diabolical poison comes from crushed Ghan'ka root, you should probably find a translated version of Das Schwarze Auge (or learn German). Unless you want to reduce that detail to a -2 roll.

Overall, Savage Worlds is a fantastic game system, and my brain is filled with ideas for using it to run everything from a RPG set in the Vor: the Maelstrom universe, a Deadlands game, or even using it instead of Mutant Chronicles. Yes, this game is firmly entrenched in my top 5 role-playing games.

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Delay

2010-11-12T03:40:00.001-08:00

Hey all!

Sorry about the no-post on Wednesday. The Internet was wonky, and then the file I was working on didn't save. You'd think I'd know better after writing essays for six years straight in university!

Anyway, Thursday's just not in the cards so here's an apology post with a promise that Friday night I'll get something up. Think of it this way: you can read about the next role-playing game on my list while you munch on your morning grapefruit. Because those things are munch-able.

Man, I'm tired.

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Epic Dilemma

2010-11-08T01:05:00.000-08:00

A bit of a spoiler for the forthcoming Top 10 Tabletop Miniature Games series I'll do after its Roleplay cousin wraps up, but my favorite wargame of all time is the Epic series by Games Workshop. Ever since I was 11 and Epic 40,000 was released I was hooked. Afterwards when I did some research into the previous editions of Epic (Adeptus Titanicus and Space Marine 1st edition, then Space Marine 2nd edition and Titan Legions), and experienced the pinnacle in 6mm gaming with Epic Armageddon (the most recent Epic edition) I came to realize how simplistic Epic 40,000 was. But none the less it occupies a special place in my heart.

Now, Epic Armageddon may be a solid, and ingenious gaming system, in my eyes it is incomplete. Why Games Workshop decided that the first supplement, Swordwind, should contain yet another Imperial Guard and Ork army list and not decide to do updated Chaos Space Marine, and Tyranid lists is beyond me, but alas Specialist Games imploded shortly after the release of Swordwind, thereby leaving out two armies that have models.

Recently when I got the bug to start playing Epic again, I looked at Epic Armageddon, and realized that the Tyranid player in my group, and the Chaos player would be high and dry when it came to army selection. This began a search for a different system that could satisfy our 6mm gaming needs. Epic 40,000 was (as described previously) too simplistic, and one gamer even refused to play it. This left us with NetEpic.

NetEpic, I haven't played. However, from what I understand it is the old Space Marine/Titan Legions rules updated after ~7-8 years of playtesting by fans. The selling point is the full-color rulebooks they offer as free .pdf downloads. I passed the word around and now we're going to give it a shot.

I've spent the last couple of days reading the rules and building army lists for my Blood Angels and I think after a few paint sessions I should be ready to go. We have access to fantastic Epic-scale Forge World terrain and everyone has a painted force. I'll let you know how it goes closer to our playing. I think it's still some time off, but I'm excited to give this new/old ruleset a shot.

In other news: In case I didn't mention it before I'm doing the posts for the Roleplaying List once a week (on Wednesdays), and when it's over and I start doing the Wargaming one, I'll do it twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) mostly because there will be 10 games on the list instead of 5.

Sorry if this post seems disjointed, or all over the place. I'm in between projects right now, and I'm quite tired. After I scribe this, it's time to clean the house, then prepare for Vampire: the Requiem tonight.

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Top 5 Roleplaying Games: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

2010-11-05T01:08:00.000-07:00

To continue the series on what I believe the top 5 role-playing games of all time are, I hereby give you: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay.

Much like the Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay system (of which I wrote in the first installment), this is a dangerous game, where one cannot simply walk into a room of orcs and begin swinging safely, nor can you discount the effects of madness, or disease. Very few healing potions will save you from Nurgle's Rot, or the sight of watching your friend's leg get hewen from her body.

Remember what I said in the preamble to this series: These games are arranged in no particular order, otherwise this would be last in the series taking it's rightful place as what I believe to be the best roleplaying game I've ever played. Also remember what I said about editions. When I mention a game I take into account all of the editions I have played, in this case it's all of them.

I began my first foray into Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (WFRP) during the years when Hogshead took over production of the game. This was in the early 2000s, and during that time the Games Workshop in Metrotown Centre (which was my game shop of choice) actually carried the books. Apparently they didn't sell exceptionally well, but I bought every, damned, book they had over time. i had dabbled in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition previous to WFRP, but never had I dove into a game with such enthusiasm as WFRP 1st edition. Perhaps it was my already well-grounded love for the Warhammer World through the fantastic miniatures game, or perhaps it was the fact that while AD&D 2E was fun, WFRP promised to be a dangerous and brutal game that would tax my decision-making skills in ways that dungeon crawling never had.

+ENEMY WITHIN CAMPAIGN SPOILER ALERT+
I began Game Mastering (GMing) the Enemy Within Campaign (even today hailed as an amazing campaign by critics, and the most fun I've ever had playing an RPG). The Enemy Within took the players on a quest from Bögenhafen near Altdorf, all the way to Kislev and back to confront a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch and save the Empire. Though the time in Kislev was a bit tedious and strayed from what is now believed to be absolute canon of the Warhammer World, the dark humor of the stories and the recurring characters made you feel totally immersed. If you're looking for a sentence to sum up the greatness that this campaign and game possessed: WFRP 1st edition and the Enemy Within Campaign kept a group of four 9th graders playing every week for the entire 5-volume set.
+END OF SPOILERS+

Then in 2005 during my time working as a redshirt at the very Games Workshop where I first experienced WFRP, Black Industries was founded. This subdivision of Games Workshop was to deal with Games Workshop's board and role-playing games, though the rules were developed by the ever-creative Chris Pramas and the folks at Green Ronin Publishing in Seattle. Green Ronin created the 2nd edition of WFRP; tidying up some of the loose ends and clarifying bits here and there, but overall not changing much. To a gamer like myself (who hadn't sojourned across the Old World in over four years) this was perfect. Now more people could experience what I and my three friends did back in high school. The big campaign was called Paths of the Damned, and was a three-part series that advanced the WFRP timeline to the current events of the Warhammer World: The Storm of Chaos.

In 2008/2009 the reigns of board and role-playing game publishing went to another American outfit called Fantasy Flight Games (FFG), a company who had made other forays into role-playing but was most famous for its boardgames. Fantasy Flight soon announced another edition of WFRP, and this time it would be different again from other role-playing systems. This time it was to have board game components. This news shocked the role-play community (gamers are a fairly conservative group), and I must admit even shocked myself.

As a clerk at a games shop I got a complimentary copy from FFG and I ran the intro adventure in it for a group of gamers. While skeptical at first, it quickly grew on me. I realized that what I loved about WFRP wasn't the percentile dice, or the critical hit charts, or the miniatures (though all those things were great), but that I loved the grittiness, the danger, and the insanity. The third edition (though adding cards, symboled instead of numbered dice, and counters) was exactly what the other editions were, but more innovative.

So how do the games work then? Well, the first two editions are similar, but the third isn't really, so I'll do them in two groups.

1st/2nd Editions
To begin you'd roll d10s and add a modifier for each statistic, which were similar to the Warhammer Fantasy Battle statistics: Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Strength, Toughness, Wounds, Leadership, Intelligence, Willpower, and Dexterity. Then you'd choose a race and a class (Elf, Human, Dwarf, or Halfling; Warrior, Academic, Priest, Rogue (classes were gotten rid of in 2nd edition)). Then you'd roll a d100 on a career chart (or a specific career chart as determined by your class in 1st edition), and cross-reference your roll with your race and get your career. This would describe what you did before you became an adventurer.

The game was d100 based with low-rolls being better than higher ones. You'd want to roll under your characteristic to succeed, then for damage you'd roll a d6 (in 1st edition) or a d10 (in 2nd) and add the first digit of your strength (or the Strength Bonus in 2nd edition, which was the same thing as in 1st, it just got its own entry on the stat line), subtract the Toughness and armor of the opponent and that's how many wounds you'd do. If your opponent's wounds got to below 0, you'd roll a d100 on a chart, cross-reference the amount that the damage brought the opponent below 0 by, and get a result which you'd look up on a chart. Also, the game was location-based, so you could hit someone in the arm, head, whatever.

The magic systems were the most different in the two editions: In 1st it was more like Warhammer Fantasy Battle 3rd edition where your character would have a certain number of magic points that would decrease with spell use and increase with rest. Almost like a currency. In 2nd edition, you had a magic number which would be the number of d10s you had to roll. If any of them turned up a 9 (Tzeentch's favorite number) you'd roll on a specific chart depending on how many 9s you rolled and see what your penalty is. Magic in 2nd edition was more in line with Warhammer Fantasy Battle 6th edition, and was, thus, more dangerous. I liked the 2nd edition way of magic better.

3rd Edition
3rd Edition still has the careers, still has the critical hits, and still has the insanity, but they all work a little differently. The characteristics are point-buy instead of rolling (because in this edition there are no numbered dice, only ones with symbols). Then you'd choose your career card, and choose your talent, and action cards. Talent cards fit into your career sheet like slots, with each sheet having space for a certain number of talent cards, and the action cards are ones you're trained in, or have the requirements for. The dice mechanic is much better than in the first two editions, and it goes like this.

Take the number of blue d8s based on your characteristic, and add any white d6s if you have a bonus to your characteristics. Then add a number of purple d8s equal to the difficulty. Then you must convert a number of blue d8s into either red d10s if you're reckless, or green d10s if you're conservative (as determined by choice, and career). If you have any pertinent skills, add a yellow d6, and then add white d6s for favorable environments/situations and/or black d6s for unfavorable ones.

Then roll. Certain symbols cancel out others, and others just stay there. You're able to succeed, and still have bad things happen, as well as fail, and have good things come out of it. Personally, I believe this mechanic helps role-playing as opposed to hindering it. In games with numbers, it's easy to just say "I hit" and move on. This way, you're forced to describe the scene to make sense out of why you can succeed but still have bad luck. "As you stab into the beastman, he slips on the blood of his comrades, wrenching the sword out from your hand and falling to the ground just as the minotaur bounds towards you."

The game also takes miniatures and battle mats out of the equation. Weird, especially with the fantastic range of figures Citadel Miniatures has. However, this makes the role-playing the center of the action and the exact placement and fiddly details of maps gets pushed aside. Criticize the game all you want, but you can't say that role-playing is limited in favor of a 'board game aesthetic.'

Overall, I love the new edition (possibly the best). It definitely adds more to the game table (which isn't always good), but the to-hit ratio is greater, and it still retains all the bits of the last editions that I loved. That being said, I wouldn't have played the last editions for nine years if they weren't brilliant either, and so I shouldn't say that the new edition blows the others out of the water, but that it adds to them to help make WFRP the best roleplaying series I've ever played.

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Early to bed, holy crap it's 11:00am!

2010-10-30T02:05:00.000-07:00

Believe me, I am getting on track with my postings! Or at least I mean to.

Today I woke up late; realized I needed to go grocery shopping before work, or else I'd have nothing to eat until Monday; then went to work. I didn't even get a chance to pick up a new wireless router (I'm all corded-up like a barbarian!). Then after work I had to rush over to a Hallowe'en party. To get an idea as to how quickly I had to get to the party: I drove. Which meant that I couldn't drink. Now I'm no alcoholic, but I very much enjoy my vitamin 'A' (if ya catch my drift). So needless to say I got nothing done, and it's now 2:00am and I need to get up in six hours for work. Technically it's a Saturday, but my Fridays don't end until I've slept!

In hobby-related news: I've been trying to work out a system with the Reaper Master Series metallic paints, and it will still take more testing. As I said in a previous post: I'll do a review on them later. Right now? It's time to hit the ole bed-stack.

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A Hero' s Guide to Space Adventure... Are you a hero?

2010-10-27T23:59:00.000-07:00

Not a heck of a lot to report today. I finished reading not one, but two, rulebooks! The first one was Urban War by Urban Mammoth (great company, silly name). I'm going to give a more detailed review on this game once I've actually played it, but to me it appears to be a heavily modified Warhammer 40,000 but with d10s and alternate activation. Now, I enjoy 40k, and I enjoy games like Warzone (of which the creators of Urban War were the creators) and I love Necromunda, so the marriage of these three (not valid in mosts states) should be great! I'll report on this in a month or so when all of my gaming buddies finish their stuff and we start playing.

Next, I read Battlestations published by Gorilla Games, which has been getting great reviews. Again, I'm going to give a better review on this once I've played it (hopefully in the next couple of weeks), and I'm very excited to, but I can say this right now... This is a terribly written rulebook. It takes for granted that you know certain rules that aren't explained until later, reading more like a rules compendium than a guide to teaching you how to play. The game also seems complex, with many different rules for similar things (and this is a Battletech fan, you're talking to). However, I imagine if it's good enough for Tom Vasel it's good enough for me.

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Bumpy Road This

2010-10-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

Two posts in a row complaining about a lack of posts isn't very professional. (Not that I'm doing this blog as a profession) I guess this is why I've whittled down my amount of blogging to just this one. Ironically, I got more "extra-curricular" stuff done when I was in school. If you think my blogging has been hit hard since I finished school in the beginning of August, just take a look at my painting, writing, reading, etc.

Without getting too personal here, (this is a gaming blog, not a LiveJournal®) my moments of free time have been taken up with a lot of self-contemplation, and boredom. Not the kind of boredom that is apparent, but one that sort of just sits there, behind you, causing your attention span to be tugged in many different directions; all the while making you wonder just what the hell is going on with you. I would take up projects, only to, days later, dump them. Now I'm not saying that I'm over this; just that I've recognized it, and that's the first step towards getting over it. Right now, I'm working on things one at a time, and learning to take things slowly, in order to approach them in a manageable manner.

For instance: While I'm in windy Victoria, BC until friday, I'm going to do a little bit of work on my Vampire: the Requiem campaign I'm taking my gaming group through. So far I think the experience has been good, though to be honest I haven't put in as much work as I'd like to. This will be one of the things that changes.

Another thing I'm approaching, is that I've streamlined my painting palette. Over the years I've used paints from Vallejo, Privateeer Press, Citadel Miniatures, Rackham (ugh!), Reaper, and Testors, all so that I can gauge what would be the best paints to use. Well, I've come to my conclusion. Are you ready? Too bad if you aren't; I'm going to tell you anyways. Once I get my Top 5 Roleplaying Games list out of the way, and my Top 10 Tabletop Miniatures Games out of the way, I plan on doing a breakdown of my opinions on the various paint lines. However, I've pared down the various paints to: P3 as the main line with Reaper Master Series for metallics, and Citadel washes and Foundation paints for specific works. Of course I'd be open to specific colors from other ranges as they're needed, but these three paint lines will form my painting palette for the foreseeable future.

Lastly, my gaming group (well... Three people out of my gaming group, not including myself) have decided to give Urban War a shot. I couldn't be more excited! I very much enjoyed VOID 1.1, and have been wanting to give its "successors" (Urban War and Metropolis) a shot since they came out (2003/2004-ish). I'm doing the Junkers (as it's an army I've been working on since the VOID 1.1 Gamebox) made mostly out of figures from the old VOID 1.1 Gamebox; another gamer is doing the Gladiators; a third the Viridians; and the last is doing Syntha. I can't wait until their models arrive from special order at STRATEGIES so we can begin the modeling. I'll be sure to document the saga extensively.

That's it for now. Thanks for bearing with me through this time of self-reflection (be thankful that you only saw the silence and neglect part of it), and get ready for more regular updates. In order to help order my involvement with this blog, it'll be updated every monday, wednesday, and friday. See you on wednesday!

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All's Quiet

2010-10-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

So problems on the Internet front the last two days prevented a post on Monday. I have a two-hour ferry ride to Vancouver Island today so I'll post Wednesday's post today, and who knows? I might get up to something on Thursday.

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Of Elves

2010-10-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

I guess once a day was a little ambitious for myself. Let's see if I can get into a schedule of every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

So in the last 24 hours I've built two very different model kits, despite them both being elves of some sort.

Here's the first one I built:

FANTASTIC is an understatement to this kit. Tons of heads, spikes, guns, and extras to add so much character to your squad. This is to say nothing of how easy it is to put together, and how seamlessly it all fits together. Truly, this is the reason I'm starting a Dark Eldar army, and I do not hesitate to claim that the Dark Eldar models are the greatest figures Games Workshop has ever produced!

BAM! There, I said it.

On the other hand:

These models were the worst I've ever had to put together. High Elves are a passion of mine, but this kit tested my skills as a modeller. Granted I received no instructions along with this kit, as it was part of a Black Box, which Games Workshop sends out to its stores and retail partners in order to display. In a Black Box they just send the sprues, and nothing more. Yet, all three of the Dark Eldar kits I put together were done with a little thought, but easily enough.

This fuckin' kit was brutal! Not only do certain arms go with certain weapons, but they also go with certain bodies! To top it off, the parts aren't numbered consecutively, nor are they numbered A1 to A2, etc. They're just numbered! Which would be fantastic if I had instructions. Besides this problem (which could easily be solved with instructions), the models didn't rank up as nicely as I expect with today's GW kits, and they are in awkward poses. The entire regiment looks like its bounding forth, which is pretty cool, if it wasn't that each figure was attached to his base by a tiny point on the tips of their forefoot. Overall, when put next to the Dark Eldar figures that are only a month off (and a month and a half after the release of these White Lions), they just don't compare; the Dark Eldar take the cake in almost every aspect. And this is coming from a lifelong Warhammer fan, and an even bigger High Elf fan.

More on RPGs later.

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Top 5 Roleplaying Games: Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay

2010-10-01T16:35:00.000-07:00

Beginning the list off is the trilogy of roleplaying games that take place in the 41st millennium: Dark Heresy, Rogue Trader, and Deathwatch by Games Workshop and Fantasy Flight Games.

To say that Dark Heresy was one of the most anticipated roleplaying games is putting it lightly. The collector's edition sold out within minutes, and I'm happy to say that one sits atop my gaming shelf like a terrible, black, monolith, lording over the other roleplaying games as if to dare them to match the deadliness and grit that this book eats for breakfast. Utilizing the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 1st/2nd edition system, this game allows you to take on the role of an Inquisitor's acolyte, a member of the bridge crew on a Rogue Trader's vessel, or even one of the superhuman space-knights known as Space Marines as you explore a brutal, and horrifying future 38,000 years from now.

The system uses a d100 mechanic where you roll under a given statistic in order to succeed at various tasks. When it comes time to dish out damage, a damage is rolled (1 or more d10s with additional valued depending on the strength of the user or the viciousness of the weapon), and from it is subtracted a toughness value and an armor value, the sum of which determines the wounds inflicted. When your wound limit is reduced to below 0 you begin to take critical damage as determined by how below 0 you are as well as the type of weapon just used upon you. No critical hit is good, but many are better than others. These are truly vicious, however, resulting in loss of limb, organ failure, or death. The game is also location-based, allowing you to target arms, legs, bodies, or heads. Far from slowing down the game, this system allows for a detail often absent from many RPGs.

The universe, itself, is possibly one of the most characterful elements of the game. It's the 41st millennium, and 10,000 years ago a living God referred to only as The Emperor fell victim to the betrayal of his "son" Horus. While Horus succumbed to his injuries in the final battle, The Emperor was left in a death-like state. To preserve him, humanity stuck him in The Golden Throne: a city-sized life support system, that sustains his deathlike state. The Emperor is revered as a god by most of humanity, yet he does not interact physically with anyone. His will creates a psychic barrier that exists between reality and an alternate dimension known as The Warp. The Warp is filled with echos of every living thing, thought and emotion. It's also filled with hellish creatures known as Daemons and their foul gods (Slaanesh, Nurgle, Khorne, and Tzeentch) who try to destroy humanity.

Humanity, itself, is a medieval hierarchy of bureaucrats, governors, and aristocracy. At times it mimics the middle ages, while at others it appears to be an enlightenment-type society, though with none of the enlightenment's optimism or mistrust of religion. To add to the mix, a plethora of aliens exist to torment humanity. The majority of humanity mistrusts aliens and the government of the Imperium treats them with a genocidal rage and xenophobia that rivals any such feelings in our present era history. The most common aliens are the barbaric Space Orks, the enigmatic Eldar, their psychopathic cousins the Dark Eldar, the imperialistic Tau, and the infinite hordes of the Tyranids.

In Dark Heresy, you take on the role of a servant of an Inquisitor (the Imperiums' equivalent of both the FBI and the CIA), investigating rumors of dissent, heresy, or contact with aliens. You are little more than a citizen, who has shown some prowess in one aspect of law enforcement, or bureaucratic life, which presents a challenge as you are not powerful, but you show some heroic aptitude, and you have the backing of a powerful patron whose credentials strike fear into the hearts of your average citizen or even royalty. Combat in this game is not favorable, and is highly dangerous. Unlike in many sci-fi/fantasy RPGs, you can't always shrug off a gunshot, and if you don't possess the Dodge skill, you'd better wear armor, or stay out of trouble.

I like this game because you are an average citizen of the Imperium (or a cop, or grunt soldier) who has been drafted to serve the Emperor, and it can be dangerous, and creepy, often leading to the madness of your character as you assail the lairs of cultists, heretics, or (Emperor help you) go up against daemons.

Rogue Trader takes the power level of the 40K roleplaying games up a notch, putting you in command of your own starship (and also letting you take on the roles of more powerful characters), as you explore the unknown parts of our galaxy. Unlike Dark Heresy, you don't have much authority, except that you're a Rogue Trader, who is a type of nobility. Granted you command your own starship and you have a warrant of trade (a license allowing you to trade with worlds within the Imperium), but you operate between the laws, often trading with aliens and heretics, just so that you can make a buck. This is probably my favorite of the three games, as it gives you more powerful equipment and characters as in Dark Heresy (though not as powerful as in Deathwatch), and still pits you up against some of the most terrible things that come from outside the boundaries of Imperial rule. I'm also an explorer at heart, and the ability to explore the fringes of the galaxy (albeit in a fictional world) is too much to resist.

Deathwatch is the latest in the 40K roleplay series and allows you to take on the role of a Space Marine, a knight and favored warrior of the Emperor. In fact, each Space Marine carries a bit of the Emperor's blood and genes within their DNA. Millennia ago, the Emperor created these warriors and crafted his "sons" known as the primarchs. To each primarch he gave a legion of marines encoded with their (and by extension, the Emperor's) DNA. Each space marine reflects the emotions of their primarch (most primarchs are now long dead), and is a genetically-enhanced human warrior. This is the ultimate power level in the 41st millennium. In Deathwatch you are a space marine who has been taken from his chapter (the designation for a space marine legion), and recruited into the Deathwatch, an alien-hunting organization who operates (as in Dark Heresy) under the command of an Inquisitor.

In this game you and your fellow players go on military missions that require surgical strikes as opposed to full on attacks. You're not running in guns blazing, but figuring out tactical ways to complete your missions. While this game doesn't lend itself to the roleplaying situations that many RPGs do (I can't see a space marine bartering for a gun at a market, or trying to impress a planetary governor), you have to work with your squad (who are taken from different chapters that are sometimes at odds with each other), and interact with other characters in the game (space marines can't shoot their way through every problem). It uses the same system as the previous two versions of the game, but takes you from the alleyways and shadows of Imperial society and into the battlefield and war rooms of the Imperial war machine.

That's all for today. Tomorrow you'll get another one. If you want me to elaborate on any aspect of any of the games I describe, just say so in the comments section and I'll do my best to edit, and/or respond to your query. These posts are often unplanned and emulate myself chatting, ad lib, with you about my favorite games.

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P.S. My spellcheck is wonky right now, and my ferry ride is almost over. While I pride myself on my writing skills and grammatical accuracy, I do tend to think and type quickly. I'll try again later, but please excuse any problems your eyes encounter.

Top 5 Roleplaying Games

2010-10-01T16:22:00.001-07:00

So because I'm knee-deep in a Vampire: the Requiem campaign and loving every minute of it, I thought I'd begin the first part of a five part series on my favorite roleplaying games. I will publish one post a day detailing a favorite roleplaying game from my top 5 favorites.

Here's some caveats to the list: First, I will specify no editions of the roleplaying games. That is to say, I wont put D&D4 at one point in the list and AD&D in another. This is because I believe that any roleplaying edition has enough elements of any of its other editions so as to make this redundant. Also, a virtue of a game is its ability to withstand the test of time. For example, Monopoly (I know it's a boardgame) does not stand the test of time no matter which way you look at it, and is only playable during the Great Depression when people had nothing better to do.

Secondly, this list will suffer from the same deficiencies that other lists of its ilk do, and that is the fallacy of favoritism. While lists, by their very nature are a ranking of favorites in some regard, this list isn't to say that while I may place one RPG above another. I toyed with the idea of making a countdown list, but found that rankings present a plethora of problems that I just want to avoid. Also, it's like picking your favorite child. This is a list of my top 5 favorite roleplaying games of all time in no particular order. This is purely my choice, and preference, and in doing so I will present aspects of a roleplaying game I like and don't like. That will be this list's benefit to you, the reader, as opposed to being just a five-day rant about which games are cool.

So proceed to the next post to begin the list.

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Long Time, No Post

2010-07-31T01:03:00.000-07:00

So I'm done school *much fanfare*, and will be available for much posting. Right now I've been up to my ears in gaming: Warhammer 8, Hordes 2, WFRP3, World of Darkness, WFRP2, OH GOD!

So I'll give y'all an update on Monday, as that's my next free day. I'll also be starting the beginning of a series of articles called "The Wargamer's Top 10 Miniatures Games," followed by "The Wargamer's Top 5 Role-Playing Games." Where each post covers a game. This will hopefully run for 15 days starting monday (in addition to regular posts).

I'm also in a Warhammer 8th edition army builder campaign back at the helm of my beloved High Elves. Oh, and Dark Age is being re-released. Oh! AND! The game shop I work at is hosting our annual painting contest, which I shall submit entries in every category. The entries may surprise many of you, or none at all.

Also, a dark apostle has been spotted at the edge of the solar system, heading right for Earth... Stay tuned.

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Hordes Painting Challenge Day 31

2010-07-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

FINISHED!

So it took me 31 days to do a 35 point army, but I came in 2nd, AND i did the whole army in only 7 sittings! That means, if I did paint every day, I would've finished this army in one week: the same amount of time that the 1st place winner finished his stuff in. Would'a, should'a, could'a...

Anyways, I'm supremely pleased that I did an army that I'm proud of so quickly, and this opens new avenues of speed painting for me. Tomorrow I'll get a picture of the whole force together. I'm also going to have my 1st game around the 7th of July when the Hordes card packs come out. I'll post a battle report of that.

When I post pictures of the whole force tomorrow I'll also (finally!) write an army list and show what was in this army. Until then, enjoi!

The last bit of the army, finished!

The Wargamer

Epic Eldar pt.2: Epic 40,000

Epic Eldar pt.1: Epic Armageddon

Who are you and what have you done with Carmin?

News From the Front

V20

Sick Day

Monster Vault Review

Hobby Health Day

Whatcha Playin', Rabbit?

Flaming Wars

Dark Age Apocalypse!

And Here. We. Go.

WARMACHINE Tournament Journal: Part 4

And We're Back

Gone Fishin'

WARMACHINE Tournament Journal: Part 3

WARMACHINE Tournament Journal: Part 2

WARMACHINE Tournament Journal: Part 1

Slow Goin'

And the result is:

Just another Manic Monday

TTGN's Old Project Challenge Update

Urban War

Warmaster Ancients Report

WOAH!

Top 5 Roleplaying Games: The (new) World of Darkness

Urban War Army Builder Part 2

Hump Day Update (but not in the way you're thinking)

Top 5 Role-playing Games: Dungeons & Dragons

Urban War Army Builder

An Update

Test Figure for a VOR: the Maelstrom Army

Top 5 Role-playing Games: Savage Worlds

Delay

Epic Dilemma

Top 5 Roleplaying Games: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay

Early to bed, holy crap it's 11:00am!

A Hero' s Guide to Space Adventure... Are you a hero?

Bumpy Road This

All's Quiet

Of Elves

Top 5 Roleplaying Games: Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay

Top 5 Roleplaying Games

Long Time, No Post

Hordes Painting Challenge Day 31

Hordes Painting Challenge Day 11

Hordes Painting Challenge Day 10

Hordes Painting Challenge Day 9

Hordes Painting Challenge Day 7

Hordes Painting Challenge Day 3

Hordes Painting Challenge Day 1

Painting Challenge SNAG!

Unleash the Hordes!

The Imperial School of Magic at Altdorf

Paint a Day Part 4: The Final Brushstroke

Paint a Day Part 3: The Lost Episodes

Paint a Day Part 2: Air Brush Zephyrs

Paint a Day Part 1: A Meeting of Brushes

Tune in for time off

Christmas Revelations!

Despite its name, you only get one

Warhammer Invasion

Update! Just to let you know I'm alive.

Box o' Stuff

Reviews You Can Use

Almost There

In the Age of the Musket

Housekeeping

Arcane Legions

Warmachine/Hordes Campaign Mk1.0

What's New?

More on Campaigns and Retribution

Return of Blogger!

Transmission Received

Oh, and...

On Overwatch

Campaign Notes 2

Of Campaigning and Online Networks

White Dwarf 355 - July 2009