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| England, York, & the White Rose |
Blast-off in Bradford
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| The expanding Hive |
Showing posts with label Penumbra's Talons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penumbra's Talons. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
My geeking summer #1: "Oop north"
Land of the White Rose
I mentioned last time that I was holidaying with family in York after a trip to Bradford. I’m back home now and reality has finally reasserted itself, so it’s back to the old bloggery. Where better then to begin than with a geek’s eye tour of my wee visit to the legendary county of Yorkshire (no prizes to readers who offer suggestions, constructive or otherwise!- NB, that’s no prizes, not ‘No Prizes’, OK?)?
Blast-off in Bradford
The geeks
The convention I attended in Bradford wasn’t a geek-con as such, but it was hoaching with geeks of all kinds. I’d been hoping to get some gaming in (I even took along a few cardgames for that very purpose) but the gaming area wasn’t very well organised, so that turned out to be a bogey. Still, I had fun handing out my card, which turned out to be a great way of smoking out the other games geeks (not that they needed much encouragement). Among the highlights of those encounters were:
Blast-off in Bradford
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
A long time coming
Sorting out unfinished business
A few years ago I made a couple of passing references—one, writing about my Penumbra’s Talons; the other, writing about GW’s mighty Space Hulk 3rd edition—to a project which involved a nameless friend and a Space Hulk set. I am pleased, at long last, to be able to tell you that this friend- Matt Forbeck, who I met at Bill King’s wedding back in 2005, will soon be getting his hands on that set of Space Hulk 3 he’d almost, but not quite, forgotten about (who could forget Space Hulk 3?).
I can’t take much of the credit here- it’ll be a long time before I revive and renew my miniatures’ craft skills to the point where I can paint my own Space Hulk set let alone one for someone else. No; credit—for the fact that Matt and his kids will soon be enjoying playing Space Hulk with their own fully-painted set—starts with Andy, who gave me the recommendation which finally broke this years-old logjam. And who did Andy recommend when I spoke to him about contracting-out this paint-job? None other than Brian, who regular readers will remember as Siegfried- murderous lowlife with a heart, from my Ashes of Middenheim campaign back in the glory days of Green Ronin’s stewardship over WFRP2.
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| Still crazy after all these years! |
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| My first Truly Epic RPG campaign |
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Changes, changes
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| "Very pretty John, but what does it mean?" (Damned if I know BTW) |
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| Memories, sigh |
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Meeting Richard Williams
The best laid plans
Unfortunately last Saturday's planned trip to Claymore fell through. I'm in a bit of a downswing just now and my main symptom is sleep disturbance, typical phase 1 for me. And so Friday night dragged on into Saturday morning leaving me facing 2 hours sleep before I was supposed to get up to catch an early bus to Edinburgh. The result was inevitable. Ah well, c'est la vie.
But still...
I did manage to make it to GW Glasgow on Friday afternoon to meet Black Library author Richard Williams. Richard proved friendly and easy-going as you'd expect and I passed a pleasant hour or so sharing his company with the other fans who'd turned out to meet him.
The inevitable signage
I'd taken along my copy of Liber Chaotica as planned. I'd thought that'd be all but Steve- the local manager, had managed to rustle up some copies of the currently out of print Reiksguard, in search of which I'd visited the store only the previous day and which had then been strangely absent from the shelves; so I bought that. As William and I prepared to pose for a couple of photos I figured that it'd be churlish not also to pick up a copy of the latest- and current, BL book in which Richard's writing has seen print: the anthology Legends of the Space Marines.
Unfortunately last Saturday's planned trip to Claymore fell through. I'm in a bit of a downswing just now and my main symptom is sleep disturbance, typical phase 1 for me. And so Friday night dragged on into Saturday morning leaving me facing 2 hours sleep before I was supposed to get up to catch an early bus to Edinburgh. The result was inevitable. Ah well, c'est la vie.
But still...
I did manage to make it to GW Glasgow on Friday afternoon to meet Black Library author Richard Williams. Richard proved friendly and easy-going as you'd expect and I passed a pleasant hour or so sharing his company with the other fans who'd turned out to meet him.
The inevitable signage
I'd taken along my copy of Liber Chaotica as planned. I'd thought that'd be all but Steve- the local manager, had managed to rustle up some copies of the currently out of print Reiksguard, in search of which I'd visited the store only the previous day and which had then been strangely absent from the shelves; so I bought that. As William and I prepared to pose for a couple of photos I figured that it'd be churlish not also to pick up a copy of the latest- and current, BL book in which Richard's writing has seen print: the anthology Legends of the Space Marines.Sunday, June 20, 2010
UK Games Expo'10 #4. Winding up and wending home
Birmingham geek-out!
My travel plans on the Monday after the Expo gave me a day to spend in Birmingham. I deposited my luggage at the station then pondered my options: was I going for the cultural day out, or the geek day out? I chose the latter, naturally enough (no slur intended on the cultural attractions of the fair city of Birmingham I assure you dear readers, this option just proved easier to pursue on the day).
Who goes where?
Decision made, I set off to visit the local GW as is my wont when I'm on my travels. Luke- the staffer on duty, gave me the familiar friendly GW greeting when I arrived. I gave him my card and told him the story of my trip to Birmingham, then we fell to chatting. Answering the usual questions, I told him that I'm a DIY Space Marine Chapter Master and filled him in on some of Penumbra's Talons' background. I talked about how Belon (the Talons' home world remember) is located in the Eastern Fringes, which is where it's all going down in the Dark Millenium these days:
My travel plans on the Monday after the Expo gave me a day to spend in Birmingham. I deposited my luggage at the station then pondered my options: was I going for the cultural day out, or the geek day out? I chose the latter, naturally enough (no slur intended on the cultural attractions of the fair city of Birmingham I assure you dear readers, this option just proved easier to pursue on the day).Who goes where?
Decision made, I set off to visit the local GW as is my wont when I'm on my travels. Luke- the staffer on duty, gave me the familiar friendly GW greeting when I arrived. I gave him my card and told him the story of my trip to Birmingham, then we fell to chatting. Answering the usual questions, I told him that I'm a DIY Space Marine Chapter Master and filled him in on some of Penumbra's Talons' background. I talked about how Belon (the Talons' home world remember) is located in the Eastern Fringes, which is where it's all going down in the Dark Millenium these days:
There are rumours that the protracted death of the Emperor on his Golden Throne has reached a point where the Astronomicon- upon which depends all human interplanetary travel, no longer reaches the Eastern Fringes; or that it is at least weaker and less reliable than ever.- The imminent Deathwatch RPG is to be set in the Jericho Reaches: located in the Eastern Fringes, and the target of a major Imperial Crusade aiming to reconquer lost Imperial worlds.
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Playing catchup
Turnover has been slow here at RD/KA! lately. My mood hasn't been great, as old hands might already've imagined. More important than that though- and a contributory factor too no doubt, is the fact that I've been living for several months with the burden of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, which has left me tired and lacking in motivation. Now that I'm know I'm hoping that management of the condition will soon get me rolling again.
In brighter news I returned last night from UK Games Expo 2010. I had a great time and will be getting to work soon on my report. Meanwhile here are some bits and pieces.
Prizes! Prizes!
The response to my Waste World prize draw was sufficient to make a draw necessary so that's a result I guess! I am pleased to announce the results of the draw:
In brighter news I returned last night from UK Games Expo 2010. I had a great time and will be getting to work soon on my report. Meanwhile here are some bits and pieces.
Prizes! Prizes!
The response to my Waste World prize draw was sufficient to make a draw necessary so that's a result I guess! I am pleased to announce the results of the draw:- Grand prize: the Waste World rules and the Hydra sourcebook go to Josef.
- Consolation prize: the A Fistful of Credits starter set goes to the Gnome.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Chop'n'swap droolage
Incoming!
A scant three months after officially announcing the release date, and following the subsequent obligatory official teasers and fevered internet rumours and speculation, GW a fortnight ago finally released the first tranche of its new Blood Angels range. Readers who also follow RD/KA!@fB will know already that I have since bought myself the crucial two new Blood Angels boxed sets: the Death Company and the Sanguinary Guard. The BA are one of the 4 classic iconic space marine chapters; the Death Company have long been their signature unit; the Sanguinary Guard have joined the Death Company as another signature unit as part of a shiny new BA codex.
The new Codex: Blood Angels is the fullest treatment of the BA since the 2nd edition Angels of Death codex, which they shared with the Dark Angels. Since then the BA have had one of the infamous 3rd edition 'minidexes' intended to supplement the standard codex and their 4th edition list was a 2-part White Dwarf article. The new C:BA is therefore the first full-sized, stand-alone codex GW has ever devoted to this always popular army: an event of some note for 40K fans in other words.
A scant three months after officially announcing the release date, and following the subsequent obligatory official teasers and fevered internet rumours and speculation, GW a fortnight ago finally released the first tranche of its new Blood Angels range. Readers who also follow RD/KA!@fB will know already that I have since bought myself the crucial two new Blood Angels boxed sets: the Death Company and the Sanguinary Guard. The BA are one of the 4 classic iconic space marine chapters; the Death Company have long been their signature unit; the Sanguinary Guard have joined the Death Company as another signature unit as part of a shiny new BA codex.
The new Codex: Blood Angels is the fullest treatment of the BA since the 2nd edition Angels of Death codex, which they shared with the Dark Angels. Since then the BA have had one of the infamous 3rd edition 'minidexes' intended to supplement the standard codex and their 4th edition list was a 2-part White Dwarf article. The new C:BA is therefore the first full-sized, stand-alone codex GW has ever devoted to this always popular army: an event of some note for 40K fans in other words.Tuesday, March 09, 2010
The Tau bite back
"Bring me the head of Shas El Quixo!"
So last Tuesday, Ezekiel Cromwell's Penumbra's Talons expeditionary force and the maverick Shas El Quixo's Tau battlegroup had their latest encounter on that as yet unnamed planet in a still unidentified system somewhere in the Eastern Fringes of the Imperium of Man. I'd been looking forward immensely to Dave's and my second game after the thrills and spills we'd enjoyed only a fortnight before. I was not to be disappointed.
Inevitable tactical adjustments
The Talons
Composing my army list for the upcoming game (lists here), I knew I couldn't afford to chance everything on another favourable roll on the Mission table, which'd've given me a 2/3 chance of being screwed before the game had even started if I chose to go with the Troops-light army I'd run the last time. My must-haves were the jump packers- as ever; dreadnoughts Elias and Stirner- they're the only heavy armour I've got just now; and a tacsquad with the free missile launcher (ML) and flamer options- the points shaving had begun.
So last Tuesday, Ezekiel Cromwell's Penumbra's Talons expeditionary force and the maverick Shas El Quixo's Tau battlegroup had their latest encounter on that as yet unnamed planet in a still unidentified system somewhere in the Eastern Fringes of the Imperium of Man. I'd been looking forward immensely to Dave's and my second game after the thrills and spills we'd enjoyed only a fortnight before. I was not to be disappointed.Inevitable tactical adjustments
The Talons
Composing my army list for the upcoming game (lists here), I knew I couldn't afford to chance everything on another favourable roll on the Mission table, which'd've given me a 2/3 chance of being screwed before the game had even started if I chose to go with the Troops-light army I'd run the last time. My must-haves were the jump packers- as ever; dreadnoughts Elias and Stirner- they're the only heavy armour I've got just now; and a tacsquad with the free missile launcher (ML) and flamer options- the points shaving had begun.Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Talons tear into the Tau
A newfound opportunity
This story begins late last year when I was invited to join a fB group called 40K for Glaswegians, which needs no introduction. David- the group's creator, contacted me to ask if I was interested in playing some 40K. I confess my feelings about this were mixed, echoing those evoked in me by the 40K game itself: I just love GW's 40K Dark Millenium- which I think is one of adventure gaming's great subcreationist endeavours; my DIY Space Marine army Penumbra's Talons is one of my proudest hobby creations; the tabletop rules though have long frustrated me because they're so like the Windows OS- buggy as all hell edition after edition.
Feelings mixed or not, my beloved Talons were just too much too leave lying- I knew I'd be playing sooner or later: I had been hoping for this since last year after all. David and I did the usual coffee meet last month to check each other out. We quickly hit it off. A game at the earliest opportunity was soon agreed upon. That opportunity finally arrived last Tuesday.
This story begins late last year when I was invited to join a fB group called 40K for Glaswegians, which needs no introduction. David- the group's creator, contacted me to ask if I was interested in playing some 40K. I confess my feelings about this were mixed, echoing those evoked in me by the 40K game itself: I just love GW's 40K Dark Millenium- which I think is one of adventure gaming's great subcreationist endeavours; my DIY Space Marine army Penumbra's Talons is one of my proudest hobby creations; the tabletop rules though have long frustrated me because they're so like the Windows OS- buggy as all hell edition after edition.
Feelings mixed or not, my beloved Talons were just too much too leave lying- I knew I'd be playing sooner or later: I had been hoping for this since last year after all. David and I did the usual coffee meet last month to check each other out. We quickly hit it off. A game at the earliest opportunity was soon agreed upon. That opportunity finally arrived last Tuesday.Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Purposive random interjections
So, following the recommendation of RD/KA!'s first fan the Gnome, I recently took to using the social bookmarking site StumbleUpon. I like it. I don't expect it to replace well organised bookmarks, but I find it much better than email for swapping links and Donald and I are already using it regularly for that purpose. Here are a couple of neat sites I've Stumble[d]Upon.Drawtoy
DRAWTOY VS. BYOKAL, to present the full title as it appears on the app, is a simple way to make interesting patterns. If you like kaleidoscopes (and who doesn't?) then you can easily enjoy literal minutes of amusement with this before it wings its way past you leaving perhaps the lightest of touches (or more?) on your memory (or not!).Sunday, September 06, 2009
Space Hulk - The 3rd Wave
#1. "In the beginning was the Hulk..."
Unparalleled enthusiasm untrammelled?
Andy 'ported in Friday to deliver the preorder perk- two 3rd Edition Space Hulks over which to gloat while the shelves were being filled for Saturday's store launch: my own Hulk the 5th; and another for that friend who's been waiting long enough for his promised set to've had time to abandon all hope at least twice already. Now it's finally a blip on his radar!
Another big box brimful of brilliant bits and bobs!
In the- "eh'm, you've only got yourself to blame" department: I must confess that my confidence in my freehand and greenstuff skills was simply overwhelmed at the prospect of a set of Legion of the Damned terminators; the craft required- above left, remains beyond me. I just couldn't face those flames and bones.
Andy 'ported in Friday to deliver the preorder perk- two 3rd Edition Space Hulks over which to gloat while the shelves were being filled for Saturday's store launch: my own Hulk the 5th; and another for that friend who's been waiting long enough for his promised set to've had time to abandon all hope at least twice already. Now it's finally a blip on his radar!
Another big box brimful of brilliant bits and bobs!
Confession time
In the- "eh'm, you've only got yourself to blame" department: I must confess that my confidence in my freehand and greenstuff skills was simply overwhelmed at the prospect of a set of Legion of the Damned terminators; the craft required- above left, remains beyond me. I just couldn't face those flames and bones.Friday, August 07, 2009
The long road back to the painting table
Gearing up and clearing the decks
It's been three months since I wrote about returning to the miniatures hobby I'd put aside a few years ago. I still haven't picked up a paintbrush in anger in those weeks, but I'm getting close. In the meantime I had to empty a large walk-in cupboard to clear the space to reestablish my painting table. Although everything's packed away again so that I finally have a functional workspace I'm going to have to unpack and reorganise everything again at least once before I'm satisfied.
For the sake of the bloggery I've invested in the finishing touches to my layout for miniatures photography:
- A nifty wee tabletop tripod.
- A quality PVC backdrop.
- And a pair of cheap halogen spots; I'd've thought these would give bad light, but the guy in the camera shop where I bought the backdrop pointed out that digital image manipulation makes it easy to correct the light.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Bulletin from Belon
My recently revived interest in miniatures has led me back to my old haunt The Bolter and Chainsword. An enduring feature of the gaming ecommunity, the B&C is now what it always has been: the best online hangout for fans of 40K power armour; and a model of how to run an ecommunity.
The B&C has been through several upgrades, as befits its veteran status, and it is now a much more fully-featured community portal than the simple ezboard of 10 years ago. With more to come, the features already available include:- Image-hosting: members' albums can be seen in the Gallery.
- Downloads: lots of stuff created by gamers for gamers.
- Gothic power armour's own special subsector of the blogosphere.
I've never used a community blog before, because I had no reason to divert content from RD/KA!. Chapter Astartes Penumbra's Talons though is frankly one of my proudest creations; returning to work on them then, I felt they deserved more than just the occasional post here. This all the more so because I had a title ready and waiting which'd rattled around in my brain for several years, a title which I knew I wanted to headline all my blogging about my lads. A B&C blog followed by a process of ineluctable logic.And why Belon? Well, if you don't already know the answer, and you want to know, you know where to go... ;)
PS. Thanks to Ange for her help with hosting my shiny new link to Bulletin from Belon. :-D
Friday, June 19, 2009
There came a wanderer #4: the wind-down and the send-off
Creeping tiredness which drove us much earlier to bed on the Friday night, coupled with Keith's plan for a lunchtime meet with ORC (the Open Roleplaying Community) in a bar in Edinburgh, meant that Saturday dawned blearily early. One coach journey later, Keith was introduced to his Edinburgh host, while I set off for a wander around the city of my birth; Scotland's Athens of the North.
As I said last month, the shiny new Codex: Space Marines and lovely new plastic kits mean that the siren song I've been hearing from the painting table for many months now has become particularly insistent in respect of my Penumbra's Talons (colours left, thanks to The Space Marine Painter V3.0 over at The Bolter and Chainsword). It was a cinch therefore that my first port of call during my unexpected visit to Edinburgh would be the local GW, located on the Royal Mile.I was having a nice chat with one of the staff there when, to my surprise, a familiar face appeared. Last known to be in Stockholm, it was John. He'd been the manager in the Glasgow store when my Talons won me best painted army in the mini-tournament the store staged to mark the release of 40K4 back in 2004. We spent a pleasant few minutes catching up and gloating over new stuff in the GW ranges before I departed on my main mission for the day- tracking down a copy of one of Keith's Eberron novels; with John's injunction to visit again soon ringing in my ears.
Keith, me and JohnAnd that, dear readers, is pretty much that. Saturday evening was to be a quiet night in so that Keith could recharge his batteries; Saturday's dinner was to be a choice of leftovers, zapped in the microwave. Sunday saw us visit Static games to meet Kenny (nope, none of Keith's Eberron novels there either!) while we awaited Sunday office hours at Glasgow Cathedral where Keith had to file some tourist paperwork. I left Keith in Glasgow airport on Sunday afternoon. He was heading into a coffee bar to get some work done as he sat down to wait for the arrival of his girlfriend's flight from the US.
So, Keith. Thanks for visiting. I was very pleased to be part of your big adventure, the scope of which frankly boggles me just a bit; and I enjoyed hanging out with you. My best wishes to you for the future. ;)
Related@RD/KA!
- Epic adventure!
- There came a wanderer #1: Well, that was unexpected!
- There came a wanderer #2: Return to Eberron
- There came a wanderer #3: Dining out and gaming on!
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Promises, promises!
The perfect Space Marine army?
Facebook-friends and twitter-fellows will already know about the Liquid Gloat prompted by yesterday's geek grab:
Yes I'm hankering after more than just some roleplaying, so yesterday I hit town; there to visit my local GW; where I availed myself of the filthy lucre and finally grabbed myself a copy of the new(ish) 5th edition Codex: Space Marines. I've only skimmed the book so far but I can report that, alongside the astonishing and ever-growing range of plastic Space Marine kits, this codex - fat as an old 2nd edition volume, means that there truly never has been a better time to be a Space Marine fan (and at GW's prices, it's just as well, don't you think?).
"the 'old' one (and better than ever too!)."No-prizes (with apologies to Stan 'the man' Lee and the old Marvel Bullpen) to readers who thought... 40K?
Yes I'm hankering after more than just some roleplaying, so yesterday I hit town; there to visit my local GW; where I availed myself of the filthy lucre and finally grabbed myself a copy of the new(ish) 5th edition Codex: Space Marines. I've only skimmed the book so far but I can report that, alongside the astonishing and ever-growing range of plastic Space Marine kits, this codex - fat as an old 2nd edition volume, means that there truly never has been a better time to be a Space Marine fan (and at GW's prices, it's just as well, don't you think?).
Monday, June 11, 2007
Start the week @ RD/KA! : An Anniversary of Note
It's been a long time since I last visited my local GW. Exactly how long I'm not sure, but I'm certain that the last gaming product I bought from my local GW was the new plastic Assault Terminators I reviewed way back in November 2005. In the meantime my miniatures hobby gave way to a revival of my interest in rpg's and boardgaming. A rapid result of this change in habits was that I stopped buying GW's White Dwarf, because it no longer served me any purpose.
Last week though, I paid a quick visit to my local GW to buy a copy of William King's Gotrek and Felix: the First Omnibus as a gift for a friend. On entering the store I was pleasantly surprised to see the friendly face of a familiar old staffer. Hearty greetings out of the way, I made a beeline for the bookshelves and grabbed what I was after. Paying, I saw a copy of the new 30th Anniversary White Dwarf. Picking up a copy of this too was a cinch- I may not be the avid GW hobbyist anymore, but I just had to have this particular issue of the old stunty on my shelves.
Thirty years of White Dwarf? Holy heck, but that makes me feel old, which of course would normally prompt some nostalgia after an Old Fart Alert. Fortunately for my readers, I've already said all I need to say on that subject: here, when I posted a link to this page chez my pal the gnome, where he'd posted a link to a downloadable PDF of White Dwarf #1.
All I need to say? Really? Well OK. I can add that the earliest issue of WD I remember owning was #16. It wasn't the first I bought, nor did I actually buy it on its initial release, but I did buy it from regular shelf stock at my first FLGS in Edinburgh, and this back in the days when WD was still bimonthly. Back then, WD only had one serious competitor for my attention, and that was Steve Jackson's The Space Gamer. The Dragon was easily available and good for D&D gamers too for sure, but that magazine simply never captured my imagination in the way that White Dwarf and The Space Gamer did.
Editorial reorganisations driven by GW's reponse to the profit slump consequent on the tailing-off of their highly lucrative The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game once Jackson's movies had passed through the cinemas; these reorganisations have in the past year led to a clamour from GW fans across the net about the declining quality of White Dwarf. Although no longer a WD reader, I would check these discussions out now and again: eg. on the Warseer and the Bolter and Chainsword forums (you'll have to do forum searches if you're interested); and here (#327) and here (#328), again at the random Gnomes' random Lair. What was most striking to me about these discussions was that- amidst the sadly all-too-familiar internet feeding frenzy- there was an authentic and startling note of anger and despair from the hardest of hardcore fans, a note that was novel to me in my 15 years as a money-spending GW space marine fanboy. That this was taking place among GW's loyal customer base at a time when the company accounts were creating rumbles amongst investors; well, this just gave many of us watching from the sidelines the distinct impression that the GW behemoth was actually teetering...
All of which leads to the point that this 30th Anniversary edition of the magazine (a mere 2 issues- mark you- after the #328 which, according to gnome's review, barely merited a meh); that this commemorative issue would have a lot of hurdles to cross if it was to live up the landmark it would purport to celebrate.
So, how did it do then?
I must be frank here: there is no way I can seriously enter into the debate about the widely recognised decline in WD editorial content which adds to players' games instead of just advertising GW product, because I just haven't seen the issues which provoked the ire of the fans. For similar reasons- but also because of the impact of sheer nostalgia- nor can I pretend that I'm here going to offer a serious review of #330. All I can do is offer a brief overview and point out a few personal highlights.
Looked at as a whole, I would have to say that WD#330 is a dazzling introduction to GW's product lines today. And this is not just the magnificent photographs of beautifully painted miniatures which are so familiar to GW customers that they can become a bit boring when you've seen them for the nth time. It is also the new product lines being advertised. Of particular interest to me was the new wargames terrain, the new Warhammer buildings and the Arcane ruins especially; and also the new dwarf miners. Beautiful to look at as completed by the 'Eavy Metal team, it was the pictures of the parts from these kits' sprues which had me positively drooling.
Y'see, let me explain a pet theory here. I am of the same age as the GW design veterans. I was making the same kits as they were in the same teenage years (or, to be more precise: kits from the same landmark ranges). For me, the sublime joys of modelling and kit-bashing in those teenage tankie days can be summed-up in 2 phrases: Tamiya and Airfix Multipose. Taken together, what these 2 ranges offered was fine detail, easy convertibility, and numerous extras giving modellers an instant spares box. If that's not a definition of the trajectory of GW plastics development since the justly legendary RTB01 beakies, then I don't know what could be.
Believing this, and watching the advances in GW plastics down the years, I have convinced myself of something else, something which is too easily forgotten amidst the- often utterly justified- customer complaints about the company's corporate policies: at its core, GW remains the dream of a bunch of gaming geeks just like any of the rest of us. Their dream was to get paid for playing games. More than that: they wanted to create a company which would more than just pay their wages- if not make them rich; they also wanted the company to provide for them absolutely the best wargames kit in the world; which they would get for free because they would work for (or own) the company. Their chosen route to realising this dream became GW, warts, suppurating buboes, and all.
If WD#330 is proof that this dream is still alive and well and living in Lenton- even if at prices putting the GW experience at the top end of the miniatures gaming hobby market; it also strikes me as proof that the harassed staffers working to respond to customer demands are showing that they can bring- to the ad copy the company's marketing strategy requires- the sort of editorial content which can give players of GW's games the added value they have a right to expect from their £4 investment in a copy of the house magazine of their chosen hobby. What I'm talking about here are the various sidebars and so on appended to the glossy picture spreads. There is no reason why these could not be as informative across any given issue of the magazine as would be full length articles. Will this develop to its fullest potential? I don't know. Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, I have to continue by saying that the content of the 30th Anniversary issue is often better even than that. Which brings me naturally enough to my personal highlights. These will be presented in reverse order as per tradition.
In third place: 'White Dwarf XXX, 1977-2007', the obligatory history article. I've always enjoyed reading these pieces. And I enjoy them more as I get older (it'll happen to you all, my dear readers if it hasn't started already!). As ever, I read this article with my past looking over my shoulder, whispering to me, every WD landmark a memory of my own.
In second place: 'Sons of Sanguinius', part 1 of the new Blood Angels Codex. Believe it or not, I'll be buying WD#331 to get part 2 of this. Why? Because I just love jump-packers. They're my single most favourite troop type as a diehard space marine player. They just look so cool. And although my very own Penumbra's Talons have always been a Codex chapter, I've long nurtured the idea of fielding them under their 'Blood Angels aspect', so that I could deploy jump-packing Honour Guard, Veterans, and- naturally enough- Death Company (a.k.a. 'the Verifiers' in Penumbra's Talons). And I still hope that one of these days, I will.
In first place: 'Standard Bearer', Jervis' article on the genesis of 'Sons of Sanguinius', complete with his own nostalgic take on his years at GW. There are many things I enjoyed about this article, but one above all won it its place as my ultimate highlight of this issue: the fact that Jervis could include- in the house magazine of the good business sense of chaos, death and spikey bits on a hitherto unimagined scale; that in these pages, Jervis could include a quote from E.F. Schumacher, reknowned as the author of Small is Beautiful among other works. My dad got me into Schmacher as a teenager, one of just many of my old man's deeds for which I am truly grateful. So good on yer Jervis!
And there you have it. I missed the official party, so I had to have a celebration of my own. ;)
Last week though, I paid a quick visit to my local GW to buy a copy of William King's Gotrek and Felix: the First Omnibus as a gift for a friend. On entering the store I was pleasantly surprised to see the friendly face of a familiar old staffer. Hearty greetings out of the way, I made a beeline for the bookshelves and grabbed what I was after. Paying, I saw a copy of the new 30th Anniversary White Dwarf. Picking up a copy of this too was a cinch- I may not be the avid GW hobbyist anymore, but I just had to have this particular issue of the old stunty on my shelves.
Thirty years of White Dwarf? Holy heck, but that makes me feel old, which of course would normally prompt some nostalgia after an Old Fart Alert. Fortunately for my readers, I've already said all I need to say on that subject: here, when I posted a link to this page chez my pal the gnome, where he'd posted a link to a downloadable PDF of White Dwarf #1.
All I need to say? Really? Well OK. I can add that the earliest issue of WD I remember owning was #16. It wasn't the first I bought, nor did I actually buy it on its initial release, but I did buy it from regular shelf stock at my first FLGS in Edinburgh, and this back in the days when WD was still bimonthly. Back then, WD only had one serious competitor for my attention, and that was Steve Jackson's The Space Gamer. The Dragon was easily available and good for D&D gamers too for sure, but that magazine simply never captured my imagination in the way that White Dwarf and The Space Gamer did.
Editorial reorganisations driven by GW's reponse to the profit slump consequent on the tailing-off of their highly lucrative The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game once Jackson's movies had passed through the cinemas; these reorganisations have in the past year led to a clamour from GW fans across the net about the declining quality of White Dwarf. Although no longer a WD reader, I would check these discussions out now and again: eg. on the Warseer and the Bolter and Chainsword forums (you'll have to do forum searches if you're interested); and here (#327) and here (#328), again at the random Gnomes' random Lair. What was most striking to me about these discussions was that- amidst the sadly all-too-familiar internet feeding frenzy- there was an authentic and startling note of anger and despair from the hardest of hardcore fans, a note that was novel to me in my 15 years as a money-spending GW space marine fanboy. That this was taking place among GW's loyal customer base at a time when the company accounts were creating rumbles amongst investors; well, this just gave many of us watching from the sidelines the distinct impression that the GW behemoth was actually teetering...
All of which leads to the point that this 30th Anniversary edition of the magazine (a mere 2 issues- mark you- after the #328 which, according to gnome's review, barely merited a meh); that this commemorative issue would have a lot of hurdles to cross if it was to live up the landmark it would purport to celebrate.
So, how did it do then?
I must be frank here: there is no way I can seriously enter into the debate about the widely recognised decline in WD editorial content which adds to players' games instead of just advertising GW product, because I just haven't seen the issues which provoked the ire of the fans. For similar reasons- but also because of the impact of sheer nostalgia- nor can I pretend that I'm here going to offer a serious review of #330. All I can do is offer a brief overview and point out a few personal highlights.
Looked at as a whole, I would have to say that WD#330 is a dazzling introduction to GW's product lines today. And this is not just the magnificent photographs of beautifully painted miniatures which are so familiar to GW customers that they can become a bit boring when you've seen them for the nth time. It is also the new product lines being advertised. Of particular interest to me was the new wargames terrain, the new Warhammer buildings and the Arcane ruins especially; and also the new dwarf miners. Beautiful to look at as completed by the 'Eavy Metal team, it was the pictures of the parts from these kits' sprues which had me positively drooling.
Y'see, let me explain a pet theory here. I am of the same age as the GW design veterans. I was making the same kits as they were in the same teenage years (or, to be more precise: kits from the same landmark ranges). For me, the sublime joys of modelling and kit-bashing in those teenage tankie days can be summed-up in 2 phrases: Tamiya and Airfix Multipose. Taken together, what these 2 ranges offered was fine detail, easy convertibility, and numerous extras giving modellers an instant spares box. If that's not a definition of the trajectory of GW plastics development since the justly legendary RTB01 beakies, then I don't know what could be.
Believing this, and watching the advances in GW plastics down the years, I have convinced myself of something else, something which is too easily forgotten amidst the- often utterly justified- customer complaints about the company's corporate policies: at its core, GW remains the dream of a bunch of gaming geeks just like any of the rest of us. Their dream was to get paid for playing games. More than that: they wanted to create a company which would more than just pay their wages- if not make them rich; they also wanted the company to provide for them absolutely the best wargames kit in the world; which they would get for free because they would work for (or own) the company. Their chosen route to realising this dream became GW, warts, suppurating buboes, and all.
If WD#330 is proof that this dream is still alive and well and living in Lenton- even if at prices putting the GW experience at the top end of the miniatures gaming hobby market; it also strikes me as proof that the harassed staffers working to respond to customer demands are showing that they can bring- to the ad copy the company's marketing strategy requires- the sort of editorial content which can give players of GW's games the added value they have a right to expect from their £4 investment in a copy of the house magazine of their chosen hobby. What I'm talking about here are the various sidebars and so on appended to the glossy picture spreads. There is no reason why these could not be as informative across any given issue of the magazine as would be full length articles. Will this develop to its fullest potential? I don't know. Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, I have to continue by saying that the content of the 30th Anniversary issue is often better even than that. Which brings me naturally enough to my personal highlights. These will be presented in reverse order as per tradition.
In third place: 'White Dwarf XXX, 1977-2007', the obligatory history article. I've always enjoyed reading these pieces. And I enjoy them more as I get older (it'll happen to you all, my dear readers if it hasn't started already!). As ever, I read this article with my past looking over my shoulder, whispering to me, every WD landmark a memory of my own.
In second place: 'Sons of Sanguinius', part 1 of the new Blood Angels Codex. Believe it or not, I'll be buying WD#331 to get part 2 of this. Why? Because I just love jump-packers. They're my single most favourite troop type as a diehard space marine player. They just look so cool. And although my very own Penumbra's Talons have always been a Codex chapter, I've long nurtured the idea of fielding them under their 'Blood Angels aspect', so that I could deploy jump-packing Honour Guard, Veterans, and- naturally enough- Death Company (a.k.a. 'the Verifiers' in Penumbra's Talons). And I still hope that one of these days, I will.
In first place: 'Standard Bearer', Jervis' article on the genesis of 'Sons of Sanguinius', complete with his own nostalgic take on his years at GW. There are many things I enjoyed about this article, but one above all won it its place as my ultimate highlight of this issue: the fact that Jervis could include- in the house magazine of the good business sense of chaos, death and spikey bits on a hitherto unimagined scale; that in these pages, Jervis could include a quote from E.F. Schumacher, reknowned as the author of Small is Beautiful among other works. My dad got me into Schmacher as a teenager, one of just many of my old man's deeds for which I am truly grateful. So good on yer Jervis!
And there you have it. I missed the official party, so I had to have a celebration of my own. ;)
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Got game!- Glorious carnage!
Commands and Colours
Badger was round on Sunday, so we got in another couple of games testing the expanded nationality rules for M44, plus a game of BL.
In M44 we decided we wanted to have another look at the British and German rules, plus try out one of the Scenarios from the Front- ie. a scenario designed by a fan using the online scenario editor DoW provides for purchasers of M44 (and BL too). So we chose #1525U. Operation Charnwood: Phase 1- Drive on Caen, designed by M44 veteran Brummbar.
Badger and I both agreed that the scenario was fairly balanced: challenging to both sides and fun to play. With hindsight, our two 5-3 victories for the British has left me with the feeling that the historical balance might be a bit off. I thought that all these operations around Caen were unsuccessful? Also, Badger and I both liked the idea of having AT guns differentiated from artillery. We played Brummbar's variant from the scenario first, then I looked up his more detailed variant rules he'd posted to a thread on the DoW M44 forums. We felt something wasn't right, and we tossed ideas back and forth for some time. In the end we decided that simplest was best: what's the difference between field artillery and AT artillery? The latter need LOS. So that was it: AT artillery are identical to regular artillery except that they need LOS to the target. We found that this worked just fine.
Then it was off to Uchronia. I had a scenario already in mind following a recent heated controversy over at the DoW BL forums. So we were playing Scenario #12A. Crossing the Rhone, where I was to take on the feared Archpriest, Sir Arnold of Cervolles (banners) with the mercenary army of Seguin of Badefol (pennants).
The battle was long and hard, with a lot of preparatory manoeuvring, but in the end the Archpriest won out 6-3. There is a lot I could say about this game. Enough for now that we both thoroughly enjoyed it, and that I would say the result doesn't show just how close-run the battle was; Badger might demur of course! Also of interest was the fact that the game revived my interest in straight BL, after my recent thoughts about the innate superiority of Epic BL. This was perhaps the most surprising result of the game for me.
Score
2-1 Badger :(
Meanwhile...
Following on from these titanic tussles, Andy beat me in a game of Fluxx on Monday; and I took a small measure of revenge against Ros last night, beating her 2-1 in our first Carcassone rematch.
Score
2-2
Ah well!
And, finally...
More important perhaps than all of that though was that I played my first game of Warhammer 40K in, oh, I don't know how long.
Andy's been patiently bugging me to play 40K patrol for ages now. Casting around for a game to play on his bank holiday Monday visit, he suggested a game. I agreed. I was going to play my very own Penumbra's Talons space marines, naturally enough, while Andy would have a choice from the rest of my collection. He chose Orks. We chose our armies, set out a tabletop, and set to.
Andy had some 50 assorted greenskins in the form of 2 mobs of Ork boyz and 1 mob of Gretchins with a slaver. Facing off against this horde I first toyed with the idea of using a lot of tac-marines and heavy bolters. Then I decided to make one of the heavy bolters mobile by mounting it on an attack bike, and I was off. I ended up going with:
My plan went like a dream: the scouts were wiped out, naturally enough, but they diverted 1 ork mob away from the centre of the action so that my bikes could get to work on the other greenskins. This they did, with the bikes and attack bikes dealing with the gretchin and holding off the advancing ork mob without too much difficulty. My Tornadoes were held in reserve, and in the event I only needed 1 of them to deliver the coup de grace to Andy's 3rd mob hurrying to the scene of the action after they'd dealt with my scouts.
What a great game! The Talons have never really looked so good in action before (as compared, that is, to in my imagination). The Patrol rules also shone: my force would've been illegal under regular army-building rules, so what this showed was how 40K Patrol is a great way to experiment with new formations. As a marine player, I was also pleased to note that the 40K4 tweak to attack bikes (W2/Sv3+ instead of W1/Sv2+) is both logical in itself, and at the same time makes sense in that it allows attack bikes to feature in the patrol game. On top of all that the game played very smoothly, reminding us that the Warhammer 3-dice engine is still a very good tabletop gaming system. I imagine Andy's already working on an Imperial Guard patrol to settle the score!
Score
3-2
Grins! ;)
Badger was round on Sunday, so we got in another couple of games testing the expanded nationality rules for M44, plus a game of BL.
In M44 we decided we wanted to have another look at the British and German rules, plus try out one of the Scenarios from the Front- ie. a scenario designed by a fan using the online scenario editor DoW provides for purchasers of M44 (and BL too). So we chose #1525U. Operation Charnwood: Phase 1- Drive on Caen, designed by M44 veteran Brummbar.
Badger and I both agreed that the scenario was fairly balanced: challenging to both sides and fun to play. With hindsight, our two 5-3 victories for the British has left me with the feeling that the historical balance might be a bit off. I thought that all these operations around Caen were unsuccessful? Also, Badger and I both liked the idea of having AT guns differentiated from artillery. We played Brummbar's variant from the scenario first, then I looked up his more detailed variant rules he'd posted to a thread on the DoW M44 forums. We felt something wasn't right, and we tossed ideas back and forth for some time. In the end we decided that simplest was best: what's the difference between field artillery and AT artillery? The latter need LOS. So that was it: AT artillery are identical to regular artillery except that they need LOS to the target. We found that this worked just fine.Then it was off to Uchronia. I had a scenario already in mind following a recent heated controversy over at the DoW BL forums. So we were playing Scenario #12A. Crossing the Rhone, where I was to take on the feared Archpriest, Sir Arnold of Cervolles (banners) with the mercenary army of Seguin of Badefol (pennants).
The battle was long and hard, with a lot of preparatory manoeuvring, but in the end the Archpriest won out 6-3. There is a lot I could say about this game. Enough for now that we both thoroughly enjoyed it, and that I would say the result doesn't show just how close-run the battle was; Badger might demur of course! Also of interest was the fact that the game revived my interest in straight BL, after my recent thoughts about the innate superiority of Epic BL. This was perhaps the most surprising result of the game for me.Score
2-1 Badger :(
Meanwhile...
Following on from these titanic tussles, Andy beat me in a game of Fluxx on Monday; and I took a small measure of revenge against Ros last night, beating her 2-1 in our first Carcassone rematch.
Score
2-2
Ah well!
And, finally...
More important perhaps than all of that though was that I played my first game of Warhammer 40K in, oh, I don't know how long.
Andy's been patiently bugging me to play 40K patrol for ages now. Casting around for a game to play on his bank holiday Monday visit, he suggested a game. I agreed. I was going to play my very own Penumbra's Talons space marines, naturally enough, while Andy would have a choice from the rest of my collection. He chose Orks. We chose our armies, set out a tabletop, and set to.
Andy had some 50 assorted greenskins in the form of 2 mobs of Ork boyz and 1 mob of Gretchins with a slaver. Facing off against this horde I first toyed with the idea of using a lot of tac-marines and heavy bolters. Then I decided to make one of the heavy bolters mobile by mounting it on an attack bike, and I was off. I ended up going with:
- 5 scouts: heavy bolter, sniper rifle, bolters
- 3 marine bikers w/2 flamers and 1 attack bike
- attack bike
- 2 landspeeder Tornados, operating independently
My plan went like a dream: the scouts were wiped out, naturally enough, but they diverted 1 ork mob away from the centre of the action so that my bikes could get to work on the other greenskins. This they did, with the bikes and attack bikes dealing with the gretchin and holding off the advancing ork mob without too much difficulty. My Tornadoes were held in reserve, and in the event I only needed 1 of them to deliver the coup de grace to Andy's 3rd mob hurrying to the scene of the action after they'd dealt with my scouts.
What a great game! The Talons have never really looked so good in action before (as compared, that is, to in my imagination). The Patrol rules also shone: my force would've been illegal under regular army-building rules, so what this showed was how 40K Patrol is a great way to experiment with new formations. As a marine player, I was also pleased to note that the 40K4 tweak to attack bikes (W2/Sv3+ instead of W1/Sv2+) is both logical in itself, and at the same time makes sense in that it allows attack bikes to feature in the patrol game. On top of all that the game played very smoothly, reminding us that the Warhammer 3-dice engine is still a very good tabletop gaming system. I imagine Andy's already working on an Imperial Guard patrol to settle the score!
Score
3-2
Grins! ;)
Saturday, October 15, 2005
It's filler time!
Not much to report on the gaming front at the moment, and I’ve been too busy working up WFRP material to do much else, so I’ve got to dig something out of the archives again for today. So here comes another 40K tournament report. This time it’s on the 40Kin40 tournament my local GW ran on Saturday August 28th 2004 to mark the release of the new edition of 40K. As ever, I posted this to some efora at the time.
Glasgow GW today ran a 40Kin40 tournament to mark the release of the new edition of 40K. Some 2 dozen 40K gamers turned up to test their mettle. The day consisted of 3 games. I took along an army of my DIY Penumbra's Talons to join in the fun. My army consisted of 5 tacmarines w/lascannon and plasma gun; 6 scouts w/autocannon, 2 sniper rifles and bolters; 5 assault marines w/2 plasma pistols; and a heavy bolter landspeeder.
My first game was against Biel-Tan Eldar, a force consisting of 3 Dark Reapers including an Exarch, 6 Howling Banshees (Exarch again), and a Vyper jetbike. This turned out to be my crushing victory for the day.
Taking the first turn, I held my fast attack out of sight ready to react to my opponent, while my tac squad advanced and my scouts brought desultory (ie. ineffectual) fire down on the Dark Reapers. Then my opponent brought his Vyper and Banshees out, and I took some casualties. I replied by moving my landspeeder out, and my jump packers forward ready to assault the Dark Reapers. The Vyper crashed and burned under a hail of fire from the landspeeder's heavy bolter, and the Banshees took some casualties from my Troops. The Banshees then did some damage in close combat to my tacmarines, who fell back out of range. I won the game in the next turn as my jump packers moved in on the Dark Reapers, while everything else finished off the Banshees, who had consolidated into some nearby woods.
My second game was against Chaos Marines. My opponent surprised me by opting for the open side of the board. I gave him first turn, expecting him to advance. But he had a shooty force consisting of 1 squad of Chaos marines and 2 squads of Havocs, wisely armed with lots of heavy bolters and autocannons, as well as ML and lascannon. An early potshot at my unexpectedly visible landspeeder had no fatal effect.
My first turn consisted of a landspeeder drift [a mistake- this was a 3rd ed. rule that hadn't carried over into the new edition], and snake eyes on my difficult terrain roll for my tac squad, who therefore couldn't even enter the terrain they were aiming for! So my scouts stayed put waiting for support. In the end, facing an opponent who was just sitting tight and shooting, I chose to withdraw to cover to play for a minimum loss after I rolled 3 1's for saves and lost what remained of my tac squad who had finally got into the terrain they were aiming for (I had killed 1 chaos marine and lost 10 of my own 16 men at this point). The highlight of this game was my landspeeder surviving 3 hits from krak missiles and a lascannon!
My third game was also against Chaos marines, this time an assault-oriented force with a lieutenant and a unit of Bloodthirsters. This was the best game of all. On a board of fairly dense terrain including lots of ruins and some fortifications, I got my position of choice. I was able to set up a firezone (into which my opponent duly advanced), while covering my jump packers with terrain. I took a wound off the Chaos lieutenant on turn 1 thanks to my landspeeder. Unfortunately this guy was able to survive 2 subsequent turns of fire, and this was to prove decisive.
I went for victory in turn 3, at which point my opponent only had his lieutenant and 7 chaos marines in 2 uints on the table. I killed off one unit but unfortunately everything else survived everything I could throw at them. This meant that he could use his lieutenant to bring on his bloodletters. These promptly scythed through my 5-man tac-squad and into my scouts next turn (if the lieutenant had died, then the Bloodletters would've had to have joined in the existing close combat, and would therefore have been wide open to the firepower of my tac and scout squads). The game then devolved into bloody close combat.
Long story short: after 5 turns of teeth-grinding tension in which each and every turn after turn 1 (beginning with the lieutenant surviving hail after hail of heavy bolter fire) contained a potential or actual decisive turning point, I lost the game with my assault and scout sergeants remaining, while my opponent had one Bloodletter and 3 Chaos marines left. I thought I had this one more or less sewn-up from turn 2; then the Bloodletters appeared; but I still could've won it right down to the last close combat. We both agreed that this had been an outstanding game, and I took some small measure of satisfaction from the fact that my scouts had survived 3 turns after it had taken only 1 turn to wipe out my tac marines.
My second opponent was the tournament winner, while my last opponent came third. I was quite pleased therefore that the people who had beaten me had both figured in the placings. Also my army, which had attracted a lot of positive comments, won best-painted army. I was very pleased about this because I had stayed up till 2am trying in vain to finish every last detail, and, having failed to do so, had written-off my chances off winning anything on this front. This is the first time I have ever won anything at a GW event, so I was well pleased as you can imagine. I got a Battlegear badge and keyring for my efforts.
All in all then, GW Glasgow got the release of the new edition of 40K off to a flying start, and much fun was had by all. ;)
There’s very little to add to this really, so that’s all for today. ;)
**********
Glasgow GW today ran a 40Kin40 tournament to mark the release of the new edition of 40K. Some 2 dozen 40K gamers turned up to test their mettle. The day consisted of 3 games. I took along an army of my DIY Penumbra's Talons to join in the fun. My army consisted of 5 tacmarines w/lascannon and plasma gun; 6 scouts w/autocannon, 2 sniper rifles and bolters; 5 assault marines w/2 plasma pistols; and a heavy bolter landspeeder.
My first game was against Biel-Tan Eldar, a force consisting of 3 Dark Reapers including an Exarch, 6 Howling Banshees (Exarch again), and a Vyper jetbike. This turned out to be my crushing victory for the day.
Taking the first turn, I held my fast attack out of sight ready to react to my opponent, while my tac squad advanced and my scouts brought desultory (ie. ineffectual) fire down on the Dark Reapers. Then my opponent brought his Vyper and Banshees out, and I took some casualties. I replied by moving my landspeeder out, and my jump packers forward ready to assault the Dark Reapers. The Vyper crashed and burned under a hail of fire from the landspeeder's heavy bolter, and the Banshees took some casualties from my Troops. The Banshees then did some damage in close combat to my tacmarines, who fell back out of range. I won the game in the next turn as my jump packers moved in on the Dark Reapers, while everything else finished off the Banshees, who had consolidated into some nearby woods.
My second game was against Chaos Marines. My opponent surprised me by opting for the open side of the board. I gave him first turn, expecting him to advance. But he had a shooty force consisting of 1 squad of Chaos marines and 2 squads of Havocs, wisely armed with lots of heavy bolters and autocannons, as well as ML and lascannon. An early potshot at my unexpectedly visible landspeeder had no fatal effect.
My first turn consisted of a landspeeder drift [a mistake- this was a 3rd ed. rule that hadn't carried over into the new edition], and snake eyes on my difficult terrain roll for my tac squad, who therefore couldn't even enter the terrain they were aiming for! So my scouts stayed put waiting for support. In the end, facing an opponent who was just sitting tight and shooting, I chose to withdraw to cover to play for a minimum loss after I rolled 3 1's for saves and lost what remained of my tac squad who had finally got into the terrain they were aiming for (I had killed 1 chaos marine and lost 10 of my own 16 men at this point). The highlight of this game was my landspeeder surviving 3 hits from krak missiles and a lascannon!
My third game was also against Chaos marines, this time an assault-oriented force with a lieutenant and a unit of Bloodthirsters. This was the best game of all. On a board of fairly dense terrain including lots of ruins and some fortifications, I got my position of choice. I was able to set up a firezone (into which my opponent duly advanced), while covering my jump packers with terrain. I took a wound off the Chaos lieutenant on turn 1 thanks to my landspeeder. Unfortunately this guy was able to survive 2 subsequent turns of fire, and this was to prove decisive.
I went for victory in turn 3, at which point my opponent only had his lieutenant and 7 chaos marines in 2 uints on the table. I killed off one unit but unfortunately everything else survived everything I could throw at them. This meant that he could use his lieutenant to bring on his bloodletters. These promptly scythed through my 5-man tac-squad and into my scouts next turn (if the lieutenant had died, then the Bloodletters would've had to have joined in the existing close combat, and would therefore have been wide open to the firepower of my tac and scout squads). The game then devolved into bloody close combat.
Long story short: after 5 turns of teeth-grinding tension in which each and every turn after turn 1 (beginning with the lieutenant surviving hail after hail of heavy bolter fire) contained a potential or actual decisive turning point, I lost the game with my assault and scout sergeants remaining, while my opponent had one Bloodletter and 3 Chaos marines left. I thought I had this one more or less sewn-up from turn 2; then the Bloodletters appeared; but I still could've won it right down to the last close combat. We both agreed that this had been an outstanding game, and I took some small measure of satisfaction from the fact that my scouts had survived 3 turns after it had taken only 1 turn to wipe out my tac marines.
My second opponent was the tournament winner, while my last opponent came third. I was quite pleased therefore that the people who had beaten me had both figured in the placings. Also my army, which had attracted a lot of positive comments, won best-painted army. I was very pleased about this because I had stayed up till 2am trying in vain to finish every last detail, and, having failed to do so, had written-off my chances off winning anything on this front. This is the first time I have ever won anything at a GW event, so I was well pleased as you can imagine. I got a Battlegear badge and keyring for my efforts.
All in all then, GW Glasgow got the release of the new edition of 40K off to a flying start, and much fun was had by all. ;)
**********
There’s very little to add to this really, so that’s all for today. ;)
Monday, September 05, 2005
A Big Day for JMcL63: next filler
Well, it was a busy week last week and I don't have the energy to get something new ready for today. So here is the report I wrote about my first ever Official GW 40K tournament. I posted this to a few efora at the time.
Following on from the roaring success of last year's first ever Scottish event, GW's Edinburgh tournament of their Conflict- Regional 2002 series was staged last Sunday, May 19th. Some 200+ assorted Warhammer and 40K players assembled to test their skills and show off their armies. Your humble scribe has attended several Games Days, but this was his first official tournament.
The first good thing about this day struck me some 45 minutes after our 7.30am departure from outside GW Glasgow- we arrived at our venue. Not having to suffer the rigours of the 24-hour redeye to B'rum for Games Day was great. I was finally able to attend a GW event feeling civilised! There followed the obligatory hanging around in droves for half an hour or so before the doors opened. Fortunately the day was fair.
Once in, we queued again to register. This, as with all the bureaucratic business of the day, was done efficiently and with no problems (for your humble scribe at least). Then we had time to take stock and look around a bit more. The Ingliston Exhibition Centre looks for all the world like an old hangar. Half of it was filled ranks of tables set out for Warhammer and 40K, some 200 in all at a guess. There were stalls for the Black Library, Forgeworld, and other GW stuff (I got myself a plastic Dreadnought, and a Forgeworld kit for the new Vindicator assault tank), and also tables set up with various games for non-competing attendees.
The 40K tables were all done out as desert boards, with minimal terrain, mostly ruins and walls with no wooded areas. Although much sparser than anything I'm familiar with from club games, this terrain did prove enough for an interesting game. I guess you can't expect lavish terrain layouts when 200 tables are being laid on. The tables were all numbered, so as the time advanced, we all headed for our allocated tables for our first of the day's three games.
My first opponent were Dark Angels in the standard table-quarter grabbing Cleanse. This was quite neat, since my DIY Penumbra's Talons are Dark Angels successors. I guess there's been a bit of a grudge since the Talons were founded in a direct response to the discovery of the Dark Angels' treachery during the Heresy. The setup established a pattern for the day: losing table edge and first turn. I was massacred to a man in a game whose 'high-point' was firing just one weapon in turn 1 (my first ever in a GW event), and missing. I was in with a shout till halfway through or so, but the dice just didn't give me what I needed to recover the situation.
Then followed Ultramarines in Take and Hold. This too was nice, seeing as how Belon (the Talons' homeworld) is located on the imperial fringes, to the 'southeast' of Ultramar. I ended up defending, and announced I was using drop pods. This meant that I started with one unit on the table, holding the objective. The rest of my army arrived as reserves in suborbital drop-pods I could place largely at will. This is the game I won. I just had to keep dropping my reserves as close to the objective as possible while keeping my opponent from advancing. I was helped by the good fortune of accidentally landing a squad right smack bang on the objective (fortunate scatter roll!). My highpoint was using my assault squad to advantage to pin down my opponent's units who might otherwise have threatened the objective.
My final game was a straight shootout based on Recon, against Blood Angels. The Talons have always been meant to be a codex (vanilla) chapter with a close combat leaning, and I've got plans to field them as Blood Angels for the sake of lots of jump-packs, so this was quite fluffy too. This game was another wipe-out, although I managed to scrape 3 points for having killed enough of the red frothers to avoid humiliating utter defeat. These were, in fact, the only 3 points my opponent lost all day. So I felt that was not bad.
So what's my verdict? Overall, I enjoyed myself in the preparation for this event, and on the day. My space marines attracted some very positive comments, and I felt that I had put on a good show. The event was well-organised, and the GW staffers worked hard to make sure that everything went smoothly. At £33 (including return fare on coach) for a day's gaming, this isn't necessarily the cheapest way to play GW games, but definitely worth it if you're a fan who'd think little or nothing of lashing out that kind of dosh for a new unit for your favourite army. If I have one complaint, then it's the choice of venue: last year's Caledonian Conflict was held in the Meadowbank stadium familiar to many veterans of the Scottish gaming scene. This was actually in Edinburgh, easily accessible for casual visitors, and close to obvious amenities. Compared to this, the Ingliston venue is inaccessible, spartan, and unappealing. I'll be back for another dose next year wherever we go though. ;)
As it turned out, I haven't been able to make a single subsequent Conflict for one reason and another. Which is a pity, since it has sinced moved to a more congenial city centre venue of the sort I'd advocated here. 2006 maybe? Fingers crossed I guess.
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Conflict- Edinburgh 2002Following on from the roaring success of last year's first ever Scottish event, GW's Edinburgh tournament of their Conflict- Regional 2002 series was staged last Sunday, May 19th. Some 200+ assorted Warhammer and 40K players assembled to test their skills and show off their armies. Your humble scribe has attended several Games Days, but this was his first official tournament.
The first good thing about this day struck me some 45 minutes after our 7.30am departure from outside GW Glasgow- we arrived at our venue. Not having to suffer the rigours of the 24-hour redeye to B'rum for Games Day was great. I was finally able to attend a GW event feeling civilised! There followed the obligatory hanging around in droves for half an hour or so before the doors opened. Fortunately the day was fair.
Once in, we queued again to register. This, as with all the bureaucratic business of the day, was done efficiently and with no problems (for your humble scribe at least). Then we had time to take stock and look around a bit more. The Ingliston Exhibition Centre looks for all the world like an old hangar. Half of it was filled ranks of tables set out for Warhammer and 40K, some 200 in all at a guess. There were stalls for the Black Library, Forgeworld, and other GW stuff (I got myself a plastic Dreadnought, and a Forgeworld kit for the new Vindicator assault tank), and also tables set up with various games for non-competing attendees.
The 40K tables were all done out as desert boards, with minimal terrain, mostly ruins and walls with no wooded areas. Although much sparser than anything I'm familiar with from club games, this terrain did prove enough for an interesting game. I guess you can't expect lavish terrain layouts when 200 tables are being laid on. The tables were all numbered, so as the time advanced, we all headed for our allocated tables for our first of the day's three games.
My first opponent were Dark Angels in the standard table-quarter grabbing Cleanse. This was quite neat, since my DIY Penumbra's Talons are Dark Angels successors. I guess there's been a bit of a grudge since the Talons were founded in a direct response to the discovery of the Dark Angels' treachery during the Heresy. The setup established a pattern for the day: losing table edge and first turn. I was massacred to a man in a game whose 'high-point' was firing just one weapon in turn 1 (my first ever in a GW event), and missing. I was in with a shout till halfway through or so, but the dice just didn't give me what I needed to recover the situation.
Then followed Ultramarines in Take and Hold. This too was nice, seeing as how Belon (the Talons' homeworld) is located on the imperial fringes, to the 'southeast' of Ultramar. I ended up defending, and announced I was using drop pods. This meant that I started with one unit on the table, holding the objective. The rest of my army arrived as reserves in suborbital drop-pods I could place largely at will. This is the game I won. I just had to keep dropping my reserves as close to the objective as possible while keeping my opponent from advancing. I was helped by the good fortune of accidentally landing a squad right smack bang on the objective (fortunate scatter roll!). My highpoint was using my assault squad to advantage to pin down my opponent's units who might otherwise have threatened the objective.
My final game was a straight shootout based on Recon, against Blood Angels. The Talons have always been meant to be a codex (vanilla) chapter with a close combat leaning, and I've got plans to field them as Blood Angels for the sake of lots of jump-packs, so this was quite fluffy too. This game was another wipe-out, although I managed to scrape 3 points for having killed enough of the red frothers to avoid humiliating utter defeat. These were, in fact, the only 3 points my opponent lost all day. So I felt that was not bad.
So what's my verdict? Overall, I enjoyed myself in the preparation for this event, and on the day. My space marines attracted some very positive comments, and I felt that I had put on a good show. The event was well-organised, and the GW staffers worked hard to make sure that everything went smoothly. At £33 (including return fare on coach) for a day's gaming, this isn't necessarily the cheapest way to play GW games, but definitely worth it if you're a fan who'd think little or nothing of lashing out that kind of dosh for a new unit for your favourite army. If I have one complaint, then it's the choice of venue: last year's Caledonian Conflict was held in the Meadowbank stadium familiar to many veterans of the Scottish gaming scene. This was actually in Edinburgh, easily accessible for casual visitors, and close to obvious amenities. Compared to this, the Ingliston venue is inaccessible, spartan, and unappealing. I'll be back for another dose next year wherever we go though. ;)
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My showing in this event turned out to be a lot better than those games might've led you to believe. I was 29th out of 96 overall, including 2 votes from 3 for Most Sporting Opponent (from the guys who beat me I've always imagined). No one got 3/3 on the day btw. More exciting still: my army scored 33/36 (and I didn't even make an effort for those other 3pts, which were for banners), making it first equal in a pack of 11. I was well pleased with this first outing.As it turned out, I haven't been able to make a single subsequent Conflict for one reason and another. Which is a pity, since it has sinced moved to a more congenial city centre venue of the sort I'd advocated here. 2006 maybe? Fingers crossed I guess.
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