~ Lair of the Grognard ~

(40k) Blue Moonz Waaagh!, Good Games Brisbane, Shadowfist, Flames of War

2011-05-07T10:48:00.011+10:00

Apologies for the lack of updates over April - I've been gaming and painting fairly solidly but not reporting any of it. Slackness.

Blue Moonz Waaagh!
The side-project for April was to get a small 1000 point Ork force organised, built and painted (for me, that's a big job!). Having mostly completed the first two objectives Marc and I had a small 600 point battle in the garage; Orks versus Orks!

Orks need a 5 or better to hit their target when shooting, this image shows a lack thereof as rolled in the heat of battle :(

Blue Moonz Meganobz (progress; left to right) Blocked, Inked, Detailed.

Good Games Brisbane
Meanwhile a new game shop has opened two blocks away; Good Games Brisbane. This has become the new HQ for all of my gaming - it is central, well lit, comfortable and the owner/managers are wonderfully friendly. I do however feel a need to mention my good friends at Ace Comics in the city; I would game there but rental prices in the CBD prevent them from having a sufficiently spacious gaming area, which is understandable. Support Good Games, support Ace Comics - they are both local stores supporting the hobby. Soapbox over.

Good Games 22/04: Justin digs out some Chaos Terminators while Marc shakes his fist at me, presumably due to my criticism of his footwear. Marc and I have joined our Ork forces together; my bright blue Trukks advance aggressively with a Battlewagon full of Mega Armoured Nobz (led by no less than Ghazghkull Thrakka of course) while his black and red Boyz hold the right flank to deny a Chaos push into our rear.

The J-Dawg

Confusingly we have a second Justin who has joined the group with Tau (ordered from UK, not yet received). "The J-Dawg" sub-commanded some Blood Angels with a surprisingly inaccurate Las-predator and an objective seizing Razorback full of Red Thirst Assault Marines (who never needed to get out of their ride). He assures us he had fun despite the Dreadnoughts and Killa Kans stealing the spotlight for much of the game! Everyone is looking forward to seeing his Tau hit the table once they are delivered... and built... and painted...

Good Games 29/04: Putting the Blue Moonz aside I try my hand at a Blood Angels Drop Pod Assault, with satisfyingly results. My unpainted grey drop pods land behind Marc's advancing Orks and unload unpainted grey Furioso Dreadnoughts. His undercoated Orks are understandably surprised and begin to spin in furious circles of confusion.

Shadowfist
So, one of the many advantages of Good Games is that (too my surprise) the old Shadowfist gang who I know and love have chosen it as their preferred venue for games. Shadowfist is a collectable card game that I have had an on-again/off-again obsession with since it was released, fifteen years ago. Thursday nights is the (current) regular night for games and I've dusted off my old Architects of the Flesh deck for some abomination shenanigans. For variety I also put together a simple Seven Masters deck based on a design I was tweaking the last time I dropped out of the scene. Of course as I continue to modify both decks I will inevitably stuff them up!

Flames of War
As if all this wasn't enough Matthew has begun collecting Flames of War! Blowing even more dust off even more gaming bits I have consolidated my collection which had become spread across many storage boxes under piles of accumulated stuff. I still have my old Fallschirmjager (German Paratrooper) army and the various half-finished and unconstructed bits of a Panzergranadiers (German bad guys in halftracks or trucks) to field as Axis.

Of course no collection is complete without some Allies, so I have slowly added to my small set of Shermans (United States tanks) over the past few weeks with Armoured Rifles (US version of Panzergrenadiers) and M10 Tank Destroyers (ambush tanks with big guns).

Of course, this means more building... and more painting!

Project: Reaver Titan (5) -&- The Reclamation of Galimimus IV

2011-03-26T08:10:00.008+10:00

Project Reaver Part 5: Body assembly complete
All that remains now are the weapons and decorative bits such as pistons and plates... oh, and painting of course

With the torso added I can see for the first time the full size of this beast

Towering over the kitchen bench!

Size comparison: 40k Forgeworld Reaver beside vintage Epic Citadel Reaver

Size Comparison: The little epic Reaver is smaller than the footprint of the 40k version!

The Reclamation of Galimimus IV
Last night my garage hosted a 4000 point Apocalypse battle which saw Marc (Orks) and Justin (Chaos Marines) vs Matthew (Deathwing) and Troy (me! Imperial Guard).

As host I set the table up with a ruined Imperial city on one edge and an abandoned Feral Ork village on the other. In the center was the last remaining forest of Galimimus IV (once a world covered in woodland)... a tiny clump of trees.

{Click on images for larger versions}

Setup: The empty Imperial city (West table edge)

Setup: The empty Feral Ork village (East table edge)

Deployment: Matthew claims the Feral Ork village with his Imperial Guard auxiliaries.

Marc and Justin continuously choose to deploy zero units each turn, allowing Matthew and I to put models on the table wherever we like. Our suspicion that they have both chosen Flank March assets seems to be confirmed.

At the start of our third turn we are forced to deploy whatever we have left in reserve. We reveal that we have both chosen Flank March and place the Reaver and Baneblade wherever we like... but our enemies have yet to reach their third turn and so still have nothing on the table!

The forces of Disorder finally deploy onto the table in turn three, as suspected they too have both chosen Flank March! A Stompa appears beside my Reaver close enough to ignore the void shields and manages to remove a structure point and damage the titan's drive. Marc's other Stompa appears on the other side of the table and peels a few void shields off my Reaver, allowing Justin's Chaos Reaver to continue applying fire. I make an accounting error whilst adjusting my remaining structure points and attempt to correct the mistake but Justin is having none of it an insists the damage is correct. Sensing an argument growing I yield and wear my mistake - in future we will not be using dice to record shields/damage!

My heavily damaged Reaver concentrates on Justin's Chaos Reaver, managing to do some damage and wreck its drive. Again there is dice/damage confusion but we push on.

One of my Vendettas zooms across the table to ping the Chaos Reaver from point-blank range, close enough to ignore the void shields although no damage is caused. It is however ready to land and help contest the nearby objective. Meanwhile the Deathwing continue to quietly claim and hold objectives while the Reavers and Stompas blast away at each other. My Reaver takes a destroyer hit while his void shields are down and loses his last structure point. Matthew's Baneblade also goes up in a mushroom cloud.

Vendettas take a few shots at big targets and prepare to land near objectives to unload passengers.

The game ends next turn with Matthew and I on every objective while Marc and Justin are contesting two.

Deathwing/Guard: Four Objectives (Victory)
Orks/Chaos: Zero Objectives

Notes: As mentioned above we must stop using dice to indicate damage effects, remaining shields and remaining structure points as this is causing confusion and arguments. I will be making sets of tokens which clearly indicate "Structure" and "Shield" with values. Also, explicitly stated damage effects will also be required. Gone are the days of "just put a dice on it" - fishing out the correct token may be slower than putting a dice down but the clarity gained will be worth the wait...
Notes: Reviewing the rulebook, we cannot take the same Strategic Asset twice on the same team - so no more double Flank Marches!

Project: Reaver Titan (4)

2011-02-26T11:30:00.007+10:00

Part 4: Leg construction.
There are a million points of articulation on the Reaver's legs - making it quite tricky to hold all the bits in position long enough to get some glue on!

Dry build, laying the major leg bits out on the bench so I can get an idea of how big it is - and how it will fit onto the base.

Left leg as seen from rear. I decided to keep this leg fairly straight with only a little bend at the knee.

Leg construction almost complete, view from the front. There are FIFTY bits all glued together in this shot (with still more leg bits to come before this stage is complete) ...and of course my fingers are covered in glue!

I placed a blob of spak-filler within the pelvis to help keep the legs in place, although there are pistons which reinforce the joint I wanted a little extra support while adjusting position. Spak-filler was also applied under the left foot so that it had a solid point of contact with the knobbly base (rather than being perched up on the tips of rocks it now rests flatly on a little plateau which cannot be seen - adding a LOT of stability). The right foot sits flatly on the roof of the wrecked Chaos Rhino so only a little glue is needed - although I may drill and pin this in the future if it comes loose.

Spak-filler was also used to plug up gaps in the craters so they will hold a little more Water Effect when added much later in the project. I found the gaps simply by filling the craters up with water and watching where it ran out... :)

Project: Reaver Titan (3)

2011-02-19T22:15:00.005+10:00

Project Reaver III: The Washening
How did you spend your Saturday night? I stayed in and scrubbed all the resin parts of my Reaver Titan... there are many many more bits than expected, even after going through them when the big box first arrived. Scrubbing every one of the components with a toothbrush has given me an intimate understanding of the kit!

The largest piece of flash is found on the rear of the Turbo-laser (resting on my pinky finger in this shot). This badboy is going to need to be cut off with the unfortunately named Bone Saw hobby tool.

Upon initial inspection I was concerned by the confusing block of flash attached to the Laser Destructor's capacitor. Consulting the construction guide the distinction between flash and pipe can be determined.

In the sink; all the many leg bits

The upper leg bits suggest Victorian/Steampunk gun turrets when resting out of context

The ~~Moderatus~~ Princeps does not seemed pleased with his soaking. He is accompanied by the superbly detailed Tech Priest and various optional decorative bits.

Shoulders, Armour plates and Internals; including the rather disturbing installed servitors
(there's another one in the roof under the carapace weapon mount)

Scrubbing the carapace. The murkiness of the water convinces me all this scrubbing is doing something good.

As promised in an earlier post; the size comparison of Reaver head to Rhino tank - almost the same!

My reward for an hour or so slaving over the kitchen sink; a restorative dram of Highland Park *grin*. Sadly this finished the bottle - although gave the perfect excuse for opening my waiting bottle of Glenmorangie.

(40k) Battle of the Receeding Inundation

2011-02-05T06:28:00.004+10:00

On the last Friday of January we journeyed to Matthew's house for a 2000 point 40k game. Justin and I shared command of a Chaos Space Marines Force while Matthew and Allan unleashed a motorised Ork waaagh. Matthew set up a rather nice urban board using a laminated Cities of Death map to which we added a few buildings.

For our first match of the evening we consulted the Battle Missions book and rolled dice; the result came up as an Ork Blitzkrieg. In this mission three objective markers are placed on a diagonal axis across the table and only Fast Attack can deploy - everything else is in reserve.

The first few turns clicked over quickly as not much was coming from reserve - and when it did arrive the only option was to march onto the table and twiddle thumbs (or claws... or tentacles...) as the enemy were distant. We did manage to get into some carnage in the last few turns as the looming Ork tide reached the center of the table and engaged the scattering of Chaos stuff.

Matthew, Troy and Allan discuss Battle Missions, Terrain and Painting while Justin is on cameraman duty.

Justin's World Eaters Chaos Dreadnought plows into some Ork Boyz while their Looted Land Raider Battlewagon manoeuvres into a position to scoop them back up if they survive.

Nurgley Defiler (proxied with a Soulgrinder) and Khorne Bezerkers charge into Ghazghkull Thraka and his bodyguard of squishy Ork Boyz... meanwhile an unpainted Typhus lurks on the edge of screen.

Endgame: Orks hold two objectives, Chaos holds zero - Ork Victory!

...

For our second game of the night we decided to leave the terrain as it was so that we could get another battle started quickly. Having played with objective markers in our first battle we decided that this game should use kill points... with a shot of Vodka for every point earned!!!

Chaos deploys in a clump around a solid building to break line of sight with our crazy Dreadnought and maintain concentration of force while Orks choose a more balanced deployment allowing more options. I seem to be simultaneously stroking my beard and measuring march distance for Typhus.

Justin's Dreadnought charges maniacally into Ghazghkull Thraka and his entourage while my Nurgley elements cough and wheeze trying to keep up. Vodka shots all round!

Khornate Chaos Terminators step through the warp to arrive directly in the midst of the Ork lines. From here they threaten Allan's Looted Basilisk Wagon (even with an unfinished paint job it looks great).

From beyond a Vodka-fuelled haze I am reliably informed that Chaos won with 7 kill points vs Orks with 4 kill points. Chaos Victory!

...

Next month we are making the long trek to Justin's to play in his shed, now with power. I have challenged Marc to a 1000 point battle on the baby table while Matthew, Allan and Justin will play on the big boys table with 2000 points. Well, that's the plan assuming everyone can make it!

Project: Reaver Titan (2)

2010-12-28T08:38:00.002+10:00

Part Two: Preparing the base

I chose the Warhammer 40,000 Battlescape to use as a base for the Reaver Titan because I like the crashed/wrecked Rhino. Opening the box I was a little dismayed to see that the tree stumps and broken branches were moulded onto the base although an hour or two with my rotary tool saw the details grinded away. Of course now I have lots of holes that need to be filled in - or which can be used to pin the mighty Reaver's feet to the base for stability. Actually, I'm not sure the base is going to be wide enough so I may need to add more real estate.

It's hard to see (because it's a ruin anyway!) but there are many holes left from grinding the tree details away.

Workbench update

Otherwise I've been tinkering with my Dreadnoughts. I've customised three 'Assault on Black Reach' Dreadnoughts to give a little more detail by adding various bits from the bits box. Two of them even have clipped lengths of sprue to extend their exhaust stacks.

Two others are a kitbash of Ironclad and Venerable components (with a few Forgeworld bits) to make Furioso Dreadnoughts, the last of which is waiting for his legs to arrive from eBay.

(Apologies for the tiny picture)

Project: Reaver Titan (1)

2010-12-16T12:51:00.005+10:00

Part One: Opening the Box

As many of you know I was promised a Reaver Titan for Christmas by my lovely wife Emily (well, we went halves in the cost).

Yesterday it arrived... and only now do I realise how huge this project is going to be!

Unboxing the beast. The package is large, weighty and filled to the brim with bits.

The head is large! When I get a chance I'll place it beside a Rhino.

I suspect this is going to take a long time to finish, but with fingers crossed I'm hoping I can get it done within a month so I can drag it down to the Apocalypse event at Cancon being run by an old friend from back-in-the-day. Crikey.

(40k) Battle of the Four Heads

2010-11-22T16:33:00.015+10:00

Friday Night Allied Battle!
Last Friday was another night for Warhammer 40,000 - although this time we had a fourth player, allowing us to play a 'two-headed giant' style game. Matthew, an old friend of mine from my adolescence, made contact via this blog and managed to find a babysitter for the night.

Marc and I formed an Imperial alliance with my Blood Angels and my wannabe Imperial Guard Armoured Company. Matthew and Justin took the other side of the table with Chaos Space Marines and Dark Eldar.

I was a little apprehensive facing the new Dark Eldar codex - but managed to get a very broad idea of their tricks by reading the November White Dwarf battle report and getting a quick summary from Riptide on 40kNation.

After a little socialising and a lot of secret planning we got down to business. Matthew brought the Battle Missions book and we rolled up a Dark Eldar "Feigned Retreat".

Feigned Retreat: The board is divided into thirds with the Dark Eldar forced to deploy bait in the centre zone. Victory Condition: Kill points.

Imperial Deployment: Blood Angels Predator "Archon" and Vindicator "Cauldron" positioned forward with Razorbacks and Imperial Guard Leman Russ' up against the backline.

Chaos Deployment: Justin places a wedge of Predators on a flank supported by some footslogging Chainfist Terminators and a Rhino seeking cover in the background. This warband seems to have raided an Ultramarines motor pool ;P
(The very handy green Deployment Zone marker is from Gale Force Nine, sadly I placed it upside-down so the words are flipped)

Dark Eldar deployment: Raiders lurk behind the woods. In the top left another of Justin's Chaos Rhinos, having been chosen as bait, wisely hides behind an unpainted Bastion supported by another Raider. Yes, the sun was still up when we started.

Dark Eldar Deployment: A clearer photo of the above-mentioned Rhino bait. As you can see there is a potential face-off between the Raider's Dark Lance in the foreground and my Predator Annihilator in the distance.

And we're off! Leman Russ Vanquisher hits and kills the Raider shown in the previous image.

The passengers tumble out of the wreck - that should slow down the Dark Eldar HQ and his friends a little.

Surprise! Meanwhile on the other side of the table my Librarian Furioso lands in his drop pod on-target and immediately behind the wedge of Chaos Predators! Sadly his Blood Lance fails to penetrate their rear armour (I roll two ONE's!!! wth!?) .

But my Predator and Marc's other Vanquisher manage to shake and stir two of the Chaos Predators.

Justin's chainfist Terminators assault the Librarian Furioso. My Dreadnought manages to kill five of the seven Terminators (making up for his bad luck with the Blood Lance) although he loses both arms in the process.

Matthew and I consult a faded printout of the Imperial Guard roster. Tilting the head sideways helps get oxygen to the part of the brain which is used for readin' rules. Sadly I have chosen the wrong angle.

Marc mocks us with his blurry hand technique. I can't recall what we're trying to figure out but it looks important. The sun has set...

Dark Eldar Talos emerges from a Webway portal on the blindside of the Bastion. All armour is instructed to bring it down before it can get its claws into our metal hides!

Chimera transports arrive from reserve and immediately wish they didn't. Perhaps they can linger behind the wood and wait for some Dark Eldar infantry to come closer...?

The tide begins to turn: The armour exchange continues on the left flank; a Chaos Predator loses its weapon but my own Predator is wrecked :(

The tide continues to turn: A second Talos appears from reserve via the Webway portal and they both run at the nearest tank. A grey Raider has snuck up the side of the table while the Razorbacks and Leman Russ' sent shots wild over the top of the seemingly more-immediate Talos threats.

The tide has turned... okay no more talk of tides: Imperial forces pull back to the starting line to try and put some distance between themselves and the Dark Eldar... classic Imperial Guard tactics but not a good sign!

Unpainted Raider unloads its cargo of Dark Eldar Incubi... uh-oh...
Meanwhile Matthew demonstrates the terrible power of his nearest Talos by allowing it to pinch his finger. Or something.

I attempt to show Marc how to move his tanks to avoid a traffic jam while he laments my lack of confidence in his ability to maneuver armour. To be fair I got in the way of his Vanquishers twice - mercifully the error was detected (by Marc) before our Movement phase ended both times.

On the topic of maneuvering armour, we manage to coordinate a defensive line to protect the thinner Chimera transports from the advancing Chaos Predators by hiding them behind my shaken Vindicator.

One of my Razorbacks explodes when attacked by a Talos. As the passengers tumble out they are assaulted by Dark Eldar Wyches, although before they are cut down my HQ Librarian Malpheus kills the Talos with his Force Weapon. This photo shows the aftermath of a crater depicted with green corner markers while the Wyches gleefully cavort away. Cheeky!

Conga Line! Shuffle to the right! The Chimeras continue to seek protection behind my Vindicator while opening a fire lane for the Vanquisher in the table corner.

Dark Eldar Incubi in the centre of this photo have been whittled down by one of my assault squads, who in turn were destroyed.

Dark Eldar Incubi assault the nearby Leman Russ, Immobilising it and (due to the vehicle squadron rules) destroying it! Chaos marines disembark from their Rhino and assault my empty Razorback, destroying its heavy bolter and Immobilising it.

Endgame: Imperials have been pushed right up against the back of the table and have suffered many losses, in part due to my aggressive Blood Angels throwing themselves into the fray. Chaos has lots of shaken, stunned, weapon destroyed and immobilised tokens on them but frustratingly few wrecks.

Dark Eldar / Chaos Space Marines: Eight Kill points (Victory!)
Blood Angels / Imperial Guard: Four Kill points (Defeat)

It was great to have Matthew join us and certainly good to see him again after all these years, although sadly we had too little time to catch up properly. The battle was enjoyable (despite our loss) and I like mixing up the forces by playing allied 1000 point lists as it presents interesting blends of strengths and weaknesses.

In post-match analysis I put too much effort into trying to kill the Chaos Predators and thus neglected the greater threat of rampaging Dark Eldar advancing under the frustratingly inaccurate hail of Imperial Guard fire up the flank. Placing three tanks opposite the Chaos Predators was not required, although they did manage to lock things down over there I suspect the Vindicator probably should have moved Flat Out once it was Shaken to help kill Dark Eldar instead of ping shells off Chaos Marine armour.

I have mixed feelings about the drop-pod Librarian Furioso, perhaps Blood Lance is not required (although Might of Heroes was fantastic!). Broadly I think the Drop Pod Assault requires more drop pods to work. One creates a distraction but three (or more) would be more effective - having walkers dropping into your rear is a threat that cannot be ignored.

Having Matthew there was good to learn a few more of the rules that had slipped past me and I hope Marc and Justin moved further up the learning curve too :)

(40k) Battlezone: Flemington 2 of 2

2010-11-05T08:57:00.028+10:00

Flemington Battle 2 of 2

Angels Sanguine vs Chaos Warband
1000 points

And now the promised second half of last Friday night's game...

Taking just enough time to repair their damaged armour the Angels Sanguine push deeper into the battlezone seeking the true threat of Chaos. Approaching the coordinates of Bastion A380 the unmistakable silhouettes of traitorous tanks and walkers come lurching through the mist! At last the elusive Chaos Warband which has been threatening the sector can be cleansed from Flemington.

.........

Player: Troy
Angels Sanguine
Armoured Spearhead
(Blood Angels 1000 points)

Razorback with 5 man Assault Squad (Troops) and Librarian Malpheus (HQ)
Psyker Powers: The Blood Lance, The Sanguine Sword
Power Sword

Razorback with 5 man Assault Squad (Troops) and Sanguinary Priest (Elite)
Power Sword

Razorback with 5 man Assault Squad (Troops) and Sanguinary Priest (Elite)
Meltagun

Whirlwind (Heavy)

Vindicator "Cauldron" (Heavy)

Predator "Archon" (Heavy)
Autocannon, Lascannon sponsons

.........

Player: Justin
Chaos Warband
(Chaos Space Marines 1000 points)

The Scourged Chaos Sorceror (HQ)

The Scourged Chaos Rhino with Havoc Launcher
Chaos Space Marine passengers (Troops)

5x Khorne Bezerkers (Troops)
Plasma Pistols (x2?)

Word Bearers Dreadnought (Elite)
Twin-linked Lascannon, Missile Launcher

Black Legion Dreadnought (Elite)
Twin-linked Lascannon, Missile Launcher

Iron Warriors Predator Annihilator (Heavy)
Havoc Launchers

Black Legion Vindicator with Havoc Launcher (Heavy)

.........

Marc, who is now our neutral extra player, is tasked with setting up terrain. The die is rolled and this time we score the minimum number of terrain pieces; three. With apologies Marc deliberately clusters all three bits to one side of the table to create a wide open field. With so much armour this will be interesting...

We roll the bones and get another Seize the Ground mission (although this time with five objective markers) and another Spearhead deployment (start in opposing table quarters). I don't mind as I enjoy playing with objective counters and starting in table quarters is a nice change from the classic battle-line deployment we are accustomed to. Our five objective counters are placed in a wide circle in the middle of the table.

Justin wins initiative and places his Bezerkers and Sorceror in cover while both Dreadnoughts are up front and center ...and dangerously close to each other. His Predator deploys on the extreme flank (bottom right of image) while his Vindicator covers the Rhino in convoy down the middle (bottom left corner of image).

I deploy my Razorbacks in a forward line with the Vindicator anchoring one flank (opposite Justin's silver Predator). My own Predator is a step back and using a gap in the Razorbacks to keep crosshairs on the enemy Dreadnoughts while the Whirlwind tries to keep out of harm's way as best it can.

Angels Sanguine deployment as seen from the side. Marc took the photos for both our battles and is fascinated by my Vindicator, hence it featuring in the foreground of this picture :)

Justin's Predator (right) uses the red laser to confirm line of sight to my command Razorback. With concentrated fire from the Dreadnoughts and Predator he manages to Immobilise it and destroy the Heavy Bolters on the roof. Meanwhile his Vindicator and Rhino have split up, presumably with tricky Chaos trickery in mind...

My Vindicator (left) moves up to threaten the Chaos Predator while my Razorbacks go Flat Out to grab a few objective counters (I appear to be reaching for both of them at once which seems uncharacteristically ambidextrous). My Predator and my Whirlwind inch up, slightly less enthusiastic than their battle-brothers to be within assault range of the enemy walkers.

Sadly my Whirlwind barrage scatters completely off the Bezerkers :(
Justin breathes a sigh of relief!

Tank Duel: Vindicator and Predator face off on the left flank!

To my delight the Black Legion Dreadnought goes crazy, pivots and fires everything twice at the Word Bearer's Dreadnought immobilising it and destroying a weapon! My nearby Razorback considers its options.

Another Razorback is Immobilised (not sure what we are checking with the red laser level here as the Chaos Vindicator fires a large blast weapon, it does look dramatic though!)

Oh well, time to get out and walk then! Assault Marines disembark with Meltagun warmed up and Sanguinary Priest offering words of encouragement.

My Librarian follows the example above and also disembarks.

Mirror-match: On the right flank my Predator is having a tank duel with the Black Legion Vindicator which, as you can see, ends well for the Angels Sanguine (hopefully not an omen for how my own Vindicator will fare against the Chaos Predator back on the left flank).

Khorne Bezerkers begin their long angry march towards battle.

Back on the left flank and the dice are kind to me; my Vindicator destroys the Chaos Predator. Both armour duels have ended in my favour ~ although it could have ended quite differently!

The Chaos Sorceror lurking in the shadow of Bastion A380 suffers a wound from my distant Librarian's Blood Lance.

The Black Legion Dreadnought goes crazy again but this time charges at the nearby Predator (presumably outraged at the Chaos Vindicator's demise in the previous turn). With two ranged weapons on the walker's configuration I escape with only a few scratches.

((I can't recall why this Dreadnought has a red counter, he must have been shaken in the previous turn...?))

(Bottom left) My immobilised Razorback wounds the Chaos Sorceror who has moved out from the shadows and is now in the center of the field.
(Left) The Black Legion Dreadnought has disengaged from my Predator and prepares to put some shots into a healthy Razorback which is sitting on an objective.
(Top) My Vindicator and Whirlwind inch back as the Khorne Bezerkers surge out of camera-shot behind the Bastion.
(Right) My Meltagun/Priest Assault Squad take a rest behind the Chaos Vindicator wreck, preparing to assault that nearby Rhino if it wanders any closer.

Pop! The Chaos Sorceror suffers a Perils of the Warp result when attempting to invoke a psyker power and loses his last wound.

The immobilised Word Bearers Dreadnought fires it's Missile Launcher at my immobilised Razorback and ignites it!

Chaos Marines disembark from their Rhino and prepare to face down the nearby Meltagun/Priest Assault Squad, but as the clock has already gone half past midnight, we have already played an extra turn and the neighbour's dog is barking at us we decide to call it a night.

Endgame
(Left) An interesting firefight was just about to be resolved between the Assault Marines and Chaos Marines before time was called, as detailed in the previous photo. There's an objective marker in that mess!
(Top Center-Left) Objective held by Librarian's Assault Squad and shielded by a healthy Razorback.
(Top Center-Right) Black Legion Dreadnought contests an objective otherwise held by a fresh unit of Assault Marines while my Predator looks on.
(Right) My Whirlwind and Vindicator inched almost to the edge of the table before they managed to score a direct hit on the Bezerkers, destroying them and thereby denying Justin any possibility of grabbing one of the two objective markers on that side of the table.

Blood Angels: One Objective (Victory)
Chaos Space Marines: Zero Objectives

I found this to be quite an interesting match as, with the exception of Justin's Dreadnoughts, we brought similar armies to the table. On each flank we had a satisfying Vindicator/Predator and Predator/Vindicator duel (which I maintain was resolved only by lucky dice rolls, given that it was a straight-up fight). Strategically I had an upper hand in that I had three scoring units who were all in Razorbacks whilst Justin had two - one of which was in a Rhino and the other on foot. Justin's Dreadnoughts seemed to be inclined to go crazy more often than expected - in one turn they both went off!

If I knew I was only going to play against Justin's Chaos army I wouldn't bother with my Whirlwind and would spend the points buffing other units up, however I announced that I would use the same list against both Marc and Justin and as I was expecting to see Orks in the first match decided the Whirlwind would be required. Otherwise I don't think further tweaking of my Angels Sanguine list is required at the moment.

The Librarian's Blood Lance psyker ability is gold. Being able to open the hatch on his command Razorback to shoot mind bullets with impunity makes it even better. The Vindicator is also very good, particularly as it is Fast due to being a Blood Angels tank - I can see now why they are so popular.

The polite advice I offered Justin when asked was to drop one of the Dreadnoughts in favour of another small scoring unit of Chaos Marines in another Rhino. I know how hard it is to put that second fun unit back on the shelf so I will understand if the extra Dreadnought is still in the list the next time we play!

A great night was had and our rest was well-earned :)

(40k) Battlezone: Flemington 1 of 2

2010-11-03T15:38:00.021+10:00

Flemington Battle 1 of 2

Angels Sanguine vs Balor Reds
1000 points

Last Friday night the gang came around for two Warhammer 40,000 battles downstairs in the garage. First up was my Blood Angels versus my Imperial Guard - wait, let me explain...

Marc usually plays his own Orks but after a housemove and a tidy-up his box of figures has disappeared into deep storage! It's even possible that they were bundled up with his brother's stuff and carted off to yet another house. Rather than have him sit in the corner with a sad face I blew the dust off my old Steel Legion models (well most of the dust) and organised them into a very basic 1000 point list for him to borrow.

In today's game of 40k Imperial Guard usually field Vendetta gunships full of Meltagun veterans that are used to spectacular effect. Sadly my collection is a bit older so all he had to play with were footsloggers and a few Leman Russ Battle Tanks (to do the actual work). Cruelly I did not give him Chimera transports, simply because I ran out of points (I have since reviewed the list to fix this situation, but as always I digress).

For our battle we decided that an intelligence error has sent two Imperial forces into the battlezone expecting to find Chaos troops. For the Angels Sanguine (Blood Angels) the sight of three rusty old Leman Russ tanks and scrawny troops in blood red overcoats with obsolete gasmasks lurking amongst ruins is proof enough that traitorous chaos militia have been found! For the Balor Reds (Imperial Guard) the sight of six Rhino variants speeding across the field with impunity and no regard for cover must surely mean an imminent chaos attack! And so battle is joined...

Player: Troy
Angels Sanguine
Armoured Spearhead
(Blood Angels 1000 points)

Razorback with 5 man Assault Squad (Troops) and Librarian Malpheus (HQ)
Psyker Powers: The Blood Lance, The Sanguine Sword
Power Sword

Razorback with 5 man Assault Squad (Troops) and Sanguinary Priest (Elite)
Power Sword

Razorback with 5 man Assault Squad (Troops) and Sanguinary Priest (Elite)
Meltagun

Whirlwind (Heavy)

Vindicator "Cauldron" (Heavy)

Predator "Archon" (Heavy)
Autocannon, Lascannon sponsons

Player: Marc
Balor Reds
Field Group, Fire Waste Sector
(Imperial Guard 1000 points)

(HQ) Company Command Platoon
Power Sword, Plasma Gun, Grenade Launcher

(Troops)
Platoon Command
Plasma Gun x2, Grenade Launcher x2

Infantry Squad
no upgrades

Infantry Squad
no upgrades

Heavy Weapons Squad
Missile Launcher x2, Heavy Bolter

(Troops)
Platoon Command
Plasma Gun x2, Grenade Launcher x2

Infantry Squad
no upgrades

Infantry Squad
no upgrades

Heavy Weapons Squad
Missile Launcher x2, Heavy Bolter

(Heavy) Leman Russ "Eye of Balor"

(Heavy) Leman Russ Vanquisher "Iron Steed"

(Heavy) Leman Russ Vanquisher "Old 402"

We decide to have a random amount of terrain by rolling a die and adding two. This gives Justin (our third and extra player) six pieces of terrain to place on the table wherever he likes. He spreads his chosen bits fairly across the table giving no clear advantage to any edge.

We roll the bones and get a Seize the Ground mission (three objective markers) with a Spearhead deployment (start in opposing table quarters).

The three objective markers can be seen as tiny white flags surrounding the woods

Bottom right corner of above image: I win initiative and place all my tanks up against the forward edge of my deployment zone, with the exception of my Whirlwind who lingers behind a low wall (beyond edge of photo).
Upper left corner of above image: Marc is forced into the opposite table quarter and proceeds to seek as much cover as possible, sadly one platoon of guardsmen are left in the open.

Deployment from Imperial Guard perspective
Lower: Balor Reds seek cover
Right, upper: Angels Sanguine forward and open

Deployment from Blood Angels perspective
Whirlwind in foreground with a line of armour up front.
In the distance enemy Leman Russ tanks can be seen.

Highlights of the match

Image from Imperial Guard perspective; Imperial Guard infantry nervously push up between a nearby building and Leman Russ seeking cover! In the distance my Vindicator and Predator use a Bastion to get cover from Marc's Vanquishers beyond the left of this picture.

Image from Imperial Guard perspective; I open up the shooting with a barrage from my Whirlwind which lands dead-on and proceeds to eliminate the platoon of Guardsmen seeking refuge behind a building.

Justin and I flick through our rulebooks - I'm the bald guy who needs a shave, Justin has a full head of hair and superior grooming.

My Librarian opens the hatch of his command Razorback and shoots a psychic Blood Lance at the Leman Russ which previously threatened to drop a template on my approaching forces. The Vehicle Destroyed result is depicted by placing the tank on it's side.

My Vindicator, having inched forward to put a template on some more of Marc's foorsloggers, is in turn shaken by the two Vanquishers lurking amongst the ruins.

My Vindicator moves Flat Out to get itself into position for a good shot next turn (when the Shaken effect will pass). My Predator has snuck around the corner of the Bastion allowing it to fire its turret Autocannon and one of the side Lascannons from cover. Meanwhile my Razorbacks press forward onto objectives and Marc's Guardsmen continue to disappear under Whirlwind barrages.

My predator manages to damage the long gun on one of the Vanquishers (depicted with a skull token on the turret)...

...but the other Vanquisher turns and kills my Vindicator!

A turn later my Librarian has pushed past the wreckage of the Leman Russ he destroyed to try the same trick on the side of a Vanquisher. Meanwhile Marc has used his damaged Vanquisher to provide cover from my Predator beyond the right of this picture.

(The red line you see in the above image is provided by a cheap Laser Line Level I purchased recently on eBay, as you can see it puts a red laser line on the table - very handy for working out line-of-sight... and depicting The Blood Lance for blog pics!)

Marc advances the damaged Vanquisher right onto my threatening Predator in an attempt to 'traffic jam' it beside the flaming Vindicator wreck and neutralise it. Such cheekiness!

Alas Blood Angel tanks are Fast and the Predator simply scoots around the other side of the mess...

...and lines up a shot from a side Lascannon, causing a Crew Stunned result

And that's where the game ends. Note that the Guardsmen have all been moved off the green field and onto the white table edge... they are the victims of ongoing barrages from the Whirlwind and the odd shot from Razorback Heavy Bolters.

Blood Angels: Two Objectives (Victory)
Imperial Guard: Zero Objectives

Upon review the Imperial Guard army I made for Marc wasn't my best design. I loaded it up with all the plasma gun models I own and gave him Vanquishers knowing he'd be facing my Razorback spam list but it still wasn't up to the job. I have since redesigned the list to take veteran squads in Chimera transports rather than a horde of infantry (and this has freed up enough points for a fourth Leman Russ) so he should have a bit more protection from the large blast markers I spent the game dropping on his troops. Sadly the downside is that he will only have two scoring units - but at least they will have a better chance at getting onto an objective than the rubbish horde I gave him for this battle.

Of course, we're all hoping he'll find his Orks before next month's game.

(Next blog update soon; Angels Sanguine move on to find the real Chaos threat lurking in the Flemington battlezone)

(World of Warcraft) Guild reborn!

2010-09-05T10:17:00.005+10:00

Last week Brad mentioned how much he enjoyed our old Proudmoore guild {Ye Olde Skoole} which dissolved six months ago. I promised I'd get in touch with the old members and see if they had any interest in re-forming... and to my surprise they did! Within days all of us were busy organising ourselves and excitedly chattering via Facebook again.

We have decided to invite each other onto secondary accounts using the Refer-a-friend feature to activate x3 experience point gains and earn ourselves a Rocket Mount. This time around I have rolled a Tauren Druid called Oxide to give tanking a go (yes, I could go with a Paladin instead and I still may if I don't like being a Bear - but I've wanted an 80 Druid for a while and this is a sweet way to get one).

Furthermore we have also rolled a team of five Troll Hunters as a second secondary project! These guys will level at a slower pace and will hit battlegrounds together at the end of each bracket. The plan is to boost range to 41 yards and spam Arcane Shot at anyone who comes near us - I'm not sure how viable it will be but I'm keen to give it a go :)

Battle of the Hung Parliament

2010-08-28T17:05:00.014+10:00

This morning Marc and I met for another 750-point Warhammer 40,000 battle. I had just enough time to zip out and (with the much-needed and always-appreciated help of Emily) purchase a second long table before the match. By combining the two we can now play battles on the correct size tabletop!

Troy's Angels Sanguine (Blood Angels) 750 points
HQ: Captain, Melta Bombs
Troops: Assault Squad, Razorback
Troops: Assault Squad, Razorback
Troops: Assault Squad, Land Raider
Heavy Support: Whirlwind

Marc's Orks (Space Orks) 750 points
HQ: Big Mek, Shokk Attack Gun
HQ: Big Mek, Shokk Attack Gun
Troops: Gretchin
Troops: Gretchin
Troops: Ork Boyz, Nob with Power Klaw
Heavy Support: Killer Kan
Heavy Support: Killer Kan
Heavy Support: Killer Kan

As you can see we fielded the same forces as last week although Marc tweaked his troop numbers so that he could ditch the Deff Dredd in favour of a few Killer Kans. By deploying each as an individual Heavy Support choice rather than all three as one choice he was able to avoid some of the problems of vehicle squadrons (most obviously; having to destroy Immobilised members).

We rolled an Annihilation mission with a Pitched Battle deployment; the classic old-school setup! Rather than use objectives in this scenario we simply score a point for each unit we destroy.

Deployment: My tanks on the right, Marc's Orks on the left

I roll high and choose to deploy first so I can have the first turn. Of course this puts me at a disadvantage as Marc will see where my army is before he puts his figures down - but with control of the first turn I can (hopefully) utilise my Fast engines to reposition as needed.

Turn One: Killer Kans begin trudging toward the partially-constructed and still-unpainted Whirlwind

Turn One Blood Angels
The Land Raider and Razorbacks pinged away at oncoming Ork Boyz with support from a Whirlwind barrage that thinned their numbers down from thirty to twenty-something... if I could keep this up I'd be able to break the wave before it hits.

Turn One Orks
Each Shokk Attack gun targeted a Razorback but their random strength was insufficient. Meanwhile the Ork Boyz and Killer Kans marched forward.

Turn Two: Razorbacks continue to give the Ork Boyz some spice

Turn Two Blood Angels
Sensing trouble for the Whirlwind the Land Raider moved into a blocking position. This negated it firing this turn but provided a cover save for its delicate ally. In the center of the table the Razorbacks made good use of their Fast engines to maneuver around ruins and pepper Ork Boyz with some more shots from their Heavy Bolters.

Turn Two: Killer Kans rattle the Whirlwind despite a looming Land Raider trying to get in the way

Turn Two Orks
The Grot crew on board the Killer Kans made good with their Rokkit Launchas and hit the Whirlwind three times! Two Crew Stunned and one Immobilised result later and I am breathing a sigh of relief that the tank has survived, although it won't be firing next turn. Meanwhile the Shokk Attack guns failed to land on-target or come up too weak thanks to their random strength... and the Ork Boyz march onward!

Turn Three: Land Raider repositions in an effort to put some hurt on those Killer Kans as they close in

Turn Three Blood Angels
With the Whirlwind suffering from a dizzy spell the Land Raider moved forward just enough to cover it and put a Lascannon shot into one of the approaching Killer Kans; giving it a Crew Stunned. Meanwhile one of the Razorbacks reversed to maintain a fire arc on the Ork Boyz while the other sidestepped toward the corner of the table full of Grots.

Turn Three: Big Mek cheers as a distant Razorback falls prey to his Shokk Attack Gun!

Turn Three Orks
One of the Big Meks took aim at the most distant Razorback, fired the Shokk Attack Gun and rolled high for its random strength; the result: Destroyed - Explodes!. Thankfully no allies were nearby to be damaged by the mushroom cloud and the passengers all tumbled out of the wreckage unscathed... but that's a kill point for Marc! The second Shokk Attack Gun scores an Immobilized result against the other Razorback - not as bad as destroying it but leaving it stuck in the middle of the table. Meanwhile the Ork Boyz finally found the Whirlwind and charged it with glee - the result; Destroyed - Wrecked. To rub salt in the wound the Land Raider lost a Lascannon to a lucky Rokkit shot from one of the Killer Kans! Things are looking bad for the Space Marines...

Turn Four: Orks get stuck in!

Turn Four Blood Angels
My Land Raider chose not to move so it could fire all of its weapons, managing a Crew Stunned and Weapon Destroyed on one of the Killer Kans (of course I chose to ping the Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon off that thing). The unit of nearby Assault Marines who had been unceremoniously cracked out of their Razorback last turn dusted themselves off and prepared to charge the nearest Orks, but not before some attention from their Bolt Pistols. The end of the turn saw the Ork Boyz break and run. Meanwhile in the center of the table my immobilised Razorback disembarked its own Assault Marines who began to judge the distance to that Big Mek not so far away.

Turn Four Orks
Having witnessed the effectiveness of the Assault Marines on the flank in the previous turn the Big Mek decided he was having none of that from those approaching in the center and let rip with his Shokk Attack Gun - dropping a very strong template right on top of those nearby, the result; Instant Death for the marines and Weapon Destroyed for the Razorback - oh no! The second Shokk Attack Gun rolled a double which caused it to be unable to fire next turn, and its shot scattered wide. Over in the other corner of the table one of the Killer Kans got to grips with the Land Raider but was unable to crack its hide.

Turn Five: A slightly diminished squad of Assault Marines sees off a greatly diminished mob of Ork Boyz (with the burning wreck of their ride in the background)

Turn Five Blood Angels
The Land Raider pulled back to force its nearby Killer Kan to roll to hit when its inevitable charge came next turn. This allowed it to fire with one weapon only - sadly the remaining Lascannon failed to penetrate the Kan's front armour (yes, I rolled a one!). Meanwhile the three-strong assault marines continued to chase the Ork Boyz and harass them with Bolt Pistol fire.

Turn Five: Killer Kan snips the other Lascannon off my Land Raider :(

Turn Five Orks
Sure enough the expected Killer Kan charge came and managed to snip the remaining Lascannon clean off! This left the Land Raider with only a Heavy Bolter, certainly not the weapon of choice when fighting armoured opponents (even if their armour is only eleven). Meanwhile the Ork Boyz continued to fall back and the functional Shokk Attack Gun scattered.

Marc rolls a die to see if the game ends and it does not: Play on!

Turn Six: Assault Marines declare a charge into the fleeing Ork Boyz

Turn Six Blood Angels
The Land Raider moved at full speed away from the Killer Kans and spun a little toward the distant Big Mek, if there will be another turn I might just be able to manage a few Heavy Bolter shots that far. Meanwhile the Assault Marines managed to catch the fleeing Ork Boyz and charged into a new combat; after a bloody fight this leaves all but the sergeant remaining as the only surviving model from either side of the mess! He wisely consolidates to the far side of some blocking terrain :)

Turn Six: Killer Kans swarm onto the Land Raider

Turn Six Orks
Suspecting the end is near two of the Killer Kans fire Rokkits into the air and charge the side of the Land Raider while the Shokk Attack Guns scatter. The armour fourteen hull is too great for their claws and no more damage is caused.

I roll a die and the game ends... victory for Marc (again!)

((Victory)) Marc: Three Kill Points (Whirlwind, Razorback, Assault Marine Squad)
Troy: One Kill Point (Ork Boyz)

Man of the Match: Assault Marine Sergeant ~
For seeing off a mob of Ork Boyz you will be rewarded with some shoulder pads and a finished paint job!

Election Day Battle!

2010-08-22T08:11:00.013+10:00

Yesterday saw a downstairs battle between my half-painted and partially-constructed Angels Sanguine and Marc's mostly-undercoated Orks (italicised name pending).

Troy's Angels Sanguine (Blood Angels) 750 points
HQ: Captain, Melta Bombs
Troops: Assault Squad, Razorback
Troops: Assault Squad, Razorback
Troops: Assault Squad, Land Raider
Heavy Support: Whirlwind

Marc's Orks (Space Orks) 750 points
HQ: Big Mek, Shokk Attack Gun
HQ: Big Mek, Shokk Attack Gun
Troops: Gretchin
Troops: Gretchin
Troops: Ork Boyz, Nob with Power Klaw
Heavy Support: Deff Dredd

We used the random table to generate our scenario and got a Capture and Control mission (hold one objective in your zone while trying to secure your opponent's) with a Spearhead deployment (setup in opposite table quarters).

Deployment; my half-finished tanks in the open, Marc's Orks lingering down the back

I chose an open table quarter to avoid traffic jams and allow me room to set up easy fire zones. This forced Marc to choose the opposite side which squeezed his tide into a narrow channel I continuously referred to as 'damnation alley'.

Marc deployed each of his Big Meks attached to a large unit of gretchin - both formed in a conga-line around cover so only the Big Mek was sticking out (with his Shokk Attack Gun of course). A little cheeky perhaps but certainly permitted. The Deff Dredd and Ork Boyz were deployed forward with the intention of getting stuck-in as quickly as possible. As we were playing on a narrow table he was quite cramped with all that infantry!

Turn One: BOOM! Whirlwind template lands on-target

Turn One Blood Angels
The Razorbacks moved forward to cover my Whirlwind and peppered Orks with their Heavy Bolters. Sadly one Razorback came up a few inches short so the Ork Boyz hardly noticed the few shots that landed.

The Land Raider set its targets on the Deff Dredd scoring a handy Weapon Destroyed and a much more useful Immobilised thanks to its twin-linked Lascannons (lethal despite not actually being present on the model due to partial construction!).

Lastly the Whirlwind launched a barrage which landed directly on a conga-line of gretchin hiding behind a building on the flank, destroying most and pinning the remainder - thus spoiling the shot of their attached Big Mek and his potentially lethal Shokk Attack Gun.

Turn One Orks
Marc gleefully surged his Ork Boyz forward with their eyes firmly fixed on assaulting the Whirlwind. They couldn't get there this turn but they ran to cross the ground in the hope of getting there a little sooner.

However Marc's Shokk Attack Guns failed to fire, one being pinned and the other blocked by a broken Deff Dredd swinging its buzzsaw arms in frustration.

Turn Two; flicking through the rules... as usual!

Turn Two Blood Angels
With the fire zone clogged up with a mob of Ork Boyz I didn't need to move my tanks around much to find targets. With the benefit of hindsight I should have pushed at least one Razorback (if not both) forward to harrass Marc's gretchin and go for his objective - in fact this was a major mistake and a valuable learning experience.

Everything opened up on the Ork Boyz but sadly the Whirlwind barrage went wide. All up only a handful of Orks were plinked out of the mob - although their numbers were slowly dwindling they remained a threat as I knew their Power Klaw would carve through the Whirlwind if they made contact...

Turn Two Orks
The Ork Boyz continued their jog towards the Whirlwind, not quite covering enough ground to launch an assault but setting themselves up nicely for next turn.

One Big Mek was still pinned while the other was still blocked by a stuck Deff Dredd so Marc passed the turn with a frown.

Turn Three: Troy makes the sadface as his Whirlwind is popped

Turn Three Blood Angels
The Razorbacks pulled back in reverse with the intention of shooting up the Ork Boyz before they could make inevitable contact with the Whirlwind (again, a mistake - must remember to go forward!). More plinking into the mess of Ork bodies but still not enough to make an immediate difference. The Whirlwind opened up again but the template scattered and only a few Boyz were destroyed. Still the mob surged ahead!

Turn Three Orks
The Ork Boyz charged forward and with the power of the Waaaagh! managed to only just touch the edge of the Whirlwind... and deliver 5 attacks with the Power Klaw against it's rear armour! The result: Explosion further thinning the ranks of Ork Boyz... although I had lost my key anti-Shokk Attack asset :(

Meanwhile the blocked Big Mek in the center moved up to attempt a repair on the immobilised Deff Dredd - sadly he couldn't find his spanner so the Deff Dredd spun its arms around some more. However, having cleared his head the previously pinned Big Mek on the flank managed to place a template directly on the Land Raider... although the random strength of the shot came up as a five - no match for the tank's armour of fourteen.

Turn Four: That's a Litko 'small flame' token on the (unpainted) Whirlwind hull

Turn Four Blood Angels
The Razorbacks unleashed their passengers who positioned themselves carefully to allow a subsequent charge without blocking shots from their transports. More of them were plinked away so that once the Assault Marines charged they were able to break the Boyz and send them fleeing back to their side of the table. One unit of marines consolidated forward to chase the Boyz while the other consolidated back with the realisation they had moved off their home objective marker!

Meanwhile the Land Raider moved up in anticipation of a repaired Deff Dredd next turn.

Turn Four Orks
The Big Mek in the center succeeded in repairing the Deff Dredd which lurched forward... only to block the line of sight of the other Big Mek on the flank and spoiling his shot! The fleeing Ork Boyz had a few over-the-shoulder shots with their sluggas at the pursuing marines but none found a target.

Turn Five; oops, Marc still holds his own objective and I have moved off mine... a facepalm moment!

Turn Five Blood Angels
The now empty Razorbacks have moved back but can no longer hold objectives as their Troops have been left behind. Footslogging back the marines are not able to reach their home objective and so it remains uncontrolled.

In a moment of confusion caused by sleepiness I declared that my Land Raider cannot fire as it has moved (this is incorrect as it has not moved this turn) and so it passes the turn doing nothing.

Turn Five Orks
The Deff Dredd moved again but found itself too short of the Land Raider to charge for an assault - yet remained blocking the Big Mek on the flank for another turn! The center Big Mek however found a clear line-of-sight and placed a template directly on the Land Raider, although with the random strength coming up as a seven it's still not enough to damage the armour fourteen tank.

I roll a die to see if the game ends and sadly for me it does: A win for Marc's Orks!

Marc: One Objective (Victory)
Troy: Zero Objectives

What I have learned:
~ With only five turns you really need to put your foot down if you are going to contest your opponent's objective marker in a Capture and Control mission.
~ Don't move off your own objective in a Capture and Control mission!
~ Rhinos are good in that lacking a weapon they do not tempt you to move slowly so that you can fire it.
~ Shokk Attack Guns can be avoided by careful maneuver around blocking terrain and/or pulling enemies into the line-of-sight of the firer by tempting them to attempt a charge <- causing a traffic jam.

Some old, some new...

2010-06-06T13:16:00.007+10:00

So what have I been up to in the world of Gaming since my last post? It's been long enough for dust to fall on these pages (huh?) so I'll get on with it:

Warhammer 40,000
Coinciding with a renewed interest in this old game is the release of the latest Blood Angels Codex. Usually I don't go for specific chapters, feeling that generic or standard Space Marines are sufficient, but alas I have been drawn away from my principles by the lure of... Deep Striking Land Raiders! I'm quite fond of tanks (as many of you are aware) so of course I love the heaviest armour available to Space Marines; the mighty Land Raider. The idea that Blood Angels are able to airdrop Land Raiders onto the battlefield is just too delicious for this tragic tread-head to resist ***drool***

Of course I have to be different so rather than going with the usual Blood Angels I have chosen to collect one of their successor chapters: Angels Sanguine. They have a striking half-red/half-black colour scheme that is a bit more fun to paint than the standard all-red scheme of Blood Angels.

Angels Sanguine

I have scavenged my unpainted marines and filled them out with bits from eBay to come up with two full size Assault units, two Land Raiders (wheee!) and a mess of unorganised Tactical models. I also have some unpainted bikers although I'll probably leave them alone as I anticipate using my Fast Attack slots for Baal Predators.

Land Raiders get a blast of paint while they're still on the sprue.
That's my little air-compressor in the background.

Land Raiders setting after basic construction, the weapons will go on later (I have tiny magnets for the weapons so I can swap the configuration between standard, Crusader and Redeemer variants without needing to buy a whole new model)

Did I mention I still have a bunch of my original purple marines too? Even they have two Land Raiders, although one of those is ready to be finished as a Prometheus variant from Forgeworld (if I ever get around to constructing it). I do feel that it's a bit redundant owning a 'generic' Space Marine force and a Blood Angel force too... but I couldn't bring myself to paint over the purple of my much-loved (if often-neglected) Dracomarines. C'est la vie!

iPhone: Carcassonne
A few days ago I was informed via a Facebook friend (thanks Mike!) that an iPhone version of Carcassonne had been released. As a fan of the boardgame I lament having so few opportunities to play the game, so the idea of a version I can play on my phone whenever I want was irresistible.

Sure enough, it's heaps of fun! The conversion is faithful with all the feel of the boardgame (even having a scuffed wooden tabletop as a background). In addition there is also a solitaire mode although I am happy enough playing against computer opponents. When a few more friends get it I'll organise a game amongst humans - being turn-based means that we don't all have to be online at once to play each other.

As the blue player I'm about to drop that corner tile into the top left of the screen to finish my cloister! Astute readers will note that the red computer player "Maid" is beating me again :(

iPhone: Pocket Legends
The other iPhone game I recently downloaded is Pocket Legends. This is a 3D rendered MMO that is (obviously) played on the iPhone, proof enough that the technology is far more powerful than what many assume. Granted, it doesn't compare to an MMO you'll play on your desktop or laptop, but it is rather addictive and quite pleasing to look at.

The character classes are Warrior (a bear-man), Archer (a bird-man) and an Enchantress (an elf with a rather large head). Players are limited to two characters although additional slots can be purchased if you feel you need one or more of each.

My Archer "Atog" prepares to shoot a few zombies and loot the chest they are guarding

The game is free although (as with the additional character slots mentioned above) extra content can be purchased. Characters can reach level 13 without players needing to open their wallets and the gear that drops from monsters tends to be as good as (if nor better than) what can be purchased with real money. Over a weekend I reached level 9 so it's quite possible I'll purchase the next dungeon so I can progress further. I like the idea of giving a few dollars to games companies that have given me something for free. They should be rewarded for a good game.

Polemos - 6mm Russians

2010-04-01T19:46:00.004+10:00

Emily retrieved some new toys from the Post Office box just in time for me to indulge in a long Easter weekend of hobbyness; some Vallejo 'Model Air' paints for the airbrush and a box of Polemos 6mm Napoleonic figures (Russian and French starter armies).

The box of goodies arrive!

To my delight the Model Air paint runs like a dream through the airbrush. I was able to get all of the Russians undercoated in a Light Grey primer in only a few minutes - although it took much longer than that to setup and pack away the equipment!

6mm figures are very small!
(Perhaps I should have clipped my nails prior to becoming a hand model)

After a light blast of grey I settled in to apply the first splash of colour - some Dark Angels Green from Citadel for the Russian coats. Once this is all done I'll go back and apply white to the pants and belts and black to the boots and hats which will bring them up to a standard forgivable for gaming. If motivation endures I will come back for some flesh tone on the hands and faces and perhaps a little brown on the gun stocks. It sounds like a lot of work but the figures are so tiny they can be painted quickly.

Star Trek Online: Tier 3

2010-03-27T15:42:00.003+10:00

((Ignoring the frustration of my previous post)) This afternoon I managed to finish off a few long mission chains and cross the threshold to Commander. As planned I chose a science vessel rather than an escort for Tier 3, and I love it!

USS Catalyst Research Science Vessel
(Click on image for a larger version)

To my delight I found a few extra buttons below my weapons allowing me to target an enemy's subsystems (such as their shields!). There is a cooldown for each one but with well timed use and/or careful rotation it's possible to keep bad-guys on the ropes while you whizz around zapping them.

A month has passed since I started play and I'm halfway through the level progression, which I feel is a good thing. I want something casual and fun which doesn't demand a great deal of attention and with the exception of the occasional server glitch (see previous post) Star Trek Online continues to deliver.

I'm still subscribed, although I'm not convinced a 'lifetime' membership is needed or desired. In another month or two I'll slowly wander up to the endgame where I will reconsider my subscription.

Star Trek Online: One of these things is not like the other

2010-03-26T21:09:00.005+10:00

I was hoping to hit Tier 3, grab the rank of Commander and zoom around in a new science vessel tonight, sadly it looks like the work experience kid knocked the network cable out when he was shouted at.

1. Warning on the verification pop-up.
Well, at least the game is up - that's the main thing!

2. Warning in-game
Wait... what?

3. Let's try again...
oh, I guess not

Really I should be painting figures or leveling one of my WoW characters but I think I'll lay in front of the TV and flick through an old copy of the Flames of War rulebook I recently won on eBay. Woot ~ way to party on a Friday night :(

WH40K

2010-03-20T17:03:00.011+10:00

With a great deal of concern I learned that the AT-43 guys I know have been lured to Warhammer 40,000... despite my warning and frowning and fist shaking.

I don't sneer at others who play and enjoy the game (I think it's rude for miniature wargamers to be snobs about the games they play) and I have a rather large collection of Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Chaos Space Marines... etc so I'm certainly in no position to criticise. However I am a little saddened that they have moved away from AT-43 as so many others have - there was a time when it was championed as The Next Big Thing for 30mm sci-fi players. The fading of AT-43 feeds more kids into the maw of Warhammer 40,000.

By all reports the demo game of 40k they had at a GW store left them very impressed with how fast and easy the game is. Obviously their games at home will not be anywhere near as fast as they will not have an enthusiastic staff member in the room to talk them through the rules. I suspect (perhaps harshly) that the page flicking that they experienced with AT-43 will be the same, if not greater, with 40k. To be fair the problem is not the game (or indeed any game) it's the infrequency of game events due to Real Life commitments creating a situation where every two months the players have to start at the bottom of the learning curve again, promising to consult forums and/or "sitting down to really read through the rulebook properly before we meet again". Alas if only work and wives and children would not foil these good intentions! ;)

Of course the eternal question is why should I care? I don't have to play 40k with them, I don't have to coach them and I don't have to have anything to do with the mess. I can smile and wish them well and concentrate on 6mm Napoleonics or 15mm WW2 Germans or anything else. Yet I cannot!

As much as I dislike 40k and as frustrating as I find pageflicking (where players try to find obscure rules deep in the usually incorrect part of a rulebook) all those soldiers and tanks and whatnot sitting deep in cardboard boxes cry out to me! And so it is that I find myself sprucing up old unfinished 40k projects such as the "Five Land Raiders" Space Marine Army.

This afternoon I finally cranked up the mini air compressor and airbrush that I purchased long ago and experimented with a basic masking technique, with interesting results. My first attempt was actually better than my second - from which I have learned that distance from gun to target is important to avoid clumping and splatter, as is the consistency of the paint.

Dracomarines Land Raider Prometheus; a bit of Desert Yellow to get things started. This will later get a coat of Bleached Bone over the top.

I hope to give the other half a blast of Liche Purple either tonight or tomorrow morning (assuming motivation and courage do not fade!). The colour scheme for the chapter is a quartered purple and beige thing I came up with a year ago (to replace the mono-purple scheme they currently wear).

Dracomarines Tactical Marines; this is how the chapter colours look "on paper"... I'm not sure how it will go when applied to actual models, particularly not with the help of an airbrush.

(World of Warcraft) Malpheus: Guild fracture!

2010-03-19T06:49:00.005+10:00

I've been meaning to update Malpheus' exploits and progression with {Ye Olde Skoole} for some time now but it always seemed more fun to log in and play rather than hang around my blog typing about playing!

Sadly this week saw two members drop out of our 5 man team. Sandsaref (Michael) our Blood Elf Rogue has run out of time in the real world and can no longer commit to runs and preparation and tradeskills and all the other crap that WoW wants. As Sands was the reason for our forming, Cowloon (Kevin) our Tauren Druid decided to also drop out - both he and I were mostly interested in rerunning 'classic' content such as the various Blackrock instances and now that we are in Outland the shine has worn off for him. I however have found that my interest continues, indeed it seems to have grown as I reminisce about runs through each Outland instance with my old guild when Burning Crusade was new!

Malpheus prepares to sadly dig through the Guild Bank looking for goodies left by departing members... bitter-sweet goodies :(

I'm surprised to find myself feeling as nostalgic about Outland as I was about the classic content, I suppose it has been a while since Burning Crusade was released. Revisiting Hellfire Ramparts and The Blood Furnace reminded me of the good old days with {B L A C K S U N} on Khaz'goroth when it was all new. Running The Slave Pens and The Underbog was also a treat.

Now that we are down to three members things could go either way (grow or transfer off). The obvious advantage of five is that we don't have to wait for randoms when we queue for instances - the additional benefit being that we all know (knew?) how to play together as a team. At the moment it seems like the plan is to level up to 70 under our own steam and reevaluate everyone's interest as we enter Northrend, with a possible group-up at The Ring of Blood as we level (because I like it so much).

I hope the guild doesn't evaporate, and it may not be too hard to grow it just enough that we can get back into regular 5-man runs. Although this does conveniently free up Sundays just as I have been considering a return to regular visits to the miniature wargaming clubs around town...

Polemos - 6mm Napoleonics

2010-03-14T18:02:00.003+10:00

Today I went out to Brisbane Independent Gamers for the first time in over a year to have a look at some 6mm Napoleonic miniatures gaming that seems to be gaining interest - and to say hello to a few old faces :)

The system that has gained attention is "Polemos"and the range of figures that come from the publisher (Baccus in the UK) are surprisingly finely detailed for such a tiny scale. Sadly, my photos do not do the figures justice and I felt a little rude elbowing players out of the way to get close-ups of the action! But, here they are for what it's worth:

French push the British back along a messy and confusing line
(Click for a larger version)

British (bottom of shot with white name badges) prepare to receive French charge from all sides!
(Click for a larger version)

A long solid French wall of bayonets lumbers toward The Thin Red Line on the right
(Click for a larger version)

Morale seems to break suddenly as shots are exchanged in Polemos, sometimes in surprising and unexpected ways (moments after the last photo was taken much of that French line recoiled from the Brits due to unlucky dice rolling). I'm apprehensive about "dicey" games but I would like to get into Napoleonics and the 6mm scale is a very cheap and quick way to get into it. Most importantly, locals are playing Polemos while other Napoleonic games gather dust on the shelf...

AT-43: Small-table action

2010-03-13T05:19:00.008+10:00

Last night Justin came around for a few games of AT-43 with Marc and myself. Sadly I was exhausted due to a lack of sleep after my night shift and had to retire to bed - but not before taking a few shots of the action. The lads decided to play downstairs on a card table found earlier on the footpath... I must remember to confirm with my neighbour that it is unwanted!

Marc's Karmans (to the left of image) break cover from their sandbags to advance on the ruined building while Justin's Red Blok lurk in the shadows (to the right of image). Justin has been busy making very impressive terrain since I last saw him!

Marc and Justin decided to play small unit actions on the recently acquired table so restricted themselves to take only infantry in their forces. The intention was to see how AT-43 plays when heavily armed and armoured vehicles are not stomping around the field (I must check with them to see how that went). I know my tendency is to take the biggest and baddest pieces available to my army but this tends to create games that become too familiar - as your opponent is forced to bring the same 'big guns' to deal with your same 'monstrous armour' each battle. In this case the restriction was simply limited to "infantry only" which still leaves room for creativity, however there are different measures that could be limited such as stating a maximum value for armour rating or weapon strength to alter battles in different ways.

This idea has already been applied to 'historical' games such as Field of Glory (Ancients), Flames of War (WW2) and Lasalle (Napoleonic) which encourage match-ups that are thematically appropriate by providing army lists that share a common theatre of war or exist on nearby dates in history. This tends to chaff science fiction and fantasy gamers who prefer the idea of more freedom and creativity with army choice and force selection (despite tending to take bring the same favourites to every battle, see previous paragraph). The idea of Early French fighting Late Russians may be appealing but the game you get tends to be fun for only one player!

Before I sign off I'll share an action sequence that depicts Marc's Karmans catching Justin's grenades...

1. Karman warriors begin to cross open ground as they seek the cover of a nearby ruined building:
2. Karman warriors sense a shadow loom above them:

3. BOOM! ...remaining Karman warriors begin to fail pinning and morale checks

Star Trek Online: Tier 2

2010-03-06T14:57:00.006+10:00

I find Star Trek Online surprisingly addictive - to the extent that some of my WoW friends have commented on my absence from that game!

My earlier misgivings regarding ground combat seem harsh upon review; I've since reconsidered this part of the game now that I have some more hours logged. It's still not great (nor as good as it could be) but as I've become accustomed to command and maneuver controls I've come to understand what the developers were working towards. Space combat is still more fun for me and remains my favourite part of the game - but I have a growing respect for other aspects of STO.

This morning I reached Lieutenant Commander and unlocked the Tier 2 escort ship. I briefly frustrated myself as I couldn't decide between a science vessel or an escort ship - but in the end I reasoned that a tighter turning circle and more weapons would suit my play style as it is. Perhaps later I'll step sideways and try a science ship but for now I'll stick with doing loads of damage to bad guys!

USS Tricorne my Rapier class escort
...with Ushaan nacelles because I believe they should hang down rather than stick up!
(Click on image for a larger version)

So STO still pleases me. It's simple and fun and casual and those are all things that appeal to me as I get older :P

Apparently a death penalty and difficulty slider are being introduced in an upcoming patch - features that will help keep the gamers playing. It's good to see that the developers are adding features that kids are asking for although they know that the player base will drop when the included 30 days are used up.

Edit: As requested, the Tricorne from another angle. This shows the ship from underneath and features the deflector and underside of the saucer. Her controversial Ushaan nacelles can also be seen clearly in this shot. As always, click on the image for a larger version.

Star Trek Online: First Impressions

2010-02-25T06:50:00.007+10:00

I'm still not sure why I decided to buy Star Trek Online. I stopped being a fan of Star Trek during Deep Space Nine and never really got excited about the thing again (with the exception of the JJ Abram 2009 movie which I quite enjoyed). I'm still playing World of Warcraft and I'm still committed to the various projects I have going on in that game - so my interest in STO can't be due to MMO restlessness.

Regardless of the reason and despite the not-so-good reviews I find myself casually plodding along in my kitbashed Miranda/Centaur class ship and enjoying myself (the uninspired USS Brisbane named in honour of my hometown ~ there's something disconcerting about seeing a USS prefix in front of an Australian city!). I play for an hour or two here and there and happily fire my phaser banks at marauding Orions, orbit interesting things and wander around star bases. Actually, it takes me back to my early days playing WoW when I was content to explore and experience the virtual world rather than focus on powerlevelling and geargrinding!

USS Brisbane floats high above the city for which she is named
(Click on image for a larger version)

It's true that the most fun in STO is flying around in your ship - the 'ground' missions where you beam across to damaged vessels and down to threatened outposts are a little tedious, but it does feel appropriate for a Star Trek game (how many episodes feature the Captain beaming off the ship for adventures!? ...most of them!). I think that rather than accumulating wealth or improving my character what keeps me interested in STO is the promise of more space combat!

To be clear, Star Trek Online is not a challenge. It's easy and fun and casual - but it's not hard in the way that many serious gamers expect games should be. There's nothing wrong with it being easymode, in fact I appreciate that it's not stressful, but I know many others will try it and get bored very quickly because they don't feel challenged. This game won't kill WoW or Eve Online (another space game I have played in the past) but it does offer something for those who want a light snack for an hour or two each day.

...or if you are a Trekkie of course - you'll love it!

(World of Warcraft) Malpheus: BRD Down

2010-02-07T11:31:00.005+10:00

Malpheus and friends finished off last week's Blackrock Depths run - giving me access to The Black Forge for my new trinket. We were easily able to complete it with only 4 players and only got lost twice.

I continue to enjoy our weekly runs and slow progression - it's quite satisfying. Next week is either Scholomance or Stratholme depending on how we feel. Kevin has proposed that we may be able to fit both instances between 57 and 60 if we are careful not to do much in the week between.

Those two aside I'm looking forward to Blackrock Spire (which I believe is penciled in as our level 60 run). There were a few instances I missed when I was first playing World of Warcraft waaaaay back in 2005 and I have regretted not visiting them ever since. This group is a great opportunity to get a look at the old content and gives me an odd sense of completion. Blackrock Depths was the first instance on my list of "must-do" dungeons and it's very pleasing to be able to tick that box after all these years. Blackrock Spire is next on that list.

My side-project with Malpheus is to acquire a Venomhide Raptor mount. To be honest I probably won't ride it around, but it's a nice little objective to give myself as it takes 20 daily quests to complete and we have lots of time between runs!

King Mosh struts around after stomping on me...
I guess that's why he's the King!
(click on image for a larger version)

After BRD today I was feeding my raptor Fresh Dinosaur Meat when I stumbled upon King Mosh - an elite rare devilsaur who I have only seen once before. Full of confidence from our run I decided to take him on... and was promptly squished. I have attempted to take a screenshot which shows his huge size - I think Malpheus is about as high as his ankle!

Combat Mission II

2010-01-30T05:46:00.004+10:00

Sometimes you find yourself playing an old computer game that you once loved many years ago. Marc rediscovered Combat Mission and with no prodding at all I found myself back in the commander's seat - setting waypoints and seeking hull-down positions!

We've been playing head-to-head when we are both free (my sleeping patterns make this difficult) and otherwise indulging in a few concurrent email battles - I'd also forgotten the delight of finding fresh turns in my inbox :)

King Tiger puts a shot into a nearby lend-lease halftrack
and against all odds it survives! Marc's halftracks have
been doing surprisingly well this match

Jagdtiger puts a round into the side of an IS-2 and knocks it out

Plans are still floating around for our painting and terrain-making session for non-computer WW2 gaming. My nightshift work/sleep pattern makes it tricky to find a time that suits both of us but we are both enthusiastic about the period and I am amused by the idea of having three different WW2 games on the boil at once (Combat Mission, War at Sea and Flames of War).

Friday night firefight

2010-01-09T00:28:00.004+10:00

Tonight was our "World War 2 in miniature" gaming night; a War at Sea engagement with our new ships and a craft session for Flames of War to get the ball rolling for future mini-games.

~ War at Sea ~
The shipment of boosters ordered after Christmas arrived a few days ago and tonight we set out our combined collection on the table and drooled.

War at Sea: The collection

Sadly the allies pulled no battleships from our boosters (getting aircraft carriers instead) so we decided to leave battleships out of the axis roster in an effort to keep things fairer for the good guys.

Staying true to stereotype I chose to play the bad guys and after lengthy consideration settled on a Japanese carrier (the very impressive Akagi) and the German cruiser Graf Spee supported by some aircraft, a submarine and a tiny destroyer.

Marc went with the British Ajax, two British submarines, a US carrier and the cruiser USS Baltimore. Oh, and a whole mess of planes too.

War at Sea: Fleets face off against each other

Things went well for the axis at the start of the game. I used my aircraft defensively to protect my fleet while Graf Spee knocked out Ajax in the first exchange of fire! Driving Marc's fleet back I was able to seize an objective counter. The mid-game saw things begin to settle as the British submarines managed to endure depth charges and fling torpedoes around, slowly but surely whittling the axis down. By the end of the match the only surface ship remaining was Marc's carrier which was able to repeatedly fend off axis aircraft (lingering on the land base after Akagi went down) to grab another objective counter before falling prey to my Japanese sub. Deciding not to bother playing out a lengthy end with no surface ships and frustratingly blunt anti-submarine weapons we decided to call it; victory for the allies!

I would like to play more games of War at Sea. I enjoy it's simplicity and the rock-paper-scissors aspect of fleet building is pleasing. Marc loves torpedoes but I think I prefer very large gun and bomb rolls. We have a few singles coming in from eBay but I don't think we will need to spend any more money on the game ~ other than a battleship or two for the allies of course.

~ Flames of War: Mid-War Monsters ~
This morning I picked up a box of Soviet KV-5's for Marc. These are very large experimental tanks for use in the Flames of War expansion "Mid-war Monsters". The idea is that it allows players to use experimental tanks that were never actually fielded during the war, but which had been designed or proposed and could have seen production if circumstance had been different. Essentially, a "what if..." or "alternate history" scenario - models that cannot be used in usual games of Flames of War and certainly not at standard tournaments, but a bit of fun for casual games at home.

Marc jumped at the chance to field a platoon of three massive multi-turreted Soviet heavy tanks although we were both surprised to see just how big they were when we opened the box!

Construction: KV-5 vs Tiger I

As a player of Germans I'm used to having a small force of powerful troops or tanks... however looking down the barrels of three KV-5's I can see that my comfort zone is about to be rocked!

I picked up a halftrack for my unfinished Panzergrenadiers although they will need many more of these transports before they can deploy to tabletop (taking them in trucks just doesn't feel right, they need halftracks!). Much of my stuff for Flames of War is only partially constructed and the small amount that is painted could benefit from a little extra attention. I do have a ground-action Fallschirmjager force although I find them to be a little boring as they move so slowly across the table... ultimatley the 88's and Tiger taken as support choices do most of the work!

Given that we are suspending the usual army building rules so Marc can use KV-5's without needing to fork out extra cash I'll have to see what I can fudge into an 800 point force. I want to resist the urge to take nothing but anti-tank technology because it feels unsporting, but they are big tanks and I'll need big guns to stop them!

Yuletide Loot

2009-12-25T16:40:00.005+10:00

Today is Christmas ~ the most 'gamerish' present I got was from Marc who gave me a starter box for Axis & Allies: War at Sea.

We're both a bit burnt-out with regard to collectable games but War at Sea looks like it will be fun with just a little investment, I don't think either of us will dump loads of cash into booster after booster hoping to pull power rares... unlike other collectable games we have indulged in!

From memory Ace Comics in the city have a sale on Boxing Day so I might grab a few boosters if they are cheap, but unless we both think War at Sea is the best thing ever the collection probably won't go much further than this.

It's a good idea for a present - something casual and fun we can have a muck-around with.

Other interesting presents for the gamer-inclined included a Hellboy comic and a book about Tanks. There was other stuff including engraved pens, chocolate, cacti, bonsai, Mighty Boosh and loads of other loot but these are less directly related to gaming and I should remind myself to remain true to the purpose of this blog; to report gaming.

However before I sign off I'll indulge a little further in the world of non-gaming if you'll allow; Emily and I became engaged on Christmas Eve! I have suggested a "Napoleonic" theme for our wedding (perhaps just for the groom's party) although this is still a long way off.

Overall a rather nice haul of goodies for Yuletide 09

(World of Warcraft) Malpheus: Random Dungeon Finder

2009-12-19T09:40:00.003+10:00

I haven't updated in a while because despite continued gaming not much *new* has happened. Malpheus has delved into Gnomeregan and Scarlet Monastery since I last wrote, adding more blues to equipment slots.

Gnomeregan was more enjoyable than I remembered. I have a faded memory of grinding it with an understrength party which resulted in slow progress and frustrating wipes - this time it was smooth and fast. I was able to navigate everyone back down to the Alliance rest-stop (after the party took a left turn to follow the breadcumb trail of mobs) and we played with the washing machines for a while. Otherwise the only turbulence was losing our tank and healer to an internet disconnection seconds before the last pull! Fortunately they were back within a few minutes.

Scarlet Monastery was also faster than I remembered, we did Graveyard and Library. Graveyard has always been easymode and Library is a good tutorial for line-of-sight pulls, fleeing mobs and debuffs. After our run and my difficulty keeping the debuffs dispelled from our party I installed Decursive add-on... it's fantastic!

To test Decursive I queued up with the new Dungeon Finder (a feature of the latest patch). To my delight I was able to replay Graveyard over and over, however once I dinged 33 the 'random' dungeon became Library. I don't mind Library although when playing with overenthusiastic strangers who race ahead refusing to wait for mana (me!) and who don't mark anything for focus fire we suffer more party wipes than we should. Where possible I try to apply Mind Flay to anything I see running into the next room, but with the big crowds of mobs and every dps working on a different target it's not possible to catch them all. Nothing new for those of you who remember pick-up groups (or PUGs for the uninitiated) but an unpleasant reminder for me - I haven't played with strangers for a long time!

Still, Dungeon Finder is a much needed feature and it is well designed - far superior than earlier attempts to implement a 'looking for group' tool (we can now choose a party role when signing into the queue). A nice part of the design is that party members are drawn from everyone queued in your battlegroup rather than just your server, increasing the speed that groups can form.

To add to the fun everyone who finishes a run provided by the Random Dungeon Finder gets a supply bag with loot inside! Sadly the random blue it holds doesn't usually have the stats you need - but you can always vendor it. Malpheus ran enough randoms to eventually score some gloves with Sorcerer stats which are very nice.

Tomorrow's scheduled run is postponed due to real life. Sadly there are noises being made that the following week may be off too ~ although only because the date falls between Christmas and New Year's. Hopefully the group will be keen for a run after a week's delay...

(World of Warcraft) Malpheus: Razorfen Kraul down

2009-11-29T16:25:00.004+10:00

This weekend I purchased a new widescreen monitor - not because I needed to (the old 15" crt was working fine) but because I felt that I should. Why not have a bit of extra space around the sides? I'm still tinkering with the settings and layout but so far it has made gaming easier (no more frantic swishing the mouse from side to side in an effort to have peripheral vision when flagged for pvp!). Of course the old monitor is ready to function as a second screen but after a bit of play I decided I don't really need to... although keeping an eye on Farmville on the old monitor while raiding on the big monitor is amusing...

Speaking of raids (well, low level instance runs) our gang cleared Razorfen Kraul this morning with no wipes. After Wailing Caverns it was nice to have a run that was a bit shorter and much less of a maze! Readers will note that I claimed Shafowfang Keep would be our next run but looking over our characters we decided to skip ahead to something that would be a bit more challenging - sadly RFK was easymode for us too. I did get a chance to Dispel some debuffs (after a much needed reminder that "the priest can get rid of those" :P) and a little healing although the majority of my time was spent spamming shadow dots and drinking water.

To my dismay I'm coming 4th on the damage meter (only the dedicated resto druid who spends the majority of his time healing and getting the odd Moonfire off is ranked lower than me) although I did get the much coveted Shadow Weaving talent after the run so perhaps that will help? Maybe it's too early to worry about it - the group is flying through encounters as it is. I suspect the Shadow Priest will slowly creep up our dps rank with levels and talents - although to be fair I'm competing with a hunter and rogue!

Malpheus at 27 hanging around Splintertree Post
(Click on image for a larger version)

I gave some awful advice during the run based on faded memory rather than one of the many run-throughs I should have read. The worst was to suggest that we clear the lower run first - only to get to the goblin escort quest and realise the dungeon was designed with the intention that players would do this bit last! Not that it mattered as the goblin needed to head back to our intersection anyway... only because it's near the entrance/exit :O

My other blunder was to confuse the fence which keeps Roogug (objective of a Warrior quest) separate from the rest of the run with the field that holds Agathelos the Raging (aka The Bigpig) back - insisting that it was worth the effort of trying to get through, which it wasn't as Roogug doesn't drop anything. Ooops.

((Oh, and a gopher I set lose for giggles just before a pull may have triggered another group of mobs to add to the fun, but it seemed to be agreed that this made the current fight 'almost a challenge' so no harm done. However it was a newbie mistake to be sure and one that I shouldn't have made given my experience with WoW.))

Next weekend is Gnomeragen at level 28. I haven't run Gnomer from the Horde side (well, not properly anyway) so it will be interesting to see how much I remember. The rest stop will be no good for Hordies, they don't give coffee and biscuits to the likes of us!

BTW during the week we managed to organise ourselves into a guild "Ye Olde Skoole". The name honours our real life ages and our dedication to running old content. I suspect linguists may raise an eyebrow at our use of Ye but we're thumbing our nose at the error as much as we are celebrating it.

(World of Warcraft) Malpheus: Wailing Caverns await!

2009-11-16T14:26:00.005+10:00

Just so there's no confusion, Malpheus is not the most attractive character you'll meet. When I play Undead I like to go "all-out" with the customisation, so he has no lower jaw. Hey, if you want pretty - play an elf :P

Malpheus at 20 with Staff of the Sun and Darkcloth Shoulders of Concentration.
Mounted on his black skeletal charger whilst loitering at The Crossroads.
(Click on image for a larger and less attractive view)

Ragefire Chasm was easier than I expected... with the benefit of hindsight this shouldn't have been a surprise given that we were rolling through with a well balanced and full team. No wipe. As I've mentioned before I've been into Ragefire Chasm many times - although this was the first time I was with a level-appropriate group.

Having cleared it with ease we were filled with confidence - so off we charged to Ghostlands to take on Dar'Khan and grab an easy blue... with the benefit of hindsight I shouldn't have described him to the group as "easy" :P

We almost wiped on him although Kevin quickly changed to bearform to pick up the adds once Russel hit the floor - while I fumbled with the off-heals and (I think?) Michael finished off Dar'Khan. It was all rather chaotic and quick although I'm glad we had a gentle wake-up call here. Whilst we didn't wipe our Pallytank and Hunter died before I noticed they needed heals (more dots! ...no more dots!) and midfight I stupidly shielded myself rather than the Beartank due to hitting the Alt key by habit.

Food for thought: Even as a shadow priest I need to keep an eye on the party's health so I can quickly change from concentrating on dps to adding off-heals ~ rather than waiting until the Druid turns into a bear and the Paladin is lying motionless on the floor! Healing is clearly my secondary role, but when it's needed it has to come quickly.

Next weekend is Wailing Caverns and possibly Shadowfang Keep depending on how our confidence sways. Wailing Caverns is a loot train and I don't think I've ever finished Shadowfang so I'm looking forward to it. I've heard rumour that Cataclysm is November 2010 so we have twelve months to work our way up through the 'classic' instances before they are altered, or lost, or wrecked by a river of lava running through the middle, or whatever is going to happen to the old content.

Warhammer RPG: Adventures in Zhufbar and surrounds

2009-11-13T16:28:00.003+10:00

Usually I would be in bed by now, but I have had too much caffeine - so I must type!

After a brief stint in Sylvania our company has moved upriver to the dwarfen city of Zhufbar. This has proven to be quite satisfying as we have a number of nearby hotspots that can be used for adventures; Karak Varn, "Laketown", the Black Lake, the many unnamed valleys and mountains surrounding the area and of course Zhufbar itself.

In our vision of the zone we have large enemy forces occupying the interesting areas - a squabbling mass of goblin tribes in and under Karak Varn and a swirling horde of chaos marauders that refuse to be drawn into warfare with anyone other than the goblins (who they periodically displace onto the dwarfs). Skaven have recently been introduced as mysterious manipulators of the goblins although what they are up to remains to be seen. Add to all this the machinations of rival dwarf nobles and the whole place is ideal for adventurous mercenary types... such as the player-characters!

We have agreed that next week will be a special session which Ken will run for us where we gather the materials and reputation required to have a Master Rune inscribed on an item of our choice. Personally I would like to see each of us use a Fate Point during the adventure so that the rune really means something - rather than just being another piece of loot (as magic items tend to be in 'other' roleplay games). The feeling is that we have reached 6000 xp and we deserve something special for it (other than the many advances those experience points have paid for of course).

Speaking of 'other' roleplay games I haven't been back to the RPGA since Gencon Oz. On balance it seems better to play frequent and regular ongoing games with the same characters and the same players using the same game system (ie Warhammer RPG) but I still have Grognard the Cleric in his folder ready to go if no other gaming is available and I feel a great urge to go back to an RPGA table for 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons.

(World of Warcraft) Malpheus: Ragefire awaits!

2009-11-10T08:28:00.004+10:00

Two weeks ago an old friend of mine grabbed a cheap copy of Warcraft to see what the fuss was about. As news spread of his arrival some other old friends dusted off their deactivated accounts and rerolled new characters with him on Proudmoore. Not being one to miss out on a new team I joined them with an Undead Priest: Malpheus.

Malpheus at 16 wearing a rather striking 'Day of the Dead' mask and sporting Tranquillien reputation items.

The plan is to slowly level up our characters to keep pace with the natural progression of our new player as he explores the world. I'm opposed to rushing him as I feel it's important not to race straight to the endgame but rather enjoy the ride, see the sights and have casual fun... it's not supposed to feel like work after all!

We have agreed to wait at level 16 for him to catch up - at which point we'll be running Ragefire Chasm as lowbies! I'm quite excited by this as we'll then be visiting each of the instances as our levels become appropriate and we won't be doing it with an overpowered escort (as would usually be the case for the typical loot-runs we've come to expect).

So far the line-up is:
Blood Elf Paladin (Tank)
Tauren Druid (Heals)
Blood Elf Rogue (dps) <- the 'new guy'
Undead Shadow Priest (dps) <- me
Troll Hunter (dps) <- a friend from work who has recently joined the team

This gives us a good 5-man mix that will see us through a lot of content. If we need off-heals I can help, or if we need more dps the druid can add some damage to his rotation. Hunters and Rogues have excellent control tricks which will help with the big pulls. Paladins make excellent (and popular) tanks - and if we need an off-tank the druid can change to bear form... although this will leave me on healing duties *shrug*.

This Sunday morning looks like it will be Ragefire, let's see how we go playing it at the correct level wearing nothing better than greens :)

Warhammer RPG: Captain

2009-10-30T15:47:00.003+10:00

I felt obliged to publish an update given that it has been a month since my last post. Usually that's a very bad reason to write anything!

Today we played a few sessions of Warhammer Roleplay which resulted in my character finally reaching his destination; Captain. This is a deep career that has many advances which will occupy my xp for a long time. He's already a competent fighter although with Captain he'll slowly evolve into something quite impressive.

Today also saw the return of Suzy and her Wizardly character to the table - once we applied her backlog of xp she landed squarely in Journeyman Wizard (or should that be Journeyperson Wizard...?). It's interesting to see how the flavour of games change slightly when someone has Magic Sense, Magic Points and a handful of spells that are useful, effective and reliable. We only had one miscast and despite being gruesome (blood flowing from nose, ears and eyes) did not result in any player deaths!

...and now for some sleep...

Uncharted Seas: Snake~Eyes Saturday

2009-09-27T09:27:00.009+10:00

Uncharted Seas
Yesterday was a much needed day of games - our intention was to play Uncharted Seas, AT-43 and Munchkin Quest before the AFL Grand Final at 2pm... as it turned out we only had time for two games of Uncharted Seas, and even then we missed half the football match!

Game One
Marc - Shroud Mage starter fleet
Troy - Iron Dwarf starter fleet

This was the first time we had enough ships to be able to play with a full starter fleet on each side. It was also the first time I could try my new watery playmat; a square of blue marble cloth purchased for a few dollars on eBay.

Iron Dwarf fleet in the foreground sights enemy Shroud Mages on the horizon.
It's only now that I realise there is still a fine layer of yellow dust on my iPhone from the recent dust storms
(Click on image for a large version)

Marc's view of the above scene from his side of the table.
His iPhone does not suffer from a thin coat of yellow dust as mine does, hence the lack of sepia!
(Click on image for a larger version)

Our first match was over very quickly as I rolled snake eyes on a critical against Marc's battleship; the resulting Magazine Explosion destroyed all of his cruisers and half of his frigates. To Marc's credit he took it in good spirits although I was a little dismayed at how quickly the game was over due to a single (lucky) dice roll.

Remnants of Marc's fleet make a run against the Iron Dwarf battleship
(Click on image for a larger version)

Game Two
Brad - Shroud Mage fleet; Battleship, 3x Cruisers
Marc - Shroud Mage fleet; Battleship, 3x Cruisers
Troy - Iron Dwarf fleet; Battleship, 3x Cruisers

As Brad had arrived just in time to see the spectacular demise of Marc's battleship we decided to play again with three fleets.

In this second game I didn't draw any repair cards, and having foolishly maneuvered into the middle of the table I drew fire from both Brad and Marc. My intention was to circle into the rear of Brad's battleship while his cruisers were busy with Marc, but with a lack of expected repair cards I couldn't weather the storm of gun shot from two other players and my ships were slowly worn away.

Shroud Mage battleships exchange fire; the unpainted white resin of Marc's ships seem to make them easier to hit :P
(Click on image for a larger version)

This left a showdown between Brad's Shroud Mage battleship and Marc's unpainted Shroud Mage Battleship. The power of painted miniatures prevailed and Marc's battleship slowly sunk beneath the waves (with a short rendition of Jeff Wayne's "Thunder child").

It was good to have Brad over for games, I don't see enough of him (due to my slackness). As he was so busy at Gencon he didn't get much of a chance to play games so I'm glad he got to roll some dice and push some toys around the table a week later.

Of course it's always good to have Marc over too and we both agree that a third player adds a welcome dynamic to the table.

GenCon Oz: Sunday

2009-09-20T19:38:00.007+10:00

Gencon Oz: Day 4 (final day)
I decided to come in 'early' for the final day of Gencon Oz rather than sleep-in. Soon enough I signed on for Jungle Hunt, an RPGA module designed for players that share an adventuring company (in our case the Westgate Adventurer's Guild). I liked some of the ideas in the module, such as choosing a local guild to sponsor us and give us their power-up.

Our DM for the session was Corey who has qualities I like; positive, patient and polite. I'm getting a sense of which Brisbane RPGA DMs run good games that I enjoy and I'm starting to develop tricks to make sure that I sit at their tables (such as lingering until I know who is running what rather than sitting at a table before I know which DM will be there - it's a little uncomfortable saying "Oh you're running this one? Well, I'm going to a different table"; much easier to just wait until they have sat down first so I can either avoid them if they are abrasive or pounce on an empty seat if they are gold!).

Grognard the Cleric is now level 4. Kevin and I discussed the possibility of getting along to another RPGA game day over at University of Queensland next weekend so the extra level will be handy.

Preparing to face a Green Dragon,
my character is backed into the corner!
(click on image for a larger version)

After the game I met up with Marc for lunch and we bumped into Nat whilst discussing the merits of using a Telosian Tank Droid from the Star Wars miniatures game for anything other than what it is (I don't care much for Star Wars these days). Nat took an amusing photo of us pointing and pondering at said miniature in a cabinet... well I found it amusing.

Edit: I pinched a copy from her Facebook album

Marc and I crouch on the ground and giggle like schoolgirls at the Telosian Tank Droid

With Marc off to play Shadowfist I lingered in the Trade Hall until my final session; a "promo" game of World of Warcraft miniatures. My understanding was that it would essentially be an extended demo - to my dismay I found that it was actually a sealed event where players open a booster pack and take the two best figures from it to play competition matches! I was considering taking the miniatures I pulled from my booster (featuring the epic High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind and a slashdance loot card, not bad for the $6 session fee) and dropping out but I soon learned that of the ten players who had signed up only two had played before; and they only had a single game to their names. Given that we were all newbs (and I had an epic!) I decided to hang around.

I have sympathy for the event's organisers who had to scramble amongst us trying to teach how the game ran while keeping the pace up so we could get playing before the convention closed. As it was we only had time for a single 20 minute match so I can't say I know very much more about the game now than what I did prior to the "promo". But hey, you can't complain when you pull an epic and a loot card out of a booster :)

With moments to spare before we were herded out of the convention I grabbed a discounted Dungeons and Dragons miniatures booster from the Fastbreak stall ~ if only to satisfy my self-imposed obligation to buy something.

So here I am at the end of the second Gencon Oz. It was great to see everyone again and I'm glad I went. The first two days were under a cloud of sleep-deprivation and I think it was a mistake to try to push myself so hard at the start - but it's only one weekend a year so I might as well go hard.

Next year I might try to get some more miniatures events into my schedule. I didn't feel particularly competitive this year so I'm glad I mostly played cooperative roleplay events.

GenCon Oz: Saturday

2009-09-19T22:50:00.006+10:00

Gencon Oz: Day 3
As expected there was no L5R action for me due to the anticipated lack of key cards from eBay. Granted, I probably could have put something rubbish together with my existing collection (maybe even adding the best bits of a starter deck to pad it out) but I decided I didn't feel like being beaten up all day. I've done that at conventions before and to be honest it does help you learn the game you are being flogged at; but it's less fun than competing properly.

Today I put my hand up for a little more RPGA - this time the "convention special" which featured avoidable fights! Yes, just like a real adventure the players are given opportunities to avoid conflict. This impressed me greatly and was a much-needed departure from the tragic rail-roading that is found in all the other RPGA modules that I have played, seen or heard of. Bravo! I can only hope that The Powers That Be continue to publish this kind of thing for RPGA'ers in the future.

I was joined by Kevin and Gareth - two friends of mine that were looking for something to do and James - an RPGA'er who (by chance) I have shared a table with at all of my RPGA events, even those at Fastbreak. We worked together well, moving quickly through encounters and promptly defeating those monsters which we could not avoid. Despite having a team of four our decision to go with the classic roles of Defender, Striker, Controller and Healer ensured we wrapped things up in record time. This was the first session I can remember that had a Controller at the table...

Everyone except the Paladin lingers in the doorway,
not long after this shot I move forward to heal the Paladin :)
(Click on image for a slightly larger version)

Grognard the Cleric is now only one adventure off hitting level 4 and there is one adventure left that I am able to take part in, so tomorrow I'll be back at the roleplay arena.

I managed to spend enough time in the Trade Hall to get a good look at everything on offer. As expected I didn't find much that excited me despite feeling obliged to purchase something. Well, tomorrow is the last day of the convention and traditionally sees the best prices from vendors as they try to avoid bringing all that stock back home with them - so there's hope for me yet!

GenCon Oz: Friday

2009-09-19T09:30:00.004+10:00

Gencon Oz: Day 2
I survived the 48hr march of work/convention/work/convention with only a few hours of sleep between each long step... I write this post after a deep recuperative slumber :)

Friday was Part Two of the RPGA mini campaign The Scent of Perfumed Swords. We only had four at our table but they were all the same players from yesterday's Part One so I was happy to be with everyone again (and it feels right to have the same characters and players together for what is supposed to be a campaign).

The party scrambles across difficult terrain to
slay the big beastie and save the would-be sacrifices.

(Click on image for a slightly larger version)

I'd like to give a special mention to our DM Vince who was positive, friendly and a pleasure to play with. He brought the session to life and happily worked through difficult/confusing parts of the module rather than complain bitterly and blame the writer, a quality I admire in an RPGA DM. Most notably he agreed that the job of a DM is to make the game "more fun" rather than to impartially adjudicate a dangerous world. Hats off!

Around the con I bumped into more people-what-are-good for chatting and catching up. I had enough time for one patrol of the Trade Hall but wasn't able to linger long enough at the stalls to see what was on offer. I'll have to correct this soon!

There was another attempt to get a good team together for the Ultimate Dungeon Delve but it looks like the stars will not align this weekend. Perhaps we'll still roll through with a less-than-elite team but given that it's a hardcore difficulty dungeon where each encounter is strictly timed to 45 minutes (with an immediate end to the session if any encounter is not cleared prior to time being called) I think we might not bother. Still, I'll make sure I head in soon so that I'm in the area if I'm needed.

Day three (today, at the time of writing) was going to be my big Legend of the Five Rings competition but with thanks to slow-moving ebayers mentioned in an earlier post I didn't get the right cards together in time. I suspect they will arrive on Monday, just in time to be useless! The positive is that I am able to sleep-in, update my blog, have a real breakfast and wander down to the Convention Center without needing to rush. Perhaps some more RPGA will be available for continued levelling of Grognard the Cleric (who is now level 3 btw).

GenCon Oz: Thursday

2009-09-18T07:26:00.011+10:00

Gencon Oz: Day 1
Thursday was day one of Gencon Oz 2009. Oh, I'm so tired... so very, very tired. But I love it!

Something I enjoyed about last year's inaugural Gencon Oz was the number of old friends that I bumped into over the weekend and I was hoping the same would happen this year. To my surprise as I approached the registration queue I immediately saw some of my oldest friends (who to my shame I have failed to keep in touch with). Sadly they were lamenting their lack of blue wrist band which would allow them access to the convention, more on this later.

Whilst chatting with them a few other friends from different circles began to wander past and soon enough I was carefully maneuvering to maintain conversations with each pod (and facilitate introductions as best I could). It's not so much a claim of popularity, more a reflection of gamers who like each other clinging together - and with my poor friendship maintenance I have managed to accumulate sticky with a few different circles of gamers as I pass in and out of other people's games.

Speaking of casual gaming my event for the day was a double session of RPGA; part one of the "mini campaign" on offer: Stirring the Embers.

Preparing to beat up some rowdy halflings who are
speedbumping our access to The Next Bit of The Module
(Click on image for a slightly larger version)

Our party consisted of a Swordmage and Dragonborn Paladin on the frontline followed by a Bladeling Monk and Dwarf Artificer. In the backrow was a Sorceress and myself playing the Dwarf Cleric mentioned in an earlier post. The balance worked better than I expected; two protectors, two healers and two strikers - this gave us the option of either sticking together or splitting into two mini-parties to approach bad guys from the flanks. From memory the Dragonborn's breath weapon and Bladeling's burst attack made for impressive minion-sweeps - as did the Artificer's wall of acid!

The players were all polite and worked together well. There was a minimum of player fuss and most of the focus was kept on the game itself. Overall I would love to play with these players again - and at least three are signed on for part two of the "mini campaign" scheduled for Friday (day 2) as I am. We may not be playing together at the same table but I have my fingers crossed.

And now for some negatives :P

I was a little surprised to see that there was no carpet this year. It seems like a minor detail but I was immediately reminded of someone telling me that if you want to change the clientele of your pub you change the carpet. I'm not sure what bare cement with black tire marks from countless forklifts/cherrypickers/trolleys suggests to others but it made me feel like I was in a Titan shed and Fight Club was about to start (perhaps it is a deliberate attempt to extend on an "arena" feel). As far as costcutting goes it makes sense to skip the presumed additional venue-imposed price of carpet rather than lose something more important such as interesting guests. A minor gripe but something that stood out and was noted by many other than myself.

A more frustrating gripe follows. As mentioned above one group of my friends, who had not realised Thursday was an extra day only for those who had pre-registered before deadline, arrived with the expectation that they would be able to buy their blue wrist band at the door and enter. Sadly they were told by the volunteer staff that there was nothing that could be done to let them in - this is harsh but perhaps reasonable enough, after all it is a bonus day that functions as an incentive to attract early registrations and if we "just let anybody in" it stops functioning as an incentive. However I would prefer it if everyone that made the effort to come over to Gencon on Thursday be permitted to pay at the door and come in to play a game, particularly when those people are my friends (yes, I'm biased), particularly when the space needed more people to fill it out and particularly when other people who had not pre-registered were allowed in. It's something that I could otherwise let slide, but when a few hours later I learned that other people in exactly the same situation as my friends were allowed access to the convention - after my friends had been turned away - I'm sure anyone reading this could appreciate my frustration.

To further rub salt in the wound (if I may!) one of the events they had in their sights was the RPGA "Ultimate Dungeon Delve"... for which two tables of players did not show up - leaving DMs idle!

I appreciate that technically they shouldn't have had access - but when exceptions are made for others on criteria that my friends equally met it builds negativity.

Still, the lack of carpet and unfair treatment of friends aside, I did enjoy my Thursday at Gencon Oz. Today (Friday) promises to be better with more players in the space, more buzz and having the Trade Hall set up and running ~ time for some shopping!

As I have just come off my nightshift after very little sleep yesterday I am going to pass on this morning's game "Shield Wall". This is disappointing as I like the game that is used in this session (Feng Shui) and it was the only non-RPGA roleplay event that I had signed on for. As it is I've got just enough time for a few hours sleep before I dive back in.

Mercifully the lovely Emily has offered to pick me up tonight, so no walk home for me :)

(World of Warcraft) Dogfish: Ding 80 (/woot!)

2009-09-13T13:06:00.003+10:00

After many long breaks I finally got around to getting Dogfish to 80 this weekend. Now I need to decide if I am going to keep going with him for the engineering mounts that I haven't made yet or move on to my next project, a druid.

Dogfish Dings 80, courtesy of the aptly named Vile.
(Click on image for a larger version; although it's a bit hard to see what's going on)

eBay frustration

2009-09-10T21:58:00.004+10:00

A week ago I ordered (and paid for) a bunch of Legend of the Five Rings cards to build a goblin deck for Gencon Oz; $20 from someone in the US and $50 from a guy in Spain. The timing is a bit tight for International post *but* if the sellers are quick I have a good chance of getting them just in time. Instead...

US Seller: Has not marked items as sent yet, has not responded to my question regarding this.

Spanish Seller: Took almost a week to provide an invoice for combined shipping and only answered my question regarding expedited shipping yesterday (thus negating any advantage of it being expedited!). As if that wasn't bad enough - today I received an email advising that he has run out of stock of about half the items I ordered and offered to provide either Spanish language copies or a refund. Perhaps it wouldn't bother me so much - but I have now run out of time to find an alternate source thanks to all this slackness.

What's with the chain-dragging? Have eBay sellers become suddenly slack or are my expectations too high?

To be fair I may be more sensitive to slow action due to the looming Gencon Oz and the reality that I won't have my cards in time for it... my reason for starting to play L5R was so I could play the game at Gencon Oz (not necessarily after it, although this is still an option of course) and due to the stuffing around I won't be able to play with a competitive deck.

Result: Fail.

RPGA: Grognard the Cleric

2009-09-05T12:06:00.007+10:00

I've been known to be critical of the RPGA in the past. Having been drawn in some years ago during 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons I played at a few events and conventions before deciding that overall the experience was less rewarding than playing with friends at home in the privacy of my own lounge room. This conclusion was supported at the time by observing members in the organisation that just wanted to "get through the block text" to the next fight and quickly reach the end of the adventure for their experience points and treasure (tangent; a similar environment to Warcraft players who have long since stopped getting any enjoyment from playing the game and just grind through dungeons for the loot <- why spend all that time getting your character geared up for a game you're not enjoying anymore!? Presumably there's a social/status aspect that they still enjoy even if the game itself is no longer satisfying).

My last experience with the RPGA in those days was a session that I convinced a group of my non-member friends to attend whilst at The Big Weekend (local gamer convention and precursor to Gencon Oz) with a view to showing them how good the organisation can be. As it turned out we were allocated a DM at the last minute who grudgingly obliged to descend from his ivory throne to run a low level adventure for us. Clearly he had some celebrity in the circle as a member of many years whose history stretched deeply back to 'the original books', a badge of honour amongst other RPGA'ers perhaps but not quite so impressive for most of our group (who despite falling short of his experience still have clear memories of playing his beloved first edition; yes, we were there too). The result was a session run by someone who had "not bothered to learn third edition because it hasn't really changed that much since first edition" complete with an insistence that the elf and dwarf in the party must argue with each other at all times, that each character match the gender of their player "so that it's not too weird" (followed by ignoring much of what our female player/character contributed to the game) and adjudicating all rules and game effects "in the spirit of first edition". Things went from bad to worse quickly and what began as open-mouthed dismay plummeted to frustration, boredom and a complete absence of fun for everyone other than the DM. Twenty minutes into the game and most of the group had left the table and the room in a huff; and so ended my first tour of duty with the RPGA.

So how is it that I found myself at an RPGA game day yesterday!?

Looking over my Gencon Oz schedule I could see a few big gaps; the most obvious of which was on Day One (otherwise considered Day Zero by some as it's only for those who have purchased a Multi-day Pass). By chance or design the only events on offer were RPGA (4th ed D&D) and Pathfinder (3.x ed D&D) games. Ignoring Pathfinder (I gave up on "3.5" edition a long time ago and do not feel sufficiently nostalgic to return) left me with two options; RPGA or nothing! ...and so it came to pass that the seed was sown afresh in that parched field.

Choosing to play the two-part "mini campaign" on Thursday and Friday I created a fresh RPGA character; a dwarf cleric. Clerics are a fantastic support class in 4th edition and I've always gotten a kick out of playing a dwarf (particularly since developing a bald spot and growing a beard in the real world!). Of course this immediately created a terrible temptation - if I can get three adventures under my belt I'll be able to start the mini campaign at Gencon Oz as a second level cleric! Thus yesterday's journey out to Fastbreak Sports in Nundah to get my hands on the much-coveted experience points and loot that I will need to give me a boost for the convention game... and to dip my toe into the modern pool of RPGA players.

This is the miniature I use but I don't think my character looks like this. It's one of the few dwarf miniatures I own which isn't an over-armoured fighter or a viking-ish lunatic!
(Dwarf Wizard, 4/60 Angelfire - D&D Miniatures)

Of course I found them to be a friendly lot, much to my relief. I obviously had some apprehension given my previous experience with the organisation (which I feel is justified) but this time around they were casual, comfortable and likable. They were genuinely interested in meeting a 'new' player and (most of them) were able to comfortably talk about topics not immediately related to D&D or gaming. The game sessions were enjoyable and the choices I made during fights were not criticised, this was possibly the biggest surprise of all! Although to be honest you can't go too far wrong spamming Astral Seal and dropping the occasional Astral Condemnation on monsters :P

To some extent I think that 4th edition has been a help for the RPGA. It's the most boardgame-like version of D&D to date and given that the RPGA is essentially a gathering of players with varying skill levels it makes sense to use a roleplay system that tends deeply towards gameplay on a tabletop with miniatures, maps with grid squares and power cards to keep things running smoothly. Furthermore RPGA adventures are intended to run for no more than 4hrs so anything that avoids confusion or arguement is to be applauded.

Of course it's not perfect and there's nothing stopping me from having the same experience that I had with them years ago - but for now things are positive, friendly and enjoyable. There's a casual social aspect to the organisation and a feeling that putting levels on your character is an investment in something that will last... oh dear, I'm being pulled back in again!

Samurai training: L5R @ Ace Comics

2009-08-31T15:37:00.006+10:00

On Sunday I finally made it along to Ace Comics for a session of Legend of the Five Rings - actually it's probably the last meeting prior to Gencon Oz so I'll need to commit further if I want to get enough practice before "the big game"... which means Wed nights at Annerley.
For the sake of those who live in Annerley I don't have a problem with the place (the steep hill up from the station is annoying, although this can be avoided by catching a bus) my concern is that I usually have a nap in the early evening so I am refreshed and awake for my 2am nightshift start - this of course clashes with meeting up at night for gaming. To extend the tangent further I lived in a sharehouse on Chester Road in Annerley during the mid-90's which left me with (mostly) positive memories so I don't hate the place, although the closing of Two Faces of Eve cafe has left the area without a soul <- at the risk of sounding DRAMATIC... anyway, back to my story:

Sunday saw me trot out the clumsy Crab deck that has been highly modified since it was a starter pack from Glory of the Empire a few months ago. Against Mike's Scorpion deck they seemed to be able to maintain tempo for the early and mid game but they lost steam and were overwhelmed - covered in poison counters! For the second game of the day we faced the Unicorn and managed to keep up a good pace until two of my Hida Yumiya could hit the table and save the day for the Crab clan. Lastly we had a quick play with the learner decks from Imperial Gift 2.

During the day we spotted quite a few cards in my deck that had become obsolete in Celestial format. Sadly many of my beloved cards were relics from the previous edition and had found their way into my deck via the above mentioned Crab starter or from the generosity of other players. Once I got home I painstakingly went through the deck removing anything not legal for Celestial and to my dismay lost most of my favourite Crab personalities! Whilst disappointed I can understand bouncers like Hida Daizu and Hida Kaoru (Exp) becoming obsolete; they are rather good.

The result of all this? Well... I'd been considering shifting my budding loyalty from Crab to Spider - both of these clans can put out some heavy hitters in military decks. In the Crab clan I was able to find big beefy berserkers, in Spider it's big scary Shadowlands monsters such as Furu no Oni and the gargantuan Akuma no Oni (Exp2)... did I mention I like BIG CARDS?

Coupled with tricksters such as Daigotsu (Exp 3) and Datsue-ba (for when I feel like less of a thug) supported by a horde of undead the Spider look like a very tempting new loyalty for someone who has found their previous clan a little deflated.

Of course Hida Yumiya has the Shadowlands keyword so he'll be in my Spider deck as a nod to my previous clan (although I'll be paying full gold cost for him).

...and now to eBay to look for cheap Spider cards!

Warcraft: Cataclysm

2009-08-23T01:01:00.005+10:00

I'm sure that anyone who is interested in WoW has already heard the news, but I'm so enthusiastic that I have to add to the noise regarding the next expansion (apparently it's coming around to that time again).

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm adds two new playable races; Goblins for Horde (yay!) and Worgen for Alliance (/meh). Also a few new race/class combinations are now available as outlined in the table below:

^ Click on image for a larger (readable) version

The Troll Druid is appealing as I haven't played a Druid at high level before... the idea of leveling would usually put me off a bit - but a feature of the Cataclysm is that some old zones have been reworked with rivers of lava, new towns and new quests, so grinding up from 1 will feel less like autopilot :P

As for my inevitable Goblin I'm not sure what class I'll choose - I already have a belly full of Warlock, Hunter, Mage and Shaman (this also excludes the Dwarf Shaman which is very tempting). I find Warriors too fiddly with all the stancedancing which only leaves Rogue and Priest as remaining options for my Goblin. Who knows? ...maybe I'll just roll another huntard.

In other Cataclysm news we'll finally be able to use our flying mounts in Azeroth!!! Old rumour holds that the reason we didn't get this feature with Burning Crusade was because there were graphical errors in Azeroth that could only be seen from high above the ground ~ so we weren't allowed to fly there (because that's easier than fixing them). Perhaps the Cataclysm has smashed up all these erroneous old graphics and replaced them with chasms and pools of lava that will look fine from high above?

Anyway, enough excitement about things to come - time to get back to the game as it is today.

GenCon Oz: What I'm doing

2009-08-20T19:31:00.012+10:00

GenCon Oz: 17 September - 20 September 2009
Brisbane's big gamer convention is on again

Some folk have asked what games I'm playing this year so we can all be at the same table. Rather than retyping the answer each time the question is asked I've decided to post here for everyone. When you're searching for an event you can use the ID number provided to make sure you're in the same session as me. Note that these are sessions that I've booked and paid for so compromise will be tricky ~ however there are still many gaps in my schedule.
https://registration.genconoz.com/

02/09/09 Update: Note that I have dropped my seat in Friday's RPG00069 "Miser's Run". I'm not sure that anyone reading this is worried but if you were hoping to share a table with me for "Miser's Run" you should know that I just dropped it for an RPGA session (yes, I'm going to try RPGA again!).

05/09/09 Update: Added L5R Main Event to Saturday

{Changes in Red}

Thursday (17 Sept):
2pm-11pm RPGA00025 "Stirring the Embers"

Friday (18 Sept):
9am-12.30 RPG00028 "Shield Wall" ~ I'm always up for Feng Shui
12.30-2pm {gap}
2pm-11pm RPGA00028 "The Burning Scent of Perfumed Swords"

Saturday (19 Sept):
10am-6pm CCG00003 Legend of the Five Rings CCG "Main Event" ~ with Swiss Pairing you eventually find players of your skill level :P
6pm+ I'd like to do something here but may have to wait and see how much energy I have left after a day of cardplay; perhaps Space Hulk if I can find Mike and/or Russel.

Sunday (20 Sept):
9am-10am SEM00002 "Publishing your own RPG in Australia"
10am-2pm MIN00029 "Reaper Miniatures Demo"
3pm-5pm CMG00203 "World of Warcraft Minis Promo"

^ I don't think the Sunday demo/promo games will run as long as advertised - it looks more like eager exhibitors grabbing a large block of time... although I could be wrong - it may be a very long pitch!

♦ I wanted to play Chris' "Valley of Diamonds" so I can see how it looks now (having playtested it months ago) but I've managed to block myself from all of his sessions. You kids should play it though - it's 4th ed D&D but don't let that put you off.
♦ I was hoping for Munchkin Quest but this may be something that I'll have to bring myself for friends.
♦ I'd like to have a look at the Classic Battletech tables (for old time's sake) and the 40k Apocalypse tables (to see if anyone brings a Titan) but there should be plenty of free time for that.
♦ Oh, and Steve Dee has promised something to do with the new edition of Warhammer RPG although I suspect this may be left to the last minute :P

Munchkin Quest

2009-08-18T22:11:00.008+10:00

We had another go at Munchkin Quest tonight; I spent most of the game as the anathema of powergamers everywhere - a Dwarf Wizard while Emily scored a Half-Human/Half-Halfling Super Warrior (I dub thee Quaterling).

Click on image for a larger version... if you dare!
Emily (green Munchkin) faces the wrath of the Floating Nose.
Meanwhile I prepare to ransack another room (yellow Munchkin).

We almost got to the endgame before Emily gave up for bed. I played an extra turn to see how I'd go against the boss (playing Emily's hand in her absence) and faced the Enraged Armored Big Brother of Mr Bones - the short combat ending with three of my levels drained! Deciding that Emily was right I too retired.

I expect that our next game will be played to completion... given that after packing up I found Emily in the computer room checking eBay instead of sleeping in bed ~ oooh!

Munchkin Quest: First Impressions (Positive)

2009-08-16T12:12:00.003+10:00

I convinced a very tired Emily to play a few rounds of Munchkin Quest last night (after having received it in the mail on Friday). It's quite straightforward for seasoned gamers, although we discovered it's a little trickier for those who are newer to dungeon delving. To be fair the rules are very clear and simple enough to digest quickly - although I'm glad I read through them a few times before setting things up.

I was a little unsure about the movement rate and how this could reveal three rooms per player per turn (if they move through open doors, don't stop to search and if they overcome each monster revealed) although after a few rounds it starts to make sense as it allows the players to either steamroll ahead if they are feeling confident or settle into a pattern of searching, moving and searching to minimise the number of monsters they face while gathering loads of gold and the occasional item.

We stumbled a little as we flicked through the rules to decide if we wanted to use our colour base or our opponent's colour base on new monsters who roll a colour that isn't being played but we worked out fairly quickly that the answer was yes as it has the potential to provide more DxM (event) cards.

Emily started as an Elf with a Health Club and I was a Human with a Dirk of Dauntlessness and a Stabbity Spear (held in one hand but benefiting from the two-hand bonus thanks to the Cheat card!). We had the Big Brother of a Frost Giant we worked together to kill on turn one show up on turn two and pace across the middle of the dungeon while we explored elsewhere. Sadly Emily was too tired to continue and we packed everything up (but not before I could become a Wizard).

It's just the sort of game I've been looking for; casual dungeon-tiling that doesn't require a GM and is simple and fun enough that non-roleplayers can enjoy it (while old grognards can giggle at the in-jokes). It is quite humourous and the cartoon illustrations really help maintain the silly tone so nobody feels like things are serious - even when they are adding up their bonuses and concentrating on which potion to use and what their odds are... it's clever game design to trick non-gamers down into the dungeon!

Warhammer RPG: Sergeant

2009-08-15T10:05:00.002+10:00

After a long break (caused by a holiday in Melbourne) we had a game yesterday. Attendance and spirits were high - although we have lost a member due to a timetable clash with Uni classes. Sadly she is our healer!

My character had his first chance to use the extra Attack he picked up prior to the break; I forgot how much of a power-up that extra swing is! As he's equipped with spear and shield there are plenty of opportunities for miming "300" hoplite moves (lol). As he will be moving into a "Mercenary Captain" role we have hired a few of the local peasants as axemen/slingers/torchbearers with a view to forming a professional unit of soldiery types - although the lack of Command ability makes things suitably confusing in the heat of battle :)

It's good to see players back at the table with a sparkle in their eye - and everyone describes their character in terms of what careers they want to move into - so hopefully my earlier lamentation regarding a game that has died will not be justified for a long time yet!

Warhammer RPG: Shieldbreaker -> Sergeant

2009-07-18T10:56:00.002+10:00

The Warhammer group seems to be running out of steam with attendance dropping below the minimum of three required for comfortable gaming. Chris and I spent the session chatting, catching up and eating cherries (which was nice) but with only two of us roleplay was not desirable. I anticipate the project being grounded. My character just made it to Sergeant prior to what seems (at the time of writing) to be the end of the campaign.

I prefer Warhammer RPG to 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons so even if this group has faltered hopefully a fresh campaign using the system can be sifted from the ashes. There are some mumurings of interest in Hackmaster (lolwut?) with a copy being brought to a previous session and discreetly pointed at people with enthusiastic prodding but I must say I DON'T find the idea of retro roleplay appealing.

Arrival of the Shroud Mages!

2009-07-15T20:48:00.001+10:00

As I'd hoped the package waiting for me at the Post Office was the Shroud Mages starter fleet for Uncharted Seas that I have been eagerly waiting for.

Sadly the tips of the battleship's smoke stacks have been chipped during the long journey to Australia - however I seem to have been given an extra frigate (although it is missing a turret, so its inclusion in my box is probably a mistake rather than an intended bonus).

...now my Iron Dwarves have a fleet to sail against - no more maneuvers!

Work in progress: Uncharted Seas terrain

2009-07-06T19:32:00.002+10:00

A few items from Eureka came in this afternoon. Actually today saw the arrival of many small packages and letters, although only these items are of immediate interest to miniature wargamers :)

This is the 6mm "Stone Tower Windmill" (RU43) made by Irregular Miniatures. Strictly speaking the scale is too large for Uncharted Seas but given that we are playing in a fantasy setting I don't think it will be too obvious. Besides, popular opinion is that 2mm scale buildings don't look right next to Uncharted Seas ships. Dwarf cruiser included for size reference.

I also grabbed a tiny 6mm "Seven Headed Hydra" (CR18) by Irregular Miniatures at the same time. The plan with this little guy is to use him as dressing for an otherwise empty island; he won't be used in the game as a monster that can affect play (let's assume he can't swim and try not to work out how he got on his island!). The island will be larger than the base you see him resting on in this shot. Dwarf cruiser included for size reference.

Now I have to paint them up!

Warhammer RPG: Smuggler -> Shieldbreaker

2009-06-28T08:01:00.002+10:00

Friday was our weekly meet for the round-robin Warhammer Roleplay campaign. Having finally acquired enough skills and talents from Smuggler (and having purchased all of the required gear) my character progressed to Shieldbreaker. Finally, a career that is competent at fighting! To be fair, lingering in low classes has the benefit of providing useful skills such as Secret Signs (Thief) and Gossip ~ but it's nice to move onto a 'combat career' now that I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

Honouring our sportspersons agreement to avoid increasing our Attack attribute for as long as possible I instead chose Strike Mighty Blow and Dodge Blow to buy with saved experience points. During my character's downtime I will be working for the local Dwarf as a "soldiery type" (to justify the career of Shieldbreaker) and meeting up with the other player-characters on weekends for our adventures.

Saturday Gamesday

2009-06-21T08:38:00.006+10:00

Yesterday was Games Day at my place with both Uncharted Seas and AT-43 on the menu.

Uncharted Seas #1
We started with a replay of an Uncharted Seas match from a previous meeting; Three Frigates and Two Cruisers per side. As Marc has yet to buy (or scratchbuild) a fleet we shared my Iron Dwarves again. Much fun was had and the rules came back to us quickly despite not having played Uncharted Seas for a while.

The game ended with both fleets being whittled down to only one cruiser each - Marc managed to put just enough damage on mine to take a close (and exciting) victory.

Uncharted Seas Game One: A mess of Iron Dwarves!
Click on image for larger version

Uncharted Seas #2
For our second game we decided to see how three cruisers (150 points) would go against one Battleship (120 points). Marc insisted that I take the Battleship as the models belong to me. I wasn't sure how it would go up against the linked fire from the cruisers - as it turned out it did very well (much to Marc's dismay).

The Battleship is painfully slow but has the advantage of armour, firepower and range (!!!) so the opposing dwarf cruisers have to come into it's deadly 13 AD Band 2 (or worse: 16AD Band 1) to have a realistic chance at penetrating it's thick armour and to avoid being pinged to death from a distance.

Victory for my side of the table, although in hindsight an unfair fight (despite being at a 30 point disadvantage).

Uncharted Seas Game Two: Three Cruisers attempt to bring down one Battleship
Click on image for larger version

AT-43
Our last game of the day was AT-43. Marc played Karmans and I played Therians (no surprise for anyone that has followed this blog... not that anyone has!). After building 1000 point armies we rolled a Seek and Destroy mission - victory is determined by destroying as many of the enemy as possible before the 6 turn time limit is up.

I managed to get off a Creation routine on turn one to spawn a Succubus Golgoth (this would have gone on for turn after turn but I only own one correct model for spawning and the rules explicitly state no proxies for this routine!). Marc made a blunder early in the game placing his unit activation cards in an undesirable order - then promptly followed this up by forgetting to put an Overwatch drill on one of his units. This put him on the backfoot for the rest of the match (in my defence I asked him a few times if he was sure that he had done everything that he wanted to do before ending his turn - so no takebacks for him!).

Marc spent a turn or two playing defensively (seeking cover and putting everyone on Overwatch) giving him a chance to catch his breath and refocus on the battle. In the meantime I maneuvered my Therians to set up an overwatch firezone and pinged one of his K-Warriors (finishing off the unit two turns later). Having recovered his spirit Marc pushed his trike forward and destroyed an Incubus Golgoth (proxied by my Babylon Zero model).

The remaining AFVs plugged away at each other doing a little damage but scoring no further kills. By turn 6 it wasn't quite enough for the Karmans - being beaten by only one victory point.

Marc: 2 VPs - Kills: Incubus Golgoth (Overseer Alpha)
Troy: 3 VPs - Kills: K-Warriors with Mentor
Result: Therian Victory

AT-43 Afternoon Game: Karmans move into the Therian killzone!
Click on image for larger version

Conclusion:
We had a fun day of gaming!

I need to continue to work on my terrain (as the last photo clearly shows). We're remembering the rules for both games now and we're still excited by both games so more matches will be had (and the battles will be resolved faster as our experience with the rules continues to improve).

AT-43: The Birthdaying

2009-05-31T15:22:00.004+10:00

Yesterday was my birthday and (amongst other events) I had a visit from Marc in the morning. The plan was to have a few games of AT-43 and a few games of Uncharted Seas but sadly we became distracted by phone calls and small cakes so we only got a single game of AT-43 in before Marc to head home.

As we were starting early I had just enough time to open the many boxes of Therians waiting in the lounge room and have a quick look through the army book before Marc arrived.

Marc designed his Karman army using the Nova sub-faction which allowed him to negate actions that require me to spend Leadership Points by spending the same amount! As he was careful to keep 4 LP handy at all times this meant that I couldn't get my Creation routine off and create a free Succubus... however Nova's disadvantage gave me initiative each round. So despite not being able to use my best Therian trick I could always count on taking the first action ~ which as we discovered is a huge advantage when you have more units than your opponent (as I did).

I went with Therians (of course) and chose the Cyphers subfaction. This gave all my overseers access to both infantry and AFV routines but a disadvantage that I couldn't wager Leadership Points to win initiative (as it turns out: not so bad when Nova's disadvantage would automatically give me initiative anyway *GRIN*).

The match went well for my side of the table; my Storm Golems kept Marc's infantry suppressed while my Incubus Golgoth concentrated on his trikes. The trikes managed to immobilise my Golgoth although this effectively forced me to use the Nucleus Cannon's Sniper ability every round as I wouldn't be moving anyway; the result being trikes with weapons that were promptly pinged off before they could seek cover.

The match ended with Marc's impressive decision to run over my Storm Arachns [sic] with his last remaining trike in the hope of crushing them before they had a chance to explode. Whilst he managed to kill two his movement stopped in the midst of the remaining four who were about to activate... and explode!

Overall a fun morning. On balance I still feel that Uncharted Seas is the more enjoyable game however AT-43 is fun too. We are still flicking through the rulebook for AT-43 during games although this may be due to long breaks between matches. More games must be had and I discussed the possibility with Marc of organising a regular meeting time for miniature wargaming ~ possibly at the library...

In more important news our hot water system has failed so the only showers on offer are COLD. Sadly this is the time of year when warm and/or hot showers are desired :(

AT-43: Therian Deployment

2009-05-29T07:27:00.003+10:00

The huge shipment of Therians arrived yesterday although I still haven't had a chance to open up the boxes and play with them ~ so for now they are piled up in the lounge room. I might be able to get a game or two tomorrow (as it's my birthday) *fingers crossed* I can get a few AT-43 and Uncharted Seas games in although I may be pushing the emotional leverage a bit :P

...argh so tired! I'm going to catch a few hours of sleep before heading down to the city for Warhammer Roleplay at midday (Chris has booked a room at the library so we'll be playing in comfort).

Warhammer RPG: Bone Picker -> Smuggler

2009-05-23T06:57:00.003+10:00

Another one of my many gaming commitments is a weekly meeting for Warhammer Roleplay. For the uninitiated; the word "Warhammer" is usually associated with the miniatures wargame (either the Fantasy or Science Fiction versions) however in this case it refers to the tabletop Roleplaying game - so cooperative play with only one character each rather than competitive play with a whole army each. I won't go into much more detail as I'll assume the majority of this blog's readers will require or desire no further clarity.

We agreed at the start that we would only play 'lowest class' starting careers. I rolled a few nice starters such as Soldier and Marine but passed on them until I finally hit a suitably low career: Bone Picker! The other players have started with Peasant, Charcoal Burner and Hedge Wizard. Yeah that last one is 'a bit good' but the character concept is of a midwife that lurks amongst (and is a fellow member of) the lowest citizens; she'll be moving up through healing careers rather than Wizard careers - although we'll see if she's not tempted away by more magic points :P

We've been playing multi-adventure sessions for a few weeks so the characters are just getting ready to finish their starting career and move into their second. Our Peasant will be having a wash and becoming a Servant (with a long term view of going through Valet and Squire to Knight) our Charcoal Burner will continue to develop his outdoor/wilderness skills - from memory he has Woodsman lined up as his next career. I plan to go from Bone Picker to Smuggler which will line me up for Shieldbearer and access to the warrior careers. I don't have my rulebook next to me so I'm not sure that I've used the correct career names in this paragraph; but you get the idea!

For this campaign we have revisited a format that I championed a few years ago when we were playing the science fiction version of this game (Dark Heresy). Each of us takes turns in a round-robin fashion of running a short adventure for the other players. Usually one member of the group commits to being the Games Master for the whole campaign and they are responsible for much of the story - but in this format the hat is passed around the table and the duties of 'world building' are shared.

We had problems making it work with Dark Heresy as each GM fell back on old habits and started running "arc" adventures that continued from their previous adventures; the result being that characters would suddenly find themselves back on Mudworld for part 2 of "Mudworld adventure" despite having just completed part 4 of "Deathworld adventure"; then they'd jump back to another continued adventure before coming back to Mudworld 3... as that campaign progressed the warping became too jarring and the whole thing crashed. After careful consideration we concluded that the trick is to ensure that adventures are short, sweet and have just enough hooks to spawn new independent adventures. Ideally each adventure is comparable in structure to a mid-season Buffy or Dr Who episode; nothing too major happens but characters can still develop.

Having said that it has been suggested that we may move from our collaboratively designed village to a town when our characters become middle class citizens. Perhaps we could consider this the end of Season One? ;)

(World of Warcraft) Dogfish: Ding 70

2009-05-20T18:21:00.006+10:00

The 'casual leveling' of Dogfish increased in frequency once I reached Nagrand, a region I enjoy cruising around. On the weekend Emily logged her hunter in and helped me finish off all the group quests (Durn the Hungerer, Cho'war, Ring of Blood) which netted huge experience points and lots of blues. Nice.

Having hit 68 (and applying the same logic that sent me through the Dark Portal at 58) I decided to try my luck in Northrend. The last time I came out here was with a purple-equipped Malidor, so much of what he got from the early quests went straight to the vendor; however a slightly-underequipped Dogfish was able to enjoy the expected gravy train resulting in a prompt "Ding: 70" and rather nice gear with minimum effort. Sadly the weekend's blues from Nagrand have all been replaced with green upgrades ~ but this was expected.

(Click image for a bigger version with more detail)

In other WoW news a workmate has rolled a new Druid on Khaz'goroth for casual gaming and good times. I took him through Wailing Caverns (as is tradition with real life friends rolling new characters on a shared server) and we only got lost once... or twice. I always miss the same blind-turn and make a point of remembering where it is - but as I only visit the instance once every few months at most I forget where the tricky turnoff is and end up running in circles again! Oh well, I guess Raid Leader isn't a hat I'll be wearing any time soon :P

AT-43: Friday night firefight(s)

2009-05-16T08:52:00.005+10:00

Last night I accepted an invitation to play AT-43 with Marc and Justin (at Marc's place). AT-43 is a science fiction miniatures wargame made by a French company called Rackham. The models are pre-constructed and pre-painted so you can use them straight out-of-the-box (as opposed to most other miniature wargames I play that require the game pieces to be built and painted by the hobbyist before they can be used). Last night's gathering was an open attempt to lure me back into the game after I had given up in frustration a few months earlier.

My early experiences with AT-43 saw me playing a strider-heavy Red Blok force. They are a Soviet themed faction that tend to have thick armour but low accuracy - so they last a while but can't hit anything! The result is that I wasn't having much fun with them (although they are still my favourite faction as far as their designs go). Justin ended up with my models and I spent the money on dinner with Emily. However, this was not to be the end of my time with AT-43 as the opening paragraph has already indicated!

It was suggested that the Therians may be more fun for me as they have lots of tricks and good accuracy. The Therians are an alien-ish Machine faction that mix design elements taken from 'the machines' from The Matrix, Necrons from Warhammer 40,000 and a dash of robot-skeletons from The Terminator... all wearing Kabuki masks! Well, maybe not Kabuki masks - but it sounds creepier if I describe them that way (they actually wear plain white masks, I suppose that's creepy enough!). Surprisingly this is not the strangest faction in the game (a description of the Karmans will follow shortly).

I cautioned against playing three-player games but no one wanted to sit out (which is understandable) so we decided to roll a die to see who would be 'stuck in the middle' each game.

Game 1; 650 points (?) [at least one unit of Rank 1 Infantry]
I can't quite remember the details of this game except that Marc ended up deploying on the long edge of the table with Justin and I on the short ends, thus leaving Marc as the closest and easiest target for both of us (much to the delight of everyone - including our spectators who popped in for a few minutes). Marc was playing his beloved Karmans; a faction of genetically enchanced Apes wearing powered armour and flying around on hoverbikes/hovertrikes. Sandwiched between Justin and I they didn't last long (again with the delight from spectators).

In the above picture my Wraith Golgoth (the big black thing in the foreground) is about to put some hurt on Marc's hoverbike (the blue and white thing in the middle of the picture). In the background can be seen Marc and Tanya's kitchen; proof that there is a real world.

The game began to drag a little and I offered to concede to Justin so we could move onto the next game - but Marc would have none of it! From memory I ended up with a narrow win although I've since forgotten the closing moments.

Overall: I like the Therian tricks.

Game 2; 1000 points [no additional restrictions]
For this game I went back to my old friends the Red Blok. Urod and a Sierp gobbled up all my points and I came to the table with only two models. Dicing for table edge Justin and I ended up on the long sides and (surprise surprise) Marc was between us on a short side. True to form his Karmans took an early hammering from the combined attention of Urod and Justin's UNA striders (The UNA are a vaguely-USA themed faction, lots of high-tech soldiers with good weapons and fire support).

The mid-game of this match grinded to a halt as we became confused over some finer points of the rules (specifically how cover and line-of-sight affects striders). The above picture depicts a scene that most miniature wargamers will find familiar; players flicking through the rulebook trying to find the rule they are sure they saw but now can't find again!

Once the action resumed Justin and I got back to our terrain-dance as our striders moved in and out of cover to repair themselves or shoot each other. In the meantime Marc's only remaining Karman moved up through cover and charged one of Justin's damaged striders - which he managed to kill... although this left him in the open and promptly riddled with laser fire next turn.

Deciding that enough-was-enough I decided to push Urod out of the terrain and unto the objective (which I would be able to secure thanks to playing the Frontline subfaction). This left me in the open but I crossed my fingers that Urod's armour and self-repair would allow me to endure the two full turns required to hold the objective and win the game. Sadly Justin managed to break with precedent and put two missiles squarely into Urod's frame and it was all over; victory for the UNA.

Overall: UNA are hard to beat! I had more fun with Red Blok this game than I had in the past but the same concerns are there.

Game 3; 740 points [at least one unit of Rank 1 Infantry]
Deciding that black is the new black I went with Therians for our last game of the night. This time Justin ended up 'in the middle' on a long table edge with his UNA. I was lucky enough to have a clear avenue from my deployment zone through terrain directly to the objective marker, which in the interest of good sportsmanship I pointed out to Marc and Justin, but which to their credit they decided to leave in position.

I chose to activate my infantry first which seemed to provoke a little surprise until I declared an Infantry Routine (aka 'Therian trick') to give them a boosted dash value - which they used to run straight at the objective. This left my strider on the starting line who promptly vanished under four missiles from Justin's UNA... although it did buy a precious extra turn for my fast moving infantry.

As I continued to close in on the victory marker Justin and Marc exchanged shots in a strider/hovertrike exchange. As the smoke cleared they pushed forward to put some fire on my infantry but by this point it was too late; any loses to my infantry were fixed with an Infantry Routine (aka 'Therian trick') that allowed me to 'respawn' one lost model in the unit per turn. So I was able to sit on the victory counter, being pinged from a distance but respawning my losses. Two turns passed and the match went to the wicked Therians; woot!

Overall: I like the Therian tricks!

Conclusion: I'm going to keep an eye on the usual cheap sources of AT-43 figures and pick up some Therians if the price is right (and if the postage is right too!). I had fun although we did grind down on a few rules that gave me a bit of a headache. It was good to finally meet Justin in the real world and to see Marc and Tanya's lovely townhouse ~ more games must be had! :)

Uncharted Seas: First Game!

2009-05-08T23:03:00.005+10:00

We finally got together for a game of Uncharted Seas tonight (as detailed in previous post). It was heaps of fun and we learned a lot. The game is very fast to play and the rules are simple enough to pick up quickly. Overall - we'll definitely have more games and buy more ships.

In this photo my slightly damaged cruiser steams toward the enemy with a squadron of frigates about to activate and follow. The rocky 'island' is a prepainted aquarium decoration.

Uncharted Seas: Tokens and Templates

2009-05-02T06:49:00.011+10:00

I felt obliged to add a new post to the blog - although I don't have much to report.

Yesterday afternoon I went to my local copy centre and had some Uncharted Seas tokens and templates printed on card. They are shiny and very nice! I'm always pleased with having things printed at copy centres - there's something satisfying about holding a physical copy of something that I've otherwise only seen on my computer screen :)

I was hoping for a game today (yes, an actual game!) but my opponent has had other things pop up - now it looks like it might be happening on Monday thanks to a public holiday. As he doesn't have a fleet (yet) we are going to split my Iron Dwarves into two mini-fleets. As a consequence I must leave half the fleet unpainted.

Intro Game (no cards, no ramming; to learn the basics)
Objective: Sink all of opponent's ships
Terrain Setup: One island in the middle of the table
Each Player's Fleet:
* Frigate Squadron: Mortis Class Frigates x3
* Reduced Cruiser Squadron: Hammer Class Cruiser x1

Mini Game (all game features)
Objective: Sink all of opponent's ships
Terrain Setup: As the mood takes us (I'm sure he'll want a mess of islands!)
Each Player's Fleet:
* Frigate Squadron: Mortis Class Frigates x3
* Cruiser Squadron: Anvil Class Heavy Cruiser x1, Hammer Class Cruiser x1

Uncharted Seas: Dwarf Fleet - Test Paint

2009-04-24T15:41:00.003+10:00

Today saw a quick-ish initial paint of a few ships in my Iron Dwarf fleet for Uncharted Seas.

The idea is to borrow from the palette of some dazzle schemes used on ships around WW2 but maintain the hard lines of the ship design rather than break them up (as would be usual with a dazzle scheme). Most dwarf ships I've seen have had a light or dark wood colour for the deck however I chose to go with a dark blue/grey washed with black - if challenged I can claim the timber is "Darkwood" :)

There's obviously more work to do but I'm happy with the scheme itself. A touch of gun metal and/or chrome on the guns and some restoration of the beige plates to make them less dirty should get them up to a point that I am happy with.

I'm contemplating air recognition circles on the turrets and decks in a contrasting colour although this will have to wait until later.

Prussians: Infantry Test Paint

2009-04-22T12:58:00.005+10:00

I did a test paint for each of the infantry regiments that will be in my army as per my previous post. On the left is Forcarde and on the right is Itzenplitz.

At this scale the difference is negligible; if you look carefully you'll see that the cuffs are different colours (red and white respectively). It's almost unnoticeable but their collars and pompons are also different; Forcarde has a blue collar and red/white pompon whilst Itzenplitz has a white collar and yellow pompon.

Overall I'm not sure that I'm happy with the job I've done but will press forward and hope they look okay when they are ranked up and properley based. Perhaps a highlight on the blue coats will help bring out more detail.

...also Forcarde needs to have his bayonet straightened!

Prussians: Rossbach Uniforms

2009-04-20T02:37:00.019+10:00

I don't like to call in sick at work (in fact I take pride in not "chucking sickies" in this job) however tonight I've been too nauseous to either lie down or walk around - although sitting upright seems to make me feel better... which is a good excuse to sit at the computer and continue my gamer "research" (hopefully my typing doesn't wake Emily up).

Koenig Krieg: Seven Years War Prussians
I've been playing around with colour schemes for my Koenig Krieg Prussian Army. These are uniforms of some regiments that took part in the battle of Rossbach (November 1757) so by choosing these colours I can rest assured that my army will not be too divergent from history. Of course most of my opponents won't know (or care) but at least I'll know!

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* Musketeers: Major-general von Geist Brigade

Nr. 13 Itzenplitz Infantry

The flags are quite striking and the white lapels/cuffs on the infantry are appealing - although I'm not sure how that much white will look on the front of the model. A test paint is required!

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* Musketeers: Major-general von Geist Brigade

Nr. 23 Forcade Infantry

This regiment has the classic Blue/White/Red scheme of the Prussians in this period allowing me to use these models to 'stand in' for other infantry.

_____________________________________________
* Dragoons: Seydlitz Brigade

Nr. 4 Czettritz Dragoons

The buff/straw colour of the breeches, waistcoat, collar, lapels and turnbacks give this uniform a subtle variation from the infantry whilst the red saddlecloth keeps the overall colour scheme linked back to the rest of the army.

_____________________________________________
These choices keep the army paint scheme limited to a palette of Blue, White, Red and Black with a little Beige for variation. This extends to flag colour allowing individual units to look different to each other without breaking the overall theme of the army.

Of course all of this is pending how the test models look - I may yet ditch these schemes in favour of something more exotic (such as Nr 10. Finckenstein Dragoons with their orange collar, turnbacks and saddlecloth). However for my first Seven Years War army it would be wise to stick with more conventional (or 'generic' if I may be so bold!) colour schemes.

...and now I'll try to lie down again ...poor sick me!

(World of Warcraft) Dogfish: Ding 60

2009-04-18T18:06:00.006+10:00

World of Warcraft
I've been casually playing my Orc Shaman with increased frequency - a few nights ago he hit level 60. I remember when that used to be a big deal! I have a lot of characters although most of them linger in the mid-20's as I get bored with them and move on to another. Actually I only have one level 80... but I digress!

Here he is in Shattrath City wearing various quest reward bits and partial sets from the Auction House. I've always thought "Shattrath" was an unfortunate name for a city (well, an unfortunate name for anything not related to a particular body function).

I went with Aldor although I don't think it matters as he'll be off to Northrend before he has sufficient reputation with them to unlock anything interesting.

Prussians, Dwarves & Samurai

2009-04-18T16:29:00.016+10:00

I went on a journey with Emily today in search of an airbrush and an appropriately sized air compressor. Bunnings had an air compressor that was the right price for my budget - although it was still too large for what I want despite being the smallest they had.

We continued our journey and ventured to a nearby hobby shop where I did find the right size of air compressor (a lovely little brass model that is small enough to sit on the bench while I paint) although it cost over twice as much as the beast at Bunnings! If I hadn't already spent my toy money this fortnight I would have grabbed it - but my bank account can't take any more hits of that magnitude without sinking... so I guess it will have to wait until next pay.

Speaking of spending money, I have new toys that deserve a mention.

Koenig Krieg: SYW Prussians
Last weekend I popped into the Brisbane Muster to see what was happening. There were a number of interesting games being played (everything from a modern Iraq encounter in 1/72nd scale to a Blues Brothers car chase game - complete with soundtrack!). I didn't have time to play anything although I did hover near the Koenig Krieg booth long enough to check out what was on offer... once I saw all those bicornes and tricornes ranked up in neat lines I had to open my wallet! Also, the game is written by some Brisbane guys so I felt obliged to support them.

I grabbed an army deal (2 bags of Musketeers, 2 bags of Dragoons, 1 bag of Generals) and haggled gently for a good price on some resin bases - commiting me to yet another project: Seven Years War Prussians.

The plan was to get the airbrush and air compressor up and running today so I could get these guys undercoated. Now it looks like they'll have to go back into the box for a little longer.

Uncharted Seas: Iron Dwarves
I've been hearing good things about Uncharted Seas on the net. It's a fantasy naval game (re: Man o War) that has been around for a year or so and is published by a small company in the UK. The ships have resin hulls and pewter sails which I believe is a great idea (based on my experiences with Flames of War tanks).

After carefully considering the available factions I settled on the Iron Dwarves; mostly because they suit my usual wargaming play style but also because they are not affected by wind direction (yay steampower). So anyway, they arrived the other day in a suitably large postage box.

By my calculations I'm the only Uncharted Seas player in Brisbane (and one of only a handful in Australia) so it might be a while before I get a game! Still, that's a good excuse to buy a second fleet for a friend to borrow ~ assuming I can convince anyone to play... Emily has already made it clear that she will not be joining me on the high seas.

Legend of the Five Rings
I've been meaning to "get into" L5R for years. A few months ago I discovered that now is an excellent time for new players to get into the game as a new set of cards is about to cycle in - and make most of the old cards redundant for tournament play (well, the old cards can still be used in Legacy tournaments, but as a new player I'll be avoiding them anyway).

So off I went across the internet in search of a bargain (this sparked a short but intense flamewar on the forum which I won't go into again; other than to say I got a good bargain from Troll & Toad in the USA). Only a week later (!) I received a box of "Glory of the Empire"; the first expansion that is legal for Celestial Edition tournaments.

I went along to my first game last weekend. Four of us met up at Ace Comics in the city and had a small match. As these were my first games (since dabbling briefly in L5R way back in 1995) I didn't do too bad; two losses and one win. That result sounds worse than it is - three of us ended up with the same win/loss record for the afternoon... the fourth player in this equation actually got through undefeated! So overall not bad for a new player.

I have "Death at Koten" on order from AEG which will add to my Celestial Edition collection and help buff up my newbie deck, hence the lack of spending money for today's air compressor.

Wrapping this post up I'll return to the start; having abandoned the air compressor idea Emily and I decided to head over to Carindale for some non-gamer shopping. It was nice to spend the day together and casually wander about the place looking at things - although the crowds were annoying. Despite my best efforts I actually returned home wothout purchasing anything!

New Blog: Start

2009-04-16T16:21:00.003+10:00

Hi guys, I've decided to start blogging my gamer-nerd adventures.

If I've set this thing up correctly it should also broadcast to my Facebook profile - although more tinkering may be required to make the technology work! Consider this a test :)