Some old, some new...

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

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

((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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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...