The Hobbit: Peter Jackson's Fourth Video Blog from the Set

Peter Jackson returns with another video blog from the set of the Hobbit movies. Another great look at how the production is taking shape - have we really got to wait until next year before we see the first one of these?! 

The Improbable Business Model (The Quiet Rules Revolution: Part 3)

How do you know what to expect when you face a new army on the table top? Very few of us will own all the current army books for WFB or 40k codexes. The basic stat lines for each troop type are included at the back of the main rulebook for WFB, but these do not include one vital piece of information: the points value. One reason this is important is because understanding relative points values is key to comprehending how different armies can be fielded. Points values, as we all know, are a closely guarded piece of company 'property' and if I was to provide even a partial list of them on this blog I would probably receive a cease and desist letter from GW's solicitors within days or weeks.

To have a comprehensive understanding of all the rules for WFB would cost you a whopping £360 at the current price of the books as listed on the GW website. This really annoys me. WFB is the main table top war game that I play and I'm denied a good working knowledge of the full range of rules. There are other ways to find out about how different armies play, through joining a large gaming group or by reading about them on the internet, but that's hardly a sufficient substitute. *Let me apply a quick undercoat to the elephant in the room... I know people can get copies of these books for free from the web... I couldn't possibly endorse that kind of behaviour here*

The alternative approach that I suggest below will never happen in reality because it is highly unlikely that GW will ever change their current business model in favour of one that would actually benefit gamers - I'll briefly outline it anyway and even put forward a business case.

The Improbable Business Model

Aspect 1: GW release a comprehensive rulebook containing all game rules plus the full lists for all armies in the game, points values etc. included. This provides the basis for all kinds of play from competitive tournaments to 'oldhammer' campaigns. The best games have, at their core, simple design concepts. Fluff is at a minimum and can be found elsewhere.

Aspect 2: A range of source books is released. These contain a wealth of background information, campaign rules and scenarios, optional rules, tables for generating unique characters and units, and so on. These would help reinstate the roleplay aspect that I think is so lacking in the structure of the GW profit-orientated approach today. Some of this could even be released for free (shock horror) on the web. 

The Bottom line argument: With access to the full range of basic rules, players will get a flavour for all the different forces in the game and many will start collecting a wider range of armies. A good range of source books allows those who are so inclined to opt-in to playing in a 'deeper style', while maintaining a steady feed of new products into the range.

Given that this plan very quickly hits the brick wall of reality there's not much point in arguing the case any further. It's a pipe dream; a pure exercise in wishful thinking. So what was the point of all this? The important thing, as I see it, is to find an alternative is the disenfranchisement brought about by the likelihood that huge swathes of the rules for WFB are kept at arms length from the majority of players. In line with my other posts this week I'd say that it's important to act as if the fundamentals of this improbable business model were actually true.

Fluffy Rules Are Better Than Balance Rules (The Quiet Rules Revolution: Part 2)

Over the weekend I had a good read of some of the unofficial player-produced army books for WFB. In the past I'd given these a cursory glance and nothing more, but as I've had rules on my mind I thought I'd give them a closer look. And what I found was a veritable goldmine.

Take the Dogs of War book for example. This contains rules for pikemen - a unit type that isn't currently catered for in 8th edition. The rules are outlined as follows:

This would be an excellent and characterful addition to an Empire army, particularly my Marienburg army, which is mostly comprised of mercenaries. Pikemen gain a real advantage in terms of extra ranks and always striking first, but they are still just basic level humans, so making the most of that advantage would still require good tactics and some luck. Their basic points value is listed as 6 pts, which seems fair, although the additional single point increase for each model to equip them with heavy armour looks under costed to me. But then, if these are the mainstay for the DoW army and the only ones to have heavy armour available, then that's fine. For another example, here are the rules for crossbowmen:

The inclusion of the Pavise is a great touch. It adds a little protection from missile fire, a good bit of borrowed historical detail, and makes for some good modelling opportunities - I have some WotR Perry mercenaries that look fantastic with them either on their backs or wedged in the ground in front of them. One final example, this time from a character:

All these additional rules have one thing in common: they are all unit or character specific, rather than stemming from some common formula. If there's one thing that really lets the recent editions of WFB down it's the way that balance is built into army lists through the sharing out of roughly positive and equal enhancements. They may be characterful in name, but the mechanic is one that is shared across various races. What I like about the above examples is that they might be game changing either in your favour or in favour of the 'enemy'. More than this, I like the idea that the characterful attributes/weapons/items of a unit or hero could turn out to be either a blessing or a curse, depending on strategy, circumstance and accident.

The Dogs of War book, along with the other (as they say) strictly unendorsed and unofficial army books, provides a wealth of ideas. They are not perfect by any means; Lorenzo has a magical sword that negates all armour saves. But they do show, I would argue, that fluffy rules are better than balance rules in making table top war games that are enjoyable and challenging to play. They illustrate how to take the basics that are provided by GW - the human stat line for example - and then enhance them, not to give a player an advantage, but to stretch their tactical nous and present them with a varied and unpredictable gaming experience.

Ultimately games like WFB and 40k should be played for fun, character, and as forms of fantasy roleplay. They are not competitive in the way chess could be simply because they belong to a different family of games. They can be played in the spirit of competition but that should never be the main aim. Some kind of balance achieved through a points system is a helpful mechanic, as this will stop games regularly ending too soon simply due to an overwhelming force on one side or the other. Of course, sometimes a scenario might call for this and that's just fine... as long as everyone involved is enjoying their evening.

GW Do Not Own Your Gaming Experience (The Quiet Rules Revolution: Part One)

This week I'm going to write a series of posts about rules. I'm going to use 8th edition Warhammer fantasy battle for most of my examples, although the general thrust of the arguments will be more-or-less applicable across various gaming systems.

I was inspired to do this by an overheard conversation in my local games store yesterday, where two guys were complaining about how evil/corporate/bastardly Games Workshop was these days, and how they didn't play either WFB or 40k anymore. This wasn't the first time I'd listened to this kind of 'argument', so let's begin by dispelling some common misconceptions.

1. GW products are overpriced - something that is demonstrably untrue if you live in UK.

2. GW are corporate bastards - true, but then this is only a problem if you want to play in their stores or tournaments, and frankly if you're an adult, why on earth would you want to do that?

3. The current design of army lists ties you into buying massive armies - an issue easily circumvented through intelligent gaming with likeminded peers. 

All these issues are interconnected, of course, but it's really the last point that interests me at the moment. I have to admit that I do like playing with the most recent edition of any given rule set most of the time. (The only notable exception being my preference for 2nd edition WFRP). I'm not one of those gamers who wishes we'd never left the 1980s and I don't stand by arguments that earlier editions are simply better because I don't think that they are. I am, however, very sympathetic with the manifesto for 'Oldhammer' that Zhu has outlined. The five core aspects of the manifesto are:

1. Have a games master - this will help build and maintain the narrative

2. Don't be shackled to army lists, be creative

3. 2000 points is not the only level to play at; much smaller works just as well

4. Don't worry about game 'balance' 

5. Never play in tournaments 

These are all approaches to gaming that I hold close to my heart - if you don't want to play like this, then I don't want to play with you! However, I don't think that we need to go back to earlier editions in order to fulfil these practices, even though they stand in stark contrast to the majority of corporate mono-culture that GW pump out. The current edition of WFB can quite straightforwardly be adapted in order to fit with this manifesto. If you find you 'need' to field hoards of 50 or 60 halberdiers then the fault lies in your approach to gaming, not within the pages of the rulebook. 

That, in short, is the main argument that I'm putting forward today. It seems so obvious, but in the face of the constant GW marketing onslaught it can admittedly be hard to remember. GW do not own your gaming experience. They offer up armies, rules, miniatures and so on, and you have the choice of how to use them. As long as the people who share your gaming experiences and leisure time agree with you then you can do whatever you like. It seems churlish (to say the least) to abandon everything GW have to offer just because you find their marketing and legal departments objectionable - I do, but I also apply a good dose of sense to the choices I make. 

Splintered Shin - Orc Blood Bowl Team WIP

I now have all the miniatures for my new Orc Blood Bowl team, which I've named Splintered Shin. To get a good clear and bright finish I decided to undercoat these using white and skeletal bone primers. Then I applied a base coat of Ultramarines blue for their uniform and Orkhide shade for the base of the skin tone.

Splintered Shin: soon to be regularly terrorising stunties and pointy ears alike 

Last week I finally picked up a box of river trolls so that I could use one in this team. I've wanted some since they came out, but because I'm got a sizeable unit of stone trolls in my greenskins army, I couldn't really justify it. The one model that I have put together is absolutely fantastic. I've attached a rather comically small shoulder pad (as if this spiky fellow would need one) just so it has a splash of the team colour - I'll also out his squad number on it. I started painting him last night using a reverse shading technique. This basically goes against the common-sense for shading (where you build shades from darkest to lightest) and involves putting a block of the second lightest shade (Gretchin green in this case), which you then wash with two different darker shades in order to blend it in. It wouldn't work for all colours, but it's great for greens, especially when you want to achieve an aquatic or reptilian look.  

Chaos Legions in 40k?

An interesting tit-bit of gossip has popped up over at Bell of Lost Souls. Towards the end of an extended and rather rambling clump of rumours about the projected 6th edition of 40k, specific mention is made of Chaos Legions, as opposed to Chaos Space Marines. This could signal an interesting development with, perhaps, the integration of various renegade factions (possibly including daemons themselves) that would be similar to the combined forces available through the forthcoming Tamurkan expansion for Warhammer. Such a development would be very positive for a fluff-merchant like me. Given my recent return to 40k, I really hope it's true.

One of the excellent renegade Ogryns from Forge World

Blood Bowl Team Manager - Review

This evening my regular gaming group played our first game of Blood Bowl Team Manager. I've never really been taken by the idea of card based gaming, but this nifty little offering really hit the spot. 

Each player takes control of a Blood Bowl team for a season, which is represented by a series of gaming rounds. During these rounds players allocate bloodthirsty athletes from their team roster (drawn from a deck of cards) and uses their varying abilities and downright dirty tactics to win events - either match-ups between two teams or an all-in tournament. Teams progress through the rounds aiming to accumulate fan points while also taking the opportunity to boost their rosters with star players and hence improve their chances of claiming the Spike! magazine 'Manager of the Year' award. Coaching and various other upgrades help to spice things up and keep unpredictability at a premium. 

Overall this seems to be a top class game. It really captures the spirit and 'feel' of Blood Bowl, both in terms of the game mechanics and the characteristics of the different races and star players. If this is a good indication of the quality of Fantasy Flight Games products, then I'll certainly be taking a long look at their other games the next time I'm looking for something new, entertaining and with the possibility for broader appeal.

The Hobbit, Drawn by Tolkien

A new book called The Art of the Hobbit is being released which features Tolkien's own pictures of scenes and landscapes from the story. There's something about the simplicity of these line drawings that I find absolutely enchanting. For some reason they remind me of when I first encountered the book, back in the late 70s, when my father read his copy to me - it was the best bedtime story I could ever imagine. Perhaps these pictures resonate so much because they are so childlike and have such a dreamscape quality. Whatever the reason, they sum up the very first emotions that I felt when encountering high fantasy.

Smaug flies round the Lonely Mountain 

Focus: Essential, Elusive...

So many projects, so little time. 

How to organise everything? I keep thinking of that line in Star Wars, "stay on target... stay on target!"

This hobby of ours - a pastime that brings so much enjoyment and the occasional bout of frustration - will grow to fill any time you care to give it. Over the last few weeks, for example, I've started several new projects across a number of different gaming systems; from Blood Bowl teams to Dark Eldar to GMing a campaign in WFRP. It's because of this that the personal quality of 'achieving focus' has come to dominate my thoughts.

I'm like a gaming magpie - I'll see some shiny new miniatures and I'll just have to swoop in and get them (that analogy worked better before the introduction of Finecast...). I am, habitually, a collector and a converter. I gather and I tinker. I give in to temptation and then get cracking with the craft knife. You get the idea...

And so it is that I've reached the point where I really need to do the one thing that goes totally against my impulsive, ADHD nature: it's time to make a list. Over the next few days I've got to sit down and come up with a definitive project plan, otherwise I risk being surrounded by half empty boxes, half glued and/or half painted miniatures, and half completed armies.

I've got to work out some targets and then stay on them. Easier said than done of course, but I have to try. Probably the easiest way to do this is to think about it in the most logical way possible. As a fluff-oriented player this means going against the impulse to build armies on the basis of appearance, and instead build some sturdy lists to work from.

I can't begin to tell you how uncomfortable that idea makes me feel. It goes completely against the thrill of new discovery that I like so much about this hobby. Even more, it risks the dreaded antithesis: mind-numbing drudgery.  

What could be worse than having the next six or even twelve months plotted out ahead of time? How will this not fail to drain all the enjoyment out of the whole thing, turing it into one slow, dutiful but soulless paint-fest? 

Well, despite these worries it's time to start taking all this fun seriously. In this spirit, here's the first 'to do' list, which is really a meta-to-do list because the results will be the basis of all following targets. Perhaps by making these public and charting my un/fulfilment of all ensuing targets I'll be able to shelve my magpie nature (at least for the most part). 

1. Greenskins - The nasty little bastards that helped get me addicted to gaming again. I really must put together a 2000 point list that I can then start painting.

2. Marienburg - My Empire army. So many great ideas across so many different units... again, a definitive 2000 point list is needed to organise all modelling and painting, although unlike the greenskins I'll allow myself 500 points of alternatives.

3. Vampire Counts - With the risk of sounding repetitive, another 2000 point army list to focus everything.

4. WFRP - With the PCs rolled up this Thursday sees the start of a 2nd edition campaign. I've got the first sessions mapped out in my head, but I need to commit these to paper and decide how I'll link my own narratives to those I'll adapt from various source books. Given at least one of the PCs may read this blog I'll only report on WFRP sessions after the event.

5. Blood Bowl - I may return to my original plan and have a re-think about which teams to create. It looks as though a two division league might be in the offing, where I would be able to field a team in each division. This would work as a 'perpetual league' where there is no fixture list, but where two teams are not allowed to play each other consecutively.

6. Dark Eldar - The newest addition, and therefore the one most suitable to this style of rigorous planning. As with targets 1-3, a 2000 point list is required.

Orienting Principles - Of course, I'm never going to abandon my core beliefs about the hobby. So: a) all of these projects will be allowed a reasonable amount of digression, primarily in the shape of conversions, unit fillers, and the odd 'counts as' model; b) the lists will be narrative and modelling orientated and not designed with the sole purpose of winning; and, c) generally I'll use GW miniatures but I'll pick up models from other manufactures if they look good (although on the whole, the GW stuff is usually best).

Wish me luck...

Snuff Said

Detritus the Troll - an excellent miniature
based on a design by Paul Kidby
Available here.

A few days ago Terry Pratchett was interviewed on BBC Breakfast about his new Discworld novel, Snuff, which I've just started reading. As fans will be well aware, Pratchett suffers from a form of Alzheimer's and is progressively less able to use a standard keyboard when writing his books. He now uses a mixture of dictation software and a human assistant to get his words onto the page.     

Alongside Snuff I'm reading the Dark Eldar codex, which was written by the rather verbose Phil Kelly - I don't mean that pejoratively, only that he has, in some senses at least, an extremely good grasp of the English language, and writes and talks with an extensive vocabulary. Pratchett, of course, is a master craftsman of language, so it is interesting to see how the change in the production method for his prose has influenced his storytelling. A handful of pages in, I would say it has actually strengthened it.  

Although a codex is not a novel, it does have some narrative elements - 'the fluff' - so it has been impossible for me to escape from a comparison of the two writing styles. This has re-enforced a longstanding issue that I have with the in-house writing at GW. While their writers are obviously intelligent and highly skilled in many respects, for me they fall down on a very basic issue of language use; that is, they tend to use flourishes with abandon, which leads to stylistic-overkill.

Let me outline one example: "Commorragh is no mere metropolis, for it is to the largest of Imperial hives as a soaring mountain is to a mound of termites" (Dark Eldar codex, p.8).

Now, nothing technically wrong with that sentence, but try reading it aloud. Do employees of GW really speak like this? Of course, the written word is somewhat different to the spoken, but as the Pratchett example shows, the difference shouldn't be so great. Perhaps there is something in the house-style at GW that favours anachronisms: there's a phrase in the 8th edition rulebook for Warhammer that reads something like "...a goodly amount of the evening".     

I just wish that the GW writers would sit down (like all good undergraduate students should) and read their work out loud. Then they might realise how ridiculous some of it sounds, and calm it down a little. 

Returning to the 41st Millennium

So, what did I do with those GW vouchers? I decided to take the plunge and return to the 41st Millennium. Since I got my gaming boots back on last year I'd more-or-less ignored 40k. The main problem for me - on the surface at least - was the dominance of vehicles in the majority of the current armies. When I used to play (back in the mists of times), vehicles were very limited and were little more than what are now referred to as 'dedicated transports'.

The way that 40k worked for those of us playing the wonderful mess that was Rogue Trader, and the rather more organised 2nd edition, was as a predominantly skirmish-based game. We could set up a number of buildings and terrain pieces on a small board - say, our parents coffee tables - and spend an hour or so pitting a couple of squads against each other. 

But that was the olden days. Reading through gaming blogs and seeing battle reports from tournaments it soon became clear that, in those environs at least, a large number of heavily armoured and armed vehicles was an essential spine to a competitive force. The idea of buying, painting and fielding maybe eight very similar tanks just does not appeal to me on any level.

(Perhaps if I was to play epic scale, but really, that's not something that ever got my juices flowing). If that was the way that 40k played, I just wasn't interested.

Of course, although we might buy GW products, we don't have to buy into everything they put out, and neither do we have to follow the tourney crowd and take army lists and math-hammer them to the stripped down logical conclusion where a force is simply designed to win at all costs. Dr Bargle is very good of reminding me of this, although he's perhaps more interested than I in the retro-style-mashing of gaming systems. I myself wanted to be convinced that current 40k was a viable gaming proposition, given my preferences.

It was in this spirit that I went into my local GW store yesterday and put down a challenge to the staff: "sell me something" I said. And what a very good job they did. After talking through my current fantasy armies and spending a few minutes weighing up an Ogre Kingdoms battalion box we arrived at the tricky subject of 40k. I outlined my concerns, which they talked though with me, and then suggested that I try the game first-hand, which I'd guess is their No. 1 sales tactic!

More the 20 years had passed since I'd last moved a Space Marine on the tabletop. But I was pleasantly surprised with how the rules had developed and it didn't take long for me to realise that current 40k was a system that I could feel comfortable playing - the mechanics are smooth, shooting doesn't have to dominate gameplay, and vehicles don't have to overtake squad-based tactics. But which army to choose?

In the past - and I mean when mullet hairstyles were in fashion - I had Space Marines and Orks. I didn't really want either of these because the modelling and painting possibilities are either limited, as with Marines, or something I've recently tackled, as with fantasy battle greenskins. For a while I toyed with the idea of Chaos Space Marines - lots to work with there, good fluff, tactical diversity - but I settled on Dark Eldar.

For some time now I've been looking over the recently up-dated Dark Eldar range and envying the opportunities they presented. Some of the miniatures are simple breathtaking. I'm also sold on the way that they play - you can't hang around with these guys - you need to get them into the melee action quickly because they won't last long in an open firefight.

Another area where style and tactics is in perfect harmony is with the vehicles. No rust-bucket tanks for the Dark Eldar - oh no! Their transports are all open, angular, full of fantastic aesthetic detail - in sum, they're a model-junkie's dream!

With a battleforce box sitting on my desk I've got a long, long way to go with this army, even before I get to try them out on the tabletop. But I'm making my way through the codex and really getting into the narrative of the Dark Eldar - something that I've discovered has been fully and extensively revamped to go with the up-date of the miniature range.

And I'm really looking forward to getting started on the Raider model - what a great centre piece for one of the shelves in my display cabinet! (Oh yes... haven't mentioned that DIY project to the wife yet...)

Blood Bowl Chaos Warriors - First Look

Although I initially planned to make my new Blood Bowl teams wholly from the current GW plastics, that was never really going to work with the Chaos Warriors because these models lack the style and poses suitable for the game. Luckily, I was able to get hold of some still-on-the-sprue older style of Chaos Warriors from eBay. I've just put four of these together - the maximum allowance for a Chaos team - and I'm rather pleased with the results.

I'm thinking of a red and bronze 'Khorne' colour scheme for this team, although that's possibly/probably going to change, and it'll depend on their name, which I haven't given much thought to yet.

GW Gift Vouchers - But What to Buy?

Several of my in-laws have very kindly clubbed together and given me £50 worth of GW vouchers - but what to buy?! There are so many things on the 'wanted list', but I've got a tingly feeling that tells me that these should be spent on the most substantial thing possible: that means, a battalion or battle force box. This then introduces further conundrums, such as... is this the time to reengage with 40k?.. should I know start a completely new WFB army?... I'm loath to spend this on 'bits and bobs' - paints and a couple of finecast models - but I'm also impulsive. I'll have to think fast because I'd be amazed if I could get to the end of tomorrow without having bought... something...

In other unconnected news, I saw a tee shirt with this on and had to share - the science fiction Venn diagram:   

Mantic Undead Army - Out of the Box

A rather big 'out of the box' this time, as the forces of the undead march relentlessly onto my desk. This is the Kings of War Undead Army from Mantic, a set of 110 miniatures that I'd been coveting for some time and which were bought for me as part-present-part-model exchange by my brother. 

These will form the backbone of my soon-to-be Vampire Counts army. I say soon, but of course, it will take me quite a while to work my way through this lot! In fact, this box arrived with the parts to make an extra 10 zombies (I had to count them several times to make sure) so this won't all be finished until at least the middle of next year - it all rather depends on when the next VCs army book comes out and whether that gets my creative juices flowing in that direction.

I took a quick look over the slim rule-set that was included with the miniatures. Kings of War is a very simple game from the look of things, but I'm not going to be rushing to give it a try over 8th edition Warhammer any time soon. On the whole it's too simple [and available for free download here, so judge for yourself]. However, I'm all in favour of other companies developing rule sets for fantasy battles - it wouldn't be a good thing is GW were the only developers in town. Of course, Mantic are a young company, so there's plenty of time for things to evolve in interesting directions.

One area where Mantic have developed rather well in a short time is in the quality of their miniatures. In fact it's rather common for people to suggest that the undead from Mantic are far superior to the current offerings from GW. There's some milage in this, particularly the zombies: the Mantic offerings are right on trend - wonderfully posed, shambling and lurching, while dropping to pieces - whereas the GW models are rather funny looking (to say the least - look at their massive meat-puppet hands).     

Here's my son having an extreme close-up look at the zombies - he's really started to get involved in various hobby activities, even though he's only two and a half (although I've only let him loose on my crappy 1980s plastic orks!). Overall this is a fantastic set and really worth the money - £50 from Mantic, about £45 from other suppliers. I've spent a great amount of time looking over miniatures from non-GW manufactures over the last 18 months or so, and I have to say that these are by far the best alternative in terms of the sculpts and the price. Oddly enough, the only miniatures in this set that I'm not that fussed about are the elite 'revenant' skeletons - grave guard style wights - these don't work so well with the additional armour on the models, leaving looking rather flat and two dimensional. This is only a slight downside, however, because these are the smallest troop type in the box, so it doesn't really change what is an amazing deal. 

The Dark Gods Are Smiling Today

Hooray for more rules!

The look on Lietpold's face
is simply priceless

Oh yes, the Dark Gods are surely smiling today, because Tamurkhan: The Throne of Chaos is now available for pre-order on the Forge World website - this certainly is a cause for celebration and any doubters will surely be persuaded by the shots of the absolutely gorgeous art work used throughout the book.

Also on pre-order is a new character for Empire armies. Lietpold the Black is a mercenary general and the mounted model looks absolutely superb. It joins the list of possible miniatures for my first Forge World purchase - given the range that they're coming out with I'll have to take the plunge sometime before the end of the year.