First game of Age of Sigmar

Last night Duncan and I finally got together for a game night, and with all the buzz surrounding it we decided to give Age of Sigmar a go. Both of us were rather skeptical from the get go, but the freedom provided with the army building (i.e. just pick the models you want to use) and the promise of a quick and easy game lured us in to giving it a go.

So having packed a lot of miniatures that have rarely seen the table, I set off to meet up with Duncan at his place and we went through the motions of setting up a game, as per the rules and played with absolutely no modification... except for some units were we couldn't make them fit with the rules given.

For instance I had a Flesh Golem which I counted as a Crypt Horror Haunter - but normally in order to field such a unit I would need to have 3 of the things. Seeing as the rest of the game system relies more on the social agreement of having fun rather than overly competetative list min-maxing, we both agreed that it wouldn't really be a problem.

This is what Duncan fielded as his army. A long neglected collection of High Elfs from days of yore when that number of miniatures was all that was required for you to play a game of Warhammer Fantasy Battle. I had never seen them in the flesh and I'm pretty sure Duncan had great fun getting them back on the table. Notice all those damned Princes running around with their Charmed Shield - they're pretty damn hard to get off the table when you yourself don't rely on such magical trickery to win you the battle!

And this is then my hodgepodge collection of miniatures put on for this game. A good amount of Undead (soon to increase, once I get around painting all of my Mantic miniatures), with a couple of "Mercenary" units from by very small collection of Chaos Warriors and Orcs - an alliance of Evil, if you will, led by Niels - the Necromancer. To me, then we might as well have ended the game at that point - I was happy enough to have put all of these miniatures up for a battle - some of them freshly painted and others had been painted years and years ago and only now saw their first battle - such as this Snow Troll that I used as a Gorger in this game:

And not to forget these chaos warriors that I had painted up when I had the idea of starting an 8th Edition Warhammer Fantasy army and had to find the army with the lowest model count. Sadly, that never came to fruition (I got burned out almost instantly because of the number of models required - even for a low-model-count army such as this). So here they are then, on the table for the first time as well:

The initial turn saw us manouvering our flanks and slowly moving our centre towards each other. And by turn two we got stuck in. I won the roll-off for going first in turn two and was already within charge range of most of his units, and thus the undead horde shambled to war.

However, I hadn't enough models in any of the Skeleton Warrior unit to get their bonuses, but even then they stood their ground for a turn or two. I could easily see how you could completely overwhelm an opponent with these units - so it really does require you to think about what kind of experience you want out of the game. If you just want to win at all cost, you could easily do so. But if you want to have some fun, pushing around lead/plastic miniatures on the board and invent a narrative as you go along, then it's just as easy to go for this with minimal fuss.

With my center slowly falling apart I was doing what I could to get my right flank up to engage his left flank that was slowly coming apart. Those White Lions are pretty great but they couldn't really keep the flank secure. Unfortunately, my Chaos Mercenaries weren't overly interested in moving forward at this critical juncture - which meant that his center broke through!

My Cairn Wraith, along with some dismounted Hexwraiths out there on the far right, was doing what they could to get through and start mincing up his right flank. But alas, the Prince joined in on the battle and made short work of the Cairn Wraith - and then, with Duncan having initiative the next turn, he then proceeded to engage the Hexwraiths and stalled my flanking.

Meanwhile I tried, as best as I could, to stall his right flank going forward, with my Black Orc Big Boss (the ogre miniature here) taking out a Great Eagle, then surviving a round of fighting the Dragon... which then proceeded to make mincemeat out of him. Sad to see him go, but then again - it was to be expected - as great as a Orc Boss is, he isn't really kitted out to take care of a Dragon on his own!

As for the actual game, then it was really a great experience - so much so that it automatically triggered an idea in my head that I'm currently working on. It flowed really great and was easy to get into and play - but not so easy that it was devoid of any tactical decisions. In fact, there was a lot of tactical considerations in the game - provided, I think, that you play with "balanced" armies. Duncan had a Dragon which was, basically, impervious to most of what I had brought to the table. He wasn't himself overly keen on taking it but I did encourage him as he had just painted the thing.

Alas, it was a hard nut to crack - I simply didn't have any Mortal Wound causing units around that I needed to take care of it. The bloody thing had a Save of 4+ with a Charmed Shield, meaning that it would re-roll any failed Saves. Oh and it had something like 14 wounds as well!

But all in all - I had great fun! The game flowed really well and the freedom of choice - i.e. just put some miniatures on the table - was really welcomed. I'm pretty sure that was the main selling point for me, coupled with the fact that it was free to play as well. I for one welcome this new edition, if you can call it that, to Warhammer Fantasy and I'm hopeful for the future of the hobby with this new kid on the block. There's so much potential in this game for narrative scenarios and, provided that you play with likeminded people, then there's a ton of fun to be had by simply putting your miniatures on the table and get a game going!

As for what I'm tinkering on... well, I'll let you know in a week or so.

The start of (another) new project

So I was visiting Dragon's Lair in Odense yesterday, with my girlfriend, when I stumbled upon a grand clearance sale of all things Kings of War. And, well, here's the end result of that haul:

So I guess that it's fair to say that I'm starting a couple of new armies in the near future.

The above was only £35 (retails at around £210) and as fate would have it I had long been considering getting myself some Mantic miniatures for fantasy wargaming - just so that I could join up with the budding crowd of GOB-28 players and easily could convert others to a more fun version of Warhammer Fantasy etc.

So, now I have some 50 Elves, 58 Orcs and around 95 (more) Undead awaiting assembly and paintjobs... I'd say that's quite a fair amount to get going for GOB-games and possibly even for some playtest purposes in the future when I start work, in earnest, on a fantasy mass-battle game that I've had kicking around.

But... yeah, I'm still stunned at the volume of plastic I got home for next to nothing!

Lord Felix D'Arthoin

Just a very quick post of my first foray into using the Metal Vallejo Model Air Color line of paints. I have to say - I have no idea how I've managed without this line of paints!

He joins the unnamed band of City-State troops that I'm painting on and off inbetween projects. As fate would have it, I'm currently working on some cavalry for my 15mm Republican Guard as well - hoping to get them half-painted tonight on my first day of a looong weekend!

Fireteam Fatigue and Some Painted Miniatures (With Colour Guide)

It recently dawned on me that I'm currently suffering from a very specific kind of gaming fatigue - Fireteam Andromeda Fatigue.

Last week I finally got around to having a game of Fireteam Andromeda which, considering all the work I've put in it, should have left me overjoyed! But therein lies the rub of it - all the work. It seems that (and I don't know if other game designers share this experience) after all of the work that I've put into Fireteam Andromeda it has ended up sucking out all of the fun from the game for me.

By no means do I think it is a bad game - far from it! Apart from a few "clearly-a-first-ever"-game design things that have annoyed me, the game is solid, works and has given people great games. So, the product itself isn't really to blame. It is, and again I'm guessing because I don't really know any other game designers, simply due to stress and burnout after having put a lot of energy and effort into it. I just can't seem to play it anymore and just have fun with doing so, but always end up tinkering and considering stuff.

So with that out of the way, I still needed a game for my 15mm armies and the Terminus Nebula setting as well. Rather than re-invent a new game from the base up, I instead decided to do the time-honored thing and tinker with an already published set of rules.

This means that within a couple of days (real-life permitting) I'll post a bit about my Employment War modification for Bolt Action as well as upload it for the general public at large. Thus I hopefully can get back into gaming - for fun -  and get back into developing the Terminus Nebula setting... which, when I get back into gear, will become immensely helpful as I start development of the Mecha Legion 6mm wargame that I've been tinkering away with.

Anyway! All this rambling and wordyness needs to stop - I've also been painting whilst contemplating the fate of my 15mm gaming life!

First up is a squad of Republican Guards for the Republic of the Western Sphere. These troops have been around since the dawn of the Republic and haven't really changed neither uniform colour nor equipment (overly much) in the last 200 years. I painted them in simple muted colours to reflect their campaign on Earth as well as Mars during the Civil War. The colours used also match my Mecha Legion for the Republic as well - which was the intention all along!

• Fatigues / Uniform - Iraqui Sand (VMC), washed with Soft Tone (Army Painter) and then painted with Iraqui Sand (VMC) once more, leaving the darker tone in the recess.
  
• Helmets / Armour - Beige Brown (VMC), washed with Strong Tone (AP) and then painted with Beige Brown (VMC) again leaving the darker tone in the recess.
  
• Webbing - A simple coat of Umber Brown (VMC) which was washed with Strong Tone (AP).
  
• Weapons - The rifles were all painted using Gun Grey (VMA) with a two drops of Black (VMC) added in to tone them down, then washed with Nuln Oil (GW). The missile launcher was painted with Reflective Green (VMC), washed with Nuln Oil (GW) and then painted with Reflective Green once more, leaving the darker shade in the recess.
  
• Flesh - Was painted using Foundry's (urgh) tri-color shade of basic skin. This is the first and last time I'll ever use this so...
  
• Bases - These were painted with Flat Earth (VMC) and then given a drybrush of Cork Brown (VMC). I later found bought a bottle of Brown Sand (VMC) and will use this colour for drybrushing in the future.

Secondly we have a squad for my other Republican Army that I'm working on. I really should have gone for them being Alliance Patrol soldiers or similar - but oh well. They're a continuation of my trend of trying to paint the same uniforms for my sci-fi miniatures across scales, where possible. The miniatures are from Critical Mass Games (Arc Fleet Troops) and are really great high-tech footsloggers, if a slightly bit too small next to my Ground Zero Game miniatures (sheesh, this scale-creeping!). 

• Bodyarmor - Was all painted using Dark Blue Grey (VMC), given a wash of Dark Tone (AP) then painted with Dark Blue Grey again, leaving the shaded areas in the recess.
  
• Fatigues - Whilst barely shown, then these were painted Dark Grey (VMC) and then given a wash of Dark Tone (AP).
  
• Weapons - The casings were all painted Cold Grey (VGC), given a wash of Dark Tone (AP) and then painted with Cold Grey again, leaving the shaded areas in the recess. The few metal bits were painted with Steel (VMA) with a bit of Black (VMC) mixed in, then given a wash with Nuln Oil (GW).
  
• Visor - The visiors were first painted Flat Green (VMC) and then painted with Scorpy Green (VGC). It was then given a wash of Thraka Green (GW) and then painted once more with Scorpy Green leaving the shaded areas in the recess.
  
• Bases - Burnt umber (craft paint) which was then given a drybrush of Light Sand (Lifecolor)

Finally I also painted a Sister of Mercy Sigmar for yet another unnamed Fantasy Warband. This time we go up to 28mm and is more a showcase of the flesh colour I've finally decided on using, as well as just to spice things up a bit on the painting table. 

• Flesh - First a coat of Beige Red (VMC), then washed with a 70/30 or 60/40 mix of Red Ink (AP) and Soft Tone (AP). Then painted with Beige Red (VMC) again, leaving the shaded areas in the recess.
  
• Hair  - This was painted Brown Ochre (VMC), then washed with Soft Tone (AP). It was then painted using Brown Ochre (VMC) again leaving the shaded area in the recess.
  
• Tunic - First given a coat of Flat Green (VMC), then followed up with a coat of Iosan Green (P3). This was then given a wash of Strong Tone (AP) and painted with Iosan Green again, leaving the shaded areas in the recess.
  
• Non-armor Leather - This was painted English Uniform (VMC) and then given a wash of Strong Tone (AP). Painted with English Uniform (VMC) again, leaving the shaded areas in the recess.
  
• Leather Armor - Painted this with Bootstrap Leather (P3) and given a wash of Strong Tone (AP). Painted again with Bootstrap Leather (P3) leaving the shaded areas in the recess.
  
• Dress - Painted with Beige (VMC) and then followed by a coat of Menoth White Highlight (P3). This was then washed with Soft Tone (AP) and then painted with Menoth White Highlight again, leaving the shaded areas in the recess.
  
• Hammer - The shaft was painted using Foundry's Spearshaft paint (urgh), washed with Strong Tone (AP) and then given a basecoat of Foundry's Spearshaft again. The metal was painted using Steel (VMA) with a drop of Black (VMC) added. This was then washed with Nuln Oil (GW).
  
• Golden Bits - This was painted using Bright Brass (VMA) and then given a wash of Seraphim Sepia (GW).
  
• Base - This is then setting my new default for painting generic bases! A good coat of Flat Earth (VMC) followed by a drybrush of Brown Sand (VMC).

So there we have it - some painted miniatures and a new feature for the blog as well; the colour guide! I might have to revise the method of these in the future were I hopefully get around to write up an article on how I go about painting my miniatures in general. 

The paints used were mostly Vallejo Model Color (VMC) with a touch of Vallejo Model Air (VMA), Vallejo Game Color (VGC), Army Painter (AP) and the last time I'll ever use Foundry paints (which is a rant for another day).

Thanks for reading this far and let's see how quickly I can get the Employment War up and running!

Getting into a painting-zen

Here's me then, trying to get the hang of actually updating the internet about the ongoing hobby-stuff that I'm currently working on. How other manage it with a full-time job and a big family I'll never be able to understand; it seems to me to be a bit of a hassle sometimes... but I guess it's just about experience, persistence and other tences. Ah well, back to the grinder!

It is still not my second nature to take pictures of everything I do in my hobby-life, but today I happened upon something that will - at the very least - make those pictures that I do take a whole lot more interesting to look at. Ladies and gentlemen may I present to you...

The Transmorgraphical Landscape-o-Matic! (Patent Pending)

Okay, so it doesn't look like all that much, but I'm pretty happy about the end result. It came about when I was doing the usual commute back from work and was contemplating how I could make this here blogging/updating process easier for myself (because even though I tend to moan about it, I do enjoy sharing my stuff on the web).

One of the things that I thought of was that I often found my pictures to look a bit rubbish what with all the paint-bottles in the background and all. That and I also wanted something a bit more gradient background in general to showcase my miniatures on.

So I had a scrap of foam-card lying about that I had already been painting a sky backdrop on a couple of months ago and then I had an ephinany; paint one half as a small bit of land and keep some of the sky on the other half - then do a single half-cut of the foam-board and voila, instant backdrop that is not a hassle to store or set up!

A Swordmaster for an Arabian-themed faction.

With this I can then easily set it up on my painting area of my table (where my best lamp of the house is also located), snap some photos that looks slightly better than before and then easily pack it away when I need to do some actual painting.

Speaking of which, I'm currently on a bit of a fantasy-bender when it comes to painting miniatures. I have a whole slew of various miniatures that I'm working on for a game that I'm also working on. So far it is just called Fantasy Nebula as it takes the base-rules for another skirmish-set I was writing and places it in a fantasy universe instead.

A Templar and Sergeant for a more European-themed faction.

I'm hoping to hit some sort of Mordheim and Necromunda hybrid game, with all the usual campaign shenaningans of those games - but hopwfully also with some more checks and balances to keep it from spiralling out of control as the two mentioned games had a tendency to do. I will, of course, keep you posted on developments on the game (and I'm guessing a play-test version will be in the works soon enough).

And to help my playtesting I've started on not only one but five different warbands that I'll most likely showcase as soon as I've managed to write more about the game than just some few scattered notes here and there - you know, when there's actually something that a person could read and actually decipher!

Anyway - thanks for reading and I'll update you, at the latest, next week!

Seawood Elves clash with Hogwild Beastmen

Another installment of the GOB-15 Diaries.

Last night it so happened that Duncan and I had ourselves a small game of GOB-15 once more; it was a first outing for a lot of his newly painted miniatures as well as a first outing for my Wood Elf army as well which meant a lot of lessons to be learned.

Our initial deployment of forces, as provided to you by State-Of-The-Art-Special-Effects

One of the first things I noted right away was how much of a point drain a unit of Chosen can become for the Seawood Elves in these small 36 point affairs. While they most certainly pack a punch, they are more easily outflanked in these lesser affairs. They are quite an investment, not only in points but also in deployment as you really need to have a better plan than my: "... Erh, right, they'll... uhm.... attack... that one!".

The Seawood Elf Gloryboys!

The game itself was great - as all of our GOB15 games have been - with some half-hearted opening moves from ranged attacks and the scuffle of light troops as the main battle lines slowly drew to a close. Then there were heated exchange of swords and wounds followed by the inevitable collapse of any higher plan other than 'Get 'em!' It was great fun and lovely to see that Duncan had painted up a host of new models for his army.

 Herdlord with his Brutes - alongside with a, what turned out to be of the Heavy sort, Chariot and another unit of Brutes

Duncan's Monster of the Deep Woods (counts as a Minotaur)

I find myself completely enamoured with how much fun and tactical thinking is to be found in such a simple and elegant design as this. Jake Thornton has really pulled a rather magnificent stunt here - albeit I'd wish that it wasn't as locked to Foundry's ill-fated miniature line. While manageable (as you can plainly see from our armies) it would be great for it to encompass many more races and factions which would make it easier to tailor it to other available miniatures... but that's neither here nor there.

The game itself ended in a sound defeat for my Seawood Elves. The Chosen unit overextended itself on the weaker of my two flanks, leavning it open to a sound thrashing in the flank(!) by the Ravagers. It was short and ugly as they minced their way through the Seawood's finest. The loss of the Seekers and Merwolves as they fought to prevent the Ravagers from pillaging their camp sealed the deal and the Seawood Elves broke tail and ran off...

What I learned from this battle was that I should consider going for the 'lesser' units from the list rather than relying on a single block of troops to carry the day. While the Chosen are an effective unit, I was most definitely blindsided by their prowess in battle that I forgot about the key aspect of all warfare - manouver.
Naturally I've already taken this to heart and have begun painting up the next batch of Marines for the army; I'm hoping to employ 3 units of Marines and then 2 units of Seekers in my next battle and see whether my gut-feeling of using the army in a more hit'n'run manner will bear fruit.

Quote of the Game -
"So... Is that a heavy chariot?" (moments before it got peppered by bolts in the flank as - indeed - it was a heavy chariot.)

15mm God of Battles Army Project

The GOB15 Diaries

An early game of 24 points aside of Undeath vs. Undeath with the improvised demo I held at this years Horisont 2013

So I recently fell in love with two things I had never ever thought myself throwing my love at.

First there was a sudden flutter of hearts towards all things fantasy. All of a sudden I found myself considering the magnificent empires of elvish kings and the vile machinations of the undead, before long both of these had joined the considerable lead pile - along with a host of dwarves, orcs, goblins, dragons, eagles and all creatures large and small from any good Monsters Manual.

I have always been a rather fanatic avid fan of all things science fiction; rayguns, robots and rockets will always be my first, true love - but I have finally found a room for fantasy. I guess it was inevitable seeing as I first fell for Harry Potter, then Lord of the Rings and it all clicked into place when I first started seeing a Game of Thrones on HBO. That, and the fact that Duncan kept pestering me about it...

My 36 points of Undeath as it stands right now.

And then I fell - whole heartedly - in love with (fantasy) mass battle games. I can't really say what it is apart from the fact that it feels more like a wargame to me than any of the tens of skirmish games that I've tried over the years. It's all about the marching of units across the field of battle for them to engage the enemy in hand-to-hand; the employment of the nessecary force at the pivotal point of the battle - whenever the dice chatter along the table I can hear the clash of swords and battlecries of soldiers.

Whilst a rant for another post then I've recently been in a bit of a slump when it came to writing on Rosetta and as an extension thereof also playing skirmish games. They just don't really feel right to me, and as such - the Rosetta Skirmish System has been shelved for the time being. There is just something in the level of detail in these games that keeps on nagging me; either they're too light or too heavy on the detail - and their activation mechanics never really feel like a fluid, cinematic skirmish would feel like. Ah well, as I said - another post for another time.

It might also be that Jake Thornton has produced a really fine set of wargaming rules with his God of Battles ruleset. Which is what the GOB15 Diaries are going to be all about - it's going to be a diary, of sorts, that will detail my 15mm fantasy games, set in Duncan's home-made setting (which I'm sure he'll chime in on later), using Jake Thornton's God of Battles rules and hopefully filled with exciting ideas, battlereports and what have you. Already plans are in motion for the 8 or so GOB15-players in Denmark to meet up and do battle at some point in the new year...

And my first foray into 'count-as' territory; 36 points (almost) of Wood Elves, using the Sea Elf armylist.

... And speaking of which; Happy New Year everyone! Let the new year roll up and let's see if I can't keep this blogging up a bit more in 2014!

A very first outing of the Rosetta Skirmish System

Yesterday, I finally managed to finish a simplistic, bare-bones working edition of the upcoming Rosetta Skirmish System (RSS) that me and Duncan have been toiling away on for the last couple of months (and thus also the reason as to why Two Knights Publishing have been rather silent as of late).

However, instead of just placing troops at random, then I instead opted to create a little scenario, pitting roughly similar groups of fantasy warriors against each other; with the foul necromancer Mortia wanting to acquire water from the oasis (magical water, of course) and then being foiled by local wildlife preservist and local hero Toi-Toi and her rampaging beatmen.

And thus, the scene was set for the very first trial run of the RSS system! Toi-Toi and her gang on the right and Mortia on the left!

An eclectic gathering of miniatures makes up Toi-Toi's Activist Group...

...Whilst a slightly more unified band of Celtos miniatures makes up Mortia's Undead Horde Warband

Now, while I had an idea of using this scenario as a general playthrough of any given scenario, I was interested in seeing how a couple of things that has always annoyed me in my games would work out; Command & Control and Close Combat.

As for Command & Control then it worked out near perfectly. Having already found and implemented my favourite compromise between control and friction in Fireteam Andromeda (FA), I began seeing RSS as a testing ground for a couple of ideas that had been bubbling around in my head ever since I finished up FA.

The first being a slight issue that I've had in regards to units being shaken and them not contributing Command Points. It was mainly something that slightly annoyed me, but I couldn't find a solution back when I started penning FA - it of course showed up just after having released the rulebook. Typical, right?

Anyway - in FA then whenever a unit becomes shaken then it won't grant you a Command Point for being deployed. Simple, right? Except that it could, sometimes, become a hassle counting up all those command points only to then subtract some of them along the way because you forgot about untis being shaken. Not a dealbreaker, but slightly annoying.

The solution, as implemented in RSS, was just as simple as the oversigt; instead of subtracting points form your pool of Command Points (CP) because of shaken units, then you would simply pay 2 CP to activate a unit that was shaken! And yes, upon getting this idea there was a lot of facepalming at the office.

This then extended to the system that is going to be used in RSS wherein each unit grants you 1 CP for being deployed and then it will cost 1 CP to order a unit, and thus activate them.
However, the price goes up by +1 if:

• The unit is shaken 
• The unit is out of command 
• The unit is an excess unit

Brilliantly simple and give exactly the same result as the system implemented in FA! And it even works too! Furthermore, CP's are now also used to utilize various special tactics that an army is capable of; additional special manouvers that all units are capable of, if given enough time (another representation of CP).

Excess units is a simple little modifier that applies to the cost of activating units when the other player cannot activate any further units. It's simple really; it makes it easier for the smaller force to manouver faster and more effecient than the larger mob on the other side; thus negating all penalties in having a smaller force in an alternating activation system. And yes, it worked just fine!

Close Combat - the bane of all game systems, or at the very least the hardest part to make exciting and somewhat realistic. The issue I've always had with close combat in most of the bigger systems out there is that they mostly end up being a giant moshpit on the middle of the board, with very little else happening before either untits suddenly breaks or buys the farm.

While I am aware of the reasonings behind doing so, it has always irked me slightly that you can't make an easy system in that regards that actually makes close combat feel a bit more like, well, like a good old fashioned brawl!

And, unfortunately, then this early draft of RSS isn't without its faults in that regards. While the system itself is streamlined and works like a charm, there's still something lacking in regards to close combat ending up feeling like one big scrum in the middle of the board. Sure, it kind of makes sense, but it makes for a somewhat boring and predictable gameplay - which I don't really fancy. At any rate, I'm trying not to get too hung up on a single outing of the rules - they work, they're playable, they need testing.

So, even though I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to flavor the close combat, I think that the RSS system has proven itself for my skirmishing purposes. There's only 5 pages or so worth of rules (most of which is written in a prose that would mainly makes sense to me and Duncan), having distilled everything down to its absolute basics, it's now time to add seasoning and flavour to the whole deal; leaving me to work on the Science Fiction stuff (Yay!) and Duncan to work his (pardon the pun) magic in regards to the Fantasy version of these rules.

As for a betatest set and so on? Well, i'll probably put one up next month, once I've found out what to do about the basic close combat mechanics and finally figured out how to layout the booklet as well and what to include and what to cut. Ah well, I forsee a great writing frenzy in the near future whilst I start up a small Chaos Warband for a danish Path to Glory competition; so painting wise there's bound to be even more fantasy models here - stay tuned!

An Undead Warband for Rosetta

Not a whole lot of text - just a small update to show that I haven't keeled over yet in this heat but that I've actually been painting!