Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition is coming May of 2014

7th Edition is upon us.

So long 6th! We barely knew ya!

The biggest change leaked thus far is that two basic ways of playing are now standard.

Battleforged is the name given to games that use the Force Organization Chart to build your army.

Unbound is the name given to games that do away with the FOC and are a free-for-all when it comes to building your list. Subject to the NEW allies matrix!

Dakka Dakka page with scans

Natfka's write up about the rumors of 7th edition!!

Friends don't let friends buy GW tools...

From Tom Schadle...

New Citadel Hobby Tools - Don't Throw Money Away

I could not agree more!

2014 - Year of the X-Wing

Trench Run - by Wight @ favim.com

"Set S-foils to attack position!" - Red Leader - Battle of Yavin

Hello all!

Welcome to my blog in this year of our Lord 2014.

I hope to publish with more regularity this year.

First up, I have bought into X-Wing the miniatures game by Fantasy Flight Games.

I found starters on clearance at my local Target store for $19.98 each. I promptly bought four of the starter sets. Although I only have two games under my belt using only one of the starter sets I can tell this one is a winner!

It has been receiving rave reviews in the last two years since it debuted. It runs fast and is fun with some surprising tactical depth.

The miniatures are to scale with one another and are manufactured from a hard plastic that holds its shape. Not like the "melting" miniatures from WOTC when they published Starship Battles with their wildly out of scale ships.

For my new years resolutions I hope to play more and polish up my solo gaming capabilities.

I have purchased 2nd edition Firestorm Armada to add to my gaming collection. I hope to drag my buddies into capital scale ship combat and X-wing will sate our need for a furball of a dogfight when needed.

I also would like to start fleshing out my own personal science fiction universe with which to game in.

Again, thanks for reading and I hope to see all of you more often in the future!

Solo Battletech - More

Someone has asked about my Solo Battletech variant.

My variant is not a cohesive write-up per se. Rather it is an eclectic collection of bolt-ons which work for me.

Totally stolen off of the internetz

The basic rules for movement, combat, and damage are unchanged from the base Battletech game. So, these additions make the solo variant suitable for other games.

You will need a deck of playing cards for this variant.

Let us begin...

1. Decide what kind of mission you are going to run. This can be as simple or as complicated as you want. I would recommend simple missions first. This can be a completely narrative goal or just a purely mechanical goal (kill them all!).

2. Set the aggression level for the enemy. This is a value between 2 and 12. The higher the value the less aggressive the enemy is. For an enemy that could go either way set the aggression level to 7. For a timid enemy set the aggression level to a 10 or 11. For a battle-raging enemy set the aggression level to 3 or 4.

3. Set the contact level. This is a value between 2 and 12. This value is used to determine if a sensor reading (blip) is indeed an enemy unit. A contact level set low will generate more enemy units than a high contact level.

4. If you are running a campaign you might want to hash out payment, experience points, and salvage that can be earned for the mission. This step is completely optional.

5. Determine sensor readings (blips). These are markers you will use to represent potential enemy units. I use poker chips. Any kind of token or marker will do. Determine the number of blips by rolling a 1d6.

6. Deploy. The resolution of this part does not really matter. Deploy your units as desired and deploy the blips randomly. For an interesting fight take turns alternating deployment of your units and the blips. The key here is to get the units and blips on the board.

7. Start the game. At the beginning of each turn determine initiative as usual.

8. During the movement phase, when it is time for a blip to move, roll a 1d6 for the direction the blip will travel. Once you know which direction the blip will travel roll a 1d6 to determine how far the blip moves. Move the blip the direction and distance specified. Blips will stop at the board edge. Terrain does not affect the movement of a blip.

After all units and/or blips have moved...time to find out if any of them are bad guys!

Enemy Unit Detection Rules

1.      After the Movement Phases but before the Weapon Attack Phase the player must scan the battlefield, in an attempt to resolve any blips remaining in play.

2.      The player will select one of her units and a blip (to which she has LOS, terrain rules are in effect for establishing LOS.) and then draw a card from a standard deck of playing cards.

3.      If the card drawn has a numerical value greater than or equal to the distance of the unit from the blip, the scan attempt has succeeded. Numbered cards can "see" the number of hexes noted on them. Jacks are 11 hexes. Queens = 12 hexes. Kings are 13 hexes. Aces can "see" 14 hexes. A Joker can discriminate at any range

4.      If the card drawn has a numerical value less than the distance between the two units, the scan attempt automatically fails.

5.      If at this point the scan attempt is a success the blip has a chance to resist being resolved. A card is drawn for the blip. If the card drawn has a numerical value equal to or greater than card already drawn for the detecting unit, the blip succeeds at remaining unresolved.

6.      If the scan attempt is ultimately successful, then the blip is converted into a unit or removed from the battlefield.

 

Important note - If the scanning unit fails to resolve the blip, the blip gets a scan in return to attempt to target the players unit!

The player's unit gets a chance to resist being scanned per the guidelines above. 

If the blip does get a good scan of the player's unit the blip is immediately converted into an enemy unit OR removed from the board. Follow step 9 resolve the blip.

The now revealed unit may choose to execute a Weapon Attack Phase, and ONLY a Weapon Attack Phase.

9. To convert a blip into an enemy unit roll a 2d6. If the number rolled is equal to or greater than the contact value (2-12) the blip is immediately converted into an enemy unit. Randomly choose an enemy unit put it into the hex the blip occupies.

If the 2d6 roll is less than the contact level, remove the blip from play, it was just a false sensor reading or a sensor spoof.

10. Move onto the weapon attack phase.

11. Shooting and combat phases are carried in initiative order. When an enemy unit is up for shooting they will follow the Enemy Tactic matrix. The enemy unit will fire based off of its stance and heat condition. The enemy units will fire at the closest threat. If two or more units are at equal range, randomly determine which target the enemy unit will engage.

Stance is determined by rolling 2d6 and comparing the result to the aggression level set in step two. If the result is equal to or greater than the aggression level the enemy unit will behave aggressively. If the roll is lower than the aggression level the enemy unit will behave in a passive manner.

12. After combat - work through the heat phase before beginning the next turn.

OK folks, nearing midnight here. I'll polish this up in the near future.

Solo Battletech

Battle Armor by CB FX on Deviantart

 Hi all,

Time has been tight recently. Well, not for me, but for getting everyone together to play some games.

Idly, I began to wonder if I could play against myself and have any fun. I was hankering for some Battletech.

So, I broke out my 25th Anniversary set and got to work. For the first few games I just played both sides of the conflict.

However, I am the biased type and soon I noticed that both sides were preemptively anticipating each others tactics.

At that point I sat down and let my Google-fu do its thing. I found a few blogs that deal almost exclusively with this particular subject.

Solo Nexus

Solo Wargamer

Lone Warrior Blog  - they also publish a magazine devoted to solo gaming.

Also, almost every major blogger seems to have tinkered with solo gaming to one extent or another. Look up some of your favorites.

Uziel Battlemech by Rafta on Deviantart

Anyway, after much research about the Fog of War, random events, and programmed opponents, I went ahead and made a very rudimentary enemy tactics chart for playing Battletech.

Essentially, at the beginning of every turn I roll for each enemy unit to decide if it will fight aggressively or passively.

Aggressive fighting stresses maintaining range and exploiting the flank, closing the range for a more sure kill, and running the mech hot by firing the most damaging weapons over the more accurate ones.

Passive fighting stresses maintaining range and exploiting the flank, extending the range for a better defensive posture, and firing the most accurate weapons over the more damaging ones.

Battletech readily lends itself to this type of solo programming due to the hex-based game board, movement points, and heat. All of which act as limiting factors on what any opponent real or programmed can do.

I am not going into the specifics more than that, right now. If anyone should be interested I will elaborate upon my system.

My efforts worked better than I had expected. My programmed "enemy" acts (to me at least) like an actual opponent. It has several times occurred that as I was setting up a devastating attack, my opponent just pulled back or jumped over my head to get a rear or flank shot. It has also happened that he has acted rashly, not monitored his heat, and subsequently suffered a crippling ammo explosion.

I have declared solo gaming to be full of win. Making up programmed enemy tactics is almost a game unto itself. Now, I look forward to porting solo gaming into several of the other systems I play; 40k, Warmachine, and Flames of War.

Let me close by saying that games are played to be fun and enjoyable. Despite not having a human opponent and letting a random chart decide the enemy actions, I have had fun and had some hard fought, narrow victories. That is why I have been able to play six games of Battletech in the last week.

Solo gaming. Why not try it yourself?

Gaming Progress Update

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated...

I continue to game.

I have played in an Apocalypse game my local GW in Tomball Crossing. My son brought his Tau and I fielded my piecemeal, "half-painted Blood Angels" Dark Angels Deathwing list. It was an epic battle that essentially ended in a draw.

Come closer...the Butcher wants to axe you a question!

My Pathfinder campaign was brought out into the sunlight and dusted off as the intrepid band of heroes faced bullywugs, a green dragon, and a mysterious mud creature. The session ended as their return to civilization brought them the unhappy news that the elven secession has begun.

Modified Demolisher-Devastator-Spriggan kit

I purchased and have built most of another heavy warjack for my Khador Warmachine army. It was the Spriggan multi-model plastic kit. The engineering  on this thing is poor. It has tiny little arms to hold up giant shields or other weaponry and the arm/shoulder design sucks. So, I had to modify it some.

A steam-powered iron clad build from an old cereal box. To be used in my Pathfinder campaign.

A Spring Break trip to Colorado Springs gave me the opportunity to discover a fantastic gaming store named Gamer's Haven, in which I went whole hog and was snapping up vintage 3rd edition GURPS supplements for $1.99 to $3.99 each. Their link is here; http://www.gamershavenco.com/forums/content.php

My kitbashed Belials. Outfitted with the TH/SS and the twin lightning claws option.

I am continuing to assemble and paint my buddy's Sedition Wars for him. In exchange he has offered to purchase me the Robotech kickstarter.


I need to get on here more often and post updates as I usually do something gaming related everyday.

Tau - The Next Expansion

Reposted from Faeit 212: Tau Compilation as of 19 Mar 13

by The Vampire Dio

The Tau are on the move again. I have been eagerly awaiting a new codex for ~4 years now. I own nearly 3000 points of everyone's favorite fish communists and cannot wait to get them on the table for a spin.

Prices being what they are, I see some serious scratchbuilding/kitbashing in the future to make that sweet, sweet battlesuit of goodness, The Riptide.

Enjoy the compilation and look to more Tau goodness in the near future.

Game Design - Random Thoughts 01

My gaming group is a fickle bunch. They will buy practically anything for a system that they already own.

Totally used without permission

As such, I have access to nearly the entire collection of Warhammer 40k material starting with Rogue Trader up to the present.

The same could be said for Pathfinder. While very few of of the group own the core rule book, everyone owns at least ONE Pathfinder book.

This can be a problem if we want to try something other than grimdark battles or fantasy role playing. Especially since there is some laggard response to any new attempts at purchasing products/systems outside of what we already play.

For instance, I want to play miniature space battles. Everyone has a few star ship miniatures from various manufactures/factions. What we lack is a generic cohesive rule set. Now, I am personally a big fan Full Thrust. The price is right (free) and allows for comprehensive ship design.

The problem is lazy players. I have e-mailed them all the rules. I have even printed out the rules for myself. The lazy SOBs will NOT read the damn rules or stat out their ships prior to getting together to play. Not to mention Full Thrust uses specific symbols to represent ship statistics which takes time to get used to/instinctively interpret/use.

Seriously, when I have time to play, I want to PLAY, not teach, nor design my lazy buddy's fleet for him.

SO, I must create a rule set so simple, that a near comatose turnip can design a fleet in a few minutes and has rules simple enough that it encompasses no more space than two pages or so.

From FreeVector - Looks really cool

Here are a few principals I want to include in the system;

1: A single 3x5 card per unit(s). No army lists, no codexes, no clipboards.

2: Every stat must be equally important during the game. If it does not meet this criteria, it's out. This will assist with internal balance, if that type of thing is important to you.

3: Only positive modifiers that are added together. If a negative modifier applies it should be mechanically added to other sides bonuses.

4: No IGOUGO

5: There should be an element of randomness/fog of war integral to the system.

Just a few thoughts. More to come in the future!

Flames of War: "Open Fire!" Review

Having made out like a bandit I found myself with a ton of holiday gifts in the form of cash to buy new toys with.



In the past I have toyed around with 15mm in the sci-fi arena and found it to be fun. However, I have been hearing really good things about FoW since 3rd edition came out.

So I traipsed down to my local game store and bought the starter set known as, "Open Fire".

I was unprepared.

You get ton of stuff in this box; over 100 miniatures, a quick-start guide, a rulebook shrunk down to pocket-size, bases, laminated full size army lists for included forces, and terrain (in the form of cardboard punch-outs and a sweet V-1 rocket objective/terrain piece). You also get the magnets for magnetizing the turrets on your tanks!

Fantastic stuff.

The quick-start guide and portions of the rulebook are photos of a game in progress, with overlaid graphics and explanations written in comic book form. The quick-start guide was worth a read no matter what.

The miniatures are fantastic. The eight tanks come on a sprue and have to be assembled. Kind of a pain at 15mm scale but fantastically detailed. The sprues even include optional stowage for each tank so that even at 15mm scale you can individualize your vehicles.

The men are included on two sprues, are one piece, and are glued to the bases in "teams" which is a concept that works within the rules.

My only complaint at this juncture is that while the vehicles are in separate poly bags and are either US green or German grey the soldiers themselves are uniform grey/green color and are intermixed on the same sprues. So, be prepared to use a magnifying glass and a well lit area for assembly. Of course, at 15mm if you should get some mix ups it is doubtful anyone will notice.

As mentioned, terrain is included in the form of punch out walls, houses, and trees. Also in the set is damn sweet V-1 rocket and launch rail that just looks great. Terrain matters in the game and it is awesome that it was included.

Points-wise both armies are close in points; 790 to 830 if my math is correct. I have heard that most games are in the 1500-2000 point range. This means that purchasing two starter sets and splitting it with a buddy is very viable in getting a functional army on the table at club levels.

I cannot speak to the mechanics as yet but I know it is an IGOUGO rule set (not my favorite kind). However, from a cursory inspection of the quick-start guide the rules seem to be fairly decent. They are however, not deep into simulation territory. So, if you are looking for a rule set that distinguishes between the individual weapon capabilities of a regular soldier, then it is probably not the game for you.

If you like really nice miniatures, have only a little room to play (as opposed to 28mm), enjoy a fairly tight yet abstract rule set then you might want to look more into FoW. I know I am.

For $70 USD I rate this a 9.0 out of 10 on my own personal satisfaction scale.

Predator Rescue, Part 03

After I completed gluing the magnets into openings to mount the turret I went ahead and glued the top panel down completely.

I did some more filing on the hull itself, mostly to neaten up the appearance of the tank overall.

The entire model was already primed a nice flat black. Since my army is painted in Blood Angels colors I figured I would stick with that scheme.

I have never been a huge fan of the all red look of the BA and I have taken pains to include a fair amount of black as well as yellow, green, and white in the army. Think of Death Company colors.

One of my Rhino's is painted in a mostly black with red as the trim color. My other Rhino is primarily red with black as the trim color. I firmly put my predator between the two and decided on a 50/50 color balance between black and red.

I use quite a few cheap acrylic paints in my arsenal and my standard undercoat prep for red uses the Americana brand in Khaki Tan.

In my opinion not only are acrylic paints inexpensive, you can make them into truly wonderful paints using water, matte medium, and flow improver to make them smoother to use. Even with the required doctoring they are still much more inexpensive than the GW pots. The base coat worked as intended and the red went on smoothly and with very few blotches.

I added some greeblies in the form of tow hooks, HK missile launcher, and smoke dischargers. Since I had completed a majority of the painting I went ahead and used decals for the first time.

Colors blocked out and decals applied. More on the magnetized sponsons next post.

For decals I used conventional wisdom. A coat of gloss where the decal would go. Application of the decal using decal solution and once dry the application of a matte coating over the entire decal to blend/lock it into place. I am very happy with the results and the decals really seem to give the vehicle an identity that is in context to the force.

At this point I would have no issues with putting this on the table. However, I do owe it some washes, drybrushing, and weathering. I also need to discuss the work I am doing on the sponsons.

Predator Rescue, Part 02

So, I spent the evening filing and gluing where necessary.

The turret has been filed and the autocannon has been glued into a fixed elevation. You will also notice that I have covered the turret ring with a playing card that is glued in place. Originally I thought that the addition of the card would give some much needed friction and help hold the turret in position. Boy did it! However, I was in a magnetic mood and decided to glue a magnet into the interior of the turret directly to the playing card. Now the entire turret will stay in place because of the magnets. See the pictures for details.

Playing cards make pretty decent modeling material

The top panel of the hull just needed some filing and it popped into place as pretty as you please. I also layered some playing cards that I glued together with some super glue. I then glued the card into the turret ring opening and finished that off by gluing a magnet to the underside of the playing card.

I was originally going to paint the interior of the hull and then remembered that a predator has no transport capacity and therefore no reason to open the ramp. So, I will not be painting the interior. The exhaust pipes have been drilled out and opened up.

The Bitz Barn is currently out of stock on Rhino track sets. So, I turned to eBay and found four sets for sale ranging from $10 to $11 (including shipping). I am not ready to spend that kind of money just yet. Remember, I wanted a nice cheap tank in comparison to retail price.

I can see four possible outcomes to the track issue.

1. I run without tracks at all. This smacks of white trash though.

2. I fabricate my own tracks in some manner. Sounds, tedious.

3. I wait for The Bitz Barn to get restocked. The lazy, yet cheap method.

4. I bite the bullet and pay $10-$11 for a complete set off of eBay. The lazy method.

This bears more thinking...

Greeblies for the turret

Predator Rescue, Part 01

Well, 6th edition hit and I could no longer deny my lust for GW, yadda, yadda, yadda. More later.

My latest endeavors have been to run solo 40K skirmishes using the Savage Worlds RPG. More on that later.

As such, I have been on a bit of a terrain building jag lately. I will post more about that in the future.

Needless to say my gaming life has continued and involved the stripping and repainting of my Blood Angels (for the third time!). I have also been working some of my back log as well as picking up the Dark Vengeance starter and going ga-ga over those particular miniatures also.

Basically, my self-imposed exile from GW and 40K failed in the most spectacular fashion.

Anyway, I got the bug to get a Predator tank. I have always liked the look of them and there is something about the symmetry/silhouette that I find elegant. Not wanting to pay the $57.75 to pick one up at the local GW, I bought one off of eBay.

Now, I specifically looked to buy a cheap pre-used/assembled/abused model. I have a fair amount of experience stripping models and rebuilding them. So, I was essentially looking for some one else's piece of junk to make a part of my army. I always figured that I could disguise the most egregious abuse as combat damage.

So, after some judicious bidding I ended up owning a destructor-pattern predator with lascannon sponsons. I got this low-mileage and slightly abused item for $30.99. That's ~47% off of the NIB price.

Fully Convertible

From the pictures you can see I got a model that has no tracks, two broken lascannon sponsons, one mis-glued hatch plug, and no apparent filing down of the mold lines. Oh, and it was covered in dust.

One the plus side I will not have to strip the model as the primer job is quite good.

The turret mount is in good shape and has been glued (correctly) in place. No issues there. One of the hatch plugs is upside down and shows the periscope and mounting cross/indention for mounting the HK missile. As this does not interfere with the functioning of the turret I am not going to mess with it. All this part needs is a filing/trim to correct a bit of a tight fit and it is good to go.

The whole shebang!

The turret is missing the cupola hatch and that will be dealt with out of my bits box. The storm bolter mount has cracked but not yet broken. I am going to use a bit of glue to correct that issue. A general filing and trimming will bring the turret up to snuff. The autocannon elevates and depresses a bit too easily. That will either be frictioned up using some white glue or just plain old glued into the correct elevation.

The sponsons/lascannons needs some filing and to be re-glued into place. Magnetization will also happen.

Worse mounting design ever!

The hull needs very little clean up/filing. The interior is clean and the ramp functions nicely. This might be the first Rhino STC with a painted interior, in my army. The exhaust pipes will be drilled out and some greeblies from my bitz box will finish the overall look of the tank.

The sides are glued into place and appear to have the correct spacing. Complete track sides are available for $1.60 per side from The Bitz Barn. I will be placing my order shortly. Luckily, tracks are not needed during the refurbishing/painting of the said tank.

We threw track, Sarge!

Finishing up that Full Thrust review...

Sorry, folks.

Seems that my last post, a supposed review, didn't actually review anything.

Full Thrust is flat out the best space combat game I have ever played.

There are several reasons for this (in no particular order);

1. Free - 'nuff said

2. Build your own ships! - the point build method seems fairly balanced with every option having a counter of some sort.

3. Cinematic movement with a nod towards inertia - movement is life or death

4. Range and facing matters.

5. Dead simple basic mechanic - gets you playing within a few minutes.

6. The options, oh God, the sheer amount of options that you can use to add to the basic game. Objects, bases, minefields, stealth, sensors, repair parties, towing, and even more!

7. Scaleless - You are not locked into a given scale and you can even use markers or chits instead of miniatures.

8. Hexless - no special board required to play - you are not constrained for instance you could turn the living room floor into a huge battle space.

9. Equipment light - dice, ships, movement record sheet, ship status record (you can fit 12 on a regular page), measuring tape, turning template (made from and old CD), and a pencil. I already owned all of this stuff for other games, except for the turning/vector template which I made from an old AOL CD and a sharpie

10. Tons of resources. Even a Facebook fan page.

11. Alternating activations/integrated turns

The system lends itself best to each side having less than 10 ships per side. I got my gaming buddies to play and we were knocking out games within a few minutes. No game lasted more than 20 minutes and that was with 3-5 ships per side. We played six games before calling it a day.

We did not play with fighters and I have heard that "paper" carriers can break the system at some level. I don't have enough experience to say one way or another.

In the end I cannot recommend Full Thrust enough. Hell, its free, you're not risking anything to try it out.

Bring the Rain! - A Full Thrust Review

These days most of my hobby time is devoted to painting miniatures for my various Pathfinder games.

I have been interested in playing a space combat game for a while.

I tried Star Wars Starship battles when it came out but, in the end, found it to be too simplistic.

I have purchased and played the quite excellent Battleship Galaxies when it came out. It is a really nice game with some unique resource management challenges built in as part of the game play. My only real gripe is the set up time involved and the somewhat limited play area (even though two game boards are included). I never felt like I got a real chance to outmaneuver my opponent.

I received some Firestorm Armada ships for Christmas and they are very beautiful ships. Unfortunately I am not interested in purchasing another rule set or learning it. Especially one that requires cards, tokens, and dice.

So, I hit the interwebz hard and found several free rule sets that seemed to fit what I was looking for. Of all the choices available, the most popular seems to be Full Thrust.

Full Thrust was originally published in 1991 or thereabouts. A second edition was released circa 1995. Jon Tuffley wrote these rules. Jon is well know for running Ground Zero Games and authoring several rule sets such as Stargrunt 2 and Dirtside 2. Don't be thrown by the age of these rules! They have stood the test of time and survived.

Full Thrust is non-setting specific. So, you can play practically any background you can come up with. Conversions can be found throughout the Internet covering setting specific ships and fleets for old favorites such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Starblazers, BSG, BFG, and Babylon 5.

There are many Full Thrust resources out there;

http://fullthrust.star-ranger.com/

http://www.homegame.org/siefert/uftwwwp/

http://www.spinwardstars.com/ft/

Ammund Runec

Pathfinder character I regularly play. Owner/Manager of the Black Steel Mercenary Company.

Ammund Runec

Male Human Fighter 10                          Initiative +3                               Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)

AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +3 Studded Leather)

HP 101                                                                                     Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +4

Base Atk +10; CMB +12; CMD +26

STR 14, DEX 16, CON 14, INT 14, WIS 12, CHA 12

Deadly Aim, Dodge, Improved Critical (Longbow), Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Toughness, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (Glaive), Weapon Focus (Longbow), Greater Weapon Focus (Longbow), Weapon Specialization (Longbow)

Acrobatics +6, Acrobatics (Jump) +4, Appraise +2, Bluff +10, Climb +7, Craft (Bows) +13, Diplomacy +13, Disguise +2, Escape Artist +3, Fly +3, Heal +1, Intimidate +8, Perception +7, Ride +3, Sense Motive +7, Stealth +10, Survival +8, Swim +2

DF = Darter Fletching (+1 to hit)

PBS = Point Blank Shot (+1 to hit and damage)

DA = Deadly Aim (-3 to hit, +6 to damage)

RS = Rapid Shot (full-attack action, -2 to hit to each attack)

VS = Vital Strike (x1 attack only, roll 2d8 plus modifiers for damage)

Widow’s Lament (+1 Bastard Sword) +14/+9 (1d10+5/19-20)

Glaive +13/+8 (1d10+3/x3/ Reach 10)

Heart Seeker +19/+14 (1d8+8/19-20/x3)

Heart Seeker (DF) +20/+15 (1d8+8/19-20/x3) 

Heart Seeker (DF, PBS) +21/+16 (1d8+9/19-20/x3)

Heart Seeker (DF, RS) +18/+13/+18 (1d8+8/19-20/x3) – Full Attack

Heart Seeker (DF, RS, PBS) +19/+14/+19 (1d8+9/19-20/x3) – Full Attack

Heart Seeker (DF, RS, DA) +15/+10/+15 (1d8+14/19-20/x3) – Full Attack

Heart Seeker (DF, RS, DA, PBS) +16/+11/+16 (1d8+15/19-20/x3) – Full Attack

Heart Seeker (DF, VS) +20 (2d8+8/19-20/x3) – x1 Attack Only

Heart Seeker (DF, VS, PBS) +21 (2d8+9/19-20/x3) – x1 Attack Only

Heart Seeker (DF, VS, DA) +17 (2d8+14/19-20/x3) – x1 Attack Only

Heart Seeker (DF, VS, DA, PBS) +18 (2d8+15/19-20/x3) – x1 Attack Only

5150: Star Army

For my first foray into 15mm sci fi gaming I decided to use Two Hour Wargame's 5150: Star Army.

This book is a revamp of the original 5150 and centers exclusively around military combat from skirmish up to company level.

For $25 I received a comb bound soft cover book of 97 pages. The front and back cover are color with a black and white interior. A .pdf copy was also included for free. I happen to carry my .pdf copy on my phone.

Inside we are treated to a genre specific treatment of the Chain Reaction 3.0 rules. This is not an IGOUGO set of rules.

Truth be told, even on your activation not much seems to happen. The beauty is in the reaction system. As you meet the enemy (or THINK you do) things begin to happen. Sometimes involuntary movement triggers new reactions which cascade into a whole different set of reactions. This is all handled very simply and moves quite quickly.

In the end it is not impossible that you discover the enemy and the initial contact quickly reaches a crescendo of violence that leaves one side or the other quite dead. This is roughly what happens in the real world. As the old military axiom states, "No plan survives contact."


This is a nice set of "loose" rules. They move fast and do not require a ton of time to learn. Ed (the author) has also included a little "STOP" point at the end of each major section with a suggestion to play with the new pieces and parts until you are comfortable before continuing.

These rules do not have points values assigned to the units. Period. This is not a tournament set of rules. It cannot be played that way.

What I like is that the rules can be played head-to-head, solo, or cooperatively. In fact the rules mostly seem to revolve around the solo gamer. Which is why I picked this set of rules. You do not need anyone to play against and the "enemy" army plays realistically even though dice rolls decide their actions from moment to moment.

Oh, one other thing, you only have a modicum of control over your own forces. Once the Chain Reaction is set off, your forces can fight bravely or even flee the board whether you want them to or not. The one exception is your Star. He is your, "in-game" avatar and will do what ever you want every time.

Miniatures scale is left deliberately vague and the rules work quite well with either 15mm or 28mm (the two scales I game with).

Terrain, buildings, cover, concealment, and vehicles all receive their due and are quite comprehensive.

There are seven premade army lists and a brief fluff/background section that I cheerfully ignored because I brought my own. The background is based off a RPG setting written by Wes Davis. So, you could always go there to learn more if you wanted to.


My gripe. My only real gripe is the editing. I would love to edit this rulebook for Ed.

The sections seem illogically placed for roughly 75% of the book. The are are no real section breaks in terms of page breaks. One section stops and the next immediately starts. Even though it would have made more sense to continue on a new page. Campaign rules are before the mission rules, etc. Just seems to me, to be illogically laid out in most places.

Charts...Ed loves himself some charts. They are neat and easy to read and I fully understand why they are needed. What I would have liked to have seen is ALL of the charts compiled at the back of the book so I could print them out as a booklet of only charts. That said, most of the charts aren't even needed in a typical game but, it would have been nice.

However, I would not let those two things discourage you. For the price you get a very flexible and robust set of rules. There is a very active Yahoo Group that supports these games and publishes a lot of user content that you can drop right into your game.

I give this set of rules a rating of 75%. Damn good with room for some improvements.

9/11 - 4 month update

It has been almost 4 months since I updated this blog.

My feelings on GW have not changed.

However, I have continued gaming.



I am not only running a Pathfinder game set in Eberron, I am also playing in one. I had forgot for a long time how much enjoyment I get from a good RPG. Not to mention the price point to play is much, much lower than tabletop war gaming.

I have been playing Warmachine quite a bit more. I bought a Khador starter box ($50) and received another $80 worth of Khador stuff for my birthday. I can field a good 35-40 points. This makes for a fast and yet very tactical game. good stuff. Now that Privateer Press has released (or soon will) a 2-player starter box it is only going to get better. I have not even read the fluff concerning the Iron Kingdoms but, I am still having fun.

My Battletech fever has tapered off a bit. However, I am planning on getting ti going again pretty soon. Getting in at least one game each week is my goal. I find the depth of detail to game play a real draw. I actually enjoy more of minutiae than I thought I would.



I hope to start posting more often. I have considered changing the name of the blog to something a little less 40k-ish. I wonder if I can do that in Blogspot?

Take this job and shove it...

GW continues to knock them out of the ball park.

Trade Embargo and a price increase?

I have roughly 5000 pts of SM/BA, ~2500 pts of Tau, ~1500 pts of Necrons, and ~1000 pts of Orks.

I have no need to buy anymore to continue to play the game.

eBay will be my source of any new models from here on out.

I have only been playing for two years and it is clear that GW does not like me.

So, I am moving on. I'll still play 40K but I won't be buying anything else directly from GW.

Battletech is my new passion. My $50 starter set came with enough stuff that six people could each field a platoon's worth of mechs. Two players could run a battalion vs. battalion level battle.

Battletech has been around longer and is still on the "first" edition. Sure there have been some revisions along the way, most of those clarify or add something to the game.

So long GW. It has NOT been fun.

P.S. Your rules suck and the constant power creep with each codex release will NOT make me start a new army. Rather, I will start a new game.

Fuck You, very much.

Dear GW: Thunderwolf Cavalry

Dear GW,

I am writing this letter because I love you. I feel you are currently in a self-destructive phase with the bad behavior you have been displaying since we met.

Price raises, corporate tinkering with the stores, a substandard ruleset...

Despite that I still like you...a lot. I want to help. Let me give you some advice.

First, you have screwed the pooch (pun) concerning Thunderwolves. Your players really like them. They like them so much that they have been busy converting them, kit-bashing them, and buying alternative models from your competitors. Yup, classic capitalism in action, there was a void and someone filled it. Several someones at the time of this letter. Let me tell you, your competitors are churning them out. Fast, pretty, and inexpensive.

Flat out, you are losing the market share. Sure, you might exert some will and ban alternatives from 'ard Boyz or Adepticon but, that is only a stop gap measure.

You need to get off your bum and get your own product out. Of course, I have some qualifiers. Allow me to illuminate them.

1. They must be pretty. You already do this really well.

2. They need to be plastic. Again, something you can do.

3. They need to be packaged advantageously. This means five to a box, with enough bits to customize them.

4. They must be inexpensive. You really really suck at this part. This will be painful but if you want to win back the market share you have to be prepared to lose some profit margin. In the end, you can only ever blame yourself. Also, your competitors are selling them for about $7-8 per model.

I know this has been painful for the both of us. I am only telling you this because I love you.

I won't mention the 25th Anniversary BattleTech Introductory Box that has 26 models in it and all of the supporting material for only $50. I think I'll cover that next time.

Yours,

Brother Vizlani

What a Day!

I did not attend Adepticon this year. I may never reach a point where I am good enough to justify a four-day trip to Chicago to play 40K.

What I did do on Sat. was take part in my local GW's tournament.

2000 pt Last Man Standing

The rules are simple. No reserves unless they deep strike or outflank. No walking on from your board edge. Three turns or 30 minutes, whichever comes first. If it dies, it does not go into the next game. Same with immobilized or weapon destroyed results, they carry over into the next game. Using a techmarine you can repair damage "in game". Reloads are available for one-shot weapons (combi-, hunter-killer, etc.).

The goal is to be the, "Last Man Standing".

I won't bore you with details except to say, I placed third. I survived the seventh and final game with 522 points of BA intact. Dark Eldar took first with 943 points. Black Templar finished second with 602 points.

Fun was had by all. The F-bomb was dropped on several occasions. Someone got chewed out. Like I said, a great time.

For my troubles I scored a box of Death Company. Using all the bits in the box I intend to kit out a full assault squad and dress up my BA (bone-stock SM miniatures) like proper Angels of Death.

Look for another post soon, with my views on how GW can still pull a win concerning Thunderwolf Cavalry.