This week topic is related to the up coming General's Handbook 2. I'm not exactly excited about the book because I dislike buying books (just rather put that money towards more models). Also, personally it feels like I just brought General's Handbook 1 and seeing it replace is a downer to me. That said, I AM excited about Age of Sigmar getting allies. There is probably more details about it out at the time of my writing but I don't know it. I get the vast majority of my Age of Sigmar news from the Topic of the Week videos and the few times I get to watch Warhammer Weekly. My understanding is that in the General's Handbook 2 there will be the option to take up to 20% of your army from a different faction as allies and still keep your allegiance abilities. It is unknown to me exactly how this will work, including whether or not it will be possible to cross grand alliances. In any case, my response is that I'm all for it to the extreme. I certainly understand this can lead to abuses and realize this can bring a lot of headaches to the community. However I think the flexibility is worth the risk. I create my own lore and it rarely fits into the same boxes Games workshop sets up. I have two examples of armies that mixes alliances. To really understand why I mix alliance, I need to explain the lore and ideas behind each army.
Funny that I was just talking about my goblin army in my last article when before that I probably hadn't thought about it since a little after Age of Sigmar was first release. My goblin army is a mix of death and destruction and I got inspired to build it from the Diablo 3 expansion. The undead in that game were an eerie light blue. The lore behind my goblin army is that an Angel of Death made a bargain with a tribe of goblins. If the goblins devote themselves and worship him, the Angel bestow his powers to them, allowing the goblins to use it as they see fit. The Angel showed off his powers by instantly killing the Orcs whom enslaved them (and greatly weaken himself in the process). The "default" army would be all goblins. Two-thirds of the goblins would be painted green like normal, while the rest would be painted light blue. The blue goblins would represent goblins that had died and are currently being animated by the Angel's power (gamewise, there is no different between green and blue). Once the Angel recovers some of his strength, he would then be able to animated and summon powerful undead that would be under the control of goblin shamans. The undead would be blue in color, in the same shade as some of the goblins. The undead would be mostly skeletons with the potential of a few heavy hitters, outside of vampire/Tomb King characters. A side benefit to this army was that it was a "reservable" army. By that I mean it wouldn't take much to make it playable as a completely different army. Get a few undead characters, expand a little on the undead elites and use the blue goblins as ghouls and it can serve as a playable pure undead army. The Angel himself wouldn't appear on the battlefield with the exception as unit fillers under 8th edition rules. The unit fillers would have represent the ability of large groups of goblins projecting a ghostly image of him. All I needed to find were Demon Prince size Angel models. Probably would have been one of the few unit fillers that would have cost more than just buying more models!
I discarded the idea of building the goblin army early in Age of Sigmar because I had too many other games and armies I also wanted to work on. Which is probably for the best as it would probably get smash by anything remotely competitive. Since AoS split up goblins into 3 or more factions, I probably couldn't ever get allegiance abilities for it whether or not I included the undead. Its a shame as I really love the theme behind it and think it would have look cool on the tabletop.
My Chaos Army is something I plan to get back to and has multiple narrative parts. Chaos has two separate storylines but the one that mixes alliances deals with the Chaos King Amirren. Amirren is pretty much my version of Archaon. Think I even use Archaon rules to represent Amirren once in a campaign. Powerful warlord, decent sorcerer, but Amirren's greatest gift was his charisma. With it he manage to convince 9 other warlords that were almost as powerful as he is to serve under him. Each of these warlords, which I called the Lords of Chaos, had their own uniquely looking armies (I very much didn't limited my imagination to what my budget could afford!). Half of the Lords of Chaos were sorcerers, some of the greatest in the world and each sorcerer was a master of something. There is the Master of Magic, a sorcerer with knowledge of nearly every possible spell in the world. When I have used him in 7/8th edition games, I've gave him the Third Eye to represent this aspect of him. There is also the Master of Fire, a sorcerer whom can bend flames to his will. Outside of always having lore of fire, I hadn't figured out how to show off his flame mastery on the table. I suppose I can use flamers to act as fire elementals he controls as part of his army. But the one Lord of Chaos I probably developed the most was Vikihra, the Master of Death. Amirren has ordered his Lords from time to time to temporary disband their army and wander the world alone to search for ways to better themselves. Vikihra, having completely mastered death magic, decided to seek the knowledge of undeath magic when she was asked to go on one of these worldly trips. Her goals were not only to gain more power, but also find a way to heal her body. Centuries ago she was burned alive and only survived due to her knowledge of death magic. However her burned body is a constant source of pain and healing magic have shown to have no effect on her. For decades she studied under various vampires and dark priests to learn necromancy directly from those whom wield it. Eventually Vikihra develop her own type of necromancy. In many ways it was inferior to either of the other necromancy magic, but to her, it was better because she made it. Her new fond powers and knowledge did nothing to heal her body. When Amirren summoned his Lords of Chaos and their armies, she shocked the other Lords and even Amirren himself when she arrived with a significant larger army that was bolstered with her own undead creations.
Vikihra is one of the few characters I brought a specific model for though I never got around to convert and paint it. I loved the look of the Queen Khalida miniature and once I decided to use it, it help develop some of Vikihra's history. Unlike my goblin army, I do consider this an active project. And since Vikihra is one of the most develop concept I have, I could see myself having this army on the table in a year or two. It would be also a lot of work. Vikihra's undead will require a lot of conversion as her undead doesn't look normal. Kitbashing Chaos bits with undead parts and making it look good and easily identifiable will be time consuming (and maybe outside of my skill set at this time). But when I do get to it, I would want to be able to travel the country to events with it and not be handicapped. I do see it being stronger than my goblin idea but I don't think its overly strong. But that is something further down the road for me.
What allies means for me NOW is less interesting. The AoS army I'm working on now is my Poison Army which is a mix of Nurgle Chaos Warriors and Clan Pestilens. I have a problem with battlelines. Nurgle Chaos Warriors is the only battleline I can/want to use. I don't mind warriors but they are too expensive to fill my battlelines ONLY with warriors. Plus I want the army to be more Skaven than Chaos. Allies will allowed me to add clanrats as battleline and still have the feel I'm going for. I suppose I could start looking for poison users in other forces and add them with allies though I can't think of any at the moment. Another thing I could do is have Chaos be my allies so I can have allegiance Pestilens. Since I want to use more than 20% Chaos, I'm probably not going to do that. But it is an option and having the option is much better than no option.
Vince's Topic Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-NH2cFuZSc
A War Gaming blog
Showing posts with label TotW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TotW. Show all posts
Friday, August 4, 2017
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Topic of the Week - 40k 8th Edition and You
With the newest edition of Warhammer 40k around the corner, Vince decided to do a Topic of the Week on our feelings on 40K itself. Whether you have left the game a long time ago and are considering coming back to it now, or you are a current fan and have thoughts on the new set or you never played it but you are thinking about starting now, Vince wants us discuss which camp we are in and why. For me, I was already considering coming back to 40k before I even heard of the new edition. Now I'm thinking it's a pretty good time to come back.
I've started my war gaming hobby with 40k 4th edition. While I left sometime in 5th edition, I still have fond memories of playing both editions. In fact I still remember a big event at my local gaming store at the time. The plan was to have a megabattle, including any player who showed up (I think about 30 or 40 people did), that starting with using the 4 edition rules and later switching to 5th edition at midnight. Things did not go to plan and frankly it was a mess. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable experience for me. Eventually I did leave 40k for Warhammer Fantasy. I think what separates me from others whom left 40k is the fact there was nothing about 40k itself that push me away. I didn't hate the new edition at the time (I think I was pretty neutral towards it) nor was I upset at Games Workshop and decided to boycott 40k. I simply enjoy fantasy more than science fiction and a group of players brought Warhammer Fantasy to my attention. I had limited resources so I put all my effort into the fantasy side and quietly quit 40k.
Though I gave up playing the war game, I didn't leave the setting itself. Part of the reason for this was that in Fantasy I was only playing a single army, Chaos. From time to time I would browse other army lines in both Fantasy and 40k to look for stuff I could convert into my Chaos force. In addition to that, I got into a pen and paper Deathwatch game. That game lasted over a year when it got disbanded for other reasons. I also continued to constantly hear about 40k from one friend whom kept playing the war game and another friend continued to collect the 40k RPG books. For all these reasons my thoughts never left the setting for long. There was even a time where I very briefly return to the war game. I played 2 games in 6th edition but I had no enthusiasm in it. It was more of an choir than fun so I gave it up again. I didn't put much thought into why I had no interest in 40k anymore. I suppose at the time I chalked it up to be not wanting to get up early Saturday morning to play as that was the only time those friends could play. Reflecting back on it now, I don't think that was the reason. Instead I think it was the same reason I cleanly quit 40k the first time, a reason I didn't know about until now.
There were 3 armies I was interested in when I first played 40k; Witch Hunters/Sisters of Battle, Eldar and Blood Angels. I had limited funds but I had pick up something in all 3 armies during this time. I had to proxy whenever I played Sisters of Battle because I never own enough models. I was fortunate to have a friend whom own over 5,000 points of Eldar so I could almost play anything I want using his model. He has since moved on with his life and I no longer have access to his models. Blood Angels was the one army I could play without proxying because I brought a large force from another friend. They are beautifully painted, far better than what I can do. Yet I have rarely used them. I think because they were not my vision of what I wanted my Blood Angels to look like, I subconsciously didn't want to use them. It took a long time coming but eventually in fantasy I got to the point where I could play a large game without proxying and only using models I put together myself. The first time it happen I was almost overwhelm with pride. It was never something I thought would matter that much, but it did. And it was something I never had in 40k. More than anything else, I think that is what pushed me away from the game.
That said, if there is one thing I really miss about playing 40k then its the Sisters of Battle. I still like Eldar and Blood Angels but my level of interest in them isn't enough to compete with my current projects. But Sisters is a different story. Even when I had no interest in coming back to 40k, I sometimes consider picking up a few Sisters of Battle models to paint up just because. But the true trigger has been my friend Phil whom being trying harder than ever this year to get me to come back to 40k. He has provided me with the resources to learn how Sisters currently work and introduce me to local players who are more knowledgeable to answer my questions about the state of the game and Sisters of Battle. He talks about the Kill-Team scenario which allows you to play with very few minis. I tried to resist at first because I figure I just had too many other games I'm currently trying to play. Yet Phil knew exactly how to provoke me and the handful of unassembled Sisters of Battle models I still own in storage were calling to me. My willpower eventually vanish and I started looking into how to get back into 40k. And as if right on cue Games Workshop release Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence, two mini-forces that I've been interested in their fluff and never thought they would ever have actual models. Adeptus Custodes have a history with the creation of Sisters of Battle, and the Sister of Silence have a theme similar to the Battle Sisters. Sisters of Silence were also briefly in "Faith & Fire", the only Warhammer novel that I own. Given that 40k now allows you to mix armies together, (I know this is old news, but it wasn't around the last time I played) making a Sisters of Battle/Sisters of Silence/Adeptus Custodes army would make sense thematically.
And it is at this point I first heard about a new edition! For me this comes at the best possible time. I have no connection to the current rule set so any rule changes won't bother me. I'm mostly okay with the Age of Sigmar rule system so having 40k changes to be more similar to it is a positive. With a new edition means a new meta that everyone will be learning at the same time. That will put me in the same position as everybody else. Despite not knowing many details, I am quite excited about 40k 8th edition. It will have to get in line as I have committed myself to playing Team Yankee, Test of Honour, Age of Sigmar and Relic Knights. However one thing this hobby and even this year have taught me, priorities can change quick!
Topic of the Week Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMt-yykKcLI
I've started my war gaming hobby with 40k 4th edition. While I left sometime in 5th edition, I still have fond memories of playing both editions. In fact I still remember a big event at my local gaming store at the time. The plan was to have a megabattle, including any player who showed up (I think about 30 or 40 people did), that starting with using the 4 edition rules and later switching to 5th edition at midnight. Things did not go to plan and frankly it was a mess. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable experience for me. Eventually I did leave 40k for Warhammer Fantasy. I think what separates me from others whom left 40k is the fact there was nothing about 40k itself that push me away. I didn't hate the new edition at the time (I think I was pretty neutral towards it) nor was I upset at Games Workshop and decided to boycott 40k. I simply enjoy fantasy more than science fiction and a group of players brought Warhammer Fantasy to my attention. I had limited resources so I put all my effort into the fantasy side and quietly quit 40k.
Though I gave up playing the war game, I didn't leave the setting itself. Part of the reason for this was that in Fantasy I was only playing a single army, Chaos. From time to time I would browse other army lines in both Fantasy and 40k to look for stuff I could convert into my Chaos force. In addition to that, I got into a pen and paper Deathwatch game. That game lasted over a year when it got disbanded for other reasons. I also continued to constantly hear about 40k from one friend whom kept playing the war game and another friend continued to collect the 40k RPG books. For all these reasons my thoughts never left the setting for long. There was even a time where I very briefly return to the war game. I played 2 games in 6th edition but I had no enthusiasm in it. It was more of an choir than fun so I gave it up again. I didn't put much thought into why I had no interest in 40k anymore. I suppose at the time I chalked it up to be not wanting to get up early Saturday morning to play as that was the only time those friends could play. Reflecting back on it now, I don't think that was the reason. Instead I think it was the same reason I cleanly quit 40k the first time, a reason I didn't know about until now.
There were 3 armies I was interested in when I first played 40k; Witch Hunters/Sisters of Battle, Eldar and Blood Angels. I had limited funds but I had pick up something in all 3 armies during this time. I had to proxy whenever I played Sisters of Battle because I never own enough models. I was fortunate to have a friend whom own over 5,000 points of Eldar so I could almost play anything I want using his model. He has since moved on with his life and I no longer have access to his models. Blood Angels was the one army I could play without proxying because I brought a large force from another friend. They are beautifully painted, far better than what I can do. Yet I have rarely used them. I think because they were not my vision of what I wanted my Blood Angels to look like, I subconsciously didn't want to use them. It took a long time coming but eventually in fantasy I got to the point where I could play a large game without proxying and only using models I put together myself. The first time it happen I was almost overwhelm with pride. It was never something I thought would matter that much, but it did. And it was something I never had in 40k. More than anything else, I think that is what pushed me away from the game.
That said, if there is one thing I really miss about playing 40k then its the Sisters of Battle. I still like Eldar and Blood Angels but my level of interest in them isn't enough to compete with my current projects. But Sisters is a different story. Even when I had no interest in coming back to 40k, I sometimes consider picking up a few Sisters of Battle models to paint up just because. But the true trigger has been my friend Phil whom being trying harder than ever this year to get me to come back to 40k. He has provided me with the resources to learn how Sisters currently work and introduce me to local players who are more knowledgeable to answer my questions about the state of the game and Sisters of Battle. He talks about the Kill-Team scenario which allows you to play with very few minis. I tried to resist at first because I figure I just had too many other games I'm currently trying to play. Yet Phil knew exactly how to provoke me and the handful of unassembled Sisters of Battle models I still own in storage were calling to me. My willpower eventually vanish and I started looking into how to get back into 40k. And as if right on cue Games Workshop release Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence, two mini-forces that I've been interested in their fluff and never thought they would ever have actual models. Adeptus Custodes have a history with the creation of Sisters of Battle, and the Sister of Silence have a theme similar to the Battle Sisters. Sisters of Silence were also briefly in "Faith & Fire", the only Warhammer novel that I own. Given that 40k now allows you to mix armies together, (I know this is old news, but it wasn't around the last time I played) making a Sisters of Battle/Sisters of Silence/Adeptus Custodes army would make sense thematically.
And it is at this point I first heard about a new edition! For me this comes at the best possible time. I have no connection to the current rule set so any rule changes won't bother me. I'm mostly okay with the Age of Sigmar rule system so having 40k changes to be more similar to it is a positive. With a new edition means a new meta that everyone will be learning at the same time. That will put me in the same position as everybody else. Despite not knowing many details, I am quite excited about 40k 8th edition. It will have to get in line as I have committed myself to playing Team Yankee, Test of Honour, Age of Sigmar and Relic Knights. However one thing this hobby and even this year have taught me, priorities can change quick!
Topic of the Week Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMt-yykKcLI
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Topic of the Week - Your Best Convention Memory
Earlier this (last) week Vince ask us to talk about our personal best convention memory. The idea is for people whom never been to a convention to hear stories from people whom have and maybe get inspired to attend a convention of their own. I completely agree with this settlement. I've only been to one small gaming convention but I've lost count of the number of anime conventions I've attended (I think the number is around 13). I haven't been to many conventions in recent years but I hope to be able to start regularly going to various types of conventions again. Being at a convention was some of the most exciting and unique moments of my life and I would suggest if you have the opportunity to go to a convention in subject you enjoy, you should put in every possible effort to attend. It is truly an experience like no other. Now there is no way I can single out one memory as my best convention story. I just have too many wonderful memories to pick one. What I can do is write about 3 particular stories that are currently on my mind. They are not rated in any way. These just so happen to be the first ones I thought of when I heard the topic.
I'll start with the preparation of going to my very first convention. After hearing about cons I decided I would put in the effort to go to one. I did the research to find a mid to large size convention that was in driving distance. I talked friends into going and I even did the paperwork to get funding from our university as a club activity. Only one of my friends had ever been to a convention before and the one he went to was fairly small so this was a new experience for most of us. The convention was during the first week of June. That put it just after college finals. Didn't think much about it at the time but two week before the trip one of my friends whom I was planning on going with us moved. Moving after spring finals was quite common for people whom lives on campus. Even if you plan on staying in the same dorm, if you wasn't quick enough your room could be taken and you would be force to move down the hall. The thing to remember is that this was a time most of us didn't have cell phones and we rarely contacted each other online. Landlines was how we talk to each other so with my friend moving, I had no way to contact him. I hope he would try to contact me but he never did. Everyone else was not happy about this. If my friend didn't go, that would mean everyone else would have to pay more for the hotel room, which was sizeable. Most of us had been budgeting for this trip for months so a last minute expense was infuriating. Not a good way to start our first convention trip. So the big day came and I still had not heard from my friend. I got the call that people were on their way to pick me up. It almost felt like an action movie with my time running out. Even at that point I was still trying to think of a way to find him. Then I suddenly got an idea but I had to wait until the Office of Housing opened. That ate up 15 minutes I didn't have. When they were open, I call Housing and asked if my friend still lived on campus. They told me he did and I was nearly overwhelm with relief. So I asked for his number and they refused to give it to me, putting me right back into despair. Before I hung up in anger (or maybe I did hung up and called back) I thought of another idea. I asked if they could transfer me to him and they said yes and I started hearing the phone ring. It felt like there was a 10 minute pause between each ring but eventually I heard my friend's voice. It took a lot of self control not to shout. I asked him if he was still interested in going to the convention. He told me yes and I was like great, tell me where you are at, we will be there in 15 minutes! Then he panic and hung up after giving me his address. He probably thought the convention was next week or just simply lost track of time. In either case, I'm sure when he woke up that morning he wasn't planning on leaving for a 5-day trip! Everyone else was ecstatic that he had been found. It was like we all won an extra 50 bucks. It was funny. The two weeks before the trip was a nightmare and yet once we were on the road everybody was in high spirits. Once the convention started, said friend whom almost got left behind disappeared that Friday morning and the rest of the group practically never saw him until the convention was over Sunday afternoon. Which is completely fine because each of us enjoyed the convention in different ways.
My next story deals with the same convention about 2 or 3 years later. It was at a different hotel so it took a little time getting used to the difference. Since the first time we went to that convention, my group had taken a liking to eating at Jack in the Box. Its fast food with a wide range of choices and there are no location where we live. It became our ritual to eat at Jack in the Box on our way home and sometime when we first arrive in the city. The hotel during that particular year had a Jack in the Box right next door, within walking distance. That made us really happy! It also probably dawn on the manager that they could make a lot of money if they cater to the 10,000 anime fans next door. Either that or they got tired of Con-goers standing in their drive-in waiting to order. Jack in the Box's lobby normally closes at 10 pm but very quickly they had a sign saying if you showed them your convention badge they would let you dine in until 4 am. I certainly took advantage of their offer. The convention ended Sunday afternoon but I like just relaxing in the hotel Sunday night and leave on Monday. On our trip home we visit that Jack in the Box one last time. The first person in line found out Jack was out of what they wanted, as well as their second and third choice. Normally people would be upset with a resturant being under-stocked. We just laughed it off, considering it another part of the convention experiences. In the end, we had to ask them what they DID have to make ordering take any reasonable amount of time.
My last story also deals with food. Last year was the first time I've gone to a war gaming convention. It was a small, one day convention and I had no idea what to expect from it. I was looking for a people to play Team Yankee with and found a friendly and very inviting community of players. After a morning of playing games and trading Team Yankee strategy, Tracy and myself had lunch with half the group running the Team Yankee event. Twenty minutes into eating, laughing and trading hobby stories with each other, somehow the topic of my old podcast with Tracy came up, which we were still doing at the time. Its hard to tell how many was actually listening to it but it was worth a try to hawk it to people we knew were interested in the subject matter. Their response was something I never could have imagine. One of them said "I thought I recognize your guys voices!". They were already listening to our podcast and enjoyed the content we created. It brought a smile to my face but it was also humbling knowing my work was being appreciated. We return to the convention hall after lunch and had another 8 or so hours of gaming fun. I had a lot of great memories that day but the one that sticks with me is the thought a podcast duo can eat lunch with their fans and neither side knows the other identity!
You might be wondering why none of my convention stories were technically at the convention. The reason for this is that the convention experience includes far more than just your time at the convention. The road trip, time at the hotel(if you stay at one), or just eating with friends or other con-goers all contribute to what makes conventions so special. I have many more convention stories I could tell and will probably write about them in a future series. But that's all I have for now. Thank you for reading.
Vince's Topic of the Week - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPVWVl13C8Y&t=324s
I'll start with the preparation of going to my very first convention. After hearing about cons I decided I would put in the effort to go to one. I did the research to find a mid to large size convention that was in driving distance. I talked friends into going and I even did the paperwork to get funding from our university as a club activity. Only one of my friends had ever been to a convention before and the one he went to was fairly small so this was a new experience for most of us. The convention was during the first week of June. That put it just after college finals. Didn't think much about it at the time but two week before the trip one of my friends whom I was planning on going with us moved. Moving after spring finals was quite common for people whom lives on campus. Even if you plan on staying in the same dorm, if you wasn't quick enough your room could be taken and you would be force to move down the hall. The thing to remember is that this was a time most of us didn't have cell phones and we rarely contacted each other online. Landlines was how we talk to each other so with my friend moving, I had no way to contact him. I hope he would try to contact me but he never did. Everyone else was not happy about this. If my friend didn't go, that would mean everyone else would have to pay more for the hotel room, which was sizeable. Most of us had been budgeting for this trip for months so a last minute expense was infuriating. Not a good way to start our first convention trip. So the big day came and I still had not heard from my friend. I got the call that people were on their way to pick me up. It almost felt like an action movie with my time running out. Even at that point I was still trying to think of a way to find him. Then I suddenly got an idea but I had to wait until the Office of Housing opened. That ate up 15 minutes I didn't have. When they were open, I call Housing and asked if my friend still lived on campus. They told me he did and I was nearly overwhelm with relief. So I asked for his number and they refused to give it to me, putting me right back into despair. Before I hung up in anger (or maybe I did hung up and called back) I thought of another idea. I asked if they could transfer me to him and they said yes and I started hearing the phone ring. It felt like there was a 10 minute pause between each ring but eventually I heard my friend's voice. It took a lot of self control not to shout. I asked him if he was still interested in going to the convention. He told me yes and I was like great, tell me where you are at, we will be there in 15 minutes! Then he panic and hung up after giving me his address. He probably thought the convention was next week or just simply lost track of time. In either case, I'm sure when he woke up that morning he wasn't planning on leaving for a 5-day trip! Everyone else was ecstatic that he had been found. It was like we all won an extra 50 bucks. It was funny. The two weeks before the trip was a nightmare and yet once we were on the road everybody was in high spirits. Once the convention started, said friend whom almost got left behind disappeared that Friday morning and the rest of the group practically never saw him until the convention was over Sunday afternoon. Which is completely fine because each of us enjoyed the convention in different ways.
My next story deals with the same convention about 2 or 3 years later. It was at a different hotel so it took a little time getting used to the difference. Since the first time we went to that convention, my group had taken a liking to eating at Jack in the Box. Its fast food with a wide range of choices and there are no location where we live. It became our ritual to eat at Jack in the Box on our way home and sometime when we first arrive in the city. The hotel during that particular year had a Jack in the Box right next door, within walking distance. That made us really happy! It also probably dawn on the manager that they could make a lot of money if they cater to the 10,000 anime fans next door. Either that or they got tired of Con-goers standing in their drive-in waiting to order. Jack in the Box's lobby normally closes at 10 pm but very quickly they had a sign saying if you showed them your convention badge they would let you dine in until 4 am. I certainly took advantage of their offer. The convention ended Sunday afternoon but I like just relaxing in the hotel Sunday night and leave on Monday. On our trip home we visit that Jack in the Box one last time. The first person in line found out Jack was out of what they wanted, as well as their second and third choice. Normally people would be upset with a resturant being under-stocked. We just laughed it off, considering it another part of the convention experiences. In the end, we had to ask them what they DID have to make ordering take any reasonable amount of time.
My last story also deals with food. Last year was the first time I've gone to a war gaming convention. It was a small, one day convention and I had no idea what to expect from it. I was looking for a people to play Team Yankee with and found a friendly and very inviting community of players. After a morning of playing games and trading Team Yankee strategy, Tracy and myself had lunch with half the group running the Team Yankee event. Twenty minutes into eating, laughing and trading hobby stories with each other, somehow the topic of my old podcast with Tracy came up, which we were still doing at the time. Its hard to tell how many was actually listening to it but it was worth a try to hawk it to people we knew were interested in the subject matter. Their response was something I never could have imagine. One of them said "I thought I recognize your guys voices!". They were already listening to our podcast and enjoyed the content we created. It brought a smile to my face but it was also humbling knowing my work was being appreciated. We return to the convention hall after lunch and had another 8 or so hours of gaming fun. I had a lot of great memories that day but the one that sticks with me is the thought a podcast duo can eat lunch with their fans and neither side knows the other identity!
You might be wondering why none of my convention stories were technically at the convention. The reason for this is that the convention experience includes far more than just your time at the convention. The road trip, time at the hotel(if you stay at one), or just eating with friends or other con-goers all contribute to what makes conventions so special. I have many more convention stories I could tell and will probably write about them in a future series. But that's all I have for now. Thank you for reading.
Vince's Topic of the Week - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPVWVl13C8Y&t=324s
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Topic of the Week - On Painting Miniatures
Topic of the Week is a question pose by Vince Venturella to the Warhammer Youtube community to encourage interesting discussions. The questions are sometimes Warhammer and/or Gamesworkshop specific while other times they are more general relating to the hobby itself. This week topic is the latter. The topic for this week is On Painting Miniatures. Vince ask "would you still paint miniatures if there was no game involve", "what is the value of painting to you", "is painting a choir" and "your feelings on pre-painted miniatures". I didn't think I would do a responds for this topic because I really hate painting. Still, after thinking about it I realize my answer is more complicated than that. So here is my written responds.
I'm going to start with the pre-painted miniatures part as my answer to it has change over my time in the hobby. I started the hobby with Warhammer 40k. I hated painting then as much as I do now, maybe more so. I really wish the 40k models were pre-painted at the time. I didn't have a lot of model and what I did have were either not painted or partly badly painted. Over time I develop a narrative for my forces. I've always enjoyed crafting stories and making one within the 40k universe help connect me to the game and to my miniatures. As I got a better picture of what my cast of characters look like, I got further away from a "default" look of 40k. It wasn't something I thought about at the time but if GW did come out with pre-painted miniature after I came up with my own narrative, I'm not sure I would want them anymore because they no longer fit into my story. When I move from 40k to fantasy, I had completely divorce my miniatures from the official setting. All honestly I didn't know Warhammer fantasy even HAD an official setting until years after I got into it. I kind of thought it was a make-up your own kind of setting. In any case, not only was I going with my own color scheme, in some cases I went with different miniatures and/or conversions. Examples of this is me swapping the traditional colors for the Chaos Gods because I want my favorite color to match my favorite Chaos God. Also I modified my Nurgle theme into more of a corrupting Nature. When my army is this unique and different from the "default" setting, pre-painted miniatures does me no good. Making miniatures my own is really important to me now and if I get into a new game, I would want to put my own twist on the models. This is why I have had very little interest into getting into the X-Wing game. Some settings are so big and important that the main reason to play the game is the setting itself. Ignoring the setting of Warhammer to me is one thing, trying to do that with Star Wars doesn't feel right. I love Star Wars but if I'm putting my limited funds into a miniature game, I want to play something that feels right crafting my story. So that's why when I started the hobby I really want to buy pre-painted models but now I avoid games that has them.
On the main topic, would I still paint if there was no game involved? That depends if that includes games I make up. I always thought I would be playing miniature games at some point in my life. Before I learn about Warhammer 40k I thought I would have to make the game myself and somehow find pieces for it. Now that I think about it, there is no way I can divorce the game from the miniatures because if these types of models were out there, I would develop a game for them if one didn't already exist. It would have taken me longer to get into the hobby but I think I would eventually find my home here. I do not enjoy painting at all. I do enjoy seeing my story come to life on the table. Despite my lack of enjoying painting, I have notice my painting skills have gotten better over the years. This is really surprising to me as I paint so irregular and infrequent. I do spend a lot of time thinking about painting in terms of what colors I should use for certain units and in general what colors I see walking around that I would like to use on a model. The most common example of this is seeing a car drive by me with a unique color scheme and I'm trying to imagine what would an unit of knights with that color for their armor look like? I'm not trying nor have any desire to be a better painter. Instead it is a by product of trying to get my vision on the table.
One of my goals for this year is to paint more often. It is not an easy goal for me to achieve given how much I dislike painting itself. Yet so much of what I want to accomplish is reliant on me getting a lot of painting done. And that I think pretty much sums up my relationship with painting. Thanks for reading.
Topic of the Week link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_nt5UWvnks
I'm going to start with the pre-painted miniatures part as my answer to it has change over my time in the hobby. I started the hobby with Warhammer 40k. I hated painting then as much as I do now, maybe more so. I really wish the 40k models were pre-painted at the time. I didn't have a lot of model and what I did have were either not painted or partly badly painted. Over time I develop a narrative for my forces. I've always enjoyed crafting stories and making one within the 40k universe help connect me to the game and to my miniatures. As I got a better picture of what my cast of characters look like, I got further away from a "default" look of 40k. It wasn't something I thought about at the time but if GW did come out with pre-painted miniature after I came up with my own narrative, I'm not sure I would want them anymore because they no longer fit into my story. When I move from 40k to fantasy, I had completely divorce my miniatures from the official setting. All honestly I didn't know Warhammer fantasy even HAD an official setting until years after I got into it. I kind of thought it was a make-up your own kind of setting. In any case, not only was I going with my own color scheme, in some cases I went with different miniatures and/or conversions. Examples of this is me swapping the traditional colors for the Chaos Gods because I want my favorite color to match my favorite Chaos God. Also I modified my Nurgle theme into more of a corrupting Nature. When my army is this unique and different from the "default" setting, pre-painted miniatures does me no good. Making miniatures my own is really important to me now and if I get into a new game, I would want to put my own twist on the models. This is why I have had very little interest into getting into the X-Wing game. Some settings are so big and important that the main reason to play the game is the setting itself. Ignoring the setting of Warhammer to me is one thing, trying to do that with Star Wars doesn't feel right. I love Star Wars but if I'm putting my limited funds into a miniature game, I want to play something that feels right crafting my story. So that's why when I started the hobby I really want to buy pre-painted models but now I avoid games that has them.
On the main topic, would I still paint if there was no game involved? That depends if that includes games I make up. I always thought I would be playing miniature games at some point in my life. Before I learn about Warhammer 40k I thought I would have to make the game myself and somehow find pieces for it. Now that I think about it, there is no way I can divorce the game from the miniatures because if these types of models were out there, I would develop a game for them if one didn't already exist. It would have taken me longer to get into the hobby but I think I would eventually find my home here. I do not enjoy painting at all. I do enjoy seeing my story come to life on the table. Despite my lack of enjoying painting, I have notice my painting skills have gotten better over the years. This is really surprising to me as I paint so irregular and infrequent. I do spend a lot of time thinking about painting in terms of what colors I should use for certain units and in general what colors I see walking around that I would like to use on a model. The most common example of this is seeing a car drive by me with a unique color scheme and I'm trying to imagine what would an unit of knights with that color for their armor look like? I'm not trying nor have any desire to be a better painter. Instead it is a by product of trying to get my vision on the table.
One of my goals for this year is to paint more often. It is not an easy goal for me to achieve given how much I dislike painting itself. Yet so much of what I want to accomplish is reliant on me getting a lot of painting done. And that I think pretty much sums up my relationship with painting. Thanks for reading.
Topic of the Week link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_nt5UWvnks
Friday, December 16, 2016
Warhammer and Charity
The Warhammer Youtubers had a special "Topic of the Week" this week. Vince and Tom have set up a page where people can donate to UNICEF. UNICEF is a charity that helps poor children around the world. I first heard about UNICEF from a TV show host whom has a partnership with them to build desks in schools too poor to have their own. For the past 4 or 5 years I always hear about them during the Christmas season, so UNICEF is something I would support. I am not in a position to be able to give myself so I figure the next best thing is to promote a charity I believe in. And if the thought of giving isn't enough of an incentive to donate, Vince and Tom have sweeten the deal by offering a raffle. From what I understand anyone who donates any amount will be put into a raffle for Games Workshop products they are giving away. To hear more about it from Vince himself, you can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tAf24OVDdk.
If you want to go directly to their donation page, it is here: https://give.everydayhero.com/us/warhammer-weekly-unicef-giving-extravaganza-2016
If you are willing and able, please donate. If you are unable to donate then please share this story. Lastly, if you do donate or if this story moves you then please leave a comment below. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
If you want to go directly to their donation page, it is here: https://give.everydayhero.com/us/warhammer-weekly-unicef-giving-extravaganza-2016
If you are willing and able, please donate. If you are unable to donate then please share this story. Lastly, if you do donate or if this story moves you then please leave a comment below. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Topic of the Week: Favorite Army
On his channel Vince Venturella promotes something he calls the Topic of the Week to the war gaming community. The idea is that he will toss out a topic every Friday to give the community something to think about. Content creators interested in the topic can make a video response to that topic and Vince will link those videos in the Topic of the Week description. He also encourages others whom don't want to make a video to post their thoughts in the comments section. In this way he helps bring the community closer together. Seeing various ideas discuss among the community is great and I've wanted to join in on the conversation for a while now.
Last week Topic was on your favorite army. I spend some time thinking about it and I finally gather my thoughts together to make this video:
Here is the link to Vince Venturella channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgptSaRLvd1QH0SURdQNYgg
Also episode 26 of the War Journal: Flames of War podcast is out: http://neaceul.podbean.com/.
Last week Topic was on your favorite army. I spend some time thinking about it and I finally gather my thoughts together to make this video:
Here is the link to Vince Venturella channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgptSaRLvd1QH0SURdQNYgg
Also episode 26 of the War Journal: Flames of War podcast is out: http://neaceul.podbean.com/.
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