Wights and Ghouls and Bats, Oh My!

I picked up the new Vampire Counts Army Book yesterday with what remained of my Christmas gift cards. Aside from the $41.00 price tag, it's a cool book. Considering the hardcover and full-color layout, I can live with the price increase. I'm not looking to start a Vampire Counts army, but I usually make it a point to collect all of the army books and codices.

That said, there are some pretty cool new character models that I may collect, just to paint up and place in my cabinet. The new Krell model and along with the new Wight King would make great Death Knights for a Pathfinder RPG campaign I have in the works.

Crawling Out...

On the advice of some of the followers of Kantor Base (thanks guys!), I'm making the attempt at getting out of my funk. On a very recent visit to a local Half Price Books, I came across a mint-condition copy of Warmachine: Wrath, the most recent release from Privateer Press. Taking advantage of the silence (due to the fact that my wife was home with the kids), I grabbed a large coffee from Dunkin' Donuts, found a hiding spot in the parking lot and thumbed through each page my new prize.

One thing I think Privateer Press does well is how they present their material. The art is absolutely amazing and their studio painters are every bit as skilled as GW's legendary 'Eavy Metal team (in my opinion). There are also dozens and dozens of full-color photos of their models. The material in the book motivated me to give this game a shot. This past spring, I made my first appearance at Adepticon and I picked up two Battle Group Starter Kits (plastic) at a 20% discount. As history dictated, I put the kits aside and never really touched them.

Well now I'm in a funk and I need to get out. But every time I look at Warhammer project, I am completely overwhelmed by the number of models one would have to paint to get an army on the table. I don't mind playing against anyone that uses a WIP, unpainted army, but I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to my own. I detest putting unpainted models on the table. Along comes Warmachine - you can get started with half a dozen miniatures. So I dug into reading the MkII rules that came with the kits (yep - didn't have to buy a giant rulebook to get going). I assembled the models: Khador and Cygnar and I'm getting started.

Oh, and I actually found a place across from my favorite Irish Pub to play. A new hobby store opened up and has a steady presence in the PP Forums. Maybe it's a sign.

A Little RPG Anyone?

I got a little nostalgic recently and started thinking about my old D&D days when I was in junior high. Now for you youngsters, that was circa 1978/1979 - ish, when Advanced D&D was taking the free world by storm. I spent many a long evenings gathered around my buddy Mike's kitchen table with the other guys on the block running through the Keep on the Borderlands scenarios (Caves of Chaos) or solving the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. Hell, we even delved into the dungeons of Castle Greyhawk. Those were the days when Roleplaying Games were great. As time went on, we found more time for girls and beer than we did for gaming. But I always kept up with the rules. I also picked up my copy of Dragon Magazine and also kept a watch out for any new miniatures (they were made of lead back then and I didn't have to pin them or super glue them).

Well TSR sold off D&D to these Wizards of the Coast guys and for a time, I liked what they were doing with the game. But then, 4th Edition has come along and I have to say that it is a far, far cry from what I grew up on. It's just not the same. Plastic, pre-painted minis, none of which look like the characters I'd create. Heroes and villains wielding misshapen swords. Ooh, I hated that. And seriously? Flat tokens to represent monsters and adventurers. What a complete lack of commitment on the part of WOTC. Sure the artwork got better, but the gaming aspect? It's taken a total dump.

As WOTC left the old editions of D&D behind and the OGL came onto the scene, other companies were able to publish fantasy RPGs that were basically picking up where the 3rd edition of D&D left off. Pathfinder RPG has probably been the biggest one to date and has been very successful. I love the setting and the artwork is every bit as good as the D&D stuff.

So what am I getting at? Well, through all this, I've been feeling the urge to get back into RPGs, but I was looking for a simpler way to do it...and as luck would have it, Paizo Publishing answered my prayers and released the Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box. At $34.00, it is well worth it. The quality of this product far surpasses WOTC feeble attempt to come up with a Basic version of D&D through their retro Red Box set. The Pathfinder product, like the D&D set, includes a solo adventure, a Player's Handbook and GM Guide, some dice and a map. But that's where the similarities end. Pathfinder's Beginner Box takes the players up through 5th level, not 2nd or 3rd. Paizo also includes stand up pawns that represent heroes and monsters that are included in the game. Complete with plastic bases. Pathfinder RPG introduces 3 primary races: Elf, Dwarf, Human and 4 primary classes: Fighter, Cleric, Wizard and Rogue. A big plus for me is that they also included pawns for every class and race combination as well as gender. Ingenious!!! So far, it's a great, great product. I can't wait to play.

Oh and one more thing, Paizo has teamed with Wizkids, to release a set of plastic, pre-painted miniatures for the Pathfinder as well. I am cautiously optimistic about this product. But if the minis fail, Pathfinder still produces some kick-ass metal miniatures for the Pathfinder game through Reaper. I'll just have to paint some up.

The Storm Has Arrived!!

I picked up my Storm of Magic book today as well as the new Magic Cards. At first glance, just thumbing through it, I think its a nice complement to the 8th Ed. rulebook and I'm psyched about being able to incorporate monsters from other armies into my High Elves. Unfortunately, they were already sold out of the terrain when I got there, so I'll have to wait. I won't choose any monsters until I read the book - I've spent to much cash on kits that never get used.

I was disappointed with the cards, due to the fact that the website led me to believe that there was room for the other magic cards, but what they don't tell you is that you have to actually remove the Storm of Magic cards first. Thanks, GW!

The plan for tonight is to kick back in the recliner and start reading the new book, but so far - I recommend it.

New Arrival

My Castellan Crowe arrived today in the mail. Pretty cool mini. Time to start the Purifiers!! I'm working on a list of pure Grey Knights (for now, at least). Currently, I'm debating whether or not I should go with a Grand Master or Brother-Captain. I'm trying to build the army, one Brotherhood at a time. That means (according to the Codex), eight captains, eight brotherhoods, plus one brotherhood each of Purifiers (approximately 40 models), and Paladins.

Most of the lists I see out there are including a Grand Master over a Brother-Captain, but I'm more of a fluff/background lover and enjoy building the collection around how the chapter is described in the published material.

Mail Call!

Got home from errands today and from performing various tasks of good will for family and friends to find a package from none other than Games Workshop! Now I can get a list built before I go spend my cut of our Tax Refund! Woohoo!

Got a New Game Today...

So I ordered a copy of FFG's Dust Tactics and it came today. I've been checking this game out for a few weeks now. Doing internet research, reading testimonials and game reviews and most of importantly, looking at the figures that come with the game. I was able to download the rules and read through them, finding easy and straight forward. Nothing complex at all.

Just at first glance, there's a few things that really reach out and pull me in. First, the back story is just awesome. It's set in the 1940's, during WWII and the Nazis and their Axis allies have discovered a crashed alien ship and used the technology to develop superior weapons. The allies have done the same, but not to the same level as the Axis. The second thing that I love about this are the figures. The robot tanks and soldiers are just amazing. They come pre-primed and in two colors: green for the allies and gray for the axis units. They can be painted and their was a limited number of deluxe versions of this game produced with painted figures, but at $300 or so a pop, I'm not too worried about getting one. Most of the sources out there are stating that it a knock off of AT-43 (which I own, but have never played). The story and the figures that come with the game took me back to my childhood and I found myself fondly remembering playing with my plastic army men on the kitchen floor. Yeah, you old timers know which army men I'm talking about. Well, this soldiers are way way freakin' cooler than those.

The rulebook is a short 24 pages and it comes with a quick start rule card, some plastic terrain pieces, a campaign book and 9 of those heavy stock game tiles that are used as a game board. I'm still going through the contents, but I'll be playing a couple of games. Over the weekend I'll be setting it up on the dining room table and testing playability for myself. I'll post images then.

Dark Eldar...WOW!!!

I sat down last night, while watching 'My Wife and Kids' re-runs and got around to opening the box of Dark Eldar Kabalite Warriors that I bought over the weekend. For the record, I also grabbed the Codex and a box of Reavers. The kit came with two sprues, which are nearly identical, but the second has the Sybarite special weapon options.

The models were nicely sculpted and I was fortunate to have a box that had very little in the way of mold lines. As far as assembly goes, it's been some time since I've built anything other than marines, so I had to actually look at the directions. But...it was pretty simple and parts fit together nicely.

Here's a pic of my first Dark Eldar model. I'm going to work through a 1k list tonight and get that posted for comments/suggestions. So yeah, these models are pretty awesome and I'm looking forward to getting the army going.

Deathwatch (Part 1)

With 33% off coupon in hand, I walked into my local Borders Bookstore, hoping to find some new and exciting novel or gaming treat to buy. You see, I like to read. A lot. I like science fiction, fantasy, history, mysteries - the usual 'geek' stuff. I recently finished the new Dungeons & Dragons novel, 'The Mark of Nerath' by Bill Slavicsek and was now in the mood for some sci fi, but first I decided to browse through the gaming section (which is way too small for a two-story bookstore), and I found the Deathwatch RPG book. I couldn't help myself. It was space marine material and I had to have it.

I have to say that this is a must for any 40k player. The art alone is among some of the best space marine art that I have ever seen. Not ever having experienced any of the 40k roleplaying products, I'm going to give this one a read. I don't know if I'll ever get around to finding a group to actually play as there doesn't seem to be much interest locally, but it is a great reference book and provides near limitless inspiration for modelling space marines, particularly the battle brothers of the Deathwatch.

Island of Blood High Elves - Assembled

I finished my initial set of High Elves from the Island of Blood starter set. Once again, I have to comment how cool these models are. There were very few mold lines and everything fit together well. The only downsides that I'll make mention of are the fact that many of the spear components were fragile and some of the side 'tines' on the spears snapped off during removal. So me being the annal hobbyist, I had to cut those tines off to keep the model uniform. I also had a couple of issues with the helmet flaps on the Ellyrian Reavers. But otherwise, everything was designed well and easy to assemble. GW put a lot of thought into how the Prince and Mage were designed in terms of how the hobbyist would have to assemble it. They were remarkable easy to assemble.

But anyway, the initial force is assembled. As I had mentioned in a previous post, I swapped the Skaven for some extra elves, so I've got more Sea Guard and Sword Masters to add to the force. From here, I've got my eye on a Battalion box that will add some Spearmen, Archers, a Chariot and Bolt Thrower. But I think I've got plenty to get me going. I'll start priming and painting over the next couple of days.

..Of Elves and Paint Pots

I walked into the local GW store this morning at 10:01 and purchased my Island of Blood starter set. I won't post any of the obligatory unboxing pics, because Lord knows that's been done to death. But I will say the models are AWESOME!!!! So I'm home and the wife and kids headed off to the mall, so I get some time to myself (yay, no 'girl' drama), to thumb through the contents.

I also managed to double my High Elves in the same trip. One of the staffers was looking for Skaven, so I swapped out some models and was on my wayI'll have a nice start with 20 LSG and 20 Sword Masters and 10 Reavers. Needless to say that I have a spare High Elf Prince and High Elf Mage that I am considering divesting myself of.

I also saw the new paint pot design that GW produced. Now I don't have to rifle through my bin trying to find a color. They finally color coded the tops. That only took about ten years to come with. But then again, I wasn't bright enough to paint the top of my existing pots on my own, duh...

Oh, and I also picked up a copy of the Island of Blood mini novel. So far, it's been a good day.