Bryan Ansell's Super Shields

Mr Ansell converses with Matthew Dunn, Stuart Klatcheff and Steve Casey at the Wargames Foundry, Newark.

Judging by the response to posts of this type, fans of Bryan Ansell and the Wargames Foundry are legion so I thought it prudent to take a snap or two of the treasures he brought out to share on Saturday's Lead of Winter event. 

This time it was shields. All manner of shields. 

There were all manner of different designs and other odds and ends on show. This beautifully made sun disk face caught my eye immediately. 

Gruesome faces dominate the the collection, but there were plenty of strange stick like figures spread across many of the greens. 

Some has also been painted, like this little trio or gorgeously finished shields. Incredible colours and attention to detail. 

All manner of strangeness here - I am pretty sure I have that multi-faced 'circle' off centre of this shot somewhere amongst the bits and pieces Kev Adams has given me. You can see the original green in the second picture of this blog post. 

Perfect for a magical summoning circle or something, don't you think?

Lead of Winter: How to be an Oldhammer GM or Why is playing with a Gamesmaster so important?

Bretonnian heavy knights leave their protective hedge to counter attack down the slope.

Yesterday saw another gathering of Old School Warhammer enthusiasts descend on Oldhammer's spiritual home of the Wargames Foundry. The occasion? A massive pitched battle entitled The Lead of Winter: In Defence of Far Corfe and my first proper attempt at GMing a full scale pitched battle. 

Now, I could write extensively about the game. I could describe it's frantic ebb and flow. I could comment on how a harmless looking scenery piece was transformed into a explosive powerhouse that even rattled the bones of the undead cavalry. And I could tell tales of appalling dice rolling that would chill the heart of the 40,000 or so grognards who visit this blog every month!

But I shall refrain from doing so. 

Let the combatants do that on the blogs, social media sites and blogs of their choice. I want to discuss instead the most noble aspect of Oldhammer of all! 

Being the GAMESMASTER!

Humans, elves and giants prepare to bolster the defences of Far Corfe, as the forces of Keef Bullockchopper advance over the horizon. 

I have played in a great number of games over the years, and witnessed a fair few too. I have played all over England, from Cambridge to London to Exeter to Dorset so I would like to consider myself fairly experienced. 

Does this alone make me a good Gamesmaster?

I don't think so no, there are other essential skills that do not depend at all on the number of games played, how good a painter you are, how large your collection is or how well you can construct scenery. 

None of those 'normal' wargaming skills are necessary at all, they help (and having these attributes in abundance really is a BIG help) but they are far from being essential. You are probably wondering at this point 'well Orlygg, what IS essential for being a good GM?'

Read on and I shall try and explain. 

1. Scenario Building 

As you would probably imagine - this is absolutely key. The more time you put into the scenario detail, especially the context for the game, the more details are established to support player immersion. Why are they building the units that they are? What purpose might the troops they select (or are presented with) have to play in the unfolding events? This is especially true in big community games, like In Defence of Far Corfe, which was designed from the ground up to support ten or more players. When planning smaller games involving myself and a single other player, I usually create a scenario which the player 'acts through' and simply play the part of the GM on a far smaller scale. I am not trying to win but aim to create an experience that my co-player enjoys more than I do. 

What follows is the scenario background for Far Corfe. I hope it illustrates the kind of detail I think is vital for a GM to provide to establish that 'immersion' I mentioned earlier. 

In Defence of Far Corfe: A Warhammer Third Edition Fantasy Battle

Collecting Your Forces

The organisation is simple. Anyone you wants to become involved in the battle needs to bring TWO units of equal points value. ONE unit needs to be from a 'goodie race' (Empire, W H Elves, Dwarfs, Brets etc) and ONE unit needs to be from a 'baddie race' (undead, skaven, orcs, goblins).

No chaos units please - as they won't fit into the narrative as well.

More details to follow.

EDIT: All units will need a named levelled character to lead them (lvl 5 - 15).

No magical items - as they will be up for grabs during the game.

What is going on in Far Corfe?

Far Corfe was once a thriving economic centre with a wealthy and tasteful artisan class keen to patronise the arts. The key to their success? The humble wool trade. The lolling, grassy hills that surround the town could easily sustain thousands of sheep and the countryside was once awash with numerous little farmsteads specialising in this area. The town's location, built on a crossroads to Altdorf, Erzstadt and Middenheim, also helped, as it was easy to transport goods to and from the rivers that were the pathways of the Empire.

But the town has been in decline for over eighty years. New markets and cheaper produce from Kislev reduced the profitability of wool and though still worthwhile, the industry is not what it was. Nowadays, if you ask the average peasant in the street across the Old World about Far Corfe, they would probably speak about the 'Grand Recreation' rather than its former role as the hub of the wool trade.

Some two hundred years ago, the chief of the Airyaxe Wound tribe, Todge-Dropper the Terrible, unleashed a swarm of orc and goblin raiders against the defences of Far Corfe. Legend said that the previous winter had been so harsh in their mountain fastness, that even the warmest undergarments could do little to ward off the evils of frostbite. Swearing appalling oaths of violence on the altar of Mork, Todge-Dropper set out to destroy Far Corfe and claim their enormous stores of warm, fluffy wool for himself.

As all schoolboy students of history can tell you, Todge-Dropper was defeated and Far Corfe was saved in once of the most remarkable battles in history. Due to a series of remarkable coincidences, field armies of men, dwarfs, gnomes, halflings, wood, sea and high elves were all in the immediate area when Todge-Dropper launched his poorly timed assault.

Dick Fitz Inwell, leader of the Far Corfe militia, couldn't believe his eyes when rank after rank of elite fighting men marched up the road towards the townwalls within hours of him sending out the call to arms. Bjorn Whiffabigun, the dwarf mercenary captain was the first to arrive. Swiftly followed by a combined elvish force lead by the sorceress Pyria Sweetcherry. Their timely arrival meant that Todge-Dropper's vanguard were beaten back and Far Corfe was able to re-enforce itself considerably. Eventually, Todge-Dropper's forces were crushed on the wooden walls of the town, though the orc leader's body was never found.

So remarkable was the victory, that the nations of those involved continued to celebrate it years after the final survivor had died. Every ten years, hundreds of warriors would arrive in the town, from all over the Old World, for a week long festival of feasting and re-enactment. Local tribesmen were employed to dress up as Todge-Dropper's legions and a 'Grand Recreation' was fought (using safety weapons) to the delight of the adoring crowds.

Since the town's decline, the Recreation has become less and less well attended. Though all of the nations involved still send token units of troops. Interest in the spectacle is waning. Mayor Haywood Jablomi, the current ruler of the town, is now faced with being the last leader to organise the event. This year's low key celebration will be the last of the 'Recreations'.

But unbeknown to Jablomi, or the crowds that are forming inside the town, this year's event is soon to spiral out of control. For the winter has been long and harsh....

And something is coming...

Characters

'Goodie' Commander: Mayor Haywood Jablomi

Ex-Lawyer and impotency survivor, Haywood Jablomi now resides over the Mayorship of Far Corfe. A shrew political animal, Jablomi has ensured that his control of the town is pretty much absolute despite his dubious relationship record. His first wife died of excessive nagging, his second after a mishap involving a goblin, a tanning booth and one hundredweight of troll fat and his most recent, after the consumption of one too many magical cheesecakes.

Still, nothing fans the flames of passion like a counting house full of Imperial Crowns and Jablomi is already engaged to a new would be spouse from Altdorf. Only, after years of indifference from the women in his life, this time his partner has a much greater interest in the political goings on in the town, and with her past career on the stage, she is keen to play a larger role in the 'Grand Recreation' this coming weekend.

Despite his political successes, Jablomi is chronically indecisive and can switch from active man-on-a-mission to dithering dingbat at a moment's notice. This character trait is reflected in his stats and special rules.

Special Rules 

At the beginning of each turn roll a D6 and consult the following table.

Though a local leader of some renown, Haywood Jablomi is incredibly indecisive. One minute he can be an inspiration leader, rallying his fellow townsfolk to victory and the next, a dithering buffoon. To reflect this the following rules apply.

On a D6

1-2: Jablomi is gripped with indecisiveness. Nothing happens.

3-4: Jablomi makes an inspiration speech which rallies the men within 12" of him, adding +1 to their A LD INT CL and WP. 

5-6: Jablomi makes an outstanding speech which rallies the men within 12" of him, adding +2 to their A LD INT CL and WP. 

'Goodie' Second-in-Command: Iva Sweetcherry

Iva is a relative newcomer to Far Corfe. For most of her early working life, she trod the boards in mystery plays in Altdorf as a well-known, and very demanding, actress. Eventually, she met a very rich man (our friend Jablomi) and abandoned the small, smelly changing rooms and stinking crowds for a life of idleness and pleasure.

Despite being a 'prima-donna' type, Iva Sweetcherry is a real force to be reckoned with. Utterly arrogant and entitled, she considers everyone she meets (especially her husband) to be totally beneath her. Subsequently, she is utterly fearless in the face of danger; a trait that can inspire and appall those around her in equal measure.

Special Rules

At the beginning of each turn roll a D6 and consult the following table.

Iva's arrogance and self-obsession is the stuff of legend, so much so she has no fear whatsoever. This unbelievable arrogance even inspires others.

On a D6

1-2: Iva's appalling attitude just isn't enough to spread.

3-4: All friendly units within 12" are immune to psychology due to Iva's incredible personality. 

5-6: All friendly units within 16" are immune to psychology due to Iva's incredible personality. 

Keef Bullockchopper: 'Baddie' Commander

The halflings of Pistdorf have long been a insular bunch. The more adventurous sons of the village would wander no further than the bars and restuarants of Far Corfe, happy to ply their cooking trade away and steal glorious helpings from the plates of the careless.

However, some halflings meddle too deeply with the dark magics of cookery and can invoke horrors far worse than burnt pastry on to the mortal plane. History doesn't name the halfling cook who invented 'pub-quiz pie' but the consequences of his actions were dire for his adopted home of Far Corfe.

It was baked in a magic oven for the sole purpose of providing it's consumer with an unbridled command of general knowledge just at the right moment, a moment like when your team is ten points down to the Bogenhafen Barrelsmashers and you have just picked a round of questions about Tilea's minor roads.

Sadly, the 'pub-quiz pie' was stolen by a wandering giant the morning of a particularly crucial mid-league quiz night when a careless hobbit popped out for a quick five course meal. Keef Bullockchopper, a previously genial giant, was suddenly equipped with a mind that could unlock the very secrets of the universe. What did he do with this unbridled power?

He decided to rule the world with an iron fist.

Far Corfe was to be his first conquest.

Special Rules

As Keef is highly intelligent he can ignore the rules for being drunk. He prefers smoothies anyway. 

2. Flexibility with the Rulebook

This is essential. A wargame is a shared strategic experience, not a sport. Being on the winning side is great, but the true reward is contributing to the game as a whole. No ruleset is perfect and sometime the rules can be interpreted (and mis-interpreted) in many ways. As GM you should not hang the rule set you select around your neck like a metaphorical millstone. Nor should it hobble your players and restrict their strategies and ideas.

Common sense should always prevail.

Far Corfe has it's far share of unusual allies, including this Emperor Dragon.

Knights, peasants and dwarf musketeers take up commanding views on Far Corfe's defensive hedge, as orcs and skeletons advance.

3.Being Fair

It seems obvious when you state it, but a GM needs to be impartial. You cannot favour either side in the game you are running and should endeavour to balance out mishaps and calamities to keep the game moving forwards in a satisfactory way. No-one really wants to play a one-side contest, even amongst friends, and a good GM can carefully introduce situations to restore balance if one sides begins to dominate the field too early.

Having a collection of unusual monster miniatures really helps here, as you can whip out a number of giant spiders, phantasms or giant dragon turtles when players least expect it. Taking the part of these creatures is one way of involving yourself in the action too.

You need to be fair to the scenario too. Don't introduce narrative or rules elements that do not fit with the overall theme of the game. If it is a pitched battle, don't introduce political skullduggery, if you are playing through a small skirmish game, don't include a powerhouse of a character. Having a second GM to work with really helps and I was lucky enough to have one of the most experienced in England with me, Paul Mitchell. 

Keef Bullockchopper advances through fields strewn with bodies. Halflings and Wardancers man a mixture of barricade and hedge.

Big Willie tramples down his own comrades (and part of the towns' defensive structure) in his drunken desperation to get close to the tasty looking trolls. 

4. Choosing interesting models 

Who wants to play with the same models all of the time? In later editions, my games became rather boring affairs with rather bland forces based on army books. Orcs and Goblins verses Chaos etc. I have always found this approach both deathly dull and incredibly limited. Hence, for the Far Corfe game I split the forces into good and evil - and deftly removed chaos forces as I felt that they had been a little over used in our games. 

Doing this ensured that a wealth of different units would appear on the field - from giants, to dark elves, to hobbits, to hobgoblins, to ogres, to minotaurs and so on. Matthew Dunn even sneaked in Emperor Dragon! 

If planning your own scenario make similar effort to cast aside army list restrictions and get as many different model types on to your table. As you would have seen, thanks to Phil Scott we even managed a Citadel Giant!

Combined fire from the archers and musketeers send a unit of goblinoids running away in panic. 

Pikemen hold the line as archers let loose their shafts of death!

5. Encouraging team play

Enthusiasts playing together to meet their objectives, often accompanied with the sound of raucous laughter, must be preferable to the staid silence of the tournament, surely? As GM you should think of ways of getting your players to work together, or against each other, in a variety of different ways. For Far Corfe, I opted to set the game up with Warlord Paul without any of the other players seeing what we were up to. We cleared the room, set up the table with the models placed where we thought best and when all was ready, we invited the players into the room and briefed them on the game.

We deliberately tried to deploy the units to ensure that contact with the enemy would be made after a few short turns of movement. When we had finished setting up, Paul and I discussed who would best suit the role of 'goodie' and 'baddie' commander and left THEM the responsibility to allotting command to the units that made up their individual forces. In this way, most players ended up using someone else's models for the game. It was most rewarding to see that 'paternal' delight (even if the player was on the opposing team) in eyes when a personal unit did well in the game, though the sight of bittersweet tears as they were utterly destroyed (like Matthew Dunn's dragon) were perhaps not so welcome.

The scenery was supplied by Matthew Street, Steve Beales and myself with many of the buildings being scratch builds based on the classic White Dwarf houses of the '80s. We fought across one of Bryan Ansell's spectacular gaming tables. 

At the height of the battle, the giants clashed near the Pistdorf Gate as undead and elf hacked into each other. 

6. Surprising your players

Though some players need a game to be predictable, I usually find that they are the types who rely on clever armylist manipulation to 'win' games. Exploiting loopholes to crush your enemies doesn't sound very satisfying to me and is probably why many '40k Playerz' seem so angry and bitter all of the time. Conan never mentioned the meta alongside the lamentations of the women, did he?

A rule set as complex as Warhammer Third Edition is jammed packed with ideas that can be used to surprise your players and create additional challenges for them to overcome. I feel that this  encourages players to constantly adapt their battle plans to suit new situations.

For example, one of my players (Steve Casey)  asked what a scenery piece (a large wagon) contained. The wagon was positioned between his troops and the rapidly advancing enemy. Thinking quickly, I decided that the vehicle contained an enormous about of illegally distilled alcohol and would be pretty flammable if struck with a flaming arrow. Inventing rules on the fly in this way allowed Steve to send the wagon towards the enemy and detonate the alcohol within. This is fairly simple to do if you just use a stat test against which every attribute seems the most relevant. If it requires thought- intelligence, brawn- strength, speed- initiative and so on! 

What Steve didn't know what the the resulting explosion would have a radius of 12" and would require all cavalry units (including undead) make a panic test due to the noise. When the smoke cleared a huge number of good and bad troops had been killed and the undead cavalry had run! 

I don't think any of the players expected any of that to happen!

The positions of the forces after the second turn. 

7. Setting Restrictions 

Do not be afraid to set limits on your players. In many ways it is vital for the smooth running of the game. The most important rule when being a GM is getting your players to understand that your decision is final. There is no room for argument, but as 'director' of the game, you are acting impartially for EVERYONE's best interests. You are not trying to win the game for either side, but you are ensuring that everyone has fun taking part.

Other restrictions can also be useful. I placed a very tight time limit of 20 minutes per turn. If a side had not finished their movement, attacks or magic when that period of time had passed, they stopped and the opposing side had their turn. Such a rule, in my opinion, helps focus play when using such a complex edition as Third and when you have a large number of players. We played for just over four hours and managed to complete 12 turns. See, WFB3 isn't as slow as the naysayers suggest, you just need to approach it from the right direction. 

During major 'day long' games like this I have always found publishing a brief over view of the day helps players understand what will happen and when. Here is an example I used for Far Corfe.

Rough Overview for 'In Defence of Far Corfe'

10am 'Line Up' : A table will be provided for you to place your prepared units along with their 'rules' cards- please don't for get these. There will be a space for the 'goodies' and the 'baddies' and you are encouraged t have a good look at everybody's models and painting. Scenery can be placed out here too.

10:30 'Secret Set Up': Players will be asked to leave the gaming area while the scenery and forces are placed on the table. You will not get the chance to view the scenario until the game commences.

The 'baddie' commander (Keef Bullockchopper) and the 'goodie' commander (Haywood Jablomi) will be selected at random from the players available. Remaining players will be assigned a 'goodie' or 'baddie' role. It will be up to the commanders to decide which of their underlings command which units.

11-1: 'The Defence of Far Corfe - Morning. Each side will have a strict time limit of 20 minutes to complete their entire turn. This will be supervised by the GM VERY CLOSELY. Phases of play will follow the WFB3 rulebook.

1-2: Lunch and shopping

2-4: 'The Defence of Far Corfe - Afternoon. Again, a strict 20 minutes will be given for players to complete their turn under the eyes of the GM. Winning side to be declared at 4 o'clock.

Uncommon Valour.

This is the key to victory. Whether or not Far Corfe falls is NOT important and will not decide the game either way. Uncommon valour points will need to be amassed to ensure victory.

UV points can be awarded by a GM for exceptional bravery, unnatural luck and exceptional generalship. Solid roleplaying in character of your unit will also help. The victor will be the side with the highest number of Uncommon Valour points.

Secret plans, illusions and tricks are encouraged and can be added to the game via a whisper in the GM's ear.

GM's word is final.

Steve Beales, Phil Scott, Matthew Street and Adam Atom Taylor 'The Baddies' plan their next devilish move.

Just don't ask about the soap dish!

8. Getting the 'right' people

Sadly, this is so true. Putting on a game of this size takes real effort and the last thing any prospective GM wants to happen is for all his or her hard work to be undone by a 'plonker'. If you have spent any time on the internet reading through blogs, forums or social media groups you will know the type of gamer that I am describing here. They are the ones who just cannot see any other opinion other than their own.

Play with people who respect others and who want to contribute unconditionally, not those who want to use the game as a vessel with which to fulfill their own conditions. Sadly, these idiots appear in every community but they are few in number. Rage-quitters and posters of pathetic whinging blog posts (usually after they have been banned from/dramatically left an online community) do not make great players at all.

Avoid them at all costs.

Hobgoblins and Dark Elves charge towards the defensive barricade in the closing moments of the battle. 

Haywood Jablomi's last stand?

Of course, this is only the tip of the GM iceburg but I hope that the ideas I have shared today, and a few of the stirring photographs, inspire some of you to create your own games in the narrative style. Personally, the very best games I have ever had of Warhammer have been entirely devised by me, used my miniature collection and were played at my house. Inviting over a couple of friends to try out the scenario is a reward in itself, and though you are not pushing for a 'victory' in the game you play through, those traditional discussions still occur afterwards...

"Jablomi would have emerged victorious if I hadn't rolled that 1!"

Happy GMing.

Orlygg

Townsfolk for 'In Defence of Far Corfe'

We sold our house on Monday and have spent this last week frantically looking for somewhere to live. After many years of conventional living, my wife and I are looking to purchase one of Essex's many historic buildings for some real 'Olde School' style living. Despite racing through the area all weekend looking at properties, and receiving a visit from the entity known only as 'Mother', I managed to get two townsfolk miniatures completed on Sunday. 

And here they are! 

On the left we have a Citadel model depicting a Noble Woman while the right is from the later Marauder range, only this time it is a Noble Man! 

The lady is one of the 'Wanda' style models out there, the other two being Wanda 1 and Wanda 2. She is not as well sculpted at the gentleman, and I found her face a bit of a pig's ear to finish but she looks lovely now. 

These two models are part of my In Defence of Far Corfe scenario that we are playing out this coming weekend at the Wargames Foundry and I shall be covering them in detail in a coming post about the game. They will act as the 'goodie' commanders during the game and will have appropriate special rules, as did many of the characters in the scenarios of old. 

I now just have to finish off the Far Corfe Homeguard and the villain of the piece, Keef Bullockchopper half-orc, half-troll ALL bastard! 

Orlygg

Pantheon of Chaos: Greater Daemon of Malal Head Update!

Those of you following the Pantheon of Chaos project closely will know about the recent green based on the classic Tony Ackland illustration of a Malal daemon. If you want to know more about the daemonic pantheon that inspired these models - look at my original article here.

As promised by Diego a few days back, this model will come with the alternative head shown here. Comparing the two, I much prefer this version. Those eyes look suitably soulless for my liking. 

More news as I get it!

Orlygg

Orclord's Beautifully Painted Citadel Giant

There are so many later references to this model on later giants, particularly the use of shields as clothing/armour parts. Is he holding the poor knight on the boxart by any chance?

Hello again, retro-Citadel fans - and how is this for a weekend treat? That's right, it is the famous Citadel giant fully painted and part of the enormous collection of one very well known collector, Orclord. Now, much of his collection has been thankfully photographed and is available for viewing on the sodemons website, and if you have never visited then this is a very good time to do so! 

Richard (Orclord's real name) shared this image, and several others on social media recently and I felt that enthusiasts of '80s lead who don't use the Facebook platform would probably want to see these. So we really need to thank the not at all green Orclord for getting this enigmatic model painted and photographed in such detail. 

But what do we know about the Citadel Giant? Well, for a long old time it was a bit of a myth. The first time I recall hearing about it was in White Dwarf about eight years ago. It was mentioned in one of their 'articles' and I am paraphrasing here but the comment went along the lines that the model was so old no images of it could be found by the White Dwarf team. Nothing at all. They didn't even have a model in their collection!

Fast forwards into the early period of the Oldhammer Scene and a collector called Skarsnik shared images of not one Citadel Giant, but two! Then the famous Harry, of Warseer fame, offered to paint on the said models just for the thrill of handing such a rare figure. At the first ever Oldhammer Weekend, that painted model was on display - though it lacked the multiple heads and hands. It was an incredible moment to come face to face with such a mythical model from Citadel's past too. 

Several years later, Marcus Ansell showed me the Citadel Giant that is part of Bryan's collection. This one is currently missing one of it's arms, sadly. 

But I have never seen a complete Citadel Giant set fully painted until now. Hence my excitement! 

I am fairly sure that the model on the right is the same piece as can be now seen in Bryan's collection. Only here, he has both arms intact! This was the first sight of the Giant as far as I can tell, and comes from White Dwarf 37.

In case you didn't know, the Citadel Giant was sculpted by Alan Perry in late '82 and was released in January 1983. He even signed the inside of the torso! The model was produced at a time when Citadel were really pushing the boundaries of what metal casting could achieve, what with the Chicken Dragon before it. Priced at £29.99 (that is well over £100 in today's money) this was a pricy kit, even compared to some of  GW's modern stuff. Considering that it was made of metal, the box must have weighed in at a hefty weight too!

Hey look, '80s cellotape. Why does it go yellow?

And here is an example of said box. I love the illustration on the front, which can also be found in the Warhammer Fantasy battle third edition rulebook, as I love the puzzled shock of the heroic knight dropping his dagger in surprise!

This illustration shows off the multi-part options of the original model, and illustrates the pieces that Orclord's model does not yet show. It is probably worth pointing out here that these new photographs were shared with a note that they were still work in progress, so I hope we shall see the remaining bits and pieces added later! 

And with that, I shall leave you with the remaining photographs of the Citadel Giant. He may not be so mysterious as he once was, but he remains a stunning achievement of early Citadel's ambition!

Rambo head?

Subotai head?

Oliver Reed head?

Duncan Goodhew head?

The Crude, the Mad and the Rusty: Mini Gaming Table

Greeting all! What do you think of this? I built it yesterday afternoon out of a few scraps I could find lying around the house. It is a scale scenic playing board based on the battlemat published as part of the Crude, Mad and Rusty scenario I have been working on. 

As you know, I have just completed the selection of models that form the pieces in the game and felt like experimenting with the old ruleset to tweak things here and there. It gave me great pleasure to see Mr. Graeme Davis, one of the original authors, contributing to that particular blog post with some background detail about the development of the scenario - it is really quite interesting so pop back over to my miniatures post to check that out of you have not already do so. 

Now many of you will remember that I a fan of putting together cheap and lightweight gaming tables. I have posted about this before. Have a look at these articles if you are interested in my previous endeavours. Last summer, I produced a 'theme' board based on the first scenario for McDeath, Winswood Harbour. I thought that it would be fun to attempt another 'theme' board, this time for the Mad, the Crude and the Rusty - after all, the battlemat in White Dwarf 89 was shocking to say the least!

Let me explain how I built the mini-table you can see at the top of the post. 

My first step was to cut out some foamboard to represent the brown areas from the original battlemat. Now, despite reading through the scenario several times I just couldn't work out what these areas were supposed to represent - so I went for slightly higher ground. I made sure that I used diagonal cuts with the blade to create a sloping edge to each piece of foamboard before sticking them on in roughly the correct places with Copydex. For the base I used a thick piece of plasticard, which by an incredible coincidence was exactly the right size for the battleboard and required no trimming at all!

You can see here that I used the original magazine to work out the dimensions of the foamboard cuttings. 

Copydex doesn't take long to dry, which is what makes it ideal for building scenery and fantastic for cardstock houses like you find in Warhammer Townscape. If you have never used this glue for model making I really do recommend buying a bottle and trying the stuff out. It is excellent stuff and quite reasonably priced too - I think I paid £4.50 for my large tub. 

Using PVA, I just painted on adhesive in rough strokes around the edges of the foamboard pieces and across the base of the plasticard. I rarely cover the whole surface of a gaming board with sand and prefer just to cover the areas I am going to keep 'exposed' so to speak. I dried this with the wife's hairdryer on the lowest speed setting. Shhh! Don't tell her! 

I used a black acrylic to basecoat the whole board and while it was drying I cut out a second piece of foamboard to act as base for the mini-table. I left about one inch around all of the edges. Placing this aside, I began dry brushing the board with my darkest brown shade and worked up in stages until this looked like this! 

Drybrushing complete, I slapped on the PVA once more, this time concentrating the adhesive over the flat untextured areas of the mini-board. I made sure that the glue was spread out in a fairly natural way, as nothing breaks that sense of immersion with a gaming board than poorly applied flock or static grass. 

With the grass stuck on, I again recruited the services of my wife's hairdryer to slowly dry the glue that held the static grass. Nothing beats leaving this to settle naturally, but I was working on a strict timetable of a couple of hours - I don't think you can tell can you?

The final stage saw me sticking the board onto the base and painting the foamboard black to create a defined edge. I also added some different shades of static grass in patches around the board, to help break things up a little. Gale Force 9 do some excellent seasonal tufts of scrub, and I opted to add a little selection of the autumnal stuff here and there to further break up the edges of the gaming board. You can see that I printed out the original title graphic too! 

Highlighting the larger stones in white was the final touch. Oh, apart from adding a miniature or two!

Now to think about testing out how the scenario works and implementing any changes that spring to mind.

Orlygg

Is this the 'End Times' of Warhammer 40,000?

Can you think of a subtext to this famous painting?

My wife wants to move. That old chestnut of a 'lack of space' has reared it's head once more and she is busy on Rightmove searching for our next property. Now the purchasing of houses is something I have little to do with, beyond sharing my opinion with my spouse about the properties she selects. Also, I am a firm believer in the maxim: ' a happy wife equals a happy life' and strive to adhere to this philosophy as much as I can. 

One symptom of her new desire is the besuited estate agent, all big tie and shiny shoes, and organising the time to meet with them. Sadly for her, the arrival yesterday morning of one polite gentleman from a local agency clashed with another family engagement - an engagement that no amount of wrangling would free herself with. 

So, being the roguish dare-devil that I am, yours truly stepped in at the last moment and offered to remain in the house and meet with the gentleman in question. Of course, the prospect of getting some unexpected painting time into the bargain did not cross my mind once. 

Honest. 

Punctuality being king in this kind of work, I heard a knock at the door at precisely quarter past nine. Greeting me at the doorstep was a very smart and friendly man, a handful of years older than myself, smiling pleasantly, and after a few moments of explanation on my part on the absence of my wife, I invited him in. Being clearly a more experienced estate agent he cut straight to business, asking me a series of questions about the house and impressing me with his knowledge of the area. He was just about to launch into an informative spiel about interest rates when, all of a sudden and quite out of character, he stopped dead. 

Silence.

His eyes left me and focused in wonder at something on the other side of the room. 

"Is that a Great Spined Dragon from Games Workshop?" he asked, in wonder, all thought of house sales temporary forgotten. I told him that it was and over the next twenty minutes or so guided him through my collection of old school painted Citadel, my gaming tables and Oldhammer paraphernalia. To say that he was astonished that even one man would still be interested in 1980s Warhammer, let alone an international community, would be an understatement. 

These unlikely meetings between enthusiasts, even those as lapsed as he, are vital for our hobby. Nay, essential. For without them, wargaming would wither on the vine and decay rapidly. For our experiences are, by and large, social and supportive and without the encouragement and support of our fellows, and the chance to meet up with such like minded souls, what would be the point of all of those toy soldiers and the hours we invest into their creation?

Let us return to the image I began this blog post with. I cannot recall who painted it, but it was produced during the early days of Warhammer 40,000 and represents the main 'human' forces of the Imperium at that time; Imperial Guard, Space Marine and Squat. If you look closer, and are familiar with Rogue Trader iconography, you will notice that the majority of the figures in the painting wear the emblems of the medical corps. This is an image of a last stand, and despite imminent destruction, humanity stands united in all its forms against an unseen foe. Sprawled backwards across the earth lies an ork, giving some indication of who these soldiers are fighting, and the immolated carcass of another marine gives a stark, brutal prophecy of the fate for those still fighting. 

Stirring stuff indeed. 

I see a subtext in that image. I see the community I used to know, way back in the 1980s, and the one we have worked so hard to build today. A community made of quite different people (represented by the difference 'races' of the Imperium) who by working together and pooling their differences, create a whole far stronger than the sum of its parts. Everybody is on the same page as they say, and are unified in their enjoyment of fantasy wargaming. As it has to be if our hobby is to survive. 

The estate agent has just popped in to drop off some paperwork for my wife. He laughed as I told him he'd missed her once again. Unsurprisingly, the subject of Citadel miniatures was soon brought up, though not by me, and our friendly local estate agent went on about his adventures on eBay and Facebook last night. With passion, he explained to me of his interest in the Fiend Factory range and how he is considering collecting all of the models he had as a youth, his eyes beaming with the delight of the hunt and of a beloved hobby restored. 

Earlier on in the week, I was in London. I had an hour or so of free time, so popped into a Local Friendly Gaming Store I had discovered on my phone as I am always interested in the wider wargaming world, and attend Salute every year without fail. I was quite surprised what I saw. Two groups of gamers on opposite sides of the venue doing two very different things. 

The first group epitomised everything I despise about wargaming. Two charmless individuals were lining up rank upon rank of black undercoated chunky plastic 40k kits, some larger than my daughter's dolls, and fussing over the meta. As I browsed the racking, I eavesdropped on their argument. It appeared that one of them took offence to the other gamer's inclusion of a specific unit and it's armament. Apparently, it wasn't legal! This resulted in some quite fierce words and much scrummaging through rulebooks and computer print outs. 

On the other side of the room a bunch of kids were playing something on a smaller table. Shrieks of joy and friendly banter filled the space around them. Walking over, I saw a varied collection of brightly painted models and it was clear that each youth had brought in their own collection, for there was an obvious style to the little groups of models. I realised quite quickly that this must be a game of Age of Sigmar in action and that the young gamers had adapted the rules as they are to suit their own needs.

The younger players we suddenly distracted by one of the most extraordinary things I have ever seen in wargaming. One of the older players, who ready should have known better with children around, swore very explicitly and actually threw one of his complicated looking 40k kits onto the floor of the gaming shop, smashing the the model to pieces! Even his dulled eyed opponent had enough wit to look up in surprise from his glossy codex. The furious player then stalked out of the shop, abandoning his collection of toot and disappeared up the street, striking out at lamp posts and recycling bins all the way. An anxious manager peered perplexedly from the doorway, probably wondering what all the fuss was about before retreating with a shrug back behind his counter. his reaction made me wonder if this was a common occurrence.

What happened to Warhammer 40,000? The game I remember playing was new, exciting and vibrant. The enthusiasm I felt was mirrored by gamers all over the country, in independent stores and of course in White Dwarf. Even in the early days of the internet there was a joy about the game. An excitement and it was fascinating to watch all of the characters at GW develop the game during the Silver Age of Pawl Sawyer as editor of White Dwarf. We all seemed to be on the same page. Now, it is hard to find anything but hatred for the game, or in-fighting. Scroll through any of the many online forums concentrating on the game and you'll see page after page of bitter resentment at GW for 'nerfing' the game and pointless bickering between supposed players of the system!

Was it always like this? Were the gaming groups I knew as a youth, and the ones I know now, in the minority?

In my opinion, Warhammer 40,000 has been destroyed by its players. It seems to me that by far the largest majority of them demand that GW does absolutely everything for them, and then complain if any changes (to rules, background or the miniature ranges) go against their individual needs and desires. Hey, whatever happened to free thinking?

No wonder I am hearing whispers of 40k receiving its own 'End Times' event and the launch of a very different edition of the game. Games Workshop would be doing the right thing if they just dumped the entire backstory and did an 'Age of Sigmar' version of Warhammer 40,000. The future of the game does not belong to the bitter rules lawyers and their black primed hordes of plastic toys, but to the passionate and eager youth and their fantasy 'space marines'. Clubbing together a few sets of Age of Sigmar and battling it out with your mates on a Saturday afternoon is as close as you can get to the much discussed 'Oldhammer Spirit' and totally at odds to the 'win at all costs' mentality of so many 40k players that I meet.

Space Marine models are the biggest sellers that GW have for good reason, they are what the younger generation of gamers enjoy playing with. So if Fenris is set to be bombed by the Dark Angels and a new civil war between the Space Marine chapters is set to explode, then fair play to GW if they inspire more younger gamers to take up the hobby and enjoy rolling dice with their friends, then a very well done should go to them! That is, and was, what fantasy wargaming should be all about.

To conclude, let us return once more to the piece of art I used to open this blog post. The humans we see huddled together, defiant against death and eternal in their support of each other despite the differences in their nature. They represent us! The community spirited gamers, no matter their age, ruleset or miniature preference. As a gamer and collector, all I want to see is the same passion I hold dear for this hobby in others - what they are actually playing is irrelevant. But we are few. Surrounding the heroes in the painting above are the dark and unknown 'foe', bent on the Imperium's utter destruction. And surrounding us, through no fault of our own, are the dark, faceless forces of '40k playerz', our own inexorable foe, who hold only one commandment dear:

In the grim darkness of the far future...

There is only winning!