500 pt Tourney AAR

Okay, so here is my after action report for the 500 pt friendly tourney my 3 friends and I did. I ended up with a simple 500 pt list:

• Daemon Prince with Wings and Warptime
• 5 CSM w/Champ w/PW and Melta
• 5 CSM w/Champ w/PF and Flamer, melta bomb (extra points!)
  
• Dreadnought w/x2 CCW, TL Bolter and Heavy Flamer

A very small list for sure, but did pretty well all things considered. I went 1 and 1. I beat the Space Marine player, and lost to the Orc player. Now, to be fair, the Orc and Tyranid players both brought 2 lists, one anti-horde and the other anti-SM. Both myself and the SM player bought one list, and after the tourney, we explained that next time, it's one list for everyone.

The terrain was heavy city terrain on a 4x4 table.

Both rounds were also Dawn of War for everyone due to randomness being consistent. I played two objective games. against the SM, the critical part was deploying first and strategically. The SM player deployed far back in a building. This proved to be a problem as it hindered his mobility. My DP took out his HQ a 5-man tac. squad, and being able to fly around was great for mobility. He was able to jump up and assault the HQ and squad on round two. strategic placement of troops also allowed them to stay close to objectives without getting fired at. The Dreadnought didn't do too much, other then a bit of damag to a Sternguard unit. But he was a big deterrent from the SM's leaving their building without him going down.

The orcs consisted of 1 Copta, and 2 squads of boys, nobs, and that HQ that gives the squad Feel No Pain. In the end, it was just numbers that killed me. A minor part of forgetting the objective of the game (objectives, not killing!). However, this list was custom designed to kill SM's, so I'm not worried too much. Even still, the first 3 turns looked like it was in my favor. However, when my 5 man CSM squad died all in one shot by failing all 5 of their armor saves, it was clear that the chaos gods were not in my favor.

All in all, a good night of gaming. We'd have pictures, but frankly, I didn't get many. The "recharged according to my wife" camera was low on batteries. Awesome! After the games, we went across the street for beer and burgers, and a good time all around.

The difference between 1st through 3rd Edition, and 4th Edition D&D

Original D&D (1st through 3rd Edition) was designed for the way most people wanted to play. 4th Edition was designed for the way most people actually play.

Consider the Vancian magic system, or basically the way spells were handled in OD&D. It was fun! It added a real level of realism to the magical system. We could see how it worked, and it was filled with life.

It also played poorly in any traditional dungeon crawl setting. Consider every dungeon, with encounter after encounter. You end up facing dangerous foes, but you blow all your spells early. Low level spells are hindered by high saving throws and spell resistance, and high level spells are limited. Fail a high level spell, and it's done with. It's over, you can't use it again. The fighter? Sure, he can attack yet again and it will be just fine. He can just try again next round.

But we want to play with the Vancian magic system. And we want to use it dungeon crawling. The problem is that Vancian magic system was pulled from fiction. This doesn't mean Vancian magic is bad, just the way the rules work with it are poorly done. But that's the basic idea: Vancian magic is what we want, but not how we play. 3rd Edition was plagued with the 15-minute work day. Players would run a single encounter, and then rest until the next day. That is how Vancian magic works. That's how OD&D worked.

Why is this? Think of many of the popular fantasy stories out there. Think of Wheel of Time, or even better, Lord of the Rings! LotR is popular and what most people think of when they first think of fantasy. Now, how many combat encounters did the fellowship face on their journey during the first book? Not many. They had a "skill challenge" when trying for the pass. They had one at the entrance to Moria (along with a "skill challenge). They went through Moria (which was probably a "skill challenge" as well) and had 1, maybe 2 encounters (depending on how you look at it), and then they were out.

Not many encounters. In a traditional D&D game, they would have faced many more encounters than that. But the Vancian style magic is built more toward LotR style adventures.

4th Edition allows people to play the games they were playing in earlier editions with greater ease. And that's the issue. OD&D was designed for an intended way to play. 4E was designed around the way people played.

Now, I love 4E. I also love what Pathfinder did for 3rd Edition. I love the feel of earlier editions. I love the design of 4E. Unfortunately, Pathfinder didn't solve any of the problems that 4E set out to solve, and 4E didn't keep the same feel of OD&D that Pathfinder attempted to keep. They both went about it wrong. You can't look at 4E and dismiss it as pure rules. Doing so ignores what they did with the game: make it less cumbersome for the way most people play the game. And they succeeded! Paizo set out to republish the 3.5 rules so people wouldn't have to rely on finding old D&D 3.5 books. And they succeeded!

However, neither really try to combine the two above points: creating a game the is what most people want to play based around how they actually play. I'm not all talk, either. I'll be presenting some ideas soon that will demonstrate how to go about this. The goals will be simple:

• 3/3.5/Pathfinder (whatever you want to call it) compatibility. You should be able to use all your books without any conversions (or very minimal conversions).
• Adapt the system so that it let's players play the way they want (4E design).
• Keep that OD&D feeling with a Vancian magic system.
• Keep it simple.
• Make it fun!
  

Tau Log - Fire Warrior Squad 3

So, tonight I applied Vomit Brown over the Tausept Ochre base. Tomorrow I plan on doing the arms and weapons with both the base and the second layer. I'm also going to figure out what I want to apply as the liner. That will hopefully be the next step. Once that's done, we can get to detailing!

As far as the miniatures are going, they are turning out really well and I'm very happy with them so far. I can't wait to see them done!

Saturday Mini Tournament - 500 pts

So, this Saturday, three friends and I are meeting up to do a little mini tournament. Our goal is to play several 500 pt games that evening. Force Composition is restricted to 1 HQ, 2+ Troop choices, and 1 Heavy, Elite, or Fast Attack choice (that is 1 of them, not one each). The attempt here is troop heavy combat that are fighting in city terrain. 500 points isn't much to work with, so I'm going for quantity.

Here is the list:

500 Pts - Chaos Marines Roster

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (5#, 120 pts)
4 Chaos Space Marines @ 120 pts (Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon; Bolter; Flamer x1; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)
1 Aspiring Champion (Bolt Pistol; Power Fist; Bolter; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (6#, 125 pts)
5 Chaos Space Marines @ 125 pts (Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon; Bolter; Flamer x1; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)
1 Aspiring Champion (Bolt Pistol; Power Weapon; Bolter; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)

These are my front line troops. Their the assault types, and what I plan on using as front line fighters. Pretty simple here. Flamers are picked because we are using city terrain, and 2 out of the 3 armies I'll be facing are horde (Orc and Tyranid), so will be using cover.

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (6#, 100 pts)
6 Chaos Space Marines @ 100 pts (Bolt Pistol; Close Combat Weapon; Bolter; Meltagun x1; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades)

This is my ranged/tank killer choice. At this point level, I don't imagine I'll be seeing much armor, but I'd rather have it just in case. Besides, it's instant death to anything it hits.

HQ: Daemon Prince (1#, 155 pts)
1 Daemon Prince @ 155 pts (Close Combat Weapon; Fearless; Wings; Warptime x1)

This was a difficult choice, in truth. He's in here because of the mobility he offers, as well as the insane power he provides. 5 attacks on an assault, Warptime, and MC weapons: he's my my killer unit. His job is to get in and destroy the opposing "big scary unit" that I'm bound to face.

The prize for winning is pretty big: free dinner later that night!

Tau Log - Fire Warrior Squad 2

This is the Fire Warrior squad after one coat of Tausept Ochre. Ensuring the lines were as straight as possible was time consuming, but well worth the effort in the end. Already the squad looks impressive on the table even without arms. The next steps is to do all the arms and the weapons with the same color. After that I start applying Vomit Brown to the Tausept Ochre areas, though this should go quicker. Finally, I have edging to do, though I have though about the mix I'll use for that. After all the armor is done, I'll line the cloth areas, which will most likely remain black to match with the lining color. After all the cloth and armor have been lined, I'll add the arms and weapons. From there, we work on detailing, and then finishing up the bases.

Tau Log - Fire Warrior Squad

I finally started working on my Tau army. I love Tau. The models are beautiful and sharp. The story is awesome. The playstyle seems fun. It's completely different from my Nurgle army (which I still love!). Tau are the opposite of Chaos Space Marines in terms of fluff and style.

I finished modeling the Stormlord, and I wanted to take a break. I'm waiting for some Ebay stuff to come in so I can continue working on the Plague Tower, and so I decided I'd paint up a Fire Warrior squad. The goal with this army is simple: create an awesome looking army that I can pull out and get people to stare. Every model in this unit tells a specific story. Really! Every model is posed in a certain way and for a reason. I went through each model and posed him with a purpose. I based everything before I started modeling. This ensure that the models were setup around the base. Some of the Fire Warriors are walking around rocks on the ground, others are using it to brace themselves as they fire, and finally some are still running into position.

I'm going for the traditional Tau Sept color look (Vomit Brown). I debated going for a simple white them, or some other them, but in the end, I wanted Vomit Brown. So the Fire Warriors are getting built first. I'm still on the bench as far as drones go. I'm not sure how I will use them in the army (though i will use them), so I havent' bothered with them in this unit yet. After they are finished, I start work on my first Devilfish. The Fish will be completley magnetized. The doors will open, the inside will be painted. Seriously, I want this army to look nice. Considering I already have a fully working Nurgle army painted up, I'm not in any rush to get these guys done fast.

Anyways, I've already started painting them. I'll keep you updated!

Apocalypse Prep - Nurgle Tower, Stormlord, Baneblade

Just wanted to show you guys what I am working on at the moment. My current projects that aren't terrain related.

Always Try Something New

For my Bilecannon (Vindicator), I thought I should try something I haven't really done before. Freehanding some nurgle symbols onto the vehicle. I was actually quite pleased with the result. Of course, I still have to weather the vehicle, but I wanted to get the symbols on so it at least appeared as if they were painted on originally.

This lead me to thinking about modeling and painting in general, and how I should approach each new vehicle, each new unit. I should always be thinking about trying something new. This time it was freehanding. Last time it was magnetizing the entire vehicle. Next time it might be a bit more conversion with green stuff.

Whatever it is, I think the point is clear: I can't just rely on using the same old techniques I've been using. I should always be trying to expand what I know. Of course, that doesn't mean I should just changing things around for each vehicle. My next vindicator will follow the same look and feel. I might experiment a bit more with the freehands, but I want the vehicles to look like they belong in the same army.

This lead to me thinking about the army as a whole (which I still need a good name for). While I play Chaos Space Marines, I can also focus on building an army as a whole that I want to build. This means I've been considering using the Space Marine codex, or another chapter, and twisting the rules and units around to a CSM theme.

Which brings me to this final thought: a nurgle force needs snipers. Noise marines would make great snipers, but I don't like the models "nurglized." Also, the Sonic Blasters can get expensive, and you have to order them in from GW. I've been considering buying a Space Marine scout squad with sniper rifles and using them as my long range "noise marines." Should be fun!

To 40k Only

I don't have many readers, I'm sure, but I still wanted to post this here. In order to keep things nice and organized, I'll be moving my non 40k posts to another blog in a few days. I'll provide a link to it here of course, and it will be updated just like this one. I just have a strong desire to keep things organized nicely.

Most of the older content will remain, but will be moved over as well. The 40k stuff won't change.

As far as my YouTube Videos go, I'll be setting up a new channel for that. It will actually be named LotsOfDice! Yay! It will run all my gaming related videos. Of course, all my 40k videos will be posted here, so no worries about that.

As far as upcoming content, I got some fun stuff in store. My friends and I are planning an Apocalypse game! So you'll get to see the build up for that. I'm also working on a big chaos base. I'll have some videos up soon on how I'm doing that, and you'll see each of the steps. Should be interesting, as I've never done anything like it. You'll also get to see me try and build up my Baneblade, and maybe something else. You'll see!

Planetstrike Weapons Tank Mounted

Maybe a bit obvious to some people, but I just figured this out yesterday, and thought I'd share it. It opens up the options for what you can do *easily* with bits and pieces you have. It also means you have more things you can do with your bits that you might have lying around.

Excellent Wet Blending Tutorial

LIQUITEX! Excellent. All my paint additives are Liquitex. I think I have everything they make on my desk. But I'll give you a run down of what I have and uses.

Matte Medium - Use in all my paint mixes 1:1:1 water/medium/paint. Helps flow and keeps the pigment from separating longer than just using water.

Flow Aid - Use when I layer blend. Drying retarder and helps to get great coverage with heavy dilution.

Slow Dry - Use when wet blending. 1:1:1:1 water/medium/color/slow dry is how I mix it. Drying retarder of coarse.

Glazing Medium - Makes awesome glaze mixes. Dries fast for fast layering. Formulated to cover well and level to the surface. Glaze vs Wash = Glaze made to evenly cover and Wash made to pool in recesses.

From DakkaDakka.

Dark Sun in 2010

I'll be honest, hearing Dark Sun is coming in 2010 makes me very happy. When 4E came out, Dark Sun was the one setting I was really hoping they would bring back. It fits with the feel 4E has going for it so well. My only complaint? Waiting until 2010 to get it, and even then, it won't be till the middle of the year.

Our goal with the setting was to cleave as close to the original boxed set as possible while still allowing as many D&D options as we could and making the setting ideal for 4th Edition play.

This is nice to hear as well. The original setting before any story elements were developed is the preferred setting of many. It's good to know that they aren't fast forwarding anything and working to keep it how everyone loved it.

Created by popular demand, this requested setting was saved specifically for now in 4th Edition, and will also feature new novels set in the world of Athas.

That is also very true. Fans have been proclaiming loudly for a while now that 2010 was the year of Dark Sun, and I'm glad WotC listened.

Indomitable Fortress

Saw this wonderful fortress setup here and wanted to share it with you, whoever you might be. He posted a lot of pictures of the build. Maybe later one when I've completed a few of my other projects I'll get to building something like this.

How to Magnetize a Predator Video

How to magnetize a Chaos Space Marine Predator with all available options. All the weapon choices as well as the dozer blade. Easy to do with minimal cutting of pieces.

I want to thank VaipaM from MiniWarGaming.com for his video on magnetizing a predator for providing the idea on how to magnetize the turret weapons.

Magnets can be found here at MiniWarGaming.com

Troop Choices for Chaos

The big problem I have with Chaos is a problem I have with the way I build armies. I look at things in a "how would it really be" sort of way. I like the story behind an army. I like to have a leader. When my Daemon Prince died to a swarm of rending genestealers, he suffered by not being invited to the next game. After all, he had failed me.

But the other problem is my Nurgle army. Plague Marines are awesome, but they are one sided. Plague Marines have 3 weapon choices (Flamers, Plasma, and Melta), which are all good choices for whatever you intend the unit to do. You also only need 5 marines to get two of those weapons. But that's all you can really do outside of the Champion options. This can get bland quick.

The new Chaos Space Marines are all about mix-and-match units from different gods. But here's the thing I have to remember: Just because Emperor's Children are pretty in pink and don't worship Nurgle doesn't mean you can't still include them in a Nurgle force. Indeed, you can just as easily paint them up in Nurgle colors, come up with some other story or a different themed weapon using the same stats, and suddenly the Emperor's Children become Emperor's Bile, a unit for long ranged combat as well as better horde killing abilities. Khorne Berzerker's don't need to worship the Blood God in your army. They don't even have to be Khrone Berzerker models. Have fun with the Nurgle Plaguebearers from the Daemon army. Suddenly your Nurgle themed army have a hard hitting close combat unit.

The key here is consistancy within your theme. If you want a multi-colored army, by all means, go for it. I know I wanted to paint up Emperor's Children as the Pretty Pink Pwnies, and even give them a Rhino in pink just to shake things up. But I want to see what I can do about creating a Plague Sons (Thousand Sons) unit.

The other thing to remember for your Chaos Space Marine army is that you don't necessarily need to buy the coresponding model. Sure, you might actually like the look of Thousand Sons, but you can just as easily use normal chaos marines.

I've seriously considered rewriting the CSM Codex for my own purposes and put a Nurgle slant on everything. That way, instead of taking Khorne Berzerkers, I'm taking my Daemonic Plaguebearers. Instead of Emperor's Children, I'm taking Plague Bringers. Even give vehicles different names based on different options. After all, a Predator with a Twin-Linked Lascannon isn't as interesting as Nurgle Plaguecannon, and a Vindcator is a Thundering Bilecannon.

Chaos v.s. Tyranids and Orcs

I'd give you a play by play, but honestly, I think this about sums it up. My Rhino getting rush by several squads of Tyranids and Orcs. Some unlucky rolls, and some poor play by me, and yeah, the picture was the result.