A Warhammer Christmas!

Santa brought Nathaniel some reinforcements for his Ultramarines army...

Bloaty Fun

I'm making slow but steady progress on painting the Primaris Space Marines and Death Guard units from the Know No Fear 40k boxed set. I'm especially fond of the Foetid Bloat Drone...

I've decided that his name will be Bloaty McBloatface. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Mark Your Calendars!

The release date for the official Dungeons & Dragons movie is July 23, 2021. Damn, that's a long wait!

Oh no...

Beamdog, you f#<&!^* bastards! There goes all my free time. Get ready for Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition.

Holiday Hellblasters

Nathaniel is the board game guru of the family, and he delights in games of all types. This year, Santa is bringing him a variety of gaming treats (including Pandemic, which, somehow, we don't already own yet), but he's mainly excited about a couple of vehicles to add to his Ultramarines army. I can't imagine there are too many seven-year-olds who put Warhammer 40k models at the top of their Christmas lists!

A Pox on My Poxwalkers

Nathaniel and I are playing quick 40k games every couple of days. He's laid claim to the Primaris Space Marines, while I'm stuck for all eternity with the Death Guard and their atrocious Poxwalkers. Of the four units included in the First Strike starter set, the Poxwalkers are unequivocally the worst. They're slow, they can't hit the broad side of a Sanctum Imperialis, and they lack ranged weapons -- so, in every battle, the Space Marines easily mow them down with bolt rifles before my wanna-be zombies can get close enough to attack. I think it's time to open up the second starter set, Know No Fear, and see if the Death Guard has any better units in that box. I'm especially intrigued by something called the "Foetid Bloat Drone" -- that sounds promising!

The Greatest Show in the Underdark

Today the boys and I enjoyed another episode of our transcontinental Shattered Realm campaign with Matt and his daughter. The adventure takes place entirely in this world's equivalent of the Underdark, and the heroes' quest is to stop a drow faction from developing a powerful mind-control gas.

To reach an NPC with potentially vital information, the party had to pass through a temple inhabited by members of an evil cult. With some quick thinking and a couple of fortuitous Deception checks, the rogue was able to convince the villains that the party had been sent by a mutual acquaintance -- another cultist who lives in the heroes' hometown -- to provide entertainment for the temple.

And so, instead of a knock-down, drag-out fight, we rolled up an impromptu concert! The rogue and the fighter made Performance checks to play music and dance, the cleric and the warlock used cantrips to create an accompanying light show, and even the party's pet hook horror got into the act by clicking his hooks in time with the beat. Miraculously, the heroes managed to dupe the cultists and even got paid for their efforts! The crowning insult to these poor villains, however, occurred when the rogue quietly relieved the chief cultist of his magical dagger as the party prepared to depart.

Will the cultists learn the truth and seek revenge? They may never get the opportunity: Right before our session ended, the heroes also managed to avoid fighting an undead warrior by convincing him to attack the cultists instead!

Quick Rant

I saw Justice League last night at the earliest-possible showing in my area. I loved it, the audience loved -- and I'm so sick of critics ragging on DC. It's become fashionable among the self-appointed intelligentsia to lambaste everything DC does, especially when it comes to the films. Oh well. Haters gonna hate.

End rant...for now...

First Strike Painting

Recently I had a chance to paint the miniatures from the First Strike 40k starter set. All things considered (primarily my lack of any semblance of artistic talent), they turned out pretty well.

First up, the Primaris Space Marines and the Reivers squadron...

And now the Intercessors squadron...

Their opponents are the Death Guard Space Marines, led by the fearsome Plague Marines...

The fourth squad from First Strike is made up of the zombie-like Poxwalkers...

Finally, a few solo shots of my favorite models from the set...

Xanathar

Ah, Xanathar! We first met when I killed you in the classic D&D video game Eye of the Beholder. Now your lovely visage graces the cover of Xanathar's Guide to Everything, the massive new sourcebook for Fifth Edition. Amy was kind enough to pick me up a copy -- the limited edition hobby store exclusive, no less! -- so now the boys and I will likely spend much of the weekend cooking up new character builds.

Too Many Worlds, Not Enough Time

Our D&D action has slowed down considerably since moving into the new house. I'm not sure why, but perhaps the imminent release of Xanathar's Guide to Everything -- the first major rules expansion for Fifth Edition -- will get the boys enthused again.

Lately, much of our dwindling D&D time has been spent in world building. Both of the boys are keen on designing their own campaign settings, and Matthew has already put together the framework for his world. We gave it a test drive over the weekend, with Nathaniel playing a dwarf cleric (a carbon copy of his character from our transcontinental Shattered Realm game with Matt's family) and yours truly playing a high elf wizard. It's fun to watch Matthew taking strides as a DM and telling stories of his own creation. What are we going to do, though, when Nathaniel is ready to debut his setting? Too many worlds...not enough time!

Match Made in (Gamer) Heaven?

WizKids is partnering with Games Workshop. Does this mean that I'll be able to get pre-painted 40k miniatures?! Pleasepleaseplease...

Book Breakin'

Our copy of the Monster Manual gets a ton of use and is now falling apart at the spine.

Meanwhile, my entire collection of  Fourth Edition D&D books is sitting on the bookshelf in pristine shape...

TfC: ToA

It's as tortuously titled as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and, ultimately, just as frustrating. As with the aforementioned flick, I really wanted to love Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation. After all, I'm a huge fan of turn-based D&D video games. This one, though, is perhaps too faithful in its adaptation of the D&D Adventure System family of board games, where players work cooperatively to complete quests in a randomly-created dungeon. For me, the primary drawback to TfC: ToA and its tabletop cousins is the 'Encounter' -- a game mechanic that causes nasty stuff to happen if (for whatever reason) you don't uncover a new map tile on your turn. The game hits you with so many traps, curses, and other hindrances that exploration quickly becomes tedious. In TfC: ToA, for example, you routinely get pelted by meteors falling from the sky. What more can I say?

D&D&D (The Extra "D" is for "Data")

There's an article about D&D on FiveThirtyEight!

Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation

This one kind of snuck (#pseudohistoricalablaut) up on me, but it seems that a new D&D video game is now available on Steam. Check out Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation (wow, that's a mouthful!) for some turn-based D&D action. Let's just hope it's better than the last D&D video game, Idle Champions...

BAM!

The venerable Cyberwars campaign and its many sequels and spin-offs has been a staple of the Front Porch multiverse since 1991. About five years ago, we started up a Cyberwars storyline in a post-apocalyptic setting and used the most recent Gamma World rules for game play. The event that led to the wacky mutations that are characteristic of Gamma World was a reality-rending cataclysm known as the Baryon Asymmetry Modification -- or BAM! The idea for the BAM came from the problem that the Big Bang Theory (the actual theory, not the TV show) predicts far more matter in the universe than we can actually detect. What, then, became of this missing matter? In the campaign, all that matter came back with a vengeance. In real life, it seems, the story of the missing matter is not quite so explosive...

First Gaming Action!

One of the best features of our new house is a big upstairs playroom that's perfect for anything from D&D to wargaming to action figures. Although I was fired up to resume our Shattered Realm campaign, the boys wanted to do some skirmish games, so first we set up an X-Wing scenario that took us all morning to play through. Here's a look at one of the initial engagements...

Note the red TIE Interceptor that came barreling in so fast that he overshot the Rebel fighters! He didn't fare much better in the later stages of the game, when an Imperial traffic jam allowed my Rebels to carry the day...

Next up, we shifted gears for some Tanks action. The battle has yet to be concluded, but this Panther appears to be in trouble...

Getting There!

I wish moving was as simple as lugging my crap from one house to another. Turns out, that was the easy part. Countless other tasks -- minor but often annoying -- have prevented me from getting back into my usual routine. A big part of that routine, of course, is gaming. However, last night, for the first time since we moved into the new house, I did something D&D-related: I cracked open my books and started mapping out the boys' next Shattered Realm adventure. It's a start!

Annnnnd...

...we're in the new house! Now comes the dreaded unpacking phase...

Farewell!

No, the blog isn't going on hiatus again. I'm instead saying farewell to the house where our family has lived for, lo, these past nine years. It wasn't a great house -- it was barely an adequate house -- but it's really the only home my boys have ever known. (Yikes!)

As we prepare to spend the weekend moving into our bigger, better, brand-spankin'-new house, I'm reflecting on all the fun we had in the old place. In addition to the countless board games we played there, it was the house where I introduced my kids to D&D -- and I suppose that fact alone will always make it kind of special.

For the record, the last gaming action to be played in our weird little pink house was a Skype-based, transcontinental Shattered Realm episode with Matt and his daughter. I look forward to seeing what our first adventure in the new house will be!

Idling

The boys looked at Idle Champions for about five seconds before they proclaimed it supremely lame. I'm inclined to agree...

Idle Champions

New official D&D video game, yo! Click here to check out Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms on Steam. Bonus: It's free!

Huzzah for Technology!

Thousands of miles apart? Living in different countries? No sweat! Thanks to the miracle of the interwebs, we have a new Shattered Realm campaign going -- and it's not just me and the boys! Using Skype, Matt and his daughter have joined the fun from their home in Canada!

Monster Blues

The boys' Shattered Realm heroes had been fighting their way through a wight-infested ruin when they came upon a deep well in which a cry for help could be heard. After a few prudent skill checks, however, they began to suspect that the pitiful entreaties were actually a ruse. As we wrapped up the game session, a wraith emerged from the well to attack the party. With Matthew's rogue low on hit points, Nathaniel feared that one solid Life Drain hit would consign the rogue to an eternity of ghostly undeath. He pored over the wraith's stat block and, even after we tucked him in, he lay in bed stewing over the situation. I had to have a long talk with him about probability -- the odds of Matthew's rogue falling victim to the wraith -- before he agreed to go back to bed. Maybe (probably) this goes without saying, but it's not a good idea to let a six-year-old read the Monster Manual at bedtime...

More Minis!

Need more minis for D&D? Of course you do! Click here for a Kickstarter that needs some extra love as its end date is rapidly approaching...

Fun With Fireballs

Can you spot the sorcerer, the ranger, and the ranger's animal companion in this throng of skeletons?

When the boys' primary Shattered Realm heroes ran afoul of a vampire, the dastardly villain unleashed his horde of undead minions. The heroes lured the (literally) boneheaded creatures into a crowd around them, and then Matthew's sorcerer dropped a fireball in the middle of everything -- roasting heroes and monsters alike! The fireball did enough damage that it destroyed even the skeletons that made their saving throws, while the heroes had enough hit points to withstand the full force of the blast. It wasn't pretty, but it got the job done: 26 skeletons destroyed with a single spell!

Painting 101

Today I attended a fun painting class at my local Games Workshop store (Warhammer - The Summit in Reno). I got the chance to practice dry brush, wash, and other techniques, but I don't necessarily think the mini turned out any better or worse than the ones I painted a few months ago.

Once our house situation is sorted out, I look forward to painting the models from the First Strike and Know No Fear sets that I picked up a while back.

Game Balance

We were discussing 5e wizard cantrips the other day -- typical dinner conversation in our household -- and then Matthew switched gears to ask which classes get access to the legendary Wish spell. With no PHB handy, I speculated that the sorcerer and wizard could get it.

"As a cantrip?" Nathaniel piped up.

Heh. Wish as a cantrip would present a few game balance issues, don't you think?

Curses!

We wrapped up our brief Eberron adventure this evening, but not before the boys got their first taste of a true D&D classic: cursed magic items. Matthew's fighter put on an enchanted cloak that turned out to be more than he bargained for. Now the objective for our next adventure will be to find someone who can cast Remove Curse. As an alternative, Nathaniel suggested: "Don't worry, my paladin will be able to cast that spell in just five more levels!" Yeah, Matthew wasn't on board with waiting quite that long...

Starfinder Review

Click here for an early review of Paizo's sci-fi version of Pathfinder, Starfinder!

Our Visit to Eberron

Whether as a player or as a DM, I've never participated in an adventure set in Eberron. I must admit a somewhat fraught relationship with that campaign setting. Maybe it's the magic robots, or the fact that the main continent of Khorvaire makes me think of an old-time Chevy, but it's probably the history of the setting itself.

Eberron was created as the result of a contest held back in 2002, when thousands of gamers submitted ideas for the next great D&D campaign setting. Naturally, I jumped on that opportunity as well. The Shattered Realm setting was in its infancy, and the Druid Cycle world seemed too hard to distill into a one-page overview sheet, so I opted to submit the setting now called Torchlight, which in those days was known as Woden's Gallows. For those who haven't seen it, Torchlight is a low-magic, dark fantasy world based on the literature and mythology of Anglo-Saxon England (the focus of my graduate studies). I still can't believe I (and so many others) lost to a setting whose primary "hook" was magic robots, but...whatever.

Anyway, as the boys are crazy for D&D these days, I've cracked open a free Eberron adventure that I picked up years ago. I'm ignoring all the stuff about Dragonmarked houses and whatnot, and pretty much running it as if it's in a generic D&D setting. Even so, the boys want to take a ride on Eberron's infamous magic train, but I told them it doesn't have any stops in the Shadow Marches...

Red Box Redux

The boys have two characters apiece in the Shattered Realm setting, so when they decided they needed still more characters, I figured it was time to break out some published D&D adventures to help pick up the slack. We started with a Fifth Edition mod of the original solo adventure from the 1983 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set -- the legendary "red box" edition. The boys enjoyed partaking in a bit of D&D history, but they also recognized just how primitive those early adventures could be. "It's just a bunch of rooms filled with random monsters!"

Reiver Madness

Okay, okay, the title for this post is a really lame pun. Moving on! The Reivers are a new type of fear-inspiring, close-quarters combat squad for the Primaris Space Marines. Here they are taking on some bloated, festering Plague Marines.

I love that the First Strike starter set includes a detailed battle map and a simple but effective piece of 3D scenery. Games look great right out of the box, even before the minis are painted.

First Strike

I picked up two of the new 40k starter sets (First Strike and Know No Fear) today at the Games Workshop store in Reno. (You should've seen the guy's face when I told him I was going to paint the minis with paints from Michaels!) Here are the sprues for First Strike, the smaller of the two sets.

As you can see, the models aren't molded in the usual dark gray plastic; instead, the Primaris Space Marines (think Ultramarines on steroids) are in blue and the Death Guard forces are in green. This way, even for folks who don't want to paint the models, it's easier to tell which side is which. That's handy for me, too, because it may be a while before I get around to painting the minis for either starter set, as we may have some big news to report in the next couple of weeks! (No, Amy isn't pregnant...)

Pathfinder: Kingmaker

Wow, I just found out about Pathfinder: Kingmaker, a single-player computer RPG in the style of Baldur's Gate and its successors. Click here to see the Kickstarter page -- but there's only a few hours left!

Beast Mode

With apologies to Marshawn Lynch, there's a new Beast Mode in town. The boys started up an adventure with new characters in the Shattered Realm setting this past weekend, and Nathaniel's shapeshifting druid has been the bane of low-level villains everywhere. Whether as a tiger, dire wolf, or giant hyena(!), he's running rampant over his foes. Matthew's assassin rogue may be dealing more damage per round, but there's something viscerally satisfying about watching the druid clawing down hapless kobolds and orcs.

Starter Set Madness

Aye caramba! The new edition of 40k has not one, not two, but three starter sets! I swear I'm only going to buy the cheapest one...

Twisty Plots

I love throwing plot twists at the boys in their Shattered Realm campaign, and they love trying to figure out what's going to happen next. Last weekend, they learned that one of their half-dozen closest NPC allies was secretly a traitor -- but they didn't know which one. What followed was a lengthy discussion of NPC actions and motivations, and a review of all the available evidence. It took a few leading questions on my part, but ultimately they realized that the main NPC of the campaign was also the master villain! Long story short, that treacherous NPC suffered a swift and ignominious fall from grace.

Then, last night, the boys were gearing up for peace talks between an embattled border town and the goblinoid army that was about to lay siege to it. (I have enough D&D minis to put over a hundred goblins, hobgoblins, and bugbears into the field -- so when I say "army", I really mean it!) A key part of the peace negotiations was an exchange of prisoners. The invaders insisted that the town give up a hobgoblin who had switched sides and joined with the heroes. The town's leadership refused, but the noble hobgoblin agreed to return to his people and face whatever punishment would be meted out to him. The boys were devastated. They're assuming, of course, that their pal will be executed, but would I let a great NPC go to waste? Never! Some time will pass, and then I'll find a way to bring him back into the story.

After all, it would make a great plot twist...

Epic Save

Over the many years and many players of Druid Cycle adventures, it seems to me that Jason was the one guy who always had great rolls in clutch situations. (Apologies to Kevin, whose mantra was "I roll 1s like it's my job.") These days, in the Shattered Realm campaign that I'm running for the boys, it's Nathaniel who scores the big roll when he needs it. And in today's game session, he really needed it. The heroes were beset by a mind-controlling witch who was on the verge of turning Nathaniel's beloved animal companion against the party. (Protip: How do you scare the crap out of a six-year-old gamer? Don't threaten his own character -- threaten his pet!) Nathaniel needed to roll a natural 20 for his animal companion to succeed on the save, and doggone it, he made that save! He and Matthew and I all cried out so loudly that poor Amy -- who's laid up with a fever -- came hobbling out of the bedroom to find out what the heck was going on!

Countdown to 30

The first Front Porch campaign -- the superhero smackdown antics of Earth Commanders -- started just about 29 years ago in the summer of 1988. Next summer, then, will mark 30 years of Front Porch gaming action. For the 25th anniversary I did a series of posts on the subject (see the label "Countdown to 25"), so I might as well do the same for the 30th. 2018 will be doubly significant because it also marks the 25th anniversary of the Druid Cycle campaign setting.

Bears vs. Babies

Our latest Kickstarter purchase has arrived!

Yeah, that's one furry box! From the makers of Exploding Kittens, behold the glory of Bears vs. Babies. The object of the game is to assemble armies of bears and other creatures, like this guy...

...and this guy...

...to do battle against hordes of demented babies, like these little buggers...

The player who eats the most babies wins! Three out of four Suttons agree: This game is a winner!

Free RPG Day Today!

Don't forget, it's Free RPG Day today!

Free RPG Day 2017

I've soured a bit on Free RPG Day in recent years, but it looks like there's going to be a lot of cool stuff this time around. Check out your local game store this Saturday!

Shatter Up

It seems as though one or both of the kids has had a cold for the past month, so we've had a lot of quiet, indoor time lately. Aside from all the coughing and sneezing, it's been a nice change of pace after a hectic spring with Matthew's ice hockey and Nathaniel's baseball. The boys and I have been playing a lot of D&D in the Shattered Realm setting, and now Tim W is doing a solo adventure in that world with one of his Druid Cycle characters. It's fun to watch this world really come to life!

"For Russ and the Allfather!"

A massive new campaign just dropped for the mobile Space Wolf game. So much for Injustice 2...

The Lay of the Lost Horn

The boys were knocking around on Saturday with nothing to do, so Amy suggested D&D. I popped open my Shattered Realm file and I started a new campaign for them: "The Lay of the Lost Horn."

After a journey fraught with goblin raids and other dangers, the two young heroes -- Matthew's dragonborn sorcerer and Nathaniel's human ranger -- have reached the besieged village of Palisade. Pics below!

Not Feelin' It

I logged a lot of time playing the original mobile version of Injustice, but for some reason, I'm just not feeling Injustice 2. When I have a few idle minutes for mobile gaming, I'm instead turning to challenge missions in Space Wolf. Maybe I'll let Injustice 2 sit for a while and jump back into it the next time I'm on a business trip...

World Builders

The boys had a hankering to dip into my vast collection of four-inch action figures, so we've spent the better part of the last two evenings transforming our spare bedroom into a sprawling fantasy world. They each built up a "civilization", so I -- never one to miss an opportunity for world building -- asked them to sit down and write up some notes about the domains they created. I've added their notes to my master spreadsheet for the Shattered Realm campaign world, so one day, in a future D&D adventure, they'll be able to explore their creations in an entirely different way!

Injustice 2

Injustice 2 is out for mobile on both iOS and Android platforms. The screens are very "busy" (i.e., cluttered) in the menus as well as during the fights, and I'm still not sure what a lot of the icons and symbols mean, but overall it seems like a lot of fun and a worthy successor to the original game. My immediate source of frustration, though, is that the blocking control is entirely different from the first Injustice, so sometimes my heroes just  have to stand around and take a beating while I'm fumbling to hit the right spot on the screen!

FCBD Today!

Free Comic Book Day is today! Head over to your friendly local comic book store for some free stuff!

An End to My Torment

I finished up Planescape: Torment tonight. In the final encounter, I talked the main villain into submission and then my character was dragged down into some sort of horrible hell-dimension. Somehow, it seemed a fitting end...

FCBD 2017

Quick reminder: Free Comic Book Day 2017 is coming up this Saturday!

Progress!

I finished up the single-player campaign for the 40k mobile game Space Wolf yesterday (casualties were high in a scenario aptly titled "No One Lives Forever") and made some good progress on Planescape: Torment. I estimate that I'm about 80% of the way through Planescape. My goal is to have it finished up before Injustice 2 comes out in a couple of weeks...

Critical Mass

If I play a video game for long enough, I usually reach a "critical mass" point (or, to put it less charitably, the point at which I fall prey to the sunk cost fallacy) and decide that I'll actually finish the game even if I'm not really digging it. I think I've hit that point with Planescape: Torment. I still find it oppressively verbose, but as long as I can skim past the dialogue and focus on the snippets that are included in the main character's journal, it's bearable.

One criticism that is not likely to go away, though, is the setting. I'm about 20 hours into this game and I'm still traipsing around in Sigil. What's the point of using the Planescape setting if so much of the game is rooted in one city? Granted, Sigil is a cool and quirky location, but there's really no reason this game couldn't have been set in Waterdeep or Greyhawk or some other iconic D&D city. Are we actually going to see other planes in Planescape?

Dragonfire

Wellity, wellity, wellity...

It looks like D&D is finally joining the deckbuilder craze. (Is it still a craze, though? I was actually thinking not long ago that this type of game was playing itself out. Anyway...) With a product that's sure to evoke endless comparisons to Paizo's astoundingly awesome Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Wizards is partnering with Catalyst Game Labs to release a D&D-themed deckbuilder game called Dragonfire. (Cue the scene from late-'80s Doctor Who when the freezing dude's face melts off.) All snark aside, I will play the hell out of this game!

Voices In My Head

I won't get into the details -- it's a long story -- but Tim W came up with a great use for a non-combat spell. Facing a foe who was unfamiliar with magic, the wizard Cathbad (of Druid Cycle fame) used a Sending spell to put strange voices in the guy's head. I love it!

New 40k Edition

A new edition of Warhammer 40,000 is on the way. It's hard to believe that my Dark Vengeance boxed set is now going to be several editions out of date!

It's Torment Indeed

So I ended up shelling out twenty bucks for the PC version of Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition, and I can't say I'm in love with it. I'll try anything that resembles Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale (this game is built using the same engine as those two classics), but Torment is turning out to be slow and talky. I'm a couple of hours into the game, and I'm now wandering around the slums of Sigil (all the while killing the same bandits that keep respawning in exactly the same places) in search of information. Each new map brings about the same grim exercise in identifying every named NPC, initiating dialogue with them, and scanning through reams of text to figure out if they have anything truly useful to say. Not sure how far I will get with this game, especially with my copy of Tales From the Yawning Portal scheduled to arrive today...

Time to Torment Myself!

The enhanced edition for Planescape: Torment is now available. Can't wait to download it for my tablet!

Moral Panic

I've been playing D&D (or modified versions of RPG games) for decades now, although not as heavily involved as my friends, it has always been an escape that I've enjoyed, allowing me to create a fictional narrative that I have always been unable to do so on my own.

We were probably at the tail end of the first generation of D&D players, or perhaps the very first of the next generation so a lot of the hysteria had subsided by the time we were playing. I recall there was a little bit of reluctance on the part of the schools that we attended to allow us to use "dice" in the classroom and I am sure that is part of the lingering effects of the hysteria. Most of our gaming activity occurred either at home or on the local BBS's.

With that being said, the "moral panic" and hysteria around the first generation of D&D players has always fascinated me. This is a great article about an early Tom Hanks vehicle, Mazes and Monsters.

"...it's a cautionary tale about the supposed impact of RPGs on delicate young minds - and perhaps best remembered as the first feature role for a young Tom Hanks."

I haven't had a chance to watch this crap-tastic sounding made for TV-movie, but the article does give a nice summary of the era and the movie itself.

Battle Scene

Okay, before I put these guys away, here are a few shots of the completed armies, along with the terrain pieces that I painted as part of this project.

For the Emperor!

Here we go...the last three Ultramarines models! First we a veteran Space Marine clad in Terminator armor, toting a storm bolter and power sword.

Next up is a fearsome Dreadnought!

Finally, the most difficult model of all, the Space Marine Captain. This guy gave me a lot of trouble (especially that stupid flag!) and he didn't turn out great, but he's good enough to carve up those pesky Orks!

Today brings my grand adventure with Warhammer 40,000 painting to a close. Well, at least until Shadow War: Armageddon is in stock...

We March for Macgragge...

...and we shall know no fear!

The first batch of Ultramarines is done -- or, at least, as done as they're going to get! I was pretty satisfied until I looked at the close-up photos and saw all sorts of areas for improvement. However, with other gaming stuff coming up soon, I've decided to put these guys aside. We've reached the point of diminishing returns.

Anyway, here they are! The photo below shows a trio of Space Marines armed with bolters.

Next up, a flamer! (Yes, that's really what it's called. Yikes.)

And now we have an Ultramarine toting a missile launcher.

Last but not least, here's the chainsword-wielding sergeant -- the leader of this squad.

In the next post, I'll share photos of the last three Ultramarines models from this starter set.

Confrontation: The Age of Rag'Narok

So...what the hell is this?

Apparently, it's Confrontation: The Age of Rag'Narok (their spelling, not mine), a decade-old miniatures wargame from a now-defunct French company. I picked it up sight unseen on Miniature Market for twenty bucks as a clearance item (click here to see if it's still on sale!). The box arrived today, and, as you can see, it comes with a lot of cool bits.

Not sure if I'll ever play the actual game, but I'll certainly make good use of the miniatures, the cool terrain piece, and the double-sided battle mat. At this price, maybe I'll pick up a second box!

Planescape: Torment

Yeah, so, I guess I'm going to have to get this...

40k Weekend

It's been a 40k kinda weekend. I've played Space Wolf, I've read a couple of issues of Titan's relatively new Warhammer 40,000 comic book series, and I've worked a bit on my Ultramarines painting. Perhaps by next weekend I'll be finished with the painting and will be able to rope one or both of the boys into playing a bit.

Orkz Iz Dun!

Tonight I finished up the final two Ork units, the Deffkopta and the Warboss. First up, the Deffkopta!

And last but not least, the bad-ass Warboss!

Now I'll turn my attention back to the Ultramarines. I still have a lot of detail work and touching up to do, but I think they're coming along well. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Hawkman Facts

This has nothing to do with gaming, but I just need to give a quick shout-out to my favorite superhero, Hawkman, who's featured on Comic Book Resources today!

Nobz Ahoy!

And here are the beefy Ork Nobz. Next weekend, I'll see if I can finish up the Orks and then get back to work on the Ultramarines...