Galaxy in Flames

The Night Lords playtest codex is up on TCP

2012-01-26T11:56:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

I wanted to share the news that we have a new fandex offering over at the Codex Project for the Night Lords Chaos Marine faction. Many months and hours have been put into this fandex to make it really have the right feel to represent the Night Lords on your tabletop.

I'd really like to thank and congratulate Seregon and Talos for all their hard work on this project. Good job guys! They are waiting for your feedback to help make sure that the codex is balanced and plays well.

So head on over to the Codex Projects Playtest page and check it out!

Cheers,
Jim

Nostalgia is good! 25th Anniversary 40k miniature revealed

2012-01-24T13:47:00.000-08:00

Oh, yeah this is one outstanding looking dripping with nostalgia and old school miniature. Reinvisioned from the Rouge Trader cover art, very appropriate!

To be released on the 25th of February, although the actual anniversary is not until September.

Big Jim’s take on the 6th ed 40k “Leak” part 1

2012-01-19T16:09:00.000-08:00

Ok guys, I have been holding off on posting this until I gotsome practical experience with the “leaked rules.” I am of the opinion thatthey are an unpolished set of playtest rules for the actual 6^th editionof 40k. They have obviously been playtested but are still lacking polish andclarification of many rules. With that said I do imagine a lot will havechanged or been smoothed out by the time we actually see the release in July.

I will not be doing a breakdown of the rules here, since ithas been done many places such as on the Frontline Gaming and Sons of Taurus blogs. I am going to share my experiences in the 5 games we have played; includingthe few weak places in the rules that I am sure will be fixed in the actualbook.

The first thing I want to point out is that the game playsmuch faster we were easily shaving 45 minutes off of a 2000 point game. So farI have used Chaos marines and IG against Orks and IG. Of all the armies I thinkthe Orks get hit the hardest with the changes especially now the close combatattacks are AP 6.

The new Assault before Shooting turn sequence is pretty acetoo. It really makes you think about where you want your units to be ahead oftime. Speaking of assault, it sure did get much more deadly to lose an assaulteven if you happen to escape your opponent, since just being broken within 12inches of an enemy removes the unit from the table. Wowzers that really doesspeed things up!

The new Evasion chart and modifiers make shooting moreeffective, what a concept in a sci-fi wargame. Couple this with the new coversave, Rapid Fire and Multi-targeting rules, then bam shooting becomes moredeadly.

We are elated with the fact that cover saves drop to a muchmore balanced 5+ for most things; even my buddy Kev who plays Orks agrees withthe change.

The new missions rock with the multi-layered victoryconditions. Loving the overhaul to Kill Points, with the point value of theunit issuing multiple KP’s is an excellent mechanic; plus it is something wehave been doing for a while here already in my little group. Objectives nowmake sense and mirror closely to what we have been doing for two years. Theyare now scored every turn, and anything except vehicles can claim them, butscoring units gain more points for holding an objective.

Now here is the bad part about Objectives that we are sureis missing from the doc, but will be in the final version. According to the PDFthere is no way to contest an objective and people are interpreting that youand your opponent can claim the same objective at the same time. Come on guysuse your heads that is what they are for after all; that makes zero sense andwhy would GW do that.

My prediction will be that any unit including vehicles willbe able to contest an objective when the final rules are released.

Stratagems are pretty kool too, but can be a bit powerful. Iimagine that these will be much more refined in the final rules. That said thebidding mechanic is a weak point in the PDF, don’t get me wrong I love theconcept, but something just does not feel right. First turn does not seem to beas important as it once was, so really it seems that bidding is more forstratagem denial more than anything else, so definitely feel like a weak point.

Overall these games have been fantastically fun, more funthan standard 5^th has ever been in my eyes. They also feel much moreCinematic really leading to the game feeling like the 40k Lore that you read inthe novels! The early rumors were that GW was going to make 6^th edmuch more narrative in their feel and these surely do just that.

Well that is it for part one, in part two I will explainwhy I think that Defensive Fire is a “Keystone” mechanic to these rules, whichthe vast majority of the internet does not seem to be able to wrap their mindsaround.

Killzone V3 file links

2012-01-06T14:03:00.000-08:00

There seems to be some sort of issue with the current downloads on the Codex Project page, so I am making a secondary set of links for the current PDF's.

Killzone V3 Rulebook

Killzone Codex Operatives

Feel free to leave any feedback, comments or questions here in this post.

Cheers,

-Jim

Killzone V3 2012 update available and news for the future

2012-01-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

That's right all the hard work pays off with the official release of Killzone V3. It has been a laborious process, but it has paid off tenfold. The game is a much more solid system totally appropriate for those wanting to play competitive skirmish games of 40k.

Just a note the errata has now been renamed Codex Operatives, very fitting!

I'd like to extend my thanks to Brian, Skarvlad, FrozenJoe and the rest of the guys that helped out with V3.

With these basic rules in the can I can start working on the Advanced Killzone and Campaign system.

The Campaign system will include an experience system and new comprehensive skills list. I will probably draw some ideas from Necromunda and Mordheim.

Looking forward to the development of the advanced gamethings that you will see are the following:

1 The return of Priority.

2 the implementation of a Phased turn sequence. So you willactivate a model move it, shoot with it and assault with it, then your opponentwill activate a model and do the same until all models have been activated.

3 Specialized Wargear for each army in the Codex Operatives tailoredto the actual race.

4 More in-depth shooting options/mechanics.

5 Stacked saves, so if your model has an invul save and armorsave he will benefit from both.

6 The complete removal of the cover save mechanic with the reimplementationof cover to hit modifiers for shooting. I have always been vocal aboutdetesting the cover save mechanic, it makes good armor saves or AP irrelevant;besides bushes stopping bolt rounds is just plain stupid. Now before you startgnashing of teeth remember that a natural ‘6’ always hits in Killzone.

7 An in game card deck for random circumstances to enhancethe narrative feel of the game.

Soul Reapers: State of the Rebuild

2011-12-28T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, I wanted to share with y’all the current state ofthe Soul Reapers and the rebuilding of the army. This has been an extremelytough year for me, in terms of real life and an extremely busy year on thehobby side.

I must admit that I have been extremely deflated in spiritwhen it comes to rebuilding the army; even thought the fantastic members of the40k community rallied and replaced my stolen models. I actually feel a bit badabout this.

With that said, I have finally gotten the mojo towardgetting the Reapers back on the tabletop. I have spent the last week getting an1100 point force almost completely painted. I should have some nice looking eyecandy just after the New Year.

I have been reintroducing my buddy Kev to rulebook style 5^thed 40k, cause when we play our version of 40k is nothing like 5^th. Ineed him a 5^th ed mindset as he is helping me with the Narrativeevent at the bay open.

I guess he has gotten tired of my stealing his IG shtickusing my steel legion guard, although he has been using his orks. He is one ofthe biggest supporters of the Soul Reapers and has decided not to play anothergame until I run the Reapers.

Here is the list I am finishing up.

Soul Reapers 1100 pts

Exalted Centurion 110 pts

Plasma Pistol, Chaos rune weapon

Elite

Cataphracts 193

3 X Warp Ammo, Chainfist, Heavy Flamer

Troops (632pts)

8 Legionary squad 198 pts

2 x Melta gun, Power weapon, Personal Icon

Centurion Pfist

Rhino

8 legionary squad 188 pts

Plasma gun, Autocannon, Power weapon, Personal Icon

Centurion Power weapon

8 Reavers 206 pts

Flamer, Heavy Flamer

Centurion Pfist

Heavy Support (265pts)

Dakka Pred dozer 105 pts

Defiler 150 pts

Soul Reapers Dread 130

TLLC

Killzone embraces social media

2011-12-27T16:13:00.000-08:00

Facebook now has 100% more Killzone!

Just one more way to keep track and share Killzone with your friends.

I have been putting this off, but it is now time to embrace the social media with Killzone, to aid in spreading our Glorious little project!

Merry Christmas From GiF

2011-12-25T01:43:00.000-08:00

I hope y'all have a great day! I am looking forward to spending the holiday with my family and closest friends, I say bring on the Ham and Turkey!

We are also going to have the first annual Christmas night 40k bash, looks to be a fun time!

Cheers,
Big Jim

TCP podcast Launched

2011-12-17T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hello loyal disciples of fire, I wanted to make you aware of an exciting new project that I am helping with in conjunction with TCP. We have decided to create a podcast that will post occasionally through the Codex Project website. It will cover game and codex design, with interviews from the members of the project to talk about the great codices that they are working on.

Well as we all know the studio in Nottingham is hard at work on the 6th Edition of Warhammer 40,000. Every once in a while a rumor seeps out from behind the closed doors. We all quickly gobble them up and talk endlessly on forums like BoLS, Dakka or Warseer about their value and contribution or even if it is a mistake that will ruin the game.

What we never get to do is talk as a community about what we think should be done in 6th Edition. Possibly more profoundly what 40K could be if all caution were thrown to the wind and a complete re-write were executed on the rules. Generally speaking we know that the guys at the GW Studio do not put lots of weight in the goings on of generally wild and often negative blogs and forums.

In the grand spirit of TCP right out the gate we have a series of episodes in the works talking about 6th edition. We discuss the current 5th ed rules define any weak points we may see, talk about possible fixes for those rules and then delve into the current 6th ed rumors which may or may not be accurate. We then discuss whether the rumored changes would be good or bad for the game, in our opinion.

Each episode will have guest hosts from around the 40k internet community.

We do understand that many may not agree with our opinions and that is fine. We figure that since nobody else is covering 6th ed especially from a game design perspective we would. Since Jeff and I have both been active wargamers since the 1970's we have well over 60 years of gaming experience. On top of that we have both written an published wargames rule sets, Jeff's last one was Battlestandard Ancients and mine was and is Killzone. (while not a stand alone game it has been well received) Most of my published rules were in the 80's and early 90's including 15mm Ancients, I Corps Vietnam 1967-68 (which is in a reboot phase currently) and the short lived Federation and Empire hard sci-fi.

Please keep in mind that both Jeff and I love the 40k universe and are very passionate about it. So what may sound negative or like we are coming down hard on GW, is really our passion for the universe showing through. We really do want 6th ed 40k to be the best game it can be.

Here are the first two episodes

Introduction episode

Episode 1 6th ed rules series: Movement Phase, Vehicles and the Force Org Chart

The first show is a bit rough around the edges, but we are working on the format so will improve.

BAO 2012 Narrative Event

2011-12-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

I am proud to announce that I have teamed up with the Bay Area Open to present a narrative gaming event for those gamers who enjoy a more laid back story driven day of gaming.

Participants will help decided the fate of a small star system on the eastern fringe of the galaxy. Will the forces of the Imperium and the allies save the system or will the system be subjugated or destroyed by the forces of Chaos and their nefarious allies.

This will be a large team run event (teams determined on the day of the event) fought over three different battle zones, utilizing what we like to call an Apocalypse lite format. This means that you will be able to use Apoc formations and some Apoc units, but must follow the restrictions listed below.

Allowed Armies:
Armies can be built from all current 40k codices including the White Dwarf codex for the Sisters of Battle, and may also include or be built to include units or completely using the army lists in the Imperial Armor books. Units and list may only be draw for Imperial Armor books 5-10 and the IA Apoc books. Players may choose Apocalypse formations if they wish; either from the Apoc books or the GW website.

With that said all IA units and lists must use the most current listing for the unit, which includes the Errata listed on the Forgeworld site. So for example the Renegades and Heretics list from the Siege of Vraks uses the update on the forgeworld site.

All armies are built using the following requirements:
1250 points and must include an HQ and one troops choice and may include one superheavy vehicle with no more than 3 structure points. Each army may also include one Spearhead formation as listed in the spearhead rules on the games workshop site. I would also appreciate if all players bring a 625 point sideboard list incase the sides end up being lopsided.

Players may not purchase stratagems individually, however if the player is taking an Apoc formation that comes with stratagems they still benefit from them. At the beginning of the game each player will draw a strategy card from the decks that I will provide.

At the beginning of the game each player will draw a Fate card from from decks that will be provided. The Fate cards will add to the narrative of the game allowing each commander some special bonus during the game.

At the beginning of the game each player will draw a Mission card from decks that will be provided. These will provide each player with a secret agenda that will benefit their team upon completion.

Each table will have a special character for each side created and provided by me. They will represent the army commanders of that theater for narrative purposes.

WYSIWYG:
All models are expected to be WYSIWYG as much as is reasonable. Proxies are not permitted. However, counts as armies are acceptable and encouraged. What’s the difference? That can be a tough call to make in some cases. Judges will determine what is acceptable or not and all judgments are final. If you feel your army is questionable, contact a TO in advance to clear any confusion.

Proxies: Using Necron Warriors as Lootas in an Ork army, etc.

Counts As: Using Ultra Marines colored models with Blood Angels rules. Using custom Adeptus Mechanicus converted models with Daemon rules. The key is that everything is easily identifiable and appropriately equipped.

Painting:
Every army must be painted to a three color minimum and be based. (basing can be as simple as painting your models bases an appropriate color.) We want a great looking event filled with painted models fighting over nice looking terrain.

Scoring:
Objectives will be scored at the bottom of every game turn. Objectives held by a troops choice are worth 2 points, any other unit may score objectives with a worth a value of 1 point gained.

Killzone True Skirmish

2011-12-09T15:27:00.001-08:00

So I have been chatting with the guys about finally gettingto the advanced “True Skirmish” version of Killzone. We have been battingaround some mechanics, the one thing that the “TS” version of Killzone willhave is a “phased” turn sequence. Where one player will activate a model/unit do itsturn then the 2^nd player will activate a model/unit. Alternatingactivations until every model/unit on the table have a turn.

When activated a model will be able to perform 3 actionsfrom a list included in the rulebook; these include things like moving, shooting,fight in melee and overwatch.

Things we are heavily considering: (none of them are a surething.)

We are pretty sure the “TS” version will do away with thecodex errata system; it will be replaced with an actual book or Codex of armiesthat represent the forces of 40k.

With the new army book we are debating creating a new statline and realigning the points values with an entirely new system. The pointsrealignment will probably happen, since the points system of 40k is jacked upand arbitrary anyhow.

The D10 will more than likely make an appearance alongsidethe trusty D6 in the new version.

You will be able to group models together into adhoc squads.

Ditching the clunky cover save system for hit modifiers forshooting.

Until next time…

Angels Encarmine Commission Part 2

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here is the second part of Snake's AE commission.Magnetized dozer blade for a Rhino and a Las/plas turret for the back.

Magnetized Sang Priest

Rounded out by Mephiston!

Angels Encarmine Sternguard

2011-12-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Hey guys here is an AE Sternguard squad that I have painted for Snake Eyes over at Tabletop War.

I tried my best to mach the color of the original models. I used the same colors as the original but still ended up slightly redder and brighter: even after 3 washes of red over the top!

Five of these guys have Chapterhouse Studios magnetized combi-bolters, I think they look pretty good! Be warned though you have to drill out all the holes for the magnets in the gun part of the weapon and it is a pain.

One final note, this darned cold weather is killing me, I had to brush seal these models because of it, and that takes close to 24 hours to fully cure.

Tomorrow I will post up the rest of this commission.

Check out the Killzone playtest give away

2011-12-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Brian is running a give away for Killzone on A Gentleman's Ones. It's really easy to enter play a game of killzone, use the form provided in his post to report you game and bam, you are entered in the give away. First prize on the table is a NIB Stormraven!

So Check it out!

Killzone: Giveaway

Killzone V2 available for some hot skirmish action

2011-11-26T23:20:00.000-08:00

Get 'em while they are hot!

A newly revised and updated Special Operations: Killzone Core Rules and Errata is available for download. These revisions and updates improve on the basics of the Killzone dynamic, but also account for the player feedback about extremely modest hiccups that were encountered over the last year, as well as bringing all the new codices into line.

This update includes:

The revised ruleset includes revisions to: wargear, skills, overwatch, team selection, themes, deployment, mission points, victory conditions, and much, much more. We have worked very hard to hone the dynamic, and I am quite proud of where we are.

The revised errata include new lists for the Grey Knights, Sisters of Battle, Necrons and a special operations team for the Inquisition.

Also outlined is an entirely new card system that includes deployment options, primary missions, secondary missions, tertiary missions and rounded out by the wildly cinematic fate dynamic. We have rolled the Missions into the Core rulesbook.(The card decks will follow shortly.)

To download the files follow this link to the TCP Killzone page you want the V2 versions of the PDF's.

Killzone Downloads

We have left up the old V1 cards, missions book and Adepticon 2011 missions for anyone that may want to have them.

The home stretch: Killzone fans rejoice!

2011-11-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

Brian and I have been hard at work on the next version of Killzone. We have hashed almost everything out and editing and formatting is about it. We have updated the rules and missions. We have finally got all the FAQ's done for all the codices; Grey Knights, Sisters of Battle and Necrons. We have even included a specialist Inquisition henchman list out of the GK codex.

The plan is to have the PDF's in your hot little hands by Friday 11/26.

Healthy Gamer Challenge update 11-11

2011-11-11T12:41:00.001-08:00

Howdy health fans!

It's been another two weeks so time for another update. I have hit a plateau on the weight loss side of things, as I have lost none in this cycle. Now that is always to be expected when losing weight so I am not worried one bit.

So I will be changing up my exercise routine a bit in the next two weeks. I'll still be walking, although the weather has forced me indoors on the trusty old treadmill. I will be adding some light weight lifting to help firm and tone in the areas I have lost in, so I don't end up with any saggy areas. This will also increase the amount of exercise that my body is doing and should spur my body back toward burning more calories.

Now that I have shared it is your turn. How have you guys been doing?

Killzone links temporarily removed

2011-11-04T16:07:00.000-07:00

Hey guys sorry for any inconvieniences but I have removed the links for the Killzone PDF's. So that there is no confusion for the 2012 Adepticon Killzone participants.

Brian and I are hard at work on an update to the system including a few long overdue Errata updates. Sorry for the delay life has gotten in the way.

We should be able to have these up in the next 7-10 days, so keep your eyes out for them.

Cheers,
Jim

Healthy Gamer Challenge update 10-27

2011-10-27T16:26:00.000-07:00

Hey guys time for another update, sorry for the delay, family issues have been thick.

So over the past three weeks I have only walked about 40 miles, but have dropped another 7 pounds. Bringing the total loss to 62 making my current weight 313 pounds. I am stoked that I am close to breaking the 300 pound mark.

I am feeling great, I am almost starting to feel like myself again. Being this heavy can really drain on you emotionally, but I can see light at the end of that distant tunnel.

Blackmoor gave the challenge a shout out this week and has already lost himself 20 pounds, congrats dude keep up the hard work!

So hows about the rest of you guys?

AoV Librarian Terminator

2011-10-14T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a Librarian for Magilla's Angels of Vengeance army. I have finally finished him. I feel bad that it has taken so long, but my injuries have slowed my painting significantly. On top of that this is a repaint as the US post office lost the package with the original miniature and there has been no sign of the package in a search conducted by the USPS.

I'd like to thank Mags for his patience in this time of recovery for me. I had hoped to send him last week, but as you can see that did not happen, my left hand has been shaky from all the rehab and pain. He will be trucking his way to SoCal on Monday via UPS or Fedex!

I went with a slightly darker blue for the armor to match the broodish nature of the AoV's black armor. I have noticed that I forgot to paint his teeth and need to touch up few minor things, grr....

I really like the way the glow on the staff script/whirls turned out

Healthy Gamer Challenge update 10-06

2011-10-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

Ok guys it has been two weeks and it is time for an update post! I have been as busy as I can be juggling the pain from rehab and the weather.

I have walked a total of 25 miles during this period and have lost another 10 pounds. Bringing my total weight loss to 55 pounds.

So my staring weight was 375 and I now weigh 320, I am happy for the loss.

Every week I find myself having more energy to burn.

As soon as my rehab is done on the 14th, I plan to start jog walking in an attempt to strengthen my cardiovascular system even more.

So what have you guys been up to? Have you gotten up from your desk and game tables getting a bit more active? How about those typical gamer snack, have you swapped any for healthier choices?

Share your experiences below if you'd like.

Healthy Wargamer Challenge

2011-09-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

My computer issues have now been resolved and I am getting caught back up with the online content that I have missed. I have just found out that one of my Online friends has passed away He and I have been friends since I found the Dice like Thunder now Eternal Warriors podcast and have enjoyed sharing our hobby via the live show chat and forums. We also became friends on Facebook, which was neat as I got to know more than just the gamer he was. I would like to offer his wife and young children my most sincere condolences

On September 9th James Ayles also known as "xxxjammerxxx" passed away from a sudden massive heart attack at age 45. I am in shock; James was only a couple of years older than I am. The first thing that I thought was that could have easily been me.

Back in June I had reached a weight of 375 pounds; I was horrified, I immediately decided that denial of my health and weight issues could not go on any longer. So I began walking every day; at first I walked a mile a day, but within weeks I was walking a steady 3 miles.

It was on one of these walks that I got clipped by that damned car a few weeks ago. It was bizarre I found myself going stir crazy due to my inability to take my walks. So I worked hard at rehabbing myself as fast as I could. Even with the pain from my previously dislocated shoulder I pushed on to rehab the shoulder as soon as I could manage to move the darned thing!

At the time of my accident I had lost 45 pounds, thank goodness I have not put any back on from my inactivity. I have resumed walking although I am only walking a mile and a half right now. The rehab on my arm is taking a toll on me and I don’t want to over do it while I heal.

I would like to lose at least another 45 pounds by the New Year. I will be chronicling my progress by weekly on the blog, not something I would usually do, but I think that gamers need to be aware of the repercussions of being an inactive and/or overweight hobbyist.

I have a few medical conditions that are caused from my weight and inactivity. Up until August I had a serious issue with my blood pressure and was on medication for the condition. I am happy to say that through my recent exercise I have completely corrected the condition. I always knew that I could control my blood pressure through exercise, but was just too lazy and it was easier to just take the medication then go through all that effort. I was also borderline diabetic, which I am happy to say is also no longer the case!

I feel a hundred times better than I did back in June, I really do. I now wake up in the morning invigorated and ready to start my day; before it took me at least an hour to shake the grogginess outta my head.

The tragic passing of James has strengthened my resolve. I will be down to a weight of 190 pounds by this time next year; or at least that is the plan. I swear I won’t go back to ever being as inactive as I was back before June.

So here is the challenge for any of you that would like to embark upon this journey with me.

Make a determined effort to be more active and healthy. Get a bit of exercise and eat a bit better staying away from those typical sugary gamer snacks. This is not necessarily a weight loss challenge as it is more of a getting into a more healthy state of mind and body; don’t get me wrong weight loss is a thing to be praised. Then when I make my post in two weeks just report your progress in the comments.

Whether or not you join me I will be sharing my progress with you guys in two weeks. I will not pass quietly into the night; I will do everything in my power to live good life as long as I can.

11th Company Live Nova Open Coverage

2011-08-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

The guys from the 11th company will be streaming live coverage from the Nova Open for the next four days. I am embedding the player for you all to enjoy.

Thursday coverage at 6PM EST
Friday Coverage at 9AM EST
Saturday Coverage at 9AM EST
Sunday Coverage at 9AM EST

Live video for mobile from Ustream

Holy Carp!

2011-08-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

I am sure that you may have noticed my lack of blogging for the past couple of months. I have not had the best of luck in my personal life, which is something I don't usually mention here. Things were finally starting to even out it looked like I was going to be back into the hobby full swing; then out of the blue my luck went sour again.

This past Sunday I was hit/clipped by a car while crossing the street. I am now on the mend from this event, but will be unable to do anything hobby related for probably another 4-6 weeks as my relocated shoulder and broken fingers heal.

This has been the most awful 10 months of my life, but despite that I have worked hard to stay positive.

What I am going to try to do is finish up my gaming outside the box series, if I can coax my friend into editing the articles. This one handed pecking is awfully slow and tedious.

The Bay Area Open GT

2011-08-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

The above pic is my vote for most gutsy player, Necrons in a Zero-comp event!

The GT is over and I am absolutely beat, who knew that just taking pictures could be so exhausting! Reece and the rest of Team Zero Comp put on an outstanding event, congrats guys and gals!

There were tournaments for 40K, WFB and Warmachine. I will be covering some of the 40k stuff here.

The tables were really good for the most part, a few were a little sparse but even at that better than most Tourneys I have ever been too.

What was really awesome is that for the event being a tournament, everyone was extremely friendly and all around great guys. I am gonna go out on a limb here and say that I think it was the whole zero army composition and strait win loss scoring style of the event.

Top three were Winners for 40k were:
Imperial Guard Mechanized - the undefeated champion.
Battlewagon Orks - 2nd Place
Paladin GK - 3rd Place.

I will do a few more posts about this before the week is done. I have tons of Photo editing to do catch y'all later!

Here are a few pics to tied you over

Angels of Vengeance Speeder and Terminator fillers

2011-07-29T18:28:00.000-07:00

Here is part of the second part of the Angels of Vengeance commission for Mags.

Angels of Vengeance Objective Markers

2011-07-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

Here are 5 objective markers for Magilla's Angels of Vengeance. These are a last minute addition to his 2nd commission for the army.

He just wanted some simple bronze marine statues to use with the army for the Bay Area Open that is happening this coming weekend. I will also be at the event snapping lots and lots of Pics as the staff photographer!

Also before I forget, I will be finishing the Gaming outside the box series next week as this commission has got me otherwise occupied.

Gaming outside the box: Inspiration

2011-07-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

When it comes to narrative wargaming the only thing holding you back is the limits of your imagination. Sometimes even the most creative amongst us fall short on inspiration, and that is what this post is about. I am going to share some of the ways that I get inspired.

A phenomenal source of 40k inspiration is the Black Library books, which just keep getting better and better. They contain some fantastic settings that are just screaming for recreation on the tabletop! If I had to pick my favorite series of books it would have to be the Horus Heresy series. Any of these stories can be re-envisioned to fit your current armies in the modern era of the 40k universe.

Another great source of inspiration can be the History and Mythology of our own real world. In fact I know that GW has used some of the great battles in history as inspiration for 40k. A small force of Space Wolves that is lead by Wolf Guard Ranulf the Strong holds a small mountain pass against an Ork horde to allow the rest of Space wolves to regroup, sure sounds like the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae.

A personal favorite of many wargamers and GW is Hollywood! Movies can be a great starting point for inspiration, cause who does not love the tension of being trapped in a spaceship surrounded by the foul xenos! I’ve even enjoyed games involhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifving a dozen military criminals sent on a suicide mission where you know all but a few are gonna die!

Other Sci-fi genre books can inspire also, but this can be a bit tougher due to the established Grim Dark of the 40k Lore.

Edit: a great suggestion from Porky. Lexicanum is a great online source for 40k inspiration!

The bottom line is that there is a world full of inspiration waiting to be transformed to life on your tabletop all you have to do is find the correct muse for your tastes!

See you Monday for part three, Objectives and Special Rules.

Until then!

On the table: Eradicators/CSM Havocs

2011-07-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

Here are the first two finished models for the squad. The other three models are almost finished I need to finish painting the gold on them. I should have the rest of them up by Thurs or Friday.

I have finished the Centurion and one of the Missile launchers. Sorry for the dark pics I lost a lamp and didn't have a replacement bulb for it.

I was a bit worried about the rotting heads hanging from the missile launcher models. I am pretty satisfied with the result, they are a little lighter in color in person.

Gaming outside the box

2011-07-18T11:00:00.000-07:00

In this 5 post series I will be going over my thoughts on Narrative gaming; from tried and true mechanics that my group has used for years as well as ideas that are brewing for upcoming games.

Here is a little background for those of you that were not around in the early days of 40k Rogue Trader. Back in those hallowed days 40k was all about the story; it was so deeply ingrained into the game that you were supposed to have a game master. Most gamers back then were more worried about having a great time creating a fantastic story that winning and losing was only a fleeting secondary thought.

So for most of the been playing since 1st ed crowd narrative gaming is as natural as breathing. Oh how things have changed, now with the streamlined rules and tournament hungry gaming culture, narrative gaming has taken a back seat. I’d be willing to bet that there will be gamers that read this that have never played a narrative game of 40k

Narrative gaming means different things to different gamers, but at its core it is about creating a story with your games. This can be achieved in many ways, from a simple objective driven system where each objective has real significance to the actual story. It can also be very elaborate with custom special rules, random events or anything your imagination can cook up.

All you have to do is let your imagination take over and find a fried that wants to have a game where the results create a story.

Did Captain Antillies, and his Knights of Fire purge the traitors from Pergos, more importantly did he survive the engagement?

On Wednesday I will be going over idea about where you can draw inspiration for your narrative games.

Until then……

On the table this week: Eradicators/CSM Havocs

2011-07-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a WIP shot of what I am working on this week. It is a squad of Soul Reapers Eradicators; so basically correctly priced Chaos Havocs! The squad weighs in at 155 points without an icon or costs 160 points with a personal icon.

I really like the way that they turned out, even though they were a nightmare to build with the metal heavy weapons.

The Champ is a particular favorite of mine, I worked hard to give him a natural pose for a model holding a bolter and pointing. I also gave him that clever spiky bit on his pack that can double as a personal icon for those time that I give the squad an icon.

Soul Reapers Praetorian Centurion: CSM Chosen Champ

2011-07-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

I am working on finishing up my Praetorian squad, I have finished the Centurion. I really love these Forge World berzerker heads, they give the perfect look to these veteran madmen. He is armed with a Chaos Rune Blade and bolt pistol, but his right arm is magnetized so will have more weapons options later.

Have a great Independence Day

2011-07-04T10:15:00.001-07:00

To all my fellow Americans, Have a safe and happy Independence day!

I will be spending the day in the man-cave getting some painting done on the Soul Reapers. Then round out the evening with a lawn chair on the roof, to watch the fireworks!

Until next time.

Cheers,
Jim

My goodness, Forge World does it again!

2011-07-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

Every time I think Forge World cannot possibly amaze me the do it again!

The pre-order for the Contemptor Dreadnought is up and this model is "Pure unadulterated WIN!!"

The experimental rules are pretty good too, at first glance!

Angels of Vengeance Decals

2011-06-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Success! It only took 10 tries, I had forgotten that you float the printable decals. There was also some odd red bleed into some of the "white" portions of the decals. I am going to need to clean this up.

I have one more issue to overcome with the decals, the morons sent me clear decal sheet instead of white sheet. So I am having to paint the decal area white before placement, Grrr.....

It'll take me the better part of today and tomorrow to get them all done, but the pic shows the effort will pay off. My Buddy Kev has offered to help get the rest of the decals done and cleaned up tomorrow, score!

The end result it pretty damned kool looking. I still need to clean up the shoulder pad around the icon, but this gives y'all a general idea of how nice it looks!

10 Days of Vengeance: day 4 delay

2011-06-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

The series will be delayed one day since the replacement decal sheets have arrived and need some printing. I will be placing the Decals on the army and resume posting tomorrow.

Until then

10 Days of Vengeance: day 3

2011-06-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the third installment of the Angels of Vengeance! I had planned on breaking up the Terminator posts with the Bike squad, but the pics were bad, so I will re-shoot tonight.

The toughest part of painting this army was balancing the dark greys enough to still look like black armor. Since the goal was to have a nice looking high tabletop quality army I think they turned out nicely. Painting them en-mass like this has really taught me what not to do next time I have a shedload of black models to paint.

Until tomorrow!

10 Days of Vengeance: day 2

2011-06-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

It figures I would screw up the scheduling of the 2nd post, geeze. Well here it is a day later than planned.

You’ll notice that the chapter badges are missing, this is due to a bad batch of decal paper. I will be sending a full set of decals to the client to put on himself when the replacement paper arrives.

With 35 Assault terminator models in the list I worked hard to have a variety of poses.

Here is Terminator squad 2, enjoy.

Until tomorrow!

10 Days of Vengeance: day 1

2011-06-21T14:00:00.000-07:00

Over the next ten days I will be putting up pics of the completed Angels of Vengeance commission army I painted. I want to take this opportunity to apologize to my client, who has had his army delayed due to my life being a train wreck at the moment. At the same time I want to thank him for his patients during my time of crisis.

So here is the first squad of Thunderhammer and Stormshield Terminators.

Until tomorrow!

Updates coming

2011-06-16T15:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry the blog has been so quiet, I have had family, work and other real life issues crop up. It has been hard enough to keep up with being part of Deepstrike Radio and my responsibilities on TCP, that I let the blog slip for the last couple of months. I do apologize.

I am putting the final touches on the Angels of Vengeance commission army I have been working on, and should be getting some pics up this weekend or early next week.

I am having to build a dedicated photo area since my shiny new digital SLR requires a tripod to shoot effective Macros.

In other news, Killzone will be getting a rules update next week with the Grey Knight FAQ coming soon after.

Until next time!

Warpath Sci-fi coming from Mantic in the fall

2011-06-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hot off the Beasts of War Turn 8 live show.

Mantic's sci-fi game called "Warpath" will be released in October!

A Beta test version of the rules will be released this summer for public testing. I believe that is was said that 3 Armies will come with the public beta

Beasts of War will have a Warpath week coming soon.

Scale confirmed at 28mm

Warpath will be a big battle game, in line with Mantic's mission. But it will be able to scale, you will be able to play with 2-3 units, or massive armies.

There will be at least 8 races, and "you don't talk about race eight", there will possibly be 12 races!

Ronnie from Mantic even whispered space dwarves and space orcs! So those could be two of the races!

I cannot express how stoked I am about this news! Sorry for the lack of posts I am outta town due to family commitments, I'll be home Monday and things should be getting back to normal.

In Space only Chaos can hear you scream!

2011-05-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Battlefleet Gothic is inbound to Galaxy in Flames early June!

My buddy is coming home on leave from the military and has a hankering to play some BFG. Oddly enough the last time I played BFG is right before he was heading out to Germany 3 years ago.

The really kool thing about BFG is that it is one of the more reasonable GW Specialist games. Most of the boxes have not had large price increases since the initial release, shocking! The blister packs have gone up 6 or 7 bucks in 12 years, but that is still not horrible considering that this is GW.

The above pic is of some of my Chaos fleet taken last year when I was thinking about diving back into gothic. The strange thing is that BFG was what I was going to revive just prior to developing Killzone. I sure did end up making the right choice in the end!

The ships were painted in 2000 shortly after the release of the game. I chose the scheme because I wanted a generic color scheme and I always had a thing for the Gamilon Empire ships in Starblazers.

I’d love to share some more pics but my camera has died and gone to digital heaven. I’ll be picking up a replacement ASAP.

Progress on the Warlord Krüg conversion

2011-05-17T10:00:00.000-07:00

This post has been sitting as a draft since mid march, it somehow got lost in the shuffle. So I thought I would post it now since no further progress has been made and the question in the post is still valid.

So here is the upper body of Warlord Krüg, for the most part I am happy with him so far.

He will get pre-heresy shoulder pads using Ron's guide on FTW, as a starting point. I still need to strip the scythe head and two skulls on top of the armor, they are both just sitting on their pins.

My only question to you guys is, does the pose work?

Edit: Here is a not so great side shot of the model, to give a little more perspective on the pose.

Rules from the Man-cave: Big Game 40K

2011-05-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I shared some of the wackiness that we do here in the GiF Man-cave. I thought I’d share this with you guys.

The guys in my group love to play outrageously large games of 40k with points values reaching Apocalypse stature, but we still want to feel and flavor of 40k. We have played plenty of D-Weapon Titan madness, which is fun for the occasional slugfest, but not really what we are looking for in most games.

We like to still have the infantry be important, while at the same time adding the koolness of limited Super Heavies. So we came up with a series of house rules to cover our big game outings.

Rule 1: All armies must contain at least 3 troop choices (preferably full strength) and include a further 3 non-vehicle units from any force org selection of their chosen Codex. For every full 1000 points over 3000 they must choose an additional non-vehicle unit.

Rule 2: All armies must have an HQ selection as their “Battle Group Leader.” These HQ units gain D3 +1 fate points. The fate points are used to keep the BGL on the tabletop as long as possible, they may be used anytime that the BGL is killed. Roll a D6, on the score of a 4+ fate has intervened and the BGL remains on the table with 1 wound left.

Rule 3: All non- super heavy vehicles may move up to 6 inches and fire all their weapons; if they move over 6 they may fire one. Fast vehicles may move up to 12 inches and fire all their weapons; if they move over 12 they may fire one. If using the Spearhead supplement rules any vehicle may shoot at two targets if part of a SH formation.

Rule 4: Each Team may have one Destroyer weapon for every 2500 points in their force.

Rule 5: Each Team may have 4 structure points for every 2000 points in their force.

Rule 6: Everything can score an objective in big games, with the exception of empty transport vehicles. Super Heavies count as one scoring unit per structure point. So a Baneblade with 2 structure points, counts as 2 scoring units. To claim an objective you must have more scoring units on it than your opponent has.

Games Workshop in Ruins!

2011-05-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

My buddy just sent me pics of the ruin that was built when we worked together at GW. It contains a corpse for everyone of the hobby centers staff members. The patrons of our shop absolutely loved the building. We hated to send it down to LA, in the end we should have kept it for ourselves.

This building went down in infamy after it was built and sent down to LA for Gamesday 2004. It was deemed inappropriate and was stomped to death by the staff of the LA Battle Bunker. It got the entire staff of our store a verbal thrashing for being inappropriate and not fostering the proper creativity in the hobby. It sure did make us northern Cali guys despise the ones from down south. So goes life!

No matter the sorted history I still think it was a shame that this creative ruin was destroyed.

Edit: I'd like to give a shout out to Ryan, John, Steve and Joe; those were the days guys!

Soul Reaper Battle Report Contest winners revealed

2011-05-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, first off, We would like to say thank you to the Independent Characters and the 11th Company for entering this contest. I wish more of the community were as open minded to helping out as you guys are.

Both of these great podcasts have been very large supporters of the Gaming Community; my friends over at Table Top War are just trying to emulate their example with their little contest to help me with the Soul Reapers codex and The Codex Project. So thanks guys for the great prizes and running this contest!

The winner of the Soul Reaper Battle Report Contest was Neil from the 11th Company!

So, Neil, please email Mags your address, and he will send out the 70 Resin Bases!

Carl from the Independent Characters was the 2nd place winner, I have forwarded your address to Mags and your prize is winging its way to you door!

Thanks again to both of you for supporting the Soul Reapers codex and The Codex Project.

Second entry in the Soul Reapers Batt Rep contest

2011-04-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

With the contest almost finished, Neil and Pat from the 11th company take the Soul Reapers for a successful outing on the tabletop!

Neil used a very interesting Titus, Praetorian list.

Just like the first entry from Carl of the Independent Characters this was another down and dirty Slobberknocker of a game.

Thanks for the support guys! The contest officially ends on the 30th at midnight PST.

Commission Test Model

2011-04-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the test model for the Angels of Vengeance. I still need to clean a few things up, but this does convey the paint scheme as I have envisioned it. I was not sure what to do with the Thunderhammer, but I think the blue wash over the gunmetal works nicely.

The client asked for a dark and brooding themed paint job with no exaggerated highlights on the black, he also wanted the red accent color to remain dark.

The bases are the flagstone ones like I use from Secret Weapon miniatures. He wants the bases to convey flagstone being reclaimed by the jungle, so I need to work out the rest of the basing.

Now I need to get approval from my client before I dig into the rest of the army.

Part 2 of the 11th Company Soul Reapers Codex review

2011-04-19T12:30:00.000-07:00

This weeks episode 65 of the 11th company has part 2 of the Soul Reapers Codex review. They cover the Troops selections of the Soul Reapers.

I want to elaborate on the 8 man squad for weapons options. It's a fluff thing, since the Soul Reapers worship chaos as a whole, the 8 man squad represents the power imbued by the Chaos star which has eight points. The Soul Reapers believe that having one marine to represent each point of the star gains them the favor and protection of the Dark gods.

Now this fluff idea ended up making for the great in game options that the guys mentioned. It was a side effect of the fluff, because at the time I wrote it I did not have game-play in my mind at all. It's strange how things work out sometimes. I had also thought about making the eight man squad the full size, but decided to leave the option for larger squads.

The review has been pretty positive, it's also nice seeing the Soul Reapers through the competitive gamers viewpoint.

Up next time they should be covering Elites and Fast Attack.

Angels of Vengence Commission Army

2011-04-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

So someone contacted me to paint his Nasty Angels of Vengeance tourney army. it's 2000 points of mostly Thunderhammer Stormshield Terminators. He has asked for the army to be painted to a good tabletop standard. Although I will be doing some serious conversion and painting on his counts as Belial.

So the army contains 35 Terminators, 6 Bikes, 1 Attack Bike and 2 Land speeder Typhoons.

Here is most of the models, I am still waiting on a few things to show up.

Soul Reaper Contest first submission

2011-04-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

Carl from the Independent Characters Podcst is the first to enter the Soul Reapers Battle Report Contest. He did a nifty proxy battle Report!

Soul Reapers verses Grey Knights

Magilla Gurilla and the guys over at Table Top War are showing their support for The Codex Project and my Soul Reapers with this exciting contest.

Please take the time to visit their blog via the link below and learn the details of entering the contest and how you might win as many as 70 custom resin scenic bases for your army

Table Top War: Soul Reapers Battle Report Contest

Small Soul Reapers Codex update

2011-04-12T14:37:00.001-07:00

I have made a few adjustments to the Soul Reapers Codex due to feedback I have been receiving, they are as follows.

Xusia the Apostle of Malevolence is 265 points. This was my fault as I lost my original working document when I was updating the codex format. I was working off an older version of the doc and forgot to update his points cost. His stats are as follows.

Xusia the Master of Malevolence
WS 6 BS 5 S 5 T4 W 3 I 5 A 3 LD 10 Save 2+

The Usurper Bodyguard should be Initiative 4 not 5

The Harbinger of Malice has a points increase to 60 points, again my error after changing his abilities.

The codex link has been updated with a new version of the PDF.

Spec Ops Killzone News and info

2011-04-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

Hey Killzone fans we are hot of the heels of the success of the events held at Adepticon! I'd like to thank Adepticon and all the great gamers who made the events a success.

B.smoove was a champ at getting fantastic tables made and running the events! Make sure to check out his coverage of the Glorious events on his blog A Gentleman's Ones!

Here are a few videos that contain footage of the tables and games in progress. Thanks to the Terrainaholic on youtube for the coverage!

Killzone in progress starting at 3:45

I just got my Adepticon Killzone care package from Brian, woohoo great stuff! Decks of cards, markers and event the printed missions from the events! Thanks B!

With all that said Killzone is on the move:

I will be closing the Killzone specific forums in the near future.

I have however set up new forums for Killzone and moving all further advancement of the rules over to The Codex Project website.

This will make it ten times easier for me to monitor as I only have so many online hours in the day.

Thanks for all your wonderful support of Killzone and I hope you find you way over to the new forums over at TCP.

Cheers,
Jim

The 11th Company launch a multi part review of the Soul Reapers

2011-04-07T17:30:00.000-07:00

This weeks episode 63 of the 11th company heralds the beginning of a new segment focused on what we are doing over at The Codex Project.

They have just started a review of the Soul Reapers fandex. Covering the Army wide special rules and Wargear of the Soul Reapers. I appreciate the honesty of the review so far, and the fact they are doing it from a competitive viewpoint.

Next time they will be looking at the Soul Reapers Psychic powers and moving into the army list in some fashion.

Killzone Cards PDF in time for Adepticon

2011-03-31T15:20:00.000-07:00

Brand new and ready for unveiling tomorrow at Adepticon! These cards are meant to add cinematic flavor to your games.

They will be used at the Adepticon Events starting tomorrow. There are professionally printed decks for use on each table at the event.

Secondary Objective Cards: The Secondary Objective cards are designed to add a new wrinkle to your Killzone game, to stretch your resources, and to force you to reconsider strategic options that might otherwise remain untapped.

Secondary Objective Cards are also designed to upturn the results of the game. As such, these cards remain concealed during gameplay in order to mimic the covert and the clandestine nature of your Special Operations Group.

Fate Cards: These cards are designed to add a statistically improbable, but appropriately cinematic, element to a Killzone game. They are not necessarily balanced, and are deliberately designed to offer your Team a boon in the grand, heroic Hollywood tradition.

Killzone Mission/Fate Cards download

Good luck to everyone entering the Killzone at Adepticon! I expect lots of pictures to come my way!

Soul Reaper Battle Report Contest

2011-03-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

I'd like to announce and thank Magilla Gurilla and the guys over at Table Top War for their support of The Codex Project and my Soul Reapers with this exciting contest he has announced.

Please take the time to visit their blog via the link below and learn the details of entering the contest and how you might win as many as 70 custom resin scenic bases for your army

Table Top War: Soul Reapers Battle Report Contest

Garro: Legion of One

2011-03-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

I have really been enjoying the short story audio books from Black library. Legion of One is no exception, in fact I think it is one of the best.

Here is the description from the Black Library site:

"Nathaniel Garro, loyalist Death Guard, and hero of the Eisenstein, has found a new calling in his service to the Emperor. Surrounded by a cloak of secrecy, Garro travels the galaxy in pursuit of his new goal. His quest will lead him to heart of the most destructive warzones, and reveal a secret that will change the course of the Horus Heresy itself..."

I found the revelation at the end of the story to be very Epic as a fan of the Horus Heresy book series! So if you are a fan of the Heresy book series by all means pick up Garro: Legion of One.

The Independent Characters Test the live video feed for their Adepticon Coverage

2011-03-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

I want to share this information with you guys, lets see if we can give Carl and Geoff some really good feedback!

This coming Sunday 03/27 at 11am PST the Independent Characters Podcast will be doing another test of their live game footage and commentary as they prepare for Adepticon! If you would like to see what they are planning to do, you can get a good idea of it by joining them on their Ustream channel.

Constructive criticism is welcome!

You can join in by visiting the Ustream channel here:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-independent-characters

Galaxy in Flames Review: Secret Weapon Miniatures resin bases

2011-03-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

The Soul Reapers are being mounted on Flagstone resin bases from Secret weapons miniatures. I just thought I’d give you my feedback on the bases after working with them for the army.

I got the entire range of the flagstone bases with the beveled edges and they cover: 25mm, 40mm, 25 x 75mm bike and 60mm bases. The bases themselves represent very aged flagstone with creeping moss randomly placed on them. This theme is excellent for the Soul Reapers as they scour the galaxy in search of lost artifacts hidden in long forgotten temples and cities.

The casting on the bases is remarkably clean, with only a few requiring sanding in order to remove excess resin from the base bottom; this was done to make the beveled edges sit flat on the tabletop. They are also almost bubble free, I think outta an armies worth of bases I had 8 or so with small bubbles, which can be easily filled or makes for a reason to remove the random stone tile from the bases for variety; like I did.

I would highly recommend looking at Secret Weapon Miniatures bases for anyone in the market for cool looking themed basing.

The beveled bases range offers the following themes:

Flagstone
Runic Mountain
Urban Streets
Flight Deck
Trench works
Desert Basin
Desert Mesa
Desert Sands
Desert Wasteland

I’d love to see the flagstone line expanded with more bases for variety sake. My suggestions would things like making packs of rubble/damaged flagstone bases. Having missing stones, rubble added from fallen walls or structures; that would be fantastic. I’ll be doing plenty of my own conversions for these types of bases, but it would be wonderful to get them right out of the package!

I’d also like to see Character bases done in 25mm, 40mm and Bike bases to see them stand out from the rest of the army! Similar to what I did with Xusia's base.

Sorry for the delay in posting the review, between the fences around my house falling down in the extreme wind that Norcal has been having and the impromptu joining the cast of Deepstrike Radio, I have been scatter brained.

Big Jim joins Deepstrike Radio

2011-03-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

Starting today with the release of Episode 11, I will be joining Chris and Chase on Deepstrike Radio for the foreseeable future. Hilarity will follow!

For those who don't know the show: Deepstrike Radio is a newer podcast aiming to provide something for the 40k hobbyist in all of us. Whether it be fluff, competitive gaming, modeling, painting or just casual fun, providing something for everyone.

So hop on over and take a listen and check out the show! I am really looking forward to adding my own unique flair to the show.

Deepstrike Radio

Re-basing Xusia and Titus; plus the Soul Reapers codex and TCP

2011-03-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

I have finally gotten around to re-basing the two special characters for the Soul Reapers that survived the loss of the army.

They are both mounted on modified Secret Weapons Miniature resin Flagstone bases. The ruins on the bases are from the Hirst Arts Egyptian block molds.

On Titus' base the extra moss ground cover around the big piece is just some fine sand painted the same way I did the sculpted moss.

I am really please with how these bases turned out. I highly recommend the Secret Weapon Miniatures bases. I'll be doing a full review of them on Monday or Tuesday, showing painted examples of all the bases.

The Soul Reapers Codex has been released on The Codex Project site as the first official playtest Codex.

You can leave feedback on the TCP forums or directly on the Soul Reapers playtest data sheet. I appreciate any and all feedback!

Blog and Soul Reapers Updates

2011-03-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

I will be back to regular posting next week. Sorry for the lack of updates, life has been stomping all over me.

My vehicle had decided it is time to die about a month ago which has nuked all my going to Adepticon hopes. Unfortunately I am one of those people that has to do most of my travel plans close to the events so I can save the cash for the trip, I just don't make the money I used to; to be able to plan out more than 3 months in advance. So now I must use my travel money combined with my emergency savings to get new transportation.

I urge everyone to support Brian, AKA B.smoove from A Gentleman's Ones with the Killzone events at Adepticon. I would also appreciate if you guys could take plenty of pics for me to enjoy since I will not be there.

I have been spending the little hobby time I have on things for The Codex Project. There are ten Codices in development:

Soul Drinkers
Imperial Fists
Ecclesiarchy
Adeptus Arbites
Iron Hands
Legion of the Damned
13th Company SW's
Adeptus Mechanicus
Raven Guard
Soul Reapers (my Chaos Astartes)

I have updated the Soul Reapers codex to reflect layout changes for TCP.

Codex Soul Reapers

There have been lots of minor tweaks and changes to the Codex.

Until next time,
Jim

Brief hiatus

2011-02-19T12:03:00.000-08:00

I am going to have to take a short break from the blog. Another manager at my job walked out and I am going to be working 15 hours a day for the next week or two while we train his replacement.

I am already beat and it's only been two days. So my hobby time is gone for the time being.

I will be back to posting as soon as I can.

Thanks for bearing with me.

Jim

The build camera fail!

2011-02-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

Well my camera needs a charging, so I will have to post pics tomorrow since I am heading out to work soon.

I did complete 2 out of the three pledges.

I built a Chaos Rhino and painted an 8 man Soul Reapers Legionary Squad including finishing the painting on their Rhino.

Since I did not get to the Bikes I will move them into this weeks Pledge.

1) Paint a 6 model Soul Reapers Biker Squad including the Infernal Assault Bike

2) Build a Predator tank maybe two.

Until tomorrow!
Jim

Welcome to "The Build"

2011-02-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

This is the first of my new posting format for the blog. Now there will be a schedule for what gets posted here on GiF.

The Build will be my hobby pledges for the next 7 days. I have got to force some motivation on myself.

Right now I start out every week with the intentions of getting stuff done, but seem to find myself derailed by real life most of the time. It's not that I could not squeeze in hobby stuff, so I figure some added accountability might help.

This will be a good week to start as I am off from work for the next 5 days. So up for the Build this time I will complete the following pledges:

1)Build a Chaos Rhino

2)Paint a 6 model Soul Reapers Biker Squad including the Infernal Assault Bike

3)Paint an 8 man Soul Reapers Legionary Squad including finishing the painting on their Rhino.

Bonus unit if there is time: Paint another 8 man Soul Reapers Legionary Squad including painting the Rhino I have pledged to build.

Until next time!
Jim

40k Community building: The Codex Project

2011-02-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

I want to officially announce the Codex Project to the Friends and Fans of Galaxy in Flames. It is an exciting project that I along with some really talented guys have created to help the creative amongst us design their own Fandexes and house rules! Our goal is to dismiss the perception that Fan made rules and codecies are rubbish.

We will be working hard in the future to make sure that Fandexes under the banner of TCP become known for their quality and balance. This will take time, maybe even years to happen, but as hobbyists with years of gaming under our belts we are patient!

Cheers,
Jim

So here is Stucarius' announcement of the Project:

Wow! Here we go fellow 40K fanatics. The Codex Project and TCP is geared to provide the community with an organization through which we can fulfill GW’s mandate to its gamers to make the game theirs.

To that end we have created this portal through which the thousands of 40K gamers and fans at all levels can express themselves through the creation of codices, art, fiction and additional rules all geared to enhance their enjoyment of the fabulous 40K hobby. TCP is not just a free for all.

It is overseen by a council of highly experienced gamers not just in 40K and GW environments but across all genre’s and with over a centuries combined experience. The TCP Council also has access to many additional resources and people to help with the development of the best fan projects imaginable.

Now keep in mind the The Codex Project is still in its very early stages. The website is growing every day but it is still not complete. I doubt it ever will be. Many elements I will be talking about are still being implemented to please be patient with us. Better yet, jump in and offer to help. This is a great opportunity for you as a gamer and fan of 40K to become a guiding part of what will all hope will be an important part of our gaming future.

So what I am going to do is take you on a journey. I am going to discuss the whys, why nots and ultimately the reasons TCP has the capability to change the way you look not only at 40K but gaming in general. Why in so many ways TCP is the perfect solution to one of the most difficult problems facing table top gamers today.

Ultimately I will come back around to the beginning and what TCP is going to allow us to do. I will tell you how TCP has the capability to re-invigorate your love of 40K, bring you back to the game if you have left it, and even though we have nothing to do with GW as a company in any way shape or form, how TCP can make GW a whole whole lot of money by harnessing this amazing community around which their business is built. After all the future of our hobby is tied to the success of GW and anything that can help them move into a successful financial future is something we all should want.

So we have created this great site and are building tools to enable community development. That’s great but what exactly is it we are planning to do? Well for years, in fact from the very beginning, GW has told us to take ownership of our game. If they do not have something we need. Make it. If there is not a troop type, codex, chapter, race or scenario we have repeatedly been instructed to come up with our own. Well for years many of us have done exactly that. However, there has always been a problem.

There is a great deal of reluctance by many in the community to play with or use the creations of fellow gamers. In some cases this is perfectly understandable but in many cases it is simple foolishness. Sometimes this is because people assume anyone making their own codex, campaign or scenario does so with selfish reasons and that the result will not be fair or balanced for their opponents.

In all fairness it must be said that such impressions may have, at some point, had some basis in fact. However, I contend any such unbalanced efforts are more likely the result of desire exceeding personal experience and tools. Like-wise and with no insult toward GW intended.

I can assure you that Games Workshop does not have anything close to a monopoly when it comes to the ability to create exciting, balanced and compelling game design and content for 40K. As a matter of fact there is an ocean of talented 40K designers and players who have never worked directly for GW. Compared to that talent pool the studio in Nottingham is a mere pond.

Its simply a matter of numbers. So do not get caught up in a false premise that if it was not created in Nottingham it can not be good. That is not true. Games Workshop themselves acknowledge that when they call on us to create what ever changes and additions we need as fans to make 40K enjoyable for each of our gaming groups.

How many of us have come up with ideas for a new Marine Chapter? Or a new vision of our favorite chapter or maybe a special Ork Mob, Eldar Craftworld, unique Imperial Guard regiment, Dark Eldar Cabal or even an entirely new race. Were you a Squat fan? A fan of the Zoats or Slann?

Are you disappointed that GW no longer supports them with active codices or unit stats? Well why not do exactly what GW has told us over and over to do via their publications and in person. Create your own army list?

I know that most of us have had exactly that idea more than a few times. Be it talking after games with pals or over mugs with friends at conventions and tournaments. So what exactly keeps most of us from creating our own content and for the few of us who do give it a go why is there an impression the efforts are poor and unbalanced?

For many I think it is the shear scale of the effort. Having never tried development before you have no idea where you should start. Take it from me. It is a hugely intimidating thing to actually sit down with pen, paper and calculator, or at you computer, and simply start the process. I have created many rules, army list, campaigns and scenarios both personally and professionally.

Even knowing the process and having more than 33 years experience it can still be daunting. You are like a carpenter who has decided to build a house. You know what you want. You know what you want it to be in the end but all you have is a basic home owners tool set. Having never built a house you do not even know what tools you should use.

What you really need is a team of fellow builders around you. A group of people who all bring a piece of the puzzle to the table. Like all successful people know. More often than not a projects success is predicated on the first decision being the right one. In a nut shell this is what TCP is. A gimme, a mulligan, a guarantee that the first decision is going to be the right one.

You know those preconceived notions I refereed to previously? I contend that most of those notions were born simply because the people trying their hand at developing new content had limited experience with the process and lacked many of the tools and facts they needed at the beginning to see the project through. Remember the old saying “It takes a village to raise a child.”? Well in game development (listen closely here GW) “It takes a community to develop a good game.”

What exactly does that mean? Games are played by people. People are different so the experience is going to vary person to person. For a designer this means you need to have your efforts sampled by and processed by as many different gamers and types of gamers as you possibly can before your project can even begin on the last leg of its journey to completion. So in function a design project with a necessarily social outcome simply cannot be developed in a vacuum. Designers need input.

Not just from the little group close to them, or even a studio, but from a wide range of the target audience. Those ideas and observations not only provide you with new ideas and observations but more importantly they mature the thoughts and ideas you've had. It sounds chaotic doesn't it? This is often where the poor project manager looses control. They will become controlled by the mass of input and not use that input to control the mass over which they have charge. Or as I have often told managers I am mentoring. Inspired by committee but never designed by committee.

You can see the results of the different responses to this in different companies. Some companies successfully harness this energy and turn it into new products that reflect the needs and desires of their gamers. Recently we saw this put to work by a large company in the second edition of their rules. They openly reached out to their community for input and play testing. They took all of that energy and harnessed it.

They did not let that input overwhelm their vision but neither were they afraid of letting it make changes to their direction. The result? One of the most, if not most successful redesign of an already hugely popular game. There are other companies who design via a limited and insular design process. A major game or project may never actually get played and tested by more than 25-30 people. Often those people are not only not impartial but are already part of a set culture or worse yet part of the designing company. The outcome is obvious. They will be convinced they have produced a great product because they all have been busy patting each other on the back about it and they all come into the process with a similar desired outcome.

Then when that product is released it is discovered it is full of holes, exploits, poor writing and it may turn out it was not even what the customers wanted. All because they never envolved the thousands of members of their community in the process or even worse they do not understand why they should. More than one company is guilty of this. Even outside of our hobby companies are guilty of it. They tend to go out of business.

If you look at a hyper competitive market like software development, a design culture with many similarities to game design, you will note they have learned this lesson the hard way. Even monolithic organizations like Microsoft will never again release an operating system that has not spend a year or more in the hands of actual customers and not just their testing teams. It is time for the gaming industry to take this lesson to heart as well.

A well managed and successful company recognizes what their customers want and deliver it to them. Even when, as is often the case with enlightened companies, their customers did not know they wanted it. Ask Steve Jobs about that. A poorly managed company creates the product they want and then tries to convince their customers it is what they want too. I bet we can all think of examples of this from personal experience.

A fair question here would be “What the heck does this have to do with The Codex Project?” . Fair enough, I will tell you. TCP will give gamers the tools, resources, community, over-sight and ultimately the legitimacy needed to make fan driven content viable on the table top, in tournaments and across the spectrum of our hobby. A few years back a 40K community decided that what they wanted to see was a really great background and high quality production covering the Badab Wars.

So using the power of community provided by internet communication they created exactly what they wanted. It was great! It really excited a lot of people. GW sold a lot of additional miniatures and models because people built armies around their efforts. To tie in my comments above concerning companies paying attention to what customers want the following happened. GW via Forge World recognized this success and decided that maybe a really nice effort using their vast resources would be in order as well. The result? Well now we have what is with out a doubt the best series of books FW has ever made accompanied with models and other accessories.

GW is now making a ton of additional profits they never would have seen had a little internet based group not taken it upon themselves to create something for the community that did not exist. GW in their wisdom did not stop them. The paid attention and saw the opportunity. The community is happy, GW made money they would not have and a lesson is learned. At its core this is what The Codex Project is all about.

The Codex Project is about harnessing that amazing well of talent, guiding it and giving all of us something we would not have otherwise. So here is how we are going to do that and the resources that The Codex Project Community will provide our fellow game developers. I am listing these in a quasi order of how you would make use of TCP resources.

Propose a possible development project on the forums

Discuss the project, refine its direction and identify possible team members

Name the Project

Assign a Team Lead and 3-5 additional team members

The Council assignment of a Blog and Forum specific to the project. A project email address is given to the Team Leader for community contact purposes. The blog is for public notification of the progress with comments and the Forum is a closed development environment for the Team Members. Both the Blog and Forum are under Team Leader control and the Team Leader is responsible for maintaining regular Blog updates to the main Dev Blog on The Codex Project website.

The Team downloads from the TCP site downloads the “Project Development Packet” containing worksheets, point values, design guide lines and templates for layout.

The team begins putting its project together while discussing issues amongst themselves on the forum, Skype or any convenient method.

The Team makes use of the “open” forum project discussions to pose questions to the TCP community.

The team has access the TCP Council members to ask question, get assistance and advice on development issues.

The team has pre-arranged access to a structured Play testing environments allowing for the testing of their projects through out the U.S., Great Britain, Europe and Australia. There are standard Play test results forms to help Teams make the most out of feedback. We also hope to have play test groups established in Asia, New Zealand, South and Central America and Eastern Europe before long.

The Team will have access to and be able to make request to the Fan Art and Fan Fiction teams to enhance and bring to life all the hard work going into their project.

The team will have possible access to the audiences of Council and TCP member Podcast and Blogs who are supporters of TCP. This can mean exposure of your project to 10’s or even 100’s of thousands of 40K fans.

The team will be able to use the download and bandwidth resources of The Codex Project to put their work into the hands of as many fellow gamers as possible.

Ultimately the Team will be able to submit their project for “Certification” by The Codex Project Council. If “Certified” your Project or Codex will get an “Official” TCP “Certified” label and official statement of compliance on your final fan publication.

Once “Certified” as a Compliant Codex or Project your work will be added to the “Official” complaint list and can be used in any event that is TCP compliant.

Once “Certified” a TCP project will be legal for use not only among you and your friends with out fear that it is anything but highly tested and balanced but it will also mean your Project and or Codex will be legal for use by any fellow 40K fan in a even or tournament that is TCP Compliant.

As you can see being part of The Codex Project adds the kinds of things to your efforts that you simply cannot replicate via any method other than one like TCP. With the establishment of The Codex Project there is simply no other process, official or un-official, that will result in a more highly tested, vetted, balanced, organized or fluffy result than you will get using your own brothers and sisters to guide your project through its development cycle.

TCP will no doubt instantly gain the moral support of 10’s of thousands of our fellow enthusiast. That is truly exciting at a level that gives me shivers. However, when you consider the hundreds, possibly thousands , of experienced 40K gamers registered to develop with The Codex Project it blows the mind.

TCP will literally bring more experience to the table than has ever been brought to work on our beloved hobby before. Never again will you have to worry about a fandex or fan generated content because the fans themselves will have guaranteed that nothing could be more reliable or safe to use than one of their own codices or projects.

No longer will the 40K community have to worry about the standards and quality of its own efforts. I think it is safe to say that via our fan based community The Codex Project we will in fact set a standard for quality at all level others can follow.

There are already a dozen projects that will be appearing in the Dev Blogs in the next couple of weeks.

LETS MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!!

TheCodexProject.com

Going on Campaign Blog

2011-02-04T11:00:00.000-08:00

ColCorbane has posted up and outstanding PDF resource on the Going on Campaign Blog for Narrative Campaigns. This is the first of many Campaign resources in the Pipeline.

So head on over check it out and let him know what you think!

Going on Campaign Narrative Campaigns

The final Killzone Rules update for Adepticon 2011

2011-02-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

We have done the final update to the main rules for use at Adepticon. In this update we have small fixes for Overwatch, Penetrator Rounds and the Hard to Kill skill.

Killzone Update

After Adepticon is over we will be finishing up the Campaign system for Killzone.

Keeping the fun of 40k alive in the Man-cave

2011-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

Fritz from Fritz 40k posted on his blog the other day opining about the fun of the good old days during the early editions of 40k.

I agree the good old days seemed focused on fun and it was fun to play 40k back then. With that said I would say that the game can be just as fun today as it was in the past.

It is all in what you and you opponents expect from the game when you go to the table. I have surrounded myself with gamers who are into 40k for the background of the universe. This has a tendency to create a really fun atmosphere to game in. While everyone likes to win their battles none of of are focused on winning we tend to focus on creating great stories on the tabletop.

We also have a tendency to change up the game with simple house rules or guidelines to help the cinematic events in game.

The first thing we do is run lots of ongoing campaigns. This has a tendency to create cool story lines for our games. We also smack talk before our sessions telling the tales of our latest victories from out previous games.

We also tend to run about half our games as Attacker/Defender scenarios. With the Attacker gaining a 25% points advantage. The Defenders gain their own advantages depending on the scenario being played.

Second we have thrown out the Force Org for army building. The only requirements we have are 1 HQ and two Troops. You may spend up to a quarter of your points on HQ's and freely fill out the rest of your points with Elite, Troops, Fast Attack and Heavy Support choices.

This leads to really dynamic armies, which in itself is awesome, making the cinematic of the game even more epic.

Thirdly all games use objectives as a victory condition, plus each side gets a secondary objective based on Kill Points to break ties. These secondary objectives are the ones I listed in this post.

The bottom line is that 40k is as fun and/or competitive as you and your opponents make it. So free your mind and the rest will follow!

Blog shout out!

2011-01-27T13:30:00.000-08:00

(an old pic of Painting Munky's Brother Captain Stern circa 2006)

A couple of very close friends of mine have started a blog, they are both very accomplished painters. They are also gamers to the extreme, be it miniatures wargames, boardgames, RPG's or video/computer games they have a passion for it.

The Koolest part is that they are Gamer Girls! That's right I know that Unicorns are real! (hey Brent!)

They have just started out so there is not much on the blog, but I know that will change. So do me a favor and jump over to Babes in Gameland and give the Gals a warm welcome to the wonderful world of Blogging.

Thanks,

Jim

Rules from the Man-cave: Proper Wolf Priests

2011-01-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

One of my biggest gripes about the Codex Space Wolves is the Wolf Priest entry. They have lost the Apothecary wargear and abilities. This peeves me to no end.

After all Wolf Priests take the roles of the Chaplain and Apothecary within the Space Wolf chapter, being responsible for both the spiritual and physical well-being of their fellow Wolves.

So here in the Man-cave, my depraved mind has come up with the following addition to the Wolf Priest entry.

Wolf Priest 125 points

Same stats and options as the Space Wolf codex with the addition of a Narthecium to his standard Wargear.

The Narthecium allows the Wolf priest and any model in any squad that he has joint to benefit from the Feel No Pain USR from the main 40k rules book.

Notes: to figure the cost of the Narthecium I examined the Codex Space Marine Command Squad entry. It was determined that the Narthecium cost 15 points, but I was placing it on an Independent Character so I bumped the cost up by 10 points.

It was a fairly easy fix to what I saw as a glaring problem in the Codex.

Two Podcasts in one week

2011-01-19T14:04:00.001-08:00

Check out my interviews and announcements on Deepstrike Radio and The Overlords Podcasts this week. Pardon my scratchy voice on the Overlords, I got a case of Laryngitis for my birthday. :(

I talk Killzone and unveil the next major community project that I am joining in on; The Codex Project. I will do a full post and explanation of the project later this week.

Cheers,
Jim

Birthday Bash 2011

2011-01-16T11:50:00.000-08:00

I am getting ready to head out and play a few thousand point games with my buddies. It is my annual Birthday bash today, and we intend to consume large quantities of pizza and alcohol, it should be a blast.

This is the Soul Reapers list I am taking with me.

HQ (190pts)
Aris the Seeker

Elites (129pts)
3 Cataphract Terminators Squad
2 combi-plasma’s, Reaper AC

Troops (524pts)
6 Soul Reaper Bikers
2 melta guns, Icon of Perpetual War, Infernal Assault Bike
Centurion with power fist

8 Soul Reaper Legionary Squad
2 plasma guns, 1 power weapon, Icon of Perpetual War
Centurion with power weapon
Rhino: enhanced engines

Heavy Support (150pts)
Obliterator
Obliterator

I'll let y'all know how it goes!

Cheers,
Jim

Update: Round one is over!

Narrow victory to the Soul Reapers due to a brilliant (I mean Lucky) last turn seeing the destruction of both Imp Fist scoring units!

Update 2 Round two closes.

A very hard earned draw against hybrid Imp Guard!

Final Update: Round three

Bashed on the Ultramarines Drop pod force. I went second and reserved or outflanked everything! A very satisfying victory, the perfect end to a great day of gaming!

Cheers,
Jim

Painting and Modeling conference calls!?!

2011-01-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

I was talking with Geoff from the Independent Characters via Skype the other day while I was painting some models. I then thought to myself wouldn't it be cool to do a painting day via a Skype conference call. It could be a brilliant way to chat with my blogging and podcast friends from around the world while being productive working on my 40k projects.

We could cover all sorts of modeling and painting related topics. Plus give out real time advice for painting. I think it would be great fun.

So what do you guys think? Wanna join me and give this idea a shot?

Cheers,
Jim

Warlord Krüg from the feet up

2011-01-13T17:45:00.000-08:00

The conversion is complete and the greenstuff dry, it is time to begin painting the king of the baddies!

I will be painting Warlord Krüg in pieces as it will allow me the most freedom to pay attention to the details of this incredible model. This pic above is still very much a work in progress. I have laid down the initial colors and washes. The tabbard is more or less finished.

This part of the model has very little greenstuff work on it. I replaced the Khorne icons on the hip armor with Soul Reapers crossed scythe icons. I also emulated Menzies artwork by adding crossed scythes over the WE icon on the right leg, this is Krüg's personal iconography.

Big Jim's take on the Ultramarines movie

2011-01-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

Now let me say right off the bat, I had no higher hopes for this movie to be good "B-rated" Sci-fi. Knowing that GW was not financially backing the movie I knew the movie was going to have a limited budget.

All of you that expected a blockbuster styled movie were just expecting way too much from a small production company with no monetary support from Games Workshop. I also suspect that Dan Abnett's screenplay was butchered to an extent to keep the movie within its budget.

I have watched the movie a few times and must say that I really like it for what it is: good "B-rated" Sci-fi. I enjoyed seeing the gritty 40k world and the Astartes warriors portrayed on my big screen TV.

I enjoyed the details of the armor with each Marine having some variant in the design. I also enjoyed that they showed the mag-locks on the hips of some of the Marines, this was great detailing. The two things that detracted from the Astartes were the withered old faces of the veterans and the massively over-sized Bolters.

Looking at the landscape in the background of the movie, I liked the foggy world aspect, but understand where the complaints of the film makers taking the easy way out on the graphics side of things. While that is probably true, I still enjoyed the limited visibility it gave the heroes of the movie, it did help add to the tension of the story.

I forgive any "Fluff" issues in the movie, as there are almost no films big or small that don't change the background of any story line.

Like I said the Ultramarines movie was good "B-rated" Sci-fi, if you did not enjoy the movie the first time around I suggest that you give it a second look. Viewing with the understanding of what it is "B-rated" Sci-fi.

Face the facts, this is as good as we are going to get if GW does not finance the movie or license the IP to a big production company. If we embrace these early movies GW may just feel the need to make a proper money making feature film.

Well that's my two pennies worth!

Upward and onward,
Jim

My plans for the blog this year

2011-01-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the things that I want to complete in 2011.

First off, I want to complete the Soul Reapers rebuild. I need to buy some stuff to finish the rebuild as some of the donations seem to have fallen through. I don't have any ill feelings about it, crap happens, I do understand.

Second, I'll be adding more killzone coverage on the blog. I had planned on doing this from the get go, but life got completely in the way.

Thirdly, I'll be revisiting and updating the Vehicle Design rules from 3rd edition, then sharing the results with you my humble readers.

Fourthly, I plan to create and run a themed narrative hobby event sometime late in the year.

Fifthly I would like to get going on my Space Wolves reboot at some point! I had been waiting for the hype to die down, but that seems like it was complete folly now.

I have two more things that will be coming in the near future, but will leave them unnamed until I am closer to the final product.

Upward and onward!
Jim

Belated happy new year and GiF news

2011-01-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

I wish all of you a very productive 2011!

Regular posting will resume tomorrow, I have finally recovered from the foul virus that has kept me away for the last few weeks.

Cheers,
Jim

Killzone update for Christmas: Simply Glorious!

2010-12-24T15:00:00.000-08:00

Galaxy in Flames and A Gentleman's Ones proudly present Our Christmas present to the 40k community. We have worked long and hard on this update, incorporating changes from the playtest feedback that has been received.

A big shout out to Jabberjabber from the Warpstone Flux blog for the proofreading, thanks a million Bro! Thanks again to all the guys on the rules council that allowed Killzone to get on its feet.

So follow the links below to download the updated version of Killzone.

Killzone Rules

Killzone Errata

Killzone Missions

Don't forget to stop by at Adepticon 2011 and say hello if you are not already participating in the sold out Killzone Events!

Cheers from B.smoove and myself we hope you enjoy this new and updated version of Killzone!

Have a Glorious holiday,
Big Jim

I've relit the fires over on the Well of Souls, Soul Reapers background blog

2010-12-23T16:00:00.000-08:00

Since I am in the final phases of the Soul Reapers Fandex I need to finish fleshing out the background. I started posting on the Soul Reapers fluff blog: Ehdan the Well of Souls today, outlining a few ideas to integrate the loss of my army/miniatures into the background of the Warband.

I am hoping that some of you will jump on over and give me your thoughts on the ideas I have listed. If you have another direction to take the story that is cool too, by all means share it there.

Check out the post.

Thanks in advance!

Jim

Friday, friday, friday! Killzone updates coming!

2010-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

The long awaited Killzone rules updates will be up on Friday. It will be a Christmas treat presented by Galaxy in Flames and A Gentleman's Ones!

Sorry these have been delayed there have been a lot of behind the scenes problems, real life has a way of getting in the way of our little hobby!

B.smoove has done a bang up job on the new PDF's they are looking fantastic.

In this update we finally release the Secondary mission and Fate cards. We have also revamped the skills chart to bring back a bit more balance to the choices. The new Dark Eldar errata is included as well as the final 6 missions, bringing the total up to 18 Killzone missions to choose from.

So make sure to check back Friday Evening for your does of Killzone Goodness!

Hobby Gamers part 2: Event ideas

2010-12-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

Following up on my previous post I will try to layout a few examples and ideas for running really cool hobby events. The main goal here is cinematic theme and making these games fit into a story line of some sort.

As I mentioned before the guys at the Astronomi-con do a great job running events like these. Another great resource for themed events is the campaign weekends that the guys from Tempus Fugitives run at Warhammer World in the UK.

There are some great download-able resources on the Tempus Fugitives website. They have run campaign events set in the Age of the Emperor/Horus Heresy, this next year they are doing a Badab War event called into the Maelstrom. They also have many fan made codecies covering things like the Ad Mech and Dark Mechanicus forces.

Both of these groups run very successful events that the participants rave about. This to me just shows the success of the event model that they have chosen.

Now for the basic ideas that I think would make for a great Hobby Event.

First up is a strong narrative; a great story setting the stage for why the combatants are involved in the fight. I think this is one of the most important aspects for a hobby event, a well thought out story will lead to a much more cinematic event.

Second choosing the right platform for the event. You'll need to decide if you are running a single day campaign styled event, a campaign weekend, themed missions determined by the tables or a combination of these choices.

Thirdly you should determine how teams will be chosen and if there will be bonuses given for teams winning each round.

Those are my basic ideas for what should go into the initial planning for a Hobby Event.

Next time I will go in-depth into each of the categories outlining the different routes you can go with each. Including the benefits and possible down sides that may be involved.

GiF news and updates

2010-12-06T15:10:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have not been around much lately I have been battling some illness and family issues. I am starting to feel better, but it may be a little while until things get completely back to normal.

Killzone

I promise the Update is coming we had to scramble around and find a new way of editing the documents as our editor is down and out with real life issues for the moment. It will include the Dark Eldar Errata for the new codex.

B.Smoove and I have complied all the data and he is making new documents as I post this. The update will be upon us very soon, so please bare with us.

Soul Reapers army rebuild

I have received all but three lots of the replacement miniatures and the rebuild is underway. I am about halfway done with the first Legionary Squad and have started the first Cataphract Squad. Progress is just starting back up as I am feeling better.

I should be able to post a picture update on Wednesday.

Thanks for your time.
Jim

Hobby Gamers need to stand up and be counted: part one

2010-11-30T11:00:00.000-08:00

More and more lately around the Interwebz I keep reading about how the tourney scene needs to start catering to the really competitive gamers. (which is not a slam or a bad thing) They lament about how the current way most tournaments are run is not truly competitive. They call most of the tournaments out there “hobby” tournaments, because they don’t view them as being truly competitive. I get what they are saying; I really do, because I used to be heavily into the tourney scene.

With that said, where the heck are the events meant to cater to the majority of 40k gamers? You know the ones the tourney guys label as ‘Casual’ gamers. (I hate that label by the way) I prefer the term Hobby gamer, you know the type of guys who focus on every aspect of the hobby, including the creative guys who think outside of the box.

A lot if these guys care more about the background of the game and representing that in game, over building a finely tuned list focused on winning.

These types of events would focus on creating a fun flavorful atmosphere to spend a day or two playing games in.

A shining example of a hobby event is the Astronomi-con conventions. This group of Canadian tournament organizers that create special scenarios for each table, allow a lot of out of date armies like the Kroot Mercenaries list and allow pre-submitted approved VDR for custom vehicles. Which is a great start, but I think that we need to organize more events with a similar mindset and format as these.

I have some ideas, for an event I’d like to put together next year, but I will cover that in part two

Deepstrike Radio inbound!

2010-11-26T11:30:00.000-08:00

I have found another great new Podcast for y'all to check out!

Deepstrike Radio approaches most topics from a fluff first aspect, which I find incredibly interesting and refreshing!

The interaction on the show is fantastic with the hosts hailing from Australia and the US. It makes for some wonderful banter between the guys!

So check them out at Deepstrike Radio and let them know what you think of the show!

They also have their own forums called the Custodes, it's free for now so check that out too!

Oh and before I forget, Long live the Squats! :-P

Soul Reapers Fandex Design notes part 1

2010-11-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

I figure since I just posted the final playtest PDF I should give a little insight into the ideas behind the choices I made along the way.

This project was entered from a how to make Chaos Marines feel unique from a background perspective; while keeping them realistically playable on the tabletop.

I am not a fan of the Cult troops are the only way to make a viable army aspect of the current Chaos Space Marine Codex. In fact it bores me to tears.

With every new Marine codex that is released the Chaos Marine codex feels more and more out of date. From the current design standpoint the units are overpriced and stagnant. The worst hit units in the codex are the non-Cult ones.

This was always meant to be a supplement to the C:CSM, but it has gone from a simple mini-dex just used to enhance and supplement a few things in the Codex Chaos Marines; it is now a complex full blown fandex drawing very little from the Codex Chaos Marines. It will always have to draw some things from the C:CSM as I do not want GW IP violations to kill the project.

Through the project I have rewritten all of the non-Cult squad entries, in an attempt to:

A) Bring them more inline with the 5th ed design style

B) Create unique units befitting their status as veterans of thousands of years of endless conflict.

I fully understand that most of the community will not agree with some or all of the choices I have made, and I am fine with that. After all I don’t see the need to have a hard core tournament scene for playing with toy soldiers, since I play for recreation, and I am sure the competitive crowd don’t mind that I don’t care for tourneys. To each his own I say.

The first change I would like to look at is the Fear is for the Weak special rule for the Soul Reapers.

I knew that the basic Chaos marine types needed a special rule to really have value at their points costs. The last thing I wanted to do was falling into the oft touted give 'em Fearless you hear all over the interwebz. I have said it before and I will say it again, I am not a huge fan of fearless. Funny thing is as much as I tried to avoid it, I kinda ended up creating a poor version of it with out the perks, then in the end abandoned it completely.

This is the 4th and final version of the rule; it has been shoved through the meat grinder during playtesting. The initial version was really close the SM ATSKNF, but I quickly got outta that trap. The second version oddly enough is essentially the same as the final version, but it was removed at the time because I was still using the icon of Chaos Glory out of the C:CSM, and re-rolls on Stubborn is just overpowered.

Then I came up with the complicated version which was a slight combination of Fearless and Stubborn. This version of Fear is for the Weak lasted for 9 months, but was extremely brutal on the army due to the no retreat wounds. It also failed once I replaced the Icon of Chaos Glory. So not only were the Reapers taking extra wounds they were routing on top of it.

So after a lot of thought I brought back the Stubborn version of the rule and it has been smooth sailing ever since. I also kept the ability to always be able to regroup right down to the last Marine, since a single Marine is a viable threat from a background perspective.

Next time I will go into some of the unit changes that I made and explain some of why I did what I did.

Upward and onward.
Jim

Soul Reapers Chaos Marine supplement Fandex is released: final Playtest version

2010-11-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

I got my Secret Weapon Miniatures bases in, they are looking Slick!

The long awaited final update to the Playtest PDF is here. Over the past 19 months this project has grown into a living beast. Going from a simple mini-dex just used to enhance and supplement a few things in the Codex Chaos Marines; it is now a complex full blown fandex drawing very little from the Codex Chaos Marines.

I really do value and appreciate all the feedback and support that the readership of Galaxy in Flames have provided along the way.

As I've stated many times this is a playtest version of the Fandex. This means that it is not the finished product. (Please keep this in mind!)

In order to finalize the project, I need the help of the 40k community.

I would ask for any of you willing to take the Soul Reapers Fandex for a spin on the tabletop and playtest it yourself taking notes on improvements, comments and constructive criticism. So I can use the feedback to create the final release and put the project to rest. This is by far the most important version of the Fandex yet as I am entering the final shakedown of the Soul Reapers.

The creative side of things are done for the rules; any changes that come along now will be tweaks made from your playtesting feedback. So I am for the most part moving into the fleshing out the background phase for the Soul Reapers.

You may send your feedback to me directly at galaxynflamesblog(at)gmail(.com) or put them in the comments section of this post.

Soul Reapers Fandex Download

updated the PDF 11PM PST 11/17/10

Warp Wraith: final Soul Reapers unit entry

2010-11-16T16:20:00.000-08:00

This is a tank that the Soul Reapers used in my gaming groups Sarmation Sector campaign a few years back. I've been corresponding with my buddy Sean who has been recovering from a close call with an RPG in Afghanistan; he suggested to add this into the min-dex as it was a fun option during the campaign.

The Warp Wraith tank is built on the refitted chassis of the seventeenths old Whirlwinds. While they are still viable saturation weapons their actual use is to create confusion and panic in the ranks of the enemy.

The Warheads contain a powerful Hallucinogen that causes the most horrific visions imaginable; pulled straight from the nightmares of its target.

Warp Wraith 105 Points

BS-4 FA-11 SA-11 RA-10

Unit Composition:
• 1 Warp Wraith

Unit Type:
• Vehicle (Tank)

Wargear:
• Wraith Launchers
• Smoke launchers
• Searchlight
Options
• May take any of the following:
• Dozer blade…………………….5pts
• Extra armor…………………15pts
• Daemonic possession…..…20pts
• Dirge caster……………….……5pts

• May take one of the following:
• Pintle heavy bolter……...........10pts
• Pintle twin linked bolter………..5pts

Wraith Launcher: The dual mounted Launchers mounted on the Warp Wraith fire a fusillade of explosive cluster missiles that contain toxins that will drive their targets temporarily insane with fear.

Range: 12-48 Strength: 5 AP: 5 Type: Barrage 4, Small Blast, No Pinning, Ignores cover, Hallucinogen

Due to the latent effects if the Hallucinogens any unit hit by the Wraith Launchers will become subject to the night fighting rules on its next turn, so will only be able to spot and fire at targets 2D6x3 inches away. In addition they must pass a leadership test at -2 or roll on the following chart:

Wraith Launcher Hallucinogen Chart

1 Over There: the unit must immediately fall back.
2-3 Dazed and Confused: the unit may make no actions in their next turn.
4-5 It’s Inside of Me: D3 models must make armor saves or be removed as casualties.
6 Get ‘Em: the unit must shoot at the nearest friendly unit in their next shooting phase.

Editorial: 40k rewrite part I: what would you like to see

2010-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

To celebrate my 300th post here on GiF, I thought I would tackle something controversial and unique.

Since I am constantly presenting my gaming out side the box rules I figured what better topic than addressing a complete rewrite of Warhammer 40k. This will be the first post in a series on what I would do to change the landscape of the game.

A really good friend of mine keeps telling me that he thinks "the future of 40k should be in the hands of the fans." I do think he is right in many ways.

Before anyone sweeps in and bashes me for the idea of questioning the designers who are paid to write the rules, let me just tell you to step off. Just because someone is paid to do something does not mean that they should or are any good at it.

I'll be the first to admit that I am an amateur games designer doing this stuff in my free time. I have become quite good at this sort of thing with more than 25 years of experience creating rules.

With all that out of the way.

What would you do if you were the lead designer on sixth edition 40k and were allowed a blank page to create the game system?

Would you keep the "I go, you go" game turn mechanics?

What changes would you make to the movement phase?

What changes would you make to the shooting phase?

What changes would you make to the Assault phase?

What changes would you make to Vehicles?

What changes would you make to the Missions?

What changes would you make to the points system? Would you bring back a quantifiable system for costing models and units; or would you keep the arbitrary this feels right system of the current codices?

I look forward to your thoughts on this topic.

Rules from the Man-cave: Rending Bolters

2010-11-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

I have not done a Rules from the Man-cave post in a good while because I have been so busy with Killzone. I tried this gem of a rule out last night and it was great fun! First a little background into why I tried it.

Neil from the 11th Company podcast on one of the episodes had joked that Bolter Marines would be worth taking if their weapons were Rending.

This kinda made sense to me as according to fluff Bolters are firing mini missiles that explode upon impact/penetration. I know fluff and the actual game rarely survive contact, but in this case I say "why the heck not?"

We gave all Bolters, Bolt Pistols and Heavy Bolters Rending. We wanted to make sure this change was not overpowered or game breaking, so we decided to only allow the bolters to rend against non-vehicle soft targets.

My buddy Greg and I both fielded Marine armies, it was Imperial Fists verses Chaos Soul Reapers. We used these armies to see the maximum effect of the rending Bolters.

The game was glorious fun, with Marines hugging cover to avoid rending death. It added a new tactical element to the game, which in my opinion is a good thing! It also made combat squads very dangerous to utilize, as it did not take much to make them combat ineffective.

Over the course of six turns there were a combined total of 34 rending wounds from bolters. 20 of them were mine, it was glorious!

It really made standard marines shine more than usual, and made for a really dynamic marine on marine game!

You should definitely try it out if you get the opportunity.

Disclaimer: I don't usually post house rules that I have not extensively used/playtested, but these were so darned fun I wanted to share them now rather than later. This way I can make an update and give more thoughts after a few more games.

It had also been suggested that Eldar Shuriken weapons should probably have these special rending rules. I am not opposed to this, but it needs some table time.

Soul Reapers Revival: the plan

2010-11-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

I decided that since I am starting from scratch I need to plan out how I am going to build and paint the new army.

First off thank you to everyone that has sent their donated models I have received about a third of the miniatures so far. Just in as I am typing this, thanks to Dave Taylor for the donation of two Rhinos, I appreciate the included note too!

So back to the Plan. I figure it is best to have a general idea for a list when doing this. So here is the first 2000 points of the new army.

HQ (220pts)
Xusia 220

Elites (265pts)
5 Cataphract Terminators Squad 265
2 combi-melta’s, Reaper AC, Warp Ammo, chainfist
Centurion with Icon of Perpetual War

Troops (927pts)
8 Soul Reaper Legionary Squad 248pts
2 melta guns, 1 power weapon, Icon of Perpetual War
Centurion with power fist
Rhino dozer blade

8 Soul Reaper Legionary Squad 248pts
2 plasma guns, 1 power weapon, Icon of Perpetual War
Centurion with power weapon
Rhino dozer blade

8 Reaver Marines 281pts
1 melta gun, 1 heavy flamer, 1 power weapon, Icon of Perpetual War
Centurion with power fist
Testudo Rhino

6 Gore Daemons 150pts

Fast Attack (286pts)
6 Soul Reaper Bikers 286pts
2 melta guns, power weapon, Icon of Perpetual War, Infernal Assault Bike
Centurion with power fist

Heavy Support (300pts)
2 Obliterators 150pts

2 Obliterators 150pts

I am currently working on the Cataphract Terminator and the Melta Legionary squads.

I also have started converting the FW Lord Zhufor into Warlord Krüg the Beheader. I have done the greenstuff work on the lower body and will be working on the torso and arms tonight. The only gaming bugbear with Krüg is that he is really only field-able at 2500+ points due to the his cost combined with the obligatory Usurper Bodyguard. That is until I amass enough Terminators to do a Reaper-Wing!

Upward and onward!

Spreading the word: Lords of Night blog

2010-11-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Quietviper's nifty looking Bike squad

I don't do this very often, but every once in a while a new blog comes along that I feel compelled to spread the word about. If you have not seen Quietviper's Lords of Night blog, I ask you to check it out this new blog!

He's got a fantastic looking Night Lords army! The psiting is very well executed and is really slick. He's a self proclaimed "Beer and Pretzels" gamer, so you are not going to get that ultra maximized list talk there. I can totally understand where he is coming from!

So again please go check out Lords of Night.

Soul Reapers Cataphract Terminators entry: Mini-dex replacement unit entry

2010-11-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my take on Chaos Terminators. This entry is done in the same spirit as what I did with the Praetorian and Vulture unit entries.

I have put a lot effort in to make these viscous warriors stand out as a unique unit worthy of their Elite status. Cataphract Terminators are the hammer of the Soul Reapers.

Cataphract Terminator Squad………………109 points

Same stats as the Chaos Terminator entry in the Chaos Space Marine codex.

Composition:
• 2 Cataphract Terminators
• 1 Centurion

Unit Type:
• Infantry

Wargear:
• Terminator Armor
• Twin-linked Bolter
• Power Weapon

Special Rules:
• Fear is for the Weak
• No Matter the Odds
• Counter Attack

Dedicated Transport:
• If the squad numbers 5 or less models they may select a Land Raider as a dedicated transport.

Options:
• May include up to 7 additional Cataphract Terminators: +33 points per model.
• One model may take an Icon:
• Personal Icon………………….5pts
• Icon of Perpetual War……….15pts
• Any model may replace their twin-linked bolter with the following:
• Combi-weapon…………..5pts
• Any model may replace their power weapon with one of the following:
• Single lightning claw……..5pts
• Power Fist……………….10pts
• Chainfist………………….15pts
• Any model may replace their twin-linked bolter and power weapon for a pair of Lightning Claws for 10pts per model.
• The squad may upgrade their bolt weapons to use Warp Infused Ammunition for 10 points per model. (If this option is chosen then all models with twin-linked bolters and combi-weapons must purchase the upgrade.)
• One may replace their twin-linked bolter with one of the following: (If there are 8 or more models in the squad they may take a second weapon from the list.)
• Heavy Flamer………….....5pts
• Reaper Autocannon…….20pts
• The Centurion may replace his power weapon with the following:
• Chaos Rune Weapon…………...5pts

No Matter the Odds: Cataphracts automatically pass all tests to regroup. Usually squads that regroup cannot move and count as moving, but these restrictions do not apply to units with this rule. If a sweeping advance catches any Cataphract unit they are not destroyed and will continue to fight as normal. If this happens the unit is subject to the No Retreat rule.

Warp infused Ammunition: These bolter rounds have been charged with pure warp energies, which make them dangerous to use, but their ability to penetrate armor outweighs any risk. These rounds are only effective within Rapid Fire range, any shots over 12 inches use their normal AP value. The AP value of the bolt weapons is 2 instead of the normal 5; in addition any 6’s scored on the “to wound” roll will negate any Invulnerable saves that the target may have. All shooting from a weapon with this ammo is subject to the "Gets Hot" except these rounds are extremely volatile and suffer damage on a roll of a 1 or a 2.

First painted mini for the Soul Reapers Revival: Cataphract Terminator

2010-11-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

Here is the inaugural miniature for the new army. He is 90 percent finished, I noticed during the photo editing that I forgot to paint the bolts on the Bolter casing and the bolts on the back of the torso. I also need to freehand the crossed scythes on his right pauldron.

Overall I am pleased with the miniature. I have decided to go with green lightning on all the power weapons in the new army, it just fits the color scheme better. As you can see I tested it out on the power blade attachment on the TL-bolter.

I cannot wait until I get him on a Secret Weapons Minis resin base. That is gonna look Schweet!

In the morning I will be posting the unit entry for the Cataphract Terminators.

Galaxy in Flames news and updates

2010-10-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

More Soul Reapers reserves have arrived.

Drop pod from Kiyle in Georgia.
Rhino, 2 Chaos Bikes, and a Chaos Marine squad from Jason in South Carolina, I think this is Papa JJ.

Thanks again guys!

B.smoove and I are working hard on the November Killzone update. It'll contain lots of little updates and clarifications.

The Soul Reapers Mini-dex update is also plugging along at a good clip. This week I will be posting the final replacement unit entry for the project; the Cataphract Terminators.

The podcast tour continues; Last week I was on Episode 40 of the 11th company and this week I am on episode 19 of the Gamers Lounge. Both interviews give a short update on Killzone and the Soul Reapers Revival.

Soul Reapers Vulture Assault Squad: mini-dex Raptor replacement

2010-10-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hunting Vulture for the new army.

Here is my take on Chaos Raptors; I have thought long and hard about ways of making assault marines a better choice in general.

Done in the same spirit as what I did with the Praetorian unit entry, I have done the same thing with the Vultures creating a unique unit entry.

In my opinion all jump pack equipped units should come with the Hit and Run USR standard. These units are not meant for protracted combats, they should be making lightning strikes hitting hard, then move along to their next target.

For added character I created the Hunting Vulture rule allowing these assault troops an extra dimension to their tabletop use.

Vulture Assault Squad………………125 Points

Stat line is the same as the Raptor entry in the Codex Chaos Space Marine.

Composition:
• 4 Vultures
• 1 Centurion

Unit Type:
• Jump Infantry

Wargear:
• Power Armor
• Jump Pack
• Bolt Pistol
• Close Combat Weapon
• Frag and Krak grenades

Special Rules:
• Fear is for the Weak
• Hit and Run

Options:
May include up to five additional Vultures: +22 points per model.

One model may take an Icon:
Personal Icon………………….5pts
Icon of Perpetual War……….15pts

Up to 2 models may take one of the following:
flamer………………………….5pts
melta gun…………………….10pts

Up to 2 models may replace their close combat weapon with one of the following:
power weapon…………………15pts
power fist………………………25pts

One model may replace their bolt pistol and close combat weapon with the following:
lightning claws…………………25pts

Any model may replace his bolt pistol with the following:
plasma pistol...………………….10pts

The Centurion may replace his bolt pistol with the following:
hand flamer………………………6pts
plasma pistol……………………10pts

The Centurion may replace his bolt pistol and close combat weapon with the following:
pair of lightning claws………….25pts

The Centurion may replace his close combat weapon with one of the following:
power weapon…………………15pts
power fist……………………….25pts

The entire Squad may take melta bombs for 30pts

Upgrade to Hunting Vultures for 20 points.

Hunting Vultures: Some Vulture squads are used to rapidly redeploy across the battlefield. They do this by attaching glide wings to their jump packs, some are even gifted by Chaos with living wings; either way these wings serve the same purpose for Hunting Raptors. Getting them where they need to be, hitting the enemy where they are weakest.

Once per game a squad of Hunting Vultures may be moved anywhere on the battlefield. When making this redeployment move the squad follows the rules for deepstriking found in the 40k rulebook.

Soul Reapers Praetorian Squad: mini-dex Chosen sqd replacement entry

2010-10-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

I decided since I am reevaluating the mini-dex entries, I might as well take another look at the units that are used out of the Chaos Space Marine codex.

I then compared the Chosen entry to the other Space Marine elite squads. Units like Sternguard Vets, Vanguard Vets, Sang Guard and Wolf Guard. I really think comparatively speaking the Chosen are total chumps. All they really get is the option to take 5 specialized weapons and Infiltrate. Whoopadidoo! Not really impressive compared to the flair of the other Marine elite.

So after looking at the current 5th ed Marine elite squads, this is what I came up with as a first draft. It is a melding of many of the cool concepts from the other books, with little Reaper spin added. I wanted them to be a completely mutable elite unit, with options to fill a shooting or assault role.

Soul Reapers Praetorian Squad.....105pts

Stats are the same as the current Chosen with +1 attack added.

Composition:
• 4 Soul Reaper Praetorians
• 1 Centurion

Unit Type:
• Infantry

Wargear:
• Power Armor
• Bolter
• Bolt Pistol
• Close Combat Weapon
• Frag and Krak grenades

Special Rules:
• Fear is for the Weak
• No Matter the Odds
• Veterans of Ten Millennia of War

Dedicated Transport:
• May select a Chaos Rhino, Testudo Rhino or Chaos Drop Pod if using the Planetary Assault special rule. In addition one Praetorian squad in the army may take a Land Raider as a dedicated transport.

Options:
May include up to five additional Soul Reaper Praetorians: +19 points per model.

One model may take an Icon:
Personal Icon………………….5pts
Icon of Perpetual War……….15pts

Up to 3 models may replace their bolter with one of the following:
flamer………………………….5pts
melta gun…………………….10pts
plasma gun………………….15pts

Up to 3 models may replace their close combat weapon with one of the following:
power weapon…………………10pts
power Fist………………………20pts

Any model may replace his bolter and/or Bolt Pistol with one of the following:
twin-linked bolter………………...5pts
combi-weapon………………….10pts
plasma pistol...………………….10pts

The Centurion may replace his bolter and/or bolt pistol with the following:
twin linked bolter………………..5pts
combi-weapon………………….10pts
hand flamer………………………6pts
plasma pistol……………………10pts

The Centurion may replace his close combat weapon with one of the following:
power weapon…………………10pts
chaos rune weapon…………...15pts
power fist……………………….20pts

The entire Squad may take melta bombs for 30pts

The squad may take jump packs for 10pts per model.

Veterans of Ten Millennia of War

The Praetorian squad must take one skill from the following:
Scouts…………………………5pts
Preferred Enemy……………10pts
Hit and Run…..………………15pts
Furious Charge………………20pts

No Matter the Odds: Praetorians automatically pass all tests to regroup. Usually squads that regroup cannot move and count as moving, but these restrictions do not apply to units with this rule. If a sweeping advance catches any Praetorian unit they are not destroyed and will continue to fight as normal. If this happens the unit is subject to the No Retreat rule.

Veterans of Ten Millennia of War: The Praetorians have been waging war since the Great Crusade; they have become living avatars of War. Praetorian squads must chose a veteran skill from the selections listed in their unit entry.

Games Workshop shares the background for the New Dark Eldar Codex Part 2

2010-10-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

As a real nutter for the 40k background, I must build a Dark Eldar army!

These guys are just wicked Kool!

Soul Reapers mini-dex update coming soon

2010-10-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

I'd like to start off by saying a big thank you to the Disciples of Fire (my followers) for all the support for this project over the eighteen months.

Since I lost my army last week I have been taking a fresh look at the Soul Reapers Mini-dex. I have played a few games against some really competitive players and lists recently, and have found the Soul Reapers a little underpowered. Not devastatingly so, but underpowered none the less. They are really struggling against the Space Wolves and Blood Angels.

Magilla pointed out that since they are a fragment of the World Eaters they should be more Killy. I agree, but not in a frothing madman way. I am thinking a balance between the Space Wolves and Blood Angels is where I want them to fall.

So although I had decided that the last update was the final one before the finished product, I have changed my mind.

I have used this opportunity to tweak things just a little.

Soul Reapers mini-dex tweaks

Here are initial changes to the min-dex.

1) Fear is for the Weak now reads: Soul Reapers are subject to the Stubborn USR found on page 76 of the MRB. Additionally they may also attempt to regroup even if the squad has been reduced less than half strength through casualties. (The FiftW rule while nifty in its previous form gave a slight boost to remaining in combat but had the negatives of being Fearless without the perks. I at no time ever want to make the Reapers Fearless, so I went back to my original idea of using Stubborn. Since there is no Icon of Chaos Glory giving rerolls of LD tests, it should work fine now, which is why I ditched the idea originally.)

2) Icon of Perpetual War now reads: Any unit that bears this Icon may re-roll any result of one on the “to wound” dice in the assault phase. It has also been lowered to 15 points.

3) The Harbinger of Malice has had his Alchemical Injectors enhancing abilities changed to: grant the bearer and any squad he has joined with +1 Initiative, Feel no Pain and Preferred Enemy USR’s. He has also had a 5 point increase in his base cost.

4) The Apostle of Malevolence moves to the elite section. He loses a wound and a few other stat changes, plus has his base cost lowed to 75 points. (I know this is a bit controversial, but this fits in with the theme of the Soul Reapers better, because other than Xusia, Apostles do not lead warbands into battle.)

5) Soul Reapers Biker Squads now have the Skilled Rider USR at no points change.

6) The Infernal Assault Bikes make their return to a stand alone unit as well as remaining an upgrade to the Bike Squad.

7) The Mauler Predator entry has been changed to give Sponson options and has had a slight points increase. (This brings it in line with all other Pred variants in that they once had a total set up including sponsons and now are basically a turret with optional sponsons.)

8) Gore Daemons gain the option for 25 points to take the Icon of Salmora: this icon channels the power of the once great Daemon Prince Salmora. Roll a D6 for the banner at the beginning of every turn that it is on the table and consult the following chart.

1 All daemon models in reserve arrive immediately with in 6 inches of the Icon.

2 All daemon models within 6 inches gain +1 Toughness this turn.

3-4 All daemon models within 6 inches may re-roll any failed saves.

5 All daemon models within 6 inches gain +1 Initiative this turn.

6 All daemon models within the unit bearing the icon count all their attacks as Poisoned 3+.

I am still looking at a few other things, so this will not be the end of the tweaks.

Games Workshop shares the background for the New Dark Eldar Codex

2010-10-25T01:43:00.000-07:00

Interesting stuff, from Phil, Jess and Adam.

I cannot wait til this codex hits!