Skaven Fail....Again!

So, finally got to play some multiplayer games against my brother in Mordheim, my Skaven verses his Empire Mercinaries. The result: two loses in two games. What's worse was the second game. Apparently the Horned Rat decided to teach me a lesson that trying to cheat the system though setting up an barge vs sewer match and expecting to be given the advantage. Instead, I found myself on the barges instead of the sewer. My brother (not being stupid like the computer A.I. was) decided that hiding and waiting was the better option. This resulted in an embarrising loss of a retreat, seven of my Skaven dead to all his surviving. Clearly trechery by some of my underlings was the reason for this release. Must find who and silently remove them before my next encounter.

Lazy Dayz

Despite the sudden cold change (which I'm very thankful for, really hate Australian summers) I just can't seem to motivate myself into doing any projects. So instead I've dedicated myself to the Emperor's service with a little Sisters of Battle campaign in Dawn of War: Soul Storm. Should tie me over until my brother gets back. Thanks to other presents I've received, I'm now able to get his present: Mordheim early access. Yep, both of us have been wanting this and now, with any luck, we can test the multiplayer aspect.

Heck, might do a video or two and upload it.

Curse You Route Check

So finally lost my first Mordheim match today, funny enough it was against an opposing Skaven side (so win/win match?). Not only did the opposition succeed twice in their route checks and me having one more warband member then them, I failed my check and the game ended. Must admit, it was my own fault, thought sending some through the sewers to flank them was a good idea but it ultimately left one of my sides undermanned (or is that under-rat?) and lost two henchmen there. Also didn't help that their Rat Ogre beat mine in fair combat, though that beast seemed to suffer from a stupidity streak which allowed me to beat it.

I'm actually glade I finally lost one. Being an early access game the A.I. isn't as strong in the strategy department (one game had a Sister of Sigma climb a wall, then climb down before climbing back up again in a single turn), so knowing that poor decisions can cost you is good. Can't wait to see what it's like in multiplayer.

Finally Over

So Christmas has come and gone. Spent it home alone. Nuff said.

More Skaven Goodness

Bell of Lost Souls Link

So I was just doing my little internet look about update and came across this little link. What I've seen and read there actually caused a feeling that I believe they call 'excitement'. The pics they showed (I re-posted them again below) may not be good, but the design actually looks good.

Now personally, I really dislike large models. Not only are they difficult to bring to games, but they also take up a lot of space. That said, I might actually consider getting this model, though I feel my painting skills have diminished as of late and that I may not paint this model with the skill something of that price value deserves. Still, the Skaven seem to be getting some love this time round (unlike the Elves).




Wow. Just.....wow.....err...SEE! I said the Great Horned Rat sends his beloved children great-grand power. The time is almost upon you man-things. The time of the Skaven has begun!
~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

A Great Skaven Gift

My brother gave me my Christmas gift early and behold, a $40 Steam voucher. Why? Because of a little game called Mordheim. While it is still in early access and has much more to offer in the future, I've been pumped to play it and finally I did.

My first game threw me into a match against an Empire CPU and it was as fun and exciting as I had thought it to be. I can see how much fun a match against human player could be and yes, I did win that match, though it was mostly down to the Rat Ogre and being favoured of the Horned Rat.



Yes-Yes, give in Man-thing. Give in and accept the Great Horned Rat as your one true God. Let his blessed children take-rule the surface as is their Divine right. All shall feel the Horned One's squeak of fury.
~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff



....eeerrr....ok?

Miniature Thought On Fun

So I've been pushing myself to get those damn Clanrats done and found myself not enjoying it. So why? I immediately turned to all the crap about GW and for all that's been said, I realised what I was really wanting to say. However, I'll get to that another time. That said, I'm just not enjoying it they way I use too. Perhaps if I do something light I might regain that enjoyment.

As such, I've decided that for the moment I'll instead focus my miniatures time to converting/painting a few single miniatures I've got about. Perhaps when I finally get a chance to relax I might feel more like tackling that unit.

Sydney Siege

What can I say? What does one say? My thoughts and prayers go to the hostages and their families and hope they can all get out safely.

Update:
What a tragic end. Two lives lost (three if you count that lunatic who took them all hostage) and while all the others have been freed, the pain of this event will be with them for a long time. What surprised me more was just how the people of this proud country chose to unite as one instead of giving into fear and hate. Truly we saw the best and worst of humanity this day.

Games-Workshop's Own End Times?

I stumbled upon a series of video's on Youtube where fan's generally talk about the current financial situation of Games-Workshop, their gripes with the company and do they think the company will be around in the next few years. I've tried to do some more research into this and gathered a few opinions, so no here are my own.

My thoughts:

Games-Workshop has basically told us that they are miniature production focused, only making the best miniatures and that anything else is secondary. It makes sense given how freely they've become with selling their gaming licences, though I don't think their view is entirely good. So let's start by focusing on their focused on, the miniatures.

Are the miniatures good? Well, yes. For the most part, many of the miniatures are nice to look at and now that they are removing Finecast, the miniatures produced are now lacking the production damage. Not all are good, a few can easily be found in the Fantasy Chaos Warriors section (Forsaken, Slaughterbrute, etc) and they can't/won't produce really any female models beyond Elves/Eldar and Sisters of Battle. It becomes more of a problem when you take price into account, which brings us to the next question: Are they worth the price they're charged for? Yes and No. OK, best to give some examples here. So for single miniatures (like those of the HQ/Lords/Heroes) that are on foot, I feel a price around $26-$28AU is an acceptable price. These miniatures are going to be a standout and tend to have more detail then a rank-and-file, so I can accept that (mounted models should cost between $5 - $15AU more depending on the mount). Core and Troop packs should be priced on a suitable size unit within the $40-$50AU (though given that you need lots of these guys now days means I'd prefer they be cheaper or that they put more in the unit box). Special/Elite/Fast choice options are harder to price, but I would prefer they only cost slightly more then the Core/Troop options. Rares I guess should cost slightly more then special, but unless it's a massive monster they shouldn't go beyond the $70AU mark. As it stands, I feel that some models are over priced for what you get. I will throw in the rulebooks/armybooks/codexes in too. A price rise of $40AU plus was not asked for, nor did we ask for hardback covers (and those who did ask for hardback never asked for a $40AU plus increase). Again, I don't like the current pricing.

They only sell miniatures because of their games, so things like the Lore and rules are important. For me I feel Lore is important, given that the more interesting and diverse, the more people will want to paint and convert models to work with it. Rules are good, but for me the only thing I want them to really fix is to make up their mind when it comes to what can be in a unit (see Rat-Ogre unit who many Packmasters? problem in my army list post below). I do agree that people do want to make it a competitive game, but it was also suggested that a simple list of limitations for competitions could be added and that's that problem is resolved. Again, rules don't need to change much and one can add new miniatures in through rules that are on par with similar models in the slot and Lore that has them in through discovery or through magical/scientific advancement.

Their product isn't very inviting for new customers too and again, this is mostly due to pricing. One such video pointed out that most games are 2,000pts +, there aren't (or poorly done) rules for smaller games and that there isn't any starter sets for armies themselves and I have to agree. A set containing a Hero and two Core/HQ and two Troop options (minimum option to play a game) would be great. As it stands the main rules cost between $100-$140AU and the armybook/codex costs $83AU so just getting the rules just to play your chosen army is very expensive, so a starter set of say $60-$65AU makes it more affordable entry, better if they through in one of those two rule books in a simpler (no lore, pics) form. If you want people to keep purchasing your products, you need to get them into the products first.

I also agree that they need to bring back the specialist games. You already have the rules, just make a few changes that fans have fixed/added to make the game more balanced and start selling. If the models are made similar to your main games, then you will sell more. I also thought this is, bring back the old White Dwarf. This new weekly version (along with the disastrous Warhammer Visions) just doesn't have the good stuff we use to collect them for.

For me, there's nothing wrong with a company making a profit, but understanding the customers wants is also very important. I feel Games-Workshop can pull through, but I feel there may be a serious over hall may need to occur in order to achieve this. Don't get me wrong, I've said multiple times that I love the product, I love the Lore and would love for it to continue, but in these current times of financial struggles, something must give and we may not like what could happen.

I'm sure there's more, but I'll update it later when I have more time to reflect on this.

Dental Update

So yeah, the left side of my face is still in pain and I'm now on antibiotics, though that's mostly cause they can't tell if it's infection or trama (not taking the risk of opening it up to see). Really getting on my nerves (if the one in my jaw hasn't already been upset).

Plus side is that it's finally given me some time in between painkillers to work on the Clanrats. Gotta say, these guys are really ticking me off. I could never recall Clanrats ever causing me this much trouble, though I admit painting 32 plus a mortar was never going to be a walk in the park. Hoping to get them completed this week. They've been base coated and glued to bases (which are almost done themselves) which means they just need a touch up wash, a layer and highlight to be done.

So close.

Revised Skaven Skryre List

Finally found my Skaven list, but after going over it I've decided to alter it. I don't have enough Clanrats to reach the original goal (and painting them has become an agonising) and have decided to remove some of them and the Rat Swarms (which I feel are useless) in exchange for a Rat Ogre or two. This is how it stands at the moment:

Lords
+Skith Warpclaw (Ikit Claw)
+Skrag the Gatekeeper (Warlord)
      - Enchanted Shield, Sword of Might, Talisman of Presivation
      - Mounted on Rat Ogre Bonebreaker

Heroes
+Snikkitch Twitchnose (Warlock Engineer)
      - Level 2 Wizard, Warp-Energy Condenser, Warplock Pistol
+Morok Geargrinder (Chieftain)
      - Battle Standard Bearer, Shield, Warpstone Armour, Warplock Pistol, Ironcurse Icon
+Grish Fellfur (Chieftain)
      - Shield, Dragonhelm, Crown of Command, Rat Hound
+Shin Swiftsteel (Assassin)
      - Warlock-Augmented Weapon

Core
+Clanrats (30 + 1)
      - Spears, Shields, Full Command
              - Attached: Warpfire Thrower
+Clanrats (32 + 1)
      - Shields, Full Command
              - Attached: Poisoned Wind Mortar
+Skavenslaves (39)
      - Shields, Pawleader, Musician

Special
+Poisoned Wind Globadiers (9 + 1)
      - Bombardier with Death Globe
              - Attached: Poisoned Wind Mortar
+Warplock Jezzails (5)
      - Sharpshooter
+Rat Ogers (5 + 3)*
      -Master Bred Rat Ogre

Rare
+Snikkotto Twitchnose (Doomwheel)
+Gnithnik Twitchnose (Warp Lightning Cannon)

*The problem is that I don't know if I'm allowed 3 or limited to 2 Packmasters. According to the wording, various forums and the FAQ, it seems that you can get an additional Packmaster for every two Rat Ogres in the unit (which means the my option above would be legal?). Perhaps in the next rule book release will better word it

I should have this force ready by next year. OK, perhaps the Rat Ogres could be a problem, depends on who I want them converted. We shall see where it leads. I am to open to ideas if anyone has any.

Dental Surgery

Finally done. Great group of people in the city that got it done and very friendly and professional too. Now the numbness is wearing off and the real pain is finally kicking in.

Fun times ahead.

Update: Those painkillers really knock you out. Unfortunately, it resulted in me stuffing up, which may cost me a large sum of money this week. Hopefully by tomorrow my ability to speak clearly will return and I can fix this mess up.

Still?

 Please read the article Target/Kmart bans GTA V below to get my original thoughts.

So, get up early (have dental surgery today) and quickly check my online stuff and the first thing that shows up is the latest Youtube video updates with a Jimquisition video on the Australian Target GTA V ban. First thing that comes to my mind is 'Why haven't people gotten over this', but then a new thought occurred: 'Why are people overseas so damn interested in this story?'. In truth, it has no effect on their lives, yet they seem to be the most vocal on the subject. Maybe we are laid back here, though after discussing this issue with my brother (who is a casual worker at EB Games), we agreed that this whole event could be ignored over since places like EB Games and such are everywhere, they wouldn't ban it regardless of petitions and that not selling GTA V wouldn't harm Target or Kmart sales at all.

Update:
So, just watched the video and I'm not sure what to say. I still don't get why places like America seem so determined to make a fuss over this. I do have to disagree about Jim's point about bringing Australia in line with countries like America in regards with adult entertainment. Clearly the political aspect of Australia wasn't taken into account. See, the thing is, the country is going through a stage where we are dealing with issues of violence against women and children/domestic violence and it's a much larger problem then people realise. The government does it's usual enquiries, but people don't feel like their fixing the problem (our Prime Minister acts like a misogynist and even declared himself Minister for Women - what kind of an asshole does that?) and so we end up with people action like this. I previously said that I agreed that the information given in the petition was wrong, but I see their point and have no problem with Target and Kmart removing the game from the shelves. Besides, if anyone wanted to still get the game, there are multiple places you can get it and they will not ban the game since selling Games is there main purpose (where as Target and Kmart are not). Target and Kmart won't loose money, Game stores will make a little extra and so who really cares, it won't change your life with this decision. It's an Australian problem that Australian's will sort out ourselves. I don't want to get into this whole argument about our countries, but then again we could argue about America's ridiculous gun laws and the amount of school shootings that occur and their inability to solve that issue.

Just trying to give an insight to the political and social reasons behind the action and I apologies if it got a little too heated, but things like domestic violence are a real issue here and while this was a stupid petition with no real lasting effect, I do appreciate that at least the people are trying to fix a problem because our government won't (even if it wasn't very good).

Asthma Problem That Never Occured To Me

So it's no surprise I have Asthma, but as of last night my Nebuliser stopped working. For those who don't know, a Nebuliser is a small machine that pumps filtered air into a mask which turns the liquid medication into a vapor that you inhale. I'm told it's that last step you take cause if it gets worse after it you need to go to hospital. What never occurred to me was just how difficult it is to get one fixed.

After going over it, I concluded that it needed a fuse replacement. It uses a T5A 240V fuse and after much searching, I found that no one in the whole state of Queensland sell the bloody things. To top it all off, I spent not only most of today trying to find a fuse which no one sells, but when I went to hire one out, multiple places don't even do that. Of the two that did, one was all booked out and the other was going to charge me a $50 bond and an additional $20 per week just to hire it, money I don't have (have just under $50 until next week). So here it stands, I have to just take the meds I have and hope it doesn't get worse. Otherwise it's a trip to the hospital and I know they'll bitch and whinge about not using a Nebuliser.

Seriously, Asthma is a major problem with so many of the population in this country with it and yet no one thought to make access to Nebuliser repairs or hire easy for those with it. I didn't think it would be this much of a problem and today has shown me that there is a major flaw in the health system for those with Asthma. I manage to order replacement fuses (I think there the right ones) from another state, but they may not show up until next week (and assuming none of them were damaged). A whole week with out it and currently my Asthma isn't in good health.

Sorry to bitch about it, but this whole day has left me thoroughly pissed off.

EDIT:

I must apologise for this one. I tend to write these as a means to get things off my chest and I was (and still am) very frustrated about all this. However, despite this lack of medical help, Australia still has a very good health care system (even if the current government is trying to dismantle it). My attempts to find other solutions to the problem lead my to many forums where people from other countries with Asthma explained their situation and I realised just how bad the health care system of other countries are. I admit I don't know how health care works in other countries, but from what I read some of it is just plain ridiculous. As such, my ranting to some may have come off as rather spoilt, given that my country actually has a health care system available to all. So yeah, sorry about that.

Update 8/12/14: Managed to find fuses (by sheer luck) and it's working again. My lungs are once again at ease.

Thoughts On - Skaven End Times

So all this talk on Warhammer's End Times and Skaven has got me thinking, what do I expect will happen with the Skaven during these events?

First off, I feel that any event involving them will most likely take place in Lustria. The whole Skaven vs Lizardmen theme has been a constant and with the forces of Tzeentch heading in that direction, it makes the most sense to place an End Times book there. I am unsure if they will take the whole 'Members of Clan Pestilense switching to Nurgle' thing anywhere, but if they did it would be a unique situation. What rules an scenarios is also unknown, though I wouldn't be surprised if a few from the Lustria book were recycled here.

Miniature wise, rumour is strong that a new Verminlord and Grey Seer Thanquol & Boneripper models will be released. Again, rumours, but it seems right to release this. Would also make sense if the rumoured Thanquol is in fact riding Boneripper as it would simplify their rules a little. No word on the Skaven Black Ark, which to me is a bit of a surprise as I felt they were leading up to it's return. Given it's the End Times, bringing it back should defiantly be a must.

Finally, character deaths. As it stands, I've been told that Grey Seer Lord Kritislik is dead (killed by the Great Horned Rat apparently) and that many expect Grey Seer Thanquol to take over. I doubt that Thanquol will be killed in the End Times, though I expect one of Clan Moulders named characters to die (possibly due to the Chaos invasion up north) as do I expect someone high up in Clan Pestilense to go as well (The Arch Plauge Lord Nurglitch or Lord Skrolk). I doubt Snikch or Headtaker would be killed off, but I feel that Craventail's luck will run out. As for Ikit Claw, I personally don't care if they kill him off or not, but only if there is a suitable rule replacement in the next army book, like those of the Warlock Master in the last edition of the book (4th edition I think).

As such, by the next army book release, I expect some alteration of a few units, a few new characters (though I would love to see them bring back something like Veskit from Mordheim just for the shear awesomeness of it) and another re-altering of the army rules. I expect fluff wise, we might be at risk of another civil war (given the last two were created by Clan Pestilense, I wouldn't be surprise to see them planning another power take over). Again, these are just my thoughts on it based on what's happened to other races in the End Times thus far.

My Top 5 Skaven Clans

It’s no surprise that I’m a big fan of the Skaven and I do enjoy some of the variety between the Clans. I previously mentioned five Clans in order, which I really like, either through their lore or their visual appearance. Many came from the Uniforms & Heraldry of the Skaven book and so are the pictures I’ve added to the list. So lets get started with my Top 5 Skaven Clans:

Number 5 – Clan Skrittlespike

The first thing you’ll notice is their large eyes and this is due to evolving to their environment. While the Skaven are a subterranean like race, the Skaven of Clan Skrittlespike live so deep underground that they have adapted to the lack of light. While they are great for deep underground combat and ambushes, they are mostly useless on the surface world, given that even the moonlight would be somewhat painful for them see in. They are also easily frightened by load noises, so using them against a force that uses gunpowder would just be useless (let alone the noise produced by their own sides weapons).

Number 4 – Clan Crooktail

Located in the Northern Wastes, this Clan is unique in that its members contain various mutations, so it's no surprise that the various conversion opportunities would make this Clan so much fun to put together. The Skaven race has always been associated with the substance known as Warpstone (which is basically the physical manifestation or raw chaos) and it’s been a major piece of their society. Despite being very resilient, they are not immune to the effects of unrefined raw Warpstone.  As such, the tunnels of Clan Crooktail are littered with raw Warpstone and tainted by it’s magical residue. This has lead to the various mutations they possess, which they attribute as blessings from the Great Horned Rat and lest face it, who’s going to argue with a two-headed Skaven with an extra set of arms and a deadly tail?

Number 3 – Clan Skurvy

The seafaring rodents of Clan Skurvy sail rickety old ships that have been patched up and sail the coastlines looking for ships to loot and plunder. So basically, they’re Pi-rats. Ha Ha Ha….

Really Guardian? That rodent-based joke wasn’t humorous at all.

~Zargooran

….ahem, yes…..well, anyway. Despite having a few main rivals, Clan Skurvy is still the primary fleet used by the Skaven when it comes to travelling by sea or sea combat. Mutiny and backstabbing are commonplace, more so then normal compared to the normal Clans and staying Captain of a ship for more then a day is considered an achievement. Those that do tend to earn fearsome reputations and usually can spot when a traitorous underling is vying for their position easily. Injury is also commonplace and so thing like peg legs, hooked hands and eye patches are the usual look amongst them (though some can afforded more murderous parts crafted by Clan Skryre). This Clan makes for a nice themed Skaven force and would rely focus on creating themed conversions, colour schemes and bases, but it would look really good.

Number 2 – Clan Eshin

Having vanished heading East during the Great Migration, Clan Eshin would return to serve the Council of Thirteen during the first great Skaven civil war. What happened to them after they went missing is only known to the Clan Eshin and they guard their secrets closely. What is known is that during that time they mastered the art of stealth, sabotage, murder, poisons and other techniques of martial arts and assassination. Theirs is a reputation of fear and that alone keeps them in power. They find their services are always in need as just about every Skaven has some other Skaven they want dead. They are probably the most discipline Clan too as they actually have strict rules on everything and to break just one is instant death. Even their leader Nightlord Sneek has a sort of honour too him, which seems to go against the usual Skaven style. Colour wise, they are very simple, yet very sinister looking.

Number 1 – Clan Skryre

Alright, you all saw this one coming. Clan Skryre is by far my favourite Clan. They are the masters of techno-sorcery, which is a fusion of science and magic, two opposites that somehow are made to work together. The Clan is often accused by other races as stealing designs and modifying them for their own use. This is partly true and they have based many of their designs from captured enemy weapons. On the other hand, you could also say that they have improved on designs of other races who were too short-sighted to take their designs to the next level. They are also not limited to simply advancing ‘borrowed’ designs and have made original devices of their own. The Clan is probably the most technologically advanced race on the planet, producing a number of advance devices. One such device is the Farsqueeker, a long-range communication device (think of it as a medieval version of Skype). Their weapons are also more powerful thanks to the use of Warpstone, but it comes at a price. Yeah, these weapons tend to have a common flaw of backfiring and blowing themselves (and their users) up. But hey, nobodies perfect.

What-What? You no put Grey Seers on here? What’s wrong with you? This is madness, I shall appeal this list. You will know the wrath of the Grey Seers.
~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Target and Kmart Ban GTA V

My thoughts on this, WHO CARES?

Personally, if Target and Kmart want to ban this game, then they can go ahead and ban it. Let's face it, if you really wanted this game you would have already gotten it and it's not like can't go elsewhere. Hell, EB Games is one of Australia's biggest gaming stores and you know they'll never ban it. Not only are there various game stores, but there is also digital distribution. Hell, there's Ebay damn it.

Seriously, why are so many people up in arms over this. Yes, I admit that the information in the original petition wasn't entirely accurate, but then the various new petitions by various men's groups worried that a mostly clothing and housewares store banning an R18+ game is effecting their penis size is also just ridiculous. And don't bother to try and point out I don't understand GTA, because these newer versions are still not as good as Vice City, one of my favourite GTA games. Besides, the only thing I really ever purchase from Target are shirts and shoes.

The point is that Target and Kmart can ban whatever they like and them banning it isn't going to some how effect your life or change the world (and if you believe that you really need to reconsider what your doing with your life, cause it shouldn't). If you want that game there are still multiple ways to obtain it so go get the game elsewhere, play it and just stop bitching about it.

End Times - The Business Sense In This

So, having had some time to cool down and get over the initial rage of confusion as to why they did what they did, I now understand why they did it or at least, my thoughts as to why they did it. Looking at the last few End Times reviews and the history of Games-Workshop releases, there is reason to their madness (even if I don’t agree with it). It simple, it’s to do with the number of army books they release.

Let me explain. The recent Elf release now has them force into a single army, so their future army book release will simply be Elves. The undead will either be Undead or Nagash and Chaos could itself be a single release. In doing this, it limits the number of army books the company has to make, thus allowing the books to keep up with new Editions of the rules. Wood Elves are a good example, having only recently got a new book after years of being ignored while both High Elves and Dark Elves got multiple releases. By merging them, these books are likely to get released soon after newer Editions are released. Undead will most likely follow this given that Settra isn’t likely to win anytime soon. Chaos I assume will be much harder then Elves to fuse together and I don’t think that will be happening soon, at least compared to some other groups.

So instead of having one release earlier in a year for High Elves, a late year release for Dark Elves and people complaining when the next Wood Elves release, the company just brings out Elves. Obviously for this to work, these new books would have to be very big and would have to contain enough units to satisfy players from all three sides. If not, players may take offense (if they haven’t already) and leave the hobby. It’s generally bad business practice to upset your customers and getting them to leave when it’s difficult enough trying to get new customers. Warhammer isn’t a cheap hobby to be part of to begin with, but a loyal customer will still spend money. Test their loyalty too much and you might find yourself in a bit of trouble.

There is only one problem to all this, the miniatures. With now all three factions of Elves united as one, you can only keep the imagery of their separate styles for so long before they must unite as a singular style. This means those with large armies of the old separate Elves may find most of their miniatures becoming useless unless the rule book contains a huge number of options, and the problem with that is that it may take too long to properly play test.

This is all speculation and we won't know anything until they release the next Edition next year and an appropriate army book. I’m not going to go into explaining Games-Workshops history of bad discussions (that’s a post for another time), but I feel this is an adequate explanation of what is going on from a non-fluff point of view. As a fan of the product, I disagree with this decision, but given their rules release history and customer satisfaction with it (Bretonnia hasn’t had a book release for the last few Editions), it does make sense to go down this path.

The Curse Of Khaine - Not-So Short Rant (Spoiler Heavy)

WARNING: This review rant is spoiler heavy because I can't talk about it without spoiling so much. Do not read this if you don't want important key points or the ending spoiled.

I honestly have no words to describe my shock after finishing this book. Just what the hell is going on at Games-Workshop HQ? As I try to come up with words to use for this article, I switch between this page and those from Warhammer Elves forums to get the Elf fan opinions, most of them not good. Seems most aren't happy with it. Many argue about the lack of character views, altered lore and various things that just don't make sence. Players are also getting the impression that they were screwed over, and I must agree.


The book is basically seen from Malekith's point of view. It is also constantly filled with flashbacks, which many have pointed out as cut and paste from the Witch King trilogy (Malekith, Shadow King and Caledor), which is true, but it does work in some parts (but not all). I like that Malekith is still unlikable and there is no attempt to make him (unless Gav did try to do that, which it didn't work if that's the case), but I agree just his point of view limits the story. Teclis could have been an excellent point of view and it would have been nice to have at least point of view from the Tyrion camp, given he's the bad guy in all this.

Oh yes, now we get into the serious spoiler territory. I was happy with they way most of the book went, but the last few chapters changed that opinion. Naggaroth is gone, conquered by Chaos. To save his people, Malekith took all who would follow and launched one final attempt to take Ulthuan. The thing is, Teclis is the mastermind behind all this. See, since Malekith damaged the Vortex in that infamous defeat, Teclis had been given visions from the Elf Goddess Lileath about the End Times. To somehow save everyone, these visions showed how to save them against the Chaos (or maybe not given the final paragraph). This results is Teclis being instrumental to the resurrection of Nagash (though his plan had a few elements to ensure Nagash returned weak and his great spell wouldn't be so effective) and the ascension of Malekith as Phoenix King. Yep, Malekith is the new Phoenix King. Turns out he was never rejected by the flames, it was just that Malekith was too weak to withstand the resurrection. The whole six thousand year civil war was his fault because he was too weak is a nice little plot twist I must admit, didn't see it coming. He goes through it again, though he's still a corpse in armour. Imrik of Caledor joins Malekith's invasion early on too, having been convinced by Teclis about Malekith being the true king. Malus Darkblade is in it, but gets an undignified death off screen with the daemon that was inside him breaking free and tearing him apart in the process.

As for Tyrion, well it turns out that the Elf Princess that was sacrificed for Nagash was his daughter, he blamed Teclis for her loss and in his grief, Morathi convinced him to take up the blade of Khaine, Widowmaker. Morathi is mad, believing Tyrion is the reincarnation of her long dead husband and Tyrion takes up the blade and becomes a murdering Tyrant (well, we're more told that, since we see him take up the blade after defeating Malekith, but most we never see their point of view). Korhil is killed when he breaks free of their control to steal Widowmaker later on, but is hunted down and beheaded by his own axe. Teclis wants to unchain the magic from the waystones around the slowly fading Vortex and that's where the final battle happens. The result, the remaining seven lore's are released to find a primary host (Nagash already stole the Lore of Death) and we know Malekith gets the Lore of Shadow and the Everqueen has the Lore of Life. From what I read on the forums, Teclis bound the Lore of Light to his Staff and the Lore of Heavens was bound to Karl Franz, explaning the end of the last book (though I feel those two Lores should be vice versa given that ending). As for the rest we don't know. Tyrion is killed in the final battle and The Shadow King is still alive, threatening Malekith that if he fails to be a good leader to the Elves he will kill him (It's complicated and confusing).

I get what was being said in this, the Gods are taking mortal form, end of days battle for survival, etc. The problem was is that I just didn't feel that. The whole 'Mortal Gods battle between Asuryan (Malekith) and Khaine (Tyrion)' didn't feel epic, it felt rush and with little emotion. Heck, they kept talking about their Gods, like how only the Blade of Asuryan could defeat Widowmaker, yet Widowmaker makes short work of it. If I was really picky about it, I'd say Khaine won that battle and was only defeated thanks to the Shadow King. A non-godly mortal beat both god-infused mortals. Either we were lied to and that both Elven Gods were really weak, or the Shadow King is more bad ass then I thought (I prefer the latter one).

The final indignity for the Elves, Ulthuan is now gone. Sunk beneath the ocean. Apparently, the Vortex had eaten away at the island and by shutting it down, the island sunk, most likely killing all the wildlife. They all now live in the lands of the Wood Elves, though what the forest spirits think of this we do not know. The end does tell us that Morathi was sucked into the Realm of Chaos while trying the stop Teclis. As for Teclis, I don't know. I've read the last part a few times, but I can't seem to figure out what happened to him. Perhaps I keep missing that one part, but as it stands I just don't know. I do know that after reserching more about the End Times Elves on Elf forums that apparently Teclis picked up his brothers body before disappearing with the island, leaving much speculation as to the twins fate. Morathi herself had tried to summon Slaanesh into the mortal world when Teclis was working his spell, but was defeated, explaining how she was sucked into the Realm of Chaos, though I expect she'll return as a favoured champion of Slaanesh. The main army animals also escaped with the fleeing Elves, though how a large number of Elves, beasts and Dragons can remain in Athel Loren and not loose it is beyond me. I get the feeling that they are going to forgo their allies in the human lands and launch an invasion into what was the Empire to take land and rebuild their kingdom. Malekith is leading them after all.

Honestly, I don't know how to recommend this book. I mean, the revelations surrounding Malekith, the Flames of Asuryan and a six thousand year civil war was brilliant as a plot twist, but the ending parts felt unsatisfying and offensive to all Warhammer Elves players. I also feel that the latter half of the book was rushed and not written as well. Simply put, about half way in I was very excited, but by the end I was very disappointed. There's more I've missed, but I'll leave it at that.


Elf-things Gods are worthless, weak and make no sence. Foolish they are to think themselves mighty-strong compared to the might of the Great Horned Rat, the one true God. Now they cower in their forests, but they can not hide forever. The might of Skavendom will be ascending very soon.
~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Back To Work

Still winding down from Supanova and the fact I have power once more. Doesn't help that the property owner/flatmate wants to argue about business decisions. I was trying to make a point about what I thought could happen to Warhammer Elves and the effect it could have on fans and he crapped on saying that people need to get over it and buy the companies shit. I used his favourite game series (Forza) as an example, to the point that he agreed he would buy a blank disc for $100 from Turn 10 if they said it was the official Forza 6 game, despite them not even putting a game on the disc and it was blank and useless. That's what I have to put up with people.

Speaking of Warhammer Elves, finally got to getting the new End Times novel, Curse of Khaine, and with any luck I'll finish it and give my thoughts on it within the next week or so. Also been working on bases for the Clanrats, but have fell short on the Painboy. I've been trying to find any tips or articles on painting the tubes (since Games-Workshop no longer do Master Classes anymore), but have found nothing of use. May take a little longer then expected. With study slowly wrapping up, things might improve.

Finally, Movember is drawing to a close and my final day is upon it. This year was flat as far as fundraising went, didn't do as well as previous years, but here's hoping next year will be better. Perhaps I may do something with it.

Supanova Blast

Went to Supanova Brisbane 2014, had a great time hanging with my brother. Was way too crowded for my liking and as a result couldn't get many photos in. Still, got to see some interesting things. Please excuse the poor quality of the pictures, kept getting pushed when taking them (very crowded indeed), nor have I had time to edit them.

Something about this Dalek really appealed to me, not sure why.

Because why not?

This guy was walking around it this suit and he was massive. How he did it I'm still not sure.

There was a section there for Games-Workshop, but apart from selling model box sets, it was also showing off various things like the weapons made for Cos Players. We talked a bit and I'm leaning ever closer to the idea of making an Inquisitor costume, perhaps for next year.

Due to the crowds and the usual problems that occur at Supanova, along with the fact I only had a few hours there before leaving cause I had work today, I didn't get all the autographs I had wanted to so. That said, I did meet Andy Price and Katie Cook from the pony comics and got some works from them. Katie did the sweet little water colour Princess Luna while Andy drew my characters. He was particularly enjoyed the 'Bogan Storm Spear' idea and felt the need to do that version. Really need to get over my shyness, had so many questions to ask, but could barely get the words out to ask for an autograph work piece (let alone them hearing my, I'm very quiet when my shyness goes into overdrive). I need a good confidence kick, preferably via a blow to the head (that is how it works, right?).

Bogan Storm Spear seems to be on a popularity rise, perhaps I should do more with him story wise (though my guess is the first thing that will occur is the Prime Storm Spear having a word with his alternate Bogan self about his drinking habits).

Bloody Brisbane Weather

So, on Thursday we got hit by a massive storm, it even took me by surprise by just how powerful it was. One lightning strike hit the tree across the road, causing it to fall onto the power lines. Both covered the road and forced the street to close. The surge blew damaged the wire connected to our units and blew the whole fuse system in place. Whole thing had to be replaced.  Finally, we have just got power back within the last hour (today being Saturday night). Luckily nothing seems to have been damaged by the surge. The wind and rain were so heavy however and despite keeping the windows closed, water poured into the bedroom through the windows. Hopefully the worst we'll see from that is a slight mould problem (that can be easily fixed).

On the positive side, I got to meet many of the neighbours and our unit block has been quick to help each other out.

Mordheim - Video Game

Mordheim - City of the Damned

So only recently did I discover that there was a video game adaptation of the classic Games-Workshop table top game Mordheim. The game is in early access and as far as I can tell it's funded through early access for it's continuation. It's also a bit costly, but then so are most early access games (I'll wait for a good special first). I'm aware it lacks a lot of content, but one should expect that from an Early Access Alpha game. They will add more stuff as it goes along, but they do look like they are genuinely focused on making it a good game.

The fact Skaven are in it got me instantly interested. See, I have never played Mordheim, but it has always interested me. The idea of designing and building small warbands and battling them is just as interesting as the big army battles. Indeed, I had planned to make a small warband just for the fun of it, but it's been sidelined until I get my last Clanrat unit out of the way (although the groups Rat-Ogre is almost finished). Sure it may not be the glorious Clan Skryre, but I've always considered Clan Eshin to be my next favourite clan (followed by Clan Skurvy, then Clan Crooktail and then Clan Skrittlespike). I will return to finish that Warband, hopefully starting before the end of the year.

They did release a gameplay trailer and from the looks of it so far, it does seem like the kind of game in which you can make a warband and have battles with friends. It looks enjoyable and still have that slight challenge and that cursed element of luck. Yes, I have had a whole squad of Black Templar Space Marines beaten in melee by a unit of Tau Fire Warriors so I do know just how unluckly one can get in these types of games.

As it stands now, I am very much looking forward to this game.


Yes-Yes, no doubt you'll be playing the holy children of the Great Horned Rat. Many prizes to claim for the might of Skavendom.

~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Supanova Is Coming

So, I failed to go to the one on the Gold Coast this year and thanks to study and finances, missed out on Comic-con. I have decided to go to the Brisbane Supanova. I'm looking foward to it. Plan on testing my camera skills with my new camera doing inside shoots (most likely without flash due to not wanting to blind nearby people).

It's also going to have Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime, Eeyore) and I might try to get an autograph since I'm a voice actor fan and I haven't got a voice actor autograph yet. Plus, he's freaken Optimus Prime. Gus from Rooster Teeth will be there (should really start getting their autographs too). Also, Andy Price and Katie Cook of the My Little Pony comic will also be there. I've been surprise at just how well done that comic series has been, certainly some of those stories have been better them most comics I've read and I'm a sucker for pony art.

Only problem I have is I have to work till midnight on friday, then get up early to go there before leaving before 2pm so I can get home to get ready to start work at five that afternoon. Going to be a hell of a day and I can assure you that I'll only get through it with my best friend caffine.

Bad Industries, Smart People

Video games are just one of my many hobbies and playing good games always makes me feel happy. Unfortunately, there has been very little of that over the last few years. Oh yes, there have been some great games released, but for every good one there seems to be ten or more bad ones that follow. It almost appears that the industry doesn't care about the gamer and only about how much money it makes.

But for me there is a light in all this darkness. If there is one thing this industry produced well, it was critics. Individuals upon the Internet who not only critique the games, but the industry and the community too. These people are not your usual flamers and haters, but people who make intelligent arguments and discussions. Nothing is off limits and listening to them can open your eyes to view points you hadn't considered before. Heck, looking back at some of those videos I watch, those points seem to just be common sense.

If I have to give examples, then I suggest you look up the works of Totalbiscut and Jim Sterling (a.k.a The Jimquisition). Whether you agree with their opinions or not is your choice, but it's the discussions and they way they talk about issues that you can make note of. I won't lie, I can't help but listen to these view points and compare them to my own. Certainly, I feel I understand the industry a little better and am a lot more cautious when it comes to the purchasing of games, which has paid off)

Love them or hate them, these are well thought out and explained view points and such calm and intelligent discussions are a delight compared to all the hate that gets tossed about.

Warhammer End Times Concern

So the pre-orders for the third End Times book Warhammer: Khaine are now up. Sort of guessed the Elf one was next from recent rumours, but upon reading the various brief descriptions on each a thought occurred: What are they planning for future Armybooks with the End Times?

Let me explain. With both the Nagash book and this Elves book there appears to be a common theme, uniting armies. Hell, the main phrase used to advertise this later one suggests the civil war that has raged between those Elf factions will be ending. If that is the case, then what happens next. The Tomb Kings and Vampire Counts armies have been turned into a single undead force in the service of Nagash, which suggests any future Armybook will just be called 'Undead' or 'Nagash'. The same appears now for the Elvin races, suggesting that any future release will just be Armybook: Elves. Even the Chaos one had one such suggestion, but unity amongst them is still a popular idea to some. Both High Elves and Dark Elves have had a long and glorious history and to simply cast it aside for unity and expecting people to accept that would be insane.

If this is the future of Warhammer Fantasy Battle, then it maybe considered a terrible idea. I know I bag Games-Workshop constantly for it's idiotic business decisions and they do indeed deserve it. Their failure to make the money they want is due to them not understanding their customers and trying to force us to accept and buy things we never asked for. But I've always been a fan of the product, I've always been a fan of both Warhammer worlds. But if they go down this path then I can only wonder why? Is it laziness? Are they cutting the product to save themselves time and money? Fans feed off the Lore, they feed off the rival factions, the game and the imagery. Take that away and you anger those loyal fans, and once you take from them what they loved, they move on. Hell, it's the reason I left World of Warcraft a long time ago, having them screwed the Horde over, Thrall suddenly becoming weak and useless and ignoring the whole Doomhammer prophecy. Games-Workshop still lives in a world where there a rival companies and while their games are not as big, they are slowly growing and some of it is due to dissatisfied GW customers.

I know this is all just pure speculation on my half, but Games-Workshop hasn't filled me with a great deal of confidence over the last few years. I can only hope I'm wrong in regards to all this and I would love for GW to prove me wrong, but from here it doesn't look so good.


No idea why you complain about such poor lame-stupid elf-things. No matter what happens, the might of Skavendom will rise and seize-take surface world as is right given by Great Horned One.

~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff


Oh dear, it would appear this strange rat-dressed man is showing up everywhere now.

~Zargooran

The Box

Dear, dear Games-Workshop. I too have something similar to this. It's called a tool box and it didn't cost me $578.

Bah, I know the box itself is $90, but my tool box cost just under $20 (I also think $90 is a little over the top). The big pack does come with tools and paints, but most of us could easily come up with something similar for a fraction of the price. For instance, the box could be a modified tool box or even a home-made wooden one. Most of the tools and brushes could easily be bought on-line or at crafting stores for less (I get my brushes from an art store and they cost between half to a third of a GW brush). I guess the paints would be the only thing that would be costly, but if you've been doing this hobby prior to this box's release, then you'll already have a bunch.

Another important thing to note: Who the hell has $572, let alone that much to spend freely this close to Christmas? I know your profit margin is on a downward spiral, but his just seems ridiculous.

Movember

My MoSpace Donation Page

While Movember is well underway, I don't start asking for donations until after the Mo starts to show. This way I can show people that I'm serious about this. I love doing these fundrasing events, it's so simple and can do so much good. Plus it's fun to do (except when it's really hot and causes it to sweat and itch like crazy - bloody Australian weather).

Blog Updates

So for some reason I had a sudden urge to update the blog, and by that I mean from a constructive update. For instance, the Project: Storm Spear section has been replaced by Characters, a temporary section where my published character profile will be linked to (I do plan some more work with them in the future). The Storm Spear page is there, but it now means things will be categorized more easily.

With my current study course, I've learned a few new skills and hope that I can update this blog to better suit my needs until I can start work on a propper web page for my work. Over the next few months I'll be making small alterations here and there to make this a much better blog. I'm also hoping that a few new things I have planned will work, but as they say, you got to take risks or you'll never know. They also say you can learn much from your failers, in which case I'm probably the smartest person ever. Think that one over.

End Times Thoughts

So, on reflection of the first two linked novels of the End Times, I've been thinking about what the future of the Warhammer world will be. We know all hell has broken loose everywhere and thus far, The Empire has suffered the most. A majority of it's major cities are gone, including Altdorf. Given the ending of the last book, the Emperor's fate seems a little up in the air and at least half of their special characters are gone. Brettonia seems like it's slowly crawling it's way back up and both Chaos and Undead have suffered some minor set backs. The Elves, Dwarfs, Skaven and Greenskins themselves haven't had much mentioned recently, though it's assumed that they too are probably dealing with Chaos and Undead, along with each other.

Speaking of which, are the Dwarfs aware of what has transpired within the Empire. Given their oath of friendship since the time of Sigmar, do they care about what's happened or even that they may have failed an oath or two in their lack of aid? I don't know, but am curious. Also, what has become of Grimgor Ironhide? In the Storm of Chaos campaign, he lead the Greenskins in a massive Waarrgghh!! across the old world and did battle with the forces of Chaos. It just seems odd that the Greenskins are still fighting amongst each other instead of being united, even more so with so many powerful foes for them to fight. Also, Lizardmen, bet your Slann didn't see this all coming. If they did, then they suck at trying to prevent it, unless they didn't want too in which case they are as insane as Tzeentch.

Word has it that this End Times event is to restructure the Warhammer world in order for the next edition of the game. My only problem with that is that with so many changes amongst the Warhammer armies, wouldn't they need to release new armybooks for each faction in quick succession for them to be up to date lore wise. Heck, rule wise some of those characters are now gone, so how would that work? Will have to wait until the next two installments to see how this will all work. Will be very interesting indeed.

Eternal Crusade Kickstarter Thoughts

Article Here.

So, in short, did Games Workshop make the right choice? Yes they did. Was the reason for that choice right? No it wasn't. The idea that a failed Kickstarter could damage their reputation has very little to no actual ground and why? Because the only damage that gets done to their reputation is cause by themselves.

Fans point out all the time that as the over the last ten or more years, multiple decisions from the company have cost them. These range from the constant price rises, the recent hard-cover Armybooks/Codexes, Finecast, rules, some poor quality miniatures to rather bland & massive models and most recently, their licensing. The license issue is the most recent as it seems to make up for the lack of profit (which some agree is due to their expensive miniatures and thus making it difficult to get new customers) has resulted in a bunch of poor quality games.

While Eternal Crusade appears to be one of those rare gems in all this, the idea that a failed Kickstarter could damage Games Workshops reputation anymore then they have already damaged it is a poor excuse. Heck, throw in some limited edition miniatures and most fans will support it just for them. I agree that Kickstarters are now everywhere and people are getting sick of them, but why not simple suggest it would fail because of that instead. It just seems more logical that way, given most fans have already pointed all this out.

A Thought Occured...

...I really need to stop doing stuff when I'm tired, I do nothing but make mistakes and probably piss a few people off to top it off. Sometimes night shifts are not always the best, particularly if the days are hot and difficult to sleep in. Still, could be worse I guess.

The Fall Of Altdorf - Not-So Short Review (Spoiler Heavy)

WARNING: This is spoiler heavy because I can't talk about it without spoiling so much. Do not read this if you don't want important key points or the ending spoiled.

So, after their last average book, The Rise of Nagash, it was nice to see that this book was an improvement. While characters in this one still made a few stupid decisions (such as Kurt being to focused on repairing the walls and ignoring the plague or Vlad's arrogance in his fight with Otto which backfires), it was well within their character personalities and made sense. Sadly, due to the events in this book, there was no way I could talk about it without spoiling it.

The story itself is simple enough. After a great battle to try and stop the forces of Chaos goes bad, the forces of the Empire are shattered and lost. Schwarzhelm, Huss and Valten have gone missing, the Emperor Karl Franz appears to have fallen and a wounded Kurt Helborg returns to Altdorf to prepare for the inevitable assault. Balthasar Gelt fled after his failures and under suspicion of dealing with darker powers and so a new Supreme Patriarch was chosen, Martek of the Amber Order. This sort of makes sense model wise as they do have an Amber wizard on an Imperial Griffon, though I would have thought an Amethyst wizard would be more appropriate give the fact that the Lore of Death has become dominate. Oh yes, they do mention about the fact that the Lore of Death has been unchained and that it's power is drowning out the other lores and that the barrier between life and death is breaking down, which is a key point for the ending.

Vlad is the second main character in this book. Yes, if you remember, Nagash brought Vlad back to life (still no answer as to why) and that Vlad is personally trying to help the Empire against the forces to Chaos. Despite being a slave to Nagash, Vlad has his own agenda. He wants the Empire to recognise him as the Elector Count of of his region, which I like given the situation. He knows he's not the same Vlad that had once been all conquering and that Nagash only brought back what was needed. The fact he still has the same drive is a good thing. What I don't get is that it describes him and his famous ring, but in the last book it states the ring was lost long ago, so is this a copy or the original and how did he get it?

Bretonnia is also in it, with apparently Louen Leoncoeur being still alive (I'm very confused by all this Bretonnia confusing End Times lore), though no longer King of Bretonnia. His story is between him and the Lady, who for those who don't know is their Goddess and is basically the Lady of the Lake character. The Lady herself appears to be dying (as are most of the Warhammer Gods) and tells him that the fate of mankind will take place at the battle of Altdorf, but if he goes he will die. And so he struggles with his pride and his fate, constantly being tested until the end.

Finally there are the forces of Chaos with just about every Named Nurgle Character who has a model being in it (or at least mentioned). I admit that the triplets are the most entertaining. They are Otto the warrior, Ethrac the sorcerer and Ghurk the monster. While I despise anything Nurgle, I did enjoy these characters, who seem to really have the luck of their god up until the end.

Which brings me to the final battle. Act three is the final battle itself and ultimately sees the death of a number of Warhammer special characters. If we ignore the Greater Daemon Ku'gath the Plaguefather (since he's a Daemon and so returns to the realm of chaos....or, at least I think he did) then the first casualty would be Festus the Leechlord, which is quickly followed by Louen Leoncoeur. Then we get to the battle of the Imperial Palace. Here Vlad battles Otto, but his arrogance gets the better of him, discovering that the blood of a champion of Nurgle is not blood but polution. This poisons him, leaving him violently ill and is force to flee. We don't know if he will die, if Nagash will save him or if this poisoning will somehow convert him to chaos )or at least twist him). Otto does end up killing Kurt Helborg and eventually Karl Franz. The thing with Karl Franz is that he planned where to be and somehow new he had to be at the special alter of Ghal Maraz. Remember that barrier of life and death. well with it gone and the light of the two-tailed comet overhead shinning on the alter, the spirits of the other dead Emperors took Karl's body and became some sort of golden avatar and engulfed Altdorf in golden light, destroying all evil. The light is still shinning in the palace and no one has yet entered it, so we don't know if Karl Franz is dead or is in a state of resurrection.

These deaths may annoy Empire players as now most of their special characters are dead, while chaos just seems to have lost one. I won't count the Glottkin as it's a new release, though why bring out an expensive large model if it's already dead is beyond me. It did say that the Gutrot Spume and Epidemius the Tallyman were both leading armies in the battle, but of their fates there is no mention, so I can only assume they survived and retreated after the golden light incident.

The book does end saying that the End Times had come, but they had not brought the utter destruction the gods of the North desired.One wonders if the Empire can ever recover, but it does give some hope that good can still overcome evil. Overall, this book was much better then the last one and was much more enjoyable to read. The battle of Altdorf itself really shows just how bad things have fallen and I hope they can keep up the momentom with the next book, though what that one is about I still don't know.



Wait one minute, me have question. How did ugly-fat Festus get under Altdorf? For those of you ignorant-stupid man-things that don't know, in book Grey Seer the grand-great Grey Seer Thanquol goes to mighty city of Under-Altdorf. Has many Skaven and great-many Spies in man-thing city. That bloated puss lover could not have gotten in unnoticed and without conflict. Me suspect trechery from them, purhaps by trecherous Clan Pestilense. Yes-Yes, that's it. Festus no beat Skaven for control, Clan Pestilence must have turned to bad Nurgle god and let him in, those flea-fools. Great Horned Rat will be vengeful. Wait, why no Skaven in book? Foolish man-things will pay for this indignity.

~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Next Book

As soon as I'm finished reading The Fall of Altdorf I get my opinions up, but thus far there certainly less stupid characters in this compared to the last one.

The Return of Nagash - Short Review (Spoilers)

WARNING: Spoilers, story and ending.

If there is one thing to be said from all this is that I hate the recent Games Workshop policy when it comes to the books now. Seems that not only have they stopped bookshops from selling them, but the big release ones seem to have limited physical releases, meaning in order to read them after the first wave you need to pay for the digital versions. A real pain in the arse when all I have is an iPod touch, screens to small and it get's really annoying to hold in a comfortable position when reading. Anyway...

The story is this, it's about the events that lead to the return of Nagash. If like me you were expecting for story beyond that then too bad, this book leads up to Nagash coming back and that's about it. The story itself is not bad, though it does rush through parts that (upon reflection), made the ending feel a little disappointing. It also didn't help with character stupidity. At one point in the book, some of the vampires realise that bringing Nagash back is a bad idea. One of them even has the opportunity to stop in by killing one of the sacrifices, but will only do it if they beg, which they refuse to do and so she leaves. Seriously? You make such a big deal of how bad it would be if Nagash returns and say how you'll do anything to stop it, and yet you don't just because a few prisoners who hate vampires refuse to beg. It's this shear genious of these characters which make you wonder just how they were are threat to the Warhammer world to begin with. There's also the stupidity of the Elves and Humans, but I could go on for hours about that too (thank goodness for the Dwarfs).

I know that it seems that I'm picking on the book, but while I did enjoy it, it was the stupidity of the characters (and the Chaos Gods too) along with the rather 'we have a short ending, quick throw in an obvious plot twist that fails' that annoyed me. Oh, and the end bit they throw in, yeah spoilers, it's Vlad returning. Nagash brought back Vlad.....why? Seriously, according to the story, it was Vlad who tought Mannfred at how bad Nagash, so why would Nagash have any reason to bring him back. Hell, as far as all the stories I've read, the two have never met and have no love of each other, so why waste time and effort in doing so.

Ok, so perhaps the book wasn't as good as I first thought. Certainly through typing this article I keep coming up with various flaws the book has. I still enjoyed the read, but if you just want a recap on events around the world that where happening at the time, you could just download the sample which does contain all that in it's Prologue. Atleast the digital download version is only $20 compared to the hardcopy which is $45.

Also, those pathetic flea-fools of Clan Mordkin failed to stop dead-things from taking sacred Fellblade. Dead-thing experts my tail. Suich weakness is an unacceptable and that showed all to well when stupid-dumb Warlord Feskit was beaten so quick-fast by cursed Mannfred. The Horned Rat will be most displeased.

~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Typical

So I finally get some images uploaded to my DeviantArt account and completely forget to update the blog in response. Just seems to be the way things are going around here.

Also, the next two projects I'm trying to finish will be a unit of Clanrats and an Ork Painboy (in honour of the upcoming game Eternal Crusade, which I am really looking forward to playing).

Delay On Uploads

A slight delay on the uploading of photographs of the miniatures due to the fact that I'm still not use to taking photos with the new camera. The problem is that they're not focused right, which means that that the miniatures look like they're covered in paint sploches and things like the details and blending don't look right. I know my painting isn't the best, but the pictures just don't look as visually nice like those taken from my previous camera. Will continue to keep testing until I get it right.

Update 20/10/14:
This is taking so much longer then I thought to get right. Given what little time I have left, it'll have to wait until later in the week before I can get a chance to try again. Will update further progress later.

End Times Chaos - First Drop

So, the pre-orders for the first drop has begun and what did we get?

I guess it's alright. The rules seem strong, but fair as they don't count as Monsterous Infantry and they do look chaos-y enough, but still. I do agree with many on various forums who do state that GW does seem to favour Nurgle heavily (given both Forge World and GW's previous releases) and most who have argued in favour of Nurgle have yet to come up with one that couldn't be countered. I must admit, I do like some of the mutation options.

The special character I do like. While I have no love for the Plague God, this miniature is great....for a Tzeentch conversion. Just alter the weapon, armour and flesh and presto, a servent of the Lord of Sorcery. Given that I can't purchase the Ikit Claw model at the moment for my planned conversion (apparently it's metal, meanning it's probably being set up for finecast), perhaps a side chaos conversion with a colourful paint job could amuse me in between waiting.

Quick Update

If there is one thing I hate about my conditions is that it really saps away any motivation I have. I do get some time inbetween work and study, but for some reason I can't motivate myself to do anything. Projects (both painting and photography) are building up and already I have to start working on another study assessment. Hopefully, I'll get both the Mousling and the Dwarf projects done and uploaded this week with possibly getting the Gretchen Mob done. Well see.

The next End Times book in the series will be out soon and from the video, looks very much what the rumours have stated (Damn you Nurgle!). What has got my attention as of late was the Skaven Black Ark. I had know idea what it was and it never occured to me to look it up in all the years I've played Skaven. Looked it up a few weeks ago and now I wonder why it was never in the book, this thing is quite the device. A large rat skull device that uses three Skryre Engineers to use it (much like most cannon crews). The device can be opened (much like the Tomb King Casket of Souls - seems both are based on the Indiana Jones movie) and while opened can be used each Skaven players turn and I believes works much like a stone thrower. It's biggest bonus (or negative depending on your luck) is if your within 6 inches of it. While it's open, each turn both sides must roll (model or unit - can't remember) and any failed counts as being hit by the Dreaded Thirteenth Spell and yes, this will kill any Skaven effected by it.

While it is a nice device, it didn't appear to overpowered that it couldn't have been added. If rumours of the third book in the End Times series being Skaven is true, I do hope that this will be added in.

The End Times

And so, in a desperate bid to get people to spend more money, Games Workshop has decided that the End Times will now occur. The events from the Storm of Chaos campaign will be re-written and we finally see the return of Nagash, who is now of a ridiculous size. We also see the return of Valten, which is unnusual given their last policy of pretending he didn't exsist. Still, nice to see his return. Settra got his arse kicked (well deserving since he's a real jackass) and that brought a smile to my face, though I am disappointed that the Tomb Kings couldn't give a decent defence against Nagash and his armies (given they've been preparing for his return since his last defeat). Guess it'll be up to The Empire once againt to defeat him.

What concerns me the most though is that from those I've talked too, nothing really mentions what the Skaven are doing (well, yet anyway). Given the history of the Skaven and Nagash, the Council of Thirteen's paranoia. Alright, I must admit I have yet to read any of the books myself and someone did inform me that Clan Mordkin is in 'The Return of Nagash' book, which I probably will go and read (it's just a shame it's a $45 hard cover book - only have iPod, sadly no iPad, so digital copy would be really hard to read).

I have heard that the next End Times will focus on Chaos, with the third one (released next year) will possibly have a focus on Skaven. If so, I'm there. It's been too long since I've done anything Skaven-like in my projects and anything that could inspire a new idea would be fantastic.

Till then...

Codex: Orks

So I finally got my copy of Codex: Orks recently and while I was originally going to review it, there are so many reviews of it now I don't see the point of repeating what's been said. Instead, I'll point out a few things I like and dislike and see how we go from there.

Alright, lets get some of the bitching out of the way. While this version is better then what we got in the last one, there are a few flaws. The first was the lack of a Looted Wagon. Yes, I know they did put rules for it in White Dwarf, but that was only because of an outcry for it after it was removed in the new book. Also, despite improving many of the units (if only slightly) there still isn't any real reason to pick them unless you want a themed army. The lack of a Bionic Bounce (and thus, a 3+ Armour Save) for the Warboss, forcing most to either pick Mega-Armour or a Bike along with the ridiculous Games-Workshop policy of 'if we don't have a character model we now remove the character'. I also still don't know if the new Mob Rule is good or bad.

My biggest complaint with this book however is the focus on Ghazghkull becoming this warlord who must now conquer all the Orks to unite them for some great Waarrgh! and the almost complete lack of Nazdreg. So starters, I don't like this direction the Orks are taking with this whole 'united Waarrgh!' path, particually since I see atleast half the Ork players turning against Ghazghkull as a result of this Warlords path change (won't be too hard since he isn't that great as a God of War anyway).  I'm just as annoyed with the tiny mentions of Nazdreg. While it does mention that it was he who forced his Meks into perfecting their more powerful teleporter tech, no where does it mention the awesomeness that was his involvement in the Medusa V campaign. To sum that one up, his space hulk crashed on Medusa V and his Weirdboys warned him the planet was doomed. He ordered his boys to go loot and dispite having various successes, the hulk had become infested with Chaos, Tyranids and Space Marines. In the final days, Nazdreg grabbed some boyz and shot to the nearest space port. Capturing an evacuation trasport, Nazdreg used the crew to dock the ship on one of the Imperiums more powerful class ships. On board was his teleporter and so proceeded to teleport all the Orks off the planet onto the ship. With a far superior ship now in his possession, Nazdreg left Medusa V to her fate. Who did that not make it in there?

Anyway, as was mentioned, many of the units have somewhat improved. Lootas are still very good, are now a Heavy Support (where they should have been in my opinion) and are cheaper. Boss Snikrot is now a seperate Elite choice instead of an upgrade and can be atteched to a unit of Kommandos to be the Red Skull Kommandos. Better still, Boss Snikrot does not replace the Nob, so your unit can now contain both. The Gifts of Gork and Mork are great, with the only downside being a character is just limited to one. You can purchase a Mek for each HQ you purchase, which is great for giving them a Boss Pole and sticking them in units which don't have that option. I also agree with the change that was made by making the Shoota upgrade for boyz actually cost, given how powerful they've been recently. Better still, the 'Ard Boy upgrade is available to any Boys unit instead of just a single Boys unit (and the Goff rejoyced).

As a Blood Axe, the changes in this new version are an improvement. I have started to add a few new models to my collection and might even be tempted to start actually playing them just for some fun. We'll just have to wait and see.

Wildstar Finian's House Update - TFBTF

Just a quick little update inbetween my assignments, I decided to find some of those missing Tales From Beyond The Fringe key's and get the poster unlocks. And with that, I gave that stairway a more interesting look.

View looking to the bedroom

 View looking from the bedroom

Not only does this improve the look from origonally looking rather bland, but I do like a few of these cover pictures. My favourite one so far is from the issue 'Attack of the Planet Reapers!'.

Yep, this one is defenatly my favourite. So much so, that I wouldn't mind coming up with ideas for cover designs with my own characters like Finian and Xzarvox. I reckon that Finian would no doubt have a dark image, perhaps part of the picture is his head and the background a tragic event or maybe just him in some kind of gun fight. Xzarvox on the other hand would most likely be him grinning maliciously over some kind of mad scientist experiment. Must sketch up some ideas, maybe even commission an artist to do them for me too.

Finally, I managed to fix the Tree Guest House. I really liked the additions Carbine put in with things like various plates, bowls and cuttlery. Such things always add that missing something that makes creating a place like this complete.