I done a tournament!

... and it did not go well. But more on that later.

Yes, as promised, it is the after-action report from the Battle Box Tournament I attended last weekend in Beanie Games Stockton (incidentally, an awesome place. I'd highly recommend it if you're even vaguely in the area).

So, After an hour in the car, I rocked up outside... and found it closed. A quick walk and breakfast later I bought my admission ticket and got started.

It was four rounds - two before lunch, and two after, followed by the awards ceremony. Lunch was a KFC, but we'll gloss over that and stick to the meat of the matter... KFC excepted.

Round 1 - pMagnus
So, there's not gonna be a great deal of details in these - partially to keep the post from being too long, and partially cos it's been a week, and my memory is not my best feature.

So, deployment... Got that.

The battle? It was the only one to time out. My opponent was good, but it was his second choice of army, and it's... well, not the best box at the best of times.

He moved up, I shot him. He pulled back, I shot him. I baited him with a Lancer, he smashed it, and popped his feat to pull back. I misjudged a charge, and popped my feat to not die.

At the end, , well... I lost. But, it's the one loss I'd argue. For some reason, your Caster is worth points dead, but doesn't count towards claiming an objective... something that I was not aware of, otherwise I'd have moved my Charger up. Oh well, close loss, I'll remember to keep my jacks in the control area.





Round 2
... Went badly. I was up against Hordes, so I was off to a bad start. I played rather too defensively here - worried about the defensive abilities of the trolls... and it cost my the game. Well, no - another misjudged charge did; this time too well. I killed a light Troll that I was planning on using to block a charge. And so his Dire Troll managed to get my Ironclad. And wrecked it. I pulled back...

... and he followed. My Lancer was held up in a fruitless fight, and my Charger wasn't gonna kill the heavy before he engaged us. So, I drew up my courage, and charged... with Stryker. And do you know what? left him on 2 boxes. And only cos I rolled snake eyes to hit once. Otherwise, he'd be well dead. But, he survived and then smacked me to death... a rather ignoble end, but it did teach a lesson - be more aggressive damnit!


Round 3

This went better... but I don't wanna say too much. My opponent was obviously new to the game, and he was still working out the basics to some extent... and, to be fair, Cyriss is hardly the best army to learn from.

So, how'd it go? Well, I moved up, baited him into attacking - as I said, he was new, and didn't know to avoid a trap most players would see as obvious. And so he charged my ARM 26 Lancer... it ended badly. I took the hit, and then counter charged with my Ironclad. Killed his heavy, then a light, then his Caster. Which was in base contact with his engaged light...

... As I said, I din't really feel good for this. It was unfortunate on his behalf - he was new, I was pretty well seasoned with Stryker, and disruption is hellish against Cyriss. Moving on.

Round 4

This also went badly. Thagrosh is mean, and I forgot the two most important things to remember about Legion: LoS doesn't matter, and they can fly. So blockers only inhibit you. I learnt this when I ducked my Ironclad behind an obstacle, for my opponent to point out that he could see me, and could charge over impassible terrain... so I was just hurting myself. So I ran moved to engage...

... and found myself out of range. Another misjudged charge; I really need to think things through better.
 It was a bad game throughout. Stryker nearly died turn one due to over-confidence, and then I was too defensive for the rest of the game. In the end, I had only my Charger left, and then Stryker got charged... as I said, it went badly...

... sorry, I'm acting as if it were my stupidity that did it. No, my opponent was really very good. I just happened to be playing badly, which turned it into a push-over rather than a decent victory for him.

So, end results? Second Last... yeah, I said it went badly.

But, do you know, I honestly don't care. I had a great day, got to play against brand new armies by brand new enemies, and even won a participation award... with which I managed to grab some card sleeves, which as surprisingly rare in Newcastle.

Anyway, that was my first Tournament. I hope you enjoyed reading about it - brief though it may be. I certainly enjoyed writing it.

... And I even have something planned for next post.

Score.

Volodanti out.

What's up?

Right, this, unfortunately, actually will be a short post. Which is a shame, cos I have so much going on. An idea for a D&D campaign prequel (a sorta spiritual successor to that Isles thing I did last year), I have just finished painting my month's pledge, which involved my first proper act of green-stuffing, and to top it up an hour ago I decided the models I was taking to the tournament tomorrow weren't good enough and quickly broke out the paint.

... Oh yeah, I have my first actual tournament tomorrow. Apparently, I'll stop being a 'beginner' and become an 'amateur'... According to a co-worker. Who plays Vayl.

Morrow-damned Vayl.

So, yeah, this is mostly just an apology that, whilst I have a lot to write about... I don't have the time to do so. Not in the detail I want anyway. So... I'm sorry for that.

But, tell you what - I'll take a camera tomorrow. And, with any luck, I'll get you a much better post next week, okay? Sweet. Thanks for understanding.

... okay, I can't deny you. Here's my lightning army as it stands.

Volodanti out.

MOAR LIGHTNIN!

So, another quick post - only just finished painting, and I'm going for a meal at 8, so I'll keep it quick. Firefly #2 completed! Her name is Sparky.

Anyway, this presents me a whole new thing to do - a comparison! To see what it is I've learnt this past month of lightning-y goodness. Well... not a lot. Can do copper now though. Think I'll be putting that to use relatively soon...

Sparky and Thunder

So, seriously, how do they compare? well... they're pretty identical. I can tell the difference, obviously, but I doubt that you could tell which was painted first if I asked you... Thunder (the original) is a little darker, and his lightning coils a tad brighter. Sparky, by contrast, is rather brighter, with a more vibrant hue, whilst her coils are more blue. In fact, here - just look at this... sorry about the shadow. Problems with a photoshoot in the evening.

I am pretty proud of how the copper came out mind. I'll admit, it's not perfect. It's still a bit too yellow, rather than a proper reddish-orange... but it works. If I told you it was meant to be copper you'd say "is it... huh, yeah, I see what you mean.Why are you carrying a toy robot around?"

If nothing else though, it shows that I definitely paint faster the second time round - only took three days of off-again-on-again work, rather than the week Thunder took.

... I am very easily distracted, alright? Doesn't help that I spent an evening watching the AC: Syndicate trailer on repeat...

... And, just to finish off (I said it'd be short) here's a shot of all my lightning models together... seriously, I need to invest in a proper photo-booth sometime.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Volodanti out.

Wow it's late

... So, sorry this is so late. I got called into work on my day off, so I lost 5 hours where I planned on writing this... stupid job...

... Seriously have nothing much to say to be honest. I mean... I did a session of WoD yeasterday, but I'd like to get a bit more of it going before I let you in on it... Haven't finished painting anything, or building, converting - whatever... found a couple sites that do cheap terrain, so I'm considering that...

... I also made a new system for numbers. Which, I realised would be literally perfect for a challenge in an RPG - perhaps a puzzle in a mage's tower which you have to solve before you can proceed... or, opens a short-cut anyway... but, then afterwards I realised "I'm not a GM at current!" so, that'll have to stay on the back burner... shame...

... Yeah, I'm afraid that this may well be a bit of a disappointing post for y'all. Don't have any fluff - and certainly don't have the time to write something new-

Wait. I do. I have fluff! Success!

Right, this is for a campaign I intend to do with some friends of mine. The set-up is pretty simple - an Astartes world has been accused of failing to fulfill it's Tithe. This was probably a clerical error, but obviously the people involved are not aware of this. So, they've dispatched a force drawn from three chapters to go collect it - or beat it out of them. At current, the detatchments from two of the chapters - the Praetorian Cohort and the Sacred Band - are in orbit, awaiting the force from a third chapter - the Vipens - attempt to shut off the void shields. So... here you go. Hope you enjoy.

Volodanti out.

Pertinax frowned beneath his helm. The Vipens were hours late for the rendezvous. Their initial landing had gone unopposed, but since then they'd heard nought from the... unconventional chapter. He drummed his fingers against the arm of the command throne, contemplating his options. He could send in a detachment to search for any sign of them - he had some scouts attached to his force. They were better trained as spotters for the conventional artillery, but they were still versed in the ways of infiltration. Of course, there were the auxilia he had brought; a few squads, but they might be able to breach at least an area long enough to shut down a generator... but that would deny him competent artillerists, and Pertinax loathed pointless waste of fighting men. ... of course, a couple quake-shells might just work. And even if not - it'd send a message. Yes, he'd have to discuss that with Barca. "Contact the Sacred Band Strike Cruiser. I wish to speak with their commander." "Aye milord." The vox-man replied, pressing a dozen or more buttons almost at once. After a moment, static flickered across the screen before Pertinax, before resolving itself into the shape of the Navarch; polished steel augmentations bright against his dark skin. "Centurion. To what do I owe the honour?" His voice was a few seconds out of sync with the grainy image, and heavily distorted - though whether that was due to the quality of the connection or his bionics was difficult to tell. "I am concerned about the status of our fellow started. They are long overdue. I wonder whether we should act in contingency." "And let me guess" Barca's voice was flat, "That involves bombarding their target, inspire of potential collateral damage?" "There is no collateral damage in war - merely necessary." Pertinax replied, quoting the teachings of his first sergeant. "But, in this case - yes. We cannot land full battle brothers, and we lack the neophytes required to take down their shields. My ships mount Quakeshells - a direct hit would knock their generators out of alignment, at least for long enough to land a beachhead. From there, we can clear an area and use it as a staging ground to land more forces." "No." The brevity of Barca's response stunned Pertinax, leaving him silent for a good few seconds - an aeon for the super-soldiers. "No?" Pertinax echoed through clenched teeth. "No. I will not have you endanger our allies because of your impatience." Barca's face was set, his mouth downturned in a grim line. "Barca, I fear you misunderstand me. This was not a request." "And I fear that you misunderstood me - that was not a suggestion." Barca glared at the Praetorian through the holo-lith. "I may not remember much of my time before ascending, but the sight of your shells upon my city falling is something that I fear will never leave me... so why do you presume I would allow you to do it to another ally?" "First - do not blame me for the acts of my predecessor. Second, your city was in open rebellion against the Emperor. Worse even than these men we come against in a punitive expedition. And finally - it. Was. Necessary." Pertinax ground his teeth as he finished, spitting the final few syllables. "Espouse your excuses all you want - so long as I hold veto, I shall excise it. Goodbye." The connection went blank, leaving a vestigial blur of his face upon the screen. There was a terse silence that lasted for almost a full minute, as Pertinax remained unmoved, glaring at the blank display before him. Eventually, a voice broke the silence, frightened and embarrassed. "Milord?" Pertinax crested helm turned slowly, almost grinding, to face the terrified serf. "The Vipens have just checked in. They are preparing for their raid now." That silence stretched on for far longer.

Vive La Resistance!

Pretty short post this week - nothing much has happened since my last post; a couple quick games (beat Vayl, lost to Denny... or rather Vayl beat herself, and my dice betrayed me) and based my battlegroup, but I'm not gonna do two posts on them in a row. I've started on shield caster, but he's still a whiles away from completion, so I don't wanna just show you a couple WiPs... cos my painting style is a bit eclectic, so you never know where precisely I am.

So, instead, I will discuss the game I played for the first time last night - The Resistance.

In a dramatic change-up, it is neither an RPG, nor a Wargame - it's a board game. So, still Tabletop, so it's relevant to this blog. In it, you and your fellow players have to complete 3 missions. Which you do by deciding who goes, and then declaring that you complete the mission.

Sound dull? Well it's not

You see, a third of the players are Spies (or, as the night goes on, Traitors). Their job is to ensure that the group fails at least 3 missions. You do this declaring the mission is a failure... I should explain that - when the mission is decided upon, everyone picks up two cards - one Success and one Failure. They put them face-down into separate piles, which are then shuffled, and displayed. If there is even one Failure  card in the pile, the mission fails.

The Spies know who they are, but no one else does. And, if they out themselves, they will never go taken on another mission. So, there proceeds a game of paranoia, accusation-slinging, and broken friendships. The Spies try to get each other on the mission without being to overt about it. The Innocents try to keep the Spies from even touching the board - and wondering whether or not that last successful mission was because the team was Innocent, or if the Spies were just playing the long game... or perhaps they were both Spies, and didn't want to make it too obvious.

IT leads to a wealth of 'strategic' thinking, risk management and conspiracy theory. Do you try to keep the missions 'safe' and just re-use the same people? Or do you try to mix it up at the start to that you have a better grasp in the late-game? And if you're a Spy - who do you blame? do you jump on the band wagon and join in with everyone else thinks? Do you back-up your fellow Spy, or do you throw all the blame at them - assuming that at least one of you will come out of it looking innocent?

So many options...

... Anyway, I urge you to try it out. It is an incredibly fun way to spend a few hours - and is probably the closest I've come to a beer-and-pretzels game. And this has turned out to be a decent length so, yeah... hope to see you next week.

Volodanti out.