Monday, 18 June 2012

..Just another skull? But I already have so many..

The voice boomed across the room. A palace, resplendent in brass and fire, at the centre of which a horned monstrosity sits upon a skull throne. Legs crossed, his giant bestial head rests upon his clawed hand, and his crimson eyes seem half-mast and disinterested. Another figure enters the room - obviously a warrior, his giant chain-axe betrays him as such, although any casual observer would wonder why he was partly naked, and the slightly comical nature of the ears upon his helm. The giant figure upon the throne spoke.. 



"That is so thoughtful of you, Kharn... Yes, indeed it is a very fine example of a cranium. Perhaps even nicer than the one you brought me on Thursday.  No... no, I don't think there is room on the fireplace. I'm worried those Squat skulls will break with the weight of the others on top of them, especially those Warhammer Fantasy zombie heads. I'm down to my last three... And it's not like you can just pop out and collect some more!.. 
Right yes.. on the huge, mountainous pile over there with all the other Grey Knight and Blood Angel skulls.. Buddha knows how the Emperor keeps churning out those guys!"

Perhaps best not to look at the date of the previous post?

It's been far too long. This blog, like so many others before, and so many more to come, has started to slow to a crawl as my own enthusiasm for the project dwindled.

That's a topic for another time, but generally as much as I love the Warhammer 40,000 universe, too many games against opponents who cared little for the aesthetic aspects of their army has left me completely nonchalant about it as a games system. There is a common saying of 'people make a place', and coming up against the same unpainted Grey Knights, Space Marines comprised of 5-6 different chapters (when presumably the painter has got bored after finishing a couple in one colour) did nothing to inspire me to play the game. I realise what you 'get' from a gaming system is different for each of us, but sadly for me the game mechanics of 40k aren't strong enough to carry the experience on their own. And, I found myself getting annoyed by the level of abstraction involved, with comments such as 'why is X just doing that' and 'how on earth does that happen', to the point where I just wasn't enjoying it. There are only so many times you can laugh sardonically and make joke references as your troops just stand there like genetically-enhanced melons as they get assaulted and aren't able to do anything to prevent it happening. Now a new work schedule has meant that I couldn't play even if I wanted to, and it hasn't been much of a surprise to find that I'm not really regretting it.

So, really this is just a short blog post to let any followers know that I am still alive! The World Eaters have had their fill in their current form, but I hope that there are other avenues to follow and that some more information can be added to the site. I will say that the new releases from Forge World (specifically, their 'Pre-Heresy' armour marks) make it easier than ever, although more expensive, to start a Pre-Heresy force. Those mk2 and mk3 sets in particular would look great in white and blue, and with some chainaxes thrown in for good measure.

And really, what is that people would like to see? Some modelling or painting articles? Perhaps the World Eaters in Epic or BFG? What about more background or review articles? It's very hard to gauge how many people have actually read this blog over the years, beyond mis-directed 'Jimmy Eat World' fans, and so if there is enough interest I'll try and make some new material for it? Otherwise, well.. I'm not sure how I will break the news to that guy on the brass throne! In any case, feedback of all sorts would be greatly appreciated!




10 comments:

  1. While I am sad to hear of your dwindling satisfaction with this project, I can certainly relate. I see the inherent negatives of getting beaten by unpainted armies whose codex just happens to be newer than mine. Additionally, I have over 9K of Salamanders painted, and I am getting a little tired of looking at green to be honest. That said, I love your blog. I got excited by your projects because I could tell you were excited by them. You've done well enough with it, that pre-heresy World Eaters may very well be my next army...final "wife approval" pending. So at least take from this the fact that your work has inspired at least one fellow gamer down the skull strewn path of the XII Legion.

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  2. I like you also became dissatisfied many many years ago. I originally started playing in 2nd edition and played up to 4th..... then with "real life" I had to move on...but the call of war kept ringing in my ears.....the sound of bolt pistols and chain blades was missing from my life....so I am back but this time it is more for modeling/painting rather than the gaming...so my theme will be Warhammer 30,000. I have loved the heresy since first playing the counter board game and now Games workshop have finally came to the party with books/forgeworld releases etc....So thank you for you blog it has been inspirational and will be a useful resource for my own project.

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  3. I have to say that 6Ed is rekindling my interest here. I am looking to build a new force of Imperial Guard, but there are so many pre-heresy options that I know I'll not be able to hold back from a small XII Legion force. Have you seen the chainglaives from Anvil Industries? :)

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  4. Thanks a lot for the comments guys! And it's nice to see someone has still dropped by for a look, even after a complete lack of real content for some time!

    Colin Hagreen & David Clarke - Yes I know what you mean, it's a wonderful time to be a Pre-Heresy collector! You can buy pretty much all of the stuff that was featured in the Collected Visions book, and although it's pretty expensive Forge World have done a wonderful job of padding out the Pre-Heresy range. I wouldn't be surprised at all if what we have seen now is just the tip of the iceberg!
    But, at the same time, this is partly why I feel the wind has dropped out of the sails a bit. I took so much enjoyment from doing something different, having to make your own armour conversions and trying to source individual pieces from other plastic kits, and sharing tutorials and tips with other guys on the Great Crusade forum - it really had that feeling of discovery, and of creating something new and outside of the mould. While the new, pre-made kits have given so much, and making a pre-heresy army has never been easier, I can't help but feel it has taken something away as well. At least for me!

    I have to say I am really intrigued by the new 6th edition book. It looks like it has put a lot of the older, less abstract rules back into the game (grenade throwing, overwatch etc.) and the connection between player and miniatures which I think is a necessity at the 28mm scale. My other issue, that of finding a solid gaming group that also cares about the aesthetics of the game, I'm hoping will be solved now that I have found a new club!

    So where from here? Well, with that desire to try something different, there is a model range of rather short, heavily armoured chaps from another producer that has piqued my interest. I've been mulling some different ideas around - perhaps they could be one of the races encountered by the Great Crusade, and tied in that way?

    Thanks again for reading though in any case guys, and if my enjoyment of making the blog has helped to enthuse other people then I couldn't be happier about it! If anyone has any other ideas for the blog, or any questions about it, I will be more than happy to post them here and will continue to check the blog from time to time!

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  5. G'day Pacific :)

    I have not played a game of 6th. but it does seem like a better game than 5th. So I think players will like the game more.

    Allies is something that benefits at least three modes of enjoying the game.
    1] The competitor - he can build strong builds and paper over the flaws in his Dex. This particularly suits C:SM players and even C:BA players, stopping them from getting smashed by C:SW, C:GK & C:IG.
    Tau + Eldar [both "weak" Dexes] can form a formidable team, for instance.

    2] The painter. As chosen1 said, umpteen K points of green Marines is pretty full on. If you take literal allies, you can bring in another Chapter or some Sisters or Guard [assuming an Imperial player] to give different things to paint.

    3] The modeller. The allies needn't be literally 'Blood Angels'. Say you play as Space Wolves. Those Death Company allies could be represented by Wulfen ^_^ Similarly, you could make a WE version of Honour Guard, with their superior armour and power weapons.

    4] The jaded guy. Sometimes being faithful to your little dudes gets a little bit 'meh'. All of the above points can be used to keep 40K fresh and stops people from 'having' to start a brand new army, or even hobby, to enjoy their recreation time.

    I think 6th is a needed breath of wind in the sails for many a 40Ker. The variety that it brings along is going to be even more fun than the excellent new plastics that came out during 5th.

    :)

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  6. Whilst C:BA is a great fit for WE, there are some things that some allies from another codex can bring that is both fluffy and effective. Paint them as WE and you maintain a cohesive look.

    Wolfguard Terminators are much more like the eclectic mix you see in C:CSM. C:BA and C:SM provide very straight laced Terminators, whereas WG Terminators can all be unique, can have combi-weapons, different mêlée weapons, etc. Much cooler!

    Tactical Marines are a little boring, both fluffwise and on table. A squad of Grey Hunters is a fun change up, are closer in effect to any Assault and Death Company squads you have running around, and bridge the gap between Tactical Marines and Chaos Marines.

    Blood Angel Captains are a little 'meh' on table, lagging behind C:SM in terms of coolness and effectiveness. Surely a bad thing for both BA and WE!

    A Wolf Lord, a Lone Wolf [tanked up with Terminator Armour, Storm shield and Chain fist] or even a SM Captain with Relic blade, SS and Artificer armour, are all much more heroic and a better relative to a Legion that gave us Kharn the Betrayer!

    Whilst aged, C:BT also gives a number of mêlée-centric options that can add some flavour to a C:BA based WE army.

    Enjoy your hobby!

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