Gamesday Fantasy - Beastmen rumors?

While there was very little in the way of Skaven at Gamesday 2009 I did come across this picture of a Nurgle-tree while browsing through a collection of pictures on the web. He is a big nasty one he is.

"What!? I'm hungry!!"

This same tree showed up recently in the scenery section of White Dwarf and from the "News... In Brief" there is this cryptic comment:

"If you go down to the woods today you're sure for a big surprise... especially if it's one of the dark woods that cover the Old World. Not the traditional end to the rhyme, but it's what certain games developers have been singing recently. What does it mean? Find out in a few months' time."

Sounds like the Beasts of Chaos are baying from the darkened woods... for my hard earned cash! Any Beast players read this blog? What are you looking forward to in your new book!? I'd love to see the addition (re-addition?) of Chaos mutations, more special characters, and a big gribbly monster.

UPDATE - spent some time poking around the net (most notably WarSeer) and discovered some info about this evil tree. The tree is the creation of Chad Mierzwa who has a large Nurgle Beastmen army and the tree just happens to be a part of it. His work has a tendency of making it's way into White Dwarf and army books but hard to say if this has anything to do with a new Beasts of Chaos book.

Also came across a post from dandini who says:

"I was lucky enough to chat with John Blanche at Games Day UK, and had quite a comprehensive look through his sketchbook. Nestled somewhere in the middle of the book was a picture of a chaos tree, above the tree was a khornate symbol, and the image was copyright 2008.

I asked John if this was an indicator of an upcoming Beasts of Chaos release and of them having an evil treeman unit. He said that he wasn't allowed to give any info on future releases but gave a wry smile as if I'd uncovered an easter egg in his book!"

So is this tree a harbringer of Beasts to come? Who know... it looks pretty damn cool though.

Beer Gut Tribe smashed in some 'eads at 'Ard Boyz!

What?! How the hell ...

I got second place in round one of 'Ard Boyz today - beating out a nasty VC list, casty double Slann LM list, and Dragon/double Hydra DE list. Final tally was 1 Draw and 2 Massacres.

First place was a Kairos DoC list with tons of Flamers and a giant unit of Horrors. Third place was a Thorek Dwarf list.

I'll try and get some details up tomorrow - right now I am still in shock! Going to be playing in round 2 for the regional competition! I am very happy and very proud of my Ogres. To those that said it couldn't be done - you were wrong!

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to 'Ard Boyz we go!

'Ard Boyz! What madness lies within the twisted walls of your average tabletop gamer's mind? Soon I will find out as I venture deep into the territory of "cheesed out" lists in "waac-ville".

Even Thor is getting in on the "beardy" action!

Things I expect will happen in my three games today:

1. My Ogres will be completely outmatched in the magic phase (even with Skrag and two Butchers)

2. I will be tabled very early in a game (or two, or three), most likely by heavy shooting or magic.

3. The scenarios will be "good" to me and I will score a few points but lose all my games.

Things I would like to see happen in my three games today:

1. My Tyrant completely and utterly destroys a Lord or two.

2. The Scraplauncher or Slavegiant will do something spectacularly terrible that works out to my advantage.

3. I win at least one (or two, or three) of my games, hopefully against players who bring very hard lists.

Wish the Beer Gut Tribe (and me!) a bit of luck - they will likely need it! Best of luck to all the brave OK generals taking Ogres to 'Ard Boyz today. Maw the force be with you.

Progress Report - Painted Ogre Butcher.

Yup. There he is - one Ogre Kingdoms Butcher. All painted and stuff. I still need to do some touch ups and seal the model (gotta find some Dullcoat!) but otherwise I like how he turned out.

I wish I had put some extra bits and bobs on his base, but live and learn. I really like how the blood/gore turned out (especially on the hammer) and the model as a whole is one of my favorites from the Beer Gut Tribe. Comments and critiques are welcome and appreciated!

Carpe Noctem - The Invocation issue #2 out now.

Another month and another WHFB e-zine is released to the web! This time we have a new issue of The Invocation - the Vampire Counts webzine produced by the fanged fiends at Carpe Noctem.

You can download the new issue here. Watch out! It is a hefty 45mb!

I really enjoyed the first article in this latest issue of The Invocation which goes over the magic arsenal available to Vampire Counts players (similar in style to my Basics for Beginners - Ogre Kingdoms articles). While I don't agree with all of the opinions it presented I always find it interesting to read another view on commonly used magic items.

The rest of the issue covers a wide variety of hobby articles including; a painting competition, zombie painting, army showcase, forum user projects (which include work towards two different army lists/rule sets within the Vampire Counts book - some of which are quite complex), cool art, a comic (sweet), battle reports, and tactics articles. There is certainly something here for everyone - a most impressive selection!

The look and layout of this issue is fairly consistent with a heavy use of "stained" paper backgrounds and black fonts. The overall feel is one of workmanship, but the sheer amount of content makes up for any lack in the design department. Plenty of pictures (where needed), cool illustrations, and decent font choices/spacing make this webzine pretty easy to read.

I would love to see this webzine switch to the landscape format used by some of the other notable community zines, but I know (from experience) that can be a pain to format. Limiting the use of different fonts would go a long way to producing a more "unified" look to the publication though, and I don't like the script font choice used for the lengthy piece of fiction included near the end of the issue.

Still, I recommend giving this webzine a look if you love (or hate) the Vampire Counts and I am looking forward to seeing the next issue when it comes out later this year.

Progress Report - Skeletons!!!

Spent a few hours this weekend assembling a box of Skeleton Warriors with my new "foam safe" CA glue. The fumes are still there, but my skin does not seem to be as irritated with the exception of my eyelids. My sinuses and lungs are a bit messed up as well, but it is a far cry from what the "old glue" would have done to me. The only drawback so far is the longer set time this glue has. It has forced me to get creative with how I can keep the various skulls, bony shielfd arms, torsos, and weapon arms attached while the glue sets. A small price to pay for my health I suppose... as long as I assemble and glue in moderation I think I will be okay!

Here is a small WIP pic of the Skeletons I am working on at the moment.

"Aye! We ain't go no 'eads! Why does 'orny get a 'ead?"

This batch of 10 has a Champion and they are all equipped with spears. While I don't intend to use the spears in game, I like the look of a mixed unit with some spears in the back. It looks more like a creepy undead rabble and less like and ordered legion of self-aware skeletons.

I am also working on a few unit fillers for my skeletons. Here is the first, made with skeleton bits and using one of the "Gothic Graveyard" bases from Iron Halo.

Are they singing or screaming? Can skeletons even talk?

I plan on getting more of the Iron Halo bases, they are really high quality and I want to use them to base some of my characters too. The resin is nice and solid and the casting/sculpting is top notch. I highly recommend them to anyone looking for cool resin bases to make their armies stand out.

Well that's it for now! I am going to make an effort to post more WIP updates here each week, along with my oft-neglected beer reviews. I have a stack of reviews waiting to be published on the site, and whole shelf of beers in my fridge awaiting review. I have been slacking on the drinkin' portion of this blog! No longer! More beer!

Alaskan Brewery - Alaskan Amber

Beer Type: Altbier

Appearance: 12 oz. brown bottle that same generic (and slightly crappy looking) logo, this time with a boat on it and a red label. Crappy label or not, this beer has a unique orangeish-amber color that I haven't seen from too many beers. A really nice foamy white head, something I don't see a lot of in bottled beer.

Smell: A bit of fruit (citrus) and grain. Not a huge nose on this beer.

First Drink: Caramel and a sour citrus. A little sweet but not too malty. Nice.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, pretty much what I expect from an Amber ale. Quite a bit of carbonation but I don't mind that in this beer (especially if it lent itself to the lasting head).

Last Drink: Just a hint of hops, but it is barely noticeable. A sort of apple taste is lingering at the back of my tongue as well.

Drinkability: Very drinkable beer, and I wish I could get more of it!

Notes: Yet another beer from my trip to Fort Collins, CO. I like this beer better than the Pale Ale I also reviewed, but they are both quite good.

Verdict: 4 out of 5. Wish I had another one right now!

Links: Beer Advocate and Alaskan Brewery.

Book Review - "Blood for the Blood God" by C.L. Werner.

Another recent purchase from the Black Library and another book review for the site. Still working my way through a fairly massive stack of books, hope to have another review up within the next few months!

"Blood for the Blood God" by C.L. Werner

The "glorious king" Teiyogtei Khagan was once worshipped as a god on earth. An unstoppable warrior of the Tsavag tribe, Teiyogtei managed to unite the warring tribes near the Chaos Wastes - aided in part by an extraordinary weapon known as the Bloodeater. A weapon crafted on the Black Altar deep within the Chaos Wastes, the Bloodeater thrived on raw hate imbued by a fallen daemon Teiyogtei had slain. While he held this weapon no one dared oppose the will of Teiyogtei, to do so meant a swift and brutal death. And so it was within and without the tribes until the Skulltaker came...

The Skulltaker - an executioner of Khorne who had come to kill those who had been deemed traitors of the Blood God. In an epic battle between Teiyogtei and the Skulltaker, Teiyogtei slays the champion of Khorne with the Bloodeater but at the cost of his own life. Once destroyed, the Skulltaker's mortal shell is banished for over five hundred years - but prophets claim the Skulltaker would return once again to wreak his bloody vengeance on the descendants of Teiyogtei. And that is where the story begins, with the Skulltaker having returned to tribes intent on adding a few skulls to the Skull Throne of Khorne.

Werner does a great job of depicting life within the northern lands of the Chaos Wastes, highlighting the humanity of the Chaos hordes while emphasizing each Tribe's particular beliefs and traditions. The story is at its best and most interesting while delving into the political relationships between each tribe and their Warlords. The region is held in place by each tribe in a sort of diplomatic stalemate that has formed between them. The stalemate is finally broken when the Skulltaker returns to the lands intent on cutting the legacy of the King Teiyogtei from the flesh of each tribe's Warlord.

The fight scenes within the book are fairly one dimensional and overly simplified and there are quite a few of them in the story. Most encounters with the Skulltaker can be summed up with the following series of events:

1. We can kill this guy! Who does he think he is! We are the descenders of Teiyogtei and have been gifted by the ruinous powers with wondrous abilities and magic weaponry.
2. Go my minions! Kill this intruder! The Skulltaker is a myth!
3. Holy crap he just killed hundreds of my best warriors. I will have to be careful fighting him.
4. Oh crap. I can't kill this guy.
5. Oh crap, I am dead.
6. Skulltaker takes the Warlord's skull as a trophy for the Skull Throne.

While some of the story's characters are interesting and unique, many come of as your typical Fantasy cliches and are treated as such. Some stretches of the story can drag as Werner like to use long-winded descriptions to get across simple plot points. If you can work your way through these few tedious sections there is plenty of fantasy action to be had with treason, war, magic, bloody battles, and a rather unexpected ending as your reward.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would love to see more stories which center around the Northern Chaos tribes. This may not be the best example of Werner's writing, and I still prefer the Witch Hunter series over this book, but if you are looking for a blood-drenched tale of death and doom then look no further.

Verdict: 6 out of 10.