New Digs: Rules Manufactorum

Hi guys!

You may have noticed that it's been a bit quite around here of late. While part of it has to do with work, that's not all! You can now find me doing a weekly article over at rulesmanufactorum.com! I'm aiming to post every Wednesday with new ways that we can subtly tweak our current rules system to either make it better, more interesting, or just closer to the fluff.

You can find my first article on reworking the Sniper rules right here!

But, I can't leave without posting a picture, as it hasn't all been work, work, and more work (though it mostly has). Here's a sneak preview of what the Circus has been getting up to:

Adventuring into Arctura: Matthias the Grey Shepherd

Recently I've been invited to join a local roleplaying group. They apparently play a loose variation on D&D 3.5 rules using a fairly amazing and well thought out campaign setting created by the GM called Arctura.

Essentially the world is for the most part covered by either ocean, jungle or savannah, with only small areas devoted to farming and cities. Humanity constantly needs to fight the jungle and its monstrous beasts back or be overrun. There is also only one god in this setting, Pelor, the god of Good and Light, though there are many lesser deities such as the great animal spirits of the tribesmen that are worshipped by some.

Over the next couple of posts I'm going to post up different possible character ideas that I have, and I'd like you to take a look at them and tell me what you think. It doesn't matter if the character can't easily fit into a class, as it sounds like the GM is very flexible when it comes to assigning mechanical abilities and it's more focused on roleplaying than dice. Since I like to play weird, out of the box characters, this plays to my tastes.

To start off with, though, here's a character that could probably pretty easily be created using character classes, Matthias the Grey Shepherd:

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Necromancer by m00nlight101

Matthias comes from a parish in the Founts [largest amount of consecutive farmland on Arctura and one of humanity's great strongholds]. The teachings of Pelor hold strong there, but they have been a bit… corrupted over time. Y’see, the problem that Matthias’ corner of the Founts has is the dead. When you die, you either get to join the Sun God in his paradise in the heavens above or you get cast down into the earth, never to be heard from again. Where most priests would just call it then and there, Matthias’ flock are a bit more… forgiving. After all, doesn’t Pelor love those who return to him after succumbing to darkness and doesn't he cherish those who labor in his name?

So Matthias and other priests of his peculiar brand of Pelorism, called Grey Shepherds, give the dead a second chance. They use “sanctified” rituals of necromancy to reach down into the earth, pluck a damned soul from there and intern him in a corpse (preferably his own, but any will do) to earn his place in the heavenly kingdom. For small time offenders this might mean something like tirelessly tilling fields or performing other manual labor for a few years or decades after death. Some even volunteer if they know that they have sinned and join a quick response defense force for decades or centuries beyond death, animated when needed. For others, they might be called on crusade to push back the hellish jungle and convert the heathen by force if necessary. For if the heathen won’t be converted by speeches, punishment or even the threat of death, there is always an eternity of service that they can be called to perform…

Matthias, of course, hates unsanctioned necromancy, as it is a vile and evil sin to manipulate the dead into serving any aim but the furtherance and protection of Pelor’s realm. He is currently wandering as a missionary, using his undead servants to further Pelor’s cause and help push back the jungle.

Personality: Matthias is very out going and genuinely happy to be alive and doing the lord's work. He honestly thinks that raising sinners and unbelievers is the right thing to do, and even believes that by doing so he is bringing them closure and eternal happiness. While he has had some exposure to outside cultures and the threats of the wild, this adventure will probably be his first real encounter with the Jungle and the predatory outside world. His naive faith will keep him strong for a time, but I do not know if he will have the strength to persevere. He often knows what the "right" thing is that his faith has taught him, but exposure to the real world might change or at least challenge a lot of those beliefs.

Possible conflict: Matthias' belief system is, frankly, based on a lie. Now that he's outside of the Founts he'll likely come in contact with those that see Necromancy as an evil art, and Pelor forbid that he should wander into temple, undead manservant in tow. How Matthias will deal with this will define his character. I currently see him as soldiering on, seeing this crisis of faith as a new test but feeling inexplicably guilty each time he raises the dead, but who knows what role playing will bring.

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So that's what I have for Matthias so far. He could probably be easily made into a cleric/wizard or cleric/sorceror. Comments and critiques are very welcome, as well as any cool insights that I could have on his personality and outlook on the world.

Thanks for reading!

Ogre Circus: Expanding the Troupe

Well, I managed to pick up the new Ogre army book this weekend and I have to say that I am very pleased with it. It looks like they've managed to make the majority of units much more viable and give the army the tools to really win in 8th edition.

However, with all of the lowering prices I've found that I really need to add more models to my army to get back up to 2k. Brilliant marketing move GW! Fortunately I really like the look of the new models, especially the Mournfang Cavalry and the Stonehorn/Thundertusk, though the Mournfang might need a bit of conversion work (i.e. lippizaner!) before they are fit for my army.

Anyway, I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to Fantasy lists, but here's what I've drawn up for 2k:


Slaughtermaster, Armour of Destiny, lvl 4, fencer’s blades 370
Bruiser, BSB, Runemaw, HA, Ironfist 193
Firebelly, Dispel scroll, additional hand weapon 157
3 Leadbelchers, Bellower 139
3 Leadbelchers, Bellower 139
2 Mournfang Cavalry, HA, Ironfists, Bellower 150
2 Mournfang Cavalry, HA, Ironfists, Bellower 150
10 Ogres, Ironfists, Crusher and Bellower 350
7 Ironguts, standard bearer, Dragonhide Banner, bellower 328

The command section I figure is pretty solid, and I wouldn't be too surprised if the trifecta of SM, Bruiser and FB don't become the default for Ogres at this points level. My Tyrant, while awesome, just doesn't do enough and now that I don't need to take him choosing the SM for my Lords slot is a no brainer.

Both he and the Bruiser/Firebelly will drop into the block of Ogres and form the center of the line, ready to mash up anything that comes their way. Off to the sides are the Leadbelchers and Mournfangs. The Leadbelchers pick off quick harassing units/add a bit of ranged punch while the Mournfangs go around the sides and either try to take out enemy war machines or get flank charges on the enemy.

Meanwhile the Irongut block moves to engage any heavy enemy infantry. The Dragonhide banner will let them absolutely murder people in assault, as rerolling 1s for everything plus the second turn simultaneous round thanks to the ice breath should make sure that they have an impact on the game.

Alternatively, I could replace the IGs with another Ogre block and/or swap out the Leadbelchers for a Thundertusk/pair of Cannons, or I could swap out the Mournfangs for a Stonehorn. I'll probably start with the above as it's very close to what I have in my collection currently, but I'm curious to see what regular Fantasy players think about the above list.

Thanks for reading!

Army List: Wall of Russ

On the flight home from a business trip I accidentally trapped my travel popcorn book in the overhead compartment. Not wanting to disturb the gentleman seated next to me, I decided to whip out my phone and type up a possible list that has been brewing in my head.

One of the problems that I've been having with my Guard is that they often seem fairly schizophrenic and fragile to me. AV 12 boxes carrying meltaguns is definitely a powerful strategy, but those meltaguns just never seemed to add enough to the army's overall strategy to be supremely worth it. Sure they're scoring, well armored and deadly, but they do nothing at range and get torn up when they get close.

Meanwhile my long range heavy hitters, the Vendettas, Manticores and Hydras depended on getting in first dibs on shooting so that they could take out enemy AT. Any return fire quickly shut them down either temporarily or permanently, so going second depended a lot on waiting in hard cover or starting off the board. And I HATE starting off the board. Plus in order to protect them I needed to devote additional melta squads which meant that they weren't getting in my opponent's face.

So here are the factors that are in my brain:

-resilience to first turn/long range firepower
-unified purpose for the army
-strong emphasis on utilizing the Vet squads in midfield

I'm an avid follower of The Back 40k and, despite Mr. Sandwyrm's recent success rate at NOVA I really like the way his army plays, midfield and aggressive with plenty of Russ backup.

So, with the ideas of midfield, unified purpose, and resilience to firepower in my brain, here's what I thought up at 1850:

Company Command Squad, 3 meltaguns, Astropath, Chimera
Veteran Squad, 3 meltaguns, Chimera
Veteran Squad, 3 meltaguns, Chimera
Veteran Squad, 3 meltaguns, Chimera
Veteran Squad, 3 flamers, Chimera
Veteran Squad, 3 plasmaguns, Chimera
Devil Dog, hull hvy flamer
Devil Dog, hull hvy flamer
Leman Russ Demolisher, hull hvy flamer
Leman Russ Demolisher, hull hvy flamer
Leman Russ Squadron, one Executioner and one Exterminator, both with hull hvy bolters

Yep, 4 Russes. Enough to blanket most of my line from enemy fire or at least afford them a healthy cover save, while at the same time enjoying their lovely AV 14 against ranged attacks. Long Fangs? Don't care. Vendettas? Have fun. Eldar? Hope you brought enough Bright Lances. Grey Knights? Yeah, have fun with that str 7 rending. Autocannons? Hah!

There are also no Vendettas in the list. Sure they put out a lot of firepower, but everything can see them and therefore shoot them down. Devil Dogs, on the other hand, can bookmark my Chimera line and offer them AV 12 on the sides while also grabbing cover and offering a serious threat to vehicles and infantry alike.

Tactics with the list depend on the enemy. Standard deployment is Russes up front, Chimeras behind them and Devil Dogs taking the sides. Russes are mostly there to help the army weather the first two turns of shooting. After that the Vets can be loosed on the enemy, melting enemy tanks and troops while the Russes continue to assist as needed while (hopefully) staying out of melta range.

Against drop lists deploy a small group including the CC to lure the drop troops into a trap when reserves start coming in turn 2.

Now, this isn't some perfect, win all list. It shores up one weakness of Guard (lack of resiliance) but opens up a few others. MCs are difficult to deal with at range with no Vendettas. Drop armies can cause merry hob by bringing meltas into close range right away. It also has little option in the early game beyond driving pell mell and a few 24" shots if I'm lucky.

But I think that might be worth it to not worry about the long range firepower that dominates the game again.

Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!

Ogre Circus: Loading the Wagons...

Tyrant Burnam is getting antsy. His circus, the Biggest Show on Earth, has been in storage for far too long. With the Ogres set to receive a new army book fairly soon, plus my general lack of motivation to work on anything for 40k has got me breaking out the big guys and thinking about what I need to do with them.

An easy project that I think I'll start with to ease my way back into doing hobby related activities is finally painting up this fellow, my second Butcher/Slaughtermaster. I built him for my hilariously-fated Fantasy tourney back in December but didn't have enough time/willpower to get him table top ready at the time.

Another project that I can do with my current stock of bits is put together a Slavegiant. With the current book I think I really need two to be particularly effective but I'm hoping that at smaller point levels one will be able to cut it. I already have conversion ideas ready for both of the big guys when I get them, but I think I'll keep that part a secret until I start getting work done on them.

Again, thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!

Invasion Kenosha, part 3

Before we get to the pics some words about the tourney in general. I had a great time there. Prize support was generous and consisted entirely of actual product rather than store gift cards, a very nice idea for a tourney that drew in players from across the state. While I didn't win anything with my record I did manage to get a cool Ogre/Cyclops mini from an independent company that I think will look great with my Ogres. We also got lots of cool bits in our welcome bags, including cool Pre-Heresy ish heads and some lipped bases which I'm excited to use. Plus, food was plentiful and included in the base price, always a plus for me!

More pics from Invasion Kenosha. These were pics of armies that I found to be the best of those there and showed off some pretty cool techniques.

I really enjoyed the color scheme on the Space Wolf army. The darker hues and use of more red and bone really sold me on the whole "Space Viking" concept much more than their traditional garb.

 This IG army had some rather impressive weathering effects- check it out!

 And speaking of rust effects...

That's it for now- hope you enjoyed!

Invasion Kenosha, part 2

Hi all, back to Kenosha for me. First some pics, then we'll get into the games.

All right, game time. First game was against an older gentleman named Eddie who also brought an Imperial Guard list. I learned following the game that all of the IG players bar one had been "randomly" paired up with another IG army. Interesting, but possibly legit as there were a LOT of IG players playing scarily similar lists.

Eddie's Army (love the sky/ground camo on the Valks!)

Eddie was not one of these, piloting a list with, at least in my opinion, a few too many upgrades and less efficient choices (Valks with hellstrikes?). Still, Eddie was a great opponent and we had a lot of fun. I got pretty lucky on most of my rolls, such as having my Demolisher destroy 4 vehicles in as many turns, including a Leman Russ through front armor. I ended up cleaning up all of the battle points, completely forgetting the idea of playing it safe when on the last turn Eddie encouraged me to charge in guns and bayonets ablazing to make it an appropriately epic ending.

End game

My mistake was soon laid to bare in my second game against Razor Spam Blood Angels. 5 Razors, 2 AC/HB Baal Preds and 2 AC/LC Preds and to top it off he won first turn on a board with very little LOS blocking cover in a pure KP scenario. This game really showed off my lack of long range firepower, as right from turn one I was desperately trying to knock anything out and get my tanks into position without exposing my side armor, a near impossibility due to the speed of the Blood Angels tanks.

I debated doing the all reserve but without an Astropath I didn't want to rely on the risky strategy, so I instead opted to reserve the combined platoon and the Vendettas to make sure I had some kind of punch after turn 1. Unfortunately I didn't end up getting my reserves until turn 4, at which point it was far too late to do anything. I was actually tied on kill points up to turn 5, but after that the Blood Angels got in close and tore my lines apart, earning him a Massacre. I have to say that my opponent was a gentleman and a very good player. None of his moves were wasted and all were focused on maximizing the most out of every single shot and charge possible.

Finally I played a really close game against a Nid player who played a list with no Hive Guard or Tervigons. This was a really great game that went back and forth on nearly every turn, especially turns 5, 6 and 7. There was some confusion over how the mission worked, and I may have been able to pull out a Major Victory in the end instead of the tie that we ended up with if I had read the missions more clearly, but even so it was very fun and got me to use a lot of the tools that I had brought in my army list. Favorite moments were probably charging twice with my platoon into both the Doom of Malantai and a squad of Stealers. They probably would have won the second battle if a second squad of Stealers hadn't outflanked on that edge the turn after they charged in.

So, at the end of the day I ended up near the middle of the pack, probably a fair assessment of my current level of rustiness as well as the very real limitations that my list possessed. The second and third game were very educational and I'll definitely try to remember the lessons that I learned.

Next time, some more pics from the tourney. Till then, thanks for reading!