Back in MY day...

So as I perused my typical blogosphere haunts, I found a fantastic editorial by a friend of mine that expressed something I whole-heartedly agree with.  Here's the link:

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2011/09/editorial-are-we-making-gw-games.html

This guy, Nick, was actually the manager of a hobby center and trained the guy who hired me into the company.  His legacy has far outlasted even the shop in the area and I'm glad to say that he influenced me greatly in my own hobby journey as well. 

Okay, enough with the kissing up (as though Nick or anyone from Bell would see this anyway...).  I want to talk about the subject of what 40k is and what it is not. 

Now I have my fair share of trophies- most collected while I wore the power armour myself.  In all that time (a massive nine years, four times longer than the average servant of the Emperor), I had the glory of meeting every kind of gamer and even developing a ton of them in my own image (and by association, Nick's).  So onto my rant...

What 40k is:

Warhammer 40,000 is a game, set in the grim darkness of the 41st millenium and based on the greater factions in the galaxy making war with one another.  It showcases unimaginably horrible creatures in alien armies and heroically unknowable warriors defending mankind.  The game pieces are highly-detailed model kits used to represent platoon- and company-sized forces battling across blasted landscapes. 

Let me make that a little simpler:  40k is a game.  It involves models.  Sadly, this point has been lost on alot of people out there, but I'll get to that in a bit...

Games Workshop, for whom I worked for a large portion of my life, was very clear in their mission:  to sell toy soldiers.  The rules, and books specifically, are nothing more than a cheap parlour trick to get us, the consumers, to buy more models.  If the rules aren't clear or balanced, it's because they're not supposed to be.  If the armies aren't directly competitive against one another, it's because that's not the point.

What 40k is not:

40k is not Magic: the Gathering.  It is not War Machine or Hoardes.  That's right, I said it!  It's not any of those.  Those games are specifically competitive games wherein a player uses the rules to maximize the potential of his gamepieces and crush the opponent.  There is no 'Page 5' or 'Beta Black Lotus', there is no magic formula to winning (although there is an entire community out there that would disagree with that).

40k shares more in common with Dungeons and Dragons than any other game I've seen.  It's about the story and your army's part in it.  The setting of the 40k universe is compelling, if not downright terrifying.  The storyline, so often missing from the tabletop, is what makes the system rich and worth delving into.  In fact, let me share with you how I, and most of my compatriots, sold this to the many willing victims that dared set foot into a hobby center:

Customer:  "I don't know what I want to play.  Do you have any suggestions?"

Staff:  "Well, it's very simple.  Come over here and take a look at the box covers, and tell me which artwork you like the best."

Customer:  "I like the Chaos Space Marines.  They look like they're really mean and cool."

Staff:  "Fantastic!  Let me show you the best way to start that army..."

And there it is!  Now that doesn't mean that we didn't have the occasional M: tG gamer walk in looking for the most 'beatstick' army they could find.  It didn't mean that we didn't want to help people design armies that worked well on the tabletop.  But more often than not we witnessed many power gamers getting frustrated with losing while the rest of the gamers, most of whom enjoyed the storyline, were happy just to be rolling dice and not failing miserably.  It always brought a smile to a staff member's face to see a new gamer asking about the background of the army or a veteran gamer talking smack from the point of view of their general. 

What have I observed lately?

Here's the meat and butter of why I had to share Nick's editorial and then go on to wax poetic on the subject myself.  So, in case y'all are terrible at connecting dots, I am a regular reader of the blogosphere.  Better, I'm a regular hobbyist that likes to have conversations with other hobbyists and gamers, and I'm a damn good listener (A communications background and a decade of sales training will do that to you).  And I've noticed some disturbing trends of late.

The blogosphere is almost completely full of the 'netlist' phenomena and 'power gamer' attitude.  This is where people make up effective army lists, post them online, take them to tournaments, and are soon copied by everyone that wants to win.  I'm not saying that every army list online is one of these or that everyone that emulates someone else's army is only out to win.  But since the blogosphere has exploded so rapidly, so too has the propensity to use it to 'advance' one's own winning record.  It's sad.

As I talked about in my last blog, my LGS seems to be full of power gamers.  The two LGSs that were near my own Thunderhawk (when I had one) were full of power gamers.  The tournaments that I [used to] frequent were nothing but power gamers.  This is a big problem.

When the power gamers came into my shop, they would complain that my community offered them no challenge.  They complained that they saw every single army that GW had released, and the 'new army syndrome' was rampant.  Worse, they complained that I was teaching my gamers to be sissies and eventually that would harm my community.  When I go into my LGS today, I have to tolerate the constant stream of power gamers coming over to my table and explaining to me what I should include in my army if I want to win.  This advice is ALWAYS unsolicited, yet never withheld.  But let me put it into perspective:

The hobby center[s] that I ran always had the distinction of being number one or two for sales in North America.  This is not to brag about my sales ability, this is a result of the culture that I encouraged in the shop.  With the exception of two out of the twelve tournaments that I've ever played in, I've walked away with a trophy.  This includes the smallish Rogue Trader tournaments of old and the massive Adepticon.  Also, I own more stuff for 40k than most games shops carry.  If I really wanted to make the most unbeatable army list of all time, I have every resource I would need to do so.  These 'wise-men' don't seem to understand that there are those out there that can do whatever they want and simply don't.


In both of these cases, it proved that promoting enjoyment of 40k for what it is, rather than for the joy of winning, people were happier and the hobby stayed strong.  No matter what, a fun time is always better than winning.  Those people that tell me that they 'only have fun by winning' are the kind of people that often drive people from the community.  Rarely do the two ideas meet affably.  When they do, it's a miracle!

This is not meant to be a rant against the power gamer but it is an opinion about what I've noticed these days (and for years leading up to them).  I do not enjoy going to my LGS to play games because I don't want to have to hear Dave or Joe tell me again how I should have a 900-point unit of storm shields and thunderhammers in my army.  I don't want to hear the Chaos Space Marine players whine all day about how their codex is complete crap.  I certainly don't want to hear how the Tyranid codex is worthless under the new edition.  I disagree on all counts.  I like the fluff.  I like the models.  And I don't think the rules preclude any chance of fun games, regardless of the armies being used.  

And with that, I've fallen into GW's sneaky trap completely.  If that means that I have to lose once in a while or just stop playing altogether, it ain't such a bad thing.  GW will still get what little money I can spare each month and I still have my hobby.  It just sucks that others don't seem to get it...  As always, Nick, you have it right.

Gimme a break!

For the last twenty-odd years, I have been very committed to the hobby.  Way back when I was a super-involved high-school student, sitting on the ruling council of four different club, I made time to pick up the toy soldiers and play.  When I was a factory worker, spending 12 hours a day breaking my body for a decent paycheck, I still filled my nights with the 'ol paintbrush and space marine routine.  When I signed up for service in the Astartes, I even hobbied at night, in my basement with any number of friends. 

And in all that time, I never understood the whole idea of getting burnt out.  I LOVE my hobby, and I couldn't fathom why other people needed a break.  But that, as everything in life does, changed.

While working the greatest shop in the US, my regional manager gave a meeting point of the 'myth of burnout'.  I became angry with that.  He contended that any person that claimed to be burnt out was just making excuses for not wanting to work anymore.  By this point, I had already painted somewhere in the area of 120 different armies and I was lacking excitement in my hobby anymore.  After all, how many different versions of Warhammer Skaven can a person do before they all just look like rats?  I walked away from that meeting less-than-inspired.

Over the next year or so, I slowed down on the hobby.  I had seven fully painted armies in figure cases next to my bed, had sold or given away six other armies, and still had 14 other armies in various stages of completion.  I didn't feel the need to work at it anymore, and I certainly wasn't as excited as I once was.  But I powered through it and still pumped out at least a new unit every other week, if only just to show my hobby community that I was as involved as I expected them to be.

But I moved back home since then.  I've tried to recruit some gamers to play with me in my garage.  I've even gone to the LGS and thrown down a couple of times.  But it's summer now, my Workshop is 140 degrees of Texas heat, which isn't real comfy for hours of painting.  The gamers at the LGS seem to care little for painting their forces or playing fun, fair games.  And the people that I've tried to recruit don't seem to be into the system at all.  So what am I left with?

Four straight weeks of not wanting to do anything.  I don't want to paint anything; I've done more than my (and a couple others') fair share of that.  I don't want to make up cheezy armies just so I can stand a chance at the LGS (I already have a gazillion trophies, I don't care about winning anymore), and I just can't seem to get excited right now. 

So I've taken the advice I used to offer those people that felt burnout in my community- I took a break.  I haven't touched a single model in weeks.  I haven't picked up a pen and written an army list since June.  And I haven't even really talked about the hobby with my normal circle of hobby buddies, all spread out across the country since the Fourth Great Scourging of GW USA.  All in all, I've been absent from the hobby (and this blog) for weeks, and I don't feel bad about it at all. 

What's the moral of the story?  When you have to force yourself to hobby, it's time to take a break.  When you just don't feel the love, just chill out and find something else to do for awhile.  Much like me, you may find yourself missing the hobby and finally want to do it again.  For me, I'm gonna paint some Empire Spearmen and BA Vanguard vets tonight.  If it weren't for this break, I probably would be selling my stuff off right now out of frustration.  Luckily, I'm wise enough to take that age-old addage to heart:  "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Happy Hobbying!

Finally!

It finally happened.  I finally gathered the motivation to go to the gameshop.  I took my Blood Angels and Empire, as well as some hobby supplies.  My intention was to hang out and hobby a bit, getting to know more than the half-dozen guys that I've seen in there every time.  Luckily, I even got to roll some dice and play a game!

I sat next to a cool fella named Will.  He displayed the kind of enthusiasm that I was used to seeing from years of recruiting new hobbyists.  He had acquired a Black Reach set and alot of other Space Marine stuff and was happily chatting with me about his paint scheme and his plans for his force.  I was super excited to be starting in that way.

I was also surprised by the amount of gamers in the shop playing Warhammer.  I went in at a quarter-to-five and found three tables of fantasy and one table of 40k.  It was awesome.  I was impressed, especially considering that this shop is frequented by soldiers and army-brats.  It was certainly promising for my Empire. 

I painted some insignia onto Assault Squad 7 while I observed and talked with Will and a couple of other guys.  When later I went to inhale my cancer-smoke, he joined me and asked to play a 1500 point 40k game.  I knew this was gonna be difficult as I could tell that he was as new as they come and our game was certain to turn into a teaching game.  But wait!  That's what I've recieved a decade of training specifically to do!!!  I happily agreed, finished my cigarette(s), quit the phone call I was on, and pulled out my Descent of Angels Blood Angels army.  And yes, I did warn Will that I was bringing that force and how he should set up to avoid the full wrath of Baal in turn 2.  I am fair, and this was going to be a learning game.  The mission we rolled was a 12-and-kill.  How appropriate for a firstie... 

Here's my list:
Librarian with jump pack, infernus pistol, upgraded to Epistolary
Sanguinary Priest with jump pack and power weapon
Sanguinary Guard with death masks, chapter banner, power fist, and infernus pistol

Vanguard Squad, 6 strong, with glaive encarmine, flamer pistol, two plasma pistols, 3 power weapons, and jump packs

Assault Squad with power weapon, plasma pistol, flamer, and meltagun, combat squaded

Assault Squad with thunder hammer, flamer, and meltagun, combat squaded

Furioso Dreadnought with extra armor, in a Drop Pod with a Locator Beacon

Here's Will's:

Cato Sicarius

Captain with power weapon and bolter

Terminator Squad, ten strong, with assault cannon and cyclone missile launcher

Scout Squad, five strong, with shotguns and a heavy bolter

Tactical Squad with a power fist, a meltagun, and a missile launcher, mounted in Rhino with a H/K missile

Tactical Squad with a flamer and missile launcher

Assault Squad, five strong, with power weapon and storm shield
Dreadnought with multimelta

Just after we got through deployment and the first turn, another kat, named David, started prowling the table.  Unfortunately for Will, my training then kicked into overdrive and I invited Dave to play as well.  Sure enough, he agreed and we set up for a three-way battle.  Oh, little did I know what I'd just done...

David's list:
Master Draigo

Librarian

Paladin Squad, 10 strong, with chapter banner, apothecary, and each individually armed.  I can tell you with certainty that there were four halberds and one hammer.  Ask me how I know...

Stormraven with plasma cannons, multimelta, and hurricane bolters

Land Raider Crusader with multimelta.

Yes, I know that Dave didn't seem to have two Troops.  I don't care, I was just happy to be rolling dice.  Plus, it allowed for Will and I to really focus on the Grey Knights as the 'cheezy third guy' and have some fun.  I've run far too many battles for events and such, so I felt really cool about this.  Yes, I also know that there was no way I was going to represent very well with my Blood Angels.  They are a great army, unless Grey Knights show up.  They did, and now all I can do is simply leap onto blades and scream 'For Sanguinius!' as I die.  But I was bound to make it fun.

We played, with David having the first turn, followed by me, followed by Will.  My Dreadnought came down in turn one and knocked the multi-melta off the Land Raider.  The Stormraven turned around and killed my Dreadnought (that was fast).  Will did little.  Then my Assault teams started arriving and shooting, and I successfully blew the assault cannons from the Crusader.  Of course, every red model I had died when the Land Raider disgorged a whole slew of Paladins.  But Will shot his Dreadnought into the Stormraven and blew it outta the sky!  It was awesome, made David start to worry, and I had it crash straight into one of my Assault teams and kill them.  I don't care what kind of armor you have, a gunship fallling on you means death!

The next turn saw little happen other than my Vanguard heroically-intervening right onto some Nemesis Force Halberds.  They died a glorious, if not useless, death.  The game went on into the late hours (Will is new, after all) with me having scored just two kill points overall (I went after Will's softer targets just to get 'on the board').  But Will put his gunline to the test as the rest of the Grey Knights took a beating and kept on marching.  The Land Raider ended the game with no weapons and finally destroyed, so I joked that we'll kill this Land Raider 'one armor plate at a time!'  His Paladins suffered one wound through seven turns of shooting and finally lost another four to Will's leftover power fists from Termininators.  Overall, the Grey Knights kicked our teeth in and won the game 8-5-2.  Will had a blast, David even kind of enjoyed himself (if you can't tell, he's not in the game to play), and I finally put some painted models on a table and rolled some dice. 

What did I get outta this visit?  Well, the guys in there are starting to remember me (keep in mind that I see the same people in there every month).  Everyone loves my painting (I have to give all the credit to GW-  'paint well or die' was the mantra when I put the red shirt on.), which makes me feel good.  And even the gameshop owner has conversed with me for more than the purchase of a White Dwarf's time. 

But most of all, I learned that Grey Knights are every bit as cheezy as the online blogosphere has said.  I wasn't expecting to do that well, and I even have a well-written Grey Knight army myself.  But fighting them with my assault-oriented Blood Angels was a disappointment-and-a-half.  Not too long ago, I felt that 40k was a well-balanced game and any army could beat any army.  I can see now that the rock-paper-scissors game has finally cemented itself in the 41st millenium.  I'm not bitter, but not rolling dice at all in the phase I specialize in can be a real downer.  But a game is just a game, and I'll just have to drop some Demolisher templates on silver doods every time I see them...

Will came away pumped.  He bought his wife the White Dwarf with the Sisters of Battle rules.  We left fifteen minutes after we closed and Will wanted to make it back today.  I may have to go give him a one-on-one run today.  More than anything, I got to play!!!  It begins, finally...

Hiss of the Chimera

Storm of Magic was released, and I was instantly excited.  If it wasn't the DnD player in me, it was the Warhammer player that wanted monsters that jumped for joy.  I play Empire and High Elves primarily, and both those armies are light on the monsters.  Empire has cannons to combat monsters and HE ride dragons into battle next to Iggles.  But all in all, the Beastmen, Dark Elves, all the Chaos books, and even the undead started to make me a bit jealous.  I wanted to use massive beasts too.

Now I can.  Now I can bring up to a quarter of my army points in monsters!  I can take Giants in my Empire (especially useful if you play Ostermark- famous for having regiments of 'agreeable' giants in their armies), I can use Cockatrices in my High Elves, and I can even use a Dragon!  Anyone that's not excited about this is a Momo.

I went out and bought the Storm of Magic book and the Chimera post-haste.  The wife made the fatal mistake of 'allowing' me to spend the money and I pounced.  I bought the monster and went to work.

The steps are easy.  There are only three and they totally make sense.  GW certainly made this kit with the novice modeller in mind.  The whole model is contained on one sprue.  The advantage is that there's no risk of lost parts or mispacked boxes.  The bad part is that there's no extra bitz.  Usually, GW overfills the boxes with as many extra options and bitz as possible, but I suppose a Chimera is a Chimera. 

Step 1:  The body

Very simple, very few parts, totally intuitive.  The only advice I'd offer here is that you should pin the tail.  It's long and thin and that makes the tail vulnerable to breaking.  I broke it twice before I decided to pin it. 

Step 2:  The wings and such

No worries on this step.  I really like the wings.  I hope GW offers them as bitz the same way as old Dragon wings and Balrog wings.  By this point, you'll notice that you might want to fill the gaps and make the joints less obvious, but the model looks good without it.  I didn't do anything to clean it up and I'm impressed with the results.

Step 3:  The head[s]

Watch out for the tusk-and-tongue assembly in the 'beastly' head.  I almost assembled it upside down, but it felt right the other way.  The two flanking heads were a little difficult to position on there, but plastic glue is malleable and I finally found the 'sweet spots'.  It's all a matter of feeling the model. 

And there ya go.  Slap some primer and paint on that sucker, and you'll have yourself a badass monster to use in Storm of Magic.  Remember, it's only $42 here in America, and a good one costs upwards of 225 points.  Add a couple of Giants, and that's 25% of 2500 point games!  Sensing my plan yet?

To finish, here's my almost-done Chimera.  I recently inheritted my old He-Man tiger toy, and I wanted to copy that on this model.  I don't think it's coming out too bad, but I definitely need to put more work into it. 

Happy Hobbying!