Weekly Bits - March 30, 2009

WH40K: More than just a game...

There are players that like to put together the models. Some like to paint. Some just like the fiction. Most love to play the game. Of those, the majority actually like to win.

However, there is a number of Warhammer 40K players that love every little aspect of the game. The modeling, painting, fiction, playing - everything. This number includes those who don't really care if they win or lose. They can pick up any codex and read it for enjoyment. They chose their army not just for the looks or stat lines, but also because of the fluff behind the army.
For these players, the game is not just a set of rules. It is telling a story. It is living through battles. It is seeing a game unfold as clearly as standing on the battlefield or watching a movie of it.

If you are one of these players, then here is a challenge: develop game aides as sceneries that help the story unfold.

I am hoping to gather a library of game supplements for us (and anyone else who happens to stumble on this page) to play. Mostly sceneries, but also including custom Data Sheets for Apocalypse. What would be a great help is games of a smaller size so we can have some quick games, like the combat patrol scenario.

I have also developed the Units of Legend supplement to provide an extra advantage to those who use the same unit configurations in game after game. The original idea is from the experience points described in the fourth edition, but this has real advantages. A draft of the supplement can be found at http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/berkswarhammer40k/files/Units%20of%20Legend/ .

If you have any ideas for scenarios, write them up and email them to the group to see what everyone thinks. Then we can add them to our library for all to use.

Remember, it's not an obsession unless you are constantly thinking about it...

Weekly Bits - March 23, 2009

The Tale of Two Armies

Most people think of Daemonhunters as glorified Space Marines with some extra tricks. To some degree that can be true. However, the Deamonhunter codex is unique in its flexibility and diversity.

Erik and I played Daemonhunters versus Daemonhunters last weekend and the only thing our armies had in common was the codex we were using. The two armies could not have been more different.

Erik played the "Puritan" Deamonhunter army. This allowed him to field the dreaded Grey Knights and Grey Knight Terminators. When you have squads that are as powerful as Space Marines, but with Assault 2 weapons, it's tough to beat them. Reaching halfway across the table and smacking your opponent WHILE moving is fun.

Erik's Puritan force was an assaulty-light hitter. Just the fact that there is a further classification of this type of army speaks volumes to the number of things you can do with this codex. He included a Forge World Valkyrie to deliver some firepower and some troops to the opposite side of the board. While this isn't "allowed" in the codex, it was the perfect compliment to the type of army he fielded.

I played the "Radical" Deamonhunter army. This included some Imperial Guard inductions and a some deamonhosts. The deamonhosts are as unpredictable as you can possibly imagine. But that is the whole point of the Radical list - it's unpredictability. It forces the opposing player to respond to the strange looking model that has four wounds and does something different each turn.

The Imperial Guard squads each had a Chimera and they brought along a Leman Russ for good luck. One of the two Inquisitor units brought a Land Raider and one of the Inquisitorial Stormtrooper squads also had a Chimera. All of the Chimeras and Rhinos on the board made the firing lanes into a giant traffic jam.

We played an Annihilation game and I did win 3 - 2, but the fact that the score was only 3 - 2 is telling of how the game went. My advantage was that I knew exactly what his army could, and would, do. My disadvantage (and Erik's advantage) was the unpredictable nature of my army. I had no sure-fire shot where Erik wiped out units when he got set up. Where he knew he would destroy a Chimera or completely annihilate a squad of men caught out of cover, I had to continually try shooting at something and hope that the Dice-Gods were with me. The requirement of destroying an ENTIRE unit in order to score meant having to shoot everything at single unit. Grey Knights are more difficult to kill than regular Space Marines due to the effects of the Shrouding special rule.

If we played the same game on the same board ten times we would have ten different results. And that's my point. We were playing armies out of the same codex.

Daemonhunters can induct Space Marines or Imperial Guards. They can be "pure" or "radical". They can field an entire army of Grey Knights or a combination of stormtrooper and regular guard units. There are assassins, inquisitors, deamonhosts, a big gun called the Psycannon, and the almighty Nemesis Force Weapon.

As other codex are changed you will start seeing changes in the Deamonhunter forces. The changes to Space Marine assault squads, for example, can be a huge asset to the Daemonhunters. If the Imperial Guard rumors are correct, the next release will allow a Deamonhunter player to field three Leman Russ tanks and up to 100 red-shirt bolter magnets.

Don't under-estimate the Deamonhunter and if you play Deamonhunter don't curse the third edition codex. Think outside the "this army does this" paradigm and field an army that will either be the focused edge of a razor or an unpredictable mass of men, specialists, and whacky models that you can barely control.

Weekly Bits - March 16, 2009

Hey, everyone, it's Tuesday! I have discovered that the problem with work is that your employer actually requires you to work. This involves taking time away from Warhammer 40K, which is never a good thing.

Since nobody played this weekend, I figured I would write a little about obsession. Since each one of us undoubtedly has someone in our life that makes the claim that we are “obsessed” with WH40K, it would behoove us to understand what we are actually being accused of.

Webster defines obsession as a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; a compelling motivation. Let’s look at each part of this statement.

Do you constantly think about WH40K? Do you look at a broken VCR and think, “hey, there is probably some really cool terrain pieces in there”? Do you envision a Rhino on the road and what it would do to a row of parked cars when you are driving to work? Are thoughts about your next game filling your head at dinner-time? Do look at a building and think about what a Vortex grenade would do if it just touched the side of it?

This is persistent. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then you can safely claim you are not obsessed.

Disturbing? Let’s see, the entire concept of WH40K is based on war. And not the Richard-Gere-in-Somersby, the war-scenes-are-never-shown type of war. We’re talking about the gruesome type of warfare that brings a man down to the level of a beast. You are either worshiping an Emperor-corpse or one of the Chaos gods (lust, pestilence, blood, etc).

Yeah, it’s disturbing.

Unreasonable ideas? 40,000 years in man’s future we are still driving vehicles that work on internal combustion. Yet, we somehow manage to travel through space and harness the power of plasma. It’s not too much of a stretch to say that this may be somewhat unreasonable.

Is it a compelling motivation? Well, have you ever taken a day off of work to build a model? Do you plan to (Good Friday is coming up)? Do you look at those unpainted space marines and cringe because you know you should have painted them?

How many un-built models do you have? Why are you buying new models when there are un-built models in your closet?

Compelling motivation? That doesn’t even begin to cover it.

So, are you obsessed with WH40K or do you just play? Nothing wrong with just playing.

Obsession, however, is so much better.

So, what does obsession look like? Building models until 2:00AM. Dropping everything to play a game. Being registered to a dozen blogs and boards – and reading them, too.

It’s studying the rule book or codex. It’s looking at everything as if it is a future terrain piece. It’s finding the place that, even though it is disturbing, brings you comfort, and relaxes you.

And most importantly, it’s listening to those who call you obsessed.

Weekly Bits - March 9, 2009

GW Releases New Bits
Games Worshop has released some new Space Marine backpack bits. Follow the link: http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat1310001&rootCatGameStyle=wh40k . At the bottom of this page you will also find the dead Space Marine models. Awesome objective markers.

EMail'n Everybody
If you want to find out if anyone is available for a game, send an email to berkswarhammer40k@yahoogroups.com . This will send the email to everyone in the group. If you know anyone else who plays, then let me know who they are and their email and I'll add them to the distribution list.

Ray's First Game
Ray finally got his Nid's dirty and played against Joe's Space Marines this last weekend. Nobody let me know who won, so hopefully one of them will post a comment.

www.flickr.com

Weekly Bits - March 2, 2009

I figured that I would start a weekly article to cover our "news". The purpose of this article is to inform everyone of anything that something thinks is important. The other purpose is to help everyone schedule games.

If you would like see if anyone else is available of for a game, just post a comment to the "Weekly Bits" column. Hopefully, this will decrease the cross-emails and will also allow everyone to see who is playing who.

The Weekly Bits will be published every Monday. Or, at least, I'll try my best to publish it every Monday.

New Player

I'd like everyone to welcome Ray Moore to our quickly growing group. Ray works at HobbyTown, so I am sure everyone has met him at least in passing. He has a Tyranid army and occasionally gets some time of the weekends to play.

Check out Ray's Hive Fleet Leviathan here: http://berkswarhammer40k.blogspot.com/2009/03/rays-hive-fleet-leviathan.html

Tournaments, Campaigns, etc.

One member has brought up an idea for a tournament style game where we would play for pool-bought prizes. This is a great idea but needs a little planning. Campaigns are great ideas, too. If you want to organize tournaments, campaigns, or apocalypse games, then let me know when you have everything thought out. I'll post the rules, conditions, requirements, etc., in a separate article and we'll see who want to participate.

May 9th is the date for this year's Games Day at Baltimore. I have never been to a Games Day and unfortunately will not make this one. However, if anyone goes, please take some pictures so we can post it on the site.

Warhammer 40K Club

We now have seven members that have "registered". That is more than enough for a "club" as defined by Games Workshop. As soon as I find out how to register our club, I will. This will allow for some free advertising and might make it easier for other players to find us.

If anyone has any ideas for a snazzy club name, please let me know. I was thinking something along the line of "Berks Warhammer 40K Club". I know, it shows a lack of creativity. However, it is the name of the site and it is easy to remember.

Recent Games

Keith and I slugged it out last Sunday in a 2000 point Plague Marines vs. Daemonhunter Capture and Control game. It was great game, even though Keith handed most of my army back to me. I managed to tie the game with a lone Grey Knight contesting an objective. If the game didn't end at turn five, Keith would have had a solid victory.

For those who are not familiar with the "Feel No Pain" rule, play against Keith. I suggest you bring a lot of melta and plasma with you.

I don't see any games scheduled for the next two weeks, so the board is open!

Please use the "comments" functionality as means to communicate to everyone else in the group. Set up games, see if anyone has that one bit you're looking for, etc.

Ray's Hive Fleet Leviathan

www.flickr.com Berks Warhammer 40K's Ray's Tyranids photoset