Campaign Update: The Invasion begins!

So the invasion of Norsca has begun, with no less than 7 contenders stepping up to see if they can carve out a chunk of the Northern lands for themselves.  But who are the contenders you ask?  Who are these brave and / or foolish men who have led their men to almost certain death?  Read on to find out.

Army: Warriors of Chaos

Player: Me

Forewarned of the invading fleet by the Daemonic Messenger of Tzeentch, Romulus Ironwolf has mobilised as many warriors as possible in the time available, assembling them in an area just inland from of the southern coastline.  From there, canny use of scouts and raiding parties has provided Romulus with a general idea of enemy army deployments and the positioning of potential allies...

Army: Empire

Player: Starkey

And so the invasion has finally begun.  Empire Forces of Talabheim dispatched by the Grand Theologist made landfall on the Southern Coast of Norsca before quickly establishing a foot-hold along the base of the mountain ranges that protect Norsca from invasion from the West. 

Army: Lizardmen

Player: Mitch

Through the magical manipulation of the mighty Slaan, a great host of Lizardmen have appeared led by a powerful Scar-Veteran.  While their motives are as yet unknown, Romulus Ironwolf has on several occasions led successful raids into the Jungles of Lustria; stealing countless treasures and curios from the Temple Cities he discovered. 

Army: Brettonian Errantry War

Player: Jamie

A new Errantry War has been declared!  With the declaration of this latest crusade, the noble sons of Brettonia have ridden forth into the lands of the Norse, determined to return the years of raids and murder inflicted upon their own peoples with extreme prejudice.  Led by a noble Brettonian Lord mounted on a Hippogriff, all engagements will prove to be bloody affairs as the Knights Errant desperately attempt to prove their worth to the Lady of the Lake.

Army: Vampire Counts

Player: Master Goodchild

The armies of the Undead have risen once more to wage war upon the living as a Malevolent Vampire Lord emerges mere leagues from the current camp of the Wulfkin Tribe.  The Norscan people can think of no worse fate for their warriors than to be trapped in the eternal servitude of undeath.  With the remains of beloved ancestors stolen from their graves, the Wulfkin tribe will stop at nothing to ensure the destruction of the Vampire and return their ancestors remains to the ground.

Army: Chaos

Player: Geordie

While the Wulfkin tribe mobilises to push back the invaders, a Tribe of Kurgan Horsemen have also been seen travelling across the plains of Norsca.  While followers of Tzeentch, it does not mean they do not pose a threat to Romulus Ironwolf and his people.  Perhaps a bargain can be struck and an alliance forged. 

Army: Ogre Kingdoms

Player: Mark

It is not unknown for Ogre Tribes to roam the lands of Norsca.  Staunch warriors of great skill, their presence on the battlefield can turn the tide of battle.  However, when an entire Tribe appears, their insatiable hunger threatens the well being of every human in the area.  Protected by Undead forces, Romulus is acutely aware of just how great a threat these creatures can be.  Especially when they get hungry...

Not that all the players have been introduced, the next article how they did during our first campaign ‘Season’.  Remember that you can download a copy of the players pack here (linky) and if you have any questions or comments about the campaign, by all means let me know.

Catch you all later

Trev

Campaign Update: More Map Tiles Completed

With time rapidly running out until the Norsca in Flames campaign begins, I’ve been pulling out all the stops in order to get the map painted in time.  Considering the relative simplicity of these tiles, they are the perfect to work on while watching TV; especially since the pallet is limited to three major colours and a Badab Black wash.  Snot green is used for fields, Dark Angels Green for Forests and Deneb Stone for the edges.  A small amount of Scorched Brown is used for the Fields, Macharius Orange for the farm houses and a combination of Enchanted and Regal Blue is used for the water features.  All in all it’s a case of Drybrushing the fields and layering paint on the rest before washing the entire surface of the time with Badab Black.  Once dried, the fields a given another coat of Snot Green and the tile is done.  At this point I need to tip my hat to Mark from Project Circle as he was a great help earlier this week, helping me get the map another step closer to being finished.  Thanks to him all the rivers have been painted blue and are ready for a highlight.  

As can be seen in the picture below, the fully painted sections of map are looking quite spectacular.  At this point, I’ve gotten about half the map finished, with only a couple of days left to go before the campaign starts.  While the map won’t be finished before the start date, it will only take another week or two to finish the rest of the tiles.  Until that time however, I’ve still got my army banner to create.  

Catch you all later

Trev

Pack your Spears and Grab Your Rears – We’re going to Norsca!

It’s said that change is as good as a holiday. If that’s the case, then sending my army to holiday in Sunny Norsca must be as good as a change.  As a way to shake things up a bit, I’ve decided to run a Warhammer Fantasy Campaign for my Local Gaming Group the Kingaroy Wargamers (which now has a new site by the way) that has a bit of a twist.  I’ve decided to move away from the stock standard ‘Chaos Invades the Empire’ routine and have the Empire invade the North. 

I’m hoping that Starkey, our gaming club’s resident speed-painter and premiere Empire General will spearhead this invasion, forcing my Chaos Army to defend against such an uncharacteristically aggressive move; fighting to push back not only the forces of the Empire, but also those races who are also drawn to the conflict either in search of riches and glory or purely for the fun of waging war.  Thus far, I’m confident there will be at least one Ogre player interested in playing the campaign, which is exciting as I’m yet to face the new Ogre book and have harboured a secret love for those hulking monstrous infantry.  So much so, that with the release of their new kits, I’ll be looking into ways of incorporating them into my Warriors of Chaos Army.  I’ve got a couple of ideas involving the new Thundertusk, Mournfang Cav and the Cannon of the Sky Titan kits and once I have some cash put together, I’ll work on making those ideas a reality.  

The mechanics of this campaign will centre around a map created using the ‘Mighty Empires’ tiles (WIP Pic included above) and a campaign pack that I’ve written using ideas and components pulled from the ‘Generals Compendium’.  As a resource goes, this is invaluable for players that are really into creating and running campaigns as it provides you with ideas and concepts that make your event as simple or as complex as you want.  Rules for scouting, baggage trains, running sieges and sacking cities; these are but a minute sample of what can be achieved when using the ‘Generals Compendium’.  My campaign will be using the resource system that is detailed in the book, providing players with the means to expand their Empire, strengthen their armies and generally reinforce tiles that have already been captured.  All in all, this is shaping up to be a very fun event, should we get a decent number of players involved.  I’d personally like to see at least two other players apart from myself involved as this will provide a bit of variety, while encouraging more terrain building for things such as fortresses, towns etc.   

If I’m lucky, this event will be just the thing I need to break the back of my 2000 point army.  In its current form, I’ll need to finish my Marauders; a unit of Khorne Warriors, some Marauder Horsemen and another unit of Hounds and the entire army will be fully painted.  Having a fully painted 2000 point army was one of the goals I made at the beginning of the year and if I’m able to reach that goal, then I’ll be a very happy man.  I’ll be sure to provide updates at the campaign draws nearer and miniatures are completed.  The other upside is that a campaign such as this will provide a perfect opportunity for my army’s fluff to develop as Romulus Ironwolf once again musters for war.  Alliances will be made and broken and the favour of the Northern Gods will be bestowed upon all those who please them (whether they want it or not). 

Catch you all later

Trev

Finding Painting time in your Life: The #brushtime Protocol

Recently there has appeared a new tend on the twitter feeds of gamers everywhere.  It’s called #brushtime.  The concept is amazingly simple – every week, participants attempt to reach the goal of at 10 hours worth of painting, making sure to track their progress on Twitter. 

This is a very innovative concept, as it encourages hobbyists everywhere to make time for their painting as opposed to wondering how all that spare time during the week disappeared.  For example – With the impending release of Skyrim November, I’ve begun playing Oblivion (again) in an attempt to finally complete entire storyline (and expansion) while achieving as many of the in-game goals as I possibly can. 

To that end, I’ve got an entire evening’s worth of free time in which I can dedicate getting another couple of quests completed and possibly levelling up my Norse Fighter once or twice.  The only problem is I’ve still got another 2 hours left to go before I have reached by 10 hour #brushtime goal this week and I know that I won’t get any time to do that during the weekend.  So I’m forced to make a choice – Do I play Oblivion and not paint? Or do I smash out a painting session to get those last couple of hours up and reach my goal?  Alternatively, I can make a compromise where I spend an hour (or two) painting before moving on to play Oblivion.

For those people who do have a more demanding lifestyle than I, the question arises, where can I find the time to paint / convert / play?  Dave Taylor's Article 'Finding Time' provides a great article regarding this topic and I encourage you all to follow the link I’ve provided above to his site and give his article a read.  While you’re there, make sure you bookmark the page so you can revisit and read the plethora of other articles that are present there complete with amazingly painted models and conversions.  But I digress. 

The important thing to take from all this is that there are countless opportunities available throughout everybody’s day to squeeze in a little brushtime.  A few minutes before work, while you’re waiting for the kettle to boil, while watching TV, even while you’re waiting for your Xbox to load Oblivion!  Every minute you spend putting paint on a model now, is a minute closer to getting those models finished and onto the table.  You don’t need massive great chunks of free time to quickly spray-undercoat a miniature (you need plenty of sun and ample breeze, but this is about time management not weather control.  More on that in a later article).  All you need is a little preparation and a willingness to lean how to work efficiently with the time you have available to you. 

Give the #brushtime Protocol a go and let me know how you do.  Also if you’re on Twitter, feel free to follow me @Risk_Dude and keep up with my painting progress or any other aspect of the hobby that hits my Twitter feed.

Catch you all later

Trev