Painting Lords of Oblivion - part 3

You'd think after fifteen years in this hobby, I'd learn to be a faster painter. But nope. It's just not going to happen, I guess.

Anyway, here's part three!

Painting Lords of Oblivion - Part 2

I could have sworn I hit that publish button last week... Oops. Well, anyway, here's part two of painting the Lords of Oblivion!

Painting Lords of Oblivion - Part 1

So...yeah. Still here. I've been thinking long and hard about what to do about this blog, and eventually I decided to get back to its roots: the Lords of Oblivion. So I'm going to be doing a bunch of stuff related to them, mostly a combination of hobby articles, background lore, and maybe some battle reports. I've also got some opinions/rants about 40K I want to share, so expect those at some point after I spell check the excessive exclamation marks.

In the meantime, let's do some hobby work!

40K: Iron Hands mini-story

Just a quick flash piece I did for writer's group, but focused on something from 40K. And it actually links to the Lords of Oblivion, but I'll get to that part later. Story below!

40K - Codex mini-story

Amidst all the craziness of NaNo, I got a spark for a story to include my upcoming Lords of Oblivion supplemental codex. It's basically one of those 1-2 page stories they used to have in every codex that fills out the feel of the faction. It's rather sad most of those kinds of stories have largely vanished from contemporary books. But not with mine!

Anyway, here's the story. Enjoy!

40K - Codex: Lords of Oblivion (preview)

It has been far too long since I posted anything for my Lords of Oblivion on here. That should change. I've been slowly working on a complete overhaul to my Codex: Lords of Oblivion. Haven't done much of late, but the fluff part is largely done. Also, in light of how 6th, and now 7th, edition have been turning out, I've decided to re-do it as a supplement to Codex: Space Marines, rather than a full-blown codex. Which will save a ton of time in formatting work and balancing.

Anyway, for now, enjoy a preview of the fluff section, in the form of one of those timelines GW's been doing in all their books for a while now.

40K: Crimson Slaughter review

The latest in a long string of supplemental army books has been released, and I've decided to actually start talking about them, even the ones that aren't necessarily relevant to me, because everyone should hear my opinion on everything, clearly. So, I'm gonna take a look today at the Crimson Slaughter supplement, having had a chance to read through it, and give my thoughts, in a similar format to my Clan Raukaan review.

40K: Clan Raukaan supplement - review

It's been a bit under two weeks since the Clan Raukaan supplement for 40K was released, and I think it's time to take a look at it. Naturally, being the Iron Hands enthusiast that I am, I picked it up. After dealing with the frustration of GW's poor support for non-iPad versions of their books, I read it from end to end pretty much in a single day.

40K: A look at the new Space Marine codex

So, just over two weeks ago, the long-awaited 6th edition update for Codex: Space Marines arrived. For the first time since 2nd edition, the Space Marines weren't the first army to get a codex with a new edition. That dubious honor went to the Chaos Space Marines (and most folks I talk to these days feel like they'd have rather waited in the hopes of codex creep making their army somewhat stronger). Anyway, just over a year after the release of 6th edition, we got a new codex. I've managed to get two games in thus far, so I'll talk a bit about my experiences with it, as well as give a general run-down of the book for those that haven't had a chance to get it yet (or don't plan to), my impressions/opinions on the new stuff, and what I think should have been different.

40K: My first victory!

Ok, I'm too excited to sleep right now, even though it's nearly midnight, because I just won my first game of 40K this year. I admit, I haven't been playing nearly as often as I used to (I'm down from 1-3 games a week to 1-3 games a month), but still. I haven't won yet this year. I don't know why, but I've been having a REALLY hard time adapting to 6th edition. Maybe it's just the lists I'm using (mostly vanilla Space Marines or the newer Chaos Marines with an incomplete list). I know I still don't have all the new rules down very well. Maybe I just ran too hard in 5th edition and there's too many habits for me to kick.

In any case, that all changed tonight.

40K: Iron Hands - Part 3

I think I've gone too long with pictures on here. So let's get some up! I've made some more progress on the Iron Hands army. Not finished yet, but I'm liking how some of these guys are coming out. Painting black and steel seems like it might be a boring scheme, but I've found that to be pretty disagreeable if it's done right. I know GW's Iron Hands, what few they've painted over the years, have the standard red eye lenses and such, but I elected to forgo any warm colors at all, to better fit in with the cold, mechanical nature of my favorite Chapter.

40K: Lords of Oblivion rules for Deathwatch

There's a series of tabletop RPGs based on 40K and published by Fantasy Flight Games. Simply put, they rock. Tons of extra lore exploring aspects of the 40K universe that aren't necessarily covered very much in the core 40K books, or even the Black Library novels, comprehensive rules that actually reward you for roleplaying properly, and each game is different enough to give a fairly distinct playing experience.

Book Review: Wrath of Iron

So, I just finished Wrath of Iron last night. I think I mentioned once or twice before that the Iron Hands are my favorite GW Chapter of Space Marines. Naturally, I was really looking forward to reading this, and decided to hit it up next after fully catching up on the Horus Heresy books (Fear to Tread is also awesome and I highly recommend it).

40K: Deus ex Mechanicum: (Iron Hands, pt. 2)

Yep, time for some updates on the stalwart sons of Ferrus! Alas, GW Direct Order has been slower than the VA on getting me the remaining bitz packs I need, so that's hampered things a bit, but things still progress. The deadline for the first 500 points is fast approaching, I have until August 31st to complete two combat squads, two Razorbacks, and a Librarian. But I've been working on the army in general, and here's an update on many of the units.

40K: The Flesh is Weak! (Iron Hands, pt. 1)

One of the First Founding Chapters of Space Marines in 40K is the Iron Hands. And I frigging love them. Easily my favorite of the Legions. That much should be obvious with my own Chapter, the Lords of Oblivion, being descended from them. I love the character, and their primarch, Ferrus Manus, is just awesome. They abhor weakness, and Ferrus was always known for pushing himself to the absolute limit of his abilities, something I like to think I can find relatable.

The Iron Hands themselves favor purging their weaknesses through biomechanical augmentation, so a lot of them are more machine than man. The Lords of Oblivion shift this paradigm a little by focusing on mental weakness instead of physical weakness, which is part of why they wind up with so many psykers. Temperament-wise, the Iron Hands are kind of presented in a contradictory fashion in some of the fluff, somehow both cold and mechanical yet prone to berzerker fits of anger at the drop of a hat. Personally, I like to think of them as almost like Vulcan Space Marines, and perhaps what some perceive as rage is just cold fury.

Sixth Edition! New Lists! Excitement! Maybe Some Romance!

Yes, it's finally here! Sixth edition of Warhammer 40K is upon us. I haven't had much time to go over the rules yet, as I'm still waiting for my copy to show up. Thanks GW! >.>

I did, however, get to look over the book a little at my local store and get in a couple turns of playing. So far I'm liking what I see! Although I thought 5th edition was pretty well-designed (certainly a vast improvement over the abomination of 4th!), I've noticed in the last year that the meta-game has practically split the game into two versions: those who played for tournaments with a very strict meta-game, and those who took whatever without any specific consideration to certain lists. Building a strong army for one version didn't necessarily guarantee success in the other version. Additionally, list-building darn near became more important than actual tactics, and the game was heading towards a glorified rock-paper-scissors game.

Music Video: Dawn of Battle

I put together a music video this week that's a tribute to Space Marines. I was listening to this song, Dawn of Battle by Manowar, and realized it'd make a great Space Marine theme, and so here it is (that, and Chosen Ones by Dream Evil has been done to death by others). Of course, I recommend watching it at the highest quality setting, even if it takes a little longer to load. Enjoy!

Battle Report: NOVA Open, part 1

A bit late, but I was waiting for my buddy to upload his pics. All the pics below are taken by the schmuck in the middle here:

James Watkins, one of the guys working at the NOVA, his wife Sam and Gav Thorpe. More on them in a bit.