CXI kicks butt at Ironbuilder III!

Poney took biggest piece count (640, to Gordon's 519 and Cargill's 319), while Gordon took best conversion. Pictures of Headtaker are coming up-- he incorporates Rogue Trader Marine Legs, a Skaven Tail, and loads of Marine and Berzerker bits from various eras in GW history.



These can be seen a little bigger at my photobucket



(I wanted him armed with a plasma pistol, and wanted him to be WYSIWYG. On the other hand, I wanted him to be busy taking skulls, since Aspiring Champions of Khorne are called "Skull Champions." Thus Headtaker's pistol came to be in his third hand, at the end of a tentacle growing out of his forehead. And now you know the rest of the story... /paul.harvey )

It definitely helped that Thursday and Friday were devoted to clipping and cleaning pieces, putting bits into labelled pill-bottles for quicker assembly-- nothing was glued, of course, but everything was readied, and the conversion planned out.

Cargill, with whom Marcellus split prizes at the last Ironbuilder took the prize for most vehicles (with a Linebreaker Squadron, a Baal Predator, and a Suppression Force featuring Sammael's Flying Land Raider).

The game, which Poney skipped, went to Cargill after six grueling turns of his forces vs. Gordon's Witch Hunter Inquisitor Lord w/ retinue, 12 berzerkers, 21 Kroot, 8 Fire Warriors with Marker Drone, 3 Stealth Suits with a Fusion Blaster (Meltagun), a small squadron of Gun Drones, and a fusion Blaster-armed Piranha. A solid victory to him, not a crushing one, and not a slaughter-- the MVP award goes to Buzzy the Gun Drone, who made Sammael cry and run away at top speed in turn 2 (Buzzy and his partner Dizzy left the Piranha in Turn 1, and the Piranha Shook Sammael's Crew, whereupon Sam ran 24" straight away to the far corner of the table)! In turn 6, Buzzy was still around, having made several armor saves and having spent the game plinking at rear and side armors of various tanks, finally emptying his Twin Linked Pulse Carbines into the rear of the Flying Land Raider, whose Crew the Inquisitor Lord's Inferno Pistol had already managed to Stun.

If all were as it should be, Buzzy really ought to have asploded the Flying Land Raider, but, alas, it was not to be. Nevertheless, his cache has been carefully downloaded to Fire Caste Central Command, to serve as a template for the next generation of Drone AI. His statue will stand somewhere, surely!

Merry Christmas from the Sisters!

We're here to Save the trees!

A Merry Christmas, all

As well as any other holidays you have recently celebrated... we're building the new shelves and moving the minis, and will be playing more over the holidays.

Poney and I have gotten a few games of Monsters Menace America (Avalon Hill) in, and it's pretty fun. Email us if you want to do boardgaming or tabletopping this week, as we're pretty available.

Aaron, if you've gotten those Necrons painted, how'd ya like to put 'em on the table and get some games in with 'em?

Well, to all a good night, and a wonderful Christmas morning to you.

Hundreds of them, Thousands of them...

Gaunts!!!

I got my endless swarm today!

Now to put them all together, paint them, and put them into broods!

Oh yeah, it's gonna be fun!

Heh.

Dalyth Apocalypse Terrain Note!

Atreides has reminded me that as the Bridge to Gelbryn is a Vital Objective for both sides, it makes sense to lay down one small restriction in this scenario.

Neither side can afford to destroy this bridge. The Imperium cannot take immediate advantage of victory if it is destroyed; the Tau cannot press their foes back without it in place.

For that reason, weapons with the Ordnance special rule may not target the bridge itself or any units on the bridge. To be clear, "the bridge" refers to the foam-core span and ramps in this game. Single-shot weapons of high strength are fine (Lascannons, Railguns). Pie-plates without Ordnance rules are also fine (Hammerhead Submunitions, for example). Targetting models that are not on the span or ramp themselves although their fellow unit members are is fine.

Feel free to email with questions!
(note: no, objections are not questions)
See you Sunday!

Five days to Dalyth Apocalypse!

Just a reminder to players to have your 2500/2750 point lists ready-- note that Apocalypse battles do not use a Force Organization Chart, so feel free to use any choices from your lists. I've printed out the FAQs from Codices: Space Marines, Witch Hunters, and Tau Empire. :-) There isn't a FAQ for Chaos Space Marines or Orks. :-(

Marcellus and we each have a set of templates, so that's covered, and Marcellus is bringing tons of terrain. The store opens at noon on Sundays, so please be there ready to set up and play. We can order pizza at the shop, and I suggest picking up some for Abe as well, to thank him for staying open for us.

We have a date and a place for Apocalypse.

December 16th, 2007, at Battleforge Games. Be there at opening to get ready to throw down for the climax of the Dalyth campaign, as Chaos, Tau, and Orks take on the Imperium. We'll have at least until 6 PM, and may persuade Abe to stay open until 8 PM for us to play (so expect the "Time Limit" to be either 5 or 7). Marcellus left the bridge with us, so I can cut out a solid foundation for it (so that models can be placed on it confidently), and with luck it can even be clamped in place.

We'll have an approximately 6 by 6 foot table, joined by a bridge to another 6 by 6 foot table, with a 2 foot gap representing the river outside the city of Gelbryn. The energy coils normally charged by the river flow have been backcharged, making the river impassable terrain. This means that while fast skimmers can Turbo Boost over the river itself, only the bridge is safe for foot or surface travel, which makes the bridge center a Vital Objective (worth 2) for both sides. To put it even more bluntly, you cannot end movement over the river. There, boom, done.

Lot of good discussion today at Battleforge on a map campaign that Marcellus wants to run. Proposals included specific terrain effects, use of the Dawn of War: Dark Crusade map, rules for leveled experience, and revisions to the BGB experience rules for this upcoming campaign. Be sure to give input! (the world is run by those who show up, and those who speak up)

Update: Check your emails for Daniel's drafts of revised Experience and Points escalation systems.