40k Legends: Marneus Calgar

Hi All, Eldrad Vect here. I'm trying a new thing this year, I thought I'd test how well the rules of some of 40k's biggest names can match up to their legendary fluff, kind of like a Mythbuster-esque thing. I don't always have conversions, battle reports, projects or other stuff, so I thought this would be a fun thing to do. First up is the God of War himself, Marneus Augustus Calgar.

Calgar has done some insane things from breaching and slaying the Tyranid Hiveship Behemoth Primus to holding the gate against waves of Orks, but there are one thing that really stands out in the fluff as a full on act. This  act is from 'The Battle of the Sepulchre' where Calgar essentially Falcon Punched an Avatar of Khaine to pieces. This event is the one I'll be proving, can Marneus Calgar slay an Avatar.

First up, the Avatar. There will be six tests, three with a basic Avatar and three with my common Avatar setup (Disarming Strike and Fast Shot). The average of each test will be used so I'll be doing some hard math... not really, just some basic calculations, also all references to Wounds mean unsaved ones.

Test one, Calgar charges the Avatar (basic). If Calgar charges into an Avatar of Khaine expect to see some terrifying results, the average wound output of the Avatar who strikes first due to Initiative is 1.3 wounds which isn't enough to kill Calgar outright so Calgar gets to fight, his average damage output is 2.1 Wounds on an Avatar this solely came down to the fact that the Avatar's Invulnerable Save is a mere 5+, so prolonged combat would definitely see Calgar slaying the Avatar. Test two, locked in combat. Locked in combat is and interesting one were both of them have the same average of 1.2 wounds so it's going to be a fist fight to the end and a long one which can swing either way. Test three, Avatar's charge. 1.6 for Calgar and 1.7 for the Avatar, what I found interesting was that the Avatar loses purely because of the Invuln. Save being so bad.
Anyway on too the real stuff, my Avatar. Test four, Calgar charges. First of all the Avatar's Disarming Strike, which 'disarms' the opposing character, rending one of the disarmed characters Close Combat Weapons (i.e. Power Fist, Lightning Claw, Force Weapon, stuff like that and even unique gear too) completely useless. The test for Disarming Strike is simple, each player rolls a dice and adds it to the character's WS if the Eldar player wins or gets the same, he chooses a weapon to nullify, if the other player wins however it's effects are negated. Also the Eldar player gets a +1 to this roll, obviously the Avatar never fails to disarm Calgar (WS10 +1 with a roll of 1 still beats WS6 with a roll of 6), so Marneus has no more Gauntlets of Ultramar. Calgar inflicts 0.4 wounds, now this means on those really lucky occasions Calgar still hurts the Avatar, on his side, the Avatar still only averages 1.3 wounds, hey that matches the first one so at least he is consistent. Test 5, Locked is Combat. Avatar's results are identical to the last 'Locked in Combat' test with an average of 1.2 wounds, however Marneus has a abysmal average 0.1 wounds! he is not going to kill the Avatar like that. Test 6, Avatar Charges. Avatar stands up with a nice 1.8 average wound ratio, in 2 out of the 10 rolls the Avatar inflicted 3 wounds on Calgar too. Calgar got a 0.2, which to be honest should also apply to the last result too, but averages are averages and he just had better luck this time around.

Final Thoughts. In all honesty Marneus Calgar is quite capable of taking down an Avatar of Khaine, as long as he is wearing his Gauntlets of Ultramar and even still the fights against my Avatar aren't really fair, not because of the dirty Disarming Strike trick but because when this fluff first came up in the codex was before Disarming Strike was even invented. Either way, it's quite possible that Calgar can kill an Avatar, it still all comes down to the luck of the dice.

Infinity Urban Ruins Bases

Infinity is not a game that I've played much of. Regardless, I have picked up some of the resin bases that are specifically designed for the game. In the image is a 40mm urban ruins resin-cast base - one of a set that I own but have not yet painted up.

The first thing that stands out about these bases is the flavour. The hexagonal tiles are moderately uncommon and will certainly give a "zing" to any miniature mounted on it. Painted well - probably with white, or off-white marble for the hexagons to contrast a darker colour in the grittier regions - these bases boast a great level of detail. This particular piece features a rifle that has been left on the ground, plus spent ammunition rounds and a small pouch. Coupled with a post-apocalyptic feel for the damage appearing on the surface, these bases make a great impact in warhammer 40k (especially Tau or anti-Tau themed armies), or other sci-fi games / roleplaying of a similar ilk.  The quality of casting is high and I can honestly recommend these bases to anyone looking for something a little bit more left-field than the regular bases.

[Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated in any way with Infinity or the resin bases that have been produced to couple with said system. I was not given these bases as a gift - I bought them in a store on a whim as a regular customer!]

Happy 40th Dungeons and Dragons!

This year sees the fortieth anniversary of the release of Dungeons and Dragons. A few people computed that last weekend was the most appropriate day to celebrate this milestone, so I missed that by a little margin.

Around the blogosphere, there have been a number of ways to commemorate this occasion. Kobold Press have interviewed a number of people involved with Dungeons and Dragons over the years to give their answers about the quirkiest things they thought existed in the game - some of the answers are probably plain to old-timers (various typos, for example, and a knowledge of other earlier products).

For my own part, I actually like the second edition of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons best. I think many other people regard that edition as a pinnacle of this line's roleplaying achievement, but others would point to the more modern iterations (version 3.5 is immensely popular for instance), and a DnD "NEXT" version is in the pipeline from Wizards of the Coast. The game certainly spawned a large number of emulations from other companies and a variety of controversy besides. If one googles for it, there are still cases online about how the game was linked to satanism, or how players became so decoupled from reality as to not be able to tell what was real any longer. Academic papers have even been published with this kind of stuff in.  I believe these days, most of those ideas have been largely debunked (but there is a certain resonance with the modern day graphic horror movie inspiring crimes perhaps? but don't quote me on that, that's just a gut feeling).  I would personally point to the more positive aspects of the game.

Not only does Dungeons and Dragons provide an excellent arena for friendships to blossom, but it is also a strong learning tool. Many school and college teachers now utilize roleplaying tools in their classrooms and lecture theatres (admittedly with less die rolls!) to strong effect. And in the publications themselves, the language used in the pulled no punches either. Polysyllabic words like "antithesis" crop up with frequent regularity and the reader is assumed to have a half decent education to be able to read the (oft times dense) paragraphs. It certainly widened my youthful vocabulary far more than English Literature classes would. Further, the mathematics behind some of the die rolling required a quick mind (unless gaming sessions went on for tooooo long). Ask any gamer of my generation what a THAC0 is and they will tell you in a lot of detail what it is and how it is computed.  Most times.  There were always a hard core who didn't like to think too much though: "just tell me what I need to hit the monster with!" would often be heard around the gaming table as well.

I have very fond memories of playing Dark Sun, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance and a small host of home brew worlds with friends at high school and university that provided endless entertainment. Usually, as the DM, but sometimes as a player too. And oh: those dungeons filled with treasure and danger.  Happy memories!  I think I may have to review some of those settings in future posts on this blog as they both merit and deserve attention in many ways.

Regardless: Happy Birthday Dungeons and Dragons!  Thanks for all the fun!  Hope to have more play sessions in the future with your good or other roleplaying systems that you inspired!

A large collection

So, this post on Bell of Lost Souls has been doing the rounds lately. I'm breath-taken by the scale of it in all honestly (just like I was when I first saw an entire space marine chapter assembled and painted up).

The original post can be found here (in Korean) from Shreneo.  It has a few more pictures than the image hosting site does (I think).

What strikes me is not only the scale of this project, but also the paint work that has been undertaken. This is clearly not a shoddy paint job (maybe the plague marines need another coat yet, but that's about the worst I can say) - the eldar in particular look very impressive to me -- all authentic colours and executed with a level of detail that speaks of dedication of a high order ... and plenty of available time to undertake such an endeavour.  Tremendous!

Review: Mage: The Ascension

Touted as possibly one of the best roleplaying games to be published by some of my friends, Mage: The Ascension is certainly one of the finest publications to come out of White Wolf and World of Darkness, and remains one of the most innovative in my opinion.

The premise is remarkably simple, and strong. It goes something like this: reality is simply a reflection of common sense rules and paradigms derived from a consensus of everyone on the planet. The war for reality has long since been won by science and the technocracy. Those who wield the power of science are "correct" because they have persuaded the vast swathes of humanity that science is the only credible explanation for the world around them. Moreover, science also offers tangible benefits: medicines, electronic devices, and a lack of "supernatural" monsters in the darkness.

Now enter the mages. Those people who have awakened to the reality that they are able to shape the world around them by their thoughts, willpower, belief and actions. But they are not all powerful.

If they cast a spell that goes against the common sense, everyday experience of the vast swathes of humanity, a contradiction results. This is known in the game as paradox and results from "vulgar" magic such as conjuring and throwing a fireball down the street or turning a person in to a giraffe. Consensus says this is not possible, therefore the mage gets a metaphysical slap / backlash to the face from the consensus. Paradox is essentially reality trying to resolve the actions of the mage against the consensus and is a type of backlash in essence. But it can cause horrendous and random effects. This might be as benign as excessive fingernail growth, but could be as disastrous as summoning spirits who punish the mage to resolve the discrepancy between the mage and reality, or banishment to a labyrinthine pocket dimension.

These effects can be avoided by employing coincidental magics instead of vulgar (throw fire ball down the street type) magic. Coincidental magic represents things that might happen anyway and is not overtly magical in nature to a casual observer. For example, instead of throwing down a cloud of darkness to provide cover for sneaking about, the Mage might cause a street lamp's bulb to blow up. That happens every once in a while and agrees well with the consensus reality of every day people. If they're being chased down a lane-way, their assailant tripping over untied shoelaces could plausibly happen (but spontaneously combusting is going a bit far and would probably result in some paradox!).  Racing someone to a destination could be achieved through teleportation, but the mage better be sure there are not any witnesses at the start and end points. And arriving just before their competitors seems wiser than being hours in front. Risky and borderline for paradox, but still plausible so long as none-mages ("sleepers") didn't witness it.

Combine the above with a variety of possible backgrounds (religious inspired magic from the Celestial Chorus; blood-witches from the Verbena; etc.) and an aggressive technocracy who strive to keep control of reality for (originally) the good of everyone and hunt down vulgar mages who threaten to change the reality consensus, and you have the makings of one great role playing game.

Added to this are the rules from White Wolf that are similar to Vampire: the Masquerade (etc.), but could easily be implemented without any die rolling (IMHO), causes this game to really shine. There are a whole heap of expansions for it (many of which I have never owned or read), but I don't think they're necessary for the full enjoyment of the game. With an innovative storyteller / GM, the basic rulebook is really all that is required. If you have never come across this gem from the 1990's, you should ask your (older) GMs about it. Try it - you'll be pleasantly surprised I think!

(NB: I don't regard the successor "Mage: The Awakening" as being anywhere near as good as the old version of the game, so if you can get your hands on The Ascension version, I'd suggest that'd be a superior resource to check out).

White Dwarf is Dead. Long Live White Dwarf?!

At least some of the rumours about the new White Dwarf have come to fruition.  Here is a copy of the Games Workshop email that appeared in my inbox recently:

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Introducing two new magazines from the White Dwarf team!

White Dwarf, now weekly.

Available exclusively through Games Workshop stores, independent retailers, and games-workshop.com. White Dwarf is an exciting and essential weekly hobby magazine that contains something for every hobbyist, every week - guaranteed!

- 36 pages of everything that is exciting and new in the hobby this week.

- Detailed information on all the week’s other new releases, and the latest hobby news.

- New features, new modelling and painting techniques, new rules, new columnists and much more.

- All this every week for the same price as a single Citadel pot of paint!

Issue No.1 launches Saturday 1st February and subsequent issues follow every Saturday.

Warhammer: Visions, now monthly.

Experience a visual feast of super high-quality Citadel Miniatures. In more than 230 pages you’ll find a completely new take on the worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 in a stunning new extended pictorial style.

- Contains all your favourite sections from Army of the Month and Blanchitsu, to Kit Bash and Paint Splatter.

- Over 70 more pages than the previous monthly White Dwarf with more Golden Demon and Armies on Parade photos and more fantastic photographs of Citadel miniatures than ever before.

And it’s wrapped up in a fabulous new format that you will want to keep and collect! Issue No.1 out Saturday 1st February.

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To me, it feels like they've split the (recent) traditional White Dwarf in to a trade magazine and a "cool, look at this" kind of Citadel painting and conversion magazine.  I'm not sure what to make of this move to be honest. My opinion is that it is either its a really really great one, or a really really poor one.  I'm just not sure which! I might just purchase both in February and see what I think.  If nothing else, I suspect that the February releases might become collectors items at some level (much in the same way the very early White Dwarfs are).