[Wonderland] Beginnings

Rather than talk and dream and blather about the Wonderland idea, I decided it was time to actually run it.  I'm jumping in.

I'm scheduled to run my first session (intro and character making) tomorrow. I still have some work to do (printouts and maybe clean up the map some more), but I can't back out now...

I'm still not sure if I am crazy or convinced, but I am doing it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[40K] Musical Armies

There's a new guy in our league, and he's been trying different armies until he finds one he likes.

Tried Orks. Didn't like them.

Tried Chaos Daemons. Din't hate them, but decided they are "not for him".

Now he's trying IG. It sounds like he might be looking for yet ANOTHER army soon, but he's still undecided.

It reminds me a little of the owl...

How many tries did it take you to find your army of choice?

[40K] Chaos Daemon Help-Defeating Luck

All right, this one is for all the Chaos Daemon players out there (all two of you, haha). There's a new guy in our 40K league, and he's very interested in Choas Daemons. He's been using some pretty interesting figs as proxies while he plays around with builds and learns the game.

Of course I sent him over to Strictly Average, but for a beginning player, there was a lot there that was way beyond what he is trying to do.

His biggest problem at the moment is luck (or lack of it). Pretty much every single bad thing that could happen to his army HAS happened- troops just not appearing; HQ's getting eaten by the warp, crap like that. He has had some BAD luck.

So please help out; how do you overcome that?

[40K] What NOT To Do

I didn't play this week (but it's ok, it was my choice) but I watched a lot of games. I heard some very interesting comments and generally enjoyed the guys at my local shop and their many opinions.

Towards the end of the night, I over heard a comment about Hunter Killers being kind of useless. I innocently asked what made them so bad.

A few of my most trusted friends proceeded to tell me why they were such a waste of points, and then went on to tell me about other things that were complete and total losers. They also pointed out why some of my perceptions of "bad" choices were WRONG

 and educated me on the very desperate need for Furious Charge in my army if I ever quit being a wussy and finally buy Thunder Hammer/Storm Shields and/or Lightning Claws. (Man, I had no idea they were so insanely good. I need some super fast-  like YESTERDAY.)

So for all you newbies out there- don't spend 10 points on a shot you can only use once a game and can't hit the Titanic or anything of equivalent size. Buy Tank Hunters for long distance guys or Furious Charge for close combat dudes instead. Don't buy a searchlight. Don't forget that plasma has a purpose. Use Land Raider Crusaders whenever possible (and if you are Black Templar, stay the ^&&% in the ride!).

I've shared some of the crazy-good wisdom of the 40K crowd... now share your best "Don't do it" pieces of advice ...someone will thank you later...

[40K] Not A Loss

I didn't play at 40K the last session- a variety of reasons, but I didn't mind.

I let a friend use my Templar as proxies- a different friend than last time around. However, Darius is seriously upset with me as the friend proxied my zealots as 'NIDS. I heard some very unhappy words as I brought my bag back home, and I've tried to placate him with concepts of preaching to the infidels - but it's not an easy task. Something about Xenos scum and so forth.

I was fairly bogged down with the counter for most of the night. I missed watching my best pal playing his Orks with exception of a couple moments. I heard his WAAAAAAAAAAAAGH go off (man, he is loud) and I heard him laughing as he blew something up.

Things started to wrap up, and people started packing up. I overheard my buddy - "now the KP are 3 to 6" (in his opponent's favor) in a fun and lighthearted tone. A moment or two later, I heard a huge whoop and my friend began running around the store like a maniac.

He was shouting and hollering, happy as possible.

"I TIED!!!!! I TIED!!!! I TIED!!!!"

I was laughing, just enjoying the sheer ridiculousness of his antics for a moment or two. As I caught my breath, several people mentioned that they'd never seen anyone so happy about a tie. His response was simple, but enjoyable-

" I didn't lose!"

This was literally his third game, and he was over the moon happy over a tie. He's completely new at everything about playing and forgot a bunch of rules- but it didn't matter.

I love the game for moments like that- the sheer enjoyment of "not a loss" is well worth the headache and aggravation of the rules. I'm glad I got to see it.

[40K] A Bad Game and a Good Friend

Last week was the start of league and pretty much everyone got a chance to play-except my buddy FunDave, who volunteered to play one of our regulars who generally arrives late. It turned out that guy didn't show, so I offered to show up at the store early to help him get a make up game.

I was really excited to play this game- I've seen him play, and he is a riot. His ONLY goal is to laugh, and to blow stuff up. I love his attitude and I couldn't wait to face him. We got all set up and got to business. We played our KillTeam game, and despite making a ton of mistakes, I won. Even if I hadn't, I would have had a blast. It was a casual game with a lot of laughing.

Our regular game got underway and we rolled for deployment. It wound up as Dawn Of War- which I've never played and don't really understand. I don't mind too much, as I want to learn as much as possible and get to be a better player. We begin play and I got pretty smoked up right away- FunDave blew up one of my vehicles right away.

I've mentioned it before, but it's still true- I don't understand the rules for damaging vehicles. I didn't DOUBT FunDave in any way whatsoever- I just didn't grasp what he was doing very well. It was ok, though- I was hanging out with my buddy and doing the best I could.

I got to a point where I was trying to blow up his vehicle, and I got confused.

FunDave got me through the tough part, and we kept playing. Other guys started coming into the store, and a large number of them sat down at the table opposite us, and the volume got very loud. A couple guys asked how things were going, but stayed out of it. However, one guy just would not leave us be and was offering commentary very frequently.

We got to another vehicle damage situation,and I was pretty lost. The AP business confuses the crap out of me- it seems counter-intuitive to me and that sort of thing just makes me mental.

The guy tried to butt in, and FunDave shut him down. I appreciated it more than I could possibly express... it meant a lot.

We then got into a very complex and confusing wound wrapping situation. I will not lie- I completely misunderstood the explanation given and got myself absolutely lost. There were more than a couple guys trying to help, and one of them was the fellow from before- and he was very vocal. No matter how many times I asked FunDave to re-explain it, the OTHER guy kept trying to "help".

Honestly, what he did was make me mad.

Unfortunately for FunDave, I became so confused and angry that I shut down. I didn't want to deal with it anymore and forfeited, rather than try to contend with intrusive people and rules I don't understand. I know that's pretty crummy, but it seemed a lot better than losing my temper or throttling a customer.

In a show of compassion and friendship, I received the following email after our game:

Ok. Here ya go. This is the tale of Billy Bob and his magical layz cannon vs. his cousin Jimbo and his Land Raider

1. Declare Fire
    Jimbo, I'm a fixin to shoot you with this here layzer cannon
2. Roll to hit. Same as for firing with a unit. BS + D6 has to equal or be greater than 7.
    Billy Bob is pretty good with his layzer cannon he's BS 4. He rolls and gets a 4 BS+D6 = 8 He hits
3. Determine what you did.
    There are 3 possible options here. Take the weapon strength+D6 compare to the armor value (AV) of the vehicle
    It must equal or be greater than the AV
    1. Weapon strength 9+ 1,2,3,4 = (10, 11, 12, 13) All less than the AV 14 Land Raider (this is why land raiders suck
        Daymeet cousin that thar armured thingy beat my layzer cannon

    2. Weapon strength 9+ 5 = 14 Glancing hit Roll D6-2 (then add anything special like tank hunters or AP 1) and consult the chart.

        Dad gum. I scratched the paint on that sucker!

    3. Weapon strength 9+ 6 = 15 Penatrating (hehehe penatrating) hit. Roll D6 (add in special stuff like tank hunters or AP 1) and consult the chart.

        Yeee Haaw! My layzer cannon put a hole right through that sumabitch watch 'er burn!

Melta has a distinct difference in all of this. At step 3 above for melta you add: 3a. If you are within half the range of the weapon roll weapon strength + the sum of 2D6.

Hey Jimbo eyes gots me a microwavin' gun now. Let's see how ya like this one.

Weapon strength 8 + 2D6 ( let's say a 5 and a 3) = Wpn Str 8 + 8 = 16 penetrating hit. Roll D6 then add one for the shot being AP1 and consult the chart.

Ding! Ha! cusin. Youse a burrita now.

To summarize

1. Pick your target

2. Pick your weapon

3. Roll to hit (BS+D6) must equal 7 or more

4. Figure out what you did (Wpn Str+D6) or for Melta in half range (Wpn Str+2D6) subtract the AV of the vehicle. If you end up with a zero you glance. Roll a D6-2 and add anything special you have. If you end up with a positve number you Pen. Roll a D6 and add anything special you have.

That is a true friend, guys-- and I am glad to have him. He took the time to write up a summary in silly but "plain" language so that maybe I would have a better understanding of something that's been bothering me for a long time. Getting that email was a pretty good start to my day-- and of course I had to let FunDave know I was using it on my blog right away. He didn't seem to mind.

Maybe I can try again later, now that I know how to use a layzergun =)

[40K] Some Real Content!

There was no 40K for the past couple weeks- due to a break between leagues or holidays or whatnot.

Last night kicked things off again, with a new league starting. This one is kind of an interesting twist on Planetary Empires--  there are two required lists. One is 200 point Kill Team list, and the other is 1800 point "main" list. You play a Kill Team game (sort of scouts, if you will) and whoever wins the game gets an advantage in the main game.

I had planend to sit this league out for a variety of reasons, but have since been convinced (read:dared/bullied) into playing, if nothing else, as a backup in case someone bails. Words such as "chicken" and "scaredy cat" were thrown around, and I just can't really have that, now can I? I sat out this week but should catch up next week with a quick early game and then a regular game as per the schedule.

I'll be busting out my Templar again for this league, and maybe I will get some painted colors other than "blue". (Despite advice to the contrary, Necron Abyss is NOT dark enough to be a proxy for black.)

Speaking of my Templar, despite not being fielded by me, they got on the board in a game.

Big Sword is having sharp words with me, as I allowed his faithful brothers to be proxied as Xenos by my best pal, who is new to 40K. He wants to play Orks. He has a friend who will loan him the models, but he forgot to send a list to the guy with the Green Dudes. My pal showed up last night and my Templar were commissioned to stand in as the Spores... with hilarious results.

The "orks" face down a Dreadnaught

My friend (BB) made his list based off of the models I had on hand- I brought my bag to help out a different friend (FunDave) and having the extra models made it possible for BB to play . BB's list was pretty kick butt for something he threw together in a couple minutes, based on what was available from a Space Marine player's bag.

The night was a blast- it's always great to get back to the guys, the fun, the camaraderie, and the games.

I'm afraid that I well and truly stink, though. My pal BB picked up the Ork codex and blasted out a list that had a veteran player on his toes all night- in less than 15 minutes. I've been trying to get better for a while now, and I still lose all the time. I read tactics, articles, strategy, net lists, advice and ask my friends for help- and still get smoked every time. I think it's a fact that I'm an easy win, and I just gotta deal with it.

Or maybe getting better will take more time for me, and I just have to keep at it. I'm hoping I'm a slow learner.

Space Marines

This is where I will post links and information for Space Marines players.

 I do not have any at this time. 

Chaos Space Marines

This is where I will post links and information for Chaos Space Marines players.

I do not have any at this time. 

Eldar

This is where I will post links and information for Eldar players.

I do not have any at this time. WIP as emails are being sent this week. 

Dark Eldar

This is where I will post links and information for Dark Eldar players.

I do not have any at this time. 

Blood Angels

This is where I'll put links and information for new Blood Angels players.


WIP.

Space Wolves

This is where I will post links and information for Space Wolves players.

I have not heard back from blog owners to add links on this yet. 

Necrons

This is where I will post links and information for Necrons players.

I do not have any at this time. 

[40K] Help for a new player callout: BLOOD ANGELS

So I'm not the only new player at the FLGS anymore! There's a new guy, Nick, who is super nice. I need links, links, links and MORE links to send his way for his Blood Angels. He's BRAND NEW- (played 2 games) and could really use some easy to understand strategy, tactics, codex discussion and more for his reading/learning pleasure.

Please help me help another new player! You guys have always come through for me... I want to pass it on.


Be Well,

Lo

Black Templar

This is where I'll post links, information and advice for Black Templar players.

But really and truly, Marshal Laeroth does the best BT for beginners out there. His Black Templars 101 is ESSENTIAL reading for anyone wanting to build a Crusade.

Rites of Battle has an incredible array of fantastic information for a new BT player as well.


Nikephoros, besides being a fantastic troll, is not a shabby source of wisdom on the Emperor's Chosen at all.

Terms

Here you should find a list of  common, across the board terminology. Please ask if you have questions. Also feel free to add any you think should be included but are not.


H2H or HtH is hand-to-hand (combat)
=I= is the Inquisition (quite clever, that one!)
chimeltavets (or variants thereof) describes IG veterans in chimeras armed to the teeth with meltaguns
FNP is Feel No Pain, which is a
USR, or a Univeral Special Rule (from the main rulebook); many of these are abbreviated.
FOC is the Force Organisation Chart,
WAAC is 'win at all costs',
RAW is 'rules as written' as opposed to
RAI which is 'rules as interpreted'.


++ is short hand for invulnerable save.

++ for a save also can be an Orwell reference. In Newspeak a thing can be "doubleplus good". So a 3+ save is good, but a 3++ is obviously even better. ;)

Aka, 3+ saves can be negated with AP, 3++ however is an invulnerable.

Check out the entirety of THIS post if you are an Imperial Guard Player! 

Tyranids

This is where I will post links and information for Tyranids players.

For a whole new approach, take a peek over at Kennedy's blog. 

Orks

This is where I will post links and information for Ork players.

The Lexicanum is good for basic concept and background, working out from the Ork page.

The Stuff of Legends has catalogue pages for years of Ork minis.

The Premier Ork Forums


Ork Tacticas / Reviews
http://kirbysblog-ic.blogspot.com/p/codex-reviews.html (fester)

http://bloodofkittens.com/blog/category/ork-defense-force/ (nfluger)

And don't forget to visit DaMastaCheef over at DaLongWayzDezertGroup - He's got some fabulous Orky things going on! 

Imperial Guard

Here you should find a pretty comprehensive list of terms, phrases, information and other goodies associated with the Guard. Please let me know if you think something should be added or if you have questions.


First, visit Defending Humanity.  His Terms and Definitions page will save your life.


Then, visit Admiral Drax - you won't find a nicer bloke. His conversions are tremendous, his armies are fun, and he loves those commissioned to serve him.