Apocalypse40K at Adepticon!

I am flying in to Chicago today (Thursday) and will be at Adepticon playing in the 40K Team Tournament with my good buddies from Atlanta John Ross, Thomas Byrd and Chip Bowen under the team name Prospero Burns.   If any of you are going to be there, please give me a buzz on my cell at 404-918-1701 and we will have a beer and talk Apocalypse!

In the team tournament, teams of four players each build a 1,000 point list such that each list can play with any other list on your team and form a legal 2,000 point list.  You then play 4 games, playing with each team member once and then the fourth game you choose who you play with.

I am playing a Xenos army for the first time in my 12 years in the hobby!   As all my buddies know, I am an extreme Imperial Loyalist!  But sometimes one must broaden one's horizons.

My army was built and painted by multiple Golden Daemon winner Aaron Lovejoy, who is a great guy was well as an awesome painter.

 My 1,000 points fields 4 Venoms, all custom made by Aaron Lovejoy

My list is the one with an extra heavy slot, so two Ravagers fill up those slots

A Haemonculus is my HQ

So if you are at Adepticon, come and say hi!

Alec

Forgeworld at Adepticon!

Oh damn.  What little money I have left after paying off my two painters is about to evaporate at Adepticon.  Forgeworld will be there and they will have the limited edition Space Marine shown above.

From Forgeworld:

AdeptiCon 2011
Forge World’s Stephen Green and Kenton Mills will shortly be winging their way to the Westin Lombard Yorktown Centre in Chicago, IL, for AdeptiCon 2011 held on the 1st - 3rd April.

AdeptiCon attendees can pre-order the immense Eldar Phantom Titan, which will be on display in the Vendor Hall, and also purchase our Event Only MkIII Armoured Boarding Marine and Chaos Dwarf Hellsmith miniatures.

We’ll also have limited stock available of the Shadow Spectres Exarch, Eldar Lynx with Pulsar and Lynx with Sonic Lance, plus a few unreleased models for you to see and pre-order well in advance of their scheduled release.

As well as getting a chance to be the first to get a look at these new models, you can also meet Kenton Mills, one of the talented graphic artists responsible for Forge World’s range of Decal sheets and Etched Brass symbols. This man of many talents also produces many of the colour profiles that adorn the Imperial Armour range and his work can be found in Imperial Armour Volume 8 as well as our best-selling Badab War series. Kenton will be happy to autograph copies of these lavish books at the event.

Bridge over the River WAAAAGGGHHHH - Part 2

The game had two main objectives.  First, the Orcs had to get their 3 Gargants across a 6' bridge, starting 12" in.  They were given a 12" movement and an optional 3D6" turbo-boost if they chose instead.  So if after 4 turns, they were within 12", they would win that objective, as top of 5 they would cross the bridge.

The Orcs also had a Doomsday missile that used the rules of a Deathstrike missile.  If they could fire that, then the Hive City was in deep trouble!

The Adventurer's Guild crew built an awesome Orc lander. It was only terrain, but it anchored one side of the battlefield.

The Orc Lander was 4 feet long!

The Orcs crash into the Imperial Lines on the Imperial side of the table.

Greg's Orc Carrier makes its combat debut!

The Hades breaching drills emerge around the Orc Doomsday missile!

The Orc Gargants drove steadily across the bridge, running over Drop pods and shrugging off a vortex grenade!  But ultimately they fell short.

Meanwhile the Templars Sanguine's Sternguard squad blew up the Doomsday Missile (which had 4 structure points) on turn 3 after 6 Hades Breaching drills failed to destroy it.  The Missile then blew up in an Apocalyptic explosion, which we all agreed should be resolved like a Warlord Titan, since it was, after all, a DOOMSDAY missile!  It took about everything on half the table with it!

In the end the Orc invasion was stopped, and fun was had by all.  And the armies were truly beautiful.

Alec

Bridge over the River WAAAAGGGHHHH

Warboss Sheepshagga is on the rampage and his Gargants are close to crossing the River KWAAAAGGGHHH.  All that stands between the Orcs and Hive Senobio is a force of Imperial Guard and Space Marines.  

Can the three massive Gargants be stopped from crossing he bridge?

Can the Doomsday Missile Warboss Sheepshagga has pointed at the Hive City be stopped?

This was the scenario that was the setting for a 120,000 point Apocalypse game this past weekend at Adventurer's Guild Gaming in Riverside. 10 Members of the Apocalypse40K.com forums took to the tables to see if the Orcs could overrun the Imperial defenders and attack Hive City Senobio (named after Adventurer's Guild owner Senobio Aguilera who had a baby boy the night before!).

Greg Teeuwen and his amazing Orc conversions lead the way with John Macomber, Wayne Clark, Bill Moran and Tayla Wren.  Myself, Liam Wren, Dave Ashworth and Andrew Schmidt were joined by three other local players as the Imperial defenders.

A total of 5 4' x 6' tables were set up in an "I" with the bridge being the center section.  On each side of the bridge there were two tables making a 6' wide by 8' deep section.

The 3 Orc Gargants

The Orc lander disgorged hordes of Greenskins.  The Imperial Forces were able to send a force across the river to meet the full might of the Orcs.

Meanwhile the Orcs crossed the river on the Hive City side and hoped to flank the main armored might of the Imperial Forces.

Tomorrow, a short synopsis of the battle!

Alec

Forgeworld Phantom!

 Well, the Forgeworld Phantom is about to go on sale and there are some great new photos!

From the Forgeworld Newsletter:

Tall, slender and elegant, the Phantom is the largest known pattern of Eldar Titan. It is swift and agile in comparison to the lumbering behemoths of the Legio Titanicus, and is armed with some of the deadliest examples of Eldar weaponry.

Each Phantom is the pinnacle of Eldar warcraft. Linked to a wraithbone core containing the living spirit of its previous pilots, the single crewman of each Phantom Titan, known as a Steersman, is an Exarch dedicated to this aspect of warfare. Locked in a trance-like state, the Steersman’s consciousness merges with the spirit-sentience of the Titan, enabling the mighty war machine to react and manoeuvre with astonishing speed.

The Phantom Titan is most commonly armed with at least one immense Phantom Pulsar, a long range and rapid-firing energy weapon far superior to anything sanctioned by the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Phantom’s other primary weapon is often a Phantom D-Cannon; much larger and more powerful than similar technology used by the Cobra or Warp Hunter, it tears a seething warp-rift in the fabric of reality to engulf and utterly destroy its foe. As well as these primary weapons, the Phantom is armed with shoulder-mounted anti-aircraft and anti-personnel missile launchers as well as an additional heavy weapon; usually a long-barrelled Star Cannon or Pulse Laser. Adeptus Mechanicus logis-engines also record other primary weapons systems that have been encountered in the long history of conflict between the Imperium and the Eldar.

Ork Carrier

Well, Greg Teeuwen is up to his old tricks!  In just under 3 weeks he built this beautiful Ork Carrier that will be making its debut at this weekend's big Orc vs Imperial battle at Adventurer's Guild Gaming in Riverside CA.

The Ork Great Gargant

Sorry all.  Computer hard drive crashed so off to the klocal Apple Store to get it replaced!  I am back and here is an article from Greg Patterson at Siegeworld that I think you Orc players will love.

THE ORC GREAT GARGANT

by Greg Patterson

So Orks are one of my favorites from way back, hell I miss Madboyz and their 6 pages of rules. But that is not what this is all about. This is about the Great Gargant. Much like the warlord that the Adeptus Mechanicus see as an embodiment of their god, the Great Gargant is the Orks walking Mork or maybe Gork.  So in game they should be at least of similar ability although different propose. A warlord is armed primarily to take out other titans and the occasional unit of infantry. A Great Gargant is more of a combined arms platform but can still go toe to toe with a warlord. We have seen this from the old Epic games.

So how does this translate to Apocalypse? Well awhile back the fine folks over at Bell of Lost Souls gave us a whole bunch of datasheets in the form of the Lords of Battle publication. And while I truly appreciate their effort I do feel that their datasheets are a little limited and under powered.

I played a game a few months ago with my friend Josh and he brought his Great Gargant, it was a great game but frankly I was more afraid of his Fighta bommas and tricked out Stompa than the Great Gargant.  Once the shields go down the damage really starts stacking up and it didn't take long til it was just Immobile hunk of Mork shaped metal.  One of the big issues I saw was the basic survivability as a fighting unit.  The Great Gargant only has 3 Primary Weapons meaning that there are more chances to disable it by removing all it's guns and then moving up the damage chart to strip it's Structure Points. My experience is that most Warlords keep shooting until they are destroyed because of the Primary Weapon save, I have seen exceptions to this but for the most part the Primary Weapon save goes a long way towards making Titans more effective longer on the battlefield. The other problem is there is very little variety in the weapons that are available to the Great Gargant, the BoLS datasheet was designed for the model pictured and nothing else. It leaves no room for customization which is the very meaning of being an Ork.  After reading Imperial Armour 8 and seeing the Kustom Stompa datasheet  I realized that that is how a Great Gargant datasheet should look. 

So I got to writing  a new datasheet using the BoLS sheet as a basis and several of the rules from Imperial Armour 8 I added the Repair Krew rules and tweaked it to be a little better due to the size of the Great Gargant. I also gave it the Ramshackle Monster rule to represent the crazy nature of Ork construction. I then scaled up several smaller Ork guns to allow for more variety in load-outs for your own personal Gargant. In doing this I tried to give the Gargant a few strength D options as Orks are severely lacking in strength D. My personal Favorite is the Uge Zappa which lets you roll 3d6 for strength and anything over 10 is strength D. I also setup a list of shoulder weapons that let you pick from a list of different options for your shoulders and some hull mounts that reduce your transport just like the stompa. Finally I changed the Observation Tower to give the Great Gargant Persicision Strike for its own guns. 

So this is what I came up with. What do you all think?

Points: 2500

WS: 4
BS: 2
S: 10
I: 1
A: 2

Armour
Front: 14
Side: 13
Rear: 11

UNIT: 1 Great Gargant

TYPE: Super Heavy Walker

Structure points:  10

Power Fields:  7+D3

ACCESS POINTS: One Rear

Transport: 60 Orks,  Mek boy’s Kustom Force Fields have no effect
while in a Gargant

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT:
2 Hull mounted Big Shootas
1 rear mounted Twin linked Big Shootas
Gut Busta

One head weapon from the following list:
Gaze of Mork
Flame Belcha
Skullhamma Kannon

Two shoulder weapons** from the following list:
Deff Kannon
Giga Shoota
Flakk Gun
Supa-Lobba
Big-Zappa
Supa-Scorcha
Shunta
Observation Tower***

Two Arm Weapons from the following list:
Uge Shoota
Supa-Lifta-Droppa*
Supa-Zappa
Supa-Bursta Kannon
Uge Lobba
Titan Close Combat Weapon*
Krusha Ball*

Special Rules:
• Repair Krew, same as rule in IA8 but each big Mek riding in the
Gargant allows an additional roll to repair up to a maximum of 3
rolls.
• Effigy
• Ramshackle Monster
•Towering Inferno: Once crippled, a Great Gargant will tend to erupt
in great gouts of flame, careening out of control as internal fires
tear it apart from within.
Catastrophic Damage Table “Wrecked” results instead move the Gargant ahead
2d6”. All normal movement rules apply. It is no longer scoring, may not fire any
weapons or change its facing. Roll again on the Catastrophic Damage Table at the
start of each ork turn until the Great Gargant explodes or leaves the table.
• Observation Tower: Grants the Precision Strike asset. This Asset
only applys to the Great Gargant’s weapons.


Options:
Add up to 9 supa-rokkits                +20pts each
Add up to 6 Big shootas                 +5pts each
Add up to 4 Grot Bomb Launchas  +10pts each

Reduce transport by 10 models and gain
-Kannon                         +10pts
-Flame Belcha                   +30pts
-Big Zappa                      +30pts
-Killkannon                     +60pts
-Giga-shoota                    +75pts

Weapon      Range  Strength     AP      Special
Gut Busta
Air Burst Shot  60"      6      3       Apocalypse Barrage (10) Primary Weapon
Solid Shot      60"      D      2       Ordnance 1, 5” Blast Destroyer, Primary Weapon
Chain Shot      60"      9      3       Ordnance 1, 7” Blast, Primary Weapon
Uge Shoota      48"      7      3       Heavy 6D6 Primary Weapon
Supa Bursta Kannon 72"  D       2       Ordinance 1 7" Blast, Primary Weapon
Uge Lobba       180"    9       3       Ordinance 3 10" Blast, Primary Weapon
Supa Zappa      96"     3D6     2       Ordinance D3 7" Blast, Primary Weapon****
Uge Lifta Droppa*       48"     D       1       Heavy1 10” Blast Primary Weapon*****

*A Great Gargant can only take a single  Supa-Lifta-Droppa, Titan Close Combat Weapon, or Krusha Ball
** All shoulder weapons count as Primary Weapons
*** A Great Gargant can only have one Observation Tower
**** Any roll for Strength that equals 11 or more is considered  Strength D
***** The Supa Lifta Droppa uses the same rules as a regular Lifta-Droppa except it’s range is 72” and it can effect Super heavies and Gargantuan Creatures.

The Armorcast Orc Gargant unpainted

Forgeworld New Releases

The Eldar just got reinforcements!

Shadow Spectres Exarch

Eldar Lynx with Pulsar

Eldar Lynx with Sonic Lance

The Eldar Lynx are incredibly powerful and cheap points wise.  Only 320 points each for 2 structure points and either a Pulsar or Sonic Lance.

I expect to see lots of these on the field of battle!

The New World Records

So, after finally verifying all the army lists from The Big Game, we were able to compile our numbers and so here are the World Records as they finally stand.

These records were initially collected and kept by Siegeworld, the guys who started the mega-apocalypse games.  Siegeworld is a founding member of the Apocalypse40K forums and their records have been recognized by all the major Apocalypse clubs.  These records are kept in a special thread on the Apocalypse40K Forum and reprinted here.

Most Points in a Single Game

This requires all models to participate in a continuous game on one table interconnected or otherwise. All models must be painted (3 colors + based) and the game must last 4+ turns over an unbroken time period (eg-with some breaks, but no "pause and come back the next day"). 

The Big Game, Los Angeles Battle Bunker, January 22, 2011,   739,247

(The previous record for the Biggest Apocalypse Game was 382,000 by Siegeworld)

Most Points in a Single Battle

Same as Most Points in a Single Game, but models don't need to be painted, and one or more discontinuous tables. Anything goes so long as it is interrelated and simultaneous.  No turn requirements.

The Big Game, Los Angeles Battle Bunker, January 22, 2011,  864,057

(The previous record for the Biggest Apocalypse Battle was 520,000 by GMI games)

Most Points in a Single Battle - Multiple Locations

Same as Most Points in a Single Battle, but allows for multi-location play.

The Big Game, January 22, 2011,  22 locations in 5 countries  2,310,835 points

Note that this record has just been added so that record The Big Game set on January 22nd at 22 locations, is distinguished from a single location battle.  Siegeworld agreed that a multiple location event should have a different record from a single location event since it wouldn't be fair for one location to have to compete with multiple locations for a record.  Plus, we all want everyone competing for different records and pushing the limits!

Most Minis in a Single Battle

See Most Points in a Single Battle (single location). Same restrictions apply. This record is anything goes so long as it is interrelated and simultaneous. A miniature is counted as any piece which has its own base or does not use a base. Essentially, if it can be moved on its own (thus a swarm base is a single miniature). 

The Big Game, Los Angeles Battle Bunker,  January 22, 2011  18,592

(The previous record for the most minis in a Single Battle was 6,500 by Siegeworld)

Most Tank Models in a Single Battle


Anything with an AV, MCs, and GCs count as one, so long as they're painted. Single battlefield as per the first record and no turn limit.  

GW Manchester UK holds the title with 2,562 models.

 

Kirk Damman - Siegeworld Founder

Since starting the Apocalypse40K forum, I have met a lot of great people who pioneered Apocalyptic battles before there was Apocalypse.  The guys at Siegeworld are at the forefront of the mega-apocalypse insanity.  And Kirk Damman was the guy who really brought it all together.  Here is a conversation with Kirk.

1)  How did you get into 40K?

I’d been a role-player for a lot of years in high school and into college.  All sorts of games, but mostly Shadowrun.  The amusing thing is that I really played them more as a games developer than as a player.  I found it much more fun to write scenarios (and to GM them) than I ever found in playing in them.  I’d bumped into Games Workshop as my very first role-playing book (given as a Christmas gift by an English cousin) was the “Call of Cthulu” Role-playing game that GW produced at that time.

In college I got heavily into Magic: the Gathering.  However, I really loved to collect the cards more than to play the game.  My first exposure to Games Workshop tabletop games was when I spent a semester abroad in England.  British cousin (again) had been heavily into Blood Bowl and had a whole shelf of White Dwarf.  He was away, but I spent a week with relatives where I got his room and ended up reading way too many articles from them.  I particularly remember the article on Space Marine medics (and a particular piece of art where a medic provides the emperor’s peace to a poor guardsman).  I loved the concept of the game system and the fluff, and even went to a local GW store (where I got a five minute intro to EPIC).  However, I knew nobody that played, the painting massively intimidated me, and I continued with MtG.

In Law School, I ended up losing interest in MtG.  The game was getting too competitive and the collecting aspect has simply become “buy the singles you need.”  I was therefore looking to get involved in a new type of game and that summer, while interning, I found myself at DragonFire games in Boulder, CO.  They had a very active WFB group and so I decided to try this tabletop wargaming idea.  I picked up Bretonnians (because they didn’t require a coherent paint scheme so I figured they would be easier to paint).

I’d bought the original starter paint set (that had a chaos warrior and a space marine) to see what it was like to paint.  I quickly started writing storylines for space marines from reading the current White Dwarfs and developed my own chapter.  At the time, third Edition 40K was just being initially talked about, so I continued to play fantasy and waited for it.  I got the 3rd ed. big box, and that was it.  I was a 40K player.  I still play fantasy, but not nearly as much as 40K.

2)  What armies do you play? 

I still play Brettonians in Fantasy, however my true love there is the Dark Elves.  I also have a full Dogs of War force.

In 40K, I play what I call “Imperium.”  Although amusingly when I was getting ready to play 40K, I’d figured I’d play the ‘Nids.  My original army was the space marines.  I’ve always played my own custom Chapter (“Midnight’s Spectres”) and my army today still includes my original space marine from that starter paint set.  A lot of the reasoning was because the Marines were easier to paint and I figured I should learn what I was doing on stylized armor before tackling the organic Nids.  I also really liked the idea of painting “heraldry in space.”  However, like in Role-Playing, I loved the fluff and couldn’t stand the idea of having to play a force with characters and history I couldn’t create.  My marines are now to over 30K in points and comprise one Grand Company (or basically half a chapter).  That’s about as big as it’s going to get.  One part of my Chapter fluff that hasn’t changed since the very beginning is that my chapter was broken apart by their master early in their history (due to events that almost resulted in their destruction), and the parts shall never meet.

I got into the Guard because of Forge World.  Specifically, I got the very original Leman Russ Conqueror kit (with the mail away coupon in Citadel Journal).  I wanted to have a color scheme and someway to mark it, and thus the Saharrian XLV was born.  A desire to pick up the Armorcast superheavies (which had just been discontinued, I’d actually gotten the Nids before they stopped producing, but got the tanks later) also led to further refinement of the XLV.  I never figured I’d be a guard player, but slowly fell in love with them over the years.  Now the Saharrian XLV is my biggest army over 30K in points) and I’ve added three more guard armies.

I’ve also added a pretty heafty Ordo Malleous force, two titan legion (Legio Astraman - the Morning Stars and Legio Victorum), and have a good sized SoB force sitting around waiting for paint.
 

3)  Are you more into the modeling or the playing?

I’m more into the storytelling (fluff).  I spend far more time writing history and background (and refining the army makeup) for my armies than I spend building them or playing with them.  However, with that in mind I am definitely a modeler.  At the same time, even with 10 years of playing, I’m still not what I would call an accomplished painter.  Mostly because I don’t want to be.  I’ve wanted my armies to stay consistent over the years and thus haven’t really changed techniques since when I started.  This means my marines aren’t highlighted or shaded since I didn’t do those techniques ten years ago.  Part of the reason I added new forces is to allow me to actually play a bit with painting more advanced techniques.  My Grey Knights allowed me to actually use highlighting and shading and to do some real freehand work as well.

I do, however, consider myself to be a very good converter.  I rarely truly scratchbuild anything, but my army is full of conversions all the way from simple part swaps, to reposing, to completely custom tank variants.  Most of my scratchbuilding is confined to big models (such as my Leviathan, Imperialis, and titans).

 4)  How did Siegeworld Start?

I got started in large scale “mega-gaming” early.  The first 40K event I ever organized was a two table game with 4 players where we each brought 2000 points.  I’d also played in some fantasy mega battles probably 12-13 years ago now.

Basically, my hobby interests have always had me interested in megagaming because I don’t ever sell anything.  Once its part of my army, it basically stays there, forever.  I can count on one hand the number of models I’ve painted that I don’t still have and use.  Thus, I always want to actually put all these models on a game table.

I consider the genesis of Siegeworld to actually be the third “Hjork.”  If you’ve heard of Hjork, I’ll be impressed, but it was a floorhammer 40K game in New Hampshire.  It was sort of loosely associated with Dakka Dakka (back when it was a club w/ a website as opposed to a website).  I lived in Boston at the time and already liked to play big games, so I drove up carting around 8K in marines with me and a bunch of Forgeworld and Armorcast models (and the first units of the Saharrian XLV an Armorcast Shadowsword and Forgeworld Baneblade).  This was the age of the VDR (and Imperial Armor - the Softcover), so we had rules written for all the nasty war machines and had a blast.  The Hjork quietly died a few moths later without a further event, my understanding is due to internal disagreements between sponsors.

Meanwhile, I’d moved to Saint Louis and wanted to get a “Hjork” type event going in Saint Louis.  I had gotten hooked up with Adeptus Basementus (or AB as it was commonly called) as a game club here in Saint Louis as it was founded.  AB had a philosophy of fun gaming events.  Tournaments were often part of it, but the point was to have fun.  For example, at AB tournaments the last award given (and the most important) was sportsmanship.

AB’s philosophy took off and we had spun off a number of sister clubs (Adeptus Kansas City, Adepetus Windy City, Adeptus Twin Cities, and Adeptus Toronto to name a few) which were all consolidated on the AB website.  The core of us in Saint Louis, having run some fairly major events here, were looking to do a major event to bring everyone together.  A national event that could compete with Games Workshop’s Games Day while being organized by fans.

I decided to actually organize the floorhammer game I’d wanted to do while the other organizers looked to create a Convention type event with modeling workshops, tournaments, and other types of events that all the Adeptus clubs’ members could attend.   The convention organizers found a cheaper venue in Chicago than they could get in Saint Louis (due to a familial connection and some help from our Chicago sister club and GW Chicago where AB’s club president now worked).  Both events went forward, however, and both have been going on ever since.  Siegeworld is still in Saint Louis doing mega games while the convention is also still in Chicago under the same name, a shortening of “The Adeptus Convention” -- “Adepticon.”

5)  What is the purpose of Siegeworld?

Siegeworld has always been about being a showcase and simply having fun.  A lot of aspects of “the hobby,” to use the words of Jervis, have their championships.  Tournaments, obviously showcase the ability to build an effective army (and play it well) within certain predefined criteria.  The Golden Daemon rewards outstanding painting and (to a lesser extent) modeling ability.  Yet, I have always felt that these awards miss the point of “the hobby” as a whole.  Slayer Sword winners often don’t play the game at all (or even have an army) and tournament players regularly denigrate requirements of painting or background as unimportant.  I see “the hobby” as being something more immersive than those who are champions of these pieces will likely ever obtain.

Siegeworld is designed for the gamer who bleeds ultramarines blue and couldn’t imagine not playing their army simply because the codex is 10 years old (and horribly outclassed).  This is the person who has named all their sergeants and have rolls of honor for them, even though the miniature is rarely used.  It’s designed to be a showcase.  I think it far less impressive to paint one hero to a standard to win the Slayer Sword, as it is to simply paint, by hand, 500 lesser troopers.

On thing Seigeworld is not is competitive.  As is announced every year at the start of the game, this year’s Siegeworld will end in a draw.
  

6)  But if it ends in a draw, what’s the motivation.

Siegeworld has an ongoing storyline, written by the troops and players that write it.  Each year various objectives are presented and who captures what effects the story for the next year.  The very first Siegeworld involved troops making landfall on Artemis IV, the massive planet of war which is the site for all Siegeworlds.  In the following years, players revealed that Artemis IV was covered with a series of fortresses of unknown construction, each housing an incredibly rare (and very powerful) crystal deposit.  For years, they have fought for those.  They have also encountered some weird anecdotes on Artemis IV itself, including the strange disappearance of some troops exploring below the surface (now more than 8 years ago)…

In 2010, Siegeworld: Storm the Citadel advanced the world significantly as players got to attack the unique fortress called the Citadel (a chaos bastion) discovering an extermiatus cannon preparing to fire at Artemis IV’s largest moon.  The attacker’s managed to stop the shot from going off, but all that means is that in 2011, the players will be fighting on that very moon to try and figure out why the Dark Gods were trying to destroy it in the first place.

If the attacker’s had failed and the gun had fired.  That was a different storyline.  One now that hasn’t been revealed (and may never be).  What happens on the moon will also effect the storyline.  In this respect it doesn’t matter what forces win or lose, its effectively a “choose your own adventure” novel where I only give you the pages after the battlefield has decided where you’re going.

7)  How did Apocalypse affect Siegeworld and the big games you play?

It finally gave us a couple of things.  The first was legitimacy.  Prior to Apocalypse, a lot of people looked at big games as a bit freakish.  You were using the rules, but yet you were doing so much beyond the rules that a lot of  more narrow minded players would question if you were even playing 40K.

The second thing it did was finally give a better framework for custom models.  Up until that time, the Forgeworld rules were the only guidepoints as to what custom (big) models should be and they were very limited.  While most of us had used the VDR (and still had books providing it) the VDR lacked options due to it always being existing weapons with specific modifiers, it also just forced cheesy choices at times.  When Apocalypse came out, suddenly the doors blew off what was possible.  Flyers now had rules that were more universal (as did bigger guns).

The best thing it did was allow me to not have to write as many rules.  I’d written hundreds of pages of rules to deal with things like the available weapons for a Warlord titan to how an Imperial Guard Recon section worked.  With the release of Apocalypse, much of this became “official” (a word I hate) allowing me to focus on rarer aspects and eliminating debate on whether a certain house rule at Siegeworld was “fair.”

 

8)  Will Siegeworld continue to be played on a huge floor, or will you guys move to tables?

For the foreseeable future we’ll stay on the floor.  It’s much easier to reach models on the floor allowing the battlefield to have more depth.  Large table battles always seem to end up as just massive lines of troops shooting as they march.  This to me feels more like the Revolutionary War than science fiction.  Logistically, tables are also just to expensive and hard to deal with.  We don’t have a local battle bunker (we don’t even have a local GW store anymore) so we have to rent out everything in the location.  As Siegeworld always has been (and is intended to always remain) a free event, the cost to get tables (and to store the terrain) would just get out of control.
  

9) There is a huge arms race going on with serious Apoc players.  How does this affect Siegeworld?

We’ve definititly seen the escalation in forces.  The good thing is that for our size and style, the arms race is going in a lot of directions at once which is serving to help balance things.  We regularly have 20+ titans at our games but they are far from overpowering (very few survive the whole game).  Most players have discovered that large forces with any type of focus tend to work well.  Some players are building titan legions, while others will soon be fielding their chapter’s entire first company of terminators, other have tank hordes, and others are starting to feel the pull of aircraft.  We have found, because of the flexibility offered by a very large battlefield, that there is very little that is truly overpowered or unstoppable.

Basically, most of our games are balanced by size.  A large titan is scary, but it can’t stand up alone to 20 deep striking dreadnoughts harrying it with multimeltas.  Because we don’t use tables, players are less confined in how they use their forces, which means that specialists are sent where they are needed and basically everything can be stopped.  What this means is that our arms race is more one of sheer quantity.

10)  What is the future of Apocalypse and what is the most glaring aspect that needs attention?

I think Apocalypse needs to become a part of “mainstream” 40K.  Like Kill Team (or Cities of Death), it needs to have its main rules made part of the main rulebook.  Right now, the problem is that the Apocalypse main rules are slowly falling out of date.  With that there comes necessary rules interpretations and house rules.  Basically, Apocalypse needs to become less of an alternative way to use 40K models, and simply “the official” rules for large games of 40K.  As such it needs to be updated at the same time as all the other rules to make sure everything stays workable.  That means the main rules in the main rulebook and data sheets in the codex (or everything in a living rulebook on the website) simply to make sure it stays current.

The biggest challenges in Apocalypse right now are threefold.  One is simply dealing with the fact that the Apocalypse datasheets were often written prior to the current edition codex (and 5th ed. rules) and therefore refer to rules and units that simply don’t exist anymore.  90% of rules debates in Apocalypse games relate to how a rule that hasn’t been updated for changes to its parts should be handled in the current edition which is frustrating.

The second issue is STR D weapons.  It was a good idea, but was simply made too good too fast.  There needed to be another tier between STR 10 and STR D when the rules were first written and STR D really needed to be a pinnacle which very few models have.  This oversight on GWs part (probably becuase they really geared Apoc for 40,000 point games, not 400,000 point games) meant that STR D weaponry has become a universal go-to for every purpose by players looking to play Apocalypse a little more competitively.  This often makes players irrationally fear playing against titans and feel that Apocalypse isn’t fun.  Alas, STR D is so entrenched now there may be no way to really deal with it (except house rules), but it is something that ideally needs to be addressed at the highest level of the rules.

The last issue is simply getting players to understand that Apocalypse is not tournament 40K.  I’ve said that everything you need to know about playing in an Apocalypse game you can learn from watching the movie “Gladiator” because Apocalypse is the gladiator ring while tournament 40K is a WWI trench.  In a tournament, tabling your opponent is good because it ensures a top level win.  In Apocalypse, “a quick kill is boring.”  Similarly, there is no honor in crippling your opponents by your “skill” before they ever enter the ring.  Like in the movie, the audience doesn’t like it, it makes for a dull combat, and you often end up on the wrong side of your original allies.  Finally, the purpose of the event is to please the crowd.  Gladiators who have a bad day (read: thumbs down) are generally those that didn’t put on a good show.  You can still have a good day (read: thumbs up) even if you lose the fight.  Apocalypse is best when treated as what it is, a war game, not a war.

The $ 36 Clippers

I went over to my buddy Wayne's house yesterday to do some modeling and chat about 40K.  The subject of GW clippers came up as I was cutting a Baneblade off sprues for my next Fellblade.  Wayne told me he spent $ 36 on his Tamiya clippers!  I was shocked he spent so much since GW clippers, which I think are pretty good, are only $ 15. 

So Wayne hands me the clippers and I try them and I can't believe how awesome they are!  First, they are sharp as hell and cut through the plastic so easily.  Second, they leave so little plastic that clean up is a lot easier.  You don't even have to worry about sanding the plastic most of the time because the cut is so clean.  And finally they cut like a knife through butter.  The action is so smooth that it really is a pleasure to use. 

So we went out to the local game shop and I bought a pair.  I suggest you do to.  You will not regret it!

Alec

Knight TItans

Knight Titans are all the rage these days.  Everyone is looking for the next cool project, and Knights have been showing up in the $ 100 - $ 200 range all over.  Since Games Workshop doesn't have any real IP on Knights, hobbyists have been pumping these out, and Apocalypse players have been snapping them up.

Now I recently bought 5 for $ 400 ($ 80 each).  I would never pay more than $ 125 or so for one.  $ 100 a piece is pretty good, so shop smartly.  Also, a lot of these are recast, which means you can get them at reasonable prices.  

Now here is one of the best out there.

 

The original thread for this is available here:

These Knights were made by BigDaddy, who is a well known French modeler extraordinaire.  His blog has a lot of great models.  These were then painted by his friend Alaric, another talented Frenchman!

Modified Objective Scoring....a new way of scoring

Well, we at SoCal Apocalypse have been using a modified objective scoring system in our Apoc games and it works very well.  Here is how it works:

Rather than counting objectives at the end of the game, you start counting objectives held every PLAYER TURN, starting with the end of the top of turn 2.  This, every turn, you count the objectives twice:  once at the end of the top of the turn, and once at the end of the bottom of the turn.  Thus, in a four turn game, you count objectives SIX times.

We find this is a great way to make the game exciting.

Pros

1)  No last turn rush for objectives.

2)  Going second not a definite benefit.

3) Forces aggression from the beginning.

4)  Makes the game more interesting every turn.

Cons

1)  If you aren't aggressive, you can find yourself far behind quickly.

All 3 of the Apoc groups I play with have played with this rule.  I urge you to try it out and then give your feedback on the Apocalypse40k Forums.

Alec

Grey Knights on Advance Order!

Well, the Grey Knights are up for Advance order on the GW website.  Here is what is available:

Grey Knight Codex Softback – $ 29

Grey Knights Boxed 5 man Set - $ 33

Grey Knight Terminators / Paladins – $ 50

The Grey Knight Nemesis Dreadknight – $ 53.75

Lord Kaldor Draigo – $ 22.25

GREY KNIGHT TERMINATORS

 GREY KNIGHT DREADKNIGHT

Grey Knights on the way!

Well, this Thursday the Black Box that GW sends out with preview copies of new codexes and sprues of upcoming kits is heading to shops across the country.  Those Black Boxes have already hit in other spots around the world and here are some notes from people who have read the codex:

• Nemesis Force Sword is +1 to inv save if they already have one.
• Nemesis Force Halberd is +2 to initative.
• Nemesis force stave 2+ invun to close combat wounds.
• Brotherhood Banner -25 points. +1 attack to unit, and all models in the unit automatically pass there pyschic test for there force weapon.
• Interesting factoid -Psybolt Ammo gives +1 Strength to Stormbolters,Hurricane bolters,Heavy bolters, Auto Cannons and Assault cannons.
• Warp Stabilization Field allows Librarian to transport vehicle using the Summoning Power. Servo Skulls act like mystics with extra goodies And Brain mines means affected unit cannot act that assault phase
• Psycannon: S7 AP4 Assault 2, Heavy 4, Rending
• Heavy Psycannon: S7 AP4 Large Blast Rending
• Heavy Incinerator operates like the hellhound(+12")
• Doomfist are basically Nemesis Dreadnought CCW(ie S10 powerfists)
• Nemesis Greatsword is S6 but allows rerolls to hit and wound
• DK Daemonhammer is S10 Thunderhammer
• All nemesis weapons have daemonbane which basically ignores eternal warrior for daemons and psykers.
• Psilencer? It's got: Range of 24" Strength 4 AP -Heavy 6 There's also the option for a Gatling Psilencer, which has the same stats excepts it's Heavy 12 A Psilencer always wounds Daemons on a roll of a 4+ unless the score required to wound would normally be less.
• Psyk grenades has random abilities (waiting to hear more) Rad grenades are -1T Blind grenades are defensive

The First wave has been confirmed!

Grey Knight Codex Softback – $ 29

Grey Knights Boxed 5 man Set - $ 33

Can be built as;

* A Grey Knight Squad
* Interceptor Squad (Can teleport 30″ once per game)
* Purgation Squad (Heavy Support can have psy-cannons, psilencer or incenerators. Have psyk-out grenades and can fire at targets the can not see due to Astral Aim.
* Purifier Squad (Elite Squad with 2 attacks and the cleansing flame psychic attack)

The Grey Knight Nemesis Dreadknight – $ 60 (Assumption, price is TBD on GW site)

Grey Knight Terminators / Paladins – $ 50

(Paladins are two wounded ws5 terminators with apothecaries)

Lord Kaldor Draigo – $ 22.25

(HQ choice that makes Paladins troops and grants D3 universal special rules)