Thursday 27 October 2016

Escalation Campaign Idea - Comments and Critique Welcome

40K Escalation Campaign – Map Based

Starting Armies
Each army starts as a 500pt force, which can be made up of any units from a set of codexes. You must have a single HQ choice that is your Warlord for this campaign.

This can be as thematic as you like – fluff would be fun!

This army will be used in each game in the first round, without modifiers.

Map Based Campaign
This will be a map based campaign based on a similar system to planetary empires. The path to victory will to be to gather 10 territories of the Drusus Marches in the Calixis Sector to claim the world for their rightful faction.

The Drusus Marches is a series of worlds with vibrant hive cities, wilderness and an ongoing warzone with the local PDF trying to combat an Ork Insurgence. The Koronous Passage is a stable but volatile warp route.

Around the Drush Marches is a range of important landmarks and their bonuses:
-       Power Stations (+1 to deployment, picking who goes first)
-       Shield Generators (modifies claim rolls)
-       Manufactorums (Bonus points for having the most)
-       Command Bastions (a Bonus USR for a specific unit in that game)
-       Hive Cities (Counts as one of each of the above)
-       Spaceports (capturing support and allows inter-planetary travel)

Round Structure
Each round, typically a month, you can play as many games as you like. Each victory allows you to attempt to claim a planet in the end phase of each turn.  If you play a game against someone that is not in the campaign, you can attempt to claim a tile from the ‘Planetary Defence Force’ that controls the planet.

Playing a Game
Pick an opponent, play a game. The following modifiers apply when playing a campaign opponent.
-       For each tile more that one player has, the other gets 50pts per tile difference
-       Manufactorum Bonuses – a bonus 50pt for each manufactorum controlled
-       Specify any Bastion special rules
-       BONUS POINTS are doubled for any army, whose core army is fully painted and based.





Claiming Territories
At the end of the round, for each victory (up to 4) you have the potential to claim a tile as per the rules for Planetary Empires, with Shield Generator Modifiers. You can only claim tiles that are adjacent to your current force, spaceports owned allow you to claim any tile as if it were adjacent).

To claim a tile:
-       Roll 2D6 and add up the total (including any modifiers)
-       If you are claiming a tile from the PDF it is on a 4+
-       IF trying to claim from the Ork Insurgence it is on a 6+
-       If you are claiming a tile from an opponent it is on a 7+.

Modifiers:
-       Shield Generator Tile is -2
-       Adjacent to a Shield Generator is -1
-       Spaceport or Hive City is -3
-       Trying to capture more than 1 tile a turn, -1 modifier for every tile capture after 1st

Expanding Your Core Army

Each month the core army will expand by 250pts, until we reach 1500pts.

After 1500pts, you will have a core force and start working on Sideboards which can be added to your army for larger games (up to 2000points). The 1500pts will be static and the sideboards can be swapped game on game. This will allow each person to develop methods to deal with a range of foes.


Models used as part of your Bonus Points system, each game, do not count towards your core army and can be modified each game. Remember that if your army is fully painted and based, you can earn double points from Round 2 onwards.

Half Term - Painting Progress (40K)

So based off the visit to Warhammer World I do not feel great about playing games with unpainted models (were all mech grey) so have hunkered down and made some progress.

Firstly though, the Patriarch for my Genestealer Cults Army....



The basing is very simple, it just uses the new Astrogranite, drybrushed with Dawnstone, then Administratum Grey. 

I have also made progress on some of the 'hybrids' which will make up the planetary defence force for my Cult Army. A test model guardsmen and chimera (using a militarum tempestus scheme)






And finally, based off the paint scheme I have devised for my Genestealer Patriarch I have started messing with a Zoanthrope!



The skin is - Corax White Spray, Ushabti Bone, Carroburg Crimson, Ushabti (non-recess) and then Screaming Skull edge highlight.




Tuesday 25 October 2016

Warhammer World Trip - 25th October 2016

A Trip To The Mecca of Hobby

A long day, travelling from Reading to Nottingham and back with a couple of friends and a loose acquaintance (they know who they are).

A great set of fun was had, playing some Kill Team (200pts) of:
- Orks (Me)
- Genestealer Cults (Me)
- Necrons
- Scions / Deathwatch
- Chaos

We played three quick games (forgot the photos) but thoroughly enjoyed playing some of the missions. My personal fav moments in my games were:
- Game 1 vs Necrons - 3 Ork Boyz charging a single necron warrior and whiffing
- Game 2 vs Deathwatch - Using the Cult Ambush rule an getting to shoot with 3 neophytes - no deaths
- Game 3 vs Chaos - My Cult list cowering in a Chimera, being chased by a Spawn AND my Sentinel whiffing for 5 turns, failing to hit (I totally blame the Genestealer Cult Dice)



Some updates from the Hall of Miniatures as well:




Awesome Dock ready to have a load of evil marines deploy and slaughtering some 'friends'




The Slyvanneth vs Ironjawz board. Looks great and has real life tree roots in it! Only disappointment was that the board was in half, so couldn't get a full understanding of the scene :( 

This was one of the new boards leaked at the 'Age of Sigmar Open Day'.




Some cool cult models, new additions having come from the new releases...some easy inspiration for my own cult army!



Ork Town - A board that makes me happy, would love to get some scenery like this!


And finally something that I had not scene before - There are eldar rangers hiding in the building and with the exception of a couple of genestealers, everyone is ignoring them!


A New Dawn - WIP - Genestealer Cults

Test Models and Patriarch



I had a spare ravener and decided to draw up some test schemes for the Tyranids and Genestealers for the new cult Army. 

I focused on a pale skin (ushabti bone) and a very dark purple (naggoth night) for the carapace. I looked at using the Incubi Darkness for the claws.


Having established my paint scheme (in principle) I have started painting the patriarch for the army as its overall leader, ready for Game 1. 


Here is the WIP with the skin completed and the claws and horns started to be painted, this took forever!


Here is the carpace and brain painted. I avoided traditional and went with the design from the zoanthrope painting guide in 'Invasion Swarms'

It has given the model a very individual look and now just have the basing to complete.